Just when the head of the Jeongal family was having a heart-to-heart chat with his wife about the unsatisfactory daughter-thief, he received shocking news.
“What the heck is going on? The black-haired guy is Ho Pil?!”
“Well, he says so himself, what can we do?”
The Elders’ Council had proposed a recess, but even after a day, no conclusion was reached.
Which, really, was to be expected.
The author of the novel, who had risked embarrassment just to get Volume 2, was the same black-haired guy who shouted absolute opposition to marriage.
Even if Kang Yoon-ho revealed evidence that he had indeed become Ho Pil, accepting it in their hearts was a different matter.
“Do you really think that makes sense?! The black-haired guy discovered Ho Pil’s talents while he was hiding in seclusion and became a confidant! That’s already astonishing!”
“Look at him glaring at the elders! That smug attitude! It must be a lie!”
How could the black-haired guy write the Chronicles of the Wind and Cloud Heroes? Elder Oh opened his mouth, looking as incredulous as the few members of the Elders’ Council who still couldn’t grasp the situation.
“Don’t you dare lie to yourselves.”
“What?!”
“Come on, you all know it. Did that face look like a liar? It looked like someone finally got to spill a heavy secret.”
“……”
The Elders’ Council members, who were furious, suddenly found themselves speechless.
Kang Yoon-ho’s expression as he revealed his identity in front of everyone was not the face of a liar, but rather of someone shedding a heavy secret.
“Tsk tsk. Not one of you noticed that Ho Pil was a pen name. You all might as well return the Jeongal family name.”
It was humiliating. The members of the Elders’ Council were so trapped in their biases that even when they saw the black-haired guy, they couldn’t connect him to anything related to the name Ho Pil.
“Are you saying he’s currying favor just because he gave gifts?”
“Cough, cough! That’s the fact!”
“Fact, my foot! How could a black-haired guy born and raised in a border country deeply write about the central plains’ martial arts?!”
This was the biggest reason the Elders’ Council couldn’t reach a consensus.
How could a child from a foreign land write stories about the martial world? Even if Kang Yoon-ho’s confession seemed credible, there were certainly unresolved questions.
There was a matter of pride, too.
How could a black-haired guy write better about the martial world than those from the Central Plains? The fact that the people from Jeongal family were all infatuated with it made it even worse.
As a person from the Central Plains, as a martial artist, the unresolved questions poked at their pride.
“Right! You’ve heard from the martial artists! It’s not something you can just write about from hearsay! To get marriage approval, borrowing your friend’s merit for yourself…”
“No. Hearing that makes it more plausible.”
Of course, not everyone in the Elders’ Council was continuing to deny it.
“Elder Three?”
After staying silent since yesterday’s meeting, Elder Three finally spoke up.
“I’ve noticed a sense of déjà vu the more I read it. Chewing over that kid’s words makes it clearer now.”
“What do you mean?”
“Look at the Chronicles of the Wind and Cloud Heroes. Unlike the common novels, the writing style is lighter. The narrative also focuses on characters rather than conflict. Doesn’t it remind you of something?”
“What’s that…… Wait, no way?”
The members of the Elders’ Council suddenly recalled what Kang Yoon-ho had said yesterday.
That’s right. There’s a similar story. It was when Kang Yoon-ho confidently claimed he had loved the tales of the Three Kingdoms since childhood.
“The Three Kingdoms. Don’t you think it overlaps with Ho Pil’s writing?”
“He did mention enjoying stories rather than books. If that’s the case, he must have experienced countless folk tales or plays.”
Stories of the Three Kingdoms are known from books, but they have also been passed down through plays, storytellers, and entertaining tales since ancient times.
Even in Joseon, the tale of the Battle of Red Cliffs from the Three Kingdoms was popular as a pansori by the name of Red Cliff Song.
Even though Kang Yoon-ho was a Joseon person, what if he was fascinated by the stories of the Three Kingdoms from a young age?
“Right. Even if that boy is of black hair, the roots of his literary talent lie in the tales of our ancestors.”
“Indeed……!”
“A black-haired guy who loved the stories of the Three Kingdoms must have listened to the stories of the central plains since childhood. Naturally, he must have known about the martial world too!”
How could a Joseon person write about the central plains? The elders started to have a realization as if an epiphany hit them.
“No wonder it felt strange that a foreign kid knew even the tales of Wu Hu.”
If it were true, the story changes.
The place discussing Kang Yoon-ho was the Jeongal family. It was a place where people have revered the achievements of their ancestors and been infatuated with the stories of the Three Kingdoms since childhood.
If a Joseon person wrote about the martial world, which even many from the Central Plains couldn’t write, it might be an affront to their pride, but if a boy who admired Jeongal Muhu wrote the Chronicles of the Wind and Cloud Heroes, that was something to be celebrated.
“Though he has black hair, he must have a heart of silver!”
Even if he was a child from a foreign land, he grew up listening to the stories of the ancestors like those from his family. So, why should they treat him scornfully anymore?
Some elders who had continued to remain skeptical finally nodded in understanding.
“The one who knows the tales of the Three Kingdoms and is bright about martial world news is none other than that boy! How could the black-haired guy write such things!”
Of course, there were still those who protested to the end.
“Do you still not get it? The answer lies in what that child said. Tsk tsk.”
Elder Three clicked his tongue, looking at his friends as if questioning their lack of understanding.
“What do you mean, the answer lies in what was said?”
Elder Three nodded at the bewildered friends.
It was something that would reveal itself with little thought. That kid wasn’t just different because of his hair color.
“That boy, at such a young age, already chose to venture into the world of martial arts.”
