Chapter 150: Chapter 150
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Master Je Goong-wol of the Shandong Je Clan.
The news of his death had reached even the ears of Jang Geon, who had been staying at the Reception Hall. However, back then it was known merely as a sudden death due to Qi deviation during secluded cultivation. It was a common enough end for high martial artists.
“…I think you came to the wrong person. A matter that major shouldn’t be brought to a mere swordsman like me, but to the Martial Alliance.”
Jang Geon set down the teacup he had picked up, reached into his bosom, and spoke. How long had it been since he escaped the messy chaotic brawl of the Martial Alliance, yet another vortex was opening its maw trying to drag him in. Naturally, thoughts of rolled leaf came to mind.
However, soon recalling that someone was before him, his hand taking out paper stopped. Seeing that, Seom Ji-young spoke attentively.
“You may smoke. Warrior Yong?”
Warrior Yong, standing attentively behind Seom Ji-young, stepped forward at her call and pulled something out. It was a flat, square silver box. When Warrior Yong opened it with a click sound, neatly rolled leaves were neatly arranged inside.
Warrior Yong offered it to Jang Geon as if telling him to take one, and Jang Geon, feeling a slight awkwardness, picked one up and put it in his mouth. Subsequently, as Warrior Yong pulled a small oil lighter from his bosom, Jang Geon waved his hand.
“I will light it myself.”
He had the oil lighter Dan Sang-woon had newly gifted him. Jang Geon lit the rolled leaf, drew a deep puff, and leaned back in his chair. Beyond the smoke drifting out the bright window, Seom Ji-young could be seen sitting in an upright yet calm posture.
Only when Jang Geon looked at her did she continue speaking.
“Did you ask why I didn’t go to the Martial Alliance? You probably know their recent situation well. Demonic Practitioners ran wild in the heart of New Sichuan and inside the Martial Alliance. Meanwhile, the Imperial Army that had withdrawn to Hawaii returned. The Martial Alliance is currently finding it overwhelming just to crack down on their own internal affairs.”
Her eyes sank deep.
“…And although I asked you to investigate the incident, there is no clear evidence. It is merely suspicion.”
“Suspicion?”
At Jang Geon’s question, Seom Ji-young hesitated for a moment, then let out a small sigh.
“Master Je Goong-wol’s death was far too sudden, far too… And the talk of Qi deviation also raised many doubts. Because Master Je Goong-wol was the most outstanding master in nearly a century of our Je Clan’s history. Even if he truly fell into Qi deviation, dying so suddenly like that made no sense.”
The sudden death of the clan master. Furthermore, there were doubts surrounding that death. If so, naturally those who enjoyed conspiracies would begin talking recklessly. Jang Geon felt he knew what kind of rumors floated within the Je Clan.
“Was the young clan master suspected?”
Seom Ji-young’s eyes, looking calmly at Jang Geon, quivered trembling. Slowly lowering her eyes, she spoke.
“…Brother grew up receiving great expectations from the Clan Master and elders. As a child, he showed bone-carving effort to somehow answer those expectations. But to the Clan Master and elders, that didn’t seem to be enough. During his lifetime, the Clan Master merely pushed Brother too hard… Someone even said he was merely pushing him in front while not truly disliking Brother.”
Closing both eyes tightly, she spoke.
“…But unexpressed feelings ultimately grow faint and merely get erased. Expecting someone to just know without telling them is foolish… Yet the Clan Master could not do so, and ultimately the relationship between the two grew twisted. A father who could not trust his son, a son who could not love his father… When a spy from the Yeon Clan seduced Brother and stole the clan’s secrets, it seemed the relationship between the two was truly beyond recovery.”
This was a story Jang Geon also knew a bit about. Because he was the one who had met that spy and personally ended her life.
Suddenly, memories of that time seemed to replay within the slender rising smoke. Along with the pipa sound she strummed, the plains, mountains, forests, trees, swaying campfire seen during the days riding Jojo, and even the clouds flowing high above her head detached from worldly affairs.
