The Ruler of Darkness

Elder Yeom, noticing the tired look on the face of the chief warrior, asked him.

“So, how was it?”

The chief warrior collapsed into a chair, shaking his head.

“Oh, I can’t even describe it. We saw extreme punishments that haven’t been seen in the public events of the main family for a while…”

Elder Yeom chuckled with his massive body shaking.

“It seems Elder Hwangbo, who presided over the trial, was in high spirits for the first time in a while.”

“If he gets excited like that again, even the warriors of the main family won’t be able to watch with a sane mind.”

The chief warrior shook his head.

“Right. Such severity is necessary for the effect of making an example. How did the kids you took react?”

“Can’t you tell by how exhausted I am? The novice warriors somehow managed to walk back on their own, but the scholars…”

Elder Yeom laughed heartily.

“Now those scholars will never dare to underestimate the Grand Young Master.”

“That’s for sure,” the chief warrior nodded.

“On the way back, I even heard a rumor saying ‘the Grand Young Master had the Inner Court servants killed because they didn’t pay for his books.'”

He shrugged his shoulders.

“At least from now on, I don’t think we’ll hear those ‘Swordless One’ remarks from the lower ranks anymore.”

Elder Yeom’s eyebrows twitched.

“…Another rumor?”

The chief warrior looked up at Elder Yeom with a puzzled expression.

“With such an incident, it’s only natural that all sorts of rumors would spread, isn’t it?”

Elder Yeom leaned back.

“…I have a strange feeling. It seems like the Grand Young Master’s plot hasn’t ended yet.”

“Plot?”

“Call all the strategists together.”

* * *

Luoyang Sword House, Second Young Master Jin’s quarters.

Main Conference Room.

Young scholars, waiting for the regular meeting, were chatting in small groups.

Naturally, their topic of conversation was about the Grand Young Master.

A scholar with acne on his face started the conversation.

“Hey, did you hear the rumor about the book expenses?”

“Of course, I heard. The Swordless One exploded in anger and used the Inspection Bureau to shake down the Inner Court, right?”

“The Protective Law Division also dispatched two departments. They just wreaked havoc overnight.”

“From morning, a storm of blood swept through the central square.”

“Look at that guy over there. He passed by the central square earlier, and his face is still pale as a ghost.”

“Oh, crazy… What do we even call this? The Book Expense Rage? The Book Expense Massacre?”

Slightly older young scholars were conversing on one side.

“In the end, the Swordless One is a legitimate direct descendant of the main family. It was an expected outcome.”

“Everything happened so fast, our side couldn’t do much.”

“I heard that only those in intelligence roles are dying off. These days, they can’t even leave work on time.”

Elsewhere, scholars nearing middle age were having a conversation.

“But currently, isn’t the Grand Young Master in seclusion on the orders of the Supreme Family Head? Is it alright for him to commit such acts?”

“If there’s an issue, the higher-ups will handle it, won’t they?”

“…Besides, strictly speaking, it doesn’t seem like the Grand Young Master has broken his seclusion.”

“True. This Sword House is his home, after all. What problem could there be?”

“…So, it’s just solving a problem in his own house, that’s the logic?”

Suddenly, the front door of the conference room burst open, silencing the room.

A bearded strategist quickly appeared through the opened front door.

“Everyone! Clear out of this conference room! Now!”

At his command, everyone grumbled in low voices, gathering their belongings.

“Elder strategist.”

“What is it?”

A middle-aged scholar at the front respectfully spoke.

“We were scheduled to have a regular meeting here soon. Is there an emergency?”

“Just now…”

The bearded strategist opened his mouth to respond when strategists began pouring in through the front door.

“What are all of you still doing here? Haven’t you cleared out the conference room yet?!”

A loud voice from one of the strategists made the scholars quickly grab their things and run towards the back door.

“Eek, it’s Chief Strategist Choi…!”

“Strategist Han is here too!”

“Run! Run!”

In an instant, like the tide receding, the conference room emptied.

“Control both the front and back doors! Actually, secure the entire building!”

While the warriors intensified their control, lower-ranking strategists hurriedly organized the conference room, distributing necessary confidential documents and reports to those seated.

“Um, how should I prepare the tea…”

As the steward in charge of the conference room asked, Chief Strategist Choi roared like thunder.

“Didn’t you hear me say we’re securing the building?! All of you, get out of this building right now!”

Chief Strategist Choi slammed the front door shut in front of the steward.

A strategist seated at the back whispered with a snicker to his neighbor.

“That man, after being thoroughly shaken up by the young lord’s incident, seems to be taking out his anger all over town these days.”

“He was already a troublemaker, but now no one can restrain him. I’ve heard that those belonging to his division all want to return to Jiangnan.”

Chief Strategist Choi was fuming with anger.

“Can’t everyone maintain some decorum?!”

His rebuke marked the beginning of the urgent meeting.

