Chapter 569
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 569
Chapter Title: Let's Get Out First
It was quiet.
No one spoke a word.
Gyu Hwi was completely immersed in reading the manual.
It was the very picture of total absorption.
The others watched over him in silence, careful not to disturb.
Not even the sound of sipping tea could be heard.
No one had touched their cups.
The tea simply wafted its fragrance into the air as it slowly cooled.
How much time had passed?
Half a shichen?
Probably about that much.
Gyu Hwi closed the manual and, still seated in his chair, shut his eyes and sank into meditation.
At the sight, Yu Gwi-gwang quietly rose from his seat.
He stood so silently not even the chair made a scrape.
He carefully retrieved the manual Gyu Hwi had set down and gave a glance to his younger brother, Yu Hyeon-gwang.
Yu Hyeon-gwang and Wi Su-yeon had already risen quietly from their seats.
The three of them cautiously opened the door to the annex, closed it without a sound, and withdrew to surround the area.
They knew Gyu Hwi was at a crucial moment.
As Yu Gwi-gwang scanned the surroundings to block any intruders, he spotted Ha Mu-baek lounging idly on the roof of the annex.
Startled, he was about to say something when Ha Mu-baek grinned and pressed his right index finger to his lips.
Yu Gwi-gwang hurriedly clamped his mouth shut in surprise.
He had been so startled by Ha Mu-baek's presence that he momentarily forgot the critical stage Gyu Hwi had entered inside.
[It'd be good to warn the martial hall folks too.]
A transmission sounded in Yu Gwi-gwang's ear.
He nodded and whispered something into his brother's ear.
Yu Hyeon-gwang immediately set off toward the inner quarters of the martial hall with careful steps.
It was still.
Silence hung over the Yoo Un Martial Hall as if nothing existed there at all.
With Ha Mu-baek on the annex roof, there was no need for Yu Gwi-gwang to stay, but was it his duty as lord of the Yoo Un Martial Hall?
He stood guard in front of the annex.
Wi Su-yeon guarded the front with a reverent posture, as her sect's elder had entered the path to enlightenment.
'Amusing.'
Ha Mu-baek had grown interested in the Yoo Un Sword Method manual.
He wondered what could be in it to send Gyu Hwi straight into enlightenment.
Of course, it was possible only because of the deep foundation of training Gyu Hwi had built up over time.
Time flowed swiftly, yet sluggishly.
Lunchtime had long passed, but Gyu Hwi remained deep in meditation.
Thanks to that, the people of the Yoo Un Martial Hall skipped their lunch.
They worried even the sounds from the kitchen might disturb him.
[Looks like it'll take a fair while.]
Ha Mu-baek's transmission reached the ears of Yu Gwi-gwang and Wi Su-yeon.
[I'll be right back.]
Ha Mu-baek sent the transmission as he rose.
Then his figure vanished.
Gwan Ha-kyeong, who had approached cautiously to check the situation, caught sight of it.
'Going off to eat alone...?'
She had often seen Ha Mu-baek's earnest love for food since joining the Fierce Dragon Corps, so the thought flashed through her mind.
She quickly shook her head.
Even a corps leader passionate about meals knew to pick the time and place.
He was the type sincere about food when it was time to eat.
She knew he wasn't one to step away for a meal in a tense moment.
So there must be a reason for him to leave now.
That's what she thought.
Besides, the corps leader had no business coming here in the first place.
Neung Tan.
He was a thug.
He had learned his martial arts from crude manuals floating around the streets, but with decent talent, he had grown stronger than expected.
Born and raised in Sangnam, he was a menace on the west side of town.
With some skill in martial arts, no one could easily stop him.
Such a scum made trouble as a matter of course and committed all sorts of villainy.
He tormented people with cunning that evaded the eyes of the Maehyang Gate warriors.
So when the black dao faction known as the Black Face Branch sprang up in Sangnam, it was only natural for him to throw in his lot with them.
With that backing, his villainy grew even worse.
His targets shifted to the east side streets.
Because of the Maehyang Gate.
As a member of the Black Face Branch, he couldn't use his old sneaky tricks anymore.
For him, the collapse of the Black Face Branch was no different from losing his backing.
Yet Neung Tan's rampage didn't stop.
He even tried to strut about more boldly.
He spotted the newly opened Little Traveler Inn and made it his prey.
He entered with a companion to gauge the place and was stunned.
The landlady's beauty was exceptional.
She could rank in the top five even compared to the courtesans of the Flower Red Tower where the Black Face Branch had holed up.
Lust stirred within him.
So he started making his moves, but some bastard appeared and crippled his left hand.
He groaned in agony for a day.
The pain from his smashed left hand was excruciating.
He barely dulled it with the poppy hidden in his home.
Not enough, so he drank liquor too.
Thus, thoughts of revenge came to mind.
He drew the willow leaf blade stashed deep in his house.
Neung Tan was sly.
In Sangnam, where the Maehyang Gate held the strongest power, he always went about bare-handed to avoid clashes with their warriors escalating to life-or-death duels.
That was plenty against common folk.
But now it was different.
He needed revenge.
So he drew the willow leaf blade.
His signature technique, Flying Willow Peerless Sword.
The willow leaf blade was essential to execute it.
In his madness, Neung Tan buckled on the willow leaf blade and headed for the Little Traveler Inn.
Well past lunchtime, the streets around the inn were deserted.
Bang!
He kicked the door open, stormed in, and drew his willow leaf blade.
"You fucking bastards! I'll kill you all!"
His eyes bloodshot, he scanned the surroundings.
