Chapter 57
Part 7: The Root Cause
Elder Yeom's daughter, Yeom Baek-ha, was waiting for her father and the First Young Master.
To be a little more honest with herself, she was waiting more for the First Young Master than for her father.
They were probably talking about matters related to her illness.
That conversation might change her fate, but she did not care all that much.
She was a bold girl.
It was a temperament befitting someone called the Law-Enforcement Girl by Elder Yeom's subordinates, and someone who received all their awe.
More than that…
"Oh my, how cute. What's your name?"
The small white beast lying at her feet, White Tiger, began trotting toward the Fourth Young Master's maid.
"No! White Tiger, come back!"
White Tiger obediently returned to her feet.
After sending off the maid, who walked away in disappointment, Yeom Baek-ha looked down at White Tiger.
"I told you, it's dangerous."
White Tiger's ears fluttered as it looked up at her, whining.
"No means no."
Just as White Tiger gave up and was about to sit with its chin propped down, another maid spotted it.
"Oh my, what a cute cat."
The moment White Tiger sprang to its feet, Yeom Baek-ha reached out and grabbed it by the scruff of the neck.
Another maid walked away in disappointment.
It had been like this for a while.
For some reason, White Tiger was especially attracting people who "did not know" what it was today.
"Phew. You little troublemaker."
She played with White Tiger for a while, tickling its belly.
It seemed that because this was a place where the smell of blood was heavy, White Tiger's wild nature kept being stimulated.
"Those people aren't bad people who deserve punishment. So stay quiet, all right?"
When White Tiger nodded with a slightly dejected expression, she placed it back on the floor.
"Good. Stay calm like that until Father comes."
Just then, another voice came.
"Hehe, good children listen to their master."
At that, White Tiger sprang to its feet again.
It was about to wag its tail excitedly and approach the owner of the voice.
"Oh, honestly…!"
Yeom Baek-ha stopped herself just as she was about to give White Tiger an order.
White Tiger had raised its tail and frozen right there.
"Hehe. What's wrong? Come here, little tiger."
The woman crouched where she stood and beckoned to White Tiger.
But White Tiger stood completely still, its tail stiffly raised.
'Little tiger? That maid called White Tiger a tiger?'
To anyone's eyes, White Tiger looked like nothing more than a white cat "normally".
Yeom Baek-ha looked in surprise at the woman crouching before her.
The woman was neatly dressed in Wongakjeong's maid uniform, and she was beautiful enough to startle Yeom Baek-ha.
Strangely, the pigment in her eyes was very pale, and when the sunlight reflected off them, they even looked like golden eyes.
"Come now, I told you to come here."
"…!"
For an instant, Yeom Baek-ha had the illusion that the woman's pupils had split vertically.
And she was startled once more when White Tiger lowered its tail, folded its ears, and obediently approached the woman.
"Da-danger…!"
But contrary to what she had thought, White Tiger merely entrusted itself obediently to the woman's hand.
"Oh my, my. Your fur is so soft."
The woman smiled brightly and tickled White Tiger.
Then White Tiger rolled over, showed its belly, and began performing tricks.
"White Tiger…"
At that moment, Yeom Baek-ha felt both surprise and hurt at the same time.
"Oh my, is this child's name White Tiger? That's a wonderful name that suits you well."
When the woman praised it, White Tiger waved its front paws and worked hard to show off.
The woman smiled at the sight and said.
"You have such splendid fur. It would be perfect for making Master's new winter coat."
White Tiger's movements stopped.
At that sight, the woman burst into laughter.
"I'm joking. It was just a joke."
But White Tiger had already fled back to Yeom Baek-ha's feet.
The creature hid in the hem of Yeom Baek-ha's skirt, peeked out its head, and glared at the woman.
The woman smiled and said to Yeom Baek-ha.
"Since it's such a large one, feeding it must be difficult."
Yeom Baek-ha was flustered by those words.
"Um, by any chance, can you recognize our White Tiger?"
"Ah, that is…"
The woman, Jeong-a, was just about to answer.
"You trash-like Sword Clan bastards!"
At that one shout, the noisy grounds fell silent as if a mouse had died.
***
Everyone's eyes turned toward the man standing before the gate.
He was a gaunt man.
