Chapter 4

To make up for it.

To turn back time.

To flip everything upside down.

That is the nature of the world.

Helping someone is not difficult. Giving them money is not difficult either. The Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Palace is strong, and it has plenty of money.

However, teaching someone how to gain power and how to earn money is an entirely different matter.

That is something one must resolve to do on their own.

No one can help with that very first step.

I hadn’t realized that back then. I regretted it because I didn’t know.

At any rate, there were people who assisted Ya Woon-sang at his side.

Those two were among them. There seemed to be more, but for now, I let it be. I had full confidence in my ability to weed them all out.

After pondering for a short moment, Seol Woon-hwi continued speaking calmly.

“The Blue Cloud Merchant Group… Of course, compared to the entire Central Plains or even the Snow Palace, it isn’t a particularly massive merchant outfit. But in a rural backwater like Snow Pressure, it is quite large. There’s no way Ya Woon-sang could have swallowed such a merchant group alone. Seeing your faces filled with discontent toward me for killing Ya Woon-sang and watching you defend him so desperately, the pieces fit right into place.”

A cold smile played on Seol Woon-hwi’s lips.

“Did you take kickbacks alongside Ya Woon-sang?”

“…Th-That… that is…”

“Looks like I hit the mark.”

In truth, there was no need to speak any further.

“That’s enough now.”

It happened at lightning speed.

Seol Woon-hwi drew the dagger strapped to his waist and…

Stab—!

Drove it straight into Kang Sang’s side.

Flash Void Needle Technique (閃虛一針術).

This was Woon-hwi’s own unique martial art, an upgraded variation of the Phantom Dagger Technique (幽魂一匕術)—the signature dagger technique of the Phantom Soul Sect.

The Phantom Dagger Technique was an assassination method that completely concealed one’s killing intent while approaching like a shadow to target vital points. However, it required far too many preparations.

First, it consumed unnecessary Internal Energy to conceal killing intent. Second, there was no guarantee of a guaranteed kill with a single strike. Third, acquiring the technique to mask killing intent required a vast amount of time. Fourth, the entry barrier was extremely high due to its overly complex forms.

Woon-hwi had radically modified this technique.

First, instead of concealing killing intent, he focused entirely on instantaneous surprise attacks. Second, by erupting his Internal Energy in a single burst, he could produce speed approaching the absolute limit of the physical body within the blink of an eye. Third, he minimized preparation movements to an extreme degree.

Woon-hwi had fixed positions for placing his daggers.

From the small of his back to the left, precisely 3 inches (chi, where 1 inch ≈ 3.03 cm).

To the right, 4 inches.

There was simply no way a ordinary martial artist could block such a dagger technique.

“Gah… hk…”

I stared blankly at Kang Sang, who was groaning in excruciating pain.

If it penetrated just a bit further forward, it was at a position that could pierce his heart.

Woon-hwi asked:

“Does it hurt?”

“Br… Branch Manager…”

Kang Sang wanted to live. Belatedly grabbing Seol Woon-hwi’s arm, he gazed up at Seol Woon-hwi with desperate eyes—begging him to pull it out, begging not to be killed.

A gentle smile formed on Woon-hwi’s lips.

“Do you want to live?”

“Cough… Yes… Yes…”

“However, after taking kickbacks and daring to step over the authority of the Branch Manager, is it right for me to spare you?”

“Everything… cough… is in the warehouse… Please…”

The warehouse, huh…?

“To kindly inform me of the location where you hid the money… you were a much dumber bastard than I thought.”

Whether it was truly in the warehouse or not didn’t matter in the slightest.

I could simply search every place I suspected.

Woon-hwi pushed the dagger deeper.

Stab.

“Cough…”

Kang Sang’s heart was pierced.

Naturally, Kang Sang’s body began to collapse. Seol Woon-hwi grabbed him by the hair, pulled out the dagger embedded in his heart, and plunged it into his neck.

Thwack.

Blood spurted out.

As he twisted it sideways just like that, Kang Sang’s neck bone snapped with a sickening crack.

Pulling out the dagger, Woon-hwi turned around.

He saw the bald man trembling uncontrollably.

Woo Sang-hyeon.

Holding the dagger dripping with blood, Woon-hwi stepped toward him.

With every step Seol Woon-hwi took forward, Woo Sang-hyeon took a step back.

“Br… Branch Manager… I… I really had no such intention… Ya Woon-sang made me do everything…”

“Just because you were ordered to, you completely ignored the authority of the Branch Manager, stood above him, and thought to swallow a whole merchant group? You have quite an amusing talent.”

“Th-More importantly, Ice-Snow Sword Trace will come…! I know all of Ya Woon-sang’s secrets, and I’ve talked with him privately before, so I can somehow persuade him!”

Woon-hwi burst out laughing.

“Ah, so you were worrying about me all this time? My, I’m so grateful I don’t know what to do with myself.”

Stepping back continuously like that, Woo Sang-hyeon hit his back against a training dummy at the corner of the training ground, and Seol Woon-hwi stood face-to-face in front of him.

Their physiques were around 6 feet tall (approx. 180 cm). Looking closely, Seol Woon-hwi was slightly shorter, but that was fine.

It was a perfect height for driving a dagger straight through a neck.

“Do you have anything more to say?”

“…Yes… I do.”

“Save it and finish speaking in the underworld.”

“…Pardon?”

Stab—!

Seol Woon-hwi’s dagger pierced right through Woo Sang-hyeon’s neck.

Silence fell over the training ground.

I don’t care in the slightest how those people over there view me.

I have no intention of walking on eggshells around them to survive, nor was there any reason to do so in the first place.

Positions and titles don’t exist for nothing.

