Became the Trash of the Cheon Family
****
Prologue
“They say in the old sayings that people are not meant to be fixed and used.”
Why was it that I only came to realize those words after a sword was stuck in my back?
Pu-uk!
The sword pierced through the back.
“Keo-eok!”
A fountain of blood soared up.
I sneered at the futile end that was approaching.
I had devoted my entire life to the family, but.
The price that returned was a sword piercing my back.
‘Is this mere thing the price of loyalty?’
The past life flashed by like a revolving lantern.
Mumyeong, the one without a name.
Taken in by the Gaju (Family Head) of the Cheon Family, I was called Mumyeong instead of a name.
『Protect this child. That is the reason for your life.』
Mumyeong trained harshly.
All of this was to become the escort warrior of the Cheon Family’s Eldest Gongja (Young Master), Cheon Muryang.
‘Why did I not know back then that he was a terrible mangnani (trash/scoundrel).’
However, Cheon Muryang was a mangnani.
The Gaju only harshly pushed Cheon Muryang, who was going astray.
Was it because of the rebellion against that?
Cheon Muryang became a mangnani.
Even after becoming the Gaju, that mangnani temperament did not change.
‘Gaju-nim, are you watching? You should have…… rather abandoned that mangnani.’
It was already too late even when Mumyeong became the escort warrior.
Because Cheon Muryang’s mangnani temperament was already completed by then.
In the beginning, it was somewhat endurable.
Because the Gaju was alive then.
However, the Gaju died suddenly.
‘After that, Cheon Muryang became the Gaju and…….’
Amidst the great chaos, Cheon Muryang became the Gaju.
However, nothing changed.
The family fortune tilted rapidly, and those who dedicated their loyalty to the Cheon Family were all chased out.
In the end, only jackals who flattered and fawned remained.
‘Should I have…… left even then.’
I should have left.
Even so, Mumyeong guarded Cheon Muryang’s side.
I tried to support the collapsing Cheon Family somehow.
However, the things Mumyeong could do were extremely limited.
In the midst of that, Cheon Muryang made an irreversible choice.
‘He drew in the Demonic Cult.’
I still did not know the reason.
However, Cheon Muryang joined hands with the Demonic Cult.
‘You did something that should not be done.’
When Mumyeong realized this, it was already when the Demonic Cult had revealed its true colors.
In an instant, the Cheon Family was engulfed in flames.
The Cheon Family, which I tried to protect all my life, ended up walking the path of extermination so futilely.
“The price of devotion…… was this sword.”
The revolving lantern ended.
Time flowed again.
Chaeng-geu-rak.
The sword fell.
When I turned my head to look at the one who stabbed the sword, a hollow laugh came out.
Beol-beol-beol.
I saw the Gaju of the Cheon Family, Cheon Muryang, who was trembling.
“I did everything to save you, Gongja…… yet the one killing me is you, Gongja. Did they say they would save you if you brought my head?”
I understood.
He must have wanted to live.
Because of that, I could not understand.
Mumyeong laughed coldly.
“Did you think that was the way to survive?”
If he wanted to live.
He should not have drawn them in.
“You are wrong.”
Cheon Muryang did not know.
That all of this was a game to them.
Seo-geok.
Cheon Muryang’s head fell.
It was a destined end.
The end of the Eldest Gongja, whom I tried to protect so much, was this unsightly.
“It was foolish.”
I sneered.
That ridicule was directed entirely at myself.
“From the beginning…….”
I should not have served the Eldest Gongja.
Kul-leok!
I vomited a handful of blood.
As if even the blood had already died, it was black blood like pitch darkness without a single trace of red.
“No. Who would I blame…….”
In a situation that has come to this, who would I blame, and who would I resent?
“It is just regretful.”
Because I could not unfold the will of the blue clouds.
It was just regretful that I could not achieve the dream of becoming a master of the Gangho and standing tall.
Also, the deaths of the innocent ones who would die in this place today were just regretful.
Mumyeong looked at the black shadows surrounding him and sneered for the last time.
“I do not want to be born as Mumyeong (No Name) in the next life, though.”
Pu-uk!
Dozens of swords pierced Mumyeong.
Ju-reu-reuk!
Blood flowed.
Like that, the nameless one died.
<><><>
Chapter 1: Reincarnated
****
‘Cold.’
Death was cold.
I thought that was the end.
Jol-jol-jol.
However, along with the sound of water flowing suddenly, the thought that my feet were cold occurred.
