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C52. The Punishment is Received in Hell
Boss Pung Yeoncho asked with a puzzled expression.
"What do you mean it's difficult for him to recover? Are you saying he won't be able to get up again?"
Ha Sunwoo quickly waved his hand.
"Oh, no! You've misunderstood me. He will get up. I meant his martial abilities. He must avoid sudden movements in the future."
"Won't he even be able to wield a sword?"
"Exactly."
"Well, this will be a sight when he wakes up. That old man already has a terrible temper."
Despite his words, Pung Yeoncho's expression was bitter.
He knew that Shim Yanggak had worsened while learning martial arts from Yeon Jeokha.
In a sense, Shim Yanggak was an old master.
Though they had never had a proper conversation until now.
"So, what do you plan to do? Will you take him back to the camp or will he stay here…?"
Pung Yeoncho answered Ha Sunwoo's question.
"This old man won't want to stay here, so I'll take him back to the camp."
"Then I'll prepare a good medicine for his internal injuries. When he finishes taking it, let me know."
"I will."
Pung Yeoncho lifted Shim Yanggak and stood up.
Shim Yanggak's body was surprisingly light, so he didn't feel any difficulty.
"Wow! I've never carried my own father like this. This is making me do something I never thought I would do."
Yeon Jeokha smiled at Pung Yeoncho's joke.
"Will you be alright taking him to the camp?"
"No problem. It seems he has lost all his malignant energy, so he's light. Want to see?"
Pung Yeoncho swung Shim Yanggak's body like a baby.
Seeing this, Ha Sunwoo hurried to stop him.
"No, please don't do that! You must move him as little as possible..."
"Don't worry. Do you think this old man is a normal person? This doesn't affect him at all."
"Again, I repeat that he is now worse than a normal person."
"Oh, that much?"
Pung Yeoncho finally calmed down.
Unless he intended to annoy Shim Yanggak, he had no reason to do anything harmful to his body.
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Spring.
East Side of Luoyang.
Waryong Manor.
From early in the morning, two people were arguing inside. They were Baek Miju, the owner of Waryong Manor, and her son Yeon Mubaek.
"Mother, what is this about sending bodyguards to the Baekse Chamber of Commerce? Do you know what that means?"
"I've been the one managing Waryong Manor until now. Do you think I don't know what that entails?"
"Why do you think Lee Sechang of the Baekse Chamber of Commerce asked for bodyguards? Probably because there's going to be a conflict with another Chamber of Commerce. Other Chambers of Commerce also have ties to the Luoyang Military Academy. There could be fights between Waryong Manor and the military of Luoyang."
"You can't become an influential family in the Murim without shedding blood. Your father didn't have that kind of courage, but I do."
"This isn't about courage. It's only been a year since we accepted external disciples. They still don't identify as people of Waryong Manor. Do you want to send such people to fight?"
"Unity is strengthened in the midst of spilled blood. Although you don't understand, the Baek Family, your maternal family, also went through such times. There are no perfectly prepared battles. What is lacking, time will resolve."
"Mother!"
Yeon Mubaek shouted, frustrated.
"Don't raise your voice. And it's just a bodyguard job. They just have to protect the leader and the second-in-command. It's not like they'll draw their swords immediately."
"Saying it's exaggerated? In the end, they will draw their swords for the leader and the second-in-command. I also want Waryong Manor to become an influential family in the Murim, but not this way."
"Leave the management of Waryong Manor to me and you focus on your own matters."
"Focus on my own matters? Isn't it raising those who will fight for you?"
Baek Miju frowned.
"Why do you look at everything so negatively? This isn't for me. I'm from the Baek Family, but I work day and night for the Yeon Family. Though you say otherwise."
"..."
Yeon Mubaek gritted his teeth, trying to control his anger.
Conversations with his mother always ended this way.
While Yeon Mubaek suffered in silence, Baek Miju's voice resonated again.
"Oh, and the Yang Family will visit us in a few days."
Yeon Mubaek looked at his mother with curiosity.
The Yang Family was a renowned martial family in Jeongju, but they had never had contact with them until now.
"Why would they visit us?"
"Why else? To discuss your marriage with the young lady of the Yang Family. You are of marriageable age, aren't you?"
"Suddenly..."
"Do you know how old you are? You are already twenty-six. If you continue teaching the disciples, soon you'll be thirty. The Yang Family of Jeongju is suitable for you."
Baek Miju was right about that, so Yeon Mubaek didn't object further.
"I hope there are no other interests in my marriage."
"Miss Yang is so beautiful that she's called the beauty of Jeongju. I'm sure you'll like her."
Yeon Mubaek shook his head resignedly.
Hearing a response that had nothing to do with his question made him realize that this marriage was also part of his mother's grand plan. However, he couldn't reject it as it was true that he was of marriageable age.
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Three days later.
The guests from the Yang Family arrived at Waryong Manor.
Baek Miju guided the guests inside and called her two sons.
"Introduce yourselves. This is the honorable Yang Jinwoong, Leader of the Yang Family, and the young master Yang Iseon."
Yeon Mubaek and Yeon Seungbaek bowed respectfully.
"I am Yeon Mubaek."
"I am Yeon Seungbaek."
Unlike the first son, who was somewhat nervous, the second son, Yeon Seungbaek, had a smile on his face. He knew the purpose of the Yang Family's visit.
"Nice to meet you. I am Yang Jinwoong."
"I am Yang Iseon."
Yang Jinwoong, in his fifties, and Yang Iseon, in his thirties, discreetly observed Yeon Mubaek's face.
