Episode 97. My Heart Is Filled with Schemes
I sipped my Dukang wine, pondering whether to relentlessly hunt down Ilwido-gang to the bitter end—or strike at Paegeomhoe first.
The assassin before me, sword drawn, was already spitting blood. When I unleashed my inner force, I’d infused both mokgye and tugye into my power. His trembling blade wavered, shaking badly in front of me.
He wasn’t the one who killed Nam Garak in a previous life. Judging by the scale, they’d probably sent an assassin whose skill matched my current notoriety—less than Nam Garak’s, but good enough to test the waters.
His power was weaker. I reached out and caught his sword midair.
“A quick sword user, are you?”
The assassin’s face twisted, dripping sweat as our forces clashed. I flooded the sword with yeomgye—the heat of flame.
Fight fire with fire, I thought.
His face contorted in agony. I turned my head slightly to scan the surroundings.
“Nobody move.”
I tortured the assassin with my inner energy while waiting for the others to show themselves. If our strengths had been similar, he might have broken free—but the difference was overwhelming. Retreat wasn’t an option.
Before he could sever his own arm to escape, I warned him calmly.
“Move an inch, and you’ll turn to ash.”
The sword was glowing red-hot now. His hand began to burn and crackle as the heat consumed his skin.
I kept the flame flowing, then turned left—locking eyes with a man disguised as a peddler carrying a bundle.
“……”
What weapon was he hiding in that bundle?
He answered me by hurling the entire bundle my way. The fabric burst midair, releasing a storm of steel projectiles.
Did he think our energies were equal?
I matched his force with a countercurrent—absorbing his attack midair with suction power, then twisting it back toward him.
Whirr!
The peddler shouted desperately, “No!”
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
But it was too late. The volley of needles struck the very assassin trapped before me—embedding deep into his face, neck, shoulders, and abdomen. His inner force crumbled instantly, and the flame consumed him whole. No one could tell whether he’d died from the heat or the blades.
Thud…
I glanced at the stunned peddler. “Why are you killing your own ally?”
I took another drink, then asked lazily, “So-gunpyeong, how’s the perimeter?”
From among the crowd came the answer. “We’ve surrounded about thirty jang. We’ll only kill the ones who try to flee.”
“Can you identify them all?”
“We’ll find out soon enough.”
“Wait…”
“Yes?”
“Kill the peddler first.”
Hong Shin, hidden among the onlookers, flicked her weapon.
Swish!
The peddler dodged, but only to get struck in the back by Baek In’s golden coin dart.
Thunk!
“Ghk!”
Cheong Jin and Baek Yu followed up with throwing knives and needles—one in his shoulder, one in his skull. The peddler collapsed. I turned to call out toward the inn.
“Jang Sam.”
“Yes, Master.”
He hurried out and stood at my side. I nodded toward the onlookers.
“Can you pick out the strange ones? You’ve been practicing.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. Start with whoever feels off.”
He pointed. “That rice-cake seller.”
“The rice-cake seller, huh?”
The man shoved a bystander aside and bolted. I tilted my head slightly and murmured, “Run faster, come on…”
He made it a few steps before a blade burst through his throat.
Thuk!
I clicked my tongue. “Didn’t even get far.”
Nam Garak kicked the body toward me, sending it rolling to a stop at the inn’s front.
Thud!
Another corpse.
I waved my hand. “Seems these assassins are underestimating me. I told them I had more subordinates, didn’t I? Jang Sam, pick another.”
He hesitated this time—the assassins were already on edge. Then he pointed again. “The man by the cart.”
The man by the cart had already been marked. Nam Yeonpung and his Nammyeong comrades surrounded him deliberately. At Jang Sam’s signal, they drew their blades and stabbed without a word.
Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab!
Nam Yeonpung kicked the corpse toward us. Thud!
The body rolled to a stop. I locked eyes with Nam Yeonpung and grinned. He scratched his cheek awkwardly.
“Good work, Jang Sam. Any more?”
Now, every time Jang Sam’s eyes swept over the crowd, people flinched in terror.
He admitted honestly, “I can’t tell anymore.”
I called to Nam Garak, still blending among the onlookers. “What do you think, Guildmaster Nam?”
“There’s bound to be more.”
“Then let’s keep thinning them out.”
“Right. Patience is a hunter’s virtue.”
“True. All locals who know Jang Sam, come forward and check in. Talk to him, then go about your business. One at a time.”
Strangely enough, they obeyed.
Each person stepped forward, exchanged a few words with Jang Sam, sighed in relief, and left quickly. The crowd thinned.
Jang Sam waved them along cheerfully. “Come on through! Yes, have a drink sometime! Mister Go, head inside! Yes, next, next—go ahead.”
I couldn’t help smiling at the orderliness of it all — the control, the efficiency. Jang Sam’s enthusiasm, his meddling nature, his boundless energy — I knew his kind better than anyone. A man with too much free time and too few customers.
Once the innocents were gone, only a handful of figures remained — five in total.
