Chapter 50: The Wind Begins to Blow (5)
The atmosphere in the chief steward's office turned frigid. Bewilderment flickered across Taekyeong's face.
"Wh-what do you mean?"
Crack! Yeon Hojeong crushed the teacup in his grip. Even though he'd shattered it barehanded, not a single scratch marred his skin. Taekyeong involuntarily swallowed at the menacing display.
"At first, it was a bit puzzling," Yeon Hojeong said, opening his hand. Clatter. The fragments of the broken cup tumbled down like rain.
"Normally, when planting a spy in another organization, there are three rules. First, an inconspicuous location. Second, an inconspicuous position. Third, an inconspicuous personality."
Taekyeong's eyes wavered. He was a man trained to maintain composure even if lightning struck before him. But now, he couldn't.
The eldest young master was openly calling him a spy. Those eyes burned like lightning, fierce and molten as lava. It was impossible to tell if it was killing intent or sheer authority. The moment the teacup shattered, so did Taekyeong's calm. And Yeon Hojeong's killing intent slipped perfectly into that crack in his mind.
"A first-rate spy follows those rules to the letter. People don't suspect the unremarkable ones. Countless factions in the martial world have fallen to such spies."
"……!!"
"But special-grade ones are different." Yeon Hojeong pointed at himself with his thumb. "Spies of special-grade classification show the exact opposite traits from ordinary ones. They have conspicuous personalities, seize eye-catching positions, and linger in prominent places."
"……!!"
"When trouble erupts, they're the first anyone would suspect—but they also have countless ways to deflect it. They know that once they dodge the arrow of suspicion, it never comes back."
Yeon Hojeong smiled. Taekyeong couldn't return it.
"But you're unique. Not quite first-rate, yet not special-grade either. Your personality isn't flashy, but you're working in a vital hub of the organization with a highly visible role."
"Y-Young Master! If you're mistaking me for a spy……."
"Mistake? I'm certain."
"……!"
"I was thrown off at first myself. No matter how I looked at it, you weren't from the Myeong family—so who else could it be? Excluding the Myeong, was there anyone else gunning for the main house?"
Taekyeong gripped his thigh without realizing it.
'Myeong family? What's that? Were the Myeong targeting this place too?!'
Even in this dire moment, he gathered new information. Instinctively memorizing details to relay to his allies if escape succeeded.
Yeon Hojeong chuckled derisively.
"Didn't Alliance Leader Moyong tell you? That he'd allied with the Myeong family?"
"……?!"
"Impressive handiwork. Looks like a pet spy you've nurtured with care. Easy to cut loose if caught, or just play dumb and deny it, right?"
"……!!"
"The Moyong clan…… how amusing. Scheming betrayal upon betrayal? In the end, the main house was just innocently gauging public sentiment amid the infighting of those vultures."
Now, Yeon Hojeong could piece together what had happened in his past life. The Moyong and Myeong families had both targeted the Yeon. Not separately, but together.
The Yeon weren't a clan one group could swallow whole. Especially not one of the Seven Great Families with so many enemies. So the Myeong and Moyong had joined hands, planning to topple the Yeon and split Jiangsu Province between them.
Yeon Wi had opposed the business proposal to the bitter end. That's when the Myeong stepped in—deciding that a clan beyond persuasion should be crushed by force and claimed, the most barbaric yet effective choice.
What was astonishing was the Moyong clan's move. The Myeong's utter annihilation without a trace was likely the Moyong's doing. A family that had risen to the glory of —the world's greatest house—in such a short history.
Of course, the Moyong alone couldn't have buried them completely. But they'd undoubtedly played the leading role. Otherwise, the Moyong wouldn't be hailed as the world's greatest house.
In the end, everyone had been played by the Moyong clan.
"That's how the world works. Black path, white path—they draw lines and judge, but it's all the same. The good get screwed, the bad get fat."
"……."
"Makes you think Alliance Leader Moyong is truly something, doesn't it? You don't strike me as one of the good guys either—what faith did he inspire for you to risk your life like this?"
Yeon Hojeong grinned wickedly.
"What, did he promise you'd stand by his side and survey the world once he claims it?"
Cold sweat trickled down Taekyeong's neck.
"I-I have no idea what you're talking about, Young Master……."
"Knew it."
Yeon Hojeong glared at Taekyeong and bellowed.
"Huigae!"
Swish.
Taekyeong jolted in surprise. He hadn't noticed when the man had arrived. Gadeuksang stood in the corner of the office, arms crossed right in front of the shadowed bookshelf.
"Tch, I didn't wanna butt into a family spat, but……."
Gadeuksang's glare at Taekyeong was ice-cold.
"Your sleazy antics killed any interest in the payout."
Yeon Hojeong extended his hand. Gadeuksang handed over a neatly folded letter.
Encrypted missive from Tongcheon Group to Moyong Clan.
(Decoded secret code—complex cipher, but straightforward for experts.)
Taekyeong's eyes shook violently.
'How did they get that?!'
This was a letter sent to the Moyong clan via Tongcheon Group. The issue was that it hadn't been sent in the Yeon name.
Having served as chief steward for quite some time, he'd turned a few Tongcheon members into his own people.
"Written in secret code. Pretty intricate, but not hard to crack."
