The Terminally Ill Young Master of the Baek Clan

The only younger brother of the Clan Head.

One of the pillars of the clan, leading the Red Dragon Corps.

The claim was that Baek Jin-tae, with such a reputation, was colluding with external forces and intended to kill the two sons of the Clan Head. The atmosphere in the hall had become chillingly tense due to this bolt-from-the-blue accusation.

No one dared to react to the shocking news.

Except for the person in question, Baek Jin-tae.

“Ha ha ha! Yi-gang, you’re playing a funny game.”

Baek Jin-tae laughed heartily as if genuinely amused.

It was a refreshing laugh that would confuse those who knew of his madness because he couldn’t stop laughing.

“A game…”

“Yes, it seems that Ha-jun was seriously hurt. He seems to have dreamt while he was unconscious. Seeing that he can’t differentiate between reality and dreams.”

A few of the elders giggled at Baek Jin-tae’s words.

Perhaps because Ha-jun’s accusation was so sudden, almost no one seemed to believe him outright.

“No… I really saw it.”

Ha-jun murmured with a pale face.

“So, you’re saying I, Baek Jin-tae, was hiding in the Black Ghost Manor in disguise and wearing that suspicious mask.”

“…”

“Knowing that you would come, I waited.”

Baek Jin-tae laughed while speaking.

“Did you say you saw the face of the man in the mask?”

“Yes, I did…”

“And those from the Low Down Sect who were with you, as well as the members of the Biyeon Squad who saved you, they all must have seen it too.”

Ha-jun remained silent.

None of them had seen the face of the masked man. In fact, neither had Baek Ha-jun.

“It was a chaotic situation due to the poison gas. They couldn’t see ahead because they were rescuing me.”

“So, only you, who was stabbed in the chest, saw it.”

“Yes, but the truth is the truth.”

Ha-jun glared at Baek Jin-tae as he spoke. But he eventually looked away, as if something had stung him internally.

Yi-gang stepped forward, blocking the way. It was Yi-gang who had made Ha-jun give this false testimony.

“Uncle, do you think Ha-jun wouldn’t recognize a family member’s face?”

“You, Yi-gang. Heh, I thought what nonsense you were spouting in front of the elders. It was you who prompted this, wasn’t it?”

Unlike Ha-jun, Yi-gang looked at Baek Jin-tae confidently.

“How shocked must Ha-jun have been. I never thought it, considering how incompetently the Red Dragon Corps acted, failing to find a clue about the assailants. But from Ha-jun’s perspective, he might have thought his uncle had betrayed him.”

“A traumatized child might have seen things incorrectly. But Yi-gang, you will have to take responsibility.”

Baek Jin-tae did not hide his energy. Although his face wore a smile, the prickling rage could be visibly seen on his skin.

Whispers spread among the elders.

“This is absolutely ridiculous…”

“In all my years, I’ve never seen such a thing.”

It seemed they had a hard time believing Ha-jun’s testimony.

Baek Jin-tae and Yi-gang verbally sparred as if in a swordfight.

“Why would the masked man suddenly remove his own mask?”

“Perhaps the mask was removed due to intense movement.”

“Someone at the level of martial master?”

“It’s brazen of you to call yourself a martial master. Why couldn’t it have come off?”

The crying mask was studded with silver pins, and because they were embedded in the face, it’s impossible for it to come off.

Baek Jin-tae held back from saying just that.

“Enough with the nonsense. This place isn’t a playground for kids.”

The public sentiment was not in favor of Yi-gang.

The elders cast displeased glances. It seemed like they thought these young men, almost like young grandsons, were making unreasonable claims.

“If you have no concrete evidence, sit down.”

Of course, the current situation wasn’t favorable for Baek Jin-tae.

Once the seed of suspicion was sown, there was the possibility that evidence of collusion would be revealed. If they managed to escape the current situation, they would have to destroy all evidence.

Grand Elder, who had remained silent until now, added her thoughts, “Yi-gang, Ha-jun. Words carry responsibility. Your words seem to lack weight.”

Thus, it appeared that the rebellion led by Yi-gang and Ha-jun had come to a temporary end. At least until Yi-gang responded.

“We have another witness.”

“A witness?”

Upon hearing the word “witness,” Baek Jin-tae’s expression hardened.

Then, the doors to the Council of Elders opened. The first to show his face was the Clan Head.

“Clan Head…!”

“Grand Elder.”

Baek Ryu-san was not yet in a state to move on his own. The general supported him by the shoulder.

The elders stood up to pay their respects to Clan Head.

Baek Ryu-san and Baek Jin-tae’s eyes met in the void.

“I came because the matter is grave.”

No one had expected the bedridden Clan Head to come all the way here.

