Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Winds of Change (1)
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"You... you found the Secret Repository?"
"Yes."
"That place actually exists?"
Seok Ung seemed just as shocked as Murong Sujing.
Murong Bi watched the two of them, a cautious glint entering his eyes.
'Indeed.'
Sujing was one thing, but even Seok Ung's reaction suggested he hadn't truly believed in the Secret Repository's existence.
'Seok Ung and Old Man Gwak must have been like family to Daeho. And yet, he never told them.'
There had to be a good reason, but no matter how he racked his brain, he couldn't imagine what it might be.
Unless it was one particular case.
'If my guess is right...'
The Secret Repository aside, the fact that he hadn't passed down martial arts to his blood kin was one thing, but even the manuals he did possess were a mess.
Old Man Gwak's case could be chalked up to personal circumstances, but the martial arts? That was incomprehensible. If they wrote off his brother's death as an unfortunate accident, fine—but Daeho and his wife had come to Huguk safe and sound, even had Suhyang.
And yet, no martial arts transmission, not even properly informing them of the Secret Repository's existence?
There could only be one reason.
'To confirm if my hunch is correct, I need to check a few more things.'
He'd initially planned to ask Sujing. If not her, then Seok Ung.
But he changed his mind.
'They might not know anything at all. That would just breed unnecessary suspicion.'
Of course, the chances of either doubting him were slim to none.
Who would believe the soul of a long-dead great-granduncle had entered the body of his great-grandnephew? It was the kind of plot that wouldn't sell in a street-side bookshop.
'If my guess is right, it'll just lead to pointless prying. They might even push too hard to find out.'
That absolutely could not happen.
Sujing was one thing, but Seok Ung in particular wouldn't stand for it. Thinking of how great his disappointment and self-recrimination would be, it was better to investigate this alone.
'Be cautious.'
He'd arrived here brimming with excitement, but conversing with the two had cooled him to the point of cold calculation.
Murong Bi steeled his resolve once more.
'This is my home, but it's also a battlefield. Reviving the clan is important, but so is ensuring the clan members don't get hurt over needless things.'
Sujing hadn't even fully recovered yet. It would be disastrous if needless worry made her illness worse.
"Then, don't tell me...?"
Murong Sujing, who had been staring blankly into space, swallowed hard and asked.
"Your sudden strength... it's because you found the Secret Repository?"
"That's right."
The moment had come.
Not the full truth, but he'd longed for this chance to declare it boldly over the past two days.
"I've mastered the true supreme arts of our main house."
Seok Ung let out a gasp and collapsed right there.
Murong Sujing, staring at Murong Bi with trembling eyes, took a deep breath.
It was the kind of bombshell that could knock someone flat on their back, but she struggled to maintain her composure.
"The true supreme arts... you mean there were martial arts manuals from our main house's past in that Secret Repository?"
"Precisely, there were."
"What does that mean?"
"I burned them all."
Seok Ung looked ready to foam at the mouth.
Murong Bi gave a wry smile as he spoke.
"Don't worry. It wasn't like I suddenly went mad and set them ablaze."
"Th-then...?"
"They're all in here." He tapped his head. "Not a single character wrong. I've memorized every last one."
Murong Sujing swallowed dryly once more. She tried to stay calm, but it was impossible.
"Why?"
A good question.
"Because we don't know what might happen to the main house."
"What do you mean, 'what might happen'?"
"What if enemies invade, even if it's just a one-in-a-million chance? Do we have the power to protect the main house's supreme arts right now?"
"...!"
"The fact that I found the Secret Repository..."
As Murong Bi started to speak, he suddenly recalled the soul of his great-granduncle who had left this body behind.
'Very well. I shall protect your honor.'
With a clearing of his throat to buy time, Murong Bi continued.
"Was shortly after you left for Bright Truth Temple, sis."
He was grateful anew for Jin Gwang. Thanks to the old man's unprompted ramblings, he could paint his lie pure white.
Of course, he had no idea what exactly Bright Truth Temple was as a clinic, but that wasn't important right now.
"Then... gasp!"
Seok Ung's face went pale.
"Don't tell me... you've been training in the main house's supreme arts since then, Young Master?"
"That's right."
"B-but back then, you..."
The lies flowed effortlessly, as if riding a wave.
"Even the greatest genius is slow to progress training from manuals alone without a master. In the worst case, you could even suffer qi deviation."
"...!!"
"Regrettably, I wasn't even a genius."
Murong Sujing let out an exclamation.
"Your body ended up like that from training in the main house's martial arts?"
Murong Bi didn't answer yes or no. He needed to avoid leaving any room for contradictions later based on this conversation.
But from the listener's perspective, silence was as good as affirmation.
"I see."
Murong Sujing nodded as if finally understanding, her face filled with turmoil.
"I've checked your pulse while you were asleep or dead drunk. Your overdrinking had damaged your vitality, and your dantian was strangely deformed."
Murong Bi's eyes flashed.
'Pulse diagnosis.'
Internal arts experts handled inner energy with such finesse that they could examine bodies as well as any ordinary physician.
But Murong Sujing's skills weren't quite at that level yet.
