Chapter 161
Chapter 161
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 161
Chapter Title: Part 4. There Are Things You Absolutely Shouldn't Touch (2)
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161
His name was Namgung Janggyeong.
He hailed from the Azure Palace, where the seasoned warriors of the Namgung Clan—those whose martial prowess was acknowledged—belonged.
Membership in the Azure Palace meant possessing strength ranking within the top hundred of the entire Namgung Clan. And Namgung Janggyeong held one of the upper ranks even among them.
The mere fact that Namgung Janggyeong had stepped out into the world was proof that something extraordinary was afoot within the Namgung Clan.
Namgung Janggyeong glared at Jong Liyeon.
She was barely in her early twenties.
To ordinary martial artists of the world, that would be the age of a mere fledgling, but she had already earned great renown. At the very least, within Anhui Province, there were scarcely any who didn't know her name.
No matter the Namgung Clan's absolute dominance in Anhui Province, treating Jong Liyeon carelessly was an enormous burden.
Under normal circumstances, he would have approached her with utmost courtesy and caution. But these were not normal times.
There was no leeway to consider Jong Liyeon's situation.
“I don't know who summoned the Divine Healer, but even they would understand once they learn of the Namgung Clan's circumstances.”
“That can't be done.”
Jong Liyeon shook her head.
To her, all lives were equal. She didn't know what urgent matter plagued the Namgung Clan, but the next patient awaiting her was in equally dire straits.
The patient was a girl of just over ten years old, around Dong-i's age, helping out at her father's inn. Three years ago, she had fallen victim to a congenital affliction where her blood vessels hardened like stones, slowly killing her.
Jong Liyeon had met the girl around that time as well. But back then, she had no way to save her. None of her knowledge held a cure.
Jong Liyeon never gave up on saving the girl. Even as she tended to others in need of her care, she never stopped researching a treatment.
Three years passed like that. During that time, the girl withered away toward death's door. And finally, Jong Liyeon had found a clue to curing her condition.
Right now, she was on her way to treat the girl. This was the moment she had waited three years for.
“I'll handle the Namgung Clan's matter as soon as I finish treating my prior patient as quickly as possible.”
“That won't do. This is a matter of life and death hanging by a thread.”
“The same goes for this side.”
“Divine Healer Jong. This is problematic.”
Namgung Janggyeong's voice turned icy. The air itself seemed to chill with the shift in his demeanor.
Jong Liyeon's expression hardened as well.
She might appear to be a frail, naive young girl untouched by the world's harshness, but she was a physician who had devoted her all to her art.
‘A healer must not weigh lives by status or rank. They must first offer their arts to those whose lives hang in the balance.’
Those were the words of her master, Hyeolseon Yu Tae, spoken before he taught her the healing arts.
Her master was gone now, no longer of this world, but his teachings remained deeply etched in her heart.
Jong Liyeon's eyes did not waver. Seeing this, Namgung Janggyeong realized further talk was pointless.
“I must commit this sin, Divine Healer Jong.”
Namgung Janggyeong's tone was resolute.
No sooner had he spoken than the Namgung Clan warriors surrounded Jong Liyeon and Old Man Hwa.
At that moment, Old Man Hwa—who had been silent until now—stepped forward.
“Since when did the mighty Namgung Clan of the world become so brazen?”
It was not the image of the old man who had just been bantering amiably with Jong Liyeon moments before.
A frost-like aura surged from Old Man Hwa's entire body in thick waves.
Namgung Janggyeong's eyelids twitched.
He was a renowned master within the Namgung Clan. Naturally, he possessed the insight to gauge an opponent's level.
Even he had paid Old Man Hwa no particular mind until the old man stepped up. He had seemed that ordinary. Yet now that he had emerged, his presence filled the chest oppressively.
‘An extraordinary master.’
But his circumstances left no room to back down in fear of Old Man Hwa's presence.
Namgung Janggyeong approached Old Man Hwa and demanded,
“Who might you be, elder?”
“Me? Just an old debtor.”
“A debtor?”
“This girl saved my life. That debt—whatever it's called, King of Hell's something-or-other—keeps piling up interest, and I still haven't paid it off.”
Old Man Hwa grumbled as he rolled his wrists, loosening up.
“We've no reason to fight. If only your young lady showed a bit of flexibility, just once.”
“I've told the healer's young lady that several times myself. To please show some flexibility. That's the easy way to live in this world. But her stubbornness is something else. Stubborner than a mule, she won't heed a word I say.”
Old Man Hwa clicked his tongue at Jong Liyeon.
Jong Liyeon's flushed cheeks were visible. Her red lips pressed tight.
She glared fiercely, pretending to be strong, but her clenched fists trembled visibly.
‘All bravado...’
Putting on a tough front to hide her fear.
It might fool ordinary folk, but it held no sway over masters like Namgung Janggyeong.
“Then convince your young lady. It's not too late.”
“But you know, I rather like her stubbornness. She sticks to her principles and convictions no matter what. Sadly, people like that are rare these days.”
“So you'll choose punishment in the end?”
“Who chooses punishment will become clear in time.”
“We are the Namgung Clan.”
“I know.”
