Daseogak in Crisis - 6
The son of the Republic of Korea, the wastrel of Joseon, and the bastard of the Sichuan Dang Clan.
I’d never once been called a bedroom Lü Bu, yet overnight I had become the Lü Bu of a martial arts dating sim with three fathers. And since I was personally selecting the third one, I was the perfect free-agent, father-choosing Lü Bu.
If anyone who knew the Joseon wastrel Kang Yunho had been watching this spectacle, they would have sneered, “Must be nice having two mothers,” and walked off.
Not that it mattered. There was no one left who could spill the truth.
This was Hubei Province in the Central Plains, a world away from Joseon. Every relative of that Joseon wastrel and every relative of Hyang-ah were already in the afterlife.
The attic fell into stunned silence after my declaration that I was the Sichuan Dang Clan’s only son.
With casual indifference I took the Bulmanghwan from Uigakju’s hand and slipped it onto my wrist. The bracelet settled as if that had always been its rightful place, reflecting a soft, natural glow.
Hwarin. Manage your face a little.
Hwarin’s jaw was about to hit the floor. Hwarin, no matter how convincingly I talk, you’re not supposed to believe me.
As I gazed at the Bulmanghwan for a moment, Uigakju recovered from the shock of the “only son” claim and spoke.
“……Did you plan all of this from the start?”
No. Pure improvisation.
“Haa. You’re the one who made things this way. If you hadn’t threatened to cut off my wrist, I never would have considered revealing the truth.”
I looked at Uigakju with an incredulous laugh.
“Then why write Dangga Pungun?”
“I already told you earlier. My dear friend Dang Hwarin. She was born a bastard of the clan just like me, yet she suffered far worse than I ever did. I wrote it because I wanted to save her.”
“For something so trivial you would expose the clan’s deepest secrets…….”
Fine, fine. Since I’ve already rewritten the setting, let me add a better reason.
“Of course, I also thought that if I included Father’s story, he would come running. I wanted to see the face of that man my mother never stopped praising as a chivalrous hero until her mouth went dry.”
“You insolent dog! How dare you speak of the Clan Leader like that!”
“Unfortunately the chivalrous hero Mother spoke of never appeared. Instead the bastard who tossed my heavily pregnant mother onto the cold roadside twenty-odd years ago showed up.”
“……Tsk. Twenty-odd years ago your mother’s belly was not that swollen. She wore loose clothes, so no one could tell.”
Uigakju clicked his tongue and protested, clearly pricked by the reminder of abandoning a pregnant woman. At least he still had some conscience.
“So you finally admit that I am the Clan Leader’s son?”
He just admitted Hyang-ah was pregnant twenty-odd years ago, right?
“If you had purple hair I would have acknowledged it. But you are a black-haired barbarian.”
In the Sichuan Dang Clan, purple hair served as the measure of how thickly the clan’s blood ran in one’s veins.
Even though Dang Hwarin was an extremely distant collateral—bastard of a bastard of a bastard with almost no blood relation left—her purple hair alone was enough for the clan to accept her as one of their own without question.
“What am I supposed to do about the fact that those with Joseon blood are born with black hair? Hwarin is a collateral so distant she might as well be a stranger, yet her purple hair gets her treated as family. Meanwhile I, who carry the Clan Leader’s blood, keep getting called a barbarian just because my hair is black?”
I’d always complained that instead of giving black-haired people something long, thick, hard, and tireless that nobody needed, they could have at least fixed the social perception.
Thanks to the NTR concept, spinning this logic was conveniently easy.
“Would you believe this situation if you were me?”
Of course not. How could anyone? But what choice do I have? I hold every piece of evidence and every scrap of information proving I am the Clan Leader’s son.
I smiled like a young tiger that had been stalking its prey for a long time and finally opened my mouth.
“When every scrap of evidence points to me, what then? Of course it pains me deeply that my half-brother is ill. But doesn’t that mean you must take me with you now?”
Hyang-ah’s diary said the two of them had shared their first night. Hyang-ah’s son would have been the Clan Leader’s firstborn.
“Now I see. What I should have cut off wasn’t your wrist but that serpent’s tongue of yours. A mere bastard dares call the Young Master of the great Sichuan Dang Clan his younger brother!”
True. Even Hong Gil-dong, a secondary son, could not call his legitimate older brother “Brother” or his father “Father” and ended up becoming a bandit in a world of maximum unfilial piety. A bastard with zero rights would fare even worse.
But here’s the thing.
“You’re right. Yet the situation is rather amusing, isn’t it? If I go to the Sichuan Dang Clan like this, will the Clan Leader treat me as a mere bastard, or as the eldest son and sole heir of the great Sichuan Dang Clan? I’m genuinely curious. Aren’t you, Uigakju?”
