Chapter 22
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Chapter 22: Contempt
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“May I take a look at that?”
At the voice coming from the direction of the shattered window, the gazes of everyone in the room converged.
“Hup.”
Yeon So-hyeon and the gatekeeper climbed over the window frame and stepped inside. With all eyes fixed upon him, Yeon So-hyeon brushed the wood splinters off his clothes.
“Young Master, let me assist you.”
“Oh, thanks.”
Jeong-ah, who had approached in an instant, helped Yeon So-hyeon with meticulous care. Once she had smoothed out his attire completely, Yeon So-hyeon tilted his head.
“What are you doing? Hand that over.”
The bewilderment that had been on the faces of the Black Bone Faction members turned into fury.
“Who the hell are you?!”
One of the martial artists standing behind Geum-ju barked. A shout infused with internal energy rang thunderously through the room.
“...Goodness, my ears.”
Yeon So-hyeon picked at his ear with a comical expression before continuing.
“Can’t you tell by looking at this outfit?”
As Yeon So-hyeon pointed to the gatekeeper’s attire, everyone’s gaze shifted to the man. Even though such attention would be burdensome, the gatekeeper stood calmly, meeting their stares.
“...A guard from the Sword Clan?”
“Hmm...”
Everyone’s expressions were subtle. The Sword Clan was a name anyone in Luoyang would naturally fear, but a mere guard? They might be intimidated among commoners, but these were the notorious outlaws of Luoyang.
Yeon So-hyeon shook his head.
“Be careful. He may look like this, but he’s an incredible master.”
Everyone’s subtle gazes turned back to the guard. Seeing a middle-aged man whose presence didn’t even suggest he was a martial artist, let alone a master, someone burst into laughter.
“Pfft.”
Then, all the members of the Black Bone Faction erupted into boisterous laughter.
“A master, he says.”
“If that guy is a master, then I’m the greatest under heaven!”
Geum-ju did not join in the laughter, but she watched Yeon So-hyeon with suspicious eyes.
“...”
He didn’t seem like much, but because his opponent was acting so composed, she couldn’t immediately decide how to act.
“...Tsk.”
Yeon So-hyeon clicked his tongue and ordered the gatekeeper.
“It can’t be helped. Go get it.”
“...As you command.”
As the gatekeeper took a step forward, the laughter died down. Killing intent gathered in their eyes. When he took two steps forward, the three martial artists surrounding Geum-ju prepared to strike. By the time he had taken the next three steps, the Sword Clan’s Bronze Token that had been in Geum-ju’s hand was now in the gatekeeper’s.
“...?!”
The most shocked person was Geum-ju, who had been holding it. She had only felt a slight breeze brush past her hair, yet the token she had been gripping was already in the opponent’s hand.
In that instant, the same thought flashed through everyone’s minds.
‘A master...!’
A heavy, chilling silence descended upon the room.
“Hmm.”
Regardless of the crowd’s shock, Yeon So-hyeon examined the Sword Clan’s Bronze Token in his hand. Jeong-ah asked cautiously.
“Young Master, is it the genuine article?”
Yeon So-hyeon nodded.
“It is. It’s real.”
A gloomy look clouded his eyes as he stared at the token.
“In the past, the Sword Clan’s Bronze Token was a token of a vow—a promise to repay a debt of gratitude to a benefactor, anytime and anywhere.”
His voice was low.
“If a benefactor holding the token was in danger, the people of the Sword Clan would rush to their side, no matter where they were.”
The token in his hand glinted in the sunlight.
“And they would take up their swords alongside the benefactor, never fearing death.”
“It was a symbol of infinite trust.”
It was the voice of Se-ah, who had risen from her seat. Having already realized Yeon So-hyeon’s identity from Jeong-ah’s behavior, she could not dare to remain seated before him. Yeon So-hyeon glanced at her briefly before nodding.
“...That is correct.”
A bitter smile touched his lips.
