Chapter 108
Chapter 108
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: Part 8: The Winning Move
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The Eldest Young Master's voice greeted Elder Yeom as he entered the study.
"Was the meal to your liking?"
Elder Yeom, seated in his chair, met the Eldest Young Master's gaze with steadfast eyes.
"It was excellent."
"That's glad to hear. Our maids are quite skilled."
Unlike his amicable demeanor, the Eldest Young Master's gaze pierced Elder Yeom like the edge of a scalpel.
As if intent on rummaging through everything about him and examining every detail.
Elder Yeom showed no sign of agitation and first bowed his head politely.
"Now that I think about it, in the rush of things, I haven't thanked you for your help with my duties."
The Eldest Young Master raised his hand slightly in acknowledgment and asked,
"What did you think of it? My methods, that is."
"Impressive."
"Really?"
"Yes, very much so."
Their gazes crossed in midair.
"I see. In that case..."
As the Eldest Young Master began to speak, Elder Yeom bowed his head once more.
"That's why I must apologize to you, Young Master."
"What do you mean?"
Elder Yeom answered from his bowed position.
"I'm afraid your kindness is no longer of use to me."
"What are you saying...?"
Elder Yeom closed his eyes.
* * *
The moment he joined the Eldest Young Master's faction, his position in the Elder Council would vanish.
Even if he only entrusted his daughter for treatment, it was no different from handing over a hostage.
Regardless of the facts, he would be seen as part of the Eldest Young Master's faction.
That left only one thing: how expensively he could sell himself. But given the power the Eldest Young Master had revealed, even that seemed difficult now.
With his eyes closed, Elder Yeom recalled the voice of the Eldest Young Master from that day at the Walnut Village orphanage.
'I am but a mere physician and the Swordless One. And you? You are merely a father to one child.'
He steeled his resolve.
* * *
Elder Yeom opened his eyes and lifted his head, staring straight at the Eldest Young Master.
The resolute glint in his eyes sparked interest on the Eldest Young Master's face.
What decision had Elder Yeom made?
At last, Elder Yeom spoke.
"I shall step down from my position as elder."
* * *
A heavy silence descended.
The Eldest Young Master's gaze upon Elder Yeom now seemed almost aflame.
"...."
"...."
But Elder Yeom did not avert his eyes.
He merely met that gaze as calmly as possible.
"Is that so?"
In the end, it was the Eldest Young Master who spoke first.
Instead of answering, Elder Yeom asked,
"I know it's presumptuous, but might I trouble you for a drink?"
The Eldest Young Master retrieved a bottle of liquor from under his desk.
He brought over a freshly prepared teacup and personally poured the drink, saying,
"This is liquor my mother brewed."
Elder Yeom accepted the cup graciously.
"This is liquor beyond any price. Thank you."
He downed it in one gulp.
As the cup emptied, the Eldest Young Master refilled it, and Elder Yeom downed three cups in quick succession right there.
"This is the finest liquor I've ever tasted."
The Eldest Young Master merely smiled in response.
He sat quietly, waiting for Elder Yeom to open up.
"...From before I came of age, I gripped a sword and tempered it with the blood of northern raiders on the frozen tundra."
Feeling the sharp buzz of intoxication rise, Elder Yeom directed his gaze into the distance.
"In my youth, I chased glory and took pride in outpacing my peers. That's how I became the youngest Grand Commander in Luoyang Sword Clan history."
His tone was somber.
"But those childish notions faded quickly."
The Eldest Young Master listened silently.
"The endless skirmishes unique to the north, warriors who never forgot inherited grudges, battles with no bases to strike decisively—a chain without end...!"
Elder Yeom's massive, thick hands trembled.
"...In the end, I was the only one to survive unscathed."
He raised his newly filled cup high.
"If we die in battle, we die for the Sword Clan's glory, and if we live, we live in its honor!"
It was the motto of the now-defunct Luoyang Sword Clan Northern Battle Patrol Squadron.
The resounding voice of the warrior echoed through the vast study before fading.
"The Sword Lord of Mount Hua was truly a fearsome foe."
Even now, closing his eyes brought that day's sword strikes vividly to mind.
From the first to the very last.
"He embodied the essence of the Great Mount Hua Sect—a genius of the ages."
A sneer curled on Elder Yeom's lips as he recalled that day.
"I was certain it would be me who fell."
But the outcome was the opposite.
"It was the same during the Northern War."
He recalled the grim records of that war.
"Our supply lines were long and thin, constantly severed, and the vast front lines seemed impossible to hold."
A protracted war. Conscripts with morale in the gutters. Mismatched troops and command. Tribes in the autonomous regions who acted with ambiguous loyalties.
"But we survived in the end. And we won."
He let out an incredulous laugh.
"It was a victory scarred with wounds, but we were content to have lived, excited at the thought of all going home."
