Maternal Home (4)
My question caught him off guard.
"Pardon? W-what do you mean?"
"Didn't you just say it? Why of all people did it have to be someone from the Murim Alliance?"
"Well......"
He looked extremely troubled.
But my instincts were telling me this was something I had to know.
"I just want to avoid doing anything that might upset Uncle in advance. So please, tell me."
He pondered for a moment before speaking.
"Well, you're not the type to go blabbing what I tell you...... Alright, I'll explain."
After seeing Uncle and the man from the Murim Alliance enter the reception room, we had moved to a quieter spot.
"You know about the Dragon-Phoenix Martial Assembly, right?"
"Of course."
It was where I had become the hero, after all.
"Decades ago, the young master participated in the Dragon-Phoenix Martial Assembly too. And it was his first—and last—time competing."
Come to think of it, Mother had mentioned something about Uncle before.
"My brother made it through the preliminaries and joined the ranks of the 108 rising stars. But after that, he never competed in another assembly."
Landing among the top 108 meant Uncle's skills back then were quite impressive.
It wasn't easy to stand out among the scions of renowned martial families from across the empire.
Of course, from what I'd sensed earlier, Uncle was at the Peak realm.
That put him on par with elders from prestigious sects.
The servant continued.
"After returning from the Dragon-Phoenix Martial Assembly, the young master was deeply disappointed in it. One of the reasons was that very man we just saw."
He glanced at me cautiously as he spoke.
"Have you...... perhaps heard of favoritism?"
I nodded.
"I knew it! As expected of you, Young Master—you know about it too. That makes this easier to explain."
He continued with a bitter expression.
"That man's from the Yeom Clan—he's Yeom Gu-seong. He entered the preliminaries with the young master as a favorite and ended up in a huge argument with him over it."
"No way......"
"Yes, exactly what you're thinking. The Murim Alliance took Yeom Gu-seong's side back then, and they said the young master had to apologize to him."
Suddenly, Mother's words made perfect sense.
"The Dragon-Phoenix Martial Assembly is just a show for dragons and phoenixes. So don't even think about entering it...... Just live quietly, and if you find someone you love, convince Father as long as he's a decent man without major flaws...... Back then, I didn't understand my brother. I thought he was just jealous of me. After all, I had far more talent than him. But......"
"Now I get it. My brother was genuinely worried about me."
It seemed this filthy tradition of favoritism had been around for far longer than I'd thought.
I let out a sigh.
"Now I understand why Uncle looked so grim."
The Murim Alliance siding with Yeom Gu-seong meant they saw favoritism as no big deal.
The Yeom Clan was influential and close to the Murim Alliance.
So naturally, they'd take their side.
Rotten to the core.
I'd known the Murim Alliance was corrupt for a while now.
......
......
......
As I rested in my room, Palgap burst in.
"Young Master! Young Master!"
"What? What's going on?"
"Big trouble, sir!"
"......?"
"The guy from the Murim Alliance this time—he's requesting reinforcements!"
I frowned and stood up.
"Did he ask for warriors too?"
"Yes, sir."
Hoo, just as I expected.
Why else would someone from the Murim Alliance come here in person?
"And supplies too, sir."
Wow, these thieving bastards.
They give nothing and demand the world.
"So what are Grandfather and Uncle saying?"
"They're agreeing, sir. How could they refuse a request from the Murim Alliance?"
"Yeah, fair enough."
I sank into thought.
The reason I'd come to Gansu Province was to monitor the Gold Guard dispatched here.
I needed a reason to head to Yeonji Mountain without raising suspicions anyway.
The Gold Guard, known as the Emperor's sword, weren't the type to be trifled with lightly.
Showing up there on some flimsy pretext would look suspicious.
It'd make it impossible to carry out the Emperor's orders properly.
The Murim Alliance's request was annoying, sure.
But it was also the perfect chance to go to Yeonji Mountain without anyone batting an eye.
Plus, knowing the massive losses inside the sword mound, I'd been worried about my maternal family.
Might as well make sure they suffer zero casualties.
Come to think of it, in my previous life, did they send support from here too?
I didn't remember clearly, but they hadn't sent warriors......
Was this fallout from me sending back the Shaolin monk warriors?
I pondered briefly, then chuckled.
Maybe.
But did it matter?
Any ripples from the future I changed were mine to handle.
The next morning.
True to Grandfather's wish for family breakfasts every day, the entire maternal family gathered.
As we sipped tea after the meal, I spoke to Grandfather.
"Grandfather, what did the Murim Alliance people demand yesterday?"
"Hm?"
"Did they ask for men and supplies?"
Grandfather and Uncle looked mildly surprised.
"Why do you think that?"
"Like Uncle said, they found a sword mound on Yeonji Mountain recently. It's hard for the Murim Alliance headquarters to send large numbers of people and supplies all the way here, so they'd ask local clans and sects for help."
"......"
Uncle nodded after a moment of silence.
"You're right. They requested twenty warriors and food supplies."
"As expected."
