"D-did we kill him?"
…Tang So-wol had muttered something ominous, but fortunately, Hwangbo Gwang did not suddenly come back to life.
He merely lay sprawled on the floor, both arms lost, his Dantian shattered.
The only difference from before was that his eyes, which had been dyed red as if he had clearly lost his mind, had returned to their original color.
After watching for a while and seeing nothing happen, Tang So-wol finally approached me. With a serious expression, she looked over Hwangbo Gwang, who was staring blankly at the sky.
"It doesn't seem to be poison, at least… but does young hero Cheon have any idea what it might be?"
"How could I? At first, I thought it was the Demonic Cult, but after fighting him directly, I'm certain. This isn't the Demonic Cult's Mapokdan."
Not only was there no trace of Demonic Qi, but even the rampage caused by the Mapokdan only stirred up the dantian and blood vessels—it never clouded one's reason.
One's judgment could be dulled by the euphoria, but it wouldn't reduce a person to the level of a beast like these men.
Of course, once the drug's effect wore off, they would completely lose their minds.
The exchange of opinions before the fallen Hwangbo Gwang lasted only a moment. Then, a small voice drifted out like a leak of wind. From below.
"Fa—Father… why…"
"Why would I be your grandfather?"
A retort that slipped out at the sudden nonsense. But Hwangbo Gwang, as if he couldn't hear my words—or as if he had been speaking to someone else all along—continued his muttering.
"Did we not say we were family…? Then why… why do you abandon me…?"
"Young hero Cheon."
"Hmm. I think I need to look into that old man claiming to be my grandfather."
I nudged Hwangbo Gwang's side with my foot as I spoke.
"Hwangbo Gwang. Can you hear me?"
"Did I not follow everything…? Was it not all for the sake of the Hwangbo Clan…?"
Thud!
"Cough!"
I struck with a bit more force. Of course, Hwangbo Gwang was on the verge of death, so I wrapped my internal energy around his bones and organs to protect them, only delivering the impact.
Only then did his senses return, the focus of his eyes, which had been wandering through the air, snapping back into place.
After confirming the faces of me and Tang So-wol, Hwangbo Gwang simply closed his eyes.
"So that's how it is."
"Don't just understand it on your own—let me in on it too. Aren't you curious why I didn't kill you and let you live?"
"…"
As if he had nothing to say, the guy kept his mouth shut tight.
Well, that made sense. Hwangbo Gwang was lazy and violent by nature, and this time he'd gone wild after picking up something strange because of that grandfather or whatever he was.
Still, he wasn't a complete fool. At the very least, when it came to politics, he was probably worthy of the name of a prestigious clan.
There was no way he hadn't realized that I'd spared him because I still had information to extract, and that I intended to use it to hold the Hwangbo Clan accountable.
So he kept his mouth shut. He figured I wouldn't kill him carelessly as long as his usefulness hadn't run out.
Or perhaps he was too wary of something more terrifying than me to dare speak.
"Hwangbo Gwang. What I know about you isn't much. That you're a thug who fawns over those stronger than you and bullies the weak. That whether from lack of talent or laziness, you neglected your martial arts training and only reached a level unworthy of your family's name. …And that when a father and daughter came to you for help, you defiled the daughter and tried to kill the father, but failed."
"…"
At that last remark, the bastard's eyes twitched. Right. He must be surprised. Among all the messes Hwangbo Gwang had made, this one was notable enough that the clan would have buried it thoroughly.
I continued in a calm voice toward the inwardly shaken Hwangbo Gwang.
"I admit, I don't know much about you. But I know your type very well. You're a fairly common breed in the Unorthodox Sects. …You're thinking that as long as you say nothing, you'll suffer but at least keep your life, aren't you?"
"…"
"What's the matter. It won't even hurt. The Tang Clan's poisons include one that clouds the mind and makes a person answer every question meekly. Just think of it as dozing off for a moment."
When I asked Tang So-wol with a look, she nodded and pressed a few fingers together in sequence. Before long, a gray liquid formed in her palm.
Just as she was about to drip it onto Hwangbo Gwang—
"Hmph."
A small sneer escaped Hwangbo Gwang's mouth, which had been shut tight until now.
"Do as you please. But don't you find it strange? Why no one has come looking for us here."
"…Damn."
Come to think of it, this was unnatural.
It was true that I had subdued Hwangbo Gwang quickly, but by now, anyone who had heard the commotion from afar should have come running.
Yet the only ones who had come here were me and Tang So-wol. And the ordinary martial artists, somewhere between second-rate and first-rate, who had just arrived.
The fact that no one of captain or vice-captain rank had come to check on a disturbance at the very front gate meant that some other problem had arisen.
"…I see. So this was a diversion."
"Exactly. I don't know how potent that poison is, but if it doesn't turn people into complete idiots and merely muddles their minds to a suitable degree, then it would require delicate dosage control. They might be able to extract information from me, but it would take them a considerable amount of time."
"Go on. I'm curious to see just how grand a scheme this is, that they'd use a young head as bait."
"Even without the Sword King, the Namgung Clan is strong. But it isn't absolute. If only there were no Harmony Realm martial artists, I could slip through their defenses any number of times."
"…?"
For a moment, I wondered if he was being sincere, and narrowed my eyes.
CRASH!
A sound of something shattering echoed from far away.
Though it came from much farther off than the commotion Hwangbo Gwang had caused, it rang out far louder.
That meant there had been an impact of that magnitude.
