Chapter 187

Hundreds of martial artists stood there, radiating an aura as sharp as frost. And along the path they had created, one man came walking.

Clomp. Clomp.

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 one man.

Jin Wikyung.

This feels like a scene from a movie.

Wearing a martial uniform embroidered with a silver wyvern, Jin Wikyung walked without hesitation. His dignified bearing and the authority that naturally radiated from him overwhelmed everyone present.

The silence Jin Wikyung had created was broken by his voice.

“Our family has put down roots in Taiyuan for three hundred years.”

His shout, infused with profound internal energy, spread far and wide.

“Our beginnings were undeniably humble.”

It had been a time of chaos. Natural disasters had continued one after another, and the empire that had seemed eternal had lost its strength. Countless heroes raised their banners across the land and claimed to be kings, and war broke out.

Blood soaked the parched earth in place of water, while grain that should have been harvested was trampled beneath horses’ hooves.

At the end of that long war, a man who had wandered the world stopped walking in the ruined capital of an old dynasty.

That was the beginning of the Jin Family of Taiyuan.

“Our ancestor, Grand Patriarch Jin Muryang, accepted orphans and cared for widows and the elderly. Though he raised martial arts as our banner, he never forgot humanity.”

The small seed quickly sprouted. Those who gathered beneath the banner of the Jin Family of Taiyuan became its branches and trunk, and eventually its strong, deep roots.

The family that had begun so humbly grew into a towering tree that encompassed all of Shanxi Province.

“However, 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.

The wrong choices of the leadership, invasions by foreign enemies, betrayal 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.”

Even when the branches broke and the leaves fell, the roots remained whole.

“Though we were shaken, we were never uprooted.”

As long as the roots remained, the tree would grow again. It would regain its vitality and sprout abundant 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, all of whom had dropped to one knee.

“We! The Jin Family of Taiyuan!”

It was a vow to the countless members of the Jin Family, 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 all of you!”

His blazing eyes swept across the crowd. Jin Wikyung took in the faces filled with a mixture of excitement and anticipation, fear and guilt, then shouted.

“Are you ready to lay a new foundation stone together with 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 join the path the Jin Family of Taiyuan wishes to walk?”

The voice had come neither from the seat of honor where I sat nor from the honored guests’ seats below.

As the enormous crowd surrounding the Grand Training Ground opened a path, the owner of the voice appeared.

That person is…

Instead of a flowing gown, she wore a comfortable martial uniform. Her mature features seemed beyond her years as 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 the two of them shouted in unison.

“We pay our respects to the Lesser Family Head!”

A stir spread through the crowd.

The appearance of the Mount Heng Sword Sect, which stood on the verge of destruction.

The new Sect Leader was the only daughter of the late Blood Wolf Sword, while the man who called himself the First Elder at her side was the Tiger of Mount Heng, Cheol Mubaek.

And yet, amid everyone’s astonishment, Jin Wikyung’s expression remained calm.

Of course it did. He was the one who had sent me to deliver the New Year’s Day invitation.

“This is the first time I’ve met you in person, Young Lady. Did you receive the formal invitation I sent last time?”

“Yes. In addition…”

Lee Seowol answered calmly before raising her head and looking this way.

“I have also received a debt of gratitude I could never hope to repay.”

Her gaze flew toward me, making 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 looked back at Jin Wikyung.

“I would like to hear your answer to the question I asked earlier.”

Lee Seowol took a deep breath. Her eyelids trembled.

“May we… join the Jin Family of Taiyuan as well?”

Jin Wikyung’s answer contained not a shred of hesitation.

“Of course.”

“……!”

“This time, I’ll ask you. Are you ready 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, the second Sect Leader of the Mount Heng Sword Sect, swear before Heaven and Earth.”

The Mount Heng Sword Sect had once commanded all of Shanxi Murim. Its new Sect Leader, inheritor of its true line, had knelt before Jin Wikyung.

No. She had knelt before the Jin Family of Taiyuan.

“Our sect will dedicate its loyalty to the Jin Family of Taiyuan.”

“Loyalty!”

Their numbers were small, but their shout was thunderous. Jin Wikyung grasped Lee Seowol’s shoulder and helped her to her feet.

