The Heavenly Yin Vein (1)
"Looks like he really went and did it."
Sima-Xian stared at the butcher's shop with a look of disbelief.
When he returned from the escort job about two days later than expected, what greeted Sima-Xian was an empty house.
It would have been one thing if Sima-Jian, Cheol-woo, or Sima-ho were missing, but when even Sima-jin was nowhere to be seen, his heart sank with fear that her illness might have worsened.
Fortunately, just then a neighbor passing by told him—after seeing him dash out of the house with a pale face—about the butcher's shop. Otherwise, he would have run straight to Cheongsimwon without a second thought.
"Second brother!"
Sima-jin, who had been cleaning, brightened when she saw Sima-Xian.
"When did you get back?"
"Just now. You're frail—what do you think you're doing?"
Sima-Xian asked as he took the broom from her hand.
"Nothing much. Oh, by the way, don't you know? Eldest brother took over this butcher's shop."
"I heard about it on the way."
Sima-jin slowly reached out toward the broom.
"Since it's a shop big brother worked so hard to get, it shouldn't be dirty."
"It's clean enough already. You can stop."
Sima-Xian tossed the broom far away, then smiled and patted Sima-jin's shoulder as she puffed out her cheeks in protest.
"Where's hyung?"
"At the slaughterhouse."
Worried that Sima-jin might pick the broom up again, Sima-Xian took her hand and led her into the back of the butcher's shop.
"Is business good?"
"Not yet."
When Sima-Xian's brow furrowed, Sima-jin quickly added in explanation,
"The previous owner passed away, and it's only been a few days since we officially opened. It'd be unreasonable to expect things to go well already."
"The old man passed away?"
Sima-Xian looked startled. He had heard about the shop being taken over, but not about So-hang's death.
"Yeah. The night big brother took over the shop. They said he passed away peacefully in his sleep."
"I see."
Sima-Xian nodded slowly.
He hadn't been particularly close to So-hang, but they had exchanged greetings now and then, so the news still weighed on his heart.
As they passed through the neatly kept butcher's shop and headed toward the slaughterhouse, a sudden shout rang out.
"I told you to drain the blood properly! What is this? Ugh, it's a complete mess."
"Cheol-woo hyung?"
Sima-Xian asked with wide eyes, and Sima-jin giggled and nodded.
"Yep. Third brother's getting scolded again."
"Huh? What's he doing here?"
"Big brother drags him here whenever he has time to teach him slaughtering. Third brother keeps trying to run away, but somehow he never manages to."
"Well, serves him right."
Sima-Xian quickly realized that Sima-Jian teaching slaughtering was a way to pull Sima-ho out of the back alleys, and he was secretly delighted. Just then, Sima-ho's irritated voice rang out.
"Ah, seriously! You told me to cut the throat and drain the blood, so I did!"
"I said cutting the throat alone isn't enough. I clearly told you to sever the ankles as well. I also explained how important it is to drain the blood properly and quickly. It changes the quality of the meat."
"Yeah, yeah, I got it. You're built like an ox but nag like a girl—ack!"
Muttering a small rebellion, Sima-ho took a smack to the back of the head from Cheol-woo and screamed as if he were dying.
Knowing Sima-ho's rough temperament, Sima-Xian was startled, fearing something serious might happen, but Sima-jin remained perfectly calm.
That was because, while Sima-Xian had been away, Sima-ho had once charged at Cheol-woo in defiance and been thoroughly crushed. Since then, he hadn't even dared to try again.
"And there's one more thing you messed up. Maybe the biggest mistake of all."
At Sima-Jian's voice, Sima-Xian and Sima-jin craned their necks toward the slaughterhouse.
"What is it?" Sima-ho asked, glancing nervously at Cheol-woo.
"Looking at the condition of the meat, it seems you beat it while it was still alive. Am I right?"
Sima-ho's eyes widened.
"Huh? How did you know?"
"Why would you do that?"
"Well, you're supposed to beat cows and pigs properly to make the meat tender. Anyone who's butchered a dog knows that."
Sima-ho looked back and forth between Sima-Jian and the flustered Cheol-woo, as if they were the strange ones.
Sima-Jian whipped his head around toward Cheol-woo.
"And what were you doing?"
"That is… I forgot for a moment too."
"There are things you can forget and things you can't. How could you forget that, after getting chewed out so badly by the old man?"
