This Is What You Wanted (1)
Sichuan.
The Sichuan Tang Family, the Qingcheng Sect, and the Emei Sect.
With three major orthodox sects established there, Sichuan was a stronghold of the Orthodox faction.
Yet, it was also a frontline where battles never ceased, constantly targeted by unorthodox sects coveting the territory.
Consequently, the sects of Sichuan focused entirely on building their strength. For example...
"You want to become a retainer?"
"Yes. That is why I have come."
They would take in decent martial artists as retainers, keeping them as guests to borrow their strength in times of need. However...
"You?"
"Is there a problem?"
The gatekeeper guarding the main entrance of the Sichuan Tang Family looked troubled.
A wanderer has come for the first time in a while. But isn't he too young?
Many came to the Sichuan Tang Family seeking to become retainers. They ranged from shabby rogue mercenaries to retired military officers, and sometimes even disciples of other sects seeking temporary shelter due to personal circumstances.
But there was a catch.
If they accepted everyone, the Tang Family's finances would go bankrupt.
Naturally, they had to screen the applicants.
The gatekeeper stared at the boy—or perhaps young man—standing before him.
He was handsome enough that he would probably break a few hearts when he grew up. But...
"How old are you?"
"I will be sixteen soon."
"So you are still fifteen."
"Well, yes."
"Too young."
Even if he had learned martial arts, fifteen was an age where achieving minor mastery, let alone great mastery, was nearly impossible. But...
"Is that a problem?"
The boy asked back nonchalantly.
He exuded a confidence that suggested age was of no consequence.
"Young hero, our Tang Family does not accept just anyone as a retainer. You must have skill."
"Then I shall prove my skill."
"Are you confident?"
"Would I have come if I wasn't?"
The gatekeeper sighed.
Honestly, he couldn't take the boy seriously. He was simply too young.
Still, if the boy insisted on getting beaten to learn his lesson, there was no helping it.
"What is your name?"
"Han Cheong-un."
"Wait here for a moment."
A short while later.
A man emerged from inside to greet Han Cheong-un.
"Are you the young hero who wishes to become our retainer?"
"I am."
The man stared at Han Cheong-un for a moment before speaking.
"Follow me."
"Yes."
With that, Han Cheong-un crossed the threshold of the Tang Family estate.
Has it been decades?
Han Cheong-un was lost in emotion as he looked around the estate. He remembered the Tang Family in two ways.
One was this vast manor filled with splendid pavilions. The other was...
A ruin.
Pavilions burned to ashes, leaving only charred pillars.
Most of the Tang Family's bloodline dead, and the survivors scattered across the land.
The Sichuan Tang Family, the ruler of Sichuan and one of the Five Great Clans, had been utterly destroyed.
Han Cheong-un remembered that sight vividly.
This time, I won't let it happen...
"...Young hero?"
"Huh? Ah, my apologies."
Lost in thought, he had missed what the man said. When Cheong-un apologized, the man frowned and clicked his tongue.
"Tsk."
The man continued.
"If you wish to become our retainer, you must show capability. We cannot accept every Tom, Dick, and Harry, can we?"
"That is only fair."
"So, what is your specialty?"
The man asked, his eyes lingering on Cheong-un's spear.
"I am decent with a spear."
"A spear..."
"Is there a problem with that?"
"No, no problem. Let us head to the training grounds."
The place Han Cheong-un arrived at was the training ground used by the Tang Family martial artists. And...
"Tang Ho."
"Yes, Uncle."
"Test this young hero. He wishes to become a retainer of our family."
"This kid?"
The man named Tang Ho looked at Han Cheong-un bluntly.
Han Cheong-un clasped his hands with a smile.
"My name is Han Cheong-un."
"Your age and sect?"
"I will be sixteen soon."
"So you are fifteen."
"..."
Could you just let that slide?
"Ahem. And I do not belong to any particular sect."
"None?"
"I learned some basics at the Wulin Alliance training center when I was young, and have been self-taught ever since."
"A complete amateur."
Tang Ho sighed as he looked at Han Cheong-un.
"Sparring in the Tang Family rarely ends without injuries. If you don't want to get hurt, just give up and leave."
"That is for me to decide."
"Fine. If that is how you want it..."
The two stood on the training ground to spar. Naturally, others gathered around to watch.
Tang Ho clasped his hands.
