The Return of the Namgoong Clan's Granddaughter-Chapter 173

When Seolhwa returned to the Black Society with the severed heads of the Vulture Twin Ghosts, the situation had already been brought under control.

She had intended to use their deaths to compel surrender, but it turned out to be unnecessary.

While the Black Cloud Gang bound and suppressed the Black Society Leader, the remaining commanders, and their subordinates, Ryeong was confronting Okmyeon Seonsaeng in the Black Society Leader’s chamber.

Seolhwa, hidden from view, observed Okmyeon Seonsaeng’s reactions and issued instructions to Ryeong through sound transmission.

“So, who exactly are you?”

“I am called Okmyeon Seonsaeng.”

“Okmyeon Seonsaeng, is it. Not a nickname befitting the underworld.”

“I-I did not name myself. It was the Black Society bastards who called me that...!”

Okmyeon—jade-faced.

A term used when someone's face is as beautiful as jade.

Within the orthodox sects, Okmyeon was nearly a compliment, typically referring to a man of noble and handsome features.

But this was the underworld.

Here, roughness and brute strength were the ideal. And yet—Okmyeon Seonsaeng?

“A mockery, then.”

“...That is correct.”

“Why stay in a place where you were mocked like that?”

“...Where else was I to go? As long as I could fully use my abilities, I did not care whether it was the black path or the white. Even if all I could do was play the part of a damned strategist.”

“And this is the result?”

Okmyeon Seonsaeng clenched his teeth.

He had never held any deep affection for the Black Society, but he had done everything he could to build power and establish a foundation there.

The group that had barely twenty men when he arrived had grown this large thanks to his efforts...!

“I never expected... to be betrayed like this.”

“You joined the underworld, yet did not expect betrayal. I cannot tell if that is a naive answer or a foolish one.”

“Kuuh...”

“Why do you think the Black Society ended up like this?”

“Because you were strong. And because the Black Society, unaware of the power behind its enemy, rushed in recklessly.”

“Not because a so-called strategist made a spectacle of himself without even securing his own master’s judgment?”

“!”

“If you truly had the abilities of a strategist, would you not have convinced the leader and prevented this disaster?”

“...You are right.”

The fact that he had failed to persuade the Black Society Leader already disqualified him as a strategist.

A strategist who could not earn the trust of his lord could never fulfill his duty.

“What you say... is true. The fall of the Black Society is my fault.”

“No.”

“...?”

“How can a strategist be blamed for the quarrels of the underworld? They are not the sort to follow reasoned counsel in the first place.”

If they were the type to listen, they would not be underworld scum.

“...”

The masked face tilted slightly.

Though he could not see an expression, Okmyeon Seonsaeng felt certain the man was mocking him.

“As you said, the Black Society was weak and foolish. If there is anything to blame you for, it would be for foolishly trying to serve as a strategist in such a place.”

“...Are you mocking me now?”

A low chuckle echoed through the leader’s chamber.

Okmyeon Seonsaeng grimaced faintly.

Ryeong continued speaking.

“I intend to give you a chance.”

“A chance...?”

“Choose. Will you leave the underworld and return to wherever you came from, or will you remain at my side and continue that cursed strategist’s work?”

Okmyeon Seonsaeng opened his mouth, but no answer came immediately.

He had assumed they had kept him alive only to extract intelligence on the faction leaders. But now—what? They wanted him as their strategist?

“You... mean to let me go?”

“Did you think I would kill you?”

“...Of course.”

He had assumed he would be discarded once his usefulness ended.

“Have you ever raped a woman?”

“...No.”

“Ever killed someone without cause?”

“Never.”

“Have you ever sold people for profit?”

“I loathe such practices.”

Could it be—was she testing him for such things?

The more Seolhwa questioned him, the darker Okmyeon Seonsaeng’s expression became.

But the conclusion was different from what he had feared.

“That is why you are being spared.”

“...For something as small as that?”

Surely anyone would—

‘Ah.’

This is the underworld. Even those Vulture Twin Ghosts had taken pleasure in two out of those three crimes.

Even the Black Society Leader, who had relied heavily on them, never tried to stop them.

‘Then this person... does not tolerate any of those three things?’

And yet she leads an underworld faction?

Okmyeon Seonsaeng glanced at Ryeong with disbelief.

‘That mask makes it impossible to read his expression.’

“...May I ask just one thing?”

Ryeong nodded.

“What... are you trying to do? Why are you gathering power from the factions, and why would you keep someone like me at your side?”

“Who knows? Are we not still strangers, too unfamiliar for such personal questions?”

“...!”

A remark aimed squarely at the orthodox energy Okmyeon Seonsaeng had been hiding.

He quickly averted his gaze.

Whatever it was he was hiding, it seemed he had no intention of revealing his true identity.

