Chapter 130
Chapter 130
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 130
Chapter Title: What an Interesting Thing (1)
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The atmosphere was frigid.
A delegation from so very far away. He'd half-expected they might not come at all. Yet they'd hurried here the moment they heard the news, arriving far faster than most sects.
Still, that didn't loosen the hardened resolve in his heart. He simply kept it from showing.
After paying respects at Hahu Gok's spirit tablet, Elder Tang Ha-gyo of the Sacheon Tang Clan turned and offered his condolences.
"A great star of the martial world has fallen. I can't tell you how shocked I was to hear the news."
"You came from afar without hesitation—thank you," Hahu On, the head of the Hahu Clan, replied with sincere gratitude.
"Think nothing of it. It was the least we could do. I only hope we're not too late."
"Not at all. Everyone under heaven knows how far Sacheon Tang is from here. Your presence alone is more than enough."
"You're too kind. Still, it's like a bolt from the blue. Wasn't it at your seventieth birthday? I saw you briefly then, and you seemed so hale and hearty. I heard you were injured in the clash with the Heavenly Demon Cult."
"That's how it happened. But he passed without regrets."
Hahu On managed a faint, composed smile amid his sorrow.
It would be a lie to say there was no regret or sorrow, but Hahu Gok's final moments—passing on every insight from his later years to the next generation—would forever remain etched in the hearts of the Hahu Clan household.
"I see. At least that's a comfort."
Not out of mere courtesy, Tang Ha-gyo couldn't hide his envy. He'd heard the rumors of Hahu Gok's end.
Exchanges of proper condolences, thanks, and well-wishes were underway.
Then the shrine doors burst open as someone dashed in.
"You fool! What do you think you're doing?"
Hahu Song glared at his reckless son, keeping his voice as low as possible.
"Th-that is..."
Hahu Yeon, who'd barged into the shrine, faltered under the barrage of stares before quickly straightening up.
"The Tang Clan's great elder has arrived."
Hahu Song pressed a hand to his forehead in disbelief at his son's words.
"Nonsense! Can't you see the Tang guests who are already here?"
"No, not them. From the Tang Clan..."
Before Hahu Yeon could finish, another figure entered the shrine.
An old man shuffled in slowly, a bottle of liquor in his left hand and a long pipe in his right.
His sharp eyes, thin lips, and prominent nose hinted at his temperament.
Not a speck of dust marred his wrinkled robes, and even his hair was impeccably groomed.
"S-Senior, you've come?"
Hahu On recognized him and bowed in astonishment.
The old man's unexpected arrival startled Hahu On plenty, but it was nothing compared to the shock rippling through Tang Ha-gyo and the Tang clansmen.
The moment the old man appeared in the shrine, the Tang household froze solid. They couldn't even bow properly, let alone breathe. The older ones reacted even more intensely.
Ignoring the reactions around him, the old man walked silently to Hahu Gok's spirit tablet.
He stared blankly at it for a long while, then poured liquor from his bottle into a cup on the altar.
"The same stuff we drank the day we first met."
As if toasting Hahu Gok, he lightly raised his bottle and took a sip.
He poured into another cup and sipped, then another, and another—until the bottle ran dry.
Placing the empty bottle on the altar, the old man spoke.
"You go on ahead. When we meet again, it's your round. Oh, and give my regards to that heartless old bastard Juyu Geol-goe."
His vacant gaze lingered on the tablet before he slowly turned away.
"It's been a while."
"Yes, Senior."
Hahu On's demeanor was utterly deferential and cautious.
"I heard you had a major falling-out with the Heavenly Demon Cult. Word is you took heavy wounds. I left the moment I heard, but I was still too late. Did he go peacefully?"
"Yes. Peacefully, without regrets."
"That's something, at least."
The old man nodded lightly, glancing back at the tablet, then strode toward Tang Ha-gyo.
"U-Uncle, I hope you've been well..."
"Shut your mouth."
The old man cut off Tang Ha-gyo's stammering with a single word.
Tang Ha-gyo clamped his mouth shut without protest.
An elder of the renowned Sacheon Tang Clan, one of the Five Great Clans. Approaching seventy and the current head's uncle, he was no one to be spoken to so harshly.
Yet the old man showed no hesitation.
Even more astonishing, Tang Ha-gyo and the rest of the Tang clansmen—all heads bowed as if dead—accepted it as natural.
The Tang Clan's greatest elder and one of the Three Freaks of the martial world, the Poison Freak Tang Cheonhwa, was a man worthy of such treatment.
"Ha-gyo."
"Yes, Uncle."
"Have you all lost your minds?"
"N-No, sir."
"Then what? What have you fools been up to?"
"What do you mean..."
Tang Ha-gyo trailed off, gauging Tang Cheonhwa's mood.
"Word of your nonsense has reached even remote Haenam-do. All over some trifling Murim Alliance Leader."
At the mention of the Murim Alliance Leader, Tang Ha-gyo's face paled. Everyone knew the Five Great Clans had snubbed the Hahu Clan over elevating that leader.
"And the Heavenly Demon Cult business? I can't make sense of it no matter how I try. What did the Hahu Clan do wrong? If anything, those lunatics started the mess."
"Th-the main house agrees."
As Tang Ha-gyo offered excuses, the long pipe in Tang Cheonhwa's hand whistled through the air. But he couldn't bring himself to strike his aging nephew, so he veered toward Tang Hoe nearby.
"Ugh!"
