A vivid red line appeared across Jin Seok Pyeong's neck.
The line stretched longer, encircling his throat until it connected.
Splat.
Blood oozed from the gap in the crimson line.
Moments later, Jin Seok Pyeong's head slid sideways along the cut. It tilted awkwardly for an instant before tumbling to the ground.
Thud.
Seo Baek held his sword at a slant, watching the scene with calm, unflinching eyes.
The onlookers gaped in shock, mouths agape.
The Yi Hyeol Bang swordsmen, in particular, couldn't believe their own eyes despite witnessing it firsthand.
Jin Seok Pyeong, leader of the Yi Hyeol Bang and master of the broad dao.
Though in his mid-forties, his broad dao techniques were so swift and ferocious that even the young swordsmen of the gang struggled against him.
Yet this master had his head effortlessly severed by a boy not even twenty...
The pool of blood flowing from Jin Seok Pyeong's neck grew wider. The government office fell into a silence so profound that the drop of a needle could be heard.
One swordsman snapped out of his daze and charged at Seo Baek.
"You bastard, how dare you to our gang leader...!"
In the brief moment the swordsman raised his broad dao overhead, countless thoughts flashed through Seo Baek's mind.
Slow.
Yi Hyeol Bang. Some minor fringe gang I've never heard of.
Not swift kuai dao, not heavy chung dao—just sloppy swordplay. No, just wild swinging.
This isn't martial arts. It's just brute force with a heavy broad dao to maximize killing power.
The swordsman's broad dao skill was pathetic, but Seo Baek didn't let his guard down.
It was because of his master's constant warnings.
—Show no mercy to enemies. The Central Plains are crawling with jackals who hide their true skill and wait for an opening.
Whoosh.
Seo Baek raised his sword horizontally, aiming for the swordsman's throat.
If he kept charging, his throat would be pierced by the sword tip before he could swing his dao.
No regrets for self-inflicted death.
By some stroke of heaven's grace, the swordsman tripped, tumbling awkwardly to the ground. It saved him from impaling himself on the blade.
But his skill was so lacking he didn't even recognize his luck. Oblivious to his narrow escape, he spat curses and scrambled up.
"Damn it!"
Yet even this reckless swordsman froze mid-motion.
"...!"
Seo Baek's sword tip was already pressed close against his throat.
"Seize that bastard!"
The swordsmen drew their broad daos and surrounded Seo Baek.
But having just witnessed his swift blade, they exchanged glances, none daring to step forward.
Seo Baek slowly scanned the swordsmen.
His expression was utterly impassive—impossible to believe he'd just beheaded a man.
This wasn't the gaze of a boy under twenty.
It was the eyes of a martial artist forged in a forest of bloodied blades!
The Yi Hyeol Bang swordsmen—mere bandits from the fringes—didn't consciously realize it, but their ingrained instincts rooted their feet in place.
—Move now, and you die!
The first swordsman to charge, mustering some courage, broke the silence.
"Who the hell are you? Why did you harm our gang leader?"
"This man deserved death for three reasons."
"What?"
"First, he extorted the villagers' goods under the pretext of clearing a path for refugees."
The swordsmen swallowed hard.
No excuses. Sure, it was the gang leader's order, but they were all accomplices.
"Second, under the guise of checking for revenant bites, he stripped women and satisfied his lust."
"..."
The swordsmen averted their eyes, mouths shut.
Every word from Seo Baek rang true—impossible to refute.
Of course, they didn't submit to his words.
Bandits who stole what they wanted, raped women they saw, and killed resisters.
But no one stepped up first, overwhelmed by Seo Baek's swordsmanship and aura.
Still, one brave swordsman pressed on.
"This is a government office! If the Yi Hyeol Bang is guilty, settle it by law—not by chopping off heads on a whim!"
The others chimed in.
"He's right!"
"Kneel if you know your crime!"
Protests erupted from all sides.
But Seo Baek continued indifferently.
"Third. The final reason he deserved death."
As Seo Baek spoke, the swordsmen's clamor died like mice silenced by thunder.
His voice was low, yet it rang clearly in every ear as if whispered close by.
"Because he was a revenant."
"What?"
A swordsman blinked blankly before retorting.
"Nonsense! The gang leader was with us the whole time..."
"Use your eyes if you have them."
Seo Baek rolled Jin Seok Pyeong's severed head half a turn with his sword.
There, from the cross-section of the neck, something writhed under a coat of fresh blood.
Dozens of tentacles, squirming like octopus limbs.
"Gaaah!"
The swordsman recoiled in horror, falling backward.
At that moment, Jin Seok Pyeong's head snapped its eyes open and unleashed a beastly roar.
Krraaaagh!
Long tentacles burst from his mouth and ears, wriggling left and right.
Squeeeal!
