177

Chapter 177 – The Sacheon Clan Family – 6

The clan leader had abandoned his first love, who bore his child, for the sake of the clan and his position as its head.

Whether by his own volition or by force, it was said. Then one day, the child of his first love appeared before him and spoke.

"I am not here to be recognized as your son. Unlike you, I stand here having risked everything for love."

Could there be a father in the world who would not be swayed by these words?

"She is my woman? You have such a relation with the child of the enemy?"

"Is there any other reason worth risking one's life over between a man and a woman?"

I said to the clan leader with a confident expression.

The clan leader's eyes flickered subtly. So it did reach him. Even a master who can maintain composure would not be human if these words did not shake them.

Of course, it wasn't just the clan leader who was stirred by my declaration of 'my woman'.

"So the rumors were true."

"I heard from the members of the Guard at the clan headquarters that you did not cease your affectionate behaviors until you arrived here."

"According to what I heard, you were already setting up a household and living together."

"Ho! Isn't that problematic? Two children with the blood of the Sacheon Clan Family engaged in such…"

"One is an offspring of a distant branch, and the other is a progeny of the direct line. In terms of consanguinity, there is no issue."

"Ah ha."

It's a relief. Hwairin is, in terms of direct lineage and consanguinity, many degrees removed. In the modern era, two people with the same Kim family name are complete strangers if distantly related, but in this world, things are different.

Given that the Republic of Korea only abolished the law prohibiting marriage between people with the same last name and ancestral origin in the late '90s, imagine how this world might be.

The statement I made would have triggered an inquisition had it been made in other martial arts clans like the Nangong or the Jegal clans.

Luckily, it's the Sacheon Clan Family.

The isolated Sacheon City with its basin topography, a martial arts clan with a culture that developed due to a tendency to resent the leakage of the clan's secrets to outsiders.

It's fortunate that the Sacheon Clan Family is a martial arts clan that permits love between even distantly related individuals of the same surname in the world of martial arts.

"I've heard roughly the story from the master of the Guard. Did you really write this book just to covertly communicate with the harlots?"

The clan leader asked, showing me the Sacheon Clan Scripture.

I hadn't anticipated things turning out this way. It's my own karma to bear, so I have no place to complain. With a small urge to speak the truth pushed aside, I nodded and opened my mouth in response to the clan leader's question.

"There was no other way to save Hwairin. If I had delayed even slightly, Dang__ho would have taken the child away."

Everyone in the Sacheon Clan Family is aware of the blood feud between Dang__ho and the Guard. Even if my actions spread the clan's private affairs, no one will doubt the purpose behind them.

"You know that spreading the clan's secrets can be a crime."

I had no idea. Who would have thought that using the content written in a diary would be deemed a secret and lead to being dragged to the Sacheon Clan Family for questioning?

"Of course I was prepared. The crime of spreading secrets. Or perhaps, being murdered quietly due to the succession issue. But what does it matter? My woman is suffering. My woman might die. Then shouldn't I find the only way to ensure she lives?"

"You wrote it knowing you could die?"

A slight tremor could be felt in the clan leader's voice.

I can't miss this opportunity. I filled my voice with strong determination.

"If you are a man, you should be willing to risk your life to protect your woman."

Clan leader, you couldn't do it, but I did. Unlike you, your son has thrown everything away for love.

I looked at the clan leader with a reproachful gaze. Whether he understood the meaning behind my stare, for a fleeting moment, a hint of guilt flashed across the clan leader's face as he struggled to maintain composure.

Suffer more. Feel more guilt. Be even more agitated. Hurry up and hand over the authority of the Clan Head.

'Avoiding my gaze?'

As I looked unabashedly at the clan leader, he eventually could not withstand my gaze. I am one who has won a staring contest against the clan leader. This could be a bragging right even at a drinking party.

Enough.

I passed the first gate. I gained a moment of time.

Having shaken the clan leader once, let's shake the council of elders next.

I turned to face the council of elders, who were looking at me, and opened my mouth.

"I am aware that the council of elders must have many thoughts because of me."

To extract the authority of the Clan Head from the council of elders, a trade must be made.

Now, no one can deny the fact that I am the son of the clan leader. If so, I can use the simplest method of trade in the world against the council of elders.

"Do you think I aspire to the position of the Sub Clan Head? No, I need none of that. My sole purpose for coming here is just one. I do not need anything else."

To take the most desired thing using something I neither have nor need.

"You mean to forfeit the Sub Clan Head position?"

"That I have no intention of participating in the succession structure…"

They all seem surprised. It's bewildering to them. It is not uncommon for an illegitimate child to become the heir when there are no legitimate offspring. If the clan leader firmly recognizes me as his son, the Sub Clan Head position could be mine.

But here's the thing. I'm not interested in that position. The probability of dying if I remain in the Sacheon Clan Family is higher than surviving, so why should I stay?

"When I was young, my mother told me about the martial heroes of the martial world, and I held those tales in this book."

Holding the Sacheon Clan Scripture in my hand, I glanced briefly at the clan leader, then turned my gaze back to the council of elders as I spoke.

"The first people of the Sacheon Clan Family I met were certainly martial heroes. In a situation where they only had to hand over my woman, everyone risked their lives to fight the minions of the evil sect. Each one of them was a hero, more so than could be contained in the Sacheon Clan Scripture I wrote. And undoubtedly, all of you looking at me right now, I believe, are nothing less than those heroes."

What lies within their hearts is not important. For the sake of argument, let's force upon them the mantle of being martial heroes.

