The footsteps of Iron-Faced Judge Bao Qingtian echoed through the yamen.
Each step he took was measured and steady. He moved with unimpeded purpose, and he paid no mind to the murmurs of those who had seen his dark countenance.
He was accustomed to such whispers anyway, but fundamentally, he was not one to care about others’ gazes. Whether people gossiped about him made no real difference to his walking.
‘The Sword Sage… I’ve heard rough rumors, but this will be the first proper investigation.’
He walked and fell into thought.
‘I’ve judged many martial artists who meddled with civilians, but this is the first time with one of the Five Greats of the Under Heaven. The aura I felt was relatively pure.’
He didn’t allow personal feelings to influence his judgment. He only observed the situation, evidence, and witnesses. These three elements alone moved his court proceedings.
‘There’s suspicion of corruption involving the Chief Magistrate? His Majesty the Emperor wouldn’t involve himself in martial affairs, so it suggests someone else. Still, I don’t know exactly who that is yet.’
Famous for showing no mercy to criminals, Bao Qingtian was also known for striving to avoid wrongful convictions. His past mistake of mistakenly sentencing an innocent man to execution still haunted his thoughts.
Yet he didn’t falter. Regret served as his guiding staff toward a better future. By repeatedly reflecting on that error, he worked to ensure it would never happen again.
‘Nevertheless, the facts must be known. If the Sword Sage is guilty, he must be punished accordingly, and regardless, we must suspect if the Chief Magistrate has taken a bribe.’
Though Chief Magistrate was one of the five strongest in the land and in charge of the court’s military arm, none of that mattered to Bao Qingtian.
‘That fat toad wouldn’t move without reason. Surely he’s received a bribe to do someone’s bidding. High officials’ tax evasion merits the death penalty.’
Ordinarily, tax evasion should merit merely dismissal, but for high officials who should set examples, death was appropriate. Of course, this suspicion was still circumstantial.
Thud.
Bao Qingtian stopped walking in front of a door.
Creeak.
Turning the handle and forcefully pushing, the room’s darkness was broken by streams of light.
Within, a momentary flash of something piercingly cold appeared.
Whoosh!
A sharp dagger aimed at his throat. A ruthless assassination attempt.
For a civilian like Bao Qingtian, there was no way he could dodge or block it. Even recognizing the attack in the blink of an eye would’ve been almost impossible.
However, unlike ordinary civilians, Bao Qingtian didn’t panic. He’d faced countless assassination attempts like this while dismissing high-ranking officials, and thus he’d prepared countermeasures.
“Scoundrel! What vile intention brings you here?”
Clank!
“Kk!”
“Hmph, so you’re watching even within the warehouse now?”
The spring-loaded assassin’s dagger paused just before Bao Qingtian’s throat, halted by a man who had suddenly emerged from the floor and intercepted the blade.
This man bore the name Nameless, a hermit’s disciple who mastered extraordinary martial techniques but eventually grew listless due to a lack of purpose. After meeting Bao Qingtian and moved by his justice, Nameless pledged to guard him.
This was also the man who had defended Bao Qingtian against hundreds of assassination attempts.
“Cheat! How dare you raise your weapon against one who follows the laws of the nation!”
Clash! Crackle!
Golden and crimson sparks flew as Nameless and the assassin dueled, Bao Qingtian standing calmly behind Nameless.
KRAANG!
“You’ve got some skill! But now you’ll taste defeat!”
“Wha—how is this possible…!”
‘So this is why no one returns from trying to eliminate Judge Bao! It was all because of him!’
The identity of the assassin revealed them as a top-class killer of the Death Mark organization. In the absolute sense, this meant no ordinary person could stand against them.
Top-class killers operate in silence, eliminating high-ranking martial artists without a trace. Though surpassing them all would be a transcendent swordsman like the Pavilion Master of Celestial Outer Heaven, they’ve brought down countless powerful figures below that level.
Until now, that is.
“Snake Coiled Binding Fingers!”
Thud, thud!
The assassin’s face darkened in despair as their body went numb from the strike of Nameless’ two-pronged finger technique upon their pressure points.
“Hmph, it seems you had a tough time with him, but this guy’s pretty strong, right?”
“Yes, but it’s not a problem. I’m not weak enough to be defeated so easily!”
“Well, as a reward, I’ll add a bonus to your salary… Now assassin.”
As the downed assassin, restrained on the ground, could no longer move, Bao Qingtian knelt beside them and spoke.
“Where do you hail from?”
“…”
Struggling to move their eyes upward toward Bao Qingtian, the assassin slowly moved their lips.
To swallow the poison pill they’d prepared in their mouth.
Of course, Bao Qingtian wasn’t so easily fooled after facing countless death threats like this.
“Nameless.”
With his name softly called, Nameless immediately forced the assassin’s mouth open and removed the poison pill.
The assassin, now stripped of both mobility and the ability to commit suicide, remained powerless.
Experienced in such situations, Nameless coolly handed the pill to Bao Qingtian, who sniffed it a few times before declaring.
“Sent by Death Mark.”
“!”
“Death Mark wouldn’t bear me malice without reason… someone must have commissioned this. Use torture to uncover that person.”
“Understood.”
With a respectful bow, Nameless slung the incapacitated killer over his shoulder, ready to depart, when Bao Qingtian spoke again.
“Oh, right. There’s something I’d like to ask you.”
“Something…?”
“During my earlier meeting with the Sword Sage, did you see him too?”
“Yes, I saw him.”
“What was your impression? As a martial expert, you must’ve seen something different than I did.”