"Revenant!" someone screamed, and the crowd gasped in unison.
"Yes, a revenant."
Seo Baek pointed his sword at the tentacles.
"This is a Blood Thread Worm. It's why bites from revenants infect others. The worm enters through wounds, devours the brain, and turns the living into revenants."
Seo Baek's words were shocking.
Rumors of revenants abounded.
But few had seen one firsthand—anyone who did, or was in an infested area, was dead...
Especially the idea of a Blood Thread Worm inside revenants, infecting the living by burrowing in—that was new.
Seo Baek paused, pondering, then addressed a swordsman slumped on the ground.
"I heard the Yi Hyeol Bang passed through Mian Yang a few days ago."
"Yeah. What of it?"
"As you know, Mian Yang is already overrun by revenants. He must have been infected there."
"Impossible! The gang leader was fine for days! No one bit him!"
The swordsman yelled half-madly, but Seo Baek explained calmly.
"There are two kinds of revenants. First, Blood Ghosts that charge and bite indiscriminately at any sight of humans. That's the type people usually know."
As he spoke, Seo Baek drew a thick bamboo tube from his bosom.
"Second, those that masquerade as living humans until the chance to infect with Blood Thread Worms. That's the true revenant—like your former gang leader."
"...!"
"The second type is indistinguishable from the living on the outside. You were with him for days—you know."
The Yi Hyeol Bang swordsmen gulped.
Their leader could have turned them into revenants anytime.
The thought sent chills down their spines.
Someone interjected.
"If he looked alive as you say, how did you know he was a revenant?"
The questioner was the sword-for-hire Wang Yi Sam.
Onlookers nodded. A valid point.
"There was a sword mark encircling his neck."
"Sword mark? You just cut his head off."
"No, it had already been severed once before."
Seo Baek rolled the head again with his sword.
The crowd craned their necks to inspect.
It was true. Faint but clear above the cut on the neck's cross-section ran a red sword scar.
"Blood Thread Worms don't just infect through wounds. Revenants sometimes slice a living person's throat and insert them directly."
Gasp! Someone swallowed at the horror.
Seo Baek pointed his sword at the thick cloth Jin Seok Pyeong had worn around his neck.
"I suspected when I saw him wrapped in cloth on a non-cold day. When it came off, the sword mark confirmed he was a revenant."
The swordsmen murmured among themselves.
"When did the gang leader start wearing that cloth around his neck?"
"After passing Mian Yang!"
"To hide the infection..."
The crowd swallowed again.
Seo Baek's words were irrefutably precise.
Like gazing upon the famed judge Bao Qingtian of the Song Dynasty. His verdicts in bizarre cases must have felt just like this.
Seo Baek asked the swordsmen.
"Where was the Yi Hyeol Bang planning to lead the refugees?"
"Through Guangyuan to Hanzhong."
"I came from there. Revenants have already overrun it."
"...!"
"You planned to gather as many people as possible for Hanzhong. That's why he hid being a revenant for days."
Chills ran through the Yi Hyeol Bang swordsmen again.
If not for the leader's greed, they might already be revenants.
Then one swordsman pointed, shouting.
"Th-that... look at that...!"
The crowd followed his finger and recoiled in horror.
The tentacles from Jin Seok Pyeong's head were crawling across the ground like octopus limbs.
Squeeeal... squeeeal...
Before they knew it, the head had reached the body slumped in the chair.
The Blood Thread Worm bundle wrapped around the legs like tentacles, climbing upward.
"Revenants won't die unless you sever the heart meridian of the Blood Thread Worm."
Pop. Seo Baek uncorked the bamboo tube.
"Cut off the head, and it reattaches—the worm heals it, reviving them."
Words unbelievable under normal circumstances.
Yet as Seo Baek said, the head climbed the legs, heading for the neck stump.
The crowd watched, forgetting to breathe.
"Even if you can't destroy the heart meridian, there's a way to kill revenants."
Splash. Seo Baek swung the tube, dousing the head and body in oil.
"Just burn them."
He lit a fire starter from his bosom.
Whoosh. Roar.
The head and body erupted in flames instantly.
Krraaaagh!
The revenant screamed, jaws splitting wide.
Even a revived revenant couldn't withstand the fire devil. Soon its cries faded, charred black.
As the head and body turned to charcoal lumps, the crowd finally exhaled.
From decapitation to immolation, it took less time than sipping tea. Yet it felt like a trip to hell, spines tingling.
But as Seo Baek turned, he said,
"It's not over. His 'revenant checks' were a ruse. He was one himself."
"Then what do we..."
A swordsman asked, and Seo Baek replied.
"We'll check for revenants now. Line up single file and show me your necks."
"Show our necks?"
"Yes."
Seo Baek's eyes remained impassive.
"Anyone with a sword mark around the neck—I'll behead them on the spot."