Upon entering the gates of Wongak Pavilion, the Medicine King spotted 4th Young Master and his followers emerging from the forest path.
“Grandfather Medicine King!”
The 4th Young Master ran up to him with a smile and hugged him.
“Oh my, this child. Acting like a kid when you’re all grown up. You’ll break this old man’s back.”
Contrary to his words, the incredibly vigorous Medicine King effortlessly lifted the 4th Young Master in a warm embrace.
“But are you leaving already? Won’t you stay and play with this old man a bit longer?”
The 4th Young Master sprang out of the Medicine King’s arms.
With an innocent smile, the boy said, “I really wish I could, but suddenly I have so much to do, I’m sorry.”
The Medicine King affectionately stroked the 4th Young Master’s head.
“That’s alright, that’s alright. Then next time, come to see this old man instead of that damn disciple of mine, got it?”The 4th Young Master laughed brightly.
“Ha-ha, Grandfather Medicine King. That’s a boring joke.”
“…It’s not a joke, though.”
The Medicine King muttered, but the 4th Young Master had already reached the gate.
“Then, Grandfather Medicine King! I’ll see you next time!”
The Medicine King laughed heartily, waving his hand in farewell.
He watched as the 4th Young Master and all his followers politely exited through the gate.
“Goodness me.”
He shook his head in disbelief.
“It must be that So-Hyeon scoundrel who’s stirred the winds this time.”
He rubbed the goosebumps that had risen on his forearms.
“Overflowing with ambition, and even the aura of killing intent is brimming. Indeed, you can’t deceive your own blood.”
He began to amble down the forest path again.
“Well, then I should also muster some more strength.”
* * *
The 4th Young Master walked along the dimly lit corridor.
It had been a long time since sunset, but not a single oil lamp could be found in that hallway.
There were no maidservants or housemaids in sight either.
It was a place completely devoid of any signs of life.
If not for the immaculate floor and the ornate interior decorations that barely made themselves visible in the dark, one might mistake it for a ruin.
The 4th Young Master reached the end of the corridor with respectful steps.
“The little one, Bi, has arrived.”
With no warmth in the air, his breath formed a white mist as he spoke.
“Mother.”
Then, from beyond the paper door, a woman’s voice was heard.
“Come in.”
Her voice carried no warmth either.
Normally, a maidservant would naturally open the door, but in the residence of the Grand Consort Tang, there were neither maidservants nor housemaids.
“Then, this child will enter, Mother.”
Stepping inside, the 4th Young Master could feel a chill colder than the north wind outside.
He did not approach further but knelt near the closed door.
“You look lively. Is there good news?”
What appeared as murderous intent to the Medicine King seemed to be vitality to the Grand Consort Tang.
“Yes, Mother. My elder brother has finally decided to settle his heart and end his seclusion.”
There was no answer.
But the 4th Young Master had said all that he wanted to say.
“So, this child also intends to start taking action.”
Still, there was no response.
The 4th Young Master respectfully brought his hands together and waited for his mother’s words.
After a long while, the Grand Consort Tang’s voice came through the darkness.
“…That child, So-Hyeon, has he decided to become the young family head?”
There was a faint surprise and shock in her voice.
The 4th Young Master was surprised to hear this from his mother.
But the boy did not show it and calmly replied.
“Yes, that is so. This child will do his utmost to support my elder brother as the young family head.”
Silence fell again.
The 4th Young Master watched the white breath escaping from his lips as he waited for his mother’s words.
“…Can you adequately support him?”
The 4th Young Master smirked bitterly.
“My eldest brother is like a mythical bird, something even a mere little one like me, a water-rail1, is well aware of…”
His mother, the Grand Consort Tang, interrupted his words.
“That’s not what I mean, Bi–a (‘little jade’).”
Bi-a was his childhood name.
He bowed deeply.
“I will listen attentively to mother’s words.”
His mother asked him,
“Bi-a, do you truly believe that child is so gentle and good beyond compare, that you’ve resolved to become his sword and his poison?”
“You have seen correctly.”
“You have not seen clearly.”
He bowed his head.
“Please enlighten me.”
Those accustomed to his usually charming demeanor would find this sight unfamiliar.
In a space devoid of any light, filled only with cold, their dialogue exchanged in such a detached tone was indeed strange.
Yet, this peculiar scene was their unique way of communication, mother and son.
“Bi-a, your love for your brother overflows so much that you’ve become blind to certain things.”
He quietly waited in the darkness for his mother’s ensuing words.
“So-Hyeon…”
The Grand Consort Tang’s voice, calling out the name Yeon So-Hyeon, was tinged with a faint and complex swirl of emotions.
He, with his limited life experiences, could hardly guess at those feelings.
“That child’s life is a continuous struggle; it’s like the path of Asura, where ‘the road he has walked is already piled with corpses’, and the road he will walk is destined to be a sea of blood.”
He could not comprehend a single word his mother said.