“And yet you'll stand against us?”
“Didn't I say? She saved my life. I'm living a second one on borrowed time—why would I fear death?”
Old Man Hwa's voice was utterly calm. His worldly-wise demeanor only stoked Namgung Janggyeong's anger further.
“Remember this. Everything that happens in this inn from now on falls under the Divine Healer and your responsibility.”
“Hah! How frightening.”
“You should be frightened.”
Namgung Janggyeong's gaze turned to the warriors who had come with him.
“No witnesses are needed for what happens now. Kill them all and erase the evidence.”
“Understood!”
The Namgung Clan warriors drew their swords in response. Jong Liyeon and Old Man Hwa's faces paled instantly.
“You can't mean... you'll kill everyone in this inn?”
“You've brought this upon yourselves.”
“Insane!”
Old Man Hwa spat a curse, but Namgung Janggyeong's expression didn't flicker. Jong Liyeon's face, however, drained white.
She had only wanted to uphold her principles, yet things had spiraled far beyond her expectations.
She spotted the innkeeper and Dong-i trembling in a corner of the kitchen. Even if Old Man Hwa was strong, he couldn't protect them all.
Jong Liyeon bit her lip.
“W-Wait. If I go with you, will you spare them?”
“That can't be done.”
“Why not?”
“Once spoken, words can't be taken back. Everyone in this inn heard the order to kill them all—do you think the secret would hold? People never keep their mouths shut forever, no matter how grave the promise. In time, even the heaviest oaths become lighter than feathers.”
The Namgung Clan reigned at the pinnacle of Anhui Province.
They wielded unchecked power and force, backed by the unwavering support of the province's people.
If word spread that Namgung Clan warriors had ordered the slaughter of everyone in an inn, what would the people of Anhui think?
They would surely face moral condemnation.
It would be a massive liability for the Namgung Clan.
“Their deaths are on your heads.”
“No...”
“Begin!”
Namgung Janggyeong gave the order.
The Namgung Clan warriors advanced on the inn's patrons, swords drawn.
“Ugh!”
“No way. Why us?”
The faces of those who had been watching breathlessly turned ashen.
They tried to flee screaming, but the inn's entrance was already blocked by Namgung warriors.
In the end, the people huddled into the inn's corners as the Namgung warriors slowly tightened the encirclement.
Dong-i trembled in her father's arms, lips quivering.
“Daddy?”
“It's okay. It'll be okay.”
Her father patted Dong-i's back to comfort her. But his voice held no strength.
‘This is why I never wanted to get tangled with martial artists.’
He hugged his small daughter's body tightly. A father's desperate wish to somehow save his little girl.
It was then.
Boom!
The air inside the inn exploded, unleashing a ferocious wind like a wolf pouncing on the crowd.
“Urk!”
“What the—?”
Not only the patrons but even the Namgung Clan warriors staggered, unable to steady themselves against the savage energy wave.
“What is it?”
Jong Liyeon and Namgung Janggyeong's faces changed as they looked toward the source of the blast.
“Grrgh!”
There, a Namgung Clan warrior staggered.
His shoulder completely caved in.
The warrior couldn't take even three or four steps before toppling backward like a felled log.
Thud!
A dull impact echoed through the inn, revealing the figure behind the warrior that had been hidden from view.
A man sat there.
A man with wild black hair and tattered black robes.
The warrior, following Namgung Janggyeong's order, had naturally moved to eliminate him. That was his command.
Just as the warrior's sword neared Damho, a violent storm engulfed him. And the world went dark.
That was the warrior's end.
Silence blanketed the room.
Namgung Janggyeong's eyelids twitched.
The spasm spread to his shoulders, but he was oblivious to it.
‘Why didn't I notice him?’
This intense presence, this brutal energy—it screamed that the man was no ordinary being.
Namgung Janggyeong had never felt such savage, wild energy before.
Had he known such a man was here, he never would have issued the kill order so rashly.
Cursing his hasty decision, Namgung Janggyeong spoke.
“Who are you?”
“Does it matter?”
The moment he heard Damho's voice, Namgung Janggyeong felt every hair on his body stand on end.
Damho rose to his feet.
In that instant, not only the Namgung Clan warriors but even Old Man Hwa flinched and stepped back. Damho's presence was that terrifying.
Jong Liyeon's eyes widened.
She had the guts to stand against the Namgung Clan head-on, but she had never witnessed anyone exuding such overwhelming aura as Damho.
The presence of a single man dominated everyone gathered in the inn.
Damho took a step toward Namgung Janggyeong.
His left foot dragged slightly across the floor.
The sight sparked a name in Namgung Janggyeong's mind.
Two characters that sent shivers through the current martial world with their infamous reputation.
“You're Damho.”
The echo of his shout was tremendous.
“Damho? Then the Fist Demon?”
“The Fist Demon was in this inn?”
The Namgung Clan warriors buzzed.
How could they not know that name?
Damho was the massive wall that had blocked the Namgung Clan's path at every turn. Even Namgung Clan's young master, Namgung Su, had lost his life to him.
Damho was no less than the Namgung Clan's arch-nemesis.
“You dare...”
Namgung Janggyeong's roar erupted.