Secrets Shared Over a Sichuan Feast
Back in his room, Yoo Eunhyeon first brushed the dust from his body, washed up lightly, and changed into clean clothes.
Somehow it felt as though the entire day had been nothing but conversation. He had indeed spoken with a great many people, yet nothing had truly advanced or been resolved. That was how tangled the matter of the Righteous Path, the Demonic Path, and the Neutral Path had become—and with the Red Steel Poison Corpse thrown into the mix, the whole affair had twisted into something beyond description.
“Your meal is ready.”
Before he could sink any deeper into thought, a knock came at the door along with the announcement that dinner had been prepared. Come to think of it, quite some time had passed since his escape from the Demonic Cult, and he had been on the run so constantly that he had never managed a proper meal. Of course the mountains were as familiar to him as home, so he had foraged enough to keep the worst of the hunger at bay—but the moment someone said the word “meal,” his appetite roared to life.
“Might as well eat first. A man can’t work on an empty stomach.”
As a farmer, skipping a meal was simply unthinkable. Yoo Eunhyeon decided to fill his belly before anything else and followed the servant who had knocked.
“Please enjoy your meal.”
Perhaps because his room was near the entrance, the private dining chamber he was led to was still empty. The moment he laid eyes on the spread, however, an involuntary sound of admiration escaped him.
From classic Sichuan specialties like Kung Pao chicken and fish-fragrant shredded pork to dishes from other regions, the table was laden so lavishly it more than deserved the title of a true feast.
“They really went all out…”
The scale of the banquet made it clear just how highly the Dang Clan regarded Yoo Eunhyeon and his companions as honored guests. Still, with nothing decided yet, such extravagance could feel more burdensome than welcoming.
“What are you standing there staring for? There’s food right in front of you.”
The door opened behind him and Ju Yu-ryeon jabbed him in the back with a finger. Though the lavishness still made him a little uncomfortable, he had no intention of refusing what had already been prepared. He let himself be herded into a seat.
Across from him, Ju Yu-ryeon yanked her chair out roughly and dropped into it. Yoo Eunhyeon needled her lightly.
“You don’t look like you’re in a very good mood.”
“Would you be, if you were me? Haah. Until just a little while ago I wasn’t thinking about any of this, and now I’m stuck in the middle of a mess this complicated. I came here to relax and have some fun, so of course I’m not happy.”
“You only just heard about it? So you haven’t been here long either?”
“About two days? Mom said she’d explain everything properly once you got here, so I just sat around waiting. Couldn’t even go out and play—stuck here getting lectured nonstop… ugh.”
Whatever her recent days had been like, they must have been thoroughly miserable; Ju Yu-ryeon shuddered at the memory. When Yoo Eunhyeon let out a quiet snort of laughter, her eyes narrowed.
“You think this is funny? Do you have any idea how much I suffered?”
“Hey, I suffered too. You saw the beggar state I showed up in, didn’t you?”
“Mm, that was pretty funny, yeah. Speaking of which, I never even got to ask—did you accomplish what you went for?”
“You’re asking awfully fast.”
“What else was I supposed to do? There wasn’t exactly time before.”
Ju Yu-ryeon pouted. Yoo Eunhyeon knew that much already, so he simply waved a hand.
“Fine, fine—just stop making that face. It’s starting to ruin my appetite.”
“Wow. Looking at a young lady’s sulky expression and saying something like that? Well, if it’s you, Eunhyeon, I guess it’s possible.”
“If that was the goal, then it was a complete success. And the reason I went there succeeded too.”
“Huh? Really? For real? How’d you pull that off?”
“It’d take too long to explain. It’s not that important right now anyway.”
Talking about Yeo Chang-dong, Mo Cheol-dong, or how he had ended up as a squad leader would take forever. Yeo U-hui still hadn’t arrived, so they were waiting to start the meal, but she would be here any moment.
“One more thing. If you succeeded, why did you have to run? Running means they found out you were a martial artist, right? How can those two things both be true?”
“Beats me. Somehow everything just got tangled up in the strangest way and it worked out.”
“Hmm. That so? Then I’ll save the details for the next drinking session—perfect snack material.”
Ju Yu-ryeon didn’t press any further. This time it was Yoo Eunhyeon’s turn to ask the question that had been bothering him most.
“My turn for one question. Where’s Won-jik? Why are you here alone? I heard he went to the Honjakmun.”
“Yeah, that’s right. You know a lot. Some people from the Honjakmun showed up and took him away.”
“When?”
“The day before Mom came looking for me, I think?”
“So he’s only been gone about three days… He just left without saying much?”
“He asked me if it was okay to go. Not like I could stop him or anything, right? I told him to do whatever he wanted. He said he’d go check it out and left.”
“And no word since?”
“Nope. I never even told him I was heading to the Dang Clan, so just figuring that out would take him some time, wouldn’t it?”
“Hmm… So there was no special reason after all. I was worrying for nothing.”
Learning that Ju Yu-ryeon and Ho Won-jik had simply gone their separate ways to the Dang Clan and the Honjakmun with almost no deeper cause left Yoo Eunhyeon feeling oddly deflated.
“What, were you hoping there was some big drama?”
“I figured either you two had a huge fight, or Won-jik finally got sick of you and ran for it.”
Ju Yu-ryeon barked out a dry laugh.
“I barely escaped and the second I got here I ran into a terrifying grandmother and some justice-obsessed lunatic—nearly ended up in a full-blown fight. You think I had it easy?”
“Aigoo. How do you keep getting mixed up with monsters like that?”
“Tell me about it. Sigh.”
