Thud!
“Guardian is alive, huh?”
I quickly scanned him as he suddenly appeared. For someone who volunteered to be bait while being chased by the black-clad men, he looked surprisingly intact without any dismembered parts.
“That’s the Guardian!”
“Weren’t they missing?”
I wasn’t the only one shocked by the Guardian’s sudden appearance. Those given audience in the Elders’ Council were all high-ranking officials from the Tang Family. They couldn’t possibly not know the Guardian, Tang Geoh, so it was natural for the surroundings to erupt into chaos.
The only quiet place was where the Elders, who supported me, were gathered. They wore triumphant smiles as they looked at the Guardian.
Did the Guardian come to stir up the trouble that was already brewing?
“How have you been?”
The Guardian deflected the stares directed at him and, taking advantage of the chaos, he asked me about my well-being.
“I wanted to be well, but the surroundings wouldn’t allow it.”
I spoke with a sharp tongue but couldn’t hide my relief at seeing him. His arrival was like a World Cup final assist!
“It seems the one causing the racket is you.”
The Guardian smirked at me.
“Wanting to be well, that’s how it turned out. Anyway, your life is remarkably resilient. No, seeing you so intact is a bit disappointing.”
“I must handle the sins I’ve committed myself.”
Sins? Before I could even ask, the Guardian cheerfully patted my shoulder while moving to face the Elders.
———–
“Guardian, when did you arrive?”
Elder Councilman Il jang-ro suddenly asked the arriving Guardian.
“I just got here. I wanted to rest comfortably, but I heard you were causing troubles and rushed over.”
Wow, the Guardian’s words struck hard. The Elders’ Council is the most authoritative body in the Martial Arts World, second only to the heads of the family.
“You dare call it trouble to the Elders’ Council! Even if you’re the Guardian’s closest aide, such remarks cannot go unchallenged!”
“If it’s not trouble, then what is? Dozens of children have died at the hands of Tang Geoh. My fellow Guardians and I willingly shed our blood to protect even one child who survived hell. But what is this situation? We’re supposed to gently comfort the child who narrowly returned to the family, yet we are turning a blind eye!”
The Guardian raised his voice, not hiding his anger.
“It is not an easy matter to hand over a poisonous substance from a man-eating demon!”
“Then are the lives of my subordinates easy to sacrifice?”
“The heck!”
“The child, Hwa-rin, is the closest they have to a hidden treasure in the Tang Family’s secret garden. If only the poisonous substance from a man-eating demon is available, we may see the birth of a complete master in our generation. Why don’t you hand it over?”
“This meeting is about establishing the true identity of that bastard child claiming to be from the Tang Family! That matter can be discussed later!”
Oh, trying to evade because it was inconvenient?
The Guardian, thinking it would be futile to keep talking about my matters, gave a snort and turned to Elder Il jang-ro.
“Kang Yoon-ho is the son born over twenty years ago between the Deputy Head of Family and the Joseon courtesan, Hyang-a. I guarantee it.”
With a confident face, the Guardian confirmed to the Elders that blood from the Tang Family flowed through me. I felt a rush of gratitude, like wanting to ask for a cosigner on a debt for the tea bookstore.
Even a bad asset, depending on the name of the guarantor, can turn into a fine bond.
Come on, Elders, how about acknowledging it already? With the Guardian’s guarantee and that wild tale of belonging, isn’t it time to accept it?
“Do you really think that’s plausible? This is the first anyone has heard of a bastard child from the Tang Family!”
It’s not like anyone proudly admitted to having a bastard child throughout the ages. But now I’m a bit curious: If the Guardian knew, why didn’t the Elders?
“We’ve kept the Tang Family Head from speaking.”
The Guardian looked between me and the Elders, then began recounting events from over twenty years ago.
“We?”
“Some of the Elders may recall, but the standing of the then Deputy Head of Family was precarious due to various family issues and the color demon incident. There were even discussions about stripping him of his title.”
“I remember.”
“The Deputy was more focused on directly rectifying the wrongs committed by the family rather than his own issues, chasing after the color demon. However, we who assisted him were different. All of us admired the Deputy and decided to leverage that situation to solidify his position. However, problems arose.”
“What kind of problems?”
The Guardian seemed momentarily lost in thought, then resumed speaking, gazing at the Elders.
“The Tang Family Head fell in love for the first time. However, it was a love that could not be fulfilled. At the time, the Deputy was expected to marry his betrothed as decided by the family. If he took that courtesan, it was clear he wouldn’t retain his position even if the color demon issue was resolved. So, we discussed this in secret without the Deputy’s knowledge.”
“What discussions?”
“If the Joseon courtesan returned, we would say the Deputy had cast her aside and send her away. And we kept that from the Deputy.”
So that’s how it went down. Since it wasn’t my past, I wasn’t particularly offended, but being the tragic protagonist sacrificed for succession made me frown as I looked at the Guardian.
If it were my incident, I would have been furious, but as a third party, I can rationally understand it. The power of a family in this era is incomprehensibly strong.
Maintaining the precarious position of the Deputy. If his betrothed went off on a trip claiming to seek true love, returning with a bride—
They’d be having a bloody wedding!
The Deputy’s subordinates likely didn’t want that scenario playing out by sending the Joseon courtesan away.
“Huh, that happened over twenty years ago…”
“The Deputy resolved the color demon incident, got married, and despite all the turmoil, eventually became the Tang Family Head. However…”
The Guardian threw a glance my way and lowered his head as if feeling guilty before continuing.
“I didn’t know that courtesan was pregnant. If I had known, I never would have cast her away on that cold ground.”
Regret and pain were evident on the Guardian’s face.
———————-
A heavy silence pressed down on the assembly.
