The Price of Insult (2)
Moyong Yeonhwa was inwardly startled, but she didn't let it show on her face.
"What nonsense is that? Do you think you'll get away unscathed after making such a mess?"
Yeon Hojeong stared at Moyong Yeonhwa impassively, then flicked his index finger and thumb.
"Muk Bi."
"Yes?"
Yeon Hojeong tossed the three chopsticks that had been rolling on the table. Muk Bi caught them and looked at him with puzzled eyes.
"Three. You know what that means, right?"
Three?
Muk Bi wondered what he meant when she suddenly felt a strange sensation.
'Someone's watching us?'
Muk Bi glanced out the window. North, east, south—three directions.
Yeon Hojeong said calmly,
"We don't want our private business leaking to outsiders."
In that instant, Muk Bi understood what he meant.
Twang!
She stomped the floor hard and hurled the chopsticks in her hand.
Piiiing!
Three chopsticks flew out, yet it sounded like just one slicing through the air with a sharp whistle.
Thud! Boom!
A startled voice cried out from outside the window.
"Kyaaak!"
"Wh-what? A person?!"
"Someone fell!"
Moyong Yeonhwa's eyes wavered.
"You...?"
Yeon Hojeong smiled.
"I don't like flies buzzing around."
They were Huangfeng Pavilion informants.
Hoseon Daehi House was Zhejang's premier pleasure house, accessible only to those of sufficient status. Thus, Moyong Yeonhwa's attendants were waiting at a high-end establishment a short distance away.
But Huangfeng Pavilion was different. They monitored her every moment.
Yet no matter how masterful their stealth, it wasn't enough to fool Yeon Hojeong. Even Muk Bi could detect them if she fully extended her senses.
Moyong Yeonhwa looked at Muk Bi.
'...!'
Muk Bi's eyes had sharpened like blades.
'A master?!'
Moyong Yeonhwa was shocked. She knew Muk Bi practiced martial arts, but her internal energy and gait never suggested a true expert.
She was wrong. Muk Bi's true martial prowess was in a realm far beyond Moyong Yeonhwa's reach. Her gait only seemed ordinary because her lightness skill and footwork were so refined.
'How can this be!'
She had misjudged her completely. Moyong Yeonhwa had pegged her as just some ordinary woman Yeon Hojeong kept around—pretty enough, but so naive she seemed like a second-rate martial artist clueless about the world.
The merchant alliance heirs were equally stunned. They had thought her a meek, dim-witted lowborn martial artist, but the subtle aura emanating from Muk Bi was terrifying enough to make their hearts pound.
"Now talk."
Yeon Hojeong's eyes grew icy.
"Why did you mess with Muk Bi?"
Moyong Yeonhwa replied coolly,
"What are you talking about? They started it, not me."
"You didn't do it yourself. But you manipulated things with that viper's tongue of yours."
Moyong Yeonhwa's eyes darkened.
"Don't insult me anymore. Do you think you'll walk away unscathed?"
Her tone had roughened.
Yeon Hojeong smirked.
"What, taking me down would be easy?"
"Of course. The Yeon family's risen lately, but they can't compare to the Moyong. If our main house decides, burying the Yeon would be simple."
"Then why haven't you done that 'simple' thing yet?"
"It's not because of you, at least."
"That's why your father won't name you young lady of the house."
"...What did you say?"
"You're clever, but still a greenhorn who only sees what she wants. That's why he won't appoint you. You're not still telling yourself it's because you're a woman, are you?"
Moyong Yeonhwa's cheek twitched. He had struck her reverse scale.
She felt rage surging stronger than ever.
"If you insult me with that drivel one more time...!"
Whoosh.
Moyong Yeonhwa flinched. Yeon Hojeong, who had been five paces away, was now looming right in front of her, looking down.
"Insult you?"
"...!"
"No one's left to report if I kill you right here. What then?"
Moyong Yeonhwa's eyes shook violently.
'This bastard!'
Now she understood why he had eliminated the Huangfeng Pavilion watchers. He had turned this place into a completely isolated space.
There were plenty of diners, but this was a squabble between great clan heirs. Their eyes or opinions wouldn't matter.
Of course, he wouldn't actually kill her. But subduing or humiliating her? No problem.
If Yeon Hojeong claimed it wasn't true, she would have no defense.
"What a petty man."
"To crush an enemy, I'd use any dirty trick."
Moyong Yeonhwa bit her lip.
'Damn it.'
She had no way to fight back right now. Both Yeon Hojeong and Muk Bi were masters several levels above her. And without Huangfeng Pavilion or her escorts, she was utterly alone.
That fact left her deeply rattled.
"One last question."
Yeon Hojeong's gaze blazed.
"Why did you target Muk Bi?"
Moyong Yeonhwa's lip twitched.
"...Does it really matter that much?"
Thwack!
Moyong Yeonhwa's mouth gaped open.
'...What?'
Her waist bent in half. Yeon Hojeong's knee had slammed into her abdomen.
He looked down at her coldly.
"You took 'last' lightly."
"Kuhk!"
"Farewell."
Bam!
Moyong Yeonhwa spat blood and staggered back. A palm strike to the jaw.
The powerful emission shook her head. She couldn't regain her senses. At least her jaw hadn't shattered.
'Damn!'
Even dazed, she thrust out her hand.
Hummm!
The energy from her delicate hand was razor-sharp. The Moyong clan's Shrinking Wind Divine Hand.
Crack!
Yeon Hojeong's fist shattered the palm's energy wave and smashed her thigh.
Snap!
"Aaaagh!"
