Chapter 32
“Daddy……!”
“So-yun.”
“Daddy, are you okay now? Does it still hurt? Why do you keep sleeping? Huh?”
“So-yun. Daddy’s fine. I haven’t been able to sleep because I’ve been so tired, so it seems like the sleep monster tried to eat me…… But Daddy’s strong, so I defeated the sleep monster in one go, and I woke up like this, so don’t worry.”
“Hing…… Daddy, don’t sleep like that anymore. Okay?”
“Okay.”
Thump━.
So-yun snuggled into my arms as I lay on the bed and rubbed her head against me.
Hmm……
I don’t know how it happened.
My last conscious memory is of crushing Demon Slayer Baek Gui-ho’s head with Gale Fist, punishing the remaining subordinates who were kneeling, and then immediately collapsing from exhaustion……
Anyway, judging from the circumstances, it seems I was unconscious for quite some time, and I improvised to comfort So-yun, who seemed quite startled.
“Huh-huh. So-yun. Didn’t Grandpa tell you? Your father is the strongest person in the world. Grandpa will treat him well, so don’t worry.”
“Daddy! Grandpa. But So-yun is still worried!”
“Kekeke! What a filial daughter, what a filial daughter.”
“Hehe━.”
“So-yun. Grandpa has something to discuss with your father, so could you go play with the Writing Teacher for a while?”
“Yes, Grandpa. Okay.”
“Yes, that’s good.”
“Daddy! Then So-yun will play with the Writing Teacher and Ye-rin Unni, so wake up quickly and play with me later, okay?”
“Okay, So-yun.”
A moment later, as So-yun left the room with her hurried steps, Master Dongbyeok spoke with a rather stern expression.
“I’ve heard about what you did. You really did something crazy. Are you crazy by any chance?”
“Sir……”
“Yes. I knew from the start that you were no ordinary person. But even so, my goodness. This time, you’ve gone too far. You went straight to the Black Society alone and killed Demon Slayer Baek Gui-ho, right?”
“That’s what happened.”
“Yes. Then let’s hear your thoughts. Demon Slayer Baek Gui-ho was quite a renowned figure in the Jianghu. How do you feel about killing such a person?”
“What’s there to feel? It’s just an everyday occurrence in the Jianghu, where we live by the sword.”
“So you’re saying you’ll continue to do such things in the future?”
“I’ll do even worse.”
“Goodness! You’re not alone. What about So-yun if something happens to you?”
When Master Dongbyeok spoke like that……
I became speechless again.
Honestly, I thought about arguing back.
‘I’m not that reckless!’
‘If I thought I couldn’t handle it alone, I wouldn’t have jumped in in the first place.’
‘Even though I may not look like it, huh? I’m the former Chief of the Demonic Cult’s Assassin’s Guild!’
But if I spouted such nonsense that wouldn’t even work, I’d be lucky if I didn’t get slapped, so I just nodded my head.
“I’ll be careful.”
Then,
“It was dangerous. It was really dangerous because your five internal organs were poisoned. Strangely, the diagnosis showed that there was no internal energy flowing continuously in your body, which there should be for a martial artist. I felt it before, but you must be using a unique method of internal energy manipulation. However, even so, poison that has invaded the five internal organs can take a person’s life. You would’ve crossed the path to the afterlife if the treatment had been delayed.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Rather than recklessly falling asleep if you get poisoned in the future, at least show some sincerity by finding a quiet place and trying to expel the poison with your internal energy. What is this, falling asleep while poisoned? I heard you even snored after causing such trouble?”
“I was tired……”
“Oh my. It’s something to brag about, it is. Anyway, you……”
Oh boy.
Master Dongbyeok’s nagging continued to echo in my ears, but at some point, I blocked that terrifying nagging skill with the ‘Stubborn Mule’ skill and closed my eyes again.
I know, old man.
Do you think I slept because I wanted to?
