You’ll find out soon enough. (5)
Ga Eonseong, the Director of the Ministry of Revenue, his face taut with tension, cast a sidelong glance at the man seated in the place of honor.
Chief Eunuch.
A rank bestowed only upon one who had risen to the very pinnacle among the countless eunuchs of the Imperial Palace.
But the reason Ga Eonseong could not bring himself to meet the other man’s eyes was by no means simply because he held the office of Chief Eunuch.
Even if the man before him had been nothing more than an ordinary palace eunuch instead of a Chief Eunuch, Ga Eonseong would still not have dared look him straight in the eye.
“To receive you in such a shabby place… I am deeply ashamed, Chief Eunuch.”
Click.
Do Hyeon opened the lid of the teacup set before him and took a sip without a care.
A brisk, sweeping motion that did not violate the rules of tea ceremony [다도(茶道)], yet somehow looked strangely bold. It was not difficult to tell what sort of man sat before him from that motion alone.
“Shabby…….”
Do Hyeon glanced around the room and chuckled in amusement. A room decorated with every manner of luxury. It was not a place to which the word ‘shabby’ could have been applied even as a joke.
“You’ve become quite bold in the meantime, to be spouting such impertinent words.”
Ga Eonseong’s head immediately snapped downward.
“I apologize. That wasn’t what I meant…”
“Enough.”
Do Hyeon waved his hand dismissively.
“When all you see around you is filth anyway, a bucketful of manure dumped over your own body is hardly enough to bother a man.”
Do Hyeon’s gaze bored into Ga Eonseong.
“How is it? How does it feel to smear yourself in filth and wallow in it? It doesn’t seem to be as unpleasant as you imagined.”
When Ga Eonseong saw the twisted smile playing at Do Hyeon’s lips, his back grew damp with cold sweat.
“I-I am merely… carrying out the Chief Eunuch’s orders.”
“That is a good answer.”
Do Hyeon nodded in approval.
“What I want is neither an incorruptible man nor a corrupt one. I want someone who does his job well. If you carry out whatever task I entrust to you without fail, the wealth and status you enjoy now will be passed down to your children.”
“I will carve your words into my bones, Chief Eunuch.”
Ga Eonseong once again lowered his head deeply.
There was nothing particularly unusual about what he was doing now. There were more than a few people who used their relatives to carry out deeds that officials were forbidden to do.
Even if the money Ga Eonseong earned through the merchant guild was enough to rank among the greatest fortunes in Beijing, that was merely a difference in business acumen. It did not mean the extent of his corruption was especially severe.
But Ga Eonseong knew.
Even something that was not a problem as long as no one made an issue of it could become a problem at any time if someone tried to make one of it. And the Chief Eunuch was someone capable of creating such problems.
If the Chief Eunuch so much as wished it, by tomorrow the head of the Director of the Ministry of Revenue could be separated from his body and hung in the marketplace. Against such a person, all Ga Eonseong could do was prostrate himself and beg for mercy.
Anyone who had once set foot in filth could never escape the Chief Eunuch’s clutches. That was the source of his power to rule Beijing.
Ga Eonseong, the Director of the Ministry of Revenue, bowed to Do Hyeon once more as though in worship.
⠀
“….Can you hear them?”
“I can’t hear very well….”
“Shouldn’t we get a little closer?”
“He is a master, you know… What if he notices us?”
“We can’t just stand here watching. If you’ve drawn your sword, you have to cut something – even if it’s only a radish.”
“I’m telling you, at this rate our swords are going to break trying to cut radishes.”
On a dark night, the disciples of Hwasan lay in a neat row atop the high eaves, bickering among themselves.
“No, seriously, are we just going to sit here and watch? If that’s all we’re going to do, why did we even come out?”
“I didn’t know he was a master. But Chung Myung says he is.”
Baek Cheon gazed at the distant sky.
The moon, half veiled by clouds, was, well….
‘It’s goddamn beautiful.’
