The Ruler of Darkness

Book 1: Chapter 20

What could two sisters facing each other for the first time in nearly a decade talk about?

Nevertheless, what was certain that these sisters were far from exemplary.

“Sister, my master is completely different from the person you described.”

Jung-ah’s words were like a sharp, dry northern winds.

“……Is that so?”

There was no display of emotions from the woman sitting across from her.

“You know as well as I do. The Luoyang Sword House’ state of politics is in complete chaos right now, with the heirs’ powers growing increasingly powerful, along with those who blatantly supportting them.”

Her remaining eye stared intently at Jung-ah.

“Many people think that the influence of the passive family head has ended. Even rumors that were once dismissed as conspiracies, such as the theory of poisoning the family head, are resurfacing among our people.”

Jung-ah showed no reaction to the word ‘poison theory,’ and scoffed quietly, “It’s all bullsh*t.” The woman, who had been watching Jung-ah’s reaction, shrugged her shoulders. “……Seems like you still can’t gain the trust of the Grand young master.”

Jung-ah was not naive enough to fall for such an obvious provocation. Whether her sister was saying this out of her own certainty, or trying to gain confirmation through Jung-ah, it didn’t matter. After all, her sister’s goal must have been to dig up some sort of secret about the inner workings of the household.

Jung-ah put her tea cup down on the table. “Wasn’t the question of whether I had earned his trust irrelevant from the beginning?”

Reading the intention behind the provocation, the other woman simply lifted her teacup with an unfazed expression. “True. The main topic was the claim that the current chaotic state of Luoyang, the family considered the best under heaven, is entirely the Grand young master’s responsibility.”

With that, she calmly jabbed at the most sensitive part of Yeon So-Hyeon’s side.

“The Grand young master is only a young master. He is not a full-fledged representative of the family who fully carries out the duties of the head, so blaming everything on my master……”

Her sister cut her off, a sneer playing on her lips. “He’s still not the representative head, is he?”

Though it was phrased as a question, it was a question that needed no answer.

“…….”

Jung-ah fell silent, her gaze thinning.

“…….”

Her sister on the other side also slightly raised her chin, sending a sharp look. While Jung-ah exhibited calm and innate intuition, dressed in fancy clothes that highlighted her delicate beauty, her sister, Se-ah, on the other hand boasted coldness and thoroughness, with rugged, wild beauty cloaked in restrained attire.

“……I was stunned when I heard that you switched your affiliation to Won Pavilion yesterday.”

At the word ‘yesterday,’ Jung-ah swallowed her contemplation silently.

It meant that her sister had accessed information about her at a speed comparable to the followers of the Second and Third young masters.

“I don’t know what calculations you’ve made to entrust yourself to the Grand young master. And you won’t tell me, an outsider, your reasons either.”

Her sister, Se-ah, didn’t have the talent to handle qi. She was just a figure who had built her own independent information organization in the vast city of Luoyang.

She pulled out a pipe and took a small sigh, “To think you’d choose that ‘Swordless One’. What on earth are you……”

Her words were cut off.

“Don’t mention that title.”

“…….!”

Se-ah looked at Jung-ah in slight surprise. For the first time, a strong emotion was very clearly visible on Jung-ah’s face. The steam rising from the two cups of tea they had in front of them refracted the sunlight coming in through the window.

“……I’m sorry.”

Jung-ah silently accepted Se-ah’s apology with a slight bow of her head.

“Hmmm.”

A slight look of exhaustion crossed Se-ah’s face. It was due to the emotional strain. No one would think they were sisters meeting face to face for the first time in ten years.

“As someone working in intelligence field myself, I do know that the Grand young master is not an ordinary person,” she said with a slight chuckle, lighting her pipe and blowing a long stream of smoke towards the ceiling. “But the situation has already tilted to an irretrievable point. It’s been ten years since he lived in seclusion.”

Her gaze turned towards the sunlight coming in through the window.

“His rivals have gained tremendous power during that time. What can the Grand young master do now?”

“You’ll have to wait and see,” Jung-ah returned with a calm demeanor, simply enjoying her tea. She was hiding her surprise within.

At the guest house of the Luoyang  Sword House, there were fine tea leaves to be seen.

The diverse and beautiful tea utensils.

A location that allowed one to gaze the streets from the center of Luoyang’s commercial district.

A heavy and calmly decorated interior.

A reputation that could be heard even within the Luoyang Sword House.

All these were the great achievements that her elder sister had built from her bare hands.

‘My sister is truly amazing.’

Then, Jung-ah’s ‘eyes’ let off a strange glow.

“…Sister. It seems like something’s happening from the first floor.”

“Hmm?”

At that moment, the door swung open and Se-ah’s retainer came rushing in.

“Madam! It’s the Black Bone gang! They suddenly stormed in!”

Se-ah rose from her seat.

“How dare you open the door so abruptly when we have a guest?!”

“I’m, I’m sorry.”

Se-ah, with a nonchalant expression, brandished her smoking pipe at her retainer. “Alright, report.”

“Unarmed, about forty in number, no martial artists detected. They barged in without any warning, started destroying property and causing a ruckus. There are no fatalities on either side, we are preventing them from advancing to the upper floors!”

Jung-ah did not miss the twitch of Se-ah’s calm brow.

“Alright, report if the situation changes.”

“Yes!”

The retainer quickly retreated.

The moment the door closed, Jung-ah opened her mouth, “The situation is not good.”