After killing Demon Slayer Baek Gui-ho, I suffered from severe aftereffects.
I kept telling myself to wake up, to wake up, but my eyes closed on their own, and my body felt like it was going to crumble like a rotten old tree. What more could I have done in that state?
In the first place, it was a miracle that I was able to subdue 150 people from the Xi’an Branch, beat Blood Demon Blade Gwak Seong-ho to death, and even defeat Demon Slayer Baek Gui-ho.
In other words, it’s fortunate that I didn’t die on the spot.
“So-yun’s father!”
At that moment.
Master Dongbyeok’s roar poured out like a lion’s roar, and I was startled awake.
Ah……
I’m not usually like this.
In front of that old man, I’m like a mouse in front of a cat.
“Yes.”
“Don’t just let my words go in one ear and out the other. From now on, just think about So-yun. Do you understand?”
“I understand.”
You don’t know anything, old man.
The reason I suddenly destroyed the Black Society was all because of So-yun.
◈ ◈ ◈
The next day……
Only after I got out of bed and took So-yun on a rare outing to Mount Guangyang did I hear from Il-dong in detail about what a big deal I had caused.
“Brother. It’s really no joke right now. During the seven days and nights a week that you were unconscious, not only Chang’an but the entire Shaanxi Province is in an uproar.”
“So how is it in an uproar? Tell me specifically.”
“A sect called Dawn Heaven Sect was born in Chang’an, and the martial arts of its Sect Leader are said to be at the level of the ‘Top 50 Experts Within the Righteous Path’! That person is destroying the balance of Shaanxi, starting with the Black Society, and is gathering strength to become a powerful figure in the Murim, regardless of whether they are black, white, righteous, evil, or demonic! I think you get the gist of how the situation is unfolding, right?”
“Hmm……”
I expected it, but the people of the Jianghu really like to make up stories, and they tend to accept such rumors as facts.
Among them, I laughed at the rumor that I was at the level of the ‘Top 50 Experts Within the Righteous Path.’ The ‘Within’ here usually refers to the ‘Righteous Path,’ so have I suddenly become one of the Top 50 Experts of the Righteous Path?
Of course……
If we were to line up the current martial artists of the Righteous Path and rank them according to their martial arts skills, I probably wouldn’t be in the top 50.
Roughly speaking, there’s Wudang, Kunlun, Mount Hua, Kongtong, Emei, Qingcheng, Shaolin, Mount Zhongnan, Diancang, Hengshan, Hainan, and even the Beggars’ Sect.
There are plenty of prestigious righteous sects belonging to the Righteous Path, and if you add up the number of Sect Leaders, elders, and grand elders of each sect, it’s roughly over 70. And if you include the Eight Great Families like Namgung, Moryong, Tang, Danmok, and Zhuge, as well as the Dokgo Family of Sword Emperor Dokgo Hwang, who is considered the number one in the Righteous Path?
I wouldn’t even be in the top 100, let alone the top 50……
Well, that doesn’t mean I’d lose to them in a fight.
“Il-dong.”
“Yes, brother.”
“Where are Yi-dong and Sam-dong now?”
“Brother! They’re incredibly busy right now. As soon as the news that you had defeated Demon Slayer spread, not only did inquiries about becoming disciples of our sect flood in, but we also had to take over the Xi’an Branch of the Black Society that you took down, so with the help of Young Master Seok, Yi-dong and Sam-dong are running around taking care of things.”
“What kind of work can those clueless brats handle? It’ll be a miracle if they don’t cause any trouble.”
“Brother! It was you who entrusted the management of Dawn Heaven Sect to them. And you always said it, didn’t you? The position makes the person. They’ve also taken their positions, and they seem to be doing well, so I don’t think we need to worry.”
“I can’t trust that.”
“Just trust me. And speaking of which.”
“What?”
“It was you who caused the trouble, not us.”
