Jin Wikyung and Wipeng.
As the conversation continued, the emotions of the two men became increasingly obvious.
Shock. Disbelief. And then shock all over again.
“Th-That’s really true?”
I had talked for so long that I felt completely drained. Tired, I answered,
“It’s a hundred percent pure truth, so believe me.”
Wipeng, who had been staring blankly into space, suddenly lunged at me.
“Third Young Master. If all of this is a lie, then I’m really going to die—and so are you.”
“I said it’s a hundred percent. A hundred percent!”
“No, but still…”
“Ah, I mean a hundred percent truth with not a speck of lies mixed in. What the hell!”
“……”
Wipeng paused with an expression that seemed to say, Why do I suddenly feel so disgusted?
I waved the sword and martial arts manual at him.
Now more than ever, I couldn’t give him time to mull it over.
“If you’re really suspicious, inspect them yourself. The Flame Divine Palm manual, and a sword made of Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron!”
“Gasp! Put them away. Quickly!”
Even if someone shoved a cross in a vampire’s face, they probably wouldn’t react this strongly.
“What’s wrong?”
Wipeng answered with a horrified expression.
“You’re telling me to inspect the Flame Divine Palm manual? Have you decided to destroy our entire family?”
“Oh, right. That’s how it was.”
Anyone who stole a look at the Fire King’s signature martial art would get a taste of the heat—enough heat to burn their whole body.
“Regardless, everything is true. We have witnesses here, too. Right?”
Hyuk Mujin, who had been sitting in the corner like a corpse, cautiously raised his hand.
“Pardon me for interrupting, but everything is true.”
Cheongpung, who had been stuffing his mouth with snacks of unknown variety, spoke with a serious expression.
“Uh-oh-wa-uh-oh!”
“……”
That testimony probably wouldn’t carry much weight. More importantly, how long was that guy planning to keep eating those snacks? Was he some kind of inexhaustible jar?
“Wipeng, I believe Taekyung’s story really is true.”
At Jin Wikyung’s words, Wipeng nodded with a complicated expression.
“Yes. It’s a truth that’s nearly impossible to believe, but there’s no choice except to believe it.”
“The Fire King. The Fire King himself.”
Jin Wikyung let out a long breath. After hesitating, he reached for the Unnamed Sword resting on the table.
Shing.
The pure-white blade emerged from its rough scabbard.
As Jin Wikyung gazed at the sword, which radiated a frost-like sharpness, he murmured,
“It smells of blood.”
I had momentarily forgotten.
Before he was the Lesser Family Head of the Jin Family of Taiyuan, Jin Wikyung was a swordsman.
Unlike me, he didn’t need to look at an Item description window to accurately read the weapon’s condition. He slid the sword back into its scabbard.
“Taekyung.”
“Yes.”
I straightened my posture.
The fact that Jin Wikyung had called me by my name instead of youngest meant that he was about to say something serious.
“Do you know what these things are?”
“A precious treasure, aren’t they? The kind that would be difficult to obtain even if you spent a thousand nyang of gold.”
A Supreme Peak martial art that could let its wielder look down on the entire world, and a peerless sword forged from Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron.
The Murim martial artists I knew would risk their lives to obtain these things.
Jin Wikyung shook his head.
“Wrong.”
“Pardon?”
“These are ghostly objects. They take away a person’s soul and drive them mad.”
“Oh.”
“Do you know the name of that ghost?”
I muttered softly,
“Greed.”
“That’s right. Greed. A tenacious and dangerous creature dwelling in everyone’s heart.”
I knew.
I had experienced it firsthand, so there was no way I couldn’t.
On that day several years ago, greed had taken root in my heart, and because of it, I had lost people close to me.
“I don’t know what intentions the Fire King had when he entrusted these dangerous objects to you, but… everything related to this must be kept completely secret. Do you understand?”
His gaze and posture were directed solely at me, but his words were meant for everyone in the room.
Me, Hyuk Mujin, and finally Cheongpung.
As though we had made a promise, we answered at the same time.
“Yes.”
“I’ll keep it in mind, Lesser Family Head.”
“Ah-uh-ah-hae-ho, ma-ah-hae-oh.”
……
That damn mouth of his. I ought to just…
Jin Wikyung lifted the thick curtain. Through the latticework window, he could see Jin Taekyung’s back growing more distant.
Sunlight struck the rough scabbard strapped to Taekyung’s back and shattered into fragments.
“The weather is fucking beautiful.”
“Didn’t you say it was fantastic earlier?”
“That was then. It’s basically the same thing.”
“This feels a little different.”
“Don’t nitpick when you already know what I mean. Come to think of it, why is the person who said he was leaving still here?”
Wipeng answered in a weary voice.
“You’re the one nitpicking, my lord. My head is already complicated enough.”
That applied to both of them.
Jin Wikyung murmured with a face that looked ten years older.
“What on earth is happening?”
“I’m curious about that myself.”
