Born When Clouds Covered the Sun
My name is Uncheon.
On a midsummer day so stifling one could barely draw breath, at the precise moment the clouds veiled the sun, I was born a scion of the greatest sword family under heaven—the Namgung Family.
The Family Head of the great Namgung Family was my fifth-degree uncle; the Grand Elder, my great-uncle. To the Young Family Head I was a sixth-degree relative.
Could any background for living in this world have been better?
I took pride in being a descendant of the Namgung Family, and I longed to grow up quickly and become a proper martial artist who would bring glory to the house.
Until the day a special ability appeared.
Around the age of five.
During a lesson on the history of the Central Plains martial world, our teacher was a man named Jegalyo, invited from the Zhuge Family. Near the end of every class he always questioned us on that day’s material.
But the questions were invariably so difficult that no student ever answered.
I was no different. I never managed to find the proper answers.
That day, however, was different.
I answered his question with perfect accuracy.
It was not because I remembered what I had studied.
Suddenly my teacher’s thoughts rang inside my head, clear and exact, as if spoken aloud.
I still do not know why it happened.
Even looking back now, how could a child have understood something so far outside the ordinary?
After class I ran to my father and asked.
“Father, is it possible to read a person’s thoughts just by looking at them?”
Father said that was an ability only a god could possess.
When I replied that I thought I might be a god, Father began to wonder whether his son was a fool.
Mother, standing beside him, said it was merely that I was still young and my imagination was vivid. Still, she added, I should never say such things in front of others from then on. People might take me for a fool, just as Father had.
From that day forward I followed Mother’s counsel and never told a soul that I could read other people’s thoughts.
As the years passed I learned several things about my ability as well.
Without meeting the other person’s eyes, I could not read their mind.
Even when our gazes locked, I could not necessarily hear every thought—only the ones rising in that very moment would ring inside my head.
At first, reading other people’s thoughts was entertaining.
But time wore the novelty away. Being able to eavesdrop on others’ minds ceased to be interesting.
It began when I learned the true feelings of the cousins with whom I trained.
Whenever someone displayed talent greater than their own, the envy and jealousy that bloomed inside them came through to me, complete and unfiltered.
And I understood. Even if a sixth-degree younger cousin was outstanding, nothing truly changed.
A family line ultimately continues through the direct legitimate bloodline; collaterals remain mere supporters.
Outwardly they might seem close, yet dig beneath the surface and everyone was watching, checking, competing to come out ahead.
Realizing that those I had thought close wore faces different from their hearts was not a pleasant process.
Among such people I learned martial arts to a moderate degree, read their minds, and left a favorable impression on everyone.
Thanks to that, I never once fell into open discord.
Then one day the thought struck me.
Strictly speaking we’re all family—can this be right?
There is nothing one can do about family.
Rather than live exhaustingly inside the house, would it not be better to go out into the Central Plains and do as I pleased?
I could have accepted whatever post the family offered and lived in comfort, yet the world beyond the walls looked far wider and more interesting.
I wanted to earn a great deal of money. I wanted to see the famous landscapes of the Central Plains.
Before I knew it I was eighteen years old.
The day that would mark a new beginning arrived.
Clang! Clang-clang!
Yah! Eiyah! Yat!!
Shouts of exertion rolled from every direction, filling the Grand Continuity Hall.
A young man passing the hall paused a moment to watch the trainees swinging their swords without rest.
Sweat ran from their brows, slid down the bridges of their noses, and struck the floor in a scattering like rain.
Whew… they’re training as if their lives depend on it. Well, I used to be like that myself.
It was a futile effort.
Unless one transcended everything, no amount of training could leap the invisible gulf of status.
His own standing was direct blood, yet not quite—an ambiguous degree of kinship.
A sixth-degree relative could remain within the family, yet if he wished he could also leave Mount Hwangshan and stand on his own outside.
That, at least, was fortunate.
And now the final examination that would free him from the family stood immediately before him.
Eighteen years old.
Uncheon closed his eyes and let the eighteen years of life within the family pass before him.
First, the Grand Continuity Hall. From the age of five he had cultivated the Daeyeon Divine Art and laid the foundations of martial study.
Just before turning ten he had managed to reach only the lowest stage of eightfold completion, yet the flow of his inner energy had always felt blocked somewhere.
Around ten he began learning the Daeyeon Sword Technique, but his sense for handling internal force was so lacking that he did not complete even the basic forms until fourteen.
At fifteen he challenged the Changgung Daeyeon Divine Art and barely reached sixfold completion. Lowest among fifty, yet he had cleared the threshold for the Muae Hall.
And today the final gate—the examination of the Changcheon Hall—awaited him.