His manner of speech had naturally changed as well.

“I grant you permission.”

It was New Year’s Day.

The moment the Jin Family of Taiyuan accepted the Mount Heng Sword Sect as its vassal.

“Waaaaaaah!”

“Jin Family of Taiyuan! Jin Family of Taiyuan!”

Cheers, followed by more cheers.

The crowd of more than a thousand people enthusiastically chanted the name of the Jin Family of Taiyuan.

It really was that impressive.

A speech that made the blood of everyone listening boil, followed by the Mount Heng Sword Sect’s oath of loyalty.

What an ending.

The actual banquet hadn’t even begun, but everyone here must have realized it.

The Jin Family of Taiyuan was the hegemon of Shanxi Province, combining overwhelming strength with mercy.

Chulwoo, seated beside me, was no exception.

“……Huh.”

The guy who had seemed simpleminded and proud to a fault 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 had contributed quite a bit to making this day possible.

“Ahem, ahem. Looks like you were moved.”

“It was truly amazing. My heart pounded the entire time I watched.”

Chulwoo continued in a voice brimming with excitement.

“How can someone be so beautiful!”

“Not to brag, but the Jin Family of Taiyuan is doing this well in Shanxi—what did you say?”

What had I just heard?

After some hesitation, I asked in an uneasy voice,

“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 and strip each other’s Under Armour. 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 use an analogy, I suppose it’s the process by which a pair of Diglett meet and become Dugtrio.”

“I can’t understand a word you’re saying. Explain it simply.”

I thought of the simplest word.

“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 what exactly is beautiful?”

“The woman! That woman who came 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 comfortable.

At my rather 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 proposal, maybe.

“It’s a pain to explain. It’s a long and eventful story. But are you perhaps…”

I let my words trail off and looked at Chulwoo.

“Interested in this Young Lady?”

“Interested?”

Chulwoo sprang to his feet, and I felt slightly reassured.

“Right? I thought you were talking about your heart pounding and all that, so I thought you were really interested…”

“It isn’t interest! This is love.”

“……”

“Three children would be about right. Two boys and one girl.”

“……Sure. Go on, then.”

“I’ll raise a yellow dog, too. I heard that raising children alongside a dog from a young age is good for their emotional development. 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 somewhere before.

Where had it been?

For some reason, I felt a strange pang.

Why was I suddenly thinking of Song-i and Uncle Kkeokjeong, who should have been in the real world?

That’s strange.

I pushed the question aside and opened my mouth.

“Are you done?”

“I’m not done yet.”

“Then let’s consider it done and you listen to me. This is important.”

At my serious tone, Chulwoo paused.

“Important?”

“Yeah. How old are you?”

“Twenty-five.”

“Do you know how old Young Lady Lee is?”

“I don’t.”

“She’s seventeen. Ah, the year has turned, so she’s eighteen now.”

“So?”

“What do you mean, so, you atrocious bastard! Never mind the seven-year age gap—school lunches and late-night self-study! Huh? She’s at the age when she has to choose between the humanities and sciences! What about her school grades?”

Chulwoo looked baffled by my anger.

“What are you talking about? She’s at the perfect age to get married.”

“Ah, sorry. I got too worked up.”

As the older brother of a younger sister who was still in school, I couldn’t help empathizing. I kept forgetting that this was the Murim.

“Anyway, think it over carefully. Don’t let a fleeting emotion sway you.”

“No.”

Chulwoo answered firmly, his expression growing dreamy.

“I knew the moment I first saw her. My heart, which had been stopped my entire life, began to beat.”

“……So was it dead for twenty-five years?”

“Dead? Yes, you’re right. Before meeting her, I was no different from a corpse.”

“Can you really not die? Please die.”

“I can’t. I’ve become a man who can neither die nor live without her permission.”

“……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 one of the pretty third-generation disciples last year?”

He’s even a repeat offender?

What are you, some serial confession demon?

Just as Chulwoo was about to explode at Eunhyang’s revelation of his embarrassing past—

“Young Master Jin.”

A pleasant, beautiful voice reached my ears. I turned my head and saw a woman climbing the stairs.

No. A girl.

Lee Seowol.

It was her.