He wore ragged clothes, and grime streamed over him, making him filthy beyond belief.
He limped into the courtyard and shouted.
"Sword Clan! You damned bastards! You cursed bastards!"
The gazes of the warriors on guard slowly turned fierce.
"Is he mad?"
At Yeom Baek-ha's mutter, Jeong-a shook her head.
"He isn't mad. He is just…"
Yeom Baek-ha looked at Jeong-a.
What was she seeing?
Her eyes were submerged in sorrow.
"The clothes you bastards wear! The blades you bastards wear at your waists! If just one of those were sold, this entire village could spend a day without worrying about starving to death! You heavenly-punishment-worthy bastards!"
The man grabbed a warrior by the collar.
"What? You came to help? Weren't you bastards the ones who made us like this in the first place?!"
The warrior's eyes narrowed, and his hand slowly moved toward the hilt of his sword.
But when he saw the Fourth Young Master raising his hand from afar, he swallowed a sigh and folded his arms.
"Aren't you the ones who locked us inside this land called Luoyang and have been raising us like livestock? Answer me!"
The man shouted, spitting as he spoke, but the warrior remained silent.
The man limped around, pointed at the Sword Clan people in sight, and shouted.
"You made us like this because you needed cheap labor! And now you dare prattle about helping us or not helping us?!"
Following the Fourth Young Master's will, his people made no response.
When no one reacted, the man approached the poor next.
"You there! You! Didn't your mother pass away last month? If those bastards had prescribed proper medicine, she was not someone who would ever have died, was she?!"
At the man's words, the poor person he had singled out turned his head away.
The man bit his lip at the poor person's reaction, then turned his head.
"You there! Aren't you the lady from downstairs?"
The woman he pointed out hid behind the others.
The man limped toward that woman.
"Why did two of your children die, madam? Isn't this all those bastards' fault? Why are you just staying still and eating whatever those bastards give you?!"
When the man tried to grab the woman, the other poor people restrained him.
"Hey, why are you doing this…!"
"Calm down! At this rate, you're going to get punished!"
The man violently twisted his body.
"You're all retarded bastards! Idiot bastards! The root causes are right in front of your eyes! Your enemies are right in front of your eyes!"
"Hey now! This man!"
When the man's resistance grew too rough, the poor had no choice but to push him away.
The man tumbled pitifully onto the ground.
He sat on the ground and screamed until his throat seemed about to burst.
He wailed.
"Just as they intend, you risk your lives working yourselves to death! And even then, you can't properly feed a single member of your family! Yet you eat what those bastards give you, bow your heads, and thank them…!"
His throat grew hoarse and raw, but he did not stop.
"You people are worse than dogs and pigs! That's why you live being treated worse than dogs and pigs!"
He staggered to his feet.
"I hear the First Young Master of the Sword Clan or whatever is here. I must see that bastard's face!"
The Fourth Young Master clicked his tongue.
"They say that bastard lives in a place like paradise, bathes in tea water, and wipes his ass with gold paper?!"
The warriors gripping their sword hilts were now only waiting for his hand to lower.
"Come out! You son of a bitch under heaven! You bastard who uses your mother's name to deceive ignorant fools!"
The Fourth Young Master's hand gradually began to descend.
The man had crossed the line.
Even if they did not kill him, it was time to subdue him.
"I do not fear death! You cowardly bastard! Come out here and, if you want to kill me, kill me with your own hands…!"
A thunderous roar rang out, and white smoke billowed thickly.
The warriors drew their swords all at once and formed a wide encirclement.
"A-a tiger?!"
"It's White Tiger!"
Within the white smoke, what stood lightly pressing the man down with its front paw was a tiger.
And it was no ordinary tiger.
It was a White Tiger the size of a house.
"U-ugh…"
The man grabbed the tiger's front paw and tried to struggle, but there was no way it would do any good.
Just the tiger's growl made the roof shake and tiles fall.
The poor, who had tried to flee in panic, all collapsed where they stood, and even the warriors felt their knees trembling.
"Honestly. Father did ask me to restrain myself, but I can no longer bear to listen."
Astonishingly, there was a young girl on the tiger's back.
"Miss Yeom!"
At the Fourth Young Master's shout, Yeom Baek-ha looked down at him.
"Oh my, Fourth Young Master. You were here."
