Chapter 44
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Insignificant Bastards
“I swear, those filthy maggots...”
Pang Gun-ho muttered through his seething rage.
Everyone seated at the same table with him simply listened in silence.
They were all members of the Pang Clan, bearing the Pang surname.
To them, Pang Gun-ho was an existence they dared not cross.
At least among those with the Pang name here at the Dragon Training Pavilion, only the Pavilion Lord could treat him however he pleased.
Pang Gun-ho had appeared out of nowhere right as lunch was starting. A few quick-witted fellows had spotted him from afar and hurriedly passed by the Devouring Dragon Pavilion without stopping, but those already seated at the tables had no such luck.
The food on their plates was still untouched. In the end, they were forced to endure Pang Gun-ho plopping down at their table and spewing curses for the entire hour.
It went without saying that not a single bite passed their lips.
On top of that, they had to put up with the displeased glares from the Hidden Dragon Corps cadets gathered here.
All because Pang Gun-ho was carrying on as if this place belonged to him.
'This asshole's supposed to be the next young master of the clan...'
The three Pang Clan cadets buried the same thought deep in their chests.
They'd heard the rumors back at the clan estate, but experiencing him firsthand here made it even worse.
Other sects let disciples leave of their own accord—at least that was possible, even if incredibly difficult.
But they had been born as Pangs, bound to the clan with no way out.
Watching this guy here filled them not with immediate disgust, but with worry for the Pang Clan they would one day serve as they ventured into the jianghu.
Namgung Ji-hu, heir to the Namgung Clan, was in the Hidden Dragon Corps. Though not in the same squad, they had observed him from afar.
Comparing the two made the future of the Pang Clan seem all the more bleak.
Thud.
Suddenly, someone's chopsticks slammed down hard on the table.
“Seriously. Can't even eat in peace. Grumbling nonstop—what's with all the petty bitching from a grown man?”
It was Namgung Ji-yu, the Warm Orchid Flower. Her face veil couldn't fully hide her stunning beauty.
She usually avoided getting involved in such matters.
She always maintained a cool, rational demeanor.
But Pang Gun-ho had gotten under her skin. Likely because his rant was about Fierce Dragon Corps Squad Seven.
“Huh? And what's this now?”
Pang Gun-ho usually kept his behavior just shy of the line whenever he was in the Devouring Dragon Pavilion where the Hidden Dragon Corps gathered.
But now, caught up in his fury over Squad Seven, he let a rude remark fly straight at her.
The three with him gasped in shock.
They knew exactly who she was.
The cracks showing from within were now gushing out uncontrollably.
“Young master. Please, just...”
One of the three urgently grabbed at Pang Gun-ho's sleeve.
“Shut it!”
Pang Gun-ho bellowed at him.
“Well, now. Not bad-looking at all, huh? Even with the veil, that beauty's something else.”
The moment those words left his mouth, the three companions went pale and began trembling violently.
Silence fell over the entire Devouring Dragon Pavilion.
A profound hush dominated the space in an instant.
Only then did Pang Gun-ho sense something off and tilt his head in confusion.
“You bastard. Watch that hole you call a mouth.”
In place of the woman still seated calmly, the man beside her rose to his feet.
It was Namgung Ji-hu.
His eyes burned with fury.
“Hah. And who the hell are you?”
Sensing the shift in atmosphere but already committed, Pang Gun-ho tried to put on a tough front.
“Namgung Ji-hu.”
Pang Gun-ho's face stiffened at the curt reply.
A chill wind seemed to howl.
The air in the Devouring Dragon Pavilion's first floor felt like the inside of a thousand-year ice cave.
“Should I take that last remark of yours as the Pang Clan's official stance toward our Namgung Clan?”
“Th-that... I-I didn't...”
Under Namgung Ji-hu's icy pressure, Pang Gun-ho couldn't string words together.
Ever since the Summer Combat Festival ended and he'd returned from break, Namgung Ji-hu's presence had grown even more domineering.
Tsk.
Then a tongue-click echoed from somewhere, sweeping away the dominating chill. Naturally, all eyes turned toward the sound.
Two men stood there.
Dragon Training Pavilion Lord Pang Do-yul and Fierce Dragon Corps Squad Seven instructor Ha Mu-baek.
Ever since the Devouring Dragon Pavilion incident, Pang Do-yul had been making irregular, unannounced visits around the pavilion.
Today, he'd come with Ha Mu-baek under the pretense of sharing a meal.
And they'd walked right into this mess.
Pathetic. Not even an inch outside expectations.
“I apologize for that fool's insolence. Young Master Namgung, Miss Namgung, please quell your anger. It's my fault as an elder of the clan for failing to teach him properly.”
Pang Do-yul cupped his fists and bowed slightly.
With the Pavilion Lord's personal apology, even Namgung Ji-hu couldn't press further.
“No need, Pavilion Lord. Please don't trouble yourself.”
Namgung Ji-hu returned the cupped-fist salute with a bow. Namgung Ji-yu, now standing, joined him.
“My thanks.”
Pang Do-yul straightened after the exchange. His fury-filled gaze then turned to Pang Gun-ho.
Guilty, the young man flinched.
“Finish eating and get your ass to the training grounds. Stay there and reflect.”
