Chapter 146
Sunwoo Jung asked,
“If we take care of the Ha family next, which family should we deal with afterward?”
Sunwoo Jin answered without hesitation,
“That would be the Un family. Gaeyangmun will have to serve as bait until the very end, and Seogidang isn’t a difficult opponent.”
“Hmm, that makes sense. But they’ve never really influenced the family much before, given that their daughter-in-law is young and the distance between us is far. Do you think they’ll move so easily now?”
At that, Sunwoo Jin’s expression hardened as he nodded knowingly.
“They’ve been allied with the fourth generation’s Seogidang and usually had Seogidang act on their behalf, so it might seem like they have no interest in the family’s affairs. But that’s far from the truth, as past events have shown.”
“Past events?”
Sunwoo Jung’s brow furrowed in confusion, prompting Sunwoo Jin to meet his gaze sharply.
“I’m talking about when I tried to arrange a marriage for Yeonha elsewhere.”
Sunwoo Jung’s eyes widened in surprise.
“You mean the death of Dan Ha-sang, one of the four friends of Dan Gajang?”
Sunwoo Jin nodded gravely.
“Yes, that incident. It’s certain the Un family was behind it. The only question is which member of the family was involved. That’s why I intend to take this opportunity not only to deal with the Un family but also to uncover the culprit.”
Sunwoo Jung swallowed hard and asked,
“How do you plan to do that?”
Sunwoo Jin smiled slyly.
“We already know what circumstances make them move. All we have to do is recreate that situation.”
“That situation?”
Still puzzled, Sunwoo Jung listened as Sunwoo Jin began to explain in more detail.
Just days after taking over the Ha family, the Sunwoo household, still busy cleaning up the aftermath of their conflict with the Ha family, was once again summoned by the family head, Sunwoo Jung, to the main office. This time, only family members were called.
And once gathered, Sunwoo Jung dropped another bombshell.
“I will marry Yeonha to Gaeyangmun.”
The family was stunned by the sudden announcement. Except for Lady Gok, who was from Gaeyangmun, and her son, the eldest Sunwoo Seong, the declaration shocked everyone else to their core.
Sending Yeonha to Gaeyangmun clearly meant tightening ties with that faction. It also signaled a break with the Un family, who had been supporting the fourth brother, Sunwoo Gi, through their alliance with Seogidang.
In other words, it was an open declaration that the eldest son, Sunwoo Seong, would be backed as the family head.
Yeonha’s biological mother, the fifth Lady Un, turned pale and stammered in opposition.
“L-Lord! That’s impossible! I absolutely—!”
But she couldn’t finish her sentence under Sunwoo Jung’s icy glare, which looked at her as if she were a stranger, not his wife.
Frozen, she was quietly asked in a low voice,
“Impossible? So you oppose the decision of your family head? You’d better have a good reason for that, madam.”
Faced with that cold warning, Lady Un could only swallow nervously. The image of Sunwoo Jung decisively cutting ties with the second brother, Sunwoo Hyuk, and Lady Ha flashed through her mind. He was no longer the indecisive husband swayed by his wives.
“T-That is…”
She paled and fell silent. Sunwoo Jung’s sharp gaze then shifted to the fourth wife, Lady Seo.
“Do you have anything to say to me, madam?”
Already terrified, Lady Seo only shook her head vigorously.
At that moment, Lady Gok, the eldest wife, quickly interjected.
“How could there be any disagreement when the family head makes the decisions? I will follow your will, my lord.”
Sunwoo Jung swept his gaze over the family once more, then turned to Sunwoo Seong and Lady Gok.
“Inform Gaeyangmun to find a suitable young man to marry Yeonha. I want this done as quickly as possible.”
The two responded with determination.
“Yes, Father! We’ll send the message immediately!”
“Don’t worry, my lord! We’ll find a fine match for our lovely Yeonha.”
With that, Sunwoo Jung dismissed everyone.
“You may all leave now. Sorry to have called you so early.”
Though his words were gentle, his tone was anything but. It was a clear signal that there was nothing more to discuss.
The family left the office in silence, unable to say another word.
Yeonha, led out dazedly by her mother, was utterly devastated. This was about her own marriage, yet her father hadn’t even looked at her or asked for her opinion.
She left the room feeling as if her world was collapsing.
At that moment, her third brother, Sunwoo Jin, oblivious to the mood, approached her with a beaming smile.
“Yeonha, you’re finally getting married! Congratulations! I always wanted you to marry my friend Ha-sang, but since he died, I’m sorry it couldn’t happen. But now… really, congratulations!”
Sunwoo Jin’s eyes glistened with tears.
Yeonha found his words absurd but didn’t argue. She didn’t even have the strength to.
Ignoring him, she looked sadly at her fourth brother, Sunwoo Gi.
He sighed deeply and turned away, his expression dark.
The person she loved most in the world was turning his back on her.
Her vision blurred.
She hurried back to her room, muttering like a spell,
“No, no way I’m marrying some Gaeyangmun guy. I won’t go. Never.”
Yeonha’s heart had been set from a young age.
