Chapter 171: v7c21 - The Unpaid Price
Volume 7 Chapter 21 – The Unpaid Price
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Tang Gwi-ho, the Vice Patriarch of the Sichuan Tang Family.
Without any warning, a top-ranking figure of the Sichuan Tang Family made their appearance.
Jeong-ah frowned.
Peering at him with her Dragon Eyes, she could not read any hostility.
Yet, it was not that he harbored goodwill either.
Even toward Tang Baek, whom he had even greeted by waving his hand and saying it had been a long time.
‘How strange.’
But that was all she could read.
Strangely, his thoughts only appeared hazy, as if covered by fog.
She could only guess, albeit faintly, the emotions he was harboring.
Was he protecting his mind with some special method or a precious object?
“Fufu. For now, I will accept this as a gift of reunion.”
“….”
There was no answer from Tang Baek, who was openly on guard against him.
But Tang Gwi-ho did not care in the slightest about Tang Baek’s reaction.
As he shook his sleeves, the daggers smeared with extreme poison he had been holding vanished from his hands like a lie.
“Now, then…”
His gaze turned toward Jeong-ah.
“Chief Maid, Jeong-ah. Was that what they call you?”
Of course, she had never introduced herself.
“Now, go and inform your master of my arrival.”
“…What is your business?”
Jeong-ah still did not remove her hand, which was placed on her sword.
The answer to that question came from behind Jeong-ah, not from Tang Gwi-ho.
“Because the Sichuan Tang Family has not yet received the promised price from their transaction with this Eldest Young Master.”
The one who showed himself was Yeon So-hyeon, looking just as he usually did.
Appearing with his black silk coat fluttering, he spoke in his characteristically shameless voice.
“You must have come to monitor whether I can pay the price properly.”
He smiled at Tang Gwi-ho.
“Is that not so, Vice Patriarch?”
Jeong-ah breathed a sigh of relief internally.
Her master, who had failed to complete the circulation of qi in a normal manner within the time limit, had succeeded in wrapping it up in a way she found difficult to understand.
Thus, he was able to appear without a single trace of disarray.
“Fufufu.”
Tang Gwi-ho, the Vice Patriarch of the Sichuan Tang Family, covered his mouth with his sleeve and laughed.
‘My, I thought he would definitely be circulating his qi at this moment, but the Eldest Young Master’s internal energy seems to be deeper than I expected.’
His gaze shone eerily as if dissecting Yeon So-hyeon, whom he was finally seeing in person.
Even if it were not Jeong-ah, the blatant curiosity was to the point that anyone would have no choice but to notice it.
“’Monitoring’… What a disappointing expression.”
He showed a bewitching smile.
“Fufu. Wouldn’t it be better to say that it is just to personally watch the Eldest Young Master’s performance, to see if the contract is being carried out well?”
The Eldest Young Master, Yeon So-hyeon, had contracted with the Sichuan Tang Family.
That he would make it possible for the Sichuan Tang Family to advance into Luoyang through the Valley of Sin, avoiding the eyes of the Sword Family.
And that contract would only be completed after Yeon So-hyeon completely took over the Valley of Sin, and the Sichuan Tang Family successfully established their nest there.
“Please come inside first. I cannot keep a precious guest standing outside.”
Yeon So-hyeon guided him to the place used for receiving guests.
Jeong-ah moved her steps to fetch tea and tea utensils from the Ironclad Fortress, and Tang Gwi-ho spoke to her as she did.
“Chief Maid. I prefer alcohol over tea.”
“….”
Jeong-ah’s eyebrows twitched.
He was asking for alcohol in a mess that was no different from the front lines just a moment ago?
Tang Gwi-ho smiled with a calm expression.
“I looked around a bit earlier, and there was a storage room in the basement with small alcohol jars. Fufu.”
What those words meant was clear.
Until he was caught by Jeong-ah’s Dragon Eyes, he had been wandering freely inside the forward base, where the alert level was soaring due to the battle.
Moreover, it was a surveillance network consisting of the Maid Division and Tang Baek’s subordinates, all of whom possessed internal energy.
When Yeon So-hyeon nodded to give permission, Jeong-ah bowed her head.
“I will find it and bring it up shortly.”
“If you cannot find where it is, feel free to ask me.”
Tang Gwi-ho laughed, “Fufu.”
“Ah, if it is you, perhaps you will find that much easily?”
Jeong-ah ignored Tang Gwi-ho’s meaningful glance and withdrew.
* * *
A humble reception room inside the forward base.
Tang Gwi-ho took a sip of the alcohol poured into a teacup, then spoke to Jeong-ah, who was standing behind Yeon So-hyeon.
“Chief Maid. Could you leave the room for a moment?”
His eyes, which had been drawing a gentle curve, narrowed slightly.