“Though, in this day and age, it has become nothing more than a mere token entrusted to business partners.”
He tossed the Sword Clan’s Bronze Token lightly toward Geum-ju. Geum-ju caught it in mid-air with a *clack*, then narrowed her eyes at Yeon So-hyeon.
“As you say, it is a mere token, but it is also a guarantee that ensures safety from the blind blades of the Sword Clan. Is that not so?”
Her words were clearly aimed at the ‘Sword Clan master’ standing behind Yeon So-hyeon.
“That is true.”
Yeon So-hyeon nodded readily.
“If one were to ignore the Sword Clan’s Bronze Token and act as they pleased, the credibility the Sword Clan has built up would crumble.”
A smile played on Geum-ju’s lips.
“If one had power within the Sword Clan, they might be able to smooth things over, but that would be difficult, wouldn’t it?”
Yeon So-hyeon shrugged as if in agreement. Geum-ju spoke with conviction.
“You must be the infamous Swordless One.”
A deep sneer hung on Geum-ju’s lips as she uttered the derogatory title.
“That’s right. I am Yeon So-hyeon.”
No sooner had Yeon So-hyeon finished speaking than Geum-ju burst into laughter. It was a laugh that sounded as if she were choking. After laughing for a long time, she wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and spoke.
“Ah, I was so scared. You almost ruined my composure.”
Her gaze fixed on Yeon So-hyeon. There was clear contempt in the way she looked down at him.
“What brings you here, when you’re supposed to be playing at being an immortal and letting your axe handle rot away?”
At her incredibly arrogant words, Jeong-ah’s delicate brows twitched.
“Nothing much. My maid had business with the Pavilion Master here.”
Yeon So-hyeon remained calm.
“Are you tired of ruining the Luoyang Sword Clan from the inside? Are you planning to wander outside and drag the Sword Clan’s name through the mud now?”
Se-ah slammed her pipe onto the table.
“Geum-ju, you’d best watch your tongue. No matter what anyone says, this person is of the Sword Clan...”
“The Sword Clan?”
Geum-ju scoffed.
“Do you see this man, who doesn’t know the ways of the world, as the Luoyang Sword Clan?”
At those words, Jeong-ah gritted her teeth.
“...”
But in the end, she could not step forward. She knew that if she, who possessed no power, were to intervene, she would only make them a greater laughingstock rather than restoring her master’s honor.
“Good grief, I’m speechless...”
Geum-ju let out a dry laugh and swept her hair back.
“Master of Hyeonwol Pavilion, do you still not know? What do you think I’m relying on to act like this?”
She shook the Sword Clan’s Bronze Token in her hand.
“The line I’ve caught is a golden rope that cannot even be compared to a mere Young Master in name only of the Luoyang Sword Clan.”
Her voice rang out sharply.
“I’m not talking about some incompetent person who can’t even reach the fringes of power! The closest aide to the Second Young Master, one of the true successors of the Sword Clan, is meeting with me today...”
As she spoke, Geum-ju’s gaze lingered on Jeong-ah.
“Meeting with me today, and so...”
Trailing off, she stroked her chin, looking back and forth between Jeong-ah and Yeon So-hyeon. Then, as if she had realized something, she pointed a finger at Jeong-ah.
“You! You’re that troublesome girl the Second Young Master was talking about!”
“...”
Jeong-ah squeezed her eyes shut. It felt as if the tip of that finger were piercing the most fragile part of her soul.
“Ah, what a fun coincidence. I heard the story this morning, and to think I’d meet the person herself like this.”
Geum-ju strode toward Jeong-ah.
“...That’s enough.”
The gatekeeper blocked Geum-ju from getting any closer to Jeong-ah. But in the face of the Sword Clan’s Bronze Token, that was all he could do.
“Hey, tell me. Why did you kick away that golden opportunity to potentially become the Second Young Master’s concubine, only to go to that Swordless One? Hmm?”
