The Fortunate Sword God of the Zhuge Clan - Chapter 4

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 4.
Jegal Cheonseong was taken aback.
‘Did my youngest possess such mettle all this time?’
His youngest had been confined to his room for years on account of illness.
Because of that, he always seemed to think his very existence was a burden to others, and with each passing day he had grown only more frail.
This was the first time Jegal Cheonseong had heard him speak with such confidence.
And the claim itself—that a spy was hidden within the Main House, and that only he could expose them?
As a father, it gladdened him; as a member of the Jegal Clan, it kindled his curiosity.
“I ask again.”
Jegal Cheonseong regarded Moo Heun with a solemn expression.
“You truly believe a spy has infiltrated the Main House, and that you alone can apprehend them?”
“Yes, Father. I speak no exaggeration.”
Jegal Cheonseong paused, then stroked his finely groomed mustache with an air of deliberation.
As head of the Clan, he could not afford to be swayed by the words of a sickly youngest son.
Yet paradoxically, as a father, he was intrigued.
‘He is not one to lie for mere fancy.’
Though he did not place complete trust in Moo Heun’s claim, Jegal Cheonseong knew the boy’s acuity better than anyone.
Perhaps not a spy outright, but something suspicious had surely caught his attention.
“Can you procure both the spy’s identity and proof of the Mok Clan’s involvement in a mere two days?”
At his father’s question, Moo Heun smiled.
“Without question.”
Moo Heun flexed the Po Gwon in his gaunt hands as demonstration.
“Moreover, I can turn back the Mok Clan’s claws entirely.”
Something flickered in Jegal Cheonseong’s eyes.
“Ha, I haven’t even determined yet whether this is the Mok Clan’s doing.”
“Still, Moo Heun, I’m glad you’re eager to take on the task, but don’t overextend yourself.”
Moo Young too dissuaded him, concern coloring his voice.
But Moo Heun’s expression brimmed with composure.
“Two days is ample time. Truth be told, circumstantial evidence already abounds.”
“When confronting a martial clan, no amount of caution is excessive.”
Moo Heun nodded quietly in agreement.
“A wise word, sir. But surely, the more dangerous the plan, the more one should move only when conviction is absolute?”
Jegal Cheonseong’s right eyebrow rose slightly.
“Those are my own words, aren’t they?”
“Three years ago, Father. At that time, you….”
“The explanation suffices. It means you hold this conviction with unwavering certainty.”
Jegal Cheonseong exhaled softly.
It was awkward to continue when his own words came back to haunt him thus.
Above all, seeing his youngest son show such eagerness, he found himself wanting to indulge the boy’s determination, just this once.
“Moo Heun, I entrust you with the matter concerning the Mok Clan Heirloom.”
At last, the Clan head’s decree fell.
Moo Heun swallowed a cry of triumph and took up his Po Gwon again.
“I shall not fail you.”
“However, there are two conditions.”
Jegal Cheonseong held up his index and middle fingers.
“First, if you do not prove your theory within two days, the matter of Ha-su shall revert to my direct oversight.”
A reasonable stipulation.
Two days would suffice—no difficulty there.
“Second, you shall not leave the Main House directly in connection with this matter.”
“Pardon?”
It was Moo Young who voiced the objection to the second condition.
“Father, even if Moo Heun is remarkably clever, wouldn’t he need to move about to gather evidence?”
At Moo Young’s question, Jegal Cheonseong let out a small laugh.
“Since you suggest as much, Moo Heun, if you have errands that require going out, ask your brother to handle them.”
“Eh?”
Moo Young’s face twisted as the sudden burden fell upon him.
“Ha, I understand you have nothing to do for the next two days. You surely wouldn’t refuse to help your brother?”
At his father’s jibe, Moo Young hesitated a moment, then sighed.
He had recognized it for what it was—a trap designed to ensnare him.
“No, I… I suppose I shall assist. Yes, I will.”
Moo Young’s reluctant acceptance.
Jegal Cheonseong watched with a mischievous smile.
All of it kept pulling at the corners of Moo Heun’s mouth.
Being with these two stirred up old memories he’d thought long buried.
