Chapter 141. The Great Yan Sword?
“Of course I brought some food too.”
Ju Neung opened the bamboo lunchbox and set it in front of Sa-mo and Gyeong Yeon-hwa. Inside were rice cakes wrapped in mulberry leaves.
But.
“I just ate dinner. You two eat it.”
Sa-mo pushed the lunchbox toward Ju Neung and Gyeong Yeon-hwa, then took a sip of her cheap leaf tea with a slurp.
Ju Neung's heart ached. Having grown up in the Bokho Pavilion since childhood, Sa-mo was like a mother to him. He'd bought her favorite rice cakes, but she wouldn't eat them.
How hurt must she be inside.
Anger bubbled up within him.
Dang Dok Su, I'll cut your throat myself one day.
Three days later.
“Ju Neung, come out.”
Won Seung was dragged out of the prison cell.
Was this the Jinyiwei headquarters? If so, it was inside the inner city?
Won Seung inhaled deeply, trying to catch the scent of the home where he'd grown up as a child. But all that filled his nose was the musty stench from days locked up without a bath.
He was led to a small courtyard with high walls.
“On your knees!”
The guards who'd brought him barked the order, but he didn't budge.
“This bastard? I said kneel!”
As the guards reached for his shoulders, Won Seung shook them off and shot back.
“Why should I kneel when I'm not guilty of anything? I only kneel to the emperor, my parents, and my master!”
“What did you say?”
The guards looked baffled, but the man seated behind a low table in the pavilion spoke up.
“Leave him be.”
He wore the Jinyiwei uniform, with a pale, aristocratic face. He scanned Won Seung from head to toe and asked.
“State your name, origin, and reason for coming to the capital.”
“If I may be so bold, could I ask the lord's name?”
“Call me Sung Ui-gyeom. I oversee this office. You can tell me everything.”
Office overseer? What kind of position was that?
“I am Ju Neung, the eldest disciple of the Bokho Pavilion far away in Sichuan. My master was killed unjustly, but the authorities in Joryeon and Seongdo wouldn't listen. So I came all the way to this distant capital to beg the emperor to right this wrong.”
Won Seung laid out Ju Neung's identity and situation truthfully.
Sung Ui-gyeom snorted at the words.
“You came to report jianghu matters to His Majesty?”
“Aren't jianghu folk your subjects too? The emperor should look into the unjust deaths of his people.”
Sung Ui-gyeom wondered if the kid in front of him was a bit simple-minded.
“Explain why you were mingling with those from Mansword Mountain or the Bi Sword Sect.”
“I wasn't mingling. My enemies are in Sichuan, so I had to bring Sa-mo and Sa-mae here. I rented a house, but money was tight, so I bought an abandoned place where a murder happened. Then those Mansword Mountain bastards who committed the murder came to kill me too. Seems like they plan to keep killing anyone who lives there.”
Won Seung rattled it off smoothly, then tilted his head and added.
“But why are they harassing the people living in that house? If they want it so bad, just tell them to buy it for twenty taels. I don't want to get tangled up with them either.”
Sung Ui-gyeom sighed.
Clearly a fool raised swinging a sword in some backwater martial hall, clueless about the world. He didn't even grasp the mess he was in.
They'd already verified Ju Neung's identity plaque. And that he'd come with the Sichuan Escort Bureau group but vanished. The kid had brought lightning down on himself trying to save a buck.
Still, surviving among experts from the Bi Sword Sect and Mansword Mountain was impressive.
“Your martial arts seem decent.”
“I'm the eldest disciple of the secular Bokho Pavilion under the Great Cavern. Of course I can handle their level.”
Won Seung said it like it was no big deal.
That made sense too. The Cavern was one of the Nine Great Sects. Even among secular branches, there could be standouts.
But to go one-on-one with a Mansword Mountain expert? That was rare.
“Ever thought of joining the Jinyiwei? We could look into your master's death.”
“Officials and martial artists don't mix. That's what my master taught me. Caterpillars eat mulberry leaves to survive.”
He absolutely couldn't join the Jinyiwei. They'd verify his identity thoroughly again, blowing his cover.
“You planned to petition the emperor, yet you cling to 'officials and martial artists don't mix'? That's the arrogant mindset of lawless jianghu scum—don't you know that?”
“Petitioning the emperor is a subject's right...”
“Quiet. Fine then, solve your own problems. Since you're so pure.”
Sung Ui-gyeom tossed him his identity plaque.
“Get this guy out of here.”
And just like that, Won Seung was released.
Won Seung sighed at the house wrecked by the experts' fight.
Mansword Mountain bastards, I'll make you pay a hundredfold.
He climbed onto the roof to replace the tiles wrecked by Sa-do Gong-ja when someone shoved open the front gate.
“Huh? Ki Mu-sa?”
Unexpectedly, it was Ki Seung-gyo of the Bi Sword Sect. Won Seung leaped down from the roof and approached.
“How'd you get out?”
“I heard you were released. For some reason, they just let me go too.”
Really? That didn't add up.
Won Seung's eyes narrowed. Ki Seung-gyo said flatly.
“I didn't commit any crime, so it's only natural.”
Hmm. This guy had no clue about the authorities' cunning. They wouldn't just release him.
Ki Seung-gyo spoke.
“Can you come with me to Yeongtap Temple?”
Was that okay? Won Seung's gaze drifted to the tree where the owl Gu Yeom-jung had perched. The winter branches were bare, no owl in sight... His eyes dropped to the ground.
A mole could be hiding.
Won Seung dragged Ki Seung-gyo into the side room.
“Don't trust the Jinyiwei. They release you then tail you.”
“No one was following.”
