The 44th Son of the Heavenly Demon is a House Husband!?

As a Househusband, Ensuring Security Is Vital (3.3)

…

Commissioned by Ichypa

…

I wrote letters to Father often to provide updates on my status. After his approval of me was made obvious when he officially met Seol, lack of communication on my part would have been seen as me rebuffing him for ignoring me. Some in the clan would say that’s the least I could do considering my station under him, but those same idiots are probably now hunting demonic beasts nonstop to fill the clan’s coffers.

The power of just turning the other cheek is not to be underestimated in the world of cultivation.

His replies that came through messengers were usually drafted by one of his ministers. If he ever wrote something himself, it would arrive through one of his secret agents and basically be something I’d need to drop almost anything for. If they came normally through regular channels, then it was just us keeping dialogue open.

Anyway, through those letters, I informed him of our recent discovery of the Yin-aligned young woman and inquired about any lost members of clans with the bloodline in Orthodox faction lands. Yin-aligned young women were mostly found in the unorthodox factions, and they were rarely born with so much potential without careful breeding practices. Usually, they were just sickly babies who died in their first winter.

I thought Father would just send information along, but instead my arrival to the Namgoong clan was met with a complication.

The complication was that the Yue Xiang Clan was present as guests.

The guest compound that they were in was cold even under the noon sun. The guards stationed outside their gate were covered in heavy furred coats. The trees inside lost their leaves, thinking it was already winter.

They were the premier assassins and most stalwart supporters of the Demonic Sect. Five of Father’s lovers stemmed from their clan. One of whom was a wife, and four were consorts. However, she wasn’t just one wife of a dozen. She was one of the first three, each of whom fought with him and his companions during the war and his ascent to becoming the Heavenly Demon.

If the Yue Xiang Clan was here, that meant that whoever went missing and whoever this child’s mother was, she was someone important from the previous generation. A previous generation of renowned warriors and assassins that made Father’s victory possible. They rivalled the orthodox faction’s Emei sect, who were all potent aura-sheathed weapon users. Their energy-sapping abilities were practically the only counter to the Emei sect. If not for them, they would have sawed through enough of the unorthodox faction to force a draw.

Father lavished them with rewards for their sacrifices in the war and took in five of their clan, while sending his children with proficiency in their art to them. Only two other clans could claim the same level of favor from him, and they were affiliated with the two other wives of the triumvirate.

They were typically not allowed to be in orthodox lands, but here they were as guests under the mark of the Heavenly Demon.

Needless to say, I needed to tread carefully.

“Announce our presence, if you would.” I told the nearest guard, and he gave a quick bow and obeyed. With Seol beside me, they were at their best. I had a coat arranged for the child, but just in case I invoked my own martial art. Since most of the combat arts were out of my reach, I focused on the sensory portion. The Demonic Field Art involved putting out Yang Qi into the environment to debuff and mark enemies and make most Demonic Arts easier to execute for oneself and their allies. A light application of it lowered the effect of the Yin-based Qi absorption field greatly. “Lady Namgoong, I have neutralized the passive effect of the Yue Xiang Clan. The path is yours.”

“Thank you, Rui.” I bowed in acknowledgement of her thanks. She had her calm mask on as always and wore a grand furred overcoat over her robes as she moved in. It floated just off the ground, not touching it, as a showcase of her own ability to manipulate objects with qi. We entered the guest compound and found much of it lightly coated in frost. In my presence it was abated, but still it was an odd sight. “They truly cannot rein this technique in?”

“Not without partaking in Namgoong’s warriors.” I told her the truth bluntly, and she raised an eyebrow but gave a slight nod. “And, if they brought their own, their numbers would have been too great to be considered good guests.”

“I see.” Seol nodded, and the guard who went ahead bowed before standing just a few steps by her side. The three representatives from the Yue Xiang Clan left their abode. Each one was clad in well-fitted white robes with silver-colored fur trim. Seol looked at each of them with a narrow gaze, and they stiffened, but she nodded, and they relaxed. “Greetings, representatives of the Yue Xiang clan and honored friends of my father-in-law. I hope that you have enjoyed the hospitality of the Namgoong since your arrival.”