Past the wall of the Grand Continuity Hall, a training hall with blue-tiled roofs came into view.
On a plaque of purple-tinged ebony the characters “Changcheon Hall” stood out in vivid crimson, as if pressing down upon whoever stood before them.
Unlike the examinations of the Grand Continuity Hall and the Muae Hall, the Changcheon Hall issued both a certificate of completion and a certificate of passage.
Even if one failed all three gates, a certificate of completion could still be received; the certificate of passage, however, required clearing every test.
Boooom!!
It begins.
The drum announcing the start of the examination thundered.
The first trial was the breaking of a formation.
When the fifty trainees stepped before the array, the examiner Jegalyo spoke.
“The formation before you is called the Linked Eight Palaces Formation. If you recall and apply what you have learned, you should pass with ease. The time limit is exactly half a shichen. Within that span you must emerge from the opposite exit.”
“Yes, sir. We understand.”
Boooom!
At the second drumbeat forty-nine trainees plunged swiftly into the formation.
Only one—Uncheon—did not move at once; he simply stood looking at Jegalyo.
Why isn’t that boy going in?
Jegalyo’s gaze met Uncheon’s where he stood motionless.
Well… if one does not know the formation, one cannot enter recklessly. The Linked Eight Palaces Formation seems to move like a Five Elements mutual-generation array, yet in truth it also operates as a reverse-flow formation. Using the reverse flow of the Five Elements will break it, but I wonder who will emerge first from this reverse array.
Uncheon looked at Jegalyo and read the thought.
It moves in reverse?
Uncheon squatted on the ground and drew and erased Five Elements diagrams again and again.
When roughly two gak had passed he wiped away the chaotic sketches, rose, and without the least hesitation stepped into the formation.
Ssshk.
Once inside, Uncheon stood still and gauged the path that forked in two directions.
The entrance I came through is Jia Wood, so if it were sequential I ought to move in the direction Hai indicates. But if it is reverse, then I must go toward the Wu direction.
The instant the thought formed he moved rightward; nothing changed.
I can keep going like this.
Confidence settled in; from the second step his movements held no hesitation.
Whoosh, whoosh-whoosh!
Uncheon spun and retreated as though sprinting in one direction.
And then—
Outside.
Blue sky unfolded before his eyes.
Jegalyo’s startled voice rang out.
“Namgung Uncheon—passed.”
The second trial was poison.
The examiner was Tang Jeonggun, invited from the Sichuan Tang Sect.
“Congratulations on clearing the first gate. No one in the martial world is ignorant of how terrifying formations can be. Yet there is something no less dangerous.”
Tang Jeonggun swept his gaze around the group and put strength into his voice.
“Poison! The most vital thing for avoiding poison in the martial world is to recognize it quickly beforehand. Therefore this examination is to find the poisoned dishes. Taste them, smell them—do as you like. Come forward one by one and tell me every poisoned dish you discover.”
Before turning away, Tang Jeonggun met each trainee’s eyes in turn and smiled.
Heh heh heh… I wonder how many will guess right. There is not a single poisoned dish among them.
Ten plates of food had been prepared.
The trainees who stood ahead of Uncheon examined each dish carefully, checking for poison or its absence.
By the time Uncheon, last in line, began, five trainees had already passed.
Impressive. They actually found something?
Sniff-sniff.
He took a deep breath of the dumpling aroma filling one hand, then bit in.
“Delicious. The meat is well seasoned.”
Tang Jeonggun’s eyes trembled minutely as he watched Uncheon.
Huh… even in the Tang Sect there is no one with that kind of nerve.
He continued to observe.
The second dish was glossy, glistening Dongpo pork.
Uncheon seemed to study it, then simply picked up a piece and put it in his mouth.
“Mm, looks better than it tastes. Bland enough that Cook Yi must have made it. That man always seasons far too healthfully.”
Uncheon finished the last dish as well and wiped his mouth.
He’s eating every single one? Is the boy completely without fear of poison?
Tang Jeonggun stared at him with an expression of pure disbelief.
“You’re the last, so you need not whisper.”
Uncheon smiled faintly and spoke.
“After eating them all, none seem to contain poison.”
At Uncheon’s words every other trainee who had given a different answer widened their eyes.
Tang Jeonggun was no exception.
“How did you know?”
Every gaze around them waited for Uncheon’s reply.
“Simple. If I were poisoned while eating, Master Tang would detoxify me, would he not? So I ate without worry.”
“Huh…? Has there ever been such an absurd fellow?”
Tang Jeonggun snorted, then the corner of his mouth curved into a smile.
“Namgung Uncheon—passed.”
The third trial was sparring.
Only six had cleared the first two tests.
