Chapter 4
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Didn't Expect This (3)
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"Sure, hit me harder!"
"...?"
I must have misheard some nonsense.
Common sense told me my son wasn't the type with a strong spirit. If taken hostage, he'd be the first to betray us.
"Harder, harder, harder!"
"...?"
This was his father's warm, loving discipline.
How I'd missed it.
Ah, so sweet.
To Mujin, his father's spanking was the warm fruit of paternal love. He'd endured countless sword thrusts on the battlefield without flinching. But this spanking from his father was pure.
A surge of emotion welled up in him.
'Has this kid really lost his mind?'
No sane person would act like this.
Was one hit not enough?
Kang U-gyeong felt a twinge of fear at his son's bizarre behavior. If he went too far, his wife wouldn't stand for it. But backing down now would wound his pride as a father.
Fine.
If that's what you want, I'll grant it.
Smack, smack!
Yes! More! More! More!
Lee Seon-mi could only watch in stunned disbelief as her husband and son displayed this unexpected enthusiasm. The scene was heartwarming in a way, yet formed a grotesque mismatch she never wanted to witness. The father was putting his all into it, while the son wasn't just enduring the pain—he was loving every second.
He spanked him twenty times.
To Kang U-gyeong, that was overkill. He worried deep down that his son's rear end might not hold up. Even ten strokes of the rod could fell an ordinary man with staff poisoning, leaving him hovering between life and death.
"Now you know your sins!"
"I get it... but I'm still far from understanding! So hit me more! This worthless son has disappointed you time and again! Beat me properly so it never happens again!"
"...?"
Why does that sound so righteous?
Are you really my son?
But when he tried to stop, his son insisted it was his wish. A wave of unease hit him—had he never truly known his own child?
He couldn't lose momentum, though.
The son he'd observed before was a master of tricks. This could be a ploy: take a hard beating now, and he'd go easy later.
I won't fall for your schemes.
Heart aching, Kang U-gyeong didn't stop.
The more he did, the more Mujin savored the long-lost thrill of his father's discipline.
Father-son bonds truly blossomed through the dialogue of the flesh, it seemed. Like scrubbing each other's backs in the bath, deepening their connection.
'This is addictive!'
It felt like inhaling a massive dose of poppy—drugs were nowhere near this potent.
Was spanking always this sweet?
As the pain built, he soaked in his father's affection fully, over and over, as if today were his last.
Hmm-hmm, hmm-hmm!
He found himself humming along, caught up in the moment. Somewhere in Green Mountain Village, there must be a beauty waiting.
Smack!
Splat!
Lee Seon-mi, watching, jumped in shock.
"Honey, it's bleeding!"
"Oh... damn it!"
Mujin's rear was staining red with fresh blood. He'd kept saying it felt good even as the skin split.
'This is nothing.'
He'd lived through the hell of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
A little blood from the butt? Saliva would heal it in no time. If someone whined over that, he'd fold their spine to grant them the miracle of back and butt fusing.
Besides, he was the War King, called the reaper of the battlefield. Covered head to toe in gore, he'd laugh heartily and chomp through demon hordes. Well, except for gold nuggets—he never bit those.
"...You fool! If it hurts, say it hurts! How can you take it till it bleeds!"
"You should've controlled yourself! What are we gonna do about our son!"
"But he asked for it."
"Our precious boy's butt is bleeding!"
Usually yielding to Lee Seon-mi, she was the true power in the Pine Tiger Sect. When she got mad, even Kang U-gyeong was doomed. He'd learned to avoid her then. She wasn't wrong to say she played the biggest role in his son's wayward ways.
"Mom, I'm fine. I can take as much as needed. Dad, don't worry—just hit me more!"
"...Don't come closer, you punk! Oops!"
"Honey!"
Now it was getting scary.
Kang U-gyeong no longer saw it as bravado. Blood pooling on the floor, yet his son grinned confidently, begging for more. That face was chilling.
"Hit him again, and you're sleeping in separate quarters!"
"No, I mean...!"
Son begging to be hit, wife threatening if he did.
Damn it, how did it come to this?
Kang U-gyeong wavered as his paternal authority crumbled. He lacked confidence to strike the bleeding rear again. He wished the boy had taken a few and whined appropriately—but no, he was desperate for more.
'This brat's screwing me over like this!'
A puddle of blood formed where his son stood. Excessive bleeding could kill him, turning it into filial impiety.
"That's enough. Don't ever do it again."
"Dad~~~! I was really wrong!"
"...Don't come near!"
"I'm fine, I tell you."
As he stood, blood trickled down his legs, soaking them. Yet he approached with a bright smile, making Kang U-gyeong back away again.
No way he'd eaten something seriously wrong.
Even assuming that...
Why pull this on me?
Go back to being my old son... no, whatever—just get lost!
"Mujin, you're bleeding. We need to treat it."
"Mom, a little blood won't kill me. It's not like limbs are severed, guts spilling, or brains leaking from a cracked skull."
"...!"
On the battlefield, severed limbs were routine. Losing an arm wasn't the end—you used whatever to survive. Tossing your severed arm was common; even legless, you'd claw and cling.
