Fanaticism and Devotion
Yongbongjihoe Arena Construction Site.
Outer checkpoint.
Though the Third Young Master's encirclement had been lifted, the entire region had effectively become one vast labor camp, and so the outer checkpoint's role remained unchanged.
"Halt! Halt!"
The squad leader of the Sword Family checkpoint raised a stopping hand as the group approached, intent on leaving.
"Present your documents and identification."
The rebel acts of the destitute laborers had been commuted from the extermination of three generations to permanent hard labor—yet none of them could be allowed to simply walk free of that sentence.
"Here they are."
While the checkpoint warrior examined the exit permits and identity papers, the sentries carefully counted every head.
"House of Compassion?"
"That is correct."
The priestess who appeared to lead the House of Compassion party pressed her palms together in greeting; the warrior returned the gesture.
"You people do good work."
"We merely bestow the grace we received from the Medicine Fairy, according to her teachings."
Even so, the warrior never stopped scrutinizing the party with sharp eyes.
"Personnel count complete!"
Having thoroughly searched even the wagons where a person might hide, the sentries reported one after another.
"No irregularities!"
The squad leader returned the checked documents and papers to the priestess.
"You've all worked hard."
"...You are too kind."
The tips of the priestess's fingers trembled slightly as she took the papers back, yet the squad leader thought nothing of it. Wherever they went, warriors of the Luoyang Sword Family were objects of awe and dread.
"Pass!"
At his order the subordinates cleared the checkpoint barriers.
While the squad leader watched the House of Compassion party leave, another warrior in different attire sidled up behind him and asked quietly,
"No problems with that lot, I trust?"
The squad leader sighed.
"You watched the whole thing yourself, didn't you? Documents, identity papers, head count—everything matched exactly what they had when they entered."
"Even so..."
The squad leader turned with an irritated glare.
"What more do you expect me to do? They are outsiders to begin with, and the laborers' registers aren't even finished yet. There is no material for a cross-check."
Faced with that fierce reaction, the other warrior shrugged and stepped back a pace.
"I am simply carrying out my orders to make certain of everything. To ensure no one slips away by illicit means."
The squad leader's face twisted.
"I am a warrior of the War Department. Unlike you, I am not one of the Third Young Master's men, so do not speak to me in the tone of command."
He spat on the ground.
"Just having the likes of you standing with us is already..."
Glancing at the sentries, he switched to sound transmission.
And without any official order at that. Even this much is me accommodating the Third Young Master's side more than enough.
"...Understood."
The Third Young Master's warrior withdrew without further protest.
"I fully understand your position."
"Then keep yourself out of sight where people won't notice you."
The words that struck the back of his head were thick with thorns.
Those fucking War Department bastards looking down on us...?
It rankled. Ever since the Third Young Master's side had been forced into a limp retreat from this place, the number of people inside the Sword Family who quietly scorned his warriors had swollen.
"Isn't it time for the regular report?"
He snapped for no good reason at a subordinate resting in the shade.
"Yes, yes. Understood."
The subordinate rose with an inward sigh, dusting off his backside.
"Just report that the House of Compassion party passed with nothing out of the ordinary?"
"Yes. Ride out at once."
Even the horse the subordinate mounted seemed to plod with a listless gait. At that spiritless sight the Third Young Master's warrior ground his teeth.
"Every last one of them looking like the fight's been beaten out of them..."
He forced down the thousandfold rage burning inside him and sharpened his vision, continuing the watch.
Those damned murim bastards calling themselves righteous heroes or whatever. If I catch them I'll personally put every single one of them on the rack...!
He never realized that the very murim people he was hunting—the heroes of the Spring of Luoyang—had just walked past his side and slipped completely free.
An outer district of Luoyang city proper.
The House of Compassion party threaded through the bustling crowds and melted into a back alley. Confirming that no eyes lingered on them, the priestess nodded to the laborers.
"This should be far enough."
At her words the Spring of Luoyang heroes, still dressed as common laborers, set down the burdens they carried and gathered close.
"Thank you. We will never forget this life-saving grace."
The priestess shook her head.
"We merely follow the teachings of the Medicine Fairy."
"That does not mean we need not feel gratitude."
