Chapter 658
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 658
Chapter Title: What Was That Look in His Eyes?
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"Do you think just because your mouth's wide open, every word that spills out counts as speech? Who the hell do you dare spout such drivel at? Your mouth is the filthy one."
Yeon Gong-hu's words, laced with peak fury, quelled Yeon Da-hye's own anger.
It was like a small flame being swallowed by a roaring blaze.
"Gong-hu..."
Yu Wol-a opened her mouth to intervene, but...
"I'm sorry, Aunt. I can't just let this slide. It's gone way past insulting Ha-min."
Yu Wol-a couldn't bring herself to stop him after that.
He was right.
Asking a woman if she'd stripped?
Even if she wasn't here, it was a vicious insult, a outright blasphemy.
And Yeon Gong-hu, Yeon Ha-min's brother, had heard it.
"One day, that mouth of yours will bring you real disaster. Just like a moment ago. Didn't you hear yesterday? Ha-min's under Hero Ha's command. What do you think happens if those filthy words of yours reach Hero Ha's ears?"
Yeon Da-hye flinched.
"I guarantee it—you'll die. You'll definitely die. It won't end with just a slap like it did with me."
"N-No way..."
Yeon Da-hye's face screamed disbelief.
It was only natural.
She was direct lineage of the Yeon Clan.
The daughter of Yeon Baek-pung, the acting young head of the clan, even if temporary.
No matter how her father treated her like she didn't exist, she was still his child—that much was fact.
In other words, for the sake of the family's face and reputation, he'd have no choice but to protect her.
So how could he possibly kill her?
Absurd.
"Hero Ha might just do it."
Yu Wol-a's voice brimmed with concern.
"I've overlooked your reckless behavior so far out of pity for your circumstances, but from now on, I won't stand by. Even if Uncle or In-hu try to stop me, I'll act on my own judgment. It's for the good of the Yeon Clan."
The warning carried killing intent.
That intent was Yeon Gong-hu's true feelings.
The moment she'd slandered Yeon Ha-min, murderous rage had surged from his chest.
"U-Ugh..."
She'd barely recovered from Ha Mu-baek's killing intent when now it was Yeon Gong-hu's.
And unlike Ha Mu-baek, Yeon Gong-hu wasn't skilled at controlling it, so the raw malice hit her full force.
It even reached Yu Wol-a.
"G-Gong-hu..."
Yu Wol-a called to him in a trembling voice.
Only then did Yeon Gong-hu realize his mistake and withdraw his intent.
"My apologies, Aunt."
Her face pale, Yu Wol-a shook her head.
He had every reason to be that furious.
"No, Da-hye's the one at fault."
With pity in her eyes, Yu Wol-a gazed at Yeon Da-hye.
"This is your final warning. Don't go flapping that loose mouth of yours. Be careful—extra careful."
He glared at her fiercely as he spoke, then...
"Aunt, I've been rude. I'll take my leave."
He bowed to Yu Wol-a and departed.
"Haa."
With the servants gone too, only Yu Wol-a and Yeon Da-hye remained.
A heavy sigh of regret escaped Yu Wol-a's lips.
She couldn't even take in the beautiful garden scenery before her.
"Da-hye, compose yourself. You've escaped death twice today."
Yeon Da-hye shot her mother a glare of utter refusal to accept it.
Yu Wol-a looked at her daughter with sorrow.
"Hero Ha... Hoo. What do you think I meant calling him the world's best? Even the clan head can't handle him."
As if resigned, she whispered so softly only Yeon Da-hye could barely hear.
Yeon Da-hye's eyes widened again.
She started to ask something, but Yu Wol-a shook her head.
"Go inside now. You've been through a lot today. Rest in your quarters. And hold yourself together."
Her tone turned abruptly cold.
Yeon Da-hye's eyes went wide at this unfamiliar side of her mother.
Someone stronger than the clan head.
Words that others in the clan would call blasphemous.
Yet Yeon Da-hye was more shocked by her mother's voice.
It wasn't the kind, loving tone she'd always known.
"M-Mom..."
Yeon Da-hye called out, voice quivering slightly.
"Go rest in your quarters for now."
This time, even Yu Wol-a's inner fury boiled over.
They'd come that close to real disaster.
No matter his looks or personality, he was her beloved daughter.
And she'd nearly lost her.
All because that three-inch tongue had slipped.
Was it her own fault for spoiling her too much?
Or because as a direct descendant in the clan, she'd only been propped up and indulged?
The world was vast, full of all sorts of eccentrics like grains of sand.
Until now, with few outings from the clan or outsiders visiting, the problem hadn't surfaced.
But when it did, it exploded massively.
That was why Yu Wol-a decided to change how she treated her daughter, with a newfound vigilance.
Still, she needed to calm her own rage first, so she sent Yeon Da-hye away.
Once even Yeon Da-hye had left the garden...
Yu Wol-a picked up a small gardening tool as if nothing had happened and began tending the garden.
It was her way of settling her mind.
"What was that look in his eyes?"
As she pulled a weed, Yu Wol-a murmured softly.
Ha Mu-baek's gaze when he'd looked at her.
Even recalling it now, it clearly meant something.
But she couldn't for the life of her figure out what.
"Sorry, Master."
