Chapter 306: The Jegal Family (8)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 306: The Jegal Family (8)
The attempted assassination in the middle of the night came to a close when swift martial artists discovered the body of Bang Muyoon buried near Mt. Bokryong, a slush fund ledger clutched in his arms.
Though a somewhat anticlimactic end, not a single person defended Jegal Tak.
The ledger, whose existence even Kang Hyun-woo had been unaware of, had been prepared by Bang Muyoon in case he was ever discarded after his use was served. It not only contained detailed evidence of Jegal Tak secretly embezzling the family’s assets over the years, but also meticulously recorded large sums of cash being handed over to an unidentified individual.
Jegal Hyeon was certain that money was the payment for the assassination request.
Of course, there were a few who suspected Kang Hyun-woo.
He claimed that the assassin had revealed all this information as his dying words, but it was hard to believe that men who hadn't broken under intense torture would give up such valuable information for nothing.
This led to all sorts of speculation: that Kang Hyun-woo had made a deal with the assassin, or that the family head had used false evidence prepared in advance to take down his uncle, Jegal Tak.
Naturally, only a minority thought this way.
The amount of family wealth that Jegal Tak—a man they had believed to be an upright and chivalrous Great Hero—had embezzled was substantial.
Even those who had admired and followed him turned their backs. In the end, Jegal Tak was dragged to the interrogation room, crying injustice, with no one to defend him.
The incident seemed to be resolved, but Jegal Hyeon’s unnecessarily harsh treatment of a family elder sparked resentment among some of the conservative members.
However, that was a burden the family head had to bear, and not something Kang Hyun-woo needed to worry about.
As Kang Hyun-woo tried to quietly slip out of the Sleeping Dragon Hall, Jegal Hyeon called out to him.
“Could you spare me a moment?”
“...Please keep it brief.”
Although Kang Hyun-woo had somewhere else to be, he had no choice but to reluctantly nod.
The two men headed to a separate annex.
“Have a drink.”
It was Baekhyangokroju, the Hundred Fragrance Jade Dew Wine.
It was a famous vintage brewed from a hundred different flowers, boasting a complex aroma and an exceptional taste.
It wasn't a wine easily obtainable even for the Jegal Family, so Jegal Hyeon was, in effect, bringing out a treasured bottle he had been saving.
“Oh, this is delicious.”
“It’s called Baekhyangokroju. A renowned wine of the realm, offered only to the imperial family.”
Sipping his cup, Kang Hyun-woo felt a strange mood settle over him at Jegal Hyeon’s words.
What on earth does he want to talk about that he’d bring out such an expensive wine?
Just as Kang Hyun-woo expected, Jegal Hyeon set down his cup and bowed his head respectfully.
“Thank you. If it weren’t for you, I would have lost my precious daughter in vain.”
“Well… I was lucky.”
Kang Hyun-woo remained indifferent, even as the head of the Jegal Family bowed to a mere young talent.
He was only wondering if he could get a few bottles of the Baekhyangokroju to go.
Jegal Hyeon gave a bitter smile at Kang Hyun-woo’s composed attitude.
He wanted to officially recognize him as the family’s benefactor, but doing so required the elders’ consent.
However, with many now viewing Kang Hyun-woo unfavorably for getting too deeply involved in the family’s affairs as an outsider, it was impossible.
Of course, if he, the family head, pushed for it strongly, it wasn't entirely out of the question.
But with a family elder like Jegal Tak being dragged to the interrogation room and the atmosphere within the family turning grim, provoking a backlash from the elders and other key figures was a burden, both in the short and long term.
And that would undoubtedly have a negative impact not only on Jegal Hyeon himself but also on Kang Hyun-woo.
For a family as large as one of the Five Great Families, it was impossible for the head to perfectly control everything.
A few of those disgruntled by this incident might try to target Kang Hyun-woo somewhere beyond his reach.
…Not that it would work, though.
Not only had he single-handedly dealt with dozens of assassins, but his presence was also a major reason why Jegal Tak had been taken away without any resistance.
A young talent that even Jegal Tak, a seasoned martial artist at the peak of his power, couldn't handle carelessly.
Even a third-rate novel from the marketplace would have more plausibility than this.
Jegal Hyeon refilled Kang Hyun-woo’s cup and asked, “Is there anything you desire? I will grant you whatever I can.”
Although he couldn't be named the family’s benefactor, he was determined to reward him for his help, no matter what.
If necessary, he was even prepared to empty the elders’ private coffers to get what he wanted.
