Tap the text to show or hide reading controls.
“I’m Secret Shadow.”
Neung Je-gang sat facing Yeon Bo-pyeong, who still had not been able to leave his post as Beijing Branch Chief.
“I’m Cheong Yeon.”
At Cheong Yeon’s greeting, Yeon Bo-pyeong’s expression shifted oddly.
“You’re someone I remember.”
“It’s been a long time.”
Cheong Yeon greeted him and then stepped back.
Yeon Bo-pyeong stared at Neung Je-gang again with the same strange look. Then he tilted his head.
“Have we met somewhere before?”
“Not at all. This is our first meeting… isn’t it?”
“Is that so? Then have you ever heard the name Neung Je-gang?”
Neung Je-gang’s chest tightened.
The Eastern Depot truly wasn’t a place to take lightly.
Even after seeing him walk in with a changed face and enter the Forbidden Demon Prison, these were the people who began with suspicion.
“Do you mean my senior brother?”
“Perfect timing—I was about to bring that up first.”
“Can you tell me exactly what crime my senior brother committed?”
Neung Je-gang pressed on his own issue to wipe away Yeon Bo-pyeong’s suspicion.
That intent worked.
When Neung Je-gang had been framed as a traitor and dragged in, the Eastern Depot’s field agents and the Capture Bureau had become openly hostile toward each other.
Bringing it up again now was a heavy burden for Yeon Bo-pyeong.
“Please show me the details—when, where, and what happened that made my senior brother a criminal and forced him into the Forbidden Demon Prison.”
“If you won’t promise that, then no matter what the Eastern Depot asks of me, I’m telling you now I won’t do it.”
“Th-that’s…?”
“If it’s difficult, then I have no reason to stay close to the Eastern Depot.”
“After all, I might end up a criminal too over some ridiculous excuse.”
Neung Je-gang sprang up from his seat.
He turned to leave as if he had no regrets.
If Neung Je-gang wanted revenge on Gye Yu, he had to prove he had been lured into Gye Yu’s trap.
For that, he needed the documents Gye Yu had filed back then, and he also had to investigate the people who had come forward as witnesses.
Of course, many had seen him cut down the Wudang Swordsmaster.
But the question remained whether that act truly warranted a charge of treason.
And the torturer who had interrogated him—
If the man was still alive, Neung Je-gang needed to secure him and expose that Gye Yu had ordered the torture out of personal malice.
Only after he had gathered those doubts and proofs could he later tighten the noose around Gye Yu for good.
“Wait!”
“That isn’t something I can resolve on my own.”
“So I can’t give you a definite answer right now.”
“Besides, the materials you want are handled by the field agents—information even I can’t touch.”
“To obtain them, you’d need at least someone like the Lord of the Eastern Depot’s Central Plains Headquarters.”
“So you’re saying you can’t do it?”
“That’s not what I’m saying.”
“I’m only saying it may take a long time.”
“That’s fine.”
“I only want to confirm the truth.”
“My senior brother went into the Forbidden Demon Prison—there’s no way he’d still be alive by now, so I have plenty of time.”
“Then I’ll promise you this.”
“I will get them for you—no matter what.”
Yeon Bo-pyeong’s words carried weight.
He wasn’t the kind of man who claimed he could do what he couldn’t.
If anything, that was exactly why he might have seemed ill-suited to the Eastern Depot.
“Then what is it you want me to do?”
Neung Je-gang could feel it—Yeon Bo-pyeong had completely washed away his suspicion.
Even now, the man was likely already agonizing over how to extract Neung Je-gang’s case records.
“Ah, that’s not something I can tell you either.”
“I’m only the intermediary.”
“The person who will assign you work is someone else.”
“He’ll arrive if you wait a little.”
“I already sent word.”
‘Just how important is this person, for the Eastern Depot’s Beijing Branch Chief to look this uneasy?’
Neung Je-gang was honestly curious.
The bigger the figure who approached him, the bigger what he could gain.
Knock knock
Thump—
Yeon Bo-pyeong shot up from his seat.
Neung Je-gang, startled, rose awkwardly as well.
“Director!”
Yeon Bo-pyeong snapped a crisp salute toward the person entering through the door.
“Gah!”
Neung Je-gang stood up too, shocked.
That was right.
The figure who walked in was the Director of the Eastern Depot—the man who could be called the leader of tens of thousands of Eastern Depot operatives.
He wasn’t someone just anyone could meet.
In the Empire today, there were three power-brokers.
One was, of course, the Chancellor—effectively the man directly beneath the Emperor.
Standing at the apex of politics, the Chancellor’s power could rival the Emperor’s without exaggeration.
Another was the Grand Preceptor, who stood backed by the Emperor and the Imperial House.
Using his position as the Emperor’s scholarly mentor, and supported by the elder royals and imperial favor, he existed to check the Chancellor’s excesses.
And the final power-broker was the Eastern Depot Director now standing before Neung Je-gang.