“As far as possible.”
Behind Yeon So-hyeon, Tang Baek was sitting in a corner of the reception room, fiddling with his chain sickle and staring at Tang Gwi-ho with a blatant gaze.
Even so, Tang Gwi-ho specifically singled out only Jeong-ah.
Yeon So-hyeon nodded.
“Go and check the security of the base’s outskirts for a moment.”
When Jeong-ah left, Tang Gwi-ho laughed in an unnecessarily exaggerated manner.
“Oh, thank you. Since I work in intelligence, people with special talents make me feel a bit uncomfortable.”
Yeon So-hyeon smiled.
He had paid extreme attention to security so that Jeong-ah’s ability could not be judged from the outside.
Therefore, Tang Gwi-ho’s words were nothing but a guess, and it was a trick to subtly test if his guess was correct through Yeon So-hyeon.
“My Chief Maid is indeed exceptionally beautiful. It is quite natural for your mind to be distracted.”
‘As expected of the Eldest Young Master, who devised that massive scheme, he lightly brushes off a shallow trick like this.’
A joyful smile grew on Tang Gwi-ho’s lips.
“By any chance, did the Eldest Young Master know that I would come in person?”
Yeon So-hyeon drank his tea and replied.
“I did think that a high-ranking official would visit once I sent the evidence of the Sixteen Families of Mount Beimang expressing their intention to participate to the Tang Family…”
His gaze turned toward Tang Gwi-ho.
“I did not expect you to arrive this quickly. Could it be that you were ‘already’ inside Luoyang?”
“Fufu. Of course.”
Tang Gwi-ho laughed, covering his mouth.
“Even though it is the Tang Family, it is ultimately a part of Sichuan. Is it not known to the entire Central Plains that Sichuan people are hot-tempered?”
Yeon So-hyeon ignored his meaningless words and organized the situation in his mind.
The moment he descended Mount Beimang, rescued the people of the forward base, and had his first moment of leisure, Tang Gwi-ho showed himself.
And he was the leader of the Shadow Group, an intelligence organization directly under the Patriarch of the Sichuan Tang Family.
What that implied was…
“The Tang Family had scattered their Shadows in Luoyang even before the investment delegation, which included the Tea Fan Maidens, departed from Sichuan.”
Yeon So-hyeon continued speaking.
“Could it be that the decision to deploy the Shadows was made at the very moment the contract with me was accepted?”
Clap, clap, clap. Tang Gwi-ho clapped his hands in an exaggerated manner.
“As expected of the Eldest Young Master! You are entirely correct!”
Yeon So-hyeon did not like his exaggerated manner.
‘Shall I start by wiping that fake smile off his face first?’
“And for the Leader of the Shadow Group and Vice Patriarch of the Sichuan Tang Family to personally make the trip.”
“That is how important advancing into Luoyang is to our Tang Family.”
Yeon So-hyeon showed a subtle smile.
“To reveal yourself at this specific moment, and not any other, must be to verify whether the former patriarchs of the Sixteen Imperial Capital Families of Mount Beimang have joined the plan.”
“Of course.”
Tang Gwi-ho slightly opened his eyes, which had habitually drawn a curve, and looked at Yeon So-hyeon, but his characteristic smile remained.
However, Yeon So-hyeon’s words were not finished yet.
“Only after confirming that the former patriarchs of the Sixteen Families have joined will the Sichuan Tang Family approach the plan a step more seriously, after all.”
“Exactly.”
Beneath Tang Gwi-ho’s narrow eyes, his eyeballs containing deep poison glowed an eerie green.
“Because our Tang Family can pull out at any moment the instant the Eldest Young Master fails to pay the promised price.”
Rather, the smile playing on his lips deepened.
“Even if you have got the former patriarchs to participate this time, if you fail in this Valley of Sin later on, our Tang Family will suspend the Chongqing and Yangtze River projects.”
He stared at Yeon So-hyeon with the gaze of a venomous snake targeting a bird’s egg in its nest.
“If that happens, the enraged former patriarchs of Mount Beimang will instead join hands with another successor of the Sword Family and tear the Eldest Young Master to pieces.”
All the Sichuan Tang Family would lose if things turned out that way was simply their originally delayed projects returning to their original state.
And if Yeon So-hyeon succeeded, they would achieve their long-cherished desire of advancing into Luoyang without friction with the Luoyang Sword Family.
The land owned by the Emei Sect, which they had already acquired, was a bonus.
The risk was small.
That was why the Sichuan Tang Family, a hegemon of a region, had participated in the plan of Yeon So-hyeon, who was merely the Eldest Young Master and not even the Young Patriarch.
“So, shouldn’t I watch the Eldest Young Master myself to determine the Tang Family’s stance?”
He laughed, “Fufufu.”
