Chapter 77
Part 2: Lines and Boundaries
Elder Yeom asked the exhausted-looking chief warrior.
“So, how was it?”
The chief warrior collapsed into a chair and stuck out his tongue.
“Ugh, don’t even ask. Punishments we haven’t seen in public at the main family for ages just came pouring out…”
Elder Yeom’s huge body shook as he laughed.
“It seems Elder Hwangbo, who was in charge of the trials, was quite excited for the first time in a while.”
“If he gets excited like that even twice, the warriors of the main family will see a scene they can’t endure with a sane mind.”
The chief warrior shook his head.
“Well, it has to be that severe for it to serve as a warning to the rest. How did the ones you brought along react?”
The chief warrior raised both hands.
“Can’t you tell just by looking at how exhausted I am? The trainee warriors somehow walked back on their own two feet, but those so-called scribes…”
Elder Yeom burst into hearty laughter.
“Now even those brats will never dare speak lightly of the Eldest Young Master again.”
“That much is certain.”
The chief warrior nodded.
“On the way back, I even heard a story that ‘the Eldest Young Master killed them all because the stewards of the Inner Court wouldn’t pay for his books.’”
He shrugged.
“At the very least, I don’t think we’ll ever hear the servants saying things like ‘Swordless’ again.”
Elder Yeom’s eyebrow twitched.
“…Another rumor?”
The chief warrior looked back at Elder Yeom with an expression that said he had no idea what the problem was.
“After something of this scale happened, isn’t it only natural that all sorts of rumors would spread?”
Elder Yeom leaned back.
“…Something feels strange. No matter how I look at it, I don’t think the Eldest Young Master’s scheme has ended yet.”
“Scheme?”
“Gather all the strategists.”
***
Luoyang Sword Clan, Second Young Master Jinmyeong.
The grand conference hall.
The young scribes waiting for the regular maintenance meeting had gathered in groups of three and five, chatting among themselves.
Naturally, the topic of their conversation was the Eldest Young Master.
A scribe whose face was dotted with acne began.
“Hey. Did you hear the rumor about the book fees?”
“Of course I did. They say the Swordless exploded in anger, mobilized the Inspection Department, and completely swept through the Inner Court.”
“I heard two divisions from the Guardian Court moved as well. They crushed everything in a single night.”
“A bloody storm blew through the central plaza from morning onward.”
“Look at that guy over there. I heard he passed near the central plaza earlier, and his face is still completely pale.”
“Ah, damn… What should we even call this? The Book Fee Rage Incident? The Book Fee Massacre?”
A group of slightly older young scribes were conversing on one side.
“In the end, that Swordless is also a legitimate direct descendant of the main family, so perhaps this result was inevitable.”
“Everything happened too quickly. They said there wasn’t much our side could do.”
“I heard only the information-related personnel are being worked to death. Apparently, they haven’t even been able to leave work lately.”
On another side, scribes who looked closer to middle age were talking among themselves.
“But is the Eldest Young Master not currently under confinement by order of the Grand Patriarch? Is it all right for him to cause something like this?”
“If it is that sort of matter, the higher-ups will naturally handle it.”
“…Besides, if we are being strict, I am not sure one could say the Eldest Young Master violated his confinement.”
“That is true. This entire Sword Clan is his home, so what problem could there be?”
“…So the logic is that he merely dealt with a problem that arose in his own home.”
Just then, the front door of the grand conference hall flew open, and the room fell silent.
Through the open front door, a strategist with a long beard hurriedly appeared.
“Now! Everyone, clear out of this conference hall! Hurry!”
At his words, everyone grumbled quietly and began gathering their belongings.
“Elder Strategist.”
“What is it?”
A middle-aged scribe near the front bowed and opened his mouth.
“A regular meeting is scheduled to be held here soon. Has something urgent come up?”
“Right now…”
The long-bearded strategist was just opening his mouth to answer him when—
Strategists began pouring in through the front door.
“What are all these people?! Why have you still not cleared the conference hall?!”
At one strategist’s sharp voice, the scribes hurriedly gathered their things into their arms and ran for the back door.
“Hiek, it’s Strategist Choi…!”
“Strategist Han is here too!”
“Run! Run!”
In an instant, the grand conference hall emptied as if the tide had gone out.
“Control the front door and the back door both! I said seal off the entire pavilion itself!”
While the warriors rushed about to strengthen the security, the lower-ranked strategists quickly tidied the grand conference hall and distributed the necessary confidential documents and reports to those seated.
“U-um, how should we prepare the tea…”
At the steward in charge of the grand conference hall’s question, Strategist Choi shouted like a thunderbolt.
“Did you not hear me say the pavilion is under control?! All of you are to leave this pavilion immediately as well!”
Strategist Choi slammed the front door shut right in front of the steward’s eyes.
One strategist seated behind him grinned and whispered to the strategist beside him.
“After getting thoroughly raked over the coals because of the Fourth Young Master’s matter, that man seems to be taking out his anger on the whole neighborhood these days.”
“He had a rotten temper to begin with, but now no one can even stop him. I heard everyone under his command wants to return to Jiangnan these days.”
Strategist Choi spat fire from his mouth.
“Will you all be quiet?!”
With his shout, the emergency meeting began.
