Luoyang Sword House.
2nd Young Master’s Faction, Grand Assembly Hall.
A scholar shouted.
“There must have been some secret agreement between the Supreme Clan Head and the Sixteen Clans! Otherwise, the Eldest Young Master’s moves cannot be explained!”
The scholar beside him retorted.
“You fool! If such an agreement existed, how could the Eldest Young Master alone know of its existence and utilize it?!”
“Th-that might be because the Supreme Clan Head favored the Eldest Young Master…!”
Another scholar interjected.
“Have you forgotten that the Supreme Clan Head was the mastermind behind forcing the Eldest Young Master into seclusion?! Moreover, if there had been a clan-to-clan secret agreement in the past, the Supreme Council Meeting would have become the party to that agreement now!”
Some scholar was muttering with his head against the table.“…Was there truly no intention behind the order of visits? What if there’s some hidden meaning in visiting in the order of proximity to the entrance itself? Then…”
An old, wrinkly scholar spat.
“It would be different if it wasn’t a clan-to-clan secret agreement from the start, but person-to-person!”
The scholar who got spit on him flared up.
“You stupid Luoyang-born bastards! You keep piling on unreasonable assumptions just to defend your own assertions without any logical basis or evidence!”
At those words, the Luoyang-born scholars charged forward in a group.
“You port-born bumpkins with your brains pickled in the stench of the sea…!”
“Why don’t you pack your bags and go back right now to join a pirate gang and plot some plundering?!”
The Jiangnan-born scholars rolled up their sleeves and swarmed in.
“You damn weaklings who’ve gone soft to the bone from indulging in Luoyang’s entertainment, how dare you!”
“Scholars who only fiddle with books are looking down on pirates?! I alone will beat you all to a pulp right now!”
When the atmosphere is good and things are going well, it doesn’t show.
But inherent conflicts in a bad situation are like a detonator that can explode at any time.
“Sigh…”
A few scholars who had hurriedly backed away sighed.
The words they were spouting right now were merely being blurted out thoughtlessly.
In fact, they held no value at all.
Did the scholars not know why?
Even though they had gathered individuals who were supposedly top-notch in this field…
“…When we can’t even properly grasp the situation, what kind of scheme can we possibly discuss?”
It was simply those with hot blood or short tempers going on a rampage out of frustration.
Just then, someone threw a punch, and tables and chairs began toppling over.
Thus, the Grand Assembly Hall was spiraling into uncontrollable chaos.
“Enough!”
A shout imbued with internal energy resonated first, followed by a boom and impact as if a bomb had exploded, shaking the Grand Assembly Hall.
Scholars with weak qi crumpled to the spot, and even those accustomed to the sound of bombardment in Jiangnan felt a chill down their spines.
Everyone’s gaze turned toward the podium.
Elder Hahu, who had punched a massive hole in the wall with a single fist, laughed loudly.
“You all better cool your heads!”
As everyone stared at him with astonishment, he waved his hand.
“Everyone, get out now! Go eat, drink, or jerk off alone – whatever you like to do to clear your head!”
He smiled with the same confident demeanor he had shown at first.
“By the time the next assembly order comes down, our elders will be able to provide you with a proper direction!”
A chief scholar who had been leaning against the wall with his arms crossed early on gave a small nod.
“…A timely intervention.”
Another chief scholar shook his head as he stepped outside with him.
“From the start, the Eldest Young Master’s opening move was one we couldn’t respond to. It was a move utilizing his own overwhelming status.”
“We were only preparing to counter the Eldest Young Master’s scheming, known as divine foresight.”
“We simply started off in the wrong direction from the beginning.”
“Indeed.”
“But still…”
A chief scholar who had been moving silently with them muttered.
“Just how did the Eldest Young Master, who had just ended his seclusion, gain such status?”
There was no answer.
***
2nd Young Master’s Faction, Elder’s Lounge.
“…”
Only smoke billowed from Elder Hahu’s unlit folding fan.
Whether it was cigarettes or pipes, every elder engaged in smoking was merely exhaling smoke from their mouths.
The ashtray placed among them was a work of art carved from crystal, but its original beauty had long vanished, filled with cigarette ashes and snuffed out cigarette butts.
Nevertheless, there was vitality and will in their eyes.
“Let’s go over it from the start again…”
An elder standing by the window to avoid the smoke broke the long silence.
“It seems clear that the Eldest Young Master being a renowned artist is the point of contact with the retired clan heads.”
Several nodded at those words.
“In fact, it was difficult to find any other point of contact from the beginning.”
The supervisor of the Daseollang Guild who had returned after putting out the urgent fire, Elder Ahn, pushed up his glasses.
“The top echelon of the art world is just as exclusive as North Mang Mountain.”
At least the Luoyang Sword House elders gathered here didn’t view art from an artistic perspective.
To most of the Luoyang Sword House elders who prioritized material value, works of art were fundamentally possessions.
They were nothing more than consumer goods, decorations, or investment targets to be purchased and sold as recommended by experts.
Nevertheless, they were well-versed in the art market.
It was the professional expertise required to deal with high-ranking officials they frequently encountered due to their position.
“The former leaders of the Sixteen Clans are practically the elder statesmen of the Central Plains’s art world.”
“It wouldn’t be strange for them to dote on the Eldest Young Master, who occupies an unrivaled position in the art world.”
The Eldest Young Master was known to be skilled not only in poetry, calligraphy, and painting but also in ceramics such as stoneware, woodwork, and bamboo crafts, and even in the domains called miscellaneous arts.
***
Luoyang, North Mang Mountain, Gongsun Clan.
Gongsun Nakang and Yeon So-hyeon.
Judging solely by their ages, the two appeared to be nothing more than a typical grandfather and grandson, but their behavior revealed the reality was different.
