Chapter 37
My first impression of Wang Gwan-cheon was this.
‘Wow, he looks like one of the Four Heavenly Kings from Buddhism.’
He really did.
He had dark, sun-baked skin, a square, angular face, large eyes, nose, and mouth, and fierce, wide-open eyes. His thick eyebrows were raised high in the shape of seagull wings, making him look even more intimidating.
Most striking of all were the three swords strapped to his back. I wondered if that was why he had the nickname Three Blades.
In any case, he looked extremely frightening. If I had seen him on the street, I would have flattened myself against the ground.
‘He’s seriously no joke….’
And there was someone even more frightened of him than I was…
“F-Father, Father, how are you here…?”
It was the Young Sect Master.
The Young Sect Master had already turned deathly pale from the moment he heard that gruff voice, and when Wang Gwan-cheon appeared, he visibly trembled.
He looked like a puppy that had wandered in front of a tiger. And the tiger showed no mercy.
“Wang Ju-geon!”
Wang Gwan-cheon’s furious voice thundered throughout the main hall.
“Say that again. What? Would I be saddened? That our friendship would be broken over such a trivial matter?”
“Father, Father…”
“Who was the one who did something to break that friendship in the first place! Is overpowering a defenseless woman with force a trivial matter to you? The daughter of a prestigious family nearly became embroiled in a scandal, and you call that trivial?!”
“I, your son, I…”
“Who’s your son? Who’s my son?! I have never had a son like you. I have never had a piece of trash who would commit such inhuman acts as my son!”
“……”
“And what did you say? Young Sect Master?”
The Young Sect Master’s body stiffened instantly. But Wang Gwan-cheon’s enraged words did not stop.
“Since when have you been the Young Sect Master of our sect? I haven’t even decided on my successor yet, so when did you become the Young Sect Master and start representing our sect? There’s a limit to how much you can disgrace the name of our sect!”
I opened my mouth wide.
‘Huh, he wasn’t even the Young Sect Master?’
No wonder he kept singing the praises of this Young Sect Master, this Young Sect Master. Was it not actually true, but merely his own wishful thinking?
Wang Gwan-cheon’s tone now became almost pleading.
“Please, try to learn from your older and younger brothers. Even now, the two of them are working hard to become Young Sect Master. What are you doing right now?”
“……”
“If you lack ability, then at least make an effort. Do you think lamenting about the world without even trying will accomplish anything? Fine, if you have neither ability nor the capacity to work hard, then at least a person should have some humility. How can you be so arrogant…!”
“Father!”
The Young Sect Master… no, Wang Ju-geon, suddenly shouted.
“Father, you always say that! Every time, you bring up my older and younger brothers and belittle me like this!”
“……”
“Did Father ever support me as much as you supported those two? Did you push me toward becoming an official like you did my older brother, or help me improve my martial arts like you did my younger brother? It’s always that damned effort, effort, effort! All you ever tell me to do is make an effort!”
“……”
“I did, I did make an effort too. But what am I supposed to do when something doesn’t work even if I do it alone? If Father had only done as much for me as you did for those two…!”
“Ju-geon.”
Wang Gwan-cheon suddenly asked in a low voice,
“What did your father fail to give you?”
“……”
“As for becoming an official? I assigned you the finest teachers so that you could devote yourself to your studies. Martial arts? Even when your progress was slow, I was the one who refused to give up on you until the very end. So who was it that gave up first because everything was too difficult?”
“……”
Wang Ju-geon could not answer.
Wang Gwan-cheon let out a long sigh. His imposing face seemed to have aged another ten years in that short span of time.
His voice, filled with regret, flowed out.
“Yes, everything is this father’s fault. It is my fault for neglecting you and leaving you to become like this. If I had paid more attention to you and admonished you from the moment you began to stray…”
“……”
“Your father’s guilt runs this deep. Everything that has happened is my fault. So…”
Suddenly, Wang Gwan-cheon’s eyes flashed.
“I suppose I should take responsibility myself.”
Shing
Wang Gwan-cheon drew one of the swords strapped to his back. It was a wando, a curved saber with a rounded blade.
Holding the wando, Wang Gwan-cheon slowly approached Wang Ju-geon.
Wang Ju-geon began crawling backward on his buttocks, tears streaming down his face.
“F-Father, Father. I was wrong. It was all my fault. I’ll never do it again. I won’t behave recklessly anymore, so please…”
“……”
“Please, please forgive me. Father, Father, you can’t. Please, just forgive…”
When Wang Gwan-cheon’s hand rose…
Slash!
“Aaaaaargh!”
I turned my head away.
The sight of Wang Ju-geon’s severed arm flying through the air was vividly etched into my mind.
