Chapter 125: Sichuan Tang Clan-3
Chapter 125: Sichuan Tang Clan-3
I stared at On Je-ung's expression for a moment, then abruptly spoke.
"That's the same expression you wore back then."
At that, his flinching face immediately hardened.
I turned to look directly at Dang Jeong-hu and spoke.
"Family Head, I believe you are laboring under one misconception."
Dang Jeong-hu asked with an intrigued expression.
"I am laboring under a misconception, you say?"
My judgment from earlier had to be correct.
The judgment that I, as someone with the qualifications to become a son-in-law of the Tang Family, could absolutely never defeat that On Je-ung.
But come to think of it, I wasn't actually trying to become a real son-in-law of the Tang Family right now, was I?
No, if anything, becoming a real son-in-law and getting tied down to the Tang Family could be even more troublesome.
So what I had to do wasn't to become the Tang Family's son-in-law. I just needed to prevent that bastard from becoming their son-in-law.
And now that I'd realized that, there was only one method left for me to choose.
I pointed my finger at On Je-ung and shouted.
"Even if that man becomes the matrilocal son-in-law of the Tang Family, he will never uphold his faith and loyalty to this family!"
That was it.
What I had to do was a mud fight.
A mud fight that would prevent either of us from being able to marry into the family.
Hearing my words, On Je-ung flared up and shouted.
"What nonsense is this?! Family Head, you need not even listen to the words of such a man!"
But I merely stared at the bastard with a faint, oily smile. Wearing only a meaningful expression, as if I knew something.
And sure enough, the reaction I had been waiting for came.
Dang Jeong-hu asked me.
"You said you were Young Master Seonwoo Jin? It seems you were already acquainted with Young Master On."
At his question, On Je-ung flinched and immediately shouted.
"N-no! I don't know him at all!"
But Dang Jeong-hu wasn't looking at him.
He was looking only at me, as if urging me to speak quickly.
With a greasy smile and a bowed head, I began my story.
"The place I saw him was at the Jeonghyeopbang last time."
At my words, Dang Jeong-hu made a surprised expression.
It seemed he hadn't known that I had been at the Jeonghyeopbang.
Then On Je-ung roughly cut in, desperately shouting.
"It's a lie! That scoundrel is trying to frame me right now!"
It must have been a desperate act, but for me, it couldn't have been more welcome.
The more the bastard acted like that, the more trust my words would gain.
I looked at Dang Jeong-hu and asked, as if troubled.
"May I continue with my story?"
At that, Dang Jeong-hu, his brow slightly furrowed, looked at On Je-ung and said.
"Young Master On, I fear you may have forgotten where you are and before whom you stand. Let us hear him out first. Whether or not you are being framed, I shall listen carefully and judge for myself."
Though he spoke in a gentle tone, his expression was anything but gentle.
Moreover, his words essentially meant 'Stop fooling around and shut up.' On Je-ung's face turned pale, and he had no choice but to close his mouth.
After lightly provoking the bastard again with a sneering expression, I resumed my story.
"At that time, I was fighting the Small-faced Demon Lord Sa Won-yang alongside my sworn brother, Hwa Yeong-bin the Red Sunset Divine Sword."
Then a murmuring sound arose from the surroundings.
"He fought the Small-faced Demon Lord? At the Jeonghyeopbang?"
"This young hero is Hwa Yeong-bin's sworn younger brother?"
"Ah, come to think of it, the young hero who was with Hwa Yeong-bin back then was...!"
These were the intended reactions, but I pretended not to hear them and continued speaking.
"At that time, thanks to the arrival of members from the Sichuan Tang Family and the Mount Qingcheng Sect, I barely survived and was resting. It was then that On Je-ung's subordinate came and threatened me, demanding I hand over my sword. He said it was too fine a blade for a lowly ronin like me. At that moment, he pointed at that man, On Je-ung, who was watching from behind, and said this: if I handed the sword over to his master, the Hongsa Sword Dragon, Young Master On Je-ung, he would spare my life."
At this, the murmuring among the people grew louder.
Most seemed enraged at the story that a member of the orthodox faction, On Je-ung, had threatened to take a martial artist's sword, his very life.
But this level of shock was still weak.
I kept talking.
"And that was not all. Dumbfounded, I subdued that man, and just then, my sworn brother, Hwa Yeong-bin, arrived. Seeing my brother, that man On Je-ung committed an act that no martial artist, let alone a member of the orthodox faction, could ever do. He pretended not to see his subordinate, abandoned him, and fled the scene immediately!"
Having said that much, I now pointed my finger at On Je-ung and shouted.
"And you called such a man the divine dragon of the orthodox faction? That is utterly preposterous! Such a man cannot even be called a member of the orthodox faction, let alone a divine dragon! And yet this man is to become the matrilocal son-in-law of the Tang Family?! Do you truly believe he will uphold his faith and loyalty with the Tang Family?! I dare to state with certainty that it will result in nothing less than letting a snake into your household!"
