Chapter 106
Chapter 106
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: Dead Stone
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Elder Yeon nodded readily.
“…If it’s the capabilities of the North’s War Merchant, I believe it’s worth a shot. However….”
The North’s War Merchant, Dong Ga-hyu, threw himself flat on the floor and cut off Elder Yeon’s words.
“This Dong Ga-hyu will surely see it done!”
One might expect anger at having his words interrupted so rudely.
Yet Elder Yeon, his expression unchanged, picked up right where he left off once Dong Ga-hyu finished.
“However, regardless of this man’s abilities, his reliability raises serious concerns. This man….”
At that moment, Dong Ga-hyu shouted again.
“No merchant in the North can be trusted if not this Dong Ga-hyu…!”
“Dong Ga-hyu.”
The bone-chilling cold radiating from the Eldest Young Master’s single word made the bellowing Dong Ga-hyu clamp his mouth shut on reflex.
“Y-Yes…?”
Sweating profusely, he cautiously lifted his head to gauge the mood, only for his eyes to meet the Eldest Young Master’s unwavering stare.
“Eek?!”
Dong Ga-hyu slammed his head back to the floor.
“F-Forgive my mortal sin…!”
The Eldest Young Master gestured toward Elder Yeon.
“Please continue.”
Elder Yeon calmly resumed.
“…During the Northern War, he stands accused of supplying military provisions even to hostile tribes, though a lack of evidence spared him punishment.”
“Th-This…!”
Dong Ga-hyu fidgeted, desperate to interrupt Elder Yeon repeatedly, but the Eldest Young Master’s gaze pinned him silently in place.
“To this day, the Northern military authorities continue investigating him.”
Once Elder Yeon finished, the Eldest Young Master nodded readily.
“A heinous act. Selling or lending supplies to an enemy nation mid-war is treason.”
Dong Ga-hyu’s face drained of color, but the Eldest Young Master wasn’t done.
“You said the Northern military authorities?”
“Yes. I understand it’s being handled by an intelligence agency under the Grand Army Command.”
“I see. The Grand Army Command’s intelligence agency is a capable outfit.”
“That’s precisely why caution is needed. If he takes on this mission under your name, Eldest Young Master, who knows what mischief he might stir in the North.”
Elder Yeon considered recommending a few contacts that came to mind, but the Eldest Young Master spoke first.
“The fact that this capable Grand Army Command agency has been investigating for years yet he still roams free suggests his abilities exceed expectations.”
A glimmer of hope lit Dong Ga-hyu’s face.
“Capable, yes. That’s why….”
Elder Yeon’s expression hardened as he chose his words, then stated bluntly.
“He absolutely requires a tight ‘leash’ for control. But….”
Elder Yeon eyed Dong Ga-hyu with utter disgust.
“He’s capable enough not to leave any such weaknesses exposed.”
The Eldest Young Master nodded, arms crossed.
“I see.”
Silence settled over the room.
Yeon Baek-ha felt as though she could hear the old man kneeling and prostrated before them rolling his eyes this way and that.
‘Extremely capable, yet wickedly so.’
She turned her gaze to the Eldest Young Master.
‘Does the Eldest Young Master truly have a way to control him?’
For reasons she couldn’t fathom, Dong Ga-hyu now appeared an excessively groveling, ugly old man.
Yet in truth, he was one of the most influential merchants in the North, a man whose financial power could make even Elder Yeon hesitate—at times other than now.
Normally, one would reconsider employing such a figure for a critical mission.
But if it was the Eldest Young Master, Yeon Baek-ha held expectations of some ‘method’.
“Dong Ga-hyu.”
The Eldest Young Master called his name.
“Yes! Eldest Young Master!”
“In resolving this matter, can you swear you’ll seek no personal gain?”
That absurd question from the Eldest Young Master left Yeon Baek-ha flustered.
Dong Ga-hyu answered instantly.
“Of course, Eldest Young Master! I swear by Yuanshi Tianzun—if you trust this Dong Ga-hyu alone, I will surely….”
“Strange.”
The Eldest Young Master cut him off.
“Aren’t you a devotee of Tengri?”
Caught off guard, Dong Ga-hyu rapidly recovered.
“O-Of course, I can swear by Tengri too! What’s so special about a lowly merchant’s faith? As long as it brings fortune in gold, be it Tengri, Yuanshi Tianzun, or Amitabha Buddha, I’ll worship them all!”
“Indeed.”
“Right you are!”
Heh heh heh, Dong Ga-hyu chuckled, rubbing his hands while still kneeling.
The Eldest Young Master’s second question was even more ridiculous.
“Then, to succeed in this mission, would you roll in a filthy mud pit brimming with excrement if needed?”
Even thick-skinned Dong Ga-hyu’s eyes wavered at the preposterous query.
“O-Of course.”
“I see.”
The Eldest Young Master seemed utterly indifferent to Dong Ga-hyu’s response despite asking.
“You’ll keep this oath, won’t you?”
“Absolutely! If I break it, may lightning strike me from the heavens and burn me to ash!”
