Chapter 41: Kingmaker (1)
Chapter 41: Kingmaker (1)
My third brother, Peng Hyeon-cheon, shared two characters of his name with our granduncle, Peng Ik-cheon, but the only thing they actually had in common was the signature look of the Peng family’s direct line. He was a total idler.
Talent for martial arts? Of course, he didn't lack it.
In the history of the Hebei Peng Family, a direct descendant lacking talent had never been born.
Potential as a Peng family warrior? He certainly had enough to be promising.
He was sufficiently fierce, rough, and well-trained. Both his body and mind were fully optimized for the Peng family's martial arts.
As for his personality... well, since no one in the Hebei Peng Family could be expected to have a decent one—except for me, a scholar who has mastered the righteous Way—we’ll just skip that.
The problem was this:
Peng Hyeon-cheon was a mere brat, only three years older than me.
Furthermore, unlike me, he wasn't a reincarnator; he was a 100% pure-blooded Han Chinese child.
Let’s look at things from my third brother’s perspective for a moment.
Just as he was finally managing to stand up, run around, speak simple words, and barely learn easy characters...
That is, when my brother had just turned four.
—Is it instinct...? Splendid. If one is born a tiger cub, one must know how to hide and bared one's claws at any time.
—Did... did Ryang laugh back then too? Did he?
—No way... There wasn't a single child who didn't cry when Father appeared.
—Good heavens...
A vile and cunning reincarnator had just dropped a heart-bomb right in front of the Peng family elders and my grandfather.
And that wasn't all.
—Hwi has already finished the Thousand Character Classic! My goodness, I thought he was learning to speak fast, but this...!!
—It is a great blessing for the family. No one from the prestigious clans has ever been able to read and write at that age.
At the age when he was just starting to accumulate internal energy and needed close supervision from our father, the reincarnated brat had already mastered the Thousand Character Classic.
For the record, at age three, Peng Hyeon-cheon was just a typical preschool-aged kid.
By the time he was ten and finally getting used to the Hunyuan Blade...
Peng Jeon-gun, who had taught his two older brothers, looked at him, judged his talent lacking, and gave up on his education.
He had already left plenty of scathing reviews about the first two brothers' talents and had simply reached his breaking point by the third, but still.
There was no denying that it was an act that ruthlessly crushed a young child's pride.
In that situation, I caused trouble again. Peng Jeon-gun, who had abandoned him, was visiting his youngest brother’s quarters every day, and word got out that they were pushing for an engagement—skipping right over him.
And with the precious daughter of the Demonic Cult Leader, no less.
He was still a child with no concept of marriage, but that only made the sense of deprivation worse.
Toward that kid who had snatched away all the attention he never received and all the things he could never have.
He even felt a sense of joy when he heard that my progress in the Hunyuan Art was slow.
—He destroyed the Black Dragon Gang...?
—They say he went there alone with a single blade to take back his fiancée.
—That...? Does that make any sense? Isn't he only seven?!
—Because of that, the Family Head himself made a personal appearance. They say Shuntian Prefecture in Beijing was turned upside down. Get ready; it seems he intends to prepare for war against the rabble of the White Lotus Cult.
That 'lacking' younger brother had done something neither he nor his 'brilliant' older brothers could even imagine, capturing Grandfather's full attention.
At age ten, I passed the civil service exam in Beijing as the top scholar, being hailed as the best among all Confucian scholars of my age.
In that same year, I reportedly killed the second son of the Pavilion Master of the Thousand Autumns Assassination Pavilion—a boy the same age as Peng Hyeon-cheon himself—in a life-and-death duel.
—Is the Hegemonic Blade Style ceremony not the place to announce that one has become a true warrior? Thus, this grandson dares to ask the elders.
—Is there anyone here who would like to personally test if I have grown sufficiently?
When you add the events of the Hegemonic Blade Style ceremony that year, he had spent his entire childhood—every moment he could remember since birth—deprived of the family's attention.
The two older brothers were out of the question due to the large age gap.
But his youngest brother, only three years his junior, was a genius who, in 21st-century terms, skipped six years of school, graduated elementary early, bypassed middle school, and entered a prestigious specialized high school.
Caught in the middle, Peng Hyeon-cheon had all the spotlight stolen even at his own middle school graduation (the Hegemonic Blade Style ceremony).
Naturally, he turned rebellious.
"More. Bring more!"
"Y-Young Master! It's far too late today... Gaaah!!"
"Even you dare to ignore me?!"
He spent his turbulent adolescent years in a household where expressing such turbulence would get him beaten to a pulp.
Now, at age twenty, the prime of his youth.
The Dragon Slaying Alliance was firmly held by the eldest brother.
The outer hall's martial units were stuck to the second brother like glue.
And the elders of the inner hall doted on the youngest's talent.
