Chapter 87
As the youngest commanding warrior, promoted rapidly through the ranks, he had abundant experience as a warrior. However, there was still far more he did not know about the society of the highest echelon.
That was why a senior’s advice was always worth a thousand gold pieces.
Based on his experience so far, even if a senior’s advice had never helped him earn a thousand gold pieces, had it not at least prevented him from losing a thousand?
Part 12: Manipulator
Yeon Sang-hyeon rested his arm outside the window and enjoyed the cold wind.
Seeing this, the commander sitting across from him cautiously spoke.
“First Young Master, according to the Agency’s regulations, exposing your face outside is…”
“Shut up.”
Remembering the warning of Cheongsu, the veteran commander who had handed him over, he quietly closed his mouth.
‘If I get on the First Young Master’s bad side, life in the Sword Clan will become truly exhausting.’
He did not understand why getting on the First Young Master’s bad side would have anything to do with his life in the Sword Clan going awry.
From the sight of the commanding warrior quietly crouched in the corner, Yeon Sang-hyeon could read “many things.”
The Agency’s warriors, who had always moved as though they were one body with his father, had been the most entertaining “playmates” to Yeon Sang-hyeon in his childhood.
How enjoyable it had been whenever he broke down those people who seemed as cold and composed as ice walls.
Perhaps because of that, even now, whenever he saw the Agency’s warriors, the desire to tease them naturally welled up inside him.
“Hey.”
“…Yes?”
The eyes visible through the holes of his mask reminded him of a startled rabbit.
“Deliver a message to the commanding warrior who dragged me to the stone cave earlier.”
He bowed his head.
“Well, according to regulations, I cannot run personal errands…”
“Shut up. You are the youngest among the commanders, aren’t you? Or second from the bottom.”
“First Young Master, you do not have the authority to handle information regarding personnel affiliated with the Agency…”
“Even without that authority, I can tell just by looking at how you act.”
“Send a letter telling him that I, Yeon Sang-hyeon, will personally remember this grudge forever. In code, so no one knows who wrote it.”
“That man seemed to have quite a temper. You get chewed out by him a lot, don’t you? He always nags you, right? And in a way that really pisses people off, right?”
For some reason, Yeon Sang-hyeon’s words, deliberately using the “language of warriors,” were overflowing with persuasive power.
“So cooperate with me. If you just deliver this message, I guarantee you will be able to watch that man squirm in anxiety for a long time.”
It was the tongue of a devil.
Interpreting the commander’s lack of response as hesitation, Yeon Sang-hyeon spoke in a calm and measured tone.
“I was practically dragged all the way to the front of the stone cave back then. That is why my shoulder blades and both arms still feel strained even now.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon smiled, revealing his white teeth.
After looking left and right, as if afraid someone might see, the commander quickly nodded.
Yeon Sang-hyeon chuckled.
Unlike his past self, his current self found it immensely enjoyable to settle these petty grudges.
He knocked on the ceiling.
“Children! Pick up the pace! The sun is going to set!”
When Yeon Sang-hyeon shouted, the commander immediately transmitted the order.
Inside the palanquin that raced like an arrow through the empty streets, Yeon Sang-hyeon burst into cheerful laughter.
The Agency was an organization that everyone in the Luoyang Sword Clan found difficult to deal with.
Now, almost no one remained in that Agency who remembered him.
Even so, he had—
met the younger sibling of an old acquaintance, forging a precious connection while also obtaining an important contact through whom he could intervene in the Agency’s problems;
imprinted upon the warriors who had guarded the conference chamber the sight of him facing the Supreme Councilors and passing through the matter without any issue;
planted the name of Wongakjeong in the mind of a once-famous commanding warrior who was considering retirement;
sown terror in the mind of an utterly detestable commanding warrior who, despite remembering him directly or indirectly, had mocked him as the Swordless;
and made the youngest commanding warrior, who had met him for the first time, run an errand according to his intentions and move his subordinates according to his intentions.
This young commanding warrior, having once tasted what it was like to join hands with Yeon Sang-hyeon, would never forget that taste from now on.
All of this had happened less than half a day after encountering them.
***
Inside The Ruler Of Darkness.
“That was truly enjoyable! Very entertaining!”
The Fallen Immortal clapped his hands in delight.
“Ever since I was trapped here, it has been a long time since I have had such an entertaining spectacle to watch.”
“I am glad you enjoyed it, Elder.”
“And on top of that, you successfully acted while suppressing The Ruler Of Darkness!”
Sitting on the stone coffin, Yeon Sang-hyeon shrugged.
The Fallen Immortal looked at Yeon Sang-hyeon with glittering eyes and asked,
“Then, was it you, before becoming a successor, who had been replacing the Supreme Councilors in the past by exposing their identities?”
“Yes, that is correct. While protecting Mother’s seal, which had cracked during the Blood Purge, it was the bare minimum I could do for Father’s clan.”
“Remarkable!”
“…At the time, that was all I could do.”
“Unlike now, you mean.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon laughed together with the Fallen Immortal, who wore a sly smile.
The corpses inside the stone coffins howled along with them.
“Then, then, tell me this.”
The Fallen Immortal asked excitedly.
“From the very moment you began spreading rumors, your ultimate goal was only one thing: to have the order of confinement officially withdrawn!”
“That is correct.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon nodded and added an explanation.
“At the time, I was confined, so I had no way to contact the Supreme Executive Council directly.”
The Supreme Executive Council was not a group he could simply meet because he wished to.
“That is why you touched the Inner Court. You made the others feel a sense of alarm at your actions!”
