Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Father and Son
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"Father, your wounds are serious. Healing Forest isn't far from here, so it might be best to go there and tend to them properly."
Paeng Se Gi was worried about his father, but in truth, the injuries weren't all that severe.
Se Yeong's wounds, on the other hand, were far graver.
"I'm fine. Just slap on some golden wound salve, and fetch me some liquor."
The Heaven Dominating Blade King bellowed, and Paeng Se Gi wiped away the blood before applying the salve.
Se Yeong, too, smeared on the salve Dang Ok Yi had handed him and wrapped his chest and shoulder with cloth.
While the two tended their wounds, Sa Sa Un joined the siblings in the kitchen to stir-fry some meat.
"I'm Kang Seok Hyeon."
The Kang instructor introduced himself first, and the Heaven Dominating Blade King rose from his seat to return a courteous bow.
"Paeng Do Il."
The squad members followed suit, hastily offering their greetings.
"Yi Cheon Yeong of Mount Hua Sect greets the Blade King."
"Dang Ok Yi of the Tang Family greets Great Hero Paeng."
"Of the Hahu Family..."
The Heaven Dominating Blade King acknowledged the squad's greetings with a nod.
Finally, Sa Sa Un brought out the seasoned meat and liquor while paying his respects.
"Sa Sa Un of the Hangzhou Sa Family greets the great Heaven Dominating Blade King."
The Heaven Dominating Blade King frowned slightly, displeased by the man's flattery.
"With such oily words dripping from your lips, you must be a sly one full of tricks."
He had seen through Sa Sa Un's character at a glance.
Embarrassed, Sa Sa Un slunk back into the kitchen.
The siblings inside didn't dare even think of greeting him and simply watched from hiding.
"Fill my cup."
The Heaven Dominating Blade King extended his empty bowl toward Se Yeong.
Se Yeong silently poured the liquor, only for the man to snatch the bottle and down it in one gulp.
Kuuh...
"Fine stuff."
Having emptied his cup, the Heaven Dominating Blade King reached out toward the sword propped against the wall.
The blade sliced through space and flew into his hand.
Shing.
He drew the sword and examined the blade.
"Did you kill the Blood Ghost Mother?"
He recognized her sword at once.
"Yes."
Tsk tsk tsk...
"I thought the weapon that pierced the Blood Ghost Mother's body was the Judge's Brush, but it turns out it was your iron club."
Grinning, he sheathed the sword and tossed it toward the wall.
The blade cut through space once more, flying back to its original spot.
"Where did you learn your martial arts?"
"From Grandfather, Grandmother, and Father."
"Family techniques, then?"
"I inherited the arts of the Heavenly Hand Sect."
The Heaven Dominating Blade King tilted his head.
"Never heard of it."
"Grandfather's old title was One Hidden."
The squad members—and even the Heaven Dominating Blade King—were stunned when Se Yeong revealed his grandfather's identity.
"Om mani padme hum."
One Hidden was the hero who, alongside the Infinite Sword Immortal, had driven the Demonic Cult from the martial world.
"Why didn't you reveal that to the Murim Alliance sooner? If they'd known you were One Hidden's grandson, they never would have suspected you of being a Demonic Cult spy."
A faint smile curved Se Yeong's lips at the Heaven Dominating Blade King's question.
"Because I wanted to kill them."
"What do you mean by that?"
He couldn't make sense of Se Yeong's words.
Paeng Se Gi quickly stepped in.
"There were good reasons, Father. The Moyong Family was capturing children and maidens from mountain villages for human trafficking, and the Zhongnan Sect..."
The Heaven Dominating Blade King's expression grew exceedingly grave as he listened to his son.
He had known to some extent about the atrocities of the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families.
But he had turned a blind eye to avoid conflict with them, never imagining it was this bad.
"Did the Strategist know about this too?"
"Yes. The Strategist hoped my brother would flee the Murim Alliance."
After deep contemplation, the Heaven Dominating Blade King decided to let it all rest for now.
If the Strategist knew, then the Alliance Leader must have as well.
Yet they had done nothing, abandoning Se Yeong for the sake of the Nine Great Sects and Five Great Families.
"You're too upright for your own good."
Se Yeong denied it.
"Not really."
"No, you are. Too upright. Anyone else would have tucked tail and run the moment I showed up. Of course, I would have lopped off their head right after."
His expression had softened considerably from the start.
The thought of severing Se Yeong's neck had long since vanished.
"Leaving that aside, who taught you demonic arts?"
"Grandmother was originally from the Demonic Cult. She cut ties when she married Grandfather."
She hadn't cut ties upon leaving the Demonic Cult—it was when her great-grandfather passed.
But since her great-grandfather had been the Demonic Cult Leader, Se Yeong couldn't say it outright.
"I never knew One Hidden had such circumstances. Your grandmother must have been a formidable master in the Demonic Cult."
The Heaven Dominating Blade King didn't doubt Se Yeong's words for a second.
There was no need for someone who could stand against him to lie.
"Please keep what I've told you about me a secret for the time being."
"Why? If word spreads through the martial world, won't it clear up the misunderstanding that you're a Demonic Cult spy?"
It was a perfectly reasonable question from his perspective.
"I don't want to burden Grandfather. I started this, so I have to see it through—whether it ends in their destruction or my death."
