Chapter 500: Daoist Yin-Yang Manual[R-18] (134)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 500: Daoist Yin-Yang Manual[R-18] (134)
The wedding ceremony of Namgung So-ha and Gu Hyeong-cheon was underway. Despite the bride’s cold expression, the guests all nodded in understanding.
And finally, the long-awaited final moment arrived.
Representatives from both families took their places on the platform.
“Now, the bride and groom will exchange their vows and officially become husband and wife before all of you!”
The guests applauded at the announcement, and the bride and groom stood side-by-side on the platform. Namgung So-ha’s expression hardened, as if she had finally made a decision.
The officiant declared in a clear voice.
“The groom will now lift the bride’s veil and kiss her—!”
At his words, Gu Hyeong-cheon approached the bride with a sinister smile, dragging his enormous body forward. Namgung So-ha clutched the dagger hidden in her sleeve, preparing to swing the blade at the pig-like bastard’s neck.
‘…I’ll kill him.’
Just as his greasy hand reached for her veil…
CRRAAASSH!!
“I object—!!”
The doors flew open with a deafening boom, and a man dressed in black silk with a black bamboo hat made a grand entrance.
Every guest’s eyes immediately turned to him.
He slowly scanned the room and shouted.
“For such a beautiful woman to marry a monster that’s half pig and half toad—! This is a great sin against the heavens!”
For a moment, someone couldn’t hold back their laughter.
“Pfft…”
The laughter quickly spread, and snickers echoed from all corners of the hall. But the man didn’t stop.
“Look! Look closely at that face! Is that truly the face of a human?”
His finger pointed directly at Gu Hyeong-cheon. In an instant, the hall erupted in laughter.
“Puhahahahahaha—!”
Gu Hyeong-cheon’s face turned beet red, while those around him coughed and sputtered, trying to stifle their laughter. Watching the scene unfold, Namgung Hyeok ground his teeth and let out a low growl.
“…What are you all doing! Seize that man at once!!”
The warriors of the Namgung Clan scrambled in confusion, drawing their swords.
“You bastards! Do you even call yourselves human! How could you marry off such a lovely woman to a pig-like monster!”
“Shut that mouth of his first!”
At Namgung Hyeok’s furious shout, the warriors charged toward the man. But his movements were anything but ordinary.
Before they could even swing their swords, he twisted and broke a blade with one hand and sent two men flying with a single kick. Dozens of warriors were knocked down in an instant.
The man scoffed and shouted from where he stood.
“Namgung Hyeok! I heard you were famous for having a small dick! Your actions are as petty as your little prick! To think you’d sell your own sister to a pig bastard like that!”
Namgung Hyeok’s face flushed crimson, his eyes filled with killing intent.
“You… I don’t know who you are, but you’ve got some skill… I’ll deal with you myself.”
Namgung Hyeok slowly drew his sword.
“The head of the Namgung Clan is stepping forward himself…!”
But the man remained perfectly at ease.
“Heh heh, for a small dick like you to dare challenge me, your spirit is commendable!”
A vein bulged on Namgung Hyeok’s forehead.
“You’re just begging to die!!”
He drew his sword and lunged forward in a flash. The man caught the razor-sharp tip of the blade with just two fingers.
“……!”
Namgung Hyeok’s expression twisted. The man’s voice then echoed, cold and clear.
“You will pay for your sins.”
POW!
CRACK!
CRUNCH!
What followed was a completely one-sided beating. Namgung Hyeok couldn’t even land a single counterattack as he was exposed to the man’s merciless assault.
“Guuuhk…!!”
“Save the Family Head!!”
The warriors swarmed in. But it was over in a single moment.
SWOOOOSH!!
He needed no sword or spear. The man simply swept his palm through the air, and the resulting shockwave sent dozens of warriors flying.
And then.
Whoooosh…
One by one, swords of blue-green energy materialized in the air around him. Dozens, no, hundreds of sword forms swirled, circling the man.
“…S-Sword Control?!”
“He’s a master… Aren’t we in danger, too!”
Everyone present began to murmur amongst themselves. In the central VIP section, Dang Cheol, the head of the Sichuan Tang Clan, and Mu-gae, the leader of the Beggars' Sect, quietly exchanged glances.
“Clan Head Dang. In your eyes… does that look like Sword Control?”
At the Beggars' Sect leader’s question, Dang Cheol narrowed his eyes and slowly shook his head.
“It’s not Sword Control. But…”
Dang Cheol stared intently at the man under the bamboo hat.
“…Of all the martial arts I have ever witnessed, I have never seen a technique like that.”
The leader of the Beggars' Sect frowned.
“Then… is it some kind of dark art?”
“It’s not dark arts. The energy… it feels similar to that of the Taoist path.”
At Dang Cheol’s words, the Beggars' Sect leader’s expression grew heavy.
“…If we let this continue, this place will become a bloodbath.”
The two men exchanged a look and quietly rose from their seats. They took one step, then another, toward the man who had stormed the ceremony.
“Will you not stop there?”
At the words of Mu-gae, the leader of the Beggars' Sect, the man’s fist froze in mid-air.
“Who are you?”
“I am Mu-gae, leader of the Beggars' Sect. Might I ask for your name, senior?”
“My name…”
The man leisurely released his grip on Namgung Hyeok’s collar. He slowly raised a hand and removed his bamboo hat.
In that instant, gasps of admiration erupted from the women in the crowd.
“Oh my…!”
“Someone that handsome…!”
“Who is he…”
A sharp jawline, distinct features, and the eyes of a predator.
“Wait, you’re…?”