—He took the head of the Divine Spear Yang Jeok-yo before even reaching twenty?
—The Beggars' Sect is spreading the rumors until their breath runs out.
—They call him the Beheading Blood Wolf.
—Haha! Now that is a truly gallant title!
...Is it?
As the third direct descendant squeezed in between, the career path available to him after his Hegemonic Blade Style ceremony was quite pathetic.
"Huff, huff...!! Is no one there! Did you not hear me tell you to bring more wine!!"
A direct blood relative who grew up without anyone's expectations.
A direct descendant who would surely be pushed into a branch family in the next generation without being able to put up a fight... occupying such an ambiguous position that he might not even be guaranteed an elder's seat in the future.
Despite that, he was still undoubtedly a 'direct descendant' who could bark orders at the family's warriors.
Which meant, in other words...
"Now, now, Hyeon-cheon. Why are you so impatient? Have a drink."
"Ugh... Why, why are you here?"
"How could I stay still after hearing my dear friend didn't have a drinking companion? Come, let's drink ourselves into a stupor today."
"Urgh! You...!"
It meant he was the perfect target to be played for a fool. To put it more bluntly, he was in a position that was far too easy to exploit.
* * *
In the inner garden of Sanyue Pavilion in the Peng Family Estate, which was peaceful as always, I was closing my eyes and regulating my breathing.
—Ssssss...
Or was it shhhhh? It’s been so long that my memory is fuzzy.
It feels like a long time ago, but physically, it’s over 500 years in the future. It’s the kind of confusion any reincarnated time-traveler would face.
"What on earth are you doing...?"
"I am organizing my insights, Elder."
"Are you trying to kill me with laughter? Insights? What kind of insights could someone at your level possibly have?"
"I have just slain Yang Jeok-yo, the absolute master of Shanxi, a man destined to join the Fifteen Lords of the Central Plains, and a peerless master on the verge of the Gate of Life and Death. I haven't finished processing that enlightenment yet, so please don't talk to me."
"You've truly gone mad..."
Unfortunately, it seemed my granduncle Peng Ik-cheon had grown so old that he had lost the keen eye of his youth.
Being a reincarnator capable of tolerating the senile symptoms of the elderly, I ignored him and quietly gripped my hilt.
Snap! A spark flew.
I felt the Thunderbolt Art surging beneath the scabbard where the blade slept.
The residual energy of that momentum pierced my waist like an awl, stinging surprisingly sharp.
But I didn't care. I lowered my waist and bent my knees.
The blade becomes me...!
"Thunderbolt Flash—!!"
Boom! The scabbard, meticulously carved from ebony, exploded, violently grazing my hip.
The blade, infused with the Thunderbolt Art, unsheathed smoothly and sliced the wooden pole in half with ease.
It was a clean split.
Watching this, old man Peng Ik-cheon’s nagging exploded.
"Why on earth are you swinging from a sheathed position? If you wanted to discuss the 'fast blade,' you should obviously swing with it already drawn. Swinging from the scabbard is only useful for a surprise attack. Do you want to be an assassin? Using a martial art as loud as the Thunderbolt Art, and even shouting the technique's name while drawing?"
"I was simply trying to complete a blade technique that can slay even ghosts."
"I must be getting too old. It's hard to keep up with the words and actions of the youth."
"Sigh... time is a cruel mistress."
Actually, I was trying to replicate the Thunderbolt City-Destroying Cannon, and this was just what I did after failing.
I grumbled briefly and slid the blade into a new scabbard.
The newly forged blade let out a sharp ring as it went to sleep in its sheath.
It was a blade forged by melting down and layering the weapons of the fallen.
This is how Peng family blades are made.
A warrior of the Peng family must naturally cherish their blade.
But now, there are only a handful of masters in the world who could break my blade, so it’s fine.
Who am I? The genius who achieved Sword Qi Hurt Humans. I’m telling you, I can slice meat without the blade even touching it.
Medieval Chinese technology is insane.
"I can tell by looking at you. You failed to practice the Thunderbolt City-Destroying Cannon, didn't you?"
"I definitely used it to snap the waist of the Divine Spear Yang Jeok-yo in one move. Why won't it work now?"
"...First of all, your level of martial prowess is too low."
"You must be joking."
Peng Ik-cheon looked like he was about to die of frustration. He thumped his chest a few times and spoke in a pained voice.
"The Thunderbolt City-Destroying Cannon is an Astral Energy Skill...!! Didn't you say so yourself? That you used the internal energy of the Hao Clan Leader through Body Transferring Power! It was a feat possible only because you received the energy of the Astral Energy Realm. It is not a martial art that can be discussed at your level!"
"If a warrior who can use Astral Energy shares their internal energy, can anyone manifest an Astral Energy Skill?"
