Reincarnated Sword Ghost

Area Magistrate

Heavenly Blade Gate was thus annihilated.

From the very beginning, they had no intention of letting even a single one live.

All of them had been fiends who tried to bolster their martial arts by using people as nourishment.

Just thinking about the innocents who were sacrificed made talking about turning over a new leaf seem ridiculous.

In fact, even expecting them to show remorse felt like hypocrisy.

"As expected."

Tang Yerin approached with a complicated look on her face. This was after she said she would inspect various parts of the estate.

Tang Yerin glanced at the corpses of the already-dead villains and continued, her eyes burning with anger.

"There are corpses of the common folk all over the place. There are even children amongst them. These monsters, they're truly..."

Tang Yerin trailed off with a sigh, as if unable to find words harsh enough to describe them.

Jeong-un understood her feelings.

He knew all too well what the bodies defiled by such men would end up looking like.

After seeing such horrors with one's own eyes, even words like 'heinous' would fall short.

Meanwhile, Baek Il-gang, who had gone earlier to search the office, returned with several booklets, looking as if he expected this outcome.

These were the record books describing the flow of silver coins given to the area magistrate by those men.

It was decisive evidence of corruption within the local government.

Jeong-un spoke.

"Young hero Baek, please search the Gate Leader's quarters once more, thoroughly. There may be traces of communication with their main headquarters aside from these books. Jo Gwang, please go inform the area magistrate of this place about the situation."

"It's certain they reached into the government offices—are you sure this is wise?"

Jo Gwang asked, his face somewhat uncomfortable.

It was already obvious that the area magistrate here had colluded with the Blood Cult.

The expression on his face clearly said he wasn't sure if it was safe to report so readily to the authorities.

It implied concern that, if evidence of their connection emerged, the magistrate might try to pull some trick to hide it.

'Even if that's the case.'

Jeong-un thought so inwardly.

At most, their collusion probably amounted to accepting silver coins from the villains periodically and turning a blind eye to their activities.

After all, it wasn't uncommon for a local official to receive money from a martial sect that dominated the region.

It was so common, in fact, that one might not even think of it as a crime.

However, it was quite a different story if that martial sect turned out to be a filthy cult.

Simply claiming ignorance was never going to settle it.

After concluding his thoughts, Jeong-un spoke up.

"Don't mention the ledgers Young hero Baek found. Just say that we discovered and subjugated an unorthodox group masquerading as a legitimate sect and that we need help with the aftermath. That'll be enough for him to rush over in a panic, eager to erase any evidence of involvement."

"Understood."

Jo Gwang nodded and vanished using his lightness skill.

"Then I'll check if anything else of note can be found before the rest of them show up."

"I'm counting on you."

As Baek Il-gang also disappeared toward the inner part of the estate, Jeong-un turned to Tang Yerin.

"I need to write a letter to report to the corps leader."

He thus set about composing a report on the paper Tang Yerin handed over.

It detailed everything they had gone through so far and all the information the villain had uttered before death.

Once the letter was sealed, he handed it to Tang Yerin.

She used her lightness skill to leap up onto the roof of the highest pavilion in the estate—to summon White Hawk, the divine beast of the Heavenly Martial Hall.

They said that hundreds of these birds, bred by the Heavenly Martial Hall, were constantly patrolling all over the Central Plains.

The one flying closest would soon arrive.

Before long, Jo Gwang appeared, accompanied by the area magistrate of Nampung-hyeon.

Behind them stood over a hundred government soldiers, all carrying spears.

The area magistrate's face was slack with shock as he stared down at the shattered main gates of Heavenly Blade Gate, and he crossed the threshold slowly.

At the sight before him, he flinched, his complexion instantly turning pale.

"W-what is this...?!"

There were dozens of martial artists' corpses.

It was a scene most people would never witness in their whole lives.

The government soldiers who followed likewise turned ashen, speechless as they gazed at the bloodstained training Hall of the estate.

Then, spotting Jeong-un standing at the front, the area magistrate rushed over in a fluster.

"Are you the one leading the warriors of the Heavenly Martial Hall?"

"I am Yu Jeong-un of the Blue Scale Corps."

He greeted him with a martial salute.

The area magistrate, already pale, flinched a bit at the formal and precise greeting.

Jeong-un spoke.

"These were an extremely vicious unorthodox group. Because it was a confidential mission, we were unable to inform you in advance and acted first. I ask for your understanding."

"U-understanding, you say...?"

The area magistrate managed an awkward smile as he wiped sweat from his brow with the back of his hand.

"You took care of a matter that should rightly have been my responsibility—I can only be grateful."

"Thank you for saying so."

"And... just to check, have you already completed the search of this place?"

"Not yet."

Jeong-un shook his head.

"That's actually why we called you. As you can see, there are only four of us, so we're sorely lacking in manpower to thoroughly search such a large estate, not to mention disposing of the bodies. We also have to identify the unfortunate commoners who fell victim to them."

At that, the area magistrate's face noticeably brightened, like he'd just received wonderful news.

Straightening his shoulders, he patted Jeong-un on the shoulder.

