Chapter 201
Chapter 201
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 201
Chapter Title: A Revitalized Clan
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Namgung Jangcheon gazed out the window from the top of the Changcheon Palace. The grand halls of the Namgung Clan sprawled out below him in a single glance.
Seeing the Namgung Clan buzzing with life as spring arrived made something stir deeply in his chest.
‘This was unimaginable just a year ago.’
Back then, the Namgung Clan had been on the verge of splintering apart, barely able to pay attention to external affairs.
On top of that, their finances were unstable, and their reputation in the world had hit rock bottom.
It was the textbook image of a declining sect.
Even Namgung Jangcheon hadn’t envisioned the clan like this back then.
No, more precisely, he hadn’t anticipated this situation arriving so quickly.
‘Good.’
Namgung Jangcheon smiled contentedly.
A lot had changed over the past year.
The divided Namgung Clan had united and begun to move as one, sorting out their unstable external businesses.
They had suppressed the rebellion and started extending their influence into Anhui Province.
And before winter ended, Namgung Hyeok’s victory in the martial tournament had broken the dam, infusing the clan with vitality and bringing them to this point.
The clan’s resurgence was visible to the naked eye.
There was still a long and perilous road ahead, but Namgung Jangcheon was pleased nonetheless.
The changes would continue, and he hoped for even greater transformations in the future.
Namgung Wi-gyeong let out a hearty laugh.
“Family Head, doesn’t it feel like looking at the main house from twenty years ago?”
“You feel that way too, Great Elder?”
“We’ll return to our former glory in no time, Family Head.”
Namgung Jangcheon nodded at the confident tone in Namgung Wi-gyeong’s voice.
“Isn’t it all thanks to the Family Head’s fortune—and the clan’s fortune?”
“Haha, fortune.”
Namgung Jangcheon’s gaze shifted.
On one side of the Namgung Clan grounds was Namgung Hyeok’s residence. In the spacious front courtyard stood Namgung Hyeok and the Thunder Dragon Squad.
As Namgung Jangcheon focused his inner energy, the scene at Namgung Hyeok’s place enlarged as if it were right in front of him.
Namgung Hyeok was saying something to the Thunder Dragon Squad.
“Ready?”
“W-Wait! Just a moment!”
“Here I go!”
“N-No!”
Namgung Hyeok charged at the Thunder Dragon Squad like an enraged lion.
The squad stirred for a moment before scattering in panic at the ferocious momentum of Namgung Hyeok pouncing like a tiger.
Geon Cheon-hwi shouted.
“G-Ghost Valley Chain Formation! Counter with the Ghost Valley Chain Formation!”
“You think I’ll let you!”
“I said fight with the formation, you bastard!”
Namgung Hyeok grabbed Geon Cheon-hwi by the hair and swung him around like a club, shaking up the Thunder Dragon Squad.
“Gaaah!”
“Kuaaagh!”
“Uwaaagh!”
“Agh, aaagh! Arm, my arm!”
“L-Leg!”
“Head, stop hitting the head…!”
“What kind of person uses another person as a club!”
The Thunder Dragon Squad screamed as they tried to block Namgung Hyeok, but it was futile.
Crack!
Boom!
Thwack-thwack-thwack!
With sharp impact sounds, the Thunder Dragon Squad members began flying back.
Like fireworks launching into the sky, they soared upward, flew over the walls, and out of the grounds, dangling from tall trees like laundry swaying in the breeze.
“Get up, you bastards! What do you think you’re doing?!”
His booming shout seemed to echo all the way to the top of Changcheon Palace.
Namgung Jangcheon let out a hollow chuckle as he watched Namgung Hyeok rampage.
“Hahaha, that guy’s swinging people around.”
“Isn’t it full of energy, Family Head?”
“Any more energy like that, and he’ll kill someone.”
“Good is good, isn’t it? He’s working so hard that even I’ve been gaining some insights lately.”
“It’s good that he’s working hard, but…”
“The clan’s atmosphere is changing with Hyeok at the center. If you think about it, all the fortune that’s come to the main house lately is thanks to Hyeok, isn’t it? How many things has he accomplished since he rose from his sickbed?”
A benevolent smile spread across Namgung Wi-gyeong’s face.
He nodded as he watched Namgung Hyeok sweeping through the Thunder Dragon Squad on the training ground.
