Chapter 58
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Tiger Father, Dog Son and Tiger Father, Dog Son
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Shandong Province, Yanzhou Sub-bureau.
The temporary branch of the Murim Alliance was operating out of a modest manor.
"He's awake?"
As the word "temporary" suggested, the sub-bureau leader was just a passing title.
"Yes, sir."
Yet the middle-aged man bearing heavy responsibilities was originally stationed in a key position within the Murim Alliance.
Golden Net Division Leader Ha Seong-seo.
Renowned as "Angry Governance Daily," he was drowning in a mountain of documents.
"I'll submit a formal report with the details."
"Do so."
Ho Gwang, from the Murim Alliance's intelligence group Bi-eung-gak, had just regained consciousness.
He had been delirious and restless, unable to fully come to his senses, but waking up at all was something.
One could only marvel at the vicious tricks of the Black Kill Chamber. For Ho Gwang, who had been ambushed by them, simply surviving was a miracle.
Setting aside his external and internal injuries, which weren't light, the poison had seeped into his very marrow. If that had happened, there would have been no turning back.
'We owe the Tang Clan one.'
The Murim Alliance was a coalition of righteous martial artists. That didn't mean they could command other sects like limbs at will.
"Elder Tang will be bragging about his direct descendant for a while again."
The Sichuan Tang Clan provided no small amount of talent and resources to the Murim Alliance, but they couldn't force matters beyond official cooperation and alliances.
"Isn't Heavenly Poison Physician the eccentric known as Sichuan Rakshasa? Haha."
Setting aside chivalry, the gravity of the situation wouldn't allow him to stand idly by.
"His skills are extraordinary, but even so, compared to his niece, the Vermilion Bird Unit Leader..."
"Enough idle talk."
Ha Seong-seo brushed off his subordinate's flattery and turned to the next item on the agenda.
"Any issues with the gathering?"
"No, sir. The Bi Clan is cooperating better than expected."
"Tell them not to let their guard down. Looking at past gatherings, none have passed quietly."
Handling each matter in turn, he bore the heavy duty of overseeing the post-gathering matters as Shandong's overall commander.
Several people came and went, assisting with administrative tasks, making for endlessly busy days with no time to breathe.
Piii—
In the midst of such hectic days, tinnitus sometimes rang in his ears.
"This is..."
But one warning horn sounded clearly from a distinct source.
It seemed another peaceful night was out of the question today as well.
A warrior burst into his office with urgent footsteps.
"Division Leader! H-He... he's dead!"
"Calm down and report properly. Who's dead and how?"
He soothed the warrior steadily.
"The Black Kill Chamber branch chief we were escorting..."
"What?!"
The attendant assisting Ha Seong-seo bellowed instead.
"The culprit?"
"That's..."
"Understood. Good work. Go rest."
Having received the report, Ha Seong-seo responded swiftly and precisely.
"Do we have a way to contact the Black Kill Chamber directly?"
"...I'll check right away."
"Send a document. Just as he reported."
Rubbing his forehead, he soon called for another person.
"You said that friend Ho Gwang is awake."
And things circled back to the beginning.
"A fortunate turn amid misfortune. How many are stationed at this manor?"
"Fifty-four, sir."
"Double his guard detail and recall all warriors out on assignment."
"Right away."
"Let's go too."
With their robes flapping, the three men strode through the familiar manor.
"The Hwang Bo Clan after all..."
Ha Seong-seo's expression was impassive, but his worries never ceased. The preceding attendant picked up on his mutter.
"Pardon?"
As if something had been miscommunicated.
"The clan, you say?"
Huang Bo Woo-jun rolled back his eyes, whites showing.
It was right after the hulking man's gaze lost its ferocity and he fell unconscious.
"S-Stop this at once?!"
"Halt!"
Unable to bear it any longer, Hu Seong and Yang Su-il shouted simultaneously.
Seo Mun-ha stared silently at the two before pointing at Hu Seong.
"Take him."
He then lightly tossed the fainted Huang Bo Woo-jun over.
