The Heir Who Stepped Aside

Left alone, Ouyang Qiangang sank deep into thought. In his mind, the story Hwang Nodae had told him and the intelligence Akasha had compiled on Gold Pagoda Mountain Manor cross-referenced at blinding speed, sketching the outline of a single, vast picture.

'The Heavenly Martial Emperor... the Martial Emperor's Grand Canon... and the Treasure Map. A forgotten legend... If it is all true, and Dong ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Hyeon-do of Gold Pagoda Mountain Manor is holding even a fragment of that secret...' Sensing the sheer weight of it, his expression hardened.

'Which means there is a high probability that this is the real reason Dong Hyeon-do married Dong Yeon-hwa off to Gu-yang Baek. In a clan this fallen, the only thing one of the Five Great Tycoons of the merchant world would bother scheming for is the legendary Treasure Map of the Heavenly Martial Emperor — nothing else comes close.' The puzzle pieces that had hung in the fog were finding their places one by one, and the silhouette of an enormous conspiracy seemed to be emerging from the mist. 'A thirteen-year operation to acquire the Treasure Map... Dong Hyeon-do, Lord of Gold Pagoda Mountain Manor. It would be no exaggeration to call that man a Treasure Map zealot — his obsession borders on outright paranoia.'

Ouyang Qiangang clicked his tongue briefly, then quietly circulated the Transcendent Formless Divine Art, steadying a body and mind drained by the use of his nanobots.

Before sleep took him, he asked one thing of Akasha. "Akasha, I have a favor to ask. Unless I specifically request it or we're in an emergency, please try not to read my private thoughts. Even I need at least a minimal measure of privacy — so don't take it the wrong way."

The next morning, Ouyang Qiangang made his way to the main residence to pay his morning respects to Gu-yang Baek.

At her observation, Ouyang Qiangang let out a soft chuckle. 'Considering the bombshell I intend to drop today, this counts as an excellent reading.'

'I am about to make a very important announcement.' Before Akasha could ask anything further, he stepped into the great hall of the main residence.

The moment Gu-yang Cheong-cheong spotted him, she let out a short squeal and came running, throwing her arms tight around his waist. "Big Brother!"

Ouyang Qiangang broke into a broad smile and took the child's plump cheeks in hand, giving them a long, gentle pull. 'Soft as a fresh rice cake.'

Gu-yang Cheon-gi, meanwhile, was still laboring to keep his expression sternly composed — but the moment his mother's gaze shifted elsewhere, he sneaked a smiling glance at his eldest brother.

Having duly paid his morning respects to Gu-yang Baek and Dong Yeon-hwa, Ouyang Qiangang spoke in a resolute tone. "Father, there is something I must say. I would also ask that Cousin Ha-jin and Cousin Seol-ah, who arrived from Gold Pagoda Mountain Manor yesterday, be summoned here."

A flicker of puzzlement crossed Gu-yang Baek's brow. "Why call for those two first thing in the morning? If you have something to say, saying it to me alone should be more than enough."

"No, Father. This is a matter that must be spoken in their presence as well."

There was something unnervingly grave in his son's manner. Gu-yang Baek held his silence for a moment, then ordered a servant to fetch the Dong siblings.

Before long, the Dong siblings — dressed in their finery as always — entered the hall wearing puzzled expressions.

With every gaze in the room now fixed on him, Ouyang Qiangang opened his mouth slowly. His voice was so clear and resolute that not a trace of the sickbed lingered in it.

The air in the hall froze in an instant. It was Gu-yang Baek's roar that shattered the silence.

"You wretch! Are you in your right mind?! What manner of outrageous nonsense is this, first thing in the morning!"

Gu-yang Baek's face burned crimson with fury, and even Dong Yeon-hwa, seated beside him, could not conceal her bewilderment. The Dong siblings flinched in surprise — an astonishment threaded with undisguised glee — but they hastily composed themselves, trading a swift glance. Gu-yang Cheon-gi stared at his elder brother with wide eyes and a face drained white, while only little Gu-yang Cheong-cheong looked on, bewildered by the sudden uproar.

Ouyang Qiangang did not yield a single step, continuing with perfect calm. "It is not nonsense, Father. It is a conclusion I reached after long and careful deliberation. You know the state of my body better than anyone, do you not? Rather than a son who could pass away at any moment inheriting that seat, it is a hundred times more sensible — for the future of the Ouyang Clan — for a healthy, brilliant Cheon-gi to take it."

He swept his gaze across those assembled and pressed on. "Is this not something everyone here already knows? If I am formally installed as Young Clan Head, the future of our already struggling clan will only grow more precarious. The outside world will look down upon a sickly young heir, and within our own walls, unease will do nothing but deepen."

"Sophistry!"

"It is not, Father. A few days ago, assassins came to kill me."

The words sent a shockwave through the hall.

Gu-yang Baek shouted, "Assassins?! Who in the world would want you dead?"

"On that matter, I will speak with you in a separate setting."

"Hoh..."

Ouyang Qiangang's voice took on real weight as he continued. "Father, if I set down my claim to the Young Clan Headship and live out my days quietly as an ordinary member of this family, no one will ever send assassins after my life again. My decision is the path that protects both myself and our family."

His stance was so unshakable that Gu-yang Baek's fury seemed to lose its footing. He regarded his son with a deeply conflicted expression. "...Truly? Is there no room left for reconsideration?"

"There is none, Father. I beg you to honor my wish and appoint Cheon-gi as Young Clan Head."

Gu-yang Baek exhaled a long, deep sigh. "...This is a matter of grave importance to the clan. I, too, will need time to think."

