Volume 2, Chapter 2
The Meeting took place in Jeonggeon Hall, the central building of the Jangheon Clan.
The air throughout the hall was thick with the smell of oil, meat, and alcohol.
The atmosphere was boisterous and convivial.
It was as if the mood had already achieved the Meeting’s purpose: harmony among the four sects.
And in truth, it had.
No one gathered for the Meeting wished to cause any trouble.
The Jangheon Clan itself had made considerable preparations for this occasion.
Boasting a long history and solid finances, the Jangheon Clan had spared no expense to liven up the Meeting, hiring not only clowns and strongmen but also dancers, in addition to providing plenty of food and drink.
Furthermore, they had prepared a separate space in an annex for the young disciples who could not drink alcohol.
In reality, once the initial greetings were over, there was nothing for the young disciples to do at the Meeting, so this was essentially a space for them to play freely while the event proceeded.
Of course, besides the children of the host, the Jangheon Clan, the only young disciples in attendance were from the Sincerity Gate.
So, in effect, it was a consideration for the Sincerity Gate.
After finishing their greetings, Lee Hoo and his junior brothers and sisters stayed in the annex.
Though called an annex, it was a well-kept place, as large as a decent-sized house.
“I’m Hohyeon! I’m five now!”
“Whoa! Me too? I’m five too! But I’m gonna be six soon!”
“Wow! I’m so jealous! I wanna be six too!”
Hohyeon was ecstatic.
The most cheerful of all the Sincerity Gate disciples, Hohyeon was also very friendly.
He was already getting along with the youngest son of the Jangheon Clan as if they were old friends.
Thanks to him, the other junior disciples were able to naturally blend into the atmosphere.
“You’ll be six soon too.”
When Chaehwa informed Hohyeon that he, too, would soon turn six, Hohyeon beamed.
“Really? I’m gonna be six soon too!”
“Wow! That’s amazing. Oh! I’m Jangheon Sohan! My dad said I have to tell my name to people I don’t know.”
“Huh? My Eldest Brother said that too. So I always say my name. Me too!”
Jangheon Gon had three sons.
The youngest, Jangheon Sohan, was the same age as Hohyeon. Perhaps because of this, they became fast friends despite it being their first meeting.
“Um… I’m Jangheon Daehan. How old are you?”
The second son, Jangheon Daehan, spoke to Chaehwa, who was standing beside Hohyeon.
“Nine.”
“R-really? I’m ten.”
Jangheon Daehan’s face lit up at the fact that Chaehwa was younger than him.
“…You’re the same age as my second senior brother. Senior Brother. He’s the same age as you.”
Chaehwa, however, reacted to Jangheon Daehan with indifference.
“…So we are?”
Dan Goyul was no different.
“Oh! R-really? Then we’re friends? But what’s your name? I’m the older brother, so let’s be friends, okay?”
Regardless, Jangheon Daehan did not lose interest in Chaehwa.
After a brief reaction to the fact that Dan Goyul was his age, he quickly turned back to Chaehwa, suggesting they become friends with his own absurd logic.
“I have lots of fun toys! I’m the older brother, so I’ll give them all to you! You can have them all! Let’s be friends!”
As if that wasn’t enough, he even offered to give her all his toys if she would be his friend.
*Pfft.*
Watching from the wooden porch under the annex’s eaves, Lee Hoo let out a chuckle.
‘He showed so much interest in my past life, too. He hasn’t changed.’
It had been the same in his past life.
Jangheon Daehan had shown a particular interest in Chaehwa.
No, it might be more accurate to call it a crush.
He had constantly shown interest, given her gifts, and tried his best to win her favor.
Of course, their first meeting back then had happened much later than this.
In any case, he remembered that when Chaehwa left the Sincerity Gate, Jangheon Daehan had been quite devastated, even though there had been nothing between them.
‘Hmm. Should I just let it be?’
The children of the Jangheon Clan and the disciples of the Sincerity Gate were getting along quite well, but watching them, Lee Hoo scratched his chin and pondered.
Having lived one life already was certainly a great advantage.
He knew what was going to happen.
But at times like this, it wasn't entirely a good thing.
Lee Hoo knew what would become of the Jangheon Clan’s children who were now playing with his junior brothers and sisters.
That was why he was hesitating.
It felt wrong to stop the children from playing together when they were having such a good time, yet it also felt unsettling to just let them be.
“Hmm.”
He pondered.
And while he was lost in thought,
“So it’s you.”
A shadow fell over him.
“I’ve heard a lot about you lately. We’ve met a few times, haven’t we? I heard we’re the same age. It’s nice to meet you.”
A young man with a good-natured smile.
He was exactly Lee Hoo’s age.
