Chapter 173 - The Outcast Writer of a Martial Arts Visual Novel

Chapter 173 - The Sacheon Dang Family - Part 2 "Let's release the first volume of 'Dang Family Chronicles' to the Sacheon Dang Family." I said this looking at the huge pile of 'Dang Family Chronicles' stacked in one corner. There were so many. When you combine the copies brought by the Dang Faction members to show to the people of the Dang Family, the quantity was remarkable. I never thought I would bring all these with me. Even the peddlers traveling by boat between Korea and China wouldn’t carry this much. "Are you sure you want to release it? It contains classified information about the Dang Family. Perhaps only someone astute like the Chief can discern it, but isn’t it reckless to release it?" The Dang Faction member asked me with concern in his tone. "The scandal caused by Dang Geo Ho is bound to spread throughout the Dang Family sooner or later." The incident caused by Dang Geo Ho was too big. Particularly, the fact that dozens of illegitimate children of the lecher died as part of an experiment is not something that can be concealed amid the punishment of involved parties. Regardless of the external knowledge of the lecher's incident, an outline of the incident that occurred over twenty years ago is bound to spread within the Dang Family. "Yes. Then as Master Kang suggested, we’ll recommend 'Dang Family Chronicles' through our agents who are recuperating outside. But there is something I am curious about." The Dang Faction member looked at me with curiosity and asked. "What are you curious about?" "Why are you only releasing the first volume of 'Dang Family Chronicles'?" There's a reason for everything. ************* "How interesting could it be that even the wounded warriors from Uigak keep reading that book on their sickbeds?" "The book's called 'Dang Family Chronicles'? Another story about a dark and edgy protagonist from the Dang Family, is it?" "So popular that you can't even find it in the medical facility? Even if it's an erotic tale, it's still just that." "Have you taken a blow to the head? Don't you know that novels containing martial world stories are uninteresting?" "Well, I can't go outside anyway. Might as well read it to fend off the boredom." The reactions of the people urged by the Uigak warriors to read 'Dang Family Chronicles' were mostly similar. Martial world stories that were not initially popular. Or merely stimulating erotic tales. Great expectations could not arise. Had people actually read 'Dang Family Chronicles'? Kang Yoon Ho addressed the curious warriors. — Even in the midst of a busy battlefield, people seek distractions. In the sealed Sacheon Dang Family, it would be hard to refuse 'Dang Family Chronicles'. Under normal circumstances, most would have declined the offer to read 'Dang Family Chronicles'. But now the gates of Sacheon Dang Family were firmly shut, and a tempest raged within. Even the innocent had to quietly stay in their rooms, just watching. At such a time, there was nothing better than a novel to pass the hours. "For a swordsman to risk his life to protect a lady!" "If it's Dang Jeong, she could captivate the most beautiful woman of Sacheon!" "To make the lecher flee with just a single word at the moment when nothing was left! Isn’t it cooler than Je Gal Gong Myeong, who made Sima Yi retreat by playing the zither in the ‘Melody of the Thieves Fleeing’?" "Ahem, I need a tissue." Kang Yoon Ho's predictions hit the mark. ------------------------ "Volume 2, where's volume 2!" "Give us the most beautiful swordswoman of Hubuk!" "Uigak! You've seen the next volume, right? The most beautiful woman of Sacheon appears in the next one, right? Tell me she does!" A multitude of people from the Dang Family swarmed where the recuperating Uigak warriors were housed. The bustle of the infirmary was reminiscent of a battlefield due to the overwhelming crowd. The Uigak warriors looked on with dumbfounded expressions, yet they internally laughed, knowing that this was the natural reaction for 'Dang Family Chronicles'. Everything was going as Master Kang Yoon Ho had planned. Dang Faction member, recalling what Kang Yoon Ho had said, spoke to the throng of Dang Family people. "'Dang Family Chronicles' volume 2 is with the author Ho Pil." "Are you playing games with me? Surely the author would have the next volume. I'm asking if the next volume is here in Sacheon Dang Family now!" "Of course, it's here in Sacheon Dang Family." "Well, hurry up and hand it over!" "The second volume is with author Ho Pil." "Do you wish that the medicine you take contains poison instead of a cure?" When the Dang Family member threatened him with something that was hardly a threat, Dang Faction member ruefully smiled and continued. "You seem too anxious to understand. Author Ho Pil is here in Sacheon Dang Family. He's over there in the reception hall, you see." "The reception hall? Isn't that the place being sealed off by the outer chamber? Ho Pil the author and the second volume are there?" "Yes. Author Ho Pil is detained there." "Why on earth would an author who wrote such a wonderful novel be detained?!" "I'm not sure about the reason myself. Now, please return the volume 1 that you all have. Others have to borrow it as well." The people from the Dang Family, looking bewildered, had to surrender the copies of the first volume they had to the Uigak warriors. To stress that we had no other recourse, Dang Faction member shrugged his shoulders and then distributed the few remaining 'Dang Family Chronicles' to those who had not yet had a chance to read them. "What do you mean Ho Pil the author is detained? That he has the second volume?" "Volume 2! Hand over volume 2!" "You! You've seen the second volume, right? Tell me what happens!" "See for yourself." In the end, the infirmary was filled not with the groans of the ailing, but with the cries of those yearning for the next volume. ******************** "Master Kang. 