“In addition, I dealt with the butlers who had been bothering me at every turn and created a way to reclaim the budget that should have been mine but had not been given to me.”
“Exactly! I saw that as well!”
***
“I know it is far too insufficient to dare call this compensation, but…”
After gathering the opinions, the Chairman spoke to Yeon Sang-hyeon.
“This Supreme Executive Council will simplify every administrative procedure so that Wongakjeong can recover its proper functions as quickly as possible, and we will spare no effort in providing support.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon shrugged.
“In particular, please put in a good word with the Chief Steward of the Inner Court. I must receive what the Inner Court has been skimming from my share of the budget until now.”
After a brief moment, the voice of one Supreme Councilor was heard.
“…Would you prefer cash? Or promissory notes?”
“Half and half, please. The guarantor for the promissory notes should be in the name of the Supreme Executive Council.”
“We will handle it immediately.”
“Thank you.”
“It is nothing.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon continued.
“And please inform the Security Corps Commander as well. If he detains and delays the booksellers entering Wongakjeong one more time without cause, I will personally visit the Security Corps.”
“…We will ensure such a thing does not happen.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon nodded in satisfaction.
“And as for the warrior captains who deliberately make the main clan’s troops jog along the wall of Wongakjeong every dawn while singing military songs…”
“We will handle that as well.”
“And there is more.”
***
“T-that was also far too entertaining.”
The Fallen Immortal was practically convulsing with laughter.
Falling backward, he crushed the corpses inside the stone coffin beneath him.
Yeon Sang-hyeon gave an awkward smile.
“…Those were matters my old self would have simply let pass.”
“More than anything…”
The Fallen Immortal wiped away the fluid that had spilled out in place of tears.
“What surprised me most was that, in order to achieve your ultimate goal this time, you did not particularly ‘do’ anything!”
He made a great fuss as he spoke.
“In truth, the only thing you did to have your confinement lifted was summon that audit investigator!”
“You mean Gangho?”
“Yes! You merely called a single audit investigator, yet before anyone knew it, the Council of Elders was convened!”
And the Council of Elders, in turn, led by elders who considered Yeon Sang-hyeon’s matter serious, caused Yeon Sang-hyeon to be summoned before the Supreme Executive Council.
“And because of their original sin, the Supreme Executive Council had no choice but to lift the confinement order placed upon you!”
“I was able to be certain from the beginning because my past self had already replaced every problematic Supreme Councilor.”
In truth, lifting his confinement had been impossible by any other method.
Even if it had been possible, it would have taken far too much time or involved far too many troublesome factors.
From the start, just getting the present him to the Supreme Executive Council had been an enormous obstacle.
But merely by touching the sense of crisis held by the highest echelon of the clan, he had been able to complete every procedure swiftly and decisively.
The Fallen Immortal smacked his lips.
“But tell me, that Clan Head Seal. Was it not a waste? Would there not be a place to use it later?”
Yeon Sang-hyeon laughed heartily.
“For now, it may seem regrettable. But no one would have allowed me to lift my confinement while still holding the Clan Head Seal. Besides…”
“Besides?”
Yeon Sang-hyeon smiled, as though he knew something yet would not say it.
“Continuing to hold the Clan Head Seal would have caused me to face an extremely troublesome problem later.”
“…I see! You already knew what would happen because of the Clan Head Seal!”
He nodded repeatedly, greatly satisfied.
“It was enjoyable. Truly enjoyable. I do not know how many successors until now have displayed as much of their own ability as you have.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon’s eyes widened.
“What? Are you already satisfied?”
The Fallen Immortal jumped in surprise.
“No! Are you saying there is still something left?!”
Yeon Sang-hyeon smiled.
“Unfortunately, time is up. As for the remaining matters, you will learn everything by watching from now on.”
The Fallen Immortal could not hide his disappointment.
“Tell me just one thing! Just one! These remaining matters must have something to do with what you secretly did ‘outside the clan,’ right…?!”
The Fallen Immortal’s words faded away.
***
Having returned from the inner world to reality, Yeon Sang-hyeon felt the cold wind and smiled.
‘As for the two new Supreme Councilors… I will watch them a little longer for now.’
He had already grasped who they were.
It was useless even if they altered their voices, used shadows as substitutes, and never spoke of personal matters.
There were secret guidelines they followed in order to conceal their identities.
But could they ever imagine that those very guidelines had been written by the young Yeon Sang-hyeon, who had assisted his father with his duties in the past?
On top of that, there were subtle speech habits, reactions when provoked, reactions when past events were mentioned, the sources of phrases they frequently used or quoted, and so on.
So long as he had just one or two proper chances to converse with them, it was enough.
Moreover, the current him was a successor of The Ruler Of Darkness.
If he sampled even a few memories from the vengeful spirits who bore grudges against them, he could learn not only their identities, but even the secrets they wished to hide.
The complete list of members of the Supreme Executive Council, one of the greatest secrets in the Luoyang Sword Clan, was already in his head.
“Yahoo! Run, run!”
“F-First Young Master, it is dangerous!”
He was so excited that he could hardly contain himself.
Now, there were no constraints or limits upon him.
The things the past Yeon Sang-hyeon had done out of goodwill were meeting the things the present Yeon Sang-hyeon was doing out of malice, and together they were bearing fruit.
From far away, the southeast wind was beginning to blow.
***
Every piece was piling up according to his intentions.
Until all those pieces had been stacked, no one would know the full picture.
No one except Yeon Sang-hyeon himself.