Chapter 14
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Heavenly Grade Secrets
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“Dear me, Patriarch Nangong! How long has it been?”
“Long time no see, O Hyun.”
“Indeed, close to ten years now, isn’t it? The last time you came to Anpyeong County was around then...”
“So it seems.”
“Ha ha, you truly haven’t aged a day, Patriarch. I’m envious.”
“And it looks like the branch chief has grown even wealthier in the meantime.”
The Beggars’ Sect Anpyeong branch chief O Hyun, dressed in glossy silk robes unfit for a beggar, grabbed Nangong Han-su’s hand and flashed his yellowed teeth in a grin.
“But what brings you here? For the clan head himself to come all the way to Anpyeong. Could it be about Yu Clan Manor?”
“......”
Nangong Han-su gave no answer and simply nodded.
Anpyeong branch chief O Hyun. Among the Beggars’ Sect, he was quite renowned as the Fifth Iron Beggar—a position far too lofty for merely overseeing a county-level branch.
One might call him on par with a city-level elder?
In fact, headquarters had long since issued orders to transfer him elsewhere, but he stubbornly insisted on staying in Anpyeong.
Why?
Because it was Anpyeong County.
Among all Beggars’ Sect branches, it was the golden goose. A promised land where money flowed in without even needing to beg.
Where else in the world could one build a three-story headquarters instead of a roadside shrine, or don silk robes in place of the sect’s signature patched... no, white beggars’ garb?
City-level posts or whatever, transferring anywhere else would be sheer madness.
“Here, please have some.”
Nangong Han-su chuckled softly and accepted the Iron Goddess tea offered by one of O Hyun’s beggar subordinates.
For beggars to serve such fine Iron Goddess tea. As the saying goes, the silkworm must eat mulberry leaves...
“Business must be booming? You don’t seem to be begging much these days...”
“Heh heh, begging? Haven’t done that in ages.”
“Yet the branch stays afloat?”
“Corrupt officials always spend freely, after all.”
“......Corrupt officials?”
When Nangong Han-su asked with keen interest, O Hyun grinned slyly and replied.
“With Lord Yu Seong-hwan, who enjoys the Emperor’s favor, right here? He may not hold sway in the martial world, but his influence in officialdom is immense. Officials flock here day in and day out, desperate to curry favor with him, buying up info on Yu Clan Manor at top prices. These days, they’ll even pay for what that young master of theirs eats. Ah ha ha ha ha!”
“......”
That was why the Beggars’ Sect Anpyeong branch was wealthy enough to indulge in luxuries like Iron Goddess tea.
Pure and simple: selling information.
Some dismissed the Beggars’ Sect as just a mob of a hundred thousand beggars, but that was knowing one thing and ignoring the rest.
Beggars, hailed since ancient times as the flowers of the streets—street flowers—gathered every scrap of gossip.
From trivial tales like whose wife had a child or whose husband was stepping out, to dire rumors that some high official was plotting rebellion.
That was why the saying arose: All rivers flow to the sea, but all rumors flow from the Beggars’ Sect.
Even the most insignificant whispers, amassed over time, revealed the workings of the world.
The gossip they begged alongside meals underwent proper refinement into plausible intelligence, soon becoming the sect’s prime revenue stream.
Thus, the Beggars’ Sect obsessed over rumors to a pathological degree and pried into others’ affairs like common criminals.
Amid all that, O Hyun was the Fifth Iron Beggar.
A rank just below the six elders who handled elder duties, he was a true power broker in the sect.
Compared to the Nangong Clan, he matched the Azure Heaven Troops; likened to other sects, he equaled their leading disciples who handled external affairs?
Admittedly, in raw combat power, comparisons fell flat... In any case, a Fifth Iron Beggar held authority to command every beggar in a city.
In essence, he was the master of information, gripping and shaking all rumors across Hebei Province.
Which was precisely why Nangong Han-su had visited the Beggars’ Sect branch before Yu Clan Manor.
To learn every detail about Yu Hyun...
“So, Patriarch, you didn’t come all this way just to share tea with me...”
“......”
“You need dirt on that Young Master Yu—the one with the marriage proposal from your clan? Something damning enough to kill the match dead?”
“Mm...”
As if on cue, O Hyun grinned like a sly fox, nailing the reason for the visit, and Nangong Han-su nodded once more.
“Ahem, Young Master Yu has plenty of flaws, but info on him is priced sky-high to begin with...”
“O Hyun, you wouldn’t haggle with me, would you?”
Nangong Han-su narrowed his eyes in a glare, and O Hyun waved his hands with a laugh.
“Haggle? How could I with you, Patriarch? Besides, info tied to Young Master Yu has long been classified Heavenly Grade—no room for bargaining.”
“Heavenly Grade?”
“Yes. Headquarters sets the price directly. Fixed rate, you might say?”
“......”
Nangong Han-su furrowed his brow and tapped the armrest of his chair.
As clan head of the Nangong family, how could he not grasp what Heavenly Grade intel implied?
“For them to manage info on some manor’s heirling directly from headquarters? Absurd.”
“It makes perfect sense.”
“What?”
“Because it’s Yu Clan Manor.”
“......”
“Especially info on Young Master Yu—it’s Heavenly Grade due to the hazard pay.”
“Hazard pay?”
“Exactly.”
“What nonsense is that?”
“You know full well how ruthless Lord Yu Seong-hwan is.”
“......”
Nangong Han-su knew that all too well.
Rumors even swirled that he’d launch a rebellion if his son so much as wished it...
“If he ever learned bad rumors about his son leaked from our side... Ugh, I don’t even want to think about it.”
O Hyun shuddered, imagining the dire repercussions.
