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Chapter 30 : Mountain Moon Pavilion (1)
Chapter 30 - Mountain Moon Pavilion (1)
『 TL – Divinity 』
『 ED – Laplace 』
I walked spreading open the new martial arts robe that was tailored after measurements were taken last night. Did you know that while wearing new shoes makes your head touch the sky, receiving a new martial arts robe allows you to blow someone else's head up to the sky? This is medieval China.
Walking with a dignified gait, the place I headed was beyond the Inner Hall, past the armed forces of the Outer Hall, all the way to the outer wall of the manor…….
Ẇ.е̊ b ñ о̄ vѐ l̄ Е n ū m̊ а̄
“No, wait a minute. Is this the right path?”
“It is.”
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“I don't think I've seen anything like a pavilion in a place like this.”
“Naturally so.”
“……Pardon?”
Peng Jeon-gun answered nonchalantly and kept walking.
Ёn úm̈ а
The territory of the Hebei Peng Clan is called Peng Clan District (Gu), not Peng Clan Manor (Jang). Here, ‘Gu’ refers to the same character used for administrative districts in modern Korea. In other words, it means the scale of the manor is the scale of an administrative district.
Passing all the sunny spots with good sites in that ridiculously wide area, and all the sectors lined with pavilions, we reached the very end.
A gloomy two-story pavilion that looked completely unmaintained—old, dusty, and even covered in cobwebs—appeared before my eyes.
“This is it.”
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“Is it…… here? The place where I will start my teenage years…….”
I muttered like that for now and looked at the signboard. On the subtly crooked signboard, the characters for Mountain Moon Pavilion were written in stylish brushstrokes.
Ẁe_bn̈ о̇v̂_е̄ l̈ Еṅ u m а
“No, but…… may I ask why a place like this has a name as grand as ‘Jeon’ attached to it……?”
In medieval China, building scales are usually divided into ‘Dang’, ‘Jeon’, ‘Gak’, ‘Won’, and ‘Gwan’.
For example, the name of the largest building under the Inner Hall is the Family Head’s Palace. The next largest building is the Mountain King Pavilion, and Young Tiger Hall where I eat and sleep is treated as a small annex.
Therefore, if it is called Mountain Moon Pavilion belonging to the Inner Hall, there is a scale that naturally comes to mind, but isn't this scale a bit lacking even to attach the name of ‘Gak’?
At my question, Peng Jeon-gun chuckled and patted my back.
“The authority of the Mountain Moon Pavilion itself is equal to the Family Head’s Palace, so it was difficult to call it anything below that. In the first place—”
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Creeeak…….
Before Peng Jeon-gun could finish speaking, the entrance of the Mountain Moon Pavilion opened with a gloomy sound. The old man who appeared opening the door finished Peng Jeon-gun’s sentence.
“In the first place, the martial artists belonging to the Mountain Moon Pavilion tend not to stay within the Peng Clan District much.”
“Aha. That is practical.”
“Right, so there is no need for us to necessarily gather in the narrow district of the Inner Hall.”
The old man, Mountain Moon Pavilion Leader Peng Ik-cheon, laughed dryly and looked down at me.
Е̄ nû ḿ а̊ .і̀ d̃
“Welcome to the Mountain Moon Pavilion. Kid.”
“Then Mountain Moon Pavilion Leader, I shall take my leave now. Peng Hyeon-hwi, your training schedule will proceed according to the Mountain Moon Pavilion's schedule for the time being, so you must ensure there is no lack in your cultivation.”
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“Do so.”
It’s not like sending a kid to a boarding cram school.
I offered a bow to the receding Peng Jeon-gun and entered inside the Mountain Moon Pavilion. It hadn’t been cleaned in so long that dust crunched under my shoes.
“Are there no maidservants here?”
Ě n̂u m̄а́.i d̂
“Because no one but the martial artists of the Mountain Moon Pavilion is permitted to enter.”
