The Outcast Writer of a Martial Arts Visual Novel

The head of the Tang Clan abandoned his first love, even though she carried his child, for the sake of his clan and position.

Whether it was by his own will or not. And then one day, the child of that first love appears before him and says—

“I didn’t come to be recognized as your son. Unlike you, I’m standing here now because I was willing to risk everything for the one I love.”

Is there a father in the world who could remain unmoved by such words?

“My woman? Are you in that kind of relationship with the Poisoned One’s child?”

“What other reason is there between a man and a woman worth betting one’s life on?”

I said this with a proud expression to the Clan Head of the Tang Clan.

His eyes twitched ever so slightly. It hit him, just as expected. Even for a master capable of maintaining inner peace, if this didn’t shake him, he wouldn’t be human.

Of course, it wasn’t just the Clan Head who was stirred by the mention of “my woman.”

“So the rumors were true.”

“I heard from the Medical Pavilion guards that they didn’t stop their little love affair all the way here.”

“I was told they were practically living together already.”

“Hooh. Isn’t that a problem? Two children of the Tang bloodline...”

“One is a bastard of a bastard from a collateral branch, and the other is an illegitimate child of the direct line. In terms of kinship, there’s no issue.”

“Aha.”

Thank goodness. Hwa-rin is dozens of kinship degrees apart from the main line. In the modern world, even if two people have the same last name like Kim, if their bloodlines are far enough apart, they’re legally strangers. But not here.

Even South Korea only passed the law banning same-surname, same-origin marriages in the late ’90s. Imagine what it’s like in this world.

If I had said what I just said in a different clan, like the Namgung Clan or the Jegal Clan, there would’ve been a public hearing by now.

Thank the heavens it’s the Sichuan Tang Clan.

The clan has developed a particular culture because of its isolated valley terrain and its distaste for leaking family techniques to the outside world.

And luckily, the Tang Clan is one of those martial arts families that tolerate distant kin love stories as long as the surnames match but the bloodline doesn’t.

“I heard a rough summary from the Pavilion Head. Did you really write this book just to contact her without the spies finding out?”

The Clan Head held out a copy of Storm of the Tang Clan as he asked me.

To be honest, I didn’t think things would go this far. But since I sowed the karma, there’s no one I can complain to. I swallowed the small desire to tell the truth and nodded, speaking plainly.

“There was no other way to save Hwa-rin. If I’d hesitated even a little, Tang Geo-ho would’ve taken her away.”

There’s no one in the Sichuan Tang Clan who doesn’t know about the blood feud between Tang Geo-ho and the Medical Pavilion. Even if I spread the clan’s secrets, no one would question the intention behind my actions.

“You did it knowing that spreading the clan’s secrets could be considered a crime?”

Of course I didn’t. Who the hell would expect to be dragged to the Tang Clan and interrogated just for using a few lines from someone’s diary?

“Of course I expected it. Whether I was accused of leaking secrets or even killed quietly over the succession issue—I considered all of it. But what does that matter? My woman is suffering. My woman could die. So shouldn’t I find the only way for her to live?”

“You’re saying you wrote it knowing you might die?”

At the end of the Clan Head’s voice, I sensed a flicker of disturbance.

This is the moment. I must not miss it. I gathered strength in my voice, pouring all my will into the words.

“A man should be willing to risk his life to protect his woman.”

You couldn’t do it, Tang Clan Head—but I did. Your son threw everything away for love, unlike you.

I looked at the Clan Head with a gaze that condemned him. And maybe he understood. Just for an instant, his composed face wavered with guilt.

Feel more regret. Let the guilt eat at you. Shake harder. Now hand over the Poison Pellet of the Human-Faced Earth Spider.

Avoiding my eyes?

I continued staring at him without saying a word, holding my ground. Eventually, he looked away. I actually made the Tang Clan Head lose in a staring contest. I could brag about that at a drinking party.

Good.

The first gate has been passed. I’ve earned a little time.

Now that I’ve shaken the Clan Head, it’s time to shake the Elders.

I turned toward the Elders, who were still watching me, and opened my mouth.

“I understand the Elders must be deep in thought because of me.”

To obtain the Human-Faced Earth Spider’s Poison Pellet from the Elder Council, I have to strike a deal.

No one here can deny now that I’m the son of the Clan Head. That means I can use the easiest negotiation tactic in the world.

“You think I’m aiming for the position of Young Clan Head? I’m not. I have no need for it. I came to the Sichuan Tang Clan for only one reason. I don’t want anything else.”

The tactic of offering something I neither have nor want in exchange for what I truly desire.

“You’re saying you’ll give up the position of Young Clan Head?”

“You won’t participate in the succession, then...”

They all seem surprised. It’s understandable. When there’s no legitimate heir, it’s not uncommon for a bastard child to become the successor. If the Clan Head officially acknowledges me as his son, the Young Clan Head position could easily be mine.

But I’m telling you—I’m not interested. Staying in the Tang Clan only increases my chances of dying. Why would I stay?

“When I was young, I longed for the chivalrous warriors my mother spoke of, and I poured that into this book.”

I raised Storm of the Tang Clan from my robe, glanced briefly at the Clan Head, then addressed the Elders again.

“The first people I met from the Tang Clan were all true heroes. When they could’ve just handed over my woman, they instead risked their lives to fight the Demonic Sect’s hounds. Every one of them acted with such honor that what I wrote in this book doesn’t even come close. And I believe every one of you here, watching me now, is no less of a hero.”

What lies in their hearts doesn’t matter. I’ll force the frame of “hero” onto them for the sake of logic.

“I believe my presence has clouded your judgment. So I will relinquish everything I could gain. If you are of the orthodox path, if you are heroes, if you are members of the Sichuan Tang Clan—then please, do not turn away from a child of your clan who is in distress.”

