Chapter 9
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Breaking Through the Crisis
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I endured the wave-like killing intent surging through the room and replied.
"As a scholar who once served in the Murim Alliance, how could I not know such facts?"
"Then why did you pry into our family's secrets?"
"I wanted to save a life."
"Does that mean you wanted to save Mubaek?"
"Yes. When the youngest young master showed me the manual of the Vault of Heaven Unfettered Sword Technique, I saw a burning desire in his eyes. A longing to grow stronger. People with such aspirations inevitably change, and they usually head in a positive direction. I thought it would help him shed his playboy ways."
I knew this well, having tested it thoroughly with Pang Soun.
"And if I could guide that aspiration, why wouldn't I?"
"Even knowing it might lead you astray?"
Nangong Hak shifted from a kindly father to the dignified Family Head presiding over one of the Five Great Families, his authority on full display.
The pressure felt like a noose tightening around my neck.
But I sat up straight and answered firmly.
"It is said, 'Plough out one evil, and ten virtues shall grow.' I sensed that potential in Young Master Nangong Mubaek. So I granted his request and interpreted the incantations for him. Even if it meant my downfall, I couldn't ignore what was right before my eyes."
Plough out one evil, and ten virtues shall grow.
"So you're saying that removing Mubaek's wickedness will cultivate ten virtues in its place?"
I shook my head.
I decided to win him over a bit more.
"That's not the only meaning I intended. I saw the qualities of a true hero in the youngest young master. If we stripped away his playboy tendencies, he could become a great swordsman renowned across the world. Greater even than Brother Pang Soun. Guiding him toward righteousness—wouldn't that embody 'Plough out one evil, and ten virtues shall grow'?"
I sold Pang Soun out. He had once been infamous as a playboy, but his martial talent was so extraordinary it was called a once-in-a-century genius.
There were few like him even across the entire Murim Alliance.
People even said that in the era when Pang Soun became Family Head, the Pang Family would take the top spot among the Five Great Families.
I'd heard rumors that Nangong Munseol had recently been following Pang Soun around, challenging him to spars.
And after I absorbed the Green Lord's energy from him, tales were spreading that his heroic qualities were emerging, marking a complete turnaround.
Now here I was, claiming their own son was a prodigy comparable to Pang Soun—how could they not be pleased, even if they didn't show it?
Nangong Hak spoke up.
"To be frank, in my eyes, Mubaek is just an average talent with middling martial aptitude—a run-of-the-mill sort."
I cut off his negative thoughts.
"Your discerning eye for people is unmatched, Family Head, so you must be right. But when I judge someone, I look from a different angle."
"Explain it concretely. Make it clear enough for me to understand."
Nangong Hak seemed intent on leaving me no room to wriggle out.
"The youngest young master possesses a free spirit. That's why he wandered. He yearns to soar, but lacks wings. A bird that can't fly is no different from poultry. That's why he's felt like a chicken or a duck until now. His reckless antics were just his way of breaking free from that frustration."
I'd dressed up Nangong Mubaek's playboy escapades in the rosiest terms.
Watching Nangong Hak listen with a grave expression, I could sense the heart of a father with a wayward son.
And my words rang true enough that he was drawn in.
"A free spirit must soar like a bird, but there's been no sky for him to spread his wings."
"Is that what led to the Vault of Heaven Unfettered Sword Technique? Isn't that a bit of a leap?"
At this point, he was all but won over.
"Young Master Nangong Mubaek needed something to give wings to that free spirit. That's why he sought out liquor and revelry. But now he's found real wings. Glorious wings called the Vault of Heaven Unfettered Sword Technique. If I can grant him those wings, shouldn't I help him, no matter the constraints?"
To show my resolve, I put strength into my gaze.
"If gifting the sky to a caged bird brings punishment, then I'd gladly accept it for that bird's sake."
Jeon Ian took my hand again.
Hot tears like molten wax dripped onto it.
"My lord, has anyone ever understood and worried for our Mubaek like Scholar Cheon? I've fretted over him and scolded him, but I wonder if I ever truly tried to understand. Scholar Cheon, thank you. And I'm sorry."
"Even so, one of our family's two supreme arts has leaked to an outsider. We can't take it lightly, my lady."
"I'm sorry, but I'm no warrior—I don't understand. Our son means more to me than any martial art. If selling the Vault of Heaven Unfettered Sword Technique and Emperor Sword Form could save him, I'd sell them in a heartbeat. Would you still punish me for that?"
Jeon Ian spoke with fervent passion.
It was worth sending her those pleading glances to keep her by my side.
This sharp-witted woman had caught my signal at once and stood firm against Nangong Hak's gaze, bolstering me.
"Our family's secret arts are not to be trifled with."
"Then there's only one solution. Value Scholar Cheon highly. Make him someone worthy of accessing even our secret arts."
I gave Jeon Ian an encouraging look as we reached the conclusion I wanted.
But now was the time to humble myself further.
"Family Matriarch, your words alone fill me with gratitude. Family Head, please don't worry. If I ever leak the Nangong Family's martial knowledge to others, you may take my head without reproach."
Nangong Hak had heard my interpretation of the incantations himself and witnessed his youngest son's enlightenment.
So he acknowledged my interpretive skills and pondered his wife's words.
"True. There is a way."
"Really?"
Jeon Ian lit up even more than I did.
"What is it? If there isn't one, we'll make it."
As the anxious Jeon Ian pressed him, Nangong Hak gazed at his wife with a smile.
A strange tension passed between them, but I pretended not to notice.
