Head of the Northern Heavens Clan, Chapter 17
To be honest, Cheon-hwi and I were not particularly close.
We were cousins and met occasionally, but we were always distant.
The root cause was the bitter relationship between my father and his father, my uncle.
The two of them had fought fiercely over the position of Clan Head in the past, and that bad blood still lingered.
I had heard that whenever he had the chance, my uncle would spew venomous words about my father and me to Cheon-hwi.
‘Still, he wasn’t a bad person at heart.’
Even though he grew up hearing such things, Cheon-hwi never disliked me.
He was just a bit uncomfortable and awkward around me.
That had been the same in my first life, when all the servants despised me.
Because of that, I didn’t dislike him either.
However, I had never been the one to strike up a conversation first, but…
‘Is it because of this matter, after all?’
Seeing him come to find me like this, it had to be.
“What is it you wish to tell me?”
“W-well, that is…”
“It is fine, so speak.”
I spoke to Cheon-hwi with a gentle expression and tone.
He seemed slightly surprised by my reaction, but soon answered calmly.
“I heard you are heading to the Shanxi Yu Clan. May I accompany you?”
‘As I thought.’
It was the request I had expected.
Since that was the only reason Cheon-hwi would have come to find me.
Though, I did wonder why he would make such a proposal…
“Very well.”
I accepted readily.
There was no reason to refuse.
Cheon-hwi looked surprised at my response.
“Are you truly alright with that?”
“Is there any reason I shouldn’t be? The more strength we have, the better.”
Of course, I couldn’t exactly bring the entire martial force with me…
But having one guard for Cheon-hwi wouldn’t be a problem.
Even adding myself and Sa-gong Cheon, there would only be four of us in total.
‘And personally, I would like to grow closer to Cheon-hwi in this life.’
“Thank you, Brother. I was afraid of going alone, but I feel relieved to be with you.”
Perhaps his tension had eased, as Cheon-hwi smiled softly.
I nodded and said to him,
“I am glad to be going with you as well. Thank you for making the suggestion.”
I could see Cheon-hwi’s eyes widen at my sincere words.
I patted his shoulder and added,
“We plan to depart soon, so prepare yourself. I will call for you again.”
“Yes! I will greet you again then.”
Cheon-hwi, seemingly in a better mood, nodded and left.
Once I confirmed he was gone, Sa-gong Cheon approached quietly and asked,
“Young Master, are you truly sure about this?”
“What is there to be unsure about?”
“Young Master Jin Cheon-hwi likely did not make this proposal of his own volition. It was surely his father, Pavilion Master Jin Yu-seong, who ordered him to do so.”
“He sees an opportunity to earn merit, so he wants to send his talented son to steal my thunder. I am well aware of that.”
Cheon-hwi’s talent was arguably the greatest in the Northern Sky Sword Clan.
Even now, he possessed martial prowess nearing the peak of the Supreme Realm, and in the future, he would ascend to the Harmony Realm and be known as the First Sword of the Jin Clan.
‘That is why, in my first life, I constantly heard people wondering what it would have been like if Cheon-hwi had been the Clan Head.’
Yet, he himself had no greed for the position.
He had even defied his father’s order to usurp the position from me and remained a loyal retainer until the end.
And then, he lost his life in the battle against the Black Night City.
I intended to ensure that would not happen in this life.
As much as he had shown me goodwill, I would show him the same and protect him until the end.
‘And as a bonus, I must help his talent fully blossom.’
Thinking this to myself, I said to Sa-gong Cheon,
“But you know as well as I do that this mission is important. Having Cheon-hwi there is more reassuring than failing.”
“That may be true…”
“Besides, Cheon-hwi is not a child who would covet another’s merit. He will act only as a member of my party following my orders. Thus, the picture my uncle wants to paint will not come to pass.”
I hadn’t accepted Cheon-hwi’s proposal lightly.
I accepted it because there was nothing to lose.
On the contrary, we would both use this opportunity to shine and elevate the name of the Northern Sky Sword Clan.
Of course, this might provoke the forces of the Black Night City, but…
‘This much should be fine.’
They wouldn’t dare show themselves on the front lines unless they had no other choice.
Even in my past life, they only barely emerged when I began to purge them in earnest, so my making a name for myself shouldn’t move them much.
“Do not worry too much, and help me with my training on the way. To handle whatever situation may arise, I must become stronger than I am now.”
Through my past knowledge, I roughly knew what had happened at the Shanxi Yu Clan.
And I knew how to deal with it.
But just in case, the higher my martial prowess, the better.
That was why I had been training like a madman lately.
“Understood. I shall do so.”
“I am counting on you.”
Sa-gong Cheon nodded and went to prepare for his own departure.
A short time passed.
Once we had finished our preparations, we set off toward the Shanxi Yu Clan.
* * *
The party heading to the Shanxi Yu Clan was quite small.
Just myself, Cheon-hwi, my guard Sa-gong Cheon, and one martial artist named Im Ho-gyeong, who was Cheon-hwi’s guard.
We could have brought more if we wanted, but…
‘They requested that we send the absolute minimum number of people.’
This was because the matter involved the creation of a medicinal herb for the Shanxi Yu Clan.
Since it dealt with the clan’s secret techniques, they wanted as few outsiders involved as possible.