– Milady, do you truly intend to keep someone like him close?

Ryeong asked Seolhwa.

– All the more reason to keep him close. Not until I know why someone with orthodox internal energy ended up in the underworld.

– But will he stay?

– He remained in the Black Society despite being mocked. I doubt he has anywhere else to go.

Judging by the way he spoke, his mind was sharp.

Someone of unknown origins with exceptional potential—better to keep such a person under watch.

– Tell him.

Ryeong relayed Seolhwa’s message to Okmyeon Seonsaeng.

“If you decide to leave, I will not stop you. But I promise you one thing.”

Okmyeon Seonsaeng looked up at her, his gaze unsteady.

“If you stay by my side, you will one day be known as a remarkable strategist.”

****

Okmyeon Seonsaeng did not leave. Instead, he compiled his assessments of everyone affiliated with the Black Society.

His standard of judgment was the three questions Seolhwa had posed to him.

Seolhwa, with Ryeong, reviewed his reports and decided the fate of the Black Society’s members.

Among the survivors, few were as brutal and callous with life as the Vulture Twin Ghosts. As a result, most of the Black Society members survived.

Even the Black Society Leader was spared.

He had met all three standards, and in the end, someone was needed to lead the Black Society.

Seolhwa returned them to their base and ordered that they report to her once every seven days.

Knock knock. A sound came from the door.

The Black Cloud Gang Leader entered shortly after and offered a martial greeting toward Ryeong.

But his true greeting was directed past Ryeong—to the one behind the thin screen.

“What is it?”

“Milady. We have found the person you spoke of.”

“!”

“Okmyeon Seonsaeng had information regarding the person’s whereabouts. It seems to match our own investigation, so I’ve come to report it to you.”

Creeeak. The door opened, and Seolhwa emerged from behind the screen. Ryeong quietly stood to give her space.

The Black Cloud Gang Leader handed her a scroll.

“It is highly likely they are here.”

Seolhwa untied the string and read the contents.

Inside was a simple map, hand-drawn.

At the top, the words were written: Hunan Province, Changsha.

It was the location of Dongting Lake, the largest freshwater lake in the Central Plains—a brilliant city built around four rivers branching from the Yangtze, with bustling crowds and constant traffic.

One part of the map had been marked in red.

Over that red marking was written the name: Haomun.

“That is where the Haomun Leader is presumed to be.”

Rather than pinpointing a single building, the red mark indicated a specific district within Changsha.

“I apologize for not finding more precise details.”

“This is more than enough.”

The fact that they had uncovered this much was already impressive.

Six months ago, she had asked the Black Cloud Gang Leader to search for someone. Since then, she had waited without much expectation.

She had hoped he would find her, but the Haomun Leader was not someone easily found.

‘Had we waited even a few more years, it would have been impossible.’

Once Haomun expanded in influence, the leader would erase all traces of herself.

Now, with their power still modest, such a search was barely feasible.

“You ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) have done well.”

The Black Cloud Gang Leader left after making his report.

Seolhwa returned her gaze to the marked region on the map. The Imoogi slithered out from her sleeve and looked over the map with her.

[You intend to go yourself?]

– Yes.

[If it warrants this much of your concern, then Haomun must be a considerable underworld force.]

Perhaps because it had lived secluded from the world for so long, the Imoogi did not know of Haomun.

Seolhwa smiled softly and brushed her fingers over the Imoogi’s small head.

Back when she first touched it, it had been offended by the gesture. But now, it rubbed up against her on its own and no longer got angry when she stroked its head.

– Haomun is an organization formed by the lowest rungs of society: courtesans, pickpockets, thieves, coachmen, and servants.

[Courtesans and pickpockets? Are the members trained in martial arts?]

– People who struggle just to survive each day have no time to learn martial arts.

[Then?]

– There are things only those at the very bottom can do.

Seolhwa tapped the red-marked district on the map.

– Information.

[They deal in information?]

– No one pays attention to the lowest class. To most people, they are just part of the scenery—like pebbles on the roadside. Who would watch their tongue in front of a pebble?

Servants overhear what drunk patrons say at inns. Courtesans listen to the careless words of intoxicated men.

– Pickpockets, thieves, coachmen—same thing. They read the mood of the world through unguarded words and actions.

[Hooh.]

– You know what happens when enough of that small, trivial information is gathered?

[Of course.]

Seolhwa withdrew her finger from the map and spread her hand over it.

– You gain the ability to read the world.

The power to grasp and shake the world.

That power is born from information.

It is the very reason why even the greatest orthodox sects could not ignore the Beggar’s Union, founded by beggars.

Though its reach was still small now, Haomun would, in a few years’ time, surpass the Beggar’s Union as an intelligence network.

– That is why I place such importance on Haomun.