"Hoo, the way they phrase it—like we're returning something we borrowed—it's infuriating. But I don't have the confidence to weather the backlash of refusing."
Uncle's smile seemed terribly bitter.
"Anyway, we're planning to send Min Yu, who's in closed-door training, and some warriors."
"......!"
Come to think of it, Mother had a younger brother, but I'd rarely seen him.
A few times as a kid.
From memory, he died a few years later from qi deviation during closed-door training.
He was obsessed with martial arts.
I shook my head.
"No need to interrupt someone in closed-door training for this."
"What do you mean?"
"I'll go."
Grandfather shook his head, face full of worry.
"No, you can't. That place is extremely dangerous. If something happened to you there, I couldn't face your father and mother."
"No need to worry. I can protect myself."
"Hm?"
"You haven't forgotten whose son I am, right? The son of Lady Dae Young-seon of the Min Clan—once called the Beautiful Flow Sword in her youth."
"But that place crawls with first-rate warriors and above."
"I know."
They were worrying too much...... Ah!
They didn't know much about me.
Makes sense—after Uncle's incident, they might've distanced themselves from Murim Alliance matters.
Plus, this province was pretty far from their influence.
"Have you heard of Seonhyeopmirang?"
Never thought I'd say the title myself.
As expected, they shook their heads or tilted theirs in confusion.
"Then look into Seonhyeopmirang. You'll understand why I'm so confident about going."
With that, I wrapped up and returned to my room.
As I read to pass the time, Uncle came rushing in.
"I-is it true?"
"What is?"
"That you're Seonhyeopmirang."
"Yes."
I nodded.
"It's a bit embarrassing, but I earned that title a few years ago."
Uncle furrowed his brow cautiously.
"That story I told you earlier......"
Ah, he meant the Murim Alliance trash-talk from breakfast.
Since they'd hyped me as a hero, he figured I was tight with them.
"Oh, that? Honestly, I agree."
"Hm?"
"If they weren't fellow martial artists, imagine how much they'd hate merchants."
"Uh?"
He looked flustered as I vented about the Murim Alliance out of nowhere.
But this was the best way to ease his worries.
"Truth be told, even though I have the Seonhyeopmirang title, it predates me. And they only called me a hero to cover their own mistakes."
"Hmm......"
"I stepped in back then not to show off my skills, but to save my parents. No child would stand by knowing danger's coming. If I had the power, how could I just watch?"
"True enough."
I continued calmly.
"I didn't seek the title, but it'll help here. I can make my voice heard even at Yeonji Mountain."
Uncle nodded in agreement.
"You're right about that."
No group listens to the weak—it just leads to losses.
And that was likely Uncle's main concern.
"I'll talk to Father."
The next morning.
After breakfast and tea, Grandfather spoke to me.
"Seo-ho."
"Yes, Grandfather."
"I'm sorry. Not only can't I help my grandson, but now I'm burdening you......"
So it's settled—I'm going.
I smiled and shook my head.
"Grandfather, why think that way? I'm thrilled to help you."
"Hearing you say that......"
Grandfather teared up, and I hurriedly offered my handkerchief, flustered.
"Grandfather...... If your grandson's grown capable enough to help, you should be happy."
"Right, right. Of course."
His emotions—guilt over his own shortcomings, apology toward me—must've overflowed.
I glanced around subtly. Now that they knew I was the famed Seonhyeopmirang, the family's gazes held admiration.
As expected of a martial family.
They valued high martial prowess over wealth.
"I won't tarnish the Min Clan's reputation."
"You'll do great. I'm not worried."
After tea, I met the warriors who'd come with me.
Twenty in total.
Members of the Gale Wind Unit, one of the Min Clan's armed forces.
A mid-sized clan losing this many would take ages to recover.
I had to ensure they all returned unscathed.
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Eun Seo-ho, young division head of the Eunhae Merchant Group and the family head's grandson."
"An honor to meet the great hero Seonhyeopmirang."
They'd heard of me too—they all looked thrilled.
Embarrassed, I shot Uncle a side-eye.
"Ahem."
His reaction confirmed it—he was the one who'd spread the word.
"Though I'll be leading you, I'm lacking in many ways. Please take care of me."
After greetings, we discussed the support mission.
To set our basic policy.
"We should enter the sword mound if possible and claim its treasures," one warrior said.
I nodded.
"I agree."
His face lit up at my approval. But my agreement was just the setup for the counter.
"However, I have no intention of taking unnecessary risks."
"Why do you call it risky? It's Blood Karma Monk's sword mound. A Buddhist master's—no great dangers."
Right, that was the common thinking.
That's why people had gone in carelessly and suffered heavy losses.
I cited the reasons I'd prepared.
"It's a sword mound, but still an ancient structure. It could collapse—we must be cautious."
I pressed on.
"No matter how peak my skills, I can't protect everyone. More than half of you would die."
"......"
I stated firmly.
"Risk your lives for some unknown treasure? What's the point? To me, your lives are worth more than any loot."
The warriors' faces filled with emotion.
Persuasion complete.