Chapter 412
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 412
Chapter Title: Do You Have Time?
"Quite."
Pang Do-yul nodded at Ha Mu-baek's words.
"I think the same. Still, it's different from giving up without even trying. Of course, it was a failure."
It wasn't wrong.
"And at first, it wasn't entirely off the mark to say I was just assigned to a new post. That's exactly how I felt initially. Truth be told, the reason I accepted the Dragon Training Pavilion Lord position was because it's located here in Wuchang."
The real reason began spilling from Pang Do-yul's lips.
Before continuing, Pang Do-yul scanned the surroundings.
Even though this was his own office.
"I've sealed off all sound with qi barriers. No one but us can hear."
Pang Do-yul nodded.
"It's embarrassing to admit, but in my youth, driven by passion, I bedded a woman."
Ha Mu-baek said nothing.
He simply listened quietly.
It seemed to be a story involving family.
"She was just an ordinary woman I met by chance in the marketplace, but I fell head over heels in love at first sight. Heh. I was young back then."
Pang Do-yul smiled warmly, reminiscing about that time.
It was clearly a fond memory for him.
"It didn't work out, did it?"
Ha Mu-baek's sharp tone had softened considerably.
"No. I was only the third son, and an unloved one at that, but I was still the legitimate heir of the Pang family. I couldn't marry just anyone. So she left Yan Capital."
Hebei Province's Yan Capital.
Where the Pang family held sway.
"I didn't even know she'd left. One day, she was just gone. Father's doing, of course."
The smile on Pang Do-yul's lips turned wistful.
"After that, I did everything I could to find her. I put out requests with the Hao Clan, mobilized the Beggars' Sect network."
Ha Mu-baek could tell from Pang Do-yul's tone and expression that it hadn't been easy.
And for good reason—the Pang family head had likely already covered those avenues if he'd intervened personally.
With the family head's power, he could easily blind Pang Do-yul's eyes and ears.
"It was all for naught... but I never gave up and kept searching steadily. Then, a few years ago, I got a lead pointing here to Wuchang. Right around then, I was offered the Dragon Training Pavilion Lord position."
"So it really was just a pretext. A means to an end."
Pang Do-yul nodded at Ha Mu-baek's words.
"Exactly. It was a location I'd barely uncovered despite Father's interference. I desperately needed a reason to come to Wuchang. That's how I became the Pavilion Lord and arrived here."
"Did you find her?"
At Ha Mu-baek's question, Pang Do-yul fell silent.
He rose from his desk and walked to the window.
The view of Wuchang from the Pavilion Lord's office window was breathtaking.
From where Pang Do-yul stood, the slums were visible.
Where Dan Mok Un-roe had once lived.
"I found her, but she was no longer of this world."
"......"
Ha Mu-baek said nothing.
He simply stayed quiet.
"She'd fallen gravely ill and withered away there before passing."
Pang Do-yul pointed to a spot.
The slums.
"Dan Mok Un-roe... that child is truly lucky. She joined the Fierce Dragon Corps for money and ended up meeting you."
His words carried deep regret.
"My child wasn't so fortunate."
"?!?"
Ha Mu-baek was startled.
His child?
"She had a son. I didn't even know she'd been pregnant. He took her surname, but she named him Pang Ryul. The 'Pang' character is for surnames, not given names, but she used it anyway."
Pang from Pang Do-yul, and Ryul.
"To pay for her medicine, he joined the Fierce Dragon Corps. She passed away, and after two years, he headed to the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest."
The outcome was plain to see.
Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest.
Its survival rate was barely fifty percent.
"Using my connections, I got the Fierce Dragon Corps' casualty list through the Demon-Sealing Corps. There it was: Yeo Pang Ryul—my son's name."
Pang Do-yul turned, smiling faintly.
His eyes were red.
Tears slowly trickled down.
He had likely kept this story buried in his heart, never sharing it with anyone.
This was the first time he'd bared his soul to Ha Mu-baek.
His emotions overwhelmed him, tears flowing unbidden.
Ha Mu-baek averted his gaze discreetly.
"I've shown you an ugly side. Don't hold it against me. You asked, and once I started talking, it all came out."
Ha Mu-baek remained silent.
He simply waited for Pang Do-yul to compose himself.
"Do you have time?"
Pang Do-yul's sudden question.
"I do, but."
"Then come with me for a bit."
Pang Do-yul led Ha Mu-baek out of the Dragon Training Pavilion.
They stopped at a tavern still open late and bought three bottles of baijiu before heading outside Wuchang City.
Straight north, then veering slightly east to a mountain.
"This is Wuchang's Mang Mountain."
Indeed, faint yin energy lingered over the peak.
A place one wouldn't easily visit at night.
"They say the slums' dead are buried here by their own."
Pang Do-yul said as he walked.
Ha Mu-baek could guess their destination.
There, six low mounds stood.
"I heard one of them is his, but I couldn't narrow it further."
With that, Pang Do-yul poured baijiu over every grave.
That explained bringing three bottles.
"Once I learned my son had died such a pointless death in the Fierce Dragon Corps, I started seeing it differently. I began paying attention to those dying there."
Not knowing which grave was his,
Pang Do-yul took in all six mounds.
"To change the Fierce Dragon Corps, I realized I had to change the Dragon Training Pavilion first. But as I said, I lacked the power. So I consulted the Heavenly Eye Pavilion Lord honestly. With the Pavilion in such a state, what was the way forward?"
Gong Son Dan-gyeong.
How had he judged this news?
