Tangmunjeon - Chapter 312



Only Noblemtl

Episode 312: The Sword King

A subtle tension flowed through Namgung Se-ga.

It was not because Namgung Hyeon had tarnished the family’s reputation in Wuchang and was subject to disciplinary action.

When Namgung Myung returned with his group, there was a subtle tension between Namgung Myung and Namgung Jincheon. That was the cause.

Rather than a greeting between a father and a son who had returned to their family home after a long time, wasn’t it more like a skirmish?

All sorts of speculations poured out from the mouths of those who witnessed the scene, quickly covering Namgung Se-ga.

However, the Namgung Se-ga warriors who were not present did not easily believe the story.

The Namgung Myung they remembered was a twenty-one-year-old child, and Namgung Jincheon was the iron-blooded head of the Namgung family who had ruled for a long time. The gap between Namgung Myung and Namgung Jincheon was too wide for tension to flow.

However, it was not a rumor that could be lightly dismissed, so several accomplished warriors stepped forward. They secretly assessed Namgung Myung’s achievements on behalf of others.

“···Doesn’t it seem like Ming-yi has reached the next level?”

“Nine times out of ten.”

“You’ve grown so much. Of course, a man in his prime is bound to become something new every day… This is truly an achievement beyond my expectations. At what age did you reach your peak?”

“Not before thirty. I don’t think he was over thirty-five.”

The upper class members of the family were amazed and delighted at Namgung Myung’s accomplishments, but there were also many who felt sorry as they watched Namgung Myung’s outstanding accomplishments.

For example, there were young men who secretly had in mind the next head of the Namgung family.

The position of the head of the Namgung family is passed down based on ability, not bloodline.

The position of head of the household could be passed from father to son, or it could be passed to a younger brother. It didn’t even have to be a man, so the position could be passed to a niece.

There were only two conditions for becoming a head of a household.

The surname Namgung, and the skills befitting the head of the family.

However, despite such rules, the position of the head of the Namgung family was already being passed down from parents to children for four generations.

However, no one was dissatisfied. It was not that a child with insufficient ability inherited the position of head of the family by virtue of blood relations, but rather that the most capable one was one of the children of the head of the family.

Just as the Namgung Se-ga’s followers observed Namgung Myung, Namgung Myung was also secretly observing Namgung Se-ga.

The only difference is that Namgung Myeong knew that he was being observed, but the Namgung Se family did not know that they were being observed.

When Namgung Myung went out secretly and came back, Dang Mujin asked.

“Did you find out anything?”

“Quite a lot. First of all, the atmosphere is strange.”

“atmosphere?”

This is not the first time that Dang Mu-jin has visited Namgung Se-ga.

However, when I visited the Namgung family before, there was a banquet going on at the Namgung family home, so I didn’t know what the atmosphere was like at the Namgung family home on a regular basis.

“No matter how you look at it, the atmosphere is stiff. Even when I have something interesting to do, it’s like this. It’s probably stiffer in normal times.”

“It’s not because of Namgung Hyeon’s disciplinary action?”

“That’s not it. No one is paying attention to him. And people don’t seem to notice that the atmosphere has changed. I guess this stiff atmosphere is normal.”

Since it was only Namgung Myung’s subjective evaluation, Dang Mujin listened to the story with one ear and let it go out the other.

Since you said you found out a lot, there must be some more information that you’ve dug up.

“And what else?”

“I went to see my uncle Namgung Jinya and asked what changes had occurred in the family over the past few years.”

“···Won’t your uncle tell that story to your father?”

“No. My uncle is not that kind of person. Anyway, I was able to hear a few stories. For example, the family’s wealth increased, or on the contrary, the family’s elixir left behind increased considerably.”

I don’t know about other people, but Namgung Jinya’s story is believable.

Because the Namgung Jinya that Dang Mujin remembers was a person with a very trustworthy personality.

“You’ve got a lot of money now… Have you done something shady?”

“I don’t think so. It seems like they’ve pretty much collected the debt they had accumulated.”

Neither Hyun-gong nor Hong-geol-gae understood exactly what the story meant.

However, since Dang Mu-jin was in a position to lead the party, he was able to understand the meaning of the story clearly.

As a family grows, financial relationships inevitably become more complex. The family may be in debt, and there may be many people in debt to the family.

And families tend to bury the debt without pressing for it, because whether they take on debt or pay it off, it can all be a means of maintaining a relationship with each other.

By not pressuring others to repay a debt, you can win their hearts and make them want to continue their relationship with you, whether they like it or not.

