Chapter 49: Seolyoung, Enlightennt
Baek Seolyoung and the heads of the Seven Halls sat around a large round table.
Except for people like Kwon Deokchan and Wang Gunbo, who had chosen to follow her, the rest were all people aligned with Yang Sebang.
Right after Yang Sebang died, they held a secret eting.
They suspected the reason Baek Seolyoung summoned them today. She was likely about to begin purging them. They had resolved to unite so they would not be ousted from the clan.
‘It won’t be easy to get rid of us!’
That was what they all thought. There was one reason they felt confident in that conclusion. They underestimated Baek Seolyoung.
Beautiful and smart, yes, but still a young girl who did not fully understand the ways of the world. That was how she appeared in their eyes. That uncertainty was also the reason they chose to side with Yang Sebang instead of trusting her.
At that mont, Chu Sang-gi entered and placed an envelope bearing each of their nas before them. Every single head of the Seven Halls received one. Kwon Deokchan and Wang Gunbo were no exception.
Baek Seolyoung spoke softly.
“Please open them.”
The Heads of the halls slowly opened their envelopes. Inside was a letter. After reading its contents, their eyes widened in shock.
It was a letter left for them by the forr Lord of the clan.
From their first eting to the ti they beca hall leaders, it contained many events and unforgettable personal anecdotes. At the end of the letter, it asked them to take care of his daughter, Baek Seolyoung.
Kwon Deokchan was the first to get teary-eyed. He had been the most loyal to the previous Lord. He suddenly felt ashad. The man had treated him so well, yet he had failed to protect the man’s daughter.
The other hall leaders, while not as moved as Kwon Deokchan, still fell silent as they thought of the forr Lord. They had sided with Yang Sebang to survive, but the guilt of betraying the forr Lord weighed on their hearts.
Wang Gunbo asked,
“Why didn’t you give these to us right after the Lord passed away?”
Had these letters been used properly at the ti, the outco might have been different.
After quietly looking around at each of the hall leaders, she replied calmly.
“Do you really think one letter would have changed everyone’s minds? I hate to say this in regard to my father, but I don’t believe your actions would have been any different.”
Except for Kwon Deokchan, no one could deny her words.
She rose from her seat and slowly walked around the table. The hall leaders watched her nervously.
Baek Seolyoung stopped and took the letter from Kwon Deokchan’s hands. She held it over the table’s lamp and burned it.
Whoosh.
The letter turned to ashes in an instant.
No one had expected her to burn it. Even Kwon Deokchan looked startled. The others were equally shocked.
She took Wang Gunbo’s letter and burned that too, then continued walking around the table, burning each one.
Everyone just sat in stunned silence, watching her.
When she returned to her seat, her expression turned cold.
“I didn’t show you those letters to stir up sentintal mories of my father.”
Her voice rang clear and strong, carrying a dignified tone.
“You are the Seven Hall Leaders of this clan, yet you ignored the new clan Lord and followed Elder Yang instead. I should make an example out of you, but I chose to forgive you just once, for my father’s sake. That’s why I showed you those letters.”
Everyone swallowed hard.
“As you saw, I’m soone who can even host the marriage martial arts tournant. You can’t imagine how far I’m prepared to go.”
Her words clearly carried a threat.
“I don’t want your loyalty for the clan. I want your loyalty to . Supporting is supporting the clan. This is your one and only chance at forgiveness. If you ever test my patience again, you will pay the price for the rcy I showed you today. Understood?”
Kwon Deokchan and Wang Gunbo shouted in unison,
“We pledge our loyalty.”
She looked each of the other hall leaders in the eye.
They stared back, surprised. This was not the Baek Seolyoung they thought they knew. She felt much stronger than before. Their minds were in turmoil, but right now, they had only one choice.
“We pledge our loyalty.”
They all bowed their heads and swore allegiance.
But Baek Seolyoung knew. She knew they hadn’t truly submitted. Of course they hadn’t. This tug-of-war was only beginning.
“I’ll be watching you. You may leave now.”
The hall leaders bowed and exited.
As he stepped out, Kwon Deokchan smiled slightly. If she could handle them this well, he felt confident she could handle external matters too.
Once everyone had left, Baek Seolyoung spoke to Chu Sang-gi.
“Do you know why I didn’t take advantage of the letters?”
“Because you said they wouldn’t change the outco.”
“No. I didn’t use them because I thought it was a cheap tactic. I believed if I couldn’t win them over by my own strength, then their loyalty would be aningless.”
Chu Sang-gi nodded. He agreed with her words completely.
But she herself didn’t.
“That was a foolish thought.”
“Pardon?”
“In truth, I didn’t even know where I stood or who I was dealing with.”
That was exactly what Lee Jaseung had told her.
She calmly explained to Chu Sang-gi, who still looked confused.
“I acted like I could do anything, but I didn’t even know who I was facing or where I stood. I was just a clueless girl.”
That too had co from Lee Jaseung.
He told her to admit she was just a child.
At the ti, she didn’t accept it. She shouted at him, saying she had opened the marriage tournant, but she refused to admit it.
But she should have.
“This isn’t so pathetic self-pity. I lived under a huge delusion. I thought if I was desperate, the world would accept . That if I was desperate enough, I could do anything. But desperation alone ans nothing. Desperation must lead to action. That’s the only thing that counts.”
The way she dealt with the hall leaders today ca from that change in mindset.
And that wasn’t the only change.
She finally understood why Lee Jaseung’s words had bothered her so much, and why she couldn’t refute them.
She had jumped into battle but wasn’t prepared to fight. This wasn’t about determination or sincerity.
