Chapter 53
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Banquet Brawl
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Crunch.
Suddenly, the table splintered, and a person went flying.
"Young Master?!"
"Hm. Guess I can't eat here after all."
Judging by Seo Mun Young-ryeong's words, Seo Mun-ha had been scouting for a suitably quiet spot.
In the end, like a young colt that had slipped its reins, a brief scuffle broke out among the so-called disciples of the prestigious orthodox sects.
"Kyaaak! Brother Jeong!"
A woman's piercing, overly dramatic scream rang out.
They had only gone up and down a few stairs.
As Seo Mun-ha surveyed the chaotic scene—not quite a full brawl but close enough—shards from the shattered table rained down belatedly upon him.
Swoosh.
With a single casual gesture, the fragments veered off course.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Wooden splinters large and small, along with bits of porcelain, slammed into the floor and stood rigidly upright.
"Did something just fly by?!"
The situation was clear at a glance.
"No."
A woman stamping her feet in feigned ignorance, and two men whose drunken lack of restraint showed in every word and action.
"Let's go."
Ignoring the predictable drama, Seo Mun-ha descended another staircase with the dazed A-so in tow.
The banquet hall was, quite literally, a place for mingling.
An opportunity to strengthen old ties and lay the groundwork for new ones.
Thanks to people from all sects and clans bustling about without regard for faction lines, laughter never left Heavenly Dragon Pavilion entirely. Yet it wasn't all smooth sailing—each staircase seemed to lead to a different world unfolding before their eyes.
"Do you know the senior brother?"
"Senior Brother Sin's Seven Ultimate Plum Blossom Sword was truly remarkable. No wonder it's Mount Hua."
Having toured from the first floor to the ninth, the gathering seemed to be proceeding smoothly overall.
Greetings exchanged, well-wishes offered, toasts raised.
There were bound to be minor shouts and petty squabbles here and there, but even with empty seats dotting the venue, the efforts of the Murim Alliance and the Cheongju Bi Clan appeared to be bearing fruit to some extent.
"Over there! How about that spot?!"
That was as far as it went.
"Sure, let's head that way."
A-so and Seo Mun-ha had time on their hands. In fact, they looked the most leisurely of anyone there.
Even those who recognized him hesitated to approach, gauging his mood.
It seemed word of his confrontation with Peng Ho-rip had spread, and the subdued air about him made people pause in their tracks.
Seo Mun-ha was unusually calm.
'The government and Hwang Bo Clan each hold one share.'
Unlike the earlier fools, he mulled over matters related to the demonic cult.
The remaining six shares' worth of martial factions were gathered here as well.
For him, this space where friend and foe mingled was a chance to take in as much as possible.
'Those yet to arrive: Kunlun, Emei, Mo Yong, Jeon Gal...'
A group shielding the Demon Lord.
When considering massive sects with influence in Shandong, candidates were few, but every possibility remained open to all.
It could be an individual, not an organization.
In the extreme, even the Murim Alliance couldn't be entirely ruled out.
Though the odds were less than one in ten.
Tak, tak...
Regardless, a steady stream of fine food and drink arrived one after another.
"Young Master, are you not hungry by any chance?"
Such thoughts didn't linger long.
"Nah. Let's eat."
The music from the gongs skipping floors and the scenery visible through the windows were perfection itself.
No mere meal could be this lavish.
"I feel kinda bad for Gu Chil hyung and Yang Jeong hyung."
"Not necessarily."
Seo Mun-ha, holding a bottle of liquor, glanced toward another spot.
"What did you just say?"
"One of the young ladies seems uncomfortable, so stop hounding her."
He hadn't even uncorked the bottle yet.
"Ah, that woman over there earlier..."
A-so, raising his voice, hurriedly clamped his own mouth shut.
"The two men have switched."
As Seo Mun-ha withdrew his interest, the noise only grew louder in contrast.
"It's unsightly. Is fluttering eyelashes like a woman a specialty of the Prestigious Escort Agency?"
A minor argument escalated to insults, and insults to blows in an instant.
Krunch!
If only things stayed consistent, like the two faces of a silver coin.
Gathering men anxious to promote themselves and women to fawn over inevitably led to commotion.
"You bastard!"
The golden child of the Radiant Sword Gate, the young leader of the Prestigious Escort Agency, and the young sect leader of the Sea Bell Sect.
Heirs to major factions representing their regions were seemingly tarnishing their own reputations—but their true intentions were the opposite.
Boom!
Whatever.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
"Stay out of it, miss. He insulted my faction first!"
Seo Mun-ha leisurely refilled his cup.
"What do you mean their intentions are the opposite, Young Master?"
He kindly explained to the whispering A-so.