One of them suddenly fell to his knees. “It’s not me! I don’t even know martial arts!”
I gestured. “All five of you, come here. Don’t worry, I won’t kill you carelessly.”
At once, four of them broke into lightfoot technique and scattered in all directions.
I flicked a chopstick at the first one to flee. Whizz! Thud!
I stood up and scanned the area — my men were already moving.
One assassin leapt to a rooftop, but Nam Yeonpung was right behind him. Others split up in pursuit. Nam Garak approached the kneeling man.
“Give me your hand.”
He felt the man’s pulse and turned to me. “Master, this one really has no inner energy.”
“Send him here.”
Nam Garak nudged him forward with a kick. “Go.”
Jang Sam placed a chair across from me. “Sit down.”
The terrified man obeyed.
“Put everything you’ve got on the table.”
“What?”
Just then, Baek In dragged another corpse over — the one who had fled — and placed it nearby. I asked, “Disciple, did you touch the body?”
He raised his gloved hands. “I’m wearing gloves, Senior Brother.”
“Good.”
Nam Yeonpung kicked another corpse down from the roof. So-gunpyeong hauled in one strangled with a belt. The cleanup was efficient.
Only one man remained alive before me.
“They’re all dead. You’re the only one left.”
“……”
“If you’ve got nothing to say, you die too.”
“I’m just a civilian! Can you really kill people so freely?”
“If you’ve worked with Ilwido-gang in any way, death’s fair. What, you expected mercy?”
Later, my officers gathered inside the inn. Cha Seong-tae arrived last, handing out gloves before helping move bodies.
So-gunpyeong sat beside me. “Should we kill him?”
I nodded. “No need. He’s probably not Ilwido-gang proper — just a subcontracted pawn. He won’t know their base.”
Baek In crossed his arms. “Then who hired them? Paegeomhoe?”
“Who knows.”
I looked to Jang Sam. “Turn your head for a moment.”
He obeyed — and I struck the man dead with a single palm strike. Thud! His neck snapped cleanly. Jang Sam flinched, exhaling deeply afterward.
“Haa…”
I addressed my officers. “Let’s hold a brief meeting. Sit, drink a little.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Jang Sam, pour for everyone. You’ve earned it.”
“Right away.”
As the others settled in, I laid out my plan.
“If I stay here, I’ll just make everyone’s lives harder. From what we’ve seen, I’m their sole target.”
Being the target wasn’t necessarily bad — it simplified things.
“Finding Ilwido-gang’s main base won’t be easy. They’re too organized. Baek In.”
“Yes, Senior Brother.”
“Paegeomhoe is tied to several merchant guilds, right?”
“Most likely.”
“Then call Monk Geumhae. Have him investigate every merchant group linked to Paegeomhoe. Tear through those ties — that’ll bring us closer to Ilwido-gang.”
“Will merchants really know that much?”
“Not exactly. But they might know how the assassins contact their employers. Merchants fear death more than killers do. And when we dismantle Paegeomhoe, their allied merchants will scramble for profit. Let Geumhae’s Golden Mountain Guild absorb those interests. He’s clever with money — he’ll manage. Tell him to share the gains with those harmed in this chaos. The Golden Mountain Guild will end up the biggest winner anyway.”
Baek In nodded. “Understood.”
“My plan might be flawed,” I admitted, “but I’ll leave tracking Ilwido-gang entirely to you disciples.”
“Yes, Master.”
I turned to Nam Garak. “Guildmaster Nam, we’ll attack Paegeomhoe.”
“How?”
He meant strategy — since Namcheon-ryeon was also a factor. But I fought in my own way; their involvement didn’t matter to me.
“A small strike team. Don’t kill anyone — just burn their main strongholds and withdraw.”
Nam Garak blinked. “Why?”
“Why not? Let them lose their beds. A little property damage, a little discomfort.”
“That’s all?”
“Of course not. We’ll stir up Namcheon-ryeon while we’re at it. Let’s make them tear each other apart.”
That was the heart of my plan — ignite a feud between Paegeomhoe and Namcheon-ryeon until they destroyed one another.
“We’ll move as small elite units,” I explained. “Strike, burn, retreat. Kill a few, vanish. Paegeomhoe will think Namcheon-ryeon’s behind it. Namcheon-ryeon will think Paegeomhoe struck first. We’ll use both factions’ uniforms, maybe even masks. Keep it going until both sides go mad.”
Nam Garak grinned. “I like it.”
I laughed. “Guildmaster Nam, let’s enjoy ourselves. No need to be too serious about fools.”
He threw back his head and laughed heartily. “Hahaha… splendid.”
The martial world could be grave at times — and absurd at others. The point was simple:
Torment the enemy.
Until they fainted from despair, until madness took them.
I knew better than anyone the joy of sowing discord among the already damned.
In my heart, Paegeomhoe was already gone from this world. And all that filled my thoughts now—was how to make them destroy each other.
“When this ends,” I murmured, “we’ll see who the real villains are.”