Pang Gun-ho slunk out of the Devouring Dragon Pavilion without a word this time.
Tsk.
Pang Do-yul clicked his tongue again.
“Sorry about that. I invited you to eat together, and this is the disgraceful show we get.”
“It's fine, but... that punk...”
“What's wrong?”
Pang Do-yul asked with concern at Ha Mu-baek's ominous tone.
“Can I kill him?”
Pang Do-yul was stunned by the blunt question.
“What kind of horrific talk is that?”
“Looking at him now, it feels like it'll happen soon anyway. If you value that scum's life so much, just send him back to the Pang Clan.”
Ha Mu-baek casually scooped food into his bowl while delivering the chilling words.
“Ugh. If anything like that happened, I'd have to go to war with the Pang Clan.”
Pfft.
Ha Mu-baek let out a small chuckle.
At that laugh, Pang Do-yul felt sweat soaking his back.
“Then all the more reason to kick him out of the Dragon Training Pavilion.”
His voice was frigid.
That tone gave Pang Do-yul an ill omen, as if he could already see the Pang Clan's plaque shattered to pieces.
'That damn fool better not cause more trouble... No, I can't risk it.'
Pang Do-yul resolved to exaggerate today's events in an urgent dispatch to the main clan while eating.
Once they heard he'd nearly sparked a feud with the Namgung Clan, even his father would recall the wretch.
In truth, the reason the idiot was acting out here like this was because his father had spoiled him rotten.
Unlike Pang Gun-ho, who had slunk away from the Devouring Dragon Pavilion West Wing in humiliation, Squad Seven's members, along with Joo Woo-myeong and Ha Seol-ran, had just finished a pleasant meal in the East Wing.
On their way to the afternoon training grounds, they spotted Pang Gun-ho sitting off to one side, his face twisted like he'd eaten shit.
His mind was a tangled mess right now.
The irritation from Squad Seven and Joo Woo-myeong here had been stoked further by Namgung Ji-hu and Namgung Ji-yu back at the pavilion.
Pang Do-yul's scolding had pushed his knotted emotions to the brink of explosion.
And now.
Seeing those bastards from Squad Seven strolling over with cheerful smiles—it finally detonated.
“Fuckin' bullshit. For real.”
All seven knew full well the curses were aimed at them.
Their faces naturally soured.
“What're you glaring at? You insignificant bastards.”
Pang Gun-ho had completely lost it. He was beyond self-control.
Unlike the unchecked freedom back at the Pang Clan, this place bound him with too many restrictions.
He'd endured a month in that pressure cooker.
His rotten personality had been slowly filling to the brim.
And today, it all boiled over.
“Hmph. Disciple of Wudang's top swordsman? What good's that? You're just a worthless orphan beggar who doesn't even know his parents, you pathetic shit.”
Joo Woo-myeong's face hardened. The others looked back and forth between him and Pang Gun-ho in alarm.
Pang Gun-ho smirked at their reactions.
“What right do rootless nobodies like you have to make those faces? Huh? And you, girl. Think a pretty face is everything? Heh. Giggling like some slut who rolled in from who-knows-where.”
This time, the arrow flew at Ha Seol-ran.
His gaze was unmistakably fixed on her. In that instant, her face flushed crimson, tears welling in her eyes.
It was an insult she'd never heard before.
This all unfolded just as Pang Do-yul was hurrying to his office to send that urgent report to the main clan.
Pang Gun-ho shifted his gaze, scanning the seven before him.
“Hmph. Only one of you has any decent roots.”
His eyes lingered on Dang Jin-san.
“Not bad-looking for rootless trash. How about it? Wanna serve this young master?”
He cackled with laughter.
Ha Seol-ran and Yeon Ha-min's faces burned with humiliation.
For Yeon Ha-min, it was the second time after the first semester.
Why were there so many assholes among the so-called prestigious clans' men?
As she gritted her teeth and stepped forward—
“You bastard!!!”
A thunderous roar erupted from somewhere.
Whoosh~
A fierce gust blew.
Thud.
A dull impact rang out as Pang Gun-ho was smashed into the ground.
The sudden turn of events left the seven blinking in confusion.
What the hell just happened?
Then a massive back appeared before them.
Topped with stark white hair.
A familiar silhouette.
“Ah...”
Ha Seol-ran recognized him first.
Of course. How could she not know her master's back?
“Every damn thing you do is dogshit, and now that sewer you call a mouth runs wild. Is that a mouth or a shithole?”
His bellow was laced with rage.
The six others stared in bewilderment at his abrupt intervention.
“Th-the old man from before???”
Joo Woo-myeong muttered in shock.
The hulking elder who'd asked to be called just "Grandpa Wi."
But look at him now.
An immense aura raged around him like a storm.
What in the world was going on?
The energy pouring from him was so ferocious that anyone sensitive to qi could sense it from a distance.
Ha Mu-baek had felt it first, naturally.
“Master?”
After being roped into going to the Devouring Dragon Pavilion West Wing with Pang Do-yul by chance, Ha Mu-baek had been settling in for some rest at his quarters when he sensed it.
The moment he did, he moved like the wind.
There was only one reason his master would unleash such overwhelming pressure.
Seol-ran.
Something had happened to that child.