Chapter 80

* * *

Mr. Jeon clenched his head and shouted.

“No, no, you guys! What, what is going on here! Sir, sir!”

“U, uh!”

“I, I’ll go to the restroom! I’ll, I’ll be right back!”

“What did you all eat that made you like this!”

It had been a very long time since the extended family members were gathered at the main house, so to properly entertain them, the people from the Wolyeongjae kitchen were sent to the reception hall. Mr. Jeon was one of them.

He thought everything would go smoothly until the last day.

However, suddenly, several kitchen servants’ faces turned pale, and they began to vomit one after another.

Even a person who was fine would feel nauseous when seeing others vomit, but with several people doing it, chaos ensued.

A servant with a pale face, his eyes bloodshot from vomiting, hesitated and confessed.

“I, I left some of the leftovers in the kitchen…”

* * *

The children were very nervous but did their best.

Dankook Cheon had been revived, and the clan was regaining its former glory. If they could impress the main house and stay, their remaining lives would be smooth sailing.

However, among them, only Danmok Jun could not focus on the current test. It was because of the direct gaze of the young girl from the main line, which seemed to say, “I already know what you did,” a gaze that was impossible to think of as coming from a child of her age.

Seogyeolim was a relative living in the neighboring village of Danmok Jun.

They had maintained contact, claiming that their grandparents had once lived together, but Seogyeolim’s family was not in good condition.

Still, as relatives, Danmok Jun’s family often gave them food supplies and old clothes.

When Seogyeolim’s family was first informed that they had been invited to the main house, they were surprised, but that was all.

Seogyeolim never thought he would come this far. His family could not afford to send a child to Hangzhou.

But still, he scraped together all their savings, prepared the travel expenses, and came out with the excuse that he wanted to see the place at least once, even if he might not be accepted.

Danmok Jun thought it was disrespectful and a betrayal for Seogyeolim to show more talent in swordsmanship than himself.

How could Seogyeolim, who grew up eating the food and wearing the clothes given by Danmok Jun, dare to think of surpassing him?

‘Did he handle the meat properly?’

He only had the servants prepare the food, so he didn’t know what happened afterward.

He never expected to be asked about Seogyeolim.

Danmok Jun had been busy making friends with other children and barely acknowledged Seogyeolim within the clan.

‘No, no. Even if they realize the stir-fry was off, I can say I didn’t know it was spoiled!’

Danmok Jun calmed himself. He didn’t prepare the food.

‘How dare he, a mere grandson, act so wildly…’

If Seogyeolim was a cousin of Dankook Cheon, then Danmok Jun was still a Danmok. Those who were not even Danmoks could no longer be considered part of the same bloodline.

Therefore, it was natural that they should not have been invited to this gathering of the extended family.

‘If the Danmok clan hadn’t sent the invitation to Seogyeolim…’

His dissatisfaction rose, and he bit his lip, gripping the wooden sword.

Although Seogyeolim had learned many miscellaneous things by eavesdropping, Danmok Jun knew he himself was a genius. He had to be the top performer in this test.

His grandfather, who taught him swordsmanship, always praised him as a genius.

— Born to an orphan and now without a father, it is you, Jun, who should become the next head of the family!

— You can’t lose to a collateral branch that isn’t even a Danmok, can you?

— How can you only do this much! No, you can do better. Didn’t you inherit the talent of this grandfather?

Danmok Jun shuddered. Even if he passed and stayed in the clan, it would be meaningless unless he was first.

He had heard that his grandfather almost became the head of the family, the best in the world. As the eldest grandson of such a grandfather, he had to pass confidently.

At that moment, Danmok Hyunwoo quietly observed him.

Suddenly, Danmok Jun felt as if he couldn’t breathe.

‘What, what is this?’

“Draw your sword.”

“Huh? Y-Yes!”

Danmok Jun snapped back to reality and hurriedly drew his wooden sword. He had been staring blankly at Danmok Hyunwoo, lost in thought.

“Then come forward.”

“I, I’m coming!”

