Chapter 68
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Still Family
“Any luck?”
Yeon Baek-ryang asked his subordinate before him with an irritated expression.
“We still haven’t found him.”
Irritation turned to anger on Yeon Baek-ryang’s face.
“Useless fools...”
His muttered words carried a clear edge of fury.
The subordinate, prostrated flat on the floor, didn’t dare utter a word.
He knew all too well that any excuse would only stoke greater rage.
“Young Master.”
A voice called from outside.
“Come in.”
Yeon Baek-ryang’s voice was still thick with anger.
The man who entered, bowed low before Yeon Baek-ryang, and spoke.
“I request permission to head to the Dragon Training Pavilion.”
“That Gong-hu brat showed no unusual signs?”
He was one of the five subordinates tasked with watching Yeon Gong-hu.
“No, sir.”
A curt reply.
“Hm...”
Yeon Baek-ryang fell into thought for a moment.
Sending his youngest brother, Yeon Baek-jin, as vice pavilion lord of the Dragon Training Pavilion had been their father’s—the family head’s—decision all along.
Yet before heading there, that fool had sought out Yeon Gong-hu.
And even suggested they go together.
It felt like there was some scheme afoot.
On the day that child vanished from the family, Yeon Baek-ryang had pegged those two as the culprits.
Yeon Gong-hu and Yeon Baek-jin.
Hadn’t they always doted on and defended the boy?
He was convinced in his heart of hearts that they were guilty, but he lacked evidence.
So he’d been monitoring them in secret.
Until then, there had been no suspicious moves. Not until Yeon Baek-jin was appointed vice pavilion lord, that is.
Actually, even after the appointment, nothing seemed amiss.
Yeon Baek-jin had invited Yeon Gong-hu to join him at the pavilion and help out, but Yeon Gong-hu had indifferently refused.
Nothing different from the usual.
“As long as his mother is here, the boy will eventually return... He’s her only remaining family in the world.”
Yeon Baek-ryang said with a chilling glint in his eye.
“We’re keeping close watch on her side as well.”
“Good. We can’t let them pull anything foolish.”
The prostrated subordinate bowed his head even lower.
“Do you think there’s something at the Dragon Training Pavilion?”
At Yeon Baek-ryang’s question, the subordinate replied with a cool expression.
“That’s the only time Young Master Yeon reacted at all.”
“The reports said it was the same as always.”
The five watching Yeon Gong-hu each submitted daily reports to Yeon Baek-ryang.
It served as surveillance on Yeon Gong-hu—and on each other.
“I definitely felt it. It was different from his usual reactions.”
When Yeon Baek-jin had asked Yeon Gong-hu to come to the Dragon Training Pavilion and help him out, Yeon Gong-hu had responded with bored indifference.
That was what had caught the senses of this warrior—Dong Ju-san—now prostrated before them.
The boredom was too much, the indifference too profound.
Different from his norm.
Dong Ju-san had taken note of it. Precisely because it deviated from the usual.
“The very fact that it was different means he was deliberately acting a certain way. There’s definitely something at the Dragon Training Pavilion.”
His voice rang with conviction.
“Hmmm.”
Yeon Baek-ryang pondered at length.
Dong Ju-san was exceptional even among the subordinates who handled his most confidential tasks.
Yeon Baek-ryang was reluctant to pull him off surveillance of Yeon Gong-hu.
Yeon Gong-hu. An irritating brat, but the most outstanding among the Yeon Clan’s younger generation.
True to form as the son of his eldest brother, he was surpassing even his father in talent.
He worried that removing Dong Ju-san might create gaps in the surveillance.
That punk will surely find some way to contact the boy eventually.
He was certain of it.
“What if the boy was counting on that?”
“Pardon?”
“What if someone reacts like you did, creating an opening in the surveillance—just as he intended?”
Dong Ju-san had no answer to Yeon Baek-ryang’s question.
Given what he’d observed of Yeon Gong-hu, the boy was more than capable of such scheming.