No, in fact, even if we put aside all those difficult circumstances, the act of urging someone to pay back a debt is extremely uncomfortable.

As a result, it is common for family financial relationships to last from a few years to decades.

And if such a debt is suddenly collected, it is inevitable that there will be a backlash. It may be beneficial to the family, but at the very least, it will be a blow to Namgung Jincheon, who made such a decision. Namgung Jincheon has taken on a role that no one wants.

“People would have hated it.”

“I guess there are more people involved than I thought. And they didn’t collect all the debts. It seems like they only collected the debts of those in good positions, like the top or high-ranking officials.”

In other words, it means that I only collected debts from people who had some power and were difficult to collect money from.

I thought long and hard about why Namgung Jincheon made that decision, but no reason came to mind.

“What about the elixir that was left in the family?”

“It seems that the amount of elixir distributed at the Sword Society has been greatly reduced. The money coming into the family has increased, but the amount of elixir distributed has decreased, so there must be quite a lot of elixir left over.”

Namgung Myung answered readily, but Dang Mujin did not understand from the first word.

“Wait a minute. What is a sword?”

“It’s a simple martial arts competition held within the family once every three months.”

“Your family is holding a martial arts competition?”

“It’s a bit different from the martial arts competition that took place in Wuchang. It’s not about choosing the ultimate winner, but rather a public competition between people with similar achievements. The Namgung family’s martial artists must constantly hone their skills in order to take on challenges and accept challenges. And those who clearly demonstrate their achievements can obtain elixirs.”

I had heard that Shaolin Temple held similar events every year, so it was a story that I could understand.

If you put it nicely, it’s motivation, but if you put it badly, it’s a culture that uses elixirs and fame as bait to make all members of the family constantly struggle.

“If the elixir given had been reduced, the achievements of Namgung Se-ga and his men would have fallen behind. Why would your father make such a decision?”

When Dang Mu-jin asked, Namgung Myung shook his head.

“No. On the contrary, my uncle said that Namgung Se-ga’s martial arts skills have improved. It seems that the atmosphere of the swordsmanship has become serious enough to make up for not being given elixirs.”

The family’s wealth and elixirs piled up, and at the same time, their status increased.

It seemed like a very positive change, but it also felt a bit strange. How many changes in the world are only good?

Hyun-gong intervened in the conversation.

“Can outsiders also participate in the inspection?”

As expected, he seems to be greedy for the elixir. Namgung Myung made a trembling expression.

“There were cases where the warriors staying at Namgungga would participate. However, you shouldn’t expect too much from the elixir. It’s not like they give you an elixir of incredible level.”

“How much elixir do you give?”

“Occasionally, better elixirs will come in, but for the most part, you can think of them as relatively high-quality elixirs that can be purchased with money.”

Hyun-gong became a little indifferent.

For someone with low achievements, even small elixirs can be of great help, but for someone with a decent level of achievements like Hyun-gong, it’s difficult to see a significant effect unless you take a moderate elixir.

“If you still want to participate in the swordsmanship, tell me in advance. The swordsmanship is scheduled to take place in just a few days.”

“···I’m fine.”

“Then you will just watch.”

Namgung Myung smiled meaningfully as he spoke like that.

Dang Mu-jin and his party could guess Namgung Myung’s thoughts through that smile. Namgung Myung was thinking of challenging Namgung Jin-cheon in the swordfight.

“Instead of quietly deciding this on your own, you want to confront each other in front of people?”

“Yeah. It’s better to wrap things up in front of everyone. That way, there won’t be any gossip.”

“It would be more embarrassing than you can imagine.”

“It’s okay. The embarrassment is fleeting. Just wander around for a few more years and then come back.”

Although the story was like that, Namgung Myung looked quite nervous.

The strict head of the Namgung Se family. However, Namgung Jincheon was particularly harsh and cold to Namgung Myung.

It probably wasn’t an easy decision for Namgung Myung to step into his father’s territory.

*

Four days later, the trial was held.

The scenery of the swordsmanship ceremony had some similarities to the banquet at Namgung Se-ga’s house that Dang Mu-jin remembered.

In front of the main hall, there was a long table that could seat about ten people, and the elders of the family were sitting at that table.

In the center is Gaju Namgung Jincheon, and towards the edges on both sides are people whose military power is comparatively weaker.

And the Namgung Se family members are sitting looking at the table. There is a wide space between the table and the majority of the family members for the purpose of a meeting.

In contrast to the solemn and serious atmosphere, the beginning of the swordfight was strangely childish. This was because the first people to take part in the competition were children who were just over ten years old.

