Inki-jeongong (2)
Unlike any other day, Jinmyung bustled into motion the moment he stepped into their lodgings. Ak Jun watched him for a moment, trying to make sense of what he was doing, then asked,
"Are you packing? What about the finals?"
"Just pack first. The plan's gone sideways, so we need to be ready to leave at any time."
"The plan's gone sideways? Wait—what was the plan in the first place?"
Jinmyung stopped what he was doing and looked at Ak Jun.
"A little disappointed, are we? You of all people should know. I'll give you a hint. How about a martial contest for marriage?"
Bimu chocin—a martial contest for marriage. It dated back to when Emperor Gaozu, founder of the Tang Dynasty, took his empress. She had foreseen that martial prowess would define the age to come, and so she tested her suitors in combat. Only Gaozu passed her trial, and only then did he win her hand. Ever since, martial contests for marriage had become a common practice among the people of the Murim.
"We came looking for a book, and you clearly started scheming something strange… after meeting Young Lady Moyong."
Jinmyung nodded at Ak Jun's words. Drawing on the meeting with Young Lady Moyong and Jinmyung's subsequent entry into the contests, Ak Jun began to reason it out.
"Don't tell me she broke off the engagement? Wait—she broke a prenatal betrothal? To hold a martial contest for marriage?"
"Right? Why would she do that?"
Jinmyung asked with a small smile, as if discussing someone else's affairs. From that smile, Ak Jun could tell that Jinmyung had accepted the broken engagement as well.
The Moyong Clan had been nothing more than a fallen house from a bygone dynasty. The exploits of Moyong Seong, the Bukdu Kwonhwang, had been enough to restore the family to standing. But raw martial force alone was never enough to grow true power. The birth of the Moyong Clan as a force to be reckoned with had required the support of the Donghwa Merchant Group.
The Donghwa Merchant Group of Shandong Province had grown on the backbone of trade with Goryeo. Of all Goryeo's goods, the most precious was wild ginseng—and among those, the Changbai Mountain ginseng of Mount Baekdu was a key ingredient in countless elixirs. Liaoning Province, home of the Moyong Clan, bordered those mountains, and the Donghwa Merchant Group had backed the Moyong precisely to secure a greater share of that ginseng.
To bind the alliance between their houses, the Bukdu Kwonhwang and the Donghwa Merchant King had sealed a prenatal betrothal for their grandchildren. Jinmyung knew every piece of that history.
He smiled and nodded as if he could read every thought running through Ak Jun's head. Ak Jun decided it was a thoroughly punchable expression—and that he would have swung, if the man weren't his lord.
"I'm making this face on purpose so you'll get mad. Your brain only seems to work when you're riled up."
"How very considerate of you…"
Ak Jun clenched his trembling hands. From Jinmyung's easy composure, he could already tell the prenatal betrothal was the problem. The betrothal was the problem—but the martial contest for marriage was not…?
"The Moyong Clan's direct line is only Young Lady Moyong. If she marries into another family, the clan would…"
"The Moyong Clan would disappear."
"A martial contest for marriage is essentially taking in a live-in son-in-law… Wait—then what about the merchant group?!"
A martial contest for marriage meant accepting a husband who passed the woman's trial, and more often than not that husband entered her household as a live-in son-in-law. But Jinmyung was himself a direct heir of the Shandong Go family—the house that had raised the Donghwa Merchant Group.
"Me? I have a sister. And cousins, too."
"But still…"
Unlike the Moyong Clan, the merchant group had no shortage of relatives. Jinmyung spoke as if it were the simplest thing in the world for them to carry on the house.
"The Donghwa Merchant Group isn't a noble clan, is it? Any capable merchant can take over. My sister has a good eye—she'll pick someone solid."
He wasn't wrong. From the moment Jinmyung's grandfather had built not a Shandong Go family but a collective called the Donghwa Merchant Group, he had prized ability over blood. And yet not one of them had possessed the ability to survive the emperor's purge. Only Jinmyung had saved the group.
"No—wait, wait. Then isn't everything going according to plan? The finals are the martial contest for marriage, aren't they?"
Ak Jun set aside the absurdity of Jinmyung simply walking away from the succession and pressed on. It was rare to see one of Jinmyung's plans fall apart—and even now, nothing looked broken.
"I never planned to compete in the finals. Especially not as Go Jinmyung of the Donghwa Merchant Group reaching the finals of the Mt. Hua Sword Debate."
"What… If that was the case, you should have gone after the Dang Family Sparrow Peak's entry token. You targeted Changcheon Geomryong at the far end of the bracket opposite Bukdu Kwonbong—and now you're saying this?"
"The other opponents were hard to make deals with. Even Changcheon Geomryong was half a gamble."