Only total head obliteration brought death. In brutal wars, death came more peacefully than life. Thinking of comrades cleaning corpses...
Mujin's usual nonchalance, bright as ever.
Lee Seon-mi nearly broke down. Her son must have taken too many hits—gone mad otherwise.
"Honey!"
"Why me again!"
Kang U-gyeong felt wronged facing his furious wife for a while. He'd just disciplined their son to set him straight. Shifting blame like this irked him as a husband. She'd nagged him to do it moments ago.
And the root of it all...
Heh heh heh heh!
Grinning shamelessly.
"You two are still on great terms!"
Is that a son or some blood enemy?
Couples could fight only while alive. Dead, no arguments possible. Seeing his hale parents, Mujin beamed happily.
'They're so young.'
Younger than himself before regression. He prayed for their longevity. He'd never worry them again, swearing to live quietly as they wished.
"Dad, Mom! Did brother cause...?"
Freeze!
Kang Muho entered the courtyard.
He'd come to console his troubled parents over his brother's antics, but found gore-painted brother staring him down.
What the hell?
And smiling.
Flinch!
Kang Muho, dubbed Impartial Sword for his unflinching coolness, was his father's pride—the future top sword of Pine Tiger Sect.
'That guy...!'
His brother had talent. Worlds apart from Mujin at this age. Innately, he outshone prestigious sect prodigies. But Pine Tiger Sect lacked the vessel to bloom it.
No matter the genius, without backing, life turns tragic. Reviving a crumbling clan would end in... unthinkable failure.
I won't let it happen again.
"Muho!"
"... ."
Muho was flustered.
His brother, trailing blood yet beaming as he approached, was alien—terrifying. Flustered, Muho froze like his disarmed father.
Hug!
And a fierce embrace, of all things.
"Missed you."
"...?"
Mujin lay stomach-down on the bed in his marital haven. Seeing father, mother, brother again brought pure joy. Such blessed days—he'd pave a flower path from now on. People become filial only after rebirth, it seemed.
A goofy grin spread across his face.
In contrast, elegant creases furrowed Yujin's brow.
"You, smiling right now?"
"Why ruin a good day?"
"Father-in-law's heartless too—what's with your butt?"
"My fault."
"Still, scars... Whoa, whoa. Does it hurt?"
"Hurt? It tickles."
The War King of the world lay bare-assed. His wife applied ointment, blowing gently.
"Your butt was so pretty. Treating it like this... And it's my property."
"Weird way to put it."
"What is?"
"Ahem, what about me was so great?"
"You didn't know? You're my prince who saved me. I'm the happy woman married to him."
When did I...?
No memory. Saved anyone? Mistaking me for someone else?
Which bastard!
Looks like me?
Won't kill him if we meet.
Husband might've forgotten, but Yujin remembered clearly.
The boy who'd saved the reckless 8-year-old girl trailing her father into danger was now her husband.
That bond led to marriage.
'I'm the crazy one.'
His wife was the epitome of virtue. Believed and cheered him through anything. But back then, it felt like mockery.
'So blessed, yet I kicked over the table myself.'
Leaving this gem for glory—what folly. In hindsight, all illusions.
Anyway.
"How long do I stay bare?"
"Wounds heal better with airflow."
"I'm good—ointment and bandage on."
"Still, gotta prevent infection."
Gazing at her stirred uncontrollable passion. He couldn't hold back. Crossing conscious and unconscious, he pulled her in.
Splat!
Blood from his butt.
But the War King ignored it.
Blood? Whatever.
I love her.
After fervent bliss, she hurried out for errands. Mujin stared blankly at the ceiling, smiling. A chance not granted twice.
Live like this—no better. One folly enough.
Then, how'd he return? Curiosity hit as mind cleared. If desperate wish alone sufficed, everyone would regress.
Hm?
A strange sensation.
Eerie incongruity.
Discomfort within. As presence faded, he introspected.
Diving into essence...
-Enjoyed it?
'What?'
A voice in his head.
Am I crazy?
Absurd as current reality was, he wasn't weak enough for breakdown. Even untrained in War King Art, his tempered soul faced truth sharply.
'Heard it before?'
Familiar voice.
Not new. Persistent, evoking bad blood. Tracing memories to regression's origin. Suddenly recalled.
'You?'
-You remember.
Demon King Jang Cheon-gyeong.
Mujin scowled. Drunk on regression, he'd overlooked the Demon King in his consciousness.
Like squatting uninvited despite no lease.
Host's anger natural. Lucky not beaten without question.
'What the hell is this?'
-No clue myself.
'No clue? Then beat it.'
-Granted your wish, didn't I?
Wow, the gall.
Hiding in my mind, causing splits, yet "good's good" rationalization. Demon King cunning.
But War King no sucker.
'If you don't know, who does?'
-Didn't expect this either!
'Then fuck off!'
-Telling me to off myself? Why? Kill me if that mad.
'See what happens!'
-Where's the guy who said "see"? Chop my head.
Headless bastard!