Chapter 33
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Five Great Clans Meeting (3)
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The Jegal Clan.
One of the Five Great Clans, better known by the name ‘Divine Strategist Jegal’.
They were situated in Xiangyang City, not far from Mount Longzhong in Hubei Province, and on this day, they were bustling with preparations to welcome guests for the Five Great Clans' meeting.
“It’s chaotic.”
Upon arriving in Xiangyang, the city was teeming with people.
The meeting of the Five Great Clans drew not only members from each clan but also a massive crowd of martial artists eager to spectate, individuals hoping to make connections, and itinerant merchants looking to sell something to the throng.
“Still, since it’s a meeting, it seems like some skilled people are gathering.”
Nam Gyeong remarked, watching people in an alley who had drawn their swords and were fighting while shouting the names of their respective schools.
With so many fight-loving martial artists gathered, small and large brawls were breaking out all over Xiangyang.
“Gyeong, you’d be better off walking with your eyes closed. Those people are third-rate, even being generous.”
Jeok-sam pointed out sharply.
From my perspective, I couldn’t tell what was third-rate and what was first-rate. Whether they were third-rate or first-rate, it all looked like children fighting.
‘Sam’s eyes are probably more accurate than mine.’
I had never once met someone who could be called a master.
Perhaps the man with the catfish mustache I encountered a while back had some decent skill?
To my eyes, there was no discernible difference in skill between the Sword Fiend Nam Jong, said to be the greatest sword of the Qingcheng Sect, and Jeok-sam.
‘Well, I’ve always had a bad eye for these things.’
I scratched my head and followed Dang Jin-seong into the Jegal Clan’s estate.
The gatekeeper checked Dang Jin-seong’s identification tablet and politely guided us to our quarters.
Unlike the Tang Clan, the Jegal Clan’s estate, upon entering the main gate, was adorned with stone paths and a sand garden.
“Young Master Jin, be careful. There are multiple layers of undetectable formations set up here.”
Lee Geum-yeong said with a tense expression.
To me, it just looked like a swallowtail butterfly was leisurely floating above the sand garden.
Then again, a butterfly flying over a sand garden was strange in itself.
“Hmm. So, how can we see Senior Sister?”
“Senior Brother will try to contact her, but it won’t be easy. She’s completely a member of the Jegal Clan now.”
Nam Gyeong said with a hint of disappointment.
Even if a married daughter is considered an outsider, it felt too harsh not to let her meet her family.
“Fourth Senior Sister helped me so much.”
Nam Gyeong smiled, recalling his fourth senior sister, who was two years younger than him.
Hwa Wol-lyeong, who lacked talent herself, had taken great care of Nam Gyeong as he endured arduous training.
“First, we should pay our respects. And ask if she’s heard any news of our senior brothers or disciples.”
And with the Jegal Clan’s information network, we might even learn the whereabouts of the disciples we’ve lost contact with.
If the Tang Clan were whole, I might have had some hope, but right now, they were only a shadow of their former selves.
“There’s a gathering for the rising generation in the afternoon. The young lord, Jegal Hap, and his wife will probably be there, so you should be able to see her then.”
Dang Jin-seong said, recalling a memory from five years ago.
***
“Wol-lyeong, I heard your junior brother visited the Jegal Clan today.”
Hwa Wol-lyeong’s face lit up at Jegal Hap’s words.
A junior brother would mean either Je Yung-geon or Jin Je-yong. Je Yung-geon wasn’t the type to seek her out directly, so it must be her adorable youngest junior brother, Jin Je-yong.
But Hwa Wol-lyeong's bright expression quickly darkened.
“I… I still haven’t finished memorizing the Book of Changes today.”
As a daughter-in-law of the Jegal Clan, she was expected to have perfectly memorized at least the Four Books and Three Classics.
But even after ten years, Hwa Wol-lyeong had not managed to master them.
‘How can all my in-laws be so smart? I guess that’s why they’re the Jegals…’
Hwa Wol-lyeong had been prepared before she married into the family, but being the daughter-in-law of a prestigious clan like the Jegals meant there was far too much to learn.