Agonizing pain swept her lower body. It hadn't broken, but enough to force her to her knees. Her legs were completely numb.
Moyong Yeonhwa jerked her head up. Yeon Hojeong's fist was already cocked.
Whoooosh!
A translucent white vortex swirled around his fist.
'Gasp!'
She was dead. The power he had gathered in an instant was monstrous. Enough to pulverize her skull in one blow.
"You underestimated me too much."
His killing intent laced voice made her heart race twice as fast.
'Bluffing.'
It had to be a bluff. Killing her now would doom him too. Not just him—the entire Yeon family would burn.
He absolutely couldn't kill her. Just a threat.
Whoosh!
Yeon Hojeong swung his fist with a demonic grin.
Moyong Yeonhwa's pupils shrank.
'He'll stop! He has to!'
Her hair whipped back from the fist wind before it even touched. Time seemed to slow. The fist, pushing the air like ocean waves, moved in slow motion.
'He can't possibly kill me...!'
Then she saw Yeon Hojeong's eyes. Blazing with genuine killing intent. Amid the characteristic blue energy lurked a deep crimson malice.
The savagery of a ferocious beast.
Moyong Yeonhwa squeezed her eyes shut.
"There's no reason!!"
Crunch!
A chilling sound echoed through the entire floor.
"Hahk! Hahk!"
Moyong Yeonhwa gasped for breath. Her slowly opening eyes filled with raw fear.
She had nearly died for real.
She turned shakily. Behind her, the floor and wall were mangled as if ravaged by a heavy blade storm.
'This bastard...!'
It wasn't cause for relief that she survived. Retracting his power midway was impressive, but the scene his fist pressure created was terrifyingly potent. If he hadn't pulled back, her upper body would have been utterly crushed.
It wasn't a brute force fist law pressing down, but an internal explosive fist with twisting silk energy. Grinding everything inside and out to oblivion.
A lethal technique. He wouldn't use it unless he intended to erase her existence entirely.
"No reason?"
Moyong Yeonhwa bit her lip.
"...Yes."
"No reason means you picked a fight just because she's with me?"
"..."
"Answer."
Moyong Yeonhwa spat venomously,
"Yes! That's right!"
Surprisingly, it was the truth. Moyong Yeonhwa had genuinely wanted to torment Muk Bi, with no grand justification or grudge.
Yeon Hojeong's eyes deepened.
"You're worse than a black path thug."
Moyong Yeonhwa trembled—not from fear, but humiliation.
She wanted to scream, but clamped her mouth shut. Losing her temper here would only hurt her more. She realized that much.
'Damn it! Damn it!'
She wasn't the type to make such rookie mistakes. Moyong Gun cherished her for her ruthless mind and superior intellect. She had never disappointed him.
But Moyong Gun didn't know one side of her: her inferiority complex.
He had unwittingly wounded her pride many times, mostly over the young lady position.
But lately, something inflicted far greater damage: Yeon Hojeong.
She couldn't bear hearing her father praise him as superior. Admitting it meant conceding she wasn't young lady material due to ability, not gender.
Once scarred, the heart influences one's life profoundly. And the sight of her battered Huangfeng informant fueled her rage to the extreme.
She saw it as Yeon Hojeong mocking her.
Attaching informants was a mistake from the start. But she neither acknowledged nor realized it.
Her shaken pride and fury had escalated things this far.
Moyong Yeonhwa snapped her head up.
"How dare you attempt to kill the Moyong clan's eldest daughter! Our main house will never forgive the Yeon!"
Yeon Hojeong smiled.
"Keep fighting the good fight, but you'll never surpass the main house."
"You...!"
Thud!
Moyong Yeonhwa collapsed. An acupoint strike.
Yeon Hojeong addressed the merchant heirs.
"Clean up your mess. And..."
He whispered a few words into one youth's ear. The young man's face paled.
"The Moyong clan?!"
Yeon Hojeong patted his shoulder.
"You don't want to go bankrupt, right? Especially when you're just starting out."
"I-is that true?"
"Why lie about something you'll verify instantly?"
"Gasp!"
"Cause the right amount of trouble for forgiveness. You don't want to end up beggars and disappoint your parents."
"..."
"Act wisely. Got it?"
"...Y-yes!"
Yeon Hojeong patted the youth's shoulder several more times, then picked up his axe and walked to Muk Bi.
"I'm starving after wasting energy. Let's eat outside."
"You sure?"
"Hm?"
Muk Bi glanced worriedly at Moyong Yeonhwa and the merchants.
"What if they hold a grudge...?"
"Don't worry. By the time that senseless girl wakes, the world will have changed a bit."
"Pardon?"
"I wouldn't have beaten her senseless without a plan."
Even if Moyong Yeonhwa refused, he'd force her to Moyong Woo anyway.
He wanted to cripple her for life, but now wasn't the time.
'Moyong Yeonhwa should make decent bait for Moyong Woo.'
Muk Bi smiled at Yeon Hojeong, whose eyes sparkled with anticipation.
"I don't know the details, but Father hasn't had many headaches because of you, has he?"
"If I weren't his son, he might've killed me."
"Heh."
"Let's go. We'll grab a drink too."
"My treat?"
"You broke, remember?"
"I have money."
"Where'd you get it?"
"Pocket money from Father."
"What? To you?"
"Yes."
"Damn. Fine, you pay."
"No take-backs."
"I can for you. Your treat today."
"Fine."
"Kehahaha!"
"Do you have to laugh like that?"
"Picking on my laugh now?"
The tense atmosphere from moments ago was forgotten. The two looked quite cheerful as they left Hoseon Daehi House.