I spoke like a young tiger that had waited patiently for its prey to tire and had finally sunk its teeth into the nape.
“…….”
Uigakju’s face darkened in an instant. That’s right. You’re not certain either, are you?
“The clan’s secret history? Dangga Pungun? Just as you said, Uigakju—I’ll take full responsibility for everything. Go ahead and report that I wrote it all. I’d like to get a look at the man who claims to be my father while I’m at it. So then—take me with you.”
I answered Uigakju with an unwavering smile and confident posture, yet he remained silent, his expression dark.
“Hand over the Bulmanghwan.”
Those were the words Uigakju finally spoke after a stretch of silence.
“And why exactly would I hand it over?”
“If you return the Bulmanghwan, I will do everything in my power to cover up this incident.”
Really? That would be ideal for me. No cleanup required—perfect.
“And if you fail to cover it up, someone will come to harvest my wrist.”
But that won’t do.
“……I will do my utmost.”
Uigakju hesitated a fraction, confirming my suspicion, then answered.
“Nothing is more meaningless than ‘utmost effort’ without results.”
“Even if that happens, I will repay you in my own name. I will ensure you never have to worry about making a living for the rest of your life.”
“Haha. Is that so? I’ve racked up quite a bit of debt running this Daseogak.”
I snorted like a landlord savoring a tenant’s charming nonsense.
“I can arrange enough money to buy one or two buildings like this.”
Whoa. Someone of Uigakju’s rank can flex that hard?
“Haha. With that kind of money I really could live without worrying about cash forever.”
“Are you giving it back or not?”
“The math still doesn’t add up.”
“One wrist is not enough payment, is that it?”
My wrist is not for sale. And besides, something else is far more expensive.
I raised my wrist to show Uigakju the bracelet and spoke.
“Hahaha. Of course not. This Bulmanghwan is the Sichuan Dang Clan itself. Why would I hand over the Sichuan Dang Clan?”
In theory this was a blank check that could let me take over the entire clan. There was no way I was trading it for one or two buildings.
“You little—!”
“What’s with the ‘you little’? Coveting another man’s property and then acting like the victim—what reverse logic is that?”
“Deputy Head! Seize that man’s Bulmanghwan! If he resists, you may cut off his wrist!”
If he wants the Bulmanghwan so badly, he should draw his own sword. Typical boss, always delegating the heavy lifting.
“Pardon?”
Deputy Head Dang Pae’s bewildered “Me? Why me?” voice made Uigakju glare at him. Come to think of it, earlier when he tried to stop me, the Deputy Head had called me “Young Master.”
Unlike Uigakju, he already believed I was the bastard son.
If I play this right, free-agent negotiations might be on the table.
Shall I channel the old Joseon wastrel Kang Yunho for a while?
Transfer negotiations always come down to sheer nerve.
“Hey. What’s your name?”
I strode quickly toward the still-baffled Deputy Head who was looking at Uigakju, and demanded his name with arrogant swagger.
“What did you just say?”
“Is this bastard’s ears clogged, or is he pretending not to hear? Hey! Have you lost all sense of hierarchy? I, the eldest son of the great Sichuan Dang Clan, just asked you what your name is!”
I slammed a fist against my chest when I said “I” and jabbed a finger at the Deputy Head when I said “you,” voice rising in fury.
“D-Dang Pae, sir.”
The Deputy Head’s voice trembled with confusion.
“Right. Dang Pae. How old are you?”
“Thirty, sir.”
Looks like life’s storms have aged him early. He’s more worn down than I expected. At the age of standing firm a man shouldn’t be swayed by words—but I’ll do plenty of swaying for you.
“Good. Thirty-year-old Dang Pae, listen carefully. If I go to the Dang Clan and get cast out as a bastard, fine. But looking at the situation right now, it doesn’t seem headed that way, does it? If I become the future master of the Sichuan Dang Clan, do you think you’ll last longer by obeying that man’s orders, or by obeying mine—the future master’s?”
“Deputy Head! Do not be seduced by that serpent’s tongue! Draw your sword!”
Dang Pae looked back and forth between me and Uigakju at the older man’s shout.
“Dang Pae. I can see your eyes spinning. Hey. Listen well.”
I deliberately brought my face right up to his, radiating pressure.
“Y-Yes! Yes, sir!”
“If my wrist gets cut off here, I’m going to pick it up and march straight to the Sichuan Dang Clan. Then what happens to you? You’ll become Dang Pae who cut off the Clan Leader’s bastard’s wrist. No—Dang Pae who cut off the only son’s wrist!”
Easy to picture, right? Gulp. Dang Pae immediately swallowed dryly as the image formed in his mind.
I grinned at the swallowing man and gave a few half-hearted claps.
