Chapter 161
Chapter 161
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 161
Chapter Title: Slapping the Cheek (1)
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My maternal grandfather, who had shown me that Lee Gwon-young was still alive, turned his steps toward the exit of the basement.
I silently followed his footsteps.
"This lowly one merely sought to reclaim his rightful rights!"
Once we had put some distance between ourselves and the room where Lee Gwon-young was shouting those words,
my maternal grandfather spoke again in a low voice.
"Let me see. You said he went too easily compared to his crimes, and that his death had been neatly packaged?"
"……."
"And that he shouldn't be placed alongside the altar honoring the other departed souls?"
"…Your grandson failed to fully grasp Grandfather's intentions and spoke out of turn."
"It was not out of turn at all. Nor did you fail to grasp my intentions. Rather, you pierced straight to the heart of them."
As we walked, we exited the basement.
Only after returning the incense burner to its place and sealing the stairs leading down did my maternal grandfather continue.
"Yong-un, everything you said is correct. How could I place Gwon-young, who sold out the Lee family head for his own greed, on the same altar as those who gave their lives?"
"……."
"In truth, he doesn't even deserve death. Only after confessing everything he knows and showing even a shred of regret for his wrongs would he earn that right. But to minimize the confusion among those left behind, I had no choice but to package it that way. He's not truly on the same altar—he'll breathe his last on a different day, at a different hour. The departed will understand that much."
At my maternal grandfather's words,
my master at my waist clicked his tongue in admiration.
- …As you said, Yong-un, you kept Lee Gwon-young alive only under the premise that he would take his own life? Hah. When it comes to one's child, it's not easy to become so ruthless, yet he is a man of iron guts.
I somewhat agreed with my master's words,
but perhaps because I had spent time with Eon Jeong-ung before coming here?
Or maybe because I had seen my maternal grandfather's hand tremble for a moment?
A short word of comfort slipped from my lips unbidden.
"Are you alright?"
At my words, my maternal grandfather's pupils trembled for an instant.
"You could have been the one lying on that altar, yet here you are worrying about me?"
But he soon shook his head and spat out resolute words.
"I'm fine. I once said something similar to Jung-young. You were there, so you remember, but I can understand and forgive Gwon-young trying to kill me. But dragging the other family members into mortal peril? That I cannot forgive. The man in that basement is no longer my son. So you should stop thinking of him as your uncle."
I nodded at those words,
and my maternal grandfather continued.
"I brought you here partly because you saw through my heart, Yong-un, but also because I need your help with one thing."
"Help, Grandfather?"
"To make that fool Gwon-young spill everything he knows about the Demonic Cult, I've kept him locked up like that without even a sip of water as groundwork. But in the end, he knows next to nothing about those Demonic Cult bastards. Even if he talks, I wouldn't know which words are useful and which are not."
"You want me to assist with the interrogation?"
"Exactly. From what I've seen of this incident, you seem to know the most about the Demonic Cult among us, Yong-un. You've been secretly pursuing them alone, haven't you?"
"……?"
I had no idea what conversations had taken place while my eyes were closed to lead to that conclusion.
'It's not entirely wrong, though.'
At this point, it was true that I was among those who knew the most about the Demonic Cult.
If I corrected the misunderstanding, I'd have to answer how I knew so much about them, and I had nothing to say to that.
So, I decided to go along with it and nodded.
"Yes. I'll do it."
But I added one condition.
"On one condition."
"A condition?"
"Yes. Whatever remains, do it alone with Uncle Yoon-young. That's my condition for helping with this."
My master had said my maternal grandfather was a man of iron guts.
But no such person truly existed.
'He seemed to maintain that resolute attitude,'
but I had seen his pupils tremble at my brief comfort,
and the tips of his fingers quiver when he spoke of having Lee Gwon-young take his own life.
Come to think of it, my maternal grandfather's recent words flashed through my mind.
'I'm not alright. But I have to be.'
I spoke firmly.
"Grandfather, please step away from this matter now."
At my words,
my maternal grandfather blinked as if at a loss for words for a moment.
