Book 19 Chapter 6

Gossip

-Secret Passage

"Gasoline∼"

Ishigan glanced around the room, and Najik whistled. It was easy to see why he usually kept it so tightly locked.

When I first stepped into the room, I was dazzled by the golden glow that shone everywhere, reflecting off the expensive glass lamps outside. The floor, columns, and walls were all paved with a light pinkish marble. I'm not that knowledgeable about stones, but I could instinctively recognize that it was more expensive than pure white. The ornaments and vessels on the marble were almost all of gold, with silver used only to enhance the golden color, and all of them were polished so clean and dust-free that if you held your face up to them, they would reflect your reflection like a mirror. It was a room that nowhere matched the name of the tale, which evoked the purity and cleanliness of midwinter, but one overwhelmed by its golden glow would not have a moment to question it.

But not everything was in place. Alas, one thing was missing. Suddenly, he wondered if he had intentionally decorated it so lavishly to emphasize the empty beams. Ishiguro couldn't help but feel that same emptiness in his heart.

"The beauty is missing!"

Of course, if he wanted to, Qinghong Lu could always supply him with a bargain-basement beauty, but alas, he was running out of time today.

"If I didn't have to work……."

As an afterthought, Ishigan turned the third golden candlestick on the left wall to the right, then went back to the right wall and turned the fourth golden candlestick to the left, then tugged on the string next to the bed.

Grrrrr!

What should have been a bell to summon a clerk was instead the sound of heavy stone being moved, but it was never loud enough. Soon the expensive marble opened up before Ishigaki's eyes, revealing a passage to the basement. After a quick glance around the room to see if he hadn't gotten rid of all his regrets, Ishigan hurried down the passage. This room was the ultimate in demotivating environments, and he feared that if he lingered much longer, he would lose his footing.

"You're putting me on a test!"

If this was a place to test and evaluate the patience and integrity of his subordinates, this golden paradise was the perfect place to do it. He didn't mind, or even enjoy, having prostitutes over for a good time, but he knew how to distinguish between work and play. Failure to do so would never be well-received by the organization. It was embarrassing, and the embarrassment gave him the strength to step forward.

Soon, darkness consumed Ishigan's body.

The passageway was pitch-black with an owl's eye. Even after washing my eyes and scanning the ceiling, I didn't see any of the commonplace (?) expensive glow-in-the-dark liquor that is so often mentioned in stories. It would have been financially untenable to have such expensive items, costing tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of yuan a piece, embedded in such an unremarkable secret passageway, and to have to refill the mysteriously missing glow sticks every time a person passed by, so it made much more sense to have nothing at all.

But there were no torches to illuminate the passageways, and that was just as well, he thought, for in such a confined, unventilated space, with torches hanging every few feet or so, he would have suffocated before he could make it all the way down the passageway. As a last resort, there was a long rope hanging from the left wall, about a man's waist high. It was meant to be used as a beacon in the darkness-although it didn't provide any light-but it didn't seem to be working, or perhaps it was telling him that there was no safety in deviating from the one and only right path the organization had prescribed. Either way, it didn't matter to him. He had long since stopped questioning it. Without hesitation, he grabbed the pre-placed rope and started walking forward.

The passage was longer than expected. After several forks in the road, Ishigan reached the end of the dark secret passage. He tugged on the darkened cord on the left side of the passage and a door opened with a grunt. A quick look around revealed no windows. Only the lanterns on the left and right walls and the candles on the large table shone in the darkness, and the scarlet flame on the candlesticks never wavered. No wind, then. It must be underground.

Three men were seated at a table in the center of the room, and as soon as the stone gates opened, they sprang from their seats and came to Ishiguro's side, and, as if by promise, they simultaneously dropped to one knee and cried out, "Come!

"The dreaded blood tax (劫亂血洗)! Blood God's Second Coming!"

Then Ishiguro got the last word.

"Heaven and earth!"

After one last check, he finally bowed and said goodbye.

"See you, Mr. Lee."

Ishigaki's gaze fell on a middle-aged man kneeling half a pace ahead of the other two. The long sword around his waist made it clear that this man was the leader of the three (the scar over his eye was impressive).

