Namgung Clan’s Great Sage, Heaven’s Equal

9. Except for the Namgung Clan.

The Orthodox Faction is a righteous group.

That’s the common belief running through the Murim.

Of course, it’s a topic that sparks endless debate. Bring it up over drinks, and things are bound to get loud. It’s the perfect subject to start a fight.

But add just one condition, and—surprisingly—everyone agrees.

The Orthodox Faction is a righteous group.

—Except for the Namgung Clan.

*

Namgung Clan.

The foremost of the Five Great Families, and without question, the Number One Sword Family Under Heaven.

The pillar of the Orthodox Faction that saved the Murim in the decisive battle against the Evil Faction Alliance over a decade ago.

...At least, that’s what they say.

“You sons of bitches! The Blood-Iron Fiend has appeared, and not a single message was sent to the Namgung Clan?”

A middle-aged man, his face flushed red, was raging.

To say he was just “raging” didn’t do it justice.

The doors and windows shook as if they’d shatter, and a menacing energy filled the hall. The floor trembled as if struck by an earthquake.

The commotion brought the elders of the Namgung Clan running, their faces pale with alarm.

“Clan Leader! Please, calm yourself!”

“Please, control your anger, Clan Leader!”

Jin Baek, the head of the Namgung Clan, ground his teeth in frustration.

“This is a Murim-wide threat. A Murim-wide threat! The fiend who killed seven Shaolin disciples, nine Beggar’s Sect elders, and even slaughtered members of our own Namgung bloodline during the Great War of Righteousness and Evil has resurfaced, and yet no one asks for our help? Does that make any sense?”

Of course it doesn’t.

The ruler of Anhui is Namgung, the leader of the Five Great Families is Namgung, and at the very top of the Orthodox Faction stands Namgung.

That’s how the Namgung Clan sees themselves.

If a Murim-wide threat is hiding in Anhui, of course they should ask Namgung for help...

Truthfully, both the Clan Leader and the elders knew the reason.

“Ahem. Are we really that... difficult to deal with?”

“People are probably scared. After all, even Elder Jin-Cheon’s reputation—though he’s retired—was legendary for more than one reason.”

“Come on. Even if things got a little rough, it all worked out for the best in the end, didn’t it?”

“Absolutely! The reason the Evil Faction Alliance led by Sama Ryeon disappeared was all thanks to Namgung’s bold actions!”

“It was a kind of shock therapy, wasn’t it? We made sure Sama Ryeon would tremble at the very name ‘Namgung’ every time they fought us. It was all part of the plan.”

“The problem is, now even our allies in the Orthodox Faction are afraid of us, not just the Evil Faction.”

“But why would our own allies be scared of us?”

As the elders struggled to understand, Muhwa, the Law Enforcement Hall Leader, interjected in a tired voice.

“Well, it’s... the things people see, Elders. Like, cutting off all the limbs of enemies, opening up their chests to check if their hearts have stopped, splitting open their skulls and burning them to prevent them from turning into jiangshi...”

“Hey! How is that cruel when it’s done to fiends?”

“Exactly! They deserved every bit of it!”

“...Sigh.”

Muhwa couldn’t help but sigh at the elders’ reactions, which showed no sign of calming down.

As the Law Enforcement Hall Leader, tasked with upholding the clan’s rules and laws, he was thoroughly sick of situations like this.

It felt like talking to a bunch of muscle-brained fools who only knew martial arts.

Unable to take the noise any longer, Muhwa stomped the floor hard.

BANG!

“Everyone! Let’s get a grip on the situation!”

"...."

Silence fell instantly. Everyone averted their eyes from Muhwa’s intimidating glare.

Jin Baek, the Clan Leader, raised his hand with an awkward smile.

“Uh, Law Enforcement Hall Leader?”

“You too, Clan Leader! Please! That hot temper of yours! You don’t need to inherit your brother’s personality just because you’re the previous Clan Leader’s sibling!”

"...."

The elders gathered here were relatively young. Even Jin Baek, the oldest among them, was only in his mid-forties.

Muhwa was especially young—young enough to be Jin Baek’s daughter, and in fact, she was. Still, Jin Baek found Muhwa somewhat intimidating.

She wasn’t a blood relative, an outsider by birth. Perhaps it was because, unlike the other Namgung members, she was the only one who kept a cool head.

Once things quieted down, Muhwa let out a short sigh and spoke.

“No matter how much we boast about being the top of the Five Great Families and the pillar of the Orthodox Faction, what does it matter if even our allies are afraid of us? Let’s be honest. Don’t people see us as nothing more than sword-swinging maniacs?”

