Chapter 133
Chapter 133
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 133
Chapter Title: A Father's Confirmation
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Seol-ha, you said you didn't send a separate letter to Uncle, right?"
"Senior Brother knows too. If Father finds out I left, he'd send dozens of escorts right away. How could I walk the streets properly with all that fuss?"
"That's true, but still."
"Besides, he'd pretend to sulk about me not visiting the main house. What a hassle."
"……."
Yang-hui recalled the conversation he'd had with Zhuge Seol-ha just yesterday and flashed a satisfied smile.
The adorable daughter who used to shout openly, "I love you, Father!" as a child was long gone.
All that remained was Zhuge Seol-ha—slightly cheeky, fiercely independent, and ambitious.
'Who the hell did she take after to turn out like this...? Oh, that's disrespectful to Master.'
Anyway.
Thanks to her, he could complete this picture.
The reason he hadn't brought Zhuge Seol-ha here was the same.
She needed to be at Yeongnak Street.
"Where's my daughter!!!"
To drag the Zhuge Clan—one of the Five Great Clans of the world—into this game.
'Perfect.'
When it came to dealing with the White Righteousness Sect, there were three options.
First: Crush them financially and in influence over several years, centered on Yeongnak Street.
Second: Gradually build powerful allies like the Tang Clan and use that strength to surpass the White Righteousness Sect.
Finally, third.
Create chaos and use extreme measures if needed to eliminate the White Righteousness Sect as quickly as possible.
Yang-hui chose the third.
It was efficient for quick gains, but...
He wanted to see him.
He wanted to know.
His father's heart.
'Until now, I've been moving based on my past life.'
Pursuit of righteousness. The burning desire to elevate the clan.
They were lessons learned and inherited from his father in his previous life.
But as the saying goes, you can know ten fathoms of water but not one fathom of a person's heart.
'Much has changed from my past life. The main house's power and prestige alone are worlds apart. It's no wonder if my thoughts and Father's intentions differ.'
That's why he had to confirm it.
Was he leading the main house correctly?
Could he continue without hesitation or regret?
And he had obtained certainty.
'I just need to make the main house the world's greatest clan. If I stray, Father will correct me. If my methods are wrong, he'll scold me just the same.'
No need to agonize over direction anymore.
Even as the main house grew rapidly in such a short time, Father's leadership remained unchanged.
A horse with reins just needs to run.
That's why he could charge ahead even faster.
'In other words, if I cause trouble, Father cleans it up... Wait, that's a bit off.'
A chuckle escaped him.
Yang-hui looked at his father, who was cleaning up the mess he'd made.
"Zhuge, my brother. What brings you to Namchang?"
Regaining his composure as he watched Baek Mu-ryang politely ask the man who had roared like a lion.
"Ah, Brother. It's been too long. Have you been well?"
"Thanks to you, Brother. But you were looking for Seol-ha. Is she here?"
"Yes. I rushed here the moment I got Yang-hui's letter."
Only then did Baek Mu-ryang grasp the final piece of the picture his eldest son had drawn.
'Hui, you've prepared for everything.'
He had declared no retreat in the righteous cause.
Despite the clan's disadvantage, he intended to clash head-on with the White Righteousness Sect blocking the way.
Yet Yang-hui had predicted even this decision and the fallout, preparing countermeasures.
"Great Hero Zhuge Seon, greetings from Gong Mo-ga, sect leader of the White Righteousness Sect. Between our sect and the Baek Clan..."
Zhuge Seon cut off the sect leader's words.
"Can't you see I'm reuniting with my brother? Wait your turn."
"Brother, he's still a sect leader. We should show more respect."
"True, but on the way here, I heard some things about him."
"You investigated?"
"How could I not after Yang-hui's letter?"
"What did it say?"
"That the White Righteousness Sect moved underworld thugs, putting Seol-ha in danger."
"......Is Seol-ha in Namchang?"
"Didn't you know, Brother? I thought you had stepped up for her."
Baek Mu-ryang and Zhuge Seon stared blankly at each other before simultaneously turning to Yang-hui.
Receiving both his father and uncle's gazes, Yang-hui recalled his childhood innocence and plastered a bright, pure smile on his face.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"......We got played."
"......Sorry, Brother."
Yang-hui stepped forward.
He figured he needed to explain... or make excuses.
"I didn't lie! Seol-ha's been posing as a villain on Yeongnak Street, but the underworld scum have her stuck lately."
He really hadn't lied.
It was all true, at least for now?
"Hui. Why didn't you tell us Seol-ha had descended the mountain?"
'Huh. Didn't expect them to grill me on this.'
"She didn't want me to! I wanted to tell! And now I have!"
No lie this time either.
He'd just used it a tiny bit. A teensy bit.
Hey, it makes the sister-in-law happy and the brother-in-law happy, right?
'I'll get smacked on the back by Seol-ha, but that's a bargain.'
If anything, wasn't it the unfilial daughter's fault for descending after years and not telling her father?
While Yang-hui was smoothing things over, Zhuge Seon heard the full story from Baek Mu-ryang.
"I get the gist. So the White Righteousness Sect was the problem after all."
Zhuge Seon stared at the sect leader with a hardened expression.
"Sect Leader. You've blocked the Baek Clan. Will you block this young master's path too?"
"……."
The sect leader couldn't utter a word.
He wanted to bar entry to Namchang, but he couldn't handle the aftermath against the Zhuge Clan of the Dragon Among Men.