The smoke mixed with memories softly swept across Jang Geon’s face, then escaped out the window and melted hazily beyond the pale sky.
“Within the clan, there are those who use that time as an excuse to cast eyes of suspicion at Brother. They incite people, claiming that the Clan Master tried to oust Brother from the young master position, and Brother, realizing that, harmed the Clan Master. But… but that is talk by those who don’t know the two recently.”
With her eyes closed and lowered, Seom Ji-young shook her head.
“The two were only now realizing their mistakes, apologizing, and improving… The Clan Master talked about things he hadn’t expressed until now, and Brother also opened up about the pressure he felt, getting much better… I… I thought the two were just getting fine like that…”
“And then the Clan Master died.”
As Jang Geon finished her sentence, Seom Ji-young raised her head and opened her eyes to face him. Faint moisture harbored around her eyes.
“…I don’t think Brother harmed the Clan Master. But even though there are clearly suspicious points regarding the Clan Master’s death, not only Brother who is busy with the funeral and succession ceremony, but also the elders of the clan are not trying to uncover it after the initial cause of death of Qi deviation came out. Perhaps they cannot move due to the eyes of the world. That’s why I stepped forward.”
As she continued speaking, the moisture around her eyes vanished. Looking at Jang Geon with large, clear eyes, she spoke.
“Please uncover whether the Clan Master really passed away due to Qi deviation, and if not, what plot was there on earth, and why the Clan Master had to pass away. That is the request I wish to make.”
Holding the rolled leaf in his mouth and quietly listening to Seom Ji-young until her words ended, Jang Geon offered no response even after she finished. A moment later, when Seom Ji-young bit her lip as if feeling anxiety at that silence, Jang Geon opened his mouth.
“Hearing it, the core of the clan doesn’t seem to particularly desire digging into this matter, which means encountering considerable resistance in the process of conducting the work, along with eventually coming to a situation where sword-slashing breaks out… If it’s a request, you must have thought of remuneration. What and how much do you intend to give?”
“Personally, five strings of gold coins, and when the truth is revealed, there will also be a large reward from the clan. Furthermore, if you wish, I can also arrange transactions with the Jang Family Merchant Guild.”
She disclosed the remuneration as if waiting. Jang Geon almost let out a dry laugh. Whatever current gold prices were, five strings of gold coins was money enough to purchase a large manor in the middle of New Sichuan. It was to the point where he was confused whether to be surprised at being able to use such money personally, or to push her not to scam him.
“It is a lot of money…”
However, to Jang Geon, it was also an amount of no special meaning. Originally a wanderer, whether gold was several strings or not made little difference to him. Of course, there was nothing bad about having a lot of money. Jang Geon also preferred drinking Central Plains Bamboo Leaf Green and rolling around in a wide room over drinking cheap white liquor and sleeping in a narrow room. But that was a luxury he could indulge in sufficiently without getting entangled with an ancient martial clan.
Jang Geon asked as if suddenly remembering.
“You said you don’t think Young Master Je Sang-cheon harmed the Clan Master. You also said he and the elders of the clan don’t seem to particularly desire digging up this matter either. Then why are you doing this?”
“…You’re asking why I bother stepping forward to cause trouble, right? But as I said moments ago, some within the clan suspect Brother Sang-cheon. It’s a scandal that could be fatal to Brother, who will soon become Clan Master. They probably don’t really think Brother harmed the Clan Master either. They merely harbored dissatisfaction toward Brother usually and used this matter as an excuse… I cannot just sit by and watch them rise to the surface of the clan. To prevent that, the truth will be the most powerful weapon.”
“The truth. Is there a need to go that far? From what I hear, the power of the clan elders seems strong, and if I begin the investigation, you might fall out of their favor. Even if the young master’s innocence is revealed later, the fact that you fell out of favor will not change. Ultimately, losing the clan’s trust as trust, having your property taken by me, the young master might not even be particularly grateful.”