"...Y-You bastard."
"Looks like we'll have plenty to talk about."
Hu Seong bit his lip, glaring at Seo Mun-ha as he hesitated.
The demonic qi Huang Bo Woo-jun had unleashed. There was no need to probe if Hu Seong had sensed the true origins of his deranged lord.
"Later."
While Seo Mun-ha hinted at needless truths, Hu Seong roughly received Huang Bo Woo-jun, grinding his teeth before swiftly exiting the sparring ground.
Seo Mun-ha turned to the remaining Yang Su-il.
He too wore an expression full of unspoken words.
But facing Seo Mun-ha, who had cast courtesy aside, Yang Su-il soon followed in Hu Seong's footsteps.
Setting aside the unspoken circumstances, this was a spar framed as friendly exchange.
To those unaware of Huang Bo Woo-jun's condition, Seo Mun-ha's strikes seemed somewhat brutal. Yang Su-il averted his gaze, mulling over the quiet pressure.
There was ample room to nitpick with that three-inch tongue of boasts, but the short distance between him and the arena was surely a path to humiliation.
Flap.
Grasping his robe, Seo Mun-ha slowly walked down from the arena.
The famed Yang family spear arts piqued his curiosity, but not enough to disrupt the order and intervene.
"Brother!"
Bi Ju-seong greeted Seo Mun-ha with an agitated face.
"Sorry for ruining the gathering for you."
The arena, ruined in a way unbecoming of the later-generation talents' bout, bore intense traces.
"Ruin? Not at all."
Merely startled by the unexpected scene, Bi Ju-seong waved it off and pointed to the overheated atmosphere of the sparring ground.
It was common for warriors who had witnessed blood before and after a match to grow sensitive.
Seo Mun-ha, the very party involved, seemed no different from usual. Even those approaching to speak directly to his bloodstained hands showed no variance, and brushing past them one by one, he returned to the Bi residence without further ado.
This was before Tang So-so and Yang Su-il's match began.
The first day passed just like that, amid the flow of time.
As heated as it had grown, it was a boisterous time, and before long, past the hour of the hare, fragments of a broken full moon illuminated the blue lord's mansion.
"Really?"
"I told you."
There had been no small disturbances large and small, but the gathering had stitched its first seam well, creating an overall satisfying mood.
"No way!"
It was clear just from the faces of the passing maids.
Amid those cheering, servants who let out small cries mentioned one person.
"Won-i, you're on Seohwa Pavilion duty tomorrow too, right? Switch with me? Please?"
No one had ordered them to.
"You. You know it's impossible. You'd get scolded by deaf sis."
"I want to see the real deal once too!"
"See what? She won't even come out of her chambers anyway."
From young maids to the masses, all endlessly praised Seo Mun-ha.
It was only natural.
Considering the Hwang Bo Clan's standing and prestige here in Shandong.
Not just the Bi Clan—the later-generation talents who witnessed the match and the onlookers were matched by the buzz throughout Shandong Province centered on one person.
He had earned the moniker Ghost Flash in a single martial outing, but the locals couldn't quite shake their suspicions.
And rightly so, for changing entrenched perceptions and reputations was no easy task.
Intentions aside, Seo Mun-ha had proven himself and shone amid the gathered later-generation talents of the Central Plains.
'No wonder he's the talk of the town.'
Gu Chil struggled to suppress laughter at the passing maids' chatter.
Within the Bi residence, he hadn't expected better treatment from the start, but nonstop acclaim filled it with good news, and the shoulders of the guard at Seohwa Pavilion's entrance rose endlessly.
"You saw my man properly. I knew the young master would do big things, heh heh."
Even the way they looked at them now was different.
"Right? The Hwang Bo Clan's first young master is the great-grandson of Radiant Fist King, the hero. Think about who that is..."
"Gu hyung might see it as impressive, but to the young master, that's nothing."
Yang Jeong let out a quiet sigh at Gu Chil's sentimental display.
To those seeing what they wanted, doubts and the "playboy wastrel" label fell away.
