Chapter 63: The Little Conspirators (1)
Chapter 63: The Little Conspirators (1)
The night streets of Beijing. Amidst the cluster of pavilions where darkness lay low, a middle-aged man looked up at a certain gisaeng house with a sour expression.
Looking like someone a passing Beijing beggar would immediately try to strike up a conversation with to build rapport, the middle-aged man stroked his overgrown beard and muttered.
"This is... a bit problematic."
It was all well and good that he had reached Beijing following the Supreme Master's orders, but following those orders presented more than a few difficulties.
"Kill every woman attached to that brat...?"
The middle-aged man narrowed his eyes, glaring at the top floor of the tavern.
He could see numerous women giggling and playing instruments alongside a young man.
From what he had observed during his weeks in Beijing, it was rarer to see a man by that idler's side than not...!
Look at him even now. Facing a neat but far from modest spread of drinks, sharing cups with women while plucking a pipa—he was the very picture of a dandy.
"Why on earth did Elder Seo... no, why did the Supreme Master send me for a guy like that...?"
Chae Jin-byeok, the Ghost Sword of the Western Heaven, let out a deep sigh and muttered. His orders were to slay every woman by Peng Hyeon-hwi's side. But...
"Can I really kill all the courtesans of the Beijing Hao Clan and make it out alive?"
If he did such a thing, the Hao Clan would undoubtedly go into a frenzy.
The moment he muttered those words, a low voice echoed from behind his back.
"Then you certainly wouldn't be able to return alive."
"....?!!"
Startled, Chae Jin-byeok whipped around to see a shadow standing against the night sky.
Lightly treading upon the roof of the pavilion behind him, the fluttering shadow looked down at him coldly.
"I thought someone had their eyes on my disciple lately, and your face does look familiar."
"...To which master do I have the honor of speaking...?"
He hadn't felt a single trace of her presence, even as she approached this closely.
It meant his back had been completely exposed until she chose to speak first.
And that, in turn, meant that if she had taken the initiative, he wouldn't have been able to resist.
Masters of that caliber were not common.
Chae Jin-byeok, the Ghost Sword of the Western Heaven, was a master who held a reasonably high position even within the Heavenly Demon Cult.
If even he hadn't noticed, she either practiced a very specialized art of stealth, or...
She was a master rivaling the Fifteen Lords.
"You seem to have realized, yet you still play dumb. Chae Jin-byeok, the Ghost Sword of the Western Heaven."
"Hao Clan Leader... I did not expect to meet you like this."
"Had you known, you wouldn't have dared plot to harm a disciple of my clan."
Wiji Cheon-yeong, the Hao Clan Leader, leaped down.
Even descending from that height, she landed softly on the ground without making a sound.
Seeing her up close made it even clearer. She was a master he could not hope to oppose.
"I...! I had no intention of committing such an act! The Supreme Master was merely concerned for Young Master Peng's well-being!"
"How presumptuous. Who do you think would dare harm a disciple I have personally taken under my wing to teach?"
"Had I known the Hao Clan Leader was in this land, I would never have committed such a slight."
The order the Supreme Master gave was definitely 'Slay every woman who approaches Peng Hyeon-hwi.'
Technically, wouldn't the Hao Clan Leader standing before him also count as a woman approaching that brat...?
How was he supposed to kill her?
Save me.
The Ghost Sword of the Western Heaven, a Super Peak master of the Sixth Heaven Esoteric Buddhism's Outer Hall Guardian Squad, stood stiffly and bowed his head slightly as he backed away.
"My cult has no intention of antagonizing the sects belonging to the Black Path Demonic Alliance. Hao Clan Leader, if you permit it, I wish to withdraw and retreat as I am."
"I, too, have no desire to see blood unnecessarily. I shall forgive your insolence."
"Thank you. Upon my return to the cult, I shall inform the Supreme Master of this goodwill shown today."
"Do as you wish. I have no interest in your lot."
The Demonic Cult was the ruler of the Tianshan Mountains.
Conversely, that meant they were people who rarely had reason to leave those mountains.
This was because their foundations and followers were all concentrated there.
The Demonic Cult of Tianshan was the most powerful among the groups of the Outer Martial World, but also the most closed-off society.
Unlike the Blood Cult and the White Lotus Cult, which constantly eyed the Central Plains, the Demonic Cult could secure overwhelming wealth simply by controlling the trade routes to the Western Regions.
