How far are you willing to go?
“Chief Eunuch Do Hyeon?”
“That is correct.”
Yeon Taeha slowly nodded.
“He is the one who currently holds the Imperial Court in his grasp.”
“Wait, isn’t the Chief Eunuch… a eunuch? A eunuch is the one controlling the entire court?”
As Jo Geol asked in a tone of utter disbelief, Yeon Taeha displayed a peculiar smile.
“A mere eunuch… Well, I am not sure whether such words suit that man.”
“Yes?”
Yeon Taeha wore a bitter smile, as though he found it difficult to explain.
“The power wielded by eunuchs is greater than you all think. Above all, are they not the ones who serve His Majesty most closely?”
“Hmm, that is true, but…”
“And Chief Eunuch Do Hyeon is not the ordinary sort of eunuch you are imagining.”
At those words, Baek Cheon asked with a puzzled expression.
“What do you mean, he is not an ordinary eunuch?”
“Hmm. How should I explain this?”
When Yeon Taeha could not readily come up with an answer, So Jung-gyeong took up the explanation in his stead.
“He is not a man who succeeded because he became a eunuch. Rather, a man destined to succeed became a eunuch. Even if he had been a civil official, or even a military official, his standing would likely have been no different from what it is now.”
Chung Myung immediately understood what those words meant.
“So you mean the man himself is extraordinary.”
“Precisely.”
“Hmm.”
Chung Myung looked at So Jung-gyeong with an intrigued expression.
From the sound of it, although So Jung-gyeong himself had risen to the position of a Great Confucian Scholar [대유(大儒)*], respected throughout the realm, no one had ever said that he alone held the Imperial Court in the palm of his hand.
However, to say that Chief Eunuch Do Hyeon would have enjoyed authority no different from what he possessed now even if he had walked the path of a civil official was, in effect, So Jung-gyeong himself tacitly acknowledging that Do Hyeon was a man greater than he was.
“After entering the palace as a eunuch, he swiftly distinguished himself. And not long after that, he took control of the Eastern Depot**, and now, he has gone beyond the Eastern Depot and seized the entire Imperial Court in his grasp.”
An unmistakable hostility showed in So Jung-gyeong’s voice.
“He has even clouded His Majesty’s judgment…”
“Ah.”
At that moment, Chung Myung firmly cut So Jung-gyeong off.
“That is enough. I have no interest in the power struggle being waged by bookworms and eunuchs, so let us get to the point.”
“…”
Momentarily stunned by being lumped together with eunuchs as ‘bookworms and eunuchs,’ So Jung-gyeong stood there with his mouth hanging open before stammering,
“N-No matter what, to put us on the same level as those scoundrels…”
“No, that is none of our concern. Honestly, you both look the same to us. The only difference is whether they have something hanging down there or not.”
So Jung-gyeong looked at the other disciples of Hwasan with an expression as though he had suffered some terrible injustice, but they, too, subtly avoided his gaze. After all, it was not as though Chung Myung’s words were particularly wrong.
“Good heavens…….”
So Jung-gyeong fell into despair as though the sky itself collapsed. But Chung Myung had no intention of sympathizing with So Jung-gyeong’s sorrow.
“So, in your opinion, that eunuch – Do Hyeon or whatever his name is – is the mastermind behind all this?”
“To put us on the same level as those eunuch bastards…”
“Ahem. That is correct.”
Yeon Taeha took over from So Jung-gyeong, who was still muttering to himself as though he had yet to recover from the shock.
“As I said, there may be many who could bring down the Shandong Yu Family, but in the present Imperial Court, there is only one person capable of keeping the fallen Yu Family continuously in check even now.”
Chung Myung nodded.
“Got it.”
“Hmm?”
“So that bastard is the problem, right?”
“Th-That is correct.”
“So if that bastard is gone, that solves it. What should we do? Infiltrate the place? Take him out without a rat or a bird ever knowing – shhk, shhk…***”
“W-What insane nonsense are you talking about! What is this mad Taoist bastard babbling about right now!”
Yeon Taeha shouted furiously, looking as though he were about to leap out of his seat.
“He is the Chief Eunuch! THE Chief Eunuch! What do you mean, what should we do to someone like that? ‘Shhk, shhk?’ Did you say shhk, shhk?”
“We apologize on his behalf….”
“Sorry. The bucket is leaking pretty heavily these days****.”
