Chapter 54
Part 4: Vessel
"By the way, who is that guard?"
"I saw earlier that he seems to be the First Young Master's bodyguard…?"
"A bodyguard? A guard?"
He could hear the warriors of the Fourth Young Master speaking around him, but none of it reached the ears of The Sword of Stealing the Ghost.
He merely gazed, with deep eyes, at the busy scene of Charity House.
Charity House…
A facility operated with the First Young Master's own money.
A place that made use of Yak Seonnyeo's shrines scattered throughout Luoyang to distribute food for free in the slums and provide medical treatment.
"Hehe. Do you finally understand our master's greatness?"
"Thanks to that, Wongakjeong is treated like cold rice in the inner court, though."
The triplet maids spoke to him with pride.
"…What does the inner court have to do with this?"
At that, they grumbled.
"Because all the operating funds for this come from the inner court's budget."
"The inner court is the department that attends to the Clan Lord and his direct bloodline."
"But our master does not receive the inner court's service. Instead, he takes the maximum budget he can bring over to Wongakjeong and uses all of it here."
"Hehe. Are you surprised that we, mere maids, know about the inner court's flow of funds?"
"…Actually, we only found out recently while helping the Head Maid with her work."
"Hey…! You didn't need to say that."
He stroked his beard.
…So that was why.
When he had gone to find the inner court steward to obtain outdoor clothes for Jeong-a, he had felt that hostility.
No matter how much the other party was Yeon Sang-hyeon, known as Swordless, there had been many aspects of their attitude that were difficult to understand.
But now he understood.
Yeon Sang-hyeon was using almost all of the budget that the Luoyang Sword Clan had allocated for him on the poor.
"He really is an outrageous person…"
He thought of what Yeon Sang-hyeon usually wore and ate.
Plain cotton clothes that commoners would wear, and meals that were large in quantity but nothing more.
Most of what he consumed was supplied within Wongakjeong itself, and aside from that, the goods that came in as gifts were enough.
If one had to call anything a luxury, it would be the enormous number of books he bought.
He recalled the sight of the poor kissing Yeon Sang-hyeon's hands and feet, and the hem of his clothes.
Is this what it means for one's vessel to be different?
Now, seeing in that boy the image of the liege who had been like a mountain range, was gradually becoming something familiar to him.
***
Yeon Sang-hyeon, with the Fourth Young Master seated beside him, was listening to recent updates from an old white-haired physician and an old woman leaning on a cane.
"As you must have seen in the report, the situation is good. Not only in this 'Walnut Village', but in the other slums as well."
The old physician was the person in charge of this Charity House in Walnut Village.
Yeon Sang-hyeon nodded.
"It must be because of the special demand from the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering."
"That is correct. Thanks to that, the number of injured people has increased endlessly, and our backs are close to breaking."
He gave a rough laugh.
The old woman beside him joined in.
She was the shamaness of the Fairy Order, responsible for the shrine in Walnut Village.
"Still, isn't it better than the days when those who starved to death were everywhere? Back then, even clearing the dried corpses from the streets was work."
The expressions of the scribes standing behind them worsened.
"And the collapse of the Black Bone Sect has also been quite helpful in its own way."
The old woman said to Yeon Sang-hyeon.
"As the human-meat factories they operated shut down along with them, the number of unexplained disappearances also decreased."
"And the number of parents selling off their children has decreased as well. There are more children on the streets now."
The scribes' faces turned pale.
Yeon Sang-hyeon clicked his tongue.
"That will only be a temporary phenomenon. Those with more money in their pockets than usual because of the special demand will seek meat even more."
"After all, the shops that handle human meat tend to be cheaper."
"There is information that other organizations in the dark underworld are rushing to open human-meat factories these days. They smelled money."
"We are steadily strengthening faith education for the parents who come to Charity House. We teach them that if they sell their children, they will not receive salvation from Yak Seonnyeo."
