A Dangerous Man
Namgung Muyoung gazed into Sun Wukong's eyes and drifted into thought.
Two years away, and the atmosphere of the clan had changed completely. They're still exhausted, same as before... The entire bloodline being steeped in fatigue from too few hands and too much work had been true even before he set out into the martial world. But everyone feels different now.
Namgung Seowol, who had come back with him, had not noticed the shift at all. That was partly because she was so oblivious—knowing nothing but martial arts, you had to wonder how she would even survive in the world—but it was also because Namgung Muyoung's eye for people was unusually sharp. He was not the sort whose hand reached for the sword hilt before his mind, unlike most of the bloodline. That earned him a reputation for being relatively frail, but he was meticulous and thorough, and his gift for reading a room and grasping a situation was outstanding.
Hope, I suppose you'd call it.
Namgung Muyoung smiled bitterly. The word was grandiose, but privately he thought no other word fit quite as well. In the past their faces had simply been tired. Now, even through the fatigue, you could glimpse them seeing possibility. Because they can clearly see that something is changing.
Just two years ago it had been like this: everyone worked themselves to the bone, and there was nothing concrete to show for it. The rights and businesses that had been stripped from them were nearly impossible to reclaim. Existing trade with escort agencies and merchant guilds had been severed to the last thread, and exchanges with other sects that had once been tightly bound to them had gone silent as well. During the Great War, the sects that had fought fiercely alongside the Namgung Clan—sects you could truly have called blood allies—had all fallen.
Being a house built on blood kin was a problem in itself. Even if you grew your power through guest retainers, they remained outsiders. Unlike other factions, you could not simply take in disciples and raise them on a grand scale. It had been a time when no amount of hard work, no amount of effort, made anything better. Even a clan of steel like the Namgung Clan could not help but grow weary.
And then, in the midst of all that, results you could see with your own eyes had appeared. The businesses and countless rights the Namgung Clan had held at the height of its prosperity had returned to their hands. Their reputation had come back with them. Foremost of the Five Great Clans. The sharpest blade of the Orthodox martial world. The great adversary of the unorthodox path. Many people were speaking those old epithets again.
Because they caught the remnants of the Sama Order—no, not even remnants. That grandiose thing calling itself Hunamdo.
The way it had happened was remarkable in its own right. The Azure Chivalry Guild, with whom relations had already soured over disputes of rights and business, had deepened the rift by going so far as to steal Uncheol, an asset belonging to one of the Namgung Clan's guest retainers. And yet at the single piece of news that the guild was under attack by Hunamdo, the Namgung Clan had rushed to help without a second thought—and praise had poured in. Even with a history of conflict and collision, within the fence of the Orthodox martial world they had not hesitated to come to the rescue. Was this not a situation that called the old epithet to mind all by itself—the blade that guards the Orthodox path?
Praise had poured in from every corner of Anhui Province. But it was not merely the praise and the cheering that had changed the air inside the clan. It was the feeling that the abnormal was being set right again. A sense of returning to those glorious days of the past had taken root among the members of the Namgung Clan.
And every last bit of it was built from that man's schemes.
The moment he returned to the estate, Namgung Muyoung had gone through everything that had happened, piece by piece. Meticulous as he was, he was soon astonished. The entire sequence of events sat beneath the three characters of a single name: Sun Wukong. From beginning to end, it meant Sun Wukong had planned it and set it in motion. The Namgung Clan, which had intended to use Sun Wukong, had at some point been moving in the palm of Sun Wukong's hand. Namgung Muyoung realized this at once, and a chill ran down his spine.
No. That isn't what's frightening.
Up to that point, you could simply think of him as a man with a mind for weaving schemes. Jegal Seoseo, who had traveled with them this far, often produced extraordinary ideas and had startled them more than once. Impressive, even astonishing—but not the kind of thing you feared.
What Namgung Muyoung feared was the man whose brows arched over a playful-looking smile. He feared the man whose eyes, beneath that laughter, were coldly and heavily settled.
