Chapter 60: Cleaning Up (3)
Chapter 60: Cleaning Up (3)
"We must officially break off Peng Hyeon-hwi's marriage alliance."
The elders gathered in Tianjin reached a consensus immediately after hearing the full story of the incident.
Not a single elder reacted negatively to this proposal.
Ever since the Hebei Peng Family's Council of Elders established its system, a unanimous decision had been exceedingly rare.
To survive long enough to earn the rank of elder in the Peng Family meant being an old man composed entirely of decades of stubbornness. By nature, those born with Peng blood did not easily grasp words like 'acquiescence,' 'understanding,' or 'concession.'
They were old men whose very marrow consisted of nothing but their own assertions.
One had to lend great weight to any matter that even these elderly Peng elders agreed upon unanimously.
"The boy is far too precious to be left outside the family's inner circle."
"But will the Heavenly Mountains agree to this? Those fellows must have put a considerable amount of effort into this marriage alliance."
"Why do we need their agreement?"
"True enough."
Peng Seong-an, the Head of the Council of Elders, nodded with a satisfied smile.
Every elder bobbed their head in agreement at that response. Indeed, if we say we're doing it, we're doing it.
"They might actually prefer it. Those people have always preferred entangling themselves with their own kind anyway. Our constitution isn't exactly suited for Demonic Arts, so it would be more beneficial for those cultists if the husband of the next Heavenly Demon came from within their own ranks."
"Indeed. Since he was born with the blood of the Peng Family, we can't exactly have him studying such trashy arts."
"Mm. Well said."
Setting aside whether the Heavenly Demon's guardian martial arts were 'trashy' or not, breaking the engagement wouldn't be a bad thing from the Heavenly Demon's perspective either.
The Heavenly Demons of the Demonic Cult had been a breed notoriously sensitive about lineage for generations. They focused on meticulously weaving together cult members specialized in handling Demonic Energy through marriage, optimizing the bloodline itself for Demonic Arts.
In the midst of that, a marriage alliance with the Hebei Peng Family was only viable when the party involved was the 'youngest daughter.' Since she was the youngest and unable to inherit the position of Cult Leader, the alliance had been pursued for diplomatic reasons rather than lineage.
But the situation had changed.
That 'youngest daughter' had become the Little Heavenly Demon. As such, her future husband would have to be handpicked from those best suited for Demonic Arts.
"Then, what do you think about moving Hwi from the Sanwol Pavilion to another martial unit? Given the lad's talent, wouldn't it be better to assign him to one of the Outer Hall's combat units rather than the Sanwol Pavilion?"
"Why the Outer Hall? Shouldn't he be promoted to the Inner Hall? Hwi is a graduate of the Winter City Academy. We should make good use of that brain of his."
"If we train and raise him in the Manbok Hall, he could eventually rise to the position of Chief Internal Manager. I agree."
Peng Ik-cheon, who had been listening quietly, tapped the table and laughed.
"Do you all want to die? Why are you trying to take my kid?"
"Ik-cheon. Mind your manners."
"I'm usually quite polite when I'm swinging my blade. Care to experience it?"
"You think you can take me?"
"I've fought you three times and won all three. Where do you get your confidence?"
"One of those was a draw!"
As if they had never reached a unanimous agreement, the Council of Elders instantly devolved into its usual chaotic mess.
The Head of the Council watched the commotion for a moment before restoring order.
"Moving on to the next agenda. The matter of Ryang's future. The Young Family Head has ordered him into closed-door cultivation. He's been instructed to focus on his training for one year. Where shall we post him after that?"
"Hmm."
"Ryang might have made a blunder this time, but the boy's head for schemes was always sharp."
"What about the Dragon Slaying Alliance? We need to appoint an Acting Alliance Leader, don't we?"
"One of the elders can just sit in the chair."
"Too much trouble. Count me out."
"Is there anyone here who actually wants to do it? I thought not."
This was a complicated issue.
It wasn't just any incident; remnants of the White Lotus Cult had been caught right inside Tianjin. This happened at a time when it had been nearly ten years since the Peng Family openly declared war on the White Lotus Cult.
This was a smear on the Peng Family's prestige.
The position of the Dragon Slaying Alliance Leader was held by the Head of the Hebei Peng Family, and the alliance was effectively the Peng Family's property. The fact that White Lotus remnants—and Peak Realm masters at that—had emerged from such a place meant that Peng Hyeon-ryang had failed to properly control Tianjin.