At Jang Geon’s somewhat cynical words, Seom Ji-young fell silent. And she looked at Jang Geon with firm eyes that had forgotten all previous impatience, sadness, or anxiety.
She spoke.
“It doesn’t matter. Because I love Brother Sang-cheon.”
Jang Geon’s hand holding the rolled leaf flinched.
“Even by one chance in ten thousand, if public opinion in the clan turns toward suspecting Brother Sang-cheon, in the worst case, Brother could be confined inside the clan or locked underneath the deepest dungeon. Irrespective of the truth. When the person I love could be in danger, what matter is the property or reputation I possess?”
Only then did Jang Geon properly observe Seom Ji-young’s face. Unnoticed due to yesterday’s meeting and her straight demeanor, her face looked as if she had barely turned twenty. And beneath the calmness and restraint of an ancient martial clan draped over that surface, there was youth capable of burning her own heart for the person she loved.
Staring at that face for a moment, Jang Geon drew a deep puff of the rolled leaf. The nearly burnt-out rolled leaf gleamed crimson as it consumed its remaining body.
With the rolled leaf in his mouth, Jang Geon spoke.
“Did you say five strings of gold coins?”
“Pardon? Ah, yes. If more is needed, I can prepare bills from the Merchant Guild Association…”
“I will take half as an advance payment.”
Seom Ji-young wore a blank expression for a moment without grasping the meaning of those words, then soon snapped back to her senses and nodded.
“Yes, yes! Good. Then I will send the advance payment by tomorrow.”
“And make it so I can come and go inside the Je Clan without hindrance.”
“That is not difficult. Currently, numerous guests have entered the Je Clan preparing for the succession ceremony. Yesterday, a monk invited from the Central Plains to request an invocation also arrived. Besides that, there are many guests from the New Continent or Central Plains who have ties with the Je Clan. If I send an invitation, you will be able to move as one of them, Warrior Jang.”
“How long will it take to prepare that invitation?”
Seom Ji-young smirked softly. And producing a letter from her bosom, she set it down before Jang Geon.
“It is already prepared.”
Jang Geon smirked and picked up the letter. On high-quality paper suitable for the Je Clan, Jang Geon’s name was written in splendid handwriting. Even without opening it, one could tell that all sorts of rhetoric and content inviting him to the clan would be written inside.
“Tomorrow Warrior Yong will deliver the advance payment and guide you, Warrior Jang, at the same time. Would that be fine?”
Jang Geon nodded and stood up from his seat.
Recalling it now, Jang Un’s expression upon leaving the merchant guild was no ordinary matter. Looking closely at Seom Ji-young’s face anew, he could guess what misunderstanding he had formed. An absurd misunderstanding had to be cleared up quickly. If it got into Sister-in-law Yeom’s ears for no reason, Jang Geon would also find it hard to handle.
“Let’s see each other again tomorrow.”
Saying so, Jang Geon grabbed the tea room door. At that moment, Seom Ji-young called out to Jang Geon.
“Warrior Jang.”
When he turned back, Seom Ji-young spoke.
“Thank you for taking on the task. Honestly, I felt at a loss.”
“…Save your thanks for after the work is completely finished. Since we don’t yet know the full picture of the incident.”
Saying so, Jang Geon left the tea room.
Whether this would be another city’s vortex, or merely a young girl’s groundless fear worrying for the person she loved, was not yet known. However, walking down the tea house stairs, Jang Geon somehow felt a premonition that it would be closer to a vortex than groundless fear.
Descending the stairs and stepping out the bright entrance of the tea house, Jang Geon flicked away his finished rolled leaf and crushed it underfoot. And thinking about what to explain to Jang Un and his wife so they wouldn’t worry, he walked stride by stride toward the merchant guild.
He was quickly buried among the crowd coming and going on the street.