The Ruler of Darkness

Early morning the next day.

Elder Hall.

Elder Yeom, arriving at the usual time with his usual appearance, entrusted his greatsword at the entrance.

“Be careful, it’s heavy.”

The new warrior smiled reassuringly as he handed over the greatsword, but the moment he received it, his knees buckled.

With veins bulging on his forehead, the trembling novice moved Elder Yeom’s greatsword, while the senior warriors snickered.

It was an initiation ceremony for new warriors assigned to the Elder Hall.

As Elder Yeom watched the scene with a smile, someone called out to him.

“Elder Yeom!”

When he turned around, there stood the elders belonging to the same neutral faction as him.

Many elders lacked talent in internal cultivation, and those who had just arrived were no exception, so they were panting for breath.

“So, is that rumor true?”

“What rumor are you talking about?”

When Elder Yeom answered nonchalantly, one elder tapped his chest as if frustrated.

“The rumor that Elder Yeom made a deal with the Eldest Young Master!”

Elder Yeom felt the eyes of other elders arriving for work slowly gathering on him.

“Ah.”

A deep smile appeared on his lips.

“It’s true. I made a very good deal. Although the price was a bit high.”

If they couldn’t understand that it was about a mission without him explicitly mentioning it, they weren’t qualified to be elders of the Luoyang Sword House.

“Ooh!”

Some expressed admiration, while others nodded their heads.

“Making a deal with that Eldest Young Master at such a sensitive time. Elder Yeom is indeed bold. I envy that youthfulness.”

“I heard the Elderly Young Master has a wide network of connections, and it seems to be true.”

Elder Yeom led them inside.

“Now, now. Wouldn’t it be better to discuss the details as we go in?”

***

Elder Hall, Great Assembly Hall.

Elder Yeom inwardly gave a bitter smile at the piercing gazes directed at him.

The elders from the Second Young Master and Third Young Master factions were openly expressing their displeasure as they looked at him.

He pretended not to notice and slowly turned his head in the opposite direction.

But he could still feel the gazes from that side.

They were from the elders of the Fourth Young Master faction.

Lacking practicality, they had secretly hoped for a new alliance with an elder, and were now glancing at Elder Yeom with longing eyes.

‘Oh my…’

Turning his head again, this time he could see elders from other neutral factions clearing their throats and turning their heads away.

They would have at least exchanged glances on a normal day, but they found Elder Yeom, whose neutrality was being questioned, to be slightly uncomfortable.

Even the elders from the same neutral faction who had been friendly with him until the morning discreetly sat apart, avoiding his eyes.

They had probably expected this, but they might not have anticipated such a dramatic reaction from the other elders.

‘Just the news of making a deal caused this much…’

In the end, Elder Yeom began to review the meeting materials he had already examined several times.

‘If it had been revealed that I had joined under the Eldest Young Master’s banner, I would have been treated as a non-existent person.’

His mouth felt bitter.

***

Break Time.

One of the waiting rooms in the Elder Hall.

As the elders from the same neutral faction made various excuses and left their seats, only Elder Yeom remained in the waiting room.

“Ahem.”

At that moment, an old elder who had confirmed that there was no one else inside approached Elder Yeom and spoke in a low voice.

“Congratulations on the good deal, Elder Yeom. But…”

Elder Yeom nodded his head.

“It would be best to keep a low profile for the time being.”

The old elder sat next to Elder Yeom.

“Everyone is afraid that the emergence of the Eldest Young Master’s faction will disrupt the power balance that has finally stabilized.”

The old elder clicked his tongue.

“Those cowards.”

Elder Yeom smiled bitterly.

“Balance is precious. Isn’t it the secret to maintaining peace?”

The old elder grinned.

“That’s right. Peace is important.”

The gold tooth that replaced a missing one sparkled.

“…Then, I’ll be counting on you.”

“Yes, I’ll see you later at the meeting.”

The old elder disappeared as stealthily as he had entered.

In the empty waiting room, Elder Yeom tucked the small note left by the old elder into his bosom.

***

Late at night.

The entertainment district of Luoyang, where rain was sprinkling.

An old, shabby establishment that operated until dawn.

A disheveled old man wearing a straw raincoat entered.

The attendant, without even checking who had entered, was solely focused on the spring picture book he was looking at.

The old man, not minding the attendant’s attitude, approached him stealthily and whispered.

“…Six tunes of crying in the wind.”

Then, without even looking at his face, the attendant pointed inside.

“Room six.”

As the old man opened the door to room six, a swordsman was inside, playing with a woman.

“Wh-what?! Do you want to die?!”

The swordsman, hurriedly pulling up his pants, thrust his sword forward with a curse, but the old man paid no attention and knocked on the wall in front of him.

Strongly twice, weakly twice, and then strongly once more.

Then, what appeared to be a thick wall slightly opened.

As the old man slipped inside, the secret door returned to being a wall as if it had never existed.

“So, you see, this brother…”

The swordsman, as if nothing had happened just now, slyly turned his gaze and started flirting with the woman again.

The old man, who had entered, realized that he had come out to the outside again.

What seemed like a long corridor was actually a narrow gap between tall buildings.

The woman who had opened the secret door was suffering from a severe sexually transmitted disease, with rashes and pus oozing even on her face.

She raised her trembling hand to indicate the direction, and the old man moved carefully to avoid contact with her in the narrow gap.

Passing through various junk discarded from above, the old man soon spotted an iron door at the end of the alley.

A glint of interest flashed in the old man’s eyes as he examined the iron door.

It was because the building in front of him now was surrounded by other buildings, making it virtually inaccessible through normal means.

As expected, when he knocked on the iron door and conveyed the password, just like before, the iron door opened without much noise.

