Heavenly Inquisition Sword Novel - Chapter 222
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222. Even if Heaven and Earth Collapse, the Ceremony Will Proceed
Henan Province, Zhengzhou City, Seokjang Village
It was three in the afternoon. After lunch, Lee Wooseok went to visit the village chief. The chief, Seok Ilham, welcomed his future in-law with a smile.
“Hahaha! What brings you here? No, no, what am I saying? We’re practically family; you don’t need a reason to visit me. Come, take a seat, and let’s have some tea.”
Seok Ilham guided Lee Wooseok to the guest room with a friendly yet serious expression.
“I’ve heard your nephew has come. I’m glad to know you still have living family. Could you introduce him to me before the wedding?”
Always shrewd, Seok Ilham was already referring to Lee Wooseok as his in-law, making it clear that he had no intention of reconsidering the wedding.
“Actually, I came to talk to you about that.”
“What do you mean? Oh, yes, I almost forgot. The magistrate has confirmed that he will attend the wedding in two weeks. It’s a great honor that someone so busy is coming to our humble village. He says it’s an event of great importance, hahaha!”
Seok Ilham observed Lee Wooseok while smiling. The situation had reached a point where canceling the wedding would be nearly impossible.
Lee Wooseok didn’t look well. Breaking off an engagement that both families had agreed upon was not something easy.
“Are you worried about the preparations? Don’t worry, we’ll take care of everything. You just need to show up.”
Seok Ilham looked at him with a mix of kindness and firmness.
Under normal circumstances, Lee Wooseok wouldn’t have dared to bring up the topic. But his situation had changed. Now he felt like he had sold his daughter, and that weighed heavily on him.
“Sir, please cancel the engagement between our families.”
“What are you saying?”
“I haven’t been able to understand my daughter’s feelings. She doesn’t want this marriage. I’m very sorry, but we have to cancel it.”
“Yuhwa doesn’t want to get married?”
“That’s right.”
“That can’t be. A few days ago, she seemed to agree. Are you sure you’re not mistaken? Or have you changed your mind?”
The way Seok Ilham addressed him changed from “in-law” to “you.” His gaze, once kind, was now cold.
“My son may be a second husband, but he’s a good man. And this isn’t just between two people; the magistrate is involved. Are you willing to ruin our family’s reputation?”
Lee Wooseok paled at the mention of reputation. Renowned families value their honor above all. Breaking off the engagement would be an unprecedented humiliation for Seok Ilham.
Despite everything, Lee Wooseok didn’t back down. He knew that his own parents had sold his younger sister, and he didn’t want to repeat that mistake.
“I’m sorry. Tell them it was our fault. We’ll take full responsibility.”
“An apology won’t solve anything. Do you think people will blame your family? No, they’ll mock ours, saying we tried to reach too high and failed. I can’t allow that to happen. Don’t bring this up again if you don’t want someone to get hurt.”
Seok Ilham mentioned the possibility of death, his tone firm, and his gaze sharp, almost like a threat.
He actually had reasons to be so angry. When the wedding was announced, some acquaintances congratulated him, but others called him a thief. The young bride was famous for her beauty in Seokjang Village. That his forty-five-year-old son would take such a beautiful young woman as his wife provoked envy and ridicule.
He had endured those criticisms to push the marriage forward. Canceling it now, just two weeks before the ceremony, would be an unacceptable humiliation.
“Sir, please…”
“I’ve already informed the Seok family about the wedding, so don’t insist. Has your nephew intervened in some way? Why do you suddenly want to cancel the marriage? Everything was fine until yesterday.”
“Haa… Actually…”
With no other option, Lee Wooseok explained his embarrassing family story.
“A nephew I thought was dead has returned and told me many things. I can’t continue with this, knowing what I know. Moreover, my daughter doesn’t want this marriage. Please cancel the wedding.”
“I didn’t lend you money so your daughter would become my daughter-in-law.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you saying that? You didn’t sell Yuhwa; you just wanted to marry her into the best family in the village. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes.”
“Then the engagement stands. Convince your nephew. It’s not a big problem.”
“Sir.”
“The marriage between our families wasn’t affected by anything immoral. You know that. Go talk to your nephew.”
Even though Yuhwa had rejected the marriage, Seok Ilham blamed the nephew.
Lee Wooseok couldn’t say anything more in the face of the village chief’s unyielding attitude. Seok Ilham added, as if it were a final order:
“Even if heaven and earth collapse, this wedding will take place. Don’t cause any more trouble for this event, which is so important to Seokjang Village, and which even the magistrate will attend.”
