Chapter 180

New Year’s Day.

Jin Wikyung’s reaction upon seeing the sunlight on the first day of the new year was short and simple.

“Fantastic.”

Wolhwa, who had been tilting her teacup with graceful composure, let out a quiet laugh. She had arrived at the Jin Family of Taiyuan the previous night.

Considering the family’s policy of barring anyone who wasn’t a member of the family from entering at present, it was a measure of respect for their alliance.

“Are you really that happy?”

“How could I not be?”

“I suppose you have every reason to be. When you think about everything that’s happened, it’s understandable. I never thought a day like this would come, especially two years ago.”

“That hurts to hear.”

Wolhwa covered her mouth in exaggerated dismay.

“My goodness, shouldn’t I be the one saying that? We’ve been waiting for you for so long.”

“I’ll keep my promise. I swear.”

“I hope so. It would be troublesome if you changed your word twice.”

“Let’s stop. I’m tired.”

“Likewise.”

The previous night had been a long one. After an intense back-and-forth, they had finally found an agreement that satisfied both sides.

In any case, both sides needed each other’s help if they wanted to wield influence in Shanxi Murim.

At last, Wolhwa, having obtained what she wanted, smiled coyly.

“Still, our side did give you one valuable piece of information, didn’t we?”

Jin Wikyung answered with a sullen expression.

“Oh, that information? I heard the Datong Branch of our family played some part in it as well.”

“We were the ones who brought the information to you in the first place. We were also the ones who promptly sent a messenger eagle.”

“That much… I’ll admit.”

Wolhwa suddenly narrowed her eyes.

“But aren’t you worried?”

“About what?”

“The Heavenly Wind Band.”

The news that the Heavenly Wind Band, which had been prowling around Datong, had been annihilated was certainly good news. But it was also shocking beyond measure.

A single person had wiped out hundreds of mounted bandits, including a Peak master? It was nearly impossible unless the person was a Supreme Peak master.

Wolhwa ran one of her long fingers along her teacup.

“Who do you think it was?”

“Who knows? We’ll have to find out in time.”

Jin Wikyung secretly swallowed a laugh. No matter how vast the world was and how many reclusive eccentrics it contained, Supreme Peak masters were never common.

When he first heard the news about the Heavenly Wind Band, only one name had flashed through his mind.

Sword Saint Mae Jonghak.

It’s highly likely that it was him.

Considering the relationship they had built over the years, he ought to tell Wolhwa as well. But the matter was far too weighty to share with the Chief Branch Leader of the Lower District Sect.

“Don’t worry too much. Our family is keeping a close eye on the situation.”

“For someone saying that, you look awfully relaxed.”

“How could I be relaxed? I merely assume that whoever annihilated the infamous Heavenly Wind Band wasn’t a master of demonic or heterodox arts.”

Wolhwa narrowed her eyes at his answer, delivered as though he knew nothing.

But it was difficult for her to question him further. If the Jin Family of Taiyuan had truly been connected to a Supreme Peak master, the family’s rise to its current position would have been far easier.

“Well, in any case. My sincere congratulations.”

“Thank you.”

“But one of you has been silent this whole time.”

Knowing exactly whom Wolhwa meant, Jin Wikyung shook his head.

“He’s been dissatisfied since birth.”

A prickly voice asked,

“Are you talking about me?”

“Who else would I be talking about?”

Wipeng, who had been leaning diagonally against the wall of the office, opened his mouth.

“I wholeheartedly agree with my lord. It truly is a fantastic day.”

“What’s gotten into you? Whenever I say something like that, you’re always lecturing me about dignity and propriety.”

“How else am I supposed to describe something fantastic?”

His subordinate, who was as fussy as an old schoolmaster, was humoring him for once. Jin Wikyung smiled in satisfaction.

“Exactly. That’s how important this occasion is going to be.”

“Can you hear the murmuring from far away? I hear that not only the influential martial artists of Shanxi Murim, but even commoners who heard the news have come.”

“Oh, is that true?”

“Of course. And a letter of congratulations has arrived from the Heavenly Sword True Person, the Sect Leader of Huashan.”

“Oh!”

“The Three Plum Blossom Elites should be arriving soon as well.”

Jin Wikyung already knew all of this, but it still felt good to hear it again.

The Nine Sects and One Gang were pillars of the Murim world, and their influence was immense. Even if only part of them had come, it was practically the same as having the entire orthodox Murim vouch for the legitimacy of the Jin Family of Taiyuan.

Of course, he couldn’t deny that matters involving the Sword Saint and Cheongpung had played a significant role.

