Chapter 177
Chapter 177
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Translator: penny
Chapter Title: Signs of War (4)
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“Instructor Chu Un-hwi. Is that correct?”
The ones strictly guarding the inn were the Nangong Family's famed Soaring Heavens Hundred Swords Unit.
He had encountered them before in front of the Myo Jin Sect, but unlike then, their overbearing attitude was nowhere to be seen.
“Please come this way.”
Following the squad member's lead brought him to a garden filled with exotic flowers, despite being indoors.
Quite the refined hobby.
The one who had summoned him was already beyond the garden.
However, Nangong Chan was not alone.
Baek Ri-seon-ho and Moyong Ju were there as well.
So that's where they went.
They were in a place like this?
As he stepped forward to enter, someone blocked his path.
“Instructor Chu Un-hwi.”
It was Nangong Il-jun.
He whispered a warning into his ear.
[Don't be rude to the elder of our house.]
“I'll do my best.”
He trudged inside, and Moyong Ju rolled her eyes.
“Heh heh. It's been a while since I've been in a spot like this.”
“Isn't this the first time we're meeting out in the open?”
“We've kept our distance until now.”
Moyong Ju seemed itching to bring up her granddaughter but held back, glancing sideways at Nangong Chan.
“Come, sit down quickly. This gathering was arranged for your sake by the elder.”
At Baek Ri-seon-ho's gesture, he plopped down and looked at the people before him.
“Heh heh. I didn't think you'd actually show up. You've got some guts.”
Nangong Chan looked completely different from how he'd appeared just days ago.
If he was like a biting winter gale back then, now he's like a spring breeze? That's the vibe.
It wasn't just the atmosphere that had changed.
Pour.
“You must be tired from the long journey. Have a drink first.”
Even the hand filling his cup moved with gentle grace.
Slurp.
Chu Un-hwi drained his cup and set it down on the table with a clink.
“Why did you summon me?”
“Quite the blunt greeting.”
“I'm a busy man.”
Going straight to the point made Moyong Ju and Baek Ri-seon-ho gasp instead.
“Hey, take a breath first.”
“What do you mean, rude, when an elder has summoned you?”
Seeing their lips forming curses, it seemed the two had come here for a different reason.
They must have followed to prevent any major incidents.
But unexpectedly, a pleased smile hung on Nangong Chan's lips.
“Leave him be. I don't mind seeing some youthful spirit.”
Bluntness was fine too.
Nangong Chan chuckled heartily and tossed out a remark.
“To the point, then. What would it take for you to hand over Yun-ho?”
“Why would I hand over Yun-ho?”
“It seems like he's taken a liking to you.”
“He's got a good head on his shoulders, so he'll decide his own path.”
Heh heh.
Nangong Chan smiled softly and stroked his white beard.
“You seem quite angry with me.”
“I'm not particularly angry.”
More like...
“I just can't wrap my head around why he'd abandon a fine household to cling to some newbie instructor he's only recently met.”
A blatant provocation.
“Hey!”
Moyong Ju's jaw trembled, but Chu Un-hwi didn't stop.
“You don't seem like you're from some backwater family, so why push the kid away and bother me like this?”
“So you are angry.”
Surprisingly, Nangong Chan acknowledged it.
“Honestly, I admit my mistake. My decision was too hasty.”
“Elder.”
With Baek Ri-seon-ho's sigh, Nangong Chan continued.
“But think about it. How much do you really know about the Nangong Family?”
“Who knows?”
Chu Un-hwi glanced at the lavish feast and replied.
“That they serve enough food to break the table?”
“Instructor Chu!”
Nangong Il-jun and the Soaring Heavens Hundred Swords Unit guarding the perimeter reached for their swords.
“Enough.”
If Nangong Chan hadn't raised his hand in advance, they might have lunged to grab him by the hair.
Without even looking, Chu Un-hwi asked.
“Why did you abandon the kid?”
“...I suppose I'll have to explain in detail.”
Clink.
Nangong Chan set down his cup gracefully and pointed to one side with a finger.
“This is the Nangong Family's pride, the Soaring Heavens Hundred Swords Unit.”
“They look like considerable experts.”
“Indeed. Only peak masters are allowed into the unit.”
Nangong Chan explained with pride in his voice.
“If Yun-ho were just some regular member of the Nangong Family, I would have looked after the child to the end.”
“And if he's not?”
“But leading the family as a direct bloodline is an entirely different matter.”
A regular member and a direct descendant were worlds apart.
Nangong Chan was drawing a line.
“As you said, growing up as a direct bloodline grants immense power.”
“Is that so?”
“Eating in a luxurious inn like this is nothing.”
Even if they feasted on gold for every meal, no one would bat an eye.
“Yun-ho is the family head's son. His mere existence begets power.”
“Even if he doesn't become family head?”
“You wouldn't understand, but just being part of the Nangong clan draws people bearing gold ingots.”
“Must be convenient.”
“It's dangerous too. A casual remark can spread and bring scandal, or a thoughtless word can create massive interests.”
For example.
“A child once let slip while drunk.”
It wasn't all that trivial.
“He just said he had no appetite lately. Childish whining, nothing more.”
“And?”
“Do you know what happened?”
Silent, waiting for the answer, Nangong Chan grinned, baring his teeth.
“The merchant group supplying our grain went bankrupt.”
“What?”
“Rumors spread that their grain wasn't up to par anymore.”
“Heh.”
Moyong Ju nodded beside him.
“It's a famous story.”
“Famous?”
“It's always mentioned when telling the family children to watch their words.”
Did something insane really happen?