On Je-ung's face had now turned pale white.
Since his shameful secrets were being exposed in the very place he thought would become his in-laws' family, it was a natural reaction.
But I still couldn't let my guard down.
That was because the reaction of the most important person, Dang Jeong-hu, wasn't very refreshed even after hearing this story.
If anything, his expression was one of slight disappointment at my words.
Dang Jeong-hu asked me.
"Can you prove that what you say is true?"
I answered him confidently.
"The name of the man I subdued at that time was No Ji-wang. You can verify the facts if you summon and question him separately. Also, my sworn brother Hwa Yeong-bin was present at the scene. And..."
I continued speaking, looking straight at Dang Jeong-hu.
"I believe that you, Family Head, in your wisdom, have already determined that what I say is true."
At that, he stared at me for a moment without a word.
He would surely be certain that my story was the truth.
But despite that, the reason his reaction was lukewarm was because it likely held little significance for him.
After all, he needed the Hongsa Sword Gate, not On Je-ung himself.
What he needed was a tool to do the dirty work for the Sichuan Tang Family, not a proud and chivalrous son-in-law of the orthodox faction.
So to him, a flaw of the degree I had just mentioned was surely a minor detail he could simply ignore.
In the end, I had failed to persuade him.
His unimpressed expression clearly told me so.
But inwardly, I allowed myself a satisfied smile.
Because I hadn't set out to persuade Dang Jeong-hu in the first place.
I abruptly glanced around.
Then I could see the members of the Tang Family, arrayed around us, were in an uproar.
"To commit such an act! He's not the Hongsa Sword Dragon, just a mere snake!"
"Accepting a man like that as a son-in-law of the Tang Family! Absolutely unacceptable!"
"Agreed! I can never tolerate this!"
The Tang Family members might be somewhat sinister, but they were also members of the orthodox faction.
Members of the orthodox faction who valued honor like life itself and revered chivalry and righteousness.
The family head, Dang Jeong-hu, might be looking at the practical interests of the family rather than honor, but there couldn't be many in the family who could see that.
So in the end, those people could not agree to accept someone like On Je-ung as a member of their family.
And having served as the family head of the Seonwoo Clan in my past life, I knew this: no matter how much one was the family head, pushing forward one's agenda while ignoring the public opinion of the clan retainers was an incredibly burdensome task.
Outwardly gazing at On Je-ung with eyes of fury, I laughed inwardly.
'Perfect! That's exactly the picture I wanted!'
As I glanced furtively at Dang Jeong-hu, he was staring at the retainers denouncing On Je-ung with an expressionless face.
Though his expression didn't reveal it outwardly, I would have bet a single tael of gold that he was feeling quite troubled inside.
At that moment, Dang Jeong-hu's expression had grown subtly strange.
It was a look as though he was listening to something.
Then he spoke to me.
"By the way, from the rumors I've heard, I suspect there might be some issues with you becoming a matrilocal son-in-law of our family as well."
At those words, the surroundings fell silent.
He spoke to me with a faint smile.
"The third son of the Seonwoo Clan, Seonwoo Jin, is said to be the shame of the Seonwoo Clan and a child cast out by his family. What are your thoughts on that rumor?"
Ugh, of all things.
I thought to myself.
'A bit awkward, frankly.'
As expected of the Sichuan Tang Family.
When it had looked like Dang Jeong-hu was listening to something, I had suspected as much, and sure enough, it seemed he had gathered and received intelligence about me in that interval.
As expected, the members of the Sichuan Tang Family were annoyingly competent.
And Dang Jeong-hu had apparently decided that rather than boosting On Je-ung to overturn public opinion, he would instead sink me.
The reasoning being that while On Je-ung was nothing much, his competitor—me—was even worse.
And that was a fairly sound choice.
'Because those rumors are true. The fact that I am a son cast out by the Seonwoo Clan is correct, isn't it?'
But I could not admit that with my own lips.
Because if I admitted it, the balance I had barely managed to set in place would collapse again.
It might not be the orthodox faction way, but there was no need to even ask who was better between a son-in-law who was the successor of a faction and a son-in-law treated as a disgrace even by his own faction.
So instead, I answered with a leisurely smile.
"Yes, I had such rumors spread around."
I could not back down here.
To avoid being pushed back, I had to bluff, even if it meant lying.
At that, Dang Jeong-hu furrowed his brows and asked.
"You deliberately spread those rumors?"
"Yes, that is correct."
"For what reason?"
After taking a deep breath inwardly, I began to speak.
"Because my father, the clan head, wished to establish me as his successor."
Inwardly, I apologized to my father, who would be back at the Seonwoo Clan estate.
'I'm sorry, Father.'
Then Dang Jeong-hu asked again.
"He wanted to establish you as his successor, so he deliberately spread rumors that you were a cast-out child? What in the world is that supposed to mean?"
I took another deep breath and began to speak.
It was the most barefaced lie I had ever told in my life.