“And that’s not all. Isn’t Prince Shangshan, a descendant of the Son of Heaven, coming as well? This means that both the government and the Murim have acknowledged our family as the undisputed hegemon of Shanxi Province.”

“Of course! Absolutely!”

Watching Jin Wikyung grow more cheerful by the moment, Wipeng smiled.

“Do you know what the even better news is?”

“You’re really going all out today. What is it? Tell me already!”

The next moment, the smile at the corners of Wipeng’s mouth vanished without a trace.

“At this gathering, where countless martial artists and commoners, distinguished guests from the Nine Sects and One Gang, and even a descendant of the imperial family are coming, both Young Masters are absent.”

“…Ah.”

“I can at least understand the Second Young Master. Enlightenment doesn’t come whenever you want it to, so undergoing seclusion training is understandable. I’m a martial artist too. But!”

Wipeng continued with a fierce glare.

“The Third Young Master absolutely cannot be let off the hook. It wasn’t enough for him to leave at a time like this as if none of it concerned him—on top of that, all word from him has completely stopped.”

Jin Wikyung subtly averted his gaze. Wolhwa, his only lifeline, shrugged as if she didn’t know anything either and watched the spectacle.

“He’ll come.”

“What do you mean, he’ll come? He left last year saying he’d be back shortly.”

Jin Wikyung was about to object, then paused. When he thought about it, Wipeng’s words sounded strange, but they weren’t wrong.

Wipeng ground his teeth and continued.

“Going off to make a weapon when we’re facing such a momentous occasion… I’m an idiot for trusting the Third Young Master even for a moment.”

“Now, now.”

“Am I wrong?”

“Now, hold on!”

“Why? What about it?”

Jin Wikyung flinched at Wipeng’s bulging eyes. Then a voice of salvation came from outside the office.

“Lesser Family Head, the preparations are complete.”

“…There you have it.”

Wipeng’s lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he let out a deep sigh instead. It wasn’t as though this had only happened once or twice. They had to deal with what was right in front of them first.

“This time, you must give the Third Young Master a proper talking-to.”

“Of course I will.”

Jin Wikyung grinned and left the office.

Fifty martial artists radiating sharp auras stood in formation before the pavilion. Every one of them was at least a First Rate master, and they stared at their lord with unwavering composure.

Jin Wikyung was a giant standing eight cheok tall. As the Lesser Family Head of the Jin Family of Taiyuan, he had led the family in place of the absent Family Head for the past two years and had finally set it on a firm foundation.

His tightly closed lips parted.

“Let’s go.”

Wipeng, Wolhwa, and the fifty martial artists followed behind him. And each time they crossed another part of the quiet Jin Family of Taiyuan’s grounds, their numbers grew.

Fifty became a hundred, a hundred became two hundred, and two hundred became three hundred…

The Jin Family of Taiyuan had suffered the pain of losing limbs during the previous war, but its recovery had been swift, and its growth had been steep.

Our family has grown stronger.

The One Pavilion, Two Halls, and Three Teams advancing alongside him were proof of that.

They were the arms and legs, the waist and torso of the Jin Family of Taiyuan, which had grown stronger and sturdier.

Remembering the countless sacrifices and efforts that had been required to reach this day, Jin Wikyung felt his chest tighten with emotion.

“Lesser Family Head.”

Before he knew it, they had reached the Gate Guard Pavilion.

The gate guards standing watch at the main entrance bowed with crisp, disciplined movements. Beyond the flawlessly built stone walls, the cheers of countless people could be heard.

“Wow, this really is fantastic.”

“My lord, give the order.”

Wolhwa was smiling brightly, while Wipeng wore a more solemn expression than ever.

Jin Wikyung took in their faces and drew a deep breath. The next moment, his dignified voice rang out.

“Open the gates.”

It was the beginning of the grand banquet that would continue for the next three days—and the opening salvo announcing that the Jin Family of Taiyuan had become the hegemon of Shanxi Murim.

The area in front of the Jin Family of Taiyuan’s gates was packed with people. Martial artists wearing swords and blades, merchants trying to seize an opportunity, and commoners who belonged to neither side.

Even though it was broad daylight, firecrackers celebrating the first day of the new year went off now and then.

Boom! Boom-boom!

“Waaaaah!”

While well over several hundred people laughed and chatted in the festive atmosphere, some wore faces like they were attending a funeral.

“Damn it.”

“What kind of situation is this?”

“I ought to just—”

The five middle-aged men, the heads of the five sects known collectively as the Five Gates of Shanxi, couldn’t smooth out their crumpled expressions.

Of them, Woo Hwangtae, the chief of the Seongun Escort Bureau, was in the worst state by far, shitting himself with worry thanks to his worthless son.

They wouldn’t even grant me an audience.