“He’ll be the wings that let the clan soar once more. The dragon is the same. Isn’t all this just the process of making the main house stronger?”
“Ahem!”
“He may have a fiery temper, but it’s all for the clan. He’s turned that band of ruffians in the Thunder Dragon Squad into elites, carried out external missions, suppressed the rebellion, and even won the martial tournament!”
“Ahem.”
“Hyeok did it all. He did everything.”
“Well…”
Unable to hold back, Namgung Jangcheon burst into laughter.
“You’re right. Ha, hahaha! Yes, ahem! Hyeok did it all.”
No matter how much he tried to maintain composure in front of the Great Elder, the praise for his son made his lips curl up involuntarily.
Namgung Hyeok’s personality might be a bit rough around the edges, but that was just his personality, wasn’t it?
Look at all he’d done for the family!
“Yes, hahaha! He’s doing great. Doing great!”
Namgung Jangcheon laughed heartily and nodded vigorously, while Namgung Wi-gyeong gazed contentedly at Namgung Hyeok as he thrashed the Thunder Dragon Squad.
Just looking at the two men’s expressions, they’d probably forgive Namgung Hyeok even if he set the Namgung Clan ablaze.
No, they might even toss on more firewood and cheer him on to burn it bigger.
* * *
Namgung Hyeok shook out his hands and looked around.
“Always such whiners.”
Namgung Hyeok chuckled as he scanned the fallen Thunder Dragon Squad.
The squad twitched and writhed on the ground.
Somehow, wherever they’d been hit felt burning hot like fire, yet refreshingly cool at the same time—a bizarre sensation.
Namgung Hyeok shook his head.
“How are you ever going to keep up like this?”
“……”
Was ‘no’ not an option?
The words rose to the Thunder Dragon Squad members’ throats, but the following pain swallowed them back down.
“Phew. It’s all my karma. My karma. I was wrong to chase fame and fortune. Yeah, that’s right. I was wrong to think we’d all go together.”
“……”
……But you’re already dragging us by the hair?
They flinched.
The Thunder Dragon Squad members who accidentally met Namgung Hyeok’s eyes resumed their struggles.
Namgung Hyeok clicked his tongue.
“If you don’t circulate your energy within half an incense stick’s time, you’ll really end up crippled.”
“Yes?”
“You’ll be lame.”
“Y-Yes?!”
“That’s how martial arts work.”
“N-No!”
“Half an incense stick’s almost up.”
Eek!
The Thunder Dragon Squad jumped up in horror and assumed the cross-legged position.
Enduring the pain like holes drilled in their bones, they circulated the Ten Thunder Arts.
In an instant, a hazy steam rose above their heads as they fell into meditation.
“Hmm.”
Namgung Hyeok turned his head, watching their circulation with a subtle gaze.
Whoosh!
Paeng Jung-hyeok raced toward his residence at top speed.
It was a swift and powerful footwork that belied his massive frame.
The dot-like figure of Paeng Jung-hyeok leaped into the courtyard in a flash.
“Young Master Namgung! Young Master Namgung!”
Namgung Hyeok tilted his head at the gasping shout that sounded like the man was about to collapse.
“What? I told you to come in half a month. I don’t have time.”
“N-No, it’s not that!”
“Then what?”
Catching his breath with a flushed face from unleashing his footwork at full power, Paeng Jung-hyeok spoke in a frantic voice.
“The escort goods… they’ve been robbed.”
“Escort goods?”
Escort goods?
The escort goods got robbed?
“Your escort goods? You bastard! After I taught you martial arts, you come back after getting robbed?!”
“I-I’m leaving in ten days!”
“Then it’s your little brother! I told him to earn his keep, and he comes back after letting someone rob your house? Hey! My limbs—no, my slaves… anyway, my underlings dare to get robbed by who?! This hasn’t happened in a hundred years, you punk!”
As Namgung Hyeok reached out as if to grab his collar, Paeng Jung-hyeok hurriedly shouted.
“F-Fortunately, it’s not the Namgung Clan’s goods!”
Namgung Hyeok, who had already placed his hand on the collar, paused and cocked his head.
“Huh? It’s not?”
“No. Th-Thank heavens, it’s not the Namgung Clan’s property.”
“Then?”
“The Paeng Clan of Habeok’s escort goods were robbed.”