"Though it is a shameful private matter of my clan, compared to the maternal families of my siblings, I lack any particular backing. Yet my father wished to pass on the seat of Seonwoo Clan head to me. So, to protect me, he treated me as a cast-out child as a desperate measure. And he deliberately spread such rumors to that effect."
At that, Dang Jeong-hu stared at me blankly for a moment, then asked again.
"Is that not merely your word? How can we believe such a thing?"
Of course, it could only be my word.
Because it was a lie.
But I never lost my composed attitude to the end.
And I answered with a confident expression.
"My father spread this rumor to those around him: that Seonwoo Jin, the third son of the Seonwoo Clan, was nothing more than a pig with skills beneath even second-rate. If you investigate, you will likely soon discover that such a rumor is circulating. But as you can see...."
As I said that, I looked over my own body and shrugged my shoulders.
Did my current, chiseled physique and the martial prowess that had so easily suppressed the Hongsa Sword Dragon On Je-ung not prove that rumor false?
It was a gesture to convey that sort of meaning.
But it seemed that even this much could not completely deceive Dang Jeong-hu.
His eyes still held a look of doubt.
So I decided to add one more thing.
A powerful card that any murim warrior could not help but be tempted by.
I asked him.
"Clan Head, have you by any chance heard of our clan's sword art, the Seonwoo Thirteen Swords?"
At that, he nodded.
"Of course I have heard of it. It is said to be an excellent illusion sword technique, counted among the finest in all the martial world. And I confirmed that rumor was true when I saw you earlier. But why do you ask about that?"
I answered with a smirk.
"The world at large does not know, but the Seonwoo Thirteen Swords has a fourteenth form. It is a form that only the heads of the Seonwoo Clan can learn. May I perhaps show it to you, Clan Head?"
As I asked that, I looked at him with a provocative gaze.
It was a look that asked whether he could handle receiving my sword stance.
At that, Dang Jeong-hu laughed as if dumbfounded and answered.
"I do not know what meaning that holds, but if you wish, you may do so as much as you like."
It worked!
I had thought he would probably answer that way.
Since, as one who had transcended the peak, I must have seemed utterly ridiculous to him.
He would be confident that no matter what I did, he could instead crush me.
But....
I formally cupped my fists in respect and then slowly drew my sword.
"Then this junior shall dare to commit an act of disrespect against the head of the great Sichuan Tang Family."
I exhaled a deep breath and focused my internal energy.
Woooong!
Above my sword, a vivid violet sword qi began to blaze and boil up.
A dense sword qi that only peak-level warriors who had breached the seventy-year wall of internal energy could produce—at the sight of it, exclamations of admiration burst out from all directions.
And in that instant, I let out a focused shout and swung my sword like a thunderbolt.
"Haaaap!"
Then, from my sword Mukrang, a great violet phoenix spread its wings wide and soared upward with a beating sound.
Piiiieeeek!
It was the fourteenth form of the Seonwoo Thirteen Swords, Jujak Hyeonsin.
And the phoenix, which seemed to beat its wings for a moment, soon began hurtling toward Dang Jeong-hu at a terrifying speed.
Amazement tinged his eyes as he saw it.
At his surprised expression, I grinned.
Jujak Hyeonsin was an ultimate technique of such formidable power that even the Small-faced Demon Lord, Sa Won-yang, had once failed to block it easily.
And my martial arts had advanced even further since that time—its power was beyond question.
'So dodging it rather than meeting it head-on would be the wise course of action, but could he really do that in front of all his watching family retainers?'
"Haat!"
With a short shout, Dang Jeong-hu's hands reached out and seized the head of the violet phoenix descending upon him.
It seemed he intended to receive it and extinguish it just like that.
But what had not been easy even for the Small-faced Demon Lord, who specialized in claw techniques, could not possibly be possible for Dang Jeong-hu, who specialized in hidden weapons.
Piiiieeeek!
"Keurgh?!"
Meeting the violet phoenix head-on, Dang Jeong-hu could not withstand the force of Jujak Hyeonsin and was forced to take a single step backward.
At that, he gritted his teeth and brought both hands together.
"Euaaaaap!"
Paaaah!
In the next moment, concentrating his full power, he was able to extinguish the phoenix.
But everyone had already witnessed it.
The fact that he had been unable to hold his ground and had stepped back, and that he had been forced to respond to my attack with his full strength.
To the attack of someone like me, who was nothing more than a green young later-generation talent.
Someone muttered in a suppressed voice.
"How could... such a thing."
Those words could be called the common thought of everyone who had just watched that spectacle.
It was exactly the result I had wanted.
Having achieved my aim, I sheathed my sword, smirked, and formally cupped my fists to him.
"In my greed to show you that I am the true successor of the Seonwoo Clan, I have dared to commit an act of disrespect against the head of the great Sichuan Tang Family. I earnestly beseech you to forgive this junior's insolence."
But no one made a sound at my words.
Everyone in the great hall was simply staring at me with eyes full of astonishment.