A short-statured strategist stood on the dais to lead the proceedings.

“I hope no one here is oblivious to the issues with the Grand Young Master’s actions.”

He held up a document.

“Those who haven’t read Chief Strategist Han Myeong-hwi’s urgent report yet, please review it now.”

Even the faces of those strategists who had been somewhat relaxed now bore a seriousness.

* * *

“What’s the reaction from the Third Young Master’s side?”

One of the strategists responsible for monitoring the Third Young Master’s faction answered from his seat.

“It appears they started an emergency meeting around the same time as us. It’s not just us taking the situation seriously.”

Another strategist spoke up.

“Then we should also look into that rumor about the Grand Young Master and the Fourth Young Master collaborating on a project, shouldn’t we?”

“But all our ears planted in the Fourth Young Master’s faction have been cut off…”

“There are still agents monitoring the Fourth Young Master’s business developments from outside the sword family, aren’t there?”

The strategists glanced furtively at Chief Strategist Choi.

Chief Strategist Choi, trembling, spoke up.

“Don’t look at me like that! Those agents are currently reassigned to tracking the Grand Young Master’s rumors and the Inner Court incident.”

The short-statured strategist nodded.

“We should move past that as those were decisions made during our meetings.”

“The intent is what matters now. We need to consider why the Grand Young Master chose to act now.”

“We also need to analyze why he remained silent until this point.”

“Honestly, what benefit does the Grand Young Master have in entering the succession battle now?”

“Does he even stand a chance?”

“Based on our calculations, the Grand Young Master’s chances of success are practically non-existent.”

“So then…”

“We must intensify the spread of rumors about the Grand Young Master from now on. We need to actively disseminate his notorious ‘Swordless One’ reputation…”

“Such efforts are meaningless, especially after the series of harsh punishments in the central square today.”

“I understand there are newly joined maids in Wongak Pavilion. According to information from the Inner Court, there is a possibility they are behind this…”

“Merely some women’s gossip? After your vacation to Hangzhou, did you leave your brain there?”

“What?!”

A heated debate continued for a while.

The lower-ranking strategists, eager to prove their worth, raised their voices without exception.

Meanwhile, the higher-ranking strategists took note of their discussions, occasionally guiding the direction of the debate, and formulated their own thoughts.

“Chief Strategist Han would like to speak.”

As Han Myeong-hwi stood up, all eyes in the room focused on him.

“All this has happened because the order given to the Grand Young Master by the Supreme Family Head was ‘seclusion,’ an ambiguous form of punishment.”

Chief Strategist Choi, though looking at Han Myeong-hwi with disdain, nodded in agreement.

“I concur. Seclusion isn’t a form of disciplinary action recognized by the Sword House’s legal code.”

Another senior-ranking strategist added his thoughts.

“Initially, interpreting it as a punishment was arbitrary. It was inferred from the fact that ‘seclusion’ was specifically ‘ordered.'”

Han Myeong-hwi continued.

“Therefore, I believe the Grand Young Master is currently ‘testing the waters’.”

“Testing the waters…”

One of the senior-ranking strategists stroked his beard thoughtfully.

“Because seclusion does not have legal constraints, he’s trying out his moves…?”

“More precisely, he intends to expand his scope of action by stepping over the line,” another senior strategist interpreted.

The conference room fell into a moment of silence.

The short-statured strategist tapped on the dais.

“…If that interpretation is correct, the Grand Young Master’s incident in the Inner Court is just the beginning. However, we still need to approach this from various perspectives.”

Han Myeong-hwi shook his head.

“As time passes, we will lose the justification to control the Grand Young Master’s actions.”

Another senior strategist nodded.

“If we start responding now, we might be able to stop him within the sword family. But what if he moves to Luoyang? What if he expands his activities to the entire Henan Province?”

“What justification will we have to stop him when he crosses the Yangtze River?”

“Then shouldn’t we forcibly restrict his activities from the start?”

“Perhaps even strip him of his heir status?”

The conference room buzzed with noise.

Then, a lower-ranking strategist cautiously spoke up.

“…If the Grand Young Master is causing such an uproar, wouldn’t the Supreme Family Head, who ordered his seclusion, personally intervene to stop him?”

The senior strategists suddenly fell silent, their expressions indicating they knew something but chose not to speak.

Every strategist present had clearance to handle confidential matters of the 2nd Young Master, but the secrets of the Luoyang Sword House were another matter entirely.

The junior strategist, sensing he might have touched a nerve, became flustered.

“My apologies…”

Just then, the front door opened, and an elder with a robust physique entered.

All the strategists stood up and paid their respects.

The short-statured strategist descended from the dais to greet him.

“We welcome the elder of the main family.”

The elder raised his hand in acknowledgment and surveyed the room.

“Sorry to intrude. Can everyone except the chief strategists leave? We need to begin the formal meeting.”

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