Chapter 145
Chapter 145
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 145
Chapter Title: Dao Thieves (4)
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Meanwhile, in the autonomous council chamber of Verdant Bamboo Hall, the executives who hadn't made the cut for the public relief team were holding a modest tea gathering with a single sidekick from Fragrant Orchid Hall.
Of course, it wasn't your typical tea party.
It was more accurate to call it a ritual these harried folks took up before tackling the mountain of overtime work piled up from covering for those out on relief duty in Shansi Province.
Crunch— crunch—
So this was them munching on mooncakes to steel their nerves and sipping tea to clear their heads, just to stay alive.
Slurp— slurrrp—
Even so, no one was fully relaxing and enjoying it.
Everyone there had their own workload to shoulder.
And they all carried homework spawned from the recent string of events.
Well, anyway.
As one of the mooncake-nibblers, Dang Ok-gi, stretched out her arms in a yawn,
Yin Xia Lian spoke up.
"Ok-gi, heading to the lab already?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah."
"You've been so diligent lately. When Young Master Eon was around, you'd lounge for a full mealtime before dragging yourself off, or bolt like you'd been chased when he prodded you. These days, you don't even stick around for a teabreak before heading out on your own? The tea here's still half full, no one's nagging you, so why not take it easy?"
"Uh... how do I put it? Now that no one's actually prodding me, it feels like..."
But at that moment, Yin Ha-seong cut into Dang Ok-gi's words.
"Feeling antsy, sis?"
"Eek! Don't phrase it like that—you make me sound weird!"
"Well, aren't you?"
"How should I say this? When someone was nagging me right in front of my face, I'd fire back on the spot... but now with all this empty time just dangling there..."
Jin Kyung-ryong wrapped up Dang Ok-gi's trailing thought.
"...When Vice Chairman Eon returns, you won't have the face to show him without some research results to offer up, something like that?"
"Yeah, exactly."
"I get the sentiment. Honestly, I'm the same. And not just me—probably everyone here. Even Junior Yin seems extra fired up since taking charge of the vice chairman's red badge."
"Your body might be in Shansi Province, but you're pressuring our minds in real time... just what kind of person are you, Brother Yong-un?"
At the end of that exchange, Yin Xia Lian's head turned toward Shansi Province—the very direction the conversation had evoked.
"Hope nothing's gone wrong with everyone."
"Sis, with the mighty Brother Yong-un and Professor No Sam along? Plus, Henan at the crossroads is Righteous Murim territory, and Shansi Province itself is basically the front yard of Brother Yong-un's maternal clan. What could go wrong?"
"I thought so too, but word just came from the merchant circles that Elder Shansi Golden Peng suddenly took a turn for the worse."
Yin Xia Lian's words drew assorted sighs from those gathered.
"Oh no."
"Really?"
"That's rough."
But when Yin Ha-seong spoke up, Jin Kyung-ryong, Dang Ok-gi, Yin Xia Lian, and Go Wan-san all shook their heads firmly in unison.
"Brother Yong-un might look tough on the outside, but he's soft-hearted deep down..."
"Junior Yin! Ever since you got that red badge, you've been idolizing Vice Chairman Eon way too much. I still wake up in cold sweats sometimes, worrying what would've become of Verdant Bamboo Hall without him—but soft-hearted? No way!"
"Kyaa!"
"Yeah, that's going too far, Ha-seong."
"Right. Better to say steel's gone soft."
With the crowd riled up, Yin Ha-seong had no choice but to revise his phrasing.
"How about 'full of sentiment' then?"
This time, it struck a balance somehow—the same folks who'd just shaken their heads decisively now muttered things like "Eh, maybe" or "Could be," stroking their chins.
Well, chit-chat over.
Yin Xia Lian, who had turned her head back toward Shansi,
continued.
"Taiyuan Merchant Group hasn't even settled on a successor yet. If Elder Shansi Golden Peng is truly ailing, even Young Master Eon would find his room to maneuver severely limited. Wonder if the relief trip will yield any worthwhile gains in that situation."
She clapped once to signal the end of the tea gathering.
"But we'll do what we have to, right?"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Just as Zhuge Seolji began poring over the Yi family manor's halls she hadn't circled yet, cleverly deducing likely spots for water jars,
No Sam turned to me with a question.