Just as exasperated Elder Yeon moved to speak, something pricked his senses.
A telepathic message from outside.
Intercepting a transmission aimed at the Eldest Young Master without preparation was impossible, even for a master of his caliber.
Had he succeeded, he would have heard this:
‘All lies, my lord.’
Hearing the telepathic message from Chief Maid Jeong-a, bearer of Dragon Eyes, the Eldest Young Master smiled.
“Come to think of it….”
He stroked his chin as if the thought had just struck him.
“A rumor about a certain myriarch from the distant northern steppes suddenly comes to mind.”
The Eldest Young Master exaggerated his motions, as if recalling.
“He swore never to sheath his blade until he captured and tore into his cowardly uncle—who murdered his father—limb from limb.”
Yeon Baek-ha found the Eldest Young Master’s sudden tangent odd, but Dong Ga-hyu’s uncharacteristic silence puzzled her more.
“His most loyal subordinates bound their right hands alongside their blades with red cloth, vowing not to untie them until vengeance was won.”
Turning to gaze into the distance, a profound smile crept across the Eldest Young Master’s face.
“Even decades later, to this day, they haven’t untied those red cloths. Astonishing, isn’t it?”
She glanced at Dong Ga-hyu and started.
“...!”
The old man trembled violently in his kneeling pose, like a leaf in the wind.
Not a drop of blood remained in his face.
Sweat poured so profusely it soaked his robes through.
Yeon Baek-ha realized.
‘He’s the man from that tale!’
Elder Yeon was equally stunned.
‘Dong Ga-hyu wasn’t originally from the Central Plains!’
His gaze shifted to the Eldest Young Master.
‘How did the Eldest Young Master obtain such information?’
His eyes wavered toward the Eldest Young Master.
‘Did he know this and have Dong Ga-hyu waiting in advance?’
Impossible.
Elder Yeon himself had unilaterally set today’s meeting date.
‘Even from the North, for Dong Ga-hyu to hear word and come to Luoyang to wait would take at least months.’
Had the Eldest Young Master arranged him, there’d be no need to hide it.
Before Elder Yeon could untangle his growing confusion, the Eldest Young Master’s low voice resounded.
“Dong Ga-hyu.”
Dong Ga-hyu tried to respond urgently, but only a wheezing gasp escaped.
The Eldest Young Master slowly passed the desk to stand before the wretched old man.
“I won’t command you to stake your worthless life on this mission.”
He issued an order impossible to refuse.
“But you will succeed in this mission without fail.”
The Eldest Young Master whispered into the old man’s ear.
“Isn’t that right, Dong Ga-hyu?”
His eyes narrowed like blades.
“Or should I call you ‘Arukutai’ of the ‘Uguray Tribe’?”
The old man’s eyes bulged as if to split.
For some reason, the Eldest Young Master’s voice sounded like his brother’s—the one he had stabbed in the back long ago, whom he trusted more than anyone.
The old man cried out in a frenzy.
“I-I will obey your command and succeed without fail!”
He smashed his head against the marble floor.
“Without fail!”
Again.
“Without fail!”
Blood sprayed, but he didn’t stop.
“Without fail!”
Then another telepathic message reached the Eldest Young Master’s ear.
Exactly what he’d awaited.
‘It’s true, my lord.’
A deeply satisfied smile curved Yeon So-hyeon’s lips.
For a fleeting moment, his teeth gleamed like serrated shark fangs, but no one in the office noticed.
It was the result of the resentful spirits’ voices relayed by the Earth Immortal True Heaven Scripture, intertwined with the golden-eyed witch’s Dragon Eyes.
‘Worry not.’
Yeon So-hyeon silently assured the room’s filling grudge spirits.
‘This worm-like wretch is a betrayer who slaughtered kin for sole inheritance, a butcher who torched countless villages for greed, a traitor who sold out his nation for influence.’
It was a verdict,
‘And when his usefulness ends, he’ll be torn limb from limb.’
It was a proclamation.
Proxy executor of heaven’s impartial retribution.
The Dark Heaven Venerable’s eerie ghostly aura blazed vividly deep in his eyes.
* * *
The North’s War Merchant, using the alias Dong Ga-hyu, tumbled out of the office like a rolling gourd.
His undignified exit resembled fleeing a death trap more than withdrawal.
A heavy silence lingered before Elder Yeon spoke.
“You’ve clearly leashed him, but….”
His tone was cautious.
“…won’t he panic and vanish?”
The only one seated comfortably in the office smiled.
“The ‘Mangudai’ of the Uguray Tribe will pursue him to hell’s end with even the slightest clue.”
The Eldest Young Master’s smile brimmed with unmistakable pleasure.
“If he’s dead, they’ll drag the corpse; if bones, they’ll gather every last speck.”
His smile reeked thickly of blood.
“And he won’t abandon the wealth he’s amassed to flee.”
The Eldest Young Master spread his hand.
“From the moment he entered this office, his lifeline has rested in my grasp.”