Chapter 109
Chapter 109
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: Part 9: Sealed Hand
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Elder Yeom let out a deep sigh.
“Damn it. I was so sure this would work….”
Having just unleashed his aura, the alcohol in his system had completely evaporated, leaving no trace of intoxication whatsoever.
“Your strategy was brilliant.”
Elder Yeom laughed hollowly.
“Are you saying the Eldest Young Master was simply one step ahead of me?”
Yeon So-hyeon offered no reply, merely smiling faintly.
At that, Elder Yeom raised both hands in surrender.
“Since I was in the wrong, how about calling off your men now?”
It was because the Life-Seizing Ghost Sword was inching his sword ever closer to Elder Yeom’s throat.
“...”
His face was filled with what looked like tremendous dissatisfaction.
And it wasn’t just the Life-Seizing Ghost Sword who was furious at Elder Yeom’s act—everyone still holding their blades felt the same.
Yeon So-hyeon smiled as he praised his subordinates.
“You’ve all done well. Excellent work.”
Only then did they begin sheathing their swords one by one.
The office grew noisy for a moment with the sounds of blades sliding into scabbards.
“Return to your posts.”
With that, the men began filing out of the office like an ebbing tide.
Of course, they didn’t leave quietly.
Glared at by their furious eyes, Elder Yeom—who sat with his back to the door—felt a stinging sensation on the back of his head.
“Haha. If I pull something like this twice more, my head won’t stay attached to my neck.”
Elder Yeom flashed the most ingratiating smile he could muster, but his back was already soaked with cold sweat.
“Try it...”
The response didn’t come from the Eldest Young Master, but from the Life-Seizing Ghost Sword, who had been the last to lower his sword.
“...do that shit again, and elder or not, I’ll lop your head off like it was an accident.”
“My apologies.”
It takes two hands to make a clap.
As Elder Yeom offered a wry smile and a sincere apology, the Life-Seizing Ghost Sword backed off with a deflated expression.
‘As expected of the Life-Seizing Ghost Sword. His reputation precedes him.’
His moniker had been renowned even in the north, where Elder Yeom had once served.
Elder Yeom called out to the Life-Seizing Ghost Sword, who sauntered away with a swagger in his step.
“How about a proper match sometime?”
“If you’re confident you’ll survive, anytime.”
The Life-Seizing Ghost Sword snorted softly.
As the imposing figure exited, the Eldest Young Master’s voice rang out behind him.
“Hey, Life-Seizing Ghost Sword.”
He turned back with a look that screamed, ‘What now?!’ The Eldest Young Master pointed at the shattered door with a finger.
“You broke it, so fix it by the end of the day.”
“Argh...!”
Muttering what seemed like a string of curses under his breath, the Life-Seizing Ghost Sword ultimately said nothing and stormed out.
Elder Yeom burst into hearty laughter and shook his head at the sight.
“No one in all the Central Plains could handle that ferocious beast of a man as roughly as you, Eldest Young Master.”
“Ferocious beast? He’s just the Life-Seizing Ghost Sword.”
Perhaps overhearing from outside, the Life-Seizing Ghost Sword let out a guttural roar, but the Eldest Young Master paid it no mind.
Elder Yeom gave a wry smile and pointed to the figure that concerned him even more than the Life-Seizing Ghost Sword.
“…And this young lady?”
If the Life-Seizing Ghost Sword had been the last to sheathe his sword, there was one who hadn’t sheathed hers at all, nor retreated.
“This is Jeong-a, my head maid and chief personal attendant.”
She glared at Elder Yeom with a ghostly visage.
Though she had dispersed her energy, its aftereffects lingered, her eyes still gleaming with golden light.
“Well...”
Elder Yeom averted her gaze, nodding awkwardly with a troubled expression.
“I’ve heard the introduction before...”
As the Eldest Young Master looked her way, Jeong-a shook her head firmly.
Instead of withdrawing, she took up position behind her master.
Sword still undrawn.
She had no intention of leaving her master alone with someone who had seen her true face.
The Eldest Young Master shrugged helplessly toward Elder Yeom.
“I hope you’ll forgive her. It seems she doesn’t trust you.”
At those words, Elder Yeom nodded as if it all made sense.
“So she’s the ‘Mind Reader’ who advised you via transmission.”
“Mind Reader?”
“Yes, that’s what they called her in the north.”
The Eldest Young Master nodded in understanding as well.
“I see. So you’d faced this ‘Mind Reader’ before in the north. That’s how you handled it so adeptly.”
Elder Yeom gave a wry smile.
“I’d been warned beforehand, but dismissed it as superstition—until I tasted bitter defeat.”
“Who would believe such tales without proof?”
“Exactly.”
“…I humbly beg pardon for interrupting your conversation.”
