Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: I Became the Eon Family's Ne'er-do-well (2)
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Even now, out of all those countless characters, I still couldn't get over the fact that I'd ended up possessing Eon Yong-un's body.
But it had been even worse when I first came to my senses.
'I thought it was a straight-up penniless possession.'
I manipulated the creaking bone duck, moving it this way and that as I recalled that moment.
'Forget the frustration—back then, the whole situation just didn't make any sense.'
I was the one who had sent that guy to the grave—the one the demons called Lord of Lords and trembled before in fear.
'Well, on my side, it wasn't just me. We had the Nightmare Lord, who was my backing, my guild members, and the full S-rank and above hunter forces from countries around the world poured in to barely achieve mutual destruction.'
Anyway, a soul like mine, forged through battles of that caliber, couldn't just be shoved somewhere without consent.
The only one who managed to wrangle some leeway by spouting wishes and such was that Nightmare Lord guy.
'So, following what that bastard said at the end, the conclusion is that he actually felt some friendship toward me and granted my regrets...'
But even if the Nightmare Lord had shed his own crown to don the crown of an emperor without a master, my wish had to be granted strictly in the form of a reward.
'The reason the Nightmare Lord first approached me was because he coveted my unique soul.'
He'd gone on at length about how it didn't yield even to higher beings or whatever. Summing up that bastard's long-winded explanation in one line:
'He said my soul itself was immune to mental attacks.'
Rebellious spirit or whatever.
To top it off, I'd firmly nailed down that I would refuse any contract extensions with the Nightmare Lord.
So, even if I'd given him some opening to intervene, his involvement had to come solely in the form of rewards.
"But how is sticking me in Eon Yong-un's body a reward?"
If it had been Eon Yong-myeong, maybe.
That's why the situation itself didn't make sense at first.
'Sure, there are all sorts of maniacal rewards in various industries out there...'
But in what industry could possessing utter trash like Eon Yong-un be considered a reward?
No convenient memory transfer from the original owner, nothing except the ability to communicate?
'Of course, that's probably due to the uniqueness of my soul.'
But that thought changed once my body recovered a bit and I tested some black magic, just in case—and it worked.
"Left face."
Creak!
"Right face."
Creak!!
I'd wondered if it would work without the demon that fueled my black magic and necromancy.
But it did.
Not just the Skeleton Dominion Technique spread out via duck bones—I could use projectile magic and curses as well.
"The operating principle is just a bit different."
The black magic I used to wield drew on the demon's demonic energy, mediated through the 'dark wheel' that gathered in my heart—a kind of mana for necromancers.
'Here, it's purely my internal energy being used.'
The internal energy was being drawn from around my chest too—no, not the middle dantian as they called it here, but the head area.
'Upper dantian, in this world's terms?'
In the novel, there were descriptions of how Mount Mosan Sect and the Pearl Eon Family's corpse manipulation techniques and spells used the upper dantian, and how their heart methods for corpse controllers were unique. So this was the feeling?
Not bad.
Above all, there was none of that usual queasy sensation of life force being ground away whenever I used black magic.
'No wonder the Nightmare Lord never responded no matter how much I chanted the incantation.'
If that abyssal demon was watching me or had placed some restriction on me, I'd have sensed it.
Unlike my previous life, where I always felt someone watching, there was nothing like that now.
Our contract must have fully severed upon completion.
Realizing that, a smile finally crept onto my face.
'Now this is a reward.'
Black magic without a price?
Irresponsible pleasure?
'Theoretically, that means I can use black magic infinitely?'
Infinite fun with the Bright Wheel Formation...
'Of course, not right away.'
I had to use internal energy as fuel, and right now, I was short on that.
The original owner's internal energy stored in the dantian was about the size of a quail egg.
And after splitting it between the upper and lower dantians, it was barely a mouse turd's worth.
But I wasn't disappointed.
'Internal energy can be built up.'
I knew this novel inside and out.
Which meant I could preempt all sorts of fortuitous encounters.