"And you?"

Ishiguro asked.

"Yes, I'm Yun Yizheng, who is practically in charge of the Nanchang Branch of the Zhongyuan Mark Bureau here!"

The place where Yi Shi Jian was currently sitting was a secret room in the basement of the Nankang Branch of the Zhongyuan Mark Bureau, and there were only five people in the Nankang Branch who knew of the existence of this secret place. That is to say, apart from the three people sitting here now, there were only two people left, one of whom was the branch chief of the Nankang Branch, and the other was the deputy branch chief. Both of them were absent due to urgent matters at the headquarters, but given Yun's emphasis on "real responsibility" earlier, it seemed that they were operating under a different hierarchy than the one on the surface. Of course, the position of "golden twelve walls" held by Yun Yijing was also a special position within the Zhongyuan state, so it could be said that it symbolically surpassed the authority of the local state. Finally, he came to the conclusion that it would be better to treat Yun Yizheng as the chief officer and let things move forward.

"Do you have what I asked for?"

"Yes, we're already all set."

Yun Yizheng slightly raised his right hand, and an unmanned man standing to his right quickly brought out a large box. According to Yi Zheng's introduction, they were the Wu brothers, masters of the dagger, and his handmaidens who were equally adept at infiltration and intelligence gathering. The one standing on the left was the elder brother, Oh Young, and the one who had just placed the box on the table was the younger brother, Oh Ki. Yun Yizheng politely lifted the lid of the box, then turned it around so that Yi Shiguan could get a good look at it.

"Okay, check it out, these are the results of two months of watching your goals closely."

The contents of the box weren't as impressive as they looked. A nondescript black suit that didn't look expensive, an odd-looking wig, and finally a rolled up piece of paper. Unfolding the paper revealed the face of a man. It was a portrait. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to call it a mugshot, for the drawing lacked any affection for its subject.

"That's an odd head shape, isn't it? I wonder if you can see ahead with a head shape like that, if it doesn't obscure your vision."

"I know. I met him in person not too long ago."

Yoon's eyes widened at that.

"I never thought it would be him. If it's fate, it's fate, and a terrible one at that."

A wicked smile tugged at Ishiguro's lips.

"What's the word on the street about interest?"

"He's a pretty unique nerd, that's for sure, but it's pretty questionable how good he is."

"Why is that?"

"I've been asking around, and almost all of the students I've spoken to are in complete denial of his abilities - he's just plain scum, or worse. Why anyone would bother with someone like him is beyond me……."

"I don't know."

His answer was simple and straightforward.

"I'd never met him until I had the misfortune of running into him not long ago. I've never seen him before, and the only information I have about him is the few words of nonsense I've overheard. They're all distorted versions of the truth, unable to verify the authenticity of the information. So what do I have to judge him on until then?"

Yun listened to him in silence.

"But it was a command. That's why I chose to obey. I'm not sure about the person, but I'm sure about the organization, so I'm following orders. Maybe they see things differently than you do, maybe they see things you don't, unless you claim to have a better eye than they do."

"How dare you……."

Yun Yizheng quickly bowed her head and trailed off.

"But now it's different. I've met the interest myself, and I have debts to settle personally. Something I want to take away."

"Well, is that so?"

"That's right. You have too much of a good thing."

"What is that?"

"Tax Savings."

Yoon had to keep her mouth shut.

"Then let's go ahead and execute this plan without question."

"Okay."

"Any other questions?"

"I… have something to report."

"Is it important?"

"This is a priority situation."

Ishiguro's expression changed a bit at his firm answer.

"Top priority? You mean it's so urgent that it should be handled first, to the exclusion of everything else, and above my responsibilities?"

"In my humble opinion, yes."

I know it's disrespectful to your boss, but when you're so adamant about it, I can't help but wonder what it's about.

"What are we talking about, your latest gaffe?"

Realizing that her latest failure, which could be said to be fatal, had already reached Yi Shi Jian's ears, Yun Yizheng flinched slightly, but she didn't let any more of her mental agitation out and spoke in as plain a tone as possible.

"It's not unrelated, but it's more important than that. It's about keys."

