Volume 3 Chapter 23 – Case Concluded (2)

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Translated by Rain

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Kang Ho clutched his hair.

The Central Inspection Pavilion set out to conduct the main investigation.

The Head of the Guardian Pavilion, who had intended to share the achievements with the Inspection Pavilion through a deal with the Chief Manager of the Inner Courtyard, had no choice but to deploy two departments.

“Or else, they would have lost most of the achievements to the Central Inspection Pavilion!”

“Originally, it would have been enough if only the Guardian Sixth Department stepped forward.”

“In the end, you are saying that the Eldest Young Master moved the Central Inspection Pavilion and made two departments of the Guardian Pavilion move just by summoning me alone?!”

He shouted as if screaming.

“And you even forced the Chief Manager of the Inner Courtyard not to cover up the matter, but rather to remove the rotten shells quickly and efficiently!”

Yeon So-hyeon shrugged his shoulders.

“That old man also judged that plan to be the best option if it could not be covered up.”

“How can that be, how can that be…”

Kang Ho walked back and forth in the room, muttering.

“Wait, the classified report!”

He had thought that the Head of the Inspection Department assigned him the secret mission due to his friendship with his grandfather.

Yeon So-hyeon smiled.

“Did I not tell you?”

Kang Ho repeated the words Yeon So-hyeon had said.

“Whoever gave you the opportunity, they seem to be someone with considerable friendship with your grandfather…”

In fact, it was Yeon So-hyeon who gave him the opportunity.

He slumped to the floor.

Regardless of the gazes of the onlookers, he muttered while slumped down.

At that sight, the triplet maids covered their mouths and whispered.

“H-has he lost his mind?”

“Perhaps he is comparing himself to Zhou Yu meeting Zhuge Liang?”

“Hmm. From what I see, that young master does not seem as grand as Zhou Yu, though?”

At that moment, Kang Ho snapped his head up and sprang up.

“…Then, how did the Eldest Young Master know that I would respond to the summons?!”

He ran before the Eldest Young Master and knelt down.

His glasses had already disappeared somewhere, and the hem of his clothes was a mess.

“My direct superior who suggested the preliminary investigation to me clearly said this! That if I did not want to do it, he would never force me!”

The Head of the Inspection Department could not force an investigation that could be dangerous for him because of his relationship with his grandfather.

“Well, because I knew that you were investigating the Inner Courtyard’s misconduct regarding Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment alone.”

“H-how…?!”

Come to think of it, Yeon So-hyeon had naturally asked him earlier.

If it was correct that the managers involved in the misconduct regarding Pavilion of Perfect Enlightenment were those who had distinguished themselves and risen rapidly within about ten years.

He had already known.

Jeong-ah, who was listening quietly, opened her mouth.

“Inspection Investigator, Kang Ho. Surely that is not what is important right now?”

“Yes?”

Jeong-ah spoke to him in a soft, gentle voice.

“Hearing the Master’s words, it seems Inspection Investigator Kang Ho was walking into the mouth of that old monster called the Chief Manager of the Inner Courtyard all by himself.”

The triplet maids nodded.

“Come to think of it, that is true.”

“Our Master bestowed the grace of saving your life.”

“As expected of the Master. He could not leave his friend’s grandson alone.”

Hot tears welled up in the eyes of Kang Ho, who was kneeling in front of Yeon So-hyeon.

“E-Eldest Young Master… For someone like me who did not even have a face-to-face acquaintance…”

“It was not something I did for you. It was just that you happened to be on the path I was walking.”

“That does not matter… If it were not for the Eldest Young Master, I would have ended up behaving like an idiot and falling dead.”

Yeon So-hyeon patted his head.

“There is a way for you to repay the favor.”

Kang Ho wore a solemn expression.

“Just say the word! This man, Kang Ho, will risk his life to carry it out!”

Yeon So-hyeon chuckled.

“No, I do not need such things. First, hand over all the contents of the Inner Courtyard’s ledgers that you remember to me.”

“Pardon?!”

“And we will draft the blueprint of the classified report to be submitted to the Council of Elders together. How about it?”

“T-that is…”

Intense conflict surged inside him.

It meant handing over all classified matters related to the Inner Courtyard’s ledgers to Yeon So-hyeon, and Yeon So-hyeon writing the report as he pleased.

“Tsk tsk. Where did the person who said just a moment ago that they would risk their life to carry it out go?”

“Men these days are all talk. As expected, there is no one like our Master.”

“What a pathetic man. The word ‘man’ does not suit him.”

At the words of the triplet maids, Kang Ho banged his head on the floor.

“This man, Kang Ho! From now on, I will only follow the Eldest Young Master’s words! In the future, I, Kang Ho, will serve the Eldest Young Master as my lord!”

The effect of the provocation was too good.

“No, there is no need to go that far…”

“No! If you do not need me, please take this humble one’s life on the spot!”

He was someone who inherited his grandfather’s personality exactly.

Yeon So-hyeon sighed with a bitter smile and patted his shoulder.

“Kang Ho. Rather than being by my side, there is much work for you to do in the Inspection Department in the future.”

“Am I now becoming the Eldest Young Master’s informant planted in the Inspection Department? If you command, I will memorize and deliver all the secrets kept in the Inspection Department!”

“No, no. There is no need to be so serious.”

He forced Kang Ho to stand up.

“Let us do it one step at a time. One by one.”

“Yes! Please give your command!”

“Once you do what I said earlier, live just like usual. Understand?”

“Are you telling me to succeed first and prove my qualifications to serve the Eldest Young Master?! I understand!”

Yeon So-hyeon gave up.

“…Right. Just do not die in some foreign land trying to build achievements. When a mission is given, always report to me before moving.”

