Chapter 24

“I am the Governor-General of Jilin Province.”

As she unwound the cloth concealing her face, a heavy, intoxicating scent of flowers permeated the room.

“Xianyu Hyeong-bi.”

The beautiful middle-aged woman introduced herself and took a seat, though none had been offered.

“And you are… the Grand Young Master of the Sword Clan?”

Receiving her gaze, Moyong Ho narrowed his eyes.

“…I am Moyong Ho. I know you cannot have forgotten my face, so I will take that as a poor joke.”

It was an impossibility for a direct descendant of the Moyong Clan and the Governor-General of Jilin to be strangers to one another’s countenances.

“Oh my. Oh my.”

At Moyong Ho’s sharp retort, Governor-General Xianyu Hyeong-bi smiled coyly and waved a dismissive hand.

“Of course, I remember. Is your father well?”

“……”

Moyong Ho’s father, the Northern Great General, was bedridden. It was a widely known fact that he lay unconscious; no one in the region was ignorant of it.

In truth, Xianyu Hyeong-bi’s inquiry was nothing short of a naked provocation.

“Oh my…!”

Seeing Moyong Ho rise with a hardened expression, she covered her mouth with a pale hand, feigning shock.

“Are you angry?”

“……”

Moyong Ho, having stood from his seat, did not betray his emotions further. Instead, he gestured toward the seat of honor with rigid, polite military discipline.

“This gentleman here.”

Unexpectedly, at his calm demeanor—refusing the bait of her provocation—Xianyu Hyeong-bi’s eyes sparkled with genuine intrigue. Ignoring her reaction, Moyong Ho continued the introduction, his posture as straight and unyielding as a spear.

“Is the proxy of the Great Emperor who rules the Great Central Plains Empire. And the Commander appointed to suppress the usurper Yelü Nuzhucha, who disturbs the North.”

Moyong Ho imbued his voice with iron weight.

“He is the Grand Young Master of the Luoyang Sword Clan, Lord Yeon So-hyeon.”

As the introduction concluded, a soft sound broke the silence.

“Oh my, look at him…”

Laughter spilled from Xianyu Hyeong-bi’s rouge-painted lips.

“I wondered what you were going to say with such a heavy atmosphere.”

She smiled softly at Moyong Ho, waving her hand as if shooing away a fly.

“I know that much well enough without you introducing him.”

It was an attitude that asked why he bothered with such tedious formalities.

“……”

However, Moyong Ho, having finished the Grand Young Master’s introduction and returned to a position of attention, did not falter.

Instead, chin held high, he glared at Governor-General Xianyu Hyeong-bi with eyes burning with intensity. These were not merely the eyes of the young master of the Moyong Clan.

They were the eyes of a soldier who had slaughtered tens, hundreds of enemies.

At times, they were the eyes of a commander forced to send his subordinates into the jaws of death, fully aware they would not return.

“……”

Eventually, she conceded.

“…Sigh.”

Governor-General Xianyu Hyeong-bi exhaled as if helpless against his stubbornness and stood up. She placed a hand over her chest and bowed her head toward the Grand Young Master.

“I greet the Grand Young Master, the Emperor’s proxy and Subjugation Commander.”

As her family’s roots lay not in the Central Plains Empire but in the Haedong Kingdom, her etiquette possessed nuances unfamiliar to the people of the Central Plains.

“Happy now?”

Without waiting for Moyong Ho’s response, she sat down again, crossing her legs.

“Tsk, tsk. You were just cute when you were young. Where did that pretty boy go, leaving only a dark, grim officer in his place?”

She retrieved a long pipe from her bosom, clamped it between her lips, and lit it with practiced ease.

Exhale.

Her gaze followed the smoke as it rose and scattered in the stagnant air of the tent, eventually sliding toward the Grand Young Master.

“Perhaps…”

She leaned her shoulder slightly forward, licking her glossy lips.

“Should I introduce myself properly again too, Grand Young Master?”