You’re orthodox sect elders, aren’t you? From a martial clan that cherishes its own more than anything, right? Frame it that way. Remove myself as the obstacle, and then direct the flow as if they have no choice but to help.

A heavy silence of conflicted thought spread among the Elders.

Can’t let them think for too long.

Silence is fine, but if they think too long, they’ll start seeing alternatives.

Then it’s time for one more move.

“Is it that hard to trust ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) the words of a black-haired bastard? Then let me place a weight on your hearts’ scale.”

I took out the final weight that could stir the Tang Clan’s hearts and set it on the table where everyone could see.

“The Remembrance Ring...”

Someone recognized it and murmured with a groan.

“Sichuan Tang Clan never forgets.”

With the Remembrance Ring in plain view, I invoked the saying of the clan and addressed the Elder Council.

“You’re asking for the Human-Faced Earth Spider’s Poison Pellet in exchange for returning the Remembrance Ring?”

Exactly. But if I say it like that, it sounds like begging. And I didn’t come here to beg—I came to negotiate. I silently shook my head and opened my mouth.

“In my brief life, I’ve learned how easy it is to forget. The Sichuan Tang Clan must know this too—hence the creation of tokens of gratitude and the Remembrance Ring, to remind us not to forget. But what we truly must not forget is not this bracelet.”

“You mean we must not forget the person who brought that bracelet?”

One Elder cut in with a sharp voice.

“No. You may forget a black-haired bastard like me. But...”

I paused, scanning every face in the room.

The Tang Clan Head’s bastard. The Poisoned One of the Tang Clan. And the Remembrance Ring.

Even if I place everything I have on the opposite side, the scale for this sacred treasure remains perfectly balanced.

I have nothing left to add.

Should I give up?

Should I just sit and wait until their side of the scale moves?

No. Now is the time to place something on the scale—not mine, but something they must never forget.

“Please do not forget the dozens of illegitimate children who died because of your indifference.”

The entire room froze at my words.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Dozens of children died under the guise of “Poisoned One experimentation.”

The crime may have been committed by Tang Geo-ho and his subordinates,

but the indifference of the Sichuan Tang Clan toward those illegitimate children was also a sin.

I raised my right hand and placed the tears of those children upon their scale.

“Please, do not forget the Medical Pavilion guards who gave their lives to protect one of your own.”

My heart grew heavy as I thought of those guards.

The ones who had eagerly awaited Volume 3 of Storm of the Tang Clan.

The ones who never hesitated to risk their lives for Hwa-rin.

With my left hand, I placed their sacrifice upon the scale as well.

“Do not forget my woman—who suffered her entire life, lingered on the verge of death, and finally returned to the arms of this clan.”

If only you would help, Hwa-rin could live.

I have given all I have to give.

What are you still hesitating for?

Why do you try to forget? There are things you should never forget.

Even if you forget everything else—please, don’t forget this.

“Please, do not forget that you are the foundation of the orthodox sects. That you are the Sichuan Tang Clan.”

The Sichuan Tang Clan never forgets.

With conviction in my voice, I brought my clenched right fist to my heart.

Pressed by the weight I placed upon them, the Elder Council swallowed their silence.

----------

The first to break the silence was the Clan Head, who had been watching me in wordless stillness.

“Hyang-ah... is she... dead...?”

The Clan Head’s voice trembled, unable to hide the emotion.

He could no longer maintain his stern expression upon hearing of his first love’s death.

“She passed away long ago... from illness.”

“...I see. So that’s how it is.”

Was the shock too great? The Clan Head closed his trembling eyes, then lifted his head slightly as if to suppress a sob. And at last, he spoke.

“...Bring out the Poison Pellet of the Human-Faced Earth Spider.”

Yes!

“Clan Head! This isn’t something to be decided so arbitrarily—!”

“Elder Il!”

“I no longer deny that child’s bloodline! No—precisely because I don’t deny it, this becomes all the more problematic. The matter of succession can’t be brushed aside with a single word. Have you forgotten the Young Clan Head lying on his deathbed?”

“That matter is not one to be discussed here.”

“Too much time has passed. Even if the Young Clan Head recovers, no one can guarantee he’ll ever recover as a martial artist. If that happens, this clan will again be torn apart by succession disputes—just like twenty years ago! Do you truly intend to pass that pain down to him as well?”

“He’s right!”

“The issue at hand is saving a Tang Clan child—not who’s right or wrong!”

“Let’s save the child first!”

“You bastard, you never supported the Young Clan Head—and now you’re just waiting for a chance!”

“The Sichuan Tang Clan never forgets! Of course we must save the child!”

“Let’s give him the Poison Pellet first!”

What a disaster.

It seemed like my words had worked—most of what I was hearing now supported handing over the Poison Pellet—but the opposition still had quite a few loud voices.

“...So much effort to live, yet nothing has changed in twenty years.”

The Clan Head looked around at the Elder Council and muttered just loud enough for me to catch, as if making excuses.

Was he remembering the past?

The broken mask on his face now showed traces of anguish and devastation.

So this is the weight of the Clan Head’s role.

He really did try his best in his own way.

Even the greatest general and king in Joseon’s history couldn’t solve the succession issue, so maybe this wasn’t surprising.

In the end, I’ll have to resolve the final problem too.

“If you give me the Poison Pellet of the Human-Faced Earth Spider right now—

then I will solve the Young Clan Head’s problem.”

I circulated the Soyoon Mental Resonance Technique and projected my voice so all could hear.

“What did you say?”

Everyone stopped bickering and turned toward me.

After all, this whole mess could only be resolved if the Young Clan Head recovers and I give up the right of succession.

“I have a way to bring the Young Clan Head back to full health.”

Now... let’s finish this.