Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Fixer (3)
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"You're safe."
Sima Geon hugged Sima Hyeon tightly.
There were bruises on his face, and he looked overall haggard, but thankfully, it didn't seem like he'd suffered any serious injuries.
"Sorry. I bet I worried you a lot."
"I believed you'd come back in one piece."
Sima Geon patted his younger brother's chest with a laugh. Sima Hyeon smiled back at him.
"Where on earth have you been for the past few days?"
Sima Ho, who had been terribly anxious since Sima Hyeon was kidnapped by bandits and even Sima Geon and Cheol Woo had been absent, asked with a face full of anger.
"Don't be too hard on us. We went through our own hardships, you know."
Sima Geon said with an awkward expression.
"So what kept you so long...?"
As Sima Ho raised his voice, Cheol Woo slyly poked his head in. Sima Ho's voice automatically softened as he suddenly started hiccuping.
"I went to ask some old comrades for help. Luckily, I got assistance from a few friends. But even though we hurried as fast as we could, the situation was already over by the time we arrived. Honestly, I can't tell you how relieved I am. If it weren't for the Nangong Clan, things wouldn't have ended so peacefully."
"Ah! So that's what happened. When they said you'd suddenly disappeared, I had a feeling it was something like that."
Sima Hyeon was moved, picturing his eldest brother rushing around seeking aid from his old allies.
"Oh, right—but the Nangong Clan people didn't actually save us. They helped, but..."
"What do you mean?"
"The Nangong Clan's warriors did arrive at the Golden Fox Bandit Lair to take down the bandits, but it was someone else who wiped out the bandits there."
Sima Geon feigned surprise as he asked back.
"Someone else? Who?"
"Who knows. They said it was two people, and they were no joke—extremely strong. One was huge, with a really fierce face. Like Brother Cheol Woo."
Sima Hyeon's gaze toward Cheol Woo seemed like he was searching for something.
"Hmph. Looks like there's another hero like me out there."
As Cheol Woo struck a pompous pose, Sima Hyeon chuckled softly and turned to Sima Geon.
"I don't know about the other's skills, but they said that one was strong too. Though his looks are nothing like yours."
"What? You thought it was us?"
"At first, yeah. When the Nangong Clan folks described them, it sounded just like you guys. They even gave detailed descriptions, wondering if they were people we knew. But after listening carefully, it definitely wasn't. You don't have any scars on your face, and your cheekbones don't stick out like that."
Sima Geon let out a hollow laugh at Sima Hyeon's words.
"I wish it had been me. Then you wouldn't have had to worry."
"Yeah, that would've been great. I could've bragged a bit. Anyway, the Nangong Clan seems to think they were fixers. They overheard in conversation that people with a grudge against the Golden Fox Bandit Lair had hired them."
"Who cares what they were. Fixers or whatever, the important thing is you're back safe. Congrats, little brother. You completed your final mission as a porter without a hitch."
Sima Hyeon looked at Sima Geon as if wondering what he was talking about, but he nodded with a wry smile under his brother's firm, uncompromising gaze.
"Thanks. So now I just learn the butcher trade?"
Sima Ho, who had been perking up his ears at their conversation, jumped in like lightning.
"I'll—I'll teach you."
His sparkling eyes radiated a determination to pass on everything Cheol Woo had put him through.
Cheol Woo grabbed Sima Ho's ear and yanked it, shouting.
"Hey! You can't even handle your own chores properly, and you wanna teach?"
"Ow! Ow! What'd I do? Let go!"
"Shut it. Let's see how you managed the butcher shop while we were gone. Come on."
Sima Ho flailed, but Cheol Woo dragged him inside without releasing his grip on the ear.
"Am I gonna end up like that too?"
Sima Hyeon asked with a slightly fearful look.
"Nah. No need for you to wield a knife too. Me and Cheol Woo are enough for that."
"Then what about me?"
"Shopkeeper."
Sima Hyeon paused, then grinned.