Decadent beauty and a provocative attitude. Like an acrobat walking a tightrope, she skillfully skirted the line of disrespect without quite crossing it.

“No.”

When the Grand Young Master finally spoke, his voice clear and resonant, her eyes sharpened.

“There is no need for that.”

***

“Suppose the Governor-General of Jilin Province, Xianyu Hyeong-bi, visits.”

On behalf of Dread King Yelü Nuzhucha, an aide had once asked.

“What should be noted when meeting her?”

“Hmm.”

At that question, Grand Strategist Sima had closed his eyes for a moment.

“…Unlike her flashy appearance, what lies inside is undoubtedly a beast of prey.”

“Beast of prey?”

One of the Dread King’s generals smirked.

“In our tribe, if you can’t hunt a single beast of prey, you don’t even become an adult.”

Sima calmly accepted the mockery, his face void of emotion.

“Then, you would know better.”

He deliberately addressed that general in the language of the Central Plains.

“When you meet a beast of prey, what happens if you get scared and show your back?”

The general, eager to boast of his bravery and mock the perceived weakness of Central Plains officials, began to speak. However, by the time the interpreter finished translating the long question…

“……”

“……”

Everyone had fallen silent, staring at him. He realized the time for nonsense had passed.

“…Tsk.”

Clicking his tongue, the general answered.

“You get bitten on the neck and die.”

“Thank you for the answer.”

Withdrawing his gaze, Sima addressed the assembly.

“Therefore, just like a beast of prey. When meeting Jilin Governor-General Xianyu Hyeong-bi, the most important thing is—“

The Dread King opened his mouth, answering in his stead.

“—Dominating the spirit.”

Sima smiled.

“Precisely.”

***

“Glad to hear there’s no need.”

Governor-General Xianyu Hyeong-bi puffed out a long stream of smoke.

“I dislike empty formalities.”

She sent a beaming smile to the Grand Young Master.

“I heard you also enjoy practical conversations. Is that right?”

“It is.”

“Good.”

She laughed happily at the Grand Young Master’s confirmation.

“Then let’s skip the useless things and—”

“—However.”

If it were anyone else, their liver would have chilled at the sudden interruption.

“However, what?”

But with her characteristic boldness, she did not avoid—nor even attempt to avoid—the Grand Young Master’s gaze.

“Apologize for mentioning the Northern Great General rudely.”

“…Hmm.”

Instead of answering, Xianyu Hyeong-bi hummed a long note, staring intently at the Grand Young Master. She was looking into his eyes, attempting to measure the depth of his seriousness.

“……”

If a beauty of her caliber stared so intently from such close range, any ordinary man would likely be flustered.

“……”

But Grand Young Master Yeon So-hyeon’s eyes, watching her over interlaced fingers, did not waver.

Eyes are often compared to calm lakes, but his were far from that. They resembled an absurd abyss, a void that threatened to suck the observer in without revealing its bottom. The tension in the room seemed to swallow even the ambient sound.

Gulp.

In that moment, even Moyong Ho couldn’t help but swallow dryly.

“…I apologize.”

Xianyu Hyeong-bi chose to retreat quickly.

“Sorry.”

Her apology was light. But clean.

It was still an attitude akin to walking a tightrope over a precipice. Because the apology was offered before the atmosphere became irrevocable, she hadn’t crossed the line.

“Ahem.”

Moyong Ho coughed carefully, attempting to diffuse the lingering tension.

“First, let me call someone for a cup of tea—”

Without a word.

“……”

The Grand Young Master raised his hand, silencing him.

“I apologize.”

Moyong Ho shut his mouth immediately. Xianyu Hyeong-bi observed this interaction with keen interest.

It hasn’t even been a few days since Moyong Ho and the Grand Young Master met.

Her eyes gleamed.

Yet the Grand Young Master handles the young master of the Moyong Clan—whom even those rough Northern generals find difficult—like his own limb?

