I asked Warrior Hwangbo Seon-yu.
“I’m afraid I don’t quite understand. Why are you suddenly asking whether Lady Hwangbo In-a can become an instructor at the Martial Arts Academy?”
“Ah, don’t misunderstand. In-a asked me to bring it up with you.”
“I’m not misunderstanding.”
“It seems In-a no longer wants to sit around the clan with nothing to do. She must have heard about the Martial Arts Academy, because she came to me and asked about it.”
“I see.”
Still, I would prefer the instructors at the Martial Arts Academy to be under forty.
It wasn’t because I looked down on the elderly. It was for the sake of continuity in the students’ education.
If possible, I wanted the instructors we hired now to remain responsible for their training for many years to come.
There was also the possibility that older instructors might clash with the acting Academy Master. If that ever caused problems, mediating and resolving those conflicts could become difficult.
Then again, it would be a shame to turn away an exceptional heroine like Hwangbo In-a.
Her martial prowess and experience would undoubtedly be a tremendous help.
After thinking it over for a moment, a good idea came to me.
“In that case, I’d like to ask her to take on a different role instead of becoming an instructor.”
“A different role?”
“I’d like her to become the dormitory warden.”
“Dormitory warden?”
“Yes. Every student at the Martial Arts Academy we’re building will be living in the dormitories.”
“I see.”
“That means the dormitory warden needs to be capable in many different ways and have a strong personality. She’ll have to look after the students, but she’ll also need to firmly discipline and reprimand them whenever they misbehave.”
Warrior Hwangbo Seon-yu seemed to immediately understand what I meant, because he gave a faint chuckle.
“She’ll also have to catch and beat some sense into the brats who sneak out in the middle of the night.”
“You sound like a man with experience.”
At my words, he hurriedly waved his hands.
“Experience? Of course not! I’m just saying that’s the sort of thing that happens.”
The way you’re panicking only makes you more suspicious, though.
“Anyway, it’s a good suggestion. I’ll speak to my In-a about it.”
“I’ll leave it in your hands.”
“Then forgive me for disturbing you so late at night. Get some rest.”
With that, Warrior Hwangbo Seon-yu left my quarters, and I scratched the back of my neck.
I can finally sleep now, right?
Come to think of it, since he didn’t mention Young Lord Hwangbo Uk at all, it looks like only the Clan Lord knows about that matter so far.
Considering how quiet everything still was, he was probably gathering enough evidence to make absolutely certain the matter could be dealt with properly.
So he intends to proceed cautiously.
Maybe that was why people called the Hwangbo Clan a Tiger’s Den in more ways than one.
A tiger moved carefully. It didn’t act rashly without considering the consequences.
Then why did Young Lord Hwangbo Uk do what he did?
* * *
At that same time.
Someone quietly slipped out of the Hwangbo Clan estate.
A black bamboo hat concealed his face, and the long black robe covering his body allowed him to melt into the darkness.
Moving in complete secrecy, he eventually arrived at a small tavern in Jinan.
Of course, the Prohibition Decree was still in effect, so the tavern was technically open but had no customers.
Knock, knock-knock, knock.
He knocked on the door using the agreed signal and called out.
“Is anyone there?”
“Come in.”
He stepped inside. A man was sitting alone in the darkened tavern.
A blue eyepatch covered one of the man’s eyes.
“Welcome, Young Lord.”
“My apologies for being late.”
“Not at all. I understand.”
“Please, sit.”
The latecomer took his seat and removed his bamboo hat.
It was none other than Hwangbo Uk.
“We have a serious problem. Whetstones have been delivered to the Hwangbo Clan.”
“What do you mean?”
Pour…
The blue-eyed-patch man poured tea into a cup as he spoke.
“Our clan made it perfectly clear that no one was to supply whetstones to any place we hadn’t approved. Naturally, the Hwangbo Clan was never given permission.”
Slide.
He pushed the teacup forward and continued.
“I find myself curious who had the nerve to defy the Namgoong Clan and do something so audacious.”
Hwangbo Uk shook his head.
“That pressure was useless. The source was somewhere none of us ever expected.”
“…?”
“A man named Eun Seo-ho of the Eunhae Merchant Group recently purchased an entire mountain. Apparently, it turned out to be a stone quarry capable of producing the material needed for whetstones.”
The blue-eyed-patch man furrowed his brow.
“Of all the rotten luck…”
“What do you intend to do now? At this rate, our agreement can’t be fulfilled.”
The blue-eyed-patch man thought for a moment before speaking.
“Then I’ll need a little more help from you. We’ll have to get that quarry into our hands before our agreement can be fulfilled.”
“Fine. What do you need me to do?”
“Find out exactly where the quarry is located, approximately how much usable stone can be extracted from it, and anything else you can learn.”
“Understood.”
“By the way, are you truly all right with this?”