'Dang Family Chronicles' is rapidly gaining popularity within the Dang Family." The Dang Faction member could not keep himself from smiling as he reported to me. "It seems to show." Looking out the window, I said, considering the people of the Dang Family who had been frequently visible in the last few days. The rumor about volume 2 being in the reception hall had spread surprisingly fast. "Step back. The reception hall is off-limits." "I just have a little matter to attend to. Can't I just stop by for a moment?" "Only those with permission can enter." "The outer chamber! Release the most beautiful swordswoman of Hubuk!" "With the Dang Family sealed off, it's the only medicine—no! The only drug permitted by Sacheon Dang Family. Let us see 'Dang Family Chronicles'!" "We want to see volume 2 of 'Dang Family Chronicles'!" It feels like I'm in Daseo Library, not Sacheon Dang Family. The troops of the outer chamber were busy all day long, driving away the visitors. "It's not just one or two who are curious about why author Ho Pil is being detained in the Dang Family. Your strategy, releasing only the first volume to bring attention to the fact that we are detained in the reception hall, is truly excellent." "People need to know that we are here, not just the Council of Elders." The fact that we are detained in the reception hall was known only to the head of the Dang Family and the Council of Elders. I need to turn the tables. And to flip the board, people need to understand why. If I appear out of nowhere and flip it, I’d be seen as a madman. The Council of Elders detained the head of the Dang Family's illegitimate child and a neophyte. Author Ho Pil is here. Why are they detained there? We want to see volume 2. Why are they detained? Curiosity must be continuously aroused. "What should we do now?" "This was just setting the stage. Release the next volume. Proceed with the plan." ********************** "Dang Family Chronicles Volume 2! I've been dying to read this! Kuhuhuhuk!" "Does it feature a night with the foremost swordswoman of Hubuk?" Following Kang Yoon Ho's orders, the second volume of 'Dang Family Chronicles' began to circulate within the Dang Family. "Step right up. To my assassination space!" "So you too have read 'Dang Family Chronicles' Volume 2! It’s chillingly splendid, isn't it?" "Triple poison! Who exactly is the author who thought of this?" "Swordsmen rely on drawing their swords, but our Dang Family can determine the outcome of a fight from the moment we choose the battlefield!" "Why does Dang Jeong leave these beauties and go on his way?" "That's the life of a swordsman, isn't it." "Isn't the role of Sacheon's foremost beauty too small? The beauty of Hubuk was present throughout the entire volume; this is the discrimination of the actual wife!" "The beauty of Hubuk is the main wife." "Is this person trying to pick a fight!" "Don't fight! We want more beauties, more heroic deeds! Volume 3 is said to feature two swordswomen, almost sisters, fighting over love—I'm really looking forward to it." "Mom! When I grow up, I want to be a hero like Dang Jeong!" "Honeyyy! This man has gone mad! What is he showing to our son!" "Ha! My son ought to become someone like Dang Jeong! 'Dang Family Chronicles' is precisely the educational book that the men of the Dang Family should read, so don’t scold him for it!" "Really? Then tonight, I shall see if you are like Dang Jeong." "Honey, I'm sorry. I was wrong." It was only natural that 'Dang Family Chronicles,' having already succeeded in the medical facility, would continue its hit streak in Sacheon Dang Family. Different from the medical facility was the suspicious rumor that started to spread as the second volume gained popularity. "Have you heard the rumor?" "What rumor?" "That 'Dang Family Chronicles' is based on real events." "'Dang Family Chronicles' is real?" "The children sacrificed by that scoundrel Dang Geo Ho. They’re said to be the offspring of the lecher. But there's a rumor that the lecher is exactly the character depicted herein." "Was the lecher a neophyte 20 years ago? Indeed. So that incident from 20 years ago was such." "I thought it was just a novel, but now it seems it's actually real." "Wait, then, Dang Jeong here in the story is?" "Who could it be but?" "Dang Jeong is the head of the Dang Family?" "It appears 'Dang Family Chronicles' contains the scandal from 20 years ago." "Who exactly is author Ho Pil? To know of the scandal that's just been uncovered from 20 years ago..." In the heights of 'Dang Family Chronicles' popularity, curiosity about author Ho Pil only intensified within the Sacheon Dang Family. *********************** "'Dang Family Chronicles' is so popular within the Dang Family that there's hardly anyone who hasn’t read it." "A real story, especially since it contains reasons for the current lockdown of the Dang Family, would naturally garner even more intrigue." This was exactly what I aimed for. It wasn’t for nothing that factional movies, fake documentaries, and true story marketing were so popular. The current prime topic within the Dang Family