Chapter 45: The Source of Blood (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 45: The Source of Blood (3)
I had a feeling he would talk about the Blood Demon.
However, I never dreamed that the name of the Flying Moon Hero Sect of Peerless Fortress would come straight out of Haeakcheon’s mouth.
-What? Is the Flying Moon Hero Sect related to the Blood Cult?
The Lesser Conversation Sword showed interest.
Even if it asked, there was no way I would know. I didn't even know what kind of place the Flying Moon Hero Sect was, which is why I had put in a request to the Haomen Sect.
Haeakcheon stroked his beard and spoke.
“Judging by your reaction, there must be a connection.”
“No. To be honest… I’m not sure.”
“You’re not sure?”
“……Yes.”
“Hmm. Didn’t you say before that your maternal grandfather was a member of our Cult?”
‘Ah!’
I had forgotten about that for a while.
It was a lie I had made up to escape a crisis when I first met the Fourth Blood Star, Do Jang-ho. It had been well over a year, and I had completely forgotten about it. That could have been disastrous.
-You forgot about that? That’s rare for you.
‘I know.’
I must have let my guard down because we’ve survived life-and-death crises together and developed a bit of a bond. Back when I was a spy, I was always in situations where life and death hung in the balance, so I was always tense and never made mistakes like this. Lately, it feels like I’m changing to fit my current self.
‘Stay sharp.’
I couldn't afford to be careless.
I looked at Haeakcheon with a dark expression, as if I were burdened by a complicated past, and spoke.
“……That’s right. That is what my mother always told me. I believed it until now. But now, I don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?”
Haeakcheon asked, looking puzzled.
After a moment of deliberation, I reached into my robe and pulled something out.
It was the keepsake from my mother, which I suspected was a token of the Flying Moon Hero Sect.
-You’re going to show him?
‘It’s not like hiding it will solve anything.’
I wanted to know too—whether my mother really was from the Flying Moon Hero Sect, and what exactly their relationship was with the Blood Cult.
Haeakcheon’s eyes narrowed as he saw the jade token.
“Where did you get this?”
“When I returned to the Yikyang So Family for a mission… I received it from the Family Head as my mother’s keepsake. That was when I found out. The Family Head I had known all my life was not my biological father.”
I put on a heartbroken expression, my eyes slightly reddening.
-Can you even force out tears now?
The basics of acting are being able to control all your emotions. This much was child’s play.
The Lesser Conversation Sword clicked its tongue in amazement.
“It seems your mother hid many things from you.”
Unlike before, he didn't harbor much suspicion because he trusted me now. Actually, it was more that his attention was entirely focused on the jade token.
Did he know what this was?
Haeakcheon picked up the jade token I had set down and held it up to the lamplight.
“Ho… It’s been a long time since I’ve seen this. The Flying Crane Moon Token.”
“The Flying Crane Moon Token?”
“Keke. You’re barely twenty; how could you possibly know of this token?”
I asked him, feigning surprise.
“Do you know something about it, Master?”
“How could I not? I even know the origin of this token, which the youngsters of today are ignorant of.”
He knew the origin?
As I wondered about that, Haeakcheon pointed to the jade token illuminated by the lamp.
“A place that can craft something so exquisite and artistic that the entire jade token looks like the moon is not found in the martial world.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“This token originated from a gift bestowed by the Imperial Family.”
‘!?’
The Imperial Family?
I was stunned by the sudden mention of the Imperial Family. Just what kind of place was the Flying Moon Hero Sect that Haeakcheon would even bring up the Emperor?
“The Flying Moon Hero Sect is a sect with a truly tragic history. Where should I begin?”
Haeakcheon scratched his head, then dipped his finger into his wine cup and traced characters onto the table with the droplets.
血魔 (Blood Demon)
“You know well that he is the founder of our Cult.”
Is there anyone in the world who doesn't?
Haeakcheon drew two vertical lines downward from the name.
“Few even within the Cult know this. The lineage of the Blood Demon is divided into two.”
“Two?”
This was truly the first time I had heard this.
Haeakcheon traced more names with the wine.
白天强 (Baek Cheon-gang), 白地雄 (Baek Ji-woong).
Haeakcheon circled the name Baek Ji-woong.
“This person was the Second Blood Demon.”
“The Second Blood Demon?”
It was strange. Judging by the names, Baek Cheon-gang was clearly the eldest son. In both the martial world and the government, the eldest son usually inherits the position unless there are exceptional circumstances.
“You seem puzzled. Keke.”
“Wasn't Baek Cheon-gang the eldest son?”
“Correct. As you guessed, Baek Cheon-gang was the eldest. However, he had no interest in becoming the next Cult Leader; his heart was set on the government.”
That was a truly peculiar case. The martial world and the government were, in a sense, two completely different worlds. Even in the current era, they do not interfere with each other due to a non-aggression pact.
“He was gifted in martial arts, but Baek Cheon-gang was also deeply learned. He passed the civil service exam with top honors and entered the path of officialdom. The Emperor of that era, charmed by his profound scholarship and his noble, crane-like character, bestowed upon him the title of ‘Flying Crane’ along with this jade token.”
‘Ah……’
The son of the Blood Demon, the pinnacle of the Evil Faction, becoming a government official. It was a truly shocking secret history.
“He did not become the Second Blood Demon; instead, he became the founder of the first generation of the Flying Crane Moon Family. Is that not a truly admirable feat?”
‘The Flying Crane Moon Family?’
At that point, they were still using the name of a family.
But a question arose. The Blood Demon was a man possessed by the madness of wanting to drench the martial world in blood. If the Imperial Family had discovered Baek Cheon-gang’s father or his true identity, how would they have reacted?