Since the Hao Clan's founding purpose was the protection of all commoners in the Central Plains, there was no need to make enemies of cultists who stayed tucked away in the outer regions, nor was there any reason to forge deep ties of friendship.
As the Hao Clan Leader spoke, Chae Jin-byeok thought while retreating.
'Where on earth are the Battle Ghost and the Little Monster, and what are they doing? It'll be a problem if those bastards do something stupid.'
Recalling the two madmen who were supposedly dispatched with him but had lost contact before even reaching Hebei, a long sigh escaped Chae Jin-byeok's lips.
'If they have any sanity left, they wouldn't dare pull anything in Beijing while the Hao Clan Leader is here.'
The most sensible Outer Hall master of the Demonic Cult, dispatched specifically to control those two lunatics, muttered those words based on common sense and left Beijing.
* * *
In 15th-century China, free from global warming and pollution, the four seasons are remarkably distinct.
A round of applause for our Mongol friends, the environmental warriors who wiped out the wicked Song Dynasty just as they were starting to fire up coal power.
Thus, by the time I returned to Beijing and resumed the Hao Clan Leader's exciting "Military Band" lectures, the weather had turned into a cool autumn.
One day, when the night air had become decidedly chilly, the Hao Clan Leader stepped out for a moment, citing some business. In her absence, a new guest arrived at the Plum Fragrance Pavilion.
"Oh my, Little Brother. It's so wonderful to see you like this."
"Haha, have you been well, Dan Mae? So this fellow is our youngest?"
"Yes, the Eldest Sister has been putting a lot of heart into him lately."
"A young master of the Hebei Peng Family joining the Hao Clan... I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself. The other sisters and brothers must still be half-doubting it."
A young man leisurely fluttering a fan smiled at me from the top floor of the Plum Fragrance Pavilion.
"Nice to meet you, new brother. I am Baek Seo-ui."
"I am Peng Hyeon-hwi of the Peng Family, Brother."
"Brother Baek is the Eldest Sister's third disciple. He's in charge of the Suzhou Branch in Hubei and handles the gathering of intelligence on the Orthodox Martial Alliance. He also holds the position of External Chief of Orthodox Affairs for our clan. In Hubei, he's a widely known celebrity called the Jade-Faced Zither Master."
"Haha, you're laying it on a bit thick. Brother Peng, if you don't mind, please call me the Lord of the Sparrows and Zither. I find that title much more to my liking."
'Jade-Faced Zither Master' was an easy enough nickname to understand.
This young man, who looked to be around thirty, had an appearance that was clearly extraordinary.
His features were sharp and refined, yet he didn't look frail at all.
If I were to be a bit harsh, I'd say he looked like a bit of a pretty boy.
So, it was understandable why 'Jade-Faced' was in his title, and since he was a direct disciple of the Hao Clan Leader, he'd be skilled with instruments, explaining the 'Zither' part.
But 'Lord of the Sparrows and Zither'?
"What does it mean to 'manage sparrows'?"
"Oh dear, it's a bit embarrassing to explain it myself."
"One day, when Brother Baek was playing the zither, a story spread that sparrows gathered at the Jeongho Pavilion in Suzhou to enjoy the melody. At least, that's the public version."
"The public version?"
"Isn't there a saying about birds listening? Since he leads those who listen to the stories of the Orthodox world, he 'manages the sparrows.'"
This was a familiar proverb even to me.
Daytime words are heard by sparrows, and nighttime words are heard by rats. In the old saying, the 'birds' specifically referred to sparrows.
It was a rather sophisticated pun. Comparing those engaged in intelligence activities against the 'daytime'—the Orthodox world—to sparrows, he was the 'Lord of the Sparrows and Zither,' the one who managed them.
It was a title that was humble yet not crude.
Even its surface meaning suggested a musician so talented that even animals were moved, which made it even better.
At this point, I couldn't help but be impressed.
Man, the Unorthodox factions really have high standards when it comes to naming. Meanwhile, someone else is the 'Beheading Blood Wolf'...!
"Why is someone like you here...?"
The direct disciples of the Hao Clan Leader are scattered throughout the Central Plains.
Assigned to lead the branches of an entire province, they are burdened with the duty of protecting every clan member within that region.
Gathering intelligence, protecting members, managing clan discipline, handling finances, and occasionally carrying out secret orders from the Hao Clan Leader—generally, the twelve disciples never leave their posts. They're simply too busy.
