ALL NOVEL Chapter 20
How to Establish a Clan Properly 2
“Who do the elders of the clan think they are, speaking so boldly while a mere child dares to interrupt!?”
“That’s right! And what’s more, that’s a letter meant for the Sichuan Province Lord! Do you even understand what you’re talking about?”
“Look! Clan Head! Without any foundation, he’s butting in while elders speak! Hence, we thought it prudent to seek a more respectable clan…”
The shouts of the old-timers echoed in response to my question.
A vein throbbed slightly at my temples.
Every time they harped on about ‘foundation’, it made me want to ask about their parents.
‘Ha, are these old-timers seriously challenging me to a verbal battle?’
In all my streaming sessions, I had never lost to any villain’s keyboard combat.
I stepped forward with courtesy, ready to assert my position.
This definitely seemed to require some domination.
‘Keyboard Battle Volume 1: Face with a smile, voice as polite as possible, but deliver facts unrelentingly.’
“I’ve heard you still don’t acknowledge me as a son-in-law of the Four Heavenly Houses; if so, I am still just a guest. Furthermore, having helped save the precious life of the lady of the clan and even captured the Blood Hand Demon, Tak Woon-yang, to save the clan head’s life, I am a benefactor. Is it proper to insult a guest and benefactor right here in front of you all?”
My words left the grandfather, clan head, and older sister staring at me in shock.
As if they hadn’t expected me to come on so strong.
‘Not a family member, mind you… so I should be more cautious.’
“Ugh. Ahem.”
“That is…”
If they refuse to acknowledge me as family, then I remain a guest and benefactor, so is it truly right to insult a benefactor? The old-timers turned mute as if they’d swallowed honey.
The branch family members, momentarily silenced, seemed to be pondering something else, then spoke up with incredulous expressions.
“But what about the Blood Hand Demon, Tak Woon-yang?”
“If it’s about Tak Woon-yang… that doesn’t make sense… he’s already…”
“The clan head is desperately trying to recognize you as a son-in-law and is feeding old tales to that young junior hero…”
-Thunk.
Just as the insinuation started that the clan head and I were colluding to deceive, a book was tossed onto the table.
The clan head spoke with a frosty expression.
“Little So-ryong speaks no lies. Here is the manual for the Blood Water Poison Claw, so check for yourselves. This is what I’ve been trying to say since earlier, haven’t I urged you to listen?”
“The Blood Water Poison Claw!”
“You actually managed to retrieve that cursed artifact!?”
“If you’re mentioning the Blood Water Poison Claw, it must be true!”
The elders of the branch family, who had previously doubted the story about Tak Woon-yang, surged toward the table as soon as the manual for the Blood Water Poison Claw appeared, their faces filled with surprise.
They were amazed even just by the cover of the book.
“This, this is! The words ‘Blood Cult’ and ‘Blood Water Poison Claw’ written on the cover! And the characters written in blood! It must be the Blood Water Poison Claw!”
“Indeed. It was said to have come from the Blood Cult…”
‘Wait, was that really a crazy book?’
Feeling dizzy at the realization that there were crazier characters than the infamous assassination clan of the Central Plains, those elders from the branch family posed another question.
“So this junior hero really captured Tak Woon-yang?”
“A boy who hasn’t even reached adulthood yet?”
-Zzzrrr!
And with that, from my pocket, the Ogong creatures suddenly sprang forth with an alarming sensation.
I could tell the future father-in-law was trying to inject some hostility towards me.
‘Can’t you just talk and then fire away!?’
“This, this is!”
“A yellow Ogong?”
“It’s the offspring of the Blue-Spotted Centipede, isn’t it? My son-in-law’s pet. Oh wait, since you don’t recognize him as a son-in-law, should I call him a junior hero?”
As the future father-in-law remarked, I kindly patted the heads of the Ogong.
“Hey now, little Ogong, you shouldn’t bite people! If you turn black like Uncle Blood Hand Demon, you’ll just die!”
