Chapter 60
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Even a Tyrant Can Be a Hero (5)
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*Chomp, chomp.*
“……”
*Munch, munch.*
“……”
“*Burp!* Hey, give me some of that. Is that duck?”
“…You’re asking for it without even knowing what it is?”
“It looks good. Just hand it over. I’m starving to death here.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Order some wine, too.”
“Will one bottle be enough? I’ll order five or six.”
“Do what you want.”
The way Seo Ryang shoveled all sorts of food into his mouth was reminiscent of a devout ascetic. It was the first time Wi Hongryeon realized that someone whose eyes were glazed over with gluttony could also appear so pious.
With a sour look on her face, she filled Seo Ryang’s cup and asked.
“Young Master. Now that you’ve eaten enough, could you please talk to us?”
“I haven’t eaten enough.”
“……”
“Give me that stir-fried vegetable dish, too.”
“Here you are.”
It took less than half an hour for an amount of food that could satisfy five grown men to vanish.
“*Ugh!* Phew, I feel alive again.”
“Did they not feed you at the Hall of Punishments?”
“They did. Stale, sour rice with some dried-up vegetable scraps.”
“What?! They gave you that kind of food, even though you’re the Third Young Master?”
“It’s only natural for inmates to receive equal treatment, isn’t it? I shouldn’t get special privileges just because I’m the Third Young Master.”
“You say that so easily, even though you didn’t exactly leave a good impression on them.”
“Facts are facts.”
Seo Ryang downed the wine, swished it around in his mouth a few times, and then swallowed.
Rinsing his mouth with such strong wine before drinking it—what a peculiar person. Wi Hongryeon clicked her tongue with a fed-up expression.
Ma Dongpil asked.
“Then, I suppose the Hall of Punishments won’t be able to touch you anymore, Young Master.”
“That’s about right. There’s not much for them to touch, anyway. The matter with Commander Wi and the Commander of the True Demon Unit was just them getting caught up in my fight with Hong Wi-mun.”
“That is a relief.”
“There’s nothing to be relieved about. Isn’t that what they say? Life is a series of ups and downs. Things went smoothly this time, but who knows what will happen the next time we get entangled.”
Wi Hongryeon found it strange all over again.
‘Is he really younger than me?’
The Third Young Master was said to be in his early to mid-twenties.
While skill and insight don’t necessarily come with age, the Third Young Master was an extreme case. Whatever kind of life he had lived, the glimpses he showed of it would put any seasoned veteran of the martial world to shame.
In a word.
‘An old soul.’
It wasn’t a fitting expression for a grown adult, but there was no other way to describe him.
As Wi Hongryeon was lost in thought about Seo Ryang, she flinched, realizing his blank stare was fixed on her.
“Commander Wi.”
“Yes?”
“What are you doing? My cup is empty. Fill it.”
“Tch, you can fill it yourself.”
“Then why were you filling it for me this whole time?”
“Was I?”
“Never mind. Do you want a drink?”
“I’d love one.”
Just as he was about to fill her cup, Seo Ryang paused.
“By the way, why are you here? Don’t you have work to do?”
“Well, no specific orders have come down from above. I’m on standby.”
“Are you allowed to drink while on standby?”
“A little bit like this won’t even tickle my liver. You know that.”
“Good for you, the Commander of the Berserk Demon Unit, no less.”
He said that, yet he filled her cup to the brim. Wi Hongryeon grumbled that he was just being difficult when he was going to pour it for her anyway.
Ma Dongpil asked.
“So, is everything over now?”
“Yeah, for now.”
“What about the Fourth Young Master’s side, or the higher-ups…?”
“Hong Wi-mun is crippled, so he can’t make a move, and the higher-ups tend to hush up fights between candidates, so nothing will likely happen.”
Seo Ryang leaned back in his chair. For some reason, his face was etched with fatigue.
“It’s over, for now.”
“You’ve worked hard.”
“Yeah, I think I worked pretty hard this time.”
The fighting was one thing, but the mental toll was surprisingly heavy.
He was fundamentally weak when it came to these complicated disputes. Perhaps because it wasn’t a simple matter of picking one guy and beating him to death, his head was about to explode.
“You two worked hard as well. Running around all over the place because of me.”
“How can you say such a thing?”
Wi Hongryeon nodded while tearing at a duck leg.
“We did work hard. My internal injuries haven’t even fully healed yet.”
Ma Dongpil shot her a disapproving look. Considering what Wi Hongryeon had done, she had no right to say such a thing, even in jest.
Seo Ryang chuckled.
“Right, you worked hard. In the end, it was thanks to you that I was able to take that guy down in turn.”