She offered the heroes a gentle smile.
"In that case, it would be proper to express your thanks to our leader."
"...That person has already delivered us from death's door twice. Gratitude alone falls short."
There was no time for long conversation.
"May the Medicine Fairy's blessing go with you."
The heroes of the Spring of Luoyang slipped into the alleys and vanished. A short while later the true porters of the House of Compassion arrived as arranged, shouldered the loads the heroes had left, and returned to their main hall looking exactly as they had when they first entered the alley.
Before the memorial stele of the main arena.
"No. No."
The Sixth Bureau Chief of the Law Protection Court, who had been spinning out his deductions alone, violently shook his head.
"That is impossible...!"
He stared at Yeon So-hyeon with the look of a man whose own reasoning had become absurd.
"The checkpoints will accurately verify the number of people. Only as many as entered will be allowed to leave. On top of that, warriors from the Third Young Master's military office are watching the outer perimeter."
He muttered, face clouded with confusion.
"So if one tried to switch the House of Compassion people with the murim people, that would mean..."
His gaze on the First Young Master shook violently.
"The House of Compassion people who switched places with them would have to remain here...!"
He cried out almost in a scream.
"Those left behind would have to perform lifelong hard labor in the murim people's stead!"
"Hmm? Is that so?"
Yeon So-hyeon wore an expression of mild incomprehension.
"Doing labor in place of heroes who were never here to begin with. I am not quite certain I understand what you mean."
At the sight of Yeon So-hyeon so blatantly play-acting and then calmly denying everything, the Sixth Bureau Chief shook his head.
"Mad. Completely mad. Whether it is the one who ordered the House of Compassion people to sacrifice their entire lives, or the fanatics who obey—"
He never finished the sentence. In that instant a chilling killing intent radiated from the woman standing a short distance away. He came to his senses.
"...I spoke out of turn. I offer my apology to the First Young Master."
Instead of accepting the apology, Yeon So-hyeon merely tilted his head.
"Fanaticism?"
He turned from the man and walked to the memorial stele, stroking the face of the rock where the inscription was carved. The Sixth Bureau Chief read the words beneath Yeon So-hyeon's hand.
"...Spring does not merely come."
With his back still turned, Yeon So-hyeon spoke quietly.
"Indeed. Spring does not merely come; it is called forth."
When the youth turned, the Sixth Bureau Chief flinched without meaning to under that gaze.
"The people of the House of Compassion understand that better than anyone."
The youth sat once more beneath the stele.
"That is not fanaticism. It is devotion."
"......."
Suddenly aware of eyes upon him, the Sixth Bureau Chief glanced around. The craftsmen resting at a distance wore decidedly sharp expressions. Even if they had not heard the words, they had clearly seen him shouting at Yeon So-hyeon.
"They did not act out of belief in some promise of the next life, nor did they fling themselves into faith merely to look away from a cruel reality."
Only then did he realize that countless laborers were watching them from afar.
"Would you dare belittle their actions as mere fanaticism?"
More precisely, those eyes were fixed on the Sixth Bureau Chief himself. If he so much as appeared ready to harm Yeon So-hyeon, every one of them would come running—that much was easy to guess.
Yes. This place was no different from the heart of the First Young Master's own camp.
Yeon So-hyeon smiled as he regarded the Sixth Bureau Chief, who could not even wipe away his cold sweat.
"I rather think you yourself understand the worth of that devotion, Sixth Bureau Chief."
At those words the man's eyelids trembled finely.
"...What do you mean by that?"
Seated beneath the stele, Yeon So-hyeon gave a slight shrug.
"Are you not also one who swore loyalty and devotion to this Sword Family?"
The Sixth Bureau Chief averted his eyes.
"...It was a vow that could never be properly kept from the beginning."
"Because the main family has rotted that thoroughly."
Yeon So-hyeon clicked his tongue and continued in a light tone.
"The Lord of the Law Protection Court refused to investigate misconduct among the Yeon bloodline, citing political neutrality. And yet he joins hands with the Third Young Master's left and right grand generals and issues you a secret order here to pressure me?"
The manner was casual; the content was anything but. Yeon So-hyeon gave a soft chuckle.