is the Dang Geo Ho incident. In a typical situation, it would have drawn moderate popularity, but given the special circumstances of the Dang Geo Ho incident and the confinement of Sacheon Dang Family, it had become a novel one felt at a loss not reading. "People are curious about who wrote such a story. Now, is it finally time to take action?" Dang Faction member asked me expectantly. The time has come. I nodded my head and opened my mouth. "Reveal your identity." Author Ho Pil, detained in the reception hall. The author who wrote about the scandal 20 years ago. It's time for the people to know his true identity. ************* "Have you heard? They say author Ho Pil is the son of Du Eun Hyang." "What are you talking about? Author Ho Pil is Du Eun Hyang’s son?" "Dang Jeong had a relationship with Du Eun Hyang before he left. She was with child." "Wait a minute. Dang Jeong is the head of the Dang Family, isn’t he? Does that mean author Ho Pil is the head's illegitimate child?" "Shh! Quiet down!" "You're the one telling me to be quiet, yet your voice is louder. Oh my. So Dang Jeong didn’t take Du Eun Hyang with him at the end?" "It's incomprehensible. You would think that the head of the Dang Family could have ten wives and no one would bat an eye, so why did he abandon Du Eun Hyang?" "That's what I'm saying. It's a sign of capability when a man has several wives and concubines, and nobody finds fault with it, so why did he do that?" "So, 'Dang Family Chronicles' may be a story written by author Ho Pil to vindicate his wronged mother?" "It could be so." "Then what about the succession? With the young family head lost in madness and battling death, an illegitimate child arrives." The popularity of 'Dang Family Chronicles', one rumor, one grand scandal, and then the scandal fueled the novel's popularity anew. Inside the secluded Sacheon Dang Family, the popularity and talk about 'Dang Family Chronicles' spread uncontrollably. "One of the guards at the reception hall is a friend of mine, and he told me the reason for Ho Pil's detainment. There is an issue with the illegitimate child of the lecher." "The lecher's offspring—are you referring to the children who were sacrificed by Dang Geo Ho?" "Yes. One of those children is said to be the only survivor. And the Council of Elders is refusing to treat that child." "Refusing treatment? Dozens of the Dang Family's offspring are dead for goodness' sake! Shouldn't they save at least the one who has come into the Dang Family's embrace?" "I can't understand it either! But the more shocking news is that they don't plan to release volume 3 of 'Dang Family Chronicles.'" "Why not?" "I'm not sure about the specifics, but it seems that 'Dang Family Chronicles' wasn’t written because of his mother, but to save his neophyte friend. Since his friend is likely going to die, there's no more reason to write." "Dang Family Chronicles Volume 3! Aaaaah!" "What in the world is the Council of Elders doing!" "Are those old fools in the Council in league with that bastard Dang Geo Ho?" "Whether they're in league or not, there's no doubt they're cut from the same cloth!" The great mishap caused by the direct lineage of Sacheon Dang Family. The discontent with the Council of Elders who imposed the lockdown. Ordinarily, people would have remained silent, waiting for the storm to pass, but unable to contain themselves when it seemed the Council of Elders yourself was to blame, the people of the Dang Family raised their voices. "Give the illegitimate child of our Dang Family the antidote for the faceless venom!" "Give us 'Dang Family Chronicles' Volume 3!" "Release author Ho Pil from the Council of Elders' custody!" "Don’t dismiss the child that has come into the Dang Family’s embrace!" ***************************** "When they want to hide something, that's when you make sure everyone finds out about it." I let out a small laugh while looking at the commotion unfolding outside the window. The Council of Elders must have thought them just two illegitimate children. Two bastards, a tangled issue of succession but without any backing. If they keep it hidden away from the knowledge of the family members, they might not kill them outright due to the head of the family watching but could neglect them and let them decline to death. Of course, not everyone in the Council of Elders shared this view, and they were entangled in a tug-of-war of opinions over the antidote for facelessly administered poison. Yet, that dispute was only within the Council. To them, Hwarin and I could have just been pawns on their board, free to do with as they wished. So, how do I avoid being just a pawn? "Flip the board over so it's no longer theirs." Let everyone know that the head of Dang Family's illegitimate children has appeared. Sacheon Dang Family is a righteous clan. From twenty years ago, Du Eun Hyang, the forsaken foremost swordswoman of Hubuk; Ho Pil, the abandoned child; Dang Hwarin, who teeters on the brink of death after being sacrificed by the Dang Family. If the illegitimate children receive no attention, they could simply be left on the board to wither and die. But what if in the righteous clan, upholding justice and morality, an opinion that can't be ignored forms within the family? With everyone's attention, it becomes a situation where they can't move according to their whims behind the scenes anymore. Now, Council of Elders. What will you do? "Master Kang! Someone from the Council of Elders has arrived." Right. It's definitely time for them to show their faces.