Volcanic Age - Chapter 24

It wasn’t difficult to locate Zhuge Sega, so Gu Pung proceeded to where they were congregated.

 

Guizhou’s area wasn’t very large, making it challenging to approach them without a force of equal rank.

 

Other visitors, especially martial artists, could only observe from a distance due to the wall they had erected, which prevented them from getting any closer.

 

The 14th gallant sword, please!

 

Gu Pung was greeted by a middle-aged man who was wearing a scholar’s outfit, had a goat-like beard, and raised his hand from a distance.

 

“Oh, isn’t it the Goatie Minister Zhuge Zak? It’s been a long while.”

 

Gu Pung and Zhuge Zak knew each other.

 

“It has been three years.”

Zhuge Zak glanced behind Gu Pung.

 

“By the way, it looks like the young ones behind you belong to the Lotus Peak. Is their protector perhaps the Fourteenth Gallant Sword?”

 

“You saw it correctly.”

 

“Haha, what a coincidence. I’m also in the same situation as you.”

 

Zhuge Sak glanced at the people that were on hold behind him. The age and the gender of the group were varied but they had a similarity of having a thin body.

 

“Zhuge Sega has also brought the children that will become the next brilliant generation of the 

Righteous Faction. I think that this is also fate so if it’s fine with you I would like to create a place of harmony to interact with each other. They are all my nieces and nephews.”

 

“Nice to meet you, great master. It’s an honor being able to meet the Fourteenth Gallant Sword I have only heard through rumors.”

 

Zhuge Zak had three nieces.

The youth that stood at the front was eye-catching and he had white skin, a sharp jaw, and outstanding beauty.

 

If it wasn’t for his voice, which had changed through puberty, or his clothes one would mistake him for a woman because of his beauty.

Behind him were a boy and a girl that weren’t adults yet, just like Ju Seo Cheon.

 

The boy had his shoulders drooping and his face couldn’t be easily seen due to the gloomy atmosphere.

 

In the case of the girl, she was bright and proud compared to the boy. Her beauty was also considerable, although it wasn’t comparable to Nak Seo Wol.

 

“Oh, are you perhaps…”

 

Gu Pung’s eyes turned wide and looked at the youth. It seemed like he realized who this youth was.

 

“I am called Zhuge Sang. In Kang Ho, I am called by the embarrassing nickname of Beautiful Jade Confucian.”

The youth blushed and smiled bitterly.

 

“I was wondering why you were so familiar! So you were a young master of the Zhuge family!”

 

Gu Pung placed a fist on his palm and mumbled as if he was correct. The Beautiful Jade Confucian, 

Zhuge Sang. His beauty was known to the world early on even though he was a boy.

 

But besides that, he also had a reputation for being the one that would lead the Zhuge family.

 

“I am Zhuge Suran. Brother Sang is my stepbrother.”

 

The introduction of Zhuge Suran was a bit insensitive so Gu Pung flinched at that moment but then passed it as if it was nothing.

These kinds of things were common in a great family like the Zhuge Clan.

 

“Ah, Zhuge Suran!”

 

Jang Hong got surprised at the name Zhuge Suran and let out an exclamation. Everyone nearby turned to look at him.

 

“Oh my, I’m sorry.”

 

Jang Hong scratched his head and apologized as he thought that the introduction got cut off because of him.

 

“There’s no need to feel sorry. On the contrary, I’m happy that a member of the Lotus Peak knows Suran.”

 

Zhuge Sak smiled proudly.

 

“How would I not know about her? Of course, I know her.”

Jang Hong glanced at Zhuge Suran and flushed.

 

The existence of Zhuge Suran itself was enough to light up a fire in the heart of a boy that only trained all his life.

 

In addition, all males tend to be attracted to the opposite sex, whether they are kids, adults, or the elderly. This was an unchangeable law.

 

Zhuge Suran was the daughter of another woman but she was still a daughter of the family, so it was unavoidable that her fame would spread.

 

Most of all, she looked dignified since she was young but also became popular because of the intellect she possessed. As expected of someone from the Zhuge Sega.

 

Because of these reasons, no one could see her lightly even though she was the daughter of another woman.

 

“That’s an excessive compliment but I’m still grateful that you speak that way about me.”

 

Zhuge Suran didn’t smile but still replied with softer eyes than before.