The elders agreed to strip Peng Hyeon-ryang of his position without much pushback.
From the elders' perspective, the role of Acting Alliance Leader was a bothersome chore, but...
‘Still, we can't just put anyone in that seat.’
‘Excluding Peng Hyeon-ryang from the direct line, that leaves Hyeon-jeong, Hyeon-cheon, and Hyeon-hwi. Making one of those three the Acting Leader...? That would be a waste of their potential.’
There was a reason the elders avoided the position of Acting Alliance Leader.
The workload was hellish, there were too many things to worry about, and if anything went wrong within the alliance, the person in that seat was the first to take the blame.
To put the second son, Peng Hyeon-jeong—who was currently active with the full support of the Outer Hall—into such a position, or the third son, Peng Hyeon-cheon—who was expanding his influence among the younger martial artists—would be a waste compared to their current roles and talents.
The fourth, Peng Hyeon-hwi, was out of the question entirely.
He was the precious grandson who, if left to his own devices, would run wild and keep the elders entertained.
"Let's decide with a duel."
"The loser has to do it?"
"Then should the winner do it?"
The Hebei Peng Family Elders' meeting, held at the Tianjin headquarters of the Dragon Slaying Alliance, concluded quickly as usual.
That day, the newly elected Acting Alliance Leader wailed sorrowfully as he watched the backs of the other elders departing for Shuntian Prefecture.
And at the very moment the elders were engaged in a heated debate, passing the Acting Leader position around like a hot potato with the degenerate mindset of 'I don't want to work at an age where I should be retired and watching my grandkids'...
At the Heavenly Luck Pavilion in Tianjin. Facing a quiet table of drinks where not a single soul remained.
"In my opinion,"
I said, picking up the bottle and pouring a drink into the cup opposite me.
"I think we should have had gatherings like this more often."
The expression on the guy sitting across from me was quite a sight.
Unlike his usual self, his face was completely distorted as he stared at me in silence, clutching his glass.
"Brother."
"...You are right. Little brother."
My eldest brother, Peng Hyeon-ryang, toyed with his glass and forced a smile.
"If we had, I would have realized much sooner just how clever you are."
"Haha, you're making it sound so scary. I'm shivering."
He'd keep up his pride until the day he died.
"I decided to be clever the moment I found out you sold off your seven-year-old youngest brother. It's a shame, really. I was far too young to have reached maturity back then."
"Indeed. A shame."
Peng Hyeon-ryang set his glass down and looked at me.
He hadn't even moistened his lips.
According to the ancient etiquette of medieval China, that was an expression that he was officially making me his enemy from this point forward.
"If things had gone according to plan ten years ago, you wouldn't be sitting here drinking with me. That is what I regret most."
"The Family Head and Father already know that you joined hands with the White Lotus Cult, Brother."
"I suppose they do."
Even at my casual jab, the stiff smile didn't leave Peng Hyeon-ryang's lips. He was feigning composure.
"Then, brother, have you ever wondered why Grandfather and Father haven't punished the eldest son who tried to kill his own brother twice using the White Lotus Cult? Or why Father didn't mention this to the Council of Elders? Have you thought about that?"
Peng Hyeon-ryang poured the liquor from his glass onto the floor.
Then, he refilled the glass himself and downed it in one gulp.
"Do not be mistaken. Give up any hope that your shallow advantage is permanent. I have been in charge of family affairs since you were crawling, and I have been told I would become the Family Head since those days...! The position you dare to covet was never intended for you. No matter what I do, or whose hand I hold...!"
The eyes of Peng Hyeon-ryang, who had lowered his glass, were smoldering.
He stared at me with eyes swirling with greed, anger, ambition, and shame.
"The position of Family Head was prepared for me. Little brother. Even if Grandfather laughs and enjoys your antics, even if he blames me for my flaws and punishes me... he still regards me as his eldest grandson, which means he will not announce my crimes to the world!"
"Bullshit."
I also drained my glass. I didn't want to share a drink with this guy.
I refilled my glass myself, downed it, and continued.
"Since when was the Peng Family's succession determined by birth order? You're telling quite the funny story."
"Show some respect. Now that your broken engagement is a foregone conclusion, you cannot leave the Peng Family's walls. If you want me to even care about your meals after I become the Family Head...!"
