Chapter 69
Translator: penny
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: The Sima Clan
"Do you know the Sima Clan?"
"...No?"
I blankly shook my head, and Moyong Hwan let out a small sigh.
"Hmm, then let me explain roughly."
He said "roughly," but then went on at length. It seemed Moyong Hui's talkative nature was inherited from her father.
According to him, the Sima Clan had absolutely no connection to the martial world.
'No wonder I've never heard of them.'
Instead, it was a prestigious family that had produced countless civil officials for generations and was deeply tied to the imperial court.
"Within the imperial court, the Sima Clan holds more influence than even the Moyong Clan."
'More than the Moyong Clan?'
It was a surprisingly bold statement, but that was it. What did I care about the imperial court?
"And?"
When I asked indifferently, Moyong Hwan let out a deep sigh.
"Earlier, you asked why the dinner was so modest, right? That's connected too."
With that, he began spilling details about the Moyong Clan. Most of it was information I'd already received from the Shadow Gate Sect, but there were some new tidbits.
"You might not know this, but I have a younger brother named Moyong Gang. His wife bears the Sima name."
"So?"
"And they have an outstanding son named Moyong Woo."
'Moyong Woo?'
This was a name I knew. He was one of the only three Ming generals bearing the Moyong name, as listed in the booklet from the Shadow Gate Sect.
Of course, I hadn't read it in detail. I just remembered that he was talented enough to rise to general at a young age.
"Embarrassingly, many in the Moyong Clan now argue that Moyong Woo should lead the family, backed by the Sima Clan as their external relatives."
'The Moyong Clan is a mess too.'
Not even the patriarch's children fighting over succession, but collaterals making a grab for it? And looking to the future...
'So that's how he loses the seat.'
This must be why Moyong Gi wouldn't become patriarch in the future. Moyong Hwan cleared his throat awkwardly under my pitiful gaze.
"The biggest issue is that my son hasn't proven his abilities yet. Meanwhile, my nephew has already risen to general thanks to the Sima Clan's prestige, so it's no wonder the elders support him."
A question suddenly occurred to me as I listened.
"Isn't the young master outstanding right now?"
He had reached the peak realm before even turning thirty. That was a level acknowledged across the Central Plains martial world.
Yet he hadn't proven himself?
"Hmm... It's because he hasn't restored the Heaven-Earth Seeking Swords."
"What's that?"
"It's a twin-sword martial art passed down only to the patriarchs of the Moyong Clan. My father, the previous patriarch, was Moyong..."
The story was getting long again. I waved my hand dismissively to cut him off.
"Ah, skip that. So what exactly do you want from me, Father-in-Law?"
This could drag on forever. Sensing my intent, Moyong Hwan hesitated before revealing his true thoughts.
"...To put it bluntly, help my son Moyong Gi become the next patriarch."
"In exchange for giving me your daughter?"
It felt a bit absurd. Hand over your daughter, and make my son patriarch?
Moyong Hwan sighed deeply again at my look.
"If things continue like this, not only the young master but even our Hui will be in danger. As you know, Hui's talent surpasses both the young master and Moyong Woo. Even though she's a girl, they won't leave her alone."
'That's true, but...'
Considering how Moyong Hui had grown distant from the Moyong Clan in her past life, it was a valid point. Her marriage to Cheon Woojin might have even been to escape the clutches of the future patriarch Moyong Woo.
I tapped the table with my index finger.
Moyong Hwan watched me silently without another word.
Honestly, I wasn't keen on it. Whether the Moyong patriarch was this one or that one, what did it matter to me?
I rather liked Moyong Gi, but we'd only just met today. As for Moyong Hui's safety, that was something I could handle myself.
In contrast, the current situation was tangled in too many complications: the Sima Clan, Moyong Clan internal politics, and a lost heirloom martial art called the Heaven-Earth Seeking Swords.
'Tch... Fine, for Moyong Hui's sake.'
"So what help do you need? Should I just wipe out this Moyong Woo guy?"
Moyong Hwan coughed awkwardly at my words.
"Ahem, not that."
A shame. That would have been the simplest and quickest way.
"Then what? Go beat up Moyong Woo's supporters? Tell everyone to back the young master now?"
"...Not that either."
"By the way, can't restore that Heaven-Earth Seeking Swords thing?"