Ever since her mother, Lady Un, had joined forces with Lady Seo, Sunwoo Gi’s mother, and told her,
“In the Sunwoo family, only we here are truly on the same side. So, Yeonha, you must get along with Gi. If we strengthen him, he will make us the true rulers of the Sunwoo family. We are now a community of fate—practically one body.”
Though she was too young to fully grasp the meaning of “community of fate,” one thing was clear: Sunwoo Gi was special to her.
From then on, Yeonha believed she would naturally marry Sunwoo Gi—at least until she realized siblings couldn’t marry.
Even after learning that, her feelings didn’t change.
She had found her answer.
“If I can’t marry Gi? Then I won’t marry anyone. I’ll just stay by his side forever. I’ll make Gi the family head, and I’ll be right there with him. His wife? Hah! Let them try to make me marry someone else. I’ll kill them.”
That was her solution.
And it wasn’t entirely unrealistic.
After all, Sunwoo Gi needed the Un family’s support to become family head and to maintain power afterward.
It was certain he would have to be with Yeonha.
Whether that would continue after he became head was something she hadn’t thought deeply about.
Back in her room, Yeonha took out a secret messenger bird cage she had hidden away and stepped into the backyard.
It was a secret messenger bird given to her long ago by her maternal grandfather, the head of the Un family, for urgent communication.
She had only used it once before.
Whispering earnestly,
“Please, take care of this again.”
Like making a wish, she released the messenger bird into the sky.
Flap, flap!
Suddenly—
Tap, tap!
Something fell behind her.
Startled, Yeonha spun around.
Keeping the messenger bird was a secret, especially now. She knew well that if discovered, she could end up like the three elders who were executed for colluding with the Ha family or the late Grand Master Shin Eung.
But all she saw was a book that had fallen off the table.
She sighed in relief.
“Geez, you scared me.”
Looking back up, the messenger bird was already out of sight, flying away.
Yeonha stood there for a moment, then returned to her room.
She firmly believed, as she had before, that her grandfather would find the answer this time as well.
No, it had to be that way.
Outside Yeonha’s door, Sunwoo Jin leaned against the wall with his eyes closed.
After a moment, he smiled faintly, turned, and walked out of the building.
As he slowly made his way back to his lodgings, Sun Woo-jin suddenly stopped and looked up at the sky.
From a very young age, Sun Woo-jin often found himself staring blankly upward.
Whether it was during times when his family’s constant disdain and his isolated position made the future seem hopeless, or when tears welled up from the frustration of his own foolish choices, or even when he lost his only friend—and was falsely accused of killing him—he had always looked to the sky.
He muttered softly to himself.
“So that’s what the sky looked like from home all along.”
The pure white clouds, the blue expanse above—it should have felt familiar, natural even—but today, somehow, it all seemed strangely foreign.
After a moment, Sun Woo-jin shifted his gaze ahead.
There, he spotted Je Gal Seo-yul walking with a heavy expression, lost in thought.
Since the ambush incident—more precisely, since the news of Cheong-yeon’s death—she hadn’t once shown a bright expression.
Though she smiled and appeared cheerful in front of others, Sun Woo-jin, who had been the one to deliver the news, knew all too well that her smiles were forced.
At that moment, Seo-yul suddenly looked up, and their eyes met.
She flinched and stopped in her tracks.
“Sun Woo… Gongja?”
But when Sun Woo-jin saw the trembling in her eyes and her inability to speak, he simply bowed his head slightly and walked past her.
Finally, Seo-yul broke the silence.
“Even if that’s true—!”
Sun Woo-jin paused and turned to face her.
“What am I supposed to do? I’m nothing but a mere retainer, and my father is the head of the Je Gal family! Isn’t Sun Woo Gongja in the same position as me?”
He turned his head slightly, staring at her quietly.
It was a common belief among the martial clans’ heirs that once the family head made a decision, the retainers had no choice but to follow.
They had been raised that way from childhood.
Just the fact that Seo-yul was struggling with this showed she had a kind heart.
She must have truly considered Hae Cheong-yeon a good friend.
Most likely, she was even afraid to confirm whether her own father had really killed Cheong-yeon.
Because even if she found out it was true, she would believe there was nothing she could do.
But…
Sun Woo-jin spoke with an indifferent expression.
“They say those who commit evil acts are the main culprits, but those who merely watch are accomplices. If you think you can’t do anything about it, then that is your choice, Je Gal Seo-yul. I understand perfectly.”
And with that, he resumed walking.
Behind him, Seo-yul clenched her teeth and shouted bitterly.
“What makes you so great that you can blame me?! A loser who lost the succession battle and ended up in the front lines after killing a friend!”
But despite her outburst, Sun Woo-jin didn’t stop.
He walked on, as if hearing nothing.
Watching his retreating figure, Seo-yul’s eyes welled up with tears.
On the third floor of Guiyang Jeilru.
No Sam-ryong, the head of Guiyang Jeilru and branch chief of the Hao Sect’s Guiyang branch, was reading a letter from Sun Woo-jin, chuckling to himself.
