Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: The Family's Secret Hideout (2)
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Jin Gwang opened his mouth.
"Gwan Hyeon."
"Yes, Squad Leader."
"Dismiss the squad members."
"Understood."
"And Jong Hyeon..."
At that moment, Murong Bi cut in.
"I've beaten him just enough. No need to call a physician. He'll be fine after half a day."
Jin Gwang nodded.
"Dismiss them."
"Yes."
With that, the entire Flower Sword Squad left the training ground.
As they dispersed, a few swordsmen glanced sidelong at Murong Bi. Their eyes held distrust, surprise, and a strange flicker of hostility.
"Young Master."
"What is it?"
"Would you walk with me for a moment?"
"Sure."
Jin Gwang walked along a narrow path behind the training ground.
Murong Bi followed silently. It seemed he had something to say.
In truth, Murong Bi had far more he wanted to say.
'Why did he just stand there watching that mess?'
They hadn't spoken properly yet, but Jin Gwang was clearly a serious man.
Of course, personality and skill didn't always go hand in hand.
Murong Bi glanced at Jin Gwang's gait.
'His steps aren't steady.'
Much more stable than the squad members', but no matter how he looked at it, it wasn't the mark of a true master.
'He's no first-rate at best. Still, his stamina seems solid, and his joints look far more flexible than the squad's.'
At Murong Bi's level, he could gauge a person's rough cultivation just from their walk.
'He could've easily spotted how sloppy the squad's stances were.'
Then, Jin Gwang spoke up.
"You're strong."
"This much hardly counts."
He still possessed all the insights and memories from that era when he was called the Bright Martial Sovereign, the Mad Demon.
His body and circumstances were different now, making direct comparisons meaningless, but this flesh had once roamed the Eight Ranges of Mount Tai. Strength like this was nothing special.
"I didn't tell the squad, but I know. You used your inner energy to heal the Acting Patriarch's illness."
"I did."
Jin Gwang halted.
"Young Master."
"Speak."
"Did you... really find it?"
Find what?
His wits? His sanity?
"What you told me wasn't a lie after all."
Huh? The mood was shifting strangely.
Murong Bi could sense the agitation in Jin Gwang's voice. It didn't suit his iron-masked, stoic demeanor at all.
Then, Jin Gwang turned.
Murong Bi instinctively took a couple steps back. Jin Gwang's gaze burned with fervor.
'What the hell? This guy?'
It was like the eyes of someone in love, if exaggerated a bit.
Murong Bi shifted into combat readiness on instinct. Unlikely as it was, if this fool tried anything crazy, he'd castrate him on the spot.
Thankfully, his worries were unfounded.
"To be honest, I was very disappointed in you, Young Master. And... I thought I could no longer place my trust in you."
"Huh?"
"But now I understand clearly. Even while pretending otherwise, how deeply you've cherished the main house!"
Huh? Something was off here.
The man's once-serious voice heated up to an alarming degree. Passion didn't even cover it. He seemed utterly intoxicated by something.
Jin Gwang clenched his fist tightly.
"The Acting Patriarch's faith has finally been rewarded! Heaven has aided our house! No, it must be that her sincerity—and yours—reached the heavens!"
Hey, knock before barging in!
Murong Bi panicked. He couldn't grasp what Jin Gwang was talking about.
"Uh, Squad Leader Jin? Calm down first..."
"Young Master!"
Jin Gwang seized Murong Bi's hand.
Murong Bi's face twisted like he'd spotted a repulsive bug.
'What the hell are you doing, you lunatic!'
He barely restrained the urge to knee him with sheer willpower.
Jin Gwang shook his hand wildly, face alight with emotion.
Murong Bi's body—who weighed half as much—swayed like a reed in the wind.
"Well done! Truly well done! Now the main house can rise again?!"
"R-Rise?"
"No, not right away. Building power isn't easy."
"Right... yeah?"
"But for a martial house, the most vital thing is strength! Power! And that power comes from martial arts!"
Jin Gwang's blazing eyes suddenly grew misty.
Murong Bi was stunned inwardly. This guy seemed more emotional than him, despite practicing the Brain Gate Heart Technique.
"At last, you've claimed the ancestor's relic. The forebears are watching over us all!"
Murong Bi's eyes widened.
'Ancestor's relic?!'
What was this sudden talk?
'Does this fool know my identity?'
No way.
But if not, how else would he mention an ancestor's relic?
"The Black Tiger Gang business must've been to investigate the relic too. I was terribly worried. But if you've found the Murong treasure, the Black Tiger Gang is no threat!"
Sujing must not have told him the gang had collapsed yet.
But Murong Bi focused on the "Murong treasure."
'Hold on, so that's it?'
Even amid the confusion, things clicked into place.
'Ancestor's relic? Did Jong Hyeon borrow from the Black Tiger Gang to find this supposed Murong relic?'
Jin Gwang released his hand and dropped to his knees right there.
"But even with the relic, you couldn't have gained such skill overnight. You must've been hiding your power all along."
"Uh... yeah?"