"Still, it is true that things are improving compared to the days when dead children were boiled and eaten by the remaining family members."
A few scribes with weak stomachs rushed outside.
The Fourth Young Master covered his face in shame.
"Are there any other proposals?"
At Yeon Sang-hyeon's question, the old physician cautiously spoke up.
"There are still too many slums our hands cannot reach. But the support we can provide has been standing still…"
Despite fatigue being plastered all over his face, the old physician was worrying about other slums.
Yeon Sang-hyeon nodded.
"Do not worry about that. From now on, the work will only increase, not decrease."
At his words, the faces of the old physician and the old woman brightened.
But they did not ask for further details.
To them, Yeon Sang-hyeon was an object of faith, an absolute existence.
If he said it would happen, then it would happen.
"Ah, there is one peculiar matter that has been occurring continuously."
At the old woman's words, Yeon Sang-hyeon nodded.
"I confirmed it in the regular report. There is said to be a righteous thief helping the poor, yes?"
"Yes. The wealth he left behind has reached our Charity House in Walnut Village as well."
"You handled its disposal carefully, I assume?"
The old physician smiled.
"Of course. Stolen goods can be traced, after all. We dispersed the handling among several specialists connected to Charity House."
"They are all devout members of the Order, so you need not worry."
The Fourth Young Master, who had only been listening from the side, clicked his tongue in admiration.
They were absurdly competent people.
"The Demon Cult?"
At that question, everyone's ears turned toward them.
"…That is."
The old woman became conscious of their surroundings.
Yeon Sang-hyeon put an arm around the shoulder of the Fourth Young Master, who had been sitting meekly beside him and listening attentively.
"My younger brother is not only adorable, but also intelligent, so you need not worry that the story will leak outside."
At his words, the Fourth Young Master's nose rose proudly.
The old woman looked at him for a moment with a smile, then carefully opened her mouth.
"We are preventing the Demon Cult from infiltrating through the faith in Yak Seonnyeo, but they still clearly exist."
"When weak-hearted people experience shocking events, they are bound to be swayed more easily by radical doctrines."
"We are continuing to supplement and strengthen our doctrine, but…"
"I will help with that part."
At their conversation, astonishment appeared on the faces of those around them.
Contrary to their common sense, the Fairy Order was not a sect that was simply based on a faith for blessings like ordinary religious groups.
Does this mean Eldest Brother designed the doctrine of Yak Seonnyeo to serve as a dam that blocks the Demon Cult?!
Behind that doctrine lay a meticulous design to prevent the moral corruption of the people and to keep Luoyang from being corroded by a radical religion.
So this is Eldest Brother's vessel.
The Fourth Young Master looked with trembling eyes at an existence he could never catch up to.
"We will handle the rest in writing…"
Yeon Sang-hyeon looked at his younger brother.
The Fourth Young Master came to his senses.
It seemed his eldest brother was now going to enter the main topic.
"If the entire population of Walnut Village had to be relocated, could it be done without unnecessary bloodshed?"
Everyone's attention focused on him.
There had been one surprise after another, but ultimately, this was the reason they had come all the way here.
While calmly ignoring the pouring gazes, the two elders fell deep into thought, exchanged a few murmured opinions, then soon nodded.
"It is possible."
Exclamations of admiration burst out around them.
"Of course, unnecessary bloodshed can be avoided, but there will be a small amount of unavoidable bloodshed."
"Still, the residents of Walnut Village are deeply faithful, and they are all relatively gentle."
Yeon Sang-hyeon held out a folded sheet of paper.
"Even with this amount?"
That amount was the limit the Fourth Young Master's side could offer.
The elders unfolded the paper, looked at it, and nodded.
"It is quite a generous offer. With this much, if we calculate it together with the operating funds of the Walnut Village branch, it is a sufficient amount."
The scribes raised cheers.
Some embraced one another, some patted each other's shoulders, and some even jumped up and down.