“Young Master Yeon might be capable of it... but my instincts tell me there’s something at the Dragon Training Pavilion.”
“Hm...”
Yeon Baek-ryang sank back into thought.
Dong Ju-san rarely pushed his views so forcefully.
From experience handling him over the years, his instincts were usually spot-on.
“You’d better have results to show for it.”
Permission finally granted.
“Thank you, sir.”
Dong Ju-san bowed and retreated backward out of the room.
Suddenly, a thought struck Yeon Baek-ryang.
Wasn’t all this fervor on Dong Ju-san’s part truly for his own sake?
Yet here he was, displeased by it.
“Ridiculous.”
Yeon Baek-ryang muttered with a self-deprecating expression.
The man was showing loyalty, and yet he resented that loyalty.
“Pardon?”
The subordinate on the floor asked in a fearful voice.
“Never mind. Summon the chief steward.”
“Yes, right away.”
He scurried out.
To fill the gap left by Dong Ju-san, he’d need to give the chief steward some orders.
The Dragon Training Pavilion was at peace.
There had been some commotion for a few days after the new vice pavilion lord’s arrival, but it had quickly settled as if nothing had happened.
And for good reason.
Yeon Baek-jin was buried under an insane workload and rarely emerged from his office.
On the first day, he’d tried to escape the office for a breath of air.
But from the second day on, he’d shut himself away as if determined to die under the paperwork.
It had already been over ten days like this.
Rumor had it that Performing Warrior Gi Yu-chan was quite pleased with the sight.
Perhaps because Yeon Baek-jin stayed holed up in his office.
Yeon Ha-min was gradually showing signs of stability as well.
Ha Mu-baek watched her training quietly today as always.
“Her killing intent has softened quite a bit.”
Ha Mu-baek murmured calmly.
“Indeed it has.”
A voice came from behind him.
It was Wi Ji-gun.
“Ah, Master.”
Ha Mu-baek dipped his head slightly. The seven members of Fierce Dragon Corps Squad Five were too focused on training to notice.
“That girl. To catch up to you now, even I’d have to go all out.”
Sweat beaded finely on Wi Ji-gun’s forehead.
“She’s from the Yeon Clan, right?”
“Yes.”
“I heard she’s sharing a room with Ran.”
Whether it was Pavilion Lord Pang Do-yul’s kindness or some ploy, when Ha Seol-ran decided to join the pavilion, she’d been assigned to Yeon Ha-min’s empty room in Graceful Dragon Dormitory.
“Ran’s been worried lately, saying she seems uneasy.”
Ha Mu-baek gave a wry smile at that.
Ha Seol-ran hadn’t breathed a word of it to him.
“She doesn’t want to burden you with her worries, so don’t take it personally. She’ll come around in time.”
Perhaps due to past events, Ha Seol-ran still seemed a bit wary of Ha Mu-baek.
She could rely on him, yet she insisted on standing alone.
To Ha Mu-baek, it was less admirable than heartbreaking.
“Just as you’re always worried about her, Ran worries about you too.”
“I’m glad you’re here, Master.”
“Of course I am. Speaking of which, is the pavilion lord holing up in his office because of that girl?”
“I may have threatened him a little.”
Wi Ji-gun let out a hearty chuckle at Ha Mu-baek’s words.
“After what happened to the Pang boy, I bet that threat landed hard.”
“Seems like he’s hiding in the office to avoid seeing her. He says as a Yeon clansman, he’d have to report her to the main family if he did.”
“Tch. What kind of filthy business is this between family...”
“It’s harsh to say, but strictly speaking, she’s no longer family.”
Ha Mu-baek said with a bitter expression.
But Wi Ji-gun shook his head.
“No. They’re still family.”
“Pardon?”
“Just as you and Ran are family to me. That girl is still family to the Yeon Clan. Treating such family as mere tools for schemes and ambition makes those Yeon bastards worse than beasts.”
“...”
Ha Mu-baek had no reply.
And not for lack of reason.
The words you and Ran are my family struck his chest with heavy weight.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. You’re right, Master.”
