Chapter 50

Two carriages rolled side by side into the Solitary Cloud Manor’s entrance.

Dozens of warriors followed, splitting into two ranks like black and white, filing in formation.

On one side stood men in spotless white scholar-style crane cloaks, each with an elegant folding fan at his waist.

The opposing warriors were without exception burly giants—six-foot frames, forearms and thighs thick as a hero’s.

As scholar and brute faced scholar and brute, the two carriage owners dismounted together, as if neither would give an inch.

Their appearances contrasted as sharply as their guards.

One man had sharp, wind-swept features and icy eyes. He wore a bleached white crane cloak and a pale slate-blue silk hood. His only ornament was a single black jade token; even his sword hilt and the silk tassel he held were impeccably clean. He stood rigid and expressionless, like an uninked, upright writing brush.

This man was Zhuge Kwan, Young Family Lord of the Zhuge Family.

Opposite him stood Hwangbo Ryeong, Young Family Lord of the Hwangbo Family.

Sun-darkened skin and bulging muscles showed even through his clothes. Taller than the other six-foot giants by a head, he was a hulking figure. He wore a black robe embroidered with gold thread and a brass-buckled belt stamped with a tiger emblem. To the eye he seemed jovial, but his sharp pupils gave him a bestial edge, like a tiger poised to strike.

The two who had dismounted glared at each other as if growling.

“There was some pest trailing the back of my carriage and annoying me—so it was you scholar-anchovies, was it?”

“All the way here I felt like a fly buzzing in my face—turns out it was you, boar.”

“Aren’t you old enough to stop tailing this elder’s carriage?”

“‘Elder,’ is it? Strange—I’m fairly sure I’m at least two years your senior, boar.”

“You little runt. You remember such things?”

“It’s not that I’m a runt—it’s your memory that’s dull, surely.”

“…Scholar-anchovy.”

“Boar.”

Sparks leapt from their glares.

Their retainers paid it no mind, as if used to the bickering.

Zhuge Kwan and Hwangbo Ryeong were the same age, equally famed in the murim world, long-standing arch-rivals of comparable standing.

“Welcome, honored guests.”

Someone from the Solitary Cloud Manor stepped out to greet them. “The Manor Lord of the Solitary Cloud Manor awaits inside; this way, please.”

Even as they were led to the manor hall, their quarrels showed no sign of cooling.

“Not holed up at the estate for once and come out to get some air, have you?”

“I’ve been invited, of course. And you? Why do you keep roaming and making things unpleasant?”

“I came out because I was disgusted at the thought of running into you, scholar-anchovy; unlucky for me.”

“We share the same teacher, don’t we?”

The two families—Zhuge and Hwangbo—were neighbors, but they treated each other as bitter enemies. The Zhuge Family scorned the Hwangbo as brutish strongmen who flaunted strength without wit, while the Hwangbo viewed the Zhuge as scholar-gentry who brandished pens but lacked muscle. Both houses long vied to dominate Shandong.

But today was different: though rivals, both families supported the Bukgung Family’s Sixth Young Master.

Zhuge Kwan folded his fan slowly and lowered his voice. “The atmosphere in the Family doesn’t seem much different from our main house, does it?”

“Huh? What do you mean by that?”

“There’s been a lot of talk among the elders lately about the Solitary Cloud Manor’s behavior.”

Hwangbo Ryeong raised an eyebrow. “So you scholar-anchovy too?”

Zhuge Kwan nodded slightly. Hwangbo crossed his arms and made a low, discontented sound.

“Some time ago there was trouble around Namsa Lake in Shandong, wasn’t there? It used to be controlled by the Southern Four Alliance, a coalition of a hundred righteous forces, but the Evil Sect barged in.”

“Ah, I’ve heard that. Namsa Lake isn’t far from Jinan, so word spreads fast. They say the Night Water Clan—said to be a bunch of inexperienced upstarts.”

“But I’ve heard the ones backing the Night Water Clan were the Solitary Cloud Manor.”

“What? Is that true?”

Zhuge Kwan shot him a scornful glance and signaled to lower his voice. “But it seems that scheme failed. The Solitary Cloud Manor is inept at everything. With that gloomy old man by the Manor Lord’s side, what else could one expect?”