"…When you were little, Young-young would somehow sense when her father was downhearted and come pull his hand. That memory just came to me."
At some point,
he nodded.
"Understood. I'll send Yoon-young here."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ How much time had passed since my maternal grandfather returned to the inner chamber of the ancestral hall where Uncle Yoon-young and the others were?
Clack—
Uncle Yoon-young entered the room where I waited, his face unusually heavy.
"…Hoo. Father called for you separately, so I had my suspicions, but he told you about Gwon-young too. Were you surprised?"
"I have a strong stomach."
"Fair enough. Even if you had good intentions deep down, stealing the family's secret manuals doesn't make for a small gut."
"……."
"Anyway. How much of Father's thoughts did you hear?"
"Up to the part about making him confess everything on the Demonic Cult and then having the youngest uncle take his own life."
"You heard it all. I opposed it. I said send him to the Murim Alliance, but he wouldn't be persuaded. Then I said if he must do it, he shouldn't handle it himself—let me do it. But he's so stubborn, there was no way. How did you convince him?"
"…I can't explain it other than it just happened that way."
"Fair enough. It doesn't matter. Good job anyway. You're better than me."
Uncle Yoon-young and I gathered a few items needed to extract a confession from Lee Gwon-young while chatting about this and that.
"Shall we go in?"
"Let's."
And together we descended into the basement revealed by pulling the incense burner.
Rumble—
At the sound of our approach,
Lee Gwon-young started shrieking again.
"Father!!!"
Seeing that it wasn't my maternal grandfather who entered but us,
perhaps ashamed of being bound and tied to the wall, he scowled and vented his irritation.
"…Not Father, but Lee Yoon-young? And Eon Yong-un? Here to mock me? Father really knows how to make a man pitiful."
Toward such a Lee Gwon-young, I slightly released my aura and spoke.
"It's over."
With that, I opened the box containing Guo Sa-hong's severed head among the prepared items.
"Earl Demon Army Guo Sa-hong has become a headless ghost like this, and outside are our father and the head of the Northern Peng Family, called your apprentice. If you're waiting for the Demonic Cult to rescue you, give it up."
"……."
Lee Gwon-young flinched at the aura I showed and Guo Sa-hong's head.
I pressed the advantage.
"Give up and tell us what you discussed with the Demonic Cult, and if you handed over any Lee family rights. Help us resolve this smoothly. Though things have come to this, the Lee family head is where the youngest uncle was born and raised…."
I used respectful terms since calling him Lee Gwon-young during the interrogation felt like picking a fight.
But that seemed to touch his sore spot, as he suddenly shrieked.
"Who's your youngest uncle? If I'm the youngest uncle, does that put me below that Lee Yoon-young bastard?! You scoundrel!"
At that moment,
flames seemed to ignite in Uncle Yoon-young's eyes,
and he strode toward Lee Gwon-young and slapped him hard across the cheek.
Smack!!!!!!!!
He hit so hard that Uncle Yoon-young's hand turned bright red, and Lee Gwon-young's lip split open.
"Who are you calling a scoundrel? If you're the scoundrel, Gwon-young, then fine—but thanks to Yong-un, how many lives were saved!"
Lee Gwon-young spat out the blood pooling in his mouth and sneered.
"You dare hit me? Hah, Lee Yoon-young's really let loose now?!"
"Yes, thanks to you, I've completely let loose! My brother has lost Father's trust entirely, you're in this state, so now the Lee family headship rolls right into my lap. I could dance for joy!"
"So Lee Yoon-young finally shows his true colors."
"That damn true colors! My true colors have always been the same! When did I ever want this? My wish has been the same since childhood: for you and my brother to hate me less, for us siblings to get along better!"
But perhaps because he's such a good man?
The flames in Uncle Yoon-young's eyes didn't burn long.
"…I just wanted that. Never once did I wish to be Lee family head or head of the Taewon Merchant Group. I don't know how things ended up like this."
But to Lee Gwon-young, those words must have felt like a thorn in his throat.
