Repaying an Old Debt (2)
Seok Ho-in performed his internal energy technique with such brazen flourish that it seemed meant to mock Seok Geum-ryong directly.
Blue Heaven Heart Method!
Before long, Seok Ho-in’s entire body was dyed a brilliant blue, and his powerful energy flowed into his palm.
The Blue Heaven Heart Method he was displaying was, surprisingly, the internal cultivation art of the Namgung Sect. That was because Seok Ho-in’s maternal clan was none other than the Namgung Sect, a family ranked above the Five Great Noble Families and even among the upper tier of the Nine Great Orthodox Sects.
So he really is using the Namgung Sect’s internal cultivation method.
If a third party had seen it, they would have been stunned to witness a secret art of the Namgung Sect in use. But Seok Geum-ryong knew this well from the memories of his past life, so there was nothing to be surprised about.
No, the one who would be surprised now was Seok Ho-in.
Northern Dipper Heart Method!
Seok Geum-ryong also unleashed the Northern Dipper Heart Method with everything he had, facing Seok Ho-in head-on in an outright contest of internal energy.
Unfortunately for Seok Ho-in, Seok Geum-ryong had recently treated the Moon Spirit Sword Lady, Im So-gun, and in doing so had absorbed a portion of both extreme yang and extreme yin energy, causing his internal power to advance tremendously.
What did that mean?
It meant that his internal energy, compared not only to his peers but even to seasoned masters, had become so dense and profound that it exceeded the threshold of the Peak realm in sheer magnitude alone.
RUMBLE!
On top of that, the resentment from all the abuse he had suffered at Seok Ho-in’s hands still remained, so Seok Geum-ryong drove his internal energy to its limit.
At once, his whole body was flooded with overwhelming force, and the ferocious current of his inner power not only pushed back against Seok Ho-in’s Blue Heaven Heart Method.
CRACK!
Along with a disturbing sensation, as though some thread had snapped, there came a monstrous impact and a crushing pressure.
“......!!”
Seok Ho-in could say without exaggeration that he had never in his life felt such shock and terror.
All his life, as he cultivated martial arts, Seok Ho-in had been a born predator, a victor who always seized the win.
No, even without practicing martial arts at all, he had been the third son of Seokga Manor and the grandson of the Namgung Sect through his mother’s side, so everyone had bowed and scraped before him anyway.
But not now.
The pain was so sharp and breathless it felt as if a blade had driven deep into his lungs.
“Kraaah!”
Before he even realized it, he let out a miserable cry and wavered in place.
Seok Ho-in was in such agony that he tried to tear his palm away from Seok Geum-ryong’s, but by then it was already too late.
How dare you!
Seok Ho-in wanted it to end, but Seok Geum-ryong was only getting started.
He kept their palms locked together without the slightest willingness to let go, clamping down with relentless pressure.
Then he poured in even more internal energy.
“L-let go! Let gooo!”
Seok Ho-in felt his eyes grow damp from the sheer pain of it.
The only reason he had not yet burst into tears was his resolve not to let Seok Geum-ryong see him cry.
“Grrk! Grrr!”
He fought not to weep, but unfortunately Seok Geum-ryong’s internal power far surpassed even what the peak expert Seok Ho-in had imagined possible.
And because Seok Geum-ryong would not release him, froth began to gather at Seok Ho-in’s mouth, and his consciousness started drifting farther and farther away.
It was a miracle he had not wet his trousers.
This is a lie! This, this is a lie!
Right before blacking out, Seok Ho-in saw Seok Geum-ryong smiling brightly at him.
There was not a trace of fear in that face.
Only a demonic smile that seemed to say: this was only the beginning.
THUD!
In the end, Seok Ho-in could endure no more. He swayed, then collapsed backward and fainted on the spot.
“What an idiot.”
Seok Geum-ryong muttered those words to the unconscious Seok Ho-in, and was just about to help him up when a thought suddenly struck him.
Ah, right!
