The Weight of Three Men's Words
“It will only get worse from here.”
“But why would the high experts of the Five Great Sword Factions even bother being wary of a place like Haomun?”
Dan Yeop, who had always been looked down on simply for being part of Haomun, found it hard to understand.
“I told you, didn’t I? They dislike the idea of stray dogs multiplying. Do you know why the Five Great Sword Factions turned a blind eye when Haomun of Guannei Circuit tried to expand into Hadong Circuit?”
“Why?”
“Because they knew it would fail anyway. If someone wants to shoot themselves in the foot, there’s no reason to stop them.”
“Ugh, how annoying.”
“Exactly. So what do you think will happen if it becomes known that the Haomun of Guannei Circuit now possesses the power to unify all ten branches of Haomun?”
“Would they really try to kill me over that?”
“They have their pride, so they won’t do it openly from the start. But framing you as a public enemy of the martial world? That would be no difficult task for the Five Great Sword Factions.”
For a moment, Dan Yeop thought of the Blood Emperor.
Son Yu-baek had once said that even the Blood Emperor had been called a great hero in the beginning.
“Like the Blood Emperor?”
“……”
Yu Dae-ung remained silent for a while before changing the subject.
“I will be withdrawing my hand from you. The main headquarters may send someone else. It might be irritating, but do not use assassins. That would only make things truly exhausting.”
“Do you think I’m some kind of demonic head like the Blood Emperor? I’m a tender-hearted man.”
“I’m speaking seriously. Even if an Open Beggar disciple acts arrogantly, just think of it as them being pathetic.”
“Yes, please don’t worry about it.”
“Oh dear! The conversation has dragged on longer than necessary. I’ll be taking my leave now. If fate allows, we shall meet again.”
Before Dan Yeop could even offer a proper farewell, Yu Dae-ung strode away with his characteristic shuffling gait.
As Dan Yeop retraced his steps, his heart felt heavy and complicated.
The death of the Lockheart Master from starvation was one thing, but he had never dreamed that the Beggars’ Union had been monitoring him.
“Life really isn’t easy.”
When Son Yu-baek had mentioned the Blood Emperor, Dan Yeop had simply brushed it off.
But after hearing Yu Dae-ung’s words today, a chill ran down his spine.
Even lies become believable when enough people repeat them.
Wasn’t that why the saying Three Men Make a Tiger existed?
What if the Five Great Sword Factions pinned crimes on him?
If he endured and endured until he finally snapped in rage and began slaughtering members of the Five Great Sword Factions, he would become the second Blood Emperor.
“Ugh! How horrifying.”
Dan Yeop shuddered violently before disappearing into the darkness.
That same night, Dan Yeop recorded his meeting with Yu Dae-ung, the branch master, in the white notebook.
He meticulously documented every thought he had about the Heavenly Dao Society, leaving nothing out.
It was a precautionary measure written by the ‘Dunce’ Dan Yeop to ensure that he would not fall into the Heavenly Dao Society’s demonic grasp.
As he read over what he had written, Dan Yeop muttered unconsciously.
“I can’t even tell who the real villains are anymore.”
To write something that treated the Five Great Sword Factions—the very pillars of the orthodox path—with such caution!
At this rate, he really did sound like a budding demonic head.
Shaking his head, he climbed onto the bed, sat in a lotus position, and began practicing the Yi-won-gwi-il-gong.
Although the Tae-eul-bon-won-yeon-seong-gyeol was important, he first needed to extinguish the fire burning right at his feet.
At the same time, inside the main residence.
While painting orchids with her brush, Son Yeon-hwa suddenly murmured to herself.
“It really is strange…”
The same person could be warm and affectionate one day, then completely indifferent the next.
The subject, of course, was Dan Yeop.
She already knew that both her grandfather and mother had chosen him as her potential match.
It was truly a case of I dared not ask, yet it is what I truly desire.
What kind of person was Dan Yeop?
According to her grandfather, he was a genius who had memorized the entire Compendium of Laws and Statutes after reading it only once.
She had been impressed when he saw through the ghost prank in the annex, but when she heard he had memorized the Compendium of Laws and Statutes, she thought, He’s not even human.
It wasn’t just that he was smart.
His appearance was so handsome that even Pan An, Song Yu, and the Prince of Lanling would have to step aside.
Just looking at his face lifted one’s spirits.
