met free Chapter 231 : Like Flicking Abacus Beads
Chapter 231 : Like Flicking Abacus Beads
Chapter 231: Like Flicking Abacus Beads
There was a blonde girl whom everyone had believed would die, yet she overcame fate and survived.
Even thinking about it now, it was a heartwarming story.
However, what I had just heard was of a completely different nature.
It was the kind of serious matter that made my head turn ice-cold the moment I heard it.
“Wasn’t that Crown Prince supposed to die any day now?”
Everyone had spoken of his death as a foregone conclusion, and I had heard he was already on the brink of his last breath.
What on earth had happened while I was away in the Northern Region?
“Could it be… he’s not going to die?”
“How would I know? How could this old man possibly discern a person’s Heavenly Fate?”
Hwang Geolgae shrugged his shoulders as if asking something like that was ridiculous.
This fake, crooked-nosed Daoist. He always acted like some mysterious sage, yet when it actually mattered, he was useless.
“You’re cursing me in your head right now, aren’t you?”
Hwang Geolgae narrowed his eyes like needles and shot me a glare.
“That can’t be. You misunderstand.”
Perhaps because he was a beggar who had gone through all kinds of hardships, his instincts were frighteningly sharp.
Especially when it came to sensing when someone was insulting him.
“Anyway, if that’s true, it’ll be troublesome in many ways. If it’s not just that his condition stopped worsening, but he actually starts recovering…”
After the Garden Banquet incident, the balance that had seemed to tilt toward Ma Juyoung’s victory might suddenly swing in a completely different direction.
Just when it seemed like we had finally cornered that vicious Empress faction, now they had a way to rise again?
It was obvious that a strange atmosphere must be flowing within the Imperial Palace right now.
The officials were probably busy recalculating their positions, flicking their abacus beads all over again.
“Haa… will this backlash hit our office too?”
I had only moved according to a request, but would the other side see it that way?
I had disguised myself as a rookie eunuch, but with the intelligence network of the Royal Guards rivaling that of the Eastern Depot, it wouldn’t be long before they realized our Troubleshooter Office was involved.
Or perhaps they had already noticed.
Still, from their perspective, their attention would be focused on the Emperor and the Crown Prince, so they probably didn’t have the leisure to care about small fry like us.
“But if the Crown Prince really recovers…”
Originally, Hongnakje had intended to strip the Crown Prince of his position because of his health. If that issue was resolved, everything could revert back to square one.
Of course, as my master had said, Hongnakje was the kind of man who could act unpredictably, so nothing was certain.
“Master, shouldn’t we be a bit worried too?”
If those people regained power and seized our office and land under some absurd pretext, we’d be completely doomed.
“‘We’?”
But Hwang Geolgae looked at my face and said that.
He even snorted, as if I had said something amusing.
“…Wow, you’re just going to coldly abandon your disciple like that when he’s in trouble?”
This master of mine cut ties with his disciple with frightening decisiveness.
This must be the ‘art of selling’ those stock market masters always talked about.
Pop.
When I protested in disbelief, he ignored me and opened the lid of his liquor gourd.
“You brat, how many times have I told you not to get entangled with the imperial family?”
He gulped down the alcohol, then took out dried jerky from his robes and chewed it as a snack.
“You ignored all of my advice and acted as you pleased, and now what? ‘We’? Don’t make me laugh.”
“….”
I was momentarily speechless.
But everything has its light and shadow. Even though I had gotten involved with the imperial family, I had performed good deeds within it and saved suffering beggars.
I had even lifted the burden and shackles carried by the former Dragon Head Sect Leader.
“Isn’t that right, Master?”
“…Hmph.”
He didn’t deny it, perhaps reluctantly acknowledging it as a merit, much like the imperial decree allowing the Beggars’ Union access to the Imperial Capital.
“And from what I saw, helping Princess Peach Blossom was the righteous thing to do, not the Empress.”
The Empress’s side was full of shady dealings like poisoning. Even if they had come to me as clients, I would’ve refused.
Especially this time, when they tried to wipe out the imperial family using Thunderburst Bombs—it went far beyond crossing the line.
“Heh heh, there’s nothing more meaningless than distinguishing good and evil in politics.”
Hwang Geolgae stroked his graying beard like a man who had lived through everything.
Everyone moved for their own benefit, so good and evil merely changed depending on one’s position.
Having once stayed in the Imperial Palace, he seemed to have a cynical view of its affairs.
“But trying to poison the Emperor’s family and wipe out an entire household isn’t something good, is it?”
The Starfall Heart Cultivation Method recognized what I believed to be right as good—there was no need for any other standard.
And after that incident, Princess Peach Blossom had also begun to act, realizing she would die if she stayed still.
Simply put, it was the Empress herself who stirred things up and created this situation.
“So what do we do now?”
As a junior of the Murim, it was natural to seek knowledge and advice from an experienced senior.
Since I had received such complicated news, I asked for guidance on what to do next.
Hwang Geolgae simply drank his liquor comfortably, as if wondering why I was even worried.
