Chapter 158
Chapter 158
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 158
Chapter Title: Distinguishing Jade from Stone
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Returning to Hwaryeon's guest quarters with her, I spotted not only my master and Seol, but another person there as well.
"Yes, you're back?"
"Branch Head."
It was Zhuge Geunyoung, who'd stayed at the inn to check on my little brother.
It seemed he'd returned while I was being held by the family head.
"Is your brother alright now?"
"He still hasn't regained consciousness. Fortunately, there was someone who could help, so I left him in their care."
"Someone who could help?"
He gave me a strange look as I tilted my head.
"My older sister, Zhuge Seoryeong."
"...Your sister? You don't mean..."
Zhuge Geunyoung gravely nodded, reading the question I couldn't quite voice: *Is that the woman who doesn't even treat Im Chunsam like a husband?*
"How did that woman—er, lady—find out about this?"
"...My brother-in-law spilled everything when my sister chewed him out for where he'd gone...."
"......"
*Talk about being under the thumb.*
I stared at Zhuge Geunyoung in stunned silence, but he looked apologetic instead.
"A-hem...."
He cleared his throat awkwardly, then turned to Hwaryeon to change the subject.
"You heard everything?"
"...Yes. I don't want to believe it, but of all places, something like this in the Zhuge family—one of the Five Great Clans...."
Hwaryeon shook her head bitterly, then composed herself.
"What's done is done. Let's focus on the future. So, how do we resolve this incident?"
"One thing we need, two things to confirm, and one thing to prepare."
The one thing we needed was, of course, the double ledger.
They must have kept one to hide the massive funds spent buying livestock to feed those Explosive Blood Technique practitioners.
"I'll handle that. I have a hunch where the ledgers might be."
I nodded at Zhuge Geunyoung's words, then explained the two things we needed to confirm.
"First: Did Hyuk Rigwang know about the Enemy Ghost Squad? If he did, he's part of their gang, so we'd have to eliminate him by force. If not..."
"We could pull him to our side. From his perspective, it's his unique arts that leaked out."
I nodded at Hwaryeon finishing my thought, but Zhuge Geunyoung chimed in.
"Some of the guests admire Swordmaster Hyuk's skills. If we play it right, they might join us too."
In other words, recruiting Hyuk Rigwang would boost our forces significantly.
"Hopefully it's the latter. I'll take care of that."
Conveniently, there was one more thing I needed to ask him.
Zhuge Cheonsang's whereabouts.
Hyuk Rigwang, as his birth father, might know where the prime suspect for Blood Jade consumption had gone.
Hoping he did, I moved on.
"Second: Can we stop the armed squads, starting with the Heavenly Guard Squad, from getting involved?"
This was to minimize the power gap if we clashed with the family head's faction.
Of course, that wasn't the whole reason.
What we wanted wasn't the fall of the Zhuge family, but cutting out the rot.
If possible, excising just the rotten parts—the elders and the family head—would be ideal.
Losing armed squads meant weakening a martial clan.
With the Shadow Killer Squad already wiped out by my hand, I didn't want more casualties here.
"...Persuasion should be a last resort. It could tip them off to our plans if we're not careful."
"Yes. Let's try getting the armed squads out of the family compound if we can."
"How many armed squads does the Zhuge family even have?"
Seol, who'd been listening quietly, shot her hand up.
Zhuge Geunyoung kindly answered.
"You know about the Heavenly Guard Squad already. Then there's the Land Guard Squad, the People Guard Squad, and finally the family head's personal guards, the Crouching Dragon Squad."
Four armed squads in total.
And getting them all out of the compound was practically impossible.
"Excluding all of them... too much to hope for?"
Zhuge Geunyoung nodded heavily at Hwaryeon's hopeful question.
"Yes. The Heavenly, Land, and People Guard Squads might be doable, but the Crouching Dragon Squad—direct subordinates to the family head—are always at his side. Their current captain, Zhuge Seung, is fiercely loyal. He won't listen to reason."
"If he's that close to the family head, he probably knows about the incident already. Better to write them off."
Hwaryeon agreed readily with me and asked about the final preparation.
"Then what do we need to prepare last?"
"What else? Bolstering our forces, obviously."
Or, more simply: training new techniques.
Everyone shot me incredulous looks at my words.
"...Training new techniques? We only have a few days. When would we even learn them?"
"Don't worry. It's not us training."
"Then who?"
I turned to Zhuge Geunyoung at the question.
He panicked under my gaze, then pointed at himself hesitantly.