Each would fight five matches; only the half with the most victories would pass.
In four matches Uncheon had won two and lost two.
One more victory would secure passage.
By looking into the eyes he already knew where the opponent would strike and how he would evade.
Before the other even moved, Uncheon had read the thought.
He’s going for the head.
Thwack!
The wooden sword landed squarely on the opponent’s crown.
At that same instant the chief examiner and Hall Master of Changcheon Hall ought to have bellowed the result.
“Namgung Uncheon—victory.”
Yet what burst from the Hall Master’s lips was not a thunderous roar but a voice of pure incredulity.
When every trial had ended, Hall Master Namgung Jangwu held the passage token in his hand and looked at Namgung Uncheon.
His internal energy is lacking, yet his grasp of form and intent, of martial principle and subtle application, is not bad. Is it luck, or…
Who would have expected a youth short on internal force to pass?
Yet he had not merely completed the examinations; he had cleared every one and earned full passage.
The Hall Master had watched him since childhood, yet among the family’s children Uncheon had never been a particularly striking talent.
At times there had been a different feeling, true…
After a moment’s hesitation he finally held out the token.
“Take it.”
“Thank you, Hall Master.”
Uncheon extended both hands and received the passage token. Yet Namgung Jangwu did not release it easily.
Strength entered the hands that gripped the token together.
“You are eighteen now.”
“Yes, I am well aware.”
“I seem to have heard talk that you intend to strike out on your own.”
“I am considering it.”
“Hah. All this time you have eaten and slept free under the family’s roof. Should you not at least repay the cost of raising you?”
“Hall Master Uncle, I eat very little, so I doubt I have done any great harm to the family’s food budget.”
“Nonsense. If you have not yet decided, come out to Changcheon Hall and look after the children for a while.”
“I am sorry. Surely there is a more useful talent better suited to Changcheon Hall’s reputation?”
Ssshk!
Seizing the instant the Hall Master’s grip loosened, Uncheon yanked the token free.
Namgung Jangwu wore a regretful expression.
It was not only because he had lost the token.
“Hall Master Uncle, thank you. You have worked hard all this time!”
Uncheon beamed, offered his thanks, and fled Changcheon Hall as swiftly as he could for fear the man might seize him again.
Creeeak—
Uncheon opened the door as slowly and quietly as possible.
He even lifted his heels so his footsteps would make no sound.
“I did not give birth to a thieving cat.”
Uncheon flinched and raised his head.
With a rattle the window slid open, revealing a middle-aged man’s face.
His eyes, already large, bulged twice as wide beneath a scowl.
“Father, I have returned.”
Uncheon stood straight, bowed, and looked up at his father with a bright smile.
Yet Namgung Hyeonwu’s expression remained hard.
Cousin to Family Head Namgung Cheonwu and Master of the Law Enforcement Hall, Namgung Hyeonwu looked down at the object in Uncheon’s hand.
“You passed Changcheon Hall?”
Instead of answering, Uncheon raised the passage token high.
“The certificate of passage.”
The corner of Namgung Hyeonwu’s mouth tightened slightly.
“A wonder. Tomorrow the sun will rise in the west. Or else the world is ending.”
Uncheon laughed as though wronged.
“Aren’t you underestimating your son a little too much?”
“I know you too well—that is why I say it. Would you yourself believe that you cleared Changcheon Hall in a single attempt?”
No one knew his son’s internal energy better than he.
Uncheon’s force had always failed to break through its wall at the decisive moment.
Even when they sought the cause, no one could discover why the boy’s energy remained blocked.
“In any case, having passed Changcheon Hall you must now work for the family. Where do you intend to enter?”
“As I told you before—”
“You little—!”
Before the sentence finished Namgung Hyeonwu’s voice exploded.
Worry and fury mixed on his face.
The reason was simple.
He knew too well how dangerous it would be for his son to step out into the martial world.
So long as Uncheon’s internal energy remained incomplete, living beyond the family’s protection was little different from offering up his life.
“Have you never heard that leaving home means hardship? Stay in the family and you will never go hungry, never have to watch anyone’s face!”
Uncheon did not answer.
Many emotions were tangled in that silence.
Weariness of the family’s stifling human relations. The desire to live free.
Yet to speak those reasons he would have to confess his mind-reading ability, so he could not open his mouth.
After a brief silence Uncheon spoke gently.
“Since you put it that way, I will consider what help I might offer the family.”
Namgung Hyeonwu regarded his son in silence.
Did he not know the boy?
It was certain Uncheon had not changed his mind in the least.
Just as he was about to say something more—
The door opened and a new figure entered.
The only person in the family who truly understood Uncheon.