The Fourth Young Master's maids, too, laughed freely without formality and rejoiced while clapping each other's hands.
Yeon Sang-hyeon smiled at the sight of them.
His younger brother's people were fundamentally cheerful, unaffected, and honest.
Jeong-a, who possessed Dragon Eyes, seemed to think the same as him, for she was looking at them with a warm smile.
Amid their cheers, Yeon Sang-hyeon said to the two elders.
"Later, I will give you several situations. Establish feasible plans according to them and practice them. Make sure there are no mistakes."
"Yes, as you command."
At that sight, the Fourth Young Master hurriedly cut in.
"Eldest Brother! This is still only in the planning stage."
They had not even begun to seriously purchase the land yet, and they had not even gathered all the investment funds.
Yeon Sang-hyeon smiled at him.
"Do not worry. Since this eldest brother of yours is involved, the plan will be realized, and success is guaranteed."
"Eldest Brother…"
The Fourth Young Master, his face flushing red, looked at Yeon Sang-hyeon with sparkling eyes.
At that moment, the old physician struck his own knee.
"Ah! So that was why!"
While hugging his younger brother, who had rushed into his arms, Yeon Sang-hyeon asked.
"What do you mean?"
The old woman, meeting the old physician's gaze, nodded.
"The thing is, starting a few days ago, low-level Underworld gangs of a kind we had not seen in the area began causing trouble for no reason."
"Perhaps the current landowners were afraid that the transaction with the Sword Clan might fall through…"
Yeon Sang-hyeon took over the words.
"So they tried to take the initiative and drive out the residents in advance?"
The two elders expressed their concern.
"We thought the newly formed organizations after the Black Bone Sect were merely marking their territory."
"If that is the case, there is a high possibility that their tyranny will become even more severe from now on."
At that moment, the Fourth Young Master, seated on Yeon Sang-hyeon's lap, cut in.
"Elders. By now, you should not have to worry about that."
***
A wealthy household in Luoyang.
Upon hearing that someone from the Luoyang Sword Clan had visited, the owner had hurriedly gathered those who, like him, held land in Walnut Village.
And now, they were trembling before the person from the Luoyang Sword Clan.
There was even someone who had wet himself.
"......"
The man did not say a single word.
He simply tossed the flying dagger in his hand and caught it, over and over.
It was only that the heads of the Underworld gangsters hired by the landlords were rolling around the room.
They were heads with stupid expressions, as if they had no idea what had killed them.
And those heads were still spilling blood that had not yet cooled.
"…"
The flying dagger that the man tossed and caught gave off an ominous blue sheen.
The sharp, pungent, unidentifiable smell that pierced their noses made the landlords tremble even more.
Why all of the heads had dark purple complexions, why the blood flowing out of them had such a strange color—just looking at that flying dagger seemed to tell them.
The man's gaze was fierce and sharp like that of a venomous snake, and even his breathing felt cold.
"......"
He merely tossed the flying dagger and caught it.
There was none of the common aura or killing intent that martial artists were said to emit.
He simply watched them, like a beast silently waiting in the darkness to seize its prey by the throat.
One landlord's gaze went to the nape of the man's neck.
Above the martial uniform of the Luoyang Sword Clan, an eerie snake tattoo poked out its head and flicked its tongue.
That is…?!
Anyone even slightly knowledgeable about martial sects could never fail to recognize that tattoo.
Si-Sichuan Tang Clan…!
Today, in a suffocating silence, they were learning a lesson they would never forget for the rest of their lives.
***
Yeon Sang-hyeon kept stroking his younger brother's head.
"My, my, as expected of my little brother. How can you be this clever?"
The Fourth Young Master burrowed even deeper into his elder brother's embrace.
"Praise me more! Eldest Brother!"
The smile filling his young face was utterly pure.
Beneath the skin that showed such spotless purity, blood carrying a sharp, pungent scent was flowing.
It was the vivid bloodline of the clan that once claimed to be the supreme ruling power of Sichuan.