Returning the Sword of Shame
Wherever Yeon Min-gyun went, he could feel the people's stares. Their eyes spoke volumes.
"This is all because that Yeon Mu Seventh Division got utterly humiliated by a carrier. I heard Yeon Fifth got carted off to the hospital, but that carrier bastard just walked out grinning ear to ear."
"Yeon Min-gyun, huh. He clawed his way to division leader without a care for means or methods, and now look—he's dragged shit all over us. Got adopted into the family, my ass. Blood will out."
"Shouldn't he take responsibility and step down from division leader? Look at that face. Shameless, right? We need Yeon Mu-jin right now. If he'd stepped up, none of this would've happened. I heard Yeon Min-gyun framed him and got him kicked out of the family."
When Yeon Min-gyun turned to glare, those piercing, accusatory stares vanished like smoke.
His hand trembled on the hilt of the Yeonhwa Mu-won Sword at his waist.
He crossed the courtyard toward the inner quarters. The guard on duty stepped aside at the sight of him.
Yeon Min-gyun stood before the Great Spring Hall.
The old steward, Gil Jeong-mok, called inside.
"Family Head, Division Leader Yeon Mu has arrived."
"Send him in."
Yeon Min-gyun strode toward the glow of the incense burner, blooming like a massive lotus in the darkness.
Yeon Un-jae wore round glasses and pored over a thick ledger-like book. He looked up.
"What brings you?"
"I've come to return the Yeonhwa Mu-won Sword."
Yeon Min-gyun carefully placed the sword on the wooden table—the very blade the family head had given him on the day he became division leader.
Lotus blossoms bloomed in wild profusion along the scabbard and blade alike. The Yeonhwa Mu-won Sword had been his pride.
Yeon Un-jae removed his glasses and eyed him again.
"Stepping down from division leader?"
"…Yes."
"Because of what people are saying?"
"Yeon Mu Seventh's failure is the responsibility of both Yeon First Division and Division Leader Yeon Mu—that is, me."
Yeon Min-gyun poured every ounce of will into keeping his voice steady.
"Tsk tsk. People really are vile. I made that decision, yet they're dumping their venom on the wrong man. Of course, you're an easy target."
Yeon Un-jae tossed the book he was reading at Yeon Min-gyun.
Caught off guard, Yeon Min-gyun fumbled it open—and froze at the name scrawled on the page right after the cover.
"This is…?"
"Right. Your little brother's diary."
The Yeon estate had erupted in chaos after the family head announced he'd take a carrier as a client at that press conference. In a crisis that called for aggressive countermeasures, digging through a dead man's diary? For a split second, Yeon Min-gyun wondered if the old patriarch's mind had slipped.
No. The decisiveness in kidnapping Choi Min-su's son, the trap's sophistication, even the exit strategy using Yeon Mu-jin… This old man's sharper than anyone.
"You've mastered the Cheonroe Sword Technique?"
Yeon Un-jae asked abruptly.
"…Yes."
"Could you block my Gyeokgok Arrow if I poured in 100% power?"
"Impossible."
His real thoughts differed. An arrow was a ranged weapon; with enough distance, he figured he could bat it away with his sword.
"You're too good at lying. Do you even convince yourself?"
"How could I lie before you, Family Head?"
Yeon Min-gyun swiftly masked his fluster.
"High praise. I despise those who can't lie. Anyway, that's why I brought this up—lest you mistake me for a doddering old fool with dementia."
"Family Head!"
An indignant expression.
"That boy blocked the Cheonroe Sword Technique's Gyeokgok Arrow. Even Gon-geun Arrow and Chung-hyeon Arrow."
"No way…?"
"Indeed. That carrier. I keep wondering if my eyes deceived me, but no—they didn't. And even more astonishing: his swordsmanship carried an uncanny echo of Chung-jae. As if the boy were his disciple."
"Do you think he's still alive?"
Yeon Min-gyun's voice shook.
To hear such a staggering secret…
"No. Chung-jae couldn't stay hidden this long. But I won't sleep easy until I uncover how a carrier became the Cheonroe Sword Lord… how he wielded the Cheonroe Sword Technique."
"That's why you took him as a client."
Yeon Min-gyun belatedly understood why the family head had bulldozed through the fierce opposition of the Cheonmu Pavilion Leader, Cheonma Pavilion Leader, and even the Cheonchal Pavilion Leader to hold that press conference.
A wrinkled hand grasped the Yeonhwa Mu-won Sword and set it aside.
Realizing what that gesture meant, Yeon Min-gyun clenched his teeth.
No matter the cause, the family's outrage had peaked. He had to step down as division leader.
Yeon Un-jae glanced at the disappointed man and chuckled softly.
"From now on, investigate how Chung-jae lived, who he befriended, if he ever taught the Cheonroe Sword Technique to anyone. Discreetly, of course."
"…Understood."
"If you succeed, you'll rise to Cheonmu Division Leader. You're of age now; time to leave the sword division behind. Isn't it?"
"I will uncover the truth!"
For the first time, Yeon Min-gyun spoke from the heart.