A New Signboard for the Jin Family
When her mother headed to the island shade to slit some throats, a new signboard went up at the Jin Family Manor. Cheonhajin-ga. Four characters that filled the massive frame with imposing grandeur.
She had written it for them, of course. But Cheong remained cautious. Everyone made a huge fuss about how magnificent her calligraphy was, yet from her perspective, it was nothing more than the ordinary script she had seen every day back in her hometown. Since she had never properly studied calligraphy, there was no philosophy or deeper meaning behind the strokes—just a hollow imitation of the surface. The same went for her martial arts. While she had devoured the techniques through methods different from other warriors, the enlightenment that had propelled her to the Transcendent realm had never truly been hers to begin with. That was why she felt a strange pride whenever people raved about her being at the Peak, Transcendent, Super Peak, or Super Cheong—as if she had achieved it all herself.
Carpentry had relied on her monstrous physical abilities, but the actual techniques she had learned by watching closely and practicing diligently. The same applied to her work as a physician. But with calligraphy, she had put in zero effort. She simply wrote as it came naturally, yet everyone around her was practically slapping their own foreheads in exaggerated awe. It was like they were losing their minds, praising her for simply breathing. The embarrassment was impossible to shake off.
However, the head of the Jin Family was all smiles. Jin Ja-gang had always possessed a gentle, smiling face, but this was the most genuinely delighted expression Cheong had ever seen from him.
“Is it really alright to use this for the signboard?”
The script used for manor signboards was traditionally limited to a few established styles. It wasn’t exactly law, but it was considered the proper standard. Deviating from it would invite criticism that one had played a tasteless prank with the very first impression of the family or sect the board represented.
“This is superior to any signboard calligraphy I have seen in my lifetime. I guarantee it.”
But if the people of the Central Plains learned this was simply the standard script from Cheong’s hometown, their eyes would probably pop out of their skulls in shock. It wasn’t some casually written heavy-handed style. Each stroke carried the weight of solemn years, belonging to a fully established school of calligraphy. Even if certain scripts were standard for signboards, writings by revered high monks or even the Emperor himself were considered far more valuable. Cheong’s handwriting held that kind of worth.
In truth, even if Cheong’s handwriting had been so terrible that people couldn’t tell whether it was actual characters or mere scribbles, it would still be a personal gift from the Princess. Who would dare complain?
“My heart wishes to treat you with the courtesy reserved for a great master, but I imagine the title of Cheonhwa-geom would be burdensome, yes?”
“Yes.”
Jin Ja-gang smiled knowingly, as if he had expected exactly that answer. This unpretentious young genius was incredibly harsh on herself regarding her own abilities, always downplaying them with humble remarks like It’s really nothing special. She completely lacked the usual arrogance or self-confidence that young masters typically displayed. How could one not find her utterly lovable?
Just how in the world had someone like Yeogwang-gyeon produced a disciple who seemed straight out of a fairy tale? How had the heavens given birth to Yeogwang-gyeon only to then take Cheonhwa-geom as his disciple? It was enviable! So enviable it hurt!
Originally, the blessing of children was considered the greatest fortune under heaven, and disciples were no different from children. Since the Great Matriarch had never once shown even a glimpse of her wild dog nature during the Murim Competition—maintaining the dignified demeanor befitting an elder—it must have been that her disciple blessings had exploded in her later years, mellowing her personality completely.
His own children, having taken after their gentle and upright father, were also praised for having excellent character. But the compliment Your children have such fine personalities always sounded to a father’s ears like the prelude to some unspoken criticism: But aside from their personality, they’re a bit…
The way Jin Ja-gang looked at Cheong was exactly like the sparkling, sharp diamond-shaped eyes one might see in children’s picture books from her hometown. The intensity had grown so overwhelming that Cheong subtly averted her gaze.
Jin Ja-gang’s attitude wasn’t excessive. The eyes of the Jin Family members gazing at the signboard were red with emotion. The old, tilted signboard had symbolized the family’s broken spirit, but more than that, it had served as a memorial for their slaughtered kin. Therefore, looking upon these four newly hung characters wasn’t simply about obtaining beautiful calligraphy. It gave them vague hope that things would go well from now on.
