Chapter 101: Sorting Out Relationships - Part 1
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 101: Sorting Out Relationships - Part 1
Clan Head's Office
"Insolence!"
Sun-woo shouted, intentionally lowering the pitch of his voice.
"No, make it a bit sharper."
Hearing his voice, Geum Jeok-hwa thumped her chest in frustration as she spoke.
Sun-woo adjusted his vocal cords once more.
"Insolence!"
"No, that was too sharp this time."
But again, Geum Jeok-hwa simply scolded him, saying it wasn't right.
She’s so damn picky.
Sun-woo grumbled inwardly.
It had been half a shijin since he started mimicking Tang Jin-cheol’s voice after being told his impression was awkward. However, reaching the specific tone Geum Jeok-hwa demanded seemed like a distant goal. She had an uncanny ability to detect even the slightest variations in resonance or breathing.
"Third Madam, can't we just call it good enough?" Sun-woo asked.
His question carried the underlying sentiment that as long as it was close, it should suffice.
"No."
But Geum Jeok-hwa flatly rejected his suggestion.
"A voice is the resonance that represents a person's very existence. If you don't mimic it perfectly, people will feel a sense of dissonance depending on who is listening."
"Sigh..."
Sun-woo let out a long breath and began practicing Tang Jin-cheol’s voice again. It was a tedious task, but if it was necessary, what choice did he have?
Immediately after securing the promised assistance of the Great Matriarch and Geum Jeok-hwa, Sun-woo had been receiving coaching from them on every aspect of the Clan Head's behavior and speech patterns.
Impersonating Tang Jin-cheol was on an entirely different level of difficulty compared to mimicking Tang Se-gi. In Tang Se-gi’s case, people were generally indifferent to him, and because he had so little social interaction, no one would openly suspect him even if his personality changed. But the Clan Head was different.
He would have to meet numerous Murim figures and face the bloodline of the Tang Clan. He had to become the perfect Tang Jin-cheol.
Sun-woo had a massive headache. This task was proving to be much harder than he had anticipated.
"Let's take a break for one il-gak before we continue. Here, have some water."
After some time had passed and his voice began to show signs of hoarseness, Geum Jeok-hwa handed him a canteen and suggested a rest. Sun-woo readily accepted the canteen she offered. His throat was indeed starting to feel parched.
Gulp, gulp.
"Phew."
After draining the canteen, Sun-woo handed it back to Geum Jeok-hwa.
"Thank you, Third Madam."
"Don't mention it."
Taking the canteen, she immediately turned and walked out of the office.
"Tsk."
Sun-woo felt a bitter taste in his mouth as he watched her back.
Is it still awkward for us to be alone together?
Even after promising to help him, Geum Jeok-hwa tended to avoid being alone with Sun-woo unless it was for official business. Of course, her work was flawless—to the point where he discussed all practical matters with her. However, despite the significant amount of time they spent together, she still seemed to maintain a strict boundary regarding personal closeness.
Still, we need to get closer if we're going to work together from now on...
Sun-woo felt a bit disappointed by the line she drew.
It was then.
Crunch, crunch.
An irritating sound reached his ears. Turning his gaze toward the source, he saw the Human-Faced Spider sitting on a bed in a corner of the office, munching on a mooncake. She was rolling around on the bed, beaming with a bright smile as if she didn't have a care in the world.
"Hey."
Annoyed by the sight, Sun-woo called out to her.
"What?" the Human-Faced Spider asked, looking back at him.
"Go play outside."
"I like it here."
It was true. From her perspective, being near Sun-woo, who had promised to protect her, was the most comfortable place to be.
"Then stop stuffing your face with mooncakes."
"But these are delicious."
Sun-woo felt his irritation rising. Whenever things got inconvenient, she always changed the subject. What truly angered him was that he couldn't tell if she was genuinely oblivious or just pretending to be.
Thump, thump.
Swish!
Sun-woo walked over to the Human-Faced Spider and snatched the mooncake right out of her hand.
"Ah! My mooncake!" she screamed, staring at the stolen treat.
She was furious. Why was he bothering her when she was playing perfectly fine on her own?
Crunch, crunch.
Sun-woo looked at her puffed-up cheeks. Then, with a smirk, he chewed the mooncake right in front of her eyes. Whenever his mental fatigue piled up, teasing her like this always made him feel better. He knew he shouldn't, but the Human-Faced Spider was just too much fun to mess with.
"That's mine! Don't eat it!"
