Chapter 16
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: The Patriarch's Wrath
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"So?"
"……U-Uncle. It's just that, it's been ten years since I last saw Hyun, so I didn't recognize him and I just……."
"Ah, I see. That can happen. But didn't your retainers block the road first?"
"……."
"And they swung their swords without warning? They even threatened to cut off my precious son's head?"
"I-It was a misunderstanding, Uncle."
"A misunderstanding? What kind of misunderstanding?"
"Pardon?"
"There are already hundreds of witnesses."
"Th-That's……."
The grand hall of Yu Clan Manor.
At Yu Seong-hwan's icy questions, Nangong Han-su sweated profusely, floundering helplessly.
Just as he said, there were hundreds of witnesses.
No, there might be even more.
Even people who hadn't been there were stepping forward to testify.
It wasn't as if they were the son of Anpyeong County or something……. Folks from all over crowded in, chirping like parrots that Nangong Clan warriors had held a sword to Yu Hyun's neck and threatened to kill him.
But as clan leader, he couldn't admit that Jeok Seong's actions had been wrong.
Would any clan's guards allow a stranger of uncertain identity to approach their master?
"Uncle, Jeok Seong didn't know the boy was Hyun, that's why he did it."
"Ah, he didn't know it was Hyun?"
"Yes, so please be merciful……."
"Tsk tsk, how can the head of a household think so narrowly?"
"……."
"If it wasn't Hyun, then it would've been fine?"
"Pardon?"
"Blocking an innocent person's path without reason and shoving a sword in his face—is that acceptable?"
"Th-That's……."
"Is my reasoning wrong?"
"……."
Nangong Han-su clamped his mouth shut, at a loss for words.
What could he say?
They were the ones who drew their swords, and they were the ones who knocked Yu Hyun down.
"Listen here, son-in-law."
"Yes! Father-in-law."
"Where is this Jeok Seong fellow?"
"I've sent him to the infirmary for now."
"Infirmary? What infirmary?"
"Pardon?"
Yu Seong-hwan, who had been struggling to stay calm, felt the skin around his eyes twitch.
"You're saying you've put a man who deserves to have his head chopped off right now in the infirmary? A thug who swings his sword wildly in broad daylight?!"
"……."
"Drag him out and throw him in the county jail this instant!"
"……Y-Yes. Understood."
Even Dam Cheon-u couldn't intervene this time.
"U-Uncle. Please calm down……."
"Calm down?"
As Nangong Han-su hurriedly stepped forward in Dam Cheon-u's place, Yu Seong-hwan's eyebrows twisted upward in fury.
"Are you in your right mind?"
"……."
"I'm barely holding back from having that boy's head myself!"
Nangong Seong, collapsed on the floor without even daring to lift his head, shuddered.
"Your retainers started it, and you beat him without even asking why?"
"……."
"If not for my friendship with that friend of yours! If he weren't a boy who might one day become Hyun's brother-in-law! I wouldn't have given you a chance to explain yourself!"
"……."
Nangong Han-su squeezed his eyes shut at Yu Seong-hwan's fiery outburst.
What use were the flaws about Yu Hyun in the ledger they obtained in exchange for the Emperor's Ring?
At this point, rejecting the marriage proposal was a pipe dream.
"Sigh, I knew it would come to this. I knew it. This is all because we let the Beggars' Sect run wild. With a gang of thugs brawling every other day, this is what happens."
As the blame suddenly turned toward them, O Hyun—who had been trembling silently beside Nangong Han-su—turned pale as a ghost.
"P-Patriarch. No, that's not true. The Beggars' Sect has nothing to do with this. It was Nangong Clan's doing alone."
"……."
Nangong Han-su shot him a look of utter disbelief at the petty betrayal, but he was powerless to stop it.
With the entire Anpyeong branch on the verge of annihilation, what good was loyalty?
"Shut your mouth!"
"……."
"Do you think I don't know you've been selling Yu Clan Manor affairs to corrupt officials for profit!"
"P-Patriarch, that's……."
"I don't want to hear it!"
"……."
"Yes, we've let you lot run too free. You ignore even the laws that upright citizens must follow……. I'm going straight to the Emperor to petition against this outrage. Those with power must uphold law and propriety above all, yet you abuse your strength—how burdensome must it be for the common folk? If the regular army won't do, we'll mobilize the Imperial Guard and set things right!"