“What do you mean, what do we do? The higher-ups will take care of it. Or what, are you planning to jump right into the middle of that imperial power struggle?”
Now that I thought about it, I had no desire to throw myself into that even more brutal vortex.
There wasn’t even a request, and it would look ridiculous for a mere troubleshooter to meddle in Central Plains politics on his own.
“Tsk tsk, don’t go against a flow you cannot resolve. Just focus on what you can do.”
Unless a tempting reward or proposal came later, I decided to take care of my own matters first.
“Master, and what is it that I can do?”
“That Yang Energy you obtained from this expedition. Train to absorb and control it.”
He meant I should find a way to manage the new ‘resident’ that had entered my Dantian.
Right now, it was being suppressed by the overwhelming Star Spirit Energy and remained quiet, but—
If I were to exhaust my internal energy completely and leave my Dantian empty, there was no telling what it might do.
So I needed to prepare in advance and train to control it.
“And bring out that snack you’ve been hiding since earlier, you brat.”
“…I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
In the scorching summer of Beijing, without even a refrigerator, how valuable would Ice Confection be?
At the very least, it wasn’t something to be wasted as a drunkard’s snack.
“Just give me one bite.”
“Get lost. ‘One bite,’ he says—what are you, some beggar?”
“I am a beggar, you brat.”
A gift containing the essence of the North Sea Ice Palace.
Master or not, I firmly shook my head.
Under the warm sunlight of midsummer.
At this time of year, Hwayang Palace should have been a lively place filled with blooming plants and flowers.
Yet recently, due to ominous rumors coming from the Imperial Medical Hall, the Imperial Noble Consort’s faction remained silent.
“This is truly troubling… to think the Empress’s eldest son might recover…”
Ma Juyoung wore a troubled expression as she heard the report from Eastern Depot agents who had infiltrated the Medical Hall.
Looking toward the direction where the Son of Heaven resided, she muttered to herself.
“Hmm… if the eldest son shows signs of recovery, will His Majesty be pleased?”
She was simply gauging her husband’s feelings, without political intent.
“…Mother, we are the ones who should be worried right now.”
As it seemed the Imperial Noble Consort failed to grasp the gravity of the situation, Princess Peach Blossom spoke up on behalf of everyone.
The others sent her grateful looks for saying what they could not.
Shaking her head slightly at her now-familiar mother’s demeanor, the princess turned to Cheon Sugong.
“Cheon Sugong, this is difficult to understand. Didn’t they say that even if Hua Tuo himself came, there was no way to save him?”
The imperial physicians had said so.
That was why everyone believed his death was inevitable—yet now his condition had stopped worsening?
That implied the possibility of recovery.
Because of this, the atmosphere in the Imperial Palace had become tense, like walking on thin ice.
“Princess Peach Blossom, regarding that matter, we have discovered several suspicious circumstances.”
The head of the Eastern Depot, whose reliability was unquestionable, laid out the findings.
“Suspicious individuals have been entering and leaving the Medical Hall?”
“Yes. They were disguised as staff, but they could not escape the eyes of the Eastern Depot.”
Not physicians, but unknown individuals had repeatedly visited the Crown Prince’s Medical Hall, which no one else approached.
According to the testimony of Eastern Depot martial artists who witnessed them, they exuded an eerie and sinister aura.
Furthermore, the chilling tools and materials they brought suggested that some kind of forbidden technique or external sorcery may have been used on the Crown Prince’s body.
“This is nothing to take lightly… One would hope the Empress wouldn’t go that far, and yet…”
Given her past actions, it was hard to dismiss the possibility.
If the future Emperor were to have his mind controlled by some external force—
It would be no different from handing over the entire Central Plains to a single faction.
“It seems we were so focused on the Empress that we overlooked this. I have no excuse, Princess.”
Cheon Sugong lowered his head deeply.
“Enough. Now that we know, we must prepare countermeasures.”
Princess Peach Blossom waved her hand dismissively.
She was the type to focus on the future rather than dwell on the past, but given how easily the situation could overturn, Cheon Sugong could not remain at ease.
Since they had fallen a step behind, they now needed to move two steps ahead.
‘Should I call that guy…?’
He briefly thought of a young troubleshooter who always stirred up chaos but delivered results—
But he soon shook his head. The situation was too serious to involve an outsider.
If word spread, the entire Central Plains could be thrown into shock.
“For now, the Eastern Depot will act independently, Your Highness.”
A declaration to move quietly and secretly, as always.
“Very well, Cheon Sugong. I trust you.”
Just how far had the Empress gone?
With a grave expression, Cheon Sugong bowed deeply and left the flower-filled Hwayang Palace.
***
Click.
The lid of an antique special wooden box opened.
At once, the cold energy of the Northern Region spread through the Beijing Trading Lord’s Office in the height of summer.
A woman tapped her chin with the tip of her fan and let out a soft exclamation.
“Oh my… is this the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal I’ve only heard about?”
Even in midsummer, the biting cold and the presence of such frigid ice left her unable to hide her astonishment.