Was the elder brother he knew the same person his mother spoke of?
“Bi-a, that child needs neither a sword nor poison. He himself is already the sharpest blade, the deadliest venom.”
Nevertheless, he tried his best to remember her words.
It was his filial piety, his trust in his mother.
“What that child needs is a solid support to uphold his crumbling, scattered heart.”
As his mother finished, he responded with a deep bow.
“…This son, will deeply engrave and never forget Mother’s words.”
“That will suffice.”
That signaled that his allowed time was nearing its end.
“Then, this son, shall take his leave.”
“Yes, this mother also has urgent business entrusted by the Medicine King.”
The 4th Young Master bowed deeply in the direction from which his mother’s voice had come, with utmost sincerity and respect.
“Be well.”
As her son crossed the threshold, the mother spoke.
“If you aspire to great things, you know you must first govern your own house properly, don’t you?”
It was the anxiety of a mother who felt she had not fully played her role.
A clear smile formed on the 4th Young Master’s lips.
“Do not worry. I have already begun cleaning.”
The voice of Lady Grand Consort Tang echoed again.
“Remember the bloodline you inherit.”
The 4th Young Master bowed deeply in response and retreated.
As his footsteps faded, the mother was left with nothing but silence and cold.
In the empty space, Lady Grand Consort Tang’s soliloquy scattered forlornly.
“…The promise I failed to keep, with my sworn sister So-yu, and with him.”
The lady’s shadow gazed up into the void.
“May you be the one to keep those promises…”
* * *
Somewhere in the underground space of the Luoyang Sword House.
Sitting in a chair and swinging his feet, the 4th Young Master asked,
“How was it meeting my elder brother in person?”
His chief attendant bowed his head in response.
“I realized that everything I had learned and studied about him was meaningless.”
“Is that so?”
The boy wore a pleased smile and spread his hands wide.
“With elder brother ending his seclusion, the position of the family’s young head is essentially his.”
He stood up on the chair and clapped his hands.
“Then, our task is clear.”
The gazes of the subordinates gathered there turned towards him.
The boy grinned, looking down at them.
“The day elder brother ascends as the young head, we will stand closest to him!”
Everyone brought their hands together and shouted in unison.
“Loyalty!”
There was no dissent, no disobedience.
Their voices echoed as a chorus throughout the underground space.
Of course, there were those who could not bring their hands together, who could not respond.
The boy hopped down from his chair and approached one of them.
“…What do you think?”
There was a maiden with her face covered.
Seated in the chair, all tied up, she writhed and cried out something, but her words were muffled by the gag in her mouth, making her unintelligible.
“Yes, yes. You agree with me as well.”
The 4th Young Master himself removed the cloth covering her face.
Revealed was the plump servant girl who had attended to him all day.
With her face smeared with tears and snot, she pleaded with him.
“Eh? What did you say?”
He removed the gag that had been silencing her.
“Master! Master! It’s not me! I am innocent! How could I ever dare to… to you…!”
The 4th Young Master’s delicate finger pressed against her lips.
“It’s alright. I know. You have nothing to worry about.”
His lips covered her plump ones.
Though she did not understand, she responded to him as best as she could.
Their tongues intertwined, saliva following.
When the 4th Young Master pulled away, a silver thread glistened between their lips.
“Heh, how cute.”
He stroked her affectionate face.
“Master. I am…!”
Her eyes widened to the point of bursting.
Blood vessels protruded, and with a popping sound, they burst, tears of blood streaming down.
“Cough…?!”
As she coughed, blood poured from her nose and mouth, staining the boy’s face.
But the boy, unfazed, simply stroked her soft cheek.
Her body trembled uncontrollably, convulsing.
The veins in her entire body stood out starkly, her skin turning a deep purple.
Eventually, her skin melted away emitting a yellowish smoke, her skin bubbled and boiled, and her blackened skeleton underneath was exposed.
Thus, her once full figure collapsed, leaving behind only a puddle of oddly colored blood.
The boy, smelling the foul odor, ordered his subordinates.
“Execute all the spies.”
“Loyalty!”
Before the echo had faded, the necks of those who had been bound to the chairs were severed, and blood spurted forth.
Among them were servants, maids, a steward, and warriors.
As the boy looked around at the scene that had become a sea of blood, he smiled broadly.
“Now that we’ve decided to step forward, we can’t spare these rats.”
Up until now, these were the ones left untouched to avoid unnecessary provocation of the second and third young masters.
He climbed atop the chair where a maid had been seated and declared, “This is a warning to those who have underestimated me.”
Just as his mother had advised, he remembered the lineage coursing through his veins.
“I am the descendant of the cruelest family that once ruled Sichuan with terror, and the legitimate successor of the most renowned family under the great central kingdom.”
It was an awakening, a ritual.
“Now, the Sword House cannot ignore our existence!”
A roaring cheer, a mix of madness and murderous intent, followed.
- A small bird[↩]
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