“Hmm…”
Anyone else would have been jumping for joy at Jegal Hyeon’s offer, but Kang Hyun-woo’s reaction was still lukewarm.
No matter how he thought about it, there was nothing he could ask for.
Taking an elixir would have a minimal effect, and if I ask for a book on formations, they’d never hand over a proper one to an outsider.
No matter how potent an elixir, its efficiency drops once one reaches a certain realm, and that was exactly Kang Hyun-woo’s current state.
A spirit beast’s core might be a different story.
Of course, the energy absorbed through Tam’s ability bypassed the meridians and was stored directly in his dantian, so he didn't have such a penalty.
He considered asking for an elixir for Cheon Yeo-hwa, but it was unlikely the Jegal Family would have one effective for a demonic human.
Even if they did, asking for it would only arouse unnecessary suspicion.
“Do you happen to have something like a spirit beast’s core?”
“…A core?”
“Yes.”
Jegal Hyeon was momentarily flustered by Kang Hyun-woo’s question.
While a spirit beast’s core was more effective than a typical elixir, its energy dissipated quickly upon extraction, making it difficult to store for long.
“Well… I have an elixir instead of a core. Have you ever heard of the Blazing Sun Pill?”
The Blazing Sun Pill was a high-grade elixir said to grant twenty years’ worth of pure yang energy upon consumption.
While it had little effect on women, it was one of the best elixirs for men, even increasing their stamina.
“An elixir is fine. I have a constitution that doesn't react well to them.”
“…Is that so?”
After a moment of thought, Kang Hyun-woo presented the Heaven-Shattering Demonic Sword from his waist.
Jegal Hyeon examined the sword closely, marveling inwardly.
Hah… what a peerless, treasured sword…
Though he was no expert on swords, he wasn't so ignorant as to not recognize the value this blade possessed.
It would not be an exaggeration to call it a Divine Sword.
“Do you have a weapon of this class, or perhaps something better?”
“…?”
Jegal Hyeon looked dumbfounded at Kang Hyun-woo’s question.
“…I have a top-quality iron fan, if you’d like.”
Realizing what he’d just said, Jegal Hyeon fell silent and simply drained his cup.
He had been prepared to get him an elixir, a martial art manual, or a weapon if he wished.
But there was no telling when he could acquire a spirit beast’s core, and considering Kang Hyun-woo’s profound martial prowess, anything less than a divine art would surely fail to meet his expectations.
Most importantly, the only weapon he knew of that could compare to the sword he wielded was the Thunder Sound Sword, the heirloom of the Namgung Family.
…Has the Jegal Family become this poor?
He had just boasted that he would grant him anything possible, yet he couldn't fulfill a single one of Kang Hyun-woo’s requests. For the first time in his life, Jegal Hyeon felt a sense of shame.
Seeing Jegal Hyeon’s reaction, Kang Hyun-woo picked up the wine bottle.
“If you insist, could you give me some of this?”
“…What?”
“My young lady is fond of wine.”
No matter how he thought about it, there was nothing worth taking from the Jegal Family.
As for money, his pockets were already full from raiding the bandit stronghold a while back.
“I don’t mean to disrespect the Jegal Family, so please don’t misunderstand.”
“I know that was not your intention.”
Jegal Hyeon gave a wry smile.
The head of one of the Five Great Families being comforted by a young talent far his junior… it was so pathetic it wouldn't even be a good joke.
“I’ll give you all the Baekhyangokroju we have. I’ll tell the general manager, so you can pick it up tomorrow.”
“Thank you.”
“It is I who should be thanking you.”
Jegal Hyeon drank the wine Kang Hyun-woo poured for him and fell into thought for a moment before speaking with a serious expression.
“Young Master Kang.”
“Yes.”
“Please take good care of Hyang.”
This was a form of permission.
As a father and as the family head, he was tacitly approving their relationship, promising not to reprimand them even if they were to meet.
“Even if you say that, I have no intention of becoming a matrilocal son-in-law.”
“Haha, you saw through me?”
This time, Jegal Hyeon filled Kang Hyun-woo’s cup.
Kang Hyun-woo drained it in one go and said to Jegal Hyeon, “You don’t have to worry. No matter how many wives I have, I intend to love them all fairly and equally. I will not distinguish between a first wife and a concubine.”
“…Is that something you normally say in front of your potential father-in-law?”
“I feel not a shred of shame in my conviction, so I see no need to hide it.”
“You’re completely insane.”
“I hear that often.”
In the past, such a remark would have made him draw his sword, but Jegal Hyeon just laughed for a long time as he looked at Kang Hyun-woo.