At present, that post was held by Go Tak, one of the favored palace eunuchs, and so he was called the Eunuch-Director.
Among eunuchs, he ranked third in seniority—after the Saryegam eunuchs Jang-in and Byeong-pil— yet the authority he wielded was such that even the Chancellor and the Grand Preceptor could not treat him lightly.
By the Emperor’s order, the Eastern Depot often selected its Director from among the Saryegam eunuchs and seated him in that post.
When that happened, it meant the Emperor’s authority was stronger than that of his ministers.
In short, the Empire at present stood in a state where the Emperor’s power was slightly stronger than his ministers’.
‘But what does someone like him want with me…?’
Neung Je-gang’s head began to ache.
Somehow, it felt like something far more troublesome than anything involving the Martial Alliance or the Black Alliance was waiting for him.
“Sit.”
The Eunuch-Director took the seat Yeon Bo-pyeong had been using.
Neung Je-gang sat back down where he had been, while Yeon Bo-pyeong hurried to another seat.
“Secret Shadow, was it?”
A eunuch meant a palace attendant who had abandoned a man’s symbol and worldly authority.
Yet power rode atop that thin voice.
‘He’s a master. A real master.’
He was the head of the Eastern Depot.
No one without strength could sit in the Eunuch-Director’s chair.
To keep that position, you needed capability—only then could you make the machine move as you wished.
Neung Je-gang weighed the Eunuch-Director’s ability.
If they fought, Neung Je-gang didn’t think he would lose.
But without using his golden qi, he couldn’t guarantee the outcome would be simple.
“Yes.”
“I heard you’re Nam Yeong’s disciple.”
“And the son of the previous Secret Shadow?”
“If one of the Twin Shadows of the martial world raised you, I can imagine your ability.”
“…”
Neung Je-gang didn’t answer.
If he replied, it would only drag things out.
“Hm. Shall we get to the point?”
“But first, you need to understand what’s happening in Beijing and the Imperial Palace.”
“The biggest issue is this—key figures of both the Brocade Guard and the Eastern Depot, the very core of imperial power, are being assassinated in secret.”
“Do you understand what that implies?”
“That the Emperor’s authority is weakening.”
“Exactly.”
“And when the Emperor’s authority weakens, the world falls into chaos.”
“Can a country be run properly when ministers hold more power than His Majesty?”
“I have no interest in politics.”
In truth, even the Grand Preceptor and the Eastern Depot Director, who claimed to serve the Emperor, were clearly doing it for their own power deep down.
Neung Je-gang had no desire to step into that mire of power-struggle.
But Go Tak didn’t look disappointed by Neung Je-gang’s reaction.
He continued.
“Unknown people have attached themselves to the Chancellor.”
“And we can’t stop them.”
“They aren’t ordinary martial artists.”
“Even in the Central Plains martial world, they’d be strong enough to dominate a region—yet they move as the Chancellor’s hands and feet.”
“I want you to stop them.”
“…”
Silence fell for a moment.
“You want me to do an assassin’s job?”
He had taken the name Secret Shadow, but he’d never imagined receiving a contract for murder like this.
“You may think of it that way.”
“I refuse. I have no intention of getting involved in power struggles.”
Neung Je-gang rejected it plainly.
Whatever the reason, he didn’t relish truly acting as a hired killer.
“I believe the ones who reached out to the Chancellor are the Necromancer Cult.”
“The Chancellor never had an organization that could command martial masters like that.”
“Then one day, they suddenly appeared and began killing.”
“…”
At the words “Necromancer Cult,” Neung Je-gang fell into thought.
If the Necromancer Cult truly helped the Chancellor and took root in the Imperial Palace, the entire country might fall into their hands.
And given the ability of the masters who had descended from that place called the Mountain—whom Neung Je-gang had encountered—these assassinations also made sense.
But there were plenty of masters in the martial world besides them.
There was the Martial Alliance, the Black Alliance, and the killers of the Ten Great Assassin Orders.
Or it could be some other organization whose identity had not yet surfaced.
“Are you certain it’s the Necromancer Cult?”
“I’m not certain.”
“But it isn’t the Martial Alliance or the Black Alliance.”
“We’ve already confirmed that through investigation.”
“And movements of assassin organizations can’t escape the Eastern Depot’s eyes.”
“Our eyes are embedded at the top of those organizations.”
“So what does that leave?”
“In that case, among known forces, only the Necromancer Cult remains.”
That was right.
The Director hadn’t branded it the Necromancer Cult on a whim.
He had investigated what he could and verified what he could before reaching that conclusion.
“I understand you don’t want to dirty your hands in power struggles.”
“Sometimes even I want to throw down the Director’s seat and walk away.”
“This position is full of things to worry about, and endless headaches.”
“But even so—shouldn’t we prevent the country from falling into the hands of the Necromancer Cult and the Chancellor?”
“…All right.”
“I’ll accept the request.”
“But there are conditions that must come first.”
“What are they?”
