Chapter 358: v15c8 - Murong Clan
Volume 15 Chapter 8 – Murong Clan
Part 8 – Murong Clan
“By a source of trouble in the rear, you mean…”
Originally.
The eyelashes of Murong Un-jeong, who was famous for having no change in expression, trembled faintly.
“Are you talking about the Murong Clan?”
“Yes.”
Yeon So-hyeon nodded without the slightest delay.
“Aside from us securing food, the Murong Clan is important.”
Looking down out the window, he added.
“If the Murong Clan fails to hold its ground behind the frontline like now, shakes from within, and ends up joining hands with the enemies in earnest…”
Murong Un-jeong took up his words with difficulty.
“…The Northern Grand General’s Estate would not just be isolated like now, but would end up in a besieged state.”
“Indeed.”
Looking at Yeon So-hyeon who nodded lightly, Murong Un-jeong felt confused.
“…But, Eldest Young Master.”
She carefully expressed her concern.
“No matter how much the scale of the Murong Clan cannot compare to the Eldest Young Master’s Luoyang Sword Family.”
Yeon So-hyeon picked up her words with an indifferent expression.
“It is a family grand enough to deserve being called a prestigious clan. The Murong Clan is as well.”
“…That is true.”
Murong Un-jeong continued.
“Moreover, my clan is already full of those hostile to me…”
Murong Un-jeong wanted to control her emotions, but.
The anger toward the clan that she had suppressed for years.
“It overflows with those who are busy looking after their own interests rather than the family…”
It welled up from deep within every time each word came out.
“Those colluding with external forces are crawling everywhere. The current Murong Clan is…”
Since she was in front of the Eldest Young Master.
She exercised caution in choosing her words for a moment.
“…It is rotten to the core.”
“Exactly.”
Yeon So-hyeon nodded readily and agreed with her.
“So, before it is too late, if we do not correct it, it will become a great future trouble.”
“But—” at that moment.
“Eldest Young Master.”
The sound of knocking on the door cut off Murong Un-jeong’s words.
“As you ordered, preparations for departure are complete.”
* * *
The horizon stretched long across the plain, and thick clouds of gray dust billowed up.
“Hyah! Hyah!”
The carriage carrying the Eldest Young Master and Murong Un-jeong ran relentlessly over the dirt road of the plain.
“Haah!”
In front and behind it, dozens of heavy-armored guards of the Grand General rode battle horses equipped with horse armor.
“…Eldest Young Master.”
Inside the carriage, Murong Un-jeong, who was in a fully armed state, spoke.
“How about thinking it over once more?”
Was she anxious about sitting comfortably in a carriage instead of riding a horse herself as she always did?
“About what?”
Murong Un-jeong spoke to Yeon So-hyeon, feeling the sweat in her hands.
“In a situation like this, it is by no means a good way for both you and me to leave our positions at the same time.”
To those words of hers.
“Un-jeong.”
“…Yes, Eldest Young Master.”
In a relaxed manner.
Yeon So-hyeon, who was leaning back comfortably and flipping through documents, looked at her and smiled.
“In the Northern Grand General’s Estate, there are countless generals whom you personally hand-picked and raised, who have gone through real battle after real battle.”
He asked her with a smile.
“Do you not trust them? To the point that you are anxious even about leaving your post for a short while?”
“It is not like that!”
Murong Un-jeong, who was about to leap up from her seat, sighed.
“…It is a clan that is already broken as much as it could be. Fixing such a clan is by no means something that will end in a day or two. Rather.”
She suggested an alternative.
“Rather, with the Eldest Young Master’s outstanding political ability, how about causing a rift among them?”
“A delaying tactic…?”
“Yes.”
When Yeon So-hyeon asked back as if it sounded plausible, Murong Un-jeong put weight behind her words.
“If the problem is that the Murong Clan will lean toward the enemy later, would it not be enough to divide them further, leaving them unable to do this or that, and just drag out the time?”
She kept her mouth moving without rest, trying to persuade Yeon So-hyeon.
“And, if the Grand General’s Estate wins the war, that would indeed be the best time to clean up the clan.”
Yeon So-hyeon nodded.
“That is true.”
“Then—” Yeon So-hyeon turned a document and asked in a calm tone.
“But.”
“If we clean up the Murong Clan before that, would the probability of winning the war not become even higher?”
“That…”
Yeon So-hyeon looked down at the documents.
He gave her plenty of time and waited for her answer, but.
“…That.”
In the end.
She could not deny Yeon So-hyeon’s opinion.
The Terror King.
Yelu Nujucha was building an incredibly powerful force in an unbelievably short period of time.
Even if all preparations were properly set.
That one could not dare to guarantee victory.
Because she, who was more battle-hardened than anyone, knew it best.
“…….”
Silence flowed in the carriage for a moment.
Yeon So-hyeon, who had provided Murong Un-jeong with enough time to manage her emotions, put down the document he was reading, and.
“Un-jeong.”
Asked her in a gentle tone.
“Are you afraid of returning to the Main Family?”
“……!”
Murong Un-jeong’s eyelids widened greatly, and then.
As if her gaze were chasing the dust blowing in the air under the dazzling sun of the plains.
Soon, it fell to her knees.
“…Yes, I am afraid.”
Her voice shook faintly as she answered.
* * *
That she.
Was particularly emotional and illogical when it came to her clan.
Yeon So-hyeon had already figured out.
Despite that.
The reason he did not scold her harshly or push her hard.
Was because he understood all too well how deep a wound the cool-headed Acting Northern Grand General, Murong Un-jeong, carried.
