175

Chapter 175 - Sacheondang Family - 4

The Leader of the Guards is still alive.

I quickly scanned the man who had suddenly appeared. Considering he had agreed to act as bait when we were being chased by the men in black, it was remarkable that he was in one piece, showing no signs of having been forcefully separated from any part of his body.

"It's the Leader of the Guards!"

"Wasn't he reported missing?"

I wasn't the only one startled by the sudden appearance of the Leader of the Guards.

All those granted audience privileges at the Elders' Council were prominent figures within the family. It was natural for the surroundings to become chaotic at the appearance of the Leader of the Guards, who was a close confidant of the family head.

If there was any place that remained quiet, it was where the members of the Elders' Council that supported me were gathered. They looked at the Leader of the Guards with smug smiles, seemingly pleased with themselves.

Was it his unexpected appearance that had caused the earlier commotion?

"Have you been well?"

The Leader of the Guards asked me how I was with a nonchalant expression, amidst the barrage of gazes and the ongoing commotion.

"I would've liked to be, but it seems others had other plans for me."

Despite my sharply worded response, my expression could not hide my delight. Here he was, showing up in this situation to support me—an assist worthy of a World Cup final.

"It appears you are the one who cannot leave things be."

The Leader of the Guards chuckled lightly towards me.

"As much as I desired peace, it turned out this way. But, on another note, I must admit it's almost disappointing to see how tenaciously you cling to life. Or rather, how unscathed you are."

"We must deal with our own wrongdoings, mustn't we?"

Wrongs? Before I could inquire further, the Leader of the Guards cheerfully chided me, patted me on the shoulder, and stepped forward to address the Elders' Council.

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"Leader of the Guards. When did you arrive?"

The First Elder inquired about the unexpected arrival of the Leader of the Guards.

"I've just arrived. I wanted some rest, but I rushed here upon hearing that shameful acts were being committed."

The Leader of the Guards' statement packs a punch. The Elders' Council members are among the most authoritative in the martial arts family, barring the family head.

"How dare you refer to the actions of the Elders' Council as 'shameful acts!' Even if you are a close confidant of the family head, we cannot overlook your remark!"

"What else could it be if not shameful acts? Dozens of children died because of Danggeoho. The Guards and I have endured hell and shed blood willingly just to protect one surviving child. Now, what exactly is being done in this situation? Instead of warmly comforting a child who has barely survived and returned to the arms of the family, they are being disregarded!"

The Leader of the Guards bellowed his outrage without holding back.

"It's not a simple matter to grant access to the private records!"

"Are the lives of my fallen subordinates then so easily dismissed?"

The elder choked, unable to respond.

"Hwarin is a child closest to the family's secret base. If we had access to the private records, we might see the birth of a complete poison master in our generation. Why do you refuse to acknowledge that?"

"This place is to affirm if this bastard child really belongs to the Sacheondang Family! We will discuss the rest later!"

Trying to change the topic because it's inconvenient?

Seeming to consider that arguing about the private records with the First Elder was futile, the Leader of the Guards snorted disdainfully and then spoke.

"Kang Yoon Ho is the son of our family's Young Master, born over 20 years ago to a Korean courtesan named Hyang-Ah. I vouch for it."

The Leader of the Guards boldly assured the Elders' Council, guaranteeing the blood of the Sacheondang Family ran through my veins. It's something even brothers would hesitate to guarantee.

I'm so grateful I could cry - it makes me want to ask him to co-sign a debt guarantee.

Even a dubious loan can turn solid just by the guarantor's name attached to it.

Elders' Council, it's time you accept it as well. With the guarantee of the Leader of the Guards and his men, along with the qualifications of Hwarin, isn't it enough?

"Do you think that makes sense! No one in the Elders' Council has ever heard of the family head having a bastard child!"

No matter the era, having a bastard child isn't something to be easily revealed. Still, I'm curious. How is it that the Leader of the Guards knew, but the Elders' Council didn't?

"We muzzled the family head."

The Leader of the Guards looked back and forth between me and the Elders' Council, then started revealing a 20-year-old affair.

"We?"

"Some of you may remember, back then, our Young Master's position was precarious. With various problems within the family and the 'demon of lust' affair, there was talk of stripping him of his position."

"I remember."