A self-mocking mutter escaped his lips.
"…Useless fool who can't even get properly angry. I hated that about you. It makes people look petty."
And that self-mockery made Uncle Yoon-young speak again.
"…You're right, Gwon-young. It might all be my fault."
"……."
"…You should have just sent assassins after me alone."
Uncle Yoon-young, who said he could give up not just fame and position like Lee family head or Taewon Merchant Group head, but even his life, prompted Lee Gwon-young to respond.
"That…."
But he didn't finish.
He bit his lip and lowered his head.
"……."
"……."
Their words didn't continue.
I didn't interject either.
A heavy silence flowed for quite some time.
At some point, Lee Gwon-young broke the silence and lifted his head.
He met my eyes.
"Yong-un."
"Yes."
The look in his eyes was different now, filled with some resolute determination.
"Time may be short, so listen well."
"Speak."
"I told them that once they seize the Lee family, no more releasing to the Northern Market or Horse Market. We agreed to completely dominate the Three Gates Alliance region through that. That was all we discussed about future plans…."
That was when it happened.
The moment Lee Gwon-young began speaking about his dealings with the Demonic Cult.
Suddenly, veins bulged on his face, and he began dry-heaving.
"Urk."
"Gah, Gwon-young? Yong-un! What's wrong with Gwon-young?!"
One possibility flashed through my mind.
'He just said time is short.'
Did the Demonic Cult impose some restriction?
But I sensed no energy right away.
'Not a curse restriction.'
Then there was only one possibility left.
"Did you swallow gu poison?!"
Gu poison is made by injecting curses or toxins into insects, taking various forms depending on the method, but generally manifests by causing pain or taking life when the swallower defies the giver's control.
And sure enough,
Lee Gwon-young nodded at my question,
and Uncle Yoon-young asked me for a solution.
"Yong-un! Isn't there some way?!"
"…As far as I know, before it fully takes root in the body, burning it with internal energy, or an exact antidote for that gu—nothing else."
So there was no way to help in this case.
I shook my head, and Uncle Yoon-young looked crestfallen.
"…No way? …Truly none?!"
Looking at such an Uncle Yoon-young, Lee Gwon-young gave a bitter smile.
"…Can a man be this good? Cough."
At the end of that laugh, he gave his brother the affectionate "hyungnim" he had cherished all his life.
"…Being too good is your downfall, hyungnim."
"……."
"Being a merchant isn't something you do just by being nice. Sometimes you have to cut ties cleanly. You can't keep fretting over every betrayer."
"Gwon-young…."
"…I was jealous. Afraid my superior brother would take everything. And scared. That the ridicule and contempt I'd endured my whole life would snowball back at me. All that was useless. I… realized too late."
Lee Gwon-young's face was growing paler by the moment as he spoke.
He seemed to be squeezing out words with all his might.
Yet, with much left unsaid, he didn't stop.
"My wife and children are innocent. I entrust Je-se-dang to you. And Yong-un."
"Speak."
"It may sound like an excuse, but I truly never meant to drag your brothers into it."
"……."
"A fool like me harbored greed beyond his grasp, and the sparks flew your way. Come to think of it, I wronged your mother Young-young many times in our youth. I want to apologize for those…."
But before he could finish,
he vomited blood.
"Cough,"
"Gwon-young!"
"I know my deeds can't be forgiven. Still, tell Father I'm sorry…."
In the end, he couldn't complete all he wanted to say.
He stopped speaking.
He had breathed his last.
"Gwon-young!!!!"
Forgetting I was there, Uncle Yoon-young clutched Lee Gwon-young's body and sobbed.
'He left without even telling Grandfather he's sorry.'
Lee Gwon-young's crimes warranted death, and he didn't expect forgiveness.
He just wanted to convey one apology.
Grandfather too, if he set aside the world and returned to being a father, surely had words he wanted to say.
But that moment would never come now.
'I thought I'd be fine since I'm one step removed from the Lee or Eon families.'
The Demonic Cult bastards really knew how to sour one's mood.