The Ruler of Darkness

Book 6: Chapter 12

In stark contrast to yesterday’s commotion, the street in front of Wongak Pavilion at dawn was embraced by a deep tranquility.

As the sun rose in the distance, the morning mist scattered the light faintly, and the green leaves peeking between the flagstones drooped, beaded with dew.

The on-duty liaisons who had stayed up all night in the waiting pavilion on the street were dozing off, sitting comfortably at intervals, listening to birdsong.

Some liaisons who had started their day a bit early came out to the street to stretch, finished washing up simply at the well in the pavilion’s courtyard, and gathered absentmindedly in front of the brazier where tea water was boiling, enjoying the warmth.

Even in that relaxed and peaceful atmosphere, the liaisons occasionally glanced at the corner of the waiting area.

“…”

The ones sitting there were the nuns of Emei Sect.

Sitting upright with no hint of drowsiness on their faces, gazing at the main gate of Wongak Pavilion, they had stealthily arrived in the dead of night after last night’s commotion.

The liaisons whispered in low voices, looking at them.

“Seeing them coming back so shamelessly after tucking tail and running away like that yesterday, they’re quite something.”

“I don’t know if I should call it deep discipline or thick-skinned.”

Then, from the mist on the other side, a group of Emei Sect nuns appeared.

It was the shift that had taken a break at the Reception Pavilion’s lodging.

“Any unusual occurrences?”

The head nun’s irritable attitude hadn’t softened even after taking a break.

“Except for three identical-looking maids coming out and heading somewhere about half an hour ago, there’s nothing unusual.”

“Where did they go?”

“That’s…”

The head nun made a displeased expression but didn’t press them further.

The most important thing to them was Daseollang.

“In that case, you all can now return to the lodging to rest…”

The head nun’s words trailed off.

Because figures had appeared at the main gate of Wongak Pavilion.

“Ugh…! I ate way too much for breakfast!”

“My stomach feels a bit bloated…”

“Ah, I just want to go back to bed right now.”

The ones who appeared one by one from the mist were none other than Daseollang.

They looked ready to go out, with a hint of fatigue remaining.

“You girls…!”

The nuns of Emei Sect rapidly approached, but the Daseollang ladies no longer showed any signs of shrinking back.

“Halt.”

A warning as cold as a howling north wind.

“Those without permission cannot approach any further.”

Instead, at the restraint of the special task force member guarding the main gate, the nuns could only stomp their feet, unable to get closer to Daseollang.

“We just want to have a conversation with Daseollang…!”

“Doesn’t matter.”

The aura quietly exuded by these warriors wasn’t violent like Second Miss’s.

“Tsk…!”

But while doing so, there was an eerie side that didn’t allow Emei Sect’s reckless behavior.

“Good morning.”

At Sanggwan Nanhwa’s calm voice as always, the head nun raised her eyes.

“Sanggwan Nanhwa! Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten your position and done something rash behind our backs?”

The tall Daseollang, An Song-gyeong, shrugged her shoulders.

“Something rash? It was all important conversations and decisions related to business.”

“Don’t tell me…! You didn’t make important decisions on your own without even consulting Emei Sect, did you?!”

Sanggwan Nanhwa answered in a gentle tone.

“We, Daseollang, have formally entered into an agreement with the Eldest Young Master of the Luoyang Sword House and will be participating in the joint venture of the Eldest Young Master and 4th Young Master.”

There was no need for Emei Sect to know yet that Daseollang’s ownership had changed.

But even the information Sanggwan Nanhwa revealed now was enough to make the members of Emei Sect jump.

“What do you mean…?!”

The other Daseollang members also chuckled, slightly backing up An Song-gyeong’s provocation.

“Don’t worry. Do you think we would make a decision that would be detrimental to ourselves?”

“If you speak in such a threatening manner, won’t the listeners misunderstand…?”

“Making such an important decision on your own, you girls must have lost your minds!”

The head nun felt dizzy.

“Aren’t you afraid of the consequences of defying Emei Sect?!”

Sanggwan Nanhwa tilted her head.

“How strange. Listening to what you’re saying now, it sounds as if Emei Sect won’t allow us, Daseollang, to expand our business in Luoyang.”

“That’s…!”

For a moment, the head nun was at a loss for words.

“Does Emei Sect not want Daseollang’s expansion in the first place?”

No.

That wasn’t it.

Emei Sect wanted Daseollang, which was growing at a frightening pace, and had no reason to confine that potential to Sichuan.

It was just that.

Due to the tangible and intangible pressure received since setting foot in the Luoyang Sword House, the head nun had made excessive remarks out of a sense of gradually losing control over Daseollang.

“No. That’s not it…”

“Then what is it?”

“This old nun just wants you girls to not do anything rash…”

An Song-gyeong snorted.

“What exactly do you mean by ‘something rash’?”

Because of the outrageous actions Emei Sect had been committing against Daseollang as if breathing until now, they couldn’t even instantly distinguish what was rash and what wasn’t.

“Daseollang, don’t press the head nun too much.”

What saved the cornered head nun was the carriage of Emei Sect that emerged through the mist.

“Everyone, calm down.”

The one who appeared from that carriage was the Deputy Chief Nun.

“It seems the head nun got too excited and made remarks that could only lead to misunderstanding.”

Appearing with a group of administrative nuns, wearing a benevolent expression, the Deputy Chief Nun spoke to Daseollang.

“Our Emei Sect has never had any intention of obstructing Daseollang’s business expansion, neither in the past nor in the future.”

She wore a benevolent expression.

“We just want to take care of you young girls so that you don’t go down the wrong path.”

***

Last night.

“In the end, if we shatter the Eldest Young Master and 4th Young Master’s joint venture, Daseollang becomes a dispensable horse to them.”