Hwangbo Ryeong nodded. “I can’t fathom why the Manor Lord clings to someone once declared a public enemy by the righteous martial world. While receiving our Hwangbo Family’s support—a pillar of the righteous—he installs that man as chief commander. How much more must we tolerate?”

They shared a common enemy: Un Ji-kang, the Solitary Cloud Manor’s commander. Though the two houses competed, both were pillars of the righteous martial world and uneasy about having a former notorious villain reinstated. They had repeatedly urged the Manor Lord to dismiss him, only to be ignored.

Now it was time to draw blades.

“If the temple is not nice, the monk must leave the place. Our main house has come to convey that sentiment to the Solitary Cloud Manor.”

“At last, I agree with you, scholar-anchovy.”

For the first time, their opinions converged. Rivals though they were, Zhuge and Hwangbo could set aside differences to confront the old man who had scrubbed his record and taken the Bukgung Family’s commander post.

“The young Family Lords have arrived.”

Bukgung Bi-beom sat on an ornate seat to receive them. Zhuge Kwan and Hwangbo Ryeong were bemused.

The Sixth Young Master of the Bukgung Family—he seemed empty-headed and slow to grasp things. He should have leapt out barefoot to greet them; instead he lounged, appearing arrogant.

When Bukgung Bi-beom waved, women stepped forward and filled golden cups with alcohol.

“This may be the first time the leading pillars of the three houses have gathered,” Bukgung Bi-beom said.

Zhuge Kwan and Hwangbo Ryeong snorted inwardly. Both had been chosen as future Family Lords, but Bukgung Bi-beom—was he truly in their league? Even if the Bukgung name carried prestige, a dragon’s tail could never outshine a serpent’s head. They bristled at his attempt to stand alongside them.

‘Without the name Bukgung, what are you?’

‘What an incompetent fellow.’

When the cups were filled, Bukgung Bi-beom urged them to drink and spoke. “Due to the many affairs of the Solitary Cloud Manor, we haven’t paid much attention to our kin, the Zhuge and Hwangbo Families. Yet you are great men of the murim world—brush aside any disappointment with a cup and discuss the future. First, drink.”

He lifted his cup first, but no one followed. Bukgung Bi-beom’s brows twitched.

Hwangbo Ryeong spoke. “Sixth Young Master, we did not come here to be served wine.”

Zhuge Kwan slowly nodded in agreement and added, “Our main house has had ties with the Solitary Cloud Manor for many years, yet the manor seems hardly to have changed. I don’t know that the Sixth Young Master’s position within the Bukgung Family has much increased.”

“Moreover, the Solitary Cloud Manor has not pursued a close, mutually beneficial relationship with our Zhuge Family.”

“And that demonic path’s leader we’ve long urged you to purge remains. Honestly, I suspect you’re trying to provoke the Hwangbo Family.”

“The Zhuge Family feels the same.”

“Hasn’t the Zhuge Family repeatedly advised that to achieve great things one must have capable soldiers? We are a sharp blade named Zhuge—why insist on keeping a demonic way’s leader as commander? I cannot fathom it.”

“I don’t agree with that scholar-anchovy, but shouldn’t we purge those sly types like the Lonely Claw Troops and field many of our Hwangbo warriors?”

Zhuge Kwan drove in the final wedge. “Two hands are required to clap—if we cannot coordinate with the Sixth Young Master, our main house’s support for the Solitary Cloud Manor will no longer hold. If you do not make a proper decision now, the Zhuge Family must withdraw its support. This is not my personal wish but the position of our Family Lord.”

“The Hwangbo Family feels the same.”

…

Zhuge Kwan and Hwangbo Ryeong expected Bukgung Bi-beom to fly into a rage. The Sixth Young Master they knew was proud and poor at hiding emotion.

But this time was different.

“I understand your intentions well.”

Bukgung Bi-beom smiled faintly, then clapped twice to signal outside.

Screeech—

When the doors opened, Zhuge Kwan and Hwangbo Ryeong scowled.

Un Ji-kang, the commander they had been insulting, entered slowly carrying a silk-wrapped package.