"Driven by a sense of duty, the Young Master was more concerned with rectifying the family's misdoings than maintaining his status, pursuing the demon. But that wasn't the case for us accompanying him. Everyone revered our Young Master, so we decided to utilize the situation to strengthen his position. However, an issue arose."

"Please, elaborate."

For a moment, the Leader of the Guards looked at me with a hint of remorse, then he faced the Elders' Council again.

"The Young Master fell in love. But it was a love that should not have been. At that time, the Young Master had a fiancée approved by the family. Taking that courtesan meant he could solve the 'demon of lust' affair, but it was clear he wouldn't retain his position as Young Master. So, we discussed in secret, without the family head's knowledge."

"What did you discuss?"

"If the Korean courtesan returned, we would dismiss her, claiming the Young Master had abandoned you. And we kept this matter quiet from the Young Master as well."

That was how it happened. Although it didn't personally affect me, it was a tale of a tragedy sacrificed for a lineage dispute, and I frowned at the Leader of the Guards.

If it had been my story, I would have been furious, but from a third party's perspective, I could coldly understand. In these times, the power of a family through marriage is incredibly strong. It's not for nothing that people bring in powerful external family members to settle issues of succession.

The precarious position of the Young Master depended on the support of his fiancée's family. What if, while on an official trip, he returned with the woman he professed to be his true love and intended to marry?

It would lead to a bloody wedding, swords drawn.

The Young Master's men didn't want to create that scenario, so they sent away the Korean courtesan.

"Alas, such a thing happened 20 years ago...."

"The Young Master solved the issue with the demon of lust and, despite numerous difficulties, ultimately became the family head. However..."

The Leader of the Guards glanced at me then cast his eyes down regretfully as he continued.

"We were unaware that the courtesan was pregnant. Had we known, we wouldn't have turned her away on a cold winter's floor."

Regret and pain were clearly etched on the Leader of the Guards' face as I looked at him.

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A heavy silence crushed the atmosphere in the hall.

Is it now proven that I am the illegitimate child of the family head? Perhaps it's time to move on to the next plan. As I pondered, the Elders' Council seemed intent on proving they were not a group to be easily swayed.

"If you didn't know of the pregnancy back then, does that not imply there was no pregnancy?"

The First Elder, like a snake sinking its fangs into its prey upon finding a weak spot, pounced on the Leader of the Guards' confession for a potential flaw.

"What are you talking about?"

The Leader of the Guards quickly lifted his head and looked incredulously at the First Elder.

"That child named Hyang-Ah is but a lowly courtesan! How can we be certain she did not lie with another man and now audaciously claims the blood of the Dang Family? How is this not absurd?"

I couldn't just stand by after such a remark.

"What did you just say!!!"

Dammit. Even if I'm currently posing as someone distinguished from the son of a prostitute, hearing insults about one's mother is unbearable.

Channeling the persona of Hyang-Ah's son, I shouted back with fury in my voice. Intentionally, I pushed past the Leader of the Guards as I lunged toward the First Elder.

Leader of the Guards, you surely understand whether I strike the First Elder or not, there'll be trouble either way, right?

"Stand down."

To my relief, the Leader of the Guards grabbed my shoulder, holding me back.

"Release me! Do you actually expect me to stand idle after hearing such words?"

I internally pleaded for him to keep me from reacting. Struggling, I felt him attempt to restrain me as he let out a small sigh and turned to address the Elders' Council.

"I later came to learn it by chance. It is true that she was pregnant."

"You heard it by accident? You claim ignorance, and yet how could you have learned of it? Isn't this strange?"

But the Elders' Council would not easily let go of the prey they had bitten into. Another elder pounced on the weakness in the Leader of the Guards' statement.

"Isn't it preposterous to trust the word of a courtesan!"

"That illegitimate child could well be a spy trained to like pineapple pizzas by the heretical sect!"

"Based on the words of such lowly bastard, how could we possibly entrust him with the family's private records!"

The Elders' Council did not waste this opportunity to escalate their claims. This is bad. How did you come to know about it? Tell me, Leader of the Guards. Surely you aren't suggesting you knew because I told you?

"That is..."

As the Leader of the Guards began to respond with a face full of difficulty, the doors suddenly opened, and someone shouted.

"I told you so."

The voice was rich and deep, carrying a gravity that struck all ears, prompting everyone to look toward the door.