A short strategist stood on the platform and began to preside over the meeting.
“Surely there is no one here who has failed to sense something wrong with the Eldest Young Master’s movements.”
He held up a document.
“Those who have not yet read Strategist Han Myeong-hwi’s emergency report should check its contents even now.”
Even the faces of the strategists who had maintained a trace of composure until then turned serious.
***
“How has the Third Young Master’s side reacted?”
One of the strategist groups in charge of the Third Young Master answered from where they sat.
“Judging by the fact that they began an emergency meeting around the same time as us, it means we are not the only ones taking this situation seriously.”
Another strategist opened his mouth.
“Then should we not also verify the previous rumor that the Eldest Young Master is carrying out some business with the Fourth Young Master?”
“But all the ears we had attached to the Fourth Young Master’s side have been shaken off…”
“It may be difficult inside the clan, but did we not still have personnel outside the Sword Clan monitoring the progress of the Fourth Young Master’s business?”
The strategists’ gazes flicked toward Strategist Choi.
Strategist Choi trembled as he opened his mouth.
“Do not look at me like that! At present, they have all been redirected either to tracking rumors about the Eldest Young Master or to the Inner Court incident.”
The short strategist nodded.
“That was all decided in the meeting, so it would be best to move past it.”
“For now, his intent is what matters. We must consider why the Eldest Young Master began making his move at this particular time.”
“We also need to analyze, from multiple angles, the reason he had remained quiet until now.”
“Frankly speaking, what benefit would the Eldest Young Master gain by entering the successor competition at this point?”
“Does he even have a chance of victory in the first place?”
“According to our calculations, the Eldest Young Master’s chance of victory was predicted to be virtually nonexistent.”
“In that case…”
“We must strengthen our rumor operations against the Eldest Young Master even now. We should spread the derogatory name ‘Swordless’ even more actively…”
“Such things have ceased to be any kind of countermeasure ever since the parade of extreme punishments began at the central plaza today.”
“I understand that new maids recently joined Wongakjeong. According to information from the Inner Court, we should also keep in mind the possibility that they are behind this…”
“You are saying this is merely the influence of women? Did you go on vacation to Hangzhou and leave your mind there?”
“What did you say?!”
For a while, the debate continued fiercely.
The lower-ranked strategists, in order to raise their own value, raised their voices without a single one holding back.
And the higher-ranked strategists referred to their debate, sometimes correcting the direction of the discussion as they organized their own thoughts.
“This strategist would like to say something.”
When Han Myeong-hwi rose from his seat, every gaze in the room focused on him.
“All of this has happened because the Grand Patriarch’s order given to the Eldest Young Master took the ambiguous form of ‘confinement.’”
Strategist Choi looked at Han Myeong-hwi with displeasure, yet still nodded.
“I agree. Confinement is not a legally recognized form of punishment in the Sword Clan Codex.”
Another high-ranking strategist opened his mouth.
“To begin with, even interpreting it as a punishment is nothing more than arbitrary. Under the circumstances, that interpretation comes only from the fact that confinement was explicitly ‘ordered.’”
Han Myeong-hwi continued.
“That is why this strategist judges that the Eldest Young Master is currently ‘testing the line.’”
“The line…”
One high-ranking strategist stroked his beard as he spoke.
“Because confinement is not subject to legal restrictions, he is attempting to make a move… Is that what you mean?”
“To be more precise, I believe it is correct to interpret that he intends to expand the boundaries of his activity by stepping along the line.”
For a moment, the conference hall sank into silence.
The short strategist tapped the platform.
“…If that interpretation is correct, then it would be right to view the Eldest Young Master’s Inner Court incident as nothing more than the beginning. However, I believe this is still the stage where we must approach the matter from more perspectives.”
Han Myeong-hwi shook his head.
“The more time passes, the more justification we will lose for controlling the Eldest Young Master’s movements.”
Another high-ranking strategist nodded as well.
“If we begin responding now, we may still be able to stop him at least within the Sword Clan. But what happens after he goes out into Luoyang? What happens after he expands his range of activity to the whole of Henan Province?”
“In the end, by the time he crosses the Yangtze River, on what grounds will we stop him?”
“Then should we not force him to be unable to act from the very beginning?”
“Or even strip him of his qualifications as a successor?”
The conference hall grew noisy again.
At that moment, one low-ranking strategist cautiously opened his mouth.
“…Excuse me, but if the Eldest Young Master runs wild to that extent, would the Grand Patriarch, who issued the confinement order, not stop him personally?”
The high-ranking strategists all closed their mouths at once.
They seemed to know something, but none of them spoke of it.
Every strategist present was qualified to handle confidential matters in the Second Young Master Jinmyeong’s faction, but the confidential matters of the Luoyang Sword Clan itself were another story.
The lower-ranking strategist grew flustered, wondering whether his comment had offended them.
“M-my apologies…”
Just then, the front door opened, and a sturdy old man appeared.
At once, every strategist rose from their seat and paid their respects to him.
The short strategist stepped down from the platform and greeted him on their behalf.
“We greet the elder of the main family.”
The old man raised a hand to receive their greetings, then looked around at everyone present.
“Forgive me, but could only the chief strategist-level people remain, and everyone else leave?”
The true meeting was about to begin.