Book 13: Chapter 16: Pandemonium

The Luoyang Sword Family's Elders' Hall.

The tea house across from it.

The tea house, which was swarming with Yeon clan members, was now...

As if artillery fire were falling, not a single person was sitting calmly.

"Why on earth is the vote taking so long?"

For some reason.

The time only kept dragging on.

Unable to bear the anxiety, as an elderly Yeon clan member trembled, lest the old man collapse, the young Yeon clan members blurted out whatever came to mind first.

"C-Calm down, Uncle. Couldn't it just take some time?"

"Isn't it because they have to pass the vote of no confidence against the current Bank Director, and then there's even a vote on the appointment of the new Bank Director candidate?"

"Besides, since even the Eldest Young Master has arrived, they might be spending more time on welcoming speeches, acceptance speeches, and the like."

"Yes. So, without a doubt, it is only natural for the time to drag on for such reasons."

"And, besides..."

One young clan member shrugged and chimed in.

"Wasn't the fight already over the moment that bastard of an Eldest Young Master provoked the entire Elders' Hall?"

The man, who exuded an air of nobility befitting a member of the Yeon clan, continued speaking with an utterly nonchalant expression, completely failing to grasp the situation.

"So, Father, don't get so excited—" slap.

From the mouth of the elderly Yeon clan member, who instantly slapped his son's cheek a loud roar burst out.

"You damn fools!"

The elderly Yeon clan member poured out his rage.

"Even if they went through all those procedures formally, it's already past the time it should have finished!"

The elderly Yeon clan member's face flushed red with boiling anger.

"Moreover, of all times, this had to happen after that bastard of an Eldest Young Master entered the Elders' Hall!"

Pointing out the window at the Elders' Hall, the old man emphasized once more.

"That bastard of an Eldest Young Master is inside there! And yet the only thing you fools can say is—!"

As the elderly Yeon clan member raised his hand again, other old men crowded around and held him back.

"Leave it at that...!"

"Surely these children have understood enough by now...!"

While they were holding him back, middle-aged Yeon clan members shouted at the youth.

"You guys shouldn't waste time here talking nonsense either! Go out and grasp the situation!"

The young Yeon clan members bolted out of the tea house as if they had been burned.

"You foolish brat! To think I call someone like that my son...!"

And behind the backs of those young men, shouts of unappeased anger relentlessly followed.

"Tsk, tsk."

Another old man of the Yeon clan, who had been watching the scene with crossed arms, clicked his tongue.

"To think we have to entrust the future of our Yeon clan to those fellows."

"This is all our fault. We raised them too softly."

"Because they are of the Yeon bloodline, those kids have only enjoyed too many privileges since childhood."

Another old man shook his head.

"They lack any sense of crisis that if the Eldest Young Master, who is hostile to us, continues to gain power like this, we might lose all of our current vested interests."

* * *

Outside the tea house.

"That damn old man...!"

Holding his cheek, which had already swollen red after being hit hard by his father, the young Yeon clan member huffed.

"I know, right?"

"I mean, when was it that they were babbling about how it was already over and how that bastard of an Eldest Young Master had played a self-destructive move...!"

"And now that the situation has suddenly changed, they're taking their anger out on us."

As if a fresh wave of anger had surged within him the other young men joined him in venting their complaints.

"Honestly, no matter how much that bastard of an Eldest Young Master runs wild, what more can he do?!"

"Exactly. Even if he does, isn't he just a Swordless One? The one who abandoned the family and made it like this...!"

However their voices swearing at the Eldest Young Master, Yeon So-hyeon, could not grow any louder.

"......"

"......"

It was because countless gazes were pouring over them.

"W-What?!"

"Get out of the way this instant!"

"Do you know who we are?!"

At the shouts of the flustered youths, the crowd moved slightly to make way, but their gazes still did not drift away from the young Yeon clan members.

They were looks filled with discontent.

