Chapter 46
Chapter 46
Youngho placed a cup of deeply brewed tea in front of Yeo Jeonghye and spoke.
“So what’s the reason you came here? It’s not like you came because you wanted to see me.”
“You know me well.”
“Come on, aren’t we pretty close by now?”
“Ugh…….”
This brat never lost an exchange. Yeo Jeonghye openly let out a deep sigh.
“First of all, your maid is doing well.”
“Really? That’s a relief.”
“Why did you move not only the Yama Unit but also our Gold-Blood Hall?”
Before heading to the Yangtze, Youngho had asked Yeo Jeonghye to watch over Sopyung.
She disliked having to mobilize members of the Gold-Blood Hall just to guard a mere maid, but since she had received money from Youngho, she had no choice but to grant his request.
“Tell me. Do you not trust your subordinates—the Yama Unit?”
“Yeah.”
“……?”
Yeo Jeonghye looked flustered at Youngho, who answered without a shred of hesitation.
“You don’t trust them?”
“I told you, I don’t.”
“……This bastard?”
“What did you say?”
“I was talking to myself.”
“I see. Anyway, this bastard has something he’s curious about.”
“……You heard that?”
“No, I didn’t hear the ‘this bastard’ part.”
“……Please speak.”
At times like this, it was only proper to ignore him lightly.
“Do you believe the Yama Unit can protect Sopyung?”
“They would be able to stop most people.”
“What are you talking about? If just two peak masters came, they’d collapse.”
“…….”
She could not refute that. The Yama Unit was weak. No—more precisely, they were too weak to interfere in the board Youngho was setting.
“I’ve trained them to a degree, but it’ll take at least five years before it really shows results.”
“There seemed to be quite a few children among them.”
“Right. There’s a bit of an age gap between you and them.”
“Be quiet.”
“Anyway, the Yama Unit is still far too weak to attend me. The only one somewhat usable is Hyeokong.”
“You mean that one with the face of a murderer?”
“……Isn’t that a bit harsh?”
“Have you never thought the same, Fifth Young Master?”
“…….”
Youngho could not bring himself to answer.
“In any case, if they are to protect me, they’ll need many techniques and far greater martial strength. From that standpoint, they’re still lacking.”
“Are you saying you intend to test escort techniques using Sopyung, a mere maid?”
“Something like that. But it’s true that I cherish Sopyung.”
“Of course. Otherwise, would you have asked me?”
“You catch on quickly.”
Yeo Jeonghye let out a deep sigh before suddenly speaking with a serious expression.
“If I may offer one piece of advice—you will not be able to act so rudely before the Branch Leader.”
It was not advice, but a warning. Youngho looked at her with interest.
“No one can fix my rotten manners.”
“You do not behave like this before the Alliance Leader.”
“That’s because he’s my master.”
“The Branch Leader is my master.”
“That’s none of my business.”
Grit.
Yeo Jeonghye ground her teeth and glared at Youngho. But to him, she was no longer a predator.
She was merely a fragile and pitiful prey. Knowing that, Yeo Jeonghye could only glare, and Youngho could only look down on her.
“I’ll at least speak politely. Anyway, if you’re done talking, you can leave.”
“You will truly regret this.”
“Don’t worry. I’m the best among those who don’t keep their manners.”
That just means you won’t keep them at all, you damned bastard!
As if she did not wish to exchange another word, Yeo Jeonghye set her teacup down hard and spoke.
“Thank you for the tea. I will take my leave.”
The moment Yeo Jeonghye left the room, Horyeong entered and said,
“Young Master. A letter from the Alliance Leader.”
“Really? I wonder what favor he’s going to ask this time…….”
“It may not be a favor.”
“My master is not the type.”
Youngho frowned as he unfolded the letter. Soon, he let out a deep sigh and spoke.
“Horyeong. Where is a place called the Black Dragon Branch?”
“The Black Dragon Branch? I believe it is in Shanxi.”
