Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Part 4: Vessel
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“But who’s that security guard?”
“From what I saw earlier, he seems to be the Eldest Young Master’s bodyguard...?”
“Bodyguard? A security guard?”
The Fourth Young Master’s warriors were whispering around him, but none of it reached the ears of the Death-Defying Ghost Sword.
He simply gazed with deep eyes at the bustling scene of the Compassion Hall.
‘Compassion Hall...’
A facility run on funds from the Eldest Young Master himself.
It made use of the Medicine Immortal Maiden’s shrines scattered throughout Luoyang, distributing food for free in the slums and providing medical care.
“Heh heh. Now do you finally grasp how great our master is?”
“Thanks to him, the One-Corner Hall treats us like yesterday’s leftovers, though.”
The Triplet Maids boasted as they spoke to him.
“...What does the One-Corner Hall have to do with anything?”
They grumbled in response.
“All the operating funds come from the One-Corner Hall’s budget.”
“The One-Corner Hall is the department in charge of attending to the Family Head and his direct blood relatives.”
“But our master doesn’t accept their service. So instead, he takes the maximum budget allowed from the One-Corner Hall and pours it all into this place.”
“Heh heh. Surprised that maids like us know the flow of funds in the One-Corner Hall?”
“...Truth be told, we only learned recently while helping the Head Maid with her duties.”
“Hey...! You don’t need to say that part.”
He stroked his chin beard.
‘...So that’s how it was.’
The hostility he had sensed when he visited the One-Corner Hall’s steward to obtain Jeong-a’s outing clothes.
No matter that the other party was Yeon So-hyeon, the one called the Swordless One, their attitude had many incomprehensible aspects.
But now he understood.
Yeon So-hyeon was using nearly the entire budget allocated by the Luoyang Sword Clan for his personal use on the poor instead.
“What an utterly absurd man...”
He recalled what Yeon So-hyeon usually wore and ate.
Plain cotton clothes that even commoners would wear, and meals valued only for their quantity.
Most of his consumption was handled internally within the One-Corner Hall, and beyond that, gifts were sufficient.
If one had to call anything luxurious, it was only the vast number of books he purchased.
He thought of the poor kissing Yeon So-hyeon’s hands and feet, the hems of his clothes.
‘As expected, his caliber is on another level.’
Now, seeing the image of his liege—like a mountain range—in that boy was gradually becoming familiar to him.
* * *
Yeon So-hyeon, with the Fourth Young Master seated beside him, was listening to the latest updates from a white-haired elderly physician and an old woman leaning on a cane.
“You’ve seen the reports, but things are going well. Not just in this ‘Walnut Village,’ but in the other slums as well.”
The elderly physician was the head of the Compassion Hall in Walnut Village.
Yeon So-hyeon nodded.
“It must be thanks to the special demands from the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly.”
“Indeed. We’ve got so many injured pouring in that our backs are about to give out.”
He let out a hearty laugh.
The old woman interjected from the side.
She was the shaman of the Fairy Faith Cult in charge of Walnut Village’s shrine.
“Still, it’s better than those days when the streets crawled with starved corpses. Back then, clearing the dried-up bodies from the roads was a full-time job.”
The scribes standing behind them paled at her words.
“And the collapse of the Black Bone Gang has been a big help in its own way.”
The old woman said to Yeon So-hyeon.
“With their human flesh factories shutting down, the number of unexplained disappearances has dropped.”
“And fewer parents are selling off their children. The streets are filling up with kids.”
The scribes’ faces turned ashen.
Yeon So-hyeon clicked his tongue.
“That’s just a temporary phenomenon. With the special demands putting extra money in people’s pockets, they’ll crave meat even more than usual.”
“Places dealing in human flesh are always on the cheap side, after all.”
“There’s intelligence that other underworld organizations are rushing to open their own human flesh factories now. They’ve caught the scent of profit.”
“We’ve been steadily intensifying faith education for the parents who come to the Compassion Hall. Teaching them that if they sell their children, they won’t receive the Medicine Immortal Maiden’s salvation.”
“Still, it’s an improvement over the days when families boiled and ate their own dead children.”
Several scribes with weak stomachs bolted out.
The Fourth Young Master covered his face in shame.
“Any other suggestions?”
At Yeon So-hyeon’s question, the elderly physician cautiously spoke up.
“There are still far too many slums we can’t reach. But the support we can provide is at a standstill...”
His face was caked with exhaustion, yet he worried about the other slums.
Yeon So-hyeon nodded.
“Don’t worry about that. From now on, the work will only increase, never decrease.”
The elderly physician and old woman brightened at his words.
But they didn’t press for more details.
To them, Yeon So-hyeon was an object of faith, an absolute existence.
If he said it would be so, it would be.
“Oh, and there’s one peculiar thing that keeps happening.”
Yeon So-hyeon nodded at the old woman’s words.
“I saw it in the regular reports. There’s a righteous thief helping the poor?”
“Yes. Even our Compassion Hall in Walnut Village received goods he left behind.”
“You handled the disposal carefully, I assume?”
The elderly physician smiled.
“Of course. Stolen goods can be traced, after all. We distributed them among several experts connected to the Compassion Hall.”
“They’re all devout believers, so no need to worry.”
The Fourth Young Master, who had been listening quietly from the side, stuck out his tongue in amazement.
What competent people.
“What about the Demonic Cult?”
At that question, everyone’s ears perked up.
“...That is.”
The old woman glanced around warily.
Yeon So-hyeon placed a hand on the shoulder of the Fourth Young Master, who was sitting demurely beside him and listening attentively.
“My little brother isn’t just cute—he’s sharp as well. So no worries about word leaking out.”