"My daughter is being threatened by Namchang's underworld. If you block me, I won't stand idly by."
Even the justification was on their side.
What reason could there be to stop a father from seeing his daughter?
"......The White Righteousness Sect welcomes the heroes of the Zhuge Clan."
"I hope it's sincere."
Zhuge Seon paused as he passed the sect leader.
"Our intel division found that your sect has done things unbecoming of the righteous path. Using underworld factions for gain—we'll address that later."
"Young Master! Our sect has never contacted underworld factions."
"So you're saying our intel is wrong?"
"……."
"We'll dig into every detail so there's no injustice. Wait."
Zhuge Seon dismissed him curtly and leaped ahead.
The Zhuge Clan warriors followed.
The White Righteousness Sect disciples couldn't block them.
"Father, let's go too."
"......Yes."
The White Righteousness Sect had used the pretext of no outsiders entering their territory.
But with the Zhuge Clan already inside, they couldn't block the Baek Clan now.
Their logic and justification lost power, allowing the Baek Clan to enter Namchang bloodlessly.
"Yang-hui. Where's Seol-ha?"
"This way, Uncle!"
Zhuge Seon nodded and looked at his subordinates and Baek Mu-ryang.
"Clearing the underworld is urgent, but this brother needs to see his daughter first. Brother, please lead the purge."
"I will."
"Use full force, and take my men too. Hwa-un."
Zhuge Seon's eldest son, Zhuge Hwa-un, stepped forward.
'Oh right, Cousin Zhuge is here too. He's grown quite tall since last time.'
After a brief eye greeting with Yang-hui, Zhuge Hwa-un spoke.
"I'll lead our main house warriors and match Uncle Baek's pace, Father."
"Do that."
Finishing his words, Zhuge Seon took Yang-hui and the clinging A-du like tails and flew toward the Hundred Whites Tower.
Ting ting—soft melodies rang out.
Bored alone, Zhuge Seol-ha was toying with her instrument.
"Seol-ha!"
"Eek, Father?"
Zhuge Seon engulfed Zhuge Seol-ha with his bear-like frame.
"Kyaaak! Father! Kyaaak!"
"Seol-haaa!"
Who in the world would see Zhuge Seon as the young master of the Dragon Among Men clan like this?
This is why daughter fools are no good.
Though it had led to this situation.
"Why didn't you tell me! Do you know how much your father missed you?!"
"I know, so let go! Eek! Father! I'm not a little girl anymore!"
"In my eyes, you're still small and precious!"
"I'm not small!"
Trapped in Zhuge Seon's arms, Zhuge Seol-ha glared at Yang-hui with axe eyes.
'This won't end with just one smack on the back, huh?'
He slyly turned away.
-Hey, turning away?
-Senior Brother, I'll repay this favor tenfold.
Tenfold? Seol-ha, your family name is Zhuge, not Tang.
And by Tang math, repaying double should suffice, right?
Ah, whatever.
I'll worry about the aftermath later.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Three days passed.
Time taken for the Baek and Zhuge Clans united to wipe out the unruly underworld packs.
Atop the Hundred Whites Tower, Baek Mu-ryang clasped hands and bowed to Zhuge Seon.
"Brother, forgive me. My son used you."
"Haha, no, Brother. If anything, Yang-hui did what I should have. He informed me in place of my foolish daughter."
Zhuge Seon truly held no grudge.
Even without the White Righteousness Sect stirring underworld trouble, he'd have rushed to Zhuge Seol-ha upon the news.
"As young master, she needs escorts for outings. Whenever the letter came, that doesn't change."
"If you let it pass so kindly, I can only be grateful, Brother."
Still, Baek Mu-ryang wouldn't let it slide empty-handed.
"Take all the assets seized from the underworld purge."
"No need, Brother."
"No. The main house gained immensely thanks to you. An elder brother can't owe his junior."
"If you insist...... I'll gratefully accept."
With clan matters settled, they turned to the White Righteousness Sect.
"Brother. I won't let them off easy. Even if they claim ignorance, threatening Seol-ha is unforgivable."
"Indeed...... With their underworld collusion exposed, they need punishment—that's my thought too."
Thanks to the Zhuge intervention, securing evidence of the White Righteousness Sect inciting the underworld was easy.
With proof, they could even pull in allies like the Tang Clan.
Thus, here the fate of Namchang's top sect, White Righteousness, would be decided.
'By now, that punk Gong Ya-hyeok must be sweating bullets, not knowing what to do.'
Yang-hui snickered inwardly from the corner, watching the two converse.
'Destroying with my own hands the place that hired me as a wanderer in my past life—feels strangely good.'
Come to think of it, one sudden question arose.
Why had the White Righteousness Sect's actions diverged so much from his past life?
In his past life, they'd provoked the Upright Moon Sect cleverly and intelligently, leading to their downfall in direct confrontation.
Though circumstances differed—time gaps and more.
'Sect Leader Gong Ya-hyeok's responses were utterly foolish, that's for sure.'
That was when.
A cautious waiter entered the guest room and approached Yang-hui.
"Young master. Someone wishes to see you."
"Speak."
"From the White Righteousness Sect."
No reason to meet.
"Issue the expulsion order."
"Um......"
"What?"
"They said to relay this if you do."
"What message?"
Yang-hui's eyes widened at the waiter's whisper.
'What the hell is this situation?'
Because it was something he absolutely shouldn't have heard.
Yang-hui immediately left the room and headed downstairs.