Revelation: The Mad Genius Unveiled
"Huu...."
The Namgoong Family Head was buried in worry once more today. The future of the clan? He couldn't care less. What gnawed at him was how his adorable youngest daughter's behavior grew more bizarre by the day.
"Haa... Juhee. Can't you just go back to being that sweet, obedient girl?"
If only he knew the reason, he wouldn't feel so wronged. Puberty? No, the change was too drastic. The physician said it wasn't mania either. There was nothing wrong with her body. On the contrary, her martial arts training had made her even healthier, leaving the Family Head utterly frustrated.
"At this rate, my daughter really will become a murim warrior...."
The Family Head didn't want Namgoong Juhee to become the young master of the clan. The murim world was too horrifying for that.
It was an era rife with discrimination against women. A woman carrying a sword faced one of two things with high probability: sexual harassment, or rape with low probability. Even without that, the grudges and vendettas among murim folk always ended in miserable deaths. No woman could endure it with her body or mind.
The Family Head believed a woman's happiness lay in meeting a man and devoting herself to her family. That was why he hadn't taught Namgoong Juhee stronger martial arts.
"But leaving her like this is neglectful too... Should I just arrange a political marriage?"
As he pondered this,
"Family Head! Big trouble!"
Bam! The door shattered with a frantic voice. It surely meant something major had happened.
"What is it? Did Juhee cause another incident?"
The Family Head, a Peak realm master, sensed it sharply. The man who entered nodded gravely.
"A duel broke out between the young master and Juhee, and the atmosphere is far from normal! You should see it yourself, Family Head."
"Wha... what?! That foolish idiot!"
The Family Head's face drained of color.
"Where? Where did the fight break out?!"
"The training hall."
"Let's go! Hurry!"
The Family Head immediately realized this was Namgoong Geon's doing. He knew his son was obsessed with the Family Head position. But to extend that madness to his own little sister? The Family Head's steps quickened.
"How could a brother do such a thing?! How is Juhee? What's her condition?"
"I... I came right as the spar started, so I don't know the details."
"Tell me the situation at least!"
"It's certain the young lady scratched the young master's ego. He's furious."
"Haa... Juhee, oh Juhee. Why did you go and provoke him like that?"
Provoking an opponent was basic strategy. Anger clouded judgment and slowed movements, bridging skill gaps to some extent.
But that only applied when skills were evenly matched. A rabbit taunting a tiger just became a snack. It only made the opponent more ruthless, making provocation the worst move.
"Please... please... Geon. Just let it slide peacefully. Please!"
A scar on a woman was fatal. Even his wife still bore the pain of a wound on her breast from her youth. If Juhee's face got scarred? The Family Head would regret teaching her martial arts for the rest of his life.
"Family Head! We're here!"
Lost in these thoughts, the training hall was suddenly right in front of him. Just one corner away.
Please, let nothing have happened. As the Family Head stepped forward with that desperate wish, a sight beyond imagination filled his view. Blood drenched the training hall. And a severed arm lay there too.
Is that... my daughter's arm?
The Family Head's eyes shot to the center. There lay a man collapsed, face a bloody pulp. And a woman stepping on that bloody mess. That woman was... Namgoong Juhee?
"Th... th... what... is this...."
At the sound of his voice, Namgoong Juhee turned her head smoothly, as if sensing his presence. Her eyes curved happily at the sight of her father. Her lips moved slowly. And from them came a bright, cheerful voice.
"You came?"
"......"
The Family Head foamed at the mouth and collapsed.
. . .
"Gah."
When the Family Head came to, he was in the meeting hall. His trusted subordinate, Namgoong Sihoon the Martial Pavilion Master, had carried him there promptly. When did he return from his usual subjugation duties? Before the Family Head could wonder, Namgoong Sihoon spoke.
"Then let's begin today's emergency meeting."
A perfect imitation of the Family Head's voice. If Namgoong Juhee had seen it, she'd have yelled, "Whoa! The sleeping detective!"
But this was the murim world. Japanese culture was still five hundred years away. The Family Head felt no spark and just signaled to cut it out now that he was awake.
"Sihoon, you've had a hard time."