“With what?”
“Your grandfather bowing his head to our clan. For the Clan Lord of one great clan to bow before another must be quite a blow to one’s pride, wouldn’t you say?”
“I don’t care. The clan won’t collapse just because Grandfather bows his head to the Namgoong Clan once. And if I receive an Elixir and become stronger because of it, isn’t that a better outcome?”
“Hahaha. You make a fair point.”
“As long as I can become stronger, something like that doesn’t matter to me. So all I need to do is gather information on the quarry purchased by that man, Eun Seo-ho?”
“Yes. Once you do, we’ll handle everything that follows.”
The blue-eyed-patch man cautiously asked another question.
“Come to think of it, you seem to harbor quite a grudge against this Eun Seo-ho.”
“Of course I do. He’s nothing but a merchant, yet he worked me like some common porter.”
“Ah… I heard about that incident. It’s become quite the topic of conversation in the marketplace.”
“Haa. I’ve been swallowing my rage by reminding myself of Han Xin enduring the humiliation of crawling between another man’s legs.”
“Then I hope we can count on your cooperation. If everything goes well, we may even be able to repay that humiliation for you.”
Crash!
It happened in that instant.
The ceiling shattered, and a group of people dropped through it and landed on the floor.
“Gasp!”
The moment Hwangbo Uk saw them, his face went pale with shock.
The Mount Tai emblem embroidered on their clothing was proof that they belonged to the Hwangbo Clan.
And on the left side of their chests were three characters spelling out Taebo Division.
They were the Hwangbo Clan Lord’s personal guard.
‘Damn it! Why are they here…?’
If they had appeared here, then his grandfather must have already been suspicious of him.
He hadn’t told anyone about this agreement.
He had always moved in absolute secrecy and had never done anything that should have aroused anyone’s suspicion, so the thought that he might be discovered had never even crossed his mind.
He hurriedly waved his hands and began making excuses.
“U-Uncle! Wait, this is…”
The Taebo Division Commander spoke in a low voice.
“Don’t bother making excuses. We already heard everything that was said in this room.”
He turned to the Taebo Division warriors and gave an order.
“Arrest everyone in here. Don’t let a single person escape. That one included.”
“Yes!”
* * *
After Warrior Hwangbo Seon-yu left, I lay down on the bed.
Can I finally get some peaceful sleep now?
But just as I was about to drift off, I sighed and had no choice but to sit back up.
A loud commotion had entered the range of my Qi senses.
Bang!
Palgap threw open the door and rushed inside.
“Young Master! Young Master! Something terrible has happened! The entire Hwangbo Clan is in an uproar!”
“What happened?”
“The Hwangbo Clan Lord’s personal guard arrested a group that was plotting to harm the clan! And they say Young Lord Hwangbo Uk was among them!”
Ah…
So they finally got their hands on solid evidence.
“Haa. Then I suppose I should go take a look.”
I nodded, climbed out of bed, and put on my outer robe.
“So where is everyone now?”
“They’re gathered at the main training ground!”
I headed to the main training ground with my Escort Guards.
Despite the late hour, a huge crowd had already gathered there.
“Young Lord Hwangbo Uk secretly communicating with the Namgoong Clan is a disgrace to the entire clan, yet they’re openly revealing everything in front of everyone. I suppose that’s the Hwangbo Clan for you.”
Then again, the Hwangbo Clan placed great importance on fairness and honorable conduct.
But that wasn’t their only reason.
“That may be part of it, but there’s another reason as well.”
Escort Guard Chang Un tilted his head at my words.
“There’s another reason?”
Perhaps because Escort Guards Myeong Jong and Chang Un had spent their lives as disciples of the Orthodox Mount Hua Sect and Zhongnan Sect, they had a tendency to view the world as far too upright and honest a place.
Not that there was anything wrong with that.
In a way, being able to see the world like that could be considered a blessing.
I nodded and explained.
“Yes. They need to interrogate him publicly and reveal exactly what happened so the Namgoong Clan won’t be able to twist the story later.”
“Ah…”
“Being fair and honorable is admirable, but you also need to recognize underhanded schemes and know how to use them when necessary. If all you ever do is play fair and honorable, people who don’t will take advantage of you.”
“That is true. But… it’s also a rather sad reality.”
“It is.”
We blended into the crowd at the main training ground and looked toward its center.
Young Lord Hwangbo Uk was sitting there, tied to a chair.
He must have been dragged back rather roughly. One cheek was bruised, his lip was split, and blood trickled from the wound.
“Oh heavens! Uk!”
Just then, a woman came running over.
“Mother!”
“What happened to you? Why are you sitting here in such a terrible state?”
“Mother! I’ve been wronged!”
Ah… So that woman is Young Lord Hwangbo Uk’s mother.
“Release my son at once! My son is the Young Clan Lord’s son! There is no reason for him to be treated like this!”
