The Paeng Clan’s Muscle-Brained Tradition
It was still a long while before haeshi, the hour of the boar.
I left the inn and wandered through the market arm in arm with Qingya. The tension from earlier was gone without a trace, and we spent the time snacking on all kinds of treats and gawking at strange little curiosities. Qingya was still stiff as ever, but after I bought her a pretty hairpin and stuck it in her hair, I could almost swear a faint smile flickered beneath her veil.
“I think it would suit your older sister better than me.”
“Nope. I’m absolutely not wearing it.”
I had flatly refused any ornament for my body, especially anything worn on my head.
That was my last line of defense.
Even if my beautiful-girl body kept sneaking glances at jewelry with tiny, involuntary twitches, I clenched my teeth and held the line.
By the time the alcohol had largely worn off, our appointed hour was drawing near.
Not long after we returned to the front of the inn, I saw Paeng Mugang striding toward us from a distance, his gait full of swagger.
A satisfied smile hung on his face.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. Young Lady Song was right after all.”
“Did you find out the information?”
I got straight to the point without any fancy pleasantries.
Paeng Mugang looked briefly disappointed, but then he broke into a grin and shared the result.
“I did, though it’s a bit of a shame. I met the one who had the manual, but he wasn’t the actual owner.”
His answer was exactly what I had expected.
When I glanced at Qingya, she was pretending to look at the far horizon, probably because Paeng Mugang was nearby.
This brat. Let’s see how long you can keep that up.
“What about information on that person?”
“He said he didn’t know, but he’ll find out soon and contact me.”
“What?”
I thought that was absurd.
Before I could even ask why, he raised a fist and said with hearty confidence, “There are ways.”
“Ah.”
So you beat him up?
That was a simple, reliable Paeng Clan solution if ever I saw one.
When I nodded, he laughed even louder, pleased that I had grasped the situation so quickly.
The sound of his laughter rang out in the middle of the street, drawing plenty of stares from passersby.
Feeling awkward as I looked around, Paeng Mugang caught on and made a suggestion.
“How about we go inside? My room is soundproofed, which is rather nice.”
“… You want to bring two young ladies into your room? You’re awfully bold.”
“Hmm. Any man would dream of such a situation.”
We traded quips with quiet chuckles and made our way inside.
At the very least, I was certain he wasn’t the type to try anything underhanded over this sort of matter, and if things went sour, Qingya was with me, so there was nothing to worry about.
Paeng Mugang’s room was spacious and neat.
Following his lead, I went in and sat at the table.
Qingya flat-out refused to sit and stood rigidly behind me instead.
This really does look like a bodyguard.
Being in a room like this with a scion of a prestigious martial family made me feel like my social standing had shot up overnight.
Paeng Mugang gave Qingya a quick sidelong glance, then without saying a word he began filling the cups on the table with tea.
He sat down and let a moment pass before speaking.
“Well then. As promised, it seems I should tell you my story now—why I hate that damn manual so much.”
His voice dropped low.
The playful expression vanished, and a serious look took its place.
“My older brother, Paeng Muyeol, was called the greatest talent of the Paeng Clan.”
And yet, for some reason, he harbored inferiority toward his younger brother, Paeng Mugang, who kept growing stronger at an astonishing pace.
Even though, as the eldest son of the Paeng Clan, he had a solid future ahead of him and nothing at all to envy.
Watching his passionate younger brother, who cared for nothing but the blade and had no interest whatsoever in politics or fame, he spent his days trembling with unease—and that anxiety led him down the wrong path.
“The manual he found by chance ruined him. My brother was clearly the more gifted one, but he grew greedy.”
Paeng Muyeol had fallen under the spell of the manual he obtained by chance.
The straightforward, pure martial arts of the Paeng Clan collided with the power of the manual.
Normally, once a person learned one internal art, accepting another was no easy matter, but his genius made it partially possible.
That was the beginning of the disaster.
Two incompatible powers clashed, and the result was horrific.
“A manual is a wicked thing. It tempts people with easy power, and in the end, it destroys everything.”
Paeng Muyeol had fallen into qi deviation and become a ruined shell of a man.
Paeng Mugang took over his brother’s place and searched for the cause that had led him to such a catastrophe.
And the conclusion he reached was that very same manual, the one now spreading through the world in rumors.
“A thing like that must be wiped from this world completely.”
By the time Paeng Mugang uncovered the source, the manual his brother had possessed had already vanished somewhere in the world at the hands of a servant blinded by greed for money.
He had set out to find the manual—for revenge for his brother, to prevent any more victims, and to discover a clue that might improve his brother’s condition.
When he finished speaking, his face was etched with grief for the brother he had lost and a deep hatred for the manual.
...This is bad.
It had already been bad enough, but now there was absolutely no way I could admit that I was the one who had written that manual.
When I thought about it, it made sense.
Wasn’t a tale about two conflicting powers colliding and sending someone into qi deviation a standard martial-arts cliché?
All this time I’d met only people who could accept the manual without trouble, so I’d started thinking there must be some special providence at work. Turns out it was just luck.
While I was wondering how I should comfort him, Qingya—who had been quietly listening the whole time—suddenly spoke up.
“Not all manuals are evil.”
At her sudden objection, Paeng Mugang’s gaze shifted to her.
“For someone with no talent, for someone with no strength, a manual may be the only hope they have. Have you never thought it might be a chance to cross a wall that effort alone could never overcome?”