On this point at least Ju Yu-ryeon genuinely felt sorry for him; she looked at Yoo Eunhyeon with pitying eyes. He let out a long, self-pitying sigh of his own—and that was the moment Yeo U-hui walked in.
“What’s with the two young people sighing so heavily?”
She must have heard them from outside. Yeo U-hui pointed out their sighs as she took her seat. Ju Yu-ryeon grumbled.
“Is this a situation where you wouldn’t sigh?”
“You, Yu-ryeon, are always full of complaints, so that’s one thing—but Eunhyeon looks like he’s carrying a lot of worries too. That’s why I’m concerned.”
“So you’re going to ignore your own daughter and fuss over someone else’s son instead?”
“You. Do you ever actually listen when I fuss over you?”
“Nope. Not planning to.”
“Then don’t say things like that.”
“Huuu. Mom really doesn’t understand the delicate hearts of children. Listen—kids are like fragile baby birds. When parents pay attention it feels like nagging and it’s annoying, but the second they stop paying attention we get starved for love. Right?”
Having delivered that speech, Ju Yu-ryeon turned to Yoo Eunhyeon as if seeking agreement. Listening quietly, he had to admit it wasn’t completely wrong. Most of what his own mother Su Hwa-seon said usually sounded like nagging to him too.
“It’s not entirely baseless… but putting up with it and listening anyway is what filial piety is about, isn’t it?”
“Exactly! As expected of Eunhyeon—such a filial son. Hwa-seon must be so envious.”
Yeo U-hui brightened and praised him. Ju Yu-ryeon, well aware that she herself was a burning filial daughter, whipped her head away.
“Tch. Let’s just eat. Everything’s going to get cold.”
With that she started in on the meal. Yeo U-hui watched her daughter and let out a light sigh.
“Aigoo. If I could just marry that one off, my later years would be peaceful. Come on, Eunhyeon, eat up.”
“Yes.”
Yoo Eunhyeon smiled faintly at the familiar mother-daughter dynamic and focused on the food. The dishes weren’t just showy—they were genuinely delicious. For a while the three of them ate in companionable silence. That quiet lasted only until the plates began to empty and their hunger was satisfied; then the problems they had set aside for the moment came creeping back.
“No matter how I look at it, this whole business is suspicious. Why would the Dang Clan want to borrow our medical arts? It’s not like that would change the situation.”
Ju Yu-ryeon spoke skillfully even with chopsticks still in her mouth, tilting her head as she talked.
“The medical arts might just be an excuse. We did the same thing—other families among the Seven Great Clans may not have openly supported them, but they quietly sent plenty of money and raw materials for various poisons.”
“Money they could just claim was repaying a debt, but is it really okay to provide materials like that?”
Yoo Eunhyeon set his chopsticks down on the table and asked. Yeo U-hui shot Ju Yu-ryeon a look that clearly said “watch and learn,” then answered.
“If you send it through several secret channels and have someone launder it vaguely enough, there’s no problem. The other side knows everything anyway, but poisons and medicines change completely depending on the formula, so you can always insist it was for some other purpose.”
“That makes sense. The Righteous Path and the Demonic Path wouldn’t be able to openly complain either.”
Watching the two of them converse so smoothly, Ju Yu-ryeon snapped her chopsticks with a sharp crack and clicked her tongue.
“Oh my. Anyone watching would think you two were mother and son. You’ve both been hiding things from me from the start, haven’t you? I’m not an idiot—I’m not going to fall for lines like that. The Dang Clan’s holding something back too.”
Ju Yu-ryeon was no fool; she pressed them immediately. Yoo Eunhyeon himself wasn’t entirely sure whether what he had heard matched what Yeo U-hui already knew, so he turned to her.
“I’m not sure if what I heard is the same as what you were about to tell us, Aunt.”
“Who did you hear it from?”
“Hwajin Satae of the Heavenly Martial Alliance.”
“Then… the chances are high it’s the same. Go ahead and tell us.”
When Yeo U-hui gave her permission, Yoo Eunhyeon nodded. If Dang Eunseon or Dang Jaseung had been present he might have hesitated, but with two people he trusted sitting right here he saw no reason to keep secrets. He spoke directly to Ju Yu-ryeon.
“Do you know what the Red Steel Poison Corpse is?”
“……What?”
Ju Yu-ryeon stared at him as if she must have misheard. From her reaction it was clear she knew exactly what the Red Steel Poison Corpse was.
“Why the Red Steel Poison Corpse? Bringing that up all of a sudden means… wait a second. Earlier you mentioned the sixth sword corpse or whatever—have the Dang Clan gone completely insane? Wait, am I right?”
Her eyes went wide with disbelief as she demanded an answer, but Yoo Eunhyeon had never heard it directly from the people involved, so he could only answer vaguely.
“The Heavenly Martial Alliance seems to suspect as much, at least… Aunt, what do you think?”
“The one silver lining is that it’s still only suspicion. Yes. The Dang Clan is currently researching the Red Steel Poison Corpse.”
“I figured.”
Yoo Eunhyeon, who had already known, simply nodded as if he had expected it. Ju Yu-ryeon’s expression twisted even further.
“Those idiots actually laid hands on something they should never have touched. Mom—wait. Just a little while ago you said we were going to help them? Are you in your right mind? If this goes wrong it won’t end with some ‘we just got mixed up in it’ excuse!”
Ju Yu-ryeon cried out urgently, but Yoo Eunhyeon could understand the reasoning. From what Hwajin Satae had said, getting involved carelessly could drag even the Uiseon Suga into serious danger. Yeo U-hui was certainly not unaware of that fact.
“You’re right, Yu-ryeon. But that doesn’t mean we can simply abandon the Dang Clan.”