Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Part 24: As Usual
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Yuanjue Pavilion, early afternoon.
Yeon So-hyeon was meeting with the book brokers who had come to find him in the guest pavilion, just as he always did.
"Hmm."
Yeon So-hyeon stroked the leather cover of the book.
The book broker wearing round glasses flashed a knowing smile.
"As expected of the Eldest Young Master! A man whose scholarship no one can match. It seems you've seen right through the value of that book at a glance!"
Yeon So-hyeon skimmed through the contents and spoke.
"No, I was just saying it seems like the cover is made of human skin."
At the mention of human skin, the book broker's face paled.
He hurriedly asked the red-haired man beside him.
The red-haired, red-bearded man, who had been sitting politely with his head bowed, cautiously responded to the book broker's words.
After a brief exchange in halting foreign tongue, the book broker immediately bowed his head to Yeon So-hyeon.
"Aigoo, Eldest Young Master! Please execute this lowly wretch for exposing your noble body to such an irreverent item!"
"We seek 'noble body' only in the imperial palace. Next book?"
The book broker brightened at his words and rummaged through the rosewood chest he had brought.
"Well then, as for this book..."
The brokers from this merchant association were all highly skilled, but they all talked far too much.
"Quiet. Hand it over."
Yeon So-hyeon snatched the cloth bundle from his hand.
"Haha, as spirited as ever!"
Yeon So-hyeon carefully unwrapped the silver silk cloth and pulled out the worn book inside.
With delicate movements, he examined the crumbling book's contents.
"This...!"
The book broker's eyes lit up at Yeon So-hyeon's reaction.
"Heh heh. As expected of the Eldest Young Master. That book is truly the one I obtained with great difficulty..."
Yeon So-hyeon ignored him and asked the red-haired man directly.
The red-haired man was startled by his fluent Dutch but soon lit up with joy, gesturing animatedly as they conversed.
"...I see. Truly, Eldest Young Master. You're proficient in Dutch as well."
The sidelined book broker pulled a handkerchief from his bosom and wiped the sweat dripping from his furrowed brow.
A moment later.
"Good. I'll take them all."
The book broker leaped with joy.
"Your grace is boundless!"
"Grace, my foot..."
Yeon So-hyeon wrote out the invoice.
"...Shall we receive payment from the inner residence again this time?"
Yeon So-hyeon chuckled.
"They don't pay up easily at the inner residence, do they?"
The book broker hurriedly shook his head.
"No, sir! It's just that I'm not well-known, and our merchant association isn't famous enough yet—that's the only minor issue. Your boundless kindness toward this lowly wretch..."
While he rambled on, Yeon So-hyeon exchanged greetings with the Dutch merchant.
Yeon So-hyeon smiled, and the Dutch merchant burst into laughter.
It was a request to come directly next time, without the talkative broker.
Of course, the broker, who didn't understand the short Dutch phrase, could only wipe his sweat and force a smile.
* * *
At that moment.
Jeong-a was filling the alms bowls of two old monks to overflowing with food.
The monks, dressed in tattered robes so worn that their original color was indistinguishable, bared white teeth in smiles.
"Aigoo, thank you. May you receive blessings, young bodhisattva."
"There's no place with tastier greens than here—that must all be thanks to your merits, bodhisattva."
The wrinkle-faced old monks repeatedly pressed their palms together toward Jeong-a.
"No, sirs."
A foul odor emanated from their bodies, and their breath reeked of rot.
But Jeong-a showed no sign of discomfort and politely returned the gesture.
"If you need anything, please come anytime."
Then one of the old monks eyed her slyly.
"By chance, didn't the young master of this house ask you to pass on another offering? What was it again..."
Jeong-a clapped her hands.
"Ah! Please wait a moment!"
Soon after, the monks departed lightly with smoked meat chunks wrapped in oiled paper.
"Sirs, please take care."
The monks waved back at Jeong-a.
"Amitabha."
"May you receive blessings, young bodhisattvas."
"Give our regards to the master of the house."
As soon as they were a short distance away, the silent Triplet Maids shrugged their shoulders.
"I just can't figure it out at all."
"Monks accepting meat offerings?"
"Did you see those white teeth? All those wrinkles on their faces are definitely fake."
Jeong-a turned to them.
"The meat they're taking is for the temple's novice monks. Hold your tongues."
The girls shrank back at her words.
"I-is that so?"
Then Samryeong cautiously spoke up.
"But where did those old monks even come from in the first place?"
The other two triplets clapped as well.
"Now that you mention it, yeah!"
"This is Yuanjue Pavilion, the most remote spot even in the Luoyang Sword Clan—sudden begging monks out of nowhere?!"
Jeong-a pressed her palms together, gazing at the departing monks.
"Do you not know what that mountain you see in the distance is?"
At her words, the Triplet Maids turned to look.