"Me? M-me?"
I nodded silently, and he floundered even more.
"I've already set up a perfect excuse. No one will complain if we train."
"No, before that—what technique are you even talking about? That sword art...? You think he can master it in days?"
I chuckled at his ridiculous assumption.
Mastering the Heavenly Bow Without Peer Sword in days? Impossible unless you were someone like Joo Hojeong.
Realizing how absurd he'd sounded from my laughter, Zhuge Geunyoung flushed and pressed on.
"Then how...?"
"I'll explain later. Let's handle the other stuff first."
He nodded, curiosity plain on his face.
We left Hwaryeon's quarters and got straight to work.
Zhuge Geunyoung headed to the inner compound to hunt for the double ledger, while our group went the opposite way, toward the outer compound where Hyuk Rigwang stayed.
*
As I said before, Hyuk Rigwang's quarters were in the outer compound, on the edge of the family manor.
From what I'd heard, all the guests resided here.
-Hey, check that out.
-Yeah... Isn't that the guy from the banquet?
The moment we entered the outer compound, countless eyes locked onto us—onto me, specifically.
Word of my demonstration at the banquet must have spread.
-That kid took down three in a row? He's just a pup.
-Don't judge by appearances. I wouldn't bet on beating him, at least.
Admiration, doubt, envy, suspicion.
Emotions swirled around me.
Of course, I ignored them completely.
Their feelings meant nothing right now.
"But isn't Swordmaster Hyuk connected to the Zhuge bloodline by marriage? Why make him stay in the outer compound?"
As we walked and his quarters drew near, Seol raised a fair point.
A third party provided the answer.
"He could've stayed in the inner compound but turned it down. Said something about us guests being free to come and go."
All eyes turned to the voice's source.
A young woman with tanned skin approached with a bold, unladylike stride, eyeing us appraisingly.
"Hmm, first time seeing you folks? Not Zhuges, so new guests?"
"No, just visiting briefly. Here to see Swordmaster Hyuk Rigwang. Is he in?"
The woman turned to Hwaryeon, our spokesperson. Her eyes widened, darting between two spots.
Hwaryeon's chest and hips, precisely.
"Wow, nice big chest and hips. About my size?"
"......"
"......"
*I think I know who this is.*
I sighed and stepped forward for the frozen Hwaryeon.
"Hyuk Rieum? Is Hall Leader Chun inside?"
"Huh? How'd you know my name? Am I famous?"
Hyuk Rieum tilted her head with wide eyes, then shrugged and probed our identities.
"You know me, but I know zilch about you. Not letting strangers see my dad willy-nilly."
"Ah, forgive me. I'm Goon Ja-seong. This is..."
"You're Goon Ja-seong!?"
I winced as she yelled and shoved her face in mine.
Undeterred by my glare, she inspected me closely, then nodded with a gasp.
"So you're the punk who dared dump me. Huh, not bad-looking. Guess pretty boys live up to their faces?"
*Who said I dumped you?*
I grumbled inwardly, face hardening.
I'd dealt with her father already, so I knew there was no malice in her words—but it didn't make me like them.
My tone sharpened naturally.
"This is the third time I'm asking. Answer the question. Is Swordmaster Hyuk at his quarters?"
"I'm right here!"
A familiar voice.
I looked up to see Hyuk Rigwang striding over, laughing "Hahaha!"
He stopped before us and spotted his daughter, eyes bulging.
They didn't resemble each other facially, but that shocked expression was pure parent-child.
"You brat, what are you doing here?"
"These strangers showed up looking for Dad outta nowhere, so I asked what was up. Dad, this guy's Goon Ja-seong?"
At her words, Hyuk Rigwang's hand shot to her face.
-Squish
He yanked her cheek.
"Ow, ow, ow, it hurts!?"
Her cheek stretched like mochi.
Hyuk Rieum smacked at his thick fingers and stomped, but he only gripped harder.
"Who taught you to be rude to strangers?"
Hwaryeon and I stared at Hyuk Rigwang in disbelief.
*...Not wrong, but you're one to talk?*
"Ow, ow, let gooo. It hurts, pleeease...."
Real tears welled in her eyes as she flailed.
"Argh, you big-mouthed brat. When will you grow up?"
With a tsk, he finally released her. Hyuk Rieum rubbed her reddened cheek furiously.
Turning from his daughter, Hyuk Rigwang faced us with a hearty laugh.
"Sorry about that. She's grown in body but not mind, you see."
"Ah, yes...."
*And you're saying this?*