At this, Hwangbo Gwang gave a bitter smile and continued.
"If you guarantee my safety, I can tell you right now what's happening over there and what they're after…"
"Nonsense."
As I raised my sword, Hwangbo Gwang's voice quickened—he had been grimacing in pain moments ago, but now there was a note of desperation.
"W-wait a moment! When things blow up, you're an outsider with no connection to the Namgung Clan, so you can't possibly handle—"
Thwack!
I struck Hwangbo Gwang across the head with the flat of my blade. That finally knocked him completely unconscious.
Only after confirming this did I sheathe my sword. Tang So-wol tilted her head and asked.
"Um… young hero Cheon? Are you sure this is really alright?"
"More than alright. Everything that Hwangbo bastard said was probably a lie from the start."
"What? But we just heard a sound."
"The diversion was probably real. What I'm saying is that everything after that—the part about revealing their plan—was all a lie. Hwangbo Gwang probably doesn't know a thing about this matter. After all, who would entrust such valuable information to a discarded pawn?"
"A discarded… pawn?"
"Throughout the entire conversation, he wasn't watching me—the one holding the sword hilt. He was too busy gauging the reactions of those around him. That means there's someone he fears more than me."
"I did sense that sort of unease."
"And just now, that bastard said the Namgung Clan—lacking a Harmony Realm martial artist—would be worth scheming against. But one is right there, plain as day. He even ate two bowls of rice today."
"Ah! Sister Hwa-rin!"
"This is a scheme targeting the Namgung Clan, using their young head as bait. Everyone in the world would know it was the Hwangbo Clan's doing, they'd be pointed at in scorn, and they'd have to face the Sword King's wrath when he returns. There's no way they didn't do their research properly. It's not like we just arrived today."
In the end, everything Hwangbo Gwang said was nothing but nonsense with no rhyme or reason.
Most likely, he had blurted out a plausible lie first in order to survive, or to buy time.
"Honestly, the words you muttered when you were half out of your mind were more trustworthy. You mentioned a grandfather, didn't you? Do you know anything about the Hwangbo Clan's clan head two generations back?"
"I don't know the details. But I did hear that he died fighting a Demonic Head of the Unorthodox Sects."
"Are you certain? Perhaps he faked his death but is actually still alive…"
"I'm certain. After all, it was the signal that announced the Hwangbo Clan's downfall."
"Downfall?"
"Yes. In the past, the Hwangbo Clan wasn't quite enough to enter the Five Great Families, but they were a prestigious clan that occasionally produced Harmony Realm martial artists… However, at some point, no one who reached the Harmony Realm appeared anymore."
Thus, it is said that in order to prove the Hwangbo Clan's strength, the clan head, a Transcendent Peak martial artist, personally began to subjugate the Unorthodox Sect martial artists causing trouble in the surrounding area.
…Not long after, his neck was instead severed by the very Unorthodox Sect martial artist he had sought to subjugate.
"Originally meant to announce the Hwangbo Clan's continued strength, that move instead announced their decline."
"So all of the martial world confirmed the death of the previous clan head."
"Yes. So it likely doesn't simply refer to Hwangbo Gwang's grandfather."
After the death of the previous clan head, the Hwangbo Clan began to shrink rapidly.
They were still counted as a prestigious clan, but their power had diminished to the point where it couldn't even be compared to the past.
Besides, just because they were an Orthodox Sect didn't mean all of their members were people of good character.
It was said that the Hwangbo Clan's family traditions had completely changed as they began to receive subtle mockery from other families of similar standing.
"It's not about following righteousness or developing the clan's martial arts. Acts of filling a twisted sense of self-esteem by trampling on those weaker than oneself happened openly. As a bonus, their reputation in the Orthodox Sects' martial world only got worse."
Still, until now, they had managed to survive without major problems by cleverly hiding their deeds. And while they weren't what they used to be, it was also true that they remained a powerful clan.
"However, if what young hero Cheon says is true… they were even worse than I thought."
"If you dig properly, they'd rank among the most vicious even within the Unorthodox Sects."
"How does young hero Cheon know that?"
"…Well, there were circumstances that made it so."
He brushed off the question related to his regression with a vague answer, then let out a deep sigh.
"Anyway, to get back to the main point, that's the crux of it. Hwangbo Gwang is a discarded piece who knows nothing, and the one behind this incident has thrown down their gambit—exposing the Hwangbo Clan's long-hidden shame and even bracing for a feud with the Namgung Clan."
"Th-that's how it seems, isn't it?"
"If so, what reason is there to keep Hwangbo Gwang alive when he'll only become a liability later?"
"…Huh?"
Tang So-wol's eyes flew wide. I gave her shoulder a gentle push, carrying a considerable amount of internal energy.
Tang So-wol was sent flying into the distance. Only after confirming that she had landed softly and joined the other Namgung Clan martial artists did I draw my sword.
The black sword I'd favored recently had been left with the Namgung Clan's blacksmiths, so what I held now was a decent enough blade given to me as a temporary replacement.
Feeling a pang of regret over that, I tapped the hilt with my index finger a couple of times and opened my mouth.
"Whether you expected another Harmony Realm martial artist or not, either way, dealing with Hwangbo Gwang was always going to be necessary. …Isn't that right?"
I aimed my sword at the old man who was slowly walking through the completely shattered main gate.
"Heh heh. The young ones these days have good instincts."
The old man's lips twisted into a smile.