"My nanny prepares my meals just fine, so don't worry about me. You should worry about the Grain-Avoiding Pills you'll be chewing on from now on."
"Do you think my closed-door cultivation will last forever? It's a year at most! Where do you think I'll be when I return in a year?"
"Well, if you're that confident, aren't you the one who's mistaken, Brother?"
I refilled my empty glass.
We glared at each other, each pouring and drinking our own liquor.
"Do you really think there will be a spot for you in the succession race for the Young Family Head a year from now?"
"Ha, no matter what you do, that is—"
"Because, you see, you aren't my only brother."
"....!"
Look at him talking like it's already been decided.
He was already struggling in a competition with our second brother as it was.
"While you're locked away for a year with your hands and feet tied, what do you think Brother Hyeon-jeong will be able to do, and how far will he go? I guarantee you, a year from now, he won't just be limited to the Outer Hall. I'm planning to lend him a hand, you see. You know, don't you? The Inner Hall elders like me quite a lot."
"What a pathetic trick!"
"If you think it's pathetic, that's fine by me. You've been foaming at the mouth to kill me for ten years, and even after I said I'd wander the world as a disciple of the Hao Clan Leader, you still sent assassins from the White Lotus Cult? If I just let that slide, I wouldn't be a Peng."
The people of our family aren't good at that sort of thing. Enduring, forgiving, laughing things off.
But the list of things we are good at includes murder, intimidation, robbery, arson, and fraud.
"Well, I called you here because I wanted to say that. I was curious about your complexion before you left. I thought I'd put some grease in your belly since you're about to spend a year staring at a wall. It's on me, so eat your fill."
"Peng Hyeon-hwi...!"
"Hey, watch the name."
I smirked as I stood up.
"It puts me in a bad mood when you call me so recklessly. Bad enough that I might want to bring our third brother into this too. If the two youngest support the second brother, I don't think Father will have much to agonize over, right? Isn't that much better than having discord in the family? Especially when the eldest son is clearly destined to be a puppet pulled by the White Lotus Cult."
As I turned my back, I heard Peng Hyeon-ryang trembling with rage.
His glass clattered against the table.
"You should have just left me alone instead of foaming at the mouth to crush someone who was going to leave quietly. If you had, we could have been on such good terms."
"Because you weren't that kind of person!"
Peng Hyeon-ryang's shout grew more intense.
"Because you weren't that kind of person! You probably don't even know what kind of look you have in your eyes. Why the Family Head dotes on you so much...! It's because he sensed ambition in you!"
When I turned back at those words, Peng Hyeon-ryang was glaring at me with bloodshot eyes.
"Because you had eyes that glistened whenever you saw something you wanted! From the very beginning! From your first birthday celebration to the moment you first learned martial arts! You were the type that anyone could tell would eventually hide a blade!"
"That's not ambition, Brother. That's just being a Peng."
The Hebei Peng Family were originally a breed that couldn't stand it when they saw something they wanted.
"And that's no reason to keep a youngest brother in check when he's just a toddler."
"One year, Peng Hyeon-hwi. Do not expect things to go as smoothly as they did today when I come out in a year. No matter what, I will surely avenge today's humiliation...!"
"Wow, anyone listening would think I was the one who sent assassins and failed."
And what's this about 'avenging'?
"I crushed a Black Path gang when I was seven."
I narrowed my eyes and looked down at Peng Hyeon-ryang. As if measuring the distance between us.
I was still a bit short. Peng Hyeon-ryang was ten years older than me, and at this age, that gap was by no means small. This guy had learned the same martial arts as me and was a warrior born of the same bloodline.
So, I was slightly—just a tiny bit—behind.
For now.
"At ten, I killed the second son of the Pavilion Master of the Assassination Pavilion, and at seventeen, in my first venture into the world, I cut down the Head of the Divine Spear Yang Family."
I smiled with a harmless expression.
"If I'm given another year... do you think you'll still be in the mood for 'revenge' then, Brother?"
"You...!"
"So, Brother. Don't waste your energy on useless things and just focus on keeping your seat. Our second brother's 'greed' is at least as great as mine, if not more, so why do you keep picking on the youngest?"
Good luck. Stay healthy.
Eating only Grain-Avoiding Pills will ruin your body, so I'll tell the nanny to bring you some meat once in a while.
With those final words, I gave a wave of my hand and headed up to my room.
