Chapter 35: Where this wind blowing from (2)
Translator: hwarang
Editor: Kidyeon
The next day, the Yang Clan sent out invitations to several of the clans within the city. The top twenty families within San Dong City received one. Even though there wasn't any real standard to determine each family's ranking, there was still bound to be a ranking considering the fact that Kang Ho was a place ruled by those with strength. This was true not just for San Dong, but for other areas as well.
Our family received an invitation as well. Even though our family had fallen in power, we were still within the top twenty.
The invitation was for a meeting that would be held at the Yang Clan in three days time.
The invitation also asked for those invited to please attend the meeting, as an important guest from the Heavenly Dao Gate would be making an appearance. Since Ma Bong GI had become the new Mengju, this invitation could be interpreted as a mandatory invitation.
My father shook his head with a questionable expression. "Why would they invite us?"
My father was suspicious of both the Yang Clan and the Heavenly Dao Gates, hence why he felt like something was wrong, and that something was about to happen.
"The person from the Heavenly Dao Gate is most likely just someone minor."
My father nodded at my mother's reply.
"I think so too. There's no way that an inner member of the Heavenly Dao Gate would make their way all the way to San Dong City, considering how busy they are with the Central Plain."
"We'll know once we get to the meeting."
Whilst they were discussing their conversation, I said something, "Can I come with you, father?"
"You want to come?"
"I need to start learning about these sort of things, right?"
Even though he tried not to show it, his face was full of joy. "All right, let's go together then."
My mother approached me with a content expression and hugged me. "Son, I'm proud of you."
Although I'm sometimes surprised by these actions, I'm honestly happy when they happen. My mother's arms' are always warm.
***
Three days later, my father and I arrived at the Yang Clan's manor. It wasn't only the two of us that were present; the heads of the other major clans from San Dong City were also already present.
The Yang Clan's master, Jung Yeo, stood at the entrance, greeting everyone that had been invited to the meeting.
Jung Yeo respectfully greeted my father, "It's an honor to meet the great lord of the Byuk Clan."
My father also showed him some respect. "Congratulation on becoming the new Gaju of the Yang Clan; your name is already spreading throughout San Dong City."
Even though several clans had already sent congratulatory letters to Jung Yeo, this was the first time that someone was congratulating him in person.
"You flatter me too much. I'm extremely honored to be complemented by you. Thank you very much."
Due to Jung Yeo's respectful behavior, my father became a little flustered. Even though there had been a bit of an incident due to the death of its previous Gaju, the Yang Clan still reigned as the number one clan within San Dong City. The reason that Jung Yeo was behaving as such was, of course, because of me. Since I was behind my father, how could he act rashly?
Jung Yeo glanced at me and said, "I've heard all about your achievements, Young Master Byuk."
"I was able to achieve some results due to luck."
"How can the matters of Kang Ho be determined by luck? There's no need to humble yourself that much."
"Thank you very much."
Jung Yeo proceeded to say to my father, "You have a great son."
My father smiled. Since there were other guests behind him he was even more proud. How could he not be proud, considering the fact that he was being complimented about his son in front of all these people?
My father and I entered the main hall.
There were other guests that had arrived inside already. My father introduced me to each of them, one by one. This was my chance to learn what the top twenty clans within San Dong City's leaders looked like. I utilized my memory to its full extent, ensuring that I didn't miss a single thing my father said. I remembered all of their names, personalities, and faces.
The head of the Song Clan, Song Wu Kyung, arrived a bit late.
"If I knew that you were going to come, I would've brought Hwa Rin-ee." He seemed to feel a bit regretful about not doing so, but just smiled at me.
Eventually, everyone who'd received an invitation had arrived. Everyone was currently discussing amongst themselves what this meeting could be, but no one really knew what it was about.
Half an hour later, the front doors opened, and Jung Yeo entered with four people following him.
A male youth who appeared to be in his mid-twenties took the lead, his steps full of confidence and pride. From the way he was dressed, I assumed that he was Ma Jung Soo. I was surprised; he was younger than I'd expected him to be.
'How much longer will that old buffoon continue to spread his seed?'
Of the three guards behind him, I knew two of them.
The old man with white hair was Old Man Flower Fan. His weapon of choice was a vividly decorated fan full of poison. At one point, he'd tried to become a doctor at the Murim Alliance hospital, but hadn't been able to. The reason that I hadn't allowed it was mainly due to his personality. Even though he was extremely skilled at his work, he had a questionable personality. He was someone that was both extremely familiar with politics as well as greedy for power. As such, I couldn't allow him to join.
However, just because his weapon was a fan didn't mean that I could lower my guard against him. There were many people that had died at his hand because they'd lowered their guard. Even though I have twenty-four years of energy built up, I can't lower my guard. These old freaks always have several hidden trump cards. It wasn't strange for him to be working with the Heavenly Dao Gate either, considering the fact that he was greedy for power.
The middle-aged man next to him was an expert directly from the Heavenly Dao Gate.
His name was Si Gon. He was the one of the two representatives that the Heavenly Dao Gate had sent out during the Alliance's Heavenly Warrior Competition.
I remember him for his impressive sword arts. Considering that that was some eight-odd years ago, his skills must have improved even more. In my opinion, despite his young age, he's more of an expert than Old Man Flower Fan.
The last one was a beauty whose age was uncertain. If I look at her one way, she looks young, but if I look at her another way, she looks old. Despite this, one thing was certain: She's a hidden expert of Kang Ho. She didn't have a sword hanging from her waist, which means that she must use some sort of hidden weapon or her bare hands. She was truly a mystery.
