Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Translator: Penny
Episode 7
All eyes in the Ten Thousand Scrolls Pavilion turned to focus on the scene.
The children's eyes sparkled with excitement, as if they were eagerly anticipating how the boy would discipline Zhuge Munhyeon.
They must feel the same way, he thought. Forced here by their parents, just like me.
Of course, the attendants who had accompanied them could only pace anxiously. They couldn't intervene in their masters' quarrel, but leaving it unchecked might lead to disaster.
Sohye, however, was different.
"Young Master, your words are too harsh. How could you say such a thing...?"
"Shut your mouth, you wench! How dare you speak so disrespectfully to me!"
Thwack!
Sohye flinched as the book the boy had thrown in a fit of anger struck her face.
The book lay fallen on the floor.
Seeing Sohye in pain, a fiery rage surged within Zhuge Munhyeon.
Yet he calmly walked over, picked up the book, and asked the boy in a composed tone, "Hey. I'm just curious—that 'lowborn blood' nonsense... was that directed at me? Or were you talking about my mother?"
"Hmph! Figure it out yourself."
"Hmm, 'figure it out yourself,' huh?" Zhuge Munhyeon nodded at the boy's sneer.
So that's how it is.
He couldn't let this go even if it were just for what the boy had done to Sohye. But to dare insult his mother...
At his age and with his reputation, fighting with a child seemed absurd. Yet the lid on his seven-year-old mind had been blown wide open.
I'll take care of this myself!
The moment he made up his mind, his body moved.
His small feet closed the distance in an instant.
The boy, who had learned only the basics of martial arts, tried to defend himself, but he was still just a child.
He might have stood a chance against an adult, but against someone his own age? There was no way he could block it.
The booklet in his hand swung in a cunning arc and struck the boy's nose.
Thwack!
Caught off guard by the unexpected blow, the boy clutched his nose and stumbled backward.
Serves him right. I hit him with the corner.
"Y-Young Master!"
The boy's attendant, who had never imagined he would actually strike him, tried to intervene, startled.
But when the attendant met Zhuge Munhyeon's gaze, he flinched and froze in place.
"Don't interfere. Unless you want to die..."
The attendant swallowed nervously at the boy's chilling voice and fiercely glinting eyes.
He's only seven years old... What kind of look is that?
A sudden chill ran down the attendant's spine, causing him to falter.
The boy scowled and thrashed wildly.
"You! Do you even know who I am?! I'm—"
Thwack!
Before he could finish, Zhuge Munhyeon's fist, freed from the book, slammed into his face.
"Aaaah! ...Blood! Blood!"
How powerful could the fist of a frail seven-year-old who hadn't even begun proper training be?
But repeated blows to the same spot would inevitably cause a nosebleed.
And the moment blood gushed forth, the fight was as good as over.
That's just how kids are.
Blood is another word for fear.
At that age, both the one being beaten and the one doing the beating often panic at the sight of blood. But for Zhuge Munhyeon, it was merely a familiar sensation, temporarily buried in his memory.
"I don't care who you are. What matters is that you insulted my mother."
Thwack!
The third punch landed with even more indifference.
From the fourth strike onward, Zhuge Munhyeon grabbed the boy by the hair and swung him mercilessly.
Thud!...
Blood splattered everywhere.
Not only the boy's face, but also Zhuge Munhyeon's untrained fist was taking a beating.
By this point, the horrified attendants began desperately trying to pull Zhuge Munhyeon off the boy.
"Y-Young Master! You can't do this!"
It was the strength of adults—far beyond what Zhuge Munhyeon could handle.
But.
"I told you clearly to let go."
"Y-Young Master..."
The attendants, overwhelmed by the chilling authority in his voice, involuntarily released their grip on his robes.
Cold and ruthless.
The oppressive aura was so palpable it made them flinch.
Though young and small, at that moment, he was the Heavenly Demon incarnate.
The punches continued relentlessly, the fallen boy kicked and stomped upon, his screams ignored.
Then, it happened.
"What's going on here?!"
A guard, alerted by the commotion, rushed in and hastily blocked Zhuge Munhyeon's path.
"Move."
"I can't."
"I said, move."
"..."
Even the guard was stunned.
Blood dripped from the fists of this still-growing child. The venomous glint in his eyes sent a chill down the guard's spine, forcing him to swallow nervously.
The guard grimaced and glanced at the fallen boy, already unconscious.
"This is the Young Master's cousin, Elder Brother."
"So?"
"Huh?"
"What does this have to do with me? Move."
Munhyeon's gaze had already shifted. The guard realized he needed to persuade him.
Of course, the guard was utterly perplexed.