“…Ah! I didn’t tell you my name. I’m Jangheon Taehan. You’re Lee Hoo, right?”
Jangheon Taehan.
The eldest of Jangheon Gon’s three sons.
He was the same age as Lee Hoo.
He resembled his father so much that one might wonder if this was what Jangheon Gon looked like at Lee Hoo’s age.
While not handsome, he had a very likable face.
This was the boy who, in the past, was known to possess one of the greatest talents in Ansang Prefecture, alongside Gwak Cheol-u of the Chagon Gang.
In fact, that was still his reputation now.
The promising heir of the time-honored Jangheon Clan.
“Yes. Nice to meet you.”
Lee Hoo returned the greeting.
However, his gaze was deep and heavy as he looked at him.
‘The Three Hounds of Jangheon.’
The three dogs of the Jangheon Clan.
‘The First Hound of Jangheon.’
The first dog among them.
The scoundrel who, in his past life, was called the First Hound of the Jangheon Clan.
‘Another culprit in their self-destruction.’
That very Jangheon Taehan was standing before him.
“Is there something on my face?”
Noticing Lee Hoo’s stare, Jangheon Taehan touched his own face.
Only then did Lee Hoo snap out of it.
“No, nothing. I was just thinking you look alike.”
“Like who?”
“The Clan Lord.”
“Ah! Really?”
He smiled easily.
Jangheon Taehan’s good-natured smile was guileless.
‘He’s smiling?’
Jangheon Taehan was now on the cusp of manhood. His height and build were nearly that of a full-grown adult.
And yet, his smile was innocent.
Moreover, Lee Hoo had said he resembled his father, the Clan Lord.
He had said it on purpose.
Even so, his reaction wasn’t bad. In fact, it was quite positive.
‘It seems it hasn’t happened yet.’
In his past life, the relationship between Jangheon Gon and Jangheon Taehan was famously like oil and water.
In fact, he was known to despise being told that his face was the spitting image of Jangheon Gon’s.
Seeing him so pleased now, it seemed their relationship had not yet soured.
‘What was the reason?’
The cause of the rift between Jangheon Gon and Jangheon Taehan.
The reason Jangheon Taehan became the First of the Three Hounds of Jangheon.
He was sure he had known, but he couldn’t remember.
He had overheard bits and pieces here and there, but at the time, he had been too overwhelmed with protecting the crumbling Sincerity Gate and taking care of his juniors to pay much attention.
As a result, there were things he couldn't recall clearly now unless they were directly related to him.
It wasn't as if he had a good memory to begin with.
The internal affairs of the Jangheon Clan seemed to be one of those things.
It was a frustrating situation, the memory feeling like it was just on the tip of his tongue but refusing to surface.
“It looks like Daehan has taken a liking to your junior sister. Though it doesn’t seem to be mutual.”
Meanwhile, Jangheon Taehan kept trying to make conversation.
“I’ll give you all of this.”
Turning his gaze at the comment, Lee Hoo saw that Jangheon Taehan was right.
Jangheon Daehan was trying his best to win Chaehwa’s favor.
“What about my senior brother?”
And Chaehwa was responding with indifference.
“Huh? Then I’ll go get more. You can have this.”
Because of Chaehwa’s words, Jangheon Daehan was now in a position to give everything he had to both Chaehwa and Dan Goyul.
“The little ones are playing well together.”
Jangheon Sohan and Hohyeon were also playing well, just as Jangheon Taehan had said.
“My Eldest Brother is good at running. And he’s good at laundry, and cleaning, and he’s an aaawesome cook!”
“Really? My big brother can’t do any of that… But he’s good at swordsmanship. When he swings his sword, the wind goes whoosh whoosh whoosh!”
“Wow! My senior brother too! But, lately, my senior brother just keeps staring at the wall.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. Anyway, it’s scary.”
“Really? I’m scared of my mom.”
Perhaps because they were the same age, they got along well.
They chattered away, exchanging all sorts of stories as if they had an endless supply of things to say.
“It’s nice to see. It’s hard for them to hang out with peers like this here.”
Watching the children, Jangheon Taehan smiled wryly.
“Because it’s a clan… I suppose so?”
“That’s right. Because it’s a clan. And our father is the Clan Lord.”
Because it was the Jangheon Clan.
The children of the Clan Lord.
Even if there were others their age, who could truly speak and act so freely around them?
Probably no one.
He could roughly understand their situation.
And that made it all the more puzzling.
‘He doesn’t seem like a scoundrel.’
The way he smiled brightly at being told he resembled his father, the way he smiled wistfully while watching his younger siblings play with the other disciples.
No matter how he looked at it, he didn’t seem to be a bad person by nature.
So why did he become such a scoundrel?
Lee Hoo’s gaze turned to Jangheon Taehan.
“…Why?”
