Chapter 226
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 226
Chapter Title: Lisp 'Damn It'
"What a worthless piece of trash. Tsk."
Ha Mu-baek, who had watched the entire scene, clicked his tongue and muttered.
He had nearly stepped in himself midway through.
When that trash had leered at Yeon Ha-min and Ha Seol-ran.
When his gaze had landed on Seol-ran.
He had barely held back.
It was possible only because it was a split-second decision.
And now that bastard had been smashed by Yeon Ha-min.
Poetic justice.
This time, at least, he wanted to praise Dang Jin-san and Yeon Ha-min.
Regardless of Ha Mu-baek's feelings, the cadets were following Neung U-dam into the Dragon Training Pavilion.
In the grand hall on the first floor of the Pavilion Lord's Hall.
Pavilion Lord Pang Do-yul sat on the raised dais, gazing silently at the cadets before him.
He had first heard the report from Gi Yu-chan, and soon Neung U-dam had arrived dragging them along.
One of them looked a complete mess.
"Hm."
Pang Do-yul tapped the armrest of the dais lightly.
Fights between cadets weren't unheard of.
But causing such a massive brawl outside the Dragon Training Pavilion was truly rare these days.
Not even last year had there been anything like it.
"What happened?"
Pang Do-yul asked for the details.
"Cheol-ryeong, that bastard, was harassing Yeon Ha-min, so I struck first."
Dang Jin-san stepped forward and explained.
The Fierce Dragon Corps cadets were stunned by his words.
It was true Dang Jin-san had moved to strike first, but he hadn't actually laid a hand.
Yeon Ha-min had stopped him, after all.
"No. I struck first."
Yeon Ha-min stepped up.
Pang Do-yul looked at the two with interest.
"And you?"
His gaze shifted to Squad One of the Wa Dragon Corps.
"Cheol-ryeong made a light joke, but Dang Jin-san swung first, and in reality, Yeon Ha-min attacked Cheol-ryeong first."
Those were Byuk I-gyeom's words.
Subtly different accounts of the same incident.
One side was lying.
It wasn't hard to tell which.
The confidence levels differed.
"But even if it was a rest day, where were you until return time was nearly upon you?"
Pang Do-yul's gaze fell on the Fierce Dragon Corps.
"We were training in the hills near Muchang and returned a bit late."
Dang Jin-san replied without the slightest hesitation, boldly.
Not only the Fierce Dragon Corps cadets, but even Squad Twenty of the Wa Dragon Corps had clothes in utter disarray.
Their uniforms clearly bore the marks of intense rolling around.
His gaze returned to Wa Dragon Corps Squad One.
Though they stood at a distance, Pang Do-yul could already smell the booze on them.
Those under his sharp scrutiny subtly turned their heads away.
"And you?"
"……"
No one answered Pang Do-yul's question.
They could claim they'd had drinks, sure.
But admitting they'd been at a brothel in broad daylight? Impossible.
Especially since they'd been there since yesterday.
"Cheol-ryeong. You say it was just a light joke?"
"…Yeth, hff-."
Perhaps because all his front teeth were smashed, his speech whistled out.
"I'd like to hear that light joke myself."
Pang Do-yul's eyes gleamed sharply.
He'd already caught not just the booze, but a faint whiff of women's powder.
Booze and powder.
They'd clearly come straight from a brothel.
And such a guy had made a "light joke" to a beauty like Yeon Ha-min?
As Dang Jin-san claimed, it was probably harassment.
That's why he wanted to hear it himself.
"……"
Cheol-ryeong couldn't say a word.
Pang Do-yul's gaze turned to the other cadets.
"Will you tell me?"
"……"
Byuk I-gyeom clamped his mouth shut.
"Hm. If it's just a light joke, is there any reason you can't say it here? Let me laugh along."
Pang Do-yul smiled faintly and pressed again.
Yet no one opened their mouth.
"'You'll end up serving us anyway. How about practicing by serving this young master right now?'—that's what he said as he reached toward my chest."
It should have been embarrassing, but Yeon Ha-min spoke calmly.
As if nothing had happened.
Gi Yu-chan and Neung U-dam's gazes turned to Cheol-ryeong.
Eyes like icicles.
"Is that true?"
Pang Do-yul looked at Cheol-ryeong and asked.