"Political neutrality and all the rest—complete bullshit."
"......."
Unable to find a reply, the Sixth Bureau Chief bit his lip. He had felt the truth of it himself.
"...So what exactly are you trying to say to me now?"
Ignoring the question, Yeon So-hyeon simply continued with what he wished to say.
"There are no murim people here. Even if the Third Young Master's side releases material to the contrary, they are hostile to me from the outset, so their reliability will be low."
The Sixth Bureau Chief's eyes narrowed.
"...And I am now stuck in a situation where I can move neither forward nor back."
If he finished an honest investigation and announced that no murim people had been present, he would face the Third Young Master's censure. If he fabricated something, he would have to endure the First Young Master's wrath and assault with nothing but his bare body.
"Unable to move either way?"
Yeon So-hyeon gave a short laugh.
"No. Not at all."
He rose. Standing upon the altar that supported the memorial stele, the First Young Master spoke to the Sixth Bureau Chief almost in a whisper.
"You have simply not chosen yet."
The Sixth Bureau Chief twisted his head.
"That means..."
His voice dropped to match.
"Are you telling me to follow the First Young Master?"
Strong rejection colored the question. Yet Yeon So-hyeon kept his calm smile.
"In truth, when investigating affairs inside this Sword Family, how many cases are free of politics?"
The Sixth Bureau Chief had been about to demand what that was supposed to mean; he closed the mouth that had begun to open. Had he not heard those words somewhere before?
"If we keep cutting everything away in this fashion, the unsavory elements within the main family will only grow more unrestrained, and that will ultimately become a problem that strikes directly at the prestige of the Law Protection Court."
A half-hearted sense of justice. A half-hearted resolve. Those had been the very words he himself had spoken at the previous executive meeting of the Law Protection Court.
"H-how does the First Young Master know that...?"
The expression he had been barely maintaining collapsed completely.
"That was an executive meeting! Everyone present was a bureau chief or higher of the Law Protection Court!"
Did that mean one of those executives was already Yeon So-hyeon's informant?
"What does it matter whether they are bureau chiefs or executives?"
A low laugh slipped from Yeon So-hyeon.
"My eyes and ears are everywhere in the Sword Family, Sixth Bureau Chief."
The youth's eyes curved in a gentle arc.
"No one, and no place, within the Sword Family can escape me."
The Sixth Bureau Chief could say nothing more; he shut his mouth.
"I understand. It must be confusing. Yet that is the truth."
Yeon So-hyeon approached slowly, speaking in a soothing, measured voice.
"Political neutrality vanished from the Law Protection Court long ago."
Coming right up to the man, he whispered like a devil's temptation.
"Summer is coming to the main family. It will be a season harsher than any anyone has yet endured."
In the midst of the struggle between the Second Young Master and the Third Young Master, the First Young Master had inserted himself and turned everything into a three-way free-for-all that was growing more violent by the day. Yeon So-hyeon's prediction was all too real.
"You will soon stand bare-bodied beneath that scorching sun. Heat beyond endurance will suck every drop of moisture from your flesh."
"......."
With his eyes squeezed shut, Yeon So-hyeon's voice rang in his ears.
"No one will offer you so much as a sip of water or a scrap of shade. But."
Yeon So-hyeon tapped the Sixth Bureau Chief lightly on the chest. The man opened his tightly shut eyes and looked at him.
Divine Calculation. Heavenly Eye Penetration. There stood the inscrutable figure who, a few months earlier, had broken his seclusion without anyone noticing and was now contending with the Third Young Master's faction.
"I can become for you a river that never runs dry."
Yeon So-hyeon raised a hand and pointed to the main arena.
"I can become for you a vast shade that will block even that terrible blazing sun."
The shadow cast by the enormous main arena building already covered them both.
"The choice is yours."
Yeon So-hyeon did not wait for an answer.
"I cannot wait long for your reply."
He stepped past the man and walked on.
"As you well know, the present situation is what it is."
His head maid followed quietly in Yeon So-hyeon's wake.
"......."
Toward that departing back the Sixth Bureau Chief raised a hand, then let it fall. He opened his mouth, then closed it. And at last—
"First Young Master!"
His cry calling after the First Young Master rang across the plaza.