The Tang Family Head abandoned his first love to have a child for the sake of the family and the head of the family position.
Whether it was by choice or coercion, who knows? But one day, the child of his first love appears before him and says,
“I’m not here to be acknowledged as your son. I stand here risking everything for my love, unlike you.”
Is there a father in this world who wouldn’t be shaken by such words?
“My woman? Is that a relationship with a poisonous child?”
“Is there any reason to stake one’s life in a relationship besides that?”
I declared to the Tang Family Head with a bold expression.
His eyes subtly tremble. It seems to resonate. Even a high-level master who can maintain a peaceful mind would have their composure shaken by this statement.
Of course, it wasn’t just the Tang Family Head who was shaken by my mention of “my woman.”
“So the rumors were true.”
“I heard from the members of the Guard Unit that they hadn’t stopped their romantic activities until they got here.”
“I’ve heard you’ve already set up house and were living together.”
“Whoa. Isn’t that a problem? Two children with the blood of the Tang Family in such a way…”
“One is the illegitimate child of a collateral branch, and the other is the illegitimate child of the direct line. There’s no problem in terms of kinship.”
“Aha.”
Thank goodness. By the kinship calculations, Hwarin is more than a dozen branches away. In modern times, even people with the same surname, if the kinship is distant, they would be complete strangers, but this world is different.
Even South Korea only enacted laws prohibiting marriage between same-surname relatives in the late ’90s, so how ridiculous would it be in this world?
If I had made those statements in another martial arts family like the Namgung family or the Jeonggak family, they would have immediately held a hearing.
It’s a relief it’s the Sichuan Tang Family.
In the Sichuan Province, with its isolated basin geography, there is a culture born from a tendency to avoid the leakage of family secrets to the outside world.
The Sichuan Tang Family allows for love between distantly related members in the martial arts community.
“I’ve heard a rough story from the Guard Unit Head. Did you really write this book to covertly contact the bastards?”
The Tang Family Head showed me “The Rise of the Tang Family.”
Honestly, I never expected it to turn out this way. It’s my karma, and I have nowhere to turn for complaints. I wanted to tell the Tang Family Head the truth about my intentions, but I nodded my head and spoke instead.
“The only way to save Hwarin was that. If I were even a little late, Tang Geoh would have taken that child.”
No one in the Sichuan Tang Family is unaware of the bloody battle between Tang Geoh and the Guard Unit. Even if my actions spread the family’s secrets, no one would doubt my intentions.
“You know spreading family secrets can be a crime.”
I didn’t know. Who would’ve expected that writing a little something in my diary would lead to being dragged into the Sichuan Tang Family for interrogation?
“I was prepared for it. The crime of spreading family secrets. Or maybe even being quietly killed over the heir issue. But what does that matter? My woman is suffering. My woman might die. So I must find the only way for her to survive.”
“You wrote it knowing she might die.”
I sensed a small tremor in the Tang Family Head’s voice.
I mustn’t miss this opportunity. I held my neck firm with strong will.
“If a man means to protect his woman, he’d stake even his life.”
Tang Family Head, you couldn’t do it, but I did. Unlike you, your son has thrown everything away for love.
I looked at the Tang Family Head as if reproaching him. Did he understand the meaning of my gaze? For a fleeting moment, I saw guilt flicker across his face that tried to maintain calm.
Suffer more. Feel more guilt. Tremble more. Quickly hand over the poisonous substance of human-faced willow.
‘Looking away, huh?’
I stared at the Tang Family Head with a bold face until he could no longer endure my gaze. I won this eye battle against him. I can brag about it at a drinking party.
Done.
I passed the first hurdle. I gained a moment’s time.
Since I shook the Tang Family Head, let’s shake the Elders’ Council next.
I turned my body towards the Elders’ Council who were looking at me and opened my mouth.
“I know the Elders are of mixed thoughts because of me.”
To obtain the human-faced willow from the Elders’ Council, I needed to negotiate.
No one could deny that I am the Tang Family Head’s son now. Then, I could use the easiest negotiating tactic in the world against the Elders’ Council.
“Do you think I’m vying for the Deputy Head of Family position? No, I don’t need that crap. I came to the Sichuan Tang Family for only one reason. I need nothing else.”
The method of taking away what I do not possess and do not need for what I desire the most.
“Are you saying you’ll give up the Deputy Head position?”
“I have no intention of getting involved in the successor framework…”
Everyone looked at me in astonishment. It must be hard to understand. It’s actually not uncommon for a bastard to become the successor when there’s no direct heir. If the Tang Family Head acknowledges me as his son, the Deputy Head position could be mine.
But you know. I’m not interested in that position. Staying in the Tang Family carries a higher risk of dying than the probability of survival, so why would I stay here?
“My mother told me in my childhood that I admired the martial artists of the world, so I wrote it down in this book.”
I raised “The Rise of the Tang Family” from my bosom, glanced at the Tang Family Head, and then spoke to the Elders’ Council again.
“When I first met the people of the Tang Family, they were indeed martial artists. In a situation where all they had to do was hand over my woman, they risked their lives and fought against the minions of the Demonic Cult. Each person was a martial artist far beyond what I wrote in “The Rise of the Tang Family.” And I believe all of you looking at me now are martial artists of equal caliber.”
What matters isn’t what lies in their hearts. For the sake of logic, I would forcefully impose the martial artist frame upon them.
“I believe, simply, that my issue is blinding your eyes. So I will relinquish everything I can possess. If you are righteous, if you are martial artists, if you are members of the Sichuan Tang Family, please do not turn a blind eye to the child of a family in distress.”