Cheol-ryeong kept his mouth firmly shut.
He could insist the words were a joke.
Just telling her to serve him, after all.
But reaching for her chest while saying it? That was the problem.
Clear harassment.
"It doesn't strike me as funny, so it hardly seems like a joke."
The Wa Dragon Corps cadets swallowed dryly.
Pang Do-yul's presence was growing increasingly fearsome.
Honestly, they wondered why they even had to face the Pavilion Lord like this.
A fight breaking out between cadets outside the pavilion was grounds for discipline, sure.
But the Pavilion Lord himself?
'Is this such a big deal?'
That's what Cheol-ryeong thought.
If they were protecting him, then yes, it warranted the Pavilion Lord's involvement.
He was the Iron Equipment Pavilion Lord's nephew, after all.
But the Pavilion Lord's attitude suggested he was siding with that Yeon Ha-min bitch.
This was absurd.
Strength surged into his intact right fist.
His nails dug into his palm.
Pang Do-yul's gaze shifted back to Dang Jin-san and Yeon Ha-min.
"Even if that's the case, there's always sparring as a proper resolution. You even did it recently, Dang Jin-san cadet. Did you have to go outside, brawling in front of civilians?"
"I'm sorry. My anger overwhelmed me, and I lost my reason. I'll gladly accept punishment for my wrongdoing."
Yeon Ha-min said calmly.
"No. It was my fault for throwing the first punch. I'll take the punishment for this."
Dang Jin-san interjected urgently.
Pang Do-yul tapped the dais armrest again.
His gaze now turned to Gi Yu-chan.
"What does the code say?"
"Ten days facing the wall. Both sides."
True to form, Gi Yu-chan—who had all the codes memorized—replied instantly.
"So that's it."
Pang Do-yul scanned the three.
"Dang Jin-san, Yeon Ha-min, Cheol-ryeong. Starting tomorrow, the three of you will face the wall in the meditation chamber for ten days."
With that, he rose and headed to the Pavilion Lord's chamber upstairs.
His gaze flicked briefly to the ceiling.
'Will this end it?'
Ha Mu-baek was probably nearby. Maybe even on the Pavilion Lord's Hall roof.
That was why he'd ruled strictly by the code, considering his scrutiny.
Adhering to the code meant even he couldn't interfere recklessly.
'Thank goodness he didn't touch Ha Seol-ran.'
Pang Do-yul inwardly sighed in relief.
If his nephew had laid a hand on Ha Seol-ran and gotten smashed for it.
That could have sparked trouble for the Pang family.
He shook his head faintly as he climbed the stairs.
"Well, it's the code."
Ha Mu-baek muttered calmly from the roof.
As Pang Do-yul had guessed, Ha Mu-baek was perched on the Pavilion Lord's Hall roof.
He had heightened his senses to monitor the grand hall below while channeling inner energy to his ears to eavesdrop on the conversation.
There was no need for him to intervene.
It had proceeded by the code.
He didn't like that they received the same punishment for simply responding to harassment and provocation.
But he couldn't ignore the code.
That left Ha Mu-baek unable to step in.
The Fierce Dragon Corps and Wa Dragon Corps cadets exited the Pavilion Lord's Hall.
Exchanging sharp glares.
Having received punishment, they couldn't afford another scuffle right in front of it.
Yeon Ha-min subtly stepped forward, fixing Cheol-ryeong with a cold stare.
"……!"
"Next time, it won't be your teeth. It'll be what's between your legs."
"I'll smash it and make you a eunuch. Try acting up again."
With that, she turned away.
And the Fierce Dragon Corps along with Wa Dragon Corps Squad Twenty departed en masse.
"Sorry."
After walking some distance, Eun Hwa-ryang bowed his head.
"This has nothing to do with you guys. Those bastards picked a fight first, and we just responded. Bunch of no-talent punks strutting around."
Dang Jin-san waved it off like it was nothing.
"Sorry."
Instead, Yeon Ha-min apologized to Wa Dragon Corps Squad Twenty.
"I won't be able to help with training for the next ten days."
"Ah, yeah. Sorry about that."
Squad Twenty's five members waved their hands vigorously at the apologies from Yeon Ha-min and Dang Jin-san.
"No, if anything, this happened because of us."
Yeong Hu-in said urgently.