“Why are you telling me about your family’s business?”
“That’s why… it’s…”
Paeng Jung-hyeok rolled his eyes, gauging Namgung Hyeok’s mood before cautiously opening his mouth.
“…the ones Father was sending to the Young Master…”
“To me?”
“Yes. The escort carrying the herbs you requested earlier…”
Blink, blink.
Namgung Hyeok blinked a few times.
“The goods from the Paeng Clan to me are the spirit medicines we traded for, right? The spirit medicines got robbed?”
“Yes, that’s it.”
“So my spirit medicines got robbed?”
“Not yet, but…”
“You’re saying the Paeng Clan entrusted those precious spirit medicines to some minor escort agency, and they got robbed?”
“Exactly.”
“Ha, haha! Hahahaha!”
Namgung Hyeok laughed like a madman. As he threw his head back laughing, Paeng Jung-hyeok added an excuse.
“W-We’re searching everywhere for the culprits, so don’t worry too mu…”
“You idiot!”
Namgung Hyeok grabbed Paeng Jung-hyeok’s collar and shook him violently.
“G-Gack! Kek! Y-Young Master! C-Calm down, calm down!”
“Calm down? You worthless fool! That’s my property! If it’s coming to the Namgung Clan, it’s Namgung Clan property! And you say ‘fortunately’ because it got robbed? Calm down? You crazy bastard!”
“K-Kek! B-Breath!”
“Why transport something like that as escort goods! Why! Why!”
“I-It was express! Kek! Spirit medicines need to be fast!”
“The Paeng Clan should’ve delivered it themselves! Do you know what that stuff is?!”
Namgung Hyeok shook Paeng Jung-hyeok thoroughly before finally letting go.
He took a breath as he looked at Paeng Jung-hyeok, who was on the verge of passing out.
“Where were the goods robbed?”
“Near Anhui Province…”
“Anhui Province? Anhui Province?! Robbed right in my front yard?!”
“W-We’re looking for them. The escort agency and the main house…”
“Wow, just wow.”
Namgung Hyeok let out a scoff before making an incredulous face.
“Damn, no wonder things were going too smoothly.”
Yeah, that’s life for you.
No wonder everything had been falling into place so easily.
Considering his luck—ascending to immortality only to crash back down in a battered body—this was child’s play.
Namgung Hyeok steadied his breathing.
Excitement only needed to last a moment.
‘So there are fools brazen enough to strut around in my front yard where the Namgung Clan stands?’
He didn’t know who these gutsy bastards were, but they’d dared to mess with his front yard—his path forward!
Their guts must’ve popped out of their bellies.
If not, he’d make sure they did.
A flicker of irritation and anger crept onto Namgung Hyeok’s face.
“Whoever touched my goods is dead meat.”
Whether they targeted the Namgung Clan or it was coincidence didn’t matter.
What mattered to him was that they’d ‘touched’ what was his, for whatever reason.
Namgung Hyeok spoke to Paeng Jung-hyeok in a coldly sunken voice.
“Come with me. Right now.”
“…But I have to go on an escort mission…”
“Escort mission? You think that matters now? Some crazy bastards are rampaging in our territory and stole my stuff?! We need to see blood!”
Uh, that sounded awfully unorthodox?
“Drop everything and come!”
“Huh?”
“It’s the Paeng Clan’s goods that got robbed!”
“Oh…”
So that’s how it worked?
Of course, the Habeok Paeng Clan was already handling the search for the thieves…
“Now!”
“B-But then who’ll do the escort? The chief steward was complaining about being short-handed.”
“Short-handed?”
Namgung Hyeok snorted and glanced around before furrowing his brow.
The Thunder Dragon Squad was in meditation and couldn’t move right away.
“Damn it! Just wait! I’ll go rescue them. You round up the kids! From now on, we’re going after the scum who stole my stuff—no, the bastards strutting around Namgung Clan territory!”
Leaving those words behind, Namgung Hyeok vanished like the wind.
Paeng Jung-hyeok stared blankly at Namgung Hyeok’s disappearing back.
“Young Master Namgung…?”
Looking in the direction Namgung Hyeok had gone, Paeng Jung-hyeok muttered.
“Do you even know where those guys are to go find them…?”
Namgung Hyeok’s eyes were already rolled back in rage at the scum who’d dared touch his spirit medicine ingredients.