novelraw Chapter 154 : The Great Clan
Chapter 154 : The Great Clan
Chapter 154: The Great Clan
A guest like rain after a drought had arrived.
The tense standoff between Jo Harang and Tang Yeo-hye, one that seemed ready to spark into flames at any moment, was broken by none other than an ordinary-looking, unfamiliar man.
He wore a long-sleeved robe befitting a cultured man, exuding a refined air, but the sturdy physique and firm gait visible beneath his attire subtly hinted that he had trained in martial arts.
This client seemed to carry some secret—though, really, who comes to a Troubleshooter’s office not hoping for help with a secret?
“How can we help you?”
At my question, the man slowly scanned each person inside the office.
Jo Harang, clad in a massive broadsword; Tang Yeo-hye, small but clearly feisty; and Ilhong, whose looks were almost too delicate for a man.
“I’m looking for the Troubleshooter, Dan Mujin.”
The man's gaze finally settled on my face as he muttered those words.
He must’ve been told something like, “You’ll know him when you see the annoyingly handsome guy.”
“Since I was told he looked like a smug bastard, you must be him.”
“……”
Tang Yeo-hye, arms crossed beside me, let out a snicker.
“Whoever referred you must’ve been a man.”
She was defending me, saying I looked smugly handsome—at least from a fellow guy’s point of view.
“That’s okay, no need to sugarcoat it.”
I made a mental note to ask later who had referred him.
With that thought, I turned to the presumed client and asked,
“So then, what brings you to our office today?”
Jo Harang began steeping fresh tea leaves for the guest at my signal.
Strangely, the tea he served this man was clear and clean—unlike whatever it was he'd given Tang Yeo-hye.
What kind of leaves did he brew for her?
“Troubleshooter, do you know anything about poison?”
That question made the petite woman, who had been slurping her bitter tea, react with a jolt.
“Ha! Know about poison? Of course I do. Who would know more about poison than I, of the Venom of Venom Valley?”
The pride in her voice matched her famed mastery of poisons within the Tang Clan of Sichuan.
The man cast a sidelong glance at her, mildly surprised by the interruption.
“Troubleshooter, who’s this little brat?”
Tang Yeo-hye's facial muscles twitched.
“Ugh…!”
“Let it go. He’s my guest. No disrupting business.”
She had just about stood up but froze at my restraint.
“Hoo… Hoo…”
She seemed to calm herself through deep breaths.
Interesting. Normally, she’d never tolerate being called short—but when I spoke, she obediently backed down.
It felt strangely satisfying, like I had tamed a wild beast.
“This is Tang Yeo-hye, daughter of the Tang Clan of Sichuan. Her height’s due to some medicine she took as a child…”
At my introduction, the man looked slightly surprised.
“Ah, the Tang Clan of Sichuan. That explains it.”
No wonder he was dressed like a scholar—he must not be too familiar with the epithets floating around the Murim.
Only after hearing her affiliation did his eyes light up with interest as he gave her a more thorough once-over.
“So then, what is it you need help with, client?”
Judging by that look in his eye, the matter clearly had to do with poison.
“There’s been a problem within the household I work for.”
A household with a retainer dressed like a scholar? This was no ordinary place.
“What sort of problem?”
“A poisoning. One of the maidservants was found dead, and they discovered traces of Ten-Step Soul Pursuit Powder on her.”
A deadly poison I hadn’t heard of. This was more up Tang Yeo-hye’s alley than mine.
She sat quietly, lips sealed as per my earlier request, but her puffed cheeks made her look a bit sulky.
“The investigation concluded it was an inside job. Either someone infiltrated… or someone defected.”
“So you want us to identify the poisoner or traitor hiding within?”
“Exactly.”
Well, that was something I could handle.
With the Heaven-Slaying Star embedded in my mind, all I needed to do was observe with sharp focus—and I could read murderous intent like an open book.
Hadn’t I recently uncovered a chef trying to poison food at the Eunseong Trading Company?
“So, which household is this exactly?”
“That, I can’t tell you. I’d prefer it remain a secret even after this is over. But I’ll pay you extra for the discretion.”
Fair enough. No need to publicize such disgraceful internal matters. Especially if they were offering hush money.
I nodded in understanding.
“So you want us to infiltrate and identify the poisoner quietly, without being discovered.”
“That’s right. But not all of you can come. A sudden influx of strangers might alert the poisoner. One or two, maybe—I can cover for them with existing plans.”
A secret infiltration to find a hidden killer with minimal disruption, huh?
I scanned the office.
