The tower of human heads was still growing taller in real-time. Laborers with mismatched attire would arrive with heads loaded onto carts or A-frames, and the Fourth Young Master’s warriors would continuously stack them higher.

“…So you’re saying you don’t know what’s going on?”

“That is correct,” the Fourth Young Master’s man said with a shrug in response to Constable Park’s question. “Where these heads are coming from, why someone is sending them to us… we have no idea.” He continued in a placid tone, “In fact, we were just about to report this to the administration. It’s a good thing you came. Please, do investigate.”

“…”

For a moment, Constable Park was speechless. It was, truly, an absurdly brazen response.

“Then the reason you are building this tower is…?” Park asked, trying to avoid looking directly at it.

“Why, of course,” the warrior replied with a sly grin, “isn’t it to aid the investigation by gathering all the evidence in one place?”

“…”

The smile seemed to be an open mockery of him, and of the law itself. Swallowing a sigh, Park looked toward his junior.

“So they don’t know anything?”

“That’s right, sir.”

His junior was over there, questioning the laborers who were bringing in the heads.

“We were just contracted to move the ‘goods’ from a designated location to here, sir.”

“And the client?”

“We don’t know nothin’ like that. Don’t wanna know, neither.”

“Then how do you get paid after the job is done?”

“This cart the heads were in is my payment, sir.”

“…”

They were clearly laborers from the poorest dredges of society. Men who would do anything just to make ends meet. To them, hauling severed heads was likely no great matter.

“…I see.”

After dismissing the laborers, the junior constable looked toward Park and shrugged. [Sir. There is no one here who seems to know a single thing.]

[…Of course not.] The subordinates of men like the First and Fourth Young Masters of the Sword Clan would never leave such a glaring hole in their operations.

[We’ve done what we can. Let’s withdraw.]

[Yes, sir!]

The junior’s expression immediately brightened. Right… this should be enough. They had at least made a show of carrying out the investigation order from above. Any more than this was out of the question.

Just as they were wrapping things up and preparing to leave, a loud voice erupted from one side. “Are you still telling me no?!”

From his robes alone, it was clear the man shouting was a high-ranking official. “Didn’t I tell you I don’t care if it’s the Grand Young Master or the Fourth Young Master?!” It seemed the district chiefs were trying to meet with them. They had either finished formulating their plan or had finally mustered their courage. Or perhaps the ones behind them have applied even more pressure, Park sneered to himself.

Unaware of Park’s silent mockery, the high-ranking official spoke again, his voice now trembling. “…Can’t you really do something?” His tone was now practically a plea.

“Well…” The man from the Fourth Young Master’s side also looked troubled.

“If you require a reason sufficient to convince the district chiefs…” A new voice came from the direction of the entrance, and the high-ranking official’s head snapped toward it. “I shall provide one.”

The high-ranking official’s body trembled as if struck by lightning as he looked at the speaker, who was being followed by a group of attendants. No high-ranking official in Luoyang would fail to recognize their attire.

“The Sword Clan’s Inner Court?!”

The official’s gaze dropped to the waist of the man who had spoken to him. Seven golden tassels…! The appearance matched a description in his memory. “…Are you the Chief Secretary to the Steward of the Inner Court?”

“I am.”

The high-ranking official swallowed dryly. The Chief Secretary smiled. “Now, I’m sure you will be able to persuade the district chiefs that they, too, must wait their turn, will you not?”

The official nodded frantically. “Y-yes, of course!” It went without saying. The Chief Secretary being here meant that… The Chief Steward of the Inner Court is here…!

The high-ranking official did not dare to ask, ‘Why is the Sword Clan’s Inner Court here?!’ Nor could he ask, ‘Is the Chief Steward of the Inner Court here?!’

Because the Inner Court of the Luoyang Sword Clan was that kind of place. And the Chief Steward of the Inner Court was that kind of man. The Chief Steward had been the Chief Steward when he, as a young man, had first entered public service. And now that he was old and a high-ranking official, the Chief Steward was still the Chief Steward.

***

The Fourth Young Master, Yeon-bi, watched the high-ranking official scurry down the path and spoke. “Chief Steward, it seems you have no intention of concealing your presence here.”

“What is there for this old man to fear that would require me to hide my presence?” the Chief Steward of the Inner Court replied in a leisurely tone. “If anything, it is the Grand Young Master who should wish to conceal our meeting, no?”

It was a statement he could only make because he was certain Yeon So-hyeon was in the middle of some clandestine operation.

“…An operation I am in the middle of? How can I be in the middle of something I myself do not know about?” Yeon So-hyeon shrugged, feigning ignorance.