Maybe that was why he kept feeling like he was about to cry…
“So what are we supposed to do, Sasuk?”
Baek Cheon clenched his teeth and snapped at them coldly.
“Why are you asking? Get closer.”
“B-But what if they notice us?”
“Then we’ll become the assassins who tried to murder the Chief Eunuch.”
“Wouldn’t that be bad?”
“You know what would really be bad? If we stay here, we’ll become idiots who went out for a moonlit stroll across the eaves wearing masks and got nothing out of it. Would that be better?”
“Let’s go. We’ll get right up close.”
“….Yeah. I’m glad you understand.”
The disciples of Hwasan clenched their teeth and leaped onto the eaves of the building where the Chief Eunuch was.
⠀
“And the task I entrusted to you?”
“I am doing my utmost. However…”
“However?”
When Do Hyeon lowered his teacup, the startled Ga Eonseong swallowed hard.
“A-As you know, Chief Eunuch, this is something that must be handled in the utmost secrecy, so we haven’t yet reached the point we were aiming for…”
Clack.
Do Hyeon set his teacup down on the tea table and smiled faintly.
“Now then, Director of the Ministry of Revenue.”
“Y-Yes. Yes, Chief Eunuch!”
Ga Eonseong repeatedly bowed his head, cold sweat running down his face.
“Your words are true: this matter must be kept absolutely confidential. Then… Why do you think I went out of my way to entrust such a task to you?”
“…”
“Because you’re so capable?”
While Do Hyeon showed a pleasant smile, Ga Eonseong could not bring himself to answer and wiped the sweat from his brow.
“Of course not. The reason is simple.”
Do Hyeon stared silently at Ga Eonseong before continuing.
“Because you’re someone I can sacrifice if this becomes a problem.”
“…”
“Isn’t that right?”
“Ch-Chief Eunuch. But……”
“Nominally, the owner of this merchant guild isn’t you but your younger brother. So even if this becomes a problem, you and your children will be safe. At worst, your brother will merely suffer a little hardship, won’t he?”
Suffer a little hardship. Could that really be described as mere ‘suffering’ [고초(苦楚)]? He would be tortured until his body was broken, have all his possessions confiscated, and be dragged away to become a government slave. Even that was the best-case scenario.
As long as the Chief Eunuch remained in power, things might be restored someday, but by then, there was no guarantee that his younger brother would still be alive. And yet…
“Why is that?”
Do Hyeon smiled lightly, as though it were nothing of consequence.
“After all, didn’t you entrust the merchant guild to your younger brother in preparation for a time like this? Or would you rather reject my proposal even now and protect your brother instead?”
Ga Eonseong swallowed dryly and forced an awkward smile.
“I, too, am a servant of the state. How could I cling to a personal relationship and try to ruin the greater cause?”
“…”
“I am merely following the Chief Eunuch’s wishes.”
Chief Eunuch Do Hyeon chuckled at those words.
“Indeed, what a fine official.”
“You speak the truth, Chief Eunuch.”
Open contempt flickered across Do Hyeon’s face. But Ga Eonseong did not care in the slightest. Serving in the Imperial Palace was like laying one’s neck upon a blade and going to sleep. Those who could not endure even this much would never survive Beijing’s bitter winds.
Do Hyeon nodded slowly.
“This will help you as well. No, it may not merely help you – it may even save your life.”
Having discarded his mocking tone, Do Hyeon continued in a stiff voice.
“Hurry. I don’t care if it involves a little risk. This is not something we can afford to delay.”
“I will bear it in mind, Chief Eunuch.”
“So, for now…”
That was when it happened.
The Chief Eunuch stopped speaking and closed his mouth. Then he slightly raised his head and looked upward.
“…Chief Eunuch?”
“Well, well….”
A cold, sinister smile spread across Do Hyeon’s lips.
“Those little rats.”
Fwoosh!
The teacup in Do Hyeon’s hand shot upward, punching straight through the ceiling.
“Whoa!”