"They look like hopeless wastrels at first glance, but they're not idiots."
Coming from Seo Mun-ha of all people, it rang even truer to A-so.
"Think about the purpose of this gathering—it's ultimately a stage to make their names known."
"So as long as they stand out, it's effective?"
The woman subtly raising her nose by swapping men, and the men building prestige by using her as an excuse—they were a match made in heaven.
One would take the blame in the end, after sorting right from wrong.
"They wouldn't have stepped in if they thought they'd lose."
Judging by prior examples, these two were slated for the dog-eat-dog treatment.
Moreover, candidates who had been eliminated from some selection process.
The hot-blooded young men responded as if they'd been waiting, itching for action.
Crash!
With plenty of liquor in their systems, there was no holding back.
If it was to show off their martial prowess, it might have been somewhat admirable.
But men baring their teeth to impress a pretty woman, and the woman toying with them smugly—it was a nauseating sight.
People desperate for any pretext, even fabricating excuses—they were utter scoundrels.
"Stop this!"
Fortunately, the future of the orthodox martial world wasn't entirely bleak.
"I am Jeong Il of Mount Mao Sect. How can you cause a scene at such a meaningful gathering without shame?"
Quelling disturbances was ostensibly the duty of the Murim Alliance and Cheongju Bi Clan.
"Mount Mao...?"
But the Daoist who stepped in on their behalf was impeccably pure, without a trace of ulterior motive.
"Jeong Il?"
His intentions were noble, but the two juniors sneered down at the Mount Mao Daoist.
Even as a higher-ranking Daoist, Mount Mao's name carried some weakness; a young Daoist stepping forward on principle alone couldn't hope to intervene effectively.
"If you won't stop, what will you do, Daoist? Plan to take on both of us yourself?"
The warriors who had been at each other's throats now shamelessly grouped together.
They scoffed with brazen impudence, drawing involuntary sighs.
"If that's what it takes to satisfy you two young heroes."
"You'll regret those words."
Mount Mao's arts were underwhelming for a sect that had once dominated an era—nothing to lose.
"Since our sects are both sword gates like Mount Mao, I'll go first."
As they lightly clashed palms, dust suddenly billowed.
In the layered structure of Heavenly Dragon Pavilion like stacked paper, they achieved their goal, drawing the eyes of the crowd.
They hadn't drawn their swords as a final resort; for Jeong Il, it was like playing go without his carriage piece.
The Sea Bell Sect was similar, but their signature techniques weren't limited to the sword.
In short, the young Daoist was at a clear disadvantage.
Thwack!
Jeong Il's form staggered wildly after taking a palm strike.
"Junior brother!"
"Senior brother!"
This was his own doing.
Mount Mao's arts weren't inferior to the other two sects' disciples, but the board was stacked against him from the start.
As he himself had declared, he had no choice but to endure; it was a fair duel with little room for intervention.
Using his defeat to intimidate the entire Mount Mao Sect could escalate into an inter-sect issue, and the mountain disciples, inexperienced in worldly affairs, were at a loss.
'If only one of the accompanying senior uncles had come...'
Mount Mao's disciples unanimously turned hopeful eyes to their highest-ranking Daoist present, Jeong Ja-bae.
"Senior brother... what should we do?"
No immediate answer came.
As they dithered, Jeong Il rolled across the floor to a decisive defeat.
Crash!
Humiliation didn't get more humiliating than this.
The helpless Daoists glared at the two juniors with indignant eyes.
"Urk!"
It had all happened in the blink of an eye.
"Mount Mao's nothing special after all."
The swaggering man—the Prestigious Escort Agency's young leader who had lost his turn—grumbled in dissatisfaction at the clear outcome.
Thud thud thud!
Bi Clan warriors arriving a step late surveyed the scene.
"What in the world happened here?!"
The answer came from Han So-ok of the Radiant Sword Gate, who had stepped back a pace.
"Well, actually, it was because of me..."
With a tearful face, she stepped forward to explain haltingly, and the other juniors who saw through her vile act clicked their tongues inwardly.
Tsk.
Only one actually voiced it.
"These so-called orthodox folk can't stand not tearing others down."
Seo Mun-ha looked down at Jeong Il, buried amid the overturned table and debris at his feet.
Not a drop of water—or liquor—had splashed on him despite the shattering bottles and dishes, and irritation flickered across his face.
The surroundings fell silent in an instant.
The juniors, doubting their ears, turned their gaze to him as one. The very victim who had lost his table drank the last of his cup with a displeased expression.
"...What did you just say?"
The young man who had been pushed to the background amid the commotion.
"Did you hear that?"
Accompanied only by a single servant, he muttered as if piercing through the two men.