The figure called Grand Young Master Yeon So-hyeon was more interesting than the rumors suggested. Far more interesting than she had anticipated.

“……”

When the Grand Young Master remained silent, she tore her gaze away from Moyong Ho, corrected her posture, and focused solely on Yeon So-hyeon. “Excuse me,” she smiled. “So, what were you trying to say, Grand Young Master?”

Quietly, the Grand Young Master, looking at her with an expressionless face, opened his mouth.

“Since ending my seclusion. To this Grand Young Master…”

He let the sentence hang. She shrugged.

“Since ending your seclusion? What…?”

The Grand Young Master continued, completing the thought.

“Those who were rude have all died.”

“……”

***

“It will absolutely not be easy to dominate her spirit.”

When Sima said that, some of the Dread King’s generals burst into laughter.

“Isn’t she just a Governor-General of the frontier at best?”

“If she sees the majesty of our steppe cavalry, the Mangudai, with her own eyes, she won’t have any spirit left to dominate, will she?”

Sima did not mock the generals. He simply explained, calm as always.

“Though a distant branch, she is of the Xianyu bloodline of the Haedong Kingdom. She knows her background well.”

Someone with powerful authority in the Central Plains Empire could dismiss her from the position of Governor-General. If they pushed hard enough, they might even exile her. But directly harming her was a different matter entirely.

“Furthermore…”

Sima added a crucial detail.

“She mingled with the Armored Iron Armored Cavalry boasted by the Haedong Kingdom since childhood and even received training from them.”

Sima scanned the generals.

“Do you think such a woman would blink an eye at a cavalry legion?”

“……”

“……”

The generals shut their mouths.

The Armored Iron Armored Cavalry of the Haedong Kingdom was the elite of elites, the only unit comparable to the Mangudai of the North. The generals of the North, who respected the strong, would never joke about a true adversary.

“To make her scared,” Sima said firmly. “Would be a difficult task for anyone.”

***

“…Uh, so.”

At first, she thought it was a joke.

Turning her head to exhale a plume of smoke, she saw the Grand Young Master still wearing no expression.

“You say everyone who was rude to the Grand Young Master died?”

“Correct.”

A calm answer. Content that was anything but.

“Oh my…”

She smiled softly, trying to steer the atmosphere in a lighter direction.

“I wasn’t that rude to you, was I?”

Instead of responding to her question, the Grand Young Master continued his story, “Among those who perished for being rude to me, the one I recall distinctly is…” He spoke as if he were jogging his memory, “Yang O-dan.”

Instantly, the name struck a chord.

“Yang O-dan…?”

As if playing along with the Grand Young Master’s tune for the moment, she repeated it, her voice echoing, “Yang O-dan. Yang O-dan…” Her movements froze, and her eyes widened in disbelief. “Surely…?” she murmured, her mind racing. “By Yang O-dan. Do you mean that Yang O-dan, the former Patriarch of the Divine Spear Yang Clan, one of the powerful wings of the Sixteen Imperial Families?” Her brilliant mind recalled intelligence she had received months ago. “That Old Demon who suddenly vanished from Mount Beimang, causing widespread speculation…?” she asked, her voice tinged with incredulity. “You say he didn’t go missing, Grand Young Master, but you killed him yourself?”

The sound of the Grand Young Master tapping the armrest with his finger suddenly felt chilling.

“The bastard tried to deceive me to my face and strike me in the back.”

His voice was thoroughly emotionless.

“So I disposed of him, and left the cleanup to the remaining hunting dogs.”

“Remaining hunting dogs…?”

The Grand Young Master answered as if it were trivial.

“The remaining Old Demons.”

“……!”

His gaze, thick with unfathomable darkness, seemed to physically pierce through her eyes.

“…That’s a bad joke.” She opened her mouth with difficulty. “A one-sided claim full of bluff with no basis is—”

“—Then.”

The Grand Young Master cut her off.

“Would you like to test it?”