By Zephyria 
Gulp….
Seong Mu-yeon was nervous, as he had no idea what the main point of the conversation would be.
And for good reason! He was an ignorant fool who knew next to nothing about the Jegal Clan or Jegal Yeom-gang. Even a beggar pleading at the Jegal Clan’s back gate would likely know more about the clan than Seong Mu-yeon did.
“For over thirty years, the Jegal Clan has spared no effort, regardless of the cost, to find my missing sister. Why do you think that is?”
Why!
Seong Mu-yeon struggled to suppress the urge to scream, fighting to maintain his composure.
“B-because she’s family…?”
“Of course that is part of it, but there is a more important reason. And that is….”
Could you please stop stalling!
Jegal Yeom-gang stared at Seong Mu-yeon with an arrogant gaze that would make any faint-hearted person recoil, and then he spoke.
“By logic, the Jegal Clan should have passed to my sister, the eldest grandchild. However, because she was gone, I had no choice but to take her place. Therefore, I have rushed here to notify you that as her son, you must succeed as the Family Head as the legitimate heir of the Jegal Clan.”
“……Excuse me?”
“I am saying that you must take charge of the Jegal Clan.”
“…Excuse me?”
Seong Mu-yeon could do nothing but ask back blankly. From the moment he heard the words ‘legitimate heir,’ his mind went completely blank.
“…P-perchance, you aren’t unaware of who my father is, are you?”
“Of course I know. It is the Demonic Cult Leader, Seong Hyeok-gwang. What of it? He didn’t conceive you alone; if you carry my sister’s blood, you also carry the blood of the Jegal.”
“B-but I grew up as a demonic cultist in the Main Palace of the Demonic Cult in Xinjiang my entire life…? It is a fact known to heaven and earth, so how could someone like me be the Family Head…? Not only the Jegal Clan, but the entire martial world will not accept this.”
“What do those people who aren’t even part of the clan matter! And if they don’t accept it? What will they do? By what right can outsiders interfere in another’s family affairs!”
…He suddenly started speaking informally.
Cold sweat ran down Seong Mu-yeon’s spine. He was completely impossible to reason with. Just then, a certain person came to Seong Mu-yeon’s mind.
“Does Young Master Jegal Un also agree with this? Is he even aware of this fact?”
If it were Jegal Un, he would surely do his utmost to prevent Seong Mu-yeon from taking the position of Family Head, if only for the sake of the clan’s future.
“Do not even mention that brat! That ungrateful child…. Jegal Un hid your existence for a full three years! How could such a petty man lead a clan!”
Bam!
Jegal Yeom-gang suddenly exploded in indignation and slammed the table. The poor wooden table shattered into pieces, scattering across the floor.
This man is serious….
“…In the end, my sister was in the Demonic Cult.”
Jegal Yeom-gang suddenly let out a long sigh with a gloomy expression and covered his face as if he were embracing all the sorrows of the world.
“There were many voices suspecting the Demonic Cult, but because it is such a closed-off place, obtaining internal information was as difficult as plucking a star from the sky. It was one of the few places we couldn’t manage to penetrate…. To think I would miss her so futilely in the end….”
“…….”
Going from rage to gloom, his emotions swung so wildly that he was surely not in his right mind. The Jegal Clan was on the verge of ruin because of one crazy Family Head.
Whether it was a Jegal Clan Elder or someone else, he had to find someone to set this right.
“Ah, I have brought something for you.”
Jegal Yeom-gang pulled a snow-white sword from his flowing sleeve. The silver-cast sword was engraved with delicate patterns, flashing brilliantly every time it was tilted, even in the dimly lit room.
“This is the beloved sword my sister cherished, Yeom-hwi. It was heartbreaking to see such an irreplaceable masterpiece neglected and gathering dust for so long, but it has finally found its rightful owner.”
Seong Mu-yeon could not take his eyes off the enchanting radiance emanating from Yeom-hwi for a while.
“Wait a moment…. You said this was my mother’s beloved sword?”
“Yes. Not long after my sister disappeared, only the sword returned to the clan. She sent it back herself.”
“….”
“Returning a sword bestowed by the family is equivalent to declaring the severing of familial ties. At the time, the elders took it as a mockery of the clan, but thanks to that, I became certain that my sister was alive and well. …Why are you making that face?”
Jegal Yeom-gang asked as he noticed Seong Mu-yeon’s unusual expression. Seong Mu-yeon was staring at the sword with a hardened face.
If this was his mother’s beloved sword, then what was the sword he had left behind at the Demonic Cult’s Main Palace? Jegal Yeom-mi had passed that sword down to Seong Mu-yeon, urging him to keep it well because it was a precious sword. Judging by her attitude and tone, it was palpable that she had cherished it for a long time.