"So, to sum up what you're saying, Young Master Eon... your youngest maternal uncle's hunch was right—your maternal grandfather's under a curse. And the culprits are those using that sigil?"
"Not a hunch—I'm certain."
"...Certain, you say."
"Yes. It's definite that Grandfather's been cursed. That's why I spent the day pinpointing the locations of the ritual objects used in it. I'd found some common patterns when my conversation with Youngest Uncle just now sealed my conviction."
It was a strong claim, but curses fell under a broad category overlapping with formations and curse arts, and I had solid accomplishments in the field.
"...True, you aced the formation stage of the entrance exam. And Corpse Manipulation Theory in the first semester is supposed to be just talismans, yet you got a perfect score there too."
"Yes."
"Hm. I'm no expert in curse arts myself, so what do you propose? Back your youngest uncle's play and get the young manor lord to open the rear gates? No, you said you haven't judged the uncles yet."
To No Sam's question, I nodded firmly and laid out the real plan.
"That's why I intend to remove the ritual objects myself."
At that, No Sam's eyes sharpened more keenly than ever before as they scanned me.
"Yourself? Your youngest uncle mentioned a fortune-teller dropped dead. You're saying you'll handle it personally?"
"Yes."
"Because it's family?"
Here, I had to choose my words carefully.
I calmly selected them,
then shook my head resolutely as I replied.
"It's not because it's family business. It's because this is something I can do."
No Sam clenched his jaw, muttering something like "...you're something else,"
then suddenly dropped his hand from his chin and fixed his gaze on me again.
"First, explain the removal method."
"Find the hidden ritual objects and smash them. Someone who knows the Yi manor inside out cleverly exploited the power dynamics and Elder Shansi Golden Peng's temperament to curse him, but lifting the curse itself isn't complicated."
The method was simple in theory, but far from easy in practice.
'If just destroying them was enough, I'd have reduced their number during the day.'
Elder Shansi Golden Peng's body was like a time bomb.
The ritual objects served as conduits for the curse, but they also anchored his life force.
In other words, they functioned as fuses keeping the bomb from detonating "just yet."
'The moment I start pulling objects from the jars, that dormant bomb starts ticking.'
Once I began the removal, I had to locate and destroy every last one as swiftly as possible.
That's why I'd only mapped their positions during the day.
'No need to mention that detail, though.'
No Sam's approval was one thing,
but I also planned to borrow Wo So-ryeong's hands for this.
'If he and I hunt them simultaneously, we can gather them in a flash.'
Wo So-ryeong was the type to boldly pull off daring feats if you skipped the scare tactics and just gave clear orders.
And sneaking out hidden items under cover of night was his specialty—a skill he was shy about but supremely confident in.
That was when
as I mulled that over for a brief moment,
Cheon Jang-ho piped up with a relevant question.
"But without the young manor lord's permission, rummaging through jars is a total bust, right? Doesn't seem like the type to grant it."
I turned to him and stated firmly.
"No permission needed. We'll go over the walls."
At my words, Wo So-ryeong let out an involuntary chuckle before speaking.
"Sneaking over the walls without permission to snag something... sure sounds like thievery. ...Wait, didn't you tell me earlier today to study the manor's layout carefully, Brother Eon?"
Jeong Hyeon, who had been listening quietly, corrected him with a serious expression.
"Since there's righteousness in wall-jumping and stealthy snatching, this should be called Dao thievery."
-Gasp.
'What's that? Something wrong?'
-Not wrong, but... watching closely, Jeong Hyeon seems better at finding excuses than you.
Ah.
That was it.
Well, anyway.
As Master's voice chimed in from my waist while I glanced at Jeong Hyeon,
No Sam finally approved my plan after some deliberation.
"Hoo. Since it's you of all people, I permit it."
By then, Zhuge Seolji had finished the map.
"All done."
I quickly assigned roles.
"Professor, you stay here. You're too famous—someone might come looking for you."
"Got it."
"Yong-myeong, Cheon Jang-ho, Jeong Hyeon, and Little Zhuge—help the professor make it look like we're all still here. Oh, and keep Jeong Hyeon out of any acting if possible."
"......"
"Brother Yong-un? Since it's night anyway, how about cutting paper figures from the leftover sheets to cast shadows?"