Whether because they truly loved the calligraphy or because they wanted to show off that the Jin Family was still standing strong, they had taken the unprecedented step of throwing the main gates wide open. For a prestigious family, allowing ordinary citizens or laborers to enter through the front gate with tools in hand was an absolutely shocking measure.
“Whoa, that calligraphy is incredible. How much would something like that even cost?”
“Get real. You think money alone would do it? It’s all about connections, connections.”
“Who said I wanted to buy it? I’m just curious how much a single character would be worth as a scroll. Why didn’t our ancestors leave behind even one piece?”
“Because their descendants were such greedy bastards they’d sell anything they could get their hands on. Who would leave anything behind? Wow, these characters look like they’re glaring at us with piercing eyes. This is what they mean by the greatest family in Guangdong.”
And so began the Jin Family’s full-scale restoration work.
----
The restoration of the Jin Family Manor began with the outer walls. They tore down the old roof tiles and replaced them with brand new ones fresh from the kiln, their glossy surfaces sparkling under the light. The walls were washed with seawater to remove the dust, then coated with ash powder for a fresh coat. That way, even if the interior still reeked, from the outside it would look neat and clean—like a brand new wall.
It was a grand mobilization of the Jin Family’s manpower, as if the estate itself were stretching its limbs proudly. Their son, the one who called himself the Supreme One, had already quietly vanished somewhere. In Cheong’s opinion, he was probably avoiding the restoration work. After all, he was the guy who went around calling himself the Honored One. It was impossible to imagine him mixing with the laborers, carrying tiles and stacking them up.
Gyeon Po-hui seemed happy no matter what she did as long as Cheong was around. But Cheong herself found it incredibly boring. It wasn’t work that required any particular skill, nor was there any satisfying rhythm to the hammering. Painting walls only brought back bad memories, and laying roof tiles was nothing but endless repetitive labor.
And more than anything, she couldn’t stop noticing the Good Karma number hovering near her sworn sister—already approaching five hundred points. When they had first met, her Evil Karma had barely exceeded one hundred. Now she was on the verge of reaching five hundred in Good Karma.
Still, while Gyeon Po-hui might be a bit simple-minded, her fundamental nature wasn’t evil. But seeing her numbers inevitably brought Yeom Hwi-yeong’s numbers to mind as well.
But what about their son, the Supreme One? Could one thousand points of Evil Karma truly be offset by one thousand points of Good Karma? If someone accumulated one thousand Evil Karma and one thousand one hundred Good Karma, leaving them with a net of one hundred positive points, could one really declare him a good person? Or conversely, if someone piled up one thousand Good Karma only to then rack up one thousand one hundred Evil Karma and end up with a red negative number, would that make them an irredeemable villain who could be tormented and killed without guilt?
Was it really something that could be reduced to simple addition and subtraction, like a jeweler losing thirty gold pieces?
The hallucination of Mucheon-daeje—or perhaps Mucheong-daeje—snorted at her, calling it stupid talk. Just how could that old man have been so utterly certain that it was all nonsense?
Cheong’s hands, which had been placing tiles, gradually slowed before stopping completely. She stared blankly into space. Her hands were trembling. Gyeon Po-hui looked at her with worry.
“Sworn sister? Are you feeling sick?”
“Huh? No. It’s just… I feel a bit…”
“You feel a bit? Then that won’t do! What should we do? Should I hug you?”
“Uh? Yeah.”
Being held in her sworn sister’s embrace made her feel a little calmer. But could she really keep putting this off forever?
Ever since learning Yeom Hwi-yeong’s true identity, she had deliberately avoided thinking about it. Fortunately, her mother’s revelation had been so shocking that—ugh, just thinking about it gave her goosebumps. Wait, was that wrong? Had she done something bad? If it had been Gu-nyeong or Nan-a calling her mother, would she have felt the same revulsion? Was this some kind of misandry? No, no. Stop trying to dodge the issue again.
Cheong forcibly pulled her instinctively fleeing mind back under control. She had to reach some kind of conclusion. No matter how much she hated thinking about it, the day would eventually come when she could no longer avoid it.
“Lord, I think I’ll head back early today.”