Well, except for one person—the First Disciple, who essentially acts as the Hao Clan Leader's proxy and oversees the clan's secret lines, but that's an outlier. Anyway.
Regardless, Hubei is not a short distance from here.
I couldn't fathom why a big shot like him would travel all that way to Beijing.
"I've already finished reporting to the Eldest Sister... but since you're one of the parties involved, you should know."
"Since I'm one of the parties involved...?"
"The West Depot. Do you remember them?"
"Pardon? Ah, yes. Weren't they dismantled?"
It took a moment for my brain to buffer, as it was a name I hadn't heard in seven years.
The West Depot was a spin-off organization of the Eastern Depot, established seven years ago in western Beijing.
My childhood friend, Seong Won-ho, had gotten involved with them and ended up getting his throat slit by me.
I'd been making good use of his legacy—those Peak-level combat drugs—ever since.
Baek Seo-ui said, slowly waving his fan.
"It seems the West Depot has found a new connection."
"A connection...?"
"From what we've gathered, when they were first founded, they recruited talent from the Assassination Pavilion and the Five Poisons Sect. As you well know, Brother Peng."
"Ah, yes. I heard the Master of the Assassination Pavilion personally dealt with the members who joined hands with the West Depot."
"The Five Poisons Sect went through similar internal strife. For a sect, joining hands directly with the Imperial Court—especially the eunuchs—is no light matter. The fact that the Peng Family Head himself expressed his displeasure played a big role in that."
The West Depot had recruited talent from three different groups.
They built the foundation of the organization around Eastern Depot loyalists, attempted to actively adopt the techniques of the Assassination Pavilion, and imported drugs from the Five Poisons Sect.
That patchwork organization was shattered seven years ago.
The Eastern Depot, displeased by the emergence of the West Depot, wiped them out through internal political warfare, and the Assassination Pavilion and Five Poisons Sect immediately washed their hands of the whole thing.
In such a situation, if they wanted to rebuild the West Depot, who would our eunuch friends have to partner with now?
The Unorthodox factions of this region—Hebei—are all under the thumb of the Hebei Dragon Slaying Alliance.
Unless the Peng Family Head, my grandfather, gave his permission, they wouldn't be able to recruit from the Black Path anymore...
'So they joined hands with the Orthodox Faction...?'
The West Depot is essentially a medieval Chinese version of the NIS.
What kind of sect could provide the technical cooperation that would suit their tastes?
If it's not the Assassination Pavilion or the Five Poisons Sect...
Hmm.
The Orthodox Faction. A political group influential enough to open trade lines with the Imperial Court. In other words, a Great Clan.
And the fields the West Depot lost were 'assassination' and 'toxicology'—the techniques of killers and medicine.
A Great Clan that possesses both assassination techniques and pharmacology.
And one that is part of the Orthodox Martial Alliance, with a scale large enough that our Brother Baek had to rush all the way to Beijing to meet the Clan Leader the moment he confirmed the intel.
Under those conditions, there's only one most prominent candidate.
The ones who play the 'Yellow Ranger of Will' in the Orthodox Power Rangers, the Five Great Clans.
"Is it the Sichuan Tang Family...?"
"Oh. Indeed."
Baek Seo-ui nodded with a bright smile.
"I'm starting to want you for myself, Brother Peng. Once you're done studying under the Eldest Sister, why not come work under me? It's been exhausting lately because people with brains are so rare."
"Our youngest will likely be joining the Tianjin Branch, Brother."
"Tianjin? Has a branch been established there?"
"No. But since he's a direct descendant of the Peng Family, it'll be easy for him to get information from the Dragon Slaying Alliance's main base in Tianjin. I heard there are plans to establish a new organization in the Tianjin Prefecture."
"Haha, that's excellent. Though, they certainly do need someone who can use their head over there as well."
Baek Seo-ui then looked at me and said.
"At any rate, Brother Peng is right. I heard the Sichuan Tang Family recently dispatched personnel in secret."
"Do you know who they are?"
"It's hard to pinpoint that much. To get more intimate details about the deal between the Tang Family and the eunuchs, we'd probably need help from the Eastern Depot."
True, the Sichuan Tang Family was notorious for being a closed-off clan.
And the eunuchs who lead the West Depot have historically been outside the Hao Clan's intelligence sphere.
Those gentlemen don't frequent gisaeng houses, after all.
But there was something I didn't quite understand.