When he looked back over everything that had happened to the Jin Family of Taiyuan over the past year—or rather, the past six months or so—it was enough to make him wonder whether some demon had gotten involved.
“Now even the Fire King has appeared.”
“I’ve heard he has an exceptionally eccentric temperament. I’m worried he might bring calamity down on our family.”
“We have to turn this crisis into an opportunity.”
Jin Wikyung gently caressed his teacup. To anyone else, he might have appeared lost in thought, but his lips were moving almost imperceptibly.
How is that matter progressing?
Wipeng understood the meaning of the Sound Transmission and acted naturally.
“The tea has gone cold. Shall I have them bring out a fresh cup?”
We haven’t learned anything yet.
“It’s fine. It’s still drinkable.”
What about the surviving remnants?
“You’ll ruin your health if you keep doing that.”
Most of them died during the interrogation.
“You’re the only one who worries about my health.”
So, how many are left?
“Shouldn’t I at least look after you, with the Lady of the House not here?”
Three.
Jin Wikyung’s fingers stopped dead.
The news was so unexpected that, for a moment, he even forgot that he was supposed to continue speaking.
Only three?
Wipeng sighed and nodded.
They had a far more powerful restriction placed on them than expected. I’m sorry to say this, but… my abilities aren’t enough.
It isn’t your fault. Our family’s capabilities are lacking.
Give me your orders.
Jin Wikyung felt his throat grow dry.
Stop the interrogation. Keep them clinging to life by whatever means necessary. Right now, those men are our only physical evidence.
Understood.
He closed his hand around the cold teacup.
On the trembling surface of the tea, a distorted face with no discernible features was reflected.
Just like those men.
Dark Heaven…
He didn’t know where, how, or why they had done such a thing.
He was flailing at empty air without learning a single thing.
Yet one suspicion in Jin Wikyung’s mind was gradually hardening into certainty.
They’re extremely dangerous. Targeting Shanxi Province was only the beginning.
The Head Elder had endured for many years while waiting for his moment. But for a decades-long grand design, the results were far too shabby.
Jin Wikyung realized that only after the joy of victory had faded.
This was… too easy.
It had been a perfect opportunity to seize an entire province.
Yet Dark Heaven had never revealed themselves. It was as if this much had been enough for them.
What on earth are they after?
For now, he had no idea.
He could only hope that he had overestimated them.
“My lord?”
“Ah.”
“You’ve been away from your seat too long. The guests are waiting.”
“……Is that so?”
At Wipeng’s call, Jin Wikyung drained his teacup in one gulp and rose.
“Let us go.”
This was a gathering for the Jin Family.
For now, it was all right to savor the joy of victory to his heart’s content.
Winter days were short.
I had only just returned to the Jin Family of Taiyuan, but the sun was already beginning to set.
Come to think of it, aside from circulating my qi, I haven’t had a proper training session in days.
It was around then, while I was training in the ground attached to my pavilion to loosen up my body, that some unexpected guests came to see me.
“Benefactor!”
“Benefactor!”
“……?”
Was that an echo or something?
I turned my head toward the direction of the voices.
“I’m here!”
Cheongpung was smiling brightly, his mouth covered in a thick layer of some mysterious sauce. And then there was…
“Benefactor! It’s Socheon!”
“It’s been a while, Young Hero Jin.”
“Huh?”
They were the survivors of the Sakju Branch, Gong Yacheong and Socheon.
Seeing their familiar faces after so long, I felt a sudden rush of happiness.
But it feels like someone’s missing.
Just as I was tilting my head in confusion, a whining voice came from beneath the stone wall blocking my view of them.
“Me too! Soyul wants to see Uncle too!”
“Wait a moment.”
Gong Yacheong reached down, scooped something up, and hoisted it onto his shoulders.
The small girl, Soyul, smiled brightly and waved her hand.
“Uncle!”
“Oh, you’ve grown a lot.”
“You’ve grown a lot too, Uncle!”
“Thanks for that. But I’m not an uncle.”
“Anyone can see you’re an uncle!”
“……Sure.”
What did it matter whether I was an uncle or not?
I let out a quiet laugh and walked toward them.
“Has everyone been well?”
Gong Yacheong answered with a faint smile.
“Of course.”
He still looked somewhat gaunt, but his complexion was healthy. He was clearly much better than when he had been poisoned and hovering on the verge of death.
The kids seem to be doing well, too.
Socheon was in the middle of his growth period, and in the time since I had last seen him, he had grown another half a handspan taller. Soyul’s cheeks were plump.
And Cheongpung’s stomach had puffed up as though he had been eating well.
“……”
Right. Eat well and grow well.
Twenty was still a good age for growing.
“But what brings everyone here?”
Socheon spoke as though he had been waiting for me to ask.
“Martial Artist Hyuk asked us to come. The banquet is about to begin, but he has to go stand watch, so he asked us to deliver a message to you in his place.”
“Oh, the banquet.”
I vaguely remembered hearing something about it earlier. There was supposed to be a grand banquet in the evening.