“Hehe. I knew you’d appreciate it, Young Master.”
“Alright, this is the end.”
At the sudden declaration, the man and woman’s eyes widened.
Seo Ryang placed his hands on the table and stood up.
“Now that things have more or less wrapped up, you should all return to your respective units. You too, Commander Wi, and especially you, Dongpil. You’ve been sticking to me for too long.”
“…Pardon?”
“Are you just any Protector? You’re not a regular member; you’re the Third Squad Leader. You need to return to the field.”
“Ah…”
“And Commander Wi.”
Wi Hongryeon’s expression hardened.
“You too, stop running around causing trouble and do your job as a commander properly.”
“I’m already doing it properly, even if you don’t tell me to.”
“Good, just keep doing that. Like you used to.”
“……”
“I’ve pretty much finished eating, so I’m heading out. Aeng-hwa will be worried.”
With those final words, Seo Ryang descended the stairs, leaving only Ma Dongpil and Wi Hongryeon on the fifth floor.
“……”
After a moment of strange silence, Wi Hongryeon broke it, grumbling as she lifted her cup.
“He’s really so cold. Does he have to cut things off so clinically?”
It wasn’t that he was severing ties, but his words telling them to return to their duties kept lingering in her mind.
After downing three or four more cups, Wi Hongryeon finally revealed her true feelings.
“Tch, that was disappointing. We went through that mess together, you’d think there’d be some camaraderie. He’s too much.”
Then again, it was something that would have happened eventually, even if the Third Young Master hadn’t said it.
In a way, it could be considered the Third Young Master’s own form of consideration. A way of telling them not to worry about pointless things and to focus on their real jobs.
Wi Hongryeon spoke to Ma Dongpil.
“Isn’t that right, Ma—”
She couldn’t finish her sentence.
Ma Dongpil’s face was as stoic as ever. But for some reason, Wi Hongryeon found it difficult to speak to him easily.
Staring at Ma Dongpil for a moment, she scratched her head.
“Um… there’s still some wine left. Want a drink?”
“……”
“Hey.”
“……”
“Fine, if you don’t want any.”
“Pour it.”
“Huh? You’ll drink?”
Ma Dongpil didn’t say it twice. Wi Hongryeon licked her lips and filled his cup.
Three rounds of drinks passed without a word.
Wi Hongryeon, cautiously watching Ma Dongpil, opened her mouth.
“Are you disappointed?”
“It is not that.”
“Then why is your face all scrunched up?”
“…It is just.”
Ma Dongpil let out a sigh. He had been sighing a lot more frequently these days.
“It is just how I feel.”
Somehow, she felt she could understand. Unlike her, Ma Dongpil had been by the Third Young Master’s side for nearly a year.
Wi Hongryeon filled his cup again.
“They say that’s how human connections are. Well, you might feel like crap, but what can you do? There’s no reason to stay.”
“……”
“We’ll probably run into each other again. It’s not like he’s going anywhere.”
Just then.
“Waaaah!!”
“The Divine Cult is invincible! Ten thousand demons submit! We greet the Third Young Mast—”
“You bastards! Quiet down! The Third Young Master is passing by!”
“Whoa?! Hey! Get out of the way! Don’t block the Young Master’s path!”
The two were startled by the thunderous shouts erupting from below.
“Wh-what’s going on?”
A moment later.
*Thump, thump, thump!*
Seo Ryang, having rushed up at an incredible speed, was panting for breath.
The two were even more surprised. Seo Ryang’s face was deathly pale.
“Young Master! What is it?”
“*Pant, pant!*”
Glancing around frantically, Seo Ryang’s eyes lit up as he spotted a window.
“Oh, perfect! Over there!”
He rushed to the window, then turned to shout at the two.
“You bastards! Stop drinking so much and go home! How can you be so irresponsi—”
*CRASH! RUMBLE!*
“*Ugh!* Those bastards?!”
Seo Ryang threw the window wide open and leaped out.
“Gasp! Young Master?!”
*Whoosh!*
Soaring through the air like a bird, Seo Ryang plummeted toward the ground.
*CRASH!*
Startled, Ma Dongpil ran to the window and looked down.
“Young Master!!”
Wi Hongryeon’s eyes trembled.
He had fallen five stories to the ground. There wasn’t even a foothold.
No matter how great a master was, a fall from this height wouldn’t end with just a broken bone.
“Are you alri—”
“Aaargh!”
The two stared, their jaws agape.
The sight of Seo Ryang hopping around on one leg was quite comical. His nose was bleeding and his body was covered in scrapes, but overall, he looked remarkably unscathed.