Something had come to mind, and in that brief moment of distraction, Seok Geum-ryong let Seok Ho-in slip from his grasp.
THUD!
As a result, Seok Ho-in struck the back of his head hard against the ground, leaving a large swelling there, but he still showed no sign of getting up.
In my previous life, on the day when two years had passed since I entered Seokga Manor and the third year began, Mad Tiger Young Master Seok Ho-in had made a major showing at the family council and achieved great merit.
The reason he remembered it so clearly was simple.
It had been the first family council that Woo Do-min, the Gold-Selling Swordsman, had been allowed to attend after finally earning recognition at Seokga Manor.
“Yes. It was around this time.”
He no longer remembered the finer details, but he clearly recalled the proposal Seok Ho-in had made and the great merit he had claimed through it.
“How should I put this... grateful, and also sorry?”
After laying the unconscious Seok Ho-in neatly down in a quiet corner of the manor grounds, Seok Geum-ryong set off.
Seok Ho-in had tormented Seok Geum-ryong mercilessly throughout his childhood.
Seok Geum-ryong’s revenge against him had only just begun.
* * *
“Mmghhh...”
It was a languid morning.
The sunlight poured warmly in, and someone was sleeping heavily on a secluded patch of ground in the manor.
It was none other than the third son of Seokga Manor, Mad Tiger Young Master Seok Ho-in, who had tried to subdue Seok Geum-ryong only to be badly beaten for his trouble.
He slept peacefully for only a moment longer.
“Huhk! Haaah!”
Then, jolting in shock, he sprang to his feet like a madman and got up at once.
The unexpected nap had been deliciously pleasant, but this was no time to be lost in sleep.
The family council!
He had originally been rushing out at first light, just like Seok Geum-ryong, in order to attend the family council.
Mad Tiger Young Master Seok Ho-in was the sort of man who bullied the weak and cringed before the strong, so he had left early to make a good impression on the elders attending the council.
Then, by a cruel coincidence, he had run into Seok Geum-ryong, who had also come early for his first family council, and after tormenting him once again, he had been thoroughly crushed.
“Grrrgh! Impossible. Me, losing to that useless trash...?”
Recovered from fainting, Seok Ho-in ground his teeth as he faced cold reality.
He never would have dreamed, even in his worst nightmares, that he would one day be defeated by Seok Geum-ryong.
“W-what time is it now?”
He did not even have the luxury of dwelling on the humiliation.
The family council had begun early in the morning, and by now the sun was already high in the sky.
Which meant he was far, far too late.
WHOOSH!
Anticipating his tardiness, Seok Ho-in sprinted toward the main Seokga Manor building so fast his eyebrows seemed to flutter.
That’s strange. The place where I fought Seok Geum-ryong was definitely in the middle of the building leading to the main hall... so why was I sleeping in some corner like that?
As he moved, Seok Ho-in felt something off.
He never once imagined that the one who had dumped him in that corner on purpose might have been Seok Geum-ryong.
At any rate, he had run like a lunatic to the main hall and finally reached the pavilion where the family council was being held.
CREAK!
With a trembling heart, he carefully opened the pavilion door, only to be greeted by none other than Seok Ji-sung’s roar.
“What time is it, and you’re only arriving now?!”
Though he had not properly cultivated martial arts, Seok Ji-sung’s thunderous rebuke struck Seok Ho-in’s heart harder than the lion’s roar of any peak master.
Even if Seok Ji-sung had grown more and more toothless with the rise of his first and second sons, a tiger was still a tiger.
Shuddering, Seok Ho-in trembled before the lord’s wrath and bowed respectfully.
“I-I’m sorry. The thing is...”
Just as he lifted his head, ready to explain himself from the start, someone stepped in.
“Please calm yourself, Manor Lord. Third Brother must have had some reason.”
There was a figure soothing Seok Ji-sung’s anger while respectfully offering him a cup of Longjing tea.
Of course, it was Seok Geum-ryong, the fifth son of Seokga Manor.