Se-ah grimaced and nodded.

“It’s fortunate that they are unarmed, but the martial artists who could be called our main force are temporarily absent. Even my personal guards are missing.”

At these words, a shocked look crossed Jung-ah’s face.

“What happened that even your personal guards are……”

There was no one to answer her. Jung-ah shook her head and asked again, “How long do we need to hold out?”

Se-ah bit heavily on her pipe.

“At most fifteen minutes. By then, the safety measures I have arranged will come into play.”

Jung-ah nodded. “With that much time, it should be enough time for us.”

At those words, Se-ah’s eyes widened.

“What are you talking about? You……?”

At that moment, Jung-ah pulled her towards the window.

Smash!

At the same time, the windows shattered, revealing men in black clothing.

Jung-ah quickly assessed them. Judging by the black skull tattoos all over their bodies, they were clearly elite members of the Black Bone faction.

But they were not martial artists.

“Isn’t this the beautiful Mistress of the Crescent Moon Pavilion!” The man at the front of the four stretched his arms out wide and shouted.

“Wow, you’re even more beautiful than I heard. Let’s have a hug!”

At those words, Se-ah chuckled with her pipe in her mouth. “Attacking a neutral intelligence organization in broad daylight, you guys have no shame.”

No matter how lawless the Black Bone faction was, there were limits.

Touching a neutral intelligence organization protected by various interest groups was essentially suicidal for a gang of the Black Bone’s size.

“If you’re going to complain, then complain, we don’t know any of that complicated stuff…….”

The men behind him moved closer. “We’d like it if you quietly let us tie you up, but I doubt you’ll cooperate that easily, will you?”

Se-ah’s gaze turned icy.

“Just try laying a hand on me. I, the Mistress of the Crescent Moon Pavilion, will remember all your faces.”

At those words, the men hesitated slightly.

Her icy demeanor was one thing, but the implications of her words were particularly chilling.

“Hmph.”

However, the men did not halt their steps.

It was clear they had previously received some form of assurance regarding their compensation.

‘”Seeing as how these guys are unarmed, it’s not the worst thing in the world, but if we’re captured like this, we’ll be on the short end of the stick in future negotiations…….’

Even though the opponents did not seem to intend to take their lives, there was a risk of assault, even robbery.

To be concerned about negotiating power in such a situation was characteristic of Se-ah.

“Listen here,” pointing at Jung-ah, Se-ah addressed the leader of the men. “If even a bit of harm comes to her, it’s going to be the death of us all. You’d do well to remember that.”

The leader of the men shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know who she is either, but if she stays put, she’ll be released without any issues. Our business is only with the present Crescent Moon Pavilion’s owner.”

This was said in recognition that, even if the other woman did not look like an ordinary woman from her dress alone, but had the privilege of the Crescent Moon Pavilion’s owner to stand up for her.

“Now, step back.”

One of the men, in what was considered a polite manner, approached Jung-ah and gestured for her to step back towards the wall. Se-ah gestured to Jung-ah to cooperate, but Jung-ah was not looking at her.

Standing somewhat reservedly, Jung-ah looked extremely composed, as if nothing had happened. With such a leisurely attitude, the words that Jung-ah had said to Se-ah echoed in her mind: “With that much time, it should be enough time for us.”

“Hey, can’t you cooperate?!”

The man took one more step forward.

“…….!”

Jung-ah grabbed one of the man’s fingers and cleanly snapped it.

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Jung-ah’s body dove inside the man’s reach, seizing the broken finger and arm and slamming him onto the ground.

“……Ugh!”

Slammed to the floor with a loud noise, the man felt as if he was choking. Jung-ah’s swinging fist then completely filled the man’s vision, which had seen the sky as yellow.

Thwack!

With that cheerful swing, the man’s consciousness flew away. All of her movements up to that point were precise, natural, and perfect, as if they were drawn in a picture.

“Wha……?”

Everyone present widened their eyes in surprise.

* * *

“Oh, young master. Where on earth have you been?!”

Sweating profusely, the gatekeeper cried out to Yeon So-Hyeon.

“What, are you yelling at me now?”

Yeon So-Hyeon, who had been casually munching on a skewer, turned to look, causing the gatekeeper to shrink back.

“No, it’s not that. That female attendant is walking around alone, and I’m worried……”

Yeon So-Hyeon chuckled.

“Her? Dangerous?”

His response bewildered the gatekeeper.

“What are you saying?”

Yeon So-Hyeon shrugged his shoulders without responding and continued eating his skewer.

* * *

The leader of the men kicked his unconscious subordinate with his foot.

“Stupid bastard!”

The surrounding henchmen snickered as they watched the spectacle. Jung-ah’s move was surprising, but it was still within the realm of self-defense, and it was an unexpected ambush.

Furthermore, thanks to the skill she showed, it clearly revealed that she lacked internal energy and was not a martial artist. Even if a woman not from the martial arts world was trained, there were clear limits.

“Hey, miss. I was going to let this slide because you seem like someone important, but it’s getting harder to do that now?”

The remaining men bypassed the leader and approached Jung-ah.

“It’s not a good idea to act tough when you’re not a martial artist, miss. You should cooperate when we ask nicely.”

Jung-ah offered no reply. Standing firm in front of the menacing men, even in the presence of the elite from the Black Bone Faction, she showed no signs of wavering.

Her pale iris seemed to contain a peculiar golden glow.