“Are you… are you really Ho Pil?!”
As soon as the meaning behind the pen name ‘Ho Pil’ hit home, the Elders’ Council began to stir.
“A barbarian has taken up the brush in the Central Plains; what could be more fitting than the pen name Ho Pil?”
Are you really Ho Pil? No, is a barbarian writer correct? Since you’re asking the black-haired guy such questions, how could I help but be amused? I replied with a hint of sarcasm.
“Is that what ‘Ho Pil’ means…?”
“I just thought it was because the author used a quality barbarian brush.”
“I assumed he used the pen name ‘Ho Pil’ to express his affection, given that he received help from a barbarian friend.”
“Quiet! There’s certainly some merit in your words!”
Elder Lee silenced the other council members, but he couldn’t hide his own embarrassment; he looked at me with a crumpled expression.
“Please, continue.”
“But the doubts of others are also valid! How could a black-haired guy know the martial arts of Mount Wu so well?”
The Eight Trigrams Swordplay is an original creation, you know.
“Right! The novels from the Sichuan Tang Family may be scandalous in content, but they contained astonishingly accurate details that you’d believe they were written by someone from the Tang Family!”
After all, I had my fiancée review it for me. When I went to get permission to marry from the Zhuge Family, I couldn’t afford to say something that would break my head.
“Though Ho Pil may not have a black-haired accomplice to share his heart with, he could always share a drink and chat amicably with the wandering heroes of the Jianghu.”
“Did you hear this from martial artists?”
Skeptical gazes were directed at me.
Why did I have to keep my identity a secret? How was I able to write a martial arts novel? Even when I presented evidence that I was indeed Ho Pil, they still looked doubtful.
It must have been a shocking revelation for the elders who had cheered at the Chronicles of the Wind and Cloud Heroes for days, abandoning any sense of decorum.
“I find great courage thanks to the elders of the Zhuge Family.”
Good. Then let’s shake things up a bit more. I placed my hand on my chest and stepped closer to the council with a challenging expression.
“Courage?”
“What if the identity of Ho Pil is revealed? If it’s known that a black-haired guy wrote it, the book wouldn’t sell! Who knows, I might suffer some major disadvantage! I’ve struggled with this in my mind for days.”
I acted exaggeratedly worried.
“What do you want to say?”
“The black-haired guy couldn’t possibly understand the ways of the martial world. With martial arts skills so poor that he can’t even protect himself, how could he write about martial arts? Not to mention he’s a guy who grew up in Joseon. There’s no way he could write a novel that would impress us people of the Central Plains. Everyone thought so.”
With a contemptuous gaze. With a tone filled with disdain. I pointed my fan at the council, then covered my face again.
No one noticed.
Everyone thought the same. You’re no different. But you see…
“……”
“Despite me shouting right in front of you, even the renowned Zhuge Family acts like a blind man who can’t find me. Who will ever realize I am Ho Pil from now on?”
I’m saying it, aren’t I? I’m Ho Pil.
My fan is the black-haired mask you all put on me. Can’t you see this mask anymore? Is the great Zhuge Family going to continue being blind?
“Ahem!”
Fortunately, it seemed that nobody misunderstood my meaning.
—————
An amazing story takes time to digest, regardless of its truth.
The atmosphere was thick with silence as it seemed like the Elders’ Council needed a moment to process what was happening, which I found quite pleasing, but I couldn’t afford to rest.
“Of course, it’s not like no one has realized I am Ho Pil.”
There was something more important to me than the council.
“Uh?”
I must not forget my goals.
I am not here to reveal my identity as Ho Pil. Gaining the council’s approval is undoubtedly important, but the person I need to seek permission from is someone else.
Someone who had been disengaged from the conversation all this while.
That’s right, my father-in-law, more important than the Elders’ Council.
“Could it be that the person who realized you are Ho Pil is…?”
When my father-in-law looked at me with a hint of suspicion, I smiled and nodded.
“Yeah, father. The first person to realize I am Ho Pil is none other than Miss Zhuge.”
“……!”
Since I was revealing my identity as Ho Pil anyway, I might as well score some points with my father-in-law.
“I was rather astonished. She came with such a confident look, claiming I was definitely Ho Pil.”
I was truly taken aback. I never thought she would figure it out. Recalling the moments between me and Miss Zhuge, I smiled nostalgically.
“Was it really you who was my daughter’s favorite author all this time?”
Perhaps it was because of memories with his daughter or simply the irritation towards the kid who stole her heart. Seeing my father, the doting dad, looking displeased made me chuckle inwardly, and I nodded in acknowledgment.
Let’s earn some points with the old man.
What I need to be recognized by the Zhuge Family as their son-in-law is a literary talent that transcends the limitations of being a black-haired guy.
But is it really important to my father-in-law as well?