Geum-ju mocked Jeong-ah with eyes that looked as if she were observing a strange animal.
“No, even if not as a concubine, wouldn’t it be better to be a mere plaything? What do you expect to achieve by trusting a loafer like him?”
Jeong-ah stepped in front of Geum-ju, who was pointing at Yeon So-hyeon.
“Do not insult my Master. He is a noble person whom someone like you should never dare to speak of lightly.”
Despite her protest, Geum-ju only laughed out loud.
“A noble person? Yes, a noble person indeed. He threw away all the rights he was born with, cast aside his responsibilities, and even when he is pointed at by his own family...”
Blue flames flickered in her eyes.
“He is still a much nobler person than a lowly wretch from the streets with no roots like me, right?”
Jeong-ah did not avoid Geum-ju’s gaze, staring straight back despite the terrifying pressure. However,
“...”
There was no protest she could make.
The Swordless One.
It was a name often mocked within the Luoyang Sword Clan, in the great city of Luoyang, and even throughout the entire Henan Province. Just as people knew the name of the Luoyang Sword Clan—the First Family of the Central Plains—they knew the name of the Swordless One, the recluse of that family, all too well.
While his father, the Supreme Clan Leader, poured all his strength into supporting the clan while confined to his sickbed, he was an unfilial son with no presence.
A coward.
A weakling.
If the Luoyang Sword Clan hadn’t continued to expand its power and develop even while he was in seclusion, Yeon So-hyeon’s name wouldn’t have ended up being merely mocked.
“Nothing to say? If you have anything to say, I’ll listen, so why don’t you speak up?”
She was frustrated.
She was so frustrated.
She wanted to shout that the Young Master Yeon So-hyeon—the master she had seen, the master she had chosen to serve—was not like that. She wanted to raise her voice and defend the Yeon So-hyeon she knew.
But no matter what she said, her words would only be hollow.
It was the first time she had felt so powerless, she who possessed no strength. Even when she had been chased out of the reception hall by the Second and Third Young Masters, she hadn’t felt this helpless. But to feel such agonizing powerlessness at being unable to stop her master from being insulted...
“Why don’t you stop there?”
It was Yeon So-hyeon who wrapped his arm around Jeong-ah’s shoulders and turned her around.
“She is, after all, my one and only personal maid.”
He wore a simple, honest smile.
“...If you keep going, I might have to get angry, you know?”
“It wasn’t even fun anymore anyway.”
Geum-ju scoffed, but she struggled to suppress the chill she felt in the corner of her heart. Her temper had flared, and she had mocked Yeon So-hyeon. But the position of the Luoyang Sword Clan’s Young Master was, naturally, a status that was burdensome even for her.
She turned her gaze to Se-ah and spoke.
"Pavilion Master. There’s no point in glancing outside so desperately; the safety measures you’re waiting for aren’t coming."
The quarter-hour Se-ah had mentioned had long since passed.
"You... you applied pressure!"
Geum-ju shook the Sword Clan’s Bronze Token in her hand once more toward the glaring Se-ah.
"I told you, this is a complete master key."
Laughing merrily, Geum-ju turned on her heel and walked toward the door.
"I had intended to carve a firm warning into that body of yours today, but..."
She glanced back at Yeon So-hyeon.
"Unfortunately, an intruder appeared, so that’s become a bit difficult."
Escorted by her subordinates, she waved at them over her shoulder as she stepped out the door.
"When I come back next time, that pathetic Young Master won’t be able to save you."
As Geum-ju disappeared beyond the door, her subordinates followed her out of the building like a receding tide.
"Geum-ju..."
Se-ah gritted her teeth.
And then, Jeong-ah, who had been holding on through sheer willpower until that moment, collapsed.
"Young Master, I apologize..."
Yeon So-hyeon caught her falling body, but she had already lost consciousness.
"Jeong-ah!"
Se-ah’s desperate voice rang out urgently.
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