"Sounds good."
"It's Jwa Gong, sir."
At the low voice, Yeong Ho Jung paused his frenzied painting.
"Come in."
The door opened, and a small-statured man cautiously entered the room.
Yeong Ho Jung stared at his painting for a moment before irritably slashing the brush across it.
"I told you to compose yourself as much as possible, and this is the garbage I get?"
He tossed the brush aside, grabbed his wine cup, and turned around.
"Did you confirm it?"
"Yes."
"No chance our movements were exposed?"
"I selected and sent only the most trusted subordinates I cherish. He's the best among the kids I have. It won't happen."
Jwa Gong spoke confidently, but Yeong Ho Jung shook his head.
"Overconfidence is dangerous. Just as you're helping me, the others have their own strings to pull. One mistake, and you tumble off a thousand-foot cliff."
The Flying Wing Squad, where Jwa Gong served as deputy leader, was the Yeongho Clan's intelligence organization.
Leader Baek An maintained strict neutrality on internal clan matters, but just as Yeong Ho Jung commanded Jwa Gong, his rivals likely did the same.
"I'll be careful."
"Especially don't underestimate the leader. He probably sees right through our moves. He's just pretending not to know."
Jwa Gong shuddered involuntarily, recalling Baek An's sharp gaze, and bowed his head.
"Anyway, what the hell happened in Soheung?"
At Yeong Ho Jung's question, Jwa Gong lifted his tense face, steadied his breathing, and spoke.
"According to the report..."
Jwa Gong began his explanation in a swift yet precise tone.
As it continued, Yeong Ho Jung's expression shifted constantly.
When the half-hour explanation ended, Yeong Ho Jung could no longer suppress his rage.
"What the hell is this guy?!"
The table shattered and splintered under the force of Yeong Ho Jung's fury.
Jwa Gong's report had been lengthy, but the core was simple.
The Black Ox Squad, sent to Soheung for the Celestial Pure Jade Milk, hadn't obtained it—instead, they'd been completely wiped out and buried.
"The Living Immortal Medical House's doing?"
Yeong Ho Jung asked with blazing eyes.
"Can't say for sure, but it doesn't seem like them."
"Why not?"
"There were three from the Living Immortal Medical House staying at the Clear Heart Clinic in Soheung at the time. And the report says all three left as usual, no different from normal. If they'd clashed with the Black Ox Squad, that's impossible. I can't presume their skills, but the squad wasn't weak enough to fall to that many."
"Right. I didn't raise them to lose to riffraff like the Living Immortal Medical House."
Yeong Ho Jung bit his lip, regaining some composure.
"Then who? The Sima... who bought the Celestial Pure Jade Milk?"
"Sima Geon."
"Yeah. Did that bastard do it?"
"Doesn't seem like him either."
"Why? If he had the wealth for Celestial Pure Jade Milk, he must have some skill."
At Yeong Ho Jung's doubt, Jwa Gong hesitated, glancing at him before answering.
"He's... a butcher."
"What...?"
Yeong Ho Jung tilted his head at the utterly incongruous word.
"He owns a butcher shop."
"..."
Yeong Ho Jung stared at Jwa Gong in disbelief, then snapped irritably.
"A butcher amassed that much wealth? You expect me to buy that?"
"From our investigations, it seems he wandered foreign lands for years making money. They watched him discreetly for days and found nothing suspicious. Still, just in case, surveillance continues."
Thick veins pulsed at Yeong Ho Jung's temples as he clenched his lips.
"Not the Living Immortal Medical House, not the guy—so who the hell?"
"Can't confirm, but I think a third party intervened."
"Third party?"
"Someone who saw the Black Ox Squad as a thorn in their side, right?"
Yeong Ho Jung's eyes shook violently at Jwa Gong's words.
"You mean my eldest brother made a move?"
"After the Thousand Kill Hall that ruled Hangzhou's nights collapsed, the young master immediately mobilized the Nanjing Flying Knife Society to seize Hangzhou."