At Lee Hoo’s stare, Jangheon Taehan wore an awkward expression.
“You’re sweating?”
In that moment, Lee Hoo noticed that Jangheon Taehan’s martial arts uniform was damp with sweat.
The cuffs of his pants were stained with dirt and dust.
It was all the more incongruous because his attire was otherwise neat.
“Ah! Sweat? Do I smell?”
“No, it’s not that.”
“That’s a relief.”
At Lee Hoo’s reply, Jangheon Taehan scratched his head sheepishly.
“It’s nothing much, an Adept from the Wudang Sect is visiting. I think Father hopes I’ll catch his eye and become a lay disciple or something. So I was just training.”
At Jangheon Taehan’s abashed words, a bolt of lightning shot through Lee Hoo’s mind.
“…Ah!”
He remembered.
The reason Jangheon Taehan had turned into a scoundrel.
‘Right. That’s what happened.’
The catalyst had indeed been around this time.
* * *
While the disciples stayed in the separate annex, the heads of each sect gathered in one place, sharing pleasantries.
Even if it was a Meeting intended to promote harmony, as the leaders of their respective sects, their conversation inevitably drifted toward the current state of affairs.
“I hear there are rumors of a treasure map circulating. It’s likely just a rumor, but it seems people are starting to appear in the martial world, seeking this map.”
“If the rumors are true, it would change a person’s life, so wouldn't there be those who would step forward? Ah! More importantly, I’ve heard the Seowon Noble Family’s recent movements are unusual.”
“The Seowon Noble Family, you say?”
“Yes. They are said to be recruiting Wandering Warriors. Ostensibly, it’s because of their recent conflict with Suwonjang, but…”
“For something like Suwonjang, they shouldn't need to go so far as to recruit Wandering Warriors.”
“Indeed. And…”
They spoke of the areas around Ansang Prefecture, and of the Murim as a whole.
Some of their stories were dismissed as mere rumors, while others were situations that required careful observation.
“I see.”
However, there were more such stories than at the last Meeting.
Tales of the dead rising, of a master’s weapon from hundreds of years ago being discovered, and rumors of a treasure map making the rounds.
And on top of that, the unsettling atmosphere in the surrounding prefectures.
There had been a sharp increase in bizarre and unsettling events.
Jangheon Gon nodded at Yu Hyeonjun’s brief comment, who had been listening silently all along.
“Yes. The Murim has never known a quiet day, but things have been quite unsettled lately. That's why, at times like these, it's all the more important for us to unite, isn't it? That is also why I hosted this Meeting…”
Jangheon Gon’s line of conversation shifted toward harmony.
Yu Hyeonjun was well aware that since the Annihilation of the Chagon Gang, the Jangheon Clan, along with the Oso Gate and the Way of the Clouds Sect, had been particularly emphasizing harmony.
Their intentions were plain to see.
But since the Sincerity Gate also desired that harmony, Yu Hyeonjun nodded. Even so, he was letting Jangheon Gon's words go in one ear and out the other.
Yu Hyeonjun’s attention was directed elsewhere.
Toward one person attending this gathering.
A person who, despite being here, did not belong to any of the Ansang Prefecture sects.
‘A Master…!’
Yu Hyeonjun’s focus was fixed on him.
The man was older than Yu Hyeonjun.
The aura he exuded was serenely empty, and his Martial Prowess was difficult to gauge. He was, at the very least, stronger than the leaders of the other three sects present.
‘A Daoist…’
He was dressed in Daoist robes. And on his sleeve was the emblem of a white and black taegeuk.
‘Why is someone from Wudang here?’
His status was ill-suited for the unremarkable Ansang Prefecture.
One of the pillars of the Orthodox Faction Murim, one of the Nine Sects.
The Wudang Sect.
A Daoist from the Wudang Sect, said to be easily among the top five sects of the Orthodox Faction, was attending this Meeting.
That bothered him.
‘His Daoist title was…’
He was sure he had been introduced through Jangheon Gon when they first sat down.
“My apologies, Perfected One. We have a distinguished guest with us, yet we have been talking amongst ourselves. We have been rude.”
Just as Yu Hyeonjun was trying to recall the Daoist’s title.
Jangheon Gon, who had been speaking for some time, belatedly noticed the Daoist’s presence and gave an embarrassed laugh.
“Hahaha. Not at all. Is this not the way of the world? For a humble Daoist like myself, I am simply grateful to be able to witness such efforts to foster harmony in this chaotic Murim.”
The Daoist smiled and shook his head at Jangheon Gon’s apology.
‘Muak.’
Observing the smiling Daoist’s face, Yu Hyeonjun mulled over his title.
‘If he is Perfected One Muak…’
The title was familiar.
He had heard of him before.
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