"That Mount Tai-like sword strike against Jong Hyeon! Your blade advanced straight along one path, one point, without the slightest deviation! No ordinary training yields that!"
If you knew that, why'd you let the kids go at me?
"Listen, Squad Leader Jin."
"As we walked, I pondered. Why hide your strength, Young Master? Did you doubt the Acting Patriarch and us? For a moment, I thought it understandable."
Let me speak, you idiot!
"But I soon found the answer."
Jin Gwang looked up.
Beneath his stern facade shone the heart of a true loyal retainer.
His eyes brimmed with genuine faith in Murong Bi. Waves of pent-up resentment released, yet free of greed or malice.
'This guy...'
Murong Bi's gaze wavered.
'...what a burdensome fellow.'
Still, something warm stirred within.
Even as Alliance Leader, he'd had a few like this. Despite his temper, they'd followed him to the death.
The faces of those retainers from back then overlaid Jin Gwang's.
Different temperaments, but the same glow. Red-hot steel at furnace heat.
"A wingless bird, no matter how large, can't rule the skies. You feared rumors spreading to nearby sects and House Hoyeon?"
Murong Bi's eyes chilled at "House Hoyeon."
"House Hoyeon..."
"If I may be bold. I'm honored by your display of power, but now's the time to build foundations..."
"Squad Leader Jin."
His tone carried new weight.
Jin Gwang snapped out of his fervor.
"Yes, Young Master."
Murong Bi plopped down on the spot.
"You said ancestor's relic?"
"Pardon? Ah! Yes!"
After a moment's thought, Murong Bi tossed out casually,
"When did I ever mention that?"
Jin Gwang spilled it all without hesitation.
"Not long after the eldest young miss—no, the Acting Patriarch—went to Bright Truth Temple."
"Hmm, was it?"
"Yes! You said the Previous Patriarch spoke of a secret hideout from your childhood. He said one ancestor created it to prepare for unforeseen crises."
One casual question, and he volunteered even the unasked details. Convenient.
An ancestor made a secret hideout?
"The Acting Patriarch heard it too but dismissed it as far-fetched. Yet you insisted the Previous Patriarch's words were true...!"
"Which ancestor?"
He didn't even question why.
Jin Gwang answered naturally.
"A name forgotten by the world, the stolen crown of glory! Your great-uncle, Young Master."
"...?"
"..."
"My great-uncle??"
"Yes."
Murong Bi blinked like a cow, his seriousness shattered.
Oblivious, Jin Gwang kept talking.
"I believe—and not just me, but all in the main house—that the world wrongly calls him of House Hoyeon!"
"Wait! Hold on!"
"Yes, Young Master."
"G-Great-uncle? You said great-uncle just now?"
"Yes."
Murong Bi gaped unwittingly.
Sujing, Bi, and Suhyang's parents were Daeho and his wife. Daeho's father was Elder Brother Heon, so grandfather points to him. Then great-uncle...
Is that me?
'I made the hideout? In Hubei, no less?'
What nonsense was this?
"Great-Uncle Murong Cheon?"
"Yes!"
Murong Bi shouted despite himself.
"Say it clearly! You said my... no, Great-Uncle Murong Cheon, right? That's it?"
Only then did Jin Gwang sense the oddity, replying blankly.
"Y-Yes, that's what you said."
"Not my brother?"
"Pardon?"
Damn it! Flustered and absurd, his terms kept jumbling.
'But could it be Brother?'
After becoming patriarch and stabilizing Yunnan, Brother spent most of his time in northern Jianghu.
Hubei could loosely count as north, but in Murong Bi's memory, Brother never came down here.
He might've sent house guards secretly. But evading the Martial Alliance's intel net meant few. Could so few build a hideout and stock relics?
'So it really must be me?'
No, I never made any hideout!
Jin Gwang, peeking nervously, spoke cautiously.
"In any case, you've found the ancestor's relic. This is the main house's great fortune. I have no regrets, even in death."
"Shut it for a sec. Seems like I might have regrets."
"Yes!"
Murong Bi's face grew grave.
'No matter how I rack my brain, nothing comes up.'
Did Daeho lie to the kids out of hope they'd never give up, even if reality was harsh?
'No way.'
He knew Daeho best—truthful to a fault. No fool to plant false dreams in his own children.
'So Daeho truly believed I left a hideout in Hubei?'
He had no memory of it.
'Of course not. It never happened!'
Conscripted to the Martial Alliance right after war broke, he was elevated to youngest Leader in under five years.
After that, endless battles left no time to breathe. Forget family legacies—even Alliance supplies were hard to secure...
'Huh?'
...Alliance? Supplies?
Wait a minute?
'Daeho, you don't mean?!'
Murong Bi recalled the war's end.
'If by some chance you hear I've died or gone missing, don't act rashly. Hold position. High chance I'm hunkered in a safehouse.'
'H-How can you say that, Uncle?'
'That's why it's "some chance." Don't worry; won't happen.'
Murong Bi's eyes widened like full moons.
"I-It exists!"
There was a legacy of his!