You are righteous, are you not? You are martial artists who cherish your family more than anyone else. By imposing this frame and removing the obstacle that is me, I lead them to where they must go.
An air of troubled silence enveloped the Elders’ Council in response to my plea.
‘They shouldn’t think too long.’
Silence is good, but if it prolongs, they’ll realize there’s another way.
Then, I must use one more method.
“It seems you find it hard to trust the words of a black-haired bastard. Then, let me put my mother’s keepsake on the scale of your hearts.”
I took out a weight that could move the hearts of the Sichuan Tang Family members and placed it on the table for all to see.
“The Bracelet of Remembrance…”
Someone recognized the weight I pulled out and muttered with a pained voice.
“The Sichuan Tang Family does not forget.”
I focused on the Bracelet of Remembrance and mentioned the Sichuan Tang Family’s motto to the Elders’ Council.
“Are you asking for the human-faced willow in return for returning the Bracelet of Remembrance?”
That’s right. But if I say it like that, it becomes begging. I came here to negotiate. I shook my head silently and opened my mouth.
“Having lived for a short while, I’ve found that it is indeed easy for humans to forget. The people of the Sichuan Tang Family also wouldn’t have created a token of gratitude and the Bracelet of Remembrance just to remind themselves not to forget. But what truly should not be forgotten is not this piece of jewelry.”
“Are you saying we should not forget you, who brought that bracelet?”
One of the Elders pointed out with an unsparing voice.
“No. You can forget about a black-haired bastard. But…”
I paused my words momentarily and looked over the faces of everyone present.
The illegitimate child of the Tang Family Head. The poison of the Sichuan Tang Family. And the Bracelet of Remembrance.
Even if I put countless things on the other side of the scale to gain one safeguard of the Sichuan Tang Family, their balance remains unchanged.
Now, I have nothing left to place.
Should I give up?
Should I simply wait without doing anything until their weights shift?
No. It’s time to put on the scale something they must never forget, despite it not being mine right now.
“Please do not forget the dozens of illegitimate children who perished due to your indifference.”
My single phrase froze the assembly.
Under the guise of the poison test, dozens of children died. While the crime was committed by Tang Geoh and his minions, it was also the fault of the Sichuan Tang Family for being indifferent to those illegitimate children.
I raised my right hand, placing the tears of the children on their scale.
“Please do not forget the members of the Guard Unit who perished defending the family’s children.”
Thinking about the members of the Guard Unit weighed heavily on my heart. Those who wished to see the third volume of “The Rise of the Tang Family.” Those who did not hesitate to risk their lives for Hwarin.
I placed their sacrifices on the scale with my left hand.
“Please do not forget my woman, who lived in suffering for a lifetime and returned to the family’s embrace on the edge of death.”
Only with your help can Hwarin survive.
I have given all that I can give.
What are you hesitating for?
Why do you wish to forget? Is there not something you must not forget?
Even if you forget everything else, please do not forget this.
“Please, do not forget that you are the pillars of righteousness, the Sichuan Tang Family.”
The Sichuan Tang Family does not forget.
With a determined voice, I pressed my clenched fist against my heart.
Under the weight of what I placed upon the scale, the members of the Elders’ Council swallowed in silence.
————
The first to break the silence was the Tang Family Head, who looked at me without a word.
“Hyang-a… has she… died?”
His voice trembled with an emotion that anyone could recognize. He could no longer maintain a serious expression upon hearing the news of his first love’s death.
“She has long since passed due to illness.”
“Ah… I see.”
Was the shock significant? The Tang Family Head closed his trembling eyes, lifted his head, and seemed to swallow his tears before finally speaking.
“Release the human-faced willow.”
Great!
“Tang Family Head! This is not something to decide unilaterally…”
“Elder Councilman!”
“You can no longer deny that child’s bloodline! No! It creates even more problems precisely because of that. The issue of succession cannot be casually given up with just a word. Consider the Deputy Head, who is on the brink!”
“That issue is not something to address here.”
“It is too late. Even if the Deputy Head could recover, no one can guarantee he can return as a military man. If that happens, the Tang Family will be torn apart over the succession issue, just as it was over 20 years ago! Are you truly going to pass down the pain of two decades ago to your Deputy Head?”
“That’s right!”
“Saving the child of the Tang Family is the issue here, not what’s right!”
“Let’s save him first!”
“You’re not supporting the Deputy Head and now you’re looking for an opportunity!”
“The Sichuan Tang Family does not forget! We surely must save the child!”
“Let’s release the willow, first!”
It’s chaos.
For some reason, most of the voices urging to release the willow resonated, but the opposing faction was still quite strong.
“… It seems nothing has really changed; whether 20 years ago or now, we still don’t learn.”
The Tang Family Head gazed at the Elders’ Council, and in a voice only I could just about hear, he murmured as if explaining.
Could this be a reminiscence of the past? With his mask shattered, the Tang Family Head wore a look of despair and anguish.
Is this the weight of being the head of the family? He seems to be doing his best. It’s a problem that even the greatest general of Joseon could not solve.
In the end, it seems I must resolve the final issue as well.
“If you give me the human-faced willow right now, I will solve the Deputy Head issue for you.”
I utilized the Small Wheel Mental Image Technique to shout such that everyone could hear.
“What do you mean by that?”
Everyone ceased fighting and turned their attention to me.
Ultimately, this means that unless the Deputy Head is perfectly revived, and I give up the succession, this matter cannot be resolved.
“I have a way for the Deputy Head to fully recover.”
Let’s finish this now.
