By Zephyria Exterminate the Clan (5)
“Such sophistry!”
Someone shouted with a face reddened as if he had been insulted.
“How can you compare killing a demonic cultist to what we did? You harmed a colleague in the same organization!”
“What about your mother? How do you explain killing your mother?”
Seong Mu-yeon’s face sank coldly. His heart cooled just as much. Dozens of people, all with grim faces, surrounded him.
Seong Mu-yeon consciously tried not to look at Gang Woong and Peng Yuan-jin as he opened his mouth stiffly.
“I don’t want to talk about that.”
“Nonsense! You have nothing to say! Yang Ha-gakju, why don’t you explain it in detail?”
As people looked at Yang Ha-gakju as if expecting an explanation, he stepped forward.
“There’s not much to explain. The devilish Seventh Young master Seong Mu-yeon suddenly went mad and caused a bloodbath. According to my informants, a young boy suddenly burst into the banquet hall and killed three hundred unarmed cultists in front of everyone before being subdued. Later, the Seventh Young master’s mother was found dead in her quarters. Who else could have done it?”
“Have you ever seen such an outrageous parricide! Is it okay to keep someone like this inside? He must have killed Je Cheon-deuk of Jecheondeuk Dojo too. I heard that Je Cheon-deuk Dojo was interfering with his work, so he eliminated him, didn’t he?”
“I’m not stupid enough to do something like that. If I were going to take revenge, I would have dealt with it quietly after everything was over, when things were peaceful.”
Seong Mu-yeon stared intently at Yang Ha-gakju. The rat-like Yang Ha-gakju seemed frightened, his face noticeably paling as he slipped into the crowd.
“Look at that!”
“How creepy.”
At that moment, a young disciple of the Wudang Sect ran over. Elder Hyeon-jin whispered something to him, and his face became filled with embarrassment.
“…They say there are no signs of homicide on Cheon-deuk’s body.”
“T-That’s…”
A silence fell over the hall. Elder Hyeon-jin, who had been staring at Seong Mu-yeon with a troubled expression, let out a heavy sigh.
“I have to take care of my disciples, so I’ll be leaving now. You all come with me.”
“…Yes.”
The faces of the Wudang disciples turned dark under Elder Hyeon-jin’s stern gaze. As their anger towards the enemy who killed their fellow disciple lost its target, they began to sob again.
As the Wudang Sect dragged their feet and disappeared, the remaining people stood awkwardly, unable to even look at Seong Mu-yeon.
Seong Mu-yeon cast a cold gaze at them and turned away.
“……”
As Seong Mu-yeon left, silence fell over the hall. Unable to do anything, they looked at each other, and finally, someone opened their mouth.
“Sh-Shouldn’t we go after him?”
No one stepped forward easily, and time passed in vain. Eventually, someone among the conflicted people drew their weapon.
“We can’t just let him go.”
“That’s right! No matter what, let’s catch him first and then talk.”
“Let’s go!”
“Stop! Didn’t you hear? Young master Seong Mu-yeon did nothing wrong!”
Unable to bear it any longer, Gang Woong spread his arms wide and stood in their way. But before dozens of martial artists, the boy was too small and fragile.
“Shut up! What does a kid know about what adults are talking about! Get out of the way. Are you saying we should just let someone who could be a threat to us go free!”
Just as the martial artists were about to draw their weapons and chase after him, a sharp Sword Energy flew from somewhere and split the ground in front of them.
“Heartless Sword!”
Before they knew it, Baek Ryeo-il was glaring at them with fierce eyes. Thanks to the splint holding his broken arm in place, the unbuttoned flaps of his top fluttered, revealing his bandaged upper body. He still looked sickly, but his eyes were more vivid than before.
With a blank face, he slowly scanned the faces of the people surrounding him, as if warning them.
He was so fierce that everyone froze like statues, unable to even make a sound.
Soon, Baek Ryeo-il turned sharply and disappeared after Seong Mu-yeon, who was already far away.
“What are you doing? Are you afraid of a mere invalid?!”
Yang Ha-gakju shouted at the people standing like fixtures, then turned and left, unable to contain his anger.
