Hundreds of martial artists stood there, radiating an aura as sharp as frost. Along the path they had opened, one man approached.
Step. Step.
The commoners who had come to watch, the nameless martial artists dressed in worn uniforms, and finally the powerful figures who moved Shanxi Province—
Everyone held their breath and watched that one man.
Jin Wikyung.
This is like something out of a movie.
Clad in a martial uniform embroidered with a silver wyvern, Jin Wikyung strode forward without hesitation. His commanding presence and effortless authority overwhelmed everyone present.
The silence Jin Wikyung had created was broken by his voice.
“Our family first put down roots in Taiyuan three hundred years ago.”
His shout, infused with profound internal energy, carried far and wide.
“Our beginnings were undeniably humble.”
It had been an age of chaos. Natural disasters struck one after another, and the empire that had seemed eternal lost its strength. Warlords raised their banners throughout the land and declared themselves kings, plunging the realm into war.
Blood instead of water soaked the parched earth, while grain waiting to be harvested was trampled beneath horses’ hooves.
At the end of that long war, a man who had wandered the realm stopped in the ruined capital of an old dynasty.
That was the beginning of the Jin Family of Taiyuan.
“Our ancestor, Grand Patriarch Jin Muryang, took in orphans and cared for widows and the elderly. Though he raised the banner of martial strength, he never forgot humanity.”
The small seed soon sprouted. Those who gathered beneath the banner of the Jin Family of Taiyuan became its branches, its trunk, and its strong, deep roots.
The family that had begun so humbly grew into a towering tree whose reach extended across all of Shanxi Province.
“Yet even our family could not escape the rise and fall of fortune.”
Everything had slowly changed with the passage of time. After enduring one event after another, both great and small, the towering tree began to wither.
Mistaken decisions by its leaders, invasions by foreign enemies, betrayals by allies, natural disasters beyond human power to prevent…
Before long, its many branches had broken and its lush leaves had fallen.
“But!”
A thunderous shout burst forth. His voice boiled like lava.
“We survived.”
Though the branches broke and the leaves fell, the roots remained whole.
“We may have been shaken, but we were never uprooted.”
As long as the roots remained, the tree would grow again. It would regain its vitality and put forth lush new leaves as though nothing had ever happened.
Just as it was doing now.
“As the Lesser Family Head of the Jin Family of Taiyuan, I swear this.”
Boom!
Hundreds of weapons struck the ground. Invisible heat rose from the martial artists of the Jin Family of Taiyuan as they dropped to one knee.
“We! The Jin Family of Taiyuan!”
It was a vow to the family’s countless members, to everyone gathered here, and to the enemies who had yet to bare their fangs.
“Three hundred years ago and three hundred years from now, we will remain here unchanged!”
Boom! Boom!
“I ask you all!”
His blazing eyes swept across the crowd. Taking in faces filled with excitement and anticipation, fear and guilt, Jin Wikyung shouted,
“Are you ready to lay a new foundation alongside our family?”
A tremendous roar erupted from the crowd, centered on the martial artists of the Jin Family of Taiyuan.
“Loyalty!”
Boom, boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!
Just then, a clear voice rang out from somewhere.
“May we also join the Jin Family of Taiyuan on the path it has chosen?”
The voice had come neither from the place of honor where I sat nor from the seats reserved for distinguished guests below.
The vast crowd surrounding the Grand Training Ground parted, revealing the owner of the voice.
That’s…
Instead of a flowing court dress, she wore a comfortable martial uniform. With features mature beyond her years, she respectfully saluted Jin Wikyung with clasped fists.
“I am Lee Seowol of the Mount Heng Sword Sect. I have arrived in response to the Lesser Family Head’s summons.”
The middle-aged man who had been standing beside her like an iron tower revealed his identity in a rough voice.
“I am First Elder Cheol Mubaek. I pay my respects to the Lesser Family Head of the Jin Family of Taiyuan.”
The martial artists of the Mount Heng Sword Sect standing behind them shouted in unison.
“We pay our respects to the Lesser Family Head!”
A stir swept through the crowd.
The Mount Heng Sword Sect had appeared when it stood on the very brink of destruction.
Its new Sect Leader was the late Blood Wolf Sword’s only daughter, while the man at her side who called himself First Elder was Cheol Mubaek, the Tiger of Mount Heng.
Yet amid everyone else’s astonishment, Jin Wikyung remained perfectly calm.
Of course he did. He was the one who had sent me to deliver their invitation for New Year’s Day.
“This is the first time I’ve met you in person, Young Lady. Did you receive the formal invitation I sent last time?”
“Yes. And in addition…”
Lee Seowol answered calmly, then raised her head and looked in my direction.
“I received a kindness I could never hope to repay.”
Every gaze that swung my way made my face prickle.
Naturally. There probably wasn’t a single person in Shanxi Province who didn’t know that Jin Mukyung and I had saved the Mount Heng Sword Sect.
After giving me a faint smile, she turned back to Jin Wikyung.
“I would like to hear your answer to the question I asked earlier.”
Lee Seowol drew a deep breath. Her eyelids trembled.
“May we… join the Jin Family of Taiyuan as well?”
Jin Wikyung answered without a moment’s hesitation.
“Of course.”
“…!”
“Now it is my turn to ask. Are you prepared to walk alongside our family?”
Thump.
Instead of answering, Lee Seowol dropped to one knee. Cheol Mubaek and the martial artists under his command did the same.
“I, Lee Seowol, second Sect Leader of the Mount Heng Sword Sect, swear before Heaven and Earth.”
The Mount Heng Sword Sect had once commanded Shanxi Murim. Now its new Sect Leader, inheritor of its orthodox lineage, knelt before Jin Wikyung.
