Chapter 159
Chapter 159
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 159
Chapter Title: Distinguishing the Jade from the Stones
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Leading the way was Hyeok Ri-gwang, with Hyeok Ri-eum following behind, her cheeks puffed out in a sulk as she rubbed them.
“Welcome, Eldest Brother. But who are these people?”
“My guests. Treat them with respect, or you’ll regret it.”
On the way to his quarters, countless people approached Hyeok Ri-gwang familiarly, calling him “Eldest Brother.”
As Geun-yeong had said, he clearly wielded considerable influence among the visiting martial artists.
In other words, if we ever ended up fighting Hyeok Ri-gwang, all these people could turn against us.
It looked like we should avoid starting a battle here if at all possible.
I signaled my intent to Hwa-ryeon with a glance, and she nodded silently in agreement.
“Here we are. Come on in.”
Hyeok Ri-gwang’s quarters were a fairly prominent large hall even among the outer residences.
As soon as we entered, he turned to his daughter and said,
“Ri-eum, go prepare some tea for our guests.”
“Ehhh? But I don’t know how to make tea.”
“What’s so hard about it? Just toss a handful of tea leaves into some boiled water and bring it over.”
After shooing the grumbling Hyeok Ri-eum toward the kitchen like an unwelcome stray, Hyeok Ri-gwang guided us to a room and took a seat first.
“Have a seat. Now that Ri-eum’s out of the way, we can talk freely, right?”
His reaction hinted oddly that he knew why we’d come, putting me on edge.
Could he really be in on it?
“…Do you know why we’ve come to see you?”
“No? Your faces just look so suspicious. You don’t strike me as here for a casual visit.”
Hyeok Ri-gwang spoke nonchalantly.
Still sharp as ever, I thought, as I relaxed my tension slightly and sat down.
I got straight to the point.
“Brother Hyeok, have you ever heard of the Crimson Ghost Corps?”
Everyone focused on Hyeok Ri-gwang’s lips.
Seol couldn’t hide her tension, swallowing hard enough for the sound to be audible, as Hyeok Ri-gwang finally spoke.
“Crimson Ghost Corps? Hmm, first I’ve heard of it.”
A genuinely puzzled expression.
He looked like he truly knew nothing.
But it was too soon to relax.
I pressed him once more.
“Have you ever passed on the Fierce Tiger Display technique to the family head or the elders?”
“…What?”
A face like he’d heard the most absurd thing in the world.
His lips twitched upward as if it were a joke, but then dropped again as he scanned our stone-faced group.
“…Guess you’re not talking nonsense.”
“Please answer.”
At my curt urging, Hyeok Ri-gwang shrugged and replied.
“I don’t know why you’d think that, but no. The Fierce Tiger Display may be lost to history, but it’s still a family secret. Even in-laws have their limits on what they can share.”
There wasn’t a trace of deception in Hyeok Ri-gwang’s tone or gestures.
From what I’d seen so far, he wasn’t the type to hide lies so skillfully.
At this point, it seemed safe to consider him innocent.
A quiet sigh of relief rose in my mind, but then Hyeok Ri-gwang turned the question back on me.
“What on earth is going on for you to say such nonsense?”
“…Actually.”
Now that I knew Hyeok Ri-gwang wasn’t connected to the elders or the family head, it was time to explain the situation and ask for his help.
I recounted last night’s events and everything about the Crimson Ghost Corps.
As expected, Hyeok Ri-gwang panicked and floundered.
“W-wait just a minute. You’re saying the family head and elders conspired to experiment demonic arts on blood kin? And in the process, they used the Fierce Tiger Display to create a new force?”
He let out a hollow laugh as I nodded gravely.
Well, it’s not something you could easily believe.
Honestly, I wouldn’t have believed it myself without seeing it.
But I had seen it.
People reduced to beasts in human skin, and the ruthless ones justifying their sins in the name of the clan.
“I saw it with my own eyes. What the Crimson Ghost Corps used was definitely the Fierce Tiger Display. It leaked to them somehow.”
“Hah, but the only ones who know about the Fierce Tiger Display are me and…”
Hyeok Ri-gwang muttered in frustration, then suddenly jolted as if struck by lightning.
“…You have an idea, don’t you.”
Just then, footsteps approached the room.
They lingered at the door, eavesdropping without coming in.
It was obvious they were trying to listen in.
I couldn’t let that slide, so I stood and flung the door open.
“Kyaaak!?”
Hyeok Ri-eum shrieked in surprise at the sudden opening.
As the tray with the teapot and cups nearly slipped from her hands, I swiftly reached out and caught it.
“O-oh… you’re fast.”
Amazed by my catch, Hyeok Ri-eum blanched at the roar from behind me.
