Chapter 22

At the patrol headquarters in the Valley of Sins.

The building, a bizarre amalgamation of several of the valley’s grotesquely expanded houses, could hardly be called a “headquarters” even in the most generous light. Still, thanks to the skilled craftsmen of the House of Benevolence, the interior had been made into a reasonably comfortable working environment.

“…”

But despite the comfortable surroundings, the expressions of the patrol headquarters personnel were grim.

On the watchtower, overlooking the valley entrance, stood a man of immense stature. He was Gong Dam-woong, the next heir of the Gong Clan and one of the individuals known as the Four Virtuous Tigers.

“…I just hope this all blows over without incident.”

In the direction he was looking, a multitude of lights glittered in the distance, like sunlight reflecting off a river.

“Are all of those… troops?” asked the person who had joined him on the watchtower, a disciplinary nun from the Emei Sect.

“They are.” The two of them had been coordinating the security of the Valley of Sins for the past few days. “The glint is from the sunlight reflecting off the soldiers’ weapons.”

The armor they wore, which had once seemed so awkward, now looked as if it had been custom-fitted to their bodies.

“…There are so many,” the nun murmured, her brow furrowed as she fidgeted with the hilt of her scabbard.

“Actually…” Gong Dam-woong said, his eyes still fixed on the distant troop movements, “their numbers are not the problem.”

“I know.” The nun nodded in agreement. She said with a sigh, “The problem is that they are not some Unorthodox thugs we can cut down without a second thought—.”

Gong Dam-woong finished her sentence. “—but the official security forces of Luoyang.”

“If we end up fighting the government’s troops…”

Gong Dam-woong did not bother to answer. The nun did not bother to seek one. There was no need to see a conversation that could only end in a grim conclusion through to its end.

“…”

The conversation died there. In an anxious silence, the two of them watched the movement of the troops. It was all they could do for now.

At least we can keep a close eye on their movements. I suppose that’s the only consolation. Defending the valley would be easy. The terrain gave them the tactical advantage. But. A clash with the authorities would be disastrous in many ways. The best-case scenario is to get through this without a fight….

His gaze shifted toward the ‘First and Fourth Young Masters’ Joint Business Headquarters.’

“…How long has it been since the district chiefs went in to see the Grand Young Master?”

The nun, who was looking in the same direction, posed the question. Gong Dam-woong answered, “About a quarter of an hour, now.”

“…Is that all?”

In their anxious state, time seemed to crawl by with agonizing slowness. The sweat trickling down their faces was not solely due to the heat of the afternoon sun.

Vigilante Yeon… Gong Dam-woong swallowed dryly. You have a plan for this too, don’t you?

Even as he placed his hopes in the Grand Young Master, he felt a pang of frustration. Am I capable of nothing more than just relying on Vigilante Yeon like this?

The tower of merchants’ heads. The Valley of Sins, where no meaningful change had yet occurred. The upheaval in Luoyang’s political landscape. The intensifying struggle between the heirs of the Luoyang Sword Clan. I don’t properly know or understand a single thing.

In recent days, more than ever before, Gong Dam-woong was feeling the full weight of his own powerlessness. The internal energy I’ve amassed, the studies I’ve undertaken… they are all useless before the waves of the world.

Yeon So-hyeon’s voice echoed in his mind. “Be ashamed before those who have nothing left to rely on in this world but their own two fists.” He hadn’t properly understood those words at the time. “You were born with an excellent background, different from them, yet you are nothing but dropouts who chose the easy path because you could not master your own tempers.”

But now, he thought he understood. For me, simply throwing my fists at the injustice before my eyes was the easy thing to do. Yes. It wasn’t because he truly wanted to solve the problem. He had just, as Yeon So-hyeon said, chosen the easy path.

I am not one of those who has nothing left but his two fists—. He was Gong Dam-woong, the next heir of the Gong Clan, one of the Sixteen Imperial Families. …When this is over, I will go and see my grandfather.

And so, on a watchtower in the slums of Luoyang, Gong Dam-woong, a man who would one day leave a great mark on history, began to tear through the shell that had surrounded him and start his emergence.

***

“Grand Young Master,” the District Chief of Tanryunggu said in a low voice. “First, I would like to express my regret that our first meeting has to be under such circumstances.”

