Chapter 640
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 640
Chapter Title: He's Not That Insane...
Seo Eum-ye didn't know what to do.
Because of Ha Mu-baek standing there with his eyes closed.
If she didn't hit him right here, it felt like they'd have to stay frozen like this forever.
The pain still throbbed in her cheek where he'd slapped her, but that didn't make her want to strike back.
In truth, his earlier apology had already eased her heart to some degree.
No, she'd never struck anyone in her life.
Yet here he was, demanding she do it.
In a way, it was another kind of violence.
Forcing her into something she'd never done and had no desire to do.
Seo Eum-ye clenched her hands tightly together.
Then she gave a small nod.
She'd made up her mind.
At least this man seemed different from Discipline Hall Lord Un Hak-ja.
When he realized his mistake, he'd owned up to it and apologized.
His methods were rough, of course.
But surely reason would work with someone like him.
With that thought, Seo Eum-ye opened her mouth.
"Um... I've never hit anyone before, and I don't even know how. Forcing someone like me to do it... that's just another outrage. Your apology is enough."
With those words, Seo Eum-ye squeezed her eyes shut tight.
How could she not?
She'd already heard all about what happened to Un Hak-ja at Dengwang Pavilion.
The instant the Left and Right Corps Leaders stepped into the branch, word had spread like wildfire among the staff.
The subordinate who'd come to her had described Un Hak-ja's state in vivid detail.
And now she'd told this terrifying man:
You're committing yet another outrage against me.
Uncertain of his reaction, she'd clamped her eyes shut in fear.
Ha Mu-baek flinched at Seo Eum-ye's words.
She was right.
Offering an apology while imposing what could be yet another act of violence on her.
Ha Mu-baek opened his eyes.
He stepped back from her.
"I've wronged you again. My apologies. I take responsibility for this too."
He gave a slight bow toward Seo Eum-ye, who stood trembling with her eyes squeezed shut.
At his words, she cracked her eyes open just a sliver.
Yes... my hunch was right.
Her gamble had paid off.
The belief that the man before her was one she could reason with.
"Not just once, but twice now I've overstepped... So as my atonement, any request you make from here on—if it's within my power—I'll grant without question."
Seo Eum-ye's eyes went wide at Ha Mu-baek's declaration.
She had no idea yet.
Just how extraordinary a promise that was.
She simply hadn't grasped who Ha Mu-baek truly was.
He'd clearly stated his affiliation and name, but in her fluster, she hadn't dwelled on it.
She only recalled that he was the Fierce Dragon Corps Leader—forgetting entirely that his name was Ha Mu-baek.
"Advisor Seo. You're a Namchang local?"
"Yes. I suspect that's why Un Hak-ja singled me out."
"So back then at Heavenly Eye Pavilion, you were the only Namchang native?"
"No, there were three or four others. But I was the only first-year."
The conversation shifted back to Un Hak-ja.
Ha Mu-baek could roughly piece together the man's scheme.
A first-year with family ties in Namchang—naive enough to fall for his threats.
That perfectly described Seo Eum-ye.
"So, what all did Un Hak-ja skim off here?"
At the question, Seo Eum-ye headed to a bookshelf against one wall.
She pulled out several volumes with practiced ease.
"Right here."
Pretty hefty books, and no few of them.
He'd skimmed off a fortune.
Ha Mu-baek's gaze sharpened as he eyed the stack.
He didn't even bother opening the ledgers she'd prepared.
"Where'd you stash all this loot?"
"I have no idea."
Made her log the bribes and dirty money, but didn't tell her the hiding spot?
"He must've seen you as a total joke."
Seo Eum-ye gave a wry smile at Ha Mu-baek's words.
"A clueless first-year clerk, after all."
"But against that bastard's expectations, you turned out plenty capable. Doesn't look like he ever realized it."
"I just... hoped I'd slip his grasp someday..."
Seo Eum-ye lowered her gaze slightly at Ha Mu-baek's praise.
"Good. Compile all this and report it to Heavenly Eye Pavilion. Lord Gong Son will sort it out."
With that, Ha Mu-baek strode out of the office.
He had to squeeze Un Hak-ja on the whereabouts of the pilfered wealth.
Seo Eum-ye stared blankly after his retreating figure.
"Lord Gong Son?"
His parting words.
Lord Gong Son.
She knew exactly who that meant.
Only one man in Heavenly Eye Pavilion bore the Gong Son surname and warranted the "old man" tag.
Gong Son Dan-gyeong.
The Pavilion Lord himself.
Yet not a soul in the Righteous Heaven Alliance called Gong Son Dan-gyeong "Lord Gong Son."
Pavilion Lord Gong Son. Gong Son Pavilion Lord. Strategist. Gong Son Strategist.
Those were the usual titles.
"Old man" wasn't among them.
But when she'd first been posted to Heavenly Eye Pavilion, a senior had drilled it into her:
If anyone comes looking for Lord Gong Son, escort them straight to the Lord's office—no questions asked.
It was the very first instruction she'd received.
To her and her fellow rookies, puzzled, the senior had explained.
The Righteous Heaven Alliance's madman.
Ha Mu-baek.
How stunned they'd been at those tales.