Jeong-a, who had been listening silently, finally spoke up.
“If you mean your ‘countermeasure,’ what exactly was it?”
“It wasn’t anything grandiose.”
Elder Yeom answered candidly.
“The key is simply noticing the Mind Reader’s presence.”
The Eldest Young Master nodded.
“Only then can you counter it.”
“Precisely.”
Jeong-a pressed further.
“Then how did you detect my presence?”
The answer came from the Eldest Young Master.
“Likely from the questions I posed to Dong Ga-hyu, that old man. With prior experience, no doubt.”
“Spot on.”
Impressed inwardly by the Eldest Young Master’s deductive prowess, Elder Yeom continued explaining to Jeong-a.
“From experience, mind reading isn’t omnipotent. It especially couldn’t distinguish partial truths from complete ones.”
“Partial truths and complete truths...”
The Eldest Young Master, listening, added a concise clarification.
“Everything Elder Yeom said was true. He simply omitted the ‘everything.’”
“Ah...!”
As Jeong-a let out a gasp, the Eldest Young Master smiled.
“His past mindset, his feelings, his longing for the battlefield—all true. The clincher was his claim of stepping down from elder.”
“But that wasn’t the whole story.”
“Correct.”
The Eldest Young Master turned to Elder Yeom.
“Elder Yeom. Are you stepping down because you’ve abandoned all ambition for power?”
“…I won’t answer that.”
Jeong-a sighed softly at Elder Yeom’s evasive wry smile.
“Jeong-a, it’s not your fault. It just means Elder Yeom is that remarkable—devising a counter and even turning it against you in such short order.”
Elder Yeom praised Jeong-a in turn.
“The Mind Reader I faced couldn’t use her ability unless standing right before me. But you didn’t even enter my energy sense’s range. I doubted my own thoughts several times.”
Each of his words rang with genuine admiration, easing Jeong-a’s mind somewhat.
“Had the Eldest Young Master not received your transmission mid-conversation, I likely wouldn’t have detected you at all.”
“Ah... I see.”
Seeing her obvious regret, the Eldest Young Master gave a wry smile and comforted her.
“Completely concealing a transmission from a master like Elder Yeom is no easy feat.”
“Yes, Master.”
She replied obediently, though her expression remained dissatisfied.
Was she that frustrated?
The Eldest Young Master smiled at this rare, honest display of emotion from her since awakening her true face.
“You’ve only trained in martial arts for a month—don’t be greedy. In time, I’ll procure even Shaolin’s Wisdom Light Heart Speech for you.”
“Yes, Master.”
Jeong-a’s face lit up with satisfaction.
Staring at her, Elder Yeom muttered blankly.
“…A month?”
While Elder Yeom wondered if he’d misheard, doubting his own ears, Jeong-a asked the Eldest Young Master.
“Then how did you see through Elder Yeom exploiting my ability?”
Elder Yeom showed keen curiosity as well.
“That’s what I want to know too.”
No matter how he pondered, he couldn’t fathom how the Eldest Young Master had pierced his mind-reading reversal strategy.
The Eldest Young Master smiled faintly.
“As I said, it wasn’t difficult. It just required one assumption.”
“One assumption...?”
The Eldest Young Master cast a glance at Elder Yeom.
“The Elder Yeom I know is an undefeated general. A man who carves a path to survival even from certain death.”
A meaningful smile played on the Eldest Young Master’s lips.
“Such a man wouldn’t meekly accept defeat in this chaos. He’d find a way out.”
“...”
Elder Yeom fell silent at his words.
“Start from there, and everything simplifies.”
The Eldest Young Master leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs.
“The moment you negotiate with me here, defeat is sealed. But relinquishing your elder position offers a slim but real chance to rise again.”
It echoed what he’d once told Elder Yeom Baekha.
The difference between ‘zero’ and ‘close to zero.’
Distinguishing that and choosing was the mark of a true gambler.
And Elder Yeom was such a man.
After a long silence, Elder Yeom finally spoke.
“…You were certain of me from the start, weren’t you, Eldest Young Master.”
Yeon So-hyeon smiled.
“You were certain of me too, Elder Yeom.”
“…Pardon?”
“That’s why you attempted that strategy—because you trusted I’d heal your daughter without question once you stepped down and brought her.”
Indeed.
‘I’m merely a physician and Swordless One. And you? You’re just a father to one child.’
Those had been the Eldest Young Master’s own words.
Elder Yeom had trusted him utterly, enabling such a bold gambit.
After a prolonged silence, Elder Yeom shook his head.
“…Damn. I can’t see a way to win.”
With that, Elder Yeom closed his eyes.
Entering deep contemplation for his final decision.
The Eldest Young Master did not press him.
He simply waited quietly for him to steel his resolve.
‘One step forward now.’