Chapter 103
Chapter 103
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: Judgment of the Traitors
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After suppressing the rebellion in the Harmony Alliance, Namgung Jangcheon headed to the Disciplinary Hall while receiving a report from Geum Kwangmo.
He asked Geum Kwangmo,
“How have you handled the compensation for the families of the injured and fallen warriors?”
Geum Kwangmo flipped through the ledger with his bandaged hand and said,
“It should be finalized by tomorrow. Some cases are on hold pending the investigation, but we will handle them definitively.”
“Good. Please pay as much attention as possible.”
“Yes, I will do my best.”
Namgung Jangcheon nodded slowly. His face was bitter.
Every time he heard that members of the family had died or been injured, it stung and left him feeling stifled.
The damage to the Namgung Family from the rebellion in the Harmony Alliance had been considerable.
The shock was inevitable.
Namgung Jangcheon let out a sigh.
“Isn’t all this because of my inadequacy as Family Head? If I had managed the family well, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“Do not blame yourself, Family Head. You have done your utmost.”
“If I had, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“Please ignore what the traitors said. They were only trying to undermine you however they could.”
Geum Kwangmo shook his head and offered comfort.
“We will resolve this soon, so do not worry.”
“I trust only you.”
Namgung Jangcheon, who had been looking bitter, briefly closed and opened his eyes.
He focused his gaze and spoke in a calm but firm voice.
“The investigation into the traitors must be thorough as well. Investigate their connections definitively and dispatch family members to the businesses to uncover every detail.”
“Yes, Family Head!”
Geum Kwangmo nodded vigorously.
Namgung Jangcheon walked forward with steady steps.
The doors of the Disciplinary Hall opened, revealing the scene before him.
The Grand Elder Namgung Wigyung and the other leaders were seated in the places of honor, greeting Namgung Jangcheon.
“You’ve arrived?”
“We pay respects to the Family Head.”
“The criminals have been brought forth.”
Namgung Jangcheon nodded silently and looked ahead.
Dozens of punishment frames stood in the spacious courtyard, with blood-soaked figures slumped and bound to them.
The traitors, their limbs shackled with thick chains, wore haggard expressions.
Having endured all sorts of ordeals in the Disciplinary Hall, their eyes were sunken and cheeks hollowed.
Their disheveled hair and ruined appearances added to their misery.
“Ugh, uuuuh…….”
“Spare…… urgh. Huuuh.”
“Urk!”
Low sobs echoed about.
But Namgung Jangcheon’s expression showed not the slightest change.
Namgung Jangcheon looked down upon the traitors with the dignified bearing of a heavenly general.
Under his heavy gaze, the criminals groaned and averted their eyes.
The Lord of the Disciplinary Hall quietly handed documents to Namgung Jangcheon.
Namgung Jangcheon read the documents he received from the Disciplinary Hall Lord aloud.
Rustle, rustle.
The sound of turning pages heightened everyone’s nerves.
A suffocating tension filled the hall.
Finally, Namgung Jangcheon set down the documents and lifted his head.
His gaze swept the surroundings before settling on the three traitorous elders bound at the front.
Gulp.
The three elders swallowed dryly.
An oppressive pressure, as if squeezing their hearts, emanated from Namgung Jangcheon’s gaze.
It felt as though he could crush their bodies at any moment.
The elders received his gaze in rigid tension.
While their faces gradually turned ashen, Namgung Jangcheon’s expression remained unchanged.
Rather, he swept his even colder eyes over the three.
After a brief silence, Namgung Jangcheon spoke gravely.
“It pains me that I once trusted and relied on you.”
“…….”
“Do you have anything to say?”
The elders groaned and closed their eyes tightly.
Namgung Jangcheon spoke in a stern voice.
“As elders who should set an example as the family’s seniors and lead the family together, you turned your swords on the family members and disrupted order. That is your first crime.”
The three bound to the frames trembled slightly on their shoulders.
His voice continued like an oracle.
“Moreover, you invited in external nefarious forces and damaged the family’s vital energy. If you had any pride in the Namgung name, you never would have done such a thing.”
“…….”
“Your crimes are gravely irreverent and profound. Do you know your sins?”
The three elders looked at Namgung Jangcheon with listless eyes.
One of them spoke, his lips quivering.
“……You’ll think it’s just an excuse, but we were unaware. It’s true we plotted rebellion, but we never once thought of allying with the unorthodox sects. It’s a frame-up, an insult.”
“You abandoned the pride of the main family. Even if you didn’t know, you should never have turned swords on the family. Were the lives of the family members and retainers so worthless?”
A subtle anger seeped into Namgung Jangcheon’s voice.
“Was your intent so grand that family members had to sacrifice for it? Is that your justification for drawing swords?”
At Namgung Jangcheon’s shout, the three elders squeezed their eyes shut.
Namgung Jangcheon looked coldly at the crumbling three elders.
Then he quietly called the Disciplinary Hall Lord.
“Disciplinary Hall Lord!”
“Yes, Family Head!”
“These are the ringleaders who led the rebellion. Cut off their heads in accordance with the family laws and make an example of them!”
“Yes! Execute them!”
The Disciplinary Hall Lord issued the order to the Disciplinary Hall warriors.
As soon as the command fell, the warriors strode forward and drew their swords.
Shing!
The blades reflected the sunlight, scattering a chilling gleam.
Feeling the cold killing intent at their backs, the faces of the three elders and the eleventh and twelfth elders trembled violently.
Death loomed before their eyes.
The terror of each approaching step finally surged to the tips of their heads.
And when that terror reached its peak.
The Disciplinary Hall warriors standing behind the three swung without the slightest hesitation, severing their necks.