“Sh-shit! I almost crippled my leg!”
If it weren’t for the lower body strength honed by his movement arts, it wouldn’t have ended like this. He survived not because of his body’s durability, but thanks to his agility and ability to disperse the impact.
Of course, even without that, his durability was already beyond human limits.
Seo Ryang looked up and pointed a finger at the two of them.
“You two! Drink in moderation and go home! Got it?!”
With that, Seo Ryang left the Hwayang Pavilion. The way he managed to use his movement technique while limping was rather absurd.
Ma Dongpil, who had been staring blankly at Seo Ryang, let out an involuntary chuckle.
Wi Hongryeon scratched her head.
“Kind of anticlimactic, isn’t it?”
“Indeed.”
“Anyway, why all of a sudden…”
Just then, as if on cue, a crowd of people stormed onto the fifth floor.
They were cultists from the inner sanctum. Though they all had different appearances and belonged to different factions, the excited expressions on their faces were all the same.
“What? Where did the Young Master go?!”
“Don’t tell me, through the window?”
“Gasp! Really?”
“A-amazing. They said he had a clash with the Head of the Hall of Punishments, and his martial arts are as formidable as his personality!”
“*Sob!* I really wanted to greet him personally.”
It was loud and chaotic. A veritable marketplace.
Wi Hongryeon, who had been staring at them blankly, grabbed a nearby cultist and asked.
“Hey.”
“What!”
It was the cultist’s mistake, not knowing he was speaking to the Commander of the Berserk Demon Unit. But he was so worked up that even Wi Hongryeon didn’t hold it against him.
“What’s with all of you? Is something wrong with the Third Young Master?”
“Wrong? Wrong?! What kind of ominous thing are you saying?!”
Wi Hongryeon’s face twisted.
“Then why are you all making such a fuss?”
“They say the Third Young Master landed a blow on the Head of the Hall of Punishments!”
“What about it…”
In that instant, Wi Hongryeon’s jaw dropped. She finally understood why these simple-minded fools were in such an uproar.
Unlike the Hall of Protectors, the Hall of Punishments had a notorious reputation within the cult. If you got on their bad side, you could end up in prison with trumped-up charges.
Even the most rebellious cultists had to lower their eyes before the members of the Hall of Punishments. But the Third Young Master had gone so far as to draw his blade against their fearsome and detestable leader.
‘These ridiculous fools. For such a simple reason…’
As she found the situation absurd, she suddenly realized the reason for their fervor wasn’t just that.
“Truly bold! Yes, that’s a true member of the demonic path!”
“I know, right? Since when did we crawl around groveling like those righteous faction pricks?!”
“Hmph, I look forward to the Third Young Master’s future actions.”
Ma Dongpil couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh.
They were ecstatic not simply because the Third Young Master had drawn his blade on the infamous Head of the Hall of Punishments, but because of the spectacular life-and-death battle with the Fourth Young Master and the events that followed.
The rumor that Seo Ryang was in a power struggle with the Fourth Young Master had been known for some time.
Then came yesterday’s brilliant fight and Seo Ryang’s bold actions, which had completely captivated them.
‘Still, it’s the Third Young Master, of all people.’
It was common sense to kneel and greet a candidate with reverence when they passed by. These people were so excited they had forgotten even that basic etiquette.
What was making them so excited? Why were they so fervent?
‘Does this mean the current Divine Cult is bound by strict and powerful regulations?’
This wasn’t a righteous sect or a gray faction; this was the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon.
The primary virtue of the demonic martial world was boldness; if you weren’t audacious, you weren’t a true member. The strict rules implemented for the cult’s growth were bound to cause discontent among its members.
And this time, Seo Ryang had smashed through that suffocating path.
That was why those who had watched the candidates’ fight with bated breath were now so ecstatic.
Seo Ryang had drawn his blade on the Head of the Hall of Punishments, but in effect, he had delivered a sharp rebuke to the cult’s rigid strictness. At least, that was how the cultists saw it.
Wi Hongryeon turned her head back toward the window.
Seo Ryang, who had been running off with a limp, had already disappeared into the distance.
“Hey, Ma.”
“What is it?”
“Still feeling disappointed?”
“I am.”
A small smile touched Ma Dongpil’s lips.
“But it is not a bad feeling.”
Wi Hongryeon grinned.
“When you have time, let’s have a drink with these guys. They seem to be dying to hear the heroic tales of the Young Master.”
“But I must return to my unit…”
“Then you can sit out.”
“……”
“Sitting out?”
“Let’s drink for just two hours.”