Chapter 6
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Part 6: Encounter
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Jeong-ah was hurrying toward Won-gak Pavilion, the residence of the Young Master, via the "back path."
The back path was a route designated for those of low status or rank.
From processions of ox carts loaded with grain sacks to maids moving in small groups while chattering, and men who looked sturdy enough to carry heavy crates—it was no different from the markets outside, save for the absence of merchants shouting to haggle or the presence of countless beggars.
This endless procession of people moving with purpose was a testament to the lineage of the giant known as the Luoyang Sword Clan.
Jeong-ah had her cloak pulled up, walking through the shadows beneath the walls.
"Hey, look over there. She’s incredibly pretty, isn't she?"
"Watch it, you fool. Turn your eyes away. She looks like someone of high status; don't go ruining your own life for nothing!"
"W-well, that’s true. But why would a high-born young lady be walking on the back path?"
"What would a lowly wretch like us know about that?"
"No, I was just..."
In the distance, two servants were gossiping about her beauty, which was visible beneath her cloak.
In the noisy, chaotic back path, it was a conversation an ordinary person would never have been able to hear.
However, their conversation was "visible" to Jeong-ah.
The shape of their lips, the rolling of their eyes, their subtle gestures—all of it vividly conveyed their dialogue.
And it wasn't just them; everyone Jeong-ah had passed until now had been filtered through her "eyes."
'Good. The decision to change my clothes wasn't bad. There’s no one tailing me.'
It was hard to imagine the Second Young Master or the Third Young Master assigning someone to monitor a mere maid, but Jeong-ah did not let her guard down.
Not until she stepped under the roof of the Young Master.
Because her position was like a seed of an azalea in spring—destined to be swayed by whatever way the wind blew.
Ignoring the familiar gazes that glanced at her beauty and figure as usual, she quickened her pace.
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After walking and walking for quite some time, she finally reached her destination.
'Is this... Won-gak Pavilion?'
Jeong-ah felt a shock as she arrived beneath the walls of Won-gak Pavilion.
She had heard plenty about the massive scale of Won-gak Pavilion, a space reserved solely for the Young Master, located in the furthest corner of the Luoyang Sword Clan.
But seeing it in person was different.
The walls stretched out to both sides with no end in sight, and beyond them, trees that had grown to dizzying heights formed a dense forest.
'I can't even tell where it ends...'
Judging by the fact that even her "eyes" could not fathom the scale, it was undoubtedly one of the largest residential spaces within the prestigious Luoyang Sword Clan.
'But why is there no one here?'
The back path, which had resembled a marketplace until just a moment ago, had grown sparse as she neared Won-gak Pavilion, and now, it was filled with an astonishing, absolute silence.
It was no exaggeration.
It wasn't just sparse; there was literally no one.
Not even the common servants carrying food supplies were to be seen.
A teaching once given to her by the Reception Hall Master flashed through Jeong-ah’s mind.
'Jeong-ah. It’s the same for any clan. If you want to glimpse a clan’s financial power, look at their back paths.'
According to that logic, this Won-gak Pavilion was a place where the financial power had dried up.
'…It’s not like I didn't know that.'
Swallowing a dry lump in her throat, Jeong-ah moved on.
After walking along the wall for a while, she entered the main road leading to the front gate.
Unlike the back path, the main road was a route used only by guests, martial artists, and other important figures of the Sword Clan.
'Jeong-ah. If you want to feel a clan’s power, look at the front of their main gate.'
On that day in the past, the day she first arrived at the Sword Clan, it was the first time she had ever seen the main road of the Luoyang Sword Clan completely empty.
'Even if the Young Master has been in seclusion, I never imagined it would be to this extent...'
She had been one of those who mocked the Young Master behind his back, laughing at him.
But now that she was seeing the situation with her own eyes, she found she couldn't simply laugh at them anymore.
All that could be seen was a handful of guards stationed in front of the main gate.
Furthermore, they seemed to be enjoying a nap, leaning against the wall.
The way they scrambled to get into position upon seeing her appear didn't even make her want to laugh.
"U-uh. What business do you have here?"
Jeong-ah swallowed a sigh at the response of the guard, who was clearly still half-asleep.
"I have come under the orders of the Head Steward."
Instead of adding any further words, she presented the directive from the Head Steward.
"The Head Steward?"
At the mention of the Head Steward, the squad leader, who had been secretly stifling a yawn behind them, quickly stepped forward and took the directive.
While the squad leader carefully checked the document, Jeong-ah swallowed another sigh.
The massive front gate, built to allow carriages to pass through smoothly, was not being maintained at all.
The paint was peeling, and it was rotting in places; it was hard to believe this was a facility of the Sword Clan she knew.
And what of the wall she had just walked along?
It was dizzyingly high, but it was obvious that the parts that had collapsed here and there had been crudely patched with mud.
Seeing roof tiles that had been left neglected—it was impossible to guess when they had broken—made her chest feel heavy.
'…Was it a mistake to choose the Young Master?'
What would the front of the Second or Third Young Master’s office look like at this hour?
There would undoubtedly be a line of magnificent carriages and people dressed in expensive silk waiting for entry permits.
