Chapter 52
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Facing the Sapa Prodigal
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A short while later, a bright, cheerful voice rang out from outside.
"Father. I'm here."
"Come in!"
A young man pushed open the door and entered.
I knew he was three or four years older than me.
He took after Mok Yeohyeon in height, tall and imposing.
But that was the only similarity.
His build and features were completely different.
Mok Jimong had finely chiseled features that perfectly suited the term "gigolo," giving off more the air of a scholar than a martial artist.
His impression contrasted sharply with his father's robust, rugged one, making it hard to believe they were father and son.
"Father, did you call for me?"
"Yes. What have you been up to?"
A faint whiff of alcohol wafted from his mouth, suggesting he'd been drinking steadily.
"Some old friends came by, so we were having a few drinks."
"Old friends? Who would be friends with the likes of you?"
Mok Yeohyeon didn't seem particularly interested; it felt more like a habitual jab.
"Hwang Gok."
At the name, Mok Yeohyeon responded flatly.
"Hwang Gok must have brought Hwang Soye along, then. I can tell from the fact that you were drinking with him."
Upon hearing the two names, I smirked inwardly.
Hwang Gok was the young sect master of the Golden Peak Sect, an unorthodox faction rooted in Gangseo Province.
The name Golden Peak—implying wealth enough to pile up mountains of gold—stemmed from its days as a notorious moneylender in Jiangnan before transitioning into a martial sect.
Even after decades as a martial house, its foundations were in money rather than martial prowess, so the Golden Peak Sect had been pushing to marry off their daughter to Mok Jimong to solidify their status.
Hwang Soye was a woman of such stunning beauty she was counted among Jiangnan's three great beauties, with exceptional talents in music as well.
They said if Anhui had Cheongyo, then Gangseo had Soye.
The problem was that Mok Jimong was infamous as a notorious philanderer.
While such behavior was a grave sin in the orthodox martial world, in unorthodox circles, it was seen as a virtue every man should possess.
There was even a saying: "Demonic paths and unorthodox sects have no morals below the navel."
They felt no guilt whatsoever.
And as the heir to the unorthodox overlord, he was utterly unrestrained.
This stood in stark contrast to Mok Yeohyeon, who loved only one woman and had no other children besides Mok Jimong.
Not just in looks, but in personality too—Mok Jimong was constantly undervalued compared to his father.
How desperate must he be to entrust his prodigal son's discipline to me?
If Mok Yeohyeon were merely an unorthodox overlord, it might be different, but he was a powerhouse known as the Immortal War King of Unorthodoxy.
In some ways, more of a righteous hero than the heroes themselves, he clearly disliked his son's behavior.
"Wouldn't it be good to get on friendly terms with the Golden Peak Sect? We could borrow money if we needed it."
"Do you have any idea how much revenue the main sect pulls in from Poyang Lake? Don't talk nonsense about borrowing money. It's not like borrowing a broom from the neighbors."
A subtle undercurrent of anger laced Mok Yeohyeon's voice.
"If you so much as touch Hwang Soye, I'll snap your waist in two. Keep that in mind."
This time, Mok Jimong didn't spout any nonsense.
He knew his father always followed through on his words.
In fact, Hwang Soye's father, Hwang Yeong, was an old friend of Mok Yeohyeon's.
That was likely why Mok Jimong hadn't laid a hand on her yet.
"And as punishment for the tantrum you threw at that martial hall last month, shutting it down, I placed you under house arrest. So why were you trying to leave the sect grounds?"
"I just stepped out for a quick stroll to check on things outside the family."
"You still have a full month left on your house arrest. Don't even think about leaving the grounds. If you do, I'll break your legs."
Knowing his father's temper well, Mok Jimong bowed his head in mock remorse.
Then he turned to me, still standing there.
"By the way, who's this? I don't think I've seen him before."
With his father harping on him endlessly, he tried to change the subject by looking my way.
"From now on, this scholar here will be your writing tutor. Greet him properly."
"Hmph, so Father brought in another useless scholar. Just one more corpse to add to the pile."
I ignored his vicious words and greeted him calmly.
"Cheon Taesan. Pleased to meet you."
"Well, since you're here, I won't say more. But if you plan to teach me, you'd better brace yourself. Have you heard how many tutors I've killed? Keep that scrawny neck of yours safe."
Mok Yeohyeon cut in.
"Even a wretch like this needs a scholar's guidance. Think you can handle it?"
"Yes. I'll begin the lessons three days from now. But please leave the education entirely to me."
"Do you need to rush it that much? It won't be too late after my sixtieth birthday celebration. Until then, you should familiarize yourself with the sect's layout."
"Understood."
I was actually glad Mok Yeohyeon wasn't pushing me.
I bowed to the two men and left the hall.
Once the scholar was gone, Mok Jimong grumbled.
"Father, you said you spent a fortune bringing that guy here. If you'd given that money to me, I'd have been a good son."
With no one else in the hall, he was whining openly now.
"Quiet. This is a rare find of a scholar, so learn as much as you can from him."
"Scholars are all the same. What's so special about him? Father, how about a female scholar instead? I might actually study then."
Mok Yeohyeon smirked at his sly son.
"Looks like you need a good beating after all."
"What? Me? No way you're actually going to hit me, Father?"
"Something like that. Whether you turn into a man or a beast is up to that scholar now."
"Come on, where else are you going to find a son as great as me?"
"Enough. Get out of my sight."
"Tch!"
As Mok Jimong stormed out, Mok Yeohyeon looked intrigued.