Besides, it didn't seem like he was an opponent he could even scratch, even if he did draw his sword.
“My goodness, I wonder if I’ve just handed my daughter over to a future lecher.”
“You never know.”
Kang Hyun-woo smiled with a confident expression.
“Are there people in this world who would belittle the Strongest Under Heaven by calling him a lecher?”
The Strongest Under Heaven.
It was a phrase children threw around like nothing, but no one who had set foot in the martial world would ever say those words lightly.
Jegal Hyeon couldn't simply laugh at Kang Hyun-woo’s arrogant declaration. Because his talent was real.
“…Right. To become the son-in-law of the great Jegal Family, you’d have to be at least the Strongest Under Heaven.”
The two men quietly emptied their cups.
*
After Kang Hyun-woo left the annex, Jegal Hyeon set down his cup and stared blankly out the window.
It was a night bright with moonlight.
“Family Head.”
Pung Muhyeok, who had entered the room at some point, called to him.
Jegal Hyeon looked at Pung Muhyeok’s complex expression and rose from his seat.
The two descended a staircase into the basement.
Screams could be heard from somewhere, and the stench of blood filled the air, but neither man so much as blinked, as if it were a familiar occurrence.
Soon, they arrived before a thick iron door.
The Jegal martial artists guarding the door gave Jegal Hyeon a cupped fist salute and opened it for him.
Creeeak—
With a grating sound, the heavy door swung open, and Jegal Hyeon entered alone.
Jegal Tak was bound inside.
“…Uncle.”
“Family Head, you’ve come?”
Heh heh.
At the sound of Jegal Tak’s laughter, Jegal Hyeon stood before him with his hands clasped behind his back.
“Why did you do it?”
“What do you mean?”
Grind.
“…Do not test my patience.”
Jegal Hyeon’s voice was cold and low.
“I do not wish to kill my nephews with my own hands.”
“?!”
Jegal Tak had two grandsons.
The eldest, Jegal Yoon, was competing to be the next head of the Jegal Family, while the second, Jegal Cheonho, was serving in the military affairs division of the Murim Alliance.
Grind—
“How can the family head speak of killing innocent kin!”
Despite being under a restriction that prevented him from using his internal energy, Jegal Tak radiated a thick killing intent.
Having lost his only daughter and son-in-law in an accident, his grandsons were a soft spot for him.
At Jegal Tak’s reaction, Jegal Hyeon’s lips curled into a sneer.
“I don’t think that’s something an unorthodox fiend who tried to assassinate his own direct-line granddaughter should be saying.”
“…”
Jegal Tak fell silent.
With the slush fund ledger exposed, he knew there was no use in denying it.
Moreover, investigators from the Jegal Family would be raiding his residence by now, so it was an undeniable fact that any evidence he hadn't managed to hide would soon be uncovered.
“…Swear to me that you will not touch my grandsons.”
“I swear it. However, they will grow old as powerless men, relegated to the back rooms.”
Only then did Jegal Tak let out a sigh and lean his back against the wall.
It was a very old story, and he worried it might take a while to tell.
“…The former family head was a truly cruel man.”
He was speaking of the previous head of the Jegal Family—Jegal Namcheon, Jegal Hyeon’s father and Jegal Tak’s older brother, who had died ten years ago.
“Unlike my brother, who was born with a brilliant mind like any other child of the Jegal clan, I was born with rare and outstanding martial talent and physique. I received all the attention of the family elders.”
At the time, Jegal Tak was a talent who stood out even among the rising stars of his generation, on the verge of reaching the peak of his power in his early twenties.
The Jegal Family, who had desperately wished for a great martial artist to emerge, was proud of him. Naturally, the family’s attention, including the head’s, was focused not on the eldest son, Jegal Namcheon, but on the second son, Jegal Tak.
And that became the root of the problem.
Seeing Jegal Tak as a threat even to his position as heir, Jegal Namcheon began to reveal the cruelty he had hidden until then.
“One day, my brother invited me for drinks and handed me a wooden box.”
When Jegal Tak opened the box from Jegal Namcheon, he couldn't hide his shock.
Inside was what appeared to be a woman’s finger.
“It was the index finger of my wet nurse, who had quit her job a few months prior due to poor health and returned to her hometown.”
Upon learning the horrific truth, Jegal Tak exploded with rage and grabbed the hilt of his sword, but Jegal Namcheon simply sneered at him and said:
—Little brother, your wet nurse is quite old. Old enough that it wouldn't be strange at all if she were to die at any moment.
At the chillingly cold voice, Jegal Tak’s hand trembled like a leaf.
It was a warning.