“Come, come, hurry this way.”
Dressed lightly, Gongsun Nakang constantly urged Yeon So-hyeon, who was walking leisurely behind.
“You seem to be in a hurry.”
“How can I not be in a hurry?”
Gongsun Nakang’s wrinkle-filled face, which had been vigorously moving his scrawny legs, broke into a wide grin.
“When such a young master has personally graced this old disciple’s residence.”
Chuckling with a wheezing sound, he guided Yeon So-hyeon.
“Exchanging only letters and works through messengers and then meeting the young master in person like this, this old disciple’s heart is pounding so much…!”
“Hahaha.”
From one forked corridor to another.
From one room to yet another room.
The scale of the mansion, consisting of ninety-nine rooms in the annex alone, vividly demonstrated the status the Capital’s Sixteen Clans held in the Central Plains.
“Well then. This is this old man’s humble storage.”
The place they finally reached was a gallery specially designed to store his own works.
A space where sunlight doesn’t directly enter, where lanterns and artworks maintain an appropriate distance, where ventilation is smooth to prevent mold growth, and where humidity is always maintained without much variation.
It was such a perfect art storage that it felt embarrassing to call it a humble storage.
“It’s a splendid place befitting Elder’s splendid works.”
“No, no. This is merely an ordinary storage…”
As Yeon So-hyeon elegantly clapped his hands, the old former clan head vigorously waved his hands, exposing his gums.
“But if it satisfies the young master, the effort put into it was worthwhile. Worthwhile indeed. Hehehe.”
As they stepped inside, the first thing that came into view was Gongsun Nakang’s latest works.
The moment he saw the work, Yeon So-hyeon burst into admiration.
“Oho, this is…?!”
At that pure expression of surprise, Gongsun Nakang’s shoulders seemed to dance.
“What do you think? How is it?”
Yeon So-hyeon’s eyes narrowed.
His sharp gaze dissected the painting, examining it piece by piece.
“…It’s remarkable.”
The work was so outstanding that Yeon So-hyeon expressed his admiration honestly, without embellishment.
“With the birth of this work, Elder has become the founder of a new brush-stroking style that has never existed in the Central Plains.”
It was by no means an empty compliment.
“Is that so?! Even in the young master’s eyes?!”
The awkwardness of the first meeting quickly vanished.
The scene appeared as if a master and disciple who had never seen each other’s faces were beginning a heartwarming exchange like a spring day.
***
Luoyang Sword House, 2nd Young Master’s Faction.
Elder’s Lounge.
“Top-tier works are created by the hands of top-tier officials and only circulate among them.”
Elder Ahn nodded.
“It’s true that the combination of them and the Eldest Young Master is bound to be good from the start.”
“Looking at it that way, their relationship must be as good as it gets.”
Elder Hahu removed the folding fan from his mouth, exhaled a long trail of smoke, and spoke.
“But there’s a reason we had been putting off these speculations from the beginning, isn’t there?”
Indeed.
Everyone solemnly nodded.
“An exchange of art? He crosses the threshold of the Sixteen Clans as if it were his own doorstep just for that reason?”
“It’s nonsense. Even if the former clan heads regard the Eldest Young Master as a master, it’s impossible.”
That was the truth.
No matter how high the personal affection, it didn’t matter.
The height of the Sixteen Clans’ threshold represented not the individual prestige of a retired clan head, but the clan’s prestige and the clan’s status.
Elder Hahu narrowed his eyes.
“Regardless of the reason, the fact that the Eldest Young Master moves so freely in North Mang Mountain means there’s something beyond mere artistic exchange between them.”
Another elder stroked his beard and added.
“And that something must be immense enough to set aside the clan’s prestige.”
***
In the past, Yeon So-hyeon’s childhood.
“Son… Just what on earth did you do and how?”
At his dumbfounded father’s question, young Yeon So-hyeon grinned brightly.
“It wasn’t all that difficult!”
Held in his father’s arms, young Yeon So-hyeon spoke in a melodious voice, as if chirping.
“First, I confirmed the situations the clan heads of the Capital’s Sixteen Clans were in through the confidential information from the Capital in Father’s office!”
Young Yeon So-hyeon shrugged as if it were nothing.
“And I simply informed the clan heads facing problems of solutions to escape those situations!”
***
Luoyang Sword House, 2nd Young Master’s Faction.
Elder’s Lounge.
“Then, similarly this time…”
Elder Hahu’s voice grew heavy.
“It means the Eldest Young Master and those old monsters have something to trade.”
***
“Excellent! Truly excellent!”
Gongsun Nakang laughed loudly, repeatedly slapping his knees.
“With the young master personally providing guidance like this, this old disciple’s skills seem to have improved by leaps and bounds today!”
Time had passed, and Yeon So-hyeon and Gongsun Nakang were sitting face to face in a pavilion where an artificial stream flowed.
“By the way, young master…”
Gongsun Nakang asked Yeon So-hyeon, who was leisurely enjoying the scent of tea.
“I don’t think you crossed the threshold of this clan, trampling it with those ferocious iron wheels, just to provide guidance to this old disciple.”
It was a tone entirely different from the warm atmosphere until now.
“Before reaching this Gongsun Clan, you visited a whopping nine clans.”
The wrinkles filling his face became even more desolate.
His eyes, deeply set as befitting an old man, gleamed like greased glass beads.
“I believe you’ve sufficiently prepared to pay that price.”
The true face of the eunuch who had served the Emperor from the closest position in the past and wielded the most formidable power in the political world of the Central Plains was revealed.
“Of course.”
Across from him, an even brighter smile than before hung on Yeon So-hyeon’s lips.
That smile seemed more alive than any expression Yeon So-hyeon had shown when viewing any amazing work thus far.
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