Part 26 - Omen
It was the time of day when Geumju wrapped things up—her most important time of the entire day.
Bath time.
Even today, she was soaking deep in a granite tub made specially for her alone.
It had been a historic day—the day she obtained the Sword Clan Bronze Token—so her bath at the end of the day couldn't help but feel even more enjoyable.
On top of that, she'd managed to land a solid blow on Hyunwol Pavilion, which had always felt like a thorn in her side. That made her even happier.
And yet, something still left an unpleasant aftertaste in a corner of her mind.
That Swordless bastard…
The First Young Master of the Luoyang Sword Clan, Yeon Sang-hyeon.
Meeting him today was something she hadn't predicted at all.
Because of that, her plan to deliver a firm warning to the Hyunwol Pavilion Master had only been half successful.
If that had been all, it wouldn't have bothered her so much.
As someone who did "business", she knew better than anyone that plans started going off the rails the moment they were made.
And yet, something still gnawed at her.
The information she'd received that morning about the Luoyang Sword Clan hadn't mentioned any plan for the First Young Master to go out.
Of course, there was no reason they would provide her with details about Yeon Sang-hyeon—someone of the First Young Master's status.
But still.
The person who had handed over the Sword Clan Bronze Token along with the information had known Geumju would visit Hyunwol Pavilion today.
Wasn't that what they had arranged?
So why hadn't they told her about the First Young Master going out?
She bit her nail.
Could it be that even the Second Young Master's side didn't have the authority to access the First Young Master's outing plans?
But that seemed unlikely.
Then…
"…From the start, no one knew the First Young Master's plans?"
"What do you mean, my lady?"
The goateed chief steward who had been waiting at her side asked, but she didn't answer.
Come to think of it, the First Young Master she'd met today was completely different from the Swordless figure she'd always heard about in rumors.
—What are you doing? Hand it over. Let me see.
She recalled how he'd calmly held out his palm toward her, asking for the Sword Clan Bronze Token.
His attitude was strangely confident.
Even if she had a master as her bodyguard, could someone really remain that composed in a space packed with armed men?
Maybe the First Young Master had some secret she didn't know…
No. That's taking it too far.
Geumju shook her head, cutting off her imagination as it grew wilder.
That calm confidence was probably because he was the Sword Clan's First Young Master.
In Luoyang, he'd know perfectly well there was no one who could touch him—so why would he be afraid?
And besides, rumors were always exaggerated. It was only right to assume the stories about the Swordless had been embellished to some degree.
And even when I hurled insults right at him, he still couldn't do anything—because he didn't have the strength, right?
Once her thoughts settled there, her heart felt much lighter.
"…Chief steward. The water's gone cold."
At those words, the chief steward's face stiffened instantly.
The maids who had been waiting around the tub to attend to Geumju also forced their expressions into neutrality.
Swallowing his curses, the chief steward shouted toward the outside.
"Lady Geumju says the water has gone cold!"
The door opened, and Geumju's direct subordinates carried in girls whose bodies were tightly bound.
They all looked no older than twelve or thirteen. Gags were stuffed in their mouths, and their eyes brimmed with fear.
"Mmph! Mmph!"
The subordinates laid them down in a straight line, positioning their upper bodies over the tub's edge.
The girls seemed to sense their fate and tried to struggle, but the men shoved them down roughly from behind.
"Hm. They don't seem very fresh…?"
At Geumju's remark, the chief steward answered, forcing down his discomfort.
"…I'll instruct them to be more careful with the selection."
Geumju's hand flashed.
The girls' throats split open all at once.
Her underlings grabbed their hair and stepped back so the severed heads wouldn't fall into the tub.
"Hoo… Lately I've been getting wrinkles, and it worries me…"
As new blood poured out and the tub warmed again, Geumju touched her own skin and grumbled.
That crazy bitch…
The goateed man cursed her inwardly.
He'd spent his life in the back alleys and had seen every filthy sight there was to see, but he'd never met anyone more vicious than his own boss.
Geumju was, without question, the worst kind of villainess.
"Of course not. How could that be? Lady Geumju's skin is smoother than silk."
Of course, what came out of his mouth was entirely different.
Whether Geumju was a villainess or a witch, it didn't matter.
Besides, he himself had done too many things to feel sorry for cursing her.
If he hadn't, how could he have lived so well in this rotten world?
It was only that, as he grew older, he'd been becoming strangely sentimental.
Just then, the door flew open and one of the underlings tumbled in, half-rolling across the floor.
"Emergency report!"
The chief steward's complexion hardened.
"What is it?"
"One of the meat factories was attacked! It's completely smashed to pieces!"
"What?!"
Geumju jolted upright.
"I don't know the details. The suppliers found a few people who were already dying."
"Whose doing was it?!"
At Geumju's sharp voice, the underling shrank his neck.
