Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Yeon So-hyeon
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Part 3 Yeon So-hyeon
Se-ah remained in the spot where the meeting with her closest aides had just concluded.
"That Black Bone Gang in just two days..."
Luoyang was an enormous city, and its underworld was equally vast.
Though the Black Bone Gang occupied only a small portion of that massive underworld, their numbers and influence were far from negligible.
Yet that Black Bone Gang had been pushed to the brink of annihilation in a mere two days.
Even now, reports on the gang's mounting casualties were flooding in real-time.
From information about bizarre sites where no corpses or bloodstains remained,
To news that those doing business with the Black Bone Gang were pulling out,
Reports that the authorities were taking a hands-off approach due to the underworld ties,
Intelligence that the Luoyang Sword Clan showed no signs of stirring,
And most crucially, details about a demon in a white mask.
'Dark Heaven Venerable...?'
Crescent Moon Pavilion had scoured everywhere, even the slums where the name first surfaced.
But the prophet who had uttered it first was already dead.
There was an overflow of information, yet none of it touched the core, and every lead to vital intel dead-ended.
Even so, Crescent Moon Pavilion's key figures were all rejoicing at the Black Bone Gang's downfall.
Especially since they had braced for massive losses after the Sword Clan Bronze Token appeared—they were all the more thrilled.
Some were even calling it the will of heaven.
Se-ah felt a twinge of emptiness that their own resolve was being fulfilled by another's hand, but she wasn't displeased.
The complication gnawing at a corner of her heart stemmed from her inner conviction about the identity of this Dark Heaven Venerable.
The night she reunited with her sister after ten years, when the Black Bone Gang launched their assault.
She had clearly seen a white mask.
The Eldest Young Master of the Luoyang Sword Clan, derisively called the Swordless One.
He was currently staying with Se-ah at Crescent Moon Pavilion's safehouse.
"What do you think?"
The female bodyguard who had stood silently behind her tilted her head.
"About what?"
Realizing her slip, Se-ah added,
"The Eldest Young Master, I mean. The Sword Clan's Eldest Young Master. I told you to keep an eye on him whenever we crossed paths."
"Ah, the Swordless One?"
Curiously, she uttered the derogatory title without a hint of contempt.
"Don't say that name!"
"Sorry."
The bodyguard, clad in neat black martial robes with her short hair tied back, shrugged.
"I could tell he's not like the rumors suggest."
Se-ah sighed at the straightforward response.
"...Don't go around saying you work for Crescent Moon Pavilion."
The bodyguard raised a hand.
"Well, among the young men the young miss meets for business, he was the most upright. Bold, too."
It was just that his presence that night had left such a strong impression; the way Yeon So-hyeon had acted before Geumju was plenty striking too.
Especially his skill in steering the conversation and shifting situations to his will—it was impressive.
So much so that she herself had momentarily wanted to learn from it.
"...Yeah, he is."
"And he seems to have a pretty broad mind. Generous spirit, maybe? We tried pressuring him with our aura, even sent killing intent his way..."
"What?!"
The bodyguard continued nonchalantly as Se-ah paled.
"But he didn't say a word. Not sure if he's just that magnanimous or totally spineless, though."
Se-ah shot to her feet and grabbed the bodyguard's collar.
"You lunatic! What the hell did you do to the Luoyang Sword Clan's Eldest Young Master?!"
Even shaken by Se-ah, who had no internal energy, the bodyguard didn't budge and simply smacked her lips.
"Come on, that young master has such an innocently harmless face. Always laughing like some old geezer, heh heh."
"Even so!"
* * *
Next, Se-ah summoned the maids assigned to attend Yeon So-hyeon.
"The Eldest Young Master?"
One maid's eyes sparkled.
"Isn't he just too handsome? A total pretty boy! That warm smile and the occasional melancholic vibe he gives off—it's killer."
"Yeah, yeah! I wanna follow him if he goes back to the Sword Clan."
"It's a job transfer! I'm going too!"
"You think the Luoyang Sword Clan would take in the likes of you?"
One maid unfurled a precious scroll she had brought tucked in her bosom.
It was written in a script of utmost delicacy and elegance.
A calligraphy so superb it drew involuntary admiration from any viewer.
"Here, everyone. This is the writing the Eldest Young Master gave me!"
Another maid unrolled a small scroll.
"I got this painting!"
"Whoa! Insane! Sell it to me right now!"
"Shut up and bring your money!"
Se-ah clutched her head amid the maids' squealing chaos.
"Hmm, he is definitely handsome."
"Right?"
Her bodyguard had somehow joined the chatter.
"This is ridiculous..."
Se-ah slammed her pipe on the desk.
"I asked for proper intel!"
There was a reason she phrased it that way.
Unlike ordinary maids, Crescent Moon Pavilion's maids were all trained intelligence agents.
