The Face I Knew
The time I received the Yakseon Heart Decision from Chwipung-gae.
In other words, ten years from now, the Dancheon Clan will not exist. Because it will have fallen.
That is what I heard from Chwipung-gae, and what I confirmed with my own investigation.
They say flowers are reddest before they wither — a truth of the world, they claim, but one that defies common sense. Is there not a saying that even a ruined house endures three generations? It is, by and large, an accurate truth, which is why most great clans decline gradually rather than collapsing in an instant. That is the true strength of a great house.
And yet…….
A mere ten years after I severed my ties with the Dancheon Clan, the clan vanished from Anhui without a trace. A complete and utter fall.
There is a saying that a ruined king can topple a nation in ten years — was the Dancheon Clan such a case?
In truth, I already know the answer. I can say with certainty that it was nothing of the sort.
My father, Dancheon Gang — not the greatest clan head in history, perhaps, but more than worthy of the title.
Bang Yeo-baek, the Escort Captain who upheld him, a master of the Harmony Realm.
Dancheon Hak, the promising Young Patriarch who had seized the epithet of the Dragon in the jianghu.
One would rightly call their foundation unshakable — hardly the stuff of a clan that crumbles within a decade.
I did not like my half-brother Dancheon Hak, but I knew he was no inadequate man. In those days, he was less a disappointment than a wall standing before me.
Of course, one could say the circumstances of that era were not ordinary.
True.
During my time as Myeong-gae, I had reached a single conclusion: the fall of the Dancheon Clan was the harbinger of the Great Righteous-Demonic War.
But those who deal in information must never be vague and evasive.
One must grasp the finer truth hidden within the information.
Yes — the Dancheon Clan's destruction was the omen of the Great War. I consider that an undeniable truth.
What I must learn now is how that omen unfolded within the clan itself.
Through what process the family was torn asunder.
And who played the pivotal role in that process — that would be the direction of my intelligence gathering.
Regrettably, in my life as Myeong-gae, there was not enough time to dig into that truth. Amid the gunfire of the Great War, I could not spare much time for clan affairs.
And so the truth of the Dancheon Clan's destruction was buried. It was the one knot I failed to untie in my past life.
But in this life, the time to unseal that secret is drawing near.
This time, I will not let it slip away.
In the world of men, there are few perfect secrets. It is a thought that comes naturally after long years in the Beggars' Gang.
Most secrets inevitably leave traces somewhere.
Though I said I did not know the truth of the Dancheon Clan's destruction, that did not mean I had no clues.
—I say, Myeong-gae.
—What is it?
—Have a look at this.
The Pavilion of Secrets.
The intelligence organization of the Martial Alliance, formed to oppose the Heavenly Demon Cult.
Since the Pavilion gathered the intelligence power of the entire martial world, its capabilities were said to rival the Beggars' Gang.
The Pavilion's members, too, were all men who had made names for themselves in information sects across the land.
Which is to say, most of them knew that I was born of the Dancheon Clan.
A Pavilion member handed me a portrait sketch. Out of habit, I turned it this way and that, examining it, and asked back.
—What is this?
—It's the portrait sketch of Ilcheon-sal.
—Ilcheon-sal?
My interest was piqued.
Ilcheon-sal.
A demonic cultist of the Extreme Demon Realm who had risen like a comet in Shandong of late.
The Extreme Demon Realm was the demonic equivalent of the Harmony Realm.
When the attainment of the Harmony Realm is compounded with the vicious tricks unique to demonic cultivators, a master of the Extreme Demon is said to be a calamity unto himself.
Fortunately, their numbers were few. It is difficult for one who practices demonic arts to blossom into divinity.
And yet, not long ago, a master with no ties to Shandong had appeared there, flaunting vicious martial prowess — that man was Ilcheon-sal.
—But why show me this all of a sudden?
—You may not have known, but I was once the intelligence officer assigned to the Dancheon Clan.
He said it with an apologetic expression, but I had known long ago. I, too, had been an intelligence officer of some standing.
—And what of it?
I had served as the assigned officer for the Moyong, Paeng, and Hwangbo clans myself, so I bore him no grudge for having handled the Dancheon Clan.
The Pavilion member leaned slightly toward me.
—This is a hypothesis, mind you.
—Skip the ceremony and tell me quickly.
Where else could one find entertainment like an intelligence officer's hypothesis? Insufficient information is, after all, sometimes filled in by imagination.
What makes a fine intelligence officer, if not the ability to fill the empty links of information with inference and imagination?
The Pavilion member's finger pointed at the portrait sketch.
—This Ilcheon-sal. Doesn't his face look familiar to you?
When I looked at him as if to ask what he meant,
—I have no proof, but I keep finding myself connecting him to the Dancheon Clan. Call it a feeling, if you like. I thought that as someone born of the clan, you might feel something similar.
He spoke obliquely, but he seemed to carry a certain conviction.
This was not something to dismiss lightly. A highly developed intelligence officer's instincts can, at times, become the thread that unravels a labyrinth.
I examined the portrait sketch thoroughly once more.
Ilcheon-sal was a master of the Extreme Demon.
There would be only three candidates within the Dancheon Clan who could fit that description.
—Ilcheon-sal, is it…….
His appearance had changed somewhat, but I thought I knew who he was.
"So what exactly do you mean by joining hands with me? Are you saying that now, of all times, you want me to make an enemy of the First Elder and expose him?"