"Oh, brilliant idea. Everyone, help Little Zhuge right now."
"Will do."
"Yep!"
"Yes, brother."
"And So-ryeong, change into night clothes."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 'So-ryeong's the expert for stealth, but for no-entry zones warded by the clan head's spell, I'm the precise choice since I placed them.'
I handed Wo So-ryeong, now in his night clothes, half the map—the section marked zi, the area I'd toured during the day.
"You know this part from daytime, so it should be easy, right?"
Was it because he'd wrapped his whole body in black garb, leaving only his eyes exposed?
"I just go to the jar locations on Lady Zhuge's map, pull out the ritual object inside, and hand it to you, Brother Eon?"
"Exactly. Gather them up and meet at Jeong Chung Gate."
Wo So-ryeong showed rare confidence.
"Piece of cake for me."
Anyone who'd only seen him at the academy might wonder what was up,
but for me, who knew the original Wo So-ryeong, nothing could be more reassuring.
"Let's get started."
With the guest hall as our bearing point, I set off north as Wo So-ryeong headed south.
I immediately cast the fourth-circle black magic Dark Metamorphosis.
Shaaa—
With darkness perfectly permeating my body, I scaled the roof of a fairly tall hall,
and soon enough, the red dots reacting to the clan head's spell trembled violently, one of them starting to bounce lively.
Wo So-ryeong had snagged his first ritual object.
'Time for me to start.'
It was straightforward.
Zhuge Seolji's map was accurate enough, and my darkness-cloaked body paired with peak footwork made me utterly silent.
The only wrinkle: extracting objects from people-sized jars without getting them wet required some finesse.
'Bend the wire tip like So-ryeong showed and fish it out!'
Jackpot.
No—a god statue emerged?
How long had it been since I went god-statue fishing in the dead of night?
Evidently, he'd collected all six hidden in the south—they merged into a large red dot heading north toward our rendezvous at Jeong Chung Gate.
I'd just reeled in my sixth and final one from the north, so I lifted my pack of statues, headed to Jeong Chung Gate, and briefly released Dark Metamorphosis.
There was So-ryeong, sack of statues in hand, cheerfully waving in the midst of it all.
[Brother Eon!]
'Kid.'
Is rolling him around at Verdant Bamboo Hall a waste of his true calling? The thought flickered,
but I shoved it aside.
[Hand over the statues and head back to the guest hall.]
[Got it!]
I recast Dark Metamorphosis and hurried toward the rear garden where Grandfather resided.
'Security here's laughably lax.'
The rear garden's guards amounted to just the warriors manning the watchtowers at the perimeter wall's corners.
Compared to the quality and quantity of those gathered to protect Eldest Uncle at the banquet hall, it was worlds apart.
'Even if Grandfather gets assassinated, it'd profit Eldest Uncle, huh?'
Anyway, with time to spare, I'd have put the watchtower guards to sleep one by one before entering.
But
'No time for that.'
Seeing the energy rippling from the curse's god statues, the removal's time limit felt perilously close.
Sweeeee—!!!
I kept Dark Metamorphosis up but unleashed Flying Shadow Heaven-Splitting Step, vaulting straight over the rear garden wall.
"Intruder?!"
Sure enough.
The sharp senses of the rear garden warriors detected something amiss and rang the bells.
Ding-ding-ding-dong!!!
But it was doable.
All I needed was Grandfather to open his eyes.
Ignoring the clamor, I streaked like lightning into the hall housing Grandfather,
released Dark Metamorphosis as I mounted his body, and piled all twelve god statues on his chest.
"Time's critical, so forgive the rudeness, Grandson."
I focused my mind, wrapping my hands in the curse-removal incantation.
Woooong—
A pitch-black Hungry Ghost Bead formed in my palms,
and the ritual objects shaped like the Twelve Devas trapped inside let out unearthly shrieks in unison.
Kiiiiieeeek!!!!!!
But it was nothing.
"Think your wailing scares me?"
I clapped my palms together like in prayer, and the statues merged silently into the bead, crumbling to dust in an instant.
As the statues vanished, I pushed the remaining vitality from my hands into Grandfather's body.
"...!"
Focus returned to Elder Shansi Golden Peng's eyes, fogged over like a dried fish's.