He didn't yet understand the situation, but he sensed that letting things continue unchecked would lead to disaster.
"Young Master, please forgive this rudeness."
The guard, who had failed to stop Zhuge Munhyeon from approaching the fallen boy, now reached out. Using a technique called the "Suppressing Hand," he aimed to immobilize the boy without harming him, as Zhuge Munhyeon was a descendant of the Zhuge Clan.
It was a simple maneuver, but the guard believed it would be sufficient to restrain Zhuge Munhyeon, who was still too young to have learned proper martial arts.
But then...
Huh?
The guard was stunned.
As Zhuge Munhyeon approached, he lowered his stance and slipped out of the guard's grip as if he knew the flaw in the technique.
How could a seven-year-old evade even such a basic maneuver?
"Wait, just a moment. If this happens...?"
This was no time for shock.
The Guard twisted urgently, reaching to seize Zhuge Munhyeon's shoulder.
A precise grip, targeting the exact spot.
Even if it meant causing injury...
But his efforts were futile.
The Guard's hand closed on empty air.
"W-what is this?"
He had missed.
He had failed to grasp the movements of a child who hadn't even begun martial arts training.
How could he have known?
Though Munhyeon had never trained, as the former Heavenly Demon, he had already witnessed the Zhuge Clan's Qin Na Technique through his father, who had once yearned to hold his hand.
Moreover, his technique was far more refined than the Guard's, allowing him to easily evade even hesitant strikes meant to avoid causing injury.
"Ah..."
The Guard's face twisted in pain.
Zhuge Munhyeon showed no sign of stopping...
"Young Master!"
"..."
In that instant, Sohye threw herself over the fallen boy's body.
"Please stop! You can't keep going! Think of your parents!"
Only after Sohye's desperate plea did Zhuge Munhyeon's movements cease.
The boy was immediately carried to the Infirmary.
Thanks to the swift efforts of the attendants, news of the commotion at the Ten Thousand Scrolls Pavilion spread like wildfire.
"You wretch! Do you even realize what you've done?!"
A middle-aged woman, having rushed to the scene upon hearing the rumors, glared venomously at Zhuge Munhyeon, who knelt in the courtyard before the pavilion.
She was the boy's mother.
Only then did Zhuge Munhyeon learn the boy's identity.
Ten years old, Zhuge Mungi.
The fifth son of Zhuge Domyeong, one of the Patriarch's brothers, and Zhuge Munhyeon's cousin, three years his senior.
That's all? When he asked if I knew who he was, I thought he was someone important.
Regardless of right or wrong, a younger brother striking an elder brother disrupted the Zhuge Family's strict hierarchy.
Yet Zhuge Munhyeon held his head high, meeting the woman's gaze unflinchingly.
"He deserved to be hit, and I deserved to hit him."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Despite her furious outburst, Zhuge Munhyeon remained defiant, his composure only fueling her rage.
"This insolent brat doesn't even know what he's done wrong! What are you all waiting for? Beat him until he admits his fault!"
The woman's eyes blazed as she screamed at the top of her lungs, but the attendants merely exchanged nervous glances.
"You imbeciles! Do you want to share his punishment?"
Her wrath finally turned on the attendants.
"Let me ask you something," Zhuge Munhyeon said, his expression unnervingly calm for a child.
"What?"
"How do you usually speak of my mother?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Mungi said she was of lowly birth. Have you ever said such things before?"
"What's that got to do with—"
"They say children are mirrors of their parents. Mungi wouldn't have said such things without reason."
His words, delivered with a cold, upward gaze, seemed to freeze the woman's tongue.
It was immediately clear: Zhuge Mungi's words were merely echoes of his mother's habitual phrases.
Her name was Dang Yeojin, a member of a collateral branch of the Tang Clan, the dominant force in Sichuan.
In contrast, Baek Suhyeon was the daughter of a musician.
Such was the way of the Martial World—its inhabitants considered themselves the most superior of all.
Even those from the Major Merchant Houses were often looked down upon. How much more galling must it have been for Dang Yeojin to have a "mere" Artist Family member as her elder sister-in-law?
Tang Clan and all their nonsense.
If he still possessed the power from his previous life, he would have severed her head on the spot.
Then, holding her severed head aloft, he would have marched to the Tang Clan, demanding retribution for their failure to properly educate their children, and wiped them from the face of the earth.
But now he was just Zhuge Munhyeon, a seven-year-old boy.
He had no power.
He could do nothing.
Even so, his temperament wouldn't allow him to endure it.
Speaking out against wrongdoing required nothing more than a mouth.
True to his Zhuge Clan heritage, he fought with words, confronting her with unwavering dignity.