"Pavilion Master" meant master of a pavilion building—essentially the head of that department. With "Martial" prefixed, Namgoong Sihoon represented martial affairs in the Namgoong clan.
People at that rank usually flaunted power or acted arrogant. But Namgoong Sihoon just nodded as if it was only natural. A true pillar of the Namgoong family. The Family Head cleared his throat.
"Right, today's emergency meeting... You all know why. The young master's arm got cut off. Looks like Juhee did it. That's why we called this suddenly, right?"
It was hard to believe he'd just woken from a long faint—his grasp of the situation was spot-on. A fitting display for even a mid-sized clan's head.
"Yes, Family Head."
The first to speak was a rat-faced man, his barely concealed excitement betraying that he'd called the meeting.
"Around late You hour, just before dinner distribution. The young master challenged the young lady to a spar, and she won... No, that's not the point!"
"Hm?"
"Family Head, why have you been letting such talent rot?! I'm no martial expert, but the young lady's feats weren't human. Suppressing the young master with sheer presence alone... Impossible for anyone in the world, right?"
"Exactly!"
Bam! Another man shot up, exchanging glances with the rat-faced one. They seemed set to tag-team the talking.
"Yes. Ignoring the shock of the duel, look at the facts. The young lady defeated a Peak realm master. Against the young master, who's had years more experience!"
"The young master hit Peak six years ago, right? The young lady too... She infused qi into her sword, so definitely Peak."
"Hah. Reaching Peak realm with mere Luk Hap Sword? In just nine years of training?"
"Yes. Peak! The pinnacle realm! Family Head, are you listening? This isn't ordinary!"
"I get it. I get it."
The Family Head waved them off. He thought calling Juhee Peak was nonsense.
These days, anything beyond Peak was lumped as transcendent. Once you could emit sword qi, it became a one-strike battle. That's why Peak masters were honored as "masters."
Namgoong Juhee reaching Peak in nine years? With Luk Hap Gong no less? Absurd. They were just too excited. The Family Head needed an objective view.
"Hmm... Yes. Finance Pavilion Master, you speak."
The money-scented man pushed up his glasses. Shadows under his eyes from managing the poor clan. Equal to all but money, no one could assess this more objectively.
"Well, my martial skills are lacking, so I can't say much, but the young lady has marketability."
"Mar... marketability?"
"You know her beauty, Family Head. You brag about it daily."
The Family Head praised his daughter's looks without fail. Partly paternal pride, but her beauty was exceptional. If she appeared publicly, she'd be hailed as one of the murim's five flowers. That was the consensus among all clan members, including him.
"The Family Head is the top executive, but also the clan's face. In the young lady's words, star quality. The trait that draws public favor. She has it."
"No new slang in official meetings."
"Understood. Anyway, today's duel was shocking enough to erase all her past antics. No wonder they mistake her for Peak."
"Hah. Was the duel that impressive?"
"Ask the others. You'll get similar answers."
The Family Head hummed and polled the elders. Responses were unanimous: Namgoong Juhee's prowess was unquestionable, fitting a young master. Digging up her formerly brilliant past only boosted evaluations.
But then, a question arose.
"Um... Isn't it weird, though? How did someone so brilliant turn 'crazy' for nine years...?"
They'd dismissed her antics as madness, but reconsidering, it was odd. Polite, intelligent, the family's pride—suddenly reduced to a human oddity. Unprecedented.
"Puberty?"
"No puberty changes a person that completely."
"The physician ruled out mania."
"Right. No illness, healthy except low stamina."
As opinions flew, one man spoke.
"Not mania, not puberty... Then it's acting."
"Acting?"
"All her foolish antics were a performance."
"Why? Why act like that?"
"Obvious. To become young master."
"......Ah!"
A gasp of realization. The man continued.
"Suppose the young lady entered the young master race as her prim old self. Would the young master have left her alone?"
"He's no fool. He'd have schemed immediately."
"Exactly. So she pretended to be a fool."
"Quietly building strength... waiting for the right moment?"
"Yes."
Chills ran through the elders. All of Namgoong Juhee's foolishness—an act. So elaborate, fooling the entire clan. No wonder they were stunned.
The meeting dragged into the night, mostly praising her "performance."