Naturally, I’d have to go. The next most helpful person for this kind of work…
My gaze landed on Tang Yeo-hye, who sat with eyes narrowed like an angry cat.
“You’ll help, won’t you?”
“Hmph. Who knows?”
What? Still mad? Just because I stopped her from blowing up earlier?
“Well, please, Noona. Just this once.”
But I had a trump card.
When I softly used the word Noona, her lips twitched into a slow, reluctant grin.
“…Hmph. Fine. Since my precious little brother is asking, this Noona will help.”
Her tone was grudging, but the radiant smile at her lips said otherwise.
And so, I gained the assistance of the Tang Clan’s heir and the ultimate poison master, Tang Yeo-hye—completely free of charge.
Neung Sam always said she was oddly easy to handle. I was starting to see what he meant.
“…Noona?”
The client looked slightly taken aback, but I ignored him as Tang Yeo-hye and I rose to our feet.
“Well then, since the iron is hot, why don’t you lead the way to the gate of this nameless household?”
If a poisoner truly had infiltrated, any delay could get the client’s target killed.
That would be a disaster. I needed to bring my A-game for this rare commission.
“Jo Harang, Ilhong. I’ll be back soon. Hold down the fort.”
As I turned to leave, those two looked like sad puppies being left behind by their owner.
Weird. Normally, they didn’t care this much when I left for a job.
“What’re you dawdling for? Let’s go.”
The new client tapped my shoulder, urging me to move.
“Yeah, yeah. Let’s go.”
I could always soothe them later.
Tang Yeo-hye and I followed the client through the streets of Beijing.
Every time we passed a grand manor or fancy tiled roof, I thought this must be it—but he kept walking past them.
He began leading us into more remote and obscure alleys. Just how secret and important was this household, that we had to go this deep?
But as we rounded a winding alley corner, we found a familiar middle-aged man standing there.
“…Uncle Eunuch?”
I stared at him, blinking in disbelief, and called out cautiously.
The man scowled and glared at me with eyes aflame with rage.
“You little bastard… Still running that foul mouth, I see.”
Cheonsugong—the Third Princess’s closest confidant whom I had once clashed with when dealing with the Royal Guards.
I hadn’t expected to ever cross paths with him again. Yet here we were, face to face in some back alley.
“…Why are you jumping out here, Uncle Cheonsugong?”
A man surely swamped with duties at the Princess’s Palace, suddenly waiting for us in a back alley?
As I voiced the question, I also arrived at the answer on my own.
I looked at the client, my face now wary, and he averted his gaze.
“…Wait. Don’t tell me the household you mentioned earlier is—”
Surely he didn’t mean the Imperial Family ruling over the Central Plains?
“Hey, Mujin. What’s wrong? Why the sudden panic?”
Tang Yeo-hye asked, noticing my reaction toward a stranger.
Cheonsugong looked at my stunned face and chuckled.
“Dan Mujin, you clueless little punk.”
“…Yes? What is it now?”
He stepped closer as I began instinctively retreating…
“Hey, why don’t you work with me on this one?”
Apparently, there was a job tailor-made for me.
It sounded like the opening line of a movie—one of those ominous ones that never bodes well.
I must’ve taken the wrong job.
The guest I thought was rain during a drought had turned out to be a thunderbolt from a clear sky.
Thanks to that, we were now on our way to the Imperial Palace—completely unplanned.
A place that normally didn’t even permit one’s footsteps. For martial artists, approaching it could result in a beating, or worse, the loss of life.
Let alone the Princess’s Palace, where the daughter of the Emperor resided. Even looking at it from afar was to be done with utmost caution. It was, for all intents and purposes, a forbidden zone.
And as the entrance of the Princess’s Palace came into view, Cheonsugong—whom I had thought to be the client—ordered the man to bring out a Human-skin Mask.
“You’ll need to disguise yourself. Wear this.”
He added that besides the need to disguise myself as someone else, it was also necessary to hide my face due to the many messes I had caused.
By “messes,” he must’ve meant things like going head-to-head with Wang Jinggong of the Sanguigam to save a Trading Company or knocking down members of the Royal Guards.
“Oh, I’ve got one too.”
I took out my own mask from inside my clothes.
“What? Why would a simple-minded brute like you carry a disguise tool?”
“Well, I’ve got family issues of my own…”
For reference, this was a special Human-skin Mask that Ilhong had painstakingly customized every time I bulked up. It clung to my face like my own skin.
“So, who am I supposed to disguise myself as? I thought we just needed to catch a poisoner.”
“Quit whining and put it on. You’re going to be a Eunuch of the Princess’s Palace from now on.”
A eunuch? Like that bizarre person I saw at the Eunseong Trading Company’s Sericulture Chamber?
