Episode 6. The Prodigal Son Returns (5)
Thump!
The person who jumped up from his seat was, unexpectedly, Yeon Ji-pyeong.
"Hold on a second. Don't you think you're taking this way too far?"
"What?!"
"It doesn't matter if you're a Namgung or not; there's a line you just don't cross!"
Yeon Ji-pyeong shouted, as if rebuking her.
"You need to apologize to Yang Woo!"
Namgung Sang-hwa, who was about to spew out a torrent of curses, tilted her head in confusion.
She thought he was telling her to apologize, but he was telling her to apologize to that loser on the ground.
What was he talking about?
"Slapping someone who hasn't done anything wrong? Is that how noble families act? Are the Namgung ladies really that trashy?"
"……What?"
"Breaking all the rules with your nasty words and hitting people for no reason? It's obviously your fault, lady! Apologize to Yang Woo, now!"
He stood tall.
Yeon Ji-pyeong stood there, back straight, yelling. He looked like a stiff bamboo stalk, even if he was a little awkward.
Yang Woo looked at Yeon Ji-pyeong with trembling eyes. Lee Jeong-hak was giving Yeon Ji-pyeong a very strange look.
Namgung Sang-hwa muttered in disbelief.
"What the hell is this idiot babbling about?"
To her, Yang Woo was just another face in the crowd, a nobody.
"Even my dog knows enough to be grateful. But this guy? He's not wagging his tail; he's biting the hand that feeds him."
"I was being nice by not breaking his legs."
"You're going to be sorry if you don't apologize. Last chance. Apologize."
"Disgraced?"
Namgung Sang-hwa burst into laughter.
Her high-pitched, sharp laughter was tinged with ridicule. Of course, laughing didn’t ease her anger.
"Just because people call you one of the 'Seven Great Families', you think you're hot stuff?"
"Even some kid from a washed-up martial arts school would know better and do what I'm doing, because it's the right thing to do."
Yeon Ji-pyeong’s eyes did not waver.
"Looks like someone didn't learn their manners."
Namgung Sang-hwa’s laughter stopped.
Whoooong!
"You clueless bastard!"
A murderous intent flickered in her eyes.
The vibe on the restaurant's fourth floor turned ice-cold, even worse than before.
"A shouting match is one thing, but that look in her eyes? That's something else entirely."
Yeon Ji-pyeong’s face also hardened.
"You're pathetic."
"Shut your mouth!"
There was no point in exchanging any more words; it would only increase her frustration.
Namgung Sang-hwa, breathing heavily, shouted at Lee Jeong-hak.
"Get that bastard on his knees in front of me, now!"
"Y-you mean me?"
Lee Jeong-hak’s eyes widened.
Namgung Sang-hwa’s cheek twitched.
"Do you want me to make it so your family can't even show their faces in Anhui?"
Lee Jeong-hak was genuinely flustered.
He'd tried to pass the buck to the Yeon family to avoid her wrath, but he never saw this coming.
"What are you doing? Move, now!"
"H-hey, Young Lady! We can't just go around picking fights with the Yeon family's heir...!"
Slap!
Drip.
Blood flowed from Lee Jeong-hak’s mouth. That slap was way harder than the one she gave Yang Woo.
"Cross me again, and I'll make your life, and your family's life, a living hell."
“……”
"Make him kneel."
Yang Woo’s face was filled with shock.
Sure, he was sucking up to her, but he never thought she'd treat Lee Jeong-hak like this. The Lee family might not be as big as the Namgungs, but they were still a big deal in Anhui.
Getting slapped and not even being able to say a word about it.
Lee Jeong-hak turned his body.
Lee Jeong-hak glared at Yeon Ji-pyeong, his eyes twisted with shame and fury.
Step, step.
Lee Jeong-hak slowly walked towards Yeon Ji-pyeong.
Yeon Ji-pyeong sighed.
He had a lot to say, but he too closed his mouth.
Namgung Sang-hwa shouted again.
"Stop dragging your feet and get that bastard over here, now!"
It was then.
"This whole thing has killed my appetite."
Yeon Ho-jeong rose from his seat.
Namgung Sang-hwa growled.
"Oh, you're next...!"
Pow!
Everyone’s eyes widened in an instant.
"Keuheok!"
Lee Jeong-hak staggered backward.
He took a gut punch, no warning. His stomach flipped, and his legs turned to jelly.
Yeon Ho-jeong’s left hand reached for Lee Jeong-hak’s hair.
Crack!
"Keuk!"
He was grabbed by the hair.
That's something a street punk would do, not some fancy martial artist trained in the 'right' way.
Flustered, Lee Jeong-hak grabbed Yeon Ho-jeong’s wrist.
"Hey! Let go of my hair!"
Then, Yeon Ho-jeong twisted his wrist.
Lee Jeong-hak went flying, spun around, and landed flat on his back.
Whoom! Bang!
"Keok!"
Yeon Ho-jeong coldly raised his foot.
Lee Jeong-hak's face, already twisted in pain, went slack with shock.
Thwack!
"Kuaaaaak!"
Lee Jeong-hak screamed and rolled on the floor. His nose was busted, and his front teeth were gone.
Yeon Ho-jeong brushed