"Nah. Looking at that Cheol-ryeong punk, trouble was bound to happen one way or another."
Na Jung-cheon bowed his head deeply at Dang Jin-san's words.
To feel such shame over sharing a sect origin.
Though that guy probably didn't consider him Iron Equipment Clan material.
"You guys just take your punishment properly. We'll look after these ones."
At Baek Ri-pyeong's words, the other four nodded.
Even without the two, five remained.
Dang Jin-san and Yeon Ha-min smiled faintly.
"Thanks."
"Um……"
Then Na Jung-cheon cautiously spoke up.
"We were training as instructed, but I had no idea the Graceful Dragon Fist Method was such an excellent technique. To overwhelm the Iron Equipment Clan's Iron Wolf Troop……"
As an Iron Equipment Clan native, he'd glimpsed the Iron Wolf Troop over shoulders.
That's why Na Jung-cheon knew.
The Iron Wolf Troop was no pushover technique.
He'd lived thinking he'd never master such arts in his lifetime.
Yet the Graceful Dragon Fist Method he was now practicing had crushed it.
His chest swelled with pride.
"That's 'cause Cheol-ryeong's a retard. Not 'cause the Iron Wolf Troop's weak."
Yeon Ha-min said gently.
"Even so, it doesn't change that the Graceful Dragon Fist Method is superior."
Yeon Ha-min nodded at Na Jung-cheon's words.
It was a plain fact.
"We'll train even harder from now on!"
Na Jung-cheon shouted energetically.
A smile crept across the Fierce Dragon Corps cadets' lips at the sight.
Thumping Cheol-ryeong today had gained new meaning.
Any lingering unease about the Graceful Dragon Art was gone.
They now had full confidence their sect's signature move could stand against it.
"Bih meogeul."
His speech leaked out due to his broken front teeth.
Cheol-ryeong's face twisted in rage, his entire body trembling.
'What'd she say? Smash what's between my legs?'
That damned bitch.
Daring to do this to him.
He couldn't accept the punishment either.
He was the victim who got beaten, so how could victim and perpetrator receive the same penalty?
He couldn't quell his fury the whole way back to the Wa Dragon Dormitory.
Reaching toward her chest over a light joke—what was the big deal?
A no-background Fierce Dragon Corps slut daring to touch the Iron Equipment Pavilion Lord's nephew.
Wall-gazing.
Sitting cross-legged in a tiny room, staring at the wall all day.
Ten out of twelve hours daily.
Food was just a few barley pills and water.
Minimal time for relieving himself and sleep combined into two hours.
Do that for ten days.
Insane.
The other four walked silently without a word.
They'd been best friends, bonded like blood brothers whoring it up at the brothel.
Not anymore.
They were just relieved they hadn't gotten punished too.
'Fucking bastards. They acted like we'd sworn the Peach Garden Oath when I was footing the brothel bill.'
Or maybe he shouldn't have accepted their bet in the first place, leaving him without attendants and living so inconveniently.
Cheol-ryeong harbored resentment toward the silent four as well.
'Think I'll back down like this? Think again.'
Cheol-ryeong's eyes blazed fiercely.
Back at the Wa Dragon Dormitory, he hurriedly wrote a letter.
And immediately sent it to the Iron Equipment Pavilion via messenger.
Late at night.
A messenger pigeon took flight into Muchang's night sky.
Ha Mu-baek watched it rise from his dormitory window.
"Knew it."
He'd already sensed every movement leading up to its flight.
The letter tied to its leg was surely penned by that Cheol-ryeong punk who got thrashed for his foolishness today.
Its destination was obvious.
The Iron Equipment Pavilion.
"The Iron Equipment Pavilion Lord's nephew, was it?"
Ha Mu-baek recalled the Iron Equipment Pavilion Lord's brothers.
Only those he'd met on past battlefields.
None were trash like that.
He wondered what kind of man would sire such garbage.
"Well, maybe I'll get to see soon enough."
No fox cub under a tiger father, no tiger cub under a dog father.
Parents of such a cur were likely curs themselves.
Their response would be predictable.
Rush straight to the Dragon Training Pavilion.
How could they sit idle with their precious son beaten and sentenced to wall-gazing?
"They'd be better off not coming……"
Ha Mu-baek murmured softly.
The corners of his mouth curved up in a faint smile.