Unable to offer any excuse, Cheol-woo's face reddened as he scratched the back of his head.
Watching him, Sima-ho felt a bit of smug satisfaction—but also confusion.
"Is it really wrong? Everyone knows that's common sense."
"It's wrong. Not just wrong—completely wrong."
Sighing, Sima-Jian pointed at the pig hanging from the beam.
"See the bruises where you beat it? When it's bruised like that, the blood doesn't drain properly. And what happens if the blood doesn't drain?"
Sima-Jian glared at Cheol-woo.
"The meat tastes terrible," Cheol-woo stammered.
Thinking about how he had scolded Sima-ho while forgetting such a basic thing himself, Cheol-woo felt like crawling into a mouse hole.
"That's strange. When I beat them properly, the texture's better and the meat tastes much better."
Clashing with his own experience, Sima-ho still couldn't hide his doubts.
"You're not entirely wrong—but there's a condition. You have to beat it after the slaughter is finished and all the blood has been completely drained. Then, like you said, the texture and flavor improve. But if you beat it while it's still alive, the result is the exact opposite. In the worst case, it becomes inedible. Honestly, even if it's just an animal, imagine being beaten to death. How painful would that be? How much resentment would it hold? That resentment would seep into the marrow. Do you think meat like that would taste good?"
At Sima-Jian's question, Sima-ho shook his head awkwardly.
From his past experience of stuffing dogs into a sack and beating them, he still harbored some doubts—but listening to Sima-Jian, an uneasy feeling crept into his chest.
"Then what about that one, boss? If we sell meat like that, it feels like the old man would kick open his coffin lid and come running."
Cheol-woo pointed at the pig hanging from the beam. Its hide hadn't even been removed yet, but the bruises all over its body made it look in terrible condition.
"We could sell it cheap, and someone would still buy it—but if we did that, the reputation the old man worked so hard to protect would suffer. Share it with the neighbors instead. And explain the reason properly."
"Got it."
Cheol-woo accepted it easily, but Sima-ho looked completely unconvinced.
"No matter what, you're just giving away something that expensive? That's ridiculous. Leave it to me. I can get a proper price and handle it quietly."
"Enough."
Sima-Jian flicked Sama-ho on the forehead with a finger as he pushed in, then turned around.
"How long are you going to keep watching from there?"
Sima-Xian, who had been hiding behind a pillar, stepped out awkwardly, and Sima-jin hopped over to Sima-Jian's side.
"When did you get here? I was worried since the escort job seemed delayed."
Sima-Jian asked, ruffling Sima-jin's hair.
"Just now."
"No trouble along the way?"
"I'm a bit tired, but as you can see, I'm fine."
Sima-Xiarn smiled, spreading his arms slightly.
It looked like he had come straight over as soon as the escort job ended—his clothes were soaked with sweat and covered in dust.
"But still, hyung, you really caused a stir. I wasn't even gone that long. Lightning-fast, really."
"That's how it turned out. You don't like it?"
Sima-Jian asked with an awkward smile.
"It's not that I don't like it—I'm just a bit taken aback. I never imagined you'd take over a butcher's shop. Still, judging by your expressions, you all seem happy. And I got to see something amusing too."
Sima-Xian glanced at the dejected Sima-ho before continuing.
"But will it be all right? This is a really famous butcher's shop. The old man who owned it was something else—if your skills fall even a little short, you'll get cursed to no end. At best, you'll break even."
At his worry-filled words, Sima-Jian broke into a bright smile.
"Don't worry. I've got a fair bit of confidence. And if we're going to make a living, we have to work hard. All of us."
At his meaningful gaze, Sima-Xian and Sima-ho shuddered without realizing it.
Only Sima-jin smiled, imagining the two of them working at a butcher's shop instead of at Juhaepyo-guk and the Dongsim Association.
"Hwalseon Medical Family? Did you just say the Hwalseon Medical Family?"
The middle-aged man asked with a startled expression.
"Yes. That's what the men who were imprisoned testified. After checking their statements, it is indeed the Hwalseon Medical Family."
The man with a grotesque scar running from his left eye to the corner of his right mouth bowed politely as he answered.
"Have you confirmed why they came to Hangzhou?"
"I hear that a member of the imperial family who retired to Hangzhou has fallen gravely ill. It seems the imperial court directly petitioned the Hwalseon Medical Family for his sake."