"Honestly, aside from being a nice, handsome young master, there was nothing suspicious."
"He never even stepped out past the door on the nights we were told to watch him closely."
"And we can't forget his vast knowledge or how he gets what romance is all about!"
"Yeah! Did you hear him play the flute last night?"
"Of course. I was bawling my eyes out right there."
"Ah, I missed it."
As the maids devolved back into squeals, Se-ah shouted.
"Get out, all of you!"
Grumbling, Se-ah grabbed her bodyguard by the scruff as she tried to leave with the maids.
"And why are you casually joining in and heading out?!"
"Ah, I wanna hear the flute too."
* * *
"The master?"
Jeong-a asked back, and Se-ah leaned against the kitchen doorframe with an awkward smile.
"Yeah. Nothing big, just... I want to know more about the man my little sister serves."
Jeong-a deftly prepped the stew ingredients, smiling softly.
"I don't have much to say."
For some reason, her sister's expression screamed she knew everything, so Se-ah hurriedly added,
"No, it's not personal curiosity or anything..."
Jeong-a let out a light chuckle.
"I know."
Right...
But with that, Jeong-a said no more and focused on her cooking.
"Come on, last time I barely said a few words and you were defending the Eldest Young Master like your neck veins were popping..."
Jeong-a just chuckled again.
Se-ah gazed at her sister's sweat-beaded face for a moment before asking,
"You feeling okay now?"
"Yes. Thanks to you."
"Good. Glad to hear it."
Se-ah nodded and turned from the threshold.
A soft voice trailed after her from Jeong-a.
"If you're curious, the best thing would be to meet him yourself."
Se-ah turned back.
"Aren't you curious about anything?"
"Well..."
Jeong-a only wore that enigmatic smile.
* * *
Se-ah sighed at her reluctant final steps.
'No one who saw me like this would ever believe it.'
She fiddled with the jade box of premium tea leaves in her hand.
It glistened from the sweat on her palms.
She, known in these circles as the Iron-Blood Witch, the One-Eyed Girl with no tears or pity—what a sight she made now.
'I get scared too, you know...'
Truth be told, just thinking back to that night made her legs tremble.
The scene of the biting north wind yielding, as if even darkness bowed in worship.
Eerie tales where every word tightened like a noose.
And that white mask, defying description.
[My path is the infernal demon realm, a blood sea of corpse mountains in the ghost road of the underworld.]
His voice—that horrific tone laced with metallic echoes—still rang vividly.
[May we never meet atop it...]
What could those words have meant?
"Why the hesitation?"
The bodyguard strode past Se-ah and knocked on the door to Yeon So-hyeon's room.
"Are you in? It's the Crescent Moon Pavilion Lord."
Stunned speechless by the bodyguard's actions, Se-ah coughed as his voice came from within.
"Come in."
Unlike the white mask in her memory, his voice was gentle, easing her tension a bit.
* * *
Yeon So-hyeon brewed tea himself with the leaves Se-ah brought, telling the bodyguard,
"No killing intent today. It ruins the tea."
The bodyguard nodded.
"No need to worry. That mission's over."
At her words, Yeon So-hyeon looked up at Se-ah.
"A mission?"
Se-ah shot her bodyguard the look of someone who'd suffered the world's most absurd injustice.
"Young miss, why stare at me like that?"
Ignoring it, Yeon So-hyeon shrugged and offered them the freshly brewed tea.
"Here, drink it now."
Se-ah hastily stood and took a cup, saying,
"Th-thank you. But you don't need to give one to the bodyguard too..."
"I'll enjoy it, Eldest Young Master."
Her bodyguard had already accepted hers.
"Fine aroma. You must be quite the tea connoisseur."
"You're too kind."
"No, I don't do empty flattery."
"Haha, you're fun. If you ever want to switch jobs, just tell me."
"If I lose this one, I'll come calling. Judging by my boss's mood, it won't be long."
"Hahaha!"
At least she was standing rather than sitting with them—small mercies.
Her bodyguard had extreme likes and dislikes with people.
She never even spoke to those Se-ah met for business.
Seeing her so at ease with him made Se-ah think the Eldest Young Master couldn't be all bad...
Yet the image of Yeon So-hyeon from that night lingered in her mind.
"So, what brings a busy person like you to a loafer like me?"
As the talk turned serious, the bodyguard naturally stepped away to stand by the window.
"Eldest Young Master..."
"Hm."
Yeon So-hyeon savored the rising tea aroma as he regarded her.
Her skin was enviably fair, her delicate features almost girlish, long lashes casting shadows over her eyes.
But to her, it felt like that white mask from that night was watching her.
The expression that seemed to smile and cry, the rough white surface straight from the brushstrokes, the eyeless sockets that pierced everything—that sensation.
Feeling her lips dry, Se-ah forced out the question.
"Are you... that Dark Heaven Venerable, Eldest Young Master?"