“Ah! Cold!”
I opened my eyes.
It did not seem to be the afterlife.
“Does this mean I am alive?”
The sword that pierced the back.
And the sensation of dozens of swords that took my life piercing my flesh was still vivid.
However, what on earth was this ticklish sensation?
“Gong, Gongja-nim?”
An unfamiliar voice was heard from below.
Naturally, my head went down.
And a young sibi (maidservant) was fumbling with my feet.
“U, u-aak!”
“W, why are you doing this? I, I made a mistake! Gongja-nim!”
“N, no. I was dizzy for a moment…….”
Mumyeong quickly calmed his surprised heart.
‘It is not unfamiliar.’
Even from the voice, it was not unfamiliar.
The sibi washing my feet was also clearly a face Mumyeong knew.
“Are you not Wolyeong?”
“Yes, Gongja-nim. That is correct. If I perhaps made a mistake, please forgive me generously.”
Wolyeong was a sibi who served the Eldest Gongja.
And Wolyeong was also a child who always received abuse from the Eldest Gongja.
Bu-reu-reu.
Therefore, although she was continuing to speak with a calm expression, she could not hide her trembling hands.
Mumyeong, who saw this, harbored a doubt.
‘She is different from the Wolyeong in my memories.’
In his memory, Wolyeong was a woman as cold as snow.
He remembered her as a woman who did not reveal any emotion even at the persecution of the Eldest Gongja.
‘She is still young.’
However, how is this appearance now?
She was a young sibi stricken with fear.
The emotion called fear was felt intact.
‘How on earth did this happen?’
Mumyeong asked Wolyeong.
“By the way, why do you call me Gongja? Where is Gongja Cheon Muryang?”
“Yes?”
The fear disappeared for an instant.
The emotion that replaced that spot was doubt.
“Gongja-nim, you are Gongja Cheon Muryang, aren’t you?”
“Wh, what?”
Mumyeong instinctively looked at the basin placed at his feet.
The appearance reflected in the water was the face of the coward who stuck a sword in him, Cheon Muryang.
“Th, this is what kind of……!”
It was something that could not happen.
I dismissed it as a dream, but I knew better than anyone that it was reality.
“Wolyeong.”
“Yes?”
“How old am I?”
“You are dedicated this year.”
“Mm…….”
Jihak was fifteen.
Since Cheon Muryang’s age was merely thirty on the day Mumyeong died.
It meant I had gone back against the flow of time by a whopping fifteen years.
‘It is a ridiculous thing. How did I become the Eldest Gongja?’
It was something that could not happen.
I dismissed it as a dream, but I knew better than anyone that it was reality.
Therefore, I asked.
“I will ask one more thing.”
“Yes?”
“Is there a person called Mumyeong within the family?”
Wolyeong contemplated for a moment.
No matter how much she thought, there was no such name.
“No. There isn’t.”
“Right, is that so…….”
My existence disappeared.
Mumyeong received a strange feeling.
‘I became Gongja Cheon Muryang…… and because of that, did I, Mumyeong, disappear?’
A hollow laugh came out.
‘Even though I said I did not want to be born as Mumyeong before dying…….’
How could I reincarnate as the lord I served?
Ppu-deuk.
Cheon Muryang gritted his teeth.
To simply dismiss it as a dream, the life Mumyeong experienced was too vivid.
The one who led the Cheon Family to extermination in the destined future was none other than Cheon Muryang.
‘I could not stop it.’
Mumyeong could not stop this.
The gruesome sensation of the moment of death was still vivid.
‘Right. Perhaps this is an opportunity.’
It might be an opportunity.
The opportunity to correct the Cheon Family that Cheon Muryang ruined, that is.
‘I do not know the reason. I do not know how it became like this either. No, it does not matter.’
Regardless of how the reason came to be.
By whatever principle I reincarnated.
It did not matter.
‘I protect the Cheon Family.’
That was the act of protecting myself and the act of protecting the Eldest Gongja, Cheon Muryang, which was Mumyeong’s mission.
‘I must accept it.’
Mumyeong died.
Also, Mumyeong had to accept that he had become Cheon Muryang.
‘I am Cheon Muryang.’
Mumyeong’s consciousness changed to Cheon Muryang just like that.
Wolyeong looked at such a Cheon Muryang and asked cautiously.
“Gong, Gongja-nim?”
“Right, Wolyeong.”
Cheon Muryang looked at Wolyeong and smiled.