The adults must know. Most of them, surely. They had to know that everything had proceeded exactly as Sun Wukong led it. Elder Sister Muhwa must know as well. Wariness would have been the proper response. Unfortunately, that was not what had happened. Most of them had taken a liking to him. That the Golden Hall Master, who had finally gotten a chance to breathe after reclaiming their rights and businesses, felt a deep fondness for Sun Wukong was only natural. Namgung Cheonyeong, Master of Myeong-i-dang, and Muhwa, Master of the Law Enforcement Hall, and even his father Namgung Jinbaek regarded the man with a measure of goodwill.
It meant he had won the trust and favor of the vast majority of the Namgung Clan—all of it, less than a month after walking in as a guest retainer. The moment Namgung Muyoung understood that, he was afraid of Sun Wukong. That a man who had clearly entered with a purpose had, in a single stroke, bought the clan's trust. That no one questioned any part of how it had been done.
Namgung Muyoung looked at Sun Wukong.
He's a dangerous man.
At the very least, he himself would have to remain wary of this person.
Just then, Sun Wukong spoke up.
"A man could die waiting for an answer."
"Ah—my apologies. That was rude of me."
Namgung Muyoung apologized with a somewhat flustered look and finally got to the point.
"Would you be willing to participate in this Dragon-Phoenix Gathering as an observer?"
"An observer?"
Sun Wukong caught the intent at once. He was not the sort of man who would miss the meaning hidden in that word. He laughed lightly.
"You want me to keep an eye on the Five Great Clans?"
"......!"
Namgung Muyoung's eyes widened slightly, as if he had not expected to be understood so immediately. Looking at that face, Sun Wukong thought, His expressions really are honest. Sanzang used to be like that too. Startled at the drop of a hat, crying if you so much as poked him, getting angry if you teased him even a little.
......Tsk.
Namgung Muyoung spoke with that same honest face.
"That's correct. The number of people the Five Great Clans have brought into the estate this time is..."
"Doesn't seem like just the heirs showed up."
Sun Wukong had watched from a distance as well. Not a single house had sent only its successor. Every clan had brought a full complement of attendants.
"Escorts are a given, and with personal maids and servants as well, each clan brought a considerable number. It's to the point that our house can barely answer them all."
"Sounds like you're saying there are some strange ones mixed in among the entourages."
"There are quite a few formidable experts. That in itself isn't particularly a problem. The real issue is that there are mysterious experts even the Namgung Clan's intelligence network hasn't identified."
Sun Wukong twirled a lock of his hair around one finger.
"The Five Great Clans know a fair amount about one another. Who the experts are in each house, what they specialize in."
"And there are people among the accompanying personnel who aren't in that network?"
"That's right. I don't expect those people will be plotting anything inside the estate, but..."
Sun Wukong nodded. With the clan's eyes as sharp as they were, no one would be hatching schemes here. But unidentified experts from a rival house were bound to sit wrong. Why else did so many martial factions run their own intelligence organizations? Finding out what experts a given force possessed was extremely important. The Sama Order itself had been finished off because they had misjudged the martial prowess of the Namgung Clan's previous patriarch, the Sword God, and the true depth of the clan's strength.
The martial world was a world of people always standing on a blade's edge. You never knew when a quarrel would ignite and a collision would follow. That held even among the Five Great Clans. No—conflict and collision were inevitable.
"They call it an exchange gathering, but the staring contest's already started."
"The Hwangbo Clan's prestige has risen considerably, after all."
"It's human nature to want to show off once you've got power... tsk."
Sun Wukong clicked his tongue. It had been the same in the old days. Humans who gained the power of inner energy and martial arts seemed to do nothing but fight from morning to night.
"The Hwangbo Clan... that's the one, right? The guy who swung a sword at me."
"......Yes."
That... something about that seems backwards. He didn't swing it—he threw himself at a sword that was already coming, didn't he? Namgung Muyoung carefully hid the thought. More than anything, he felt a growing concern about the Hwangbo Clan's movements.
"They're recruiting outside experts to expand the clan's scale."
"So they finished growing in numbers and now they want to raise their quality."
"Until now, our house has identified every expert they've brought in. What secret techniques they practiced, who their master was, which sect they came from... The problem is that this time, there are people among the accompanying personnel we simply cannot identify."
Sun Wukong tilted his head.
"Hold on."
"Yes?"
"Doesn't this sound familiar?"