"I understand that the eunuchs are trying to rebuild the West Depot by joining hands with the Sichuan Tang Family."
"Mm. And?"
"What does that have to do with the Hao Clan?"
I don't know exactly what purpose the West Depot is being built for.
For now, I just know it's an organization the eunuchs are trying to use as their new hands and feet, replacing the relatively disobedient Eastern Depot.
If so, it's highly likely to be a military organization with both intelligence and martial prowess.
Beijing isn't small, but for a new government department to be established when the Imperial Guard and Eastern Depot are already here, it would have to be a fairly large organization.
But what does that have to do with the Hao Clan that a branch manager monitoring the Orthodox Alliance in Hubei would come running all this way?
'Shouldn't this kind of info just be reported to the Hao Clan Leader as a standard update on martial world trends?'
Unless their founding goal is something like a full-scale bombardment of the martial world or a policy of ethnic cleansing.
When I said that, Baek Seo-ui paused for a moment and looked at Dan So-hye.
He folded his fan and tilted his head.
"What are you talking about?"
"Pardon?"
"Aren't we currently preparing for a rebellion?"
"....Ah."
Only then did a name come to mind.
Princess Yeonhwa, Ju Woo-rin.
The rising star whom the members of the Pure Stream faction are supporting with one heart and mind to replace the broken Imperial Court.
The traitor-to-be, the little conspirator.
Come to think of it, the reason I first found out her identity was a slip of the tongue by a Hao Clan member, and the Beijing Hao Clan was quite actively partnering with the Pure Stream faction.
With the night streets of Beijing and the Forbidden City visible in the distance, Baek Seo-ui said with a smirk.
"So, for the time being, you'll have to work as Princess Yeonhwa's secret bodyguard."
"Me?"
"Yes, you."
"That job?"
"Yes, that job."
"Why...?"
I had to stay close to the hidden daughter of the Emperor, who was in the middle of preparing for a rebellion, to protect her from potential threats from the unidentified masters of the Sichuan Tang Family.
I really, really didn't want to do it.
"As soon as we shared this news, Princess Yeonhwa specifically requested you."
"Me?"
"That tone... well, yes, you. From our perspective, it worked out well since it was hard to find a more suitable person than you."
Coming from the Peng Family and having defeated the head of the Divine Spear Yang Family in a life-and-death duel, I passed the minimum requirement for martial power.
Since I was a childhood friend who studied alongside Princess Yeonhwa—or rather, Cheon U-rin, the niece of the Hanlin Academy's Censor—there was nothing particularly suspicious from an outsider's perspective.
Furthermore, they couldn't openly show the Censor's niece being protected by the Hao Clan, so to avoid the suspicion of the West Depot and the eunuchs, it was most appropriate for me to go.
The few martial artists of the Beijing Hao Clan each had to guard members of the Pure Stream faction and investigate the movements of the West Depot and the Tang Family. They were short-handed.
'I heard the Hao Clan in Shuntian Prefecture wasn't that large to begin with.'
While the Black Forest July Society was spread widely across the Central Plains, they didn't hold much power in Chongqing or Hebei.
This was because those were the territories of the Chongqing Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance and the Hebei Dragon Slaying Alliance, respectively.
The three factions of the Black Path Demonic Alliance respected each other's territories.
Except for those rascals from the Jongri Family, that was usually the case.
The more someone is a thug, the more sensitive they tend to be about concepts like 'respect' and 'turf.'
Therefore, the Hao Clan in Beijing didn't have much influence.
To be precise, the number of martial artists stationed here was extremely small compared to its importance.
If a large number of Hao Clan martial artists were stationed here, my family would likely have been very displeased.
With this happening in such a situation, it was inevitable that they'd suffer from a labor shortage.
I also understood that I was the most appropriate choice.
When I gave my consent, Baek Seo-ui spread his fan and laughed.
"Take it easy. Just think of it as standing guard. Go in as a guest for a few days and then come back out. In the meantime—"
Baek Seo-ui's eyes grew cold.
"We will find out what the Tang Family is plotting in this land."
Well, nothing major would probably happen.
The Hao Clan Leader had stepped out for a bit, but she'd be back soon.
That meant two of the Fifteen Lords of the Central Plains were in this Shuntian Prefecture: my grandfather and the Hao Clan Leader.
With both of them protecting me, it was practically impossible for anything to happen to me.
I nodded and left the room.