Namgung Hyeonwu’s younger brother and Uncheon’s own uncle, Namgung Seonwu, came in smiling.
“Hahaha, Elder Brother. I wondered what the uproar was about—so my nephew has passed the examination.”
Namgung Seonwu looked at the token in Uncheon’s hand.
“You cleared Changcheon Hall. Just as expected of my nephew. I believed in you.”
Uncheon answered with a smile.
“Uncle recognizes me. Father, on the other hand, seems unable to believe—”
“That mouth of yours…!”
Whoosh!
The brush in Namgung Hyeonwu’s hand flew straight at Uncheon’s mouth.
Uncheon turned lightly, dodged, and picked the brush up from the floor.
It was a precious brush gifted by an acquaintance from the Huangshan Rulin family.
“This is a brush Father treasures greatly… yet it seems you are discarding it. Too good to throw away, so I shall use it myself.”
Just then a voice carried through the window.
“Who said I was discarding it! Seonwu, bring that brush in here!”
“Yes, Elder Brother. Understood.”
Uncheon handed the brush to his uncle and fled at top speed.
Back in his room Uncheon lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
Hmm…
Now that he had passed Changcheon Hall, how was he to go to his father and declare with confidence that he meant to strike out alone?
His father still could not understand why he wished to leave the Namgung Family.
Of course he can’t know. Father has no idea what they are really thinking.
But Uncheon knew the true thoughts of his cousins.
Someone in his ambiguous position was expected to become a being ready to sacrifice himself at any moment—for the sake of protecting the direct legitimate line, and for the sake of the Namgung Family itself.
Had he never learned that truth, he would have followed his father’s will and devoted himself to the main house.
But once he knew, even if he chose of his own will to aid the main house, he had no desire to become a mere accessory following their designs.
Yet Father still opposes it… is there no way I can set out into the martial world?
After fretting a while Uncheon sat bolt upright and walked straight to the bookshelf.
Ssshk.
He studied the Great Calendar carefully, finger moving along the pages.
“Grandfather’s birthday is next month, isn’t it.”
Ever since becoming Master of the Law Enforcement Hall, Father had been unable to attend maternal Grandfather’s birthday celebrations.
This year might prove the same.
In that case, could he not go alone?
What was it Grandfather likes…?
Nothing came to mind at once.
“I’ll head down to the village first and look around.”
Uncheon prepared at once to descend the mountain and stepped outside.
He had almost reached the main gate of the family compound when he hastily ducked behind a building and held his breath.
“Elder Brother!”
“…”
“I already saw you.”
A soft pink palace-style robe. The pale-blue crest that symbolized the Namgung fluttered on her skirt hem.
A sixth-degree relative one year younger than himself, and cousin to Young Family Head Namgung Guncheon.
She was different from the other cousins.
Speech, thought, and action were all transparent, one might say.
Namgung Hyemi walked up to the building where Uncheon hid and spoke.
“Elder Brother, come out already.”
At last Uncheon poked his head out and their eyes met.
“Haa… so you saw me.”
“Come out quickly.”
Uncheon emerged, reluctant.
I want to go outside together.
Her thought rang in his head.
Uncheon himself enjoyed leaving the family grounds. It was a chance to look for work that would support his independence.
Of course, for that purpose it was far better to be alone.
Going around with this one is going to be a huge nuisance…
“Elder Brother, I heard you passed?”
“I got lucky.”
“I think so too. I have no idea how you passed with your skill level.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? Even if it’s true, aren’t you supposed to say ‘well done’ to my face?”
“Fine. Uncheon Elder Brother, well done.”
“Ugh. Completely prostrating yourself for a bow, I see.”
“Where are you going? If you’re heading down to the village I want to come too.”
Since she had already sensed it, lies would not work.
“There are other elder brothers. Why do you always call only me?”
“The other elder brothers never go out. They all say they’re busy and avoid me.”
“And I’m not busy?”
“Come on, it’s because Elder Brother understands my heart best. Going with the others is no fun.”
It was only natural she felt that way.
He heard every single thought.
Namgung Hyemi clung to Uncheon’s side and asked,
“Elder Brother, what should we do first?”
Looking at her bright smile, he had no choice but to go down with her.
“Mm… first let’s stop at an inn and start with something delicious.”
“Wow! I was thinking the same thing. Going out with Uncheon Elder Brother really is the best.”
Ssshk.
Namgung Hyemi pulled a white pouch from her waist sash and gave it a little shake. The clear clink of silver coins sounded inside.
“See? You don’t have to worry about money.”
“Right… thank you so much.”
Looking at the pouch that seemed generously filled with pocket money, Uncheon made up his mind.
As I thought—if I’m going to be independent, I need money.