Let's Live as Humans
Jin Yeongyeong swallowed a heavy groan.
Her trembling gaze shifted toward the three enemies.
The instant their eyes met, goosebumps prickled across her skin and a chill swept through her body.
Sticky, swirling resentment churned violently in her chest, then a pitch-black emotion flooded every corner of her being.
I want to kill them.
Her tongue moved as if drawing a bowstring taut.
“Kill those bastards right now…”
She had thought the words would slip out easily.
The mountain of resentment she carried was that immense.
Yet her parted lips froze solid as stone.
It was only one sentence.
Just one single sentence.
She could not spit it out.
Why did the simple command to kill these vermin feel like vomiting up filth?
She saw Yu Sucheon, Jeon Akgwan, and Cheon Ilseong shaking with terror.
Their faces, twisted in fear, were exactly the same expressions the Dan family members had worn until yesterday.
Jin Yeongyeong bit her lip.
If I do the same thing they did, I’ll become no different from them.
Her heart, knotted with long-held grudges, ached fiercely.
But even if she killed them, that pain would remain.
It would never change. It would torment her for the rest of her life.
There was one more reason she could not utter the words.
Dan Hyunwoo.
She could not bring herself to order her own son to kill.
If blood had to be shed, she would stain her own hands. She would never force such a thing on her child.
Along with the resentment that had built up over the years, Jin Yeongyeong’s inability to act left tears finally spilling from her eyes.
Her hands shook with frustration, yet she hated herself for being unable to point them at the three men.
She resented her own mouth for being unable to speak the words.
“Hyunwoo.”
“Yes, Mother.”
“Let us live as humans. Let us not become the same as them.”
Jin Yeongyeong’s tearful plea made Yu Sucheon, Jeon Akgwan, and Cheon Ilseong release enormous sighs of relief and wipe away their cold sweat.
They felt as if they had died once and come back to life.
“Thank you for showing us mercy,” Yu Sucheon said, looking at Jin Yeongyeong with genuine sincerity.
Jeon Akgwan found the words surprising.
This was Yu Sucheon, a man who never bowed his head to anyone.
Yet here he was, speaking so obediently to Jin Yeongyeong, whom he had once dismissed as insignificant.
“Th-thank you,” Jeon Akgwan added, forced to speak despite his reluctance.
Since Yu Sucheon had expressed gratitude, he could not stay silent.
Even Cheon Ilseong, who had suffered the worst beating and lacked inner energy, spoke up.
“Thank you for thparing uth, pleathe-yong. Tho… ah… my mouth ith all thwollen and I can’t thpeak properly-yong…”
“What did you say?”
The moment Dan Hyunwoo glared at him, Yu Sucheon clamped a hand over Cheon Ilseong’s mouth.
He did it to stop the man from speaking in that lisping, almost mocking tone any further.
Hyunwoo’s murderous stare was likely him debating whether or not to draw his sword.
Jin Yeongyeong turned away from the three of them.
She had no desire to hear words of thanks from their lips.
She spoke her true feelings.
“That doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven them. Because of what they did, the family head lost his mind, our precious daughter is suffering at an inn, and our grandson couldn’t even attend school at the proper age. Forgive the ones who did this to our family? Hyunwoo, to be honest, I don’t know what I should do.”
The expressions of Yu Sucheon, Jeon Akgwan, and Cheon Ilseong stiffened once more.
It seemed this was not over.
Of course. After everything they had done, there was no way they would be forgiven so easily.
Dan Hyunwoo understood his mother’s heart well.
The grudges born from having an entire household torn to pieces could not dissipate so simply.
He offered a suggestion.
“Mother, how about we handle it this way?”
“What do you mean?”
Hyunwoo leaned close and whispered quietly into Jin Yeongyeong’s ear.
As she listened, her eyes widened in surprise.
“Hyunwoo, do you truly intend to do that?”
“Only if you approve, Mother.”
Jin Yeongyeong’s gaze trembled faintly as she looked at the three men kneeling on the floor.
In truth, she never wanted to see them again.
But if it was as Hyunwoo said, she could have her revenge and it would greatly benefit the Dan family.
“Hyunwoo, I think your idea is good. Let’s do as you say.”
“I’ll prepare a delicious dinner. Please rest until then.”
Jin Yeongyeong smiled for the first time in a long while.
Yu Sucheon, Jeon Akgwan, and Cheon Ilseong felt a shiver run down their spines at that smile.
What on earth did they just whisper about?
They wanted to ask, but they didn’t dare.
Dan Hyunwoo’s icy glare did not permit questions.
With half curiosity and half bone-chilling worry in their hearts, the three watched Jin Yeongyeong disappear into her room.