"Just consider that my issue is clouding your vision. Therefore, I am willing to relinquish everything I could possess. If you are of the orthodox sect, if you are martial heroes, if you are people of the Sacheon Clan Family, please do not ignore the child of the clan who is in distress."

You are from the orthodox side, aren't you? A martial arts clan that cherishes its people more than any other. Frame the situation so that the obstacle, me, must be removed, and it's as if it's imperative for you to act accordingly.

A contemplative silence enveloped the council of elders in response to my appeal.

'I can't let them think for too long.'

Silence is good, but if it extends, they might realize there are other options.

Then I must resort to another method.

"If you find it hard to trust the words of a black-haired bastard, then allow me to weigh on your hearts the relics of my mother."

I took out an object that could sway the hearts of the Sacheon Clan family and placed it on the table for everyone to see.

"Bulmanghwan..."

Someone recognized the object I placed and muttered in a pained voice.

"The Sacheon Clan Family does not forget."

With the Bulmanghwan in my sight, I mentioned the clan motto to the council of elders.

"Are you offering the Bulmanghwan in exchange for the authority of the Clan Head?"

Right. But to say it in that manner would seem like begging. I have come to make a trade. Silently shaking my head, I opened my mouth.

"Even having lived but a short time, I've realized how easy it is for people to forget. The Sacheon Clan people created the Boeunpaes and Bulmanghwans to prevent forgetfulness. However, what should truly not be forgotten is not this mere bracelet."

"Do you mean we should not forget you, who brought the bracelet?"

One of the elders pointed out sharply.

"No. You may forget the black-haired bastard if you please. But..."

I paused for a moment then looked around at everyone gathered here.

The clan leader's illegitimate child. The poison expert of the Sacheon Clan Family. And the Bulmanghwan.

Even with numerous items tipped on the opposite scale to trade for one of the Sacheon Clan Family's treasures, their scale remains balanced.

Now, I have nothing more of my own to offer.

Should I give up?

Should I wait idly until their weights shift?

No. Now is the time to weigh what they must not forget, though it may not be mine to offer.

"Do not forget about the dozens of bastards who died due to your indifference."

The statement freezes the audience.

Dozens of children have died under the guise of poison experiments. The sin was committed by Dang__ho and his cohort, but it was also the fault of the Sacheon Clan Family, who neglected these bastards.

I raised my right hand and placed the tears of the children on their scale.

"Do not forget the members of the Guard who died to protect the clan's children."

The thought of the Guard members weighs heavy on my heart. Those who wanted to see the third volume of Dangga Pungwoon. Those who didn't hesitate to offer their lives for Hwairin.

I placed their sacrifice onto the scale with my left hand.

"Do not forget my woman, who spent her life in pain and was on death's door when she came into the clan's embrace."

With your help, Hwairin can live.

I have given everything I could.

What are you hesitating for?

Why are you trying to forget? Is there not something you should remember?

Even if you attempt to forget everything else, do not forget this.

"Please, don't forget that you are the pillars of righteousness, the Sacheon Clan Family."

The Sacheon Clan Family does not forget.

I articulated firmly with my fist pressed to my heart.

Under the weight of what I have brought up, the council members silently swallowed their own words.

------------

The one who broke the silence first was the clan leader, who had been silently watching me.

"Hyang A... has she... passed away?"

The clan leader's voice shook so much that anyone could hear the turmoil. He could no longer maintain his dignified expression upon hearing of his first love's death.

"It's been a long time since she left this world due to illness."

"I see... I understand."

Perhaps the shock was too great. The clan leader closed his trembling eyes, appeared to swallow back a cry, and then spoke.

"Grant him the authority of the Clan Head."

Excellent!

"Clan Leader! This is not something to be decided unilaterally..."

"Elder!"

"I will no longer deny the boy's bloodline! No! On the contrary, that's precisely why it's a problem. The issue of succession is not something that can be simply abandoned with a word. Consider our current Sub Clan Head lying sick!"

"This is not a matter to be discussed here."

"It has been too long. Even if the Sub Clan Head recovers, none can guarantee he will be able to stand as a martial artist. In such case, the clan will be divided as it was 20 years ago! Are you going to pass on the pain of 20 years ago to the Sub Clan Head too?"

"That's right!"

"Saving the clan child is the issue, what's there to agree or disagree with!"

"Let's save him first!"

"You didn't support the Sub Clan Head, and now you are seizing an opportunity!"

"The Sacheon Clan Family does not forget! Of course, we must save the child!"

"Let's grant him the authority first!"

Complete chaos.

Most of what I heard were in favor of granting the authority, yet the voices of the remaining opposition were not negligible.

"... After living so diligently, nothing has changed from 20 years ago."

Watching the state of the council of elders, the clan leader murmured quietly enough for me to barely hear, as if making an excuse.

Is he recalling the past? The face of the clan leader, now unmasked, was a mix of devastation and torment.

Is this the weight of being a clan leader? It seems he did his best. After all, succession is a problem that not even the greatest generals or kings of history could resolve.

It seems I also have to solve the last problem.

"If you give me the authority of the Clan Head right now, I will resolve the Sub Clan Head issue."

Using the Soo Yoon Sim Sang Gyeol technique, I shouted loud enough for everyone to hear.

"What did you say?"

Everyone

stopped their quarreling to look at me.

Ultimately, this matter only resolves with the Sub Clan Head returning hale and me renouncing any claim to the succession, right?

"I have a way to ensure the Sub Clan Head recovers fully."

Let's conclude this.