'Of course, considering the butterfly effect, I'd have to stick to an appropriate line that doesn't derail the original plot.'
But 'Murim Academy's Sword Genius' was an ultra-long novel, and the author forgot a ton of early setups later on, so even accounting for the butterfly effect, there were plenty of encounters I could snag.
"Heh heh heh."
That was when it happened.
As I grinned, envisioning a happy future stained with black magic and bright tomorrows.
"Young Master!"
Wang Sam, that servant bastard, called from outside the door.
"Th-the Family Head is summoning you!!"
It had come.
I immediately waved my hand to collapse the bone duck, rinsed my mouth with the now-cold tea, and stepped out of the room.
The Eon Yun Pavilion where I stayed and the Family Head's quarters where Eon Jeong-ung resided were right next door.
A few brisk steps brought me to the Family Head's quarters.
But someone had arrived before me in the front courtyard: Plum Blossom Madam, the very picture of refined elegance.
My mother.
"Yong-un!"
She had been pacing the courtyard anxiously, but upon spotting me, she hurried over and seized my hand.
"......"
This must be what worry feels like.
I'd been an orphan as a child with no one to worry over me, and later became too strong to ever experience it.
A new emotion from my past or present life—felt strange.
As I mulled over that odd feeling, Plum Blossom Madam's voice continued.
"By now, your father's anger should have cooled a bit. Didn't Lord Husband visit your quarters several times while you were recuperating?"
Well, Eon Jeong-ung did visit my quarters about once a week, regularly enough.
'But not in the hopeful way she imagines.'
Whenever Eon Jeong-ung came looking for me, it was always the same.
A cold glare, urging me to recall the day I gambled away the family's secret manual.
"You've gotten up, trained, and studied differently than before. Tell him you'll keep doing so even after entering the Family Head's quarters. Discord between father and son can melt away like snow in an instant."
Hmm...?
I had a feeling the decision in the Family Head's quarters today would be to kick me out.
'For the original Eon Yong-un to turn dark, he needs to get exiled around now to match the timeline.'
But Plum Blossom Madam seemed to interpret every sign positively.
'Hm. Or maybe not?'
Looking again, it didn't seem entirely that way.
If she truly believed Eon Jeong-ung's signals were positive, she wouldn't be this anxious.
'Sigh.'
Eon Jeong-ung's contemptuous gaze felt more comfortable, honestly.
There was something awkwardly ticklish about Plum Blossom Madam's presence.
Not that it felt bad, since she was worrying about me.
'But if I don't rein her in a bit, she could throw a wrench in my future plans.'
For all her elegance, Plum Blossom Madam was the mother of Eon Yong-un and Eon Yong-myeong—and her maiden family led the Taewon Merchant Group, one of the two great merchant powers of the Central Plains.
'If she blindly supports me out of goodwill, it could disrupt my plans or twist the original plot.'
I lightly patted the hand gripping mine and spoke in a firmer tone.
"Um... Mother?"
"Yes, Yong-un."
Hm.
First time calling someone 'Mother' in either life—felt really embarrassing.
Still, I had to say it.
"Ahem... There's something I must earnestly request."
"Yes? Tell me anything."
Well, I'd read the novel plenty and lived here two months, so conveying my intent in archaic speech wasn't awkward or hard.
"No matter what decision comes from the Family Head's quarters, from now on, I will bear it all on my own. You understand what I mean, right?"
It seemed my intent got through.
"!"
Her eyes lit up, grasping that I wanted her to step back and let me stand alone.
"...Y-Yong-un."
That gleam held a mix of pride and worry over whether it was truly okay.
'Well, even a normally raised child preparing to stand alone would worry a parent like sending a kid by the water's edge...'
For a mother whose son had lived as utter trash his whole life, seeing him say he'd handle things alone?
Of course she'd worry.
'But that's her issue.'
I couldn't have her circumstances interfering with my plans.
To drive my point home, I added one more line.
"I should have done so long ago."
Harsh words from her perspective, perhaps.
"Please let me."
Plum Blossom Madam looked a bit stunned.
