Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Part 12: Stepping on the Line
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“Damn it!”
The thrown inkstone shattered and scattered.
The close aides gathered in the office wore dark expressions.
“He must have suffered the Second Young Master’s ire during the meeting, huh?”
These days, that bastard’s rumors had left the Second Young Master’s mood subtly unsettled.
The one who had thrown the inkstone exploded in anger.
“Call him Lord! Lord! Do you still think you’re some stray hunting dog wandering Jiangnan?!”
The one who took the scolding flinched, bowed his head, and retreated.
One among those gauging the mood sighed and stepped forward.
“In the end, the issue is recovering the Sword Clan Bronze Token lost with Geumju’s disappearance.”
Their superior now venting his rage was none other than the strategist who had pushed to award the Sword Clan Bronze Token to Geumju.
“Damn it! That Dark Heaven Venerable or whatever—if he was going to kill the bitch, why the hell take the bronze token too!”
It had put him in an extremely awkward position.
In Luoyang, ruled by the Luoyang Sword Clan, he’d never dreamed anyone would dare harm the Sword Clan Bronze Token’s owner directly.
And now even the token itself had gone missing.
What an absurd situation.
After raging alone for a while, smashing expensive items, he finally wore himself out and slumped in place.
“…On the name of Han Myeong-hwi, I’ll tear that bastard limb from limb a thousand times over.”
The aides crept back toward Han Myeong-hwi.
“We’ve assigned our best trackers, so we’ll hear something soon.”
“Yes. We can cover it up somehow before the main house’s Inspection Department gets involved.”
For now, they were leveraging the Second Young Master’s influence to stall the Inspection Department.
If this blew up publicly, the Second Young Master’s name would be dragged through the mud everywhere.
“…Mobilize every bit of manpower we’ve got.”
Han Myeong-hwi laid both arms on the desk and clutched his face.
“Yes. We’ll deploy every available tracker.”
Straining to keep his composure, he spoke.
“You’re investigating the origin of that Swordless One rumor, right?”
The aide handling it stepped forward and replied cautiously.
“Yes, but it’s hard to track. Everyone’s swarming around trying to verify the rumor…”
Their informants were terrified.
“This reeks of a pro’s handiwork…”
Han Myeong-hwi stroked his chin beard.
“Have you checked outside the main house?”
The aide shook his head.
“Rumors from outside ultimately trace back to the main house, don’t they?”
Another aide, arms crossed, replied.
“With all the people coming and going from the main house every day, the rumors must’ve leaked out through them.”
Han Myeong-hwi shook his head.
“No. If that were the case, the street talk in Luoyang would inevitably get exaggerated or twisted with added bullshit.”
The aide rifled through his documents.
“…Now that you mention it, the rumors outside match those inside almost perfectly.”
Han Myeong-hwi’s eyes narrowed.
“That means operatives working outside too. Find the bastard.”
“Uh, but we’re short-staffed for the internal probe right now…”
Han Myeong-hwi clicked his tongue.
“Didn’t you just say it’s tough getting real results internally anyway?”
The aide caught on quick.
“Ah! Then we’ll shift the internal investigators to focus on the outside.”
“That’s right.”
Another stepped up.
“I’ve got some reliable contacts outside; I’ll get them helping.”
“Good.”
“Rumors spreading uniformly across vast Luoyang could mean the source carries real weight.”
“Hm. Then we definitely need to check merchant groups, main house affiliates, or info brokers.”
“Excellent.”
Han Myeong-hwi’s mood seemed to lighten a touch.
It was his private division, handpicked from the sharpest and most seasoned.
His spirits naturally lifted when they showed their mettle.
Leaning back, he asked.
“…From what I heard in the meeting, you’ve verified the intel that all the ears we planted on the Fourth Young Master got ripped out.”
One aide stepped forward.
“Yes, we confirmed. All vanished the same day. No bodies either.”
Han Myeong-hwi snorted.
“No matter how cornered, it’s a Tang Clan-blooded snake pup. It wouldn’t leave corpses lying around.”
“Come to think of it…”
One of his closest smirked slyly.
“Choi the strategist must’ve gotten absolutely reamed at the meeting.”
“The Fourth Young Master was Choi strategist’s private division’s responsibility, right?”
Han Myeong-hwi cackled at that.
“His head damn near exploded.”
They all shared cheerful laughs.
Another division’s flop couldn’t make them succeed, but it sure made them happy.
“Focus.”
Han Myeong-hwi rapped the desk.
All the aides wiped their smiles and turned to him.
“Use this as a reminder—don’t ever forget.”
Han Myeong-hwi rose.
“We always grab intel fast, nail the situation down cold, and strike first before shit escalates.”
It was Han Myeong-hwi’s personal creed, his division’s creed, the Second Young Master’s strategists’ creed overall.
It guzzled resources like crazy.
But doable because—like the Third Young Master—the Second Young Master got massive backing from his maternal clan.
“No more screw-ups tolerated. Got it?”
They roared back in unison.
