Chapter 4

They said I could make amends.

They said I could turn it all back.

That I could overturn everything.

That’s just how the world works.

Helping someone isn’t hard. Giving money isn’t hard either. The Everlasting Snow Palace is powerful and wealthy, after all.

But teaching someone how to gain power, or how to earn money—that’s a different story.

That’s something a person must decide for themselves.

No one can help you with the very first step.

I didn’t know that. And because I didn’t, I regretted it.

In any case, there were people who supported Yawoon Sang.

Those two, over there. I had a feeling there were more, but for now, I let it slide. I was confident I could weed them all out eventually.

After a moment of silent thought, Seol Unwi continued in a calm voice.

“Cheongwoon Trading Company. It may not be a major company across the entirety of Zhongyuan, or even compared to the Everlasting Snow Palace, but here in this backwater like the Snow Compression Branch, it’s a very large one. There’s no way Yawoon Sang swallowed it whole on his own. And seeing the look on your face—full of dissatisfaction with me for killing him—and how desperately you’re defending him, it all fits.”

A cold smile formed on Seol Unwi’s lips.

“Were you pocketing the dirty money with Yawoon Sang?”

“...Th... that’s...”

“So you were.”

Honestly, there was no need to keep talking.

“That’s enough.”

It happened in a flash.

Seol Unwi drew the dagger strapped to his waist—

Thwuck—!

—and drove it straight into Kang Sang’s side.

Flash Phantom Piercing Art.

This was Seol Unwi’s own modified martial art, adapted from the Ghost Soul One Dagger Technique, the signature assassination art of the Gate of Phantom Souls.

The original technique was designed to suppress killing intent entirely and approach the target like a shadow to strike a vital point—an assassination technique. But it required far more preparation than people assumed.

First, to suppress killing intent, one had to waste unnecessary internal energy. Second, there was no guarantee a single strike would kill. Third, mastering the technique for concealing intent required significant time. Fourth, the complexity of the form made the entry barrier incredibly high.

Unwi had modified it to an extreme degree.

First, he gave up concealing killing intent and instead focused purely on the suddenness of the ambush. Second, he condensed and exploded his internal energy in an instant, allowing him to move at nearly the limit of human speed in the blink of an eye. Third, he minimized the preparatory movements to an absolute minimum.

Unwi had set dagger release points.

From the back of his waist: three ch’i (approximately 9 cm) to the left.

Four ch’i (around 12 cm) to the right.

There was no way a regular martial artist could defend against such a technique.

“Guh... ah...”

He watched Kang Sang, who groaned in agony.

Just a little farther forward, and it would pierce the heart.

Unwi asked, “Does it hurt?”

“Ta... Lord... Branch Master...”

Kang Sang wanted to live. He clutched Unwi’s arm desperately, his eyes pleading. Please pull it out. Please don’t kill me.

A gentle smile tugged at Unwi’s lips.

“You want to live?”

“Cough... y-yes... yes...”

“And yet, while lining your pockets with dirty money, you dared covet the Branch Master’s authority. And you think I should spare you?”

“Everything... cough... it’s all in the warehouse... please...”

The warehouse, huh...

“How generous of you, telling me exactly where you hid the money. Turns out you’re dumber than I thought.”

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

He’d search every spot that came to mind anyway.

Unwi shoved the dagger deeper.

Thwuck.

“Cough...”

The blade pierced Kang Sang’s heart.

His body began to collapse.

Seol Unwi grabbed the man’s hair, pulled the dagger from his chest, and then stabbed it into his throat.

Thwuck.

Blood spurted.

He twisted it to the side, and with a sickening crack, Kang Sang’s spine snapped.

Unwi pulled out the dagger and turned around.

Standing before him, trembling, was the bald-headed man.

Woo Sanghyeon.

Unwi, still holding the blood-soaked dagger, began walking toward him.

With every step Seol Unwi took forward, Woo Sanghyeon took one step back.

“L-Lord Branch Master... I... I really had no such intentions... Yawoon Sang made me do it, it was all him...”

“So, just because he told you to, you ignored your Branch Master’s authority, tried to climb over him, and planned to swallow an entire company for yourself? You have quite the sense of humor.”

“M-more importantly... Ice Snow Sword Scar will come. I know everything about Yawoon Sang’s crimes... I’ve even spoken with him in private. I—I can persuade him. I swear!”

Unwi burst into laughter.

“Oh? Were you worried about me all this time? I’m touched. I don’t know what to do with all this gratitude.”

Sanghyeon kept retreating until his back hit a scarecrow in the corner of the training yard. And Seol Unwi stood before him.

They were both about six ch’ok tall (roughly 180 cm). Though Seol Unwi was slightly shorter when measured precisely, it didn’t matter.

It was the perfect angle to drive a dagger through the neck.

“Do you have anything else to say?”

“...Yes... I do...”

“Save it for the afterlife.”

“...W-what...?”

Thwuck—!

Seol Unwi’s dagger pierced straight through Woo Sanghyeon’s throat.

****

Silence fell over the training yard.

I didn’t care what they thought of me.

I had no intention of living while watching their faces, and no reason to in the first place.

There’s a reason why positions of authority exist.