"They weren't in their right minds, and they died almost immediately…"
The chief steward pressed him harder.
"Even so, they must've said something, didn't they?!"
The underling hesitated, then answered.
"They said they saw some evil spirit… or that an evil ghost did it… or that it was a monster…"
The chief steward's eyebrows shot up.
"An evil spirit? An evil ghost? A monster?"
"Yes, yes. And… someone said they saw a white mask."
Geumju shot back.
"A white mask?"
"Yes, but they all died before they could give a coherent account…"
Her face twisted into a grimace.
After a moment of gathering her thoughts, she sank back into the tub.
It wasn't time to take it seriously yet.
"Probably picked a fight with some master."
The chief steward nodded along.
"Come to think of it, last year we messed with a wandering master and lost an entire branch in one go."
People born with the talent to handle energy were limited.
And among them, those who learned proper martial arts and became martial artists were rarer still.
And among those martial artists, the ones who broke past the wall and became true masters were fewer still.
"…Doing business in this world, it feels like I run into those rare masters way too often."
"Yes, that's right. There's definitely… that kind of tendency."
Geumju sighed and leaned her head back against the tub.
"Tell the kids not to stir up trouble for a while. If we keep our heads down, that bastard will vent his anger here and there, get tired, and go on his way."
"When morning comes, I'll also have us investigate further."
After the underling shut the door and left, Geumju snapped irritably.
"Which unemployed bastard is causing shit again this time? Seriously—this is why you shouldn't raise kids stuffing their heads with nonsense about 'chivalry' and all that from the time they're little."
Sensing her mood souring fast, the chief steward hurriedly gestured to the maids.
They brought liquor and cups, lit incense, and bustled about.
"Getting heated and charging in over something that doesn't even make money. You have to live a little smoother, learn to adapt to the world."
"Yes, yes. You're absolutely right."
The chief steward worked hard to placate her.
Then Geumju's guard, seated off to one side, muttered.
"An evil ghost, huh…"
Geumju turned to him.
"What? You heard something?"
"Ah, well…"
As the guard trailed off, Geumju frowned.
"Why are you dragging it out too? What the hell is wrong with you?!"
The guard hurriedly spoke to the chief steward instead.
"Chief steward, weren't the outsourced guys we put on the gambling den job missing a few days ago?"
The chief steward nodded.
"They vanished without a trace. But those outsourced types disappear all the time, so didn't we just let it slide?"
"Right, but…"
When the guard kept hesitating, Geumju grew impatient.
"But what?!"
"Ah—no. It's just… I'm kind of a regular at that gambling den. And I remembered a rumor I heard there…"
"A rumor?"
"Yes, yes. They say a lot of people saw ghosts that day. Plenty of people called it an evil ghost."
The guard scratched his chin.
"I don't really believe that stuff either, but so many people claimed it that it feels hard to dismiss completely…"
Geumju exploded.
"What does that have to do with what we're talking about? Those dying bastards were babbling nonsense, and now you're going to repeat that crap too?!"
"S-sorry."
"People in business should talk about something productive! Something productive!"
The guard, awkward and embarrassed, returned to his post.
Could it be…?
Even as she shouted, anxiety began to sprout inside Geumju.
…There isn't another existence like my teacher out there, is there?
Remembering her own teacher sent chills crawling over her skin.
That grotesque old man who had taught her martial arts of unknown origin—wasn't he an utterly incomprehensible being?
"Th-this is bad!"
The underling who had just left burst back in.
"What now?!"
"Another branch has been smashed!"
Geumju's brow twisted sharply.
"Same guy again?"
"Yes… They say it was that white mask."
Geumju pressed a hand to her forehead.
"Hoo…"
Rubbing her throbbing temples, she muttered.
"…We expected a few more places to get flattened before he calmed down."
"That's true, but…"
Geumju waved the underling away.
"Even with martial artists posted at every operation, the speed he's hitting us at means that 'white mask' is definitely a master."
"Yes."
The chief steward picked up the thread.
"Then just like we thought at first, it's more profitable to leave him alone. Even if some kids die, we can replace them quickly, can't we?"
Behind the increasingly lavish streets of Luoyang was an exploding underclass.
Most children who grew up there ended up begging in the back alleys.
And when those children grew up, they always ended up in the underworld.
"…Hiring a wandering master or an underworld master is expensive."
"Exactly."
Even after saying it himself, the goateed man's expression didn't look good.
He knew this world's ecosystem too well, but sometimes he still wondered if this place wasn't hell.
Having made up her mind, Geumju waved them off.
"That's enough. All of you, get out. And prepare a masseuse. I need a massage."
"Yes, then…"
The chief steward was just about to withdraw when—
"This is bad!"
The door flew open again with a frantic shout.
"Don't tell me—again…?"
The situation was becoming far more serious than they had thought.