Yet, the sword she had left behind upon leaving the Demonic Cult was not her true beloved sword; her real beloved sword had been kept intact at the clan.
“It is yours now.”
Thinking that Seong Mu-yeon was simply overwhelmed by the sword’s majesty, Jegal Yeom-gang gave a faint smile and placed the sword in his hand.
Then, he stood up to leave.
“Then, I shall take my leave, knowing that you will visit the main house at Mount Yungjung in the near future.”
Even as Jegal Yeom-gang walked toward the door, Seong Mu-yeon continued to stare intently at the sword in his hand, Yeom-hwi.
“Oh.”
Jegal Yeom-gang cleared his throat to get Seong Mu-yeon’s attention. He hesitated for a long time while holding the doorknob before speaking.
“…Would you call me ‘Uncle’ just once?”
“Ah.”
Seong Mu-yeon, who had been wandering in a haze of confused thoughts, was abruptly pulled back to reality.
It felt somehow awkward.
He had many siblings, but he had no close adult relatives. Not to mention his mother’s side, who had run away from her clan; his father, Seong Hyeok-gwang, was like a man who had hatched from an egg alone one day, possessing no family, kin, or friends—a true solitary existence.
“Yes… Uncle….”
Seong Mu-yeon’s lips fluttered for a while before he finally managed to squeeze out a voice. It was a word he was uttering for the first time in his life.
“Yes, Mu-yeon. I shall be waiting.”
When Jegal Yeom-gang called his name with a warm smile that didn’t suit his appearance, Seong Mu-yeon felt a massive shock, and the hair on his neck stood on end.
As if he had fulfilled a lifelong wish, Jegal Yeom-gang left the hut with a relieved expression.
“Ugh, uuuu…….”
However, Seong Mu-yeon was swept away by the aftershocks and couldn’t regain his senses for a while. He writhed in agony, feeling a strange sensation in his mouth that made him want to scrub it clean.
“Young Master! What’s wrong! Are you alright?!”
Gang Woong, who had burst in the moment Jegal Yeom-gang left, rushed over in shock upon seeing Seong Mu-yeon rolling on the floor.
“Young Master… please come to your senses… what did the Jegal Family Head do to you….”
‘Calling me “Mu-yeon”….’
Jegal Yeom-gang’s voice remained in his ears, echoing continuously.
How could the resonance of a familiar and comfortable word, used his entire life, give him such goosebumps!
Seong Mu-yeon was a person who could not endure such a fluffy, sentimental atmosphere. Looking back, this was the hidden reason why he had been afraid to face Baek Ryeo-il.
Damn it, Baek Ryeo-il!
He had forgotten about him.
“What is Master Baek doing? I need to settle this now! Regardless, he’ll be less than that man just now!”
“What do you mean by….”
Gang Woong, who had been mumbling tearfully beside Seong Mu-yeon, stopped crying and hiccuped when Seong Mu-yeon suddenly bolted upright.
“Enough! I’ll go over and see him myself!”
“Wait, Young Master! You can’t!”
“Why not! Let go of me! You were pushing me from behind earlier, so why are you holding me back now? Come to think of it, Master Gang, you knew the Jegal Family Head was like that, didn’t you? Are you saying you can’t allow it because I’m not only becoming the center of controversy in the martial world, but I’m destined to become a legendary fool who ruins the Jegal Clan and remains in history forever?!”
Seong Mu-yeon’s patience, which had been stretched thin while playing the role of Yak Seon’s servant—a position far above his station—finally reached its limit.
“It’s not that…! Master has already left…!”
“…What? Where to?”
“While you were talking with the Family Head, he changed his clothes and said he was returning to Lanzhou immediately….”
“You should have stopped him!”
“How could I stop Master….”
Gang Woong’s eyes welled up with tears. Now that he thought about it, it was true. Most people would be lucky to even grab the hem of Baek Ryeo-il’s clothes, let alone stop him.
“Sigh, I can’t stand this!”
Seong Mu-yeon beat his chest in frustration, swept up the necklace and the sword Yeom-hwi, and rushed out of the hut.
“Not that way!”
As Seong Mu-yeon headed east, Gang Woong grabbed him.
“He went west because there was a place he wanted to visit. I think he went there….”
“There?”
“Isn’t this near where the Grandmaster and Grandmistress had their accident? He went to look around, thinking he might be able to find the lost Grandmistress’s sword….”
“Ah….”
It was the place where a battle with the Demonic Cult had broken out while Baek Ryeo-il’s parents were traveling with him.
Seong Mu-yeon’s heart grew heavy.
After getting the exact location from Gang Woong, he moved his heavy steps toward the west where Baek Ryeo-il had gone. Gang Woong, who was tasked with protecting the residents of Medicinal Herb Village until they returned home safely, could not accompany him.