Chapter 23

In the Valley of Sins, at the encampment of Yeon So-hyeon’s faction:

“All personnel, prepare for battle!”

“All but a skeleton crew will sortie!”

“Command staff, assemble at the command post as of this moment!”

Amidst the flurry of activity, Gong Dam-woong scratched the back of his head and spoke. “…The Grand Young Master really pulled it off.”

Beside him, the disciplinary nun from the Emei Sect replied in a dazed voice, “…So we are not fighting the city guards. We are fighting with them to cleanse the Valley of Sins.” The bewildered expression she wore was likely a mirror of his own. “He truly is a man who accomplishes the impossible with such ease, Vigilante Yeon.”

He had vaguely expected that Yeon So-hyeon would find a way to resolve the situation, but when one holds such an expectation, it can feel almost mundane. To actually witness a seemingly impossible knot untangled right before his eyes, however… the sensation was…

“Exhilarating.”

“Exhilarating.”

Having spoken the same word at the same time, the two looked at each other and let out a small laugh.

“Hey, Brother Gong! Is this really the time for a leisurely romance?!” one of the other Four Virtuous Tigers shouted as he rushed to prepare for battle.

“Disciplinary Junior Sister! I know the Buddhist teachings value fate and connection, but remember, you are a nun who cannot marry!” a teasing voice called out from a group of Emei Sect members hurrying to their assembly point.

“B-be quiet!”

“B-be quiet!”

Having shouted the same words again, the two smiled at each other and clasped their hands in a formal salute.

“May fortune favor your arms.”

“And may it favor yours.”

The afternoon air was beginning to thicken with the tension of the battlefield.

***

At the entrance to the Valley of Sins, in the joint encampment of the Tanryunggu-Gahyo city guard:

“All units! Check the equipment of the man in front of you!”

Just as in Yeon So-hyeon’s camp, the movements of those preparing for battle were a flurry of organized chaos.

“We’re suddenly attacking the underworld of the Valley of Sins?!” the junior constable exclaimed as he donned additional gear from the carriage they had arrived in. “Sir!” The area was so noisy that he had to shout to be heard. “What in the world is going on?!”

Constable Park, who was expertly tightening his greaves and taking up his spear, shrugged. “I suppose, from the district chiefs’ perspective, now that they’ve drawn their swords, they have to cut something.”

“What was that?!”

Park’s words were lost in the cacophony of commands and marching orders. It was a sensitive topic to be shouting about, anyway. [Having mobilized troops on such a large scale, the district chiefs would become a laughingstock if they simply withdrew empty-handed, wouldn’t they?]

[…So they’re turning the underworld of the Valley of Sins into the culprits and subjugating them?]

[Probably.]

The junior constable’s expression was one of sheer disbelief. [Just what kind of deal did they make with the Grand Young Master…]

[That, I do not know,] Park replied, stripping the leather cover from his spearhead to inspect the blade, a bitter smile on his face. [In all our time investigating matters of power in this city, how many times have we ever known the full story?]

The junior constable’s hands, which had been stringing his crossbow, paused. […Not even once, sir.]

[And how many times have we ever brought a truly powerful person to justice?]

[…] They weren’t judges. What could a lowly constable do against the truly powerful?

“…”

Park’s gaze shifted toward the upper reaches of the Valley of Sins. Belying the clear morning, the fickle spring weather had now cloaked the area in clouds. Was it because of his own stifled heart? The clouds clinging to the natural fortress of the upper valley seemed unusually thick to his eyes.

[From the perspective of pawns like us, all we can see is the enemy in front of us and the comrades beside us.] He slung his spear over his shoulder and took out a cigarette he had tucked into a gap in his armor. “Don’t overthink it.” He approached his junior and offered him another.

“Oh?!”

He placed it in his subordinate’s mouth and smiled. “Isn’t rolling around in the mud with underworld scum our specialty, anyway?”

“Well, that’s true.” The junior constable grinned, the cigarette dangling from his lips.

Just then, “To the right! All carriages belonging to the Central Security Annex, to the right of the road!”

Their carriage, which had been blocking the way, pulled over to the right, and Park and his junior followed. The moment they cleared the path, a procession of carriages sped past them.

“…Those are some fancy carriages for a neighborhood like this.”

“Indeed.” Park nodded in agreement. “Each carriage is different. The coachmen’s attire, the family crests on the doors… all of them.”

“They must belong to different families.”

Just as he said, the carriages that passed them all belonged to different clans.

“They look like the carriages of rather influential families…”

“Are they on their way to meet the Grand Young Master?”

“Perhaps—.”

Their conversation was cut short. “All forces of the Central Security Annex will now begin advancing to the mid-valley!” The most elite troops would take the lead.

Hearing the order, Park immediately shouted to his own men. “Alright, you heard the man!”

His junior, feigning bravado, also shouted, “Let’s get this fun little march started!”

And so, they began their advance toward Yeon So-hyeon’s forward base in the mid-valley. And the two constables had no idea that the men in the carriages that had just passed them were the very culprits who had caused them to be sent here in the first place—the ones who, in order to form an alliance with Yeon So-hyeon, had put out the contracts that had turned Luoyang into a sea of blood.

***

In a nearby building, temporarily secured for safety:

“Well, at least it’s a relief that we got something out of this instead of just retreating empty-handed.”

“Indeed. However…”

The district chiefs of Tanryunggu and Gahyo were conversing in low tones.

“The casualties among the city guards will be immense.”

“Indeed.”