“Of course. Only…”
Yeon So-hyeon was calm even at Tang Gwi-ho’s words describing the script of his demise.
“Only?”
Yeon So-hyeon idly stroked his teacup.
“You confirm the promise of the former patriarchs of Mount Beimang, and you determine the Tang Family’s stance by watching me proceed in the future?”
Reflecting the lamplight, Yeon So-hyeon’s flashing gaze directed toward Tang Gwi-ho.
“That such important confirmation and decision are made directly on-site by the Vice Patriarch?”
At Yeon So-hyeon’s provocative words, Tang Gwi-ho’s eyebrows slowly contorted.
“Are you saying that I, the Vice Patriarch of the Sichuan Tang Family and Leader of the Shadow Group, am not in a position to make such a judgment?”
For a moment, it felt as though the temperature inside the reception room plummeted.
“No, I am not.”
Yeon So-hyeon smiled gently.
“It is a judgment that someone who is the sworn brother of the current Patriarch and the Vice Patriarch can certainly make.”
Tang Gwi-ho’s eyebrows moved back to their original position.
“Of course. This Tang Gwi-ho…”
But Yeon So-hyeon’s words were not finished yet.
“Judgment. Yes, I said you could make the judgment.”
From Yeon So-hyeon, who was sitting gracefully on his chair, his characteristic momentum stealthily flowed out.
“However, if I were the Patriarch, I would never leave the ‘decision’ after that judgment to the head of an intelligence organization.”
Tang Gwi-ho’s smile froze in that exact shape.
“No matter how much the head of that intelligence organization is a sworn brother he trusts without end.”
“….”
Yeon So-hyeon looked at him and smiled, baring his teeth.
“It seems I have provided enough opportunity to satisfy the Vice Patriarch’s personal curiosity about this Eldest Young Master…”
Yeon So-hyeon set down the teacup he had been holding.
“How about you bring in the one who holds the decision-making power now, so we can get down to business?”
“….”
The smile vanished from Tang Gwi-ho’s lips.
“Since I have already given instructions through the Chief Maid who just left that more guests would arrive, you can tell the decision-maker waiting outside the base via sound transmission.”
“….”
From Tang Gwi-ho’s endlessly heavy face, a gaze containing a momentum that was beyond cold—piercing to the bone—stared directly at Yeon So-hyeon.
It was only for a very brief moment, but it was enough to guess the essence of Tang Gwi-ho’s existence.
And that would be the true face of Tang Gwi-ho, who was responsible for the intelligence of the ultra-large power known as the Sichuan Tang Family.
“Truly magnificent.”
He emptied the teacup in front of him in a single gulp.
“Of course, since you are someone of this caliber…”
The face that lowered the teacup had returned to its original gentle expression.
“…the ridiculous transaction between the Eldest Young Master as an individual and the Sichuan Tang Family must have been miraculously established.”
Even if shaken, he did not waver.
Rather, in that short situation, he read the opponent’s move and even pushed back in reverse.
This boy was a different person from anyone he had seen until now.
Yeon So-hyeon proved his ability in a short moment right before his eyes, and Tang Gwi-ho himself had now made his judgment.
Now, the decision was up to the decision-maker.
* * *
A moment later, the person guided from the entrance of the forward base by Chief Maid Jeong-ah entered the room.
That person was wrapped all over in a pitch-black coat made of a material as rare as Yeon So-hyeon’s black silk coat.
That coat seemed to absorb the surrounding light.
“Nice to meet you, Eldest Young Master.”
When the person threw back the hood of the coat covering their face, long hair mixed with hints of mysterious green cascaded down like a waterfall.
Dark green eyes, symbolizing the purest bloodline of the Sichuan Tang Family, reflected Yeon So-hyeon’s figure.
“My name is Tang Eun-rang.”
The young woman looked at Yeon So-hyeon and wore a confident smile on her lips.
“I am the Young Patriarch of the Sichuan Tang Family.”
The Young Patriarch, Tang Eun-rang.
She was the chief decision-maker of the Sichuan Tang Family’s side.
“And first of all, I apologize.”
Before Yeon So-hyeon could even introduce himself, she strode over and placed a banknote on the table with a resolute attitude.
It was an extraordinary sum.
“This is an expression of my apology for testing the Eldest Young Master.”
Usually, presenting money on the spot while apologizing was considered a vulgar thing only seen in merchant groups and the like.
However, her attitude was polite, elegant, and yet confidently bold to the point of being shameless.
“Rather than pointlessly spooling out verbose apologies in words, wouldn’t a larger sum be the most certain way to show one’s apology?”
At her words, Yeon So-hyeon laughed heartily.
She was a person to his liking.
“I accept the apology.”
Yeon So-hyeon readily offered her a seat.