"And on the way to Hangzhou, the physicians from the Hwalseon Medical Family clashed with that trash?"
"Yes."
"Tsk, what rotten luck. Hm… but something doesn't add up. The Hwalseon Medical Family wouldn't just start cutting off heads for no reason. No—more importantly, it's strange that Gadeung would lead his men and leave Hangzhou in the first place. There must have been a reason."
"That's correct."
The man who had quietly nodded stepped a little closer.
A strange light passed through the middle-aged man's eyes.
It was only a single step, but it was enough to convey the gravity of the matter.
"They say Gadeung was after Gongcheong Stone Oil."
At those words, the middle-aged man's face twisted sharply.
"Gongcheong… Stone Oil, you say?"
"Yes."
From the man's brief reply, the middle-aged man grasped the full picture.
Gadeung must have obtained information that the physicians of the Hwalseon Medical Family were coming to Hangzhou carrying Gongcheong Stone Oil to treat a member of the imperial family. Not knowing his place, he let his greed get the better of him—and ended up bringing disaster upon himself.
"That vermin. Of all things to covet. I picked him out of the back alleys, digging through garbage, and made him king of Hangzhou's night streets—"
The middle-aged man fumed at the thought that Gadeung, whom he had raised like a dog, had hoarded such crucial information for himself before dying.
"What about the physicians from the Hwalseon Medical Family?"
"They left this morning."
"Damn it!"
The middle-aged man's expression twisted. If they had already left Hangzhou, it meant the treatment of the imperial clansman was complete—and with it, any chance to obtain Gongcheong Stone Oil was gone.
"What a waste. Gongcheong Stone Oil—something that couldn't be bought even with a fortune—used on some old imperial relic about to die."
He irritably lifted his wine cup.
"It wasn't used to treat the imperial clansman. The owner of the Gongcheong Stone Oil was someone else. There is still a chance."
The middle-aged man turned his head, the wine cup still at his lips.
"Another owner…? It wasn't the Hwalseon Medical Family's?"
"Yes. From the start, Gadeung was pursuing that person and clashed with the Hwalseon Medical Family in the process."
"You should have said that sooner!"
Snapping at the man, the middle-aged man drained his cup in one gulp and pressed urgently,
"Who is it? Who has the Gongcheong Stone Oil?"
"A man named Sima Jian."
"Sima Jian?"
It was an unfamiliar name. As the middle-aged man tilted his head, the other man continued quickly.
"He came from Shaoxing. He reportedly purchased the Gongcheong Stone Oil, which the guild master of the Suryong Merchant Association had been secretly holding, to treat his younger sibling."
"The Suryong Merchant Association? Hah. I didn't know that greedy old pig had managed to get his hands on Gongcheong Stone Oil."
Letting out a scornful laugh, the middle-aged man then issued his order with utmost seriousness.
"This works out perfectly. If it had remained with the Suryong Merchant Association, it would've been troublesome. This is a chance heaven has given me. Go at once and bring back the Gongcheong Stone Oil. Pay whatever he wants—ah, you said he bought it because of his sibling's illness?"
"Yes."
"Damn it! So much time has already passed. Hell… what kind of illness requires even Gongcheong Stone Oil? Don't tell me we're already too late."
Clenching his fist, the middle-aged man shook his head roughly in frustration.
"Such a miraculous medicine always has its rightful owner."
For Yeongho Jung, widely known as the Gentleman Sword, Gongcheong Stone Oil was something he desperately needed.
I don't know whether I can obtain it or not, but if I do, it will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Not only will it help me, but with a bit of luck, it could even cure the illness of the child my grand-uncle cherishes most.
If he could cure the disease of that young second cousin—whose face he could barely recall—he would gain the support of his grand-uncle, the greatest elder of the Yeongho clan, as well as the uncles who held seats among the elders. With that backing, he could overwhelm his brothers in the fierce under-the-table struggle for the position of clan head and claim leadership of the Yeongho clan.
"Use any means necessary to get it. And if, by any chance, he has already used the Gongcheong Stone Oil, then bring back the sibling who took it instead. This is Gongcheong Stone Oil we're talking about. They wouldn't have been able to fully absorb its effects—its potency would still remain intact in the blood."
At Yeongho Jung's cold command, the man—Dangbaek, Yeongho Jung's shadow and fixer in the darkness—bowed respectfully.
"I will carry out my lord's command."