Family

The Head Steward was like a father to Jingya.

Having lost her father early in childhood, Jingya lost connection with what remaining blood relatives she had when she came to the Luoyang Sword Clan.

The Head Steward taught and guided Jingya with all his heart and soul.

No matter how exceptional she was, being human, she made many mistakes and caused trouble a few times.

Each time, the Head Steward protected her and always helped her walk the right path.

Without him, Jingya would surely have disappeared, swept away in the rapids of the Luoyang Sword Clan.

He was the only person Jingya could trust in this massive organization called the Luoyang Sword Clan.

The report he had supposedly sent to the First Young Master, and the message contained at its end, was content that could only shock her deeply.

"If she cannot abandon her innate nature and tries to make deals with the First Young Master..."

Her father figure was advising the First Young Master to kill her if she proved unhelpful.

Her legs wobbled, and strength left her entire body as she collapsed.

Her face turned deathly pale, and her hands trembled.

"Urp-!"

She grabbed the railing and vomited onto the dirt ground.

Even after emptying everything inside, she dry heaved for a long while.

As the dry heaving subsided, she pulled out a handkerchief with faintly trembling hands.

She wiped her face, which was a mess of tears and mucus.

Even as she wiped, new tears flowed, and sobs tried to escape her tightly closed mouth.

Taking a deep breath, she collected herself.

Her tightly clenched fist was completely bloodless.

"...Do you understand why I showed you that report?"

Yuan Zhaoxian's voice was as leisurely as before.

But Jingya felt the ice-cold darkness flowing deep within that voice.

"...Yes, First Young Master."

She straightened her posture, turned to face Yuan Zhaoxian, and bowed her head.

"What this report contains is the Head Steward's loyalty. I dare guess that the First Young Master showed me what true loyalty means."

Even a child who was practically blood family was nothing before one's lord.

"Loyalty..."

Yuan Zhaoxian reclined comfortably and looked up at the ceiling.

"I consider it madness."

How else could one explain something that makes one abandon even their own child?

Jingya bowed her head deeply.

"Perhaps that would be true generally."

She continued speaking with a voice that had stopped trembling.

"However, if this is the place, if this is the center of even the Luoyang Sword Clan called the world's greatest clan, where all plots and desires for power ultimately gather..."

She became aware once again of where she was.

She confirmed once again her situation.

"This is loyalty."

Yuan Zhaoxian slowly lowered his gaze to look at Jingya.

"...Do you still want to be loyal if I accept you?"

Jingya smiled.

That smile was as beautiful and radiant as a flower blooming under sunlight after rain.

"No."

She prostrated herself, bringing her forehead to the floor.

"Whether to accept me or not is entirely the master's choice. I will simply serve the master with loyalty."

Yuan Zhaoxian sensed that the flower called Jingya had fully bloomed.

That flower contained a deep and concentrated fragrance.

The fragrance called madness.

"The First Young Master is my only master."

Yuan Zhaoxian smiled.

It was quite a satisfactory answer.

***

The night at Wang Pavilion was quiet and peaceful as always.

When the wind brushed past, flower petals of various colors danced as they scattered in the air.

Thanks to the formation surrounding Wang Pavilion, the temperature remained relatively warm.

Jingya lit the provided oil lamp and sat near the brazier to continue her story.

"...That's how our family's trading company, which had been so harmonious, collapsed in an instant."

"The King of Hell's debt and misfortune..."

Yuan Zhaoxian still held a book in his hand but was listening to her story, occasionally asking questions.

"Yes, that's right. My sister, who overflowed with business talent, tried several decisive moves with father, but in the end, when misfortunes piled up, there was nothing to be done."

"Even though you call her sister, the age difference couldn't have been large, was she able to participate in running the trading company?"

Jingya moistened her throat with a sip of alcohol and answered.

"My sister was truly amazing. From childhood, she was practically the pride of our family, and she's still my pride now."

Her sister, like Jingya, was sold to some family, but she said she quickly bought herself back by demonstrating her capabilities.

"Now she works as an information broker in Luoyang. It seems she's established herself and is making a name for herself."

From Jingya's appearance as she talked about her sister, one could fully feel how proud she was of her.

"...And according to a letter my sister sent recently, she said she found the culprit behind the misfortunes that befell our family."

Her face darkened.

"That culprit was none other than the very person who made us take the King of Hell's debt."

Her hand holding the wine cup tightened.

"I still can't forget him. That fellow called 'Golden Thread' with his greasy face and obese body who brought down our family..."

Yuan Zhaoxian's eyebrows rose.

"Golden Thread?"

Jingya looked at Yuan Zhaoxian with puzzled eyes.

"Yes, that was definitely his name. Though it probably wasn't his real name, I remember everyone called him that. Is it a name you know?"

Instead of answering, Yuan Zhaoxian turned his head to look into the distance.

"Golden Thread..."

The memory of last night rose in his mind.

***

"Great sir! Thank you! Thank you!"

"Stop with the thanks, just guide me in the right direction properly."

"It-it's that way!"