The elders’ views of Yi-gang and Ha-jun changed. The fact that the ailing Clan Head had personally made the journey was no ordinary matter.

Behind Clan Head, several people stood in support.

“I am Geumhwa, the Low Down Sect Xi’an Branch Manager.”

“I am Jeong Gu of Low Down Sect.”

Low Down Sect, who had been continuing the investigation at Yi-gang’s request, were the primary witnesses. No one had considered the principle that only those with permission could enter the Council of Elders.

“On behalf of Low Down Sect, upon the request of Young Master Yi-gang, we have been investigating the assassins who attacked him. We have achieved some notable results. Among the assassins, there was a member of a sect called Black Ghost Manor.”

Geumhwa and Jeong Gu began to elaborate on the story without being prompted.

The elders knew that Yi-gang had commissioned Low Down Sect for the investigation, but the results were more thorough and systematic than expected.

The elders were first surprised by the thoroughness of the report and secondly by the fact that they had made tangible progress.

“So, did these Black Ghost Manor scoundrels get massacred?”

“Yes, they were slaughtered by a masked man.”

“And the evidence?”

“We managed to find a surviving member from Black Ghost Manor.”

Baek Jin-tae’s eyes widened momentarily. All of the Black Ghost Manor members had been personally killed.

“Although he was stabbed with a knife, we discovered him hiding alive inside a well.”

The man who claimed to be a member from Black Ghost Manor was kneeling with a bandage wrapped around his chest.

With a trembling voice, he testified.

“Our leader made contact with a suspicious force. He received, received a substantial amount of gold coins from them…”

In front of the elders of the Baek Clan, the member from Black Ghost Manor trembled violently.

“In exchange, he borrowed our manpower. Occasionally, a masked man would come to converse with our leader. But that day, he suddenly betrayed and killed everyone.”

Baek Jin-tae felt a twitch coming at the corners of his mouth.

He wanted to immediately draw his sword and cut the man down.

“Before I jumped into the well, I heard our leader saying… ‘Baek Jin-tae, how could you…’”

“Nonsense!”

Unable to contain himself, Baek Jin-tae shouted.

The leader of Black Ghost Manor never knew his identity. It was abhorrent to see someone brazenly perjuring like this.

However, the glares of the elders turned increasingly intense. The situation had shifted from just moments ago.

And then, another witness stepped forward.

Baek Jin-tae could only stand frozen.

“I’m a warrior from the Second Corps of the Red Dragon Corps, known as Soryu.”

His most beloved Soryu. She resembled his deceased younger sister, to whom he even personally taught martial arts.

With a calm expression, Soryu testified, “The commander periodically went on excursions, accompanied only by the most trusted members from the First Corps.”

“Soryu…!”

“And, I witnessed the commander returning with a peculiar mask in his possession.”

It was the testimony of a member of the Red Dragon Corps, no less.

The atmosphere within the hall took a drastic turn in an instant.

The excuse of mere child’s play no longer held. Baek Jin-tae was inevitably going to face an investigation.

“If Uncle claims to be wronged, then we should verify it,” Yi-gang said in a quiet tone.

“We should start by searching for that mask.”

Baek Jin-tae had not imagined this turn of events.

No, he did consider that catastrophe might befall him the moment he engaged with those suspicious individuals.

“Heh. Huh…”

But he never thought things would go awry like this. To be outsmarted by Yi-gang, whom he had deemed insignificant, that young lad!

Although the mask was hidden in a secret compartment of his residence, with time, it would eventually be discovered.

“So, it has come to this…”

As Baek Jin-tae drew his sword, he shouted loudly, “First Corps—!”

The First Corps members were those who showed absolute loyalty. The priority was to get out of this place. Baek Jin-tae summoned the First Corps members who were waiting outside.

“…”

However, those who should have drawn their swords and charged in immediately did not do so.

Instead, leisurely footsteps sounded.

“Jin-tae, you scoundrel!”

It was Elder Baek Do-yeom who appeared.

Not having attended the Council of Elders and having been somewhere else, there was blood on his face.

“Did you look for these fellows?”

He tossed something he held in his right hand.

The object that thudded and rolled was a man’s severed head.

It was the captain of the First Corps.

“I did find it suspicious. But to think you’d draw a sword on me and the Law Enforcement Chief, trying to enter your house.”

“Ha!”

“Don’t worry. I’ve left a few of them alive. We can slowly hear the story.”

While the Council of Elders meeting was underway and Baek Jin-tae was held up here, it was clear that Baek Do-yeom had led an attack on Baek Jin-tae’s residence.

Why Baek Do-yeom collaborated with Yi-gang and the Clan Head was unknown, but Baek Jin-tae soon realized this had been a well-set trap from the beginning.

