Episode 147
Several days had passed since Sunwoo Jung declared that he would marry Sunwoo Yeonha off to the Gaeyangmun clan. Once again, he gathered everyone together.
This time, not only the Sunwoo family but also the elders, the great lords, and even people from the Jegal family were all present.
And before them, he dropped yet another bombshell.
“A few days ago, I sent a letter requesting that they find a suitable young man from Gaeyangmun to marry our Yeonha. Today, I received their reply. According to it, they’ve already selected several candidates.”
The room fell silent as everyone exchanged shocked glances.
Even the elders and great lords who were hearing this for the first time, and those who had been stunned by the previous announcement, felt their heads spin at how quickly things were moving.
Sunwoo Jung continued without pause.
“So, I’ve decided to send Yeonha herself to Gaeyangmun. Yeonha, you will go there, meet them, and choose the right young man yourself.”
His words stunned everyone, but no one was more shocked than Yeonha.
There hadn’t even been a reply from her maternal grandfather yet, and now everything was moving at a dizzying pace.
She felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck her out of the blue.
Her face drained of color, and she couldn’t utter a word.
But Sunwoo Jung didn’t look at her anymore.
Instead, he turned to his eldest son, Sunwoo Seong, and said simply,
“Seong, take Yeonha with you to Gaeyangmun. I should go myself, but the family affairs are too demanding. Can you go in my place as acting head?”
Seong’s face lit up instantly.
Being entrusted to represent the family head was an honor he couldn’t refuse.
“Of course, Father!”
Yeonha, still dazed, glanced at her fourth brother, Sunwoo Gi, without realizing it.
But he just cleared his throat awkwardly and avoided her gaze.
To her, all of this felt like a surreal nightmare she desperately wanted to wake up from.
Yet, no matter how much she wished, the dream kept unfolding.
At that moment, her third brother, Sunwoo Jin, brightened and asked,
“Father! May I come along as well?”
Sunwoo Jung looked at him in surprise.
“Hm? Jin, you?”
The family frowned at the question, thinking, “What nonsense is that fool up to now?”
But no one dared to interrupt the conversation, so they silently watched.
Jin, looking unusually excited, said earnestly,
“I want to be by Yeonha’s side when she chooses her match, Father.”
The family scoffed at the idea.
Who was Sunwoo Jin to accompany Yeonha while she picked a husband?
Yet, only Sunwoo Jung smiled warmly.
“Jin, it’s clear you care deeply for your sister. Very well, so be it.”
The unexpected approval left everyone awkward.
No one had imagined Sunwoo Jung would agree to such a request.
Then Jin added,
“Perhaps Jegal Sojeo could come along too? Since he’ll be sparring with Seong, it might be good for him to see Gaeyangmun, Seong’s maternal family.”
All eyes immediately turned to Jegal Seoyul.
Especially Seong, who had been frowning at the idea of Jin tagging along, now showed a dramatic change in expression.
He quickly exclaimed,
“Oh! That’s a great idea!”
The thought of traveling to Gaeyangmun with Jegal Seoyul was nothing short of fantastic.
At least for now, Sunwoo Jin had never looked so appealing.
Caught off guard by the sudden attention, Jegal Seoyul glanced at Jin.
He couldn’t tell what the seemingly innocent but utterly scheming expression on Jin’s face meant.
His eyes seemed to ask, “Sojeo, do you think you can keep up with me?”
For some reason, just looking at Jin made Jegal Seoyul angry.
He wanted to shatter that mask once and for all.
Clenching his teeth in secret, Jegal Seoyul finally nodded.
“Yes, sounds interesting. I’ll go to Gaeyangmun as well.”
“Excellent decision, Sojeo!”
Sunwoo Seong couldn’t help but cheer.
Sunwoo Gi was about to say he’d come too, but when their eyes met, he held back.
Behind them, Sunwoo Jin smiled meaningfully.
He had managed to bring the Jegal family along as observers in the blood feud.
He was curious to see how the Jegal family would react once they learned about the Blood Sect’s control over the Woon family.
And he was eager to see how Yeonha, now cornered, would act.
“Why? Why haven’t I heard anything yet?”
Sunwoo Yeonha sat alone in her room, biting her nails and muttering to herself.
Last time, the reply had come quickly, but this time, for some reason, it was taking far too long.
“There’s hardly any time left…”
Sunwoo Jung had already ordered her to depart for Gaeyangmun in two days.
If the reply came any later, it might be useless.
Then, from the back garden connected to her room, a low voice suddenly spoke outside the door.
“Miss Yeonha. Your maternal grandfather has sent a message.”
Startled, she jumped up.
The awaited contact had finally arrived.