One of the elders from the branch family, startled and retreating at the emergence of the Ogong, sheepishly said, “W-we never said we wouldn’t recognize you!”
“So, there’s always a procedure to follow. Since you ignored it, I merely reported it to the Clan Head.”
“Right! It’s just we hope you adhere to that procedure next time.”
“That’s the idea.”
Flustered by the emergence of the Ogong, the branch family elders, who seemed to find me valuable as a potential son-in-law, suddenly changed their demeanor while my older sister wore a truly icy expression.
Could it be she thought they were trying to sell off a few insects to their kind?
Her face was like an icy gale blowing hard.
“Now, putting the son-in-law matter aside, why can’t we let him handle Mandok Hall?”
Trying to get everything organized, the grandfather asked why they couldn’t trust me with Mandok Hall, and one of the hesitating branch family elders answered cautiously.
“First, we should at least offer a meal, and only then can he truly belong to our clan. That’s what we meant. And even if we trust him, he’s still a boy who hasn’t reached adulthood yet, and while the Clan Head claims to be knowledgeable about venomous insects and poisons, he has shown nothing that can convince the clan members, hasn’t he?”
“That’s right! How could we trust an important task like Mandok Hall to him?”
At that, the Mandok God, my grandfather, nodded in agreement.
Seemingly persuaded by the branch family elders’ opinions, my grandfather smiled and replied.
“Then what you’re saying is it’s because So-ryong hasn’t shown you anything that convinces you he should be tasked with Mandok Hall?”
“Well, yes, indeed, Elder.”
“Is that so? Then everything’s been settled, hasn’t it?”
Suddenly cutting off mid-question, my grandfather declared that all matters had been resolved.
As the elders from the branch family blinked in confusion at this declaration, my grandfather winked at me.
“Can you demonstrate your abilities well enough to convince the elders of the clan?”
As he looked toward the letter in my hand, it was clear he was asking if I could resolve this.
From the start, I had picked this letter because I felt I could easily handle it after sneaking a peek from behind the future father-in-law.
I bowed to my grandfather and replied.
“Of course, if you trust me, I will solve this problem in a manner befitting the Four Heavenly Houses.”
With my hobbies on the line, I had to resolve this in a way that clan members would surely understand.
Thus, I planned to handle it in a manner truly representative of the Four Heavenly Houses.
As I emphasized that I would resolve it like the Four Heavenly Houses, my grandfather seemed intrigued and asked.
“What do you mean by resolving it the way of the Four Heavenly Houses?”
Seemingly pleased with my answer, he wore a wide grin on his face.
In response to that question, I too smiled and replied.
“Of course, I plan to use poison.”
“Poison?”
“Poison?”
The surprise at my unexpected response left my grandfather, clan head, and older sister staring at me wide-eyed.
Then came the shocked voices from the branch family.
“Are, are you mad!? You’re going to poison the Sichuan Province Lord!?”
“Elder, how could you administer poison to the Sichuan Province Lord!?”
“You fool, it’s not that we’re trying to kill the Sichuan Province Lord, we’re sending him medicine! How could we use poison in medicine for the Sichuan Province Lord!?”
‘But wait, isn’t the Four Heavenly Houses known for using poison?’
Inside the Clan Head Hall, the uproar from the astonished elders of the branch family grew louder.
*
“Soreong, will you really handle that matter?”
After the commotion in the Clan Head Hall settled, on our way back, the elders seemed to have more to say, so I was walking alongside my older sister back to the Four Harmonies Courtyard.
Upon hearing my sister’s suddenly concerned voice, I turned to see her wearing a worried expression.
She probably felt uneasy about my mention of preparing medicine for the Sichuan Province Lord.
“Don’t worry, Little One. I can handle it well.”
I responded to reassure her, but she shot back with another question.
This time, my sister looked quite bashful as she asked.