“Hyeok Ri-eum-!! Did you leak the Fierce Tiger Display!?”
“…Hic.”
Her choked-up hiccup was as good as a confession, her face screaming guilt.
She tried to bolt, but I grabbed her and dragged her before Hyeok Ri-gwang.
In the end, Hyeok Ri-eum knelt before her father.
“You shameless girl—! How dare you leak a secret technique!?”
Hyeok Ri-gwang’s bellow shook the room, and the startled Hyeok Ri-eum stammered excuses.
“N-no…. I just… she kept begging me…”
…Is a secret technique something you just hand over because someone begs?
At the incredulous stares from Hyeok Ri-gwang and the rest of us, Hyeok Ri-eum burst out indignantly.
“Why are you looking at me like that!? I didn’t tell it to just anyone!”
Not just anyone.
Her shout made everything click.
Hyeok Ri-gwang’s face hardened as realization dawned.
Staring him in the eye, I named the culprit.
“…Zhuge Cheon-sang.”
Hyeok Ri-eum had taught the Fierce Tiger Display to her cousin Zhuge Cheon-sang at his repeated pleading, and he had passed it on to the family head and elders.
In a way, it was a case of a son betraying his father and sister.
Flames sparked in Hyeok Ri-gwang’s eyes.
“That damned brat…!”
After a brief exchange of glances with the others, I cautiously asked,
“I haven’t seen Zhuge Cheon-sang since arriving at the clan. He doesn’t seem to be inside the grounds—do you know where he went?”
“…No idea. I only heard he was sent on a solo mission.”
A solo mission.
It wasn’t a stretch to connect it to the long-term assignments where they used blood kin as test subjects.
At this point, it was clear Zhuge Cheon-sang had consumed the Blood Jades.
Seeing Hyeok Ri-gwang and his daughter now as parties to this, I told them everything.
“Blood Jades. Spirit pills formed inside those who cultivate the Explosive Blood Technique…”
“W-what…? That sounds super dangerous!”
The two wore grave and frightened expressions.
Hyeok Ri-gwang in particular looked deeply conflicted, lost in thought.
“…So? You’ve told me all this—what do you want from me?”
I nodded to his weary face, aged years in moments.
“We plan to stop the family head and elders from going further. We’re preparing for that now. If possible, we’d like Brother Hyeok’s help too.”
Hyeok Ri-gwang pondered heavily before responding gravely.
“So you’re saying you intend to rebel against the family head?”
“R-rebel!?”
Kneeling Hyeok Ri-eum jumped at the ominous word, glancing between her father and me.
“Yes. We can’t let the Zhuge Clan be destroyed like this.”
“…The branch head and First Young Master agreed to strike my father-in-law. The same one who always obeyed the family head.”
Muttering in a mix of resignation and shock, Hyeok Ri-gwang paused in thought, then nodded.
“Very well. If it comes out that the Zhuge Clan dabbled in demonic arts, I won’t escape the fallout either. And I need to beat some sense into that worthless son of mine.”
It was welcome news.
Seeing the group’s faces brighten, I smiled inwardly and spoke again.
“Could you also enlist the help of the other visiting martial artists?”
“The others? Hmm, plenty owe me favors or are close friends. They’d agree readily if I asked—what for?”
To Hyeok Ri-gwang’s question—his nickname being Fierce Tiger Blade—I explained the plan that had come to me on the spot.
“When we pull down the family head and elders, we plan to lure the clan’s forces outside. We’d like the visitors’ help with that.”
“How?”
I grinned at the curious Hyeok father and daughter and the group, then continued.
The more I explained, the more incredulity spread across their faces.
*
At that very moment, as Ja-seong’s group met the Hyeok pair.
Geun-yeong, who had entered the inner quarters, headed straight for the chief steward’s room.
The room’s occupant, the clan’s inner chief steward Zhuge Sun, was surprised but warmly welcomed the sudden visit from Geun-yeong.
“Please, come in, First Young Master. What brings you all the way here?”
Zhuge Sun, beaming with smiles, grew puzzled at Geun-yeong’s unusually stiff expression.
“Is something serious the matter? You don’t look well.”
“…Yes. It might be the most important thing in my life.”
“Oh? The most important thing in your life… Don’t tell me it’s a woman? Has the First Young Master finally found someone in his heart?”
Zhuge Sun gulped in excitement, his face lighting up.
Whether from Geun-yeong’s continued silence or taking it as affirmation, joy filled his features.
“Come, sit and tell me. What kind of lady is she? Someone you met at the Infinite Branch, perhaps?”
Zhuge Sun pulled out a chair himself, firing questions, as Geun-yeong stared silently before finally speaking with effort.
“…I went to the cave in the forest behind the main house.”
“…!”