She was overjoyed and tried to rush outside.
But the voice stopped her.
“Please speak quietly. Others might overhear.”
Yeonha hesitated but agreed.
No one else could find out about this.
She suddenly realized the message hadn’t come like this before.
But her heart was too anxious to dwell on it.
The voice asked again,
“Your grandfather wants to know what kind of help you need.”
Overwhelmed, Yeonha snapped softly,
“Don’t you know? They’re trying to marry me off to someone from Gaeyangmun! I have to stop it!”
The voice replied,
“So you want to prevent the marriage. How exactly should we handle it?”
Yeonha scoffed,
“Hah! That’s for you to figure out! You handled things well last time!”
After a brief silence, the voice asked,
“You mean like when you killed Danha Sang?”
Yeonha’s expression darkened.
“Yes, Danha Sang. When you killed him and framed that idiot.”
She recalled her third brother, that fool, who had tried to marry her off to his friend.
It was absurd.
Back then, she had asked the Woon family’s people who promised to kill Danha Sang to pin the blame on Sunwoo Jin.
To stop Jin from doing such a thing again.
The voice outside answered,
“Understood. We will handle it accordingly.”
Then the footsteps faded away.
He must have left.
“Haah…”
Yeonha finally exhaled in relief.
She had no doubt everything would be taken care of, just like before.
At the same time, beyond the garden wall, three men gathered with serious expressions.
One of them, Sunwoo Jin, said,
“Thank you for your efforts, Brother Dan. It must have been hard to endure.”
Danha Sun, the eldest son of the Dan family, who had just been speaking with Yeonha, shook his head with a weary smile.
“No, you’ve suffered more, having been falsely accused of killing your friend.”
Sunwoo Jin had already asked Nosamryong of Haomun to reinvestigate Danha Sang’s death.
Nosamryong traced back the bribed courtesans and informants, uncovering the Woon family’s involvement.
They had finally found the true culprit behind Danha Sang’s murder.
Yet questions remained.
“Elder Sa Yodum, who was cooperating with the Woon family, knew nothing about this. Even though we provided information and moved them.”
Sa Yodum, known to be ill, was actually imprisoned somewhere.
They hadn’t revealed his betrayal to deceive the Woon family.
But learning that Yodum was unaware of Danha Sang’s death, Sunwoo Jin suspected another link between the Woon family and their side.
He had narrowed it down to three suspects.
“The fifth mother, Lady Woon; the third great lord, Gong Do-gyeong; and Yeonha. One of them must be involved.”
That was why Sunwoo Jin had Sunwoo Jung publicly announce Yeonha’s marriage.
To observe the actions of Lady Woon and Yeonha.
And when he followed Yeonha, whose gaze had been unusually sharp, he witnessed her sending a secret letter and the Red Horse intercepting it.
He had uncovered yet another connection to the Woon family.
Standing outside the wall with a grave expression, Sun Woo-jung suddenly sighed and spoke up.
“It’s all my fault. My shortcomings caused your brother’s death and framed Jin. I don’t even know how to begin to make amends.”
At his words, Dan Ha-seon shook his head gently, offering comfort.
“No, Lord Sun Woo. Now that the wrongful death has been uncovered, Ha-sang can finally rest in peace. Of course… revenge is still necessary.”
Sun Woo-jung nodded sharply in agreement.
“Of course, revenge must be taken. If you want to strike back at Yeon-ha immediately, I could even hand him over to you. Even if you tear him apart limb by limb, I wouldn’t hold it against you.”
Dan Ha-seon shook his head again.
“As much as I want to, I believe Jin’s plan must come first. Killing that kid alone won’t be true revenge.”
With that, both men turned their gaze toward Sun Woo-jin, their eyes silently asking what the next move would be.
Sun Woo-jin bowed his head toward Dan Ha-seon and said, “I know it’s not easy to hold back in front of your enemy, Ha-seon hyung. But I promise, I will make sure every one of our enemies pays.”
Dan Ha-seon met his gaze with a fiery nod.
“I believe you.”
Inside the office of the Yun family, the ruling house of Geumsa in Guizhou Province.
Goo Yoo-sang, a man with the striking looks of a jade dragon—once hailed as the finest young master in Sichuan—was reading a report sent by No Sam-ryong, the exile branch chief of Haomun.
“So, they’re planning to marry Sun Woo Yeon-ha off to Gaeyangmun,” he muttered, a dark smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
Standing beside him, Chuk Ho-tak of the Yama Blood Clan spoke up.
“Yes. They intend to send her directly to Gaeyangmun to choose a husband. It seems the Sun Woo family wants to eliminate the Yun clan’s influence from within. It will also strengthen the legitimacy of their eldest son, Sun Woo Seong. The head of the family, Sun Woo-jung, appears to be serious about this. Considering how they recently absorbed the Ha family, he seems quite capable.”