She screamed at them, but the people wearing uniforms embroidered with the words Taebo Division didn’t so much as flinch.
“Please step back.”
“Hwangbo Uk is currently a criminal under arrest.”
She turned to the Young Clan Lord standing nearby and pleaded with him.
“Husband, he’s our son. Our son!”
“Haa… There is nothing I can do.”
“Husband!”
“If you are a woman of the Hwangbo Clan, then conduct yourself with dignity.”
Just then, the Hwangbo Clan Lord appeared, bringing their conversation to an immediate end.
“That is enough commotion.”
“F-Father!”
She rushed toward the Clan Lord and fell to her knees before him.
“My son has done nothing wrong. Please, Father, I beg you to reconsider.”
“Daughter-in-law.”
“Y-Yes, Father.”
“Be quiet and compose yourself.”
Without saying anything further to her, the Hwangbo Clan Lord turned to everyone present and declared,
“The public interrogation will now begin.”
Everyone’s attention immediately focused on the Hwangbo Clan Lord.
“I recently noticed that Hwangbo Uk had been behaving suspiciously, so I ordered one of my trusted men to keep watch over him.”
Thankfully, he’s keeping my involvement out of this.
“As a result, we discovered that Hwangbo Uk had been secretly communicating with members of the Namgoong Clan.”
He looked directly at Hwangbo Uk.
“Hwangbo Uk! Do you have anything to say in your defense?”
Hwangbo Uk violently struggled against his restraints and cried out.
“G-Grandfather! I’ve committed no crime! I was only meeting with the Namgoong Clan to foster friendly relations!”
“This is not a conversation between grandfather and grandson. This is a hearing between the Clan Lord and a criminal. Address me properly!”
“Gasp!”
Hwangbo Uk sucked in a sharp breath beneath the crushing severity of his presence.
“You claim you were merely fostering friendly relations? Then why did you dress in black and sneak out to meet them?”
“That’s… because I thought you would object if you knew I was associating with people from the Namgoong Clan.”
At that answer, several people around us nodded.
“Well, considering how poor our relationship with the Namgoong Clan is, I can understand why he wouldn’t announce it.”
“That much makes sense.”
As he heard the reactions around him, some color gradually returned to Hwangbo Uk’s face.
“You certainly know how to spew nonsense.”
The Hwangbo Clan Lord clicked his tongue as though the whole thing were absurd.
Which means he has undeniable evidence.
“Commander of the Taebo Division.”
“Yes!”
“What did you hear at the scene?”
The Taebo Division Commander answered.
“Hwangbo Uk provided the Namgoong Clan’s people with detailed information about our clan’s internal affairs. We also heard him confirm that he had entered into a certain agreement with them.”
“What agreement?”
“After interrogating the Namgoong Clan member captured at the scene, we learned that they had agreed to provide Hwangbo Uk with an Elixir in exchange for his assistance in forcing the Hwangbo Clan Lord to bow his head before the Namgoong Clan.”
“…!”
Everyone erupted in shock.
“N-No! T-That’s a lie! I never made any agreement like that!”
Young Lord Hwangbo Uk protested desperately.
At that moment, the Taebo Division Commander pulled something from inside his clothes and held it out.
“We also interrogated the Namgoong Clan member and recovered this contract.”
The Clan Lord accepted the contract and read through it before sighing and handing it to the Young Clan Lord.
“Read it.”
The Young Clan Lord and the other members of the household passed it around and examined it one after another.
Finally, it was held out in front of Young Lord Hwangbo Uk.
“The evidence is right here, and you still intend to deny it?”
“That isn’t my hand seal!”
The Hwangbo Clan Lord roared.
“Enough!”
“…”
“I could have ordered them to execute you on the spot. The reason I did not, and instead arranged this hearing, was because I still expected something from you.”
“…”
“Had you admitted your crime, I was even prepared to forgive you this once. But seeing you now, you have thoroughly disappointed me.”
The Clan Lord looked around at everyone and spoke.
“I will now deliver my judgment. The criminal Hwangbo Uk, despite being a member of the Hwangbo Clan, secretly colluded with outsiders and conspired to bring disgrace upon his own clan. Therefore, Hwangbo Uk’s Datian shall be crippled, and he shall be confined for the remainder of his sentence.”
That was when it happened.
“What the fuck! Who the hell are you to pass a judgment like that on me?”
Huh…?
“You think I asked to be born into this fucking clan? All I did was make a deal because the Namgoong Clan said they’d give me an Elixir and money if you bowed your head to them once! What’s so damn wrong with that?”
“…”
“I hate this suffocating clan too! The Namgoong Clan is way better than a place like this!”
“…”
The entire main training ground fell silent in an instant.
Wow… That stupid bastard just caused a disaster on a whole new level.
–TL Notes–
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