Moyong Yeon-hwa was taken aback, halting in her tracks at Ho Cheon-an’s sudden outburst of cursing.
“There needs to be a right path and principles for great matters. But I ask you, is it people first or principles first?”
However, before she could even process the change in Ho Cheon-an, her mind was invaded by memories, making her eyes tremble.
“Principles must never stand above people and must serve them accordingly. When it comes to people, there is more than just the right path and principles; in special circumstances, customary procedures must be overlooked to discuss special measures.”
Great Achievement Canon, People-Oriented, it must be treated differently.
Memories from the past began to unfold in Moyong Yeon-hwa’s mind.
“Ha! Take this! Dual Polar Month Sword Technique!”
“Ah! I can’t handle this!”
Children pretending to fall as if defeated by the sword technique, with Chan-gyeong standing proudly at the center, puffing out his chest. Moyong Yeon-hwa, also pretending to fall like a villain, secretly laughed as she saw the children sporting their swords high in the air, trying to look impressive.
The Moyong Clan was becoming noisy.
Sensing the commotion, the children immediately lost interest in their play and rushed toward it.
“Jo-sam!”
“Hey, kids!”
Today was the day their friend Jo-sam was leaving.
“Where’s he going?”
“To Shandong! He said he’s going to Shandong!”
“Where’s Shandong?”
“I know! It’s a nearby place!”
“Wow, then we can go visit!”
The children chaotically shared what little information they had. Moyong Yeon-hwa, peering into her own memories, smiled bitterly.
Certainly, compared to the scattered branch clans across the Central Plains, Shandong was relatively close, but it wasn’t a distance one could easily travel to meet someone.
“Taishan! He mentioned Taishan too!”
“Wow!”
“Then are we going to climb Taishan?”
“That… I don’t know?”
“Hey, what’s that?”
The children were chatting away, unaware of the passage of time, and meanwhile, the adults finished their preparations for departure.
“Goodbye! You have to come visit later!”
“Take care!”
“When we grow up, we must go visit!”
Jo-sam, whose face radiated excitement from the cart, left, while the children looked on with envy.
“We want to go to the Central Plains too…”
“I heard there are so many people that you can’t even move on the streets.”
“They say the sun rises from the land at night too?”
Listening to their ramblings, Moyong Yeon-hwa gazed at the cart.
Branch clans were departing to settle in the grand and developed lands of the Central Plains instead of the barren land of Liaoning.
Their departure toward the Central Plains was only a routine that had grown a bit lengthy.
Time flew by. The chubby child, Moyong Yeon-hwa, gradually grew up, and memories piled up little by little. Among these memories was often the farewell to the branch clans heading toward the Central Plains.
“Hehe! Sister! I’m off!”
“Don’t forget to write from Shengsu!”
“Goodbye, Chan-gyeong!”
“Cheh! Just hurry and get lost already!”
Moyong Mo, who was all smiles on his way to Shengsu, and Moyong Chan-gyeong, who was sulking at the thought of parting from him, were also scenes etched into the memories of Moyong Yeon-hwa.
“So you’re leaving?”
“Hmm! It has come to that!”
In the throes of puberty, Moyong Yeon-hwa, sensitive to head pats, flinched when Moyong Jin-gyeong attempted to ruffle her hair. But ignoring her obvious displeasure, he pulled her close and patted her head vigorously.
“Hahaha! This kid! You’re still too young to pretend to be a lady!”
“Ugh! Seriously!”
“When you grow up to be a virtuous woman, come find me in Shengsu! I’ll be waiting with a dazzling husband for you in the Central Plains!”
“Stop the nonsense and hurry up!”
Moyong Jin-gyeong laughed at her pointed expression before disappearing towards Shengsu.
How long had passed since then?
As Moyong Yeon-hwa focused on training martial arts rather than playing, she began to hear news about the Shengsu Faction.
“Rumor has it a massive mine has opened in the Shengsu Faction!”
“Really? Is that true?”
A mine.
That was something to be noted even in the long history of the Moyong Clan.
The branch clans that had left the barren land of Liaoning had each developed their unique methods, creating diverse factions, but among the Moyong Clan branch clans, no one had ever developed a mine.
Now a young woman, Moyong Yeon-hwa murmured upon hearing this news.
“Will I finally be able to easily obtain a sword made from high-quality iron?”
Yearning for a fine sword like many martial artists, Moyong Yeon-hwa sought information about the Shengsu Faction, hoping she could get a splendid sword from the one who used to dote on her, Moyong Jin-gyeong.
“Mining isn’t easy, you know?”
“A sword? Well, I doubt just mining iron would lead to a good sword.”
“Is that so?”
It was an obvious statement, but the busy Shengsu Faction had no resources to spare for refining iron after tackling the challenges of mining.
Crushed by the disappointment of shattered expectations about the fine sword, Moyong Yeon-hwa sighed heavily before plunging back into her training.
As she reflected on herself at such a young age, Moyong Yeon-hwa pondered.
“Why didn’t I pay more attention to the Shengsu Faction?”
Would events have unfolded differently had she shown more interest in the Shengsu Faction from then?
As those thoughts swirled in her head, she smiled bitterly.
The reason for her disinterest in the Shengsu Faction was simple.
“I heard something happened in the Seochang Faction this time.”
“I hear the Imgyeong Faction requested financial assistance?”
“Seems like things aren’t going well.”
The news of a mine opening in the Shengsu Faction was certainly stirring news.
But it was also just one among the many rumors flying into the Moyong Clan.
Hearing snippets about various factions had long become her everyday life.
Time continued to flow.