I mean, if it’s that easy, isn't the difficulty of entering the Astral Energy Realm too low? It would mean a master in the Peak Realm could just share their energy with a disciple whenever they wanted to help them get the hang of it.
"Of course not. It means the Hao Clan Leader's martial arts are close to the realm of the gods. To begin with, Body Transferring Power isn't a technique used that way. Even if one concentrates with all their soul in total silence, eighty percent of the internal energy is lost. That's why even dying masters in their final years don't attempt it lightly."
From what I knew, Body Transferring Power was a sort of martial inheritance.
It usually only happened between master and disciple who practiced the same cultivation method, and even then, it was normal for most of the energy to vanish during the transfer.
Furthermore, if even the slightest thing went wrong, the Innate True Qi would be torn away with it.
It meant that trying to pass some internal energy to a disciple could result in a terminal diagnosis for the master.
Damaging one's Innate True Qi significantly shortens one's lifespan.
On the receiving end, it was common for the meridians to get tangled, leading to Qi Deviation.
There was a reason Body Transferring Power was classified as a forbidden grand art.
Yet, the Hao Clan Leader had poured in enough energy for me to manifest an Astral Energy Skill for a moment just by lightly tapping my back.
That was something impossible with ordinary internal cultivation.
"The chance to study under such a peerless master is rare. So... ugh..."
"Don't be like that. Didn't I say I'd still handle the Sanyue Pavilion duties?"
"If it was going to be like this, why did I spend so long teaching this brat...?"
"Wait, was it you?"
Unbelievable.
The senile old man Peng Ik-cheon grumbled for a long time before tossing a bundle at me. It was quite heavy.
"Oh, is this pocket money?"
"The Hao Clan is a sect overflowing with gold. You will certainly never starve to death, so don't even worry about that."
"Then...?"
"Your gauntlets were damaged. And since your bones have grown in the meantime, they were bound to be uncomfortable. I had new ones made. I've included oil and cotton cloth, so wherever you go, you must not neglect your equipment and must train while polishing them. You shouldn't use just any whetstone to sharpen your blade. Every time you grind it, the blood and sweat of your seniors..."
"Can I give you a hug? No, I'm just going to hug you. My dear granduncle."
"Disgusting. Get lost."
My most respected granduncle grumbled like that, but he didn't reject my hug.
After a warm embrace between grandfather and grandson, I bowed deeply and left Sanyue Pavilion.
It wasn't a true farewell since we were supposed to exchange mission orders and reports every month anyway.
I had to continue performing my duties as a Sanyue Pavilion warrior even while receiving instruction from the Hao Clan Leader.
It was something I had requested, and it was also a condition for the Hao Clan Leader taking me from the Peng family.
I had become a sort of symbol of the non-aggression pact between the Dragon Slaying Alliance and the July Society.
*
Shuntian Prefecture, Beijing. The top floor of the Fragrance Pavilion, the Beijing branch of the Hao Clan.
Guided by Dan So-hye, whom I hadn't seen in a while, I climbed the stairs.
Even though it was nearly evening, the Fragrance Pavilion was deathly quiet.
Despite being the most lavish tavern on Beijing's Grand Historical Record Street, it was closed for business today.
It was because this was the historic moment when I would become the disciple of the Hao Clan Leader.
On the stairs, Dan So-hye whispered via Sound Transmission.
[Now, what are the things you must not say to Big Sister?]
"Is there anything other than mentioning her age?"
"Please, be quiet...!! Big Sister's senses can detect even the flapping of a butterfly's wings on the first floor of the Fragrance Pavilion!! Are you insane?"
"You're the one who asked."
"Sound Transmission! You have to use Sound Transmission!! You were like this seven years ago, too!"
"I never learned such trivial tricks."
"What on earth have you been doing without learning even that!"
"Killing the Divine Spear Yang Jeok-yo?"
Dan So-hye ignored my remark and kept walking.
"Big Sister has reached the pinnacle not only in martial arts but in all forms of art. Naturally, we disciples had to master at least one of them. I learned the zither, so don't think of it as a 'trivial trick' and give your all to whatever you learn."
"Of course. Don't worry."
"That tone of yours really doesn't inspire confidence."
Dan So-hye muttered and stood before the door of the top-floor tea room. She bowed politely and spoke.
"Big Sister, the youngest is here."
"Enter."
It was a concise voice. As the door opened, a lavishly decorated interior was revealed.
There was much more stuff than when I last saw it.
Then again, that was seven years ago. Business must have been booming in the meantime.
And the Hao Clan Leader, as if she had skipped those years entirely, was looking down at the streets of Beijing with a long pipe in her mouth, her youthful appearance unchanged.
"Should I perform the Discipleship Ceremony?"
"I believe martial families usually do not perform the Discipleship Ceremony."