“Venture into martial arts? That kid’s martial arts didn’t seem exceptional.”
“It wasn’t a sword.”
“What do you mean?”
Elder Three shook his head.
You can’t produce writings you’ve never seen with mere talent. Just enjoying the tales of the ancestors doesn’t produce something like the Chronicles of the Wind and Cloud Heroes.
Unless there was some opportunity for him to blossom his talent.
“He charged into the martial world holding a fan.”
“Are you talking about a storyteller……!”
——
“No matter how sharp a talent is like a sharp arrowhead, without the bow of learning, it cannot fly straight nor penetrate (學如弓弩, 才如箭鏃).”
The Jeongal family’s people are somewhat imaginative due to their family legacy. Their ancestors were famous strategists, and they often served as advisors whenever the righteous sect needed assistance.
The ability to piece together clues started to shed light on Kang Yoon-ho’s journey.
“Being learned does not mean everyone will blossom their talents. And even without learning, no one can fully develop their talents.”
“A child with literary talent ran into the martial world alone? A Joseon person?”
The storyteller. That was the biggest difference of Kang Yoon-ho compared to other writers.
A Joseon native who has loved the tales of the ancestors since childhood. The image of a young man longing for the Central Plains after losing his parents flickered in the minds of the elders.
“What can’t he do? The popular stories told by the storytellers would have been the tales of ancestors.”
“Since he heard so much, it must have been an easy beginning.”
The beginning was undoubtedly the tales of the Three Kingdoms. They could naturally imagine the anxious boy standing on stage.
“As the black-haired storyteller, there should have definitely been people throwing stones at him.”
“The stories had to be compelling enough that even those throwing stones couldn’t help but listen.”
To fill his belly. To avoid being hit by stones. To not be scorned. The young man grows.
“As a black-haired storyteller, what stories did the common folks love? He must have sought for that with all his might.”
With the lines broken, he began to understand what made for an entertaining story. His confidence grew, and he no longer went hungry.
The clumsy youth was slowly becoming a skilled storyteller.
“He figured out which story form would resonate more. He must have realized which tales would bring in more money.”
The people of the Jeongal family were both literary figures and martial artists.
Everyone in attendance understood that merely being locked up in a study with a book wasn’t the only way to learn. They understood how much martial artists learn from real-world experience.
“Did he gain enlightenment through experience……!”
“He said he came to the Central Plains to see the wide world. He didn’t just say it to us as an excuse; he truly stepped into the vast world and embraced his own perspective.”
“Not from a study, but through the world, he learned to write…….”
The storytelling abilities he honed through experiences. A child with extraordinary talent gradually blossoms his gifts through hardships.
Admiring gasps came from some of the mouths in the room.
“The arrow is ready to leave the bowstring, but if the arrowhead is black, they’re just cursed and mocked.”
The mocking voice rang in the heads of the members of the Elders’ Council.
A voice from a foreign writing bard ridiculing the world.
Cover your face with a fan, and you can still become the Ho Pil recognized even by the Jeongal family.
“……Ho Pil.”
“The black-haired storyteller must have determined to be Ho Pil.”
Talent doesn’t bloom on its own.
Because he has black hair. To survive. The ruthlessly sharpened talent finally blooms beautifully as he lifts the brush.
The elders finally understood how Ho Pil came to be.
——
“It’s akin to a martial artist who realizes a path no one has trodden with just a single sword. That child too has come to realize his own path.”
Elder Three quietly murmured after finishing his explanation.
“What are you saying right now……?”
“Just what it means.”
“Hah! Are you saying Kang Yoon-ho could be the great master now?”
“Great master? How could you say that? But if we were to explain the child’s literary talent, he does indeed carry such potential.”
Elder Three’s unreserved affirmation surprised his friends.
“Y-you!”
“Have you ever read a work like that of Ho Pil? They’ve said the world’s examination will yield nothing but the trivial. Everyone respects the Shaolin Temple, but the martial arts of the Nine Great Sects are all treading their own paths. Even if that child’s stories stem from our ancestors, he’s already forging his own way.”
“How can the black-haired guy……!”
“The stories have been light enough that anyone could read them, yet whenever the author intends a point, they become profoundly dense. The writing is light so that during important parts, it digs deep into the reader’s heart. I’ve heard that whenever that child’s new book is released, people in Wuhan and Yichang line up day and night.”
“Isn’t this a hasty judgment?”
That was true. What they’ve seen are just a few novels. It would be unwise to jump to conclusions prematurely.
But.
“That child is still just over twenty.”
If someone at such a young age was already walking a new path as a writer, that was a different story.
“……”
“He has already begun walking on his own path. A path unlike any other. Aren’t you curious about what kind of road he will walk as a writer?”
Everyone in the room felt a familiar longing in their gaze.
“So! Are we really going to agree?”
“If he’s Ho Pil.”
“Are you really……!”
“Hold it there.”
“Elder One?”
The chairperson of the Elders’ Council, Elder One, who had been observing the situation until the end, stepped forward.
“Everyone has their own thoughts. Some may still doubt if Ho Pil’s true identity is really Kang Yoon-ho, that boy. Some might wonder if Ho Pil’s talent is really enough to overrule opposition, while others might already think it’s fine.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“We can investigate the situation, but even after many days, the debate continues. The only one who knows Ho Pil’s true identity is him alone. Since he refers to himself as Ho Pil, how can we arrive at an answer?”
Even if they took a long recess, it wouldn’t resolve the issue. Elder One clearly stated the point while looking at everyone in the Elders’ Council.
“So what do we do?”
“I have a solution.”