“Let us dispense with the nonsense, Grand Young Master,” the Chief Steward said. Yeon So-hyeon knew as well as anyone that such pretenses were useless before the old monster of the Sword Clan. “All of Luoyang is feeling your rage right now. But you cannot fool this old man.”

“…!”

At his words, the Fourth Young Master, who had been listening with a shocked expression, quickly schooled his features and looked at Yeon So-hyeon. Elder Brother?!

Yeon So-hyeon’s eyes narrowed in displeasure. “…Are you questioning the sincerity of my anger for my sisters?”

“No.”

Despite the pressure from Yeon So-hyeon that seemed to constrict the very air in the room, the Chief Steward, sitting ramrod straight, was completely unfazed. “The anger is real, I’m sure. However…” The glint deep within the Chief Steward’s eyes clashed with Yeon So-hyeon’s. “This old man has been watching you since you were very young.” The Chief Steward’s gaze deepened, for a moment seeming to pierce right through Yeon So-hyeon. “It was the same even when you were a child. You have never once made a move for only a single reason.”

The Chief Steward’s voice deepened like his gaze. “With your heart, you expressed seemingly pure emotion. With your mind, you read the thoughts of others as if dissecting them. With your eyes, you saw a thousand li into the distance, and with your mouth, you spoke of the future.”

The Fourth Young Master swallowed a low groan at the Chief Steward’s words.

“When your right hand pointed forward, your left hand was moving behind your back. When your right arm cared for people with infinite benevolence, your left hand was mercilessly slaughtering your enemies.”

Yeon So-hyeon cut off the Chief Steward, who was digging into his very essence. “What is it you are trying to say?”

The Chief Steward’s lips moved, his words piercing through Yeon So-hyeon’s strategy. “The Great Immortal Merchant Guild[1].” It was the name of the Second Young Master’s external intelligence agency.

“…”

As Yeon So-hyeon remained silent for a moment, the Chief Steward continued. “You are using this chaos as a cover to target the Great Immortal Merchant Guild, are you not?”

“…Since you seem to know everything already,” Yeon So-hyeon said, ending his silence, “I will not waste our time with pointless denials. Besides…” Yeon So-hyeon leaned back comfortably in his chair. “…your personal visit here has just given me the certainty that the Great Immortal Merchant Guild’s weakness has been exposed.”

The Chief Steward also retracted his sharp gaze. “As expected of the Grand Young Master. It is good to speak with someone who understands.”

The Fourth Young Master held up his hand. “W-wait a moment!” He was the only one in the room not following the conversation. “What is going on here?” These two were speaking in such abbreviated terms that even he, who was called a genius, could not understand.

“Elder Brother, you said that this whole situation was a misdirection by the Second Young Master’s faction.” And Yeon So-hyeon had said that the Chief Steward’s appearance had given him certainty that it was a misdirection. “Then, judging from your words, what the Second Young Master’s faction wants to hide with this misdirection…” The boy’s brilliant mind pieced together the situation from the conversation the two men were having in their own private language. “…is the exposed weakness of the Great Immortal Merchant Guild?”

“That is correct, Fourth Young Master. The Great Immortal Merchant Guild is no simple intelligence organization,” the Chief Steward said, his gaze toward the Fourth Young Master somewhat more amicable than it had been toward the First. “The Second Young Master’s faction—no, to be precise…” The old man gestured with his cane. “…the Grand Matron Ouyang[2] has, since long ago, been using the Great Immortal Merchant Guild to secretly launder the Sword Clan’s funds and embezzle a massive fortune.”

“…!”

The Grand Young Master added, “To be precise, it started after my father collapsed.”

“But…!” The Fourth Young Master looked confused. “The Chief Steward’s job is one thing, but how did you know that, Elder Brother…?” In the middle of his sentence, he realized it himself. “The Sword Clan Financial Bureau…!” he exclaimed, his voice somewhere between an epiphany and a scream. “The ledgers you obtained from the Financial Bureau!”

Yeon So-hyeon nodded. “In the end, only the Sword Clan Financial Bureau could be the source of such a massive amount of money.”

The Fourth Young Master cried out in disbelief. “Then the reason you visited the Financial Bureau was…!” On the surface, there had been other reasons, such as the corruption of the Yeon clansmen or tying up the allied families of the Second Young Master’s faction who had been visiting. “It was to confirm the massive amount of funds that had been funneled to the Great Immortal Merchant Guild!”

“That’s right.”

The pieces began to click together in the Fourth Young Master’s mind.

“And the decisive reason the corrupt Yeon clansmen chose to attend the meeting hosted by the Second Young Master’s faction at that specific time was…!”