“In any case, we can’t touch Yu Clan Manor’s other secrets, but anything on Young Master Yu is under special oversight—no sales without headquarters’ approval.”
“No... seriously?”
Nangong Han-su’s jaw dropped slightly at the unexpectedly firm stance.
Wasn’t this overkill?
But O Hyun was utterly serious.
“Heh heh, Patriarch. You’ve kept your distance from officialdom—you really don’t know how things work.”
“......?”
“Our Anpyeong branch, nay, the very fate of headquarters, hangs on Young Master Yu’s intel.”
“......”
“If that ruthless lord goes berserk for real, what’s one branch? The whole beggar dens under heaven could get razed by imperial troops.”
It was exaggerated, but not wrong.
Yu Seong-hwan rarely abused his power, but if he snapped and rampaged, the fallout would be unimaginable.
Moreover, O Hyun had no desire for calamity to strike his comfy Anpyeong branch, guarantor of his cushy retirement.
“......The price doesn’t matter.”
Staring at the man who gave no quarter, Nangong Han-su sighed deeply and drew a small pouch from his bosom.
A radiant golden glow leaked from the slightly open flap—pure gold, plain as day.
Tempting, but...
O Hyun swallowed hard and shook his head.
“Heh heh, seems you didn’t hear me.”
“What?”
“It’s expensive.”
“......”
“A few taels of gold won’t cut it. Think about it—Anpyeong branch is our golden goose.”
“You’re saying it’s off-limits?”
As Nangong Han-su raised his voice, O Hyun soothed him.
“Not off-limits, just prohibitively pricey. Mess it up, and we might shutter the branch—need headquarters’ nod too.”
“......”
Expensive.
Requires headquarters’ approval.
It was as good as refusal, and Nangong Han-su’s eyes twitched faintly.
But he couldn’t doom his daughter’s future to the mud.
After much deliberation, Nangong Han-su slipped a jade ring from his finger and placed it on the table.
Clack.
“......Huh? What’s this?”
“The Emperor’s Ring.”
“......”
O Hyun’s eyes widened as if torn open.
Emperor’s Ring.
One of the Nangong clan head’s seals of authority. Alongside the Great Cyclic Seal, it issued commands, served as repayment for lifesaving debts, and stood as proof of oaths.
Unlike the Azure Heaven Flags handed out casually for protection fees to escort agencies or merchant caravans.
This alone transcended alliances, forging sworn brotherhood with the Nangong Clan—an item of immense value.
Enough to wipe out a branch... nay, a whole city’s branch without a second thought.
O Hyun’s jaw went slack, just like Nangong Han-su’s had moments before.
Was it really worth going this far?
Sure, no one wanted that pig as a son-in-law...
He’d slimmed down lately into something human-like, but could nature change?
Even setting aside the suffocating layers of fat, he was heaven-sent sloth incarnate... with a temper like a rabid dog to boot.
But was the Emperor’s Ring truly necessary? Wait, was it even real?
“A-are you serious?”
“Worth the price?”
“......How could I appraise such a treasure?”
O Hyun’s posture turned deferential in an instant, his voice quavering as he replied.
To lay eyes on the Emperor’s Ring in his lifetime—dream or reality...?
“Very well. We’ll settle the difference after you hand over Yu Hyun’s intel.”
“......”
Feeling the sincerity in Nangong Han-su’s words, O Hyun swallowed dryly.
“No helping it. Your resolve is this firm.”
“......”
“Given the item, I’ll waive headquarters’ approval with my branch chief authority.”
O Hyun declared solemnly, rose, and pressed a spot on the wall.
Click, clack.
With a locking mechanism sound, a small compartment opened in the smooth wall.
From within, he withdrew a thick ledger and handed it to Nangong Han-su.
“All intel on Young Master Yu. From his birth to yesterday—every event around him is documented.”
“Mm...”
“But that it came from us...”
“I swear on the Nangong name to keep it secret.”
Nangong Han-su nodded in satisfaction.
This would shatter the two elders’ stubbornness and save his daughter. No more sleepless nights over that pig demon.
“Then please read at your leisure. I’ll report to headquarters briefly...”
O Hyun bowed deeply and exited the room. Nangong Han-su slowly turned the ledger’s first page.
Rustle.
“That little bastard!”
“......?”
At the sudden uproar from the quiet street, his son Nangong Seong, waiting silently nearby, approached the window.
“Huh? What’s that?”
“......?”
His usually unflappable son—what could it be?
Intrigued, Nangong Han-su closed the ledger, stood, and joined him at the window.
“What’s the commotion?”
“Well...”
Nangong Seong merely blinked, too stunned to explain. Nangong Han-su peered out.
Two figures clashing in sparring before the Beggars’ Sect Anpyeong branch’s main gate.
The familiar face was Jeok Seong, who’d driven the Great Cyclic Emperor’s Carriage; the unfamiliar back belonged to a massively obese youth.
Watching their bout intently, a short exclamation escaped Nangong Han-su’s lips.
Evenly matched?
No—Jeok Seong was losing ground.
And not to anyone else, but the Azure Heaven Troops’ rising star.
Who on earth was that youth?
“Hmm, remarkable young man. With that build, he can’t have trained rigorously...”
“......”
He marveled repeatedly, yet his expression soured.
The Nangong must remain victors in any situation...
To lose to some no-name outsider—here, in foreign lands, right before the clan head himself—unthinkable.
“Seong.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Outsider.”
“......”
“Shall we let the Nangong name be disgraced?”
“Understood.”
Grasping the intent at once, Nangong Seong replied curtly and leaped out the window.
“......”
Nangong Han-su tucked the ledger into his bosom and slowly descended to the first floor.