Dancheon Hak did not bother to hide his displeasure.
I understand him.
They say ruler, father, and teacher are one.
There is no child who denies his parents.
There is no minister who betrays his king.
There is no disciple who attacks his master.
All of these are the gravest sins under heaven.
Dancheon Hak had studied under the First Elder from childhood, before he came of age, so I knew that turning against him was impossible. Such is the sentiment of the martial world.
Great clans are, for the most part, built upon norms and hierarchy. Except for the Beggars' Gang, where rank matters little, this holds true nearly everywhere.
And Dancheon Hak was surely one of those who had mastered those norms and hierarchy best of all.
Yet he had come to me and reported the First Elder's wrongdoing.
Whether from the bonds of blood, or from his own pride as the clan's eldest son, I could not say — but I knew that he was a man who, however flawed, was not crooked.
To defy one's ruler, father, and teacher is the gravest of sins, I had said.
But listen.
If a king was destined to lead his nation to ruin, then the minister who betrayed him might not be a traitor at all — he might become the king of a new nation.
Had I known those were not my parents, I might have left and founded a new house of my own.
And…….
Had I known my master was a demonic cultist.
"Brother."
"Why do you keep calling me that?"
One need only probe Dancheon Hak's heart to know.
"Suppose, hypothetically."
There was no need to circle around it. In the present situation, time was the most precious resource.
"What if the First Elder, Cheon Il-san, were a spy of the demonic cult?"
"……!"
Confusion settled into Dancheon Hak's eyes.
"You — you're out of your mind."
So saying, Dancheon Hak left.
It was fine.
I had planted a sufficient seed.
All that remained was to trust that it would sprout in time.
And Dancheon Hak's warning had, as expected, been the truth.
"It's been a while, hasn't it."
The very next day, they seemed to have begun to move.
"Yes, it has been a while, Third Elder."
He was not a face I was particularly glad to see.
"Come in."
I entered the Third Elder's residence, located on the outskirts of the Council of Elders.
Though he had trained me from the age of ten, when I entered the First-Class Realm, until I turned seventeen, this was the first time I had ever set foot here.
"Sit comfortably."
"Yes, Third Elder."
"There is no need for such formality between us."
The Third Elder was doing something out of character.
The awkward gestures, the awkward speech. I could tell he was earnestly performing something.
I simply could not tell what. Not because his schemes were deep, but because his acting was simply terrible. Had he joined the Entertainers' Knot, I would judge him fit to beg for a living his whole life.
"It's quite all right, Third Elder."
Still, I played along for now. To obtain what I wanted, patience was surely required.
"You needn't attach 'Third Elder' to every sentence. If we're being precise, am I not your teacher?"
"You told me not to call you teacher."
Those were his own words. Lest he catch the Patriarch's eye, he had drawn a firm line even while teaching me.
"What?"
I stared straight at his face.
"Do you not remember?"
He averted his eyes from my gaze.
"Ahem. Did I say that? I must be getting old — my memory grows hazy."
It was a remark that stirred déjà vu, but the feeling it evoked now was unmistakably different.
Perhaps what matters most in words is not what is said, but who speaks them.
"Will you have some tea?"
"Yes, if you're offering."
In the martial world, food and drink are a matter of great importance and great delicacy.
Poison runs rampant in the jianghu, and the easiest way to poison an opponent is through food.
Though this was within the clan, it was still, in effect, enemy ground — a seasoned veteran of the martial world would never put food in his mouth carelessly.
But I was, officially, nothing more than an inexperienced junior of the later generation…….
"Right, I'll have it brought out at once."
And the Third Elder regarded me in exactly that light. Was that not the important thing?
Tap.
As if it had been prepared in advance, the tea arrived at once.
"What business brings you to me?"
I asked the Third Elder without bringing the cup to my lips.
"Nothing much. You simply crossed my mind after so long, so I thought I'd see your face."
That he hadn't even bothered to think up a proper excuse — I could only call it pathetic. How such a man ever rose to Third Elder of the Dancheon Clan, I could not fathom.
"If you have no business with me, I'll take my leave."
"Tsk, why so cold?"
The Third Elder hurriedly blocked my way.
"I called because I have something to say. Have a cup of tea first."
In truth, I judged the odds of poison in that tea to be fifty-fifty. It was the most common of ploys, and at the same time, a crude one.
But watching the Third Elder's reaction, I knew for certain.
There was poison in this tea. If not poison proper, then he had certainly pulled some trick.
Had Dancheon Hak not given me warning, perhaps I might not have known — but how could I possibly fail to see it now?
Seated as I was, staring at him without touching the tea, the Third Elder finally spoke, haltingly.
"W-well. I was wondering if I had fallen short in any way while training you…… I've had such thoughts, you see. And, er, that is — with the contest for succession ahead, if you harbor any resentment toward me……"
Gulp.
Pretending to listen attentively to his rambling, I drank the tea. I could feel color rising in his face.
"Well, I've seen your face, so that's enough. Run along now."
His words were hastily wrapped up. One would rightly call him a truly ridiculous man.
"Why? Have you already achieved your purpose?"
"What nonsense is that?"
His brow furrowed.
At that absurd sight, a smile crept onto my face despite myself.
"Well — unless there's poison in this tea, perhaps?"
Whether startled by my words or not, his expression crumbled at once.
"Am I right?"
One would rightly call him a transparent man.