Kuhahaha...
A satisfied laugh rumbled from the Heaven Dominating Blade King.
'To think such a gem exists in this world.'
In his youth, he too had been a great man who boldly faced the world's injustices and evils.
But the world wasn't so forgiving.
"The Murim Alliance has branded you a public enemy of the martial world, so all the top masters will come hunting for you here."
"I'm prepared."
The Heaven Dominating Blade King worried for Se Yeong.
A downpour could be weathered briefly, but Se Yeong showed no intention of doing so.
"You killed the Iron Fairy, so the Sword Queen will come after you. Not just her—the experts from the Moyong Family, Zhongnan Sect, and Emei Sect will too."
"If they want to kill me, let them try."
Se Yeong's response was just as he expected.
The drinking continued even after the workers headed home.
Kuhahaha...
"So that's how you ended up claiming this estate?"
The Heaven Dominating Blade King was thoroughly enjoying Paeng Se Gi's tale.
In his younger days, he had roamed the martial world with comrades, purging evil and injustice.
Now his own son was doing the same with his friends—how could he not be delighted?
"I have a question. Rumors say this estate's master sided with the Demonic Cult to preserve his family. Do you know anything about that?"
At Yi Cheon Yeong's query, the Heaven Dominating Blade King shared what he knew.
"He didn't surrender to the Demonic Cult—he was the first to grab his wealth and flee. Thanks to that, his retainers survived too, letting the family prosper after the Demonic Cult withdrew. After the Gold Springs Yi Family fled, Demonic Cultists posed as the estate's masters, or so I hear."
"Ah... so that's where the rumors came from."
The Heaven Dominating Blade King turned to Se Yeong.
"The only thing I can do for you is release the retainers and spread false rumors. I'll free them the moment I return home and say you and your squad headed toward Sichuan. But it'll only buy you time—not solve the root problem."
It was a kindness Se Yeong hadn't anticipated.
"That's more than enough. Thank you."
Se Yeong expressed his gratitude, and the man turned to the Kang instructor as well.
"These children may be Elusive Squadron material, but they lack experience in the martial world. Please guide them well, Instructor."
Heh heh...
"Don't worry, Great Hero Paeng. No one will touch these kids."
There was a subtle shift in the Kang instructor's tone.
Solemnity emanated from his expression and voice.
"It's late. Time to sleep. Son, show me to my room."
"Yes, Father."
The Heaven Dominating Blade King followed his son to a room.
The squad members dispersed to their quarters, leaving the kitchen to the siblings alone.
"Sis, I still can't believe what I saw and heard."
The second sibling, Yi Gu, sighed, and the eldest, Il Hwa, let out a breath of her own.
Hoo...
"You think you're the only one? My head's a mess too."
Not only had they seen the Heaven Dominating Blade King—one of the martial world's absolutes—up close, but they'd witnessed his martial prowess.
Even more astonishing: this estate's young master, who had matched that monstrous strength with his own, turned out to be Han Se Yeong, the martial world's public enemy.
And the youths with him? The Tenth Squad of the Murim Alliance's Elusive Squadron.
Masters beyond the siblings' wildest dreams.
"Sis, what do we do now?"
"What do you mean? We do as we're told."
As the siblings whispered while washing dishes, the Kang instructor appeared.
"Finish up and get to bed."
"Yes, sir."
It had been ages since he'd shared a room with his father.
As a child, they'd slept in the same room sometimes, but not once after growing older.
Paeng Se Gi found it awkward and tossed restlessly.
"Can't sleep?"
At his father's voice, Paeng Se Gi bolted upright.
"Yes, Father."
"Sleep. We move out early tomorrow."
He lay back down at his father's words.
"Father."
"What is it?"
"How did you find me so quickly?"
Paeng Se Gi was curious how his father had tracked him down so fast.
"You sneak off to the Murim Alliance without even asking your father's permission, and now you wonder about something so trivial?"
It wasn't trivial.
After leaving the Alliance, he'd run nonstop with lightness skill, making pursuit by their warriors impossible.
He'd only stopped at villages with gold mines for supplies and slipped away quickly to evade the Beggars' Sect eyes.
"I'm sorry, Father."
"I knew you'd joined the Elusive Squadron's Tenth Squad—and with that Han Se Yeong. The moment I heard the Moyong Family, Zhongnan Sect, and Emei were heading to the Alliance because of him, I moved out too."
But by the time he neared the Alliance, Han Se Yeong had already cut down countless experts and left with his squad.
From then on, he'd frantically searched their trail—to take Han Se Yeong's head and drag his son back.
"No one in the villages had seen you, no matter how much I asked. Luck was on my side. An old woodcutter at an inn said a group of martial artists had passed through the village, eaten, and left."
Paeng Se Gi sighed inwardly at his father's story.
Se Yeong and the squad had stopped at that village because of Sa Sa Un.
The exhausted Sa Sa Un had wanted a break, so they'd bought food—and by chance, the village elder had been out selling wood.
'Father must have struggled to find me.'
Silence fell for a moment before his father's voice returned.
"Se Yeong's one hell of a kid. Even I wasn't that strong at his age."
Paeng Se Gi voiced what he'd kept in his heart.
"Surpassing him is my dream."
"Good. You'll achieve it, no doubt."
In truth, he wanted to surpass his father even more than his brother.