Though the other disciples of Hwasan tried their best to smooth things over, Chung Myung still clicked his tongue.
“This is why ordinary people [범인(凡人)] are so hopeless. Making such a fuss over something so trivial.”
Yeon Taeha shook his head, his face drained of color. Then Chung Myung sidled towards him, covered his mouth with one hand, and whispered quietly.
“I only said ‘shhk, shhk’, but I am telling you, we could send him off without leaving a trace. Use an undetectable poison, for instance. Or, if not, block off his acupoint. Just say the word, I am telling you?”
“Get away from me at once! You fiend! Where did someone like you, with neither learning nor morals***** come from!”
At the stream of curses Yeon Taeha spat out, his face flushing red, the disciples of Hwasan smiled with satisfaction.
“Unlearned and without the Way [Tao]. Could there be a harsher insult for a Taoist?”
“But I cannot refute it.”
“I would like to wholeheartedly agree.”
After huffing and puffing for some time and barely managing to calm his anger, Yeon Taeha finally cleared his throat loudly and continued.
“Do not bring up such talk again. That is not the Just Path.”
“Tsk, you’re so rigid.”
“Even if he is a political enemy, such a method can never be tolerated. No, even if it were tolerated, it would still be a problem. The moment one crosses even that minimum line, nothing but ruin remains.”
Chung Myung seemed to agree with those words, for he did not add anything in particular.
“But then what are we supposed to do?”
Baek Cheon asked again, as though he could not understand.
“Even if we can guess who the culprit is, unless we resort to physical means, there is nothing we can do.”
“Should we not first get to the heart of the matter?”
“Yes?”
“What you want is not revenge, but to make a path for this child to enter official service, was it not?”
The disciples of Hwasan nodded. There was no reason for them to avenge the Shandong Yu Family themselves. That was Yu Hanbin’s burden to bear. Whether he chose revenge, or chose to forget the past and move forward.
“But did you not say that he is preventing a descendant of the Yu Family from entering office?”
“That is correct.”
“If we cannot do anything about him, then are negotiations not the only path left?”
“Negotiations? With him?”
So Jung-gyeong firmly shook his head.
“It will be impossible. You do not know Chief Eunuch Do Hyeon, he is the sort of a man who never withdraws a decision once he has made it. He is more persistent than you can imagine.”
“Then there is no way, is there?”
“A way… As I have already said, Do Hyeon is an extraordinary man even if he were not the Chief Eunuch. But the reason he possesses such control now is because he IS the Chief Eunuch.”
So Jung-gyeong spoke with a resolute expression.
“Power cannot last forever. Though he currently enjoys authority that surpasses even his official rank, how could even he be absolute? His power, too, could collapse from the exposure of a single weakness.”
The disciples of Hwasan now listened to So Jung-gyeong’s words as though they finally understood.
“And if he falls from power, there will no longer be anyone to keep a descendant of the Yu Family in check. Should that happen, we will be able to lend our strength.”
“And the method?”
“Recently, some highly unusual events have been unfolding in Beijing.”
“Huh?”
“And we believe they are part of a scheme orchestrated by Do Hyeon. I want you to investigate these incidents. If you can uncover even a single clue that ties Do Hyeon to them, we can take care of the rest.”
Hearing that, Chung Myung chuckled.
“So what you’re saying is that we’re supposed to find the evidence that will bring him down?”
“Mm.”
“It sounds good enough, but that means you intend to use us as your sword, does it not? Why should we get caught up in your power struggle and be used as a borrowed blade to kill someone else******?”
“That is….”
“You had better answer carefully.”
At that moment, a cold light passed through Chung Myung’s eyes.
“For if you cannot give an answer I find convincing, you will have to pay the price.”
Chung Myung’s voice carried a weight that even So Jung-gyeong could not ignore. Yet So Jung-gyeong answered calmly, as though he had nothing to hesitate over.
“To call it using a ‘borrowed blade to kill’ is rather strange.”
“Hmm?”
“This is simply two sides helping one another. Once you have taken in a descendant of the Yu Family, a clash with Do Hyeon is inevitable.”
“There is no certainty that it will come to that, is there?”
“No, it certainly will.”
“Huh?”
Just as Chung Myung, unable to understand So Jung-gyeong’s strangely unwavering certainty, was about to ask again.
“A family that fell without having committed any crime. They pursued what was right, yet were crushed by power and lost those precious lives. Did you not take that child in because you believed that to be wrong?”