“One, I already told the Beijing Branch Chief, so that’s settled.”
“And second—I want this Cheong Yeon reinstated in the Eastern Depot.”
“Captain!”
Cheong Yeon looked startled.
He hadn’t expected Neung Je-gang to attach a condition like that.
But Neung Je-gang had been thinking of this since the moment they came to Beijing together.
Cheong Yeon wasn’t in the Eastern Depot anymore, yet he still hadn’t forgotten the oath he had sworn when he entered it.
The place he belonged was the Eastern Depot.
“Hm? Reinstated?”
“Then he used to be an Eastern Depot operative?”
“Yes.”
Go Tak looked at Cheong Yeon and nodded.
A matter like that was possible with a single nod from him.
“Then why did he quit?”
“He resigned after being entangled in the case of that operative named Neung Je-gang.”
Yeon Bo-pyeong stepped in to explain before Neung Je-gang could.
“Neung Je-gang—do you mean the one who killed a Wudang Swordsmaster?”
“Yes.”
“And his younger brother was a Necromancer Cultist as well.”
“Ah, so because he was connected to the Necromancer Cult, he was forced out of the Eastern Depot.”
“Not connected, exactly.”
“It would be more accurate to say it happened because he was Neung Je-gang’s subordinate.”
“Then he had no guilt?”
“That’s right.”
“In fact, I once reported that even Neung Je-gang’s case could have been fabricated by the field agents.”
“Did you?”
“Sorry, but I don’t remember that.”
“If I had received such a report, I wouldn’t have forgotten it.”
Go Tak fell into thought for a moment.
Then, looking at Yeon Bo-pyeong, he spoke again.
“Report that case to me again.”
“By the same route as before….”
“It seems there may be a place where information to me is being cut off.”
“We’ll need to investigate.”
“Understood.”
“But what makes you think the case was fabricated?”
“I heard the evidence and witnesses were flawless back then.”
“In fact, the operative Neung Je-gang from that time is the senior-brother to this Secret Shadow.”
“He was Nam Yeong’s disciple.”
“And the first operative to reveal that the Necromancer Cult had returned to the world was him.”
“Can you really claim he was connected to the Necromancer Cult?”
“Was he truly the first to discover the Necromancer Cult?”
“Yes.”
“At the time, all the Eastern Depot operatives in the Beijing Branch knew it, so you can verify it quickly.”
“Strange.”
“I recall the report I received listed someone else as the first to discover them.”
“Hm. That, too, needs investigating.”
“There may be a fifth column within the Eastern Depot.”
Go Tak continued speaking with Yeon Bo-pyeong for some time.
Neung Je-gang had no room to cut in while the other two discussed his story, so he could only listen.
At last, Go Tak turned back to Neung Je-gang and opened his mouth.
“It seems there may be a problem with your senior brother’s case as well.”
“If you resolve this matter properly, I’ll arrange amnesty and reinstatement for your senior brother too.”
“Of course, only if it’s proven he truly had no guilt.”
“I can’t say he had absolutely no guilt.”
“I understand it’s true that he killed the Wudang Swordsmaster.”
Neung Je-gang himself acknowledged that.
Whatever the reason, the fact that he had cut down the Wudang Swordsmaster did not change.
“Killing one Wudang Swordsmaster—what great sin is that….”
“If that’s all, it can be overlooked, so you may look forward to it.”
To Go Tak, it seemed Wudang ranked about as high as a neighborhood dog.
Well, Wudang had rotted so badly people called it the Eastern Depot’s dog— so even if it was treated like that, it had little right to complain.
“Looks like your senior brother’s matter will turn out well.”
“That’s good.”
After Go Tak left, Yeon Bo-pyeong said to Neung Je-gang.
“I think I’ll need to conduct my own investigation first.”
“To do that, I’ll need an identity and funds I can use within the Eastern Depot and the Imperial Palace….”
Trailing off like that was a kind of threat—an implication that Neung Je-gang should provide something worthwhile on his own.
Yeon Bo-pyeong forced a bitter smile, opened a drawer, and held out two pouches.
Neung Je-gang opened one and drew out a gold plaque that filled his palm.
The other, without even looking, clearly contained money.
“Eastern Depot General Inspector of Imperial Edicts?”
“The Eastern Depot has a position like this?”
“It’s a position we prepared in advance when we placed a contract to you, on the recommendation of the Martial Alliance and the Black Alliance.”
“The owner of that plaque serves directly under the Eastern Depot Director and holds authority to inspect all Eastern Depot personnel and organizations.”
“Wait—hold on.”
“You said on the recommendation of the Martial Alliance and the Black Alliance?”
“Not my master’s recommendation?”
“Your master? Ha!”
“The commission is the lives of assassins—why would anyone bring such a request to your master?”
At Yeon Bo-pyeong’s words, Neung Je-gang suddenly burst out.
“Damn it… I got played.”
Only now did he realize he had been fooled—once again.
Reading Settings