Cheongpung, who had been licking the sauce from around his mouth, suddenly looked shocked.
“Gasp! Really?”
“……What? Didn’t you come here knowing that?”
“Yes. If I’d known, I would have eaten less!”
Soyul also opened her eyes wide in shock. The candied treat in her hand slipped to the ground.
“No! Soyul’s full too!”
“……”
Judging from their reactions, I could roughly guess where the two of them had met.
“Well, when does it start?”
“Less than half an hour remains, Benefactor.”
“Benefactor, hurry! This is my first banquet!”
“Where is it?”
“In front of the new Grand Training Ground, Benefactor.”
“They said it’s in front of the Grand Training Ground, Benefactor!”
“Ah, there.”
I set down the training spear I was holding and tightly secured the bundle I had laid out beside me to my back.
Of course, the item inside the bundle was the sword entrusted to me by the Fire King.
“Let’s all go.”
I was about to set off when I stopped.
I had thought of something I had wanted to say for a while.
“Oh, and one more thing…”
“Please speak, Benefactor.”
“What is it, Benefactor?”
I let out a deep sigh before continuing.
“Only one of you should call me Benefactor. It’s confusing.”
They were exactly like two parrots.
The two Benefactor parrots nodded as though they didn’t need to think about it.
“I’ll keep that in mind, Benefactor.”
“Okay, Benefactor.”
“……”
No, think before you answer.
The Grand Training Ground.
As its name suggested, it was the largest training ground in the family, and it was packed with people.
“What the hell? Why are there so many people?”
Weren’t only invited guests allowed inside?
Cheongpung was the one who answered my question.
“I heard it from the cook earlier. He said the Lesser Family Head told them that everyone should be together on a day this wonderful, and ordered them to let in all the people outside, too.”
“All of them?”
“Yes. So the cook got really angry. He said the Lesser Family Head had no common sense and shouldn’t run his mouth when he wasn’t going to help with the cooking.”
Soyul, who had been sucking happily on a candied treat, chimed in.
“That’s right! He even gave Soyul a candied treat and told her not to tell anyone!”
“……Then why are you telling us?”
“Gasp!”
I shook my head and continued walking.
I had only taken a few steps when a martial artist from the Jin Family approached us.
“We’ll escort the two Young Masters to their designated seats.”
“I don’t mind watching from anywhere. I’m guessing that won’t be allowed, right?”
“No, Young Master. It is the Lesser Family Head’s order.”
Given the circumstances, there was nothing I could do.
I exchanged a light farewell with Gong Yacheong and the others before moving to the seat prepared for me.
My seat was one of the places of honor reserved for the very small number of distinguished guests.
Of course, that meant…
“Martial Uncle Cheongpung, Young Master Jin. We meet again so soon.”
The Three Plum Blossom Elites were among them.
Baek Museong had his junior disciples seated on either side of him. He greeted us with a fairly friendly expression.
“We didn’t get to properly introduce ourselves earlier, did we? I’m Eunhyang.”
System Level: 75
Eunhyang
She was probably around the same age as my younger sister, Hayeon.
The moment I finished greeting her, a sullen voice burst out.
“Damn it. You’re sitting next to me?”
Chulwoo was a massive man, large enough to make the seat look cramped.
“Why? You don’t like it?”
“Would you?”
“I don’t like it either. That’s why I said it. Guess we agree on something.”
“Don’t say disgusting things!”
“Then switch seats.”
“With whom?”
“Lots of people besides you would love to sit there. Switch with anyone standing down below.”
“You son of a bitch!”
“Did you just insult my parents? Are you trying to pull a Jin-rula in the Jin Family of Taiyuan?”
Chulwoo’s body trembled as Baek Museong scolded him.
“You! What kind of outrageous nonsense is this?”
“No, Senior Brother. It’s just…”
“Quiet. Young Hero Jin, I apologize in place of my Junior Brother. I also apologize to Martial Uncle Cheongpung.”
Cheongpung, who had been hiding behind me, cautiously peeked his head out.
“I’m fine, Martial Nephew.”
I also smiled gently.
“I’m fine too. Aren’t you at the age when your blood is running hot? We have to be understanding.”
“You’re five years younger than me, you little punk. What did you just say?”
“Young Hero Baek, if you don’t mind, could you switch seats with me? I’m a little afraid to sit next to him…”
“Second!”
“Whoo. Whoo-hoo.”
I dropped into the seat beside the snorting Chulwoo.
Chulwoo on my right, Cheongpung on my left.
What a spectacular arrangement.
Where is Jin Wikyung?
No matter how much I looked around, I couldn’t see Jin Wikyung or Wipeng.
Then—
Boom!
The martial artists of the Jin Family surrounding the Grand Training Ground began striking their weapons.
There were more than three hundred of them, and from their ranks surged an aura sharp as a blade and a spirit as powerful as a wave.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sound resembled the drums of a battlefield. It grew louder and louder until it swallowed every other noise.
And then…
BOOM!
With a thunderous crash louder than any before it, the human curtain split apart.
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