The Third Son of the Zhuge Clan is a Returned Martial God - Chapter 04

========== CHAPTER 4 ==========

========== CHAPTER 4: BREEDING ASSASSIN ==========

A massive estate with rows of pavilions.

I opened my eyes in a small room located deep within.

While lying on the bed, I just turned my head, and a neatly organized room came into view.

An arrangement without a single superfluous item.

It was a quiet and restrained space, revealing the temperament of the person who organized it.

“I’ve finally arrived.”

The Jegal Clan.

One of the pillars of the Five Great Clans that has engraved its name in the Central Plains Murim for hundreds of years.

A prestigious military family that has never once yielded the position of Military Strategist since the establishment of the Murim Alliance.

I have become an adopted son of such a great sect.

“If I’m the second wife’s son, I must be the third young master.”

The Jegal Clan’s lineage, power structure, and even their inherited martial arts were already organized in my head. In addition to past knowledge, I’ve spent two years thinking only of this place.

It was only natural that there was nothing I didn’t know.

“The Divine Jegal….”

The evaluation that the current Clan Head Jegal Sang’s martial prowess and insight have already reached the pinnacle is spread throughout the Murim, and it is no exaggeration to call the current Jegal Clan the most brilliant golden age since its founding.

Nevertheless.

“Everything was too easy.”

Everyone who gathered at the Uijeongdang a few days ago accepted me as a survivor of the Jin Clan without hesitation. Didn’t the second wife even step forward herself and present the evidence she had prepared?

As long as this body was the actual youngest of the Jin Clan, Jin Mu-yeon’s, it was a natural result.

Heuk-myeong’s scheme hit the mark.

“I feel sorry for Jin Seo-yeon, who became the second wife, but I will move toward the Grand Plan.”

Even if that path is nothing but revenge stained with blood.

Since she is also a survivor of the Jin Clan, if she finds out all the facts, her reaction won’t be much different from mine.

However, only the Clan Head’s gaze, which I faced at the Uijeongdang, was different.

“Jegal Sang still doesn’t believe it.”

He was also the person who said he would accept me as an adopted son of the Jegal Clan. But in his eyes, there was a hint of digging into something beyond the truth.

“It’s a trait befitting a Chief Military Strategist. Just as I saw before.”

Beyond the Murim Alliance Leader, who is called the one above ten thousand, he is the iron-blooded strategist who holds the real power of the righteous Murim.

The Jegal Clan Head, Jegal Sang.

“And the other culprit who destroyed the Jin Clan.”

He is the assassination target I must cut down.

It has already been seven years since the name ‘Jegal Sang’ was engraved on Heuk-myeong’s list.

Nevertheless, the Jegal Clan Head is still breathing just fine.

I, who was raised to cut down such a target, have finally become his son.

A Breeding Assassin raised by Heuk-myeong.

That was the identity Heuk-myeong defined for me.

If it were according to the original intention, that is.

“Heuk-myeong’s plan is only half right. Because of me, who woke up in Jin Mu-yeon’s body.”

As I lifted my arm, small stab wounds were densely revealed. Traces left on a child’s body.

I endured the hardships, and at the end of that choice, I was sent to the Jegal Clan.

Becoming a being who has no choice but to move for revenge.

“I endured those harsh years for this moment.”

Pretending to follow Heuk-myeong’s orders, I waited only for today.

Suddenly, anger welled up.

“Damn bastards. To kidnap a child and use a clan as bait to set up a board like this.”

Speaking of bait, one thing comes to mind.

The fact that a place called Sajeokmun, where I had left traces, was destroyed.

In reality, it hadn’t been that long since I stayed with those black-path bastards, but even that was part of the Grand Plan.

The more I think about it, the more I shudder at Heuk-myeong’s meticulousness.

“For now, I have no choice but to do it step by step.”

A thought suddenly occurred.

“Jegal Mu-yeon….”

I’ve heard the name Mu-yeon for years, but with the surname ‘Jegal’ added, it feels incredibly unfamiliar.

Two memories overlap in one name.

In the past, I headed to the Jegal Clan to save the child, but the only one who reached this place is me, borrowing that child’s body.

Around the time I was continuing those thoughts.

“Young Master.”

Another name was called.

“It’s Hyun-ah. If you’re awake, I’ll come in for a moment.”

“Yes.”

As permission was granted, the door slid open smoothly.

Outside the door stood a girl who looked to be four or five years older than me.

A calm demeanor.

There was no sound in her footsteps, and her gaze was cast low.

A maid who had internalized the restraint and discipline peculiar to the Jegal Clan.

It was a girl named Hyun-ah, who had been assigned to be my exclusive attendant.

“You’ve woken up early.”

“Yes.”

Hearing my answer, Hyun-ah flinched and shuddered.

It’s a consistently surprised reaction since the first day we met.

“….If you wash up, I will prepare breakfast.”

“I will do that.”

I slowly got up and started washing my face with the water Hyun-ah had brought. Meanwhile, Hyun-ah went outside and set simple food on the table.

When I finished washing, neatly folded clothes were placed in front of me, and Hyun-ah silently draped them over my body.

The touch of silk clothes, which only young masters of a clan would wear, wrapped around my arms.

“….”

Without a word exchanged, only the rustling sound of adjusting the collar filled the room.

Hyun-ah’s touch stopped from time to time, but I didn’t bother to show it. I accepted the dressing with an awkward yet strangely familiar face.

When all preparations were finished, I nodded lightly.

“Thank you.”

“Yes, Young Master. Breakfast is prepared, so please call me if you need anything.”

“I will.”