"Ha, haha! I see. Leave it to me, then. Since you've worked hard, you should go inside and rest now!"

Turning to the government soldiers, he shouted,

"What are you waiting for? Gather up all these filthy villains' corpses and burn them! Search every building in the place thoroughly and bring anything you find to me! Not a single thing is to be overlooked!"

He glanced at Jeong-un before hurriedly adding,

"... Before that, clear out a pavilion so that the heroes of the Heavenly Martial Hall have a clean place to rest!"

"Yes, sir!"

The government soldiers began rushing throughout the estate.

His companions eyed Jeong-un strangely.

Tang Yerin stared at him wide-eyed before bursting into a wry laugh.

Jo Gwang, coming close, whispered to Jeong-un.

"You really handle these matters skillfully."

Jeong-un pretended not to hear and slipped into a nearby pavilion.

* * *

While chaos reigned outside, they sat around a table inside.

Baek Il-gang said he had searched the Gate Leader's office and the adjacent pavilions before the government soldiers arrived, but there was nothing special—only more ledgers documenting the silver coins the area magistrate had received.

Jeong-un had already reported everything about the magistrate by letter.

No matter what, they could not recklessly lay a hand on a government official.

The best course was to deliver a report with clear, irrefutable evidence.

Reporting to the Heavenly Martial Hall would result in the Murim Alliance conveying the matter to the royal family.

"That man will have a hard time avoiding execution."

"Is it really that serious?"

Jo Gwang asked in surprise at Baek Il-gang's words, apparently thinking being dismissed from office was the worst that could happen.

"It's not just that he accepted silver coins from martial artists but that he ignored a unorthodox faction that kidnapped and murdered commoners. Without even knowing why, he'll end up cleaning up after us and then disappear."

Jeong-un offered no further comments at that.

It wasn't like the man deserved any sympathy.

Anyone who acted as he had should pay for it.

He hadn't even pretended to look for the missing innocents.

Tang Yerin, glancing at Jeong-un, spoke up.

"More importantly, I think we need to discuss what to do next."

"Do you have any ideas?"

Baek Il-gang asked Jeong-un.

Although they both wore two stripes, it was clear that Jeong-un was in charge and had the authority to decide their actions.

Jeong-un answered,

"I've sent a letter detailing the results. For now, we should wait for a reply. This isn't a mission that ends here—further instructions will come."

"So we have to stay here quietly for a few days."

Baek Il-gang leaned back, arms folded, looking somewhat disappointed that things had concluded so quickly.

"If you're so disappointed, go act the chivalrous hero for a bit on your own. Just don't annoy the squad leader."

"When did you start calling Young Hero Yu 'squad leader'? You used to call him two-stripe warrior until only recently."

"What does the number of stripes matter? The important thing is not rank but assigned position. There's a difference between a two-stripe who has completed solo missions and one who has just graduated from one-stripe."

"You've got to be kidding."

As Jo Gwang and Baek Il-gang continued their banter, the area magistrate's voice came from outside, saying that they were done with the clean-up.

Jeong-un went out and looked down at him.

"Is everything finished?"

"All the bodies have been burned and the traces have been sorted and brought out. I plan to conduct a thorough investigation at the local office and report to the district head."

"And the victims?"

"Hm?"

Jeong-un widened his eyes and gave instructions in a calm tone as the area magistrate looked blank.

"There are bodies of commoners who were murdered all over the estate. Please carefully collect them in one place, identify who they were, locate their families, and call them. Make sure to give them generous compensation as well."

"What is this...?"

"Do you not want to do it?"

Jeong-un gazed at the area magistrate with a blank face, completely looking down on him.

The government soldiers, startled, exchanged nervous glances and subtly leveled their spears.

After all, this was the area magistrate, the man in charge of the region.

They found Jeong-un's attitude exceedingly rude.

"..."

But the area magistrate, after looking at Jeong-un for a moment, forced an awkward smile and spoke.

"N-no, of course not. It's my duty. Even without your saying so, I intended to do exactly that. It's just, phrased like that, it puts me in a strange spot."

"Let me know when the work is done."

"I will."

Tap.

With that, Jeong-un closed the door right in his face and reentered the room.

Jo Gwang, having watched the scene, spoke in a concerned voice.

"Was it wise to be so high-handed? The royal family hasn't formally dismissed him yet..."

"His mind must be in turmoil right now,"

Jeong-un said as he sat back down, sounding relaxed.

"He's guilty but is relieved he didn't find any evidence, and at the same time, he's worried that we may have taken it. If we have it, he might have to bribe us; if not, admitting fault could be a confession of guilt. For a while, he'll have no choice but to watch us carefully. That's fine—we just use him as we need for now. The royal family will take care of his punishment when the time comes."

The others watched Jeong-un in surprise for a moment.

Jeong-un looked at the expressions around him with confusion.

"Why are you all looking at me like that?"

Baek Il-gang shook his head.

"You've become a true inhabitant of the martial world."

"That Young Hero Jeong-un who used to be so pure..."

Even Tang Yerin shook her head in lament, and Jeong-un stared at them, clueless about the reason.