This was how it was originally supposed to be.

Especially in a tiny backwater like Snow Pressure, one person acting as the head is more than enough.

Having two or more is what causes real problems. I merely normalized things, so what more was needed?

Staring at them quietly, I pointed out a man.

“You, two steps forward.”

A man with a frame a head taller than the others swallowed hard and took two steps forward, just as commanded.

“What is your name?”

“…It is Cheon Pung (踐風).”

“I am issuing an order. Select about five branch members and thoroughly raid the quarters of that dead Ya Woon-sang… as well as those two bastards.”

Regrettably, while Ya Woon-sang remained firmly in my memory, I couldn’t recall the names of the other two.

It was only natural not to remember such insignificant bastards. Fitting useless garbage like that into a mind that could hold other things would be a true waste.

Cheon Pung cupped his hands in respect and quickly selected about five branch members.

Those five had somewhat bewildered expressions, as Cheon Pung’s seniority didn’t seem to be significantly higher than theirs.

Still, it was fine.

Though my current realm was merely at the Heavenly Circulation Realm, I wouldn’t fail to recognize a talent capable of reaching at least the Gathering of the Five Qi.

Before long, the five branch members ran off somewhere, and Cheon Pung came up to report to me.

“I instructed them to bring back everything in their quarters. And though I didn’t get a chance to mention it earlier, there is a ledger.”

“A ledger?”

“Yes. A ledger personally kept by Ya Woon-sang. It will certainly be in his quarters as well.”

“In his quarters, you say… By the way, are the five branch members who just ran off trustworthy?”

“…Uh… probably…?”

I let out a sigh.

“When doing something, you must first identify what the top priority is. What is the most important thing right now regarding matters related to Ya Woon-sang?”

“…The ledger.”

“Everything he took during that time will be recorded in that ledger. Naturally, the names of his accomplices will be listed as well.”

“…”

“I’ll ask again. The reason I designated you is because I valued your aptitude quite highly. That is definitely an opportunity, and you must know it as well. So, what should you do in this situation?”

Cheon Pung swallowed hard and spoke:

“…I will go and bring it back personally.”

“I would prefer it if you brought it back undamaged if possible.”

“Of course. I will make sure to bring it back undamaged.”

“And don’t make me say things like this again next time. Understood?”

“Yes!”

“Go.”

With that, Cheon Pung sprinted off.

His speed was to the point where I wondered if he was drawing upon his Innate True Qi. At that speed, he would not only catch up to those who ran ahead earlier, but overtake them as well.

Looking around at the remaining members, I said:

“The rest of you, follow me.”

The destination was the Blue Cloud Merchant Group.

Cheong Myeong, the Master of the Blue Cloud Merchant Group, swallowed hard.

There was no way he didn’t know what was happening at the Snow Pressure Branch right now.

Seol Woon-hwi, the illegitimate son of the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Palace, was running wild right now.

He killed Ya Woon-sang, the Deputy Branch Manager, and murdered his two trusted henchmen, Woo Sang-hyeon and Kang Sang.

To be honest, he had only heard rumors up until now, but right before Cheong Myeong’s eyes lay the severed heads of those three men lined up in a row.

And between those heads, Seol Woon-hwi slid forward a stack of documents.

“Read it.”

Swallowing hard, Cheong Myeong picked up the stack of documents. Blood dripped heavily from the paper soaked in red liquid, but it was still legible.

He scanned through it rapidly. Even while doing so, Cheong Myeong carefully watched Seol Woon-hwi’s reaction.

“Don’t be frightened.”

At Seol Woon-hwi’s sudden words, Cheong Myeong felt his heart instantly put at ease.

He was a strange man.

Should he say he was a person who knew how to imbue weight into his words?

Soon, after thoroughly reading through every detail of the document once more, Cheong Myeong was just about to fall to his knees right on the spot when…

“Don’t kneel either.”

He slowly raised his head. He saw Seol Woon-hwi with an expression devoid of emotion.

He began to question whether this man was truly the same man he had known all this time.

Could it be that the original Seol Woon-hwi had died, and someone else was impersonating him in his place?

Otherwise, how could a person change like this?

“There’s no need for us to exchange lengthy words, so I’ll just ask one thing. Why did you do it?”

“…Th-That…”

“Were you that afraid of Ya Woon-sang?”

“…”

He couldn’t answer easily. It couldn’t be helped.

First, as Seol Woon-hwi asked, it was true that he was afraid of Ya Woon-sang.

But why was he afraid of Ya Woon-sang?

Looking further up, it was ultimately because the Branch Manager, Seol Woon-hwi, was a mere puppet.

In this situation, how could he not fear Ya Woon-sang?

He was a power player among power players who maintained close ties with the neighboring city of Yangryeong.

He swallowed hard.

Cheong Myeong’s mind worked rapidly.

If he answered that he was afraid of Ya Woon-sang, it would naturally lay blame on Seol Woon-hwi’s incompetence as well.

As a merchant, the only option available to Cheong Myeong in this situation was just one.

Silence.

He wanted to divert the topic as much as possible.

He intended to simply apologize, accept his punishment willingly, promise that such an event would never happen again, and beg on his hands and knees for just one chance without severing his head like those three over there.

He was planning to beg so desperately, but at Seol Woon-hwi’s following words, Cheong Myeong’s eyes widened in total shock.

“When the leader goes beyond mere incompetence to dodging responsibility entirely, it is common for a bastard who deludes himself into thinking he holds real power to run wild.”

“…Th-That… that is…”

“Isn’t it true that I’ve acted like a half-brained idiot all this time?”

Cheong Myeong’s mouth fell wide open.

He simply couldn’t comprehend why this man was suddenly acting like this.