Chronicles of the Reincarnated Demon God - Chapter 16
Chapter 16 – Perfect Score
Heavyweight drinker.
Only today did I finally understand who this phrase was meant for.
“…Are you really okay, Sister?”
“Huh? Me? Perfectly fine.”
“…”
She didn’t look fine at all.
Tang Gyu-jin was grinning foolishly, her cheeks flushed bright red. She was clearly enjoying the rare opportunity to drink.
At this point, she should be drunk to the point of collapse.
She had been unstoppable since her first cup, just continuously pouring alcohol down her throat. The pile of empty jugs behind her was starting to look like a small mountain.
Like Tang Gon… Were all Tang Clan members just hopeless drunks?
“And then that guy had the audacity to smirk and flirt with the other junior sisters! Ugh, talk about an eyesore—”
I liked the atmosphere of drinking parties more than actually drinking, so I mostly let her talk.
The smile never left Tang Gyu-jin’s lips as she reminisced, spilling mostly stories about her life in the Qingcheng Sect.
Unlike the suffocating atmosphere of the Nine Dragons Branch Family, there seemed to be some warmth in that place.
Perhaps it wasn’t just the teachings of the One Energy of Heaven and Earth Technique that had shaped her into the person she was but also the unique environment of the Qingcheng Sect.
Thanks to her stories, I could piece together the Qingcheng Sect’s entire lineage of next-generation disciples even though I had never met a single one.
“Is that so?”
“It is! Isn’t it infuriating just hearing about it?”
“Well, it’s hard for me to comment since I wasn’t involved, but—”
“But what?”
“There’s one thing I can say for sure.”
“Oh? What’s that?”
“You like your eldest senior brother, don’t you?”
Tang Gyu-jin immediately leaped to her feet and pointed an accusing finger at me, her face as red as a tomato. “You… are you crazy!?”
She had just been talking about how her mood swung wildly depending on that senior brother’s words, or how she got irrationally annoyed when he spent time with other junior sisters.
If that wasn’t a romantic feeling, what was it?
「Eh? As far as I know, the junior lord has no experience in love. So how is he so adept at giving romantic advice—」
「Isn’t it often the case that the less experience you have, the more theoretical knowledge you accumulate?」
「Oh! That explains it! Just like how the junior lord had no prior martial arts training but was extraordinarily skilled when he began!」
「Truly, his wisdom reaches the heavens…」
These guys were clearly mocking me, weren’t they?
I smirked and lowered my glass. “Well, if I’m wrong, forget I said anything.”
Tang Gyu-jin looked like she was about to explode, her face was now as red as a beet. “…Say that nonsense again and you’ll find a knife in your back while you sleep!”
If word got out that I was stabbed by my sister for drunkenly rambling, I’d never hear the end of it.
I nodded solemnly, though I couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought of the entertaining spectacle this situation might lead to.
“You’re acting suspicious,” Tang Gyu-jin said, her eyes narrowing.
“Surely not. I’m innocent. Pure, innocent, and virtuous. Don’t you know, Sister?”
“Nope. Still suspicious.”
“Ahem. By the way, when is this senior brother of yours visiting, again?”
“Why do you want to know?”
“Just curious.”
“You little—do you want to die?!”
Tang Gyu-jin had mentioned earlier that the Qingcheng Sect planned to send their next sect leader to greet the Dark Sovereign, using her as an excuse to gauge his intentions.
Though I’d framed the question playfully, my curiosity was serious.
It was clear the Qingcheng Sect was uneasy about the Dark Sovereign’s sudden decision to form a direct special martial unit.
From their perspective, fighting the cult might be a pretense for the Dark Sovereign to extend his influence beyond Sichuan to all of the Western martial realm.
Given his reputation and ambition, it wasn’t entirely implausible.
However, Tang Gyu-jin seemed blissfully unaware of the larger power dynamics and negotiations happening behind the scenes.
「This is certainly something we will need to keep an eye on until the Dark Sovereign’s visit.」
「There might be a way to leverage this situation to your benefit, sir…」
Though I couldn’t see the full picture yet, I was getting a glimpse of the current state of the martial realm.
“I’m warning you. If you spout more nonsense, I’ll kill you!”
“Yes, yes, I’ll be careful. But I wasn’t joking about wanting to greet him. After all, you’re family, Sis. It’s only right to pay my respects to him as your younger brother.”