Of course, from her perspective, it was infuriating. That mooncake was something that big-titted woman, Un Ga-ryeo, had given her, saying she was cute. Why was he the one eating it?
The Human-Faced Spider lunged at Sun-woo.
"Whoa!"
Sun-woo was startled by her sudden charge. Usually, no matter how much he teased her, she never did more than pout or throw a tantrum. Seeing her attack like this was actually quite refreshing.
"Give it! Give it back!"
The Human-Faced Spider relentlessly pursued him to reclaim the mooncake. Sun-woo toyed with her, waving his hand and stepping back to keep the treat out of her reach.
Sun-woo had already reached the Transcendent Realm. Even if the Human-Faced Spider was a monster close to that level, she couldn't keep up with his kinetic vision.
"Eeeek!"
But she didn't give up. The sense of injustice was too great to let it go.
"I brought the mooncake, but why can't you eat it?" Sun-woo teased her further, enjoying her novel reaction.
It was then.
Thud.
He felt the office desk hit his back.
"Oh?"
He could no longer step backward. The Human-Faced Spider didn't miss the opening. She tackled him, and Sun-woo was pinned down onto the desk.
Bam!
"Give it here!"
"Hey! Get off me!"
Clatter!
Sun-woo and the Human-Faced Spider began to struggle, their bodies tangling as they moved back and forth. Perhaps because their pride was on the line, their movements became even more intense.
"Damn it!"
The Human-Faced Spider had recovered a significant amount of her strength and was proving to be a handful, forcing Sun-woo to circulate his internal energy. At this rate, he was going to lose the mooncake.
"You little dimwit!" Sun-woo cursed at her, resisting fiercely.
"You dog-like bastard!" the Human-Faced Spider cursed back, putting her strength into the struggle.
It was then.
Creeak.
The office door opened, and someone walked in. It was an elegant woman exuding an air of luxury. Geum Jeok-hwa.
She turned her gaze toward the desk, where Sun-woo and the Human-Faced Spider were entangled. The sight was quite a spectacle. Their clothes were disheveled; Sun-woo was lying on his back on the desk, and the Human-Faced Spider was pinned on top of him. Furthermore, both of them were breathing heavily, their faces flushed red from the exertion.
It was a situation anyone would misunderstand. And Geum Jeok-hwa was no exception.
"I will come back later."
She gave a stiff bow and walked right back out the door.
"Wait... Wait a minute, Third Madam!"
Sun-woo called out in a panic, but she had long since left without looking back. He could only stare blankly at the door.
Snatch!
"Mooncake!"
In that moment, the Human-Faced Spider snatched the mooncake from his hand.
Crunch, crunch.
Fearing he might take it back, she stuffed the whole thing into her mouth and began chewing.
Crunch, crunch.
Munch, munch.
The only sound echoing in the office was the sound of her chewing the mooncake.
Slurp, slurp.
Having finished the mooncake, she began licking the crumbs off her fingers. Snapping out of his daze at the sound, Sun-woo glared at her. The Human-Faced Spider beamed at him, looking as if she had won.
Even though Sun-woo was the one who started the prank, he felt a surge of annoyance. He reached out and grabbed her soft, squishy cheeks.
"Huh?"
Having her cheeks suddenly grabbed, the Human-Faced Spider was overcome by an ominous feeling.
Streeetch!
And that feeling became reality. Sun-woo pulled her cheeks outward as hard as he could.
"It hurrrts!!!"
The Human-Faced Spider screamed at the pain in her cheeks.
"You damn spider brat!"
He didn't stop at just pulling them sideways. Sun-woo began to torment her cheeks by pulling them up and down as well.
"Aaaaaah!"
Her screams filled the office.
It was then.
Slide.
The door opened again. This time, it was Tang Seo-yoon who entered. She silently observed Sun-woo and the Human-Faced Spider. Sun-woo was stretching the girl's dough-like cheeks, and the girl was on the verge of tears.
Tang Seo-yoon pressed a hand to her forehead. There was a mountain of work to be done; how could he be playing around already?
"Stop it."
At her words, Sun-woo let go of the Human-Faced Spider's cheeks. He regretted losing the soft sensation, but Tang Seo-yoon looked genuinely displeased. The Human-Faced Spider glared at Sun-woo while rubbing her red, swollen cheeks, but Sun-woo paid her no mind.
"Here are the proposals for the upcoming meeting and the script. Familiarize yourself with them."
Thud!
She dropped a massive stack of documents onto the desk. It was so heavy that the desk vibrated.