Behind me, I heard the loud sound of a glass shattering and a table being overturned.
‘Now that guy won't have the luxury of worrying about me.’
From his perspective, keeping the youngest in check or sending assassins was merely something he did because he had some breathing room during the succession race.
Peng Hyeon-ryang's real rival wasn't his youngest brother. It was the second brother, Peng Hyeon-jeong, whose control over the Outer Hall would be the most irritating thing to him.
If he fell behind by a year, he truly wouldn't have time to spare for me. He would have to focus all his mental energy on frantically gathering his forces to compete with the second brother.
In that one year...
‘I'll perform a clean surgery on the Jinzhou Eon Family and the Jongri Family, and pull the Murong Family in as allies.’
While drawing that map, as Peng Hyeon-ryang and Peng Hyeon-jeong fought each other...
If I used the third brother, Peng Hyeon-cheon—whom they weren't even paying attention to—to slowly nibble away at the foundations of the Outer Hall...
‘Five years at most. Within that time, there will be no problem building up enough weight to challenge the succession race.’
First, a round of applause for getting the most annoying schemer in the family out of the way for a year.
"Phew."
It was only after I reached my beautiful guest room with a killer view on the top floor, where the night streets of Tianjin looked distant, that I finally relaxed.
Now, I just had to take a look at the Hao Clan members in Tianjin, reward them for their work this time, and return to Shuntian Prefecture.
My preparations to officially study the Hao Clan Leader's martial arts in Beijing were complete.
"So much has happened. I'm exhausted, seriously."
The night streets of Tianjin were filled with the joyful shouts of drunks, beautiful music, and the smell of grilled meat.
Over the night sky of Tianjin, the city of peace and love, a firework shot up with a whiz and went bang!
It really is a great place to live.
Long live the Black Path paradise.
I stretched, feeling refreshed.
"Maybe I'll have a drink before I sleep."
"No, you cannot."
"...?!"
That is to say, I felt that way right up until a man's voice suddenly came from behind me.
"Who...! No, Elder Seo Wi-ryang...?"
"You remember my name?"
"Of course. How on earth did you get in here...?"
In the corner of the room, shrouded in shadows, a man slowly stood up and looked at me.
I hadn't sensed a single thing from the moment I entered the room and unpacked until I started talking to myself.
Seo Wi-ryang, an Inner Hall Elder of the Demonic Cult. The man from the Demonic Cult who had visited the Hebei Peng Family with Hwa-yeong when I was seven.
Seeing that his appearance hadn't changed a bit even after ten years, I felt a chill run down my spine.
I hadn't felt anything until a master of that level was right this close to me...!
"Is Hwa-yeong now using an elder to deliver her letters? I guess the position of Little Heavenly Demon is quite something. Even I haven't thought about making our elders run errands for me."
"I am here regarding the Young Cult Leader's business, but it is not a letter errand, so do not worry too much."
"Then, what brings you...?"
As I spoke, I quickly scanned my surroundings.
Dammit, I had leaned my saber against the bed while unpacking.
I mean, do I really have to stay armed even in a five-star hotel suite in the middle of Tianjin?
It's not that I was careless; it's that this gentleman is being weird.
"I have come to take you."
"Aha. Um... I have some things to do starting now, so how about you come back tomorrow afternoon? If it's not an emergency, it's better to handle things while the sun is up...?"
It's a family motto of a close friend of mine.
If possible, why don't you do things at night that can be done during the day?
When I asked that, Seo Wi-ryang smirked and reached out his hand.
"Oh, wait a second."
"The Little Heavenly Demon is waiting."
"Wait... what? Who? Gack!"
The moment I reached out to deflect him with a Heart-Protecting Fist, Seo Wi-ryang's fingers slid up the back of my hand like a snake and poked various spots on my forearm.
In a situation where the gap in our levels was too great, I was hit by a surprise attack while unarmed—and it was a high-level technique my family didn't possess. It was acupoint striking.
My body instantly began to stiffen like a log.
‘Dammit, Hyeong-shin, I finally understand how you felt.’
If only I hadn't been caught off guard!
"So, come along quietly."
With those words, my body completely stiffened, and I tumbled to the floor.
Seo Wi-ryang approached slowly, slung my body over his shoulder, and leaped out the window into the night street.
I had been kidnapped.
By my ex-fiancée, right after the breakup.