It was Jin Gocheok of the Flame King Temple, smashing a black cudgel down onto the pillar of the shed.“You bastard! Die! Die! Die!”―Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!Jin Gocheok, like a madman, struck the pillar repeatedly with his cudgel, and at last, the pillar snapped with a cracking sound. Along with it, part of the roof collapsed with a loud crash.Resting the cudgel across his shoulder, Jin Gocheok turned to look at Wang Cheolgo.“I went out of my way to show some big-hearted generosity, and now you’re trying to repay kindness with betrayal?”“Ugh…”“Wang Cheolgo! You should be ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) grateful this cudgel only struck that pillar. If the local constable wasn’t here, this cudgel would’ve already been lodged in your bastard son’s neck.”The assistant constable, Gu Chunyang, called toward Jin Gocheok of the Flame King Temple.“Hey now. I told you not to cause trouble, didn’t I?”“Well, no one's actually hurt yet, right?”The assistant constable, Gu Chunyang, leaned closer to Wang Cheolgo and spoke in a low voice.“To be honest, even I can’t handle that man. And our magistrate despises noisy incidents within his jurisdiction. Meaning, if you refuse to comply with this settlement, you and your family will be expelled to the wilderness.”All color drained completely from Wang Cheolgo’s face.“Ah…”Gu Chunyang produced a writing brush and an inkstone.“You know how to write your own name, don’t you? Hurry up and sign. You’ve already settled down here—surely this place holds more hope than that desolate hometown you left behind?”―Bang! Bang! Bang! Crash!Another of the shed’s pillars shattered and collapsed.“Look at that, before the whole damn shed comes crashing down, sign the papers.”“Ah…”“Tsk, your son’s about to stop breathing. Shouldn’t saving your boy come first?”Wang Cheolgo, pulling his choking son So Cheongi into a tight embrace, had eyes full of tears.“It’s alright… it’s alright…”His trembling hand gripped the brush. ****“Yaaawn!”Leaving the inn, Ju Yeoryeong let out a long yawn.“Why’re we leaving so early? The shed’s almost done, we could’ve eaten breakfast at the inn’s dining hall and gone leisurely.”“Miss Ju, you can stay behind.”“Hey now, that’s not how it works. Like I said yesterday, a woman sitting alone in an inn’s dining hall attracts all kinds of filthy bastards—huh? Now that I think about it, those filthy bastards are strangely quiet today. What’s going on?”Kwak Yeon shook his head and walked ahead.Because of the Grand Scholar’s invitation last night, he hadn’t been able to replenish So Cheongi’s True Energy.He’d set out early to do so, but Ju Yeoryeong had tagged along insistently.Perhaps she really thought herself a needle trailing thread.Before long, Kwak Yeon entered Wang Cheolgo’s village and sensed something was off.“What is it? Why’re you suddenly—oh… oh no…”Ju Yeoryeong sensed the mood too.Collapsed sheds and villagers sitting in stunned silence met their eyes.Kwak Yeon stopped in his tracks as he stepped into Wang Cheolgo’s yard.“What happened here? Ah…”Ju Yeoryeong let out a low groan at the sight of shattered jade fragments scattered across the ground.Wang Cheolgo sat slumped in front of the half-destroyed shed, his expression vacant.Kwak Yeon’s mind recalled the middle-aged man from the Sangwan Family.It was him.There’d been no signs until now, so he’d wondered if his concern was misplaced.“Brother Wang, how is So Cheongi?”Wang Cheolgo forced his mouth open with difficulty.“He’s with his mother in the room. He’s calmed down a little, but…”Kwak Yeon noticed Wang Cheolgo’s eyes were swollen and his knuckles scraped raw.He’d vented his frustration by punching the walls.“Miss Ju, please take care of So Cheongi.”“Understood.”Ju Yeoryeong rushed into the house.Kwak Yeon grabbed Wang Cheolgo’s bloodied fist.“…!”His chest tightened.Wang Cheolgo’s grief and resentment surged through him, and the fire dragon within his body awoke.“Speak.”“…”“That is the beginning.”It was the start of pulling himself out of the mire of self-reproach. For Kwak Yeon, it was the beginning of punishing injustice.“One must be ruthless when carrying out righteous acts.”Recalling the voice from Hyunmun Dojang, Kwak Yeon gripped Wang Cheolgo’s hand firmly.By the time Ju Yeoryeong emerged after watching over So Cheongi, Kwak Yeon’s figure had already vanished. ****Kwak Yeon stepped into a shabby gambling den in Deokseong Prefecture.“Business is closed.”The gambling hall owner, clearing the disordered table after the last of the gamblers stormed off, spoke with irritation.Kwak Yeon ignored him and approached, unfolding a silk certificate.“Gasp!”The gambling hall owner recognized the Hao Clan’s gratitude token at a glance—he also knew who possessed it.The entire Hao Clan was in an uproar because of that one man, as if a beehive had been smashed.The gambling den owner, Deokseong Prefecture’s Hao Clan branch leader, bowed respectfully.“Great hero, what do you desire?”“Assistant Constable Gu Chunyang. I need to know where he is—immediately.”―Clink.A gold coin rolled across the messy gambling table, flashing brightly.“We don’t charge the bearer of a gratitude token, but…”―Clink.Another gold coin rolled down.A silent demand to spare no time.“I’ll find out right away.”The gambling hall owner dashed out, returning within less than a moment, panting heavily.“He’s at Gijeong Pavilion right now. Apparently, the assistant constables threw some grand feast last night—word’s been all over town.”