Even living under the same roof with an ordinary boy her age would make her conscious of him—how much more so when the other party was a peerless genius with perfect looks?
If her heart didn’t flutter, it would be a lie.
These days, she found herself overjoyed or heartbroken over not just his words and actions, but even the look in his eyes.
And to make matters worse, Dan Yeop’s behavior was driving her insane.
One day he would speak warm words that made her think, Does he have feelings for me? only to completely avoid eye contact the very next day, shattering her heart into pieces.
Blushing with embarrassment, she continued painting the orchid stems while repeating shameful thoughts in her mind.
He likes me.
Swoosh—
He doesn’t like me.
Swoosh—
Every time she painted an orchid stem, she repeated He likes me and He doesn’t like me, as if plucking petals from a flower to divine her fortune.
Finally, when she drew the last stem—
He doesn’t like me.
Swoosh—
Son Yeon-hwa’s delicate brows furrowed deeply.
Ending on He doesn’t like me left her feeling strangely upset.
In the end, she did something she would never normally do.
She decided to paint one more orchid stem.
He likes me.
Swoosh—
Her mood improved, even if the orchid now looked overcrowded and a bit sloppy.
Still, every time she looked at it, her heart felt at ease.
With a bright smile, she gently stamped her seal—Samjeol Gain, the Threefold Beauty—at the bottom of the painting.
The Heavenly Dao Society had recruited the Divine Strategist Gongsun Chan as their chief advisor precisely because the Gongsun family was based in Gangnam Circuit.
Of course, the Nangong family was also in Gangnam Circuit.
However, the Nangong family refused to bow obediently to the Five Great Sword Factions, so they had never been considered.
Gangnam Circuit.
Gongsun family estate in Yeoju County.
Inside the Purple Mist Hall.
The lights in the Purple Mist Hall—Gongsun Ji’s personal residence—remained lit late into the night.
Gongsun Ji set down the report and lightly furrowed her brow.
“Hmm.”
Following the Blood Emperor, the Heavenly Dao Society had once again moved south to Gangnam.
Currently, only Chief Advisor Gongsun Chan remained with the society while Gongsun Ji had returned to the Gongsun family estate.
Since the distance between the Heavenly Dao Society and the Gongsun family was not great, Gongsun Chan had sent his daughter home.
Still, needing his daughter’s help, he had shared the information received from the Beggars’ Union.
“What should we do about Haomun?”
The official mission of the Heavenly Dao Society was to eliminate the Blood Emperor, but there were also undisclosed secondary objectives.
One of them was the management of the martial world.
The Five Great Sword Factions wanted the current state of the martial world to be maintained as it was.
Whether for good or ill, they did not want any event that could cause upheaval in the murim.
More precisely, they sought to preemptively block anything that might shake their own authority.
Surprisingly, the Thousand Lotuses were not considered a threat.
The enemy of the Thousand Lotuses was the incompetent imperial family and the corrupt high officials, not the martial world.
Rather, it was Haomun that irritated the Five Great Sword Factions more.
For the Gongsun family, which worked tirelessly to become a member of the Heavenly Dao Society, the course of action was clear.
“The Haomun of Guannei Circuit has recruited wandering master instructors? It seems they’ve realized the limits of the Byeongmachong.”
Other wandering experts were irrelevant, but one name in particular caught her attention.
“Go Geom-haeng…”
If Haomun were to absorb the martial arts of the Sword Pavilion, unifying the Ten Blades would no longer be a mere dream.
As she pondered, her gaze lingered on the very bottom of the report.
Dan Bul-wi appointed as Chief Instructor. Dan Yeop appointed as Instructor. Currently, members of Munwi rank and above from the Amun and Jeommun branches are gathered for training.
“Dan Yeop.”
He was the Haomun disciple who had accompanied them all the way to Hwacheong Palace.
She had assumed he was merely a disciple of Matriarch So Wol-hwa, but an instructor?
“That woman really is as cunning as her appearance suggests.”
Dan Yeop’s face had been so strikingly handsome that she still remembered it clearly.
It had stirred up girlish emotions she thought she had long forgotten.
“What should I do?”
She needed to take action because of Go Geom-haeng, yet she found herself hesitating for some reason.
However, her hesitation did not last long.
Gongsun Ji picked up her brush and began writing a long letter to her father.
Guannei Circuit.
Seonpyeong Ward, Chang’an Castle.