Wolyeong was someone who had suffered severe hardships because of the mangnani Eldest Gongja.
Even so, Wolyeong did not leave the family until the moment the Eldest Gongja died.
Because he knew this, Cheon Muryang could trust Wolyeong.
“Let’s get along well from now on.”
Cheon Muryang smiled and patted the shoulder of Wolyeong, who could not hide her perplexity.
“……?”
Wolyeong could not hide her panic.
Before she could even manage her expression, Cheon Muryang thought about what he had to do right now.
“The martial arts uniform?”
“Ah, it is here.”
Wolyeong opened the closet.
Inside, stiffly ironed martial arts uniforms were organized densely.
Seeing this, Cheon Muryang clicked his tongue.
Because it looked as if he had never worn them even once.
“Tsk.”
“Shall I prepare comfortable clothes?”
“No. There is no need for that. Because it seems I will only wear this martial arts uniform from now on.”
The Cheon Family was a martial family.
The martial arts uniform should be no different from everyday clothes.
Cheon Muryang told the destination to Wolyeong, who had not yet adapted.
“I will go to the Cheonryong Library.”
“Yes? Cheonryong Library?”
“Right. Is there a problem?”
“N, no! There is no way that is true.”
“And bring one more set of martial arts uniform.”
“Yes?”
“Because I plan to go to the training hall after going to the Cheonryong Library. It is good if there are clothes to change into, right?”
“Ah…… Yes!”
Wolyeong nodded her head.
It was thanks to remembering that other sibis always carried spare martial arts uniforms.
“I, I will prepare.”
“Right. I ask of you.”
Wolyeong went out.
Cheon Muryang took off his clothes.
Then, he observed his body condition.
“Eueum…….”
Cheon Muryang was a natural-born 'gold spoon'.
Therefore, from the time he was born, they fed him all sorts of spiritual elixirs as well as performed Body Cleansing and Marrow Washing.
“That was the problem. To this mangnani Eldest Gongja, that was poison…….”
Cheon Muryang made a bitter smile.
Even though he was born in an environment blessed for a martial artist, this foolish mangnani kicked away that blessing.
Generally, whether it is spiritual elixirs or Body Cleansing and Marrow Washing, if one accepted external energy, one had to change it into one’s own through ceaseless effort.
“He should have melted the energy of the spiritual elixirs through training. Because he did not do this, he had to give up many things.”
Spiritual elixirs were essences that harbored different energies each.
So, it was a natural sequence that a collision would occur between the spiritual elixirs.
To prevent this, one had to melt the energy of the spiritual elixirs with mental cultivation methods, but since he did not train at all, Cheon Muryang’s body reached the point of collapsing from the inside.
“Hoo-woo. There were already such signs from this age. There must have been quite some pain…….”
The result of observing the body.
The energies of various spiritual elixirs were in the middle of a power struggle in lumps.
The reaction had already appeared.
The bloated flesh was that example.
“Tsk.”
Perhaps the fact that the mangnani temperament became more severe as days went by was also to forget this pain.
“Eldest Gongja, I have absolutely no intention of living a life like yours.”
I did not want to see the appearance of the Cheon Family falling.
Also, I did not want to face a miserable end.
It was not merely a problem of his own.
‘The countless people who died for the family.’
Wolyeong was the same as well.
Countless family members of the Cheon Family had to die.
‘I protect them, including myself.’
To do that, I had to become strong.
Kkwa-ak!
I intended to become strong.
“So, do not think it is unfair. It is because I intend to walk the path you should have originally walked instead.”
Hil-kkeum.
A sword entered Cheon Muryang’s vision.
The Cheon Gwang Sword (Heavenly Light Sword) given to the Eldest Gongja of the Cheon Family was a famous sword.
However, since the owner was the owner, in the previous life, the sword also used to receive harsh criticism, saying it was pearls on a pig’s neck.
“You too, do not be sad that the owner has changed.”
Hoo-woong!
Cheon Muryang grasped the sword.
Then, a clear and resonant sound that had never been heard even once in the past was heard.
The will of the sword was conveyed.
“Thank you. First, I must maintain you.”
Before going to the Cheonryong Library.
Cheon Muryang had to first maintain the Cheon Gwang Sword, which had been neglected for a long time and was piled high with dust.
Then, wearing the Cheon Gwang that regained its light, Cheon Muryang stepped outside.
“Ah…….”
The sunlight poured down.
The sensation I thought I would never feel again tickled Cheon Muryang.
“I really have been born anew…….”