Qingya’s voice trembled as she said it.
Come to think of it, I still didn’t know much about her circumstances.
But from the way she usually behaved, it was obvious she held a positive view of manuals.
Paeng Mugang looked briefly startled by her argument, then shook his head.
A bitter shadow fell over his otherwise open face.
“Perhaps. But power gained without effort is never truly one’s own. False hope only brings even greater despair in the end.”
At Paeng Mugang’s resolute words, Qingya’s shoulders trembled faintly.
She moved her lips as though she wanted to argue more, but she couldn’t bring herself to continue, and in the end she only clenched her fists.
Neither of them was wrong.
One was someone who had gained hope from a manual.
The other was someone whose precious family had been put in danger by one.
Of course, the root cause was probably Paeng Muyeol’s greed, but neither Qingya nor I were rude enough to bring that up in front of a man who had lost family.
The air grew heavy.
If I left the two of them glaring at each other like this, it really looked as if things would escalate into an emotional brawl.
I had no interest in any headache like that.
I clapped my hands to gather their attention and ease the tension.
“I understand your story, Young Hero Paeng. In the end, what matters is what we do with the manual.”
“… There’s no need to say it. It must be destroyed.”
Qingya looked ready to speak again, so I gently stopped her with my hand.
Fortunately, she caught my meaning and shut her mouth obediently.
“Do you know how?”
“How what?”
“You don’t know, then. That manual isn’t ordinary, so it can’t be destroyed just by breaking it.”
“Really?”
Judging from his reaction, he genuinely didn’t know.
Had he really never seen one on the road from Hebei all the way here?
Was I just lucky?
Or did manuals really attract one another somehow?
“Ah, I see. If you don’t know, then there’s nothing to be done.”
For some reason, Qingya nodded with a bright voice from beside me.
What was she so excited about?
Don’t tell me she was actually feeling some kind of superiority complex.
Paeng Mugang must have sensed her smug little air as well, because his face immediately darkened.
“Young Lady Qingya, I don’t think you and I are very compatible.”
“I feel the same. And I don’t particularly want us to be.”
It felt like sparks were flying between their eyes.
“Qingya. Enough.”
When I chided her softly, she turned her head away with a huff.
She was usually such a good listener, so what on earth had happened between her and the Paeng Clan?
Paeng Mugang glared at her for a moment longer before turning back to me.
“Then, Young Lady Song, what do you intend to do after finding the manual? If you know that much, I assume you’ve already found it once.”
As expected, Paeng Mugang wasn’t a fool.
At his sharp question, I could only nod.
“Yes, I’ve seen it.”
“Then—!”
“Do you happen to know the title of the manual you’re looking for?”
I asked him calmly as he sprang to his feet in excitement.
As calmly as possible.
If I wanted to lead this situation, I had to use the advantage of information.
“...It’s called Manseong Gwiri Simbeop.”
“At least it isn’t a book I know.”
“And how am I supposed to believe that?”
“Then don’t.”
“……”
Paeng Mugang fell silent.
Seeing that, I shrugged and lifted my teacup.
Eugh. It’s gone cold.
He seemed about to press me further about my attitude, but after staring at me in silence for a moment, he finally backed off and spoke.
“Very well. I’ll admit I’m lacking in information. But I still think that if we find the manual, it must be destroyed.”
“I’m not strongly opposed to that.”
“Older sister!”
When I seemed to agree with him, Qingya cried out in surprise.
Without turning to look at her, I went on, “But. Until we find a method, I’ll keep the manual in my possession.”
“Young Lady Song!”
Ugh. So loud.
Why was everyone shouting like that?
The eyes of both of them were fixed on me at once.
I set my teacup down deliberately, with a soft click.
“Then, Young Hero Paeng. After finding the manual, are you really confident you won’t be tempted by its power?”
My question must have hit a nerve.
Paeng Mugang’s face twisted fiercely.
“Are you saying it’s fine to take me, Paeng, lightly?”
“I’m not looking down on you. I’m checking your resolve.”
Paeng Mugang still didn’t look satisfied with my answer.
“Then are you saying, Young Lady Song, that you wouldn’t be tempted at all?”
“That’s right. I can seal it away without even reading it.”
If I was curious, I could always read it, but to me that manual was nothing more than black history.
Something I had no reason to open again.
“Unbelievable.”
“I suppose so?”
Of course it would sound that way if you didn’t know the truth.
Paeng Mugang saw my calm expression and didn’t let go of his suspicion.
But then, as if some thought had changed in him, he suddenly broke into hearty laughter as though none of that had ever happened.
“As expected, my eye for people is sharp. Then, might I test that with the Paeng Clan’s method?”
“The Paeng Clan’s method? Sure, go ahead.”
“Older sister!”
Qingya called to me in alarm.
She leaned close to my ear and whispered, “Refuse him, older sister. There’s no need to follow the methods of those brute beasts.”
“But if it’s their method, wouldn’t he accept the result immediately?”
“That’s because you don’t know—”
Ignoring Qingya’s frantic warning, Paeng Mugang came up to me with a smile and held out his hand.
“Very well. Then by the Paeng Clan’s way, let’s settle this with a single contest of strength.”
“Huh?”
The Hebei Paeng Clan.
A bunch of muscle-brained maniacs who solved things with their fists before they ever thought to use their heads.
When opinions clashed, they settled it with a duel.
That had always been their long-standing tradition.