Peng Ik-cheon shrugged his shoulders and walked inside naturally. The interior of the pavilion had a structure not much different from other ordinary pavilions.
Except for the huge map spread out in the center.
On a table large enough to be a flat bench, a huge map and numerous small maps, notes, and scribbled papers were scattered messily.
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Peng Ik-cheon pointed at this, grinned, and spoke.
“What did you hear the Mountain Moon Pavilion is a place for?”
W e_b n оv̄ еl Ën̈um а̀
“I heard it is a place that inspects the Peng Clan's vassals.”
“Roughly correct. The ones we keep an eye on the most are our family's clansmen. Such being the case, how could we bring servants who might have become the limbs of clansmen into the pavilion?”
“That makes sense, but…… isn't there such a thing as maintenance?”
This is not just the grumbling of a young master who doesn't know the ways of the world. Even judging by the average of this era, it could be called a very rational opinion. Martial artists are basically a breed that only eats and trains in martial arts, and were indispensable resources for whom massive investments such as spiritual medicines and secret manuals were necessary.
Why, even in modern warfare, don't they calculate a pilot's value at something like several hundred million? It probably means the money invested in training them is about that much. It means it is a bit of a waste of resources to make such personnel do things like cleaning buildings, preparing meals, and dishwashing.
At my words, Peng Ik-cheon shrugged his shoulders and took out a large container. Naturally, dust was piled up on that container too. When he blew off the white dust and opened it, it was full of bright red pills.
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It was an item I knew well too. That is the Fasting Pill. A dried food made by mixing grains and pine resin, steaming them, then lumping and drying them. It was a miraculous vegan diet of 100% carbohydrates.
“From today, all meals except dinner will be this.”
“Oh.”
“Since you will go to Young Tiger Hall in the evening anyway, eat there. Though if a mission is handed down or assigned, even that won't be possible.”
“Aha…….”
“Anyway, except for this place, all other rooms in the pavilion are entirely archives. You will only go up when there is material you need, and there is no such place where you sleep or rest. Cleaning is not needed.”
Еǹu m а̃
“That is rational.”
I didn’t expect to start my first career at 10 in a place like an English child laborer during the Industrial Revolution.
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As I was looking at the map reluctantly, Peng Ik-cheon roughly sat on a seat and spoke.
“We monitor the clansmen of our family.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Do you know what that means too?”
W е̇ b n̊ о̆ vе̌l Е.n̂um а
“Yes……?”
“We must not trust anyone, and no one comes to trust us. Even if we find evidence that a clansman violated the family law, it doesn't end smoothly. It means even if you have certain evidence, if you don’t incapacitate the opponent, you could die.”
“But didn’t you say the authority of the Mountain Moon Pavilion is equal to the Family Head’s Palace……?”
“Naturally, it is equal. If we secure evidence, attack them, and make them kneel before the Elders, then yes. But think from the Elders' perspective. Between us who always watch them and find fault, and the armed forces they personally cultivated, harvested, and raised while eating from the same pot, whose side would they want to take? Even if we secured evidence, having it acknowledged is another problem.”
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Basically, the Peng Clan’s family law is very flexible. Whatever act one commits, if it is [for the family], it is overlooked to some extent. Unless it is directly harming a clansman, if there is a basis, it is generally allowed.
So there must be evidence that ‘this guy is definitely a traitor’. Proving that is a problem, but even if proven, having the Council of Elders acknowledge it is another separate matter.
Е̌ ṅ ùḿа̀
Even if one goes through such a strenuous process and catches them in the act, whether they will allow themselves to be caught obediently is yet another separate problem. If you fight and kill them there, you will receive gazes that you killed a clansman (however right you were), and if you lose, you die.
‘Is this the Murim NIS?’
(ED/N: Korean Intelligence Agency)
This is practically treating us like black agents of the NIS dispatched overseas. A department that has to endure the competition of Black Way Unorthodox sects, checks from the Orthodox Murim, and blatant stares from the government, all while simultaneously monitoring even the family.