"Familiar...?"
"To me."
"Pardon?"
Namgung Muyoung did not understand at once.
"The Patriarch asked me to sit in as an observer, right?"
"Yes. That's correct."
"Young Master, why do you think the Patriarch singled me out?"
"Because the best way to watch an expert is through the eyes of an even greater expert."
Namgung Muyoung's gaze was certain that Sun Wukong stood above the Hwangbo Clan's mysterious masters. Sun Wukong snorted a laugh.
"Is that all?"
"......Perhaps the fact that you're a guest retainer plays a large part as well."
Namgung Muyoung spoke after a moment's hesitation. The Namgung Clan did not keep guest retainers because they were generous fools. The clan tried, as much as possible, to use its guest retainers thoroughly—their backgrounds, their prestige, their connections, even the reputations they had built in the past.
"Since you're a guest retainer, you're technically an outsider. If a problem arises, the Namgung Clan can wash its hands of it."
At the honest answer, Sun Wukong's eyes gleamed.
"You're fine just saying that to my face?"
"Teacher Sun has already guessed as much by this point, haven't you? I also dislike lies. I'd rather speak honestly and build trust."
He truly seemed to be the type who could not stand falsehood. Sun Wukong stroked his chin with interest.
"On the other hand, because you're a guest retainer, you've also got a pretext to step in."
"The pretext of being a guest of the Namgung Clan."
A pretext you could hang on your nose as a nose-ring or on your ear as an earring—attach it however you pleased. The excuse of being a guest retainer, an outsider, to slip away. Or the excuse of being a guest of the Namgung Clan, making it the clan's own affair, to intervene.
But Sun Wukong thought there was more to it than that.
"You're saying there's another reason?"
"Think about it. Just as the Namgung Clan is wary of the Hwangbo Clan, wouldn't the Hwangbo Clan feel the same?"
"Yes. Most of their accompanying personnel are probably here to take the measure of our house."
"Then what do I look like to those people?"
"......Ah!"
Namgung Muyoung let out a short breath of admiration. Sun Wukong cackled. The young man stared at him with the look of someone who had not seen it coming.
"I see. The Hwangbo Clan will be curious about Teacher Sun as well."
"And if an outsider like me sits in as an observer at the Namgung Clan's request, they'll pour every ounce of attention they've got into finding out about me."
"Ah..."
"Meanwhile, what's-his-name—the Myeong-i-dang Master. With that person at the head, they'll figure out who those people really are, won't they?"
Namgung Muyoung's mouth fell slightly open. He had tried to infer his father's intentions in his own way, but he had not picked up on this. And yet with just a few words, Sun Wukong—an outsider who was not even of the blood—had struck the heart of the matter at once. Namgung Muyoung looked at him again, freshly astonished.
Sun Wukong shrugged.
"Honestly, the Patriarch's a sly one."
Using this Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, as a juicy piece of bait, of all things. While they were distracted by the bait, he would have them investigated down to the bone. The Hwangbo side would probably approach Sun Wukong on the quiet, and in the process something unexpected might come to light—whether martial arts, or origins from a life already lived. People always left traces of everything they did.
"Then... will you help us?"
Namgung Muyoung asked, watching his face carefully. Sun Wukong shook his head with a look of consideration.
"I'll need to have a word with the Patriarch."
"......I'll take you to him."
Sun Wukong did not accept a request that sly on the spot. Everything comes with a price, and the Patriarch sure knows how to use people. Having decided to extract something in return, he was about to follow Namgung Muyoung's lead when—
"......?"
Namgung Seowol suddenly stepped in front of Sun Wukong. He looked down at her with a peculiar gaze. On that pale face, an intense curiosity showed through, faint and unmistakable. Namgung Seowol spoke without preamble.
"A match."
"Huh?"
"Seowol!"
Namgung Muyoung cried out in surprise and tried to stop her. He grabbed her shoulder in a hurry, but Namgung Seowol did not budge. She looked up at Sun Wukong with an almost impudent persistence.
"Spar with me."
"......"
Sun Wukong's gaze grew strange. That stubborn look in her eyes...
Irritation surged through him all at once.
Why does everyone have a little bit of Sanzang in them?