Slash!
With a gruesome cutting sound, three heads fell to the ground.
Thud, thud thud!
The headless bodies twitched against the frames, instilling ultimate terror in the traitors.
Some even fainted, unable to endure the fear.
Namgung Jangcheon looked at the blood-soaked ground with impassive eyes.
Then he raised his head and continued.
“Among those who joined the rebellion, collateral kin shall have their limbs’ meridians severed and dantians crippled before being exiled. Those employed at the businesses shall have their dantians crippled and sent to the iron mines for hard labor!”
The surviving traitors despaired.
Crippling the dantian of martial artists was a suffering worse than death.
It was no different from clipping the wings of an eagle soaring the skies—a horrific act.
“F-Family Head! Please forgive us, Family Head!”
“Urgh! Family Head, we…….”
“Family Head, please have mercy! Please!”
“Kuuh!”
The traitors desperately called out to Namgung Jangcheon with sobs and despairing voices, but he did not budge.
The leaders watching this remained solemn-eyed, offering no aid.
In the end, without any mercy, Namgung Jangcheon gave the order.
“Execute!”
The Disciplinary Hall warriors moved, and screams soon rang out endlessly.
* * *
Namgung Jangcheon stepped into the underground dungeon.
With each descending level, his expression hardened further.
“Here it is, Family Head.”
Geum Kwangmo pointed to a spot in the dungeon.
Through the thick iron bars, a space about one mat in size was visible.
There sat Namgung Baek in a cross-legged position, staring intently this way.
Various complex emotions crossed Namgung Jangcheon’s face.
His gaze went to the empty, dangling right sleeve of Namgung Baek.
A brief silence flowed.
Namgung Jangcheon spoke heavily.
“……Why did you do it?”
Through his disheveled hair, Namgung Baek’s fierce eyes gleamed.
After a short pause, Namgung Baek opened his mouth.
A low, rough metallic voice echoed in the narrow dungeon.
“You wouldn’t understand even after I’ve said my piece—you’re just that stupid.”
Namgung Jangcheon exhaled turbidly.
“Aren’t you ashamed?”
“Ashamed? No, only indignant and pathetic. It still gnaws at me that I couldn’t take that seat.”
“……Let’s stop this. Brother.”
Pain flickered across Namgung Jangcheon’s face before vanishing.
His expression and tone shifted.
“Who were the assailants?”
“…….”
“Speak. The identities of those you colluded with, and the martial arts you cultivated.”
The silent Namgung Baek slowly rose.
Clank.
The shackles on his limbs clashed, making noise.
Thud!
Namgung Baek slammed his head against the iron bars and glared at Namgung Jangcheon.
“You think I’d tell you, someone I’d sooner devour?”
“……Speak. Then I’ll let you die without further pain.”
“Kuahahaha! To think the day would come when you’d spout such nonsense to me! Not that sniveling brat who cried his eyes out after killing bandits as a kid!”
Namgung Baek abruptly stopped laughing and bared his fangs at Namgung Jangcheon.
“Yes, it’s all because of your precious second son! He ruined everything. Because of him! He destroyed my ten-year plan!”
“…….”
“It eats at me that I die without killing him. I should have killed him! If I’d killed that brat sooner, I’d have become Family Head and led the family! That brat…… he took everything from me!”
Looking at his empty wrist, Namgung Baek chuckled hollowly.
Blood oozed from the unhealed stump, dripping steadily.
A faint crack appeared in Namgung Jangcheon’s expression.
“……Is it not shameful as a warrior of the Namgung Family?”
“Would you say the same if you were locked up here?”
“At least with pride, you wouldn’t have sunk this low.”
At Namgung Jangcheon’s icy voice, Namgung Baek clamped his mouth shut.
Namgung Baek glared at Namgung Jangcheon with murderous eyes that could tear him apart.
His shoulders trembled as he exuded killing intent.
Namgung Jangcheon, looking at him impassively, exhaled lightly and said,
“It seems you won’t open your mouth in the end, so I won’t ask further.”
“…….”
“I carried out the execution today.”
Namgung Baek’s pupils quivered slightly, and Namgung Jangcheon spoke in a somber tone.
“The elders and leaders who colluded with you have all been beheaded.”
“…….”
“Those collateral kin and employees who sided with you have had their dantians crippled and meridians severed, sent to the mines for labor. Those connected to them will all be investigated and punished accordingly.”
Namgung Jangcheon’s voice reverberated through the dungeon.
“Not one will escape scrutiny; we will weigh their crimes by degree and reorganize the main family.”
“…….”
“Through this incident, I’ve realized that even the main family, which seemed unchanging like Cheongsong, has rotten parts. But the family will reflect on today and rise again.”
A heavy silence filled the dungeon.
The whistling wind quietly pushed away the stale air.
After gazing silently at Namgung Baek for a moment, Namgung Jangcheon turned.
As his footsteps receded—thud thud.
The hand gripping the bars trembled in Namgung Baek’s grasp.
“……The youngest knows nothing.”
Namgung Jangcheon halted and turned.
“……So spare him. He truly knows nothing and has no connection to what I did.”
“…….”
“Check the exchange run by the Hwang Mountain Sword Master. There are ledgers, diaries, and manuals there.”
The strength drained from Namgung Baek’s hand on the bars.
Low, ragged breathing echoed with spasms.
Namgung Jangcheon nodded quietly.
“……I will.”
With that short reply, Namgung Jangcheon resumed his steps.
Namgung Baek, his fierce gaze fixed on the direction Namgung Jangcheon disappeared, quietly closed his eyes.
‘It’s over.’