His voice trembled involuntarily. Feeling ashamed, Danmok Jun blushed and quickly moved his feet to take a stance. After that, he would use this wooden sword…!

Clang!

But in just one exchange, the wooden sword flew out with a crisp sound. His hand, which had lost the sword, felt numb.

Danmok Jun was flustered and bewildered, staring blankly at where the wooden sword had flown. At the same time, Danmok Hyunwoo’s weapon touched his neck.

“Even though this looks like a friendly match, you can’t be distracted in the middle.”

“…!”

This quick end was only for Danmok Jun.

His face turned bright red with anger and shame. He couldn’t understand the current situation.

How could he, who wasn’t even a Danmok, lose his wooden sword in just one exchange with the youngest son, Danmok Hyunwoo?

Danmok Hyunwoo looked down at Danmok Jun’s eyes and said quietly.

“It’s not easy to pass this test while having other thoughts. Focus your mind and practice diligently….”

“I, I couldn’t concentrate for a moment! Please, just once more….”

“Would you ask for one more chance when you meet an enemy?”

Danmok Jun bit his lip at Danmok Hyunwoo’s question. Tears welled up in his eyes.

“That’s true, but please, just once more….”

“Alright, that’s enough. Next!”

“Master, please step back.”

“L-Leave me alone!”

Despite lowering his pride and pleading desperately, Danmok Hyunwoo did not accept it.

Danmok Jun, with a face full of humiliation, fiercely shook off the hand that held him and stomped down from the platform.

At that moment, Danmok Jun realized that his next opponent was Seogyeolim. His face contorted in anger as he glared at Seogyeolim.

However, Seogyeolim, who always wore the old clothes given to him, calmly looked at Danmok Jun once and then stepped onto the platform.

* * *

Yeon watched Seogyeolim, who was being sparred with by Danmok Hyunwoo, and activated her divine eye. A star-like glow began to float over her pupils.

With a talent of Upper-Lower (上-下), this level was superior to Danmok Seong.

Seogyeolim had only learned the first level of the Twelve Swords of Naksung and the first level of Muhanbo, but considering his family’s financial situation, his level of mastery was due to his talent and effort.

Indeed, Danmok Hyunwoo, unlike before, seemed to enjoy the sparring and exchanged a few sword strikes.

“Ah! You thought of moving like that?”

“H, Hah!”

Danmok Hyunwoo seemed excited by Seogyeolim’s unconventional and witty movements and even pointed out the weaknesses he exposed at the end.

Seogyeolim, however, was so focused on blocking the sword that he couldn’t even respond.

However, he couldn’t go any further. Seogyeolim had been suffering from vomiting and dizziness until just before reaching the training ground. He had only managed to hold on for a short while thanks to Yeon’s purification.

When Seogyeolim staggered, Danmok Hyunwoo was surprised and caught him.

“U, uh! W-What to do! Are you okay? Doctor, doctor!”

The doctor, who was on standby, quickly ran over. At the same time, Yeon also jumped down.

Seogyeolim was a talent who could become a pillar of the clan, so he couldn’t be treated carelessly. Yeon quickly told the doctor.

“Seogyeolim ate spoiled meat and kept vomiting, but he endured and took the test just now.”

Seogyeolim, surprised, lifted his head and then felt dizzy again. The doctor nodded with a concerned look.

“Ah, it’s meat poisoning. But since he vomited it all out, his condition is relatively good. I’ll give him a detox pill and the juice of reed roots to drink and have him rest. …But how did he end up eating spoiled meat?”

The doctor subtly glanced around. The food for the gathered extended family members was handled by Mr. Jeon from the Wolyeongjae kitchen.

Mr. Jeon, who had the ambition to become the best chef in Zhejiang Province, had been putting his heart into everything since losing the black moon chicken from Wolyeongjae. For such a large-scale accident to happen…

‘Mr. Jeon might cry when he hears about this.’

The doctor, who often made late-night snacks for Mr. Jeon, secretly hoped that the boy had eaten something wrong outside.

“It was….”

At that moment, several people ran over, and a sharp, ringing voice that was hard to believe came from a child echoed.

“Danmok Jun! Kne