Tang Gyu-jin hesitated, her expression conflicted. The reasoning was sound enough that she couldn’t refuse outright. “I received a letter saying he’s almost here,” she said eventually.
“Great. I’ll keep that in mind.”
“I’m on to you…”
“As the visit approaches, the estate will surely become quite lively,” I said, carefully shifting the topic. “Many family members currently away will return, and preparations will have to be made for the Dark Sovereign’s reception. It’s going to be chaotic. Honestly, I think hiding in the White Pavilion might be the best course of action.”
“Probably. But don’t you have any interesting stories to share? Since you get to live in civilization and not in the mountains, you must have dating experience or something like that.”
“None at all. Who would like a bastard who was treated like a fool?”
“Why would you assume no one does? You even have a fiancée.”
“…I do?”
“What? You didn’t know?”
“It’s news to me.”
‘Hold on. This sounds familiar.’
Was this one of those heartbroken-character-becomes-a-powerhouse scenarios? The kind where the fiancé resurfaces as a peerless martial master after being rejected?
I’d often daydreamed about being in such a situation.
Had she intentionally stayed out of contact because she’d heard the bad rumors about me?
“So who is my fiancée anyway?”
“Oh, wow, Father really must not have told you. Do you want to know?”
“Actually… no. I’m not interested.”
“Yeah, I figured as much.”
Getting married to someone I hadn’t even seen was preposterous.
Besides, that person was engaged to “Tang Woon-hwi,” not me. It had nothing to do with me.
I figured if we just kept pretending we were unrelated, the whole thing would fizzle out on its own.
They probably preferred that too.
“If you want, I could introduce you to a lovely—”
“Not happening.”
“I haven’t even finished my sentence yet, you know?”
“Weren’t you about to ask if I’d be interested in one of your acquaintances?”
“Well, yes, but—”
“Things should have a proper order. You get married first, and then it’ll be my turn.”
“I’m not thinking about getting married at all, though.”
“Then neither am I.”
“Ugh, you never lose an argument, do you?”
The more drinking buddies, the better.
It wasn’t until a few hours later that my drinking buddy finally showed up.
“Sorry I’m late, Young Master, some old friends kept pulling me back. I had to shake them off.”
“U-Uncle Gon!?”
Tang Gyu-jin, who had been teetering on the edge of intoxication, suddenly snapped to attention, completely sober at the sight of Tang Gon.
He smiled faintly and greeted her politely.
“Ah, nice to see you here, Young Lady. I should have properly greeted you when I saw you earlier. My apologies.”
“No, no! I should have gone to visit you first!”
Tang Gyu-jin fidgeted, clearly flustered, before speaking to me via sound telepathy.
『Your drinking buddy is Uncle Gon!?』
The very person who had boldly claimed she would teach my “drinking buddy” the art of drinking had all but vanished, replaced by someone utterly panicked.
『Didn’t you say you’d teach my drinking buddy all about the art of drinking? I’m looking forward to it!』
『Why didn’t you tell me earlier that your so-called “buddy” is Uncle Tang Gon!?』
『You didn’t ask.』
『You’re insufferable—』
Tang Gyu-jin glared at me as if she wanted to wring my neck, then quickly pulled out a chair for Tang Gon.
“Please have a seat, Uncle!”
“You didn’t need to go to such trouble. But thank you.”
Tang Gon sat down, his gaze drifting toward the table piled high with food and drink.
“I see you’ve ordered a lot as usual. You didn’t charge this to my tab, did you?”
“Oh, was that an option?”
“Did that spar earlier damage your brain or something?”
Tang Gon had long stopped holding back his sharp tongue against me.
I poured him a full cup of bamboo liquor, and he raised a brow.
Tang Gyu-jin glanced back and forth between the two of us, looking like she’d seen a ghost.
『Hey…』
『Yes?』
『Why are you being so informal with Uncle Gon!?』
『Ah… it just sort of ended up this way?』
『Have you lost your mind!?』
To be honest, I’d been startled when she called him “uncle.”
For the past ten days, I had referred to him as “instructor” and spoken quite casually. Which he hadn’t seemed to mind.