It was a young, immature voice, but Hyun-ah left the room without ever relaxing her tension.

Soon, the sound of footsteps moving away from outside the door was heard.

“Is she a shy child?”

She must be young and also find this unfamiliar.

I slowly approached the table and ate the food.

It was a warm breakfast I had never received before.

Meanwhile, Hyun-ah, who had left the room, let out a breath only after leaving the pavilion.

“Huff, huff. I thought I was going to suffocate to death.”

Suddenly, the face of the Third Young Master I first encountered came to mind.

Eyes that couldn’t read emotions.

Whenever I faced those gray eyes where the light had disappeared, I felt like my breath was being constricted.

A sense of fear as if he would strangle me at any moment.

Of all people, I ended up serving someone like that.

“Ha… How could they adopt such a child?”

I had already heard the news about him through rumors.

The story that because he was the youngest of the destroyed Jin Clan, his aunt, the second wife Jin Seo-yeon, wanted to take him in personally.

“If it were a child of a prestigious family, they would usually be either bright or arrogant….”

But the Third Young Master was different.

He never uttered useless words and possessed a heavy aura that was hard to believe for a ten-year-old child.

That appearance naturally made me think of the Jegal Clan Head.

“They aren’t even blood-related, so how can they look so alike?”

Muttering to herself, Hyun-ah shook her head vigorously.

It was because of an ominous premonition that if I made even a slight mistake, I would face the Third Young Master’s true face.

“Let’s hurry. You said the Chief Steward is coming to visit soon!”

Hyun-ah steeled her heart like that and hurried her steps across the estate.

“Young Master, did you sleep well?”

I looked at the person who came to find me first thing in the morning.

It was a man with an ordinary impression.

The Chief Steward who oversees the internal and external affairs of the Jegal Clan, Heo Gyeong-mun.

‘He has a good-natured face, but they say he is the one who climbed to that position by surpassing countless figures in the Jegal Clan.’

A man for whom the name Jegal suits much better than his original surname, Heo.

That smile is merely a mask revealed on the outside. A sharp and persistent side might be lurking inside.

One of the top targets to watch out for even within the Jegal Clan, whose name should be engraved on the watch list.

“Thanks to you, I rested comfortably.”

Chief Steward Heo’s mouth corners went up slightly.

‘How can this be the speech and behavior of a ten-year-old child.’

I heard he was involved in the Black Path, but I didn’t feel any such sign from the child at all.

Rather, he was calm and neat.

Enough to believe he was a well-raised child of a prestigious righteous sect.

‘Even after going through so many storms, is it true that blood cannot be deceived in the end?’

Would he be able to be this upright if he had gone through the same thing? Such a thought brushed past, but the string of doubt was not easily broken.

“It has been three days since the Young Master entered the clan.”

“Has it already been that long?”

“Yes. Actually, opinions were divided regarding the Young Master’s entry into the family register, so time was delayed a bit.”

“I see.”

A calm answer. There is no wavering in his expression either.

A normal child would have had their complexion change from anxiety that they might be kicked out.

“Are you not anxious?”

“I still don’t know what’s going on. That I, who lived as an orphan and a lowly person, am a survivor of the Jin Clan, and even more so that I came to the Jegal Clan, feels like a dream.”

“Hehe. From the Young Master’s perspective, that could be the case.”

Chief Steward Heo wore a gentle smile again.

“To tell you the conclusion first, opinions were split in half.”

“If you say half….”

“It means the judgment of the retainers, excluding the Clan Head, was split exactly in half.”

At this point, it was necessary to show a sign of wavering at least once. Because it is also necessary to know how to be surprised or flustered.

I narrowed my brows slightly and revealed anxious emotions.

“Then what will happen to me…?”

Is it because of the expression I faced for the first time?

After a short time lag, Chief Steward Heo opened his mouth.

“Ahem. So, at the family meeting, opinions gathered toward observing for a while before making a decision.”

For a brief moment, saliva went down my esophagus.

“What does it mean to observe for a while?”

“It won’t be anything particularly special. It is clear that the Young Master is a survivor of the Jin Clan, but it has not yet been confirmed whether you are sufficient to be made a member of the Jegal Clan.”

It was not a wrong statement.

I am a body that entered as an adopted son. Checking qualifications was a natural procedure.

“So, we intend to have you receive education and examine your qualifications as a direct descendant of the clan.”

“You mean you will evaluate my qualifications.”

Is it flowing like this after all?

Fortunately, preparations for this part were already finished.

Before I could continue, Chief Steward Heo added.

“Don’t be too disappointed. It’s a process that every successor of the clan goes through. In other words, it also means that you have already been half-acknowledged.”

“Then that is fortunate.”

“If you finish the evaluation safely, no one will be able to deny that the Young Master is a person of the Jegal Clan.”

It was not rare for Murim clans to adopt children.

In the end, I just need to show that I am worthy of that position.

At that moment, Chief Steward Heo’s gaze deepened further.

It was a look intending to bring out the question he had been harboring until now.

“What do you intend to do with the name of Jegal?”

It was a question filled with meaning.

A question too heavy to throw at a child.

I didn’t avoid his gaze and accepted it directly.

And I quietly opened my mouth.

“What I need is a ‘place to survive’.”

It was a sincere word.

Because I came to the Jegal Clan for that.

If I don’t kill, I die.

That is the only option given to me.

“A place to survive….”

A child who has gone through two bloody massacres.

It was a word that could only be uttered because he was an experienced person.

At that one word, Chief Steward Heo’s mouth shut tightly.

And that deep and heavy gaze,

remained toward each other without a word for a while.