Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: The Ha Hou Clan (3)
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"Pardon the interruption."
"What is it?"
Sima Geon asked politely.
"Sorry, but may I ask where you're from and what brings you here?"
"If you're sorry, then don't ask..."
Sima Geon quickly clamped a hand over Cheol Woo's mouth as the latter bristled, then forced a smile and spoke.
"We're from Soheung. We heard you needed butchers for the banquet."
"Butchers...?"
"We run a butcher shop in Soheung. Your deputy chief steward came by personally to order the Soheung wine."
At the mention of the deputy chief steward, the young man flinched and turned toward the skinny man.
The skinny man—Ha Hou Dok, who oversaw the outer clan's defenses—gave a slight nod of his chin.
He vaguely recalled the deputy chief steward mentioning something like that. Even if not, it didn't matter. They were big and rough-looking, but there were no signs they'd trained in martial arts.
Having safely passed through the main gate, Sima Geon grabbed Cheol Woo's collar as the latter swaggered along and said,
"I told you to fix that hot-tempered streak of yours. Why act like some punk itching for a fight? You a kid or what?"
"Sorry, boss. I'm trying, but it's not easy. The second I see someone glaring at me, I just... can't help it."
Cheol Woo scratched the back of his head with an awkward grin.
"Anyway, let's be careful. Everyone's hyped up for the banquet—if things go south, it'll turn into a mess. With the martial arts tournament on top, hot-blooded fools are everywhere."
"Got it. Don't worry."
Cheol Woo thumped his chest and laughed. A quiet sigh escaped Sima Geon's lips at the sight.
He knew Cheol Woo's temperament all too well from Black Dragon Valley up to now. He was certain the man's promises wouldn't hold.
"So you're telling me to judge the martial tournament?"
Ha Hou Jeong, the chief steward who oversaw all internal and external clan affairs, flattened himself at the sharp retort.
"Yes."
"Who told you? The clan head?"
"N-no, sir."
"Figured as much. Then which idiot came up with this nonsense?"
"Well..."
As Ha Hou Jeong trailed off with a troubled look, the old man shaking his gourd bottle—the clan's greatest elder and famed as the Sword Freak, one of the Three Freaks of the Martial World—scoffed derisively.
"Should I ask the clan head myself?"
"N-no, sir. It was Second Uncle's request."
"Hyeo's?"
Ha Hou Jeong felt dizzy at how Ha Hou Gok—already past sixty—addressed the clan's second-in-command like some neighborhood kid, but he didn't dare show it and bowed politely.
"Yes."
"That lunatic. If he wants to ask, he should come himself instead of sending some weakling."
Ha Hou Jeong gave an awkward smile at Ha Hou Gok's rebuke.
The chief steward commanded over five hundred retainers in the main household alone, and nearly three thousand including the surrounding clan village—yet here he was, treated like a roadside pebble.
"Anyway, no. Tell them to quit yapping."
"It's the clan head's seventieth birthday banquet. This time, just—"
Ha Hou Jeong opened his mouth with a desperate expression, only to widen his eyes as a shadow loomed over him.
"Agh!"
A cry burst from his lips as the gourd bottle smacked his forehead, sending him crumpling.
"What's there to brag about getting old? Birthdays are for descendants to handle, fine—but three whole days of feasting? Just look around: countless folk can't even fill their bellies properly. What a waste! No, I shouldn't waste words on you. I need to see that deranged clan head myself."
As Ha Hou Gok made to storm out, Ha Hou Jeong panicked and clung desperately to his legs.
"N-no, sir! I misspoke. Please, calm your anger."
"What'd you do wrong? It's all because that fool clan head's mismanaging the clan, isn't it? He didn't eat his age out his ass—I oughta..."
At this point, it was hopeless.
Ha Hou Jeong dropped to his knees and kowtowed frantically.
"My fault. Spare me, please."
Despite repeated bows, Ha Hou Gok's ire didn't subside easily.
Then, like a ray of light from the heavens:
"That's enough. Why bully the poor chief steward?"
A young man had slipped into the room unnoticed—Ha Hou Yeon—and he helped Ha Hou Jeong to his feet.
"Get up. I'll handle Great-Granduncle's mood."
"Th-thank you."
Ha Hou Jeong grabbed Ha Hou Yeon's arm with teary gratitude. In this moment, his usually aloof seventh cousin's voice sounded utterly reliable.
"I-I'll take my leave."
Ha Hou Jeong bowed hastily and fled without looking back.
"Tch tch, what a pathetic sort."
Ha Hou Gok clucked his tongue at the fleeing man's backside.
"Why so angry?"
Ha Hou Yeon asked as he set down the wine bottle.
"They want me judging the tournament."
Ha Hou Yeon stared blankly toward where Ha Hou Jeong had vanished.
"Yeah... that's insane."
No one would suggest it unless they wanted the tournament ruined.
"You think so too?"
Ha Hou Gok chuckled and lifted his bottle.
"Doubt the chief steward has the guts. Whose idea was it?"
"Second son's, apparently."
"Figured it was Little Grandfather's doing."
Ha Hou Yeon nodded in understanding.
Only Little Grandfather in the entire clan had the gall to drag this great-granduncle—whom the retainers called Taizu Patriarch—out in public to bolster the clan's prestige with such an absurd plan. He was the old man's grandnephew, technically.
