Chapter 222 : The Secret of Hoi Soyu (3)

Chapter 222: Hoi Soyu's Secret (3)

Hoi Soyu thought it was necessary to show her broad capacity and attract the people from the Sect to her side.

‘In times like this, she certainly knows how to use her wits well. She did the same in her past life.’

However, Yong Hwarin, who had no intention of obstructing her, remained silent.

If he stopped her, Do Pyo-du would gain no benefit, and his family would be expelled from the Sky Ocean Merchant Union.

Hoi Soyu had said it with that intention in mind.

Upon realizing this, Yong Hwarin glared at Hoi Soyu.

Yong Hwarin wanted to sweep them all away, but since that would cause even greater bloodshed, he had to endure it.

“We will take the body of Do Pyo-du.”

When Yong Hwarin inserted his Qi into Do Pyo-du, he had already searched through his belongings, confirming that there was nothing of importance.

“Do so.”

As Yong Hwarin willingly handed over Do Pyo-du’s body, the Demonic Master spoke.

“Yong Gongja, aren’t you being too generous?”

“Right now, I have no choice.”

The Demonic Master understood. As an outsider, they could not carelessly kill members of the Sect. Such actions could turn into a great offense in the Murim world.

“But I don’t understand why Do Pyo-du gave up at the end.”

The Demonic Master spoke in a bitter tone, and as he stepped back, Yong Hwarin stared at Do Pyo-du’s body for a long while, puzzled.

‘There is definitely something...’

Then, something flashed in his mind like lightning.

“Ah!”

Yong Hwarin, exclaiming in realization, fell into thought for a moment.

‘Do Pyo-du must have thought that he couldn’t escape, so he hid the contents of the Windpipe in another place. Let’s think about it. In that case, Do Pyo-du must have gone to find the person he trusted the most. Since he knew the contents of the Windpipe, he would have tried to store them elsewhere in case something went wrong. And the person Do Pyo-du trusted most was Jeon Yeong, the Third Escort Chief. Do Pyo-du must have gone to Jeon Yeong to entrust him with the contents of the Windpipe, but Jeon Yeong was with me at the time. Then, the answer is clear.’

Having completed his train of thought, Yong Hwarin immediately used the Dragon Concealment Heavenly Art to infiltrate the Escort Agency.

The Escort Agency was in chaos due to the death of the First Escort Chief Do Pyo-du.

The escorts, gathered in one place to talk, were too distracted, so it wasn’t difficult for Yong Hwarin to slip inside.

Yong Hwarin was familiar with the Escort Agency from his previous life and knew the location of Jeon Yeong’s room.

However, since he didn’t know the contents of the Windpipe, he stood there for a while after entering the room.

A seemingly unrelated obstacle caused him some confusion.

‘What could the contents of the Windpipe be? I can only think in terms of its size.’

The Windpipe that Do Pyo-du had carried was only about the size of a handspan.

Given that size, the items it could contain were limited.

Yong Hwarin searched through items of similar size in Jeon Yeong’s room.

After scanning over them, he found a stack of yellowed papers on a bookshelf lined with scrolls.

‘Letters? The other books are too large to fit in the Windpipe… this is the only thing that could fit.’

Yong Hwarin picked up a bundle of letters and examined them, then inwardly let out a cheer.

‘This is it!’

The letters contained Hoi Soyu’s name.

Just as Yong Hwarin was about to look at the other contents, he hastily stuffed the letter into his chest and ascended to the beam, using the Dragon Concealment Heavenly Art.

"Do Gye-gong’s last location might have been Escort Chief Jeon’s room. Some escorts saw Escort Chief Do coming from that direction."

"Is that so? Search everything! If you find a bundle of letters, report it immediately! Absolutely do not read the letters—report it directly!"

Hoi Soyu gave the order in a sharp tone.

At that, the escorts surged into Jeon Yeong’s room and began searching.

‘This confirms it.’

Yong Hwarin slipped away from the Escort Agency quietly.

When Yong Hwarin returned, Mu Iso greeted him and spoke.

"Lady Hoi’s condition is strange. She’s been showing unusual symptoms for about two hours now."

Yong Hwarin opened the door to Hoi Unkyung’s room.

As soon as the door opened, the stench of rotting fish struck him.

Despite the smell, Seok Unjeong and Jeong Minji were silently wiping down Hoi Unkyung’s body.

"Young Master Yong, could you come in a bit later?"

They were in the middle of stripping Hoi Unkyung’s body and wiping her down with wet towels.

"Why does it smell like this?"

Son Yang, who was standing guard outside, asked.

"It seems to be the odor released as the Jiangshi Poison is expelled from the body. If this smell spreads, Lady Hoi Soyu’s side may notice. We should brew the decoction here to suppress the odor."

"Understood."

No sooner had he spoken than Son Yang headed to the medicine storage.

"What are you going to bring?"

"I’ll get the most pungent-smelling herbs I can find."

After a short while, Jeong Minji’s voice came from the room.

"You may come in now."

Yong Hwarin stepped into the room again and began infusing qi into Hoi Unkyung’s body.

After achieving the Inner-Outer Realm, Yong Hwarin realized that his own qi blended more easily with other energies.

Since he had begun harmonizing with Nature’s Energy, he no longer rejected any kind of qi. Because of that, he could sense the condition of Hoi Unkyung’s body far more clearly than before.

‘The Jiangshi Poison is definitely being neutralized. Once the residual poison is completely expelled, she’ll regain consciousness. I can already feel her internal organs beginning to function properly.’

Previously, he couldn’t sense the flow of qi in her organs clearly and could only vaguely tell that she was recovering.