The girl smiled beautifully.
"This is a man who dared to soil and insult the name of the Sword Clan."
Her voice, which had only seemed delicate before, now carried an authority that was difficult to approach.
"By the authority held by a law-enforcement envoy of the Luoyang Sword Clan, I hereby declare that an on-site court is now in session."
When the tiger, White Tiger, opened its mouth, teeth the size of a person's palm appeared menacingly within.
At the declaration of an on-site court, the Fourth Young Master stepped back with a sigh.
In any case, this was a time when the Sword Clan's dignity had to be upheld in some form.
If the Law-Enforcement Girl stepped forward, then at the very least, the effect of punishing one as a warning to a hundred would be certain.
One of the warriors, without taking his eyes off White Tiger, asked the Fourth Young Master.
"My lord. Is that young lady truly a law-enforcement envoy of the main clan?"
The Fourth Young Master sighed and nodded.
"Yes. She is."
At his words, all the warriors sheathed their swords and stepped back.
There was no one here insane enough to interfere in the on-site court of a law-enforcement envoy.
"From this point on, this envoy shall reveal your crimes. First, you deliberately soiled the name of the main clan before the people, and this is…"
The girl's clear voice rang out.
"Terrifying."
It was the Head Maid's mutter.
"A law-enforcement envoy riding a spiritual beast. So that is the true form of that Law-Enforcement Girl…"
The plump maid was startled.
"You mean that Law-Enforcement Girl? She wasn't just a rumor? She really exists?"
"Yes. Because she is sickly, she has not been active outside, so she is regarded as nothing more than a rumor."
As the tiger's maw slowly approached him, the man pissed himself and struggled.
"If she had been healthy, there probably would not have been a single person among the main clan's lower ranks who did not know her."
The plump maid swallowed dryly.
A law-enforcement envoy who rode a house-sized White Tiger.
It was no different from an envoy of the underworld, who was already like a grim reaper, riding on another grim reaper.
"…That is the full list of your crimes. Do you have any rebuttal?"
The only thing that could be heard was the man's scream.
"I shall take that as none."
Now, only the sentence remained.
"Then, by the authority granted to this law-enforcement envoy by the Luoyang Sword Clan, I shall render judgment…"
"Stop."
Was someone truly daring to interrupt the on-site court of a law-enforcement envoy?
Everyone's eyes turned toward the owner of that voice.
"First Young Master…?!"
The one approaching Yeom Baek-ha and White Tiger was none other than Yeon Sang-hyeon.
He raised his hand and slowly brought it toward White Tiger's head.
Astonishingly, White Tiger avoided his hand, lowered its head, and retreated hesitantly.
White Tiger's clearly frightened eyes shook from side to side.
"Withdraw."
At his low voice, White Tiger returned to the form of a small cat along with white smoke.
"Kyaa!"
Yeom Baek-ha almost fell on her backside, but a maid threw herself forward and caught her, then set her down.
It was Il-ryeong, the eldest of the triplet maids.
"Th-thank you."
"It was nothing."
Just then, White Tiger came running over and leaped into her arms.
"Hey!"
Despite her shout, White Tiger merely buried its head in her embrace and trembled.
"White Tiger…?"
It was the first time even she had seen White Tiger this frightened.
Even when her father became genuinely angry, White Tiger had always hidden behind her while staring back at him.
Yeom Baek-ha hugged White Tiger and looked at the First Young Master with trembling eyes.
Not only she, but everyone was looking at the First Young Master.
The First Young Master was looking down at the man who had just escaped death.
Though he had only been pinned down briefly, the man was already covered in blood.
He did not seem to have any serious wounds, but he could not get up easily.
"You…!"
Yet astonishingly, the man's eyes had not died.
The man's eyes as he looked at Yeon Sang-hyeon were filled with venom.
"So you are that bastard from the Yeon Family…!"
Perhaps because his ribs had been injured while he was being pinned down by White Tiger, the man could not shout properly, but the hatred in his eyes was genuine.
Yeon Sang-hyeon approached the man.
"Yes."
His voice sounded strangely unfamiliar.
"I am the First Young Master, Yeon Sang-hyeon."
No one could easily read any emotion in Yeon Sang-hyeon's eyes as he looked down at the man.