What a sucker. Won Seung clicked his tongue. Ki Seung-gyo had the makings of a great hero.
“Aigoo, Ki Mu-sa. This is the capital. The Jinyiwei have eyes everywhere. They don't even need tails.”
“......”
“Stay here for now. I'll go to Yeongtap Temple, bring Im Cho-ye, and you two can leave together.”
Won Seung shared the honest talk he'd had with Ki Seung-gyo in prison. He also learned about the Bi Sword Sect's odd lineage.
Bang Pyeong, Jin Eok-so, and Ki Seung-gyo had started as servants. They'd learned the sect's martial arts but weren't formal disciples. The young Im Cho-ye didn't know and called them uncles, but they were retainers at best. That's why Ki Seung-gyo called her young miss.
Won Seung thought Bi Cheon Sword Saint Im Wi was arrogant. He hadn't even taken disciples without the talent for Bi Sword Sect's Horizontal Heaven. Since his son Im Hwa-pyeong went the scholarly path instead of martial arts, he'd taught his servants to make them retainers.
Ki Seung-gyo knew nothing of this disaster either. Before Bi Cheon Sword Saint died, he'd sent Ki Seung-gyo far to the Changbai Mountains. When he returned, Im Wi was gone, and Sa-hyeong Bang Pyeong's house had burned.
He'd searched for traces of Im Hwa-pyeong and Bang Pyeong, inquired about the culprits, found Bang Pyeong's hometown in Zhejiang's Bangga Village, got a clue there, and came to the capital.
Ki Seung-gyo thought for a moment, then said.
“All right.”
“Since you're staying, help fix the house. You smashed all that.”
Won Seung pointed to the courtyard wrecked with shattered garden stones.
“Sure.”
Won Seung's house was in Samya-hyeon. Administratively, the capital meant only inside the outer walls. Outside was directly under the capital governor, with no separate agencies—each county handled its own. Samya-hyeon was the farthest out.
The county magistrate of Samya-hyeon visited. The one who'd extorted silver from Won Seung on the pretext of reporting on the Bang family ruins.
The magistrate said to Won Seung.
“I heard thieves broke into this house. Good thing the Jinyiwei came and subdued them, eh?”
“Yeah?”
Won Seung's reply was curt, the memory of the extorted silver still fresh.
The magistrate faltered a bit, then said.
“They say you're quite the expert. That's why I came.”
“?”
The magistrate had heard rumors that Won Seung had clashed evenly with terrifying jianghu masters. That jogged his memory of the extorted silver. Timid by nature, he'd come fidgeting. The money was already spent...
“We need an investigator in the county office right now.”
“Investigator?”
“Samya-hyeon is a big place. Incidents pop up every day. The county yamen is short-staffed and asked for more investigators. You came to mind.”
A job offer.
He'd turned down the Jinyiwei, but a small county investigator...
“Do I get a salary?”
“Of course. A hundred fifty taels a month.”
“And that's called a salary?”
The magistrate sighed deeply.
“Look, I make two hundred fifty taels a month.”
Won Seung sighed too. Two hundred fifty taels was two and a half silver nyang. A meal at Sangyang's Yunhwa House cost over two nyang. No wonder officials extorted money—they were practically begging for it.
Still, Won Seung craved a legitimate identity.
“Sure. I was wondering what to do anyway. Thanks for offering, Magistrate. I'll head to the office in a few days.”
And so, Won Seung became an investigator for the Samya-hyeon county yamen.
Won Seung set out. He entered through the outer east gate, crossed the city, and exited the west gate. Then he headed to Mansung House. In a secluded spot along the way, he flipped on his human-skin mask.
As he entered Mansung House, a familiar waiter spotted him immediately.
“What brings you here?”
This guy recognized him even with a new mask?
Won Seung sighed and asked for Go Yeong-ju. The man appeared shortly and bowed deeply to Won Seung.
“Come on, what's with that? It's too much between us.”
“You avenged our Hao Sect brothers. It's only right to show respect.”
“Avenged? When did I...?”
Go Yeong-ju clawed at the corner of his eye and ripped it open. Ah, the magpie eyes? Those poor guys killed by the black-masked Mansword Mountain thug—they were Hao Sect?
A thought flashed through Won Seung's mind.
“Daring to stab Hao Sect in the back. Mansword Mountain's about to get stripped bare, huh?”
“It's... not quite that simple. They were under the eastern branch, but it wasn't an official Hao Sect commission. They died making pocket money on the side, so headquarters has no grounds to step in.”
“Still, your men died...”
“Do you know how many Hao Sect disciples there are nationwide? They're dying right now for all sorts of reasons. If we intervened every time, no sects would be left.”
“Ah, got it.”
“Even so, since you avenged them, the eastern branch will treat you favorably from now on.”
“Hmm.”
“I was about to contact you anyway. The Boheol Pills are exploding in popularity. Sold out in a flash.”
Go Yeong-ju pulled out banknotes and a nyang of silver.
“Eight ten-tael notes and one nyang in silver. Total after the advance.”
“Oh!”
Won Seung brightened and pocketed them.
“What I came for?”
“Did you find out why Seongwangbu is interested in the Mansword Mountain and Bi Sword Sect matter?”
Go Yeong-ju held up one finger.
Won Seung set down a nyang of silver. Go Yeong-ju stared at it in shock, speechless for a moment.
Then, in a solemn tone.
“Customer, please take transactions seriously. One finger means ten taels. Note for next time.”
“Ah!”
Won Seung placed one of the ten-tael notes he'd just received.
Only then did Go Yeong-ju speak.
“It wasn't Seongwangbu. The Great Yan Sword is the one interested in this.”
“Great Yan Sword?”
The capital's top expert? Why?