I am Ho Pil. I have talent. So please give me your daughter. My literary talent is significant, but what really matters is something else entirely.
“Miss Zhuge… is a woman who struggles to even make eye contact with strangers, who is awkward in social situations. When she’s embarrassed, she adds little interjections, and when she’s excited, her words come out too quickly, or she stutters.”
“Cough!”
Father-in-law. Did mentioning your daughter’s flaws in front of the family’s elders make you uncomfortable?
“But, father. That woman, she sees me as I truly am – someone who had been hidden beneath masks of prejudice and contempt that no one else has seen.”
With an expression recalling the lovable woman, I spoke to my father-in-law.
“Only Miss Zhuge can.”
For my father-in-law, my character, abilities, and dreams matter. However, the most important factor must be whether I love and cherish his daughter.
The only woman who recognized me. I have come to seek permission to marry her.
A man who understands the flaws of Miss Zhuge and would love her more than anyone else.
In revealing my identity as Ho Pil, I had a perfect opportunity to score points with my father-in-law through my heart and sincerity.
——
“Who else knows you are Ho Pil?”
As soon as he saw my father-in-law’s gaze light up in approval, Elder Lee asked me.
“Aside from Miss Zhuge, Man Geum-jeon and Jeon Gil-san from Man Geum Bookstore know.”
“They all belong to you.”
“It’s certainly a story that can only be discussed among my people.”
After all, it’s not the type of thing one would blab about elsewhere. Shrugging off my comment as if it were obvious, Elder Lee let out a small sigh and looked at my father-in-law.
“Head of Family.”
“Yes, Elder Lee. Please, go ahead.”
“I request a few days of recess.”
“A recess, you say?”
Elder Lee glanced at me before continuing his words.
“Originally, I aimed to conclude today, no matter what that kid has to say… but the situation’s changed, hasn’t it?”
How rude. Were they really planning to oppose whatever I said? Looks like passing the Hongcheonmirijin formation in seven days wasn’t enough after all.
“Is it because that kid revealed he is Ho Pil?”
“As it appears, someone seems to have never read Ho Pil’s novels.”
Elder Lee blatantly dodged the question and asked.
“Yes, I’ve been too focused on family matters, so I set aside the hobby of reading novels.”
“Did you just call it a novel? A western novel?!”
“Head of Family, Chronicles of the Wind and Cloud Heroes is not a western novel!”
“Ahem! Quiet down! Anyway! If that kid is indeed Ho Pil, it seems appropriate for you, as his fiancée’s father, to read the book.”
“That is indeed correct.”
My father-in-law nodded, alternating his gaze between me and Elder Lee.
“Of course, even if this kid claims to be Ho Pil, it doesn’t automatically make him Ho Pil. Nonetheless, given the circumstances, it is indeed necessary to investigate further. Therefore, I request a few days of recess.”
“That is fine. Do you think you can manage?”
My father-in-law requested time to read my writings and the council aimed to learn more about me.
“If time is needed, I will gladly wait.”
There was no need to refuse.
“Wife.”
After the meeting concluded with a recess, the head of the Zhuge Family, Zhuge Geuk, returned to his mansion, seeking his wife.
“Welcome back. How did it go today?”
Zhuge Geuk, though not revealing it overtly, explained briefly the day’s events to his wife, who seemed to be subtly excited.
“They decided on a recess.”
“A recess?”
“They wanted time to think.”
“Not bad news, I’d say.”
Zhuge Geuk didn’t outright deny it. While the council needed time to think, he also needed time to figure things out.
What in the world did the author of Ho Pil write that made the whole Elders’ Council so agitated? The head, bewildered throughout the meeting, luckily had a simple way to find answers.
“A few days from now, they’ll discuss it again. By the way, does the book that Hyang is reading happen to be in the study? The author’s name is…”
“Here. Right here.”
Jang Young-young seems to have been waiting for this moment, handing him both ‘The Rise of the Tang Family’ and ‘Chronicles of the Wind and Cloud Heroes.’
“How did you…?”
“Hyang said she’d look for it when you come home.”
Zhuge Geuk silently took the book in hand. For Hyang to hand over the book so confidently, was Kang Yoon-ho truly Ho Pil?
Zhuge Geuk instructed that no one should interrupt, then headed to the study with the book in his grip.
“Ho ho ho…”
As the sun set, marking the end of a busy day.
“Oh no!”
The moon ascended late into the night for those who had been reading until dawn.
“Well…”
Before long, the rooster’s crow welcomed the dawn, and in the study, the only sounds that filled the air were the rustle of turning pages and gasps.
“Did you stay up all night?”
“……”
“You?”
Zhuge Geuk, the head of the Zhuge Family, simply closed the book in response to his wife’s question and could only utter one phrase.
“It’s… interesting!”