"That Hyang-Ah was pregnant."

The person appearing at the door was a face I recognized well from the game.

Without anyone needing to say anything, the arrival was met with exclamations of his identity.

"The family head of the Dang Family!"

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The family head of the Sacheondang Family, Dang Baekho.

If Dang Geoho was a tiger in snake's form, then Dang Baekho, true to his name, held the noble presence of a white tiger, an aura of purity about him.

'The Elders' Council can't move an inch now.'

Could the rumors be true that the current family head of Sacheondang has absolute control over the entire clan? The Elders' Council couldn't conceal their agitation from the moment of the family head's arrival.

As the family head surveyed the Elders' Council, those who had been reluctant to pass over the private records were now unable to even meet his gaze.

It's unusual for the Elders' Council, the elders of a clan, to be like this.

I had heard about the influential power of the family head, and it seems all those stories were indeed accurate, even if his position had once been unstable.

The First Elder, flustered, ceded the highest seat to the family head.

'I never imagined the family head would show up here.'

Could he have come along with the Leader of the Guards? Judging by the latter's complexion, it seemed likely.

Now what? The board has been flipped once again. Just when I thought I had the Elders' Council in my grasp, someone else turns the table.

'Meeting the family head was a contingency I considered.'

Ever since I set out for Sacheondang, I had visualized countless encounters with the family head. Regardless of the unexpected turns or changing situation, I didn't plan to simply watch powerlessly.

Kang Yoon Ho. Find a way to leverage the current circumstance. The game might have changed, but this was not unforeseen.

'Proceed as planned.'

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It all started with a silent battle of wills.

I stared up at the family head without uttering a word.

'I'm finally facing the family head.'

Impressive as expected. If a rugged protagonist from a martial arts novel aged into middle age, he'd probably look like this.

Despite likely little aging due to his martial cultivation, his face bore the weight of countless political struggles and the burdens of the family, imprinting the passage of time upon him.

He must have broken many hearts in his youth. It makes sense, then, why the leading courtesan of Hubei, Hyang-Ah, lost her senses and fell for him.

As I observed the family head's visage, murmurs from the crowd reached my ears.

"Don't they look alike?"

"They do seem similar."

"Similar...me? Both are handsome men."

"The son more so…"

"Well, he is the son of the foremost courtesan from Hubei."

It's an illusion. The context and atmosphere are pushing this perception forward.

Despite the urge to respond to the murmuring, I resisted and continued to gaze intently.

The family head maintained an inscrutable dignified expression and met my gaze without avoidance, almost as if piercing right through me.

"Will you just keep staring?"

The family head broke the silence as I continued my silent stare.

I had been waiting for that question!

I took a covert deep breath. I am Hyang-Ah's son. Yoonho. An abandoned bastard child by his father. A man who struggled immensely for over 20 years before reaching Sacheondang.

If I were truly Hyang-Ah's son, what would I say?

Father. *sob sob* I missed you! They are bullying me. Please save our Hwarin. Should I?

No.

"I was merely curious to see what manner of bastard has tormented my mother all her life."

I am the son abandoned over 20 years ago. How could I harbor any good feelings?

"You brat!!!"

The family head's attendants were on the verge of lunging at me, shouting in anger. But the family head lightly raised his hand to halt their actions.

There's no need for you to interfere. This is a family matter of considerable scale, not something for you to meddle in.

The attendants, still angry but obviously unable to ignore the family head's command, glared at me as if they could devour me whole.

If mere glares could make me cower, I wouldn't have made it here. If you wish to intimidate me, you'd need to show the killing intent of a Heavenly Murderous Star.

"Are you truly Hyang-Ah's son?"

"Yes, I am."

"So you are really…"

The family head stopped short, his eyes searching me as if looking for something long yearned for.

"No."

I declared resolutely to the family head.

Whether the family head wanted to find traces of his past from 20 years ago in me or was longing for remnants of a bygone fondness, I wasn't about to give him that time.

"What did you just say?"

The stern mask of the family head seemed slightly shaken.

Family head. It's fine that you want to indulge in nostalgia, but I'm in a hurry.

I need to overcome this predicament and save Hwarin's life. To do that, this is the best course of action.

I steeled my expression and opened my mouth to play the card I had prepared.

"I am not your son."