Starting with basic etiquette, posture, speech, and dining manners, her studies continued day after day with the Analects, the Great Learning, the Book of Odes, the Book of Changes, and more.
“Should I have a word with Eun-hye?”
Jegal Hap asked with a look of pity.
Jegal Eun-hye was Jegal Hap’s younger sister, and thus Hwa Wol-lyeong’s sister-in-law. The problem was that the two did not get along well.
Hwa Wol-lyeong prided herself on having more stamina and patience than anyone.
But when questioned at all hours of the day about passages from the Four Books and Three Classics for ten years straight, even her great stamina couldn’t endure it.
“No, it’s all right, my lord. I’m fine.”
Despite her words, Hwa Wol-lyeong’s complexion remained dark.
Their gazes turned to their son, sleeping soundly between them.
Their five-year-old son, perhaps taking after his father, had mastered the Thousand Character Classic at three and was now studying the Minor Learning.
“And I don’t want to be a mother who is less capable than her own son.”
“Mm, still, if it gets too hard, lean on me. That’s what a married couple is for.”
“…Thank you.”
Jegal Hap also had his duties as the young lord. The Jegal Clan, in particular, served as the brains of the righteous martial world, so there was a mountain of things he needed to know, from the current state of affairs and power dynamics to the relationships between sects.
Hwa Wol-lyeong didn’t want to be a burden to such a husband.
‘I can do this. I am Je-yong’s, the Sword of Completion’s, senior sister.’
Excluding Je Yung-geon, Jin Je-yong’s senior brothers and sister were well aware of how extraordinary his talent was.
Je Yung-geon had been the first to discover his talent, but it was their eldest senior brother, A-mun, who had truly recognized it.
On the day A-mun was soundly defeated by Jin Je-yong, he gathered the other senior siblings, except for Je Yung-geon, and spoke to them.
“The youngest will one day be someone whose name resounds throughout the world.”
Unlike Hwa Wol-lyeong, who had only her physical strength, Eldest Senior Brother A-mun lacked nothing in either literary or martial pursuits.
He had discovered Jin Je-yong’s talent and told the senior brothers and sister that they must help their junior brother for the day he would eventually emerge into the world.
“I… will go to the capital. You all should also think about where you’ll go for the sake of the youngest. Wol-lyeong, you had marriage talks with the Jegal Clan, right? Then help Je-yong from within the Five Great Clans.”
“Yes.”
“Gwi-su…”
“It’s difficult to enter one of the Nine Great Sects at my age, and I don’t want to join the Beggars’ Sect… Don’t we need someone on the other side, too?”
Geum Gwi-su said with a serious expression.
A-mun nodded.
“Yes. And in my stead, please take good care of the school, all of you.”
Then, A-mun stole the master’s prized Shaoxing wine and shared a drink with his martial siblings.
And so, Je Yung-geon, who knew nothing of the situation, left, and the youngest’s disciples also left the school one by one to find work.
After that, Hwa Wol-lyeong also entered the Jegal Clan, but contrary to her promise with A-mun, she still hadn’t properly established her place.
‘Eldest Senior Brother, you’re doing well, right? The youngest has finally come out into the martial world… Why is there no word from you?’
Thinking of A-mun, Hwa Wol-lyeong’s heart grew heavy again.
***
The next day, Jegal Hap went to see his younger sister, Jegal Eun-hye, early in the morning.
Jegal Eun-hye shrieked at her older brother, who had barged in without a second thought.
“Brother! What are you doing? Barging into a lady’s room so rudely!”
“Whether you’re putting on makeup or changing clothes is not important.”
Jegal Hap carelessly pulled up a chair and sat down.
Jegal Eun-hye, who had just powdered her face and was about to apply rouge to her lips, furrowed her brow.
Today was the day Namgung Yong-yong of the Namgung Clan, known as the Azure Sky Sword Dragon, was arriving. Namgung Yong-yong was popular not only for his exceptional swordsmanship but also for his handsome looks.
But Jegal Hap was the next head of the Jegal Clan. Moreover, it wasn’t easy to ignore the words of her brother, who was over ten years her senior.