The garden beyond Yuanjue Pavilion turned to woods, the woods to dense forest farther out.
And behind the forest loomed jagged, treacherous peaks.
Ilryeong unconsciously murmured the mountain's name.
"Mount Song...?"
Then Ilryeong cried out in shock.
"No! Those crazy monks are heading into the forbidden zone!"
Iryeong stomped her feet.
"Head Maid! That forbidden zone is a demonic realm where no expert has ever returned alive—that's why it's off-limits!"
That was why Yuanjue Pavilion's garden opened toward nature without any defenses in that direction.
Jeong-a smiled.
"No need to worry."
As she spoke, the monks vanished into the woods.
"They came from there in the first place."
* * *
On a cold winter day, the bright sunlight should have been purely welcoming, but a chill hung over Yuanjue Pavilion's main gate.
"Captain. Even so, isn't disciplinary action too harsh?"
It was about the incident from the night before.
When Talmyeong Gwigum said nothing, the special agent disguised as a guard pounded his chest in frustration.
"No, that guy was wrong to let the salt elder's steward through on his own. But reporting it to the superiors over something that minor—what are we supposed to do now?"
Talmyeong Gwigum, leaning against the wall, opened his eyes.
"That minor?"
As he finally spoke, the special agent vigorously defended the punished senior agent.
"We were just trying to tease the Eldest Young Master a bit. We've done it occasionally before, haven't we?"
Talmyeong Gwigum smiled coldly.
"The steward was half-dead when he was carried out, and four promising young warriors lost their right arms."
His gaze turned to the special agent.
"And that was a joke?"
"That's..."
The special agent was at a loss for words.
Not just him—the faces of the other special agents listening in darkened as well.
Talmyeong Gwigum sighed.
"Yes. Before, it could have been just a joke. We've never seen the Eldest Young Master get angry."
He looked around at the special agents.
"But haven't you all felt it? That Yuanjue Pavilion has changed since the servants were all chased out— that the Eldest Young Master has changed?"
They were all silent.
"None of us here know each other well. But there's one thing I do know."
Their eyes turned to Talmyeong Gwigum.
"We've all fought our whole lives to raise the main family's name, and now we're sidelined from the front lines for our own reasons."
Talmyeong Gwigum tapped his scabbard.
"Value the reputations you've built up till now."
He added curtly.
"And be careful not to be rude to the Eldest Young Master."
As his words ended, the special agent he'd been talking to shrugged.
"Everything was perfect except the last part."
The others chuckled.
"Hey."
Talmyeong Gwigum tried to say more, but the special agent was already turning back to his post.
Without looking back, he replied.
"No more pranks? I'll follow orders. Think of your reputation? Got it. But not being rude to the Swordless One?"
Another snickered.
"Come to think of it, when did the captain start calling him 'Eldest Young Master' all the time?"
One who had been silent spoke up.
"I was on special assignment for a decade, sleeping under the Yun'nan mountains and treating the forests as my front yard. Never regretted it once."
He gripped his scabbard.
Two of his fingers were missing.
"But when I returned injured, the lord had collapsed, the family was in chaos, and that eldest son was nowhere to be seen."
"Can't do martial arts? Can't be helped. It's all talent."
He always wore a leather helmet due to a severe head injury from a past mission.
"But enjoying all the privileges of an eldest young master without taking responsibility—that, I can't stand."
He, who only stood fixed guard at the main gate, had an irrecoverable leg injury.
"There was a seclusion order from the lord, right? But to me, it's all just excuses. If it were you, would you hole up at home if your father collapsed?"
Even the one who rarely spoke due to a throat wound coughed and opened his mouth.
"Father and mother—if he'd inherited even half the blood from either, he wouldn't have."
They were all men who had sacrificed their bodies for the Luoyang Sword Clan.
They spat on the ground.
"......."
Now Talmyeong Gwigum was at a loss.
In truth, everything they said had once been his own thoughts about Yeon So-hyeon.
And those thoughts likely formed the baseline view of Yeon So-hyeon among the Luoyang Sword Clan warriors.
What could he say here?
That Yeon So-hyeon created the famous Flash Shadow Instant Sword?
That after seeing him last night, he might have learned martial arts?
As they said, martial arts ability wasn't the core issue.
Moreover, the matter of the Eldest Young Master's skills wasn't something he could casually mention.
A coward and a weakling?
Could he say the Yeon So-hyeon he'd seen wasn't like that?
But what words could he even use?
The always confident demeanor he'd witnessed? The occasional chilling glint in his eyes? Actions that reminded him of the lord?
That was far too little to overturn years of seclusion.
And from the start.
'...Why am I trying to defend the Eldest Young Master now?'
Just then, the special agent at the outer post's gaze turned to the main road.
"Unidentified individual, approaching."
"Male, silk robes, unarmed."
The special agent who had strained his eyes recognized the approaching figure.
"Huh? That guy's..."