But now, he could feel it almost as if through touch.

"How is she?"

Seok Unjeong asked with worried eyes, and Yong Hwarin gave a slight smile.

"Thanks to Jeong Mae’s hard work, she’s improved a lot."

"Oh, thank goodness."

She was a girl who felt compassion even for someone like Hoi Unkyung, with whom she had no special ties.

Jeong Minji looked at Hoi Unkyung and said,

"Then we’ll head out. Our bodies smell too."

With that, Jeong Minji took Seok Unjeong out to wash.

Yong Hwarin checked Hoi Unkyung’s condition for a moment and murmured,

"She should wake up in a few days now."

After gazing at Hoi Unkyung quietly for a moment, Yong Hwarin pulled out a bundle of letters from his chest.

Now, while there was no one to interrupt, was the perfect time to read and think.

A few letters contained nothing of importance.

But as he read through several pages, Yong Hwarin suddenly felt a sense of suspicion.

‘These are all letters sent from the Sword Poison Sect.’

After reading a few more pages, Yong Hwarin furrowed his brow.

"Why did Left Protector Jin Pyeong send these? And repeatedly, at that."

Yong Hwarin found it strange that Left Protector Jin Pyeong of the Sword Poison Sect had continuously sent letters to Hoi Soyu.

The contents were mostly greetings or inquiries about the state of the Sky Ocean Merchant Union.

Then, while reading another letter, Yong Hwarin’s body stiffened.

His eyes widened as if they might pop out, and the muscles on his face trembled subtly.

"This can’t be!"

Yong Hwarin was struck by overwhelming shock.

If Hoi Soyu were merely a woman he had met in this life, he might have remained composed in the face of such a shocking revelation.

Since she had no deep connection to him, even if she turned out to be a man, he wouldn’t have been surprised.

But she had held significant meaning in the life of Yong Hwarin’s previous incarnation.

Because of that, he couldn’t help but be shaken by this truth.

"She, she..."

Yong Hwarin picked up another letter and read.

"Ah, I can’t believe it."

He let out a sigh once more.

"Ah, so that’s why the Chairman was poisoned!"

The contents of the letter included instructions to assassinate Chairman Hoi Jongbaek with poison.

But the reason for it was shocking.

If Hoi Jongbaek had discovered the truth, it would be best to eliminate him. However, if he were suddenly assassinated or poisoned, it would only strengthen Hoi Unkyung’s position. Therefore, a slow-acting poison should be used. This time, I, your father, was able to acquire Jiangshi Poison. If we use that poison, Hoi Jongbaek will die slowly.

That passage seared itself into his mind, and the part that stood out the most was the self-reference: "your father."

‘Father? Jin Pyeong is Hoi Soyu’s father?’

Yong Hwarin quickly searched for and read another letter.

I know you resent me. But back then, there was nothing I could do. I frequented the Sky Ocean Merchant Union and fell in love with your mother. But I didn’t have the courage to take her away. At that time, the Sword Poison Sect was working hard to align itself with the orthodox Murim. Taking another man’s wife could have branded me as a demonic path follower, so I had to endure. Because of that, I, your ashamed father, could not take your mother away from the Sky Ocean Merchant Union. Please try to understand this father.

"Huhh..."

Yong Hwarin began to understand.

He finally understood why Hoi Jongbaek had ended up in such a state, and why his daughter Hoi Soyu had no hesitation in poisoning him, and even put her own sister Hoi Unkyung into such a condition.

Yong Hwarin had never imagined that Hoi Soyu, who was both daughter and sister, could have poisoned her own family.

Even if it had happened, he would have assumed it was the work of overly loyal subordinates committing an atrocity on her behalf.

But if Hoi Soyu were the child of another man, then it wasn’t impossible.

Poisoning someone who wasn’t truly family—how difficult would that be?

Especially when her real father was the one giving the order.

Yong Hwarin bundled the unread letters together after sorting through them.

Now that he knew the truth, there was no need to read further.

Strangely, he had a feeling he shouldn’t read this letter, and he hesitated for a moment.

But driven by the conviction that only by knowing everything could he respond accordingly, he boldly opened the letter.

And as Yong Hwarin read through the letter, he didn’t even notice the letter slipping from his hands to the floor.

"This is absurd!"

Yong Hwarin looked at Hoi Unkyung, who lay still as if dead.

And he seemed to understand now why Do Gye-gong had chosen not to speak of the contents of the wooden case and died in silence.

‘Escort Chief Do must have decided, after much thought, to keep silent in order to protect Hoi Unkyung. He must have known that revealing the truth at the moment of death would bring no benefit.’

A sigh heavier than a hundred geun, if it could be weighed, escaped from Yong Hwarin’s lips.

"Haa, what should I do with this..."

Yong Hwarin glanced at the writing on the letter once more.

I, your father, met the physician who had treated Hoi Jongbaek’s chronic illness for years. After examining the Sect Leader of our sect, I treated that physician generously. Drunk out of his mind, he said something strange. He said that Hoi Jongbaek was someone who couldn’t have children, and yet he had two. That remark confirmed to me that you are my child. Your mother had no other man besides Hoi Jongbaek and me. And as you grew older, you began to resemble me more and more. From that time on, I, your father, started growing a beard.

There was more in the letter, but it was mostly lamentation and didn’t register in his mind.

The most critical piece of information in that letter was that Hoi Jongbaek was incapable of fathering children.

That meant not only Hoi Soyu but also Hoi Unkyung were not his daughters—they were the daughters of another man.

‘Hahaha, so that’s why Hoi Jongbaek in my previous life sometimes said those things to me.’