“I found something interesting too.”

Saying that, Baek Do-yeom took out a mask from his pocket. It was undoubtedly the crying mask Baek Jin-tae had hidden.

Drip—

Blood streamed from Baek Jin-tae’s nose.

He was grinning ear to ear, and his eyes were bloodshot. It seemed like he couldn’t contain the rising anger and passion.

Clan Head Baek Ryu-san coughed violently.

“Cough, hack—! Red Dragon Corps Commander.”

Baek Jin-tae’s gaze met with his in the void.

“Put your sword down.”

“Elder brother. Heh heh heh…”

What was going through the mind of the Clan Head when he realized his younger sibling was trying to kill his own child?

He avoided Baek Jin-tae’s gaze.

“…So, you’ve been waiting for a chance to get rid of me from the start.”

Baek Do-yeom angrily interjected, “If this kid committed a crime, he should kneel down immediately…!”

“Uncle, please shut your mouth.”

A rebuked Baek Do-yeom looked taken aback. Baek Jin-tae raised his sword, aiming it at Yi-gang.

“To think the one I regarded as pitiful actually had quite the scheme. You’re trying to corner and kill me.”

Having said that, Baek Jin-tae took out a vial from his robes and gulped down its contents in one go. It was the holy medicine applied to the needle of the mask.

It wasn’t intended for consumption, but he hoped to see some effect from it.

“Heh…”

Baek Jin-tae shivered.

Finally, he was able to stop laughing. Instead, due to the drug’s effect, tears streamed down his face.

“So sad that you’re shedding tears of blood, aren’t you?”

Perhaps he had overdosed, for instead of tears, blood flowed from his eyes.

And Baek Jin-tae’s meridian surged, like boiling water. The sword he held naturally ignited with sword energy.

“Put down the sword, dear uncle.”

“You’ve underestimated me too much, Yi-gang.”

Baek Jin-tae’s sword was pointed towards Yi-gang.

However, no matter how clear and blazing the energy emanated from his sword, Yi-gang showed no fear.

Most of the elders present here were armed. And no matter how powerful Baek Jin-tae was, he wouldn’t be able to break through the human barrier and harm Yi-gang.

「Be wary, a cornered mouse might even bite a cat.」

It’s not that Yi-gang lowered his guard.

In that instant, Baek Jin-tae smirked.

‘He’s laughing…?’

Having taken the drug, his crazed demeanor must have subsided; that smile would be a genuine one.

Baek Jin-tae took a step. He charged towards Yi-gang.

Swoosh-swoosh-swoosh—

In the blink of an eye, dozens of swords were drawn, forming a barricade in front of Yi-gang.

An impenetrable barrier of powerful swords.

Just as Baek Jin-tae was about to plunge into that space, he changed direction at the last moment.

Crack—

The abrupt change of direction caused the wooden floor to shatter, sending wood fragments flying in all directions.

Baek Jin-tae’s sword was not aimed at Yi-gang but someone else.

“You little! How dare you!”

It was Soryu who had denounced Baek Jin-tae from Yi-gang’s side.

Soryu, with a pale face, drew her sword in response.

However, how could a mere member block the sword of the Red Dragon Corps Commander?

Clash!

Soryu’s sword shattered as if it were made of glass.

Baek Jin-tae, ruthlessly drawing his blade to the neck of a child he once adored for resembling his deceased younger sister.

Yi-gang simply couldn’t stand by idly.

The Immortal Divine Sword cautioned Yi-gang.

「Don’t do it, it’s an aggressive tactic!」

He was aware.

Baek Jin-tae knew that Yi-gang frequently visited Sohwa’s grave. Therefore, he would also know that Yi-gang would not stand by and let Soryu die.

Employing the secret art of light footwork, Yi-gang dashed out. His speed was astonishingly fast, enough to shock even the elders.

“Eu-ha-ha-ha-!”

Baek Jin-tae laughed as he changed the direction of his sword once more.

It was aimed precisely at Yi-gang.

Yi-gang also had a sword. However, because he was in a rush, he hadn’t even drawn it from its sheath.

In contrast to Baek Jin-tae’s vibrant and blazing sword energy, Yi-gang’s sword appeared incredibly powerless.

“I’ll slice you in one go!”

Aiming for Yi-gang’s sword, Yi-gang’s body, and even the adjacent Soryu. Truly, with an intent to strike all at once.

However, Yi-gang, without even blinking an eye, tightly gripped his sword.

「Damn it, all or nothing. Heaven’s Shadow Sword Technique, seventh form!」

With the signal from the Immortal Divine Sword, Yi-gang swung his blade.

Baek Jin-tae’s sword energy and Yi-gang’s sword clashed in mid-air.