『Do you even know who Tang Gon is? Though they haven’t taken a formal oath, he and Father are practically brothers. He saved Father’s life during the Bloody Qingcheng Battle, which is why the clan head personally awarded him the title of Fierce Gale Warrior!』
Judging by her explanation, Tang Gon held far greater sway in the Nine Dragons Branch Family than I had anticipated. He simply didn’t flaunt it.
Apparently, if he wanted, he could easily take the role of a pavilion chief within the family.
Realizing my misstep, I offered Tang Gon a sincere martial salute. “Martial Instructor.”
“…What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”
His expression was one of genuine confusion.
“I didn’t fully understand your relationship with the family head and inadvertently disrespected you. Please forgive my ignorance.”
Tang Gon turned his head away as if he couldn’t bear to watch. “…You’re ruining the mood. Just stop it. What are you even doing in front of such excellent food and drink?”
『See?』
『…Unbelievable.』
The dynamic between me and Tang Gon had already settled into something like this.
Trying to force formality at this point would just make things unbearably awkward for us both.
“Did you have a good talk with the members of the Wild Wind Squad?”
He looked at me like a child caught misbehaving. “…You saw that?”
“Of course. I saw you in the stands with Tang Tae and Tang Jin. It’d be stranger if I didn’t notice you, you were being so obvious.”
He’d claimed he was late because he was with friends. It seemed those were the friends in question.
“With everything happening during the sparring matches, how did you even notice? Your powers of observation are truly impressive.”
The Wild Wind Squad.
For someone from the Nine Dragons Branch Family, especially a successor candidate, it was an impossible name to ignore.
Tang Gyu-jin quietly glanced between us, gauging our reactions.
Tang Gon scratched his cheek and extended his cup.
“It’s hard to talk about sober. Pour me one, will you?”
“Of course.”
I filled the cup with a gentle pour, and he downed it in one go.
“Ah! That’s the good stuff,” Tang Gon exclaimed.
“I bet you guys were discussing me,” I said, getting straight to the point.
“…Well, yes.”
“And?”
“How do you think you did?”
“Perfect score.”
“Where do you get such confidence?”
“Am I wrong?
“No, and that’s what’s so frustrating! Can’t you at least pretend to be humble?”
“Isn’t that part of my charm?”
“This is exactly why I didn’t want to have this conversation sober!” Tang Gon shouted before slamming his cup down.
Tnnk!
Tang Gon continued, “They want you to keep showing them what you’re made of.”
“Is that so? Good.”
“…Don’t you have anything else to ask me?”
“Like what?”
“You know, how people view you, if their perspectives have shifted, what others’ evaluations might be…”
“No, what you’ve said is enough. They saw that I have potential.”
If they had merely fawned over my talent or tried to ingratiate themselves, I would have been disappointed.
I had no need for opportunists.
Judging someone wasn’t a one-way street. I was also evaluating the old Wild Wind Squad—their level, their skills, and their worth.
“Well, I suppose that’s true…”
“What about you? What is the opinion of my dear martial instructor? Do you still think I’m as lacking as I was ten days ago?”
Tang Gon furrowed his brow, visibly hesitating to answer.
It was clear he wanted to speak but was worried I would start gloating if he admitted to any improvement.
“Kekeke! That hesitation says it all! I’ll take that as a no!”
“Would you stop laughing like that? It’s unsettling.”
“It’s one of my charms!”
“Charms, my ass!” Tang Gon grumbled, but he couldn’t quite hide the slight smile tugging at his lips.
Truthfully, gaining the Wild Wind Squad wasn’t essential. It would be advantageous, but not having them wouldn’t cause any major issues.
What mattered more was how they would respond to me when real conflicts arose.
After today, Tang Yu-chang was effectively out of the running for successor. That left Tang Gyu-jin and me standing shoulder to shoulder.
Namgung San-yeong, my scheming stepmother, would no doubt start plotting my downfall in earnest now.
When the real clash began, could I count on the Wild Wind Squad to back me?
Tang Gon’s reaction gave me confidence. Even if they didn’t side with me fully, they would at least remain neutral rather than oppose me.
The Wild Wind Squad was a pillar of the Nine Dragons Branch Family.
I had demonstrated the essence of their legacy, the Wild Wind Dance, and proven my skills in front of everyone.
Winning their favor today had netted me an unshakable foundation that could not be bought with any amount of money.
Now, the board was set just as I had envisioned.
The question was… What move would they make next?