"Tang Ho of the Sichuan Tang Family."
"Han Cheong-un."
They greeted each other, and the referee shouted.
"Start!"
Instantly, Tang Ho's hands moved with blinding speed.
It would be ridiculous to drag things out against a mere wanderer.
Was he not a blood relative of the great Sichuan Tang Family?
A wanderer like him is easy—huh?
He was gone.
The boy who should have collapsed in pain from his flying needles was nowhere to be seen.
Instead...
"This is going to hurt."
Huh? What is?
"Keu-heok!"
His question was answered immediately.
A heavy blow slammed into his ribs.
At the same time, his body flew out of the training ring. That day, Tang Ho experienced firsthand that a human could fly through the air against their own will.
Crash!
Tang Ho collapsed, instantly losing consciousness.
The atmosphere turned ice-cold.
One strike.
A blood relative of the Sichuan Tang Family had been defeated in a single exchange.
Even if it was just a test spar, their pride was deeply wounded.
"I will face him next."
Someone immediately stepped onto the stage.
"I am Tang Jung of the Tang Family."
"Han Cheong-un."
"I am different from my brother, so watch yourself."
"I will."
The spar began.
Tang Jung, who had confidently claimed to be different from his brother...
Thwack!
"Guh... guuuuh..."
Was not very different at all.
He fell in a single exchange just the same.
Han Cheong-un, who had yielded the first move, dodged the flying daggers and closed the distance.
Then, reversing his grip on the spear, he struck the man's solar plexus with the butt of the shaft.
Thud.
Tang Jung collapsed forward, gasping in breathless agony. At that...
"I will fight him."
"No, let me..."
"Leave him to me."
The Tang Family martial artists glared with burning eyes and rushed forward. Seeing this, Han Cheong-un sighed inwardly.
They really are like a swarm of hornets...
The Sichuan Tang Family.
They were also known as the "Unforgetting Tang Family."
Once a grudge was formed, they would never forget it, and they wouldn't rest until they had exacted their revenge.
And consider their primary weapons.
Poison and hidden weapons.
What tools could be more perfect for revenge?
Holding a grudge against the Tang Family meant you couldn't even drink a cup of water, let alone eat a meal, in peace for the rest of your life.
Knowing their nature, he had expected things to turn out like this. However...
"Silence!"
The Sichuan Tang Family did not consist solely of hot-headed youths.
The middle-aged man who had guided Han Cheong-un here shouted, stopping the excited youngsters in their tracks.
"Are your eyes just for decoration? You saw the first two defeated in a single strike, yet you think you stand a chance with your skills?"
"..."
"..."
No one answered.
Honestly, they had stepped forward in the heat of the moment, but looking at it rationally, they had no chance of winning.
Having silenced the youths, the man turned to Han Cheong-un.
"Impressive skill for such a young age."
"You flatter me."
"With skill like yours, we must certainly accept you as a retainer."
"So I passed?"
"Yes. But before that, we must save our family's face at least once."
"Will you be stepping up yourself, elder?"
The man chuckled.
"Of course not. Given my generation, it would be unseemly for me to step in."
He then added:
"Go and fetch Jin."
"Yes, sir."
Hearing those words, a subtle smile played on Han Cheong-un's lips.
I'll be meeting him sooner than I thought.
A moment later.
"Did you call for me?"
The person who appeared was a young man who looked to be in his mid-twenties.
He had a slender face and sharp, cold eyes.
According to the face Han Cheong-un remembered, he should have been wearing an eyepatch over one eye, but...
His eye is still intact at this point.
Seeing him like this again brought a wave of nostalgia.
The Deputy Leader of the Annihilation Squad and Han Cheong-un's right-hand man.
A comrade-in-arms and a brother who had stood by him until the final battle.
The Blue Abyss Poison Hand, Tang Jin.
"Leave this place to me and go, Leader!"
"Not a single one of you shall pass unless you step over my corpse."
"I am Tang Jin, Deputy Leader of the Annihilation Squad! Step forward if you wish to die!"
It's so good to see him again, it almost brings tears to my eyes.
Han Cheong-un's heart swelled.
He couldn't describe how reassuring it had been to have that man by his side.
How many life-and-death crises had they crossed together?
The very reason he had come to Sichuan as soon as he gained a baseline of strength after regressing was to recruit this man.
Seeing him again was so heartwarming...