It meant that it was thoroughly maintained on a regular basis.

The old man entered and closed the iron door.

Then, he smiled at the giant who had opened the iron door for him.

The old man’s gold tooth sparkled.

“The security is very thorough, Elder Yeom. Excellent. Excellent.”

The giant, Elder Yeom, smiled.

“Please come in, Elder Ham.”

The old man was none other than the old elder who had handed the note to Elder Yeom.

“Oh my, the inside is completely different from the outside?”

Unlike the worn-out exterior, the inside of the building was very neat and tidy.

“Well, considering the person who uses it.”

“Indeed, that is true.”

After passing through a short corridor, there was a curtain, and when Elder Yeom drew the curtain, a figure sitting behind a table was revealed.

That figure, who appeared to be a boy at times and a young man at others, greeted Elder Ham.

“Welcome, Elder Ham.”

Elder Ham politely clasped his hands in greeting.

“This humble one greets the Eldest Young Master of the Luoyang Sword House.”

The Eldest Young Master, Yeon So-hyeon, smiled.

“Yes. I heard you wish to make a deal with me?”

***

The old elder jumped up, pleaded, and even got angry at the price Yeon So-hyeon demanded.

However, under Elder Yeom’s mediation, they were able to reach an appropriate agreement.

The old elder, who had paid his respects to Yeon So-hyeon, left the building under Elder Yeom’s guidance.

It was a different path from the one they had come through.

Turning through winding alleys and emerging onto a main road, Elder Ham immediately boarded a waiting carriage.

It was his own carriage, waiting at the location Elder Yeom had informed him of in advance.

Elder Ham, wiping away moisture that was indistinguishable as either rainwater or sweat with a silk handkerchief, spoke.

“Hmm. If I had made a deal with the Elderly Young Master without Elder Yeom, it would have been a big problem.”

If Elder Yeom had not been there from the beginning, there would have been no deal at all.

If not for the person named Elder Yeom, he would never have even dared to dream of making a deal with the Eldest Young Master.

It was the trust built up naturally between elders through repeated dealings within the Elder Hall, and it was a deal made possible by the credibility Elder Yeom had individually accumulated.

His attendant respectfully received the silk handkerchief used by Elder Ham.

“Was the deal satisfactory?”

Elder Ham snorted.

“Of course it should be satisfactory. Considering the price I paid.”

Elder Ham narrowed his eyes.

“Right. Did you investigate those buildings?”

The attendant politely nodded his head.

“Yes. As soon as you went inside, I investigated through a reliable informant, but nothing came up.”

Elder Ham narrowed his eyes.

“Thorough, indeed. They are worth the high price. I really like it.”

“I am delighted to hear that you are satisfied.”

Thinking about the high price he had to pay made his stomach churn, but what could he do?

When a high price is paid to a suitable person, it is bound to be worth that much.

‘That’s right. Maintaining my elder position is the priority for now.’

The carriage soon disappeared into the rain.

***

Elder Yeom and Yeon So-hyeon clinked their wine cups together.

“Just today, one elder and two top-level figures. Congratulations, Elder Yeom.”

Yeon So-hyeon drained his cup.

Elder Yeom fiddled with his cup and gave a bitter smile.

“I thought I would be isolated from the Council of Elders as it was, but now I have far more ‘friends’ than before. This is all thanks to you, Eldest Young Master.”

Elder Yeom raised his cup high towards Yeon So-hyeon, then downed it in one go.

The memory of the day he visited Wonkakjeong came to his mind.

***

“Eldest Young Master.”

Looking up from a book in his office, Yeon So-hyeon raised an eyebrow.

“Elder Yeom. Didn’t we already say our farewells earlier?”

Elder Yeom held out the greatsword he had brought in his hand to Yeon So-hyeon.

With the hilt facing Yeon So-hyeon.

“…”

Yeon So-hyeon silently looked down at him, kneeling on one knee before him, then opened his mouth.

“You won’t regret it?”

Elder Yeom lowered his head.

“I asked myself.”

“What question?”

Elder Yeom’s voice was resolute and filled with conviction.

“Who is the one I want to serve as the family head in the future? Who is the family head whose orders I want to follow? Who is the family head I want to stand with on the battlefield?”

Elder Yeom raised his head and looked at Yeon So-hyeon.

“That is you, Eldest Young Master Yeon So-hyeon.”

Yeon So-hyeon closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them.

Then he slowly approached, grasped Elder Yeom’s greatsword, and ‘lightly’ lifted it up.

“…?”

Seeing Elder Yeom’s eyes wide open in shock, Yeon So-hyeon responded to his oath.

“Mountain-breaking Sword, Yeom Gwak-chu. Your sword is now mine.”

***

And on that day, the Eldest Young Master who became his lord gave him his first order.

To become the first person to successfully make a deal with the Eldest Young Master Yeon So-hyeon, and to act as a middleman for those who wanted to secretly make deals with the Eldest Young Master.

***

“By the way…”

A jar of wine was quickly emptied.

“It’s beyond imagination. They all pay such a considerable price without any hesitation, as if they’re enchanted…”

At Elder Yeom’s words, Yeon So-hyeon gave a twisted smile.

“They paid the price for their belief that they made a reliable and definite deal.”

Elder Yeom smiled bitterly.

“Everyone has to pay a big price to believe that it’s worth that much.”

When an appropriate price is offered, one considers whether the other party is truly trustworthy.

However, when a high price is paid to a suitable party, for some reason, they trust the deal itself rather than the other party.

Like those who believe that an antique they bought at a high price must be genuine.

“Since when did trust and belief become so shallow…?”

Yeon So-hyeon gave a short answer.

“Since they gained power.”

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