'So she was learning medicine after all.'
He'd suspected as much from overhearing her conversation with Physician Yang, and here was confirmation. She must have learned it at Bright Truth Temple.
Murong Sujing let out a deep sigh.
"You must have been so frustrated that you drowned yourself in drink. I didn't know a thing."
Wrong.
'Your brother drank to hide the fact that he was using innate astral energy from others.'
He'd pieced it together on the way back to the clan after his fight with Choi Ho.
No matter how much you drank, it was hard to damage your vitality that deeply. At that level, the liver, stomach, blood vessels, and even brain should be severely compromised.
But Murong Bi's body wasn't.
'It was a precaution for the worst case. He deliberately drank to make anyone checking his pulse mistake the alcohol stench for damaged vitality.'
Even so, drinking to that extent must have been pure agony.
He might have grown addicted at some point, but at that young age, unaccustomed to liquor, it must have been torment.
Thinking of it made even the dead great-granduncle's plight pitiful. Why had he gone so far as to drink and tamper with his vitality?
"Hoo."
Her sigh was so heavy it seemed to weigh down the air itself.
Murong Sujing's eyes wavered once more.
"I didn't want to say this unless I had to... but I truly have no face left to show you."
Murong Bi shook his head.
"We each did our best in our places. If anyone's sorry, it's me more. I went around causing trouble while drunk."
"No. Don't say that. It was because I was incompetent and rash."
Finally, tears spilled from Murong Sujing's eyes.
He panicked again, but this time, Murong Bi didn't tell her not to cry.
Making her feel guilty like this only made him feel worse, but it was a necessary step for the clan's revival.
Besides, those tears weren't just from guilt or self-loathing.
"...It really happened, didn't it?"
Her eyes and voice trembled.
"Our main house really had such a glorious history?"
Her face was a mix of anticipation, agitation, excitement, joy, and more.
It couldn't be helped. She'd heard a million times how great House Murong had been, but she'd never witnessed that history herself.
She believed, but hadn't felt it real. Sometimes she even thought, whatever.
But now, before her brother declaring the Secret Repository's existence and the 'true martial arts' of House Murong, she finally felt the history her ancestors had forged.
Murong Bi, gazing steadily at Murong Sujing, said flatly,
"That's enough."
"Huh?"
"Feel happy all you want, but stop there for now."
"What do you mean?"
"The main house's history is real. But that's enough for us to know. At least for now."
"...?"
"Pride is fine, but getting swept up and forgetting our current situation isn't. To be honest, just because the main house was strong back then doesn't mean we are now."
"...!"
"Knowing the truth just means we have a signpost for the path ahead. It doesn't mean we've reached our goal. Clinging to past glory means we won't even pick the fruit right in front of us."
"...I see."
"Remember this. A warrior without pride is a sword without a sheath. But get drunk on pride, and you become a fool who can't draw when he must."
Seok Ung's eyes shook with emotion.
Those words were eerily similar to what he'd once said to Murong Suhyang.
And the original speaker was the very elder he'd respected most in the old days.
'A warrior without pride is a sword without a sheath. A sword cuts both ways. One day, you might cut yourself with your own blade.'
'I'm no warrior.'
'You're the same. Everyone makes mistakes. Instead of moping, pick up the brush again. Just make sure to carry the inkstone so you don't splatter ink everywhere next time?'
"...!"
'Don't get drunk on pride, but don't lose it either. True growth starts there.'
Those were the words Murong Cheon had spoken when he'd visited the clan during Seok Ung's time rising through the steward's office, when a missing important document had caused losses in the hundreds of thousands of nyang.
Arrogant to the point of hubris, yet fragile enough to crumble from one mistake—those words had awakened the clerk.
Murong Bi turned his gaze to Seok Ung.
"Does that answer your question?"
He meant the question about whether he'd learned such profound martial arts.
Seok Ung's eyes widened in an instant.
'Elder?!'
Why?
Over Murong Bi's smiling face overlapped the image of the elder, mischievous beyond his years.
"...More than enough."
Seok Ung's voice trembled involuntarily.
"It answers everything, Young Master."
Murong Bi smiled and rose from his seat.
"I'll retrieve the items from there soon. For now, just know the main house's history was real."
"... "
"I'll keep the Secret Repository's location to myself for the time being. We'll transcribe the manuals gradually. Leave that to me."
Murong Sujing nodded silently.
She had so many more questions. How he'd found it, what other wonders were inside.
But the words wouldn't come. To her, the fact that the main house was 'real' resonated far more than such details.
Murong Bi turned to leave.
"Savor that feeling until today. Rest up and take care of yourself. Don't push."
Because this was just the beginning.
With that, Murong Bi left the patriarch's chamber.
Silence enveloped the room.
It broke after about half an incense stick's time.
"Acting Patriarch."
Tears welled in the wrinkles around her eyes.
"I... I have no idea what's happening right now."
"Me neither."
Murong Sujing looked up at the ceiling.
'It was real? Truly?'
The face of her father, now a faint memory, rose in her mind.
The kind face that, even in his death throes amid hallucinations and delirium, worried for his children.
"...Father."