Chapter 65 Young Family Head
A few days had passed since I returned to the family.
My plan worked.
There was no particular reaction from the Heavenly Demon. No contact came from the family either. Since I'd even passed along the message to wait, I figured I could relax for the time being.
For the next few days after that, I holed up in the family compound.
I deliberately called it the "family compound" instead of "home" because every time I came back here, it hit me hard that this wasn't my house.
I could definitely feel myself drifting on the outskirts among these people.
Sure, the heads of groups like the Hong Yeon Pavilion and Sa Ui Pavilion came calling every other day... but I could tell just by looking into their eyes.
They'd bet on me for the profits, and once my value dropped, they'd wipe their mouths clean and walk away.
To be fair, I was doing the exact same thing, so I had nothing to say about it.
If anything, I'm the worse one here.
I was using these factions purely to survive, after all.
Of course, Pa Cheon had given his permission. Once everything was over and he returned to his own body, he'd clean it all up properly.
In any case, if there was one place in this compound where I felt any sense of belonging, it had to be the Black Shadow Corps.
So, unless something urgent came up, I spent most of my time in the Black Shadow Pavilion.
Tak Horak, who offered me blind loyalty, Sa Wol, who was starting to speak her mind more, they were all part of the Black Shadow Corps.
Oh, right, Jin Su too.
The guy who'd been glaring at me with subtle hostility had been struck directly by Sa Wol's simsang during training and hadn't made a peep since. No, at this point, he even seemed to revere me—probably because I'd taken the hit to my simsang without batting an eye, at least on the surface.
On the fifth floor of the Black Shadow Pavilion was an office and training room reserved for the corps leader.
Pa Cheon said he hardly ever used it, but this place was prime real estate.
A gentle breeze blew through, the sun shone just warmly enough, and you had a perfect view of the Black Shadow Corps' training grounds below.
"How do you rate their skills?"
[The Black Shadow Corps?]
"Yeah."
[You know they're divided into two groups, right?]
"Yeah. Squads 1 through 4 are homegrown, 5 through 8 are transfers. Hard to say which is stronger overall."
Tak Horak and Jin Su were like the squad leaders.
[Right. The homegrown ones get family support in their training, so their loyalty runs deeper, and they move more cohesively. The transfers are a bit looser, but their individual talents are sharper.]
"So, overall?"
[Among the family's fighting forces, they'd rank in the top five... but looking at the whole Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, maybe top 20.]
"Including Sa Wol?"
[Even with her.]
"They're lagging more than I thought."
Pa Cheon nodded the tip of his blade in agreement.
[The current Black Shadow Corps is made up of rookies trained by the old corps, after all.]
"Warriors need time more than talent, right?"
[Yeah. Even that monk leader of Song Mountain said something like that.]
"You're the only one who'd call the Shaolin abbot the head monk... wait, no, this is the cult. Plenty do."
[How can they be monks when they're always yelling 'Time to open the slaughter gate!' and killing left and right?]
"Fair point."
It was a wuxia cliché, after all. Monks who stubbornly stuck to vegetarianism to avoid needless killing, yet swung their martial arts around slaughtering foes left and right.
"Looks like I need to beef up my forces."
[How?]
"Teach them more martial arts, expand the roster."
[I can break down techniques simple enough for a dunce like you to get... but expanding? You planning to take in the Hong Yeon Pavilion or Sa Ui Pavilion lot? They'll suck you dry and leave the husk.]
"Of course not. I've got plans."
[I'd almost forgotten lately, but yeah. You're a pain in the ass at heart.]
I shrugged.
"You said top 20 including Sa Wol? If we count real Super Peak experts, where would we rank?"
[Top ten, easy. Number one in the family, obviously.]
"That's why they're not making a move. We need to show some action."
I'd definitely shaken up the family head.
I'd expected some backlash, but things stayed quiet.
Did Sado Gwang really die? Is he just trembling in fear, unable to do anything?
No. That couldn't be.
Even if there was no immediate reaction, I couldn't dismiss the chance he was still alive.
Maybe it's because I went to the Heavenly Demon Palace.
Whatever happened there, only the Heavenly Demon and I knew. No one else could say how she saw me now.
[Presence.]
Pa Cheon warned. Having touched the brink of Three Flowers Gather at the Summit, even imperfectly, his senses were sharper than ever.
"They're here."
Sa Wol appeared behind me.
"Corps leader."
"What is it?"
"Visitors."
"Visitors?"
I peered out the office window. At the Black Shadow Pavilion's main gate, a cluster of people stood staring this way.
Finally, some reaction.
"Let's go."
No need to rush, so I strolled leisurely to the main gate.
"Greetings, Young Master."
A warrior with a long sword at his waist and a flowing beard bowed to me. Mu Yeong Do. The family head's closest aide—the one who'd crossed blades with me (well, gotten wrecked by Pa Cheon).
I gave a perfunctory nod.
"What do you want?"
"The family head has a message for you."