Unless I had the talent I'd faked to fool Cheon Seonwoo, even I couldn't restore a lost martial art.
But Moyong Hwan shook his head again.
"I wouldn't ask an outsider to restore a clan heirloom passed only to patriarchs."
"Damn, then what do you want from me?"
This no, that no. What exactly did he want?
But his next words were utterly bewildering.
"Through the Shadow Gate Sect... look into the Sima Clan and this emerging religion called the Blood Cult."
"Huh? Blood Cult?!"
After my private talk with Moyong Hwan, I returned to the Righteous Pavilion with Cheon Woojin.
He'd invited us to stay at the Moyong Clan estate, but as I said, it wasn't convenient to consummate things with Moyong Hui right there.
'Plus, something to look into right away.'
Blood Cult.
An organization that rose rapidly after the Righteous-Demonic Great War ended—and vanished at the hands of Martial Emperor Cheon Seonwoo a few years later.
Especially crucial: its leader, the Blood Demon, was the one who killed Moyong Hui.
'But the Blood Cult already existed?'
-A few years ago, an emerging religion sprang up in the Zhejiang region where the Sima Clan is located. With the Ming dynasty's religious freedoms, it's not that strange. The problem is, after the Blood Cult appeared, the Sima Clan's once mild family tradition changed. Pushing Moyong Woo for patriarch doesn't fit them either. Rumor has it the Sima patriarch is obsessed with this new Blood Cult...
I'd thought the Blood Cult formed after the Righteous-Demonic Great War.
But Moyong Hwan's words changed my mind.
'The Blood Cult already exists...'
Now that I thought about it, there were odd points.
The most essential thing for building power is money. No matter how much of a Ten Strongest Under Heaven the Blood Demon was, he couldn't grow an organization silently without funds.
So it was more accurate to assume they'd been operating in the shadows long ago, building up before emerging.
Probably, in the past life, Moyong Woo became patriarch, and the Moyong Clan might have been one of the Blood Cult's funding sources.
But would it stop at just the Moyong Clan?
'No way.'
The Blood Cult was in Zhejiang. The opposite end from this Liaodong region.
Why target only the "Moyong Clan" specifically?
'Alright, let's think.'
I didn't know how my past life unfolded in detail.
But I knew the major currents.
'The Righteous-Demonic Great War is coming soon. It ends in two years. About a year after that, Moyong Hui marries Cheon Woojin.'
That timing matched when my second sister Mok Jieun inherited the Sword Phoenix title.
'So Moyong Woo becomes Moyong Clan patriarch within three years.'
Of course, my speculation could be wrong.
Moyong Hui's marriage to Cheon Woojin might have been coincidence, and Moyong Gi could have died in some unfortunate accident.
But something about it all fitting together perfectly felt off.
'Moyong Hui charging at the Blood Demon might not have been just her sense of justice.'
If she later discovered the Sima Clan-Blood Cult connection, her fighting the Blood Demon would be natural.
'Then what about Cheon Seonwoo and Cheon Woojin? Did she keep it from them?'
I tapped the table in the Righteous Pavilion's secret room with my index finger.
The steady tap-tap sounds began to sharpen my focus.
'How big is the Blood Cult now? Wait, what even is the Blood Cult?'
They committed countless evils and caused the Blood Cult Uprising.
That was all I knew.
I had no idea what specific atrocities or what doctrines they followed.
I'd asked the Righteous Pavilion Master for Blood Cult info upon arrival, but Zhejiang intelligence would take time.
Moyong Hwan suggested using the Shadow Gate Sect, but it felt insufficient.
The Blood Cult was on par with the Murim Alliance or Four Black Alliance, after all.
'How did the Martial Emperor wipe out a group like that?'
Or maybe he didn't fully eradicate them. They could still be lurking in shadows I didn't know about.
Honestly, I didn't want to bother with the Blood Cult. Whatever they did, why should I care?
Yet for some reason, it kept nagging at me.
'Anhui is right above Zhejiang, and Henan above that.'
The Four Black Alliance was in Anhui, the Murim Alliance in Henan.
If the Blood Cult emerged only after the Great War, no issue. But if they already existed...
The sudden Great War itself might even have been influenced by the Blood Cult.
"Ugh... Should I look into it myself?"
My next destination looked like the Murim Alliance.