Darkness had settled over the streets. The cold night air was still.
Hangzhou may have been a city of pleasure, but as night bled into the hours before dawn, it too fell quiet. It was just like in Korea, where even bustling areas like Hongdae or Gangnam would fall silent around 4 a.m.
‘Nothing can make noise forever. Even the inn’s staff has to sleep.’
During In-si (3:00–5:00 a.m.), Jin Cheon-hee awoke and began his Circulating Qi and Regulating Breath. Despite having gorged himself the night before, his stomach felt light and comfortable.
‘Youth really is a wonderful thing.’
Was it because of all the delicious food? He was already getting hungry again.
‘Should I have the steamed egg-whites for breakfast?’
It was similar to Korean steamed eggs, but this version was made by steaming egg whites and tofu. It was exquisite with a dash of soy sauce, and just as good with a little chili oil.
‘And then, I’ll destroy some more Dongpo Pork.’
His mouth watered at the thought. In three days—no, two, now—he would have to say goodbye to this inn’s masterpiece. It was a deeply sorrowful prospect.
He slowly cleared his mind of such stray thoughts and regulated his breathing. The pure, refined energy of the five elements began to circulate slowly from his danjeon. It was his daily routine.
After completing one full cycle, he began to slowly expand his Qi Sense. Unlike the mountains, the city was full of the senses of other people. Amidst the complexity, Jin Cheon-hee’s senses picked up on the countless dormant vitalities, still asleep.
‘This is training, too.’
Fights didn’t only happen in the mountains. A city like this was, perhaps, the most likely place for a fight to break out. More people meant more grudges and favor.
Just then, he heard a pitiful voice.
“Oppa! No! Please!”
“Agh! Uwaaaak!”
Jin Cheon-hee’s eyes snapped open. Someone was being beaten. And that was a child’s voice. It was a sound so faint he would never have heard it if he hadn’t expanded his senses.
He let out a small sigh. “Right. This is the Murim. My old world was lawless enough; why would here be any different?”
As Jin Cheon-hee rose, Hwang-gu also stood up. Sniff! The dog had sensed his master’s movement.
Jin Cheon-hee fastened the Dharma Treasure Yoo Ho had given him to his wrist. “I’m heading out. Why don’t you just rest?”
Woof! — Master. Following.
Knew you’d say that. You’re a dog, after all.
Jin Cheon-hee gave Hwang-gu’s head a rough scratch. “If it gets dangerous, you run. Got it?”
Kreung! — Yes.
He probably could have understood that even without Yoo Ho’s magic bracelet.
Jin Cheon-hee opened the window and slipped out. From the top of the four-story building, it should have been a fall. But he descended in a silent glide, as if riding an updraft, thanks to his Heavenly Energy Bewildering Footwork. The Zhuge Clan’s lightness skill was so renowned that even the prideful Namgung clan had to concede its superiority.
He moved across the rooftops, his feet silent, heading toward the sound. Even as he crossed the old, brittle tiles, he made not the slightest noise. His movements were strangely fluid and unpredictable, making it difficult for any observer to guess his trajectory.
‘It was close to the inn…’
He moved carefully, looking down into the web of dark alleys. It didn’t take long to find the source of the sound. He saw seven muscular men. Four of them held blades to the throats of four children, a girl and three boys. The remaining two were in the process of beating one of the boys. A seventh man, the largest, was sitting on a dilapidated chair, puffing on a pipe and cackling as he watched.
‘Wow. A textbook villain.’
The kind of extra who’d be finished off by the protagonist in a few panels. The problem was that the children were hostages, making it difficult to intervene. They seemed to have a sliver of internal energy, so he had to be careful.
“Kekekeke. Hey, Sama Hyeon! If you’d just joined me when I asked, this wouldn’t be happening. Who told you to act so high and mighty, just ’cause you know a few tricks?”
The boy who was being beaten, Sama Hyeon, forced himself to his feet. He spat out a wad of bloody phlegm. “Kikikik… Are the brothels in Hangzhou so dead that they’re sending out men to recruit this? Do you hold your ancestral rites in a doghouse? What a magnificent family tree you must have~”
The boy was mocking him. His laugh was a bizarre, grating sound, like nails on metal. The man’s face crumpled.
“Not beaten enough, huh? Still got some fight left. Fine… I was going to go easy on you, for the sake of the late, great Old Man Seok.”
PAAK!
The man kicked him. The boy’s body flew like a piece of trash, rolling across the dirt. There wasn’t a single part of him that wasn’t bruised.
“That’s just how you grow up, kid. Think I didn’t go through the same? When the men at the top give an order, guys like us just have to follow. You don’t get that, and that’s why you’re suffering.”
Peok, peok, peok!
It was a grotesque sight, grown men beating a single child.
“Don’t hit his face! One of the rich old masters really wants that pretty face of his.”
At that, the men focused their blows on the boy’s body.
“Let’s cut to the chase. Make your choice. Are you going to join me, or are you going to die here? I saw you at the inn yesterday. You made some good silver, didn’t you?”
Jin Cheon-hee sighed. ‘Of course the villain noticed the silver I gave him.’
The strange thing was, the boy’s pain seemed to be fueling his laughter, which grew more and more maniacal as the beating continued. It almost looked like a ritual of giving up on life.
“Yaaaa, trying to live like a human among all these dogs… it’s killing me. Hahaha! Hey kids, what do you say? Want to die together~? Rather than wallowing in this filth… that… might be better.”
Dark blood trickled from the boy’s mouth.