She lacked understanding of what kind of battle this was and how to fight it.
“Everything I learned ca from my father.”
“Yes, indeed.”
“And that’s the problem.”
“What do you an?”
“My father never showed the underbelly of it all. Because I was his daughter, he couldn’t bear to show the dirty tricks and political gas. But he fought in that world. He survived in it.”
Chu Sang-gi understood her words.
“Maybe he thought he would tell soday when I beco older.”
But he died before he could show her the path she needed to walk.
“My father always compared this struggle to a ga of Go. Now I understand. This isn’t a refined ga like Go. That’s why he tried to wrap it in that taphor. To make it seem noble.”
At first, she believed that even if her opponent broke the rules, she could still win without flipping the board.
But now she saw how naïve that was.
“If they flip the board, I flip it back. If that doesn’t work, I draw new lines on the back and keep fighting. If I can, I’ll use not just two or three moves, but five or six to win. That’s the nature of this fight. My enemies are prepared for that kind of battle. If I’m not, I should get out.”
Chu Sang-gi realized she had reached a major turning point. It felt like a positive change, but because it was so sudden, he also felt concerned.
“Is this because of him?”
She nodded without hesitation.
“Yes. Because of him.”
Even being able to admit that was sothing she had learned from him.
Realization doesn’t co from hearing sothing for ten years. Sotis, it strikes like lightning from a single passing comnt.
Now, she truly understood.
She had stepped onto the real battlefield.
She was now a proper player.
But before she could beco a true player, there was one more thing she had to do.
* * *
“I have a favor to ask.”
Baek Seolyoung ca to see Lee Jaseung again.
He could tell sothing about her had changed.
Perhaps the comnt he made to her last ti had an effect on her?
If that really was the reason, he found it impressive.
People don’t change easily after all.
“What kind of favor?”
“I have a few favors, actually.”
She smiled as she said it. She now gave off a sense of ease that hadn’t been there before.
“You’ve changed.”
“I’m trying. Trying to look like I’ve changed.”
Lee Jaseung gave a smirk, and she smiled with him.
It was the first ti since eting him that Baek Seolyoung felt like they were truly sharing a laugh.
Lee Jaseung could tell. She really had changed. Yes, life was interesting because even things that seed impossible could sotis change overnight.
“What’s the favor?”
“I want you to take control of the Four Dragons of the Northern Sky.”
Lee Jaseung was slightly taken aback. He had already planned to absorb them first.
“They are the core organization of our clan. But right now, Peng So, raised by Elder Yang, is in charge of it. Whether you kill him or win him over, I want you to take control.”
“Why not do it yourself?”
“I need to fully bring the Seven Hall Leaders to my side. And if you’re seen taking over the Four Dragons, it sends a powerful ssage. It strengthens my position.”
If both sides secured control over the clan at the sa ti, it would create a much stronger sense of stability from the outside.
Lee Jaseung quietly looked at her. In truth, this path was not hers. It was his.
The road ahead was far more difficult and treacherous than she could imagine.
Would she be able to follow it to the end?
There was no way of knowing. Just as she had changed overnight, life had a way of throwing surprises.
“Alright. I’ll take care of the Four Dragons.”
“Thank you.”
“I should be thanking you. I’ll benefit once Northern Sky Clan is mine.”
Baek Seolyoung stared at him.
Yes, if she had heard that before, she would have gotten angry. She would’ve snapped at him for saying sothing like that.
But now she saw it differently. That remark was a kind of teaching.
Others might’ve said, “I’ll do it for your sake,” to make it sound selfless.
But the truth was what he said. Honest and unpolished. Was it because he didn’t know how to say it nicely? No, that wasn’t the case.
Lee Jaseung asked again.
“What’s the next favor?”
“Co stay at the clan with your disciples. Now that we’re engaged, it looks strange for you to stay at an inn.”
That wasn’t the real reason. Inviting him into the clan was directly tied to her third favor.
Lee Jaseung agreed to the second request without hesitation.
“Sure. What’s the third?”
Her expression turned serious. This third request was the main reason she had co today.
She said in a calm tone.
“Teach martial arts.”
Lee Jaseung hadn’t expected her to ask him such a request.
“Shouldn’t you have properly learned martial arts as a daughter of the Northern Sky Clan?”
“Of course. I learned the family’s traditional techniques. But at so point, I hit a wall. My skills stopped improving. I need you to open the path for .”
She said it confidently, like soone reclaiming what was hers, but inside she was nervous. Passing on martial arts wasn’t sothing done lightly, even for blood-related families.
Lee Jaseung looked at her quietly and nodded.
“Alright.”
“Really?”
“But since I’ve granted your three requests, you’ll have to grant three of mine.”
She nearly flared up again. She wished he would just accept the favor sincerely.
But then she realized sothing.
‘Ah! I’ve really lived too idealistically.’
No, calling it idealistic was putting it the nice way. In truth, it had been selfishness.
Expecting others to accept her requests purely.
If she asked for a favor, she should be ready to return one.
But until now, she had only been on the receiving end.
She didn’t have a proper sense of give and take.
She admitted it.
Her “purity” had been rooted in selfishness.
Lee Jaseung didn’t rush her. He could tell from her face that her mind was working through sothing.
She was still changing.
Today, for the first ti since eting her, he felt genuine affection.
Not because she had changed, but because she was trying to.
Trying to beco soone better. Trying to move forward. And doing so with sincere effort.
Instead of snapping again, Baek Seolyoung smiled and asked.
“Of course I will. What are your favors?”
User Comments
0 comments from readers