There were many ways to describe Yeon Mubaek, the Waryong Swordsman.
A man who had studied in the Namgung Family for ten years.
A prodigy of swordsmanship who reached the level of Sword Master at the age of twenty-six.
The swordsmanship master of the warriors of Waryong Manor.
The young master who turned the unknown Waryong Manor into one of the leading martial families of Luoyang.
As rumored, his acupuncture points on his temples protruded, and his eyes shone with a penetrating clarity. Moreover, his handsome face did not generate any antipathy.
After the first meeting, Yang Jinwoong and Yang Iseon exchanged significant glances. Yeon Mubaek's serene expression seemed to have left a good impression on them.
Shortly after, the five sat around a table and began to converse about light topics.
As the conversation progressed, the guests' smiles became more noticeable.
Yeon Mubaek's perspective, having studied in the Namgung Family, was much more advanced than that of other young men of his age. From the perspective of the Yang martial family, there was no better match.
Yang Jinwoong and Yang Iseon left Waryong Manor late in the afternoon.
After moving away considerably from Waryong Manor, Yang Jinwoong asked:
"Iseon, what did you think?"
"The Waryong Swordsman?"
"Who else would I be talking about?"
"Haha, I liked him. But I've heard some things about Waryong Manor. Is it safe?"
Lately, Waryong Manor's name was often mentioned among martial families. Primarily, it was said they were expanding their influence too aggressively.
"Today, after meeting him, I think if he becomes the leader, the problems will diminish."
"The key will be when Baek Miju decides to step back."
"Once they marry, that moment will come sooner. She won't continue acting as the owner after having a daughter-in-law."
"I don't want this to cause problems for Yi-hwa."
The age difference between Yang Iseon and his sister Yang Yi-hwa was ten years.
Yang Iseon cared for his younger sister more like a father than a brother. That's why he wished there would be no problems in her marriage.
"Even so, the Waryong Swordsman is undoubtedly a man worth taking a risk for."
Yang Jinwoong seemed very impressed with Yeon Mubaek.
Despite the tensions between martial families, he was determined to proceed with this marriage.
"Uncle."
"What is it?"
"Could it be that Baek Miju… No, never mind."
For some reason, Yang Iseon shook his head, as if trying to dispel a thought.
"Tsk, tsk! If a man draws his spear, he should at least pierce something. Why keep it?"
"It's just that I'm worried that Baek Miju is promoting this marriage to receive help from our family."
Though expressed as "receiving help," what it really implied was "is she using us?"
"That could be, but why not think the opposite?"
"The opposite?"
"If our Yang Family needs help, Waryong Manor won't stand by idly. It's hard to live as a lone wolf in this world. If Waryong Manor and the Yang Family unite, they can overcome any storm."
Yang Iseon nodded silently.
With the combined strength of the Yang Family and Waryong Manor, even the Seven Great Sects wouldn't be a problem. He knew this in his mind, but he still couldn't help feeling uneasy.
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Bobong County.
Five Peaks Mountain.
At the highest peak of Five Peaks Mountain, two men were sitting watching the clouds.
Shim Yanggak, the Immortal Sword Demon, and Yeon Jeokha.
A few months ago, Shim Yanggak had collapsed due to a deviation in his training. Now he was just an ordinary old man.
If the Five Peaks Mountain Gang were an ordinary Nokrim bandit camp, they would have expelled him by now. But Five Peaks Mountain was very different from other Nokrim bandit camps.
There were many people besides Shim Yanggak who didn't participate in the raids. Despite this, the camp's income continued to increase. The bandits, confident in their resources, didn't worry about Shim Yanggak, who was now a cripple.
Yeon Jeokha asked casually:
"Old Shim, how do you feel?"
Since he became a cripple, people in the camp called him Old Shim. Curiously, that nickname suited him so well that everyone started calling him that.
"I feel a little better now."
Until recently, Shim Yanggak couldn't walk much.
Even with a little effort, he would run out of breath and had to sit down.
"Can you do breathing exercises?"
"Not yet, my breathing is still irregular… I can't even think about meditation."
"Wow!"
Yeon Jeokha clicked his tongue. In that state, he couldn't enter meditation. Even if he knew the three hundred characters of the classic, they wouldn't be of any use.
"Do you think this is a punishment?"
Yeon Jeokha's unexpected question left Shim Yanggak silent for a moment.
Actually, the camp bandits whispered such things behind his back. Hwang Yomyung, the Venomous Wanderer from the next room, would curse non-stop.
Hearing bad things constantly, Shim Yanggak began to believe that maybe it was true.
After all, if this wasn't a punishment, what was it?
The Ten Heroes of Five Peaks Mountain were becoming masters thanks to the True Classic of the Nine Heavens as One, while he, who had memorized three hundred characters, had become a cripple.
"...Yes, I think it's a punishment."
"Old Shim, there was a six-year-old child locked in a warehouse for ten years. Do you think that was a punishment for the child?"
"Of course not. The culprit was the one who locked him up."
"If it were Old Shim, instead of locking him up, you would have killed him. Right?"
"..."
Shim Yanggak felt uncomfortable.
He had called the one who locked the child evil, but as Yeon Jeokha said, he would have killed him. It was like a thief criticizing a pickpocket.
"The punishment is received in hell. This time you were just unlucky."
Yeon Jeokha laughed at the idea that Shim Yanggak thought his deviation in training was a punishment. It couldn't be that the sins of a lifetime killer were so light.