Even though they were at an age where they were more suited to showing off their skills than wielding swords, the children naturally pointed to their opponents and engaged in a very serious fight.

The child who won was happy, and the child who lost was sad. He even clenched his fists and shed tears because he was angry. Through this process, the children of the Namgung family became accustomed to competition from a young age.

Within a short time, the achievements of those who took up the military service gradually increased.

After the children, men with dark beards began to come forward, and soon even those of high rank began to engage.

Even the footnotes and the party lords had no qualms about requesting and accepting the secret.

Dang Mu-jin muttered softly.

“That’s unexpected. I thought people of high status would be careful.”

“Anyone who has learned martial arts must choose a challenger and fight against him once a year. The only exception is the head of the household. The head of the household is not the one who challenges, but the one who is challenged.”

Even one person wasn’t challenged just once.

Namgung Myung’s uncle, Doksu Brain Sword Namgung Jinya, was challenged three times in a row. He won the first two times with relative ease, but the last time he lost his strength and almost lost.

As the challenge to Namgung Jinya, who was considered the second-in-command of the Namgung Se family, ended, Namgung Jinya shook his head.

“Oh my. I was planning on challenging the master in this swordsmanship competition, but I’m so weak that I can’t even lift my sword. I guess I’ll have to postpone it until next time.”

As Namgung Jinya started to act cute, soft laughter spread throughout the room.

In normal times, the investigation would have ended at this point, but the Namgung Se family members did not rise from their seats and all remained seated. The people’s attention was focused on Namgung Myung, not Namgung Jinya.

As Namgung Myung stood up from his seat, the people of Namgung’s family held their breath in tension.

It was the moment when the rumor that Namgung Myung might challenge his father turned out to be true.

Namgung Myung walked confidently to the front of the stage and stopped exactly in front of his father.

People held their breath and listened intently to Namgung Myung’s story.

“father.”

This time, Namgung Myung called Namgung Jincheon “father” and not “lord.”

Namgung Jincheon nodded without paying any attention.

“Tell me.”

“There’s one thing I’ve been wondering about for a long time.”

“What is it?”

“Do you remember what nickname your great-grandfather, Namgung Hyo-un, had?”

“He was the King of Swords.”

“Do you remember what nickname your great-grandfather Namgung Wol had?”

“He was the King of Swords.”

“Do you remember what nickname your great-grandfather Namgung Chojin had?”

“He was the King of Swords.”

“And as far as I can remember, my grandfather Namgung Unyang was also called Sword King.”

“Yes.”

“Then why is only my father called a swordsman?”

The surroundings became even quieter.

But Namgung Jincheon did not answer.

“When I was young, I thought that my father could not be called the Sword King because the Sword King of Jewonbaekga had already been given the nickname Sword King in the same generation. It was impossible for two people to be called by the same nickname. And when I heard that the Sword King of Jewonbaekga had died, I thought that my father would soon be called the Sword King.”

Namgung Myung took a breath and then continued talking.

“And twenty years have passed since the death of the Sword King. My father is still the Sword Ghost Namgung Jincheon, and there is no one in the world who is called the Sword King.”

Namgung Jincheon still didn’t open his mouth. He just looked at Namgung Myung with a relaxed attitude.

“I didn’t know the reason. But at some point, an idea started to come to my mind. I thought that maybe it was because my father didn’t deserve the nickname of Sword King.”

Namgung Myung took a step closer to Namgung Jincheon. Now the distance between the two was less than ten steps.

“And not long ago, I got confirmation from Gaebong. The number of people who came as reinforcements for Namgung Se-ga was less than ten. There were no key experts. The reason was also poor.”

Some of the Namgung Sega’s warriors bowed their heads in shame. It seemed that they also knew the inside story of the situation.

Namgung Myung’s voice was filled with confidence.

“To be called a king, one must walk the royal path. He who tries to bring down others to become the best will not be called a king even if he sits on the throne. People will only call him a king if he raises himself to the highest place.”

Namgung Myung roundly reprimanded Namgung Jincheon for not sending proper support in order to bring down Shaolin Temple. Namgung Jincheon still did not respond.

However, Dang Mu-jin thought that Namgung Jin-cheon looked very happy for some reason.

“Father. While I was going through thick and thin with my friends, they gave me nicknames. Ui-ryong, Gyu-cho-gae, Jeong…eon. But no one gave me a nickname. I used to feel a little sad, but now I don’t feel sad. And I know why. My nickname was decided a long time ago.”

Namgung Myung grabbed the sword handle.

“Father, take up your sword. Starting tomorrow, I will be known as the head of the Namgung family, the Sword King Namgung Myeong.”