Goo Yoo-sang nodded slowly.
“Indeed, bringing it this far shows he’s no fool. Even without the Jegal family’s direct involvement, he used them to create a pretext. But… I find it strange how easily this information leaked. It’s almost as if they want us to hear it quickly and respond.”
Chuk Ho-tak frowned in confusion.
“What do you mean by that?”
Goo Yoo-sang began to think aloud, almost to himself.
“On the surface, it looks like a series of moves to push Sun Woo Seong as the heir. But the information spread too easily. If they expected resistance from the Yun clan, they should have kept it under tighter wraps.”
He chuckled darkly.
“It’s like they’re urging the Yun clan to act quickly. And the fact that Sun Woo Seong is about to take Sun Woo Yeon-ha to Gaeyangmun—it’s almost like they’re inviting their rivals to attack.”
“So, what do you think, Master?”
Goo Yoo-sang’s eyes gleamed sharply.
“To me, it looks like they’re trying to pit Gaeyangmun and the Yun clan against each other. They want to eliminate any outside forces that could influence the Sun Woo family.”
“Hmm.”
Chuk Ho-tak fell silent for a moment, then cautiously spoke again.
“But… wouldn’t that mean even Sun Woo Seong would fall? If they remove him, the only heir left would be the fourth son, Sun Woo Gi, who’s connected to Seogidang. Surely Sun Woo-jung knows about the alliance between Seogidang and the Yun clan. Also, the timing is too close for an ambush. It’s practically tomorrow—too soon to prepare an attack.”
Goo Yoo-sang’s smile deepened.
“True, there’s not enough time for a mid-route ambush. Unless they attack Gaeyangmun itself.”
“That’s right. But unless they know we’ve taken control of the Yun clan, it’s unlikely they’d expect an attack on Gaeyangmun.”
At that moment, No Jo-song, the vampire lord who usually avoided such scheming conversations, cautiously interjected.
“But doesn’t the Sun Woo family have another son? The one who’s on leave from the front lines? If they’re planning to make him the heir…”
Goo Yoo-sang scoffed.
“Another son? You mean that vermin, Sun Woo-jin?”
A vivid image of Sun Woo-jin flashed through his mind—the pitiful sight of him, beaten badly by his brother, nearly in tears as he ran to Sun Woo Yeon-ha.
Shaking his head, Goo Yoo-sang said to No Jo-song, “I saw him myself. Unless Sun Woo-jung has lost his mind, there’s no way he’d pick that fool as heir.”
“Ah, I see…”
No Jo-song scratched his head and stepped back, while Chuk Ho-tak asked Goo Yoo-sang.
“So, what will you do? Abandon the Sun Woo family?”
Goo Yoo-sang smiled slyly.
“Not a chance. I’ve already reported to the Supreme One that we’ll take over the Sun Woo family soon. Besides, I haven’t even had the chance to hold my precious little kitten yet—I’m not about to give her to someone else.”
“So?”
His eyes flashed fiercely.
“For now, we’ll play along with their plan. No Jo-song!”
“Yes, Master.”
“Take five of our top fighters and some warriors to Gaeyangmun. Go and erase that place and that Sun Woo Seong from existence!”
“Yes, Master!”
No Jo-song was a master with over ninety years of internal energy cultivation.
With five peak-level fighters and other warriors under his command, Gaeyangmun—without a single peak-level master—would be wiped out in an instant.
Chuk Ho-tak, craving the taste of blood, cautiously asked, “Master, and what about me?”
Goo Yoo-sang smiled coldly.
“Chuk Ho-tak, take the remaining peak fighters and head to the Sun Woo family.”
Chuk Ho-tak blinked in surprise.
“To the Sun Woo family?”
“Yes. They dared to mock us; it’s time they paid the price. Go and make sure Sun Woo-jung stops scheming.”
Chuk Ho-tak’s face lit up.
“Yes! Understood!”
“Ah, it’s fine to let them run wild, but we should keep the shells we can still use.”
Goo Yoo-sang had no doubt his orders would be carried out exactly.
With No Jo-song, a vampire lord nearing the pinnacle of cultivation, and Chuk Ho-tak, who had surpassed that level, this force was far too powerful for mere Guizhou sects like Gaeyangmun and the Sun Woo family.
In his mind, Sun Woo-jung and Sun Woo Seong were already dead.
Goo Yoo-sang murmured with a lazy smile, “Now then, after Gaeyangmun falls, I’ll go rescue that adorable little lady. I’m curious to see if she can still bare her claws then.”