At the same time, someone’s startled cry rang out loudly. Having realized that someone had been eavesdropping on their conversation, Ga Eonseong turned pale and sprang to his feet.
“Ch-Chief Eunuch. I…”
“There’s no need to make such a fuss.”
Several figures rapidly vanished into the distance. Chief Eunuch Do Hyeon’s face hardened coldly.
“Bring them to me.”
“Yes, Chief Eunuch.”
No sooner had Do Hyeon spoken than an answer came from empty air, followed by a fierce gust of wind that swept through the room.
As Ga Eonseong, the only one who did not understand what was happening, stood there helplessly, a composed voice reached his ear.
“Sit down. We still have things to discuss.”
“B-But, Chief Eunuch! If this becomes known, even you…”
“Sit down.”
“…”
With his face now completely damp with sweat, Ga Eonseong sat down, trembling. Do Hyeon then shook his head and slowly drank the tea, which had cooled down.
“When you deal with sweet things, you have to accept the bugs swarming in.”
“…”
“Don’t worry. The Eastern Depot is not so easygoing that it would let those who dared meddle in my affairs walk away alive.”
Ga Eonseong nodded at those words.
How could he not know of the Eastern Depot’s infamous reputation? Had they not been discovered, perhaps things would have been different, but now that they had been exposed, there was no path of survival left for them.
“However.”
“….Yes?”
Do Hyeon lightly swirled the teacup in his hand.
“Even if we deal with them, the fact that bugs have been drawn here won’t change. If this continues, even more bugs will begin to swarm.”
“…”
“Let’s move the plan forward a little.”
Do Hyeon’s eyes grew cold.
“So that no one can interfere.”
❀ ❀ ❀
“Aaaaaah! I told you we shouldn’t get any closer!”
“Shut up and run, you idiot!”
“Argh! I’m seriously going to lose it!”
The disciples of Hwasan raced madly through the night streets of Beijing.
“W-What the…!”
“Robbers! Robbers!”
And thanks to them, Beijing’s night streets began descending into chaos.
Why wouldn’t they? Anyone could see a group of broad-shouldered men wearing masks and racing through the streets.
It was a sight rarely seen anywhere, and all the more shocking in the city where the Emperor resided.
“M-Move, I said!”
And Hwasan’s group was in an equally desperate situation.
“What the hell? Why are there so many people! It’s nighttime! Nighttime!”
“Shut up and run!”
“I-I can’t run with all these people… Aaaaaah!”
Jo Geol crashed straight into a tray of food someone was carrying and went rolling across the ground. In the meantime, Chung Myung caught a chicken leg that had shot into the air with one hand, lifted his mask slightly, and began tearing into it.
“You can actually eat at a time like this, you lunatic!”
“They say someone who dies after a good meal has a better complexion even as a ghost.”
“The problem is that you’re about to become a ghost in the first place!”
At that moment, Tang Soso suddenly raised her hand and pointed upward.
“The roof! Jump onto the rooftops! Hurry!”
“Ah! Everyone, get up there!”
The disciples of Hwasan shot upward like bolts of lightning and landed on the roof of a large pavilion.
And at that very moment.
“Dodge!”
Dozens of dark flying daggers came raining at them, slicing through Beijing’s dim night. The disciples of Hwasan reflexively drew their swords and knocked the incoming blades aside.
Clack.
At that moment, dozens of figures landed around them.
“Did you think you could escape? You little rats.”
The pale-faced eunuch at the front tossed the flying dagger in his hand into the air and caught it, flashing them a chilling smile.
“You’d better surrender quietly. Then we’ll make sure the torture doesn’t hurt.”
“….Is that a threat?”
“Seems like it.”
“Nothing ever goes right, seriously.”
Baek Cheon let out a sigh deep enough to sink the ground beneath him.
Special Spinoff Chapter 66 >>>
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Does anyone else get mixed feelings about Do Hyeon? Is he actually a plain villain or is he more of a complex character?
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