“Ha, damn it… What is it?”
“You, tone it down.”
The usually kind Jegal Hap issued a warning out of the blue.
Jegal Eun-hye wondered what he meant, but it seemed Hwa Wol-lyeong had tattled on her.
Despite Jegal Hap being capable and brilliant, his taste in women was apparently terrible, seeing as he married such a strange woman.
‘Ah, to bring home a dim-witted woman from the countryside…’
Jegal Eun-hye found it incredibly displeasing. Since her mother also seemed to disapprove, she took great pleasure in tormenting her.
A daughter-in-law of the Jegal Clan, yet so slow-witted she still hadn’t mastered the Four Books and Three Classics.
“Tone what down?”
“You’re going to get a rude awakening soon.”
“Hmph! I may not be as skilled as a Sword Peak or Spear Peak, but I’m still a daughter of the Jegal Clan, one of the Five Great Clans. A rude awakening? As if.”
It was so absurd she couldn’t even laugh.
Hwa Wol-lyeong was just a country woman from a village called Sinnae, tucked away somewhere in Sichuan.
She was said to be from a small swordsmanship school called Sinnae Sword School, but in truth, she had given up the sword after only a few years of training.
“Did I not tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
“The reason I decided to marry Wol-lyeong when I first met her.”
“You said it was the first time you’d ever been slapped.”
Jegal Eun-hye dredged up the memory from over ten years ago.
As a member of the Jegal Clan, her memory was, of course, extraordinary.
“That’s right. Not even my father had ever hit me, but she slapped me for the first time.”
“So what? What’s so great about getting hit while you were off guard?”
Of course, with Jegal Hap’s skill, there was no way he would have been hit by someone from a countryside school, no matter how careless he was.
Jegal Eun-hye suspected that Jegal Hap, with his poor taste in women, had let himself be hit on purpose.
“Five thousand, six hundred, and seventy-two times.”
“What was?”
“The number of times I was slapped… the number of times Wol-lyeong slapped my face that day.”
“What?”
Jegal Eun-hye’s eyes went wide as she asked again.
Jegal Hap let out a long sigh and said.
“These days, I feel like I’m walking on thin ice. Wol-lyeong, who keeps holding back because of the family, terrifies me.”
Jegal Hap’s expression changed as he spoke.
Jegal Eun-hye couldn’t understand why the proud young lord of the Jegal Clan was making such a pathetic face.
“Back then, ten years ago, I acted cocky for exactly three days. Just like you, I looked down on her school, saying things like ‘this pathetic countryside school’ and ‘a school taught by some third-rater.’ Ah! Never! Never disparage Wol-lyeong’s school, the Sinnae Sword School, in front of her, and especially not in front of her youngest junior brother.”
Jegal Hap quickly added, thinking of Jin Je-yong.
Hwa Wol-lyeong, who had slapped him over five thousand times, had told him that she’d vented her anger after all those slaps, but if she hadn’t, he wouldn’t have left with his limbs intact.
She said her youngest junior brother, Jin Je-yong, never forgave anyone who insulted their master and had even gouged out the eyes of one of their own senior brothers at the time.
“Brother, are you insane?”
Jegal Eun-hye stared intently at Jegal Hap and threw out the words.
Jegal Hap had a feeling this book-smart fool of a sister was going to cause trouble soon.
‘Just tone it down, you wench.’
Because his sister provoked Hwa Wol-lyeong almost daily, he was terrified of getting into bed with his wife every night.
And now, he understood that she had slapped him over five thousand times for his own good.
Later, when that youngest junior brother they called the Sword of Completion split a mountain with his sword, he realized he had truly escaped death.
“No matter what advice I give you, you just don’t understand.”
“What do you mean?”
“Who is the strongest person in the Jegal Clan?”
“That would be grand-uncle, of course. He’s the only one in our family who picked up a sword instead of a book.”
Jegal Eun-hye said as if it were obvious.
But Jegal Hap shook his head.
“No. The greatest master in the Jegal Clan is…”
Jegal Hap swallowed hard.
“My wife.”