And at those gates, the direct martial artists following the Second and Third Young Masters would be standing guard with disciplined movements, exuding a subtle aura.
They would be qualitatively different from these pathetic guards who napped during their shifts...
Just then, goosebumps broke out all over the back of Jeong-ah’s neck.
It was a sensation as if several blades were grazing her body.
The only reason she managed to suppress a scream was simple.
It was a sensation she had felt many times in the past.
'Energy Wave!'
That was it.
It was a type of Energy Wave emitted by those whose Internal Energy had reached a certain level of mastery.
And the source of that Energy Wave was undoubtedly the guards she had been thinking of as pathetic.
'These people...! They aren't just simple guards! They are Masters!'
They had used their Energy Wave to perform a body search on her instead.
Whether she had Internal Energy.
Whether she was hiding a weapon.
Whether she was concealing killing intent.
Naturally, an ordinary maid would never have felt that energy, so Jeong-ah focused on feigning composure.
'Right, of course.'
Cold sweat trickled down the back of her neck.
'No matter how much the Young Master is looked down upon, he is the direct bloodline of the Sword Clan.'
It was unthinkable that the front gate of a place where such a person resided would be guarded by ordinary guards who knew nothing of martial arts.
Just then, the guard squad leader (who was a Master in disguise) approached her after finishing his review of the directive.
"The directive has been verified."
He returned the document as politely as he had taken it.
Jeong-ah barely managed to control her trembling fingertips as she took the directive and tucked it into her robes.
"Boys, open the gate for her."
As Jeong-ah stepped toward the front gate, she heard the squad leader’s voice behind her.
"Ah, come to think of it. I forgot to tell you this."
When she turned back, he spoke in a calm tone, as if it were nothing.
"Do not, under any circumstances, stray from the forest path."
Jeong-ah didn't understand why, but she nodded at him and moved on.
Once it seemed she was sufficiently far away, one of the guards burst into a snicker and shook his head.
"A new maid for Won-gak Pavilion. Does that Swordless One really need something like a new maid?"
"I don't know much about it, but aren't maids needed for those important people who do 'outside work'?"
Then, another guard gestured to outline Jeong-ah’s figure and let out a lewd laugh.
"I suppose that Swordless One, who doesn't even have a 'sword,' must be getting his kicks elsewhere."
Then, a roar of laughter echoed out.
'As expected...'
Hearing their conversation from afar, Jeong-ah bit her lip.
As she perceived it, the contempt for the Young Master within the Sword Clan varied in degree.
It was particularly severe among the martial artists who revered martial arts.
If the two pillars supporting the Sword Clan were financial power and martial power, the Young Master had effectively lost one of them entirely, along with the derogatory title of "The Swordless One."
Even the Masters who had reached a level where they could use Energy Waves only guarded the Young Master’s gate because it was their duty.
Not a single one of them seemed to have any loyalty toward him.
'…I have a long way to go.'
Even if the Head Steward’s words about the Young Master having a change of heart were true, what could the Young Master possibly do?
"…!"
And at that moment, she realized.
She was currently in the middle of a formation so massive and dense that she had never seen anything like it before.
'It’s the forest! These trees—no, the entire forest is constructing a formation!'
Her "eyes" were showing her the formation far too clearly.
It wasn't as if she had never "seen" a formation before.
From light formations designed to make people lose their way in areas where guests shouldn't approach, to anti-personnel lethal formations glistening with killing intent set up at defensive points for emergencies.
But none of them had a density as terrifying as the formation she was looking at now.
It felt as if the formation itself would crush a person like a bug just by "looking" at it.
There was only one thing.
Every area except for the single path she was following, the entire forest, looked pitch black.
Even with her "eyes," she couldn't even dare to attempt an interpretation.
"Do not, under any circumstances, stray from the forest path."
She finally understood the guard squad leader’s words.
And she also realized something else.
Just like the Masters disguised as guards at the front gate.
This terrifying formation was the same.
She was currently approaching one of the core figures of this massive clan that exerted its might across the entire continent.
No matter how much he was ignored or despised.
He was the Young Master of this clan.
And her vision flickered.
The forest appeared, then the formation, and her vision repeatedly brightened and darkened.
And that—the Young Master was already standing before her.
"A peculiar child, aren't you?"
Standing serenely in the middle of the forest path, he spoke to Jeong-ah. His voice sounded like that of a boy, yet also like a young man; it carried the echoes of a beast’s howl and the screech of a demon.
"How are you seeing the Barrier of the Won-gak Pavilion?"
He—or rather, that thing—thrust its deathly pale face toward her and tilted its head. Its eye sockets were hollow, as if someone had gouged them out, and within them lay a connection to the Avici. From that bottomless abyss, it shed tears of blood mixed with yellow pus.
"And how are you 'looking' at me?"
Though it was 'peering' at her with those hollow sockets, she, who possessed actual eyes, could neither see nor comprehend a single thing. It was a 'thing' that should never be seen. It was a 'thing' that must never be looked upon.
"Agh!"
With a single, sharp scream, her consciousness snapped.
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