For a moment, time stood still around him. It was only after a couple of breaths that time began to flow again.

"Keys?"

Ishiguro repeated, inwardly hoping his voice didn't tremble.

"Yes, we've found the missing key."

Ishigan listened, his voice low, as if he were afraid of who might hear him.

"Your short thoughts, I'll listen."

With his permission, Yun began to tell him about his experiences in Sichuan.

Sure, he talked about how competent he was, how smoothly and flexibly he was handling the job, and he bragged about how, for the sake of the organization, he would not hesitate to use his hand, even if it was someone with whom he had once been fraternized-even if that fraternization had been a sham. He was desperate to show off his fierce loyalty, and it was impossible to explain in any other way than the vagaries of nature that something happened to him that was unintentional, a natural disaster for which he was not even remotely responsible.

But his proud and incomparable loyalty was not diminished by this calamity. The story goes on to describe how he tried to make up for the mistakes of his subordinates, even though they were inevitably caused by some unknown act of God. The story gradually unfolds in a way that reveals less and less mistakes and more and more credit, until at last, after Yoon Yi-jeong, who has taken the blame for his subordinate's mistake and is doing his best to fix the situation, finds out the whereabouts of the key after an unbelievable struggle that cannot be heard without tears. His voice was now rising to a feverish pitch, and it had been a long time since he had stood up from his seat, unable to overcome his boiling emotions and unable to sit still.

"But why didn't they take it back?"

In the long story, that was the only thing he wanted to know.

"That's……."

Yoon dragged his feet.

"The group that was following the children has disappeared. No survivors. It's unbelievable… but they're all presumed dead."

"I can't believe it. Who the hell has the power to do that?"

"Those… those boys are currently in the Middle Kingdom."

There wasn't much that could be inferred from these facts.

"Is the Middle Kingdom behind it?"

Yun nodded thoughtfully in response.

"Exactly."

"What's so great about the Zhongyang Station, which has only recently gained a little name in Sichuan, and which was almost nameless and unremarkable until a few years ago? Since when did Zhongyuan Station care about a second-rate station in the backwoods of Sichuan? Besides, isn't the boy Yu who now holds the key your subordinate, and what's your intention in staring at him as blankly as if he were a painting?"

"It's a long time ago that the Zhongyang Beacon was a second-rate beacon. Now, in Sichuan alone, it has grown into a beast that has surpassed the Zhongyuan Clan, and some people even dare to call it the First Clan of Sichuan. But only if you step up to the plate, how can these things dare to resist?"

Yoon replied, sending her infinite trust to Lee Shi Gun.

"Hmmm, so you're going to give me the keys?"

"Yes, that object would be better suited to Confucius than to the likes of me."

"Okay, what's up with that, I don't think it's just a freebie?"

Yi Shijian deliberately controlled his strength to avoid pushing Yun Yizheng too hard. Pushing her too hard would only make her resent him, even if he was her boss. He had already learned at a young age that there was a limit to how much a high ranking officer could suppress the rebellion and disrespect inherent in the human heart.

"So, no, I don't have an agenda, I just knew someone better suited than me to get my hands on those keys."

As he did so, Yun Yizheng looked at Yi Xigan with meaningful eyes, eyes that seemed to claim that he was willing to make concessions for Yi Xigan even though he could have retrieved the key on his own. It was clear that he was a believer in giving as much as he could while he could.

"I see."

Clearly, he understood. Not just on the surface, but behind the scenes. He was trying to make up for the many failures he and his men had made by taking matters into their own hands, but then he ran into an unexpected obstacle, and just as he was struggling, the right person came along to remove it for him. In other words, if you don't have the ability to deal with obstacles, you're helpless. Without confidence, Yun would be forced to drool over the banquet in the painting, and he would be forced to take responsibility for his failure, even though the remedy for his failure was right in front of him.

Humans with weaknesses in their hearts have a limited ability to become strong. The residual weakness creates a tiny crack in their confidence. There was no better news than that his opponent wasn't strong enough to shout it out anyway. Only when the abacus was finished did Yi Shijian raise his head to look at Yun Yizheng.