“Impressive, truly impressive. Sun Woo Sam Gongja is a terrifying man.”
As he shook his head in admiration, a voice suddenly spoke from behind him.
“What’s so impressive about him?”
Startled, No Sam-ryong whipped around.
The voice had come from a place where no one had been moments before.
Having been caught off guard by Sun Woo-jin before and forced to swallow his pride, No Sam-ryong was now almost phobic about someone suddenly speaking from behind.
He turned quickly to see who it was, and upon recognizing the person, he sighed in relief as if he’d dodged a bullet, then snapped sharply.
“Ah! At least announce yourself next time!”
The woman behind him smiled mischievously.
“I never hide my presence. If you didn’t sense me, why are you yelling at me?”
She was a beautiful woman with playful eyes.
Though she looked to be in her mid-thirties at most, the way she spoke so casually to the forty-something No Sam-ryong suggested she might be older.
Frowning deeply, No Sam-ryong shouted again.
“Now you’re acting all high and mighty just because your martial skill’s improved? I’m already stressed out because of you! Didn’t I tell you not to come out? Do you have any idea what’ll happen if you get noticed?”
“Oh, lighten up. It’s just the two of us here. Who else is around?”
Her cheeky tone made No Sam-ryong grit his teeth.
“Are you trying to see me dead or what?”
She sighed dramatically.
“Ugh, I’m just frustrated. If I keep hiding alone like this, I might not get killed by those bastards, but I’ll die of boredom.”
Her sudden somberness made No Sam-ryong flinch, but he quickly scowled and barked.
“Stop with the pitiful act! You think I’d fall for your little performance?”
Her expression quickly shifted back to playful.
“Aw, no way. You used to be so innocent, Sam-ryong, but you’ve really changed.”
“Hmph! When are you talking about? And no matter how much I’ve changed, can I compare to you?”
No Sam-ryong kept scolding her, but it didn’t seem genuine.
She took it in stride.
Still, her last words made her expression briefly turn bitter.
“…Yeah, I’ve gotten pretty rough around the edges.”
Muttering that, she caught No Sam-ryong off guard, and he cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Ahem, ahem. So, you were really bored to come all the way out here?”
Though it was obvious he was trying to change the subject, she just smiled and played along.
“Yeah, I was so bored I wanted to hear some news. So, this Sun Woo Sam Gongja guy gave you a hard time, right? The one who used the Je Gal family as an excuse to pit brothers against each other and take over the Ha family. What else did he do?”
No Sam-ryong breathed a quiet sigh of relief that his plan was working, then began explaining.
“Look, it’s at Sun Woo Sam Gongja’s request. He wants us to leak information to the Woon family—that the family head, Sun Woo Joong, has decided to marry his fifth daughter, Sun Woo Yeon-ha, to a young man from the Gae Yang Sect.”
The woman frowned slightly and asked again.
“Marry off his daughter? The fifth daughter is probably the one connected to the Woon family, right? So does that mean the Sun Woo family plans to completely oust the Woon family’s influence?”
No Sam-ryong shook his head excitedly.
“That’s not all. The Gae Yang Sect is the maternal family of the eldest son, Sun Woo Seong. On the surface, it looks like they’re strengthening the eldest son’s position.”
“Hm, that makes sense. But… only on the surface?”
“Exactly. But! He wants us to leak that information to the Woon family! What do you think that means? Especially since the marriage partner hasn’t even been decided yet, and it’s just ‘a young man from the Gae Yang Sect’ in general?”
“…He wants the Woon family to attack the Gae Yang Sect? And since the partner isn’t specified, they can’t assassinate anyone. Plus, you said the Woon family is already under the Blood Sect’s control, right? So…?”
No Sam-ryong clapped his hands together and nodded.
“Right. The plan is to pit the eldest and fifth sons’ factions against each other. More precisely, since the Gae Yang Sect can’t stand up to the Blood Sect, they intend to wipe out the Gae Yang Sect.”
“…And at the same time, draw the Blood Sect out?”
“Exactly!”
Hearing this, the woman let out a dry laugh.
“Twenty-one years old, right? And already beyond peak martial skill with that kind of strategy?”
“That’s right! That’s why I’m so scared of him!”
No Sam-ryong’s words made the woman sigh and mutter.
“The world is vast after all. To think there was someone like Gu Yoo-sang among the righteous sects.”
At her words, No Sam-ryong suddenly asked.
“Is this Gu Yoo-sang really that exceptional? On par with Sun Woo Sam Gongja?”
She gave a wry smile.
“Exceptional? Beyond words. Reaching ninety years’ worth of internal energy mastery in his twenties is impressive, but his appearance and cunning are even more so. Not to mention his venomous nature. If he becomes the next Blood Demon, he’ll be far more terrifying than the current one.”
No Sam-ryong swallowed hard.
He knew she wasn’t one to praise easily, so such high praise meant Gu Yoo-sang’s fearsome reputation was well deserved.
Then she shook her head slowly and added.
“That’s why I’m worried. Sun Woo-jin’s mind is sharp, but Gu Yoo-sang isn’t someone who’ll fall for it easily.”