Moo Heun swallowed those memories and opened his mouth.
“Thank you. There will be no need for me to venture beyond the Main House.”
At his words, Moo Young’s face brightened.
“Really? Truly? Ha! What a shame that is!”
Jegal Cheonseong, watching Moo Young’s thoroughly unconvincing display of disappointment, turned to Moo Heun with a slight click of his tongue.
“You mean to resolve all of this without ever leaving the Main House?”
Moo Heun nodded lightly.
“Yes. I need only to meet with the spy. Everything else is of little consequence.”
Whether he left the Main House or not hardly mattered.
Staying within it was actually better.
The spy was still here, after all.
“Very well. Since I entrust this to you, proceed as you see fit.”
The second condition was offered with the thought of frail Moo Heun—an attempt to keep Moo Young close by his side.
Jegal Cheonseong couldn’t imagine how it would work, but if the matter could be resolved without the clan leaving the Main House, there was no harm in it for him.
He could indulge his son’s ambition while easing his worry for his sickly younger son.
“There is no need for concern, Father.”
Moo Heun understood his father’s heart well enough.
At his son’s response—as though he knew exactly what his father was thinking—Jegal Cheonseong’s expression grew satisfied.
“Good. If there is anything else you need, tell me. I will help, provided it does not put you in danger.”
“Ah, now that you mention it, there is one thing I would ask of you both.”
Moo Heun stated his need at once.
“Two days hence, you will be meeting with the members of the Mok Clan, yes?”
“That we shall.”
“One quarter watch period after the meeting begins, one of the elders will stand as though to visit the privy.”
Jegal Cheonseong nodded slightly.
“One quarter watch period? How can you be so certain?”
“A greedy man can tolerate wearing the mask of the Orthodox Path for only so long before acting. That span of time is about all he can manage.”
At Moo Heun’s answer, Jegal Cheonseong nodded with a faint smile.
“It sounds plausible enough, but how can you speak with such certainty based on that alone?”
“It may not come to pass. But I believe it will, with near certainty.”
Moo Heun’s face showed complete conviction.
“When it does, half a watch period later, please bring the Mok Clan head to the Garden Hall.”
Jegal Cheonseong stroked his mustache, and a smile played at the corners of his mouth.
“This is almost like prophecy. Even reading the will of heaven, one could hardly be so precise.”
“Prediction rather than prophecy would be the more accurate term. It is merely deduction from circumstance and evidence—very much like reading the will of heaven, in fact.”
At Moo Heun’s words, Jegal Cheonseong nodded as though he agreed entirely.
“Very well. If your words prove true, I will drag the Mok Clan head out by his own collar if I must.”
At this affirmation, Moo Heun smiled broadly and bowed his head.
“Thank you, Father.”
“But first, you must find the spy. You understand that, yes?”
At his father’s question, Moo Heun nodded.
“Yes. The spy will approach me first.”
“Interesting. Do you have a plan?”
“I do. A very certain one.”
“What is it?”
Moo Heun answered without hesitation.
“To do nothing at all.”
***
Cough!
Back in his room, Moo Heun covered his mouth with his sleeve as he coughed, his attention torn from the book before him.
The coughing came frequently—a consequence of his zealous explanations to the two men.
Yet Moo Heun’s lips curved upward at the sight.
‘No blood. It never gets old, no matter how many times I see it.’
Before the Regression, blood would have spattered across the pages of whatever he was reading, and it would have been troublesome.
Though he had recovered somewhat since returning to the past, Moo Heun’s body remained far more frail than that of his peers.
But happiness is relative.
Walking left him breathless quickly enough, but his legs no longer ached.
His hands, once too weak even to hold a brush, trembled only slightly now.
The characters that had blurred before his eyes were now crisp and clear—a happiness he didn’t take for granted.
‘And if I’ve gained the ability to sense Opportunity as well, then someday, perhaps….’
Moo Heun’s hopeful thoughts were interrupted as he shook his head.
‘Don’t get ahead of yourself.’
He needed to focus on what lay before him now.
Just as he reached to turn another page—
“Young Master, I’ve brought water and medicine broth.”
The expected visitor had arrived.