However Ma Jung Soo wasn't lacking, in any way, compared to his guards. The atmosphere that surrounded him was completely different from the other youths of San Dong City, easily showing the difference in their status.
Despite everything, he'd given me a very bad first impression. First off, I didn't like his stare. Even though he was the same age as Kwang Du, his stare was akin to that of a middle-aged man's; it wasn't clear, and I sensed blood-lust from it.
Everyone became nervous when they arrived. They hadn't known how to act when they heard that guests from the Heavenly Dao Gate would be appearing. Even though they were the leaders of their respective clans, if they were to get into a fight with Old Man Flower Fan or Si Gon, there wasn't anyone present that could win. Since they were already losing in terms of pressure, they had no choice but to be nervous.
Jung Yeo introduced Ma Jung Soo with a brief speech.
Ma Jung Soo went to the center of the room. "It's an honor to meet all of you, the heroes of San Dong. I must thank the master of the Yang Clan for gathering everyone here. "
Ma Jung Soo was full of confidence and self-arrogance despite being in front of twenty clan leaders.
"The reason that I've gathered you all here today was because of one reason."
After grabbing everyone's attention, he opened his mouth to continue. However, he said something that no one expected, "I want to start a small martial arts school within this city."
Everyone was surprised by what he said, and the atmosphere inside the room immediately became heavy.
Everyone was currently having a similar thought: Would the martial arts school that he opened really be a small one? It didn't matter whether or not the Mengju had that many children, he was still the descendent of the Mengju. Why would a direct descendant of the Mengju come all the way here just to open a martial arts school? There must be some other motive behind this decision.
He could be using a martial arts school as an excuse to set up a branch clan, the San Dong Branch of the Heavenly Dao Gate. Since the other Clans might be against such creation, they were using the excuse of setting up a martial arts school to expand their power here. Or maybe there was some other meaning.
"I would like everyone's cooperation in this matter."
The mood grew even worse. By saying this, he was practically telling them that he was going to rip them off.
At that moment, the Clear Tree Clan's leader, Kwak Taek, stood up with a chuckle. "Of course we'll help you."
The leader of the Nine Dragons Clan, Suk Do Moon, tried to ease the atmosphere along with his chuckle. "Since Lord Ma has come all the way to San Dong, it would be our honor."
"Yes, we welcome your arrival to San Dong." Kwak Taek and Suk Do Moon casually exchanged greetings.
However, I already knew that, before this meeting, Ma Jung Su had already met with them, and that this is what they'd promised to say. Aside from these two, the atmosphere surrounding everyone else had turned pretty grim.
Ma Jung Soo looked around, then placed his sights on us.
Both my father and Song Wu Kyung had hardened faces like the other leaders.
"Aren't you Lord Byuk of the Byuk Clan?"
Ma Jung Soo decided to pick on my father. My father was also a bit shocked that Ma Jung Soo had been able to determine who he was after just a quick glance.
"Yes. I'm the current head of the Byuk Clan."
"Your expression doesn't look too good. Is there something that's bothering you?"
It was hard for my father to answer a question like this. "It seems that my stomach is somewhat upset."
"Oh, so that's what it was."
Ma Jung Soo left the center of the room and approached us. He was giving off a apprehensive vibe. When he reached us, he took out something in front of my father. It was a small medicine bottle no bigger than the my thumb.
"If you drink this, you'll be alright."
My father became even more nervous.
No, to be honest, I was more nervous than he was. How could he drink something like this without even knowing what it was?
However, my father wasn't in a situation where he could refuse. There wasn't anything that my father could do. I could clearly see the evil intent hidden within Ma Jung Soo's sly smile. Most other people wouldn't be able to see it, but I was someone who had plenty of experience dealing with evil people. As such, his evil intent couldn't escape my sight. His smile was full of coldness.
Ma Jung Soo suddenly said in a surprised tone, "Oh my! I almost made a mistake! I took out the wrong bottle. This one has poison. I didn't bring the antidote for it either. Good thing you didn't drink it, you almost caused yourself extreme pain."
Both atmosphere and my father's expression became denser.
Ma Jung Soo casually continued, "Just as the leader of the Byuk Clan, which was once was the strongest clan in San Dong, should be. To survive in Kang Ho for a long time you always need to be careful. I've learned this lesson from you today."
He said it in such an ambiguous tone that it was hard to differentiate between whether it was actually a threat or a mistake. However, this was clearly a threat. He'd poison them if they acted against him. However, this wasn't the end of his threat.
He proceeded to turn his gaze towards me. "This must be your son, right? He looks pretty handsome. Hahaha."
My father's face grew even darker. This was clearly him threatening to kill his family if he didn't comply.
Song Wu Kyung, who was sitting next to us, quickly asked, "Where do you plan on building this school?"
If my father couldn't hold back his anger and acted against Ma Jung Soo, the ones who were at a disadvantage were our side.
"I apologize. I won't make such a mistake in the future." After glancing at my father and giving him a bow, he returned back to the center of the room.
"I plan on setting up this martial arts school in Jae Nam. I also plan on slowly expanding it after it gets started…" He proceeded to talk about his martial arts school.
Song Wu Kyung grabbed my father's hand underneath the table we were sitting at. It was his way of saying good job on holding it in. My father immediately emptied his glass. I knew that he'd threatened my father just so that he could threaten everyone else in this room. It was both a very dirty and a shameful method. Whatever happened, the result would've been the same. However, he used my father because he wanted the turn the atmosphere to his favor.
Even though my expression was blank, my heart was now as cold as ice. This punk had dared to threaten my father? And to even do so in front of me?