"With big delegations from Nangong and Youngho Clans arriving, looks like they're getting nervous."
"That's on them."
Ha Hou Gok sneered disdainfully and slowly sipped his wine.
"Kuh! Good stuff."
He drained the bottle in one go and reached for another.
"Soheung wine's the best. Anything less just doesn't cut it. How much did they bring?"
"Filled two storehouses, from what I hear. The banquet's huge, so the booze flows like water."
"Stash some away properly. Won't taste it again for a while after this."
"Heh heh! Who do you think I am? Already did."
"How much?"
Ha Hou Gok perked up. Ha Hou Yeon spread his arms wide.
"Ten bottles each? Ha ha ha! You rascal. Finally did something praiseworthy."
Ha Hou Gok roared with laughter, then abruptly stood.
Ha Hou Yeon, who'd just been about to sip, blinked in confusion.
"Where you off to?"
"To snag some snacks worthy of this fine brew. If Soheung wine's here, that friend's probably around too."
With a pleased smile, Ha Hou Gok grabbed his bottle and vanished in a blink.
Ha Hou Yeon stared blankly after him, then realization dawned as he kicked his chair.
"Ah, the slaughterhouse!"
"Haa."
A sigh escaped Ha Hou Gok as he headed toward the slaughterhouse.
Ha Hou Yeon, following a step behind, didn't look much happier. Gone was the excited air from earlier.
As the slaughterhouse came into view, Ha Hou Gok's sigh deepened.
"Don't take it too hard. Old Man So recommended him, so his skills should be top-notch."
Ha Hou Yeon tried to console him, but Ha Hou Gok only scowled.
"You brat! Think this old man's upset over some meat?"
"Huh? Then what...?"
"My friend's dead. My friend. How could I not grieve?"
Ha Hou Yeon tilted his head at "friend."
After his mother passed from illness, he'd entered the clan hand-in-hand with his father, whom he'd met for the first time.
Unadjusted to clan life, he'd wandered the fields alone when Ha Hou Gok spotted him returning from outside. They'd started living together six years ago, when he was twelve—and that's when he'd first met So Hang at the clan head's birthday feast.
'They chatted amiably with Old Man So, but I never got the sense they were close friends.'
Their talks were mostly about meat, charcoals for grilling, and wines to pair—worldly tales now and then, but never deep. They'd met only a day or two at a time. Above all, their status gap was vast for "friends."
"What? 'Friend' sound weird?"
"Honestly, yeah. You two didn't spend enough time together for that."
"Time's irrelevant. It's the heart that matters. And how many years have you known him? Twenty for me—twenty years. Long enough for mountains to shift twice."
Ha Hou Yeon chuckled dryly at Ha Hou Gok's raised voice.
"You just said time doesn't matter."
"Shut it. Enough chatter—follow. Let's see if he's as skilled as you claim."
They arrived at the slaughterhouse in moments.
"Hasn't changed a bit."
Ha Hou Gok's gaze grew heavy as he eyed the well out front.
"Fewer people now. Used to be packed."
Ha Hou Yeon noted while scanning the bustling workers.
"True enough. Must be a reason."
Dismissing it, Ha Hou Gok strode in.
The busy folk glanced their way but said nothing.
Past them, Ha Hou Gok spotted Sima Geon and Cheol Woo about to butcher an ox.
"Must be them."
Ha Hou Yeon whispered.
"Looks like. Let's watch their skills."
Ha Hou Gok took a swig from his bottle, intrigued.
The ox, dragged in snorting by Cheol Woo, had calmed under Sima Geon's touch and now munched eagerly on prepared fodder.
"A last feast on the final road. He did the same."
Ha Hou Gok nodded approvingly at how Sima Geon mimicked So Hang perfectly.
After giving the ox ample time, Sima Geon picked up mallet and rod. His motions were so fluid that Ha Hou Gok and Ha Hou Yeon only registered them held when he assumed position.
Even as the rod touched its forehead, the ox munched on undisturbed.
Silence fell like frozen time—then a flash erupted.
Just a hammer strike, yet that's how it felt.
The ox collapsed headfirst into the trough.
Cheol Woo hoisted the massive beast effortlessly from behind.
Ha Hou Gok and Ha Hou Yeon gaped as he shouldered what had to be hundreds of catties without strain.
"Whoa! Monstrous strength."
"Strength to uproot mountains, qi to blanket the world."
As Cheol Woo slit the fresh carcass, strung its limbs on an iron spit, and hung it on a post to drain, Sima Geon began dismantling pigs and sheep already strung up.
Sima Geon's hands moved without hesitation around his three-foot blade.
With each swing, flesh parted cleanly, bones exposed.
Bone from meat in an instant. The blade never faltered or slowed.
A large pig fully portioned took just a dozen breaths. Though no expert, Ha Hou Gok had often watched So Hang at work on oxen and pigs—he was awestruck by Sima Geon's terrifying speed.
"Incredibly skilled."
"Beyond skilled. Didn't you see the blade? This is..."
No butcher, however adept, could wield a knife like that man.
Ha Hou Gok calmly observed as Sima Geon moved to the sheep.
'The more I watch, the more astonishing. Chillingly precise.'
Admiration spilled unbidden.