 

Jang Hong’s face turned even redder, like a ripe persimmon.

 

“And…

 

“I, I’m called….Zhuge…Seung-Kye…”

 

A little boy the same age as Zhuge Suran. Zhuge Seung Kye introduced himself with a crawling voice.

 

A voice with no strength, drooping shoulders, and no confidence. That was the opposite of Zhuge Suran.

 

“Um, I’m lacking knowledge so I don’t know much about this young noble. I’m sorry.”

 

Gu Pung tilted his head slightly.

 

“It’s obvious as Seung Kye doesn’t show himself even in the Zhuge Sega. He’s a lacking child so I hope you understand. He is a good child.”

 

Zhuge Sang stood next to Zhuge Seung Kye and patted his shoulder.

 

It was a nice smile.

 

“Haha, it seems like he will get along well with you, brother.”

 

Jang Hong hit Ju Seo Cheon’s shoulders and mumbled. He was claiming boldly that he was looking down on Zhuge Seung Kye.

 

“If it’s fine with you, could you introduce me to the young nobles that will bear the future of Mount 

Hua?”

 

Zhuge Sak looked at the three members of the Lotus Peak with interest and asked. Gu Pung answered that he could obviously do that and introduced Jang Hong first.

 

On the other hand, Ju Seo Cheon, whose introduction got put last, was looking at one place fixedly.

 

‘Hahaha!’

 

He wanted to laugh out loud right now.

 

His excitement didn’t settle down like before.

 

It had been like this ever since the name of the Zhuge Sega came out. A strange sense passed by his spine.

 

His eyes were still looking at that one person.

 

‘Honestly speaking, I wasn’t even expecting you to be here. I just had my hopes.’

 

He didn’t know what happened in this generation but there were a big number of people that would be remembered as heroes.

 

Zhuge Sang, the one who would be called the Thousand Man Army in the future, was one of the figures that represented those figures.

 

Zhuge Sang showed extraordinary abilities even before he turned thirty, while Murim was filled with war, and got recognized.

 

Zhuge Sang’s skills and quality were recognized even before he inherited the Zhuge Sega family and became a commander of the Murim Association.

 

But he became a target of the enemy forces precisely because of his extraordinary abilities and got assassinated five years after he became a commander.

 

‘I was planning to somehow convince the merchant king after I met him to find you.’

 

After that, the position of commander of the Murim Association was inherited by his step-sister, the beautiful schemer Zhuge Suran.

 

While Zhuge Sang was active, Zhuge Suran had assisted him by his side and her abilities weren’t normal either.

 

If Zhuge Sang was proficient at military tactics and strategies, Zhuge Suran was proficient at unseen schemes.

 

People saw these two and praised them for being connected deeper than anyone else, even though they were born from different bellies.

 

The countless strategies, tactics, and schemes that came out from the Murim Association in the age of war came mostly from these two.

 

The world saw them and said that Zhuge Liang [1] was reborn after being separated as a man and woman.

 

Fortunately, the Beautiful Schemer managed to survive by being aware of the surroundings of the Thousand Man Army but she died when the age of war ended.

 

The cause of her death was ironically the same as the.

 

Thousand Man Army, assassination. She was aware and careful but in the end, she wasn’t able to avoid it.

 

And one more person…

‘The Late Partner of Heaven, Zhuge Seung Kye!’

 

He was the figure Ju Seo Cheon was looking for as the number one priority just like the merchant king.

 

He was a bit surprised when he heard the names of the Thousand Man Army and the Beautiful Schemer but he didn’t think it was weird.

 

The two people were rumored to have a strong bond between brother and sister. He also knew long ago that the two of them had been together since they were young.

 

Also, the direct bloodline of the Zhuge Sega visited the nearby Kaiyang to check the situation so it was also understandable that they were there.

 

But that wasn’t the case for Zhuge Seung Kye. He wasn’t able to hide his surprise as soon as he saw him.

 

The Late Partner of Heaven, Zhuge Seung Kye, was not originally someone that would come to this kind of place. 

 

Originally, he was planning to entrust the merchant king or use another method to find him.

 

He did have his hopes when he heard that the Zhuge Sega was at Kaiyang, but he didn’t raise his hopes too high.

 

Ju Seo Cheon also thought that there was no way for Zhuge Seung Kye to come to this place.