Gong Hae-bin and Gong Hae-jun, startled by the sudden door crash, stared at him with frightened eyes.
Eun Cheong-seon jumped in alarm too.
The intruder clutched a sword in his right hand.
The closest was Gong Hae-bin.
"You bitch! You're first!"
Confirming his target, Neung Tan charged at Gong Hae-bin with his willow leaf blade raised.
He faithfully unfolded the Flying Willow Peerless Sword.
"Kyaa! Kyaaak!"
Gong Hae-bin screamed.
"N-Nooo!!!"
Eun Cheong-seon rushed desperately to shield her daughter.
But as an ordinary woman, she couldn't be faster than Neung Tan.
Bang!
At that moment.
Someone launched themselves at Neung Tan and kicked him flying into his side.
With one hand deploying Golden Claw Hand to snatch the willow leaf blade he gripped.
"Guhk."
Neung Tan groaned as he tumbled over tables and chairs.
"You damn fucker, causing a scene here just to watch someone die."
It was Gwan Po, eyes bloodshot and radiating killing intent as he glared at Neung Tan.
Neung Tan looked up to confirm who attacked him.
Seeing Gwan Po's face, his eyes went wide.
"Urk, V-Vice Branch Leader, why..."
Gwan Po thudded toward him as he muttered in disbelief.
"Who the hell's your vice branch leader? I quit that dump."
Gwan Po grabbed Neung Tan by the collar and hoisted him up.
He considered slicing his throat right then with the willow leaf blade he'd just taken.
But as he glanced around.
Eun Cheong-seon held her two children at a distance, watching him and Neung Tan.
The children looked utterly terrified.
Gong Yeop-myeong had come out from the kitchen and stood by his wife, a large kitchen knife trembling in his hand.
To think a knife-wielding lunatic had invaded his inn.
It was a first.
All sorts of thoughts raced through his mind.
The strongest was whether to return to Luoyang.
At least there, such things never happened.
No madmen would dare pull this right under the nose of the Righteous Heaven Alliance headquarters.
"Let's get out first, you fuck."
Gwan Po, seeing the inn family's frightened faces, dragged the lifted Neung Tan across the floor and hauled him straight out of the inn.
"Ur, urgh..."
Neung Tan groaned in pain with every breath, his ribs likely cracked from the kick.
Gwan Po dragged him along regardless of his pained moans.
Having served as vice branch leader of the Black Face Branch, he too had been steeped in black dao ways.
No matter his origins in a prestigious orthodox great clan, his time in the black dao wasn't short.
Dragging Neung Tan roughly along, Gwan Po pondered where to kill the bastard.
He froze.
Ha Mu-baek stood right in front of him.
"Good work."
A short word of praise.
"Drag him there and wait."
The following order.
Gwan Po nodded and dragged Neung Tan straight to the place where he himself had suffered under Ha Mu-baek before.
Ha Mu-baek stepped into the inn.
There were no customers, fortunately.
The only one had been Gwan Po, who had been guarding the first-floor dining hall per orders, sipping tea at a table despite the lack of patrons.
The inn family had found his presence subtly uncomfortable, but it had saved them.
Now they felt only gratitude.
As Ha Mu-baek entered, the four family members clung to each other, soothing one another.
"Gr-Great hero!"
Gong Hae-jun, spotting him, clung to Ha Mu-baek's leg with his tear-streaked face.
"I-I wanna get strong, great hero!!"
He pleaded in a sob-choked voice.
Gong Hae-bin had rushed over too, clutching the other leg.
Ha Mu-baek gazed down at the two children impassively.
"Learning martial arts means becoming a martial artist of the rivers and lakes. You'll face the blade countless times like today. Are you truly prepared?"
That was why Ha Mu-baek had hesitated to heed their plea.
Why he wavered on teaching them martial arts.
Gyu Hwi had coveted their talent, but the martial world was a place where one could die by the blade at any moment.
He couldn't decide if it was right to lead this happy family into such a world.
Especially after Gyu Hwi had posed that question about happiness, like a koan.
Ha Mu-baek was pondering what happiness meant, but these children seemed happy as they were.
They wanted strength to protect their current happiness.
But Ha Mu-baek knew strength didn't guarantee happiness, so he said he'd think on it.
He still hadn't reached a conclusion.
But now that the children had gone through this.
'Should've killed him?'
He remembered the face of the man Gwan Po had dragged out.
One of the ruffians who had caused trouble here before.
The one whose left hand he had smashed.
He had held back on killing lately, so he only wrecked one hand.
He'd left the other for eating, but now that one wielded a sword.
'Next time, smash the feet too.'
He settled on that for now.
Without legs to walk, he couldn't cause such havoc.
At Ha Mu-baek's question, the two children let go of his legs and fell into thought.
They glanced back at their parents.
Gong Yeop-myeong shook his head.
They could just return to a safe place.
He didn't want to send his children into this harsh world.
Eun Cheong-seon felt the same.
But the children's thoughts seemed different.
"Yes!"
"Yes."
The children answered in unison, their resolve firm.
Young as they were, it was an answer born of their own deliberation.
They had continued pondering right after his question.
"Weren't you scared today?"
The follow-up.
"I was scared. That's why I want to get strong. If I keep running from fear... eventually there'll come a time I can't escape."
A response beyond her years slipped from Gong Hae-bin's lips.
"I think if I'm strong, I won't be scared anymore."
Gong Hae-jun's answer.
"I understand."
Ha Mu-baek made his decision based on their replies.
"I'll talk it over with your parents first."
With that, Ha Mu-baek's gaze turned to Gong Yeop-myeong and Eun Cheong-seon.