"It sounds like things are not going well for you, so let's get down to business. If you're in trouble, I'll lend a hand."

Careful not to sound sarcastic, Yi Xian asked, not wanting to give the impression that she had completely figured him out. But Yun Yizheng realized that Yi Xian had understood too much of her intentions, and it was to her disadvantage to hide it any longer.

"It's… impaired."

"There are setbacks to everything."

Two replied that it was no big deal. It was a way to make him feel more comfortable. He needed a little breathing room to get what he was hiding out there.

"This is not a normal failure."

"How much of a handicap is it to have your otherwise capable ass glued to a chair?"

"That's… strong."

Yoon suddenly began to choose her words carefully. The phrase "strong enemy" seemed to be the best of several options.

"A powerhouse? Someone I should care about?"

"You'd be hard pressed to find anyone in the powerhouse who doesn't care about them."

"That makes me even more curious. You seem to be hesitant to say the name, afraid I might not be able to handle it, but don't hold back. Tell me who it is."

It wasn't until she got that confirmation that Yoon began to talk.

"I don't know how it happened, but there is currently a Jumchang First Sword Yuyun Castle in Namchang Branch of the Zhongyang Mark Bureau."

"What?! Fallen Sword Yunsheng?"

The unexpected name made Ishiguro's hips jiggle for a moment.

"The one that's the fruit of a hundred years of dotage?"

The name was also on a list of influential martial artists he kept in his mind.

"Yes, this is the same man who is being touted as the only person who has the potential to turn a poorly run store in Sichuan into the number one store in Sichuan."

"Yoo Eun-sung……. Talent is talent, for sure, but I don't think this body can handle him."

It was a fairly fanatical statement coming from the mouth of a young man, but there was a certain confidence in his voice. Yun Yizheng didn't feel much antipathy towards the words either; he believed in the power of the organization, but the problem this time was that the problem wasn't him.

"If it were just that one person, he would have been able to handle the belonging. But there was one more person by his side, and when he saw her, he had no choice but to abandon the belonging plan. If it hadn't been for her,……."

Yoon trailed off, and Lee's interest was piqued by a word that came out of her mouth.

"She? She has never been a hindrance to me, though she has been a joy to me?"

"Even Confucius, who is a man of style, could not fail to change his mind for once."

Yoon Yi-jeong replied, hiding behind her mask the fact that she was very happy to shatter his notions.

"She must be a very special lady, huh?"

"Yes, there is no woman who is not special, but this one is definitely a little more special."

"Who?"

"I'm the Ami Goddess Qin Xiaolong, a master of the Heavenly Five Swords."

Hmmm!

It wasn't a name that could be easily overlooked, even by a young man whose arrogance was sky-high, but that didn't intimidate him; his pause only meant that he didn't underestimate it.

"Why would a being of her stature be in Zhongyang Pyo Guk? They don't have much of a connection, and Ami is at least nearby, and why is Yoo Eun Sung, a member of the Jumchang sect who is far away from Ami, there with her?"

"That's my question too."

Now was not the time to be concerned with reasons. The fact of the matter was that if it was true that the two of them were in the Zhongyang Marking Station at this time of day, it could prove to be a very troublesome obstacle to closing the deal. But on the other hand, he could find himself getting very excited about this fact. The prospect of using his own hands to accomplish something that the death penalty had almost certainly failed to do was an unspeakably sweet and seductive proposition. Besides, the two men were an obstacle now, but once overcome it would be the greatest medal of all. The higher the obstacle, the better the man who overcomes it. Already he had neglected any means of overcoming the temptation.

"That's interesting."

"Yes?"

For a moment, Yoon wondered if her ears were wrong. She was wondering if she should make an appointment with her doctor tomorrow when she heard the next words.

"This is a great opportunity to test the power of your newfound 'jiaun'!"

Apparently, his ears were fine. But this time, his eyes were the problem. It looked like Ishiguro was smiling in a pleased way.

"Surely those two are more than you and your men can handle."

I gave him a little hint that I knew what I was talking about, and then continued.

"But it's not impossible if you lend me your power. Then your precarious future could be saved. But……."