Their stewards, who were attending to them, were inwardly surprised. To think their masters were worried about the casualties among the city guards. Had they finally turned over a new leaf?

“It costs a fortune to train each and every one of them. It’s a shame. If they die in droves today, next year’s budget will be a real concern.”

“Well, a shame is a shame, but we must think of it as an investment in the future. What else can we do?”

Turned over a new leaf? Of course not.

“That is true. Because,” the Gahyo District Chief stroked his beard and offered a sly smile, “right now, the Grand Young Master has extremely few allies he can call upon.”

“Indeed. The Cheong Clan and the Gong Clan. They are two powerful families, but…” the Tanryunggu District Chief said, mirroring his colleague’s smile, “both of them are short-handed from their war with the Second Young Master’s allied families, are they not?”

According to the reports, both families were suffering considerable losses. No matter the difference in quality, this was a war. For the Second Young Master’s allies, it was a matter of life and death, and they were fighting like cornered rats.

“And in the midst of this, we are the first among the district chiefs to ally with the Grand Young Master.”

“Turning a crisis into an opportunity!” The two men nodded at almost the same time.

“At first, we came here simply to pressure the Grand Young Master at the behest of the Second Young Master’s faction.”

“But instead, we have been able to join hands with the Grand Young Master, who is short on allies. This means we will be treated with greater importance in the future.”

The two men smiled in satisfaction.

“Although, in order to guarantee our safety…” The Gahyo District Chief waved his hand, dismissing everyone else from the room. “In order to guarantee our safety,” he said, his voice now a whisper, “it is a bit of a shame that we had to hand over half of the money we received from the Great Immortal Merchant Guild to the Grand Young Master.”

“But by doing so, if we get caught in the Sword Clan’s internal investigation, the Grand Young Master gets caught with us, does he not?” Men as cunning as them would never have backed down based on a simple promise from the Grand Young Master. The half of the black money they had given him was, to them, a form of insurance.

“That is true, but…” The Gahyo District Chief nodded, but still smacked his lips in regret. “The amount was so substantial, you see.”

The sum the Second Young Master’s faction had paid to high-ranking officials like them was truly enormous. And half of that had gone to Yeon So-hyeon.

“Hmm.” The Tanryunggu District Chief winced as he recalled the sum and shook his head. “Let us not think of such things.”

“We must think positively.”

“Indeed. In exchange, we have become the only allies the Grand Young Master can currently deploy—.”

He did not finish his sentence.

“Sir!”

“We are in the middle of an important conversation! This impertinence—!”

“You must see this at once!”

A subordinate who had rushed in panting handed him a note.

“This is…” The Tanryunggu District Chief, who had been ready to have the man flogged if the matter was trivial, felt his expression harden as he read. “This is a list of the families hostile to me.”

The Gahyo District Chief, taking the note, also scowled. “And families hostile to my own as well.”

They were families that were bound to be hostile. Because… “Are these not the families we have repeatedly disadvantaged administratively at the request of the Second and Third Young Masters?”

The Tanryunggu District Chief crumpled the note and demanded of his subordinate, “Why must I see this list so urgently?!”

“Just now,” the subordinate said, swallowing dryly, “the carriages of those very families have all arrived at the Valley of Sins.”

The two district chiefs shot to their feet at the same time. “For what reason?!”

“The report from the temporary checkpoint states that their purpose for visiting is, as ‘allies,’ to meet with the Grand Young Master of the Sword Clan…”

“Allies?!”

Allies. Allies with the Grand Young Master.

“…Th-then?!” Something was very wrong.

“You said there was no evidence that the Grand or Fourth Young Master’s faction directly hired the ones who attacked the merchants, correct?”

The subordinate nodded quickly. “Yes, that is according to the initial investigation…”

“And suddenly, the Grand Young Master, who had no known allies besides the Gong and Cheong Clans, has new allies appearing?”

“And they are families hostile to the Second and Third Young Masters’ factions?”

It did not take long for men as sharp as them, who prided themselves on their shrewdness in Luoyang’s political scene, to grasp the direction things were heading.

“Those bastards, those families…! They were the culprits who hired the ones who slaughtered the merchants!” The Tanryunggu District Chief clapped his hands in a moment of epiphany. “That’s it! That’s what happened! Look here, District Chief of Gahyo!” He turned to explain his theory to his colleague. “Listen to me…”

But the Gahyo District Chief’s face was ashen. Not only that, but a cold sweat was pouring down his face. “H-hey. District Chief of Gahyo. What on earth is—.”

“We are ruined.” The Gahyo District Chief looked at his colleague, not even bothering to wipe away the sweat.

“Ruined? What do you mean?” the Tanryunggu District Chief asked, tilting his head. “We have, at least, become one of the Grand Young Master’s allies—.”

His voice stopped. The realization had dawned on the Tanryunggu District Chief as well.

“…W-we.” His lips trembled. “Before our alliance with the Grand Young Master has even properly begun, we have ended up in the same alliance as a host of our enemies?”

Even within a single alliance, factions are bound to exist. And at this moment, they had just been automatically registered as the weakest faction in an alliance that had not even properly started.

“…We are ruined.” It was also the moment their golden future shattered into pieces.

“…And after offering up such a massive sum.” The Gahyo District Chief collapsed into his chair, his expression vacant. “Did we just commit political suicide?”

The Tanryunggu District Chief stared blankly out the window and muttered, “…What in the world just happened?”

For some reason, the laughter of the Grand Young Master seemed to echo in their ears.