Tang Hoe yelped and staggered from the sudden blow to his shoulder.
He wasn't the only one. The pipe lashed out repeatedly, striking Tang Hoe's peers, Tang Woo and Tang Eun.
Unlike Tang Hoe, caught off-guard with his head bowed, they knew it was coming yet didn't dare evade.
"U-Uncle!"
Tang Ha-gyo instinctively grabbed Tang Cheonhwa's pipe as his nephews took their beating.
"Grab...?"
Seeing the flicker in Tang Cheonhwa's eyes, Tang Ha-gyo realized his mistake and prostrated himself.
"F-Forgive me. I'm getting old and slipped..."
"..."
Whether "old" was deliberate or not, it saved him.
Tang Cheonhwa sighed at the deep wrinkles on Tang Ha-gyo's forehead.
"Fine. You're getting on in years too."
Tang Cheonhwa's gaze shifted to the younger Tang bloodline.
They'd been at a loss watching their uncles beaten, but meeting his eyes, they all froze breathless.
"What is the Tang Clan's iron rule?"
No one spoke. The pipe moved.
After a brief thrashing, Tang Cheonhwa asked again.
"What is the iron rule the Tang Clan has upheld with their lives?"
One glanced around cautiously before speaking.
"Wh-When repaying enmity, we do so twofold. When receiving grace, we repay it manifold."
Only then did the raised pipe lower.
"Thirty years ago, we clashed hard with those mad monks from Ma Bul Temple. They weren't pushovers, and our house was divided over succession issues, putting us in a dire spot. The first to rush to our aid was the Hahu Clan. They were dealing with a new head themselves, but someone kicked that hesitant young lord's rear and charged in. That man was Sword Freak."
Hahu On blushed faintly, rubbing the spot on his backside from that kick.
"We won the fight. But our losses were heavy, and so were theirs. The Hahu Clan just laughed it off as what anyone would do and left. That's the Hahu Clan."
Tang Cheonhwa's piercing gaze bore down on Tang Ha-gyo and the others, who couldn't lift their heads.
"Yet not only do you fail to repay that grace—you try to stab them in the back over picking some alliance leader?"
"Stab in the back? Perish the thought!"
Tang Ha-gyo shook his head frantically.
"If that's not a knife in the back, what is? The Heavenly Demon Cult pressures the Hahu Clan on bogus pretenses, and you lot—who should be speaking up for them—stay silent. If that's not betrayal, what is?"
"That's the Murim Alliance's..."
"Spare me the lame excuses and shut it. My leniency for your age ends here."
Tang Ha-gyo flinched and clamped his mouth as the pipe seemed poised to strike.
"The Beggar Clan fiasco too. No—it's even worse. Ha! The Beggar Clan's greatest elder loses his life, and everyone shuns them. I can't even show my face from the shame!"
Tang Cheonhwa's heavy sigh echoed through the shrine.
"That pathetic behavior brought this calamity down on us."
No one could respond as he pointed out how the southern martial world teetered on the brink from the Heavenly Demon Cult's threat.
"Yeon took the guests to the shrine. I'll have him inform you all of your arrival."
Sima Geon thanked Hahu Mong from the steward's office.
"Much appreciated. No rush—it's not urgent."
"Nonsense. Who could be more honored guests to the main house? I'll notify them right away."
Hahu Mong knew full well Hahu Gok's ties to Sima Geon and the others, and their influence on the Hahu Clan. He never skimped on courtesy with them.
His haste to leave stemmed from the silver-maned black wolf beside them.
Cheol Woo blocked the wolf from Hahu Mong's view as best he could, but the image was already seared into his mind.
"Understood. We'll unpack in the guest quarters, so please fetch Yeon."
Sima Geon, sensing Hahu Mong's fear of the wolf, gave him an easy out.
"Right away—to the shrine."
Hahu Mong bolted without looking back. Sima Geon patted the wolf's head as he watched.
"Guess we'll need a leash after all."
"It'll freak out. You know how much it hates them."
Cheol Woo voiced concern, recalling the wolf's tantrums at the mere mention.
"No choice. Can't let it roam free here. We're not staying long anyway. Ask Yeon for a suitable one later."
"Got it."
Hahu Mong had led them to the building where Sima Hyeon and Sima Ho had stayed before—right next to Hahu Gok's quarters.
Sima Geon carried the unconscious So Su-rin inside first. The rest followed at intervals with their luggage.
"You're not coming in."
Noejeon chuckled, stroking the grumbling wolf's scruff as he stayed to watch it.
He was holding the wolf back from barging in when it suddenly whipped around, baring its teeth with a fierce growl.
"What's wrong? Behave."
Noejeon tried to calm it, but the growling intensified. Its hackles rose, radiating menace.
Noejeon grew serious too.
The wolf only acted like this around enemies.
"Well now! What an interesting thing we have here."
Tang Cheonhwa emerged from behind Hahu Gok's quarters, eyeing the wolf with keen interest.
"Is that really a wolf?"
"Pardon? Ah, yes. It is."
Noejeon nodded reflexively.
"But it doesn't look ordinary, no matter how I see it. The size, the fur color..."
As admiring Tang Ha-gyo approached, the wolf flashed its sharp fangs.
"Don't come closer, elder. It's dangerous."
Tang Cheonhwa smirked at Noejeon's warning.
"For me? Or for it?"
Before Noejeon could respond, Tang Cheonhwa reached out. The wolf, which had been snarling so viciously, froze utterly still.