“Because the Second Young Master’s faction had embezzled the most money from the Financial Bureau. The purpose of that meeting was not to attack me, but to protect themselves.”

“But it was of little help! Because you sent the Third Young Master’s faction back to the front lines, the Second Young Master’s faction could no longer serve as their focal point!”

“Having failed to ally with the corrupt Yeon clansmen, the Second Young Master’s faction grew more desperate.”

“And the Yeon clansmen began smuggling their black money out of Luoyang—.”

This time, it was the Chief Steward who picked up the thread. “Furthermore, the funds the Yeon clansmen were smuggling were plundered by an ‘unidentified’ party.” The Chief Steward’s gaze flickered toward Yeon So-hyeon as he said ‘unidentified.’ “Now that the funds of the corrupt Yeon clansmen that the Central Inspectorate was supposed to investigate have vanished, it is obvious that the next target of the investigation will be the Great Immortal Merchant Guild. They could hold out no longer.”

Yeon So-hyeon coolly ignored his gaze.

“So that was it!” The Fourth Young Master clapped his hands. “The reason Luoyang was not blockaded even after the Third Young Master’s pursuit was thwarted!”

His elder brother had said the probability of the attack being a misdirection was sixty percent. “Yes. I surmised that the Second Young Master’s faction must have intervened to prevent a blockade, even amidst all this chaos.”

“Because if the city were blockaded, the Great Immortal Merchant Guild’s funds would also be trapped!”

Thus, a sixty percent probability. The moment the Chief Steward arrived, that probability became one hundred percent. The Great Immortal Merchant Guild was currently attempting to move the massive fortune embezzled from the Sword Clan to the outside. A fortune so vast no one would dare to even look for it. But, just like the Yeon clansmen, the moment they themselves put those funds in motion, that was the moment their weakness was exposed.

“The Central Inspectorate has been making a show of investigating here and there, but so far they haven’t properly investigated a single place!” This was to make the Great Immortal Merchant Guild even more anxious. And also, to be able to focus the full power of the entire Central Inspectorate on striking them at the precise moment.

“From the moment you visited the Sword Clan Financial Bureau, you were already aiming for the head of your enemies! Grand Matron Ouyang’s weakness!”

Yeon So-hyeon merely smiled in response. The answer came from somewhere else.

“The visit to the Financial Bureau? No, Fourth Young Master.”

At those words, the Fourth Young Master, Yeon-bi’s, gaze shifted to the speaker. The only person in the room who could keep up with Yeon So-hyeon’s thoughts. The person who had been watching Yeon So-hyeon ceaselessly, without a moment’s rest.

The Chief Steward of the Inner Court spoke in a low voice. “It must have been from long before that.”

Yeon So-hyeon looked at the Chief Steward with the enigmatic smile of someone who has just posed a riddle. “From when do you think it was?”

The Chief Steward answered. “From the time you visited the Mount Beimang tombs.” He continued, his voice slow and deliberate, but filled with conviction. “The former patriarchs of the Sixteen Imperial Families are, in both name and reality, the representative artists of the Central Plains. Their influence on the art market is beyond words. And the art market is—.”

The Fourth Young Master cried out as if screaming. “Money laundering!”

The Chief Steward nodded. “The art market is one of the Great Immortal Merchant Guild’s primary means of laundering money.”

In truth, from the moment Yeon So-hyeon made contact with the former patriarchs of the Sixteen Imperial Families, his plan to pressure the Great Immortal Merchant Guild had already begun. His visit to the Sixteen Imperial Families was not solely for that reason, but that reason was certainly part of it.

“…Hah.” The Fourth Young Master collapsed into his seat. “Just what on earth, Elder Brother…”

“No.” The Chief Steward, who had been watching Yeon So-hyeon’s unchanging, enigmatic expression, corrected himself. “It wasn’t from the time you visited the Mount Beimang tombs.”

“…Pardon?”

For the first time, an expression appeared on the Chief Steward’s face. It was faint, but it was there. It was something close to admiration. Or perhaps, astonishment.

“The Grand Young Master’s plan to ally with the former patriarchs of the Sixteen Imperial Families could not have possibly begun at the time he visited them.”

At his words, the smile on Yeon So-hyeon’s face deepened.

Seeing that smile, the expression on the Chief Steward’s face began to grow more pronounced. “Indeed. The plan must have begun long, long before he visited them.”

Yeon So-hyeon’s smile deepened further. One intention within another intention. One scheme within another scheme. One preparation alongside another preparation.

“In that case…” That smile gave the Chief Steward the certainty he needed for his guess. “…It was from the very beginning.”

Finally, Yeon So-hyeon laughed.

“Correct.”