Ha Mu-baek tried to speak normally, but he couldn’t stop the faint tremble in his voice.
“You softie.”
At Wi Ji-gun’s words, Ha Mu-baek feigned indifference and simply watched the children on the training ground.
“That said, don’t actually follow through on your threat against the vice pavilion lord. He’s family to the girl you’re responsible for, after all.”
“If that’s what she wants, I won’t.”
Wi Ji-gun nodded faintly. That was enough.
“Good. I trust you’ll handle it well...”
Wi Ji-gun’s expression hardened mid-sentence.
Ha Mu-baek’s did the same.
“We’ve got a rat.”
Ha Mu-baek’s senses had picked up Yeon Clan martial energy.
Stealthily scaling the pavilion’s rear wall.
“What’s the plan?”
Ha Mu-baek pondered Wi Ji-gun’s question before deciding.
Assess the situation first.
“I’ll go check it out.”
Wi Ji-gun stepped aside.
“That’s all for today!”
Ha Mu-baek called out and strode off briskly.
The seven Fierce Dragon Corps Squad Five members watching their instructor’s back all had the same thought in their eyes: Again?
Dong Ju-san, clad in black night clothes and a mask, moved with utmost stealth.
There were few in the Dragon Training Pavilion who could detect his infiltration, so he moved without hesitation.
Sticking strictly to the shadows, his form was the epitome of secrecy.
It was still bright afternoon, limiting his range, but he methodically headed for the pavilion lord’s quarters.
First, he needed to confirm Yeon Baek-jin’s status.
According to information gathered from scouts beforehand, the vice lord hadn’t left his office.
That didn’t match the Yeon Baek-jin he knew.
Especially since he was here.
Yeon Baek-jin, the youngest young master, had been greatly influenced by that young master.
If he’d come here, he’d surely seek him out.
It was hard to accept that he was buried in work.
That was why he was approaching the lord’s quarters despite the sun still high.
He intended to see Yeon Baek-jin with his own eyes.
Infiltrating the vice lord’s office...
Yeon Baek-jin was buried in stacks of documents. Beside him was another figure battling a mountain of papers.
His face wore a manic grin.
“Vice Lord, splendid work. At this rate, we’ll clear the backlog in just four more days.”
“It’s baffling how much work is piled up. What kind of life has the pavilion lord been living?”
“A true pavilion lord must know every major and minor affair of the Dragon Training Pavilion without fail.”
Gi Yu-chan nodded proudly.
Yeon Baek-jin shook his head in exasperation.
“No promotion in your future, I see.”
Why on earth did the pavilion lord need to approve daily ingredient deliveries?
With even such trivia bubbling up as work, no wonder the pile was endless.
“Look at this. Why is even a trivial spat between cadets making it to report?”
“As I’ve said before, the pavilion lord must know every major and minor affair in the pavilion.”
“I’m the vice lord.”
“With the lord absent, the vice lord must know all.”
“Just to check—would you handle things this way even as performing warrior to the Righteous Heaven Alliance Leader?”
“Naturally. The leader of the Righteous Heaven Alliance must know every affair of not just the orthodox sects, but all the unorthodox and demonic world besides.”
“How?”
“By any means necessary.”
Gi Yu-chan stated it like plain fact.
“Then what in the Dragon Training Pavilion escapes your knowledge?”
Gi Yu-chan paused in thought at Yeon Baek-jin’s question.
“Hard to say... I’d wager I know most things. Like how old man Wi has somehow taken command of all the pavilion laborers.”
“What? No such thing in the reports.”
“It’ll be in tomorrow’s.”
Yeon Baek-jin shook his head.
Even mapping the power dynamics among the laborers...
Truly, evading this man’s eyes inside the pavilion seemed impossible.
At least he doesn’t know the girl’s identity.
No mention of a Yeon girl in the reports processed so far.
Such conversation between the two was being watched in secret.
By Dong Ju-san.
And Ha Mu-baek, observing Dong Ju-san with impassive eyes.
Pondering what to do with this rat.