Wang Ju-geon crawled across the floor of the main hall, screaming. Judging by the foul smell, he seemed to have even wet himself.
The people who had been standing behind Wang Gwan-cheon hurried over to Wang Ju-geon and quickly administered emergency treatment. Even amid all that commotion, Wang Gwan-cheon calmly picked up his son’s severed arm. Then he went straight to the Manor Lord, held it out to him, and said solemnly,
“I sincerely apologize for what happened this time, Manor Lord Xiao. Ordinarily, his life should have been the price, but as his father, I could not bring myself to take his life. I hope you will understand.”
“I understand, Sect Leader Wang.”
“Instead, I will make certain that he can never commit such despicable acts again. I will have him castrated in the near future so that he can no longer live as a man. I will also shave his head and make him become a monk, where he will spend the rest of his life repenting for his sins.”
‘Wow, it wasn’t over with just cutting off his arm?’
Perhaps the Manor Lord was satisfied with these measures as well, because he smiled pleasantly and spoke courteously.
“I am grateful for Sect Leader Wang’s consideration.”
Wang Gwan-cheon handed Wang Ju-geon’s arm to a servant standing nearby and only then exchanged greetings with the Manor Lord.
The Manor Lord also asked after Wang Gwan-cheon’s well-being and treated him with due courtesy.
Meanwhile, Wang Ju-geon’s severed arm was… I was holding it.
Because I was the servant standing beside the Manor Lord.
‘Wait, why am I holding this?’
Unbelievable. I wasn’t even a doctor, and somehow I had ended up touching a severed human arm.
Scary, this martial arts world.
Just as I was trying my best not to think about the arm…
“And there is one more thing I would like to ask the Young Sect Master… no, the Second Young Master.”
“What is it?”
I subtly pricked up my ears.
“In fact, there are very few people in Bakrahyeon who could carry out something so bold. Unless they wish to become enemies with the Xiao Family Manor, there is no one who would participate in Second Young Master’s scheme to slander us.”
“You are right.”
“However, after questioning Second Young Master’s servant, we learned that Second Young Master also received the drug from someone. Therefore…”
The Manor Lord’s firm voice rang out.
“We need to know who gave Second Young Master the drug.”
***
“…And that is what happened.”
Xiao Cheong-ja and Namgung Jeong were sitting at the same table.
Namgung Jeong had only just returned after taking care of some business.
When he entered the manor, he saw people from the Thunderblade Sect and wondered what was going on, only to learn that an enormous incident had occurred in his absence!
After hearing the circumstances of the incident, Namgung Jeong let out an incredulous chuckle.
“Hero Wang, the Thunderclap Three Blades, is renowned throughout the martial world for his righteousness. It is lamentable that such a ruffian could come from under a man like him.”
“No parent knows how their child will grow up, they say. Still, we should be grateful that the Sect Leader handled the matter properly.”
“It is fortunate that there is no serious problem with Ari’s body either. So that boy was the one who stopped him…”
In truth, this was the part that surprised Namgung Jeong.
Wasn’t it that very servant, Seo Dan, who had stopped Wang Ju-geon from reaching out his claws toward her?
As far as Namgung Jeong knew, Seo Dan had been an ordinary child who didn’t know the slightest thing about martial arts until just a few days ago.
The only things special about him were perhaps that he had better eyesight than others and was nimble.
In that respect, Seo Dan should not have been a match for Wang Ju-geon. No matter how poor Wang Ju-geon’s temperament was, there was a huge difference between someone who had learned martial arts and someone who had not.
And yet he had defeated Wang Ju-geon. He had even knocked him down.
‘He has talent.’
It would be a waste to leave him as he was.
Wondering whether he should bring up the matter of taking him as a disciple one more time later, Namgung Jeong opened his mouth.
“…So who was it that obtained the drug for that bastard? What kind of audacious bastard would do such a thing…?”
Xiao Cheong-ja let out a deep sigh before answering.
“They say it was a courtesan from Hwahyang Pavilion. Apparently, even Second Young Master did not know exactly which courtesan she was.”
“A courtesan…”
“I’ve already arranged for the courtesan to be brought here. But apparently, she had already fled by the time we went to find her. What on earth kind of person was behind this…?”
“My lord!”
Suddenly, a loud voice came from outside the door.
Xiao Cheong-ja and Namgung Jeong immediately sprang to their feet. Before Xiao Cheong-ja could say anything, the door was flung open, and Chief Steward Jeok entered.
Chief Steward Jeok gave Namgung Jeong a brief greeting before hurriedly continuing,
“I apologize for entering without permission, but the matter is urgent, so please excuse me. My lord, they found the courtesan. However…”
“However?”
Chief Steward Jeok spoke with a devastated expression.
“She was already dead. She had been dead for quite some time.”
Comments (0)