“Shut up. What trouble? Thanks to me, you guys became executives of a powerful sect in Shaanxi overnight, a newly emerging force, a stable sect with a guaranteed future, a solid sect whose Sect Leader is considered comparable to the ‘Top 50 Experts Within the Righteous Path,’ a sect that doesn’t belong to either the black or white path, but follows the neutral path and can freely operate without rules or restrictions. Isn’t that right?”
“Let’s not talk about it, let’s not.”
Even as he said that, Il-dong was subtly curling up the corners of his mouth.
Why wouldn’t he be?
It was only a few months ago.
Just a few months ago, Il-dong was nothing more than a local loafer.
But what about now?
That bastard has truly climbed the ladder of success.
“Il-dong.”
“Yes?”
“Then what happened to the Xingping and Haman Branches of the Black Society?”
“According to Young Master Seok, it would be better to inform the Clan Head of the Seokga Estate and prepare a strategy before wiping them out. For your information, the Black Society remnants that you spared were also captured by the Seokga Estate.”
“What are you doing?”
“What?”
“Is the Seokga Estate the Dawn Heaven Sect? Why did you hand over the remnants to them and prepare a strategy according to their words? I’m the one who did all the work.”
“Well, what else are we supposed to do! Even Master Dongbyeok said to just let them do it.”
“Idiot.”
“???”
“Why?”
“You just called me an idiot!”
“No, I didn’t. You must have misheard.”
“Who do you think you’re calling an idiot……”
“It seems like your Heart Demon has come. You’re hearing things. I think I need to properly take care of that Heart Demon, so let’s have a spar.”
“Forget it. Let’s just say I misheard.”
“Alright.”
I……
Although I said that, I was inwardly grateful to Yeon-u.
This situation may seem like Yeon-u is trying to steal the credit for the work I’ve done, but it’s not like that at all.
In a situation where the Black Society’s backers haven’t been revealed yet, Yeon-u’s involvement in the ‘Black Society subjugation’ doesn’t mean he’s trying to steal the credit.
He’s probably trying to divert the attention from Dawn Heaven Sect to the Seokga Estate, just in case the Black Society is connected to a large organization like the Cult of the Evil Path.
Therefore, if the ‘Black Society subjugation’ is handled together with the Seokga Estate, it wouldn’t be easy for their backers to openly cause trouble.
However,
“Il-dong.”
“Yes?”
“I have to go.”
“Where?”
“Xingping and Haman.”
“Are you thinking of going there alone and causing trouble again?”
“Precisely.”
“Sigh…… Fine. You wouldn’t listen even if I tried to stop you.”
“Even more precisely.”
“But let’s do this instead.”
“What?”
“Take me with you.”
“You?”
“Yes.”
“You?”
“Yes!”
“You?”
“That’s what I’m saying!”
“Really…… you?”
“Hey, are you looking down on me? Huh?”
“That’s incredibly accurate, Il-dong.”
“Hey! Then why did you teach me martial arts while hitting me, punishing me, and tormenting me all this time? It was so we could fight together, eat together, and even run away together in this vast Jianghu. Huh? That’s why we became brothers, learned martial arts, and created Dawn Heaven Sect together. Why do you keep trying to do everything alone?”
Whoa……
For a moment, I was inwardly amazed by Il-dong’s eloquent speech.
Was he always this good with words?
Or did he become smarter from hanging out with me?
Anyway, I was surprised, but at the same time, a strange feeling crept into my heart.
However,
‘What the……’
It was a bit……
Cringeworthy.
Whack━.
So, to get rid of that awkwardness, I unconsciously flicked Il-dong on the top of his head.
“Ouch! Brother! Really, this is……”
“Let’s go.”
“Huh?”
“Let’s go together.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Great! Let’s go together.”
“But don’t hold me back.”
“I’ll refrain from such personal attacks……”
“Stop whining and follow me.”
I immediately cut Il-dong off and started walking.
Because in Xingping and Haman.
There are still villains left to be ‘dealt with.’