A cruel threat to live as quiet as a mouse.
After that, whenever Jegal Tak showed signs of defiance, Jegal Namcheon would cut off one of his wet nurse’s fingers and bring it to him.
“Nonsense! My father would never do such a thing!”
Despite Jegal Hyeon’s roar, which was laced with internal energy, Jegal Tak continued to speak with a calm expression.
“If you find it so hard to believe, look under the desk in my residence. The wooden box containing her fingers should still be there.”
At first, he tried to tell his father, but Jegal Tak soon realized he was caught in a trap from which he could not escape.
The wet nurse was not a Jegal, and Jegal Namcheon was the head’s eldest son.
Even if Jegal Namcheon killed her, he would likely receive only a token punishment.
The wet nurse, on the other hand, would die a cruel death.
And so would her children.
Most importantly, he had no confidence that he could protect them from Jegal Namcheon’s clutches.
“From that day on, I could not leave Yangyang. My brother threatened to kill my wet nurse and her entire family if I took even a single step outside.”
Jegal Tak, who had been widely known as an upright and chivalrous young man, could not withstand the threat and was ultimately forced to neglect his martial arts training.
Outwardly, he appeared to be training diligently, but his progress had slowed noticeably.
The family elders grew disappointed in him one by one, and the position of family head naturally went to Jegal Namcheon.
Later, Jegal Tak married a woman chosen by the family and had a child.
Though it was a loveless marriage, Jegal Tak loved his daughter more than anyone.
But perhaps even that brief moment of happiness was not permitted for him.
On the day he lost his daughter and son-in-law in a tragic accident, Jegal Tak wailed his heart out.
And he became certain that the one behind the accident was Jegal Namcheon, the family head at the time.
Clang!
“I’ve heard enough of this! Why on earth would my father harm them!” Jegal Hyeon shouted, pressing his sword to Jegal Tak’s throat.
“I don’t know either.”
“…What?”
But Jegal Tak was unfazed by the threat.
“All I know is that at the time of the incident, an herb gatherer passing by saw my brother’s confidant in the area.”
Investigating the incident based on the herb gatherer’s testimony, Jegal Tak became convinced once more that Jegal Namcheon had ordered it, and he devised a plan.
“People believe my brother died because his qi and blood became twisted during his cultivation, but that’s wrong.”
“…Don’t tell me.”
Jegal Tak nodded.
“I killed him.”
A father’s revenge for his lost child took his brother’s life, and the still-young Jegal Hyeon ascended to the position of family head.
But even then, the resentment coiled in Jegal Tak’s heart showed no signs of abating.
“…Inside my daughter’s belly on the day she died was my soon-to-be-born granddaughter.”
It was a decision that the Laughing Cloud’s Great Hero of his youth, who had revered chivalry above all else, would never have made.
“…Are you saying you tried to assassinate my daughter, Hyang, because of that?”
Jegal Tak quietly nodded.
“…Looking back now, it might have been a heart demon.”
Even so, a sliver of reason remained within him.
The vengeful ghost who had lost his daughter and granddaughter began to fight with Jegal Tak, the elder of the family.
Then one day, a man came to see him.
“He said he was from the Evil Alliance.”
The man began to incite Jegal Tak.
At first, Jegal Tak had roared and thrown him out, but as time passed, he found himself slowly being persuaded by the man’s words.
In the end, he secretly siphoned money from the family’s businesses to create a slush fund and even had disposable magic talismans made to distribute to the assassins.
“…The formation array set up around Hyang’s manor is a modified version of a long-lost family formation. There is no need to waste the family’s strength against the Ghost-Spirit Sect.”
Sending his confidant to Ghost Valley to make the request directly was a demand from the Evil Alliance.
It was to ensure he couldn't back out.
Having finished his story, Jegal Tak prostrated himself before Jegal Hyeon.
“This old man has one last request. Please, look after Muyoon’s wife and children. The reason that boy created the ledger must have been to one day reveal everything.”
“…”
Jegal Hyeon was not so naive as to believe everything his uncle, whom he had found suspicious for decades, had just said.
He quietly turned and walked toward the iron door, but his steps halted at the threshold.
“…As you are a family elder, I will not kill you. However, you will spend the rest of your life here. As for the man named Bang Muyoon, if the investigation finds him innocent, I will take responsibility for his remaining family.”
Hearing Jegal Hyeon’s words, Jegal Tak slowly raised his head and made a cupped fist salute.
“I am deeply grateful for the Head’s boundless grace.”
Thud—
The iron door closed, the last sight being Jegal Tak’s faint smile.