"From the family head? What is it?"
"At the hour of You Shi tonight, a family head council will convene. You are commanded to attend."
The Sado family had three major councils.
The family head council, led by the head; the elder council, led by the elders; and the senior council for the family's heavyweights.
The family head council, huh.
"Got it."
I had no idea what play they were making, but I felt confident regardless.
I had Sa Wol, my anti-personnel weaponized human. She'd evolved into an area-of-effect anti-personnel weapon after hitting Super Peak. If she unleashed her simsang for real, she'd buy me time to escape.
Still, no slacking.
Too many got caught off guard. Complacency was the enemy.
A few hours later.
I headed to the family head hall for the council, Sa Wol, Tak Horak, and Jin Su in tow.
True to its symbol of rapid growth, most Sado family buildings were new and massive, but the family head hall was the grandest of all.
Without the rule that it couldn't exceed the Heavenly Demon Palace, they might've built it endlessly bigger.
The council chamber was packed like a marketplace. Each faction brought two or three retainers, and even at a glance, there had to be over 200 people.
Fitting for wuxia. Human wave tactics are the foundation.
The heads who'd pledged cooperation sidled up and sat near me.
Only the top seat for the family head and the seat to his immediate right for the First Elder stood empty.
Some kind of power play?
Usually, the meeting chair arrived last, but with both the First Elder and family head absent, it looked like a stare-down.
That's what I thought.
"Hahaha, everyone's here."
"Good to see you."
The First Elder and family head entered together.
I narrowed my eyes.
[Your hunch was spot on, you rascal.]
Told you.
They were eternal enemies. Or closer to blood foes. When Sado Mu Yeol became family head, he'd killed the First Elder's eldest son, who was also a candidate.
For those two to return smiling together?
They hadn't been late for a power struggle. They'd been late plotting together.
"Let's begin the council."
Sado Mu Yeol declared.
"I've called this meeting for two agenda items. First: selecting the young family head."
Young family head?
"Traditionally, our Sado family follows primogeniture, but if unavoidable circumstances prevent that, succession passes to the second son."
Sado Mu Yeol studiously ignored me. Yet his words aimed squarely at me.
"Thus, we appoint Young Master Sado Hwan as young family head."
"……!"
The family head faction and elder faction remained calmly composed, as if they'd known all along. Only I and the heads allied with me were shocked.
"Any objections?"
No one answered Sado Mu Yeol's question. They'd clearly coordinated everything.
"Then, from this moment, Young Master Sado Hwan is appointed young family head."
Clap clap clap!
Everyone applauded.
What the hell is their game?
I got that the two were teaming up to screw me over, but appointing me young family head out of nowhere didn't add up.
"Now, the second agenda: Dok Ma's birthday banquet. In three days, a celebration for Dok Ma's birthday is planned."
[No way.]
Pa Cheon let out a dismayed grunt.
"Dok Ma is a renowned figure in the cult, so we must send congratulatory envoys. But we can't send just anyone. Therefore, I propose sending the young family head as the envoy to Dok Ma's banquet."
...Clever bastards.
That's why they'd made me young family head first.
My history with Dok Ma is messy.
Sure, it was a mission, but I'd killed his disciple. And I'd pocketed his prized Black Cloud Sword as spoils.
A normal cultist might praise me for upholding his honor, but Dok Ma wasn't normal.
Dok Ma's got a vicious possessive streak.
He couldn't stand anything that came into his grasp slipping away. The reason he'd poisoned Dok So Gong to death? Better dead than escaping his clutches. Nothing more to it.
Walking into Dok Ma's lair in this situation...?
It'll turn into a nightmare.
As the saying goes, two heads are better than one. These two lifelong schemers had put theirs together and cooked up a real mess for me.
"With that, it's decided: the young family head will serve as envoy to Dok Ma's birthday banquet. Council adjourned."
Playing it like that, huh.
[What now?]
Pa Cheon sounded worried.
[Dok Ma ranks 19th in the hierarchy, and he's a poison master. You could get dosed unknowingly and drop dead.]
I've got a lifeline or two.
When Dok So Gong sprayed that lung-wasting poison, I'd been immune. The Heavenly Demon Divine Art brimming in my body had neutralized it.
If Dok Ma used poison, he'd have to mind his reputation and not go for outright lethal stuff. That meant a good chance I'd resist.
Survive the poison, and I'm in the clear.
[That simple?]
Or if I bring a gift he likes, he might let it slide.
[A gift he'd like?]
Yeah. Like a spirit snake. No poison user hates snakes.
[Where the hell do you get one?]
Where? Well...
And so, the very next day.
I got moving at the crack of dawn.
[...Punishment Cave again? I'm sick of this place.]
No better spot.
[Now dragging a kid along too.]
Hey now. He's part of my crew—and yours someday. Gotta treat him right.
With that, I patted the boy standing beside me on the back.
"Let's go, Cho Ryang."
Pretending to Be the Heavenly Demon