When Jin Yeongyeong entered the room, she saw her husband in the farthest corner, mouth half-open, completely out of his mind.
Even when she sat him in the sunniest spot, he would eventually crawl into a corner and curl up.
She briefly regretted telling Hyunwoo not to kill the three men who had reduced the Dan family head to this state.
Still, Jin Yeongyeong shook her head and sat down beside her husband.
The hand she took in hers felt slightly warmer than it had two days ago.
“Hyunwoo made even Yu Sucheon—the man the Five Great Experts of Zhejiang are wary of—kneel, and he defeated the leader of the Nine Dragons Sect. Ever since he was little he used to say he would become a supreme expert of the Jianghu, and now he really has. Our son is truly remarkable, isn’t he?”
“……”
There was no answer.
Her husband, Dan Yuseon, simply stared blankly into empty space.
What could he possibly be seeing there?
For the first time in a long while, Jin Yeongyeong turned her gaze in the same direction and continued.
“Darling, our Hyunwoo has taken back the Dan Manor and the Danhwa Silk Shop.”
“……”
Jin Yeongyeong kept speaking.
“So you must gather your strength too. Pass the position of family head to our son and let’s live happily together. So please, stop looking at empty air and look at me.”
After Jin Yeongyeong entered the room, Dan Hyunwoo spoke.
“Cheon Ilseong, go to the physician and get treatment first.”
“U-understood-yong.”
“As for the other two. Yu Sucheon and Jeon Akgwan, return here tomorrow morning at sunrise.”
“Um… I also had a sword stuck in my stomach.”
Jeon Akgwan spoke cautiously.
Blood was still flowing from the wound on his abdomen.
It was quite deep.
But Dan Hyunwoo shook his head.
“The Mokhwa Merchant Group leader has no inner energy, so he needs treatment to survive. You, however, possess inner energy. One night of treatment will be enough.”
“Under… stood.”
Jeon Akgwan answered reluctantly.
Dan Hyunwoo continued.
“Leave for today.”
Yu Sucheon supported Jeon Akgwan and Cheon Ilseong.
Of course, the usual Yu Sucheon would never have done such a thing.
But he was the one who had put the wound in Jeon Akgwan’s stomach, and Cheon Ilseong looked utterly pitiful.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes, Brother Yu.”
After helping the two past the threshold of the Dan Manor’s main gate, Yu Sucheon, Jeon Akgwan, and Cheon Ilseong exchanged glances.
Just what had Jin Yeongyeong and Dan Hyunwoo whispered about?
“What kind of scheme did they cook up that they’re telling us to come back here tomorrow?”
The next morning.
Yu Sucheon and Jeon Akgwan immediately understood what kind of conversation Jin Yeongyeong and Dan Hyunwoo had shared.
“The area in front of the house is filthy.”
“Pardon?”
“I told you before. I don’t repeat myself.”
“……”
Jeon Akgwan and Yu Sucheon looked at each other.
At first they didn’t understand what he meant.
Then their faces twisted.
He’s telling the former leader of the Nine Dragons Sect and Hangzhou’s greatest expert to sweep the front of the house?
They already knew they had become no better than slaves.
But Jeon Akgwan and Yu Sucheon had imagined a different kind of servitude—something like managing the Nine Dragons Sect in his stead.
Or becoming a chief steward with an important position in the Dan family.
Or at least a protector or enforcer.
Weren’t there such impressive roles?
The kind of work suitable for Hangzhou’s greatest expert and the leader of its largest black-path martial sect.
Yet they were being made into servants.
The lowest of the low—servants who did menial chores.
Yu Sucheon and Jeon Akgwan looked at Dan Hyunwoo with eyes full of desperate hope that asked, Are you serious?
Dan Hyunwoo pointed at the main gate with a cold gaze.
“Now.”
At that single word, Yu Sucheon and Jeon Akgwan were pushed forward. They picked up brooms and stood in front of the Dan Manor.
They still couldn’t believe they had become servants, but they could not disobey.
Still, why was the front of the house so dirty?
It was disgustingly filthy.
Hmm… It’s because of us.
No one with any sense would have dared clean in front of the Dan family home when debt collectors came every day.
Yu Sucheon and Jeon Akgwan began sweeping with sighs.
Swoosh. Swoosh.
What a miserable fate.
After sweeping for about half a gak, Jeon Akgwan’s face gradually flushed red. No matter how he thought about it, this was unacceptable.
Jeon Akgwan threw down his broom.
“This is insane. Us, servants? Does that make any sense? No, this won’t do. I need to settle this right now or I won’t feel satisfied. Don’t try to stop me!”
He strode past the still-sweeping Yu Sucheon and headed boldly toward the Dan Manor’s main gate.