The Shengsu faction’s mine kept growing and blossoming in influence.
Messages began to circulate even to the main clan far away in the Dongbei region, discussing the mine.
Meetings were held at the main clan to discuss the Shengsu Faction’s matters.
Young Moyong Yeon-hwa was deemed too young to participate in such discussions, so she asked her parents about the outcome.
“So how was the handling of the Shengsu Faction’s situation?”
“It has been dealt with according to principles.”
A result she had anticipated, Moyong Yeon-hwa nodded her head.
The Moyong Clan, with various factions scattered throughout the Martial World, surely understood the hardships of each faction and recognized they would need the main clan’s help and manpower.
However, from the perspective of the main clan, it wasn’t so easy to assist those factions.
Even classifying them as outliers, liaising among the faction members scattered from Liaoning throughout the world was no easy task.
If the direct line intervened without discernment of the situation, they would find themselves wandering the Martial World for life.
As such, several principles dictated when the direct line would intervene with the faction’s issues.
For instance, handling matters required the direct line’s strength.
It must be a clear situation where assistance was requested or needed.
The circumstances of the Shengsu Faction did not align with these principles.
Neither did they require the direct line’s martial prowess, nor were they lacking in members.
“The situation regarding the Shengsu Faction is strange, but they haven’t asked for help, so it’s hard to step in. If it’s necessary, wouldn’t they simply ask for assistance?”
“That’s true.”
Moyong Yeon-hwa watched the conversation between her parents and herself with a pained expression.
What if, at that time, the main clan had provided comprehensive assistance to the Shengsu Faction? What would have transpired?
Ho Cheon-an’s words suddenly came to mind.
“My notion of the Shengsu Faction was merely that it was a lucky nouveau riche.”
The perception of the Shengsu Faction held by Ho Cheon-an reflected how the world viewed it—a toned-down expression considering it was meant for Moyong Yeon-hwa.
By luck. Because it was a branch of one of the Five Great Clans, the Moyong Clan. And yet, they acted like they were of higher status.
The impact of the Shengsu faction’s newfound wealth made some of the Se-in doubt their motives and not hesitate to belittle them with circumstantial evidence.
What if the main clan had stood by them during their efforts to change that perception?
Moyong Yeon-hwa couldn’t shake those thoughts.
But contrary to her musings, Moyong Yeon-hwa simply swung her sword without a care.
In the Training Hall, she practiced the Paedo Il-hui Sword and the Ban Yeon Mu Wol Sword, while the scenery around her kept changing.
Seasons changed, and Moyong Yeon-hwa grew into a mature woman, and as she did, a sense of sword mastery unfolded within her.
While Moyong Yeon-hwa’s sword was dancing, numerous voices brushed against her memories.
“I heard the Shengsu Faction refused an official visit from the direct line.”
“What in the world?!”
“Did you hear? The Shengsu Faction declared themselves the main clan!”
“Is that true? That’s ridiculous!”
“Rumors are rampant throughout the Martial World! Other factions are asking what’s going on!”
“How brazen! No matter how much they’ve developed, is that even justifiable?”
The relationship with the Shengsu Faction was worsening day by day. They contacted the forces of Shengsu independently and boldly claimed to be the main clan.
Countermeasures were discussed at the main Moyong clan.
Initially, there was an outpouring of dissatisfaction aimed at the main clan. They tried to placate the Shengsu Faction, but it stood firm in its stance.
Discussions were held, letters exchanged, and time was given for the Shengsu Faction to cool down. But even after a long time, their attitude remained unchanged.
“We’ve given them enough time. There was ample opportunity for dialogue, yet the Shengsu Faction remains unresponsive.”
“This is a final notice. Let’s send someone to determine the Shengsu Faction’s fate.”
Recognizing that the Shengsu Faction truly dreamed of independence and was sincerely asserting themselves as the main clan, the Moyong clan dispatched Moyong Seo and two others along with the authority of the main clan.
“Aah…”
Until those conclusions were reached,
Moyong Yeon-hwa was solely devoted to polishing her martial arts in the Training Hall.
Regardless of whatever discussions arose regarding the Shengsu Faction or within the Moyong Clan, Moyong Yeon-hwa remained immobile in the Training Hall.
Moyong Yeon-hwa was completely focused on her training, only briefly hearing the rumors circulating around the clan.
She shut her eyes.
She wanted to turn away from her inaction.
She felt ashamed.
Given the pretext that it wasn’t her place to intervene, she had failed to pay proper attention to the Shengsu Faction while focusing solely on her training. What made her say that was regretful and sad?
Great Achievement Canon.
She had used the notion that matters of great importance require rules and principles as a shield.
According to the principles, intervention was difficult.
Thus, not intervening seemed acceptable.
People-Oriented.
She should have thought about the faction and how to consider and protect the hearts of the branch clans instead of following those principles, but she didn’t.
Moyong Yeon-hwa didn’t want to leave the training hall. She just wanted to focus on completing the Paedo Il-hui and the Ban Yeon Mu Wol swords and elevating her own realm.
She figured she could just wait to assist until they asked.
Holding onto such excuses, she masked her indifference.
In Moyong Yeon-hwa’s heart, a counterargument surged up.
“This is unfair.”
“How much care was I supposed to give to people I had only seen briefly in childhood, to distant branch clans thousands of li away?”
“How could I overturn the judgments made by the elders of the main clan regarding the Shengsu Faction?”
At that time, she was merely a child, and just by diligently learning the foundational duties of the Moyong Clan, she felt she had fulfilled her obligations.
The inner voice whispered to Moyong Yeon-hwa like that.