“Yes! I will keep it in mind!”

At that time, Jeong-ah reported to Yeon So-hyeon.

“Master. Someone is approaching.”

The triplet maids rushed to Kang Ho, tidied his hair, and adjusted his clothes.

Then, Kang Ho blushed and said to them.

“Ex-Excuse me, could I know where my glasses are…?”

“Your glasses?”

“Yes, I cannot see anything properly without my glasses…”

He had returned to his original appearance in no time.

The triplet maids sighed.

And after a short while.

The Protocol Secretary visited and informed them that the bedrooms for temporary use had been prepared.

* * *

Early night.

Luoyang, Large Workshop.

At that place where the Guardian Pavilion had passed one shichen ago, two men walked out.

Just like one shichen ago, this time too, the security servants were as quiet as if they had honey in their mouths.

The two men looked dangerous at a glance, and they did not seem to be in a very good mood.

The man whose face was full of scars swore.

“Fck. Just the original mission itself is so fcking tough I’m dying…”

He roughly stuffed the document recording the information obtained from the workshop owner into his backpack.

At that sight, the bald man frowned.

“Hey, you know we have to organize all of that again later, right?”

The scarred man also frowned.

“Even if it is organized, I will be the one doing it, so do not touch me right now. I feel like my temper is about to burst.”

The weapons hanging from his waist rattled.

The bald man snorted.

“If you do not fix that temper, it will be hard for you to succeed.”

“It is none of your business, is it?”

Exchanging such sharp words, they entered a deserted alley.

It was because there was nothing good about the work they were doing being noticed by others.

“Where is next?”

The scarred man asked the bald man, who was looking into the document showing the visit list.

There was no reply.

“…!”

The scarred man reflexively moved both hands toward his weapons.

However, he could not draw his weapons.

It was because sword blades were positioned around his neck.

He tried to roll his eyes to grasp the situation.

“Do not roll your eyes.”

At the cold voice imbued with clear killing intent, he took both hands off his weapons and raised them up.

“…I do not know what this is about, but I will not resist, so ask anything.”

A woman’s cold voice came from behind him.

“To think you dared to go around investigating the investigation of the Luoyang Sword Family’s Guardian Pavilion behind their backs, you guys indeed have quite the nerve.”

At the mention of the Luoyang Sword Family’s Guardian Pavilion, the scarred man’s breathing became rough.

“T-there is circumstances for everything, so you will understand if you listen first!”

The woman laughed coldly.

“Tell me.”

“We are people from the Great Immortal Merchant Group.”

It was unusual for a merchant group name.

“…The Great Immortal Merchant Group. Do you have anything to prove it?”

Seeing that the woman seemed to know the name of the Great Immortal Merchant Group, the scarred man felt slightly relieved inside.

“There is a plaque inside my breast.”

“Take it out. Very slowly. If you move even a little quickly, your head will fall first.”

The scarred man took out the plaque very slowly.

“It is correct.”

The woman ordered her subordinates.

“All personnel. Sheathe your swords and move to the next gathering point.”

“Guardian Envoy, milady. But these guys…”

“Does my order sound like a joke to you?”

“No!”

While all the others vanished, the woman in black, the Guardian Envoy, sent a sound transmission to the scarred man.

‘What of the crow crying alone on the old pine?’

The scarred man hurriedly answered via sound transmission.

‘Do not cry just because Mount Tai is far.’

The Guardian Envoy chuckled.

“You have learned martial arts despite being a mere hound.”

“…”

“I was already too busy to find time separately, so it is good that I met you.”

The Guardian Envoy threw a bundle of documents from her bosom to the scarred man, who made no answer or reaction.

‘Deliver this to the top.’

Before he could even reply, the Guardian Envoy vanished.

“Cough, cough…!”

The bald man, who had been shoved into a corner with his acupoints sealed, coughed violently as he got up.

She had unsealed his acupoints with a finger wind as she disappeared.

“…F*ck. That was a close call.”

The scarred man, feeling his entire body drenched in cold sweat, hurriedly hid the bundle of documents he had received.

* * *

The Luoyang Sword Family.

An office of the Second Young Master’s camp.

“This is information delivered immediately from the Great Immortal Merchant Group, classified as ‘High Grade’.”

The personnel neatly arranged the bundle of documents delivered to the office on the desk.

“…It is the internal information of the Guardian Pavilion.”

The Second Young Master’s strategist, Han Myeong-hwi, stroked his mustache.

One of his aides opened his mouth while looking into the documents.

“It is a significant amount of investigation records. I will merge them with the existing data right away.”

As the aides left the office with the documents, a wide space unfolded.

In that place alone, dozens of people were engrossed in their work, forgetting the night.

They were compiling information pouring in from all directions.

“It is the investigation information received from an informant of the Guardian Sixth Department.”

On one wall toward which the person who received the bundle of documents ran, bookshelves were lined up in a row.

He found the slot for the Guardian Department among them and inserted the bundle of documents, which was soon pulled out and moved by the hands of an analyst.

The single document summarized and organized by the analyst was carried by another person’s hand back into Han Myeong-hwi’s office.

And by the hand of the aide, it was pasted in its correct place on the wall that was already full of such documents.

Han Myeong-hwi narrowed his eyes as he looked at the wall illuminated brightly by the oil lamps.

“…On earth, on whose stage is this incident running?”

Time passed.

The personnel moved busily, and the documents on the wall increased.

Eventually, the sun began to rise, but Han Myeong-hwi’s eyes were still fixed on the wall.

His parched lips opened.

“The Chief Manager of the Inner Courtyard…”

Strong doubt about the answer he had found was harbored on his face.

“And the Swordless One…?”