The good-for-nothing became affable, and indulgences in wine and women morphed into the qualities or virtues of a young hero.
With handsome looks, talent, and background all outstanding, envy and jealousy turned to admiration in an instant.
"But what's got you so worried?"
"I've felt it before, but Gu hyung, you'll never starve wherever you go with that brazen mouth."
"What, man?"
"I'm saying behave yourself. You're no longer some thug whipping the common folk's backs. Don't tarnish the young master's or main family's face."
"Ahem. I know. Who'd say otherwise? Where else is there someone as full of loyalty and devotion as me?"
Grinning, Yang Jeong tugged at Gu Chil's thick sleeve.
"Then what's that little bundle?"
"Huh? Oh, this? Just... snacks for when you're on duty and your mouth gets bored."
"And you gobbled it all up?"
"Snacks, snacks. I didn't eat any. How could I refuse when they shoved it into my hands?"
"The young master would love hearing that."
The well-matched pair growled at each other whenever they had a chance.
Setting aside their unreliability and lack of real help, their self-proclaimed guardian spirit deserved credit.
"Speaking of, it's already half a day. Wonder if the young master's alright."
Seo Mun-ha, returned from the gathering, had holed up in his chambers without stirring.
Reputation or worry be damned, he sat cross-legged, tending internal injuries from several doors away.
Srrrr—
The internal injuries were mostly minor.
There had been considerable time and distance between the Red Shadow Sword Demon and Huang Bo Woo-jun.
However, dismissing them as ordinary was based solely on his standards, and calling internal injuries "minor" was inherently flawed.
In places untouched by human hands.
Even damage to the five viscera and six bowels was no trifle for an ordinary person.
Treatment, let alone prolonged rest, was needed, and only qi-proficient warriors could gauge the severity of internal injuries.
Srrrrk.
The medicinal qi circulating through his meridians seeped into every corner of his body.
The pill from Baek Ri-seol.
It soothed wounds like a caress, bolstering natural recovery.
Focusing on qi circulation, he melted the medicine into the Northern Bright Heart Method, devoting himself to healing.
Had he delayed, congealed blood might have caused blockages, but the actual damage wasn't severe.
The issue was his qi and blood.
From overexerting his inner energy, Seo Mun-ha's meridians were strained.
The bout with Huang Bo Woo-jun had worsened it, and for most warriors, meridian deviation was the gravest issue short of displaced organs.
Collapsing from within.
Uncontrolled inner qi could rampage, known as qi deviation.
A supreme poison incomparable to heart demons. Having safely passed this non-crisis crisis, Seo Mun-ha concluded his qi circulation with relief.
'...Time for a bath.'
And slowly opened his eyes.
Having expelled impurities, his body was soaked in sweat, toxins, and waste.
With Active Mind Technique and Internal Healing Melody, he could self-heal internal injuries, but not this swiftly. He fully savored Baek Ri-seol's pill's effects.
Splash.
Seo Mun-ha immersed himself in the bathtub.
His toned physique brimmed with vitality more than ever.
The medicine's bonus was a modest inner energy boost, and having opened additional Twelve Standard Meridians, standing at the gate of one of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians was truly a blessing in disguise.
The payoff for pushing his body to extremes.
'Next up.'
With clearer eyes, Seo Mun-ha turned at the presence.
"Young master, clothes to change into..."
"Leave them there."
"Yes!"
"You've worked hard. This is done, so pass it on to the other two."
A-so rustled on the other side of the screen before scurrying away.
Not some high official's son, yet some people's sincerity felt excessive. But as a high official himself, he had long grown accustomed to unstained goodwill.
Late night.
Seo Mun-ha spent quite some time bathing, water droplets falling one by one from the ceiling.
Drip. Drip.
The gathering's second day, half by choice, half by circumstance, skipped.
As Seo Mun-ha emerged from the bath in a changsam, an unexpected person awaited.
That person's martial robe boldly bore the characters and emblem of "Hwang Bo."