Not one of them believed even half the senior's account.
His exploits were that bizarre.
"Now that I think about it..."
Finally, his initial introduction clicked.
Righteous Heaven Alliance Heavenly Eye Pavilion's Fierce Dragon Corps Leader—and then the name.
"Ha Mu-baek..."
Muttering it, Seo Eum-ye sank to the floor with a thud.
The man who'd stood before her was that lunatic.
Well, no normal person could thrash Un Hak-ja—the Namchang branch chief—like that.
A Kunlun Sect elder first and foremost.
Not even Alliance Leader So Hwi-woong could pull it off.
"Haa..."
A deep sigh escaped Seo Eum-ye.
In a way, it was a blessing.
Only a madman like him would flip the branch upside down properly.
And above all else.
"He's not a bad guy... Not that insane either..."
That opening slap fit the madman rumors to a tee, but everything after?
He discerned right from wrong clearly enough. No hesitation in owning his mistakes or apologizing.
Ha Mu-baek made for the prison holding Un Hak-ja.
No need for directions.
The man's energy pulsed clear as day.
Striding boldly along—
"Well, well? What's this?"
Another presence registered.
Despite the lockdown order, someone crept toward the branch walls.
Well, that was the point of the lockdown.
The one defying "stay put" was the culprit.
So Ha Mu-baek let him slip away.
He'd lead right to the goods.
Ha Mu-baek reached the prison in moments.
Un Hak-ja was a battered wreck but conscious now.
"Y-you bastard... Ngh... Think you'll walk away from this?"
Spotting Ha Mu-baek, venom poured out.
"You committed lese majeste."
At the flat tone—
"Kek."
Un Hak-ja snickered.
"You? Some small-fry sect runt turning a Great Kunlun elder into this? That's lese majeste, punk!"
Ha Mu-baek flashed a grin at Un Hak-ja's rant.
"Perfect."
He seemed truly delighted.
"Now I can thrash you for real. So, where'd you stash the skimmed cash?"
As his hand settled on Un Hak-ja's shoulder—
"Gaaaaahhhhh!!!!"
A scream ripped from Un Hak-ja's throat.
Ha Mu-baek's internal energy surged through the Bone-Disrupting Sinew-Rending channels, shredding his body from within.
His other hand clamped the opposite shoulder, pouring in more.
This time, fingers dug into the dantian.
As if poised to rupture it outright.
"Gweeeeh!"
Un Hak-ja's eyes rolled back amid shrieks.
Ha Mu-baek's face remained utterly serene.
"Why skim so damn much? Huh? But you flinched at abalone like you'd never tasted it."
He recalled Un Hak-ja's shock at the sixth-floor feast—heaped with dishes, abalone front and center.
With ledgers that thick, he could've gorged on it daily.
"W-what the hell... you murdering scum... Gaaaaah!!!"
"Found the ledgers already. Nice and tidy in the office."
Un Hak-ja twitched even through the torment.
"That... bitch..."
Only he and Seo Eum-ye knew the spot.
"So why'd you need all that coin?"
Ha Mu-baek spoke evenly, twisting the energy flow.
The technique ramped up the agony.
"Gaaaaack... Ack!!!"
"Got me wondering all of a sudden. Figured it was small potatoes. Just slapping down some idiot drunk on petty power and muscle. Oh, and lese majeste on top."
Even mid-sentence, Bone-Disrupting Sinew-Rending didn't let up.
"Heard bits from Dengwang Pavilion guests—thought you were just a doddering fool playing the fool. Turns out it's more."
Ha Mu-baek's query hung.
But Un Hak-ja had blacked out from the pain.
"Not good enough."
Ha Mu-baek tapped an acupoint, rousing him.
"What racket are you running? Here in Namchang? You picked this spot yourself, right?"
The torment escalated.
Un Hak-ja screamed but gave no answer.
"Warehouse northwest of Namchang yours?"
A flinch.
"Hm. That sneak who bolted—your warehouse man, looks like."
Ha Mu-baek's senses trailed the escapee, fanning out across all Namchang.
'Oh, damn...'
Counting days through the haze of pain, Un Hak-ja blanched white.
Forgot in the Dengwang Pavilion fury—but tomorrow.
Of all damn days.
Ha Mu-baek's gaze flicked northwest, away from Un Hak-ja.
'Huh? Out of Namchang already?'
He shot Un Hak-ja a glance.
"Later for you."
Energy withdrew from Un Hak-ja's frame.
"Hahk. Hak. Hak."
Ragged gasps heaved out.
Ha Mu-baek vaulted into motion.
His form vanished in a blink.
Black-clad men flitted along with stealthy lightness skill.
Blazing speed, yet no dust trailed them.
Sticking to remote trails for even greater secrecy.
To the leader up front:Do we really have to do it this way?
You know why.
Circling the jianghu every three months is such a hassle. We've got battlefields to handle.
Battlefields? Swap funds there, and Gong Son Dan-gyeong sniffs it out in a heartbeat.
[......]
The subordinate's grumbling cut off at his superior's words.
Last one. Then three months off.
Namchang lay just ahead.
Wrap up there, and this round of collecting the rice organization's funds would be done.