The trio exchanged glances before the central one came forward and gave a deep bow.

“We give our thanks to the Namgoong clan for our speedy reception. Ours was a hasty arrival born from a desperate wish. Our sister was lost deep in Orthodox lands during the war, and upon hearing of a Yin-aligned child, she bid us to come.” The kid we rescued was turning out to be more of a protagonist than I expected. Lost her family to pirates to be raised as a weapon in orthodox lands, but the child of the missing sister of the Yue Xiang Clan’s head? I had no doubt that I needed this kid out of Namgoong lands before tribulations start coming down from the heavens. “And, now, it is all but validated, and our thanks are owed to the Namgoong. She is the very image of my long-lost sister.”

Wait.

‘My’ long-lost sister?

I knelt out of respect instantly at those words and bowed my head.

Seol’s eyes narrowed while the speaker pulled away a skin mask from her features. The visage of a young woman came apart to reveal the face of an older mistress with gray hair and a few wrinkled lines that gave humanity to some eerily perfect features.

She wasn’t just a representative of the Yue Xiang who came.

It was Father’s wife, the head of the Yue Xiang and the mother of the heir apparent of the Demonic Sect and the entire Unorthodox Faction!

Before I could even gather my wits, one of her two attendants did the same and removed a mask, and I almost lost what wits I had left.

“Younger brother, it is good to see you in good health.” Cha Young-Il addressed me with a nod. She had pure white hair and golden eyes. Father’s sharp features were melded with her mother’s softer countenance, but that mattered little. Of all his children, only a handful had valid claims to his position, and all of them ceded it to her. Last I heard, she’d been out closing entire Demonic Realms, but here she was. “I see that Lady Namgoong is as strong as Father stated. I look forward to dueling her as she offered.”

“The most prominent child of the Heavenly Demon and his first wife was both entrusted to the Namgoong. We are honored to be your hosts.” Seol did put her hands together and gave a formal bow, which all three of our guests returned. I stood after a moment, and even though I felt the need to step back, I stood beside Seol. That was all the honor I could show Father’s wife as Seol’s husband. “I shall arrange a place in the guest wing to host the three of you. This auspicious meeting deserves more privacy.”

“I am grateful. The nobility and honor of the Namgoong is not exaggerated in the least.” The first wife of the Heavenly Demon must have been truly grateful. Those words were being heard by the future heir and her daughter, along with their assistant. Without a doubt, Father’s agents were already in the process of reporting the news back to him along with her words. If Father had any ill intentions towards the Namgoong, they were going to be seriously waylaid. “Please, I would like to properly meet my niece.”

I took the opportunity to extricate myself from the situation while remaining dutiful.

“I shall make suitable arrangements while also sending for servants to provide refreshments until they are ready.” Forcing myself to be present would be seen as obtrusive, especially in such a long reunion. If Seol wanted to be present, then she had every right, as she’d been training the child since we met her. I had no intention of being present if I didn’t need to be. “Excuse me for now.”

I gave a bow and let loose a breath as I departed.

Thankfully, no one called for me to return.

…

Interlude: The 7th Sword Saint of the Namgoong Clan, Seol

…

“The Namgoong’s arts have stabilized her innate absorption ability exceptionally. I am thankful that you taught her.” Lady Yue Xiang, the Deathly Blossom, spoke to me with a smile. Her face was almost inhuman in its grace. Too perfect to be anything but a doll, if not for a few lines born from age. This was a woman who, if not countered, would slay entire armies by just being present. Now, the child we rescued sat on her lap with wide eyes while she created balls of snow for her to play with. “The Yue Xiang Clan owes the Namgoong a great debt for returning my niece.”

“We did not do so with the intention of receiving anything. We saw fit to destroy pirates who threatened our ship and rescued her in the process.” I admitted the truth freely, while the legendary warrior across the table gave a hum. She sat before me, while to my left and right were her daughter and their attendant. The attendant had a veil and a hat obscuring her features, and she poured tea and served us all. “You owe us nothing. Let it simply be what those who share familial bonds do for one another.”