The Fourth Young Master’s nose rose high at his words.
The old woman, who had been gazing at him with a smile for a moment, spoke cautiously.
“The Medicine Immortal Maiden faith has blocked the Demonic Cult’s infiltration, but they still clearly exist.”
“Weak-hearted people who suffer shocking events tend to fall for more radical doctrines.”
“We’re working to refine and strengthen our own doctrines...”
“I’ll help with that part.”
Surprise flashed across the faces of those around them at the conversation.
Contrary to common sense, the Fairy Faith Cult wasn’t a typical religious group based solely on prayers for fortune.
‘Big Brother designed the Medicine Immortal Maiden doctrines to serve as a dam against the Demonic Cult?!’
Behind those doctrines lay a meticulous design to prevent the moral decay of the populace and stop radical religions from eroding Luoyang.
‘This is Big Brother’s caliber.’
The Fourth Young Master gazed with trembling eyes at the existence he could never catch up to.
“We’ll handle other matters in writing...”
Yeon So-hyeon looked at his younger brother.
The Fourth Young Master snapped to attention.
It seemed his big brother was about to get to the main point.
“If we had to relocate the entire population of Walnut Village, could it be done without unnecessary bloodshed?”
All eyes focused intently.
There had been one surprise after another, but in the end, wasn’t this why they had come all this way?
Ignoring the pouring gazes with composure, the two elders, lost in thought, exchanged a few whispered opinions before nodding.
“It’s possible.”
Admiration burst from those around them.
“Of course, some unavoidable bloodshed might occur with a few individuals.”
“But the residents of Walnut Village are deeply faithful and generally docile.”
Yeon So-hyeon held out a folded sheet of paper.
“Even with this amount?”
It was the limit of what the Fourth Young Master’s side could offer.
The elders unfolded the paper and nodded.
“It’s a very generous proposal. Including the operating funds for the Walnut Village branch, it’s more than sufficient.”
The scribes erupted in cheers.
They hugged each other, clapped shoulders, and even jumped for joy.
The Fourth Young Master’s maids laughed freely, high-fiving one another in delight.
Yeon So-hyeon smiled at their sight.
His brother’s people were fundamentally cheerful, unpretentious, and honest.
Jeong-a, with her dragon-like eyes, wore a warm smile watching them, sharing the same thought.
Amid their cheers, Yeon So-hyeon spoke to the two elders.
“I’ll give you some scenarios later. Devise feasible plans accordingly and rehearse them. No mistakes.”
“Yes, as you command.”
At the sight, the Fourth Young Master hurriedly interjected.
“Big Brother! It’s still just the planning stage.”
They hadn’t even begun properly acquiring the land, let alone gathered all the investment funds.
Yeon So-hyeon smiled at him.
“No need to worry. With this big brother involved, the plan will come to fruition, and success is guaranteed.”
“Big Brother...”
The Fourth Young Master’s face flushed red as he gazed at Yeon So-hyeon, eyes sparkling.
At that moment, the elderly physician slapped his knee.
“Ah! So that’s it!”
Yeon So-hyeon, who had been hugging his rushing younger brother, asked.
“What do you mean?”
The old woman, meeting the physician’s eyes, nodded.
“For the past few days, low-level black path thugs we’ve never seen before have been causing pointless disturbances around here.”
“Probably the current landowners, fearing the deal with the Sword Clan might fall through...”
Yeon So-hyeon took over.
“They’re striking first to drive out the residents?”
The two elders expressed concern.
“We thought they were just new gangs marking territory after the Black Bone Gang.”
“Then their disruptions are likely to get much worse from now on.”
At that moment, the Fourth Young Master, sitting on Yeon So-hyeon’s lap, piped up.
“Elders, you don’t need to worry about that anymore.”
* * *
In a wealthy household in Luoyang.
He had hurriedly gathered the others who, like him, held land in Walnut Village upon hearing that someone from the Luoyang Sword Clan had visited.
And now, they were trembling before that very person from the Luoyang Sword Clan.
Some had even pissed themselves.
“...”
The man said not a word.
He merely repeated throwing and catching the flying knife in his hand.
The only thing was that the heads of the black path thugs hired by the landlords were rolling around the room.
Heads with stupid expressions, unaware of what had killed them.
And those heads were still oozing fresh blood.
“...”
An ominous blue sheen glinted on the flying knife as he threw and caught it.
The acrid, unidentified stench piercing their noses made the landlords tremble all the more.
Just looking at that knife, they could guess why the heads all had a deep purple pallor, why the spilling blood had such a strange hue.
The man’s gaze was as fierce and sharp as a venomous serpent’s, and even his breathing felt ice-cold.
“...”
He threw and caught the knife.
There was no martial aura or murderous intent that warriors often exuded.
He simply stared at them, like a beast lurking in the darkness, waiting silently to snap their windpipes.
One landlord’s eyes drifted to the man’s nape.
Over his Luoyang Sword Clan uniform, a chilling snake tattoo reared its head, flicking its tongue.
‘That’s...?!’
Anyone with even a modicum of knowledge about sects would recognize it instantly.
‘S-Si, Sichuan Tang Clan...!’
Today,
in this suffocating silence,
they were learning a lesson they would never forget.
* * *
Yeon So-hyeon continuously stroked his younger brother’s head.
“Aigoo, as expected of my little brother. How can you be so clever?”
The Fourth Young Master burrowed deeper into his brother’s embrace.
“Praise me more, Big Brother!”
The smile filling that youthful face was utterly pure.
Beneath that flawless, innocent skin flowed blood emanating a sharp, acrid scent.
It was the vivid bloodline of the clan that had once proclaimed itself the hegemon of Sichuan.