“Is that so?” Yeon So-hyeon replied with a wry smile. “In that case, why don’t you withdraw your troops?”

“Naturally, that is impossible,” the District Chief of Gahyo, who was sitting with him, answered.

“And why is that?”

He avoided Yeon So-hyeon’s gaze and clicked his tongue. “Grand Young Master, you have taken things too far. A matter that could have been resolved with simple economic retaliation, you have turned into… this.”

“And instead of trying to hide it, you built a tower of merchants’ heads…” the Tanryunggu District Chief added, clearing his throat and waving his hand as if he had no choice. “You are the one who has left us with no other option, Grand Young Master.”

“Is that so?”

“Did I not just say so?” the Tanryunggu District Chief snapped, then cleared his throat again as he caught the Fourth Young Master’s silent stare. “Ahem…!” He quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead. The pressure naturally emanating from the Grand Young Master grew stronger as the conversation went on.

“…”

And what’s more, the Fourth Young Master, who had been silent from the start, was glaring at them as if he wanted to tear them to shreds. Who knew what had put him in such a foul mood. The kid’s got the eyes of a murderer. He must have had a run-in with the Chief Steward of the Inner Court, who had just been here. Did the old monster of the Sword Clan get the better of him?

Before his thoughts could continue, Yeon So-hyeon asked, “So, in what way do you wish for me to cooperate with you?”

The Gahyo District Chief answered immediately. “You will cooperate fully with the investigation into the mass slaughter that occurred in broad daylight.”

The Tanryunggu District Chief took it a step further. “You must surely understand the charges against you. If you turn yourself in peacefully, we will do our best to ensure leniency in your sentencing.”

“…!” The word ‘surrender’ almost sent the Fourth Young Master into a fit, but a gesture from Yeon So-hyeon stopped him.

“Leniency…” A low, chilling voice. The two district chiefs swallowed simultaneously. Their lips were growing dry. But they did not back down.

They knew what had happened to the District Chief of Qinghe, who had tried to obstruct Yeon So-hyeon’s event at the Walnut Village and had been beaten senseless. They knew all too well that the Lee Clan had been annihilated. And they knew, to the marrow of their bones, that the most powerful families in Luoyang were fighting a bloody war as proxies for the First and Second Young Masters.

And yet. Our actions are perfectly neutral and just. The two district chiefs exchanged a subtle glance. This is a grave that the Grand Young Master dug for himself. As the highest-ranking officials in Luoyang, they were merely doing their duty. There are no problems with our actions, not procedurally, not in terms of justification, and not in terms of political neutrality.

That was why, even under all this pressure, they could bare their fangs at Yeon So-hyeon.

Now. The two men stared at Yeon So-hyeon with the eyes of a viper. What will you do, Grand Young Master? Will you cooperate peacefully and submit to an investigation on these heinous charges? Or will you resist a legitimate execution of public duty with force and throw your sky-high reputation into the gutter?

Choose.

As their gazes focused on him, Yeon So-hyeon rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, this is…” An expression and gesture of someone in a predicament.

The two district chiefs smiled to themselves. We’ve got him—!

Their thought was never completed.

“Since the two of you are not being honest, I suppose we will have to be the first to speak frankly.”

The district chiefs’ expressions soured. “…What do you mean by that?”

“We are not being honest?”

“The two of you are not here because of the mass slaughter that occurred in broad daylight,” the Grand Young Master said, his tone leisurely as he toyed with his teacup. “You are here for your own ‘survival,’ are you not?”

The two men immediately denied it in near unison. “Survival? What an absurd—.”

“We are here solely to execute our public—.”

They stopped, their excuses dying in their throats as their eyes met Yeon So-hyeon’s. The Grand Young Master’s eyes were curved into a gentle crescent, but for some reason, the words would not come out.

“Well… that is.”

“Hmph.”

Their struggle to continue was brought to a definitive end by Yeon So-hyeon’s next words. “The fact that you came here because of the ‘black money’ you received from the Great Immortal Merchant Guild…” A smile touched Yeon So-hyeon’s lips. “…is something I know all too well.”

“…!”

“…!”

