Chapter 50. The Wind Blows (5)
The atmosphere in the chief's office turned icy.
A flicker of bewilderment crossed Taegyeong's face.
"Wh-what do you mean, my lord?"
Crrack!
Yeon Hojeong crushed the teacup in his bare hand without sustaining a single injury.
Taegyeong instinctively gulped at the threatening display.
"I must admit, I found it curious at first."
Yeon Hojeong opened his palm.
Clatter-clatter.
Fragments of porcelain rained onto the floor.
"There are three principles for embedding spies in rival organizations. First: an unnoticeable location. Second: an inconspicuous position. Third: an unremarkable personality."
Taegyeong's eyes trembled.
This was a man who could maintain composure even if lightning struck before him. Yet now, that discipline failed him.
The young lord who openly named him a spy stared with eyes blazing like storm and magma - an aura straddling lethal intent and sheer authority. When the teacup shattered, so did Taegyeong's calmness. Yeon Hojeong's killing energy seeped perfectly into those mental fractures.
"First-rate spies adhere strictly to those rules. People never suspect the invisible ones. Countless sects have fallen to such hidden blades."
"......!!"
"But special operatives?" Yeon Hojeong thumbed his own chest. "They're the opposite."
"......!!"
"Conspicuous personalities. Prominent positions. They haunt visible locations precisely because they know suspicion glances off them like water after the first crisis. Once cleared, they become untouchable."
Yeon Hojeong's smile went unanswered.
"You're an anomaly. Neither first-rate nor special class. An unremarkable personality holding critical position in our nerve center."
"My lord! Surely you're not suggesting-"
"Suggesting? I'm declaring."
"......!"
"At first, I wondered - you showed no ties to the Ming family. What other vultures circle our house?" Yeon Hojeong leaned forward. "Then I remembered - carrion eaters hunt in packs."
Taegyeong's hand clenched his thigh.
The Ming family? Since when were they involved?
Even in crisis, his mind cataloged information - survival instincts honed through years of deception.
A dry chuckle escaped Yeon Hojeong. "Didn't the Murong patriarch tell you? About our alliance with Ming?"
"......?!"
"Impressive tradecraft. A well-trained mole who can be easily discarded if caught. The Murongs' signature touch."
"......!!"
"Fascinating." Yeon Hojeong twirled a porcelain shard. "Stabbing both allies and enemies in the back. While our main family played the fool, monitoring public opinion like clueless shepherds."
The puzzle pieces clicked. Both Murong and Ming had targeted Yeon family. Not as rivals, but collaborators seeking to split Jiangsu Province like roast meat.
The late Patriarch Yeon Wi had opposed their business proposals to the end. When persuasion failed, Ming resorted to their signature brutality - annihilate the uncooperative.
But the true revelation was Murong's betrayal.
Ming's sudden, silent downfall likely bore Murong fingerprints. How else could the upstart Murongs claim the "First Under Heaven" title despite their brief history? They couldn't have acted alone, but clearly led the charge.
In the end, everyone danced to Murong's tune.
"The world's always been this way." Yeon Hojeong flicked the shard away. "Black Path, White Path - all same-colored bastards. Kind ones get trampled. Villains grow fat."
"......"
"Say, what lies did Murong feed you? You don't strike me as the noble type." His gaze sharpened. "Promised you a seat when they rule the world?"
Cold sweat trickled down Taegyeong's neck.
"My lord, I truly don't understand-"
"Of course you don't." Yeon Hojeong snapped his fingers. "Hugae!"
Swish.
Taegyeong startled as a figure materialized from the shadows - Ga Deuk-sang leaning against bookcases in the office corner.
"Tch. Didn't want to meddle in family affairs." The informant's voice dripped frost. "But you're foul even by my standards. Lost all appetite for your payment."
Yeon Hojeong extended his hand. Ga Deuk-sang placed a neatly folded letter in it.
Taegyeong's pupils constricted.