No, it was because that madman suddenly said he was going to Shandong.
But no one could bring themselves to say those words aloud.
“As far as I know, Hwasan is a sect that values chivalry above all else. Surely people like you would not simply close your eyes even after learning of such injustice.”
“W-Well, of course.”
“Of course we have to stand and fight!”
The disciples of Hwasan awkwardly exchanged glances. Let us just go with that. It would be better that way.
“That is all well and good, but why do we have to do this? Is Beijing not crawling with scholars? It does not seem like there is any need for us to lend a hand as well.”
At those words, So Jung-gyeong let out a faint laugh.
“What do you think the Eastern Depot is?”
“A place where eunuchs gather to socialize? Somewhere they share tips on how to take care of their nails?”
“…The Eastern Depot is the largest surveillance organization under Heaven.”
“Oh, is that so?”
At Chung Myung’s nonchalant reaction, So Jung-gyeong let out a deep sigh.
“As you said, there are scholars in Beijing as numerous as grains of sand. But not all of them are prepared to risk their lives and stand with us.”
“Hmm.”
“And even if they did have the will to do so, it would be the same. This is not something that can be done with merely ordinary ability. Those who know nothing of martial arts have no means of accomplishing it. Then the people here would have to step forward, but…”
“Everyone connected to Yurim is under the Eastern Depot’s surveillance?”
“That is correct. Which leaves only one method. We have no choice but to seek the help of those whom they would never think to watch. For example…”
So Jung-gyeong looked the disciples of Hwasan straight in the eye as he spoke.
“For example, Taoists who have absolutely no connection to the secular world or to political power.”
“Hmm.”
Baek Cheon nodded, looking as though he finally understood.
“Certainly… If they are Taoists, the Eastern Depot’s surveillance would have no reason to reach them.”
“That is exactly what I mean.”
So Jung-gyeong smiled broadly.
“So let us make a deal with one another. If you help us with a small task, we will grant what you desire. What do you say? Is it not simple?”
“Haha. It is.”
Chung Myung smiled.
“Yes. It’s much cleaner this way than talking about power, justice, and all the rest.”
“I knew we would understand one another.”
“But… Huh? Now that we have laid it all out so neatly? Something about this is a little strange?”
“Hmm?”
So Jung-gyeong looked at Chung Myung as though asking what he meant.
“Strange, you say?”
“Isn’t that strange? Sure, you called it a small task, but by your own admission we’re talking about investigating the most powerful man of the age – the one who’s got the entire Imperial Court in the palm of his hand… and the head of the Eastern Depot, no less. And in return, all you’re offering is to let one kid sit for the civil service examination. You’re not even offering him an official post – just the chance to take the exam?”
As Chung Myung’s eyes grew more and more menacing, So Jung-gyeong clamped his mouth shut.
“You people… Just because we came down from the mountains, do you think we’re some country bumpkins? You call ‘this’ a deal? Huh? They say those ink-stained bastards are worse than bandits, and not a word of that old saying is wrong!”
“T-Then what are we supposed to…?”
“What do you mean by ‘what’? If the terms don’t match, then you adjust them.”
“Hmm?”
Thud!
Still seated, Chung Myung casually propped one foot up on the tea table in the center of the pavilion. Then he tilted his head to one side and looked straight at So Jung-gyeong.
“Well, then. How far are you willing to go?”
“…”
“You make the first offer.”
So Jung-gyeong felt that things were unfolding quite differently from what he had expected.
Special Spinoff Chapter 57 >>>
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*대유(大儒) – master of Confucianism, or (by extension) erudite scholar.
**동창(東廠) – (historical) Eastern Depot – a Ming dynasty spy and secret police agency run by eunuchs.
***Chung Myung saying 슥삭 (seugsag) – which is a sound of slicing like shhk shkk/slice/ssrng/slash or whatever you can imagine for this sound.
****They are saying that the dipper/ladle made out of gourd [바가지] is leaking severely aka his head is unwell.
*****An idiom 不學無術 – to be tactless due to the lack of knowledge; without learning or skills; to be not keen on learning anything. After Yeon Taeha says it they break down the idiom into two parts: 불학무도 into 불학 and 무도. And instead of an idiom they get “without the Tao” part.
******An idiom 借刀殺人 – to borrow a blade to kill someone – to get someone else to do one’s dirty work; to attack someone using the strength of another.
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