‘The radius of action is also ridiculously wide. Tracking and inspecting the tracks of clansmen scattered across North China one by one, and if necessary, auditing even other sects of the Dragon Slaughter League.’
Yet, a group that receives no one’s recognition except for the Family Head’s goodwill.
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This was a complex problem.
Basically, all martial artists of the Peng Clan obey the Family Head. The authority of the Family Head is soon at the same level as the status of the entire family.
However, the Family Head does not interfere in the family’s major and minor affairs. He remains a monarch who reigns but does not rule. The only duty the Peng Family Head has is to ‘be the strongest’. In other words, to be a ‘symbol’ that can check other sects just by existence.
The Family Head of the Hebei Peng Clan was always the Number One of the Black Way. Just by the symbol that such an existence is the head of the family, the Hebei Peng Clan occupies the leadership of the Dragon Slaughter League and maintains the reputation of the Number One Family of the Black Way.
That means the Family Head ends up focusing only on training while delegating all ‘trivial’ matters like family management to the Young Family Head.
And the Young Family Head’s authority is not superior to the Council of Elders. The Young Family Head gathers the Elders' opinions, makes political judgments, and manages the family, but he cannot reign over the Elders.
Ẃе̌ b́ n̄ о vē ĺ Еnû m а̀
Therefore, the 12 pavilions including the Outer and Inner Halls of the Hebei Peng Clan, the Elders produced from each armed force, and the Mountain King Palace where the seniors of those Elders gather is essentially the highest decision-making body of the Peng Clan.
It means the Mountain Moon Pavilion, which has to inspect all of them, has no allies except for the Family Head.
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Without great economic support, without respect befitting their duties, and without friendly forces within the family.
Monitoring the entire family, sometimes antagonizing them, and in most cases having to ‘suspect’ the clansmen.
Yet, madmen [solely for the family]. Because they have to select members based solely on loyalty to the family, their number is extremely small, and thus, since most members are always away, there is no need to maintain the pavilion.
That is the appearance of this Mountain Moon Pavilion where I am now.
Е́ n̊ ü m̄ā
“It is not for nothing that the direct lineage does not enter the Mountain Moon Pavilion.”
“But weren't you the Family Head's own brother, Pavilion Leader?”
“It was different in our time. The Previous Family Head, hmm…… didn't you learn how your great-grandfather died?”
“I heard he was defeated and killed by the Sword Immortal of the Zhongnan Sect during the Great War of Orthodox and Unorthodox.”
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“Yes, and we had to look after the family in a state where we lost the Family Head and the backbone of the family. At that time, everyone in the Sima Alliance wanted to find the cause of the defeat, and those guys were trying to antagonize us who lost the Family Head.”
In such a situation, what Peng Ik-jin and Peng Ik-cheon, who were merely snot-nosed kids, had to do to survive was clear.
W ѐ bn̂ ö v́el̆ Ё n̈u m.а
Peng Ik-jin had to prove that he was the family's only hope. Before the clansmen scattered, he had to induce them to pin their hopes on him.
To him, a brother must have been a risk factor. A time when survival was uncertain even if the will of all clansmen was united, there was no leeway to compete for succession with a brother then.
Peng Ik-cheon was bright enough to understand his brother's situation, outstanding enough to be a threat to his brother, and deeply affectionate enough to follow his brother's will. To prevent his brother's hands from being stained with the blood of his beloved younger brother—
“I entered the Mountain Moon Pavilion myself as soon as my Sword Wearing Ceremony ended. Since then, I haven't even married and have given my utmost loyalty to the Family Head. I did it to survive.”
I didn't fully agree with the old man's words before my eyes. Because his actions weren't just for survival.
To prevent the division of the family, to prevent a brother from killing his own flesh and blood. The boy of that day, who loved this family and his brother too much, volunteered even knowing that everyone in the family would guard against him and shun him for a lifetime.
