Reaping What You Sow
Reaping what you sow, they say.
It had been a full week since I returned to the clan, and I'd spent every day of it living in perfect peace and quiet.
It started with Seolha, who appeared out of nowhere with armfuls of yakgwa pastries, then Ran, who pestered me to play with her at every spare moment, and finally Nari, who insisted on brewing me elixirs and herbal tonics whenever I so much as coughed.
With those three wrapped around me like chains, I honestly couldn't tell anymore whether I was a human being or livestock.
I need to get a new sword... but that sounds like so much work.
All things considered, you could call my lifestyle profoundly lazy. Given how much time I'd spent in training, resting was only natural—but there's a funny thing about the human heart: the more you rest, the more you want to rest.
"Still, I really should get up soon...."
That was the exact moment I steeled my resolve and slowly pushed myself upright.
"Sogaju-nim. A clan meeting has been convened."
Ansong, who had been standing guard outside my room as always, delivered the most inconvenient news imaginable.
"Ah."
Letting out a short groan, I tidied my bedhead a little and headed straight out. A clan meeting being called could only mean one thing: the Azure Dragon Pavilion Master had returned.
He could have come back a little later, you know.
I wasn't done resting, damn it. Well. Grumbling wasn't going to change anything, so since it had come to this, I might as well hurry. But as I set off with that thought, something struck me as odd—Nari was nowhere to be seen.
"Where's Nari?"
"Ah. Lady Nari is currently training the newly hired maids."
"Nari's senior enough to be doing that already?"
"She has worked here for over ten years now, has she not?"
Time really does fly.
It felt like only yesterday the other maids were keeping her in check, and now she was the one teaching people. The thought left me with a strange feeling.
"Well then, nothing to be done. Let's go."
"Yes, sir."
With Ansong in tow, I made straight for the meeting hall. The elders would already be gathered, and showing up late to that offered absolutely nothing good.
Before long I arrived, and standing before the door, I smoothed down my clothes first.
Loosened up my neck too.
The moment I finished preparing and pushed the door open, I saw that everyone except me was already seated.
"Ah, there you are."
Hm. Nobody expected me to be late, apparently.
Flushing faintly with embarrassment, I shuffled in—and Moyong Hu was at once at my side, pulling out a chair for me.
"Please, sit, my Lord."
"Thanks."
"It is nothing."
Was this guy always this solemn?
Come to think of it, if he acted like his usual self in front of Wang Inho, he really would be a madman.
Once I too had taken my seat, Ansong quietly closed the door behind us.
"With the Sogaju present, everyone is gathered. I shall now begin the clan meeting."
Clan meetings weren't held on any fixed schedule—their defining trait was that they convened whenever enough agenda items piled up. Which meant that nearly every major and minor affair of the clan was decided right here in this room.
"Are there any problematic individuals among the new maids who joined us recently?"
"They were vetted before being brought in, but we are continuing to look into them. Mindful of the possibility of planted spies, we will conduct a thorough investigation."
"Very well. Leave that matter to the Black Tortoise Pavilion Master—have him assist the Azure Dragon Pavilion Master a little. Things will be busy from here on out."
"I will assign two additional divisions to the task."
I've sat in on one of these before, but the atmosphere feels different now.
The only other time I'd attended was when I laid out my strategy for keeping Choe Chunghon in check before Wang Inho. Back then, it was simply a matter of the people in this room humoring whatever I said.
But now it was... how should I put it. They were receiving detailed reports on clan affairs, debating them, issuing orders.
So this, I suppose, was what they called domestic governance.
I was listening attentively, doing my best to melt into the mood, when a question came flying my way.
"By the way, Sogaju. I hear you are hosting a tournament called the Sword Gathering. Might I hear roughly how it will proceed?"
It was Yi Uigang, the White Tiger Pavilion Master, asking with an intrigued look on his face.
The Sword Gathering was the tournament I had proposed to Wang Inho. The name literally meant "gathering swords," but the point wasn't to collect swords from across the land—it was to gather the people who would one day wield my sword.
"It's simple. They won't be fighting each other for rankings—they'll be fighting to satisfy me."
"Satisfy you, you say."
"Yes. No matter how high a man places, what use is it if he doesn't please my eye?"
"Hahaha. Well said, indeed. I find myself quite taken with that approach as well. You and I truly do see eye to eye, Sogaju."
At those words, everyone in the room except Wang Inho turned to look at Yi Uigang as if he'd lost his mind.
"What? You got a problem with me lining up early?"
When Han Taesang, the Azure Dragon Pavilion Master, needled him like that, Yi Uigang's face darkened in an instant.
Wait, what. Why is the mood suddenly like this?
"You'd best watch your mouth, you little brat."
"Funny, I was about to say the same to you? Is there a single soul here who doesn't know how the White Tiger old-timer used to look down on our Sogaju?"
"Han Taesang!"
Oh. So I was being looked down on by Yi Uigang. Good to finally know.
"And if I recall, the White Tiger old-timer's precious daughter has been getting rather cozy with our Sogaju these days.... You ought to be ashamed of yourself."
"What did you say?!"
BANG!
Yi Uigang shot up from his seat entirely. And as he rose, he began packing his fist full and full of internal energy—anyone could see the man was preparing for a fight.
