Chapter 13

Yeon Mujin returned to Flying Swallow Manor after three days.

There was someone waiting to greet him the moment he arrived.

“Where on earth did you go?!”

It was Yang Gwan-wol.

“Hey, Dongnyang.”

“It’s not Dongnyang, it’s Yang Gwan-wol! How could you disappear without a word!”

“I’m not even assigned missions. If you want to cut my pay, go ahead and do it.”

“It’s not that. A lot has happened while you were gone.”

“What happened?”

Yang Gwan-wol sighed, his expression tangled.

“Lady Wang says she’s preparing a welcome for you. She’s gathering all the manor’s retainers and holding a grand feast.”

Yeon Mujin shrugged.

“I see.”

“After the feast they’re going to have a martial arts demonstration before the young lady. Do you know who your opponent will be?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

“It’s Guard head Jeong himself—Jeong Yeo-gwang. The excuse is to let you show off your skills in front of everyone…”

Yeon Mujin feigned surprise.

“What! A martial arts match at the banquet!”

“Exactly!”

He switched back to his usual calm.

“Not bad.”

“What? No, don’t you understand what that means?”

Yang Gwan-wol thumped his chest in frustration.

“It’s a trap, a trap! I don’t know what Lady Wang and Guard head Jeong are up to, but they’re clearly planning to thoroughly embarrass you in front of everyone!”

Despite Yang Gwan-wol’s frantic warnings, Yeon Mujin remained unruffled.

“Dongnyang.”

“Yes!”

“You’re noisy—go outside.”

“……”

Yang Gwan-wol glared at Yeon Mujin, exasperated.

“Didn’t you understand me?”

“I did. And while you’re at it, tell Lady Wang I’m here and she should hurry up with the preparations.”

“I don’t think you understood.”

“The one who doesn’t understand is you, not me.”

“Guard Yeon! Why are you so maddening!”

As Yang Gwan-wol yelled, he suddenly felt a sharp pain on the bridge of his nose.

Yeon Mujin had raised his fist and said dryly,

“Dongnyang, I told you to be quiet.”

He was a man who did things on his own terms.

Holding his nose, Yang Gwan-wol pulled a face.

“Fine, do as you please! I won’t care what happens to you!”

Left alone, Yeon Mujin muttered after a long moment.

“Tonight will be a long one.”

After changing clothes and following a servant, Yeon Mujin found the banquet hall already bustling.

Wang Ga-hwa and Jeong Yeo-gwang were present, along with the guard unit, the women of internal affairs, and finally Bukgung Yoon herself.

Yeon Mujin appeared at the banquet in his usual shabby martial uniform—not the splendid ceremonial robes issued by the manor.

The guard’s martial men frowned and the women scowled.

Among those dressed in finery, Yeon Mujin’s drab uniform stood out like an ugly duckling among egrets.

“Looks like a festive day today.”

“Guard Yeon! Please come here. We’ve been waiting, you see? The hosts were absent and the guests had already taken their seats, so…” Wang Ga-hwa fanned herself and flashed a coquettish smile.

“Now then, please sit here.”

She gestured to the seat next to her; opposite her sat Jeong Yeo-gwang. They kept a respectful distance from Bukgung Yoon.

Yeon Mujin sat and asked,

“A banquet without hosts?”

Jeong Yeo-gwang answered,

“Today is a welcome for our Guard Yeon. The manor has been busy the past few days and hasn’t given you a proper welcome.”

“Ah, my welcome feast.”

Yeon Mujin scanned the faces at the table.

The martial men turned their heads or dropped their eyes whenever his gaze met theirs; they couldn’t stand to look him in the face. But Yeon Mujin only said,

“That’s a welcome thing to hear,” and picked up his cup, draining it at a single gulp.

“That’s the spirit! Hey! Bring out the food!”

Servants appeared with trays of dishes. The plates set before Yeon Mujin, however, were different from the others’.

Chicken feet, pig offal, congealed ox blood, grilled chicken combs—foods meant to provoke.

Yang Gwan-wol, Seo Nak-il, and the others farther away frowned at the display.

‘What a petty trick…’ they thought.

Wang Ga-hwa purred,

“We heard Guard Yeon has peculiar tastes, so we prepared these especially for you. How do you like them?”

Yeon Mujin’s expression remained unreadable as he looked at the plates.

“Why the long face? Surely you don’t mean you can’t eat these? Come on, there’s gossip that Guard Yeon picks strange foods and forces the guard unit’s martial men to eat them. You don’t intend to refuse them yourself…”

“Lady Wang.”

“Yes?”

“How do you know my tastes so well? I’ll eat them with a lot of gratitude in my heart.”

Then he began to eat with relish.

As Yeon Mujin noisily sucked marrow and chewed without decorum, several women looked disgusted.

No one else touched the odd dishes, although their own plates were perfectly good.

Then Bukgung Yoon approached Yeon Mujin’s table and, to everyone’s surprise, asked,

“May I eat with you?”

“No—My lady!” cried several in alarm.

The one unstartled was Yeon Mujin.

“There’s a bit too little for me to eat alone.”

“……”

“I’m joking. Please, sit.”