At that very moment, Ouyang Qiangang did not miss the faint tremor that shook Dong Yeon-hwa's eyes. She had watched the entire scene unfold with a deathly pale face. Within her gaze, a storm of tangled feelings — deep sorrow, relief, and something like an unnameable regret — had been swirling like a tempest. But it all vanished in a flash behind that mask of frozen composure. The only one who noticed was Ouyang Qiangang, who had been watching her from the very start.

And so, wrapped in that oppressive atmosphere, the morning greetings drew to a close. The Dong siblings traded unreadable smiles as they returned to their quarters, and Gu-yang Cheon-gi and Gu-yang Cheong-cheong were led out of the hall by the servants' hands.

But Ouyang Qiangang remained exactly where he was.

Gu-yang Baek looked at him and asked, "Gang, is there more you wish to say to me?"

"Yes, Father. And I have something to say to Mother as well." He turned his gaze toward Dong Yeon-hwa and continued. "I need a place where no one from outside can overhear — a space where the three of us alone may speak."

Gu-yang Baek studied his son for a long moment, then, as though reaching a decision, led Dong Yeon-hwa and Ouyang Qiangang down to his practice chamber.

Located underground, the practice chamber was sealed on all four sides — walls and door alike lined with iron plates a foot ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thick — making it a perfect sealed room from which no sound could escape. The space, a little over 1,800 square feet, was divided into a modest living quarter furnished with a simple bed, and a training area where every manner of the Eighteen Arms — the eighteen classical weapons — was on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠display.

What was strange was the enormous painting hanging on the wall of the chamber's living quarters. A painting had no place in a practice chamber.

Seated in a chair, Ouyang Qiangang looked in turn at Gu-yang Baek across from him, then at his stepmother Dong Yeon-hwa beside him, and spoke. "You are both hiding something from me — are you not?"

Gu-yang Baek and Dong Yeon-hwa stiffened with discomposure in the same breath.

"What is this talk, Gang?"

"The night before last, assassins sent by the Dong siblings tried to take my life."

"What did you say?"

Gu-yang Baek had heard the tale of the assassins in the hall, but never in his wildest imaginings had he suspected the Dong siblings of ordering it, and the revelation left him thunderstruck. Dong Yeon-hwa, too, could not hide her astonishment at how he had come to learn the truth.

Ouyang Qiangang continued with unshaken composure. "I turned the question over and over — why they would want me dead. No matter how I racked my brain, only one answer remained."

Gu-yang Baek asked, his face gone rigid, "And what is that?"

"If I die, my younger brother Cheon-gi becomes the Young Clan Head of the Ouyang Clan. Someone desired that outcome desperately, and the Dong siblings appear to have moved to fulfill that wish."

Gu-yang Baek's face hardened further still. "Then... are you saying... you believe your mother stands behind the Dong siblings?" Disappointment and fury churned together in his voice.

"No." Ouyang Qiangang shook his head without a moment's hesitation.

Deep furrows carved themselves across Gu-yang Baek's forehead. "You say she is not?"

"I am. I am certain Mother had nothing whatsoever to do with this affair."

Dong Yeon-hwa's slender shoulders trembled. She stared at him ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as though she could not believe her ears, and asked in a quavering voice, "How... how can you be so certain?"

Ouyang Qiangang met her eyes squarely and answered without the slightest hesitation. "Because you, Mother, truly cherish me."

"Ah..."

She had never once imagined she would hear such an answer. Hot tears welled and pooled at the corners of Dong Yeon-hwa's eyes. She turned her head away in haste to hide them, but it was already too late.

Gu-yang Baek asked, "If your mother is not the one behind it, then whom do you suspect?"

"Gold Pagoda Mountain Manor."

"My father-in-law?"

"Yes."

Gu-yang Baek's expression grew heavy. "Why would he set his sights on your life?"

"Because there is something he wants so desperately that he would seize it even at the cost of making Cheon-gi the Young Clan Head."

Gu-yang Baek's face turned ash-pale.

Ouyang Qiangang went on. "I wondered what he could possibly hope to gain that he would go so far as to make Cheon-gi Young Clan Head to obtain it. But as you well know, our main clan possesses no assets worth the name, and most of our secret martial arts were lost in the Righteous-Demonic Great War."

When Gu-yang Baek kept his silence, Ouyang Qiangang continued. "Then, some time ago, I chanced upon the records of our first Clan Head in the library. Reading them alongside a few unofficial histories, I was able to construct a hypothesis."

Gu-yang Baek's face hardened like stone.

"You know it better than I do, Father — the legend speaks of the Heavenly Martial Emperor's Treasure Map."

Gu-yang Baek bored his gaze into his son. "Do you believe it lies within our main clan?"

"What matters more is the fact that Grandfather is after it."

A low groan leaked from between Gu-yang Baek's lips. "Mm..."

Ouyang Qiangang drove straight to the heart of it. "I believe Grandfather sent Mother to you in marriage in order to obtain the secret of that Treasure Map. Is my conjecture mistaken?"

Instead of answering, Gu-yang Baek heaved a deep sigh and gave a small jerk of his chin — a wordless gesture to go on.

Ouyang Qiangang nodded and continued. "I am confident my deduction is correct. But there was one thing I could not understand."

"And what was that?"

"Why Mother left me alone. For a decade and more, she was never once warm to me — yet she never obstructed my path to the Young Clan Headship, nor once tried to take my life."

Dong Yeon-hwa spoke, her voice trembling. "Why would I ever wish to harm you..."

"I was young, and I could not read Mother's heart, so it never stopped seeming strange to me. Then, one day, I understood — that you truly cherish me. And that you have been delaying Grandfather's instructions all this while, behind a wall of excuses."

A heavy groan escaped Gu-yang Baek and Dong Yeon-hwa simultaneously.

Ouyang Qiangang's eyes gleamed. "Father — is the Heavenly Martial Emperor's Treasure Map truly hidden in our main clan?"