“Are you alright? You don’t look well.”
“Yes, just a little. So I’d like to rest early.”
“Hmm. I would love to offer you the guest hall, but it still reeks. Rest well. If you continue feeling unwell, there’s no need to force yourself to come out. Please take care of your body first.”
Jin Ja-gang offered his kind encouragement with genuine concern. And so Cheong returned home, still wrapped in her sworn sister’s arms.
Lying on the soft bed, still held in Gyeon Po-hui’s embrace, she tried to organize her thoughts.
Hmm. If someone does a lot of good deeds, does that make it okay for them to do a few bad things? If someone had around one thousand Good Karma, even if they killed a few innocent civilians out of boredom and lost a hundred points, wouldn’t they still have nine hundred left?
At the same time, that line of thinking felt like an absurd leap. The way people lived wasn’t like choosing dialogue options in a game. Someone with high Good Karma would naturally continue accumulating more if left alone, because good people tended to maintain a good way of life. The same would apply to villains. Unless they suddenly experienced a complete mental shift or some equally shocking catalyst.
But people can change, can’t they? Haven’t they all changed? Her sworn sister, that bastard the Supreme One, the old man, the defectors from the Seolga Trading Company. What about all the villains she had killed? Those people who had giggled while torturing others and throwing them away like garbage—had they ever been given a chance to change?
What about me? Am I a good person? A murderous demon. A hedonistic killer. Someone who had simply gotten insanely lucky…
“Sworn sister? Sworn sister!?”
“Huh?”
At the urgent voice, Cheong suddenly came back to her senses. She was being held so tightly in Gyeon Po-hui’s arms that it felt like her body might break.
“Sworn sister, you’re shaking so much. You were trembling like crazy and breaking out in cold sweat. Are you okay? Are you sick? Is it another seizure? Like the ones you had back in the Divine Cult?”
Gyeon Po-hui’s face looked like she was about to burst into tears at any moment. The Cheong reflected in her sworn sister’s eyes wore the same expression, but Cheong was too busy lowering her head, unable to meet her gaze, to notice.
Aish, this is exactly why I didn’t want to think about it.
But human minds weren’t built to simply stop caring just because one didn’t want to think about something. No matter how hard she tried to shake them off, those dirty, unwanted thoughts kept clinging to her like a tail.
Finally, Cheong made up her mind.
“Sworn sister. Can I touch your chest?”
It was embarrassing, but they did say running away could sometimes help. She really didn’t understand any of this. Should she trust these numbers or not? And even if she did trust them, why did they only show her a single combined number instead of separating Good Karma and Evil Karma? Why make it so gross, confusing, and irritating? She didn’t know anymore. She was just going to grope some boobs.
----
As the full-scale restoration of the Jin Family Manor began, another group found themselves with an urgent fire under their feet.
The Gwangju Seonbang.
The Salwol faction was still observing from the sidelines, while the Geumjeokbang had already suffered a massive disaster that continued to worsen. But none of them knew about each other’s circumstances. The relationships between the three factions were far from good. In fact, being grouped together as the Three Great Factions of Gwangju was already an unpleasant association.
Only one tiger could exist on a single mountain. (The tigers themselves might disagree.)
Once the Jin Family was driven out, there could only be one force that would seize control of Gwangju. Therefore, the leader of the Gwangju Seonbang had been openly playing it safe. His plan was to watch how things developed, conserve his strength until the Jin Family retreated, and then strike them from behind.
Of course, his intentions were so obvious that the other two factions were also seething inside. They had already reached a silent agreement that once the Jin Family was gone, they would join hands to crush that bastard first.
But that was a matter for after the Jin Family had been driven out.
If the Jin Family was showing signs of wriggling back to life and spreading its wings once more, even the Gwangju Seonbang—who had planned to simply watch and then stab them in the back—could not afford to sit idly by.
And people originally lived as they always had. Just as good people would always stop to help the pitiful, those with wicked hearts would inevitably do the exact same kinds of things, as if following a script.
Therefore, they simply reused the method that had worked so well before.
However, the situation now was different from before. At least during their previous schemes, Cheong had not been in the city.
And now, Cheong was here.