Taekyeong felt the world go dark. Anyone else might struggle, but the Beggar Clan? Decoding ciphers was child's play for them. The larger the info network, the higher the caliber of their codebreakers.
The Beggar Clan sat at the pinnacle of the white path's intelligence world—a colossal group boasting countless super-elite decoders.
Yeon Hojeong shook the letter.
"Enough with the theatrics. Hiding your true face this long must've paralyzed your facial muscles, right?"
He was right. With the coded letter exposed, denial was pointless. Even without it, he'd already failed to control his expression before Yeon Hojeong.
'Damn it.'
Taekyeong sighed.
"How did you know?"
Yeon Hojeong's eyes sparkled. He'd been certain, but hadn't expected such a clean admission.
"How'd I know what?"
"I'm curious what sparked your suspicion of me."
Yeon Hojeong snorted.
"You think I'd bother explaining? It's obvious at a glance—even an idiot could see it."
A statement that made fools of most who roamed the martial world.
Taekyeong gave a wry smile.
"Not planning to tell me, then."
He couldn't say it even if he wanted to. And even if he did, his past wouldn't make it believable.
"Kinda anticlimactic. Thought you'd deny it to the end."
"Even if I did, would you believe me?"
"Of course not."
"That's why I admitted it."
An odd statement, at least to Yeon Hojeong's ears.
"I misjudged you. Thought you were just some hack warrior desperate to become family head."
"Good acting on your part."
"Impressive performance. Even I, aiming to be a strategist, couldn't see through a young man's heart—guess I still have far to go."
Yeon Hojeong sensed a subtle pride in his voice.
'Just as I expected.'
Taekyeong's eyes deepened.
"You wouldn't act alone, so the family head must know too."
Years after going undercover, and he still brazenly called him "family head." That shamelessness alone was first-rate. Even a spy wouldn't find it easy.
Yeon Hojeong shook his head.
"Father doesn't know."
"No need to lie in this situation."
"That's the point."
Taekyeong frowned.
'The family head doesn't know?'
He scrutinized Yeon Hojeong's face closely.
"……Is it true?"
"Catch a fish, and you skin it first—wanna waste time on jokes?"
"Why didn't you tell him?"
Yeon Hojeong smiled chillingly. Seeing it, Taekyeong suddenly realized.
"You…… your ambition to become family head is real!"
"I wouldn't expect fake acting to fool a spy who's lived the lie for a decade."
Taekyeong sighed softly.
"My arrogance led to this. I saw your essence but got duped by the facade."
Whatever help he'd gotten, Yeon Hojeong was the mastermind here. He'd exposed a spy and proven his worth—without telling a soul, for that very reason.
As Taekyeong sighed, he inwardly rejoiced.
'What an idiot!'
Family head doesn't know? Even if he did, escape was possible—but ignorance made it easier. Taekyeong couldn't suppress a sneer at Yeon Hojeong's greed.
Yeon Hojeong rose from his seat.
"Thanks for being the stepping stone to my future."
Taekyeong glared with venomous eyes.
"Watch yourself. The greedy always slip up in unexpected places."
"That's what the timid do."
"Like father, like son, they say—and it fits."
"Not advice I'd take from a lowly spy like you."
Yeon Hojeong jerked his chin toward the door.
"Crawl out on all fours, or get dragged?"
Moments later, Taekyeong was surrounded by warriors and marched to the prison.
Watching his retreating figure, Yeon Hojeong said,
"Huigae."
"Speak."
"Tell Father we'll handle the rest—he should catch up with old friends."
* * *
Screeech!
The solitary cell door swung open.
Thud! Taekyeong tumbled inside like a sack.
The room was so cramped, one person lying down filled it completely. The Law Hall Chief's eyes blazed with fury.
"Never thought you'd stoop to this."
Taekyeong lay with his back turned, staring at the wall. He seemed almost transcendent in his detachment.
"To think you'd dupe us with that shameless mug?!"
"……."
"Nothing to say?!"
"……."
Taekyeong remained silent. The fuming Law Hall Chief spat coldly,
"You won't die easy."
The door slammed shut.
Bang! The steel door rattled violently.
Thus, Taekyeong was sealed alone in the dim cell, lit only by faint moonlight.
"……."
How much time passed? Taekyeong, sitting with eyes closed, finally spoke.
"Listener."
Astonishingly, a voice replied from the tiny window.
"Speaker."
"……."
"Mystic Heaven, Vast Heaven."
"Vast Heaven."
Ting. A small, black key slid through the window. Too dark to see where it fell.
Taekyeong groped the floor and barely found it.
'Got it.'
Now it was simple. He felt along the wall opposite the door with the key.
'Lower left point, upper three, right two.'
No matter how well-built the prison, gaps existed between stones. But Taekyeong sought more—a precise iron hole fitting the key.
Click. Clack.
Darkness made it hard to insert. Sweat beaded on his brow. He'd practiced endlessly in secret, but reality proved trickier.
'Hoo.'
Calming himself, he tried again.
Moments later.
Whooosh.
Incredibly, the floor center sank away silently. No sound despite the earth giving way. Taekyeong slipped inside with a silent cheer.
Swish.
After he entered, the floor reset perfectly. The solitary cell stood empty.