In martial families, the teacher is often the father or a relative. In such cases, a formal discipleship ceremony is generally not held. Learning martial arts is simply something you do from birth.
I wasn't sure about other martial sects. Do they do something like the Nine Kows? But that is a very incorrect etiquette.
According to the Classic of Rites, the traditional bowing method is the 'Three Bows and Nine Kows,' but that was merely a teaching about three ways of bowing and nine ways of greeting.
The etiquette that developed from this was the 'Five Bows and Three Kows' shown to the Emperor, and the most famous person to use this was King Injo, the 'yoga king' of Joseon, who performed the 'Three Kneelings and Nine Kowtows'—banging his head on the ground—right in front of everyone.
Anyway.
The 'Nine Kows' commonly known in wuxia novels is a bizarre custom where all nine types of greetings are performed at once. It’s a complete perversion of tradition.
"Since this sect has no separate shrine to honor the ancestors, we will skip the Ancestral Bow. And since I have no intention of taking a tuition fee from you, we will skip the Offering Ceremony. You only need to make one promise to me."
"What is it?"
The Ancestral Bow and the Offering Ceremony were part of the Confucian entrance rites—the etiquette performed when first meeting a teacher. My respect for the Hao Clan Leader went up by one point seeing how well-versed she was in this.
"Be faithful to this sect. That will suffice."
"I cannot go against my status as a member of the Hebei Peng Family."
"So be it. As long as the Peng Family Head does not show hostility toward the July Society, the July Society will not block the Peng family's path. Your existence will serve as proof of the goodwill between the Dragon Slaying Alliance and the July Society."
A direct descendant of the Hebei Peng Family becoming the direct disciple of the Hao Clan Leader.
The significance of this was by no means small.
Currently, all Black Path sects are part of the Black Path Demonic Alliance.
Much like the Beggars' Sect, it’s a format where Black Path sects are automatically enrolled whether they want to be or not. Think of it as a very aggressive National Pension Service.
And all sects within the Demonic Alliance are further divided into factions based on region: the Hebei Dragon Slaying Alliance, the Chongqing Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance, and the Black Forest July Society.
Within those, they are further incorporated as subordinate forces under the Great Sects of the Ten Great Sects of the Black Dao.
Given this structure, the competition between factions was significant.
Setting aside the July Society, which was classified as being between Orthodox and Demonic, the two factions of Chongqing and Hebei—both considered Black Path territories—were practically archenemies.
Right after the Righteous-Demonic War ended, just before the Hebei Dragon Slaying Alliance was about to tear itself apart due to internal strife, the Chongqing Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance had attempted a large-scale invasion of the Hebei region.
I heard that many Black Path sects were destroyed in the civil war back then.
Although the internal strife was settled once my grandfather began his activities in earnest, the relationship between the two factions remained extremely hostile.
Furthermore, the three great sects of the Chongqing Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance were currently ruled by peerless masters who belonged to the Fifteen Lords of the Central Plains.
Chongqing was a demon's den that surpassed Hebei.
If the Shanxi martial world was a hunting ground for newbies, that place was practically the Demon King's castle. It was a harsh neighborhood where your head could fly off just for breathing wrong.
‘In such a situation, if it becomes known that the July Society and the Dragon Slaying Alliance have joined hands...’
The Chongqing Ten Thousand Ghosts Alliance would undoubtedly begin to grow wary.
This was especially true since the Black Path martial world was already tense due to the marriage alliance between the Hebei Peng Family and the Heavenly Demon Cult.
The problem was that I was the central figure in both of those events.
Good grief, this medieval China is like Gangs of China. I have to be careful even when I breathe...
"Yes, Big Sister. I give you my word. As long as the interests of the Peng family and the Hao Clan align, I will always be faithful to the Hao Clan."
"Then from this moment, you are my disciple. You have twelve seniors above you; regard them as your sworn brothers and sisters."
"Yes, Big Sister. Please accept my bow."
I looked up at the Hao Clan Leader's satisfied expression and bowed deeply.
It was the 'Four Deep Bows,' performed in perfect accordance with Confucian law.
As is often the case with elders, the Hao Clan Leader seemed greatly pleased.
With her proud expression, the discipleship ceremony came to an end.
I had become the 13th disciple of the Hao Clan Leader.
*
"Youngest, I think you should go check this out."
It was a week later when Dan So-hye called for me. She had a very displeased look on her face.
"Your brother is currently throwing a fit in our tavern."
Finally.
A week was a long time to hold back. He must have been enduring it ever since he heard I had moved to Beijing.
My third brother suffered from a severe tavern addiction, so it was a miracle he lasted this long.
For the record, tavern addiction was a very real disease that commonly afflicted men of this era.
Since there wasn't much entertainment in this age, it was somewhat unavoidable.
"Naturally, your younger brother should go."
I stood up abruptly, shifting my blade to my side, and answered.