"P-Patriarch!"
At the thunderous words, O Hyun tumbled from his chair and prostrated himself flat.
The situation had escalated to absurdity in an instant.
The branch was no longer the issue.
Official inaction? Nonsense.
Bandits and waterborne gangs roamed free, and martial sects had grown strong as local powers precisely because the Emperor turned a blind eye.
There were too many to stamp out one by one, and sometimes they were useful……
But if the Emperor truly unleashed the Imperial Guard, the martial world would flicker out like a candle in the wind.
Of course, he wouldn't act without cause……
But if Yu Seong-hwan—the man hailed as the most learned in the realm, the Emperor's former tutor—poured his heart into a petition?
The ministers would move, their Confucian scholars would lend support.
And the Emperor would ultimately be persuaded. The martial world's peace would end.
And now, with this man already furious at the mere existence of the Anpyeong branch…… if he learned they'd taken the Emperor's Ring in exchange for selling Yu Hyun's information?
The thought alone was horrifying.
"Patriarch, I beg your forgiveness like this. Please……."
[What are you doing, Nangong Clan Head! Get down and beg!]
[…….]
[If that man mobilizes the Imperial Guard because of your mess, how will you take responsibility!]
[……I-Is it that serious?]
[You fool……. He's the former Imperial Tutor whom the current Emperor reveres!]
Snapped back to reality by O Hyun's near-shouting transmission, Nangong Han-su hastily prostrated himself beside him and begged.
"U-Uncle. I was wrong. I swear it won't happen again……."
"Hmph! I don't want to hear it!"
Ignoring the two groveling men, Yu Seong-hwan bellowed at Dam Cheon-u.
"Son-in-law, what are you doing! Prepare at once. I'm going to the palace!"
"F-Father-in-law. Please think it over a bit more……."
"Patriarch!"
"Uncle!"
"Great-uncle!"
Everyone present rushed forward without a word, clinging desperately to the resolute old scholar's arms and legs.
Dam Cheon-u grabbed his sleeve, O Hyun—who held the Beggars' Sect's information on Yi Seong—clutched his right ankle, and Nangong Han-su, head of one of the Five Great Clans, his left.
Finally, Nangong Seong—the direct culprit who had beaten Yu Hyun—leaped in front and prostrated himself once more.
"You lot! Let go! Get out of my way this instant!"
It was a law of nature: trying to stop him only fueled his rage.
Yu Seong-hwan's crimson-faced roar echoed thunderously through the hall.
But who would let go?
It was then, as they all clung on with desperate resolve to save the martial world teetering on the brink, that salvation arrived unbidden.
"Why is it so noisy in here?"
"H-Hyun!"
"Brother-in-law!"
"Young Master Yu!"
"……."
"……."
Yu Hyun—who had to awkwardly twist sideways to squeeze through the wide-open door—stared at them blankly before snapping in irritation.
"What are you all doing right now?"
"Ah, well…… Ahem, how's your body feeling?"
Yu Seong-hwan instantly regained his usual complexion at the sight of his son and awkwardly checked on him.
In that moment, O Hyun knew instinctively.
Yu Hyun alone could save the martial world.
"Oh dear, Young Master Yu. How are you feeling? Any internal injuries? Any internal injuries?"
"Ah, whatever. I'm fine."
"Goodness! You're truly remarkable. Nangong Young Master's fists aren't pillows, yet you're up and about like this? Haha, I heard you'd lost some weight lately, but you've become so sleek I barely recognize you."
O Hyun shot forward like lightning and plastered himself to Yu Hyun, rubbing his hands together obsequiously as he fawned.
"And if there was anything you needed to know, you could've just called for me. If you'd summoned me, I'd have dropped everything to come……. Instead, you came yourself, clashed with Nangong Clan, and got hurt—how can I ever face you again?"
Nangong Han-su grimaced as O Hyun threw Nangong Clan under the bus with all his might, his flattery ringing hollow.
But what could he do? A mere fistfight had ballooned into catastrophe……
"Called for you? How could I impose? You're the one I needed."
"What are you saying? Are you and I ordinary acquaintances? We even share the same last character in our names…… Ha ha ha!"