Lee Wooseok’s expression darkened. He had hoped that with pleas, he could change things, but it was clear that wouldn’t be the case. The village chief was like a general who had burned his ships and had no intention of retreating. The Seok family’s reputation was at stake, and the wedding would go ahead at all costs.
In Bangsan, a Man and a Woman Climbed a Mountain.
Yeon Jeokha and his cousin Lee Sihwa had gone to their uncle’s house. Yeon Jeokha was there to chop wood, and Sihwa had decided to accompany him.
“Hey, have you ever chopped wood before?”
“No.”
“Then you’re in for some hard work.”
“It doesn’t matter. They say it’s good to work hard when you’re young.”
“Why don’t you just give the money for the burnt wood to my dad and relax?”
“You don’t understand; there are times when you need to spend money.”
“Isn’t this one of those times?”
“Why spend money on something I can do with a finger?”
Sihwa laughed incredulously.
“I can’t believe it. Do you think wood just appears on the mountain? Dad and Mom work hard to cut it and carry it. It’s hard work. There’s a reason people buy wood.”
“Do you think Uncle and Aunt just go to the mountain to chop wood? How naive you are!”
“Then what do they go for?”
“Don’t worry about that, little one.”
“I’m going to tell Dad you said weird things.”
“When did I say anything weird?”
“You just said that Dad and Mom don’t go to the mountain to chop wood.”
“Do you think they only chop wood? They also gather herbs and hunt rabbits.”
“Herbs in winter? Do you think I’m stupid? I’m going to tell them, just wait.”
“How much do you want?”
“Ten mon.”
Yeon Jeokha searched his pockets but didn’t find any coins. Finally, he pulled out a piece of silver and handed it to Sihwa.
“Ah! I don’t have change.”
“Keep it.”
Sihwa quickly took the silver and tucked it into her clothes.
“With this, we could buy more than ten loads of wood. You have money; why don’t you pay and avoid the work?”
“For Uncle, every coin counts now.”
“And you don’t mind giving me money?”
“No, you and I are in the same situation.”
“What do you mean by the same situation? You’re rich, and I’m poor.”
“You also grew up without your parents, like me.”
“What are you saying? You’re rich, and you say you don’t have parents? Where did all that money come from?”
“I earned it while having fun.”
“Haha! How do you earn money while having fun?”
Laughing and chatting, they arrived at a densely wooded area. Sihwa looked around and asked:
“Why have we come so far? There’s plenty of wood lower down. It’ll be hard to carry it all the way back.”
“I want to leave the nearby wood for Uncle. I can chop the wood that’s farther away.”
“Ah, sure, whatever you say. So, start chopping. You need to know how hard it is.”
“Why didn’t you stay home instead of coming here to complain?”
“I wanted to be with you so you wouldn’t get bored. Now chop the wood; it’s cold.”
“Are you cold?”
“It’s winter, of course, it’s cold.”
“Oh, I forgot.”
“Wow! How can you forget something like that? Every time you talk, you say something weird.”
“Wait a moment. You shouldn’t be cold.”
Yeon Jeokha started striking the nearby trees with his axe.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Crash!
Over ten trees fell cleanly.
The dense forest opened up a bit.
Yeon Jeokha lightly struck the fallen trees with his axe. Each blow cut them evenly.
In the time it took Sihwa to blink a few times, the firewood was piled waist-high.
When he finished, Yeon Jeokha lit a fire with a touch.
Fwhoosh.
A bonfire blazed brightly in the cold forest.
Sihwa, astonished, stood staring as Yeon Jeokha called out to her.
“Come here and warm up. I’ll be done in a moment.”
“Were you a woodcutter? You do it so quickly. How did you light the fire?”
“It’s not difficult. Just strike with the axe.”
“And the fire?”
“Did you know there’s fire and water inside the human body?”
“Here you go with your nonsense again.”
Sihwa shook her head. Her cousin always said strange things. Although he seemed like a good person, his comments were sometimes bewildering.
“Wow, this is incredible! If I told Old Shim about this, he’d write it all down.”
“Who’s Old Shim?”
“An old man who follows me around everywhere.”
“What’s that old man doing following you? Doesn’t he have anything better to do?”
“Well, you’re following me too.”
“I have nothing better to do.”
“Oh, right.”
Realizing he couldn’t win an argument with her, Yeon Jeokha turned back to continue working.
Sihwa, warming herself by the fire, watched her cousin handle the axe with ease. Compared to her father, who always ended up sweating just by chopping a little wood, Yeon Jeokha made it look like child’s play.
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