Though limping and clearly uncomfortable, the middle-aged man somehow managed to guide Yuan Zhaoxian.

It was none other than the middle-aged man who had been getting beaten by the men Yuan Zhaoxian had devoured.

"If you save my family, I won't forget this grace even in death! I will repay this debt even through generations!"

After repeatedly offering thanks to Yuan Zhaoxian, he soon begged for help for his family.

"Though I know it's a shameless request, please, I beg you!"

"...Alright, just guide me already."

Though he fell several times, whenever Yuan Zhaoxian tried to help, he refused and got up to continue guiding.

"There, over there!"

Finally, his shop-cum-home came into view.

His store, dimly lit by moonlight, was in complete disarray.

"Oh no, dear! Dear!"

The middle-aged man rushed into the inner courtyard in alarm.

"Husband?! What happened to you?!"

"Father!"

The vivid sounds of a warm family reunion came from the inner courtyard.

As Yuan Zhaoxian sighed quietly and moved to step inside, something crushed under his foot.

"...A mask?"

The things scattered around the ransacked shop were all masks.

There were masks used in wedding ceremonies and masks hung up to pray for household fortune.

'So he was a mask craftsman.'

As Yuan Zhaoxian stepped into the inner courtyard, he saw the sight of a family embracing and crying together.

"Great sir...!"

When he appeared, the mask craftsman prostrated himself at his feet and made a long bow.

But seeming to misunderstand something from that sight, his wife began to kneel and beg before Yuan Zhaoxian.

"Oh, great sir! We'll pay the interest soon, so please forgive this man just once! He needs his limbs intact to earn money, doesn't he?"

Then she broke into loud wailing right there.

"No..."

Before Yuan Zhaoxian could say anything, even his children rushed out and clung to his trouser legs.

"Please spare our father! We were wrong! Please forgive us just this once!"

Then they even started rolling around on the ground.

"No, everyone! This great sir is not 'that kind of great sir'! He's the one who saved my life!"

It seemed the mask craftsman usually called debt collectors 'great sir.'

When the mask craftsman hurriedly tried to control his family, his wife and children got up sheepishly and then, before Yuan Zhaoxian could say anything, started making deep bows.

"Great sir, thank you!"

"Thank you!"

At their chaotic yet unified appearance, Yuan Zhaoxian finally couldn't help but laugh.

***

"It's humble, but please sit here for a moment."

The mask craftsman guided Yuan Zhaoxian to the main house and seated him in the warmest spot, then stirred the brazier to revive the flames.

Then while his wife brought hot water, he searched deep in the wardrobe and brought out a small jar he had hidden.

"These are tea leaves. I worry they're just cheap ones that will only spoil your taste, great sir, but..."

"It's fine. Put them in."

Unlike commonly drunk grain teas, tea leaves were an incredibly expensive item.

Though the mask craftsman called them cheap, any tea leaves were jaw-droppingly expensive all the same.

"How could I do that?"

Before Yuan Zhaoxian could stop him, he dumped all the carefully stored tea from the jar into Yuan Zhaoxian's cup and poured hot water.

Then the children came in carrying wooden bowls with snacks.

The children placed the bowls on Yuan Zhaoxian's table as respectfully as possible, then withdrew to kneel on the floor.

Then the mask craftsman and his wife also knelt before the children.

"Great sir, thank you!"

"Thank you!"

Yuan Zhaoxian shook his head as if helpless and lifted the teacup with elegant manner.

"...This is good tea."

At his praise, the children who looked about six or seven years old smiled brightly with joy.

"Great sir, how can we ever repay this ocean-deep grace..."

Yuan Zhaoxian waved his hand to stop the mask craftsman's words.

"Enough. I didn't do it expecting anything in return."

"But great sir...!"

"More importantly."

Yuan Zhaoxian set down his teacup.

"Who were the ones who oppressed you and caused this mess here?"

The mask craftsman bowed his head and answered.

"...I know them to be people who contracted with the Black Bone Faction."

"Black Bone Faction?"

The mask craftsman began carefully telling what he knew.

"Yes, that's right. The Black Bone Faction is a terrible criminal group led by someone called 'Golden Lady,' who is known as the daughter of a man called Golden Thread."

Golden Thread, and his daughter called Golden Lady.

"The Black Bone Faction is a group that moves on behalf of the man called Golden Thread, and they're a huge organization that meddles anywhere there's the smell of money, from loan sharking to gambling dens."

"What was your reason for going to the gambling den?"

The mask craftsman pressed his forehead to the floor and answered.

"That is their method!"

"Method?"

The mask craftsman spoke as if pouring out all his accumulated resentment.

"Yes! Because loan interest rates are strictly limited by law, they force those who take loans to participate in gambling to increase their debt!"

"Ha..."

Yuan Zhaoxian gave a bitter smile at those words.

Luoyang's interest rate restrictions were a past achievement his father had accomplished through negotiations with government offices.

And the one who had first investigated and researched the law to make it concrete was none other than the young Yuan Zhaoxian himself.