NABC Book 6: Chapter 23
Book 6: Chapter 23
Book 6: Chapter 23
“My, with such illustrious seniors seated before me, it’s simply dazzling.”
Yeon So-hyeon’s light quip.
Across the long table, the former clan head of the Situ Clan smiled faintly.
“The Eldest Young Master, who says that, is indeed incomparably brilliant now that we’re meeting in person. But...”
Another clan head interrupted.
“The Eldest Young Master seems as if he knew in advance that we would come?”
Yeon So-hyeon’s smile deepened.
“It’s not particularly difficult to guess.”
Before another clan head could open his mouth, Yeon So-hyeon pointed behind them.
“I saw the Second Imperial Guards Brigade’s grand and resplendent flag moving high above the Gongsun Clan’s tall walls in the distance.”
“And?”
“With just that, I thought it was simply because Senior Gongsun was in the midst of threatening to drive me out...”
Yeon So-hyeon grinned.
“But from a certain point, not a single person could be seen moving anywhere in this massive mansion, so I couldn’t help but notice.”
Because it would tarnish their prestige if word spread that they all moved at once just for Yeon So-hyeon.
The Second Imperial Guards Brigade remained on the main road, blocking the view of the Eldest Young Master’s procession, and in that gap, the former clan heads moved.
Halting all external activities of everyone inside the Gongsun Clan’s mansion was in the same vein.
“Hmph.”
The former clan head of the Lu Clan nodded.
“He seems to be right.”
They, too, had wanted to verify the actual existence of the person they had exchanged letters with.
“The test is getting tiresome. Why don’t you all stop it about here?”
Yeon So-hyeon waved his hand.
“You’ll naturally come to know as we converse more anyway.”
The clan head of the Chunyu Clan smiled.
“Then let’s get straight to the point.”
At those words, Yeon So-hyeon sighed exaggeratedly.
“Is this about the price for crossing the threshold as you please again? That’s getting tiresome too.”
“The fact that the Eldest Young Master came all the way here means there must be some deal to be made. But for a deal to proceed normally, shouldn’t the settlement come first?”
Then they began listing their demands one by one.
“First, the Situ Clan demands a stake in the mining rights for the copper mine discovered in the northern end of Henan Province this time.”
“The Yuan Clan wants the ship usage fees on the Yellow River waived for a year.”
“The Puyang Clan...”
“And also...”
They all demanded grandiose compensation befitting the power their clans possessed.
Yeon So-hyeon listened to their blabbering and scoffed inwardly.
How the sight of those who lust for power and crave authority was so alike anytime, anywhere.
Those who hide their own, covet others’, and ceaselessly immerse themselves in filling a bottomless warehouse.
‘If you come at me like this...’
Yeon So-hyeon smiled, pretending to listen attentively to them.
‘Aren’t you too easy to handle?’
What was too easy to handle?
With the former clan heads of the Sixteen Clans, seven old monsters at that, seated before him, Yeon So-hyeon thought so.
As Yeon So-hyeon was thinking about other matters, their seemingly endless list of demands finally came to an end.
“Let’s leave it at this.”
“Indeed. No matter how outstanding the Eldest Young Master’s abilities are, anything more would be burdensome, wouldn’t it?”
The former clan head of the Situ Clan smiled, meeting Yeon So-hyeon’s gaze.
“If it’s to this extent, we’ve also taken into account our ties with the Eldest Young Master and made considerable concessions.”
And then, a melodious laughter burst out from Yeon So-hyeon’s mouth.
The sound was so loud that the former clan heads were embarrassed.
Yeon So-hyeon faced each former clan head one by one.
Their faces held only faint traces of emotion, with no proper expressions visible.
But Yeon So-hyeon knew.
‘Their true faces have finally been revealed.’
Why had he not listened to their words from the start?
Why had he ignored them even as they acted as if they would fight to the death at any moment?
Those reactions were merely what they had expressed out of necessity.
‘Monsters who fabricate emotions to their advantage according to the situation, pressuring others with it, while endlessly weighing profit and loss in their minds...’
It didn’t mean they were emotionless beings.
They were simply seasoned enough to bury their own emotions in the deepest place and move solely based on practicality and profit and loss.
Although pushed back now...
The assets derived from their experience of dominating the pinnacle of political power in the Central Plains for such a long time were still vividly alive like this.
Just Gongsun Nakang alone, whom Yeon So-hyeon had faced first, hadn’t he bizarrely changed his expressions in an instant to suit the situation?
‘Truly human-faced demons. Aren’t they befitting of the nickname “old monsters”?’
Therefore, to move the emotions deep within them, Yeon So-hyeon shook and shook them.
And eventually made them stop fabricating emotions.
“...”
Yeon So-hyeon, arms folded, closed his eyes altogether.
And waited.
Giving the old monsters time to compare their former prime with their current selves, and to reflect once more on their position pushed out of power within their clans.
And giving them time to feel once again how much the ‘letters’ Yeon So-hyeon had sent them in the past through numerous experiences had helped.
How could old monsters like them not know Yeon So-hyeon’s ability to stimulate and move people’s minds without killing a single person, creating the flow of events as he desired?
How could they not know that Yeon So-hyeon was currently shaking them in that manner?
But Yeon So-hyeon waited.
***
A former clan head, calculating what dangers he might face by joining hands with Yeon So-hyeon, gave a bitter smile.
‘At first, I only thought of extorting ample compensation.’
At some point, he found himself considering joining hands with this ‘young monster’ at least once.
‘I’m being swayed.’
He knew.
That it was that child’s tactic.
That the provocations he had made were also nothing more than that tactic.
But somehow, the overflowing spirit that young monster showed without hesitation touched the emotions he had suppressed deep within.
Emotions he had forcibly suppressed due to his position.
And the moment he realized those emotions...
The cold calculation that seemed to proceed dispassionately met that boundless will to power and began spewing desires that had ended their long slumber and squirmed.
Then, that young monster named Yeon So-hyeon, a being that could hardly be called young...
Started to look like an attractive ‘opportunity.’
***
The first to open his mouth was Gongsun Nakang.
Shaking him up before the others joined had been effective.
Thanks to that, the conversation Yeon So-hyeon had been waiting for opened up.
“Then. What do we gain from the deal the Eldest Young Master proposes?”
Although there was no particular agreement, no one questioned or stopped that question.
The trivial talk about compensation had vanished into thin air.
It meant that such things were no longer important to them.
Yeon So-hyeon, unfolding his arms, spoke again in a polite tone.
“Of course, it’s the opportunity for the former clan heads present here to regain the position of clan head and stand by His Majesty the Emperor’s side.”
Yeon So-hyeon thought, wearing a fabricated smile.
‘That’s why I said you’re easy to handle.’