At the same time, the gate opened and Dan Hyunwoo stepped outside.
“I told you to clean in front of the gate. Why are you walking back into the manor?”
“Uh…”
The moment he faced Dan Hyunwoo, Jeon Akgwan’s boldness vanished completely.
The killing intent radiating from that body and those eyes melted away the anger that had been boiling inside him.
Now as docile as a lamb, Jeon Akgwan stammered.
“Th-that is…”
“I’ll give you half a gak.”
Jeon Akgwan quietly retreated, picked up the broom again, and began sweeping with renewed vigor under the gaze of Dan Hyunwoo, who stood with arms crossed, leaning against the wall.
Sweat dripped down as he worked hard.
Of course, it wasn’t ordinary sweat.
Hahaha, this isn’t sweat from working hard. This is cold sweat.
Deep in his heart, fear had been branded into him.
While they swept diligently, several residents passed by the Dan Manor.
The moment they saw Jeon Akgwan and Yu Sucheon, their faces froze and their mouths fell open.
The vicious leader of the Nine Dragons Sect and one of Hangzhou’s greatest experts, Yu Sucheon, were holding brooms? That was the look on their faces.
Of course they couldn’t believe it.
Even Yu Sucheon and Jeon Akgwan themselves sweeping could hardly believe it.
When the sweeping was almost finished, Dan Hyunwoo spoke.
“From tomorrow onward, finish cleaning within one shichen.”
“You want us to sweep every day?”
“Not every day. Only until the debt is fully repaid. And what are you standing around for?”
“Pardon?”
“Once morning sweeping is done, you should go to the market.”
“M-market? You mean the market where you buy ingredients to cook?”
“Chicken porridge sounds good for breakfast today.”
Dan Hyunwoo placed one silver coin in Jeon Akgwan’s palm and went back inside the manor.
Yu Sucheon and Jeon Akgwan blinked at the silver coin resting in his palm.
Yu Sucheon said, “You’re saying we have to mix with the housewives, buy chickens, and carry them all the way back here?”
“Chicken porridge needs vegetables too. So who’s carrying the vegetables?”
Yu Sucheon answered.
“This is insane.”
The usually bustling market was quiet today.
It was because Yu Sucheon and Jeon Akgwan had arrived.
The merchants wore worried expressions, wondering what unreasonable demands or violence Jeon Akgwan would bring this time.
Whenever the Nine Dragons Sect appeared, there was never a quiet passage.
When Jeon Akgwan stood in front of a merchant, the man spoke with a thoroughly tense face.
“W-what brings you all the way here, sir?”
“Three chickens.”
“Pardon?”
“I said three chickens!”
“Eh?”
Jeon Akgwan raised his voice in irritation. But he was asking for chickens, not money? Not trying to seize the shop? Not demanding someone’s wife…? Really just chickens? The merchant’s eyes widened in disbelief. Jeon Akgwan continued.
“What vegetables go into chicken porridge?”
“V-vegetables, sir?”
“Bring them right now!”
“J-just a moment!”
The merchant hurriedly gathered chickens and vegetables.
Chicken porridge was simple, so the ingredients were quickly prepared and placed before Jeon Akgwan and Yu Sucheon.
The merchants wondered what was happening.
Whenever these two came before, someone always died or everything was taken away before it ended.
Yet today they were only taking three chickens and some vegetables?
While everyone was thinking that, Jeon Akgwan suddenly thrust his fist forward at the merchant who had handed over the chickens.
I knew it! There’s no way they’d only take chickens and vegetables!
The merchant flinched and covered his face with both arms.
They were using the chickens and vegetables as an excuse to beat him and take more.
But when Jeon Akgwan opened his palm wide, there was one silver coin resting in it.
The merchant’s eyes grew huge.
“Take it.”
“Uh… yes…? You’re really giving me money?”
“You don’t want it? Huh?”
“N-no, I’ll take it. Of course I’ll take it.”
The merchant accepted the silver coin, but his expression still showed complete disbelief.
Jeon Akgwan was not the kind of person who gave things away.
So he still could not understand the man’s behavior.
Jeon Akgwan carried the vegetables while Yu Sucheon carried the three chickens.
These two, who had once spread the worst reputation in Hangzhou.
“Let’s go.”
At Yu Sucheon’s words, Jeon Akgwan, holding the vegetables, followed behind him.
Their faces were dyed bright red with humiliation.
Yu Sucheon and Jeon Akgwan had appeared, yet nothing had happened.
Staring at the silver coin he had received, the merchant muttered.
“Did the Blood-Killing Demon Sword and the leader of the Nine Dragons Sect experience a change of heart? Are those men even in their right minds?”