“You don’t know the exact location?”
“That much, I do not know.”
“He’s telling me to clean it up.”
“Please be precise.”
“He says, if possible, kill only the Branch Leader…….”
“And if that is not possible?”
“Annihilation. Wipe out the entire Black Dragon Branch.”
“I see.”
“But he also says to spare any useful ones.”
“Why is the standard so vague?”
“That’s how my master has always been. Do not question it.”
“Heh heh…….”
As Horyeong chuckled, Youngho pressed his fingers against his temples like Yeo Jeonghye earlier, as though a headache was forming.
Thus, the next day arrived.
Unlike usual, Youngho composed himself properly and said,
“Kids. I’m heading somewhere for a bit, so don’t slack off—just keep training.”
As expected of Youngho. Even in such a short moment, he made them train… he was truly unprecedented.
Soon, guided by a servant, Youngho ascended to the very top floor of the Gold-Blood Hall. When the servant knocked on the door, a heavy voice—one impossible to refuse—resounded from inside.
“You may enter.”
At that immense resonance, the servant’s body trembled, while Youngho yawned and said,
“I’m coming in~.”
When Youngho opened the door, he saw a large-built man and, seated demurely beside him, Yeo Jeonghye.
Youngho looked toward the man and spoke.
“I greet the Branch Leader.”
As he said this, Youngho unconsciously curled his lips into a grin.
‘He’s strong.’
He was certainly below Cheonung, but this level was acceptable in its own way. If the Branch Leader of the Gold-Blood Hall was not at least this capable, that would be a problem!
When Youngho greeted him, the man laughed heartily and said,
“Ha ha! Contrary to what I heard, you are quite well-mannered!”
His voice was so loud that it nearly ruptured one’s eardrums. As Youngho frowned, the man spoke with interest.
“Since becoming Branch Leader, you are the second person to openly frown before me, Fifth Young Master.”
“The first must have been my master.”
“You know well.”
“That sounds like him.”
“Ha ha ha! Hye, he is far more amusing than you said!”
“Master, if you could lower your voice just a little……”
“I did not even imbue it with Internal Energy, so bear with it.”
“……Understood.”
“Ah! I forgot to introduce myself. I am Nam A-pyeong, Branch Leader of the Gold-Blood Hall.”
“I am Youngho.”
“You appear rather docile compared to what I heard?”
“And you, Branch Leader, are exactly as I heard.”
“Ha ha ha!”
Nam A-pyeong laughed like a child, finding something endlessly amusing. Yeo Jeonghye pressed her temples as if a headache was coming on, while Youngho wore a faint smile.
“I heard you dislike unnecessary formalities. You may speak to me as you do to Hye.”
“Alright.”
Seeing Youngho drop formal speech without the slightest hesitation, Nam A-pyeong laughed once more. After laughing for a moment, his true self emerged as he spoke to Youngho.
“So, Fifth Young Master, what do you seek from this Hall?”
“Grant me one request.”
“And that request would be?”
“You already know, so why pretend? Just stop the Orthodox–Unorthodox War.”
“By myself?”
“No. The Unorthodox Alliance will handle most of it. Just voice your opinion—say that you do not wish for the Orthodox–Unorthodox War.”
Nam A-pyeong already knew what Youngho intended to say. Recently, the atmosphere between Orthodox and Unorthodox had been ominous, and the Unorthodox Alliance had sent someone.
What did that imply? Either they wished to wage war or to prevent it.
Even knowing such obvious words would be spoken, Nam A-pyeong quietly listened to Youngho.
Youngho smiled at the strange sight of Nam A-pyeong listening attentively.
“Looks like you’ve got something to ask of me?”
“You noticed?”
“No need for awkward acting. Let’s get to the point—no point wasting each other’s time.”
“The more I see you, the more I like you.”
“So what is it?”
“I have a request.”
“That’s what I’m telling you to say.”