"What's with this brat?"
...Or it should have been, until the illusion shattered instantly.
"..."
Before Han Cheong-un could respond, the Tang Family's chief administrator intervened.
"You rascal! How dare a direct descendant of the Tang Family show such insolence? Mind your manners!"
"I'm just calling a brat a brat. What else am I supposed to call him?"
"You... Tang Jiiin!"
The elder roared at the top of his lungs.
Before him stood a punk, grumbling with a look of sheer annoyance.
Watching this, Han Cheong-un thought:
What is this? Is this really the Tang Jin I knew?
This wasn't right.
The Tang Jin in Han Cheong-un's memories was brave in battle, humble and serious in daily life, and deeply respected by everyone in the Annihilation Squad.
But who was this immature punk standing before him?
Ah, now that I think about it...
A memory from the past surfaced.
One day.
Having set up camp in the mountains after the sun went down during a march, the members of the Annihilation Squad were resting in their respective spots.
Han Cheong-un was also sharing a drink with Tang Jin, using beef jerky as a snack to wash down cheap, strong liquor.
Once they had shared a few cups and a pleasant buzz set in, Han Cheong-un spoke.
"You made a great contribution to this mission as well, Deputy Leader."
"I only did what was expected of me."
"It is thanks to you that our Annihilation Squad runs so smoothly. I am always grateful."
"Hahaha. You flatter me too much, Leader."
As they happily exchanged cups, Han Cheong-un asked.
"There is something I have wanted to ask you for a while."
"Please, go ahead."
Tang Jin replied politely.
Han Cheong-un carefully opened up his heart to him.
"When we were recruiting the Deputy Leader of the Annihilation Squad, everyone else declined, but you volunteered. Why?"
"That is true."
"Why was that?"
"I saw hope in you, Leader. I believed you would lead us to victory in this wretched war and, at the same time, avenge my family."
Han Cheong-un smiled bitterly.
"Even so, did it not hurt your pride?"
"My pride?"
"I am just a nameless martial artist with no background. But you are a descendant of the prestigious Sichuan Tang Family. Serving under a nameless warrior like me..."
"Hahahahaha..."
Tang Jin laughed heartily.
"What is so funny?"
"Hahaha. I just remembered the old days."
"The old days?"
"Yes. Back when I was young and foolish, I thought that way too. I wasn't even anything special, yet I walked around with my chin up just because I was a direct descendant of the great Sichuan Tang Family, looking down on everyone else."
"...You did?"
Han Cheong-un couldn't picture it.
Tang Jin was always humble and cautious, treating others with utmost respect.
Though they were only about ten years apart in age, Tang Jin was a role model who made Cheong-un think, Ah, this is what a true gentleman is like.
And yet, he had been like that?
Seeing Han Cheong-un's shocked expression, Tang Jin chuckled.
"I went through a lot. My family was destroyed, I suffered, and then I found myself in a position where I had to lead the surviving clan members..."
He tilted his cup again, a bitter look on his face.
"Circumstances and responsibility shape a person. In the past, I was not the kind of man you think I was."
"It is hard to believe."
"It is true. If you had seen me back then, Leader... Tsk, I don't even want to imagine it."
"..."
"Looking back, the me of that time really needed to be beaten like a dog at least once."
"Who would dare do that to a direct descendant of the Tang Family?"
"That was the problem. Exactly that..."
"..."
"Damn it, back then I was an arrogant, insolent bastard who knew nothing of the world. I really should have been beaten to a pulp, and then beaten some more. I should have snapped out of it before the family ended up like that. Tsk..."
"..."
Right, that did happen.
Han Cheong-un finished reminiscing. And then...
"Fine, fine. I'll do it. I just have to fight, right?"
"Ugh... Then get up on the stage and show some respect."
At the elder's command, Tang Jin slouched onto the stage, gave a half-hearted nod, and spoke.
"I am Tang Jin of the Tang Family."
"..."
"Consider it an honor that I am personally facing you. Got it?"
Indeed, the Deputy Leader had been right.
The immature brat standing before him needed a harsh lesson.
Han Cheong-un nodded and spoke.
"I am Han Cheong-un. Let me warn you in advance..."
"Huh? What..."
Han Cheong-un gripped his spear tightly and smiled.
"This is what you wanted."
"...?"
The time for his lesson had arrived.