Haeakcheon answered that unspoken question.
“However, his birth—his blood—eventually became a shackle for the Flying Crane Moon Family.”
“……How so?”
“It wasn't a problem while he was an official. But as the generations passed down to the sixth, and the Golden Emperor became the reigning monarch, the tragedy began.”
‘The Golden Emperor!’
-Who is that? Why are you so surprised?
The Golden Emperor, Ju Yang-seon.
He was the Emperor who declared war on the martial world for the first time since the founding of the Yan Dynasty. It was the period when the relationship between the martial world and the government was at its absolute worst.
During the Golden Emperor’s reign, he sought to exterminate any organization related to the martial world down to the third generation. I had heard that was the first time the Orthodox and Evil factions joined forces.
“The Golden Emperor’s persecution of the martial world eventually reached the Flying Crane Moon Family, who had served as officials for six generations.”
“Were they cast out?”
“The Golden Emperor intended to purge and destroy the Flying Crane Moon Family. But how could our Cult stand by and watch as those born from the same root were driven into a corner?”
“Did the Cult help the Flying Crane Moon Family?”
“Yes. The Cult mobilized everything to ensure the Flying Crane Moon Family could safely escape the Golden Emperor’s grasp.”
“……Then their relationship with the Cult must have been revealed to the martial world.”
It was bound to be revealed. If the Blood Cult helped a specific family, how could it remain a secret?
“Did the Flying Crane Moon Family return to the Cult then?”
“No. Having abandoned the path of the Evil Faction and chosen the government since the time of their ancestor Baek Cheon-gang, why would they want to return to the Cult?”
“Ah! Is that when they entered Peerless Fortress?”
“Keke. Exactly. In the martial world, the place that walked the middle path without belonging to either the Orthodox or Evil factions was Peerless Fortress. Seeking a fence to protect them, the Flying Crane Moon Family entered Peerless Fortress.”
It made sense. The Flying Crane Moon Family’s secret protection by the Blood Cult had been exposed. The Orthodox Martial Alliance would have looked upon them with disdain. On the other hand, returning to the Blood Cult would have meant violating their ancestor’s legacy.
‘Hmm……’
But another thought occurred to me. Even if the Flying Crane Moon Family had left the path of the Evil Faction, they had received help during the Golden Emperor’s persecution. Would they have treated that debt of gratitude lightly?
Or perhaps, the Blood Cult hadn't accepted them.
-Huh? Why?
The roots of the Flying Crane Moon Family started with the Blood Demon. That meant the Flying Crane Moon Family also possessed the right to succeed as the leader of the Blood Cult.
‘Ah! Right. Accepting them would just be adding more competitors.’
That was likely a major reason. If not, the Blood Cult would have continuously urged them to return. Peerless Fortress was also an organization vying for hegemony in the martial world. If they entered it, they could eventually become rivals.
-Humans really live such complicated lives. Tsk tsk.
Indeed. Before power and wealth, humans can be heartless even to their own parents and siblings.
“Then, did the Flying Crane Moon Family that entered Peerless Fortress become the Flying Moon Hero Sect?”
“Keke. You catch on quick. Yes. The predecessor of the Flying Moon Hero Sect was the Flying Crane Moon Family, and its root is our very own Cult.”
“Ah……”
In the end, the source of the Flying Moon Hero Sect was the Blood Cult.
That meant if my mother or my biological father was a person of the Flying Moon Hero Sect, I belonged to the lineage of the Blood Demon.
-Hmph. Didn't I tell you?
The Blood Demon Sword clicked its tongue at me.
How could I just blindly believe you when you said that? Besides, even though I lived my past life as a spy for the Blood Cult, I had always believed my roots were in the Orthodox Yikyang So Family.
As my mind began to grow complicated, Haeakcheon spoke to me.
“Keke. This is truly a joyous occasion.”
“Pardon?”
“A direct descendant carrying his blood has survived and returned to the Cult. How can this be anything other than destiny?”
Destiny? Was it truly destiny?
Haeakcheon spoke to me in a delighted voice.
“Through your existence, his bloodline can now be safely carried on. I no longer have to feel ashamed before the late Cult Leader. Hahahahahaha!”
“……Master. There are Lady Baek Ryeonha and Lady Baek Hye-hyang as well, so why…?”
“Keke, you brat. How can they be the same as a direct male descendant?”
Ah……
Was this why Haeakcheon had chosen me?
Even though the Blood Demon Sword had chosen me, I had wondered why he would so readily flip his loyalty from Baek Ryeonha to serve me as the Blood Demon.
If Baek Ryeonha or Baek Hye-hyang married and had children, those children would be hard to consider as part of the direct line. The direct lineage, which is passed down through the male line, would be broken.
“But Master, how can you be sure if I am of the direct line or not? If my mother was from the Flying Moon Hero Sect, then I am also…”
Even if the blood was mixed, I couldn't be the direct heir of that line. In that case, I would belong to my biological father’s lineage instead.
At those words, Haeakcheon stopped laughing and frowned.
-He looks like his joy just got cut short.
I could understand his feelings. The direct line of the Blood Demon had been severed, and they were barely trying to maintain the legacy through Baek Hye-hyang and Baek Ryeonha when I, who could be a direct descendant, appeared.
But if I wasn't of the direct line, then there was little difference between me and Baek Hye-hyang or Baek Ryeonha.
Then, Haeakcheon stared at me intently and spoke.
“If that is the case, I shall have to marry you to either Lady Baek Ryeonha or Lady Baek Hye-hyang to make the bloodline even more solid.”
‘!?’
What on earth was he talking about now?