 

That is…because he was so incompetent that it was doubtful whether he would even be able to get out of Hubei.

 

“Tch tch, no matter how incompetent you are, you make people stifled and annoyed. Fix that attitude of yours.”

 

When the introduction of the members of the Lotus Peak ended, Zhuge Sak clicked his tongue and looked at Zhuge Seung Kye as if he was pathetic.

 

“Look at the young nobles of the Lotus Peak. They are this outstanding even though they are the same age as you. I wouldn’t rebuke you like this if you were even half as competent as them.”

 

Zhuge Seung Kye didn’t say anything and just lowered his head. He had lowered it so low that they couldn’t even see his face.

 

“What Sega requested from you isn’t anything great. Just practice the basic energy circulation like everyone else, stop practicing something useless like the Art of Machinery, and study the Fortune Telling Battle Tactics!”

 

Gu Pung didn’t know what to do. 

 

He had a really troubled expression.

 

Zhuge Sak didn’t mind his surroundings at all and reprimanded Zhuge Seung Kye in his face.

 

Zhuge Seung Kye still held his head low and stood still without saying anything. He didn’t even move.

 

“Uh ahem.”

 

It seemed like Zhuge Zak’s excitement calmed down after having gotten angry for a long time and cleared his throat.

 

After that, he looked towards the side of Mount Hua’s group and apologized with a sorry face while scratching his head.

 

“I’m sorry for having shown such disgraceful behavior in front of the young nobles and the Fourteenth Gallant Sword. I just hoped that this kid would look at the members of the Lotus Peak of Mount Hua and reflect on it.”

 

“It’s fine.”

 

Gu Pung scratched his head and smiled bitterly.

 

“The time we will be doing the mission together will be short but I hope you don’t mind me and scold him as much as you want. It’s a serious matter as he still hasn’t gotten a hold of himself. He is completely useless right now but I hope he changes through this mission.”

 

Zhuge Zak started to curse again. 

 

It was to the point that he made the people watching him exhausted.

 

“This is all because of your actions! You brought this upon yourself. That’s why you are called the Poor and Weird Scholar!”

 

He was weird for getting involved with things that didn’t matter.

 

It was the nickname he had obtained before going out to Kang Ho.

 

He wasn’t known in all of Kang Ho but at least that nickname was quite well known in Hubei, where Zhuge Sega was located.

 

It was an obvious thing but that nickname didn’t mean anything good.

 

This was also the reason why Ju Seo Cheon hadn’t been expecting Zhuge Seung Kye to come here.

 

The current treatment of Zhuge Seung Kye was the worst in Murim and even inside the Zhuge Sega.

 

‘Right, it’s unavoidable being treated like that.’

 

A technique that was abandoned was The Art of Machinery.

 

Zhuge Sega eventually turned its back on it at that moment.

 

That was because even The Demonic Path’s Second Generation ignored the Arts of Machinery.

 

If the enemy troops had employed it, they may have developed an interest in it or at least tried to learn the technique, but neither of those things happened.

 

In the end, there was not much evidence left by either side and today it is all but forgotten.

 

Even without Zhuge Seung Kye’s improper instruction in the Zhuge Sega family’s martial arts, studying the Arts of Machinery was cause for reprimand.

 

No, more specifically, he had tried to study it but lacked any aptitude for it.

 

Compared to other martial artists, the Zhuge Sega lineage had no aptitude for learning martial arts.

 

First off, the Zhuge Sega was a family where the brain was more exceptional than the body.

 

In all honesty, it didn’t matter if they were bad at martial arts. What the Zhuge Sega was proud of was their head, the Fortune Telling Battle Tactics, etc.

 

But Zhuge Seung Kye had no talent at all. He wasn’t even at the level of a normal martial artist.

 

It was hard to even find someone with the worst talent like him, and as he didn’t even study the Fortune Telling Battle Tactics it would be weirder if he didn’t get cursed at.

 

***

 

Note from Imagine:

[1]: Zhuge Liang is a famous strategist from the Three Kingdoms Period of China. Zhuge Liang is often regarded as one of the if not best strategists to have ever lived. There’s a quick history lesson for you guys :)…(He’s also in the Three Kingdoms games).

 

Translated: novel multiverse 

Edited: beetlesme