“O-Oppa…”
“Hyung…!”
The other children stopped trying to dissuade him. This was a filthy sewer, and they were sewer rats. They had learned to beg and perform under Old Man Seok, who had taken them in, but nothing had ever changed. Children were useful. And now that Old Man Seok had passed of old age, there was no one left to protect them.
“Huh? Look at this bastard. Still got the energy to talk? Tough one. Can’t be helped. Boys, j—… Ugh… Uwaaaaargh!”
The gang leader shrieked and pitched forward.
Hwang-gu.
The dog had approached without a sound and torn into the man’s groin.
Woof! — Master’s order. Executing! Blood! Combat!
Hwang-gu was the Testicle Destroyer, descended upon the Murim.
The instant the men turned to look at the dog, Jin Cheon-hee used it as his signal and dropped from the roof. He landed between them, instantly grabbing the wrists of two men and snapping them backward.
“Uwaaaak!”
Thud!
Had he misjudged his strength? Normally it would have been a simple dislocation, but this time, the pressure tore the muscle, and the white of their bones jutted out. Open fractures. But these were men who’d held blades to children’s throats and talked of brothels. He had no intention of holding back.
“Who the hell are you!”
“What’s it to you!”
Pabak!
Jin Cheon-hee kicked the knee of the next man. He felt the patella shatter. He yanked the last man’s shirt, pulling him off-balance, and struck him in the throat.
With the hostages free, the boy, Sama Hyeon, staggered to his feet and lunged at the man who had been beating him. His eyes shone coldly in the moonlight. His hand covered the man’s face.
Thud—
He tore the man’s face off.
“Kuaaaaaaaak!”
It wasn’t a bone-breaking, but a grotesque act of flaying. Everyone froze in horror.
Sama Hyeon spoke. “You’re that hyung who gave me the silver. So there was a human left in this sewer after all~?”
Incredible grip strength. And that bizarre, horrifying attack method.
Watching him, Jin Cheon-hee realized.
‘You’re… the Hao Sect Leader?’
With the hostages safe, Sama Hyeon moved with a lighter heart, dispatching the last two men. His finishing moves were exceptionally cruel.
***
The fight was over. Sama Hyeon, panting, straightened his back. His hands were drenched in blood. He wiped them on his clothes, a theatrical, fixed grin on his face. There was no trembling, no faint trace of guilt. He would have worn the same expression if he’d just wrung a chicken’s neck.
Tearing an enemy’s face off… it was a hideously brutal method. But if he hadn’t been that brutal, what would have happened to the children?
‘The Murim is a place of so many tangled shades.’
Jin Cheon-hee had seen the white-robed Righteous Faction, their silk shining like snow in the sun. He had also seen the black-robed Demonic Cult, who called themselves the ‘Darkness’ and carried out their leader’s will. He had seen the Unorthodox Hao Sect, and had struggled with his conscience while treating Mu Hwa and Mu Wol.
And here, in the gutter, belonging to none of them, was this boy. The future Hao Sect Leader, Sama Hyeon. He was, for now, just a child in his early teens.
“Are you alright?”
Sama Hyeon replied, “It’s nothing, hyung~ We’ve just been earning good money lately, so those Iron Head Sect bastards decided to horn in. Our kids are good-looking, and I’m pretty, too, so they figured they’d force us into prostitution~ Kill two birds with one stone. Clean the ditch and catch the crayfish~”
It was a horrific story, but he spoke of it with a smile, as if it were commonplace. He went and comforted each of the crying children, then turned back to Jin Cheon-hee.
“Hyung, I’m grateful enough to bow to you for that silver, and I’m thankful you saved my kids. But you won’t get anything good from getting mixed up with trash like us~”
Sama Hyeon waved his hand dismissively. “You look like the precious son of some great family. I’d feel bad if you got caught up in nasty rumors. Next time, just give us a lot of silver, ‘kay~? Kids, bow to him.”
At his gesture, the children all performed a fist-in-palm salute.
“Thank you, Great Hero!”
“Thank you so much!”
“Thank you for saving us!”
“…”
“Ah, that one’s mute, can’t talk~ Just take the bow. Well, see ya!”
Jin Cheon-hee hesitated, troubled by the boy’s attitude. He was suddenly reminded of a line from the novel—a line spoken when Yeo Ha-ryoon encountered the Hao Sect Leader in Hangzhou.
“Hoh, even the Demonic Cult has a sense of justice? How novel. If your ‘god’ is so great, why is the world such a shithole~?”
“The world is hell, and humans are just insects, aren’t they? We are born into a punishment we didn’t ask for, and death is our only salvation. It’s just funny to hear you talk about a ‘god’ in a place like this.”
“Hey, Heavenly Demon. Can that ‘god’ of yours bring back my dead dearest?”
“She was in so much pain, I had to kill her with my own hands. So tell me. Can he bring back a child who died in that hell?”
“He can’t~? Figures. Hahaha. God must be too far away, can’t hear us. So I’ll send you to him. You can deliver the message for me in the afterlife.”
“You’re the Heavenly Demon, the most beloved of your god. If you ask him nicely, I’m sure he’ll listen~?”
The Hao Sect Leader was a bizarre man. He enjoyed slaughter, and he enjoyed the pain created in the process. He was brilliant and powerful. But his strange, twisted madness was terrifying. No one knew if his face was his own, and no one could be sure if his voice was real. He loved to start “blood festivals” (massacres). He seemed to live only to burn the world down and dance in the ashes.