"Seeing Scholar Cheon makes me wonder if I'm doing the right thing. Hope that decent scholar doesn't meet a bad end at the hands of that prodigal."
He thought it was to himself, but a voice replied from thin air.
"It seems Your Excellency is quite taken with him. You don't often invite talented people to work together like this."
"He's the one I'm most fond of in the last ten years. If Scholar Cheon were a martial artist, he'd have been a top master by now. What do you think?"
"I agree, my lord."
"Hm. Should I take him as a disciple instead?"
A laugh burst from the empty air at his seriously pondering lord.
"Kuhuhu. My apologies, my lord. Just caught you in a rare moment."
"It's fine. I was surprised myself."
"To me, the scholar seems to have some peculiarities. A normal one wouldn't withstand the presence of an overlord or young sect master. Yet he stood there unfazed, so there must be something more to him."
"For even you not to know—that's something unusual."
"My lord, I don't know everything about the world."
"Is that so? That's truly rare."
"Shall I assign surveillance?"
"No need. Just leave him be. Spying on a scholar would wound my pride."
"Understood."
"I'm curious how he'll educate that prodigal. It's been ages since I last looked forward to tomorrow like this."
Mok Yeohyeon rested his chin on his hand and chuckled softly.
The group must have been exhausted from the journey, as they all passed out after bathing.
I checked on Yeoseol sleeping soundly and stepped outside.
Scanning the surrounding blood flows, I found no suspicious elements.
There were no special watches on our lodgings at Yeongbin Pavilion either.
Mok Yeohyeon really is bold. Good that it matches most of the intel I have.
Mismatched information could lead to confusion.
I left the Hyuncheon Sect grounds and surveyed the area.
Thanks to Songran's Soul-Stealing Divine Eye, I could sense the lone operatives even from afar.
I dashed toward where they waited using lightness skill.
Fortunately, no one followed me.
As instructed, the two lone operatives stood rigidly in a deserted spot like funeral posts.
I scanned around for a hiding place and spotted some nearby ruins—perfect.
I left them there with orders.
"Wait here. If anyone comes, don't attack. Stay quiet."
Whether they understood or not, they blinked in response.
I returned to the Hyuncheon Sect and ran into the steward on my way back to Yeongbin Pavilion.
Seizing the chance, I asked what was on my mind.
"With all the guests for the overlord's sixtieth, can Yeongbin Pavilion handle the lodging alone?"
I was probing to see if I'd get reassigned elsewhere.
"We're already setting up temporary barracks outside the sect starting today. Yeongbin Pavilion is mainly for heads of major sects and families."
"Is this birthday celebration inviting guests from the entire martial world?"
"No. His Excellency doesn't care for extravagance. Invitations went only to unorthodox factions in Gangseo."
One might expect invitations to the Nine Great Sects or Five Great Families for Mok Yeohyeon's birthday, but he seemed to prefer a modest affair.
The steward added as he turned to leave.
"Oh, you might not know yet, but we're holding a sparring tournament for unorthodox younger generation talents during the celebration. So quite a few experts and juniors from unorthodox factions will gather outside. I'm worried the scholar might get into trouble with them."
I smiled faintly.
The steward was showing genuine concern for me.
"I'll stay inside until the celebration ends."
"No need to go that far. The sparring lasts four days, so you can't just hole up in the sect. If you need to go out, we can assign an escort."
"Ah, I see. I'll ask for one if needed."
"Yes. Call on me anytime for anything else."
The idea of a sparring tournament instead of a feast at the birthday celebration made me chuckle inwardly.
With this passion for martial arts, no wonder he reached the Hua Realm. Probably the first unorthodox master to do so.
No one could miss how using the birthday to host a tournament strengthened the Hyuncheon Sect and Mok Yeohyeon's position.
The key was turning the idea into action with such execution.
"Wait. Is this to select participants for the Dragon-Martial Tournament in half a year?"
The steward grinned.
"You catch on quick. Exactly. To pick unorthodox juniors for the Dragon-Martial Grand Tournament across orthodox, unorthodox, demonic, and black paths."
The Dragon-Martial Tournament pitted the younger generation from the four major martial factions against each other to crown the strongest.
Held every five years, it drew massive attention from martial artists.
Those who placed carried that honor until the next one.
Regardless of faction, juniors saw placing in the Dragon-Martial as the ultimate glory.
Wait, could this be a windfall? Might spot someone with Seven Stars Origin Qi among them.
With unorthodox experts and juniors gathered, there had to be at least one, right?
I felt a quiet thrill of anticipation.
"Excuse me."
A maid approached me.
"Yes?"
"Are you Scholar Cheon?"
"That's me."
The maid spoke politely.
"The young sect master ordered me to bring you to him."
"Me? I thought he was drinking with his friend right now."
"He said to have one drink and come."
"Hm."
I chuckled, already picturing Mok Jimong reaching out his claws toward me.
Look at this guy, ready to dive right in.
No reason to refuse.
Just in case, I'd tucked the Silk Sac into my pouch.
Plan was to slip it to him later, drain his internal energy, and build rapport.
"Alright. Lead the way."
I followed the maid without further thought.
The steward stared worriedly in the direction the scholar had gone.
"This won't end in a mess today, will it? Should I have stopped him?"
Imagining what the young sect master might do to the scholar at the drinking party made him frown.
He wouldn't kill the scholar on the first day, right?
The steward shook his head quickly and headed back to Yeongbin Pavilion.