Suddenly, Yi Shijian looked at Yun Yi and trailed off.

"……?"

"I still can't see any reason why I should go out of my way to do my job for you. Honestly, you and I are tied together by the organization, but in a way, we're not tied together by anything other than that, and I have no obligation to do that for you. I'm just another one of the many, many bosses you have. Isn't that right?"

"That… that's……."

Yi Shiguan's arrogant gaze turned to Yun Yizheng, his eyes asking, "What are you doing?

"What are you going to do?

Its eyes were forcing him to make a choice, to move forward or else. He scrambled out of his seat, stepped in front of Ishiguro, and dropped to one knee. Brother Oga followed suit and knelt as well.

"I, Yun Yizheng, trust and rely on you and follow you with all my heart and soul. Please accept my loyalty, and give me the honor of standing at your right hand and fighting alongside you."

Yun Yizheng talked about how his position would be very strong if he were the one to find the key, and that he was ready to dedicate himself to the process. He was now trying to get into Yi Shi Gan's clique. In any organization, there are cliques, and the most powerful cliques are those under the heir apparent.

He emphasized the fact that, just as there can't be two tigers on the same mountain, there can only be one successor to the organization, and that he had thought in his heart that the right person for the job was very close to him - within touching distance if he fell down. He did not forget to emphasize that he himself was very useful and could be utilized in many ways, and that it was particularly attractive to him that he could not only lose nothing but gain immensely if he could bring himself under the wing of someone who belonged to the outer circle, if not the inner circle, where Ishigaki was now. The middle-aged mark had a knack for exaggerating his value just the right amount. In return, of course, she would have to do things like leave out a lot of his mistakes and emphasize his successes. But even if she did the math, this wasn't a bad deal for him. In fact, it was exactly what we wanted.

Yi Shijian quickly scrambled out of his seat, grabbed Yun Yizheng's shoulder, and pulled her to her feet.

"No, what's wrong with you? Get up. You don't have to make such a big deal out of it. We're one family now, and we're supposed to fight together and have fun together."

She especially emphasized the word family. They had become a community of destiny. No, from now on, Yun's fate would be tied to Yi Xian's fate. Therefore, if Yi Shiguan flies, she will fly, and if Yi Shiguan falls, she will fall. But the fact remained that she had no choice.

"Thank you, Lord!"

It's a word with a lot of connotations. When you change your name, you change your status and position. Or, perhaps, it is because the status and position have changed that the name is changed. Yoon Yi-jeong had expressed her will by changing her name to Lee Shi-gun. There was now nowhere for him to turn, and his last hope was Yi Shi Jian. He had decided to bet everything on this young master. Of course, this expression pleased Yi Shi Jian, who was seizing the opportunity and gathering forces, slowly increasing his influence within the organization. He exclaimed excitedly.

"Well, let's resume the meeting, shall we, so we can discuss how to get the keys back?"

"Sure, sure. Of course."

Yoon Yi-jeong replied with a smile, then hurried back to her seat and sat down.

"I have an idea."

Ishiguro pulled an idea out of his head that had been rolling around in his head for a while, as if he had just thought of it.

"I'll listen."

"We don't have to make a big deal out of this. If it can be settled quietly, that's all the better, so I'm going to try and bait them. We'll see how they react, and then we'll decide. Why don't you come by tomorrow?"

The first instruction was a blindside charge.

"What? Who?"

"Who do you think is better suited for this position than you?"

As a well-known representative of Zhongyuan Bureau and the de facto head of Zhongyuan Bureau's Nanchang branch, he was in a position to knock on the gates of Zhongyang Bureau, a company in the same industry, albeit a competitor.

"None."

"Then it is decided. Besides, aren't those children yours for the taking, and isn't it the duty of an uncle to ease their pain?"

There was nothing wrong with that statement, but in this case, it was the person applying it. Yoon Yi-Jung smiled quite a sinister smile.

"Well, let's do that and move on to the next thing. I've got a job to do."

We moved on to the next problem. It was finally time for the contents of the box to shine.

"I'm going to make that lowly bastard pay for making a mockery of this body!"

A cruel smile formed on Ishiguro's lips.