“......!!!”
Seok Ho-in felt as though his five viscera and six bowels were being twisted inside out at the sight of Seok Geum-ryong, the very culprit who had knocked him out, now currying favor with their father without even waking him first.
He wanted to rush over at once and seize him by the hair, but this was a sacred family council.
More importantly, how could he possibly say out loud that he had been late because he had fought Seok Geum-ryong in an internal energy contest, gotten utterly wrecked, and fainted?
“Well then, what was the reason for your delay? Let us hear it.”
“That is...”
Seok Ho-in could not find a single excuse and fell silent like a man with honey stuffed in his mouth.
“Tsk tsk. I had been looking at you favorably since your martial skill was at least quite strong. Look at your younger brother, Geum-ryong. Before today’s family council had even begun, he arrived first to wait for the elders, and he even brewed tea he had brought himself to serve everyone.”
“Ugh...”
Seok Ho-in watched Seok Geum-ryong’s behavior being praised while he himself was compared against it again and again, and it made his insides twist with envy, but there was nothing he could do.
“How can you be worse than your own younger brother? Honestly.”
What was more, Seok Ji-sung’s words landed on Seok Ho-in like a dagger through the chest.
After that, Seok Ho-in was made to stand at the very back for the entire duration of the council as punishment.
“......”
Seok Dong-seo and Seok Ju-woo watched the scene, and the two of them, both sharp-eyed and deeply calculating, immediately sensed that something had happened between Seok Ho-in and Seok Geum-ryong.
“Very well, then. Since the third young master has arrived at last... let us continue the family council.”
Jo Seung-pyo, the first butler of Seokga Manor and the lord’s close friend in private, smoothly took over proceedings.
As an exceptional swordsman and a butler with every ability one could ask for, Jo Seung-pyo was a truly extraordinary man.
“Recently, Seokga Manor’s sales for the second half of the year have been falling sharply. To overcome this difficulty, I would like to hear your thoughts on the matter.”
Jo Seung-pyo guided the discussion deftly and gathered opinions from the various leaders.
Then Seok Ji-sung, who still had not cooled down over Seok Ho-in’s senseless lateness, opened his mouth.
“I think it would be better to ask the youngest blood of Seokga Manor about this matter. First, Seok Ho-in, I would like to hear your thoughts.”
“......!!”
He might have been taken by surprise at suddenly being asked for his opinion, but Seok Ho-in was not.
Why not? Because he had already prepared an answer.
Although it came from the future, the reply he gave would turn out to be exactly right and bring him enormous credit.
Later, Seok Ho-in would rise to become a prominent figure within Seokga Manor, but that was a story for another day.
“In my opinion...”
Thus, just as he was about to offer a sharp and ready answer,
“May I speak before my brother does?”
someone raised a hand and cut in before Seok Ho-in could answer.
It was, naturally, Seok Geum-ryong, who had already made an excellent impression on Lord Seok Ji-sung and the other leaders despite attending the family council for the very first time.
Seok Ho-in. I’m sorry, but I’m going to take your merit.
Seok Geum-ryong had suffered countless times at Seok Ho-in’s hands since childhood, until even his own personality had become timid.
So even if he stole something that was his for the first and last time, there was no harm in it.
No, since this was an event that had not yet occurred, it was hard to say it belonged to anyone at all.
“Very well. Go ahead.”
“Indeed, since Geum-ryong is the younger brother, it makes sense to let him speak first.”
“Ho-in is late, so he can wait a little longer!”
Fortunately, Seok Ji-sung and Jo Seung-pyo thought highly of Seok Geum-ryong, and the right to speak was given to him.
Tch!
Seok Ho-in was displeased by the situation, but he did not show it.
But only for a moment.
“We handle many different goods here at Seokga Manor, but there is one area that is particularly weak. Horses.”
As soon as the discussion turned to horses, Seok Ho-in turned to Seok Geum-ryong with a face full of shock.
“......!!”