No. She knelt before the Jin Family of Taiyuan.
“Our sect pledges its loyalty to the Jin Family of Taiyuan.”
“Loyalty!”
They were few in number, but their shout was thunderous. Jin Wikyung took Lee Seowol by the shoulder and helped her to her feet.
His manner of speech had shifted naturally as well.
“I grant you permission.”
On the first day of the new year, the Jin Family of Taiyuan accepted the Mount Heng Sword Sect as its vassal.
“Waaaaaaah!”
“Jin Family of Taiyuan! Jin Family of Taiyuan!”
Cheers upon cheers.
The crowd of more than a thousand people enthusiastically chanted the name of the Jin Family of Taiyuan.
It really was that impressive.
First came a speech that set the listeners’ blood boiling, followed by the Mount Heng Sword Sect’s oath of loyalty.
What an ending.
The real banquet hadn’t even begun, but everyone present must have realized it by now.
The Jin Family of Taiyuan was the hegemon of Shanxi Province, possessed of both overwhelming power and mercy.
Chulwoo, seated beside me, was no exception.
“…Whoa.”
The guy who had seemed simpleminded and proud to a fault now wore an expression of genuine admiration.
The kid knows a thing or two.
It was childish, but I couldn’t help puffing out my chest a little. I was a member of the Jin Family of Taiyuan, after all, and I’d contributed quite a bit to making this day possible.
“Ahem, ahem. Looks like you were moved.”
“It was incredible. My heart pounded the entire time.”
Chulwoo continued, his voice brimming with excitement.
“How can anyone be so beautiful?”
“Not to brag, but the Jin Family of Taiyuan has become a pretty big deal in Shanxi—what did you say?”
What had I just heard?
After some hesitation, I asked uneasily,
“You’re not talking about my eldest brother, are you?”
“What?”
“You know, that sort of thing. I covet that man’s muscles. I want to do bench presses with him while we strip off each other’s Under Armour1. Something like that…”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Chulwoo frowned. Judging by his expression, that wasn’t what he meant.
“Good. That’s a relief. I thought you were gay.”
“Gay? What’s that?”
“Well, to put it metaphorically, I suppose it’s the process by which a pair of Diglett2 meet and become Dugtrio3.”
“I can’t understand a word you’re saying. Explain it simply.”
I came up with the simplest term possible.
“Male homosexuality.”
“You little bastard…!”
Chulwoo was about to raise his fist when he stopped short. Baek Museong, his Senior Brother, was sitting right beside him.
The Huashan’s Lone Crane buff was damn useful.
I grinned and asked,
“So who exactly is beautiful?”
“The woman! That woman from the Mount Heng Sword Sect!”
“Oh, Young Lady Lee Seowol?”
Strictly speaking, she was the Sect Leader, but calling her Young Lady still felt more natural.
At my familiar tone, Chulwoo’s eyes lit up.
“Y-You know her?”
“We have a little history.”
“What kind of history?”
A history that began with a sexual harassment scandal and ended with a marriage proposal, I suppose.
“It’s a pain to explain. The whole story is pretty eventful. But don’t tell me…”
I trailed off and looked at Chulwoo.
“You’re interested in Young Lady Lee?”
“Interested?”
Chulwoo shot to his feet, and I felt slightly reassured.
“Right? You kept talking about your heart pounding, so I thought you were actually interested in—”
“This isn’t interest! It’s love.”
“…”
“Three children should be about right. Two boys and one girl.”
“…Sure. Keep going.”
“We’ll raise a yellow dog too. I heard that children who grow up with a dog develop better emotionally. We’ll have a happy family.”
I was about to call him an idiot when I suddenly stopped.
I feel like I’ve seen this scene before.
Where had I seen it?
For some reason, something about it hit a sore spot.
And why was I suddenly thinking about Song-i and Uncle Kkeokjeong back in the real world?
That’s strange.
I pushed the question aside and spoke.
“Are you done?”
“I’m not done yet.”
“Then let’s pretend you are and listen to me. This is important.”
My serious tone gave Chulwoo pause.
“Important?”
“Yeah. How old are you?”
“Twenty-five.”
“Do you know how old Young Lady Lee is?”
“No.”
“She’s seventeen. Ah, the year just changed, so she’s eighteen now.”
“So?”
“What do you mean, so, you goddamn monster? Forget the seven-year age gap—she’s still eating school lunches and doing late-night study sessions! She’s only just choosing between humanities and sciences! What about her school grades?”
Chulwoo stared at me in bewilderment.
“What are you talking about? She’s at the perfect age to marry.”
“Ah, sorry. I got carried away.”
As the older brother of a younger sister who was still in school, I couldn’t help putting myself in her shoes. I kept forgetting this was Murim.
“Anyway, think it through. Don’t let some fleeting emotion carry you away.”
“No.”
Chulwoo answered firmly, his expression turning dreamy.
“I knew the moment I saw her. My heart, which had lain still my entire life, finally began to beat.”
“…So you were dead for twenty-five years?”
“Dead? Yes, you’re right. Before I met her, I was little more than a corpse.”
“Can you really not die? Please die.”
“I can’t. Without her permission, I can neither die nor live.”
“…Wow. What a load of bullshit.”
Baek Museong and Eunhyang, who had been listening to our conversation, shook their heads.
“Here we go again.”
“Big Brother, didn’t you say something similar to that pretty third-generation Disciple last year?”
He’s a repeat offender?
What are you, some kind of serial confession demon?
Just as Chulwoo was about to explode at Eunhyang for exposing his embarrassing past—
“Young Master Jin.”
A lovely voice reached my ears. I turned and saw a woman climbing the stairs.
No. A girl.
Lee Seowol.
It was her.
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