Back at Jin Na-yeon's residence, Gong Hae-bin mumbled dejectedly, prompting Ha Mu-baek's stern question.
"Sorry for what? Did you two do something wrong?"
"W-Well..."
Gong Hae-bin hemmed and hawed, unable to answer.
No matter how he racked his brain, he couldn't think of anything.
They'd just run to the stunning garden in awe.
No plucking flowers or trampling grass.
They'd only looked right up close.
That's why he had no response.
He'd apologized on reflex, but when pressed, nothing wrong came to mind.
"For acting rudely at a prestigious clan's home..."
He squeezed out that excuse from thin air.
But Ha Mu-baek shook his head, face still stern.
"You didn't act rudely, and you didn't do anything wrong. So no need to apologize. Straighten your backs, stand tall, and smile proudly. That's all. The one who should apologize is that Yeon Clan kid."
His voice stayed firm.
Just saying "it's fine" would leave them cowed longer, so he put it this way instead.
"Yes."
"Yes!"
The startled kids replied.
"Good. Go inside and rest."
He sent them to his younger sister, Ha Seol-ran.
In this situation, she'd be better support for the kids than him.
Moments later, Yeon Gong-hu returned.
Spotting Ha Mu-baek, he bowed deeply again, offering atonement.
"Corps Leader Ha, I have no words."
"It's over. I won't hold onto it."
Ha Mu-baek waved it off dismissively, then circulated his internal energy to force Yeon Gong-hu upright.
"More importantly—that wife of Yeon Baek-pung's?"
He asked about Yu Wol-a.
He recalled the one Yeon Gong-hu called his cousin.
After arriving at the Yeon Clan, when Yeon Baek-pung and Yeon Ha-min had clashed.
She'd been there.
Yeon Baek-pung's son had appeared late with her, and as Yeon Gong-hu's cousin, she had to be Yeon Baek-pung's daughter.
Her pleading for the girl as her daughter made her Yeon Baek-pung's wife obvious.
"Yes, my aunt."
Yeon Gong-hu confirmed.
By then, Ha Mu-baek's energy had sealed the surroundings with a sound barrier.
"How did those two end up married?"
Since it delved into another clan's private affairs, he'd blocked the sound.
"Well..."
Yeon Gong-hu glanced around cautiously before slowly explaining.
It was his mother's annex, after all, so extra care in the telling.
Plus, his mother was tangled in it too.
Though it was one-sided from Uncle Yeon Baek-pung.
No matter how he spun it, it was the clan's shame.
Sharing that shame with an outsider like Ha Mu-baek here made him even more cautious.
"Hmm."
Ha Mu-baek pondered.
Then asked.
"By chance, what's Madam Yu's father-in-law like in looks?"
"Plain as they come, sir."
It was infamous in Uichang, so Yeon Gong-hu answered readily.
Uichang's Three Plainer-Than-Plains.
Yu Wol-a's mother, Yu Wol-a herself, and Yeon Da-hye.
A notoriety of sorts, but no one blabbed openly.
After all, it involved Uichang's top merchant house, Geumui Merchant Association, and the head of the martial world's great Hubei Yeon Clan.
One careless word, and you could vanish without a trace.
No one yapped recklessly.
But everyone in Uichang knew.
It spread in hushed whispers away from prying ears.
Just not in the intel Dongjuk-gae had passed Ha Mu-baek right after arriving in Uichang.
Deemed trivial gossip unrelated to clan politics, it was omitted.
"I see."
"Yes. But the Geumui Merchant Association head is different from Uncle."
"Oh?"
"Yes. He's renowned for his deep bond with his wife, regardless of looks."
"Ho?"
"Actually, the association head's wife was a worker there. The previous head saw her talent and pushed their marriage."
Yeon Gong-hu shared a tidbit on the Geumui Merchant Association.
It was the kind of tale anyone would love, so it slipped out easily.
Geumui was top-tier in Uichang, but not the pinnacle.
The current head elevated it there.
And his wife's contributions were huge.
That was the story gossips whispered.
Geumui never reacted much, letting it spread across Uichang unchecked.
"Sounds like an exceptional woman."
"Indeed. And Aunt is brilliant too. People just overlook it because of her looks."
"I could tell."
Ha Mu-baek nodded at Yeon Gong-hu's words.
Her sincere apology toward him earlier showed it.
Not just character, but quick situational judgment too.
"If Madam Yu's the Geumui's sole blood kin, she must still keep close ties with them."
"Yes. Though to the current Yeon Clan, their power's nice to have but not make-or-break."
Geumui had grown big, but the Yeon Clan far bigger.
Now they looked down even on Hubei's top merchant houses.
"Then she must know something about me. As heir to Uichang's premier merchant house."
Yeon Gong-hu startled at Ha Mu-baek's words.
It was true.
Ha Mu-baek smirked at his reaction.
"Merchants always keep ears to the ground on worldly affairs. If all the world's merchant houses allied, they'd surpass Beggar Clan or Haomun."
Mulling Yu Wol-a over, Ha Mu-baek nodded.
"Yeah, that fits."
"Pardon? Fits what?"
"Eh, just something."
Ha Mu-baek grinned without elaborating and dropped the barrier.
He'd formed his judgment from what he'd seen and heard, but saw no need to step in himself.