“Good. Then…”
Someone knocked right then.
“Come in!”
A scribe from the Second Young Master’s side appeared.
He eased the door open and handed Han Myeong-hwi a note.
Han Myeong-hwi’s brows twisted as he read it.
“Another Swordless One rumor…”
He asked the scribe.
“The source unidentified again, I assume?”
The scribe replied flustered.
“My rank’s too low for details, but I heard this one’s source is solid.”
“What?”
* * *
The woman in apprentice maid robes looked stunned.
“Is that for real?”
The youth in silk robes sighed.
“Sadly, yes.”
The woman made a fuss with the other apprentices around.
“Oh my, then what do we do?”
“How’re we supposed to cover the Eldest Young Master’s book payments…?”
“What’re the Inner Court folks thinking?”
Word was, the Inner Court had refused payment to Yeon So-hyeon’s book broker.
The silk-robed youth sighed deep once more.
“Normally I shouldn’t spill this, but you all have ties with me, so I’m venting.”
“Of course.”
“We go way back in Luoyang’s social scene, even before the Sword Clan ties, right?”
They were the rich girls who’d gotten chewed out by Jeong-a in front of the housekeepers’ office not long ago.
Now demoted back to apprentice maids, they were in retraining.
“Sigh. I begged and pleaded over and over. And still, this happens.”
The silk-robed youth gazed sadly at distant peaks.
“What in the world to do.”
The apprentices did their best to console his dejection, then ditched him with an excuse about training.
Once safely distant, the group’s queen bee flashed a rotten smirk.
“Hmph. Strutting like Won-gak Pavilion’s maid chief in front of us.”
The other apprentices sneered openly too.
“Ignored by the Inner Court, which serves the direct bloodline?”
“We know damn well the Eldest Young Master’s standing in this Sword Clan.”
“Acted like hot shit all by herself, now look at her.”
A group passed by just then; they hurriedly stepped aside and bowed their heads.
They’d learned by now to tell talkable talk from the kind that’d get them in trouble.
“Speaking of, that guy just keeps getting handsomer by the day.”
She meant the silk-robed youth they’d just left.
“He’s always been a huge hit whenever he shows at Luoyang socials.”
“Direct scion of the Kaifeng Yeon Family too.”
“Outer Court ceremony advisor as well.”
“Ah, to be engaged to a catch like that…”
Another group passed them.
They sidestepped again, heads bowed.
* * *
“Yeon Ha-eung, huh. Shall we drag him into camp for a chat?”
“A mere collateral honorary post—he’d piss himself the second he saw the Lor—er, our lord’s palace.”
“Spill his guts without us even pressing.”
Han Myeong-hwi’s underlings cackled.
“No need.”
Han Myeong-hwi shook his head.
“He’s one of the regulars who popped into Won-gak Pavilion all the time anyway. Knows the internals; nothing odd there.”
They’d already ID’d every semi-regular Won-gak Pavilion visitor.
“Plus, the bastard’s nickname…”
Han Myeong-hwi trailed off; an aide jumped in.
“‘Legs on a Rumor,’ right?”
Han Myeong-hwi nodded.
“Yeah. Quirky, but at root just a gossip hound. Don’t poke the Outer Court’s hornet’s nest needlessly.”
This rumor looked unrelated to their ops.
“Then we’ll pay a visit, run a quick check.”
“Yeah. But keep it polite. No matter he got booted from his own clan, he’s still the current Kaifeng Yeon acting family head’s brother.”
* * *
That very moment, Won-gak Pavilion’s main gate.
Yeon So-hyeon appeared as always, clad in nameless white robes.
“Greetings, Eldest Young Master.”
Trailing him: Jeong-a in splendid outing garb, and the Triplet Maids.
Even politeness strained to call their faces ‘fine.’
“Heading out?”
Life-Seizing Ghost Sword, warming up in the gate guard room, rushed out.
If the master went out, his guard couldn’t slack.
“No. No need to tag along.”
With that alone, Yeon So-hyeon strode right out the gate.
Jeong-a and the maids, faces stiff, followed.
Among the Triplet Maids, Samryeong glanced at the maid chief, stayed behind to brief him.
“The Inner Court refused the Eldest Young Master’s book payments…?”
Life-Seizing Ghost Sword’s jaw dropped.
His fellow guards overhearing burst into open guffaws.
Samryeong shot them a fierce glare, silencing the laughs, then shook her head.
“Luckily, we settled it with the book broker before word spread outside the main house.”
Life-Seizing Ghost Sword let out a low sigh.
“That’s a relief.”
Inside the clan, Yeon So-hyeon’s name had nowhere left to sink.
But letting it tank even further outside? No thanks.
“So where’s the Eldest Young Master headed now…?”
Samryeong nodded.
“To the Inner Court.”
Life-Seizing Ghost Sword went sheet-white.
“Wh-what’s he planning…?”
“No clue.”
Samryeong shrugged.
“The master just said, ‘I’m off to step on the line.’”