There was no time to fall into sentimentality.
Cheon Muryang headed straight for the Cheonryong Library.
“Gongja-nim!”
I saw Wolyeong waiting in advance in front of it.
“Right. Anyway, since only I can enter inside the library, rest comfortably near here.”
“Yes?”
Wolyeong’s two eyes opened wide.
Although she thought the mangnani Eldest Gongja was strange since morning, it seemed something had really changed.
“Gong, Gongja-nim.”
“Hm?”
“By any chance…… did the stir-fried mushrooms you ate yesterday not fit your taste?”
In other words, it meant, did you eat something wrong?
Cheon Muryang shrugged his shoulders.
“I do not know if you will believe it or not, but it seems I was able to be born anew because of those stir-fried mushrooms.”
“Yes?”
It was a remark that made even less sense.
Leaving behind Wolyeong who fell into confusion, Cheon Muryang intended to enter the Cheonryong Library.
Cheol-keong!
If only the martial artists guarding the library did not block him.
“What is this?”
“Those who are not permitted cannot enter the Cheonryong Library, Gongja-nim.”
“Do I not have that qualification?”
“That is correct. The Gaju has withdrawn that qualification. Have you forgotten?”
“Ah, was that so?”
Only then did I remember.
Since he had so no intention of learning martial arts, the Gaju completely eliminated even the authority to enter the Cheonryong Library.
The inner intention was for him to realize his mistake and beg for forgiveness, but how would the rare mangnani know that meaning?
‘He probably said yippee and just drank alcohol.’
Since I became different now, I intended to see the Gaju first.
It was to beg for forgiveness and regain the authority to enter the Cheonryong Library.
“The Gaju has gone on an outing.”
“When does he return?”
“We do not know about that.”
What could I do?
They say he is not in the family.
Cheon Muryang lightly praised their hard work in undertaking the guard duty.
“It can’t be helped. Then, keep up the good work.”
“…….”
I pretended not to see their slightly surprised eyes.
‘No, did they think I would cause some disturbance?’
The brand called mangnani stamped on Cheon Muryang was more tremendous than thought.
Cheon Muryang approached Wolyeong.
“They say I do not have the qualification.”
“Ah…….”
Wolyeong grasped the situation tactfully.
She probably expected that he would go back again and tell her to bring out alcohol.
“Well, I should train until the Gaju returns. Since I know the basic martial arts.”
“Yes?”
The martial arts permitted to him in the past were all of the Cheon Family’s basic martial arts.
Since it was enough to become the escort warrior of the Eldest Gongja with just that, it was sufficient.
“Did you hear wrong? I am going to the training hall. You follow too.”
“Ah, yes yes!”
Since there was no way Wolyeong had a choice, she chased after the back of Cheon Muryang who was walking with long strides.
‘Please let there be no incidents…….’
Hoping that there would be no incidents.
There were many training halls inside the Cheon Family.
Originally, the training hall closest to the Cheonryong Library was a place only for Cheon Muryang, but that qualification was also revoked, so now it became a public training hall that everyone used.
Hwik!
Hwik-hwik!
Countless trainees were swinging swords and polishing themselves.
Those who immersed themselves in martial arts day and night were those whose goal was to become official martial artists of the Cheon Family.
To such people, Cheon Muryang’s existence was merely a mangnani whom they did not want to acknowledge as a lord, even though he was the legitimate eldest son of the Cheon Family.
“Where is a spot.”
Meom-chit.
As Cheon Muryang, who was called the rare mangnani, appeared, everyone’s movements stopped for an instant.
Gazes were focused on one place.
However, whether he knew this or not.
Cheon Muryang took a spot in the corner of the training hall.
“Sit there and rest.”
“Ah, yes!”
Cheon Muryang pulled the maintained Cheon Gwang out of the scabbard.
“Eueum. As expected, a famous sword is different.”
Since the sword Mumyeong held in the past was just a cheap iron sword, it was good to the point comparison was impossible.
“I can’t make the excuse that the sword is bad now.”
Kkwa-ak!
He grasped the sword.
Since it was not the body of the past that was full of calluses, a rough feeling was felt.
‘Feeling the weight of a sword is…… how long has it been?’
The sword held with a new body.
It was unfamiliar, but somewhere, it was fluttering.
‘I.’
Hoo-ung!
Clear sky.
Cheon Gwang soared toward the sky.
‘Can become strong.’
Cheon Gwang, containing that aspiration, fell toward the earth.