For me, that was a good thing.
After all, I didn’t trust any martial artist other than Sa-gong Cheon.
I had no intention of working with other martial artists on missions until I had built a relationship of trust with them.
“Then we shall depart. I will take the reins of the carriage.”
Im Ho-gyeong, Cheon-hwi’s guard, volunteered to sit on the driver’s seat.
The three of us remaining sat inside the carriage to rest.
While I was meditating with my eyes closed, Cheon-hwi’s voice reached me.
“Brother, may I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“Have you been hiding your true strength?”
It was the same question Sa-gong Cheon had asked earlier.
It was likely a question on many people’s minds, not just Cheon-hwi’s.
I answered with a playful smile.
“Well, what do you think?”
“I… honestly do not know. We haven’t interacted that often, after all.”
Cheon-hwi answered honestly.
Watching him, I said,
“Then you should find out.”
“Find out?”
“I meant that you should use this journey to verify whether I have been hiding my strength or not. You should be able to tell, shouldn’t you?”
“……!”
Cheon-hwi’s eyes widened.
“Actually, it doesn’t matter much even if you can tell. What matters is how I am now. Guard Sa-gong, don’t you agree?”
“Indeed. The Young Master is correct.”
Sa-gong Cheon nodded calmly.
Just as Cheon-hwi was about to say something,
*Swoosh! Thwack!*
*Neighhh!*
Along with the sound of the air being sliced, the horse let out a desperate cry.
“What is happening?”
“This is…”
Before we could even grasp the situation, a voice came from outside.
It was the urgent voice of the driver, Im Ho-gyeong.
“Young Masters, it’s an ambush! The Green Forest bandits have appeared!”
“Green Forest?”
We immediately stepped outside to assess the situation.
Just as Im Ho-gyeong had said, dozens of Green Forest bandits were surrounding us.
“So, the rumors were true—some wealthy-looking young masters were coming our way!”
A middle-aged man who appeared to be the leader swaggered toward us.
He carried a massive axe on his shoulder, and the formidable aura he exuded suggested he was quite the expert.
“How is the Green Forest here?”
Cheon-hwi muttered in surprise.
This was because this area was still under the influence of the Northern Sky Sword Clan.
In other words, the Northern Sky Sword Clan was responsible for the security of this region.
And our intelligence network had no reports of Green Forest bandits in this area.
That meant these were thugs who had recently infiltrated from outside.
‘And that remark the guy just made.’
‘As rumored,’ wealthy-looking young masters were ‘coming.’
This implied that they had received information from someone in advance.
“Haa.”
I let out a sigh.
There were too many candidates, so I couldn’t narrow it down.
Perhaps one of the senior members who disliked me had played a trick?
“Guard Sa-gong, I will draw their attention, so please take the young masters and flee.”
Unlike me, who was just annoyed, the atmosphere on Cheon-hwi and Im Ho-gyeong’s side was quite grave.
They must have thought that given the scale of the enemies, it was impossible to pass through without casualties.
Thus, Im Ho-gyeong was trying to sacrifice himself to clear a path.
“What are you saying! Guard Im, absolutely not!”
“But Young Master, this is the only way.”
“I would rather we all fight together…”
“If we do that, there is a high chance everyone will be severely injured. Then, going to the Shanxi Yu Clan would be meaningless.”
“Is the Shanxi Yu Clan important right now!? I have no intention of abandoning you, Guard Im.”
“Young Master! Listen to me!”
Cheon-hwi and Im Ho-gyeong were arguing.
It was a touching scene, suggesting a deep bond of trust between them, much like the one between Sa-gong Cheon and me.
I ignored the two of them and stepped forward.
“B-Brother!?”
“Young Master? It’s dangerous!”
I ignored the voices from behind and looked at the Green Forest bandits.
“Excuse me. What should I call you?”
“Me?”
“Yes, you.”
“Heh. This old man is Geum Ho-tae of the Red Blood Axe. Call me whatever you like.”
“I am Jin Mu-yeol, Young Master of the Northern Sky Sword Clan. And these are my companions.”
“The Young Master of the Northern Sky Sword Clan! A big fish has been caught indeed.”
I calmly made a proposal to the Red Blood Axe, who seemed very pleased.
“I will hand over all the money I have, so can you step aside? Your goal is money, after all.”
“Hehehe. Unfortunately, I cannot do that, kid. Holding you hostage to extort money from the Northern Sky Sword Clan seems like it would yield a much higher profit than the pittance we’d get from you.”
“If you do that, you’ll be marked by the Northern Sky Sword Clan and find yourselves in quite a difficult position, won’t you?”
“Heh. If we just take the money and flee south, how could you possibly catch us, no matter how great you think you are? Besides, everyone living in these parts knows that your clan’s influence is on the decline these days.”
It seemed there was still a long way to go before the Northern Sky Sword Clan could be made great again.
To think I would be hearing such words from mere low-life bandits.
I let out a light sigh and said, “Negotiations have broken down.”
*Cling.*
At the same time, my sword was drawn from my waist.
Before the Red Wolf Band could even react, I swung it.
“Then die.”
*Slash!*
A barrage of sharp strikes engulfed the bandits surrounding us.
0 Comments