This is how it's supposed to be.

Especially in a small, backwater place like the Snow Compression Branch, only one person needs to play the role of leader.

More than one just creates problems. I merely restored it to how it should be—so what more is needed?

As I stared at them in silence, I pointed to one man.

“You. Two steps forward.”

The man, whose body was a head taller than most, swallowed hard and stepped forward as instructed.

“What’s your name?”

“...It’s Cheonpung.”

“I’ll give you an order. Choose about five branch members and raid the residences of that dead bastard Yawoon Sang... and those other two.”

Unfortunately, Yawoon Sang’s name was the only one that stuck in my mind. I couldn’t remember the names of the other two.

But it made sense. Guys that insignificant weren’t worth remembering. Stuffing my head with useless things like that would just take up space better used for something else.

Cheonpung clasped his fists in salute and soon selected about five branch members.

The five of them looked a bit bewildered—seemed Cheonpung’s status wasn’t all that much higher than theirs.

That was fine.

Even if I’m currently only at the Realm of Revolving Heavens, I know talent when I see it—and he had the potential to reach the Five Foundation Pillars one day.

Before long, the five branch members began running off, and Cheonpung came to report back.

“I instructed them to retrieve everything from their residences. Also, I forgot to mention—there’s a ledger.”

“A ledger?”

“Yes. A record written by Yawoon Sang himself. It should be there in his quarters.”

“In his quarters... But tell me, those five who ran off—can they be trusted?”

“...Uh... probably?”

I let out a sigh.

“When you’re doing something, the first thing you need to determine is the priority. What’s the most important thing right now regarding Yawoon Sang?”

“...The ledger.”

“That ledger will contain everything he’s done—naturally, it’ll also list the names of his accomplices.”

“...”

“I’ll ask again. I picked you for a reason. Because I saw potential in you. That’s your chance, and you know it. So in this situation—what should you do?”

Cheonpung swallowed again.

“...I’ll go myself and retrieve it.”

“I’d prefer if you could bring it back without damage.”

“Of course. I will. Without fail, without damage.”

“And don’t make me say something like this again. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Then go.”

Cheonpung bolted off.

He was almost drawing on innate energy with that speed. At this rate, he’d not only catch up to the others—he’d probably pass them.

I looked around and spoke.

“The rest of you, follow me.”

Our destination was Cheongwoon Trading Company.

****

Cheongwoon Trading Company

The company head, Cheongmyeong, swallowed hard.

There was no way he didn’t know what had just happened at the Snow Compression Branch.

Seol Unwi—the bastard son of the Everlasting Snow Palace—was rampaging.

He killed Yawoon Sang, the Deputy Chief, and the two loyal subordinates who followed him—Woo Sanghyeon and Kang Sang.

He had only heard rumors up to this point, but now, right before Cheongmyeong’s eyes, were the three severed heads, neatly laid out.

Between the heads, Seol Unwi pushed forward a bundle of documents.

“Read it.”

Cheongmyeong swallowed again and picked up the papers. Though soaked in blood, and still dripping red, they were legible.

He skimmed through them quickly. All the while, he kept sneaking glances at Seol Unwi.

“Don’t be scared.”

At those unexpected words from Seol Unwi, Cheongmyeong felt his chest loosen—strangely, a sudden calm washed over him.

He was an odd man.

You could say... a man who knew how to give his words weight.

Once Cheongmyeong had carefully read every line in the document, just as he was about to drop to his knees on the spot—

“Don’t kneel either.”

He slowly lifted his head. Seol Unwi stared back at him with an emotionless face.

It made him question whether this was really the same [N O V E L I G H T] man he’d known until now.

Had the real Seol Unwi died, and someone else taken his place?

If not... then how could a man change so drastically?

“We don’t need a long conversation. Just one question. Why did you do it?”

“...Th-that is...”

“Was Yawoon Sang really that terrifying?”

“...”

It wasn’t an easy question to answer. It couldn’t be.

To be honest, Seol Unwi had a point—Yawoon Sang was terrifying.

But why had he been so afraid of Yawoon Sang?

When you followed that thread back, the root cause was simple: Seol Unwi, the Branch Master, had been nothing but a scarecrow.

In a situation like that, how could anyone not be afraid of Yawoon Sang?

He had powerful connections, especially to the nearby city of Yangryeong. He was a true power player.

Cheongmyeong swallowed again.

His mind raced.

If he said he feared Yawoon Sang, it would naturally imply that Seol Unwi had been weak and incompetent.

As a merchant, there was only one logical choice left for him to make.

Silence.

He wanted to change the subject, to move away from it as fast as possible.

To just apologize, say he would accept punishment, promise never to let it happen again—just anything to avoid ending up like those three severed heads.

He was ready to beg, grovel with hands and feet, when Seol Unwi's next words made his eyes go wide.

“It’s not uncommon for a madman to go wild, thinking he has real power, in a place where the idiot at the top not only lacks ability but avoids responsibility altogether.”

“Th-that’s...”

“And it’s true, isn’t it? That I’ve been acting like some half-witted moron with half a brain this whole time?”

Cheongmyeong’s mouth dropped open.

What... what in the world was happening?