No matter how prestigious and overbearing the young Yeon clan members were, in this kind of atmosphere they were not so foolish as to pick a fight with an unspecified, massive crowd.

"Step aside!"

"Back off, I said!"

Along with their shouts pushing through the silently glaring eyes, only after taking quite a while to escape the crowd did the young Yeon clan members wipe away their cold sweat.

"...What is going on, seriously. Damn it."

They grumbled, recalling the unpleasant stares from just now.

"Just because we insulted that bastard of an Eldest Young Master, those lowly servants look at us with those kinds of eyes...?"

"It is the end of the world, the end of the world..."

"This is all because of that bastard of an Eldest Young Master. That bastard of an Eldest Young Master is completely ruining the family."

Even as they grumbled, the way they muttered in whispers without daring to raise their voices showed just how small their calibre was.

"But by the way..."

One who was still glancing back repeatedly said, unable to hide his bewilderment.

"When did the crowd gather to this extent?"

At those words everyone turned their heads to look at the crowd.

Even though they had thought the crowd filling the main road this morning was already too large like the Yellow River overflowing during the monsoon rains, it was a situation where the crowd that filled the main road overflowed and boiled over even into the back alleys.

"...Indeed."

In that sight there was something that raised a sense of crisis even in the immature youths of the Yeon clan.

"Aish...! Why is everyone shrinking back like that?!"

Although it was only a momentary feeling, as the young man holding his swollen cheek shouted, they all went in a swarm.

"Today, I'm going to throw a huge party at a new brothel I found, so everyone follow me!"

"...Oh!"

"Nice! Very nice!"

And they ended up flocking to Luoyang's entertainment district, just like any other day.

* * *

"Leave the carriage to me! I'll have them bring the newly arrived carriage for VIP receptions...!"

"Then, I will head down first and prepare...!"

The rooftop of a building near the Elders' Hall.

Far below.

A middle-aged man frowned as he spotted the young men swarming away.

"...Those fellows."

His aide, who had been inconspicuously watching the main road on behalf of the middle-aged man, recognized them.

[They are the children of the Yeon clan families currently under suspicion.] yet in a situation like this, a brothel.

"Tsk."

The middle-aged man clicked his tongue softly and shifted his gaze.

Right now, it was not the time to pay attention to greenhorns who could not even read the situation.

"The crowd is steadily growing."

At his words, the aide replied.

[Yes. Originally, it was only those among the supporters of the Eldest Young Master who gathered by using their off-duty hours or free time during work, but—] in various places along the crowded main road, there were over a dozen luxurious carriages that caught his eye at a glance.

"Now, it is not just that level."

"Those who visited the family for other reasons, and those who worked as liaisons."

His aide chimed in.

[And they say there are even those who came solely to watch the progress of this matter.] the confrontation between the Eldest Young Master and the Elders' Hall.

What was initially regarded as just a sudden eccentric behavior of the Eldest Young Master within the family was now growing uncontrollably, drawing countless attention.

"...Since it is not ending in a simple victory for the Elders' Hall as initially thought, it cannot help but attract curiosity."

Therefore was it not also why he himself, a middle-aged man, came all the way here to personally check the situation?

[...No matter how the conclusion turns out, a massive shock will follow.] the middle-aged man nodded.

"Indeed..."

"If, by any chance, the Eldest Young Master wins—" the middle-aged man did not ask basic questions like how he found out and came all the way here, and only narrowed his eyes, staring at the uninvited guest.

[Lord. Someone is approaching.] along with the aide's warning, someone showed their face at the entrance of the rooftop.

"If the Eldest Young Master wins," he finished the sentence the middle-aged man was just speaking.

"the Eldest Young Master's influence, which has only been rumors until now, will spread far and wide."

"......"

"And at that moment, it will no longer be a presumption that 'the Eldest Young Master holds power'—" cutting off the uninvited guest, the middle-aged man continued.

"it will become actual power."

"Power is not something with a tangible entity; it exists when the majority believes that person possesses it."