“...Ahem.”

“Seriously, what other Orthodox Faction would gut people, cut off all their limbs, burn the corpses, and then drink and dance on top of them?”

“Ahem. Well, that was just me being young and reckless...”

Jin Baek mumbled an excuse, but Muhwa only glared at him coldly. Jin Baek closed his mouth and lowered his head.

Muhwa looked around and continued.

“If we really want to be respected elders of the Orthodox Faction, the pillar of the righteous path, we need to care about how others see us.”

“You mean... our image?”

“Why do people still respect Shaolin and Wudang, even though they’ve declined from their former glory?”

“Well...”

“It’s all because they manage their public image well. They’re upright, compassionate, kind—even to their enemies, they don’t become cruel, and sometimes they even show mercy!”

“That’s all just for show...”

“We need to put on a bit of a show too, you know? We’re the ones who’ve spilled the most blood!”

"...."

“And we need to start accepting more normal retainers. Seriously, is it because the Namgung Clan’s reputation makes us look like human butchers? Sometimes I can’t even tell if our retainers are from the Black Path or not!”

Muhwa’s sharp speech left the room in silence. Everyone knew it, but no one wanted to admit it until Muhwa brought it up.

Jin Baek sat down heavily, looking a bit embarrassed.

Just then, a new figure entered the hall.

It was the Leader of the Hall of Radiant Justice, responsible for the Namgung Clan’s intelligence.

“Clan Leader, regardless, we must be the ones to capture the Blood-Iron Fiend. The Dragon Phoenix Assembly, where the heirs of the Five Great Families will gather, is being held here soon. If the Murim-wide threat is still roaming Anhui by then, it’ll be a huge disgrace.”

“Of course, he killed our blood relatives. But if the Murim Alliance is hoarding information and refusing to cooperate, what can we do?”

“There is a way.”

“Really?”

“The Murim Alliance, in cooperation with the authorities, issued a ban on all departures, but a few ships ignored the ban and slipped out. There’s a high chance the Blood-Iron Fiend is on one of those ships.”

Jin Baek’s eyes sharpened as he thought it over. If someone ignored a ban issued by both the Murim Alliance and the authorities...

“Either they’re incredibly bold, or they’re very good at running away.”

Jin Baek immediately reached for his sword.

“We’ve found the Murim-wide threat. How can I, as a leader of the martial world, just sit here and do nothing?”

“Uwooo!”

“We’ll go with you, Clan Leader!”

“...Sigh.”

Muhwa put a hand to his forehead as the Clan Leader and elders, who had just been scolded, now shouted with excitement.

‘Men... No, Namgung men are especially like this. It’s all because of the previous Clan Leader. That hot-blooded fool turned the Namgung Clan into this mess.’

No wonder people look at the Namgung Clan so strangely.

At that moment, Jin Baek, who had been fired up, glanced at Muhwa.

“Uh, Law Enforcement Hall Leader? This can’t be helped. If a suspected Murim-wide threat appears, we can’t just sit back and worry about our image, can we?”

“Hoo. You’re right. If it really is the Blood-Iron Fiend, we have to be the ones to catch him.”

After all, the Blood-Iron Fiend has a blood feud with the Namgung Clan.

Vengeance, after all, is something you must take into your own hands.

Jin Baek’s face lit up.

“Exactly! I’ll cut off his head right now—!”

“But!”

“Huh?”

“No cutting off limbs, no opening up chests to check the heart, no burning the body and drinking on top of it.”

Muhwa looked around at the elders as he continued.

“Let’s capture him alive. We’ll list every one of his crimes, summon the Murim Alliance, and publicly declare that we caught the fiend before executing him.”

“Hm. So, don’t kill him?”

“Yes. And make absolutely sure it’s the Blood-Iron Fiend. Don’t go creating new grudges by attacking some hidden Martial Master or reclusive expert by mistake.”

“Haha, as if we wouldn’t recognize a fiend. We’ll know once we fight. Though, in the heat of battle, a limb or two might get cut off...”

“...Sigh.”

Muhwa sighed.

“Let’s compromise: one arm, one leg at most.”

“...You really are a Namgung warrior at heart, Hall Leader. So, have you thought about my offer to become my adopted daughter? I think you’d fit right in with the Namgung family.”

“Not a chance!”

“Ahem.”

Jin Baek cleared his throat and backed away.

“Well then, Hall Leader, I’ll leave my nephew and son in your care.”