"Aunt, you should apologize first."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"The Myeongsim Bogam, Chapter on Reflecting on the Mind states: 'When you see faults in others, first reflect on whether the same flaws exist within yourself before criticizing them.' Shouldn't you discipline your own son before scolding me?"
He had known this passage before, but his father's recent emphasis had etched it vividly in his memory.
Perhaps because of this, Dang Yeojin's face flushed crimson as she knelt before him, feeling as if he were interrogating and lecturing her instead.
"You insolent brat! How dare you disrespect not only your elder brother but also your aunt?"
"I'm not disrespecting you, Aunt. I'm merely pointing out what you seem to know but fail to act upon."
"Shut your mouth!"
"I'll shut up the moment you apologize."
It was for his mother's sake.
For the woman who had shown him maternal affection, he held his head even higher.
"Very well, you insolent brat! We'll see how long you can maintain this arrogance!"
Enraged, she snatched a club from her attendant's hand and strode toward Zhuge Munhyeon.
Just then, a thunderous voice boomed through the hall:
"What is all this commotion?!"
The attendants and martial artists immediately prostrated themselves on the floor.
The Patriarch and his retainers had arrived.
The Main Hall wasn't far from the Ten Thousand Scrolls Pavilion, so he had come there directly.
But then...
"Patriarch! Please hear me out! What kind of law allows such a thing?"
"..."
"Mungi must have made a slip of the tongue in his youthful folly. But how could a younger brother strike his elder brother? Especially since Mungi is now hovering between life and death from the beating. When I reprimanded him, he glared at me and shouted back! Please, Patriarch, uncover the truth and punish him accordingly!"
Suddenly, she dropped her staff and collapsed to the ground, bursting into tears. The whole scene felt like watching a scene from Peking Opera.
Is she even sane? A slip of the tongue? How can she change her expression so quickly? Seriously, this is beyond absurd. I can't stand listening to this anymore.
Just as he was about to retort to her nonsense, Zhuge Doyun strode through the center of the commotion.
His footsteps were heavy.
"Munhyeon."
"Yes."
"You..."
Zhuge Munhyeon frowned at his father's rigid expression.
He's going to scold me. Well, he is a Zhuge after all. Even if he loves Mother, there's still the family hierarchy to consider... Go ahead and get angry. I've been reflecting on my filial duties through the Myeongsim Bogam, but even if he's my father, I won't back down.
"Are you alright?"
"Huh?"
"Your fist is badly injured."
"Ah, that... that's..."
It was unexpected.
His father, his face contorted in a deep frown, knelt down and tore a strip from his own robe to wrap around his injured fist.
"You don't think you were wrong, do you?"
"...Yes."
"And you won't offer any excuses?"
"Yes."
"I understand. I believe you."
"Huh?"
"If it wasn't your fault, this father will always stand by you. Even if I can't fight for you and must bow my head in apology."
Despite arriving late and not knowing the full story, Zhuge Doyun asked his son nothing.
He simply said he believed him when he said he wasn't at fault, patted his shoulder, and called over Sohye, who had been pacing anxiously nearby.
"Sohye, move Munhyeon to the infirmary. His hands are badly injured."
"Huh?"
"What are you doing?"
"Yes!"
Sohye rushed over to support him.
"Ah, Father."
"It's alright. I'll handle the remaining issues. Don't worry about anything and focus on getting proper treatment."
His warm smile made Munhyeon's chest tighten with emotion.
"Elder Brother-in-law! What do you mean? Munhyeon..."
"Sister-in-law."
"..."
"Please tell me each and every crime my son has committed. If they are justified, I will personally administer the punishment."
Dang Yeojin fell silent, her mouth clamped shut like a mute who had swallowed honey. Zhuge Munhyeon watched his father's retreating back.
Having always been ahead of others, he had never paused to admire someone else's back. He had never leaned on anyone before.
But what had his own back felt like to someone in the past? Had it seemed as large and dependable as his father's did now?
It was impossible to know.
Yet he regretted rejecting his father's attempt to hold his hand.
From now on, he thought, he wouldn't mind holding his father's hand.
📝 Translator’s Note:
You may notice that certain lines or phrases in this novel appear both in their original Korean (or Hanja) form and in English translation.
This is intentional — these phrases are classical idioms, divine titles, or poetic expressions that carry layered meanings.
To preserve their original tone and authenticity, the raw text has been kept for reference, while the English interpretation is provided right before or after it. This helps convey both the literal and cultural nuance of the original work.
but if you guys dont want tha raw for future chapters or my future other novels u can just text me on discord and say so discord name Mr.Penny