Chapter 58 - Heirs of a Prestigious Clan
“My real name? Well...”
Ak Manho tilted his head, rummaging through his memories.
“Come to think of it, we never even knew our alliance leader's name.”
“And you call him your leader?”
“Heh heh heh.”
Ak Manho scratched his head and grinned. Just reminiscing about the Four Emperors Alliance Leader seemed to lift his spirits.
“The Leader was just... the Leader. His presence alone was enough. He never took tribute from us or ordered us around. Once or twice a year, we'd gather, drink, eat meat—that was it.”
“Was the Four Emperors Alliance that kind of group?”
The Demonic Cult and the Four Emperors Alliance operated in different spheres. While the Demonic Cult centered on the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, the alliance had spread across the Central Plains—until it mostly crumbled after the Leader's death.
“It was. Even so, the righteous sects had to watch their step around us. Mess with us the wrong way, and you'd face the Leader's wrath. You know what? Even that famous Sword Emperor of the Nangong Family got a beating from the Leader back in his youth. Hahaha!”
Ak Manho spent a good while nursing his drink, spinning tales of the Four Emperors Alliance Leader like they were the perfect drinking stories. As the alcohol flowed, his speech flipped sloppily between casual and formal again.
“Here, have another drink. Tastes good, right?”
“......”
Still, Jin Muhon gleaned some new details about the Leader he'd never heard before. He held out his empty cup.
“Kyah! Back when the Leader was around, we feared nothing! You know the Wudang Sect steered clear of the Yangtze because of him? Hahaha! Those were the days!”
Then, at some point...
“......”
Ak Manho clamped his mouth shut. Jin Muhon eyed him.
“Done?”
“Hoo... What's the use? The Leader's long gone. Damn it, we're out of booze. Hey! Anyone out there? Hey!”
Ak Manho bellowed toward the door of the room.
The door slid open with a rumble.
Jin Muhon set down his cup and rose.
“No more booze? Call it a night.”
“Jin Family Head!”
Ak Manho scrambled up after him.
“Guys like me—no great background, no peerless martial arts—we've got to band together! That's the only way to survive this brutal world!”
“......”
Was he drunk?
Ak Manho's bloodshot eyes bulged as he spat fervently, uncharacteristically eloquent.
“But the uneducated types are all hot-tempered bastards—impossible to unite! Ever since the Leader died, we bandits haven't shared a table with the forest outlaws! The other Four Emperors Alliance sects? Forget it. That's why the Demonic Cult's targeting us—we're weak! Easy pickings!”
“......”
BAM!
Worked up in his rant, Ak Manho slammed the table. The remaining snacks spilled everywhere, and the liquor bottles shattered on the floor. He jabbed a finger at the shards.
“Jin Family Head! See that? That's our situation! We could barely hold together as a group, but now we're scattered! So the Demonic Cult sends just three guys and expects us to kneel! Fuck! Just three! To swallow us whole!”
Jin Muhon frowned.
“You're drunk. Calm down.”
“You know what pisses me off most, Jin Family Head? Those three show up, and I couldn't even take their heads! The old sect leaders want to crawl under the Demonic Cult now! Senile geezers. If you hadn't shown up right on time... we'd have knelt without a fight!”
“......”
Jin Muhon smoothly picked up a chopstick from the table.
“And this bastard keeps slipping into casual speech.”
Just as the chopstick was about to fly from his hand...
Ak Manho roared.
“Jin Family Head!”
His voice was so thunderous that even Jin Muhon paused.
Flames of passion burned in Ak Manho's eyes as he stared at Jin Muhon.
'What bullshit is he about to spew now.'
As Jin Muhon narrowed his eyes, Ak Manho clasped his hands in a formal salute and bowed deeply.
“Become the new Four Emperors Alliance Leader!”
“......”
Jin Muhon gave no response.
Ak Manho hadn't expected him to accept anyway. Who was the Sword Demon?
Still, the fact that no chopstick had flown yet was progress.
'Sword Demon. To survive, we need your strength and fame.'
After the Four Emperors Alliance Leader's death, the unorthodox factions splintered. If a great righteous-demonic war broke out now, the result was obvious—like shrimp caught in a whale fight, the unorthodox sects would be swept away first, no matter who won.
They needed an expert to reunite the scattered unorthodox groups.
Someone no one dared defy.
Someone the Nine Great Sects, Five Great Families, or even the Demonic Cult couldn't ignore.
'Sword Demon. You're the only one.'
It didn't have to be the Four Emperors Alliance Leader title specifically.
They just needed to rally under Jin Muhon's banner somehow.
“Jin... Family Head?”
With no reply, Ak Manho cautiously lifted his bowed head.
“......?”
Jin Muhon loomed right in front of him, staring down impassively.
“Jin Fa—”
Jin Muhon swung the chopstick.
Thwack!
“Gahk!”
Ak Manho crumpled to the floor.
Jin Muhon stabbed the chopstick into the table without a flicker of expression.
“If you're drunk, just sleep it off.”
He glanced at the fallen man, then turned away without regret.
“What a pain.”
***
A few days later.
Clatter-clatter. Clatter-clatter.