“Is there any particular reason I need to be a eunuch?”
Cheonsugong nodded and explained.
“The Princess’s Palace is a strictly male-prohibited zone. No man may enter unless they’re royalty or have the Emperor’s direct permission.”
Which meant sneaking me in was a high-risk gamble even for Cheonsugong.
“Ah, a male-prohibited zone…”
I remembered reading about that somewhere. In times like these, princes not destined for the throne were given titles and sent far away, while princesses were married off in political unions.
So, if word got out that an unrelated man entered a princess’s residence… that political marriage might fall apart.
Unfortunately, this was still an era where chastity was demanded from women.
“But Cheonsugong, you said it's male-prohibited, and eunuchs are men—oh, right, they don’t have that.”
I swept my gaze across the two of them as if I finally understood.
“…Cheonsugong, please allow me to tear out this brat’s tongue.”
Realizing what my gaze meant, the other man flared a vein on his forehead and made a grim request.
“No, Wisoo. That tongue of his is exactly what will sniff out the poisoner.”
Thankfully, Cheonsugong stopped him. Apparently, the man’s name was Wisoo.
“He’s really that sharp?”
“He sensed an assassin from Deathshroud before even I noticed.”
“…Huh.”
Wisoo gave me a glance, surprised.
“But I haven’t said I’m accepting this job yet.”
I raised a hand in protest, as if politely interrupting the conversation.
My master had told me not to get involved with the Imperial Family anymore.
“It’s too late. You have to accept it now.”
“…Why?”
“You’ve already heard too many secrets about the Princess’s Palace… and you’ve just insulted me again by calling me a eunuch. Wisoo, what’s the punishment for mocking a member of the Eastern Depot?”
“At minimum, tongue removal. At worst, beheading.”
“So there you have it.”
Two eunuch uncles glared at me as if daring me to say one more word.
“…Ahem.”
I didn’t even mean to say it aloud. Maybe they were just holding in a lot all this time.
Even if the second threat was personal, the first part was true—I had heard secrets about the Princess’s Palace. Running off halfway wouldn't be easy.
“But if you succeed, you’ll be rewarded handsomely. Trust me.”
Cheonsugong added that the Princess’s Palace had recently taken control of the Eunseong Trading Company’s money stream—so I could expect a generous reward.
Hmm. If it’s work related to the Imperial Palace, the pay would definitely be good.
“What should I do…”
The request was to identify a poisoner—or an assassin—who had infiltrated the Princess’s Palace.
I'd already done something similar at the Eunseong Trading Company. Found the culprit easily, too. This was right up my alley.
Really, all I had to do was wait, spot the poisoner, and point them out. As long as I was careful, it didn’t seem that hard.
“…Let’s do it.”
“Hey, are you crazy? Ever heard of non-interference with the government?”
Tang Yeo-hye pulled me aside and whispered urgently.
I’d heard there was a major conflict between the Imperial Household and the Murim long ago, and since then, the two had treated each other like strangers.
So unless something big happened, the Murim didn’t meddle with the court, and the court didn’t meddle with the Murim.
“Well, I mean… I’m just a wandering Troubleshooter. It’s not like I’m affiliated with any sect.”
“Ugh. Hey, I’m from the Tang Clan of Sichuan. If something goes wrong… it’ll be messy.”
I could take full responsibility myself, but she had to consider her clan.
“Didn’t you already give up on your clan? You said you didn’t care what happened anymore.”
“…That’s true. As long as I’ve got Neung Sam, I guess.”
Didn’t she already declare she was ditching the heir race to join the Demon-Slaying Unit?
“Help me, Noona. Are you really gonna let your little brother walk into hell alone?”
I grabbed her wrist and pleaded again.
“…Ugh. If my little brother insists that much… fine.”
I told her we’d both be wearing Human-skin Masks to hide our identities, and she finally nodded.
Since she was a woman, she could just disguise herself as a maid.
And with that, I secured a reliable ally before infiltrating the Princess’s Palace.
“Well then, let’s head into the male-prohibited zone.”
From my face to the ash-colored official robes—I was now fully disguised as a eunuch and entered the Princess’s Palace.
The person who greeted me was the head maid of the Third Princess’s Palace.
She had enough wrinkles around her eyes to suggest her age, but her elegant posture and refined grace stood out.
“You’re the new arrival?”
“…Yes, ma’am.”
I said, as trained, that I had been assigned here as a eunuch. She slowly looked me up and down.
“Oh my, you’re handsome… what a shame.”
Her gaze stopped around my face, and she gave me a look full of pity.