So has it now been proven that I am the bastard child of the Tang Family Head? Shall I consider my next move now? Just as I was pondering this, the Elders were proving not to be a pushover as I expected.
“Claiming you didn’t know the pregnancy at the time essentially means you were saying no pregnancy occurred.”
Elder Il jang-ro, like a venomous snake, found the loophole in the Guardian’s confession and pressed on.
“What are you saying?”
The Guardian hastily lifted his head and looked at Il jang-ro in disbelief.
“The child named Hyang-a is a lowly courtesan! How can one presume that she dared to pose as Tang Family blood while mixing with other men?”
Oh no, I can’t just stay quiet.
“What did you just say!!!”
Hey, buddy. Even if I’m currently disguised as a son of a courtesan, I can’t just sit there and hear insults hurled at my mother.
Embodied by Hyang-a’s son, I yelled angrily. I then intentionally moved past the Guardian and charged toward Il jang-ro.
Guardian, you do realize that whether I hit Il jang-ro or get hit myself, it creates a problem, right?
“Calm down.”
Fortunately, the Guardian grabbed my shoulder, stopping me.
“Let go! You expect me to just sit here after hearing that?!”
Please make me be still. The Guardian struggled to restrain me and let out a small sigh before addressing the Elders.
“I found out by chance later on. The fact is, she was pregnant.”
“Found out by chance? If no one knew, how could you have known? Doesn’t that seem weird?”
But the Elders were not letting the bait slip away. Another Elder leaped in, tearing into the Guardian.
“Isn’t it ridiculous to trust the words of a courtesan!”
“What if the bastard is just a cunning schemer trained by the Demonic Cult to manipulate us?”
“How can we possibly trust the words of a lowly bastard child to hand over the poisonous substance from a man-eating demon?”
The Elders seized the opportunity, raising their voices. What a mess. How did he find out? Guardian, spill it out. Please don’t suggest that I was the one who informed everyone.
“That is….”
Just as the Guardian hesitated to speak, the door swung open, and someone shouted.
“I said it!”
A deep, resonant voice, heavy with authority, caught everyone’s attention as they turned to the door.
“It was me who revealed that Hyang-a was pregnant.”
The person who appeared at the door was someone I recognized well from the game.
No other than the Tang Family Head appeared before us.
“Head of the Tang Family!”
——————-
Sichuan Tang Family Head. Tang Baek-ho.
If Tang Geoh was a venomous snake with the aura of a tiger, then Tang Baek-ho was the exact opposite: a majestic white tiger filled with ethereal grace.
“Elders are frozen in place.”
The current Sichuan Tang Family stands as the family head completely dominating the entire clan. The Elders couldn’t hide their surprise at the appearance of the Family Head.
As he glanced around the Elders, those who were reluctant to hand over the poisonous substance from the man-eating demon dared not meet his eyes.
Normally, Elders of a family are older members, but seeing this, it made one think twice.
I may not know if there was a time when he was a precarious Deputy, but now it’s evident the Head of the family possesses remarkable influence.
Il jang-ro, flustered, even offered his highest seat to the Family Head.
“I didn’t expect the Head to show up here.”
Was he with the Guardian? Looking at the Guardian’s complexion, that seems likely.
What now? The tables have been turned again. I barely managed to set the Elders on the board, and someone just flipped it back over.
“I had already anticipated some meeting with the Head.”
Since arriving at the Sichuan Tang Family, I had envisioned countless scenarios for encountering the family head. Unexpected situations keep unfolding, but I refuse to sit back idly and watch the board turn again.
Kang Yoon-ho. Find a way to utilize the situation now. The game has changed; it’s not a situation I didn’t expect.
“I’ll proceed as planned.”
———-
It all begins with a silent battle of wills.
I looked up at the Tang Family Head without a word.
“Eventually, I am facing the Tang Family Head.”
He is handsome indeed. He looks like the kind of male lead who would age into a middle-aged character in a martial arts novel.
Even though the martial arts skills would make one age less, the numerous family political struggles and the weight of the clan etched their mark onto his face.
He must have caused quite a few ladies to shed tears in his youth. After all, the famed Hyang-a from Hubei must have fallen for him too.
As I gazed at the Tang Family Head, whispers floated around me.
“Don’t they look alike?”
“They really do.”
“Looks similar, indeed. Both are handsome.”
“The son seems more….”
“Well, that’s only natural, being the son of the number one beauty from Hubei.”
It’s just a misunderstanding. The atmosphere and circumstance are misleading me into being perceived as the Tang Family Head’s son.
I suppressed the urge to chime in amidst the whispers and continued to stare intently.
The Family Head with an unreadable expression met my gaze directly, as if peering into my soul.
“Are you going to keep staring without saying anything?”
The Family Head finally spoke up when I continued staring without saying a word.
I eagerly awaited that question!
I took a deep breath. I am the son of Hyang-a. Yoon-ho. A bastard child abandoned twenty years ago, finally arrived at the Sichuan Tang Family after twenty long years of hardship.
If I were to introduce myself as the son of Hyang-a, how would I say it?
“Father! Waaaah! I’ve missed you! They’re bullying me! Please save Hwa-rin!” Is that how I would do it?
No way.
“I am no son of Hyang-a.”
I declared firmly to the Tang Family Head.
The Family Head seemed poised to find traces of his past from twenty years ago in me, longing for something lost. But I had no intention of granting him that time.
“What did you just say?”
The Family Head’s composed facade faltered slightly.
Family Head, nostalgia is nice and all, but I have pressing concerns.
I need to navigate through this mess and save Hwa-rin’s life. I’m here to propose the best course of action.
I hardened my gaze and prepared to lay out my plan.
“I am not your son.”