"The only ones who can view and practice our secret arts—aside from direct kin—are a single exception. But I'll tell you tomorrow."
It was like having candied hawthorns dangled before my eyes, only to have them yanked away.
"What do you mean?"
Jeon Ian voiced my exact sentiments.
"Tomorrow, warriors from the Zhuge Family will visit our estate. Whenever they come, they always challenge the youngest to a spar. They call it friendly exchange, but it's just to humiliate us—they always win and strut about smugly."
Nangong Hak sighed at the memory.
"I knew it and let it slide. The more I did, the more twisted he became. If he wins tomorrow's friendly spar, I'll grant him the status to view our secret arts without issue."
"Do we really need to go that far? Just give it to him."
"We need a justification, even a small one. It's crucial. I'm the Family Head, but if the elders or council raise objections later, I'd have no defense. That's why we need that pretext."
Jeon Ian nodded as Nangong Hak spoke soothingly.
"He's always lost before—can he win tomorrow?"
"Scholar Cheon has given him wings. He has to fly."
Her smile carried a message meant for me.
I chatted a bit longer with the two, then left the Family Head's quarters.
I hadn't been nervous, or so I told myself, but my back was drenched in sweat.
Withstanding a master's aura head-on was no different from staring down a tiger.
Once Scholar Cheon had vanished into the distance, Jeon Ian quietly spoke.
"My lord, I'm sorry for being so stubborn earlier. But I wanted to know for Mubaek's sake too."
"I understand your heart, my lady."
"Thank you for understanding."
Jeon Ian squeezed Nangong Hak's hand, and he gently pulled her into his arms.
"To me, Scholar Cheon doesn't seem the type to go blabbing our family's martial arts to just anyone."
"Indeed. Not even a blade to the throat would make him."
"How can you be so sure? You grilled him pretty hard back there."
"Scholar Cheon is the man who clashed swords-for-lives with Elder Gal of the Murim Alliance. That elder has no shortage of scandals, yet to this day, not even the Inspection Unit or fellow elders have dared cross him—nor the Alliance Leader or Strategist. And here was a mere Inspection Unit member standing up to him, enduring all sorts of threats. For a non-warrior scholar to show such spirit is extraordinary. Would a man like that betray our family's arts?"
"Then why did the Alliance send a man like that to our family? We should value him even more."
"The Inspection Unit Leader said it was to keep him alive. They originally planned to send him to the Pang Family in North Haryana. The Pangs see him as a benefactor for turning Pang Soun into a proper man. They invited him for protection."
"And you pulled a man like that here for our Mubaek."
"Exactly. Your heart was hurting, so I had to mend it."
Nangong Hak knew just how to win a woman's heart in moments like these.
"As expected, only you, my lord."
Jeon Ian nestled into his embrace.
"Still, I had to warn him. Just in case."
"You did well. Why not make Scholar Cheon one of our Nangong Family?"
Nangong Hak swallowed hard at his wife's determined gaze.
"Hm..."
He'd half-thought it a joke earlier, but her eyes burned with sincerity.
"That's beyond my power."
"Then I'll look into it myself."
Nangong Hak couldn't bring himself to stop her. Dousing the passion she'd reignited after so long would be like leaping into flames while carrying dry brush.
When the Zhuge Family warriors arrived at the Nangong estate, the atmosphere was one of superficial welcome.
As Nangong Mubaek had said, it wasn't just one or two—they numbered over a dozen, here to discuss pressing matters of the Five Great Families in a visit of real substance.
Zhuge Dowon headed straight for Nangong Mubaek's quarters.
"Brother Nangong! Where are you? Brother Nangong!"
Zhuge Dowon bellowed as if it were his own home, calling for Nangong Mubaek.
Just a year older, he insisted on being addressed as elder brother every time.
"You've arrived?"
Nangong Mubaek greeted him with a lukewarm expression.
Guests at the family estate demanded courtesy, after all.
But he'd never once called Zhuge Dowon "elder brother."
"Long time no see—aren't you glad? I'm thrilled."
His taunting intent outweighed any joy, and his gaze at Nangong Mubaek was far from kind. Zhuge Dowon had a sturdier build, more fitting for a warrior than Nangong Mubaek.
It stood in stark contrast to the Zhuge Family's typical slender, delicate frames.
He'd bulked up even more since I'd last seen him at the Murim Alliance.
'He must have trained harder to dominate Nangong Mubaek.'
Nangong Mubaek had been training with me and was slick with sweat.
Zhuge Dowon eyed him up and down before speaking.
"Grown any stronger? I hear all the rumors about you, brother. Seems you're the same as ever."
A playboy chiding another playboy's antics—it was laughable.
"I always train harder than you, Young Master Zhuge, but it still falls short."
Nangong Mubaek shot back with a subtle jab, and Zhuge Dowon raised an eyebrow sharply.
"Something's definitely different. Compared to last year. What is it?"
Then his eyes landed on me.
"Hm, a new scholar? Not the one I saw last year."
"My writing tutor."
"Oh ho!"
Nangong Mubaek had never before introduced a scholar as his "writing tutor."
He'd always dismissed and belittled them.
'Did that scholar change this playboy Mubaek? It's the only explanation for his shift.'
True to the Zhuge Family, his insight was uncanny.
"May I have your name, Scholar?"
"Cheon Taesan."
"...Taesan?"
Addressing him in a somewhat formal tone caught Zhuge Dowon off guard.
But the name rang a bell, and he muttered.
"Cheon Taesan... Cheon Taesan... The Ghostly Scholar of the Murim Alliance?"
Zhuge Dowon stared at me like he'd seen a ghost.