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I had no choice but to bow my head deeply toward him. A man who dedicated everything for one thing his whole life deserved to be respected.
“May I call you Great-Uncle (Younger brother of grandfather)?”
“You are saying funny things. Forget it. I am not old enough to receive pity from a suckling.”
“The Great War of Orthodox and Unorthodox was 90 years ago…….”
“The war continued for 20 years, and it has just passed one cycle (60 years) since the Previous Family Head was defeated and killed. You rascal. I just passed seventy (Gohui)!”
“If you’re over seventy, aren't you plenty old enough to be a grandfather……?”
Ẃ е̂b̆n̈ оv́ ӗ l̆_ Е́ num̌ а
I laughed, chewing on a Fasting Pill as the old man grumbled.
The same expression as mine was also on the old man's dry lips.
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While we were finishing the affectionate mealtime between grandfather and grandson, looking at each other with gratification like that, my Great-Uncle suddenly spoke.
“If you're done stuffing yourself, let's go.”
“Pardon? Where?”
“What did you think you would be doing belonging to the Mountain Moon Pavilion?”
Ẇ e b nо̇ v̌ еl Е̊ nu m̃.а
“Monitoring the family members?”
“No. Martial arts.”
Peng Ik-cheon’s eyes, which had been those of a heartwarming old man just a moment ago, changed to those of a stern old master.
“Surveillance, tracking, arrest—without power, they are all useless.”
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“Oh.”
“Since you learned all of the Primordial Chaos Art, it is time to learn the next martial art. Follow me to the inner garden. For the time being, you will learn the Mountain Moon Pavilion's work all morning and learn martial arts straight through the afternoon.”
Wеb nov́е̇l̄ Е n̆_u m̂а
Saying so, Peng Ik-cheon opened the old door heading to the inner garden. Thick dust rose whitely.
The inner garden, dried up and desolate, was visible. In front of it, Peng Ik-cheon looked back at me and smiled insidiously.
"I’m going to work you to the bone, until you're tough enough to survive anywhere."
“May I ask what the standard is?”
“Do you remember the words you said to me at the Sword Wearing Ceremony?”
Mmm.
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I retraced my memory for a moment. The words I said to that old geezer…….
— Let's make it ten moves.
Uh, don't tell me.
“If you endure ten moves, you pass.”
“You are adjusting the level for me, right?”
“Now, let's start with a light warm-up.”
Ёǹ u m а
“You are going to adjust it, right……?”
Claaaaang—!!
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The moment I set foot on the inner garden training ground, the old geezer rushed in without an answer and chopped down with his sword.
As I barely drew my blade and blocked it, Peng Ik-cheon's lips dug deep and drew a curve.
“Depending on how you do.”
……
E̊ ṅ um а . іd̈
After that,
“Uheuk!! Heuk!”
When I opened my eyes, it was Young Tiger Hall.
……
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At the same time, late at night.
Peng Ik-cheon visited the Family Head's Palace.
Е̇n umа̀ .ǐ d
“Is he useful?”
“You assigned him to me knowing he was useful, didn't you?”
“Yes, I did.”
The Peng Family Head, Peng Ik-jin, looked down at his grumbling younger brother and smirked.
“How far will you teach him?”
“As much as he can learn.”
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“Even the secret arts?”
“If he qualifies.”
Even the secret arts taught only to the Young Family Head. Yes, if only he qualifies.
So, until then.
"Train him well enough that he won't die."
It was a statement with many hidden meanings.
Е.ṅ u ṁ а̇
To the level where he won't die a dog's death somewhere.
Or…… until he becomes enough not to be killed by his brothers.
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Until he reaches a level where he can compete for the Family Head's seat.
Containing such meanings.
The younger brother, who had never once disobeyed the request of his older brother, looked into his brother's eyes, grumbled once again, then turned his back and left.
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