“People will clap for you. Where? In front of your tombstone. And I’ll even write a special epitaph for you. ‘The warrior who cut off the wrist of the Sichuan Dang Clan Leader’s son.’ Pretty cool epitaph, don’t you think?”
Dang Pae’s pupils contracted sharply and he shook his head left and right in rapid denial. This guy’s completely terrified.
“You little—!”
“Hey. Looks like your Uigakju-nim finally drew his own sword.”
“Yunho!”
Hwarin cried out in alarm and threw herself between Uigakju and me. Hwarin alone won’t be enough. I have to finish this transfer negotiation.
I kept my eyes locked on the Deputy Head and continued.
“Dang Pae. What’s the family motto of the Sichuan Dang Clan?”
“‘The Sichuan Dang Clan never forgets,’ sir.”
“Exactly. I am the person in this world who carries the Dang Clan’s blood most thickly. I never forget grudges or favors. So tell me—right now, this very moment, that sword at your waist. What are you going to make sure I never forget with that sword?”
I shook the wrist wearing the Bulmanghwan a few times, then pointed with the same hand at Uigakju, who had drawn his blade.
My wrist, or Uigakju.
Dang Pae—what will you choose with that sword?
The Deputy Head’s decision came quickly.
“Uigakju-nim! The Young Master is already finished!”
“You dog! Are you defying orders?!”
“Defying orders? I am merely stopping Uigakju-nim from committing an act of aiding the enemy! Uigakju-nim, the Young Master’s treatment window has long passed. Poison has spread through his entire body; he will die soon, and even if he lives he will be a cripple!”
“That is not for you to decide!”
“This very situation is not for Uigakju-nim to decide either!”
Damn. This free-agent market is a success.
Uigakju, Deputy Head Dang Pae, and Hwarin faced one another in a delicate standoff, staging an attic three-way division that would put the Three Kingdoms’ division of the realm to shame.
Uigakju’s martial skill might be superior, but killing the Deputy Head in this situation was awkward, and he himself no longer seemed certain whether he should swing the blade.
“The clan is already in turmoil! If we bring that self-proclaimed bastard back with us, the family could split in two!”
“That too is not for Uigakju-nim to decide! The only one who may judge such a matter is the Clan Leader of the great Sichuan Dang Clan himself!”
The two men continued a verbal battle that looked ready to explode into catastrophe at any moment. If left alone, blood would spill no matter who won.
That would be inconvenient.
The attic three-way stalemate. Breaking this grinding deadlock required not a contest of strength between Central Plains men, but a barbarian invasion.
Clap. Clap.
“Present power versus future power. What a delightful spectacle.”
I applauded while delivering a mocking remark toward Uigakju.
“You little—!”
“Why don’t we wrap this up and go downstairs.”
With an indifferent expression I walked past Uigakju and strode confidently to the attic door. Please, Uigakju, don’t swing that sword. I’m scared.
Fortunately Uigakju only stared after me with a dumbfounded face.
“What scheme are you hatching?”
The scheme of wanting to live.
“Unless you plan to kill all three of us, the outcome is already decided. If we go downstairs now, I’ll cleanly forget everything you did in this room. Ah—though the Sichuan Dang Clan never forgets, I’ll make a special exception and forget for you.”
The Deputy Head had taken my side.
Even if blades were drawn, unless only Uigakju walked out alive, my story would spread. And then even Uigakju would not escape unscathed.
From the moment the Deputy Head sided with me, the matter had been settled.
“Kuh…….”
Being a middle-aged detective type, his comprehension was refreshingly fast. I opened the attic door and looked back.
“Dang Pae!”
“Y-Yes! Yes, sir!”
“I’ve taken note of you. You’re getting a +10 bonus points.”
I tapped under my eye with a finger and then pointed at Dang Pae.
“Haha! Thank you, sir!”
Dang Pae laughed at the gesture, completely ignored Uigakju, and walked over to stand beside me with Hwarin.
Uigakju watched the scene with bitter resentment.
“That’s enough sorting out. Let’s go down!”
As if I were their representative, I took the lead and was the first to step onto the attic stairs.
One worry is off my shoulders, but there’s no turning back now.
Kang Yunho, bastard son of the Sichuan Dang Clan Leader. From this moment on, no matter what happens, I have to keep playing the bastard.
“Yunho?”
When I stopped halfway down the stairs and looked back, Hwarin called my name in confusion. I ignored her question and kept looking behind me.
There was Uigakju, following with a deeply displeased expression.
It won’t be just Uigakju who doubts me.
The Medical Pavilion surrounding Daseogak. Every member of the Medical Pavilion would doubt me as well.
My confident attitude and the evidence might make them half-believe, but the other half would keep suspecting.
So what do I do?
I use the method only I can use.
A method to erase the suspicion of every last member of the Medical Pavilion.
Let’s use that method.