"Why is there so much?" Sun-woo asked, looking bewildered. How could there be so many proposals for just one meeting?
"Normally it wouldn't be this much, but the circumstances are special this time," Tang Seo-yoon replied calmly.
She was right. Usually, the Clan Meeting was held once a month, and the agenda mostly consisted of managing and expanding businesses and checking general clan operations. However, the Tang Clan, having suffered devastating damage from the Demonic Cult, had a mountain of things to organize.
First, they had to hold grand funerals for those who died in the incident and provide compensation sequentially based on rank. They also had to restore all the pavilions and properties that were destroyed or burned down. Furthermore, with their primary combat force depleted, they had to reorganize their businesses.
The presence of Super-Peak and Peak Martial Artists was the very foundation of a martial clan. Their numbers determined the clan's prestige and reliability, which in turn allowed for smooth business operations. But for the Tang Clan, which had lost many experts, the businesses they had expanded until now had become a burden, and they had no choice but to begin the process of downsizing.
Additionally, to fill the void left by the experts, they needed to train new talent, which required discussions about opening the Tang Clan's secret archives. Naturally, the workload had increased, and the amount of information Sun-woo had to memorize grew accordingly.
Sun-woo’s head began to throb. He thought just acting the part would be enough, but being the Clan Head was far busier and more grueling than he had expected.
"Also, we received carrier pigeons from Qingcheng and Emei."
"What did they say?"
"They told us to hand over our businesses."
Sun-woo felt a bitter taste in his mouth. It seemed that people being more sensitive to others' misfortunes than their successes was the same in both the modern world and the Central Plains. It hadn't been long since the Demonic Cult tore through the Tang Clan, and already they were being poked and prodded.
"How did you respond?"
"I said we would hand them over at a fair price."
"And then?"
"They said they would come in person to negotiate."
Tang Seo-yoon’s expression hardened as she finished. It wasn't hard to guess what that meant. They were likely coming to perform a show of force.
"What should I do?"
"They will offer an absurd price. When that happens, show them that the Clan Head is still going strong."
"That's easy enough."
Sun-woo smirked at her words. Going on a rampage with martial force was much more suited to his temperament than sitting at a desk scanning documents.
"And," Tang Seo-yoon continued, "what are you going to do about the Human-Faced Spider?"
She pointed a finger at the girl. She had already heard about her true identity from Sun-woo. Since she was a spiritual being hundreds of years old, Tang Seo-yoon used a respectful title.
"Me? Why me?" the Human-Faced Spider asked, confused by the finger pointing.
"There are many rumors that the Clan Head has indulged in lust and taken a new concubine during this crisis," Tang Seo-yoon said in a serious tone. "We need to find a solution somehow."
"......"
Sun-woo fell into deep thought at her question. In fact, he had considered this problem himself. The Human-Faced Spider was far too conspicuous to keep by his side while he was disguised as Tang Jin-cheol. Though she acted like a child, her beauty rivaled Tang Seo-yoon’s, and her perfect, curvaceous body drew everyone's attention just by her being present.
Furthermore, because she refused to leave Sun-woo’s side, the problem had worsened. Rumors had already spread that the Tang Clan Head had taken a peerless beauty as his concubine.
But there was no easy solution. Since she hadn't fully recovered yet, she clung to Sun-woo.
"Sorry, I don't have a solution."
He had already promised to protect her. He couldn't just kick her out now because she was an inconvenience. Of course, he had also grown somewhat fond of her.
"Sigh, it can't be helped. For now, we'll just have to keep people's mouths shut as much as possible."
Tang Seo-yoon sighed deeply, agreeing that there was no better way.
"More importantly, why don't you go see the Great Matriarch?"
"The Great Matriarch?" Sun-woo asked.
"She's very distraught right now. I think you need to go visit her and sort out your relationship."
Just as she said, unlike Geum Jeok-hwa, who was actively assisting Sun-woo, the Great Matriarch had been staying confined to her quarters. It was likely due to the guilt of having been intimate with a strange man after losing her husband and son.
Sun-woo realized his mistake. He had been so overwhelmed by the sudden mountain of work that he had forgotten to check on her.
"Right. I'll head over now."
Sun-woo quickly turned to leave the office.
Grab.
But someone caught his sleeve. He turned to see Tang Seo-yoon. Without a word, she pointed to the stack of documents on the desk.
Sun-woo glanced at her expression. Then, he turned back and cautiously sat down at the desk.
It seemed escaping was out of the question.