"My mistake. I thought you were just chasing a woman's skirts—didn't expect sharp ears too."
Seo Mun-ha, who had only thought it to himself, teased them about voicing his inner thoughts.
"What...?"
"Who might this young hero be?"
The man looking ready to lunge composed himself and asked calmly.
Seo Mun-ha, turning his gaze, didn't even glance at the approaching pair.
'That guy's...'
Following Han So-ok, the two men soon recognized him as well.
"So you're Ghost Flash. I've heard the tales. But it seems you've said something I can't let slide. I hope my ears deceived me."
"Your ears aren't the problem—it's your head."
"You...!"
"Hear that too? This one's no mistake—it's praise. I was just thinking how slickly you rolled with that split-second scheme."
Formally challenging to a match, whether individual or group, reduced their odds and gains.
Against him, they'd have to reveal all their signature moves.
There was an uneasy feeling, and what they wanted was the result, not the process.
Even if they lost in a prior scuffle, an impromptu duel would only elevate Mount Mao's name.
No need for one to take sole blame—an implicit agreement minimizing losses.
If both lost, they could claim mistake and ride Mount Mao's prestige.
Seo Mun-ha laid it all bare starkly.
Letting it happen knowingly was because no material proof existed—it was beyond common sense.
"Can you take responsibility for those words?"
Jeong Il's stubbornness in an unfair match wasn't entirely admirable either.
He wouldn't have reacted this way otherwise.
If not for the two interruptions to his own meal.
"No, you should take responsibility!"
The two men, instantly reduced to petty villains, charged with eyes bloodshot.
"In the jianghu, the price for wagging your tongue is steeper than anything!"
No one had time to intervene.
"I don't know about responsibility, but I do know one thing."
The pair suddenly unleashed a joint assault, striking toward Seo Mun-ha.
The momentum was far fiercer than against Jeong Il.
Palm and fist techniques.
Signature moves flew from both sides, and he waved them off like swatting flies.
Whoosh!
Following the arc of his hand, one man floated into the air.
'Wha...?'
Not just floating.
In an instant, heaven and earth flipped; his body spun once and crashed down heavily.
Thud—!
Seo Mun-ha stomped the fallen man's head.
"Grk!" He couldn't even cry out properly. Leaving him behind, Seo Mun-ha grabbed the remaining man's palm and twisted.
Hwoong!
True energy dissipated futilely into emptiness.
Crack crack.
Fingers twisted grotesquely next.
"Aaaagh!"
The open-mouthed man screamed bloody murder. Seo Mun-ha yanked him close and uppercut his jaw.
Shock jolted straight to the brain.
The man flipped back his eyes and collapsed limply.
Thump.
Before anyone could recover their wits, silence upon silence blanketed the area.
"One punishment to warn a hundred. That wasn't my inner thought—slipped my mind, oppositely."
Still seated, Seo Mun-ha looked down at the two unconscious men.
Then handed them over to a Bi Clan warrior.
"Sorry for the trouble. Could you clean this up?"
"Y-yes! Right away!"
He hadn't killed them.
But their wretched state, worse than Jeong Il's, stirred pity even in the Mount Mao Daoists.
"Hahaha! That guy's more of a monster than I imagined!"
"A real firebrand. How many in the orthodox world act like that?"
The hush was brief; talk that started with Jeong Il now spread from Seo Mun-ha like ripples.
Step.
People who had hesitated began chatting animatedly once more.
"Nice to meet you."
Among them, the woman at the root of the disturbance approached him cautiously.
"I'm Han So-ok of the Radiant Sword Gate."
"So?"
"...You're Seo Mun-ha of the Seo Mun Clan, right?"
Masking her awkwardness, she flashed a brilliant smile.
"And?"
"Looks like I earned your ire by ruining your meal. The earlier incident was a misunderstanding..."
She shook her head emphatically.
"No need. When those two young heroes wake, I'll soothe them myself. Whatever your intent, since they struck first together, the Prestigious Escort Agency and Sea Bell Sect won't make a bigger fuss later."
Han So-ok settled lightly beside Seo Mun-ha, beaming with her eyes.
She knew exactly how to win a man's favor.
Offer kindness, show goodwill.
Soft tones, graceful movements. Every seductive glance was calculated.
Wag. Wag.
Watching this, Seo Mun-ha silently waved her closer.
As if beckoning her nearer.
'Knew it.'
Men were so simple, after all.
She hesitated coyly before inching toward him carefully.
The pair pressed close like lovers.
At a distance where breaths nearly mingled, her smile deepened.
But she froze solid moments later.
"Don't smile like an idiot—spit it out. You're ugly when you do."
Seo Mun-ha whispered right in Han So-ok's ear.