"Yeah. Took him just ten days."
Yeong Ho Jung ground his teeth, having lost Hangzhou—his biggest cash cow—in a mere ten days.
"The Flying Knife Society, now controlling Hangzhou, has reached into Soheung, where Thousand Kill Hall had been working covertly."
"Natural progression."
Yeong Ho Jung said hollowly.
Thousand Kill Hall had targeted Soheung's night streets using the Blood Ministry to expand funds, at Yeong Ho Jung's behest.
Even with its leader and key subordinates massacred and absorbed by the Flying Knife Society, the operations continued seamlessly.
"Soheung's nights are currently held by the Eastern Heart Society, but once the Blood Ministry—backed directly by Thousand Kill Hall, or rather the Flying Knife Society—moves in earnest, ownership will change soon. It's too fast. The young master could act this swiftly because the Black Ox Squad, checking his shadow forces, vanished."
"But the Black Ox Squad losing to the likes of the Flying Knife Society? Impossible. No sign of my brother's hidden hands moving either."
Yeong Ho Jung shook his head firmly.
The Flying Knife Society, based in Nanjing and now holding Hangzhou, was still just a back-alley gang. Comparing it to the elite of the Black Ox Squad, forged from his blood and sweat, was an insult.
"What about the East Sea Dragon Fisher?"
"What?!"
Yeong Ho Jung's face twisted in shock at the sudden name.
"That old man's involved?"
"Can't confirm involvement, but he was definitely in Soheung."
"But even the East Sea Dragon Fisher alone couldn't wipe out the Black Ox Squad..."
Shaking his head vigorously, Yeong Ho Jung recalled the one name always mentioned with the East Sea Dragon Fisher and looked at Jwa Gong.
"Don't tell me the Eight Flying Swords was with him too?"
"Yes. His disciples were confirmed staying in Soheung before leaving. Officially to celebrate the seventieth birthday of his friend, former Hanlin Scholar Song Hak, but the timing is too coincidental."
"Kuh!"
A groan of despair escaped Yeong Ho Jung.
"Damn it! Right, with the retainers watching, he couldn't use his publicly known forces. But resorting to his wife's family? How petty, brother!"
Yeong Ho Jung bellowed with bloodshot eyes full of venom.
He still had official subordinates in the clan, but the Black Ox Squad's value—for handling all the dirty work in the shadows—was immeasurable.
Losing them was like having an arm severed.
Consumed by rage and defeat, it took Yeong Ho Jung a long while to calm his turbulent heart.
"The bodies are buried in the bamboo grove?"
"Yes."
"Can you retrieve them as quietly as possible?"
"If you order it, I'll try, but..."
As Jwa Gong looked uncertain, Yeong Ho Jung shook his head.
"No. I can't steal away the subordinates who died serving me like thieves. I'll give them a grand funeral later. Leave them there until then."
"Understood."
Jwa Gong inwardly sighed in relief as he accepted the order.
"But I can't delay revenge. Jwa Gong."
"Yes."
"Send word to the Dead Blood Forest."
"The... Dead Blood Forest?"
Jwa Gong asked in surprise.
"Target the East Sea... no, the old man can wait. First, the heads of the Eight Flying Swords and his disciples. Pay whatever bounty they demand. But absolutely no traces left."
"As you command!"
Jwa Gong bowed and accepted.
"The Celestial Pure Jade Milk is gone, I assume?"
"Yes."
"..."
Yeong Ho Jung scowled in silence, then growled.
"Put a hit on that bastard too. A butcher overstepping his station with Celestial Pure Jade Milk..."
"Understood."
Jwa Gong bowed politely and withdrew silently.
But they didn't know.
That the East Sea Dragon Fisher and Eight Flying Swords had truly stayed in Soheung just to celebrate Song Hak's birthday. And that the ones who massacred the Black Ox Squad were the butcher shop lads they wouldn't even glance at.