He emptied the cup Yeon So-hyeon had poured and continued.
"But when I returned home with that elation, the clan was another battlefield."
It was because he was no longer just a warrior, but an elder of the Luoyang Sword Clan.
"Well, I endured it diligently. There was pleasure in watching my subordinates' thighs thicken, seeing them marry one by one and raise children."
He chuckled lowly.
"My close aides knew nothing but fighting, so I was essentially running around alone, which is how a mere housekeeper dared trouble you, Young Master."
Another cup was emptied.
"But one day, I realized something."
His intoxicated gaze turned to the Eldest Young Master.
"That my body yearned for that battlefield splattered with blood and flesh."
The Eldest Young Master sensed the sincerity in Elder Yeom's eyes.
"That whether I live or die, what I love most is dancing with death gods, sword in hand."
He drained his final cup.
Not a drop remained in the bottle.
The Eldest Young Master asked,
"...So you wish to return to being a mere warrior?"
Elder Yeom nodded.
"It's what I do best."
Silence fell once more.
Then, a transmission reached the Eldest Young Master.
'...Everything he said is true, Master.'
It was Head Maid Jeong-a's transmission, brimming with conviction.
Elder Yeom bowed his head again.
"So I must apologize. You've shown me rare kindness, but it's become wasted effort..."
"...You're lying."
"Pardon?"
The Eldest Young Master leaned back in his chair with a smile.
"Why not stop the lies there, Elder Yeom?"
Strength entered Elder Yeom's fists.
"...May I take your words as an insult, Young Master?"
A urgent transmission came from outside.
'What Elder Yeom just said was all sincere, Master.'
Jeong-a's transmission felt desperate.
She must have thought her skills insufficient, causing an issue with the transmission.
But it had reached the Eldest Young Master clearly.
He had simply ignored it.
"The lie might have been a bit much, but..."
The Eldest Young Master shrugged.
"At least I don't think my mother's precious liquor was wasted."
'Master!'
For a moment, Elder Yeom seemed frozen in place.
But soon his mouth opened, and a thunderous shout erupted.
"Eldest—Young—Master!!"
The ground shook, and the paper windows burst.
The marble floor heaved, and massive pillars vibrated.
True to his status as a Top Swordsman of the Luoyang Sword Clan, a terrifying aura rocked the study.
* * *
The first to react was the Escaping Ghost Sword, closest at hand.
Sword lights from three blades flashed, and the study's door exploded.
In an instant imperceptible to ordinary eyes, he was already inside.
A sword in each hand, the three blades hovering in midair aimed at Elder Yeom.
The second to burst in was Jeong-a.
Golden radiance streamed from her eyes as she appeared, radiating unprecedented killing intent.
Her energy pushed to the limit made the sword aimed at Elder Yeom gleam like white-hot metal.
* * *
In a secluded garden at the edge of Won-gak Pavilion.
Yeom Baek-ha sat in the pavilion, stroking White Tiger in its cat form.
"Father must be doing well, right?"
White Tiger, gorged on fine meat thanks to the pavilion's maids, purred contentedly in agreement.
Even as she tried to calm herself, her hands trembled faintly, and her face was pale.
Sensing something amiss, White Tiger looked up at her, but she just kept stroking it.
Behind her, Elder Yeom's warrior captain asked Won-gak Pavilion's maid, I-ryeong,
"...Do you perhaps have something for digestion?"
I-ryeong's eyes widened.
"Is it the young lady...?"
The warrior captain shook his head hurriedly.
"No, no. Not our lady—I've just overeaten lunch..."
I-ryeong, about to send maids for medicine, sighed.
"What kind of main house warrior are you, reaching for pills over a little indigestion?"
Offended by the maid's tongue-clicking, the warrior captain bristled.
"This is all because of your master, if you think about it...!"
Then White Tiger sprang up in Yeom Baek-ha's lap, fur bristling all over.
The warrior captain jumped in alarm too.
"Everyone, stay right there!"
All eyes turned toward the study.
"...Father?"
Yeom Baek-ha's eyes shook with anxiety.
* * *
Dust accumulated on the study's beams drifted down slowly.
Amid the golden sparkle of dust in the sunlight, dozens of swords gleamed.
The Escaping Ghost Sword, Jeong-a, Samryeong, even the maids.
All their swords targeted the towering man standing firm: Elder Yeom.
"...."
Elder Yeom's aura had subsided, but no one sheathed their swords, and no one relaxed.
As dozens of sword lights and pairs of eyes fixed on him, Elder Yeom's shoulders began to heave slowly.
A sound leaked from his mouth.
"Heh, hehehe...."
It soon swelled into booming laughter.
After laughing heartily, Elder Yeom ignored the dozens of swords aimed at him and slumped into a chair.
He asked,
"How did you know, Young Master?"
The Eldest Young Master, smiling leisurely, replied,
"It wasn't that hard."