Hwangbo Ryeong crossed his arms and emitted an uneasy groan; Zhuge Kwan flipped his fan the other way. Their manners showed that even Un Ji-kang’s scent was repulsive to them.

Un Ji-kang paid them no heed and approached Bukgung Bi-beom. “Actually, the Solitary Cloud Manor has prepared a small gift.”

At Bukgung Bi-beom’s words, Un Ji-kang pulled back the cloth wrapping. Inside lay a very old broadsword and a wire-reinforced chain-whip.

“…?”

Hwangbo Ryeong did not recognize the items, but Zhuge Kwan’s eyes widened in astonishment.

“This is…!”

He almost dropped the folding fan covering his mouth.

Bukgung Bi-beom answered with a confident air. “Sunny Breeze and Green Field Fan.”

“…!”

Only then did Hwangbo Ryeong show shock. Bukgung Bi-beom smiled at their astonishment and spoke on.

“These were obtained by chance; surely it makes more sense for those who carry on the late Grandmaster Tae-san’s legacy to take them than for a man like me with no lineage.”

Greed immediately colored the two men’s eyes.

Bukgung Bi-beom continued, teasing. “But this presents us with a dilemma.”

“What do you mean?”

“Tae-san’s Divine Sword’s relics come in a matched pair. At first we thought to give the Sunny Breeze Sword to the Hwangbo Family and the Green Field Fan to the Zhuge Family. But our commander says that won’t do—what meaning is Sunny Breeze without Green Field, or Green Field without Sunny Breeze? Splitting the relics would merely invite undeserved praise and blame, he said.”

“Ahem…”

“Well, it’s not exactly untrue…”

From their expressions, the two agreed. Sunny Breeze and Green Field were a paired sacred artifact; neither family wished to see them split.

“But the Solitary Cloud Manor could not simply choose one house to receive them. While pondering, we came up with a method.”

“What method?”

“Was this gathering not intended to strengthen the bonds among the three families? Both Hwangbo and Zhuge are respected martial families—why not hold a friendly duel contest for Sunny Breeze and Green Field as a gesture of camaraderie?”

“A martial arts contest?”

“Of course. To liven the occasion, our Solitary Cloud Manor’s warriors will also participate. Eight from each house—twenty-four competitors in total. The family of the victor will claim ownership of Sunny Breeze and Green Field.”

Zhuge Kwan narrowed his eyes. “You don’t intend to take the items for the Manor, do you?”

“Hahaha! Zhuge hyung! What do you take the Bukgung Family for? Our family is not so shabby as to invite guests and then steal their gifts.”

Both Zhuge Kwan and Hwangbo Ryeong showed signs of temptation. The two who had just mocked Bukgung Bi-beom now looked at one another, competitive fires stoked. They were arch-enemies who would sooner die than admit defeat.

“But there is one condition.”

“What now?”

“No matter the Bukgung Family, acquiring such artifacts wasn’t easy. Our Commander Un put forth great effort. The reason the Manor offers Sunny Breeze and Green Field to you is to ensure the Solitary Cloud Manor and the two families maintain amicable relations. If the duel’s outcome leads one family to monopolize the items and the other holds a grudge, that would be troublesome.”

“What exactly are you trying to say?”

“Before the contest, both of you must sign a pledge.”

At Bukgung Bi-beom’s instruction, Un Ji-kang presented the pledge document he had prepared. It stipulated that, as a condition for participating in the contest, they would maintain friendly relations with the Solitary Cloud Manor and accept the contest’s result without complaint.

This was the opposite of why they had originally come to the Solitary Cloud Manor. However—

‘If we can obtain Sunny Breeze and Green Field, it will be a tremendous asset for our main house!’

Neither Zhuge Kwan nor Hwangbo Ryeong entertained the thought that their house might lose. They themselves would be competing. No matter whom the rival family fielded, they were confident in their skill.

‘There’s no way I’d lose to that dandy scholar-anchovy—Sunny Breeze and Green Field will be mine.’

‘As the prodigy of Zhuge, there’s no way I’ll be beaten by that stupid boar.’

They signed the pledge without objection.