Yeon Mujin nudged Wang Ga-hwa aside with his hip. Forced out of her seat, Wang Ga-hwa shot accusing looks at the women around Bukgung Yoon who had not stopped her.

Bukgung Yoon, in a violet robe with a jade hairpin, sat beside Yeon Mujin in his plain uniform—a stark contrast.

She picked up a large bone and asked,

“How do you eat this?”

“The stuff inside is marrow; you scrape it out with chopsticks and suck it.”

“S-suck it?”

“You can’t eat it properly any other way.”

Yeon Mujin demonstrated; it made a vulgar sound. Bukgung Yoon couldn’t bring herself to imitate the noise, but she scraped out the marrow with her chopsticks and ate it earnestly.

When she lowered the bone, she found Yeon Mujin watching her.

“How is it?”

“…It’s better than I thought.”

At her cute reaction, Yeon Mujin laughed heartily.

“Would you like to try this too?”

“How do you eat this one?”

“You hold it here and do it like this…”

All the dishes were things Bukgung Yoon had never seen. Some smelled awful, some looked strange, some were hard to recognize by shape—but each tasted good once tried.

As Bukgung Yoon ate more than anyone expected, Jeong Yeo-gwang and Wang Ga-hwa’s expressions hardened.

Yeon Mujin, like an excited uncle, pushed plates toward her, intent on having her try everything.

Mid-bite, Bukgung Yoon watched Yeon Mujin closely.

He was the same man who used to ruffle the stable boy’s head and the same man who once proclaimed he’d make her the Family Lord. Those memories overlaid the man before her now. Which was his true face?

She wiped food from her mouth and set down her spoon.

“Guard Yeon Mujin.”

“Yes, my lady.”

“You’ve caused a lot of trouble in my manor.”

Bukgung Yoon’s tone was cold. She intended to test Yeon Mujin, to see how he’d respond—hoping he wouldn’t answer the predictable way.

“That’s right,” he said, just as she had hoped. He didn’t deny it or make excuses; he lifted his chin and admitted his faults.

“Why do you say that?”

“Because the way the manor is being run is a mess.”

A collective gasp swept the hall. Who says that to their master?

Bukgung Yoon raised an eyebrow.

“…Exactly what’s a mess in your opinion?”

Yeon Mujin slowly scanned those gathered and spoke plainly.

“The blades of Flying Swallow Manor are rusted and on the verge of breaking—blades no one fears. Flying Swallow Manor has no martial strength.” The guard martial men offered no rebuttal and bowed their heads.

He turned to the women of internal affairs.

“The house workers who should be the hands and feet of the manor are rotten to the core. Rather than strengthening the foundation, they’re after praise and rewards, only eyeing what falls into their own mouths. Flying Swallow Manor lacks intelligence.”

The women glared; if looks could kill, Yeon Mujin would have been torn to pieces.

“And,” he continued, fixing his gaze on Wang Ga-hwa and Jeong Yeo-gwang before settling on Bukgung Yoon, “the biggest problem is that Flying Swallow Manor lacks the power to overcome this situation. Its hands and feet are rotting, and the knives needed to cut out the rot are rusted. Flying Swallow Manor has no vitality to rise on its own. Do you know why?”

“…Why is that?”

“Because the manor’s leader, the manor lord, has no power or authority.”

“Hey. Guard Yeon!” a martial man stood and shouted. Even a rusty blade deserves some respect; there were limits to what could be said in public.

Yeon Mujin was walking a dangerous line—this was a public insult directed at the young Bukgung Yoon.

But Bukgung Yoon clenched her small hand, her shoulders trembling, and listened to every word.

She spoke.

“So. What does that have to do with the trouble Guard Yeon causes? Are you saying that because you’re dissatisfied with everything from one to ten, you’ll just poke around here and there?”

“If necessary.”

“What will Guard Yeon gain from doing that?”

By now everyone was listening.

“My aim, as I said, is to make Bukgung Yoon the Family Lord.”

Silence fell. Wang Ga-hwa and Jeong Yeo-gwang’s faces tightened.

“What I’m doing is a kind of winnowing.”

“Win…what?”

Yeon Mujin clasped his hands and mimed tossing and sifting grain, as if separating chaff from kernels. Bukgung Yoon understood.

“I’m doing the winnowing. When you toss the grain, the chaff flies away—the husks, the straw, the mixed-in leaves. Flying Swallow Manor doesn’t have the capacity to winnow itself, so I’m doing it for the manor. I’ll blow away all the chaff and leave only the kernels. Do you understand?”

Having said that, his gaze returned to Jeong Yeo-gwang and Wang Ga-hwa—as if to say, You are the chaff that must be blown away.

Bukgung Yoon looked at the two of them as well.

In that moment, a strange tension ran between the four of them: Yeon Mujin and Bukgung Yoon on one side, Wang Ga-hwa and Jeong Yeo-gwang on the other. Each watched the others, each poised to strike or defend.

Both Yeon Mujin and Wang Ga-hwa bore the conviction that they could kill their opponent.

Smack!

Wang Ga-hwa snapped her large fan shut with a loud sound.