Jinmyung's answer was enough to sink Ak Jun into a long silence. So the problem was that his identity had been exposed? But then why…?
"Is it because of the Imperial Palace…? Now that your identity's been revealed, the palace has a pretext to move against the merchant group."
Over the past fortnight of the Mt. Hua Sword Debate, Jinmyung and Ak Jun had taken the measure of every contestant's martial skill. Jinmyung's conclusion had been simple: none of them could pierce his Protective Qi. Of course, the eight who had entered the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering could, in their signature techniques, reach the realm of Sword Qi Coating. To keep them from unleashing those specialties, he had prepared two contingency measures.
What he had underestimated was Taeshin's earnest nature. Taeshin had dismantled Jinmyung's contingencies one by one with nothing but orthodox technique.
"Then… what's the next plan?"
Ak Jun knew Jinmyung better than Jinmyung gave him credit for. He could never match the speed of that mind—but he was certain Jinmyung had already revised the plan on his way down from the arena.
"Just pack quickly for now. The moment I give the word, we bolt for home."
"I'll send word to Chang'an and have horses ready."
"Good. Have the servants bring the luggage from Chang'an later—just get things ready so the two of us can leave first."
Following Jinmyung's instructions, Ak Jun set about sorting the lodgings. Even working together, the sheer volume of their gear made it a long job.
"But Inki-jeongong… What kind of martial art name is that?"
Ak Jun asked as he packed.
"I just made it up on the spot. A heart method is supposed to move the heart, after all… and my heart moves for money."
"Since it's a martial art of the Shandong Go family, shouldn't 'Go' be in the name? How about Goja Shingong? The divine art imbued with the Go family's wealth."
"If you became a goja, your fiancée would love that. How about it?"
"Are you trying to end the Ak family line?"
"Line, what line…"
The two bantered nonsense as they packed their belongings.
After the semi-finals of the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering, a great many martial artists fixed their attention on the relationship between Jinmyung and Moyong Ran. That the two finalists shared a prenatal betrothal was more than enough to draw envious stares from all sides.
"Your betrothed is a dragon among dragons—Unnie, you're so blessed. Wait, is this liquor?"
Among them, Dang Sohye was the most openly envious. For a first remark at a gathering of the six eliminated Dragon-Phoenix contestants, it was a touch too casual.
The losers' assembly had been arranged for the evening after the semi-finals by Paeng Cheonyang, the dragon of the Hebei Paeng family. Declaring that tea was wretched stuff, he had set out a cask of liquor as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"No tea fragrance can soothe the bitterness of defeat. I've brought Bamboo Leaf Green."
"Fine tea is more than enough. I've brought the Crimson Kill Fragrance I received as a gift."
Taeshin produced the Crimson Kill Fragrance Jinmyung had given him. Dang Sohye and Songrim of Wudang accepted cups.
"Young Master Namgung… how exactly did you hand over your entry token?"
Sojeong, the Qingcheng Sword Peak, put the question to Namgung Hyeon. She had fallen to Taeshin, but she had held high hopes for a bracket so thick with swordsmen.
"…"
Namgung Hyeon merely lifted his teacup and avoided the answer. Even after he had drunk, the other five were still waiting on him.
"Must you hear it?"
"Sounds like a story that still stings. Here—have a drink."
Paeng Cheonyang drained his own cup and held out the cask. When Namgung Hyeon did not take a cup, Paeng Cheonyang set the cask down again with an embarrassed laugh.
"I was under the impression we weren't of drinking age…"
"What is good for the body, you eat when you're old. What is bad for the body, you eat before you get there—that's the Paeng family way."
"So you offered it knowing it was bad for us?"
When Songrim scolded him, Paeng Cheonyang answered with swagger. Dang Sohye shot him a sidelong glare that made plain how little she cared for the reply.
"What is bad for the body is often good for the heart. Is there anyone here who never once imagined themselves the champion?"
Paeng Cheonyang's words struck every one of them square in a tender place. Bitter expressions settled over the room. Only one person—Namgung Hyeon—was smiling, as if he found it all rather amusing.
"Young Master Namgung, do you see it differently?"
Sojeong asked him again. Namgung Hyeon gave a bitter smile. Every eye in the room was on him.
"I…"
Knock, knock. His words were cut short by a visitor at the door.
"Pardon the intrusion. I was told Young Master Namgung Hyeon is here."
The visitor was Ak Jun. He explained that Jinmyung had requested Namgung Hyeon's presence, and Namgung Hyeon left with him for Jinmyung's lodgings.
"Tch. So we never did hear how he got that entry token."
"Then shall we talk about who will win instead?"
Sojeong cast a new topic into the room. The Dragon-Phoenix contestants fell into heated debate, and the chamber warmed with argument.