I looked around to see if anyone was going to step in, but everyone simply sat there with bored, unconcerned expressions.
"Why is nobody stopping them?"
I asked Moyong Hu, who was watching the pair with tired eyes, and he replied as if it were nothing at all.
"They quarrel from time to time. Please don't worry yourself, my Lord."
"They don't seem very casual about it, for something that happens 'from time to time'?"
"Ah. They quarrel seriously from time to time."
Wait, what is this. This is terrifying.
"Today is the day I turn you into a bloody pulp, you little wretch."
"You're the one who should be preparing for a long convalescence, old-timer."
Hmm. Han Taesang's words were probably true. Not just Yi Uigang—most of the other pavilion masters had likely looked down on me in their hearts as well. Even Moyong Hu had, at first.
Well. It's my own fault, so I can't exactly be angry about it.
Had I shown a shred of the dignity befitting a Sogaju a little earlier, none of this would have happened. Though I did have my own defense to make.
I'd lived my whole life as a drifter. Expecting me to instantly carry myself like royalty? Come on.
You might as well ask a mouse to impersonate an ox.
At any rate, it looked like they were actually about to come to blows, so I stepped in to mediate at once.
"That's enough, both of you. Shall we get back to the meeting?"
"Sogaju-nim, you are not even angry? That man looked down on you not so long ago, and now here he is wagging his tail."
"You shut your mouth, you little brat!"
"Whoa, whoa. This is all my own failing, so please calm down and take your seat for now."
At my words, Han Taesang flinched and awkwardly sank back into his chair. Yi Uigang, clearly not expecting me to say anything like this, was visibly flustered as well.
"I have eyes and ears of my own, you know. I've known all of that for years now—there's nothing to dredge up. Nothing at all."
I said it lightly, but the truth was, it had bothered me quite a bit back then. It would have been a lie to claim I never thought, I'm the goddamn Sogaju—why do I need your approval or permission?
But in the end, everyone acknowledged me, didn't they? That's all that matters. A man digging up old grievances just to swing his sword around isn't much of a man at all.
When I said as much, the whole room fell into a solemn hush.
"Sogaju-nim.... Let me say it once more—that time, I believe I must have been out of my mind."
Why are you getting worked up too?
"Everyone, calm yourselves, as Mujin says. The meeting is not yet over."
With even Wang Inho stepping in to settle the situation, Han Taesang and Yi Uigang both bowed their heads.
And so the meeting continued, the air tinged with a certain tension. Perhaps half a quarter-hour later, Wang Inho seemed ready to bring things to a close and rose from his seat.
"Then let this conclude today's clan meeting. Ah—one thing, Azure Dragon Pavilion Master."
"Yes, Clan Lord."
"I hear that on his way back to the clan, Mujin never once ran into a single bandit."
".....Yes."
Perhaps sensing something ominous, Han Taesang stared back at Wang Inho with an extremely uneasy expression. He looked just like a child dreading that his parents were about to pile more chores on him.
"Do you take my meaning?"
"I... have no idea what you could mean, my lord."
"Investigate not just Gaegyeong but the other regions as well."
"......"
Answering silence with silence, Han Taesang simply bowed his head to Wang Inho. It meant, roughly, that he'd do it.
And watching that unfold, Yi Uigang mocked him with a face of pure schadenfreude.
"Good for you, kid. You get to travel."
"White Tiger old-timer, you...!"
"Want to trade places? Then again, I doubt you'll have the time for it."
"Grrr!"
Grumbling in frustration, Han Taesang retreated to his seat, and one by one, people began to file out.
"Hahaha. That was quite impressive earlier, if I may say so."
"Ah. Great Elder."
Wang Gohu, the Great Elder—someone I'd never so much as exchanged words with before—suddenly addressed me.
"Even had you rebuked the White Tiger Pavilion Master outright, everyone would have understood."
"As I said earlier, that's not something I wish to do."
"A magnanimous soul indeed. And yet...."
Wang Gohu trailed off, then gestured toward my waist.
"Did you lose your sword?"
"Not exactly—it's a bit of a story...."
I gave him the rough account of how my sword had been shattered, and something unusual flickered in Wang Gohu's eyes.
"So the Taewang Pacheon Geuk destroyed the blade itself."
"It was reduced to powder, to be precise."
"My, my. You have grown far more than we anticipated. This old elder could not be more delighted."
Wang Gohu's weathered face broke into a smile, and it was clear the joy was genuine.
"Thank you. The trouble is, I've been unable to find any blade that can withstand that sword art, and it's become rather a problem."
The Wang Clan estate was, in essence, drowning in swords on every side, so I'd ransacked the storerooms the moment I returned—but no matter how I looked, I simply could not find a blade capable of enduring the Taewang Pacheon Geuk.
The consensus was that even a renowned famous sword would struggle to hold up against it.
Having listened to my plight, Wang Gohu stroked his beard thoughtfully before speaking.
"Our clan keeps its finest swords under separate guard. I shall open that vault for you. No—actually, how would you feel about paying a visit to the Cheok Clan estate instead?"
"The Cheok Clan estate, you say?"
"Yes. The Cheok Clan is second to none when it comes to cold weapons. If you go, I'm certain they'll gift you a fine famous sword."
Well, well. Now that was an interesting proposal.