“Briefly? Or in detail?”
“A request from the great Gold-Blood Hall? Speak as you please.”
“It may take a while. Care for a drink?”
“Sorry, I’m not fond of alcohol.”
“You lack refinement.”
“I prefer sweets or taffy.”
“Then we shall proceed as we are.”
“Fine.”
“Recently, kidnapping incidents have been occurring in Luoyang.”
“Hmm? Are the ones being kidnapped Martial Artists? Or Common People?”
“It seems indiscriminate. However, only those whose disappearance would draw no attention—or none would notice—are being taken.”
“Then how did you find out?”
“Recently, the kidnappings have begun extending from the shadows into the light, so we learned of them to some degree. For example, ordinary Common People or the Young Noble Masters of small clans.”
“And the reason for the kidnappings?”
“I assembled a small group to investigate lightly, but we uncovered nothing.”
“No information at all?”
“Ha ha! What a hurtful thing to say! Fifth Young Master, I am the Branch Leader of the Gold-Blood Hall! The Branch Leader! Of course I found something!”
Though Nam A-pyeong’s booming voice echoed thunderously in his ears, Youngho merely replied calmly,
“Then hurry and say it.”
At that moment, Nam A-pyeong lowered his voice. Simultaneously, the aura around him grew heavy.
“Jiangshi.”
“…….”
Youngho did not resist the pressure bearing down on him. More precisely, he felt no need to resist and simply let it be.
Even Yeo Jeonghye flinched unconsciously under Nam A-pyeong’s terrifying Martial Presence, yet Youngho merely gazed at him with a faint smile.
“You said Jiangshi?”
“That’s right. They appear to be some strange group of heretical believers, but we have yet to catch their tail.”
“A heretical group…… you haven’t uncovered their organization’s name?”
“Correct. Beyond the fact that they abduct people to turn them into Jiangshi, we know little. We at least discovered a hideout, but they had already fled long ago.”
“Then they’re not in Luoyang anymore, are they?”
“That is not so. The kidnappings are still happening. My reputation is in tatters. To think I cannot even properly manage my own territory…….”
“Really? And the compensation?”
“Hmm…… will you take it on?”
“Shouldn’t you tell me more first?”
“Ha ha ha! You jest well. What more could I possibly have to say?”
Shiver—!
In that instant, Nam A-pyeong felt a chilling cold at his throat and a Killing Intent pricking him like needles.
At that eerie sensation, his body stiffened for a split second—and Youngho did not miss it.
“The fragrance of the flowers is nice.”
“……!”
One of the flowers from the vase on the table was now in Youngho’s hand.
‘When?’
He had not seen Youngho move. He, Nam A-pyeong, had not seen it. He who was called the King of Wealth.
Though that epithet had little to do with combat, Nam A-pyeong was still someone who had stepped—albeit at the lowest seat—into the ranks of the absolute.
Yet he had not seen the moment Youngho plucked the flower.
‘Did I truly miss his movement?’
“The Demonic Cult.”
Nam A-pyeong’s body twitched. Yeo Jeonghye lowered her head entirely.
He had struck the mark. But it was not solely for that reason they reacted so strongly.
Nam A-pyeong felt sweat forming in his palm and thought,
‘……Fear.’
The gaze of an overwhelming sovereign.
Youngho’s eyes seemed as though nothing could obstruct them. His insight pierced into the hearts of all people, sending chills down one’s spine.
“I think I sense Demonic Energy in this matter…….”
Youngho’s gleaming tiger-like eyes turned toward Nam A-pyeong.
“Tell me everything you know. Then I’ll consider it.”
Nam A-pyeong saw in Youngho an overwhelming ruler. Seeing such a massive and domineering presence, he burst into wild laughter without realizing it.
“Ha, ha ha! Hahahahaha!”
After laughing madly for a moment, Nam A-pyeong regained his composure and spoke with solemn eyes.
“Please, ask anything.”