As the two district chiefs screamed in silence, the smile on Yeon So-hyeon’s lips deepened. “And the pressure the Second Young Master’s faction put on you to corner me was only effective…” The roles were now reversed. Yeon So-hyeon was the viper, and the district chiefs were the mice before a snake. “…because you have been receiving black money from the Great Immortal Merchant Guild all this time, is it not?”

The two men quickly shook their heads. “Suddenly, what is all this—!”

“Th-that’s ridiculous—!”

It was only natural to deny it.

“If you say so, then there’s nothing to be done.” Yeon So-hyeon ignored their denials and continued. “You must be aware that the Great Immortal Merchant Guild is in the process of urgently moving its funds. And very soon, the main clan’s Inner Court and the Central Inspectorate will be launching a raid on them.”

“…!” So that’s why the Chief Steward of the Inner Court visited him?!

Their faces went white.

“Well, if it has nothing to do with you, then I suppose it doesn’t matter,” Yeon So-hyeon said, enjoying the sight of their pale faces. He continued in a soft tone, “But if, just if, there is even a one in a million chance that you have something to hide…” He whispered like a demon. “In the massive investigation that will follow the raid, I can have your names removed. What do you think?”

“…”

The two district chiefs froze like statues.

“…”

Yeon So-hyeon, too, said no more. Any more pressure would only create resentment. He simply leaned back leisurely and savored the aroma of his tea.

The two men wanted to continue denying that they had received any black money. If Yeon So-hyeon had clear evidence, he would not have been probing them like this.

“…Grand Young Master,” one of them finally said. “What is it you desire?”

The offer was too sweet for them to refuse.

***

After the two district chiefs had left, the Fourth Young Master, who had been lost in deep thought, finally spoke. “…This younger brother of yours. Even watching from the side, I do not understand.” His eyes, fixed on Yeon So-hyeon, were filled with a deep confusion. “Do you believe that the raid on the Great Immortal Merchant Guild by the Inner Court and the Central Inspectorate will fail?”

Yeon So-hyeon asked back enigmatically, “Why do you think that?”

Yeon-bi cried out, “Because if you didn’t, you would never make a deal to exclude those corrupt officials from the investigation!”

“No.” Yeon So-hyeon shook his head. “The raid on the Great Immortal Merchant Guild will succeed.”

“Then…?”

“However,” Yeon So-hyeon had not finished. “The investigation that follows will fail.”

“The investigation will fail…?”

“It will.” Yeon So-hyeon nodded.

“…In that case,” the Fourth Young Master’s mouth fell slightly open. “They are paying a price, in a deal with us, to avoid an investigation that was never going to happen to them in the first place.”

“…”

The Fourth Young Master, who had been staring blankly, was struck by a sudden thought. “If that’s the case, then the reason you so readily handed over the credit to the Inner Court was…?!” He asked, his face a mask of astonishment. “Was it because you already knew that the investigation would end in failure?!”

“It was.”

“…Hmph.” The sound was barely audible.

“Hm? What did you say?” Yeon So-hyeon asked.

The Fourth Young Master stared at him with a blank expression. “Just… how did you know the outcome of an investigation that has not even begun, Elder Brother?” This was already beyond the realm of prediction. “Do you really, as the rumors say, have the ability to read the future?”

Can a great Peng bird see beyond the horizon, to the shape of the future itself? This was closer to prescience than to prediction.

“Read the future?” Yeon So-hyeon laughed and waved his hand. “Even for me, how could such a thing be possible?”

“Then how…?”

“Sometimes,” Yeon So-hyeon said, looking out the window, “it is more important to create the process that leads to the future you desire than to simply predict and prepare for the future.”

***

At the entrance to the Valley of Sins:

“All units, prepare for battle!”

At the command from the officer who had just received his orders from the district chiefs, a wave of despair washed over the soldiers.

“We’re attacking the Grand Young Master of the Sword Clan?”

“Fuck, this is insane…!”

Chaos erupted in the ranks.

“From this moment on, we will…!”

But the officer had not finished his sentence.

“…cooperate with the Grand Young Master’s faction to completely eradicate the underworld scum who have taken root in the Valley of Sins!”

What did he just say? Why were they suddenly attacking the underworld?

“As a result of a direct investigation by the district chiefs!” the officer shouted, continuing with words he himself did not believe. “It has been determined that the recent attacks on the merchants were all instigated by the underworld scum of the Valley of Sins!”