“So-ryong, are you absolutely certain you know what kind of medicine that is? You’re still quite young; aren’t you afraid you might not understand it precisely? That worries me…”
‘A blushing sister, how delightful.’
I admired my sister’s flustered expression internally while smiling.
There was indeed a reason for her shyness.
The medicine requested by the Sichuan Province Lord wasn’t just any ordinary medicine.
It seemed that being the Sichuan Province Lord gave him a vibe similar to that of a mayor, so one would expect a significant medicine ordered from such a figure, right?
But actually, the medicine he requested was, well, a kind of remedy that helps ‘raise’ a man properly.
It’s not just any ordinary remedy but one that turns a man into a strong man.
Yes, it’s actually a remedy for erectile dysfunction.
For reasons unknown, the Sichuan Province Lord had fallen victim to erectile dysfunction.
He was a figure renowned for his poisons but also a capable healer, so he requested this potion from the Four Heavenly Houses, asking for a remedy for erectile dysfunction.
The pharmacy of the clan supposedly concocted the remedy, but the problem was that it didn’t have much effect.
Thus, despite having provided a substantial amount of money, the Sichuan Province Lord was disappointed with the ineffective potions and sent a letter of complaint.
The elders from the branch family came here to discuss it, and then the future father-in-law and I got dragged into a battle over it.
But as I represented that I would take charge of the matter, my sister grew increasingly bashful.
Mentioning a remedy for erectile dysfunction in regard to the Sichuan Province Lord is naturally an embarrassing thing for a woman to bring up.
“Of course, I do. Little One. It’s a really necessary thing for head-hung men…”
“That’s enough! Ah, I’ll believe you know what you’re talking about!”
At my remark, my sister quickly covered her ears with a flustered expression, nodding furiously as she acknowledged that I possessed forbidden knowledge.
Then, placing her hand on her chest as if to calm her startled heart, she spoke.
“The junior hero knows much more than his age would suggest.”
“Eh? Yes. It’s somewhat embarrassing.”
‘It feels like I keep landing in precarious situations.’
I worried if my image was taking a hit with my sister, but considering our connection as we’ve already discussed our futures together, I opted to trust my sister.
She wouldn’t suddenly withdraw the agreement.
Probably?
I also pondered again about the details of our promise.
‘Honestly, I wondered if I should gather all ten, but the world is so kind that I only need to catch one. Truly, it seems like there are angels around me.’
As we continued chatting about the Sichuan Province Lord’s medicine, we fell silent until we reached the courtyard of the Four Harmonies Courtyard without exchanging a single word.
Even if it was for treatment, discussing such topics was inherently a bit embarrassing…
As we arrived at the front of my sister’s room in the courtyard, she finally spoke up after being quiet all this time.
After our talk about the forbidden knowledge, my sister broke her silence.
“I, I heard you’re using poison in that medicine. If you ever need to enter Mandok Hall, do let me know. I can accompany you.”
Since I had mentioned the usage of poison in front of the clan members earlier, she was likely just offering to assist if poison was needed.
And since she hadn’t yet received a free pass to Mandok Hall, she seemed to be offering to join me.
However, the poison from Mandok Hall was unnecessary.
“No, Little One. There’s no need for Mandok Hall’s poison.”
My sister tilted her head in confusion.
“You clearly said you would use poison, right? While not every poison in the world exists in Mandok Hall, there are certainly many to choose from?”
With a smile, I answered her query.
“I’m planning to go catch some tomorrow. Would you like to come along?”
“Catch what?!”
“Have you ever seen a Bumblebee’s (웅봉) nest around here?”
“Bumblebee? The big, chubby one you’re talking about?”
“Yes, indeed. That Bumblebee.”
In the tongue of the Central Plains, it’s called 웅봉; in English, it’s Bumblebee; in Korean, it’s 호박벌.
So, yes, tomorrow we were planning to raid a Bumblebee nest.
‘For our first date to be in front of a Bumblebee nest—what a perfect chance for a date with Fabre!’