I gently withdrew my hand from hers and headed into the Family Head's quarters.
As expected, the atmosphere in the Family Head's quarters was icy cold.
Gam Cheon-su, the Chief Steward handling the family's big and small affairs.
Eon Yong-myeong, my blood brother and one of the main characters of 'Murim Academy's Sword Genius'.
The two stood with different expressions.
Then, Eon Jeong-ung—Family Head of the Pearl Eon Family and my father—spoke in a cold voice.
"I'll ask one last time. You truly remember nothing of those who took the manual from you—not a single feature?"
Who knows how many times I'd heard this question.
I understood, though.
'From Eon Jeong-ung's position, he needs some clue to even start investigating.'
But what could be done when the pre-possession memories were blank?
"Yes. I remember nothing."
Hm.
Actually, I didn't know who took it, but having read the original, I knew where the Eon Family's corpse secret manual had rolled off to.
'The Demonic Cult.'
Specifically, Reverse Heaven Demon Gu Cheon-seo, one of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's Cult Protector Kings.
The old monster who would soon lead an endless corpse legion at the vanguard of the invasion of the Central Plains.
'But no need to tell Eon Jeong-ung that.'
Let's think about it.
If the original Eon Yong-un were here?
He'd stammer out details about the gamblers' appearances—eyes like this, mole there.
'But it wouldn't yield much.'
While the orthodox martial world rotted away, drunk on victory from the first Righteous-Demonic War, the Demonic Cult had quietly rebuilt its forces—that's the setup in 'Murim Academy's Sword Genius'.
'The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult isn't some corner shop.'
Tough bastards.
If core members stole the manual?
'They'd use face-changing disguise arts or human-skin masks.'
If they hired gamblers?
'They'd have already silenced them with murder and dissolved the bones with bone-melting powder.'
So, playing dumb here leads to the same outcome as the original.
'If I mention the Demonic Cult and stir up a hornet's nest?'
The original plot I know would twist.
Losing that advantage for surviving this world.
'The Eon Family is too busy staving off decline to handle the Demonic Cult anyway.'
No reason to do something stupid.
For my sake.
Or the blood family I'd become part of—this was best handled with ignorance.
Anyway.
As I stuck to playing dumb,
"Hah."
Eon Jeong-ung sighed deeply, rubbed his dry face, then fixed me with a resolute glare as if he'd made up his mind.
"Listen well, Yong-un."
"Yes, Father."
"Yes. I am your father. But before that, I am the Family Head. The classics say: 'The father begets the body, the mother nurtures it.' Do you know what that means?"
His tone implied a guy chasing skirts and gambling wouldn't know.
But I'd studied classics to enjoy wuxia more, so I did.
"The father begets me, the mother raises me."
"...Hmph. Thought you were pickled in debauchery, but you know that much. Anyway, flipping it around: I bear responsibility for begetting you, your mother for raising you."
Hm?
"So I won't cripple your dantian. I'll handle what you did in the northern region."
Eh?
"Begone. Go where your name won't reach my ears. Open a small martial hall there if you wish—I won't stop you."
Phew.
That startled me.
Thought he might forgive me.
And so, as desired, I was officially struck from the Pearl Eon Family registry.
As I inwardly sighed in relief where no one could see,
The other three in the quarters looked like death.
Perhaps due to some bond, Chief Steward Gam sighed heavily.
Eon Yong-myeong, hate me or not, pleaded with Eon Jeong-ung to reconsider once more for his brother.
Ignoring him, but Eon Jeong-ung rubbing his forehead showed even casting out a wastrel son wasn't easy.
Whatever.
They could react as they pleased.
I calmly cupped my hands, bowed to Eon Jeong-ung.
The original Eon Yong-un would've wailed, clung to his pants, thrown a fit about not leaving.
But I could stay composed.
No.
Actually, I barely kept my lips from twitching upward.
'I've got plans.'
Among the honey-pot fortuitous sites waiting, I'd locked in the sweetest one.
'The First Heavenly Demon's Tomb.'
It's mine.