Son-taek annex.
Dan Yeop opened his eyes.
Seeing that he was still himself today, it seemed the Heart Demon had not yet succeeded in merging their personalities.
The thought made him chuckle.
He held dominance over the body, yet merging their personalities depended entirely on the Heart Demon.
Anyone who heard that would probably jump up in shock, asking how he could trust the Heart Demon with something so important, but that stage had long since passed.
These days, he simply hoped the Heart Demon would merge their personalities as soon as possible.
But how does the Heart Demon even know how to do something like that?
Between that bizarre internal energy and the technique to merge personalities, there were too many mysteries.
“Did he obtain some fortuitous encounter in the Byeongmachong?”
It seemed that was the case.
The travel bag he had been told never to lose, and…
Now that he thought of it, he got down from the bed and picked up the travel bag.
He turned it upside down just in case, but as expected, it was empty.
Dan Yeop pushed the bag back under the bed and walked over to the bookshelf.
Unlike him, the Heart Demon always placed the white notebook neatly back on the shelf.
It wasn’t simply a difference in personality.
When he woke the Heart Demon, it happened instantly.
That was why he often left the notebook open.
On the other hand, he himself only awakened after the Heart Demon had fallen asleep.
During that time, someone else might read the notebook, so the Heart Demon put it away on the shelf to prevent any accidents.
Dan Yeop sat down at the desk and opened the white notebook.
Below the line I don’t know why I’m alive. You wouldn’t understand was a short reply.
[Got it?]
Dan Yeop let out a small chuckle.
The Heart Demon had a subtle talent for making people laugh.
That was yet another thing he himself lacked.
He then carefully read through the conversation with Branch Master Yu Dae-ung.
“I really need to be careful of the Heavenly Dao Society.”
Although Haomun existed between the orthodox and unorthodox paths, it was still closer to the orthodox side.
Yet to think he now had to be wary of the Five Great Sword Factions—the very center of the orthodox path—left him with a strange feeling.
“I’m worried about my adoptive father.”
The Amun branch that Chief Instructor Dan Bul-wi belonged to was closer to the unorthodox path.
When one considered that their main business was human trafficking, it would not be strange for them to become a target for immediate extermination.
It was one of the reasons Haomun was so despised in the martial world.
“Should I give him a heads-up?”
But he wasn’t sure if telling him would actually help.
In truth, the only real solution was to disband the Amun branch entirely.
Disbanding the Amun branch…
The members of Amun would surely riot.
“Ah, whatever.”
Dan Yeop placed the white notebook back on the shelf.
Just dealing with his revenge against the Blood Emperor was already enough to make his head explode.
Inside the inner hall.
As breakfast was coming to an end, Son Yu-baek spoke as if in passing.
“Is Yeop busy these days?”
It was because Dan Yeop left in the morning and only returned after the sun had set.
“Yes.”
“Have you ever considered becoming an official?”
Son Yu-baek looked at Dan Yeop with meaningful eyes.
If Dan Yeop wished, he was prepared to recommend him to the imperial palace.
“I’m sorry. It’s not that I lack talent, but I simply cannot stand being tied down anywhere.”
“In this household, who doesn’t know how outstanding your talents are? How can you say such a thing?”
Son Ji-heon, who had been watching the situation, carefully interjected.
“Grandfather, Yeop is a bit of a free spirit.”
“Tsk tsk! When will you ever grow up?”
“Still, I’ve been diligently training in martial arts lately. Speaking of which, would you consider recommending me instead?”
“How old are you this year?”
“Nineteen. It is an appropriate age to serve the country.”
“The magistrate of Manyeon County is looking for an assistant. Would you like to try?”
“If it’s the position of County Defender, I would be willing.”
The County Defender oversaw all military and security matters within the county.
For Son Ji-heon, who pursued both literary and martial excellence, it was a position that would not shame him.
“I heard the position of County Assistant is vacant.”
“County Assistant?”
Son Ji-heon’s face crumpled.
The County Assistant was an administrative aide to the County Defender.
If it were the County Defender, maybe, but there was no way such a trivial position would appeal to Son Ji-heon.
“If it’s not the County Defender position, I must decline.”
“If you serve as County Assistant and demonstrate your ability, you could eventually become County Defender.”
“Considering my talents, that position is far too lacking. It would also damage Grandfather’s reputation.”