He left the estate without hesitation, but as soon as he stepped outside, Seong Mu-yeon stopped. A wide road stretched out before him, and people who looked like farmers and merchants were hurrying along.
Seong Mu-yeon sighed softly.
He had nowhere to go.
He walked aimlessly, letting his feet take him wherever they would, until he arrived at that place. Seong Mu-yeon looked down at the river where he had fallen, its surface flowing in curves.
Seong Mu-yeon’s face crumpled. He felt disgusted.
‘I should have cursed them more.’
He couldn’t shake off his anger. He stubbornly repeated the thought, feeling the cold wind harshly scraping his skin.
The surprised faces of Gang Woong and Peng Yuan-jin appeared before his eyes. What would they think of him…? Shouldn’t he go back now and offer a few more excuses? They were among the few people in his life who trusted him.
But when he imagined himself desperately making excuses, he felt utterly miserable.
‘Who would believe me?’
Seong Mu-yeon ground out curses between his teeth and rubbed his eyes.
What tormented him even more was the constant image of his mother’s last moments.
The small box he had hidden away and tightly closed in his heart was opening.
Seong Mu-yeon turned around at the sound of rustling leaves underfoot, and Baek Ryeo-il was standing there.
Meeting his stern face, Seong Mu-yeon felt his heart plummet down a bottomless cliff. His chest felt cold. The chilling cold spread from his heart, and soon his heart began to beat like crazy. His hands and feet went numb, and his legs even trembled.
“Go away.”
He turned away. He didn’t want to face anyone right now. Especially not Baek Ryeo-il…
“Seong Mu-yeon.”
“Just go!”
Seong Mu-yeon flinched at the hand that carefully touched his shoulder.
“Judging by your reaction, it doesn’t seem like that guy made it all up. Is it true?”
“……”
Seong Mu-yeon’s face crumpled miserably. He must have heard the commotion in front of the room.
Among the anger and annoyance, a feeling of shame slowly raised its head.
In fact, he knew.
The words he had been spouting as if defending himself, saying ‘There was a good reason’ and ‘They deserved to die,’ were actually just excuses to protect himself.
“So what if it is? Is Dojo going to point his sword at me too?”
He sneered as much as he could, but his voice trembled terribly, so it wasn’t very effective.
But Seong Mu-yeon was even more surprised by the words he had uttered. When he first met him, he was afraid because he thought Baek Ryeo-il could kill him more easily than stepping on an ant. Hadn’t he tried countless times to run far, far away to a place out of his reach?
But now he was casually spouting dangerous remarks that would make him seem like an enemy. Just as he was anxiously wondering if he had relaxed too much, Baek Ryeo-il said nonchalantly.
“Do you think I’m stupid enough to believe that you, who are used to fighting without batting an eye even when covered in blood, have never killed anyone? I expected as much. You’re just being quiet now.”
Seeing Baek Ryeo-il shrug as if it were nothing, Seong Mu-yeon felt even angrier for some reason.
Seong Mu-yeon gritted his teeth.
“Yes, it’s because I’m powerless that I haven’t done anything! Isn’t that fortunate? Otherwise, I might have killed everyone who was there just now.”
Just like that day.
He would have cut down everyone in his path and soaked the earth with hot blood.
“Maybe you would have.”
Seong Mu-yeon’s heart grew cold when Baek Ryeo-il easily admitted it. He didn’t know what he wanted.
“I think you’re mistaken about one thing…”
Seong Mu-yeon squeezed his eyes shut as Baek Ryeo-il spoke quietly. He was afraid of the words he would say next.
“Do you think I’d let you do something like that?”
Seong Mu-yeon was dumbfounded. He stared at him blankly for a while, his mind blank.
“I can just tie you up and lock you in a room.”
“……”
Baek Ryeo-il was more than capable of doing that.
Seong Mu-yeon let out a hollow laugh. Since when did this man have such broad tolerance?
Perhaps… the thought that this might be the mercy he showed only to him made his heart flutter in a way that was inappropriate for the situation. Just a moment ago, he had barely managed to restrain his desire to slaughter everything in the world.
But soon his heart cooled.
As he quietly spread his trembling hands, it was as if the red blood that had soaked them that day was reviving.
“I won’t be any different from the demonic cultist that Dojo despises.”