The Eldest Young Master defeated the Second Young Master with strength and wisdom.

And this time, if he succeeds in turning even the powerful Elders' Hall of the Luoyang Sword Family upside down it would be equivalent to proving the actual existence of the power the Eldest Young Master possesses.

"Exactly."

Although his words were snatched away the uninvited guest put a cigarette between his lips with an expression showing no displeasure.

"That is why the Department Head of the Fourth Department of Law Enforcement is also watching the progress of the situation like this, avoiding everyone's eyes, is it not?"

Sizzle the uninvited guest, who lit his cigarette with Samadhi True Fire, smiled broadly toward the Department Head of the Fourth Department of Law Enforcement.

"To think someone who did not even attend the Lord of the Law Enforcement Court's meeting due to 'urgent business' is in a place like this?"

The uninvited guest played dumb lightly, scattering smoke.

"Weren't you a loyalist who only looked up to the Lord of the Law Enforcement Court, Department Head?"

At the blatantly sarcastic words of the uninvited guest, the Fourth Department Head's eyebrows twitched.

"You—" ignoring the Fourth Department Head, the uninvited guest grabbed the rooftop railing, looked down at the street, and continued.

"Well."

"Since it is a moment where your own fate depends on where you should line up in the future, you must watch it with your own eyes."

The relaxed attitude of the uninvited guest, acting as if it had nothing to do with him, was irritating.

"...First of all, that is all correct, but" the Fourth Department Head said, glaring at the uninvited guest.

"I do not think those are words to be spoken by you, who already switched sides, abandoning the First Department Head who was like your own biological brother."

He addressed the uninvited guest.

"Sixth Department Head."

The youngest among the Department Heads of the Law Enforcement Court.

The Sixth Department Head, the very person who brought a massive shock to the Law Enforcement Court this morning, wore a bitter smile.

"...The summer sun is hot."

The Sixth Department Head raised his head toward the sky, holding up the hand carrying his cigarette to block the blazing afternoon sun as he spoke.

"In the future, this heat will become even more severe."

Although the Sixth Department Head was suddenly talking about the weather the Department Head understood that it was not a simple talk about the weather.

"And soon, you will stand bare-bodied under that scorching sun. The unbearable heat will drain every single drop of moisture from your body."

"......"

Those words of the Sixth Department Head were also the words the Eldest Young Master had once spoken to the Sixth Department Head himself.

"Where to find the river and the shade... you must know very well by now, Department Head."

"......"

The smoke burning slowly from the Sixth Department Head's hand scattered in the wind.

That summer wind was no longer cool and was even hot.

"...You."

The Department Head, who was lost in thought, opened his mouth toward the Sixth Department Head.

"I remember you were not originally such a political figure. You have changed quite a bit."

To a department head of an investigative institution this evaluation could perhaps be insulting.

"...Is that so?"

But exhaling a deep puff of cigarette smoke, the Sixth Department Head replied calmly as he cast his gaze far away.

"I feel like only now am I 'properly' blending into the Law Enforcement Court, though."

"......"

At those words the Department Head admitted in his heart that the Sixth Department Head was no longer their youngest, and he himself was not in a position to talk to him from a senior's perspective.

"...Which river I will seek, and what shade I will find... will be decided over there."

He walked over to the Sixth Department Head's side, placed his hand on the hot railing, and looked at the Elders' Hall.

"Is that so?"

The Sixth Department Head said, pulling out a cigarette and offering it to the Department Head.

"But you know this, right? The later it is, the less water and shade there will be."

"...I know."

As the Department Head put the Sixth Department Head's cigarette between his lips, the Sixth Department Head lit it for him.

"...You would know."

Feeling the bitter aroma of the cigarette, the Department Head asked the Sixth Department Head.

"What on earth is happening in the Elders' Hall right now?"

The Sixth Department Head smiled and replied.

"Right now, the exact same thing as here is happening."