“Where is Gijeong Pavilion?”The moment he heard the location, Kwak Yeon turned to leave.The gambling hall owner blinked rapidly, watching him vanish like smoke.“Damn… Old Gu, you’re screwed today. Just what did you do…?”His eyes wavered as he stared at the gleaming gold on the gambling table.“What now…?”He was remembering the gold he’d received as a bribe days prior—and those ice-cold eyes.“It’s still early morning… maybe no one will know he came here?”The gambling hall owner shivered violently.Because he knew—a man like that wouldn’t fall for excuses.It was the kind of gaze you might not encounter even once in a lifetime.The gambling hall owner made up his mind.Within the Hao Clan, gratitude token obligations only extended to fulfilling requests—it was another matter entirely if the token bearer became the target.Tucking the gold into his robe, the gambling hall owner approached his desk.Opening a drawer, he pulled out a portrait and let out a faint sigh.“Damn, I prayed he wouldn’t show up here of all places…”As the Hao Clan’s Deokseong Prefecture branch leader, he had a feeling his prayers wouldn’t be answered.From the moment those ice-cold eyes said his tracks would vanish after Deokseong.There was only one punishment for breaking a commissioned request.Death.Rustle!The gambling hall owner crumpled the portrait and grabbed his brush.Normally used for jotting down gambling debts in the ledger, today, he wrote only three characters:Gijeong Pavilion.He couldn’t refuse an accepted request, but the amount of information given was entirely at the discretion of each Hao Clan operative.Rip!Tearing the page from the ledger, the owner locked the gambling hall’s door. Then, for a moment, he stared at the upside-down jar illustration painted in the corner of the door.Sigh… this is why people say the Hao Clan is the sewer of the martial world.The only thing he could do for the gratitude token’s master now was to walk as slowly as possible.Even as he questioned how much easing his conscience that would buy him, he still hoped it might create some small variable in the situation.Morning sunlight shone upon the back of the gambling hall owner, walking along steeped in the misery of being stuck at the bottom of the martial world. ****“Damn it!”Lying in bed, Deokseong Prefecture assistant constable Gu Chunyang frowned at the wavering shadow overhead.“Seohyang, didn’t I say I was sleeping in today?”“My lord, you need to get up.”“I’ve been working at the office all night. I haven’t slept a wink.”“Even so, you have to get up.”“Ugh, woman, you’re so damn loud… keh!”Grabbed by the throat, Gu Chunyang was yanked straight out of bed and slammed onto the floor.Crash!“Which bastard dares lay a hand on a constable—ugh!”Recognizing Kwak Yeon in an instant, Gu Chunyang recoiled in horror.“G-Great hero, why are you here…?”Kwak Yeon glanced at Seohyang, trembling in the corner.“Is that someone worth risking your life for?”“N-Not at all. She just whined so much I brought her in, that’s all…”“I trust you won’t waste your breath calling for help. I’ll get rid of that leech for you.”“Y-Yes, understood.”Seohyang bolted out of the room, and Gu Chunyang, his face pale as death, stammered.“Is there… is there something you wish to inquire about? I’ll tell you everything.”“You will indeed.”“Wh-What…?”“Wang Cheolgo, from Sangjeon Village.”“Those bumpkins? Why them…?”“He’s my sworn brother.”“Gasp!”Gu Chunyang pissed himself slightly.“I’ll tell you everything! Everything!”He confessed everything.From the county magistrate drafting the settlement contract to roaming the village all night with the Flame King Temple thugs.“This was all orchestrated by Qingwo Hall’s branch master, under the Sangwan Family’s orders. We constables just followed the magistrate’s instructions.”Kwak Yeon poured out the pouch on the table.Clatter! Jingle!Silver coins scattered everywhere.“I-I was wrong… The Flame King Temple boss bribed me, so I—”“You’re paid to protect the common folk, yet you’re the first to harm them? That’s your price?”“P-Please, spare me. It was a brief lapse in—”Kwak Yeon seized his right hand and crushed it.Crack, crackle!“Arghhhh!”“Seems I made a mistake too.”“Wh-What…?”“I meant to twist your neck. Guess I slipped. I won’t make that mistake next time.”“Great hero, please! Spare me, I’ll do anything you say—anything!”Kwak Yeon looked down at Gu Chunyang, still groveling, clutching his crushed hand.“This makes twice I’ve come looking for you. There won’t be a third time. Understand?”It meant the next visit would be his last—Gu Chunyang wouldn’t leave alive.“I understand. I understand completely.”Seeing a sliver of hope for survival, Gu Chunyang forgot the pain in his shattered hand.“Just tell me what to do, I’ll do anything.”“Orders will come later. First, tell me where the contracts and documents are.”“Qingwo Hall! The Flame King Temple boss, Gong Yeomgak, gathered them and took them to Qingwo Hall.”“…”“It’s true. After that Flame King Temple bastard visited Qingwo Hall yesterday, we had drinks together.”“Boss Gong Yeomgak and the Flame King Temple, where are they now?”“Go out the eastern gate of the prefecture. There’s an estate called Geumseong Manor—that’s the Flame King Temple’s local headquarters. They’re all staying there.”“…”“It’s true. I heard they’re settling the accounts there today, then returning to their regions. They’ve finished their business here.”Kwak Yeon nodded slightly.“Now, summon all the other constables gathered at this pavilion.”

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