A oxcart rumbled slowly along the dirt road toward Unbong County.
The mountain breeze carried the scent of the wilds.
“Whoa! Is that Unbong County? Those cloud-shrouded peaks are stunning!”
Jin Baek, riding in the cart, marveled at the mountains encircling the county like a screen. Yeon Jeokhwa, who had spent time there before, lifted her chin proudly.
“That's Unbong County, home of our Jin Family. The people there are all kind-hearted, so don't go flying off the handle. Got it? Especially you, little brother.”
Jeokhwa turned, glaring pointedly. Jin Baek, who'd put on some weight and lost his skeletal look, bulged his eyes.
“Me? What's wrong with my temper?”
“Ha! You pretending not to know? Who was it that picked fights at a glance and smashed heads?”
Jin Baek chuckled darkly, flexing his eyes.
“That was back in the day. And hey! Those bastards all deserved to die! You think I go around cracking random skulls?”
“Hmph! Anyway, no picking fights with Unbong County folk. We have to protect them. That's the dignity of a prestigious clan.”
“......”
“Pres...ti...gious...”
Though she avoided the formal title, Jeokhwa had long considered Jin Muhon and the other unit leaders family in her heart. When Jin Muhon gave them the Jin surname, declaring them kin, she accepted the others as family faster than anyone. By the time they reached Unbong County, even the initially awkward Jin Baek and Jin Jaryeong felt like true siblings.
“Our house isn't prestigious.”
Jin Muhon, riding alongside on horseback at a leisurely pace, doused their enthusiasm.
“Huh? Big bro, does that mean Jeokhwa lied?”
“Far from it—we were on the brink of ruin.”
Jeokhwa yelped in protest.
“Being on the brink doesn't make it not prestigious! Even great clans can fall if the heirs screw up!”
Blood or not, she bristled as if her own family had been insulted. Jin Muhon smirked.
“Can't argue with that.”
Jin Baek nodded meaningfully and spoke up.
“Then we've got our work cut out for us.”
Jin Muhon eyed him.
“What do you mean?”
“To restore the family's old glory, we'll be running ourselves ragged. Hold on. Soon as I recover my arts, I'll smash one of the Nine Great Sects and bring back their plaque.”
“...You madman.”
Jeokhwa cracked her whip across Jin Baek's back.
Crack!
“Ow! Never seen such a crazy bitch! Whipping your brother?!”
Jeokhwa glared fiercely.
“Brother! Shape up! We can't act like we did in the cult anymore! Fine among ourselves, but we're Jin Family now! Always remember! Always!”
“I... I know that...”
Unable to counter her spot-on lecture, Jin Baek mumbled and backed down. Jin Muhon hid his surprise, glancing at Jeokhwa again.
These half-mad demonic fiends were starting to act like proper heirs of a righteous clan.
'Did getting beaten by the Poison King civilize her?'
Emboldened by Jin Muhon's look, Jeokhwa planted hands on hips and pressed Jin Baek further.
“Remember that. Family honor aside, there's a child there we must protect.”
“Oh! Our niece! Hayeon, right? Can't wait to see her! Hope she doesn't take after big bro.”
“Don't worry—she's a cutie. But she's no fighter, so brace yourself.”
“Kekeke.”
Thus, the four Jin siblings entered Unbong County at an unhurried pace. White clouds drifted lazily along the foothills, the market streets wafted familiar dumpling scents, children laughed and ran about, and passersby wore carefree faces.
'About two months, huh.'
Jin Muhon gazed at the scene, a strange feeling stirring. His return home after decades away had been just months ago.
Yet this brief departure and return felt longer than that first homecoming.
“Waaah! It's the Family Head!”
“Huh? For real! Family Head!”
“Family Head! You got even handsomer!”
The children, spotting Jin Muhon, swarmed the cart. Then, noticing Jeokhwa belatedly, they froze, eyes widening.
“Huh? Jeokhwa sis! Your hair's different!”
“Hohoho! Suits me?”
“Hmm. I liked the red better!”
“Oh? Really?”
Having played with the village kids often while Jin Muhon was away, Jeokhwa had them glued to her side. Jin Baek and Jin Jaryeong stared from the cart in disbelief.
“Kids like Jeokhwa? That blood-crazed maniac... why?”
“Unbong... kids... might have... assassin... talent...”
“Argh! You're killing me. When will you stop stuttering, huh?”
“......”
No one stuttered on purpose.
Cult assassins trained from childhood to speak less. What could he do about it?
As Jin Jaryeong opened his mouth to retort...
“Hm?”
Jin Baek's eyes widened, staring somewhere.
“What... is... it?”
Jin Jaryeong turned toward where Jin Baek looked.
Far off.
Someone was hurtling toward them with astonishing lightness skill.
— Jiiin Famiiily Heeeaaad!!!
The distant shout echoed everywhere like a buzzing swarm. Jin Baek and Jin Jaryeong gaped in shock.
“An expert!”
“......!”
Jin Muhon clicked his tongue. Jeokhwa shook her head.
“That old man's even spryer now.”
— Jiiin Famiiily Heeeaaad!!!
The clear, resonant voice rode the clouds, spreading far across Unbong County.