The timing must have been coincidental.
It coincided with the behind-the-scenes struggles over Ha Mu-baek's demotion.
Of course, without Ha Mu-baek's knowledge.
"He said someone the old powers couldn't touch needed to shake things up. He mentioned he'd look for a suitable candidate."
Pang Do-yul chuckled.
"Still, I never imagined it would be you."
How shocked he'd been seeing the transfer order for Ha Mu-baek, who'd arrived before him.
Sending Ha Mu-baek, of all people.
"In hindsight, you were the perfect fit. Didn't you sort out the Devouring Dragon Pavilion in a flash?"
"Wasn't that the Pavilion Lord's doing?"
Pang Do-yul shook his head at Ha Mu-baek's question.
"You stirred things up so thoroughly that I could act. If I'd tried directly, those bastards wouldn't have budged. That's why I had to leave them be, even knowing. The Qi Guard didn't inform me either."
"How did you know if they didn't tell you?"
"I'm pretty good at scrutinizing documents. When reviewing the Devouring Dragon Pavilion's finances, the gaps stand out. They and the Qi Guard never suspected."
Pang Do-yul smiled proudly, boasting of his own capabilities.
"Even so, all I weeded out were small fry. The heads are still there."
Ha Mu-baek frowned at Pang Do-yul's words.
The White Path Society.
The New Eight Gates.
It was the same.
The moment power emerged,
ugliness took root somewhere, blooming its filthy flowers.
"The Fierce Dragon Corps has changed beyond recognition. I never dreamed they'd achieve such results in the Summer Combat Festival and Autumn Combat Festival. It made me think, 'As expected of Ha Mu-baek.'"
Pang Do-yul's lavish praise washed over him.
Ha Mu-baek chuckled.
"That's nothing special."
"Does that answer your questions?"
Pang Do-yul looked at Ha Mu-baek and asked.
Ha Mu-baek nodded.
He'd suspected Pang Do-yul of conspiring with Gong Son Dan-gyeong to use him.
But it wasn't so.
Gong Son Dan-gyeong had simply exploited the Dragon Training Pavilion's situation cleverly.
A thousand-year-old fox of a man.
Weasel and fox.
With those two old monsters entrenched in the Righteous Heaven Alliance, waging their shadowy battles, it was no wonder the place couldn't stay quiet.
"That's more than enough. And I sincerely apologize for what happened in the office."
Ha Mu-baek clasped his hands in a fist salute and bowed to Pang Do-yul.
It was an apology for intimidating him with qi to confirm his suspicions.
"No need. Still, it's a novel experience—receiving an apology from the great Ha Mu-baek himself. Well, let's head back now."
The two descended Mang Mountain and returned to the Dragon Training Pavilion.
It was just past midnight when they passed the gates.
A deep, profound night.
But Ha Mu-baek halted before the Pavilion Lord's Residence.
"What's wrong?"
"There's somewhere else I need to go."
Pang Do-yul nodded at Ha Mu-baek's words and entered alone.
His work wasn't done yet.
He had to make up for the time lost to Ha Mu-baek's sudden visit.
It was a blessing, in a way.
With so much work piled up,
burying himself in it would gradually dull the sorrow resurfacing tonight.
Ha Mu-baek's steps led to the Fierce Dragon Corps' Squad Seven training ground.
One person was still practicing there.
'Come to think of it, she said she got a new sword art?'
He recalled what Han Seol-bing had told him.
Upon arriving at the training ground,
Yeon Ha-min was immersed in her sword dance.
Ha Mu-baek watched quietly.
Oblivious to his presence, Yeon Ha-min repeated the sword dance tirelessly.
From the starting stance through the first form to the last.
Over and over, the sword moved.
'Beautiful, I'll give her that.'
Even Ha Mu-baek had to admit it.
As he watched, he grasped the general flow of her sword dance.
"Huff. Huff. Huff."
Finally, the sword stopped.
Yeon Ha-min breathed heavily.
She wiped her sweat and glanced around, startling when she saw him.
Only then did she notice Ha Mu-baek.
"Impressive swordsmanship."
"Thank you."
Yeon Ha-min replied to his praise.
"Your proficiency isn't bad either."
A small smile formed on Yeon Ha-min's lips at his follow-up.
"Need any help?"
After pondering Ha Mu-baek's question, Yeon Ha-min carefully pulled a manual wrapped neatly in oiled paper from her bosom and offered it to him.
Ha Mu-baek glanced between the manual and Yeon Ha-min.
"I may be lacking, but please instruct me."
"You don't mind if I look?"
"It's my personal martial art. As the owner, I say it's fine."
He'd heard the rough story.
A technique selected by Yeon Baek-un and passed on by Yeon Baek-jin.
Ha Mu-baek opened the manual.
Ten Thousand Blossoms Moonfall Sword Dance.
The six characters stood out first.
'Fitting name.'
Ha Mu-baek recalled Yeon Ha-min's sword dance.
The pages turned swiftly.
First came not the sword dance, but the mind method.
Full Moon Harmony Heart Method.
Ha Mu-baek examined it closely.
You couldn't discern the mind method precisely from watching the sword dance alone.
The Infinite Bright Wheel Eye could reveal qi flow roughly, but.
Then followed the incantations for the Ten Thousand Blossoms Moonfall Sword Dance.
"Hmm."
Ha Mu-baek read through quickly yet thoroughly.
Yeon Ha-min watched him tensely.
'This is......'
Ha Mu-baek tilted his head.
It was quite the coincidence.