“Ran, come in.”
Creak—
At Moo Heun’s word, the door swung open and a maidservant entered.
Ran, a maidservant of the Jegal Clan.
Her chestnut hair and lively expression made her stand out as she set the medicine broth on the threshold and spoke.
“Young Master, were you reading again?”
At Ran’s playful question, Moo Heun offered a slight smile.
“As a son of the Jegal Clan, how could I abandon the pursuit of learning?”
“Still, though—is there truly a book in all the estate that Young Master hasn’t read?”
“Not that I know of.”
“Really?”
Ran’s expression betrayed her genuine shock at the answer.
Of course, normally even Moo Heun would not have read every text in the Jegal Clan’s collection at eighteen years old.
But the Moo Heun now inhabiting this eighteen-year-old frame was different.
“Still, reading the same book again yields new understanding each time.”
At fifty-eight, Moo Heun had read every text in the Jegal Clan’s archives at least three times over.
He had visited the Moorim Alliance’s Archive Library fewer than three times and still retained vast knowledge from it.
Reading had been his treasured pursuit—a man whose weak constitution made travel difficult had little choice but to find solace in books.
“On the first reading, you focus on content; on the second, you wonder why the author thought this way.”
Moo Heun took a sip of the water Ran had brought and turned another page.
“Only on the third reading can you truly absorb the material through your own perspective.”
In truth, the fourth and fifth readings still yielded fresh insights.
But seeing Ran’s expression, Moo Heun chose not to elaborate further.
“Um… that’s harder to follow than usual. Your tone sounds so… grown-up somehow.”
“Ah, does it?”
“Right now! You sound exactly like some sixty-year-old grandfather!”
Ran’s remarkably accurate observation drew an intrigued look from Moo Heun.
While he wasn’t quite sixty, she had come remarkably close to the truth.
‘True enough—my speech fits my real age, even if this body is eighteen.’
But he would have to live as eighteen from here on.
“Would such a manner of speech make it difficult to build friendships with peers?”
“Pardon? No, your tone is… well. Actually, yes—at that level, it would be rather difficult.”
If that was the case, he would need to pay attention to it for the sake of his future relationships.
“Wise counsel. I’ll take it to heart.”
Moo Heun laughed warmly and accepted Ran’s advice.
“I’m not sure what’s changed, but I’m glad it helped!”
Ran continued with a bright smile.
“So books need to be read twice, is that it? Sigh. Even one reading is hard for me—I’ll probably never manage it in my lifetime.”
At Ran’s complaint, Moo Heun shook his head.
“You’re mistaken. You’re doing better than I am in this regard.”
“Me? No way… I can barely read—”
“I’m not speaking of books.”
Moo Heun’s eyes shifted to the ornaments hanging from Ran’s sleeve.
Bracelets she wore to match the other servants, rings and trinkets gifted by merchants—things like that.
“People are like books too. There is much to learn, and one glimpse reveals nothing, does it?”
“Well… I suppose that’s true.”
“Yet you take pleasure in observing people repeatedly, and others find themselves wanting to see you again and again.”
Moo Heun set down his book and looked at Ran directly.
“In that sense, you surpass me. Books cannot walk—I must go seek them out.”
At Moo Heun’s praise, Ran laughed shyly, scratching her head with embarrassment.
“Heh, hehe. Is that so? Well, I suppose I am a bit like that!”
At Ran’s smile, Moo Heun found himself grinning back.
Yes, this maidservant called Ran was such a child.
A girl who possessed a brightness capable of bringing joy to those around her.
And so, until Moo Heun saw Ran again in his second life, he had never known this truth.
“But Ran, if I may ask you something?”
At Moo Heun’s question, Ran’s face broke into another smile.
“Of course! Feel free to ask me anything!”
Moo Heun rose from his seat and crossed the threshold to stand before Ran.
True to his reputation as a member of the Jegal Clan—lanky yet tall—Moo Heun stood at six foot three.
Ran, scarcely five feet in height, tilted her head back to look up at his face.
“Did the Mok Clan say they would accept you as a member of their household?”
At Moo Heun’s question, shock flooded across Ran’s face.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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