* * *
In the past, she.
Was not a person who was hated by the clan from the beginning.
Rather, she.
Was like a treasure to the Murong Clan.
“Oh my!”
“She is so beautiful and pretty!”
Just by showing her face, she was showered with praise at events large and small, and.
“Are you saying you ride horses already?!”
“Even a bow?! Amazing, haha!”
When she drew her bow and rode horses, admiration followed.
“Un-jeong. You will follow in your father’s footsteps and lead this clan.”
It was an incredibly warm world.
She was the happiest child in the world.
But.
All of that.
Vanished along with the war.
No.
It was thoroughly twisted.
“(Are the warriors of our tribe supposed to follow the words of such a young Acting Grand General?!)” after the war.
The first thing that changed was.
The northern tribes that followed the Murong Clan.
“(Nonsense!)” as the name and authority of the Murong Family, which bore the unavoidable responsibility, crashed to the ground.
“(We cannot accept such a mediation proposal!)” regarding the outcome of the war, which deserved to be called a defeat.
“(Our Buhyul Tribe will no longer follow the Murong Clan!)” the tribes began to break out of control, and.
That immediately.
Led to the Murong Clan, which had adjusted the north through a long lineage and old tradition, losing its fundamental power.
“Acting Patriarch!”
“The passage of the merchant groups has been banned, so the loss is immense!”
“The departure of the tribes is leading to extreme losses!”
“How on earth is the Acting Patriarch going to take responsibility for this situation?!”
Those who praised her for riding horses well criticized her for riding horses.
Those who lauded her for her outstanding martial arts cursed at her for displaying her martial arts.
“Take responsibility!”
Before she knew it.
All responsibility.
Had become hers, and.
“Acting Patriarch!”
She.
Despite her countless efforts.
“Acting Patriarch!”
The child who was loved most in the clan.
Had become the most hated person in the clan.
* * *
“I was like that too.”
At Yeon So-hyeon’s words that suddenly popped out.
Murong Un-jeong raised her eyes and looked at him.
“Yes…?”
Turning his gaze out the window away from her reddened eyes, Yeon So-hyeon continued.
“I was afraid of people cursing me, I was afraid of my family tearing me apart, and I was also afraid of them hoping on their own and then getting disappointed on their own.”
“…….”
That was, during his days of seclusion.
An old memory of Yeon So-hyeon.
“The members of the family acted as if I had to take responsibility for all the problems. At the same time, they blamed me when the world’s affairs did not go according to their convenience.”
“…….”
Come to think of it.
Yeon So-hyeon, who sat calmly in front of her, was indeed.
The person who had suffered for all those years in the clan called the Number One Under Heaven.
The absent patriarch.
The runaway desires of the members.
The corrupting clan.
“…Ah.”
The situations of the two were, above all, similar, and therefore.
More than anyone.
Yeon So-hyeon was a person who could understand her heart well.
“But. Do you know this?”
As she asked, wiping her eyes with the handkerchief he slipped to her while pretending not to notice.
“…Know what?”
Yeon So-hyeon grinned, and.
“It is also something I realized after ending my seclusion.”
He spoke with a mischievous smile that fully gave off the feel of a boy.
“The underlings who ignored me. The family members who hallucinated that the clan was theirs. The powerful who were busy justifying their desires.”
Counting them off one by one, Yeon So-hyeon showed his teeth with a chilling smile.
“In truth, it feels best when you snap the fingers of those who pointed them at you.”
“……!”
At that moment.
Murong Un-jeong seemed to realize something.
“…….”
As Yeon So-hyeon turned his eyes away, leaving her lost in blank thought.
The empty wilderness outside the window.
Before she knew it, had changed to a complex cityscape.
[I report.]
The captain of the Grand General’s guards, who was riding alongside the carriage, sent a sound transmission.
[We will arrive at the Murong Clan soon.]
[Good.]
Yeon So-hyeon replied cheerfully.
[If anyone dares to block us at the entrance, cut them all down.]
[Pardon?]
The captain, who was flustered for a moment, smiled as if he understood it as a joke.
[Haha! I will follow your orders!]
Crack.
Crackle.
As Yeon So-hyeon stretched his back and cracked his neck, a refreshing sound rang out just from hearing it.
“Un-jeong.”
And, before long.
“Yes, Eldest Young Master.”
On Un-jeong’s face as well.
A smile resembling Yeon So-hyeon’s began to faintly emerge.
Looking at her face.
As if Yeon So-hyeon was certain.
He assured her.
“You too will come to feel the pleasure I felt.”
* * *
“Can we not run any faster?!”
At Grand Tactician Sima’s roar, the warrior shook his head.
“It is impossible! This is the maximum speed right now!”
Even now, at a speed that reached the limit.
The carriage carrying Grand Tactician Sima rattled and shrieked as if it would shatter at any moment.
There was no way Grand Tactician Sima did not know that.
“What about messengers?! Carrier pigeons?!”
“I have already sent them!”
Thanks to hanging the flag obtained from the Grand Eunuch, the current Patriarch of the Gongsun Family.
They were able to avoid the time spent due to the countless checkpoints and custom gates leading to the north.
Although they were saving more time than they had spent meeting him.
“Arrange to change the carriage and horses at the next post station!”
“I have already arranged it!”
Grand Tactician Sima could not hide his anxiety.
“What is the estimated time of arrival?!”
“If we run all night like this, we will arrive by tomorrow!”
Grand Tactician Sima’s wrinkled eyelids trembled.
“It is late, so late…”
Until Grand Tactician Sima arrives at the Murong Clan, one day remains.