No. Impossible.
This was the coded missive he'd sent to Murong through the Tongcheon Corps. Not under Yeon family's name - he'd groomed his own operatives during years as Chief Administrator.
"Complex cipher." Yeon Hojeong fluttered the paper. "But child's play for the Open Palm Sect's codebreakers."
Taegyeong's vision darkened. The Open Palm Sect - zenith of White Path intelligence networks, home to legendary cryptographers. Of course they'd crack it.
"Enough theatrics. How's your face not paralyzed from decades of fake expressions?"
The spy sighed. No use denying it now.
"How did you know?"
Yeon Hojeong's eyes glinted. "Know what?"
"Your reason for suspecting me."
The young lord snorted. "You think I need reasons? Only fools require explanations."
Bitter laughter escaped Taegyeong. "Won't even grant me that."
"Surprised you confessed so easily. Expected more resistance."
"Would you have believed denials?"
"Obviously not."
"Exactly why I confessed." Taegyeong's smile turned rueful. "I underestimated you. Mistook you for another power-hungry upstart."
"The act served its purpose."
"A masterful one at that. I, who prides himself on reading men, failed to see through a youngster's façade. How humbling."
Yeon Hojeong's smirk betrayed quiet pride.
Taegyeong pressed on. "You couldn't have acted alone. The Patriarch knows."
Years of service couldn't mask the naked betrayal in how he spat "Patriarch".
"Father remains unaware."
"Why lie now?"
"Why indeed?"
Taegyeong studied his opponent's face. "...Truth?"
"Shall we swap jokes while fish rot? Out with it."
"Why keep silent?"
Yeon Hojeong's chilly grin sparked realization.
"You... your ambition's real! You want the patriarch seat!"
"Could fake acting fool a decade-seasoned spy?"
Taegyeong sighed softly. "My arrogance brought this. I saw the truth yet fell for layered deceptions."
Regardless of assistance, Yeon Hojeong remained this operation's mastermind - exposing a spy to cement his prowess. Secrecy served his personal agenda.
Even as Taegyeong lamented, triumph surged within.
Idiot!
The Patriarch's ignorance changed everything. Escape plans crystallized.
Yeon Hojeong rose. "My thanks for the stepping stone."
"Beware ambition's price." Taegyeong's eyes turned venomous. "Gluttons choke on unexpected bones."
"Spoken like portion-starved paupers."
"A master's shadow breeds greatness, they say. How true."
"Save proverbs for your executioner." Yeon Hojeong jerked his chin toward the door. "Walk or be dragged."
Soon, guards escorted Taegyeong to the underground prison.
Watching the procession, Yeon Hojeong called: "Master Hugae."
"Your command?"
"Tell Father to enjoy his reunion. We'll handle the aftermath."
Screee-
The cell door opened.
Thud!
Taegyeong collapsed into a space barely fitting one person. Beop In-gakju's glare could flay flesh.
"Never expected this from you."
The prisoner kept his back turned, feigning serenity.
"To think we were played by that shameless face!"
"......"
"Nothing to say?!"
Silence.
The enraged jailor spat final words: "Your death won't be clean."
BANG!
The steel door slammed shut, leaving Taegyeong in moonlit solitude.
Hours passed.
"Cheongin (Listener)."
A voice answered through the barred window: "Hwain (Speaker)."
"......"
"Hyeoncheon (Black Sky), Hocheon (Vast Sky)."
"Hocheon."
Jingle.
A small black key clinked through the window. Groping in darkness, Taegyeong secured it.
Success.
He traced the opposite wall.
Lower left dot. Up three. Right two.
Even the finest prisons had weaknesses between stones. Not gaps, but engineered keyholes.
Click. Click-click.
Sweat beaded his brow despite prior rehearsals. Reality proved messier than drills.
After painful minutes - Clunk.
A soundless section of floor vanished. Taegyeong slipped through the hatch before it resealed.
The cell stood empty.