At the Grand Preceptor’s words, the Deputy Chief Nun couldn’t hide her shock and said,

“We’re going to interfere with the Eldest Young Master and 4th Young Master’s joint venture?”

Her eyes trembled.

No matter how she thought about it, it couldn’t be more than the equivalent of using an egg to strike a rock.

“Foolish thing!”

The Grand Preceptor burst into a phlegmy laugh at her expression.

“You think we’re the only ones hoping for the Eldest Young Master and 4th Young Master’s joint venture to fail?”

“Ah…!”

“Even if they can’t directly engage in obstruction due to circumstances, if we move on their behalf, there are plenty of people in this Sword House who will roll up their sleeves and help.”

The Grand Preceptor’s eyes narrowed.

“The old man from Diancang Sect I just met is also one of them.”

“I see…!”

The Grand Preceptor was someone who didn’t reveal her thoughts even to those who could be called her hands and feet.

It wasn’t often that the Grand Preceptor kindly explained the situation and intentions like now.

“We just need to borrow the strength of such people and aim for the decisive moment.”

“Indeed…”

At those words, the Deputy Chief Nun nodded but carefully brought up a slightly anxious tone.

“But isn’t it dangerous to get caught in the middle of the power struggle of this huge family?”

The Grand Preceptor laughed at her words.

“This is just a countermeasure to resolve the worst-case scenario.”

“Then…?”

The Grand Preceptor’s eyes glimmered.

“If those Daseollang girls don’t go too far, it will benefit us, who will eventually get our hands on Daseollang, for them to expand into Luoyang.”

It was just as she said.

If Daseollang successfully established itself in Luoyang, it was equivalent to saying that Daseollang would succeed throughout the entire Central Plains.

“So, as soon as the day breaks tomorrow, go find Daseollang, cater to those girls’ whims, and appease them.”

It meant to regain the initiative over Daseollang, stick close to them, and get all the information.

“Only then, if it’s revealed that those girls have pulled a rash move, we can take immediate action, right?”

“…I shall obey your orders.”

“Remember. No matter what happens, you must stick close to those girls.”

The Deputy Chief Nun swallowed her dry saliva at the viscous murderous energy.

“…But if we borrow strength from here and there to interfere with the Eldest Young Master and 4th Young Master’s joint venture, and Daseollang doesn’t make any rash moves, making it unnecessary for us to take action, won’t the situation become difficult?”

“We? Why?”

The Grand Preceptor grinned.

“By then, we will have already returned to Sichuan, no?”

The Deputy Chief Nun’s expression turned dumbfounded.

***

“Make the head nun apologize to these girls!”

At the Deputy Chief Nun’s words, the head nun bowed her head with a stiff expression.

“…Sorry.”

The Deputy Chief Nun, who had glanced at the head nun with a displeased look, smiled gently at Daseollang.

“…The head nun was so concerned about you that she ended up saying too much.”

Sanggwan Nanhwa shook her head.

“No. It’s understandable.”

“Indeed, your magnanimity is great…!”

As she readily accepted the apology, the Deputy Chief Nun brought up a topic in a subtle tone.

“By any chance, can you tell us under what conditions you made a deal with the Sword Houses Eldest Young Master? I saw a scenic tea house while looking around the Sword House yesterday.”

“That’s…”

At those words, Daseollang made a wry smile.

“I guess that’s difficult after all.”

The Deputy Chief Nun waved her hand at their reaction.

“Then…”

From the beginning, she hadn’t even thought that Daseollang would readily disclose the contract terms.

“Could you arrange a meeting between the Grand Preceptor and the Sword Houses Eldest Young Master? If you can just arrange a meeting, we won’t ask anything more of you.”

In exchange for not causing further trouble for Daseollang, arrange a meeting.

The meaning of those words was the intention to directly open a dialogue with the Eldest Young Master, bypassing them.

“Pfft…!”

At those words, laughter finally burst out of An Song-gyeong’s mouth.

Before the nuns of Emei Sect could even show signs of bewilderment, Daseollang burst into laughter one by one.

At their sudden outburst of laughter, the Deputy Chief Nun’s brows furrowed.

“…I don’t know the reason, but it’s a very unpleasant behavior to the other party. Have you forgotten who this old nun is?”

Sanggwan Nanhwa, who had been making a wry smile at her fellow Daseollang’s laughter, shook her head.

“It seems you’re still under a misconception.”

“Misconception…?”

***

Last night.

A warrior asked the former sect leader of Diancang Sect, who was returning to his residence.

“Bringing down the Eldest Young Master and 4th Young Master’s joint venture? Can that old hag really play such a big role?”

At those words, the former sect leader’s eyes widened, and laughter burst from his mouth.

“That old hag, against that devilish Eldest Young Master?”

After laughing for a while, he wiped the tears from his eyes.

“Surely that old hag, being no ordinary person, will have some kind of secret move up her sleeve. But…”

The former sect leader smiled, revealing his yellowed teeth.

“In the first place, what the Lord and the Generals want isn’t for the Eldest Young Master and 4th Young Master’s joint venture to fail.”

***

“Misconception, what do you mean by that?”

At the words of the Deputy Chief Nun, whose face was subtly beginning to show anger, Sanggwan Nanhwa let out a small sigh.

Should she call them arrogant or ignorant of their place?

Her mouth opened.

“Does Emei Sect still think it can control this situation?”

“…We’re not trying to control the situation, we just want to have a conversation.”

The Deputy Chief Nun’s response was delayed due to being hit where it hurt.

“Then why don’t you try to directly seize the opportunity?”

“Directly?”

Puzzlement arose on the Deputy Chief Nun’s face at Sanggwan Nanhwa’s words.

At that moment.

“Everyone, make way and bow your heads! The Eldest Young Master of the main family is passing through!”