“...Wait, you’re taking everyone out there?”

“Of course! Who knows what kind of havoc a Murim-wide threat could cause? We have to be fully prepared!”

Muhwa’s mouth fell open.

Wait, the Clan Leader and all the elders are going out just to catch one criminal? All of them?

But before Muhwa could say anything, the Clan Leader and elders rushed out together.

Like workers heading out for drinks after a long day.

“...Sigh.”

Muhwa let out a long sigh. These people just had a different set of values from the rest of the martial world. It made him feel like he was the only sane one.

“Ugh. Seriously. At this rate, I’ll die young.”

Muhwa popped a sweet treat into his mouth, trying to calm his nerves. Whenever his head hurt, eating something sweet helped ease his mind.

“Well, it’ll be fine, right?

Even if they seem simple-minded, they’re still the Clan Leader and elders of the Namgung Clan.

Their judgment is sound, and their skills are top-notch.

Surely nothing will go wrong.

“...Nothing will go wrong, right?”

Still, Muhwa couldn’t shake his unease.

*

Sun Wukong furrowed his brow.

“They’re afraid of them like human butchers? Even their own allies?”

To sum up the explanation:

“So, the Evil Faction Alliance—those monsters as bad as Guanyin Bodhisattva—fought the Orthodox Faction, and the Namgung Clan’s direct and collateral lines were nearly wiped out. The furious Namgung Clan then launched a massive, bloody revenge campaign, right?”

“You’re saying Sama Ryeon is like Guanyin Bodhisattva?”

That comparison seemed a bit off.

Sun Wukong tilted his head, then quickly shook it.

“Yeah, that’s not right.”

“Exactly. Guanyin Bodhisattva is beloved by the people...”

“Comparing Sama Ryeon to Guanyin Bodhisattva would be an insult to Sama Ryeon. He’d be furious. My mistake. I misspoke. This is why you have to watch what you say. Got it? You should be careful with your words, too.”

“...”

“Anyway, the point is, their revenge was so brutal that even their allies see them as human butchers, right?”

“Yes.”

Sun Wukong clicked his tongue.

Is that really something to be criticized for? Honestly, if someone hurt my family, I’d lose it too.

Sun Wukong had been there himself.

‘Demon King of Chaos, that bastard.’

He could never forget that bastard’s face.

When was it? Was it when he left Gathering Cave on Huaguo Mountain to seek immortality?

While he was away, the Demon King of Chaos invaded, killed his beloved monkey kin, and enslaved the survivors.

Sun Wukong had truly lost it then. He tore the Demon King of Chaos apart without mercy.

Having experienced that, Sun Wukong actually sympathized with the Namgung Clan—he even felt sorry for them.

Even if only the strongest remain, their numbers have dwindled.

That’s why they’ve started accepting retainers to maintain their strength.

“Retainers. Right, retainers. Why not just join as one?”

“It’s not that easy to become a retainer.”

“Really? What’s the requirement?”

“You need an incredible reputation...”

“That’s it? Then I’m set.”

Before the sentence was even finished, Sun Wukong started clapping his hands.

The man with the sideburns looked at him in disbelief.

“I mean an incredible reputation. The kind where, anywhere in the Central Plains, people hear your name and immediately know who you are.”

“Just in this Eastern Pure Land? Listen, let me tell you about myself.”

Sun Wukong spread his arms wide, striking a boastful pose.

People nearby turned to stare. The man with the sideburns blushed in embarrassment.

They’d left the tavern and were now in the middle of the marketplace. A foreigner with golden hair striking a ridiculous pose was bound to draw attention.

The man with the sideburns felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

‘Didn’t he do this in front of those Stone Flower Sect guys and get humiliated?’

Is he really doing this again?

“Ah! Beneath Huaguo Mountain, where the divine energy of the heavens gathers and strikes the earth like lightning, I was born from stone, as beautiful and handsome as a sculpture—the Handsome Monkey King, that is I, Master Sun.”

Oh, he’s really doing it again.

“Not only in the Eastern Pure Land, but also in the Western Pure Land, in the land of the Tathagata, my brilliant reputation shines. In the depths of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, the Eight Hot Hells, the Eight Cold Hells, and even the Ten Kings of Hell, the name of Master Sun is known. From hell to the Heavenly Realm, there’s not a soul who hasn’t heard the name of the one who rules the heavens—the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong!”

“...Ah.”

The man with the sideburns squeezed his eyes shut.

Seriously.

He felt tears well up. Just a little. Really, just a little.