The Beggars' Sect leader’s eyes went wide. Dang Cheol, beside him, immediately asked.
“Do you know him?”
Mu-gae pressed his lips together and gave a silent nod.
“…He is the disciple of the Sword Empress.”
Hearing this, Dang Cheol narrowed his eyes and muttered.
“The Sword Empress’s disciple… Then he must be the one my son told me about, Jin Seo-yun.”
Mu-gae tensed. A few months ago, when he first saw Jin Seo-yun, he had clearly felt the energy of someone who had just reached the Transformation Realm.
Even then, he had thought him a tremendous monster.
But now, he couldn’t feel any energy at all. It was as if his very presence had been erased.
‘…The fact that I cannot fathom his depth means one thing.’
He was now an overwhelmingly powerful master, beyond any comparison to himself.
A chill instinctively ran down Mu-gae’s spine. Becoming this strong in just a few months was simply impossible to explain.
‘How much stronger has he gotten…? If he decides to kill, everyone here will die.’
He quietly turned his head to look behind him.
Namgung So-ha was busy slamming something down on the back of Gu Hyeong-cheon’s head. However, her eyes were like those of a woman in love.
‘…So they were lovers.’
All the pieces of the puzzle now fit. Jin Seo-yun had come to save his beloved.
It was then.
“Sir Mu-gae.”
Jin Seo-yun’s voice echoed quietly.
“If you have nothing more to say, I will continue what I was doing.”
Mu-gae’s eyes trembled slightly. Jin Seo-yun showed no intention of stopping.
“You, won’t you calm down a little? If you continue here—”
—Thud!
He took a single, light step. But that one step carried a weight that pressed down on the very air. The entire hall held its breath, and Mu-gae fell silent, unable to finish his sentence.
An overwhelming presence crushed the assembly.
“Don’t get yourself hurt by interfering. Just stand aside and watch.”
A frigid tone, icy eyes. Mu-gae couldn’t move a muscle, and even Dang Cheol beside him was frozen in place.
“Now then, I shall continue.”
As Jin Seo-yun finished speaking and raised his fist again—
Thump… Thump… Thump…!
Heavy footsteps echoed from beyond the gates of the Namgung estate. The sound of dozens, hundreds of armed soldiers marching shook the earth. The guests began to stir.
“They’re finally here.”
Jin Seo-yun muttered and turned his head. A man in red, gold-embroidered official robes strode majestically through the gates, followed by rows of armed soldiers.
“By order of His Majesty the Emperor, I will now arrest the traitor.”
At those words, the entire hall froze as if turned to ice.
Namgung Hyeok shot up from his spot and cried out.
“T-Traitor…?!”
But the man in the gold-embroidered robes simply nodded with a blank expression.
The hall became so quiet it was hard to breathe.
“Gu Hyeong-cheon.”
He looked down at the fallen Gu Hyeong-cheon and spoke coldly.
“For the crime of deceiving the Imperial Family.”
“For the crime of conspiring with the Honcheonhoe to commit treason.”
“And, for the crime of kidnapping and murdering innocent citizens, I hereby arrest you, Gu Hyeong-cheon.”
The official’s clear voice rang out. The hall fell silent for a moment before Gu Hyeong-cheon finally shouted hoarsely.
“D-Do you know who I am! How dare you— Gack!”
Before he could finish, the official swung his foot with lightning speed. Gu Hyeong-cheon’s head snapped to the side, and a mixture of blood and saliva splattered onto the floor.
“Shut up. You don’t even have the right to speak.”
The official looked down with ice-cold eyes and continued.
“Kidnapping and torturing innocent women, committing rape, and even desecrating their corpses—! This official has secured all the evidence.”
“For your crimes, even a summary execution in the name of His Majesty the Emperor would be insufficient. You should be grateful you are still breathing.”
A murmur began to spread through the guests.
‘Honcheonhoe?’, ‘Treason?’, ‘Kidnapping and even desecrating corpses…?’
The faces of the martial artists, realizing the gravity of the situation, grew grim. The members of the Namgung Clan were completely frozen.
*
Right before Gu Hyeong-cheon was to be punished, I had already raided the hidden vault in the basement of his residence. I was a little late because I was busy stuffing gold bars, silver bars, and rare treasures into my inventory.
Well, in the end, I didn’t miss anything important, so it all worked out.
After that, the Namgung Clan was in a state of complete mourning. The previous family head, Namgung Tae, had been assassinated, and the current head, Namgung Hyeok, had been brutally beaten in public.
The name of the Namgung Clan had nowhere to go but down.
Amidst the chaos, Namgung So-ha glanced at me, puffed out her cheeks, and said.
“Darling… I really can’t get married now… Are you really, truly going to take responsibility?”
She was partly pouting because I was late, but what she said was true. Not only was a political marriage out of the question, but even a personal one would be difficult now.
She wasn’t exactly young, the prestige of the Namgung Clan had hit rock bottom, and most importantly, her wedding had been ruined. She was now officially the woman who had almost married a traitor.
In the world of Murim, this was a fatal stigma that would utterly trample a woman’s honor.
I quietly took her hand.
“It’s okay. You were always mine, anyway.”
So-ha’s lips twitched as she grumbled.
“Hmph… Still, I want to have a wedding too, but I’m worried because my master has so many women!”
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure every single one of my women gets to have a wedding.”
I said, pulling her into an embrace. The warmth of Namgung So-ha filled my arms.
‘Now, all that’s left is to completely take over the collapsing Namgung Clan.’
Namgung So-ha’s Chapter 500 Commemorative Illustration