He had arrived five days earlier and asked for a meeting countless times.

He had come to clean up after the mess caused by his son, Woo Jintae.

But the letters and gifts he had carefully sent were returned without ever crossing the threshold of the Jin Family of Taiyuan. His pride had been wounded, but in the end, he had even resorted to coming in person.

I am Woo of the Seongun Escort Bureau.

The Seongun Escort Bureau had continued for three generations, and there was no one in Shanxi Province who didn’t know it. That was because it had flaunted enormous wealth amassed by every means imaginable.

But the gate guard’s reaction had been indifferent.

You can’t meet him right now.

“Come now, man. What do you mean? I’m telling you, I’m the chief of the Seongun Escort Bureau!”

Whether you’re a bureau chief or a sect leader, I don’t know or care. I follow orders.

…!

Had he ever suffered such humiliation in his life?

Like Woo Jintae, he had always enjoyed every advantage of his family’s prestige. He had experienced a few failures and had been ignored by people of higher status, but he could endure that much.

But to be treated like this by some mere gate guard!

Every time he thought about it, the back of Woo Hwangtae’s head throbbed.

Those fucking bastards. No matter how powerful they are, how can they treat someone like this?

His own son, who even had a child of his own, had come back beaten so badly that it was difficult to tell whether he was human or some blue-skinned beast.

Father and son had been publicly humiliated at the same time. It was too embarrassing to complain about it to the other sect leaders.

“Huff… Hoo…”

The other heads of the Five Gates of Shanxi watched him cautiously as he exhaled through his flushed face.

“Chief Woo, are you all right?”

“If you’re feeling unwell, perhaps we should come back tomorrow…”

Woo Hwangtae answered in a sharp voice.

“Would you be all right, Sect Leader Song? My son was beaten like a street dog, and now we’re in a position where we have to apologize on top of that. And, Lord Tae, if I retreat like this, what will the Jin Family of Taiyuan think? Are all of you seriously saying that?”

“…”

“…”

The two men who had spoken flinched after drawing his ire, while the other two let out sighs of relief.

But inwardly, all four of them were thinking the same thing.

This damned merchant, I ought to just…

They were only enduring him because they still needed the Seongun Escort Bureau’s support.

They clearly remembered what their respective sons had told them.

The Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi said he would make the Seongun Escort Bureau an example.

Chief Woo and that man aren’t ordinary people… Unless it’s the Nine Sects and One Gang, how do they plan to swallow it whole at once?

Given the Jin Family of Taiyuan’s recent power, maybe they can.

For now, we watch.

If the balance tipped even slightly, they would have to change sides. The four men were gauging the right moment, and as long as they could preserve their respective families, they could face Woo Hwangtae with smiles on their faces.

“Ha-ha, Chief Woo. Calm yourself.”

“Indeed. You and we are equally aggrieved, aren’t we? It’s not that we don’t understand how you feel.”

“Let’s go in soon. We can’t stand here watching forever.”

“Here, these pills came from a renowned physician. They have the effect of calming even the most fiery temper. Let’s each chew one before we go in.”

“Hoo…”

Woo Hwangtae let out a heated sigh and was just about to toss the pill into his mouth when—

“Wow, there are a lot of people here. They’re really swarming.”

Along with the booming voice, something shoved against his arm. The pill dropped, and someone immediately stepped on it.

“…!”

That was the limit of Woo Hwangtae’s patience. He glared at the culprit with eyes blazing like fire.

The man was a full two heads taller than everyone else. With his cow-like eyes and the way he was picking his nose, he looked every bit the country bumpkin.

“You! Stop right there!”

The huge man came to an abrupt halt.

“Huh? Me?”

“Yes, you bastard! If you knock into someone, you should apologize immediately!”

“Ah. There were so many people, I didn’t notice. Sorry ’bout that.”

The man quickly bowed and turned away, but Woo Hwangtae’s anger only flared hotter.

The humiliation his son had suffered. The memory of being ignored by the gate guard for days. And now this oversized country bumpkin’s behavior had lit the fuse.

“You ox-headed bastard! Stop right there!”

The giant flinched.

“What did you just say?”

“I called you ox-headed. You bastard, you’re worse than an ox!”

“That’s one of the things I hate most.”

“If you hate it, what are you going to do about it?”

The giant snorted a plume of breath before opening his mouth.

“Can I hit him?”

“You bastard, I’ll kill—!”

Just as Woo Hwangtae was about to strike, a clear voice came from behind him.

“No.”

The speaker was a clean-cut young man.

Baek Museong, Huashan’s Lone Crane, had stopped his Junior Brother just before he exploded. He smiled at Woo Hwangtae.