“Then, we shall be sure to hold those bonds in high standing as well.” Lady Yue Xiang spoke with an echo of finality before giving me a nod. She looked upon the girl playing with a ball of ice in her hands. Though she smiled, a shadow crossed her features. “There were truly no survivors of her village?”

“We searched the surrounding villages and intended to investigate further. After all, if she had a sister or female relative, they could have the same innate ability. We will inform you if anyone is found; however, she says herself that she saw her parents’ pass.” I told her the truth. Though she only hummed in response and kept calm in the eyes of the child, I could feel a great foreboding energy in the air. Like the woman before me was stopping herself from going to that realm herself and finding all the answers that she could find with the point of her blade. A lesser martial artist would have faltered; I did not. I sipped my tea, which I kept warm even in their presence, and spoke. “I will send word to you of the investigation’s findings.”

My refusal to allow them to investigate was unsaid but inherent in my statement.

The legendary martial artist met my gaze, and her eyes were sharp and testing.

But as great and powerful as she was, I was meant to one day fight and defeat the Heavenly Demon.

She will be a strong foe for my current self, but not an insurmountable one.

I made that fact clear by matching her sharp glare with a calm gaze.

"Fear me and do as you are told," she implied.

To which I wordlessly refused.

Lady Yue Xiang eventually acquiesced to the matter with a small nod.

That was when Cha Young-Il gave a low laugh.

“Now, that’s not something I expected to see. You’re getting old, my dear mother.” The heir apparent to the Heavenly Demon looked my way. I met her gaze as I did her mother's, and a shiver came upon her. A half-baked laugh left her lips before she raised a cup my way. “And, my own pride has been untampered for too long. Father hadn’t made an idle jest. He’s within your reach.”

“As I am now, I would lose with little dignity if we faced one another, but in but a decade our roles will be reversed.” I told them both simply. They kept their nerve, but their servant didn’t. She froze outright after stopping herself from calling me a liar. It gave me the opportunity to show her that I did not speak lightly. “Oh? It seems that you think such is not the case, servant.”

She was no servant.

She was a skilled warrior of the Yue Xiang clan and possibly one of the best of the generation outside the main bloodline. She was entrusted with the role of defending the matriarch and the future of the Unorthodox faction, after all.

But that mattered not.

The moment she had opened her mouth to speak, I revealed to her what she hadn’t been able to see while her charges had been able to.

My dear husband had shown me how to use Yang energy to counter the effects of the Yue Xiang’s art before we entered. With great precision and care, he showed me how to create a field of Yang energy that protected him, myself, and the child. I had marveled at his elegant and disciplined display for a moment before I realized that he gave me the perfect counter to the Yue Xiang while acting as the perfect spouse.

I learned from him and now encased myself and my three companions in my energy.

In this simple field of my energy, I could call upon my lightning to strike with unerring and absolute accuracy with just a thought.

The head of the clan and the heir had realized this, but their guard only realized the truth now.

They were all in the palm of my hand.

“F-forgive my impudence. I am lacking in skill.” The servant eventually admitted and bowed her head to me. Then, she looked to her mistress. “I shall atone with my life.”

Lady Yue Xiang shook her head and raised a hand to dismiss the statement.

“No. The difference in realms was simply too vast for you to grasp the truth. Train until you can grasp it, and you shall be a favored retainer forevermore.” Lady Yue Xiang gave me a nod, and I made my efforts less visible for idle eyes. “Lady Namgoong, I appreciate your efforts. Please, relay to me any signs of my sister you may find.”

I gave a nod in reply and silently thanked my husband for all his care and consideration.

Surprised as we all were by the Yue Xiang clan’s arrival, he crafted a situation in which the Namgoong would gain face and favor with the Unorthodox faction.

Truly, I could ask for no better a spouse to help me lead the Namgoong.