After a moment of reflection, Nameless replied.
“There was nothing. Nothing at all. Not an aura, not a presence, nothing. He had fully merged with his solitary confinement chamber, becoming as one with nature.”
“Nothing? Just nothing?”
“No, literally nothing. His entire being was one with nature, completely blending with the room.”
“Hm? So he’s reached the stage of Natural Assimilation. That’s quite disconcerting. What normal person would think much of anyone doing that… but as one of the martial world’s highest, this suggests surpassing even the stage of Refining to Simplicity.”
“Not exactly knowing what Refining to Simplicity is, I’ll interpret it as stepping into something akin to what Taoists describe as becoming quasi-divine. If so, then…”
Bao Qingtian swept his hand in the dark to feel the purpose of his visit to this warehouse.
He then firmly held the object and pulled it forward, the heavy clang of metal indicating its arrival into the light.
“Could this cut through his neck?”
The Guillotine.
Commonly used for harvesting crops, but here in the yamen, it’s used for beheading. The three guillotines retrieved were made of copper, iron, their blades pitch black. Known as Moxie Steel, they’re said to be as hard as the most formidable swordsmen’s energy.
Each of the three guillotine heads featured symbolic animal motifs. The Dragon Guillotine for nobility, the Tiger Guillotine for officials, and the Dog Guillotine for commoners.
“Impossible. If the Sword Sage resists…”
“I’ve heard there are martial geniuses who achieve the Invincible Adamantine Body state where their physique becomes like steel.”
“That’s too simplistic. The Sword Sage could only kill himself. Otherwise, by human means alone, he can’t be slain.”
“If indeed the Sword Sage has achieved Natural Assimilation, he could dissolve into the air or even perform astral projection, leaving his body. To execute someone who transcends the bounds of the flesh requires magic or similar means.”
Nameless declared decisively. Any ruling would be a futile trial, leading to disappointment in Bao Qingtian.
“So… nonetheless, it doesn’t matter.”
“What do you mean?”
“The military doctor treats soldiers knowing they’ll likely die in battle or return. They still treat them diligently because it’s their duty. It’s the same for me. I am the one who rules, not the one who executes. That’s someone else’s job. I merely need to deliver the verdict.”
With a soothing pat to the heads of the guillotines that had served him so well, Bao Qingtian turned to leave.
“Hurry up and interrogate that assassin. He may play a significant role in this case.”
*
Still Heart.
A heart that does not waver or move easily.
Typically, a skilled martial artist should naturally possess it, but separated from martial prowess, my spirit is rather fragile.
Of course, it’s still stronger than an average person’s, but…
– Ha ha ha! You’ve been caught red-handed!
I surely must be inferior to Master Jin Woo-yong who mocks me now.
Evidence being, my heart is pounding wildly.
– Lady Yu!
“Lord! What exactly are you implying! After she has already shown such a precarious state!”
– Hehehe, don’t take it personally. I can’t control your body, can I?
I must not see Su-a again.
No, even if I do, I must remain cold and detached.
Su-a desires me with rationality. The complication lies in my inability to reciprocate rationally.
On the day I was expelled from the Nan Gong Sect, I lost the last shred of my rationality.
But Su-a’s emotions are not easy to break either. Look at her frantic state during the Seven Flowers Tournament.
Therefore, she must be pushed away. Properly.
– Are you worried?
The last time we met, Su-a was already in a precarious state.
Then, I firmly decided to be cold and stern, but now I doubt that would be wise. Surely, for me it’s possible, but whether the exceedingly delicate Su-a could endure it is questionable.
I assumed there would be no more encounters since the Seven Flowers Tournament, but who would have guessed a family visit? Unthinkable.
– Truly, it’s a cruel joke of fate.
‘I don’t believe in fate. It’s simply the law.’
– That’s irrelevant now. The critical point is that the woman you’re so uneasy about is coming to visit you soon.
Just as I was about to retort at Jin Woo-yong, who spoke as though it had nothing to do with him,
Clink.
I heard footsteps from afar.
Being extremely tense ever since, my already expanded perception effortlessly zeroed in on their source. Together with it, every single word she uttered was vividly conveyed to me.
“Excuse me… Where might the Sword Sage be?”
“The Sword Sage? Isn’t that room at the end of this corridor on the right?”
“Is that the room you’re referring to?”
“That’s right. The Sword Sage is in that room. He is not yet a criminal and is merely residing in solitary confinement.”
“Ah, thank you for your guidance.”
She bowed politely in appreciation to the guard who helped her, causing him to cough awkwardly.
Clink, clink, clink.
With every step she took closer, my heart pounded more violently.
A weak aura. Once a peak master, one of the martial world’s Seven Flowers, and a victor in our spars, yet now bereft of any fighting spirit.
Like reeds, fragile and easily breakable. A spirit that wavers like reeds, easily shaken by mere hearsay.
At this point, who cares…
Clink.
Weak. Extremely weak. Like a reed about to fall at the slightest wind, or a scarecrow that would topple with a touch.
Completely different from the formidable presence radiating from Bao Qingtian I just met moments ago.
Feeble, gentle, and frail. Swaying easily in the breeze like—
Extremely… gaunt…
– She’s wobbling. Is she suffering from a migraine?
“…”
– Why have you fallen silent again?
Why…
Why isn’t there any vitality in her?
It’s not about lacking strength, nor an absence of an imposing presence.
Her ‘vitality’ is gone. So much so that fainting at any moment wouldn’t be surprising. It’s an emergency.
My complicated thoughts began to vanish, replaced by a blank canvas.