"……."
Claiming camaraderie over matching name endings. True to Beggars' Sect form, his shamelessness was top-tier.
Yu Hyun chuckled softly and brushed past him toward Nangong Han-su.
"Brother is fine, right?"
"Huh?"
"Your younger brother Yu Hyun greets you late."
"Y-Yeah."
Nangong Han-su accepted the greeting in his awkward half-prostrated pose.
Brothers.
Though the age gap was wide, Yu Hyun was the son of Yu Seong-hwan—his sworn brother and the man he called uncle—so that made them so.
"You have a guest, yet no tea is served?"
"Ah, well……."
Yu Seong-hwan gave an awkward smile at the light rebuke and trailed off.
"By the way, Father, what was all that earlier?"
"Hm?"
"About going to see the Emperor and doing what?"
"……Ah, well, I was going to petition His Majesty to deal with these martial thugs who are no better than……."
"Sigh……."
"……."
Yu Hyun let out a deep sigh before Yu Seong-hwan could finish.
"Father."
"……."
"I understand your anger comes from love for me, but is the Emperor so idle these days?"
"……."
"As his former tutor, how can you burden him with such trivial matters when he's swamped with state affairs?"
"Y-You're right. Even I think I went overboard."
Everyone stared in bewilderment at Yu Seong-hwan, who nodded vigorously as if he'd never raged at all.
Who was the man who had been howling and stomping about just moments ago?
"Exactly. It was excessive. Martial artists live by their own codes too. They punish those who harm civilians among themselves."
"I-I know, but…… still, that Jeok Seong drew his sword on you for no reason……."
"It must've been a misunderstanding. Like your loyalty to the Emperor, Father—it was just overzealous. Don't the Imperial Guards control the surroundings when His Majesty is present?"
"N-No, how can you compare him to……."
"That's how strong his loyalty is. Isn't loyalty and filial piety the foremost virtues one must uphold? Please forgive them with the generosity I so admire in you."
"Hmm, if you put it that way……. But that boy who hit you……."
"Ah!"
Spotting Nangong Seong at last, Yu Hyun grinned and approached him.
"You're Seong, right?"
"……."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Yu Hyun. You're older, but by rights, I'm your uncle."
"P-Pardon? Uh……."
Yu Hyun was three years younger, but Nangong Seong nodded anyway. Their relation was technically so, and the situation demanded it.
Yu Hyun grinned again at his dazed, awkward bow.
He already knew Nangong Seong. Very well.
He'd recognized him even mid-fight, which was why he'd let his guard down and gotten knocked out—and rushed here the moment he regained his senses.
Nangong Seong.
One of the Righteous Six Saints, the brutal master who beat him like a dog every day under the guise of training. The personality wreck who inherited the title of Sword King.
How delightfully nostalgic.
"Haha! When you had your fists clenched, you were like a mindless beast, but look at you now, all cowed!"
*Smack, smack!*
Yu Hyun laughed heartily and clapped his shoulder with feigned old affection, and Nangong Seong winced but responded politely.
"Th-That's…… Sorry."
"Sorry? Just don't do it again, haha!"
Moments ago, he'd struck with shoulder-shattering force; now, he poked his cheeks like an adoring elder with a cute nephew.
"Uncle?"
"Hahaha, what's wrong, nephew?"
"No, I mean……."
He even grabbed his cheeks and stretched them out.
……Is he messing with me? It has to be on purpose.
As displeasure crept up and Nangong Seong furrowed his brow while yielding his cheeks, Yu Hyun savored boundless glee.
Ah, the sweet taste of revenge!
In the past, you were my master—but now I'm your uncle. Uncle.
Can't an uncle tug his cute nephew's cheeks?
"Hmm, does it irk you to hear 'nephew' from someone younger? You look like you want to punch me again."
"P-Pardon? N-No, how could I to my uncle……."
"Haha, thought so?"
"……No, but your hands……."
"You know, your fists pack a punch. It hurt like hell."
Yu Hyun rubbed his belly with one hand and grimaced, startling Nangong Seong—who had been glaring irritably—into a frantic apology.
"S-Sorry. Uncle."
Yes, hold onto that feeling. Your uncle will keep doting on you from now on.
Just like when you beat me half to death under the guise of instruction.