Nangong Chan's explanation didn't end there.
“By dawn, a long line formed in front of the family estate. Merchant groups eager to supply grain anew.”
“......”
“One offhand remark left a thousand people from our longtime trading partner out on the streets.”
Rumors of poor grain quality severed their other contracts too.
“Do you see what I'm getting at?”
“Always eat your food with relish?”
“Kekeke. Quite the sharp tongue.”
Nangong Chan's tone shifted.
“Yun-ho back then lacked the spirit to bear such heavy familial duties. His martial arts were the same.”
“I see.”
“Handing the family to a child who hesitated at everything would have been predictable.”
Chu Un-hwi's eyes flashed at the roundabout words.
“So. You discarded him?”
“Instructor Chu!”
Baek Ri-seon-ho tugged at his sleeve.
He was worried about Chu Un-hwi, who showed no restraint before this fearsome elder.
But again, Nangong Chan didn't react.
“Yes. I discarded him.”
He simply acknowledged it plainly.
“You're admitting it surprisingly easily.”
“I'm not so corrupt as to call truth a lie.”
With that, Nangong Chan wet his throat with a sip.
“The world calls me by many nicknames. Sword Saint, Soaring Heavens Divine Lord. Do you know what it was before?”
“Soaring Heavens Divine Hero, Elder.”
At Moyong Ju's interjection, Nangong Chan nodded.
“I know how you see me, but I'm not as heartless as you think.”
“For someone like that.”
“I become ruthless only when it concerns the family.”
It wasn't hard to believe. The supreme elder of the great Nangong Family.
For a being called the Sword Saint to share a table with a mere temporary instructor was a grand concession already.
“Thanks a bunch.”
“Why do you always sound so obnoxious?”
Ignoring Moyong Ju's snark, Nangong Chan laughed.
“The reason I arranged this meeting is to make you three proposals.”
My son has the makings of a family head, but he still lacks tenderness.
Adding that, Nangong Chan raised his white rice finger.
“First proposal. What do you say to coming under the Nangong roof?”
“Instructing is my true calling.”
“We could bind you by blood too. I'll give you a fine child from our clan.”
“I'm a romance purist.”
“I see. Well, you do have a striking woman by your side.”
Seemed like a massive misunderstanding, but before he could correct it, Moyong Ju chimed in.
“Elder, these days' youth don't need blood ties necessarily.”
They say friends-plus but not quite lovers is ideal.
“Is that so?”
At the whisper, Nangong Chan moved to the next proposal.
“Second. Tell me how you instructed Yun-ho.”
“With constant attention and meticulous care.”
He answered with sincerity, but this time Baek Ri-seon-ho sniped.
“The kids say you never show up on time.”
Of all things.
He'd forgotten to muzzle the vicious assistants.
“Haha. No intention of answering, I see.”
“It's my livelihood.”
“Then, on to the next proposal.”
Clack.
Amid the splendid feast, Nangong Chan—who had only picked at the humble greens—voiced the final proposal.
“Third. Send Yun-ho back to the family.”
This one you can't refuse.
Nangong Chan's aura surged like mountains.
Rumble rumble rumble!
“Elder!”
Moyong Ju and Baek Ri-seon-ho gasped at the sudden pressure.
Yet Nangong Chan's aura didn't pause, rising relentlessly.
Rumble rumble rumble!
It shook the entire inn without mercy.
Simply channeling inner energy to whip up a gale—it was a sight worthy of the Sword Saint.
“Hup.”
The feeble old man aura from moments ago was gone.
“Let me explain why the third proposal is non-negotiable.”
Rumble rumble rumble!
Even as he emanated waves that seemed to shake the whole town, Nangong Chan leisurely opened his mouth to continue.
“No matter how I think about it, the only path beneficial for Yun-ho is returning to the family.”
“......”
“Ah, too overwhelmed to speak? My apologies.”
Contrary to his words, he intensified the pressure, shaking heaven and earth, and licked his lips.
“You, stuck to the ground looking up, wouldn't know.”
Unlike your half-baked life.
Seeds of emperors aren't common.
“It's a child who must learn to live looking down from now on.”
Can't shatter his future for a temporary instructor's greed.
“No matter how I see it, this is the right path.”
Wealth to fill warehouses.
Power to move thousands with a word.
And peerless divine arts to shake the world.
“I understand not knowing what you haven't tasted, but forcing a child to forgo delicacies you've never savored—isn't that tyranny?”
Crack!
“Kuh!”
Caught in the aura, Chu Un-hwi sank an inch into his seat.
It was a divine feat multiplying gravity dozens of times with sheer presence.
“Elder! Stop!”
“Instructor Chu will be hurt!”
Bzzz!
Moyong Ju and Baek Ri-seon-ho mustered their own energies to shield him.
Kwang!
But Nangong Chan easily brushed aside their auras and amplified his own.
Still composed, he chanted the proposal as if final.
“Decide. Will you hand him over?”
Or suffer here.
It was time to choose.
“Grk. Right, the second proposal comes to mind.”
Second proposal?
The one asking how I taught him?
Why mention the second now?
It was then.
Bang!
Incredibly, not only enduring his energy.
Chu Un-hwi kicked and shattered the table, glaring fiercely as he spoke.
“I told him, if there's some shitty bastard acting up, just charge in first.”
This punk?
As Nangong Chan, eyes flashing with madness, tried to raise his energy again.
“Family Head! Big trouble!”
“What is it!”
As Nangong Chan bellowed, interrupted.
A visibly panicked Soaring Heavens Hundred Swords member brought unbelievable news.
“Our family is under attack!”