Chapter 18 – Fruitful After the Rain(1)
The crude pile of stones near the lake, far from the Murong family estate, looked so shabby that strangers might mistake it for a playful stack of rocks built by children.
It was too humble to be the grave of a former head of the Murong family, but considering the calamity he had brought upon the family, not even a single complaint could be made.
In fact, it was already a matter of gratitude that the family had made even this small grave. The elderly Murong Jin stood before the solitary grave and smiled bitterly.
For all the emphasis placed on history and tradition, seeing his son buried away from the ancestral burial grounds of the Murong family was not exactly a pleasant thing for a father.
His only legitimate son and family head, Murong Gang, could not be called a genius even in flattery. The proof was that he had barely reached first-class status at nearly forty years of age.
For an ordinary martial artist, it would certainly be a respectable achievement, but for the head of a family, it was inevitably flawed. And he himself knew this best.
[Enough! Going further will only harm your body!]
[I cannot rest yet. As the head of the Murong family, if I don’t at least reach the peak level…!!]
[You’ve already reached first-class status at the age of thirty. There are countless martial artists who can’t even reach first-class in their entire lifetime.]
[I’m practically forty years old. If someone like me leads the family, the Murong family will be disgraced even in the afterlife. History proves this!]
“…Foolish boy, what’s so important about that history and tradition.”
He was always a child who strived to become stronger through training that bordered on torture. Because of this, he had worried that his son might ruin his own body, but who could have imagined things would turn out this way.
Of course, intellectually he understood clearly how much damage Murong Gang had brought to the family. But unlike his head, his heart felt like it was being torn into a hundred pieces.
How could you commit the filial impiety of departing before your parents, Gang? Whenever he thought of his son who was now walking the path of the afterlife, he felt pain as if his heart was being crushed.
Who could blame a father’s sorrow over losing his child? Moreover, he was the only peak-level master left in the Murong family. One wrong move could bring great calamity.
Especially if it involved a martial artist of the family who had greatly contributed to his son’s death. Yet despite knowing this all too well, Murong Sa now stood here.
That day, after clashing with the unidentified elderly master in the mountains, the first strategy Murong Sa had devised was to divide their forces.
‘Though the family head might not know, Elder Murong Jin is definitely a supreme master who has reached the peak level. If the two join forces to attack the warrior, it will most likely end in the warrior’s defeat.’
Having reached this conclusion with his exceptional intellect, Murong Sa had sent a messenger to deceive Murong Heesu, the head of the Righteous Dragon Hall, into sending martial artists to Mount Geumhyeon.
Since there had already been rumors spread by Murong Hyun about an unidentified peak-level master, Family Head Murong Gang had fallen for it completely, and this became the divine move that brought about his demise.
Indeed, the life-or-death battle between the two supreme masters had ended with the unnamed warrior’s victory by the thinnest of margins. If Elder Murong Jin had been by the family head’s side then…
What would the outcome have been… Murong Sa dared not even imagine. But looking at the results, Murong Sa was indeed a traitor who had contributed to the family head’s death.
‘I was prepared for this from the beginning.’
He wasn’t foolish enough to throw his life away in a fight with absolutely no chance of winning. But if there was even a grain of sand’s worth of hope for victory, then that was a different story.
And now that Murong Hyun had officially become the family head according to his plan, he was willing to offer his neck for the new tomorrow of the Murong family. That was why he was here.
After standing before the grave for a long time, Murong Jin slowly turned his head. The old man’s face, devoid of any emotion, looked like a ghost that had emerged from an opened grave.
“…Coming to such a remote place, and alone at that. A truly dangerous choice.”
“I have no intention of avoiding the consequences of my actions, Elder.”
“A father who has lost his child wants only one thing, wouldn’t you say?”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Elder, regarding that matter…”
“Family Head, please stay out of this.”
Despite Murong Sa’s attempt to dissuade him, Murong Hyun had stubbornly followed them here and was trying to mediate the situation. But his mouth was sealed by a single word infused with the internal energy of a peak-level master.
“Kuk…!!”
“It’s alright, Family Head.”
“But I cannot let you die like this…!!”
“…You will certainly be a good family head. I am satisfied with that.”
Anyone can speak fine words. But those who demonstrate consistency between words and actions are few and far between. And Murong Hyun was one of them.
This was enough to die satisfied. However, contrary to his expectations, after glaring at Murong Sa for a moment, Murong Jin let out a deep sigh and stepped back.
“I never intended to kill you from the start. While I’m not entirely without resentment… at that time, it was the best choice you could make…”
“Elder…”
“But there won’t be a second time. You must not take the life of this family head.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
It was truly regrettable. But Murong Jin had lived too long to misdirect his resentment. The experience accumulated throughout his life had taught him to control his emotions.
“A storm is coming. It’s ominous; something will surely happen in the near future.”
From the existence of a demonic arts he had never heard of before, to the unidentified master who knew about this technique in detail. Even a fool could tell that the situation was far from ordinary.
So, he would sharpen his blade and prepare for that day.
Then someday he would reach it.
The true culprit who had led his son to death.
◇
Time flows like a river without stopping, and already two months had passed like water. I had been worried that I might actually die, but fortunately, the gamble had paid off.
And the rewards I received were beyond imagination. At least the financial issues were completely resolved. The Murong family was a prestigious clan in the North before being a martial arts family.
Naturally, their accumulated wealth was beyond what ordinary people could even imagine. Having formed a brotherhood with such a family, I naturally had no financial concerns whatsoever.
Additionally, I was able to obtain the inner energy cultivation methods and some of the Murong family’s martial arts techniques that I had wanted from the beginning. I even managed to acquire secret manuals containing the Murong family’s highest level martial arts.
Of course, there was a condition attached that I properly teach Sua, but even considering that, the fact that I had gained more benefits than I initially expected remained unchanged.
“What are you thinking about so deeply, Master?”
As the girl tilted her head cutely like a rabbit, her short hair that touched her shoulders shifted to the side. The rabbit-like girl was none other than Murong Sua, who had officially become my disciple.
Originally, with everything finished, Sua should have returned to the Murong family. But who would have thought that Sua would insist on becoming my disciple? It was something I had never expected.
Thanks to this, I was able to obtain the Murong family’s highest level martial arts, so it was ultimately not a bad variable. I also didn’t mind having Sua as a companion to talk with.
“You’re back.”
“Yes, Master.”
We were trying to be as self-sufficient as possible with food through farming. But since there were still things we lacked, we occasionally went down to the village to sell crops or medicinal herbs to make money.
Of course, now that I had received substantial compensation from the Murong family, there was no need for this. But in any case, even I thought it was quite crazy to just train on the mountain without any entertainment.
This time, I had given her pocket money and told her to enjoy herself in the village after completing the errand, but Sua had returned immediately after finishing her task. I clicked my tongue and said:
“Wasn’t today market day?”
“Yes, it was.”
“Yet you’ve returned earlier than expected.”
“I prefer being with you, Master.”
At this burdensome answer, I silently looked at Sua, who was sweating profusely all over her body. Perhaps finding my gaze embarrassing, Sua blushed and avoided my eyes.
“Why, why are you looking at me like that?”
“Let’s go cool off in the stream today.”
“…”
“While training is good, adequate rest is necessary to progress further.”
Instead of answering, Sua stared at my face. It was a somewhat disappointing look, but I couldn’t help it. There’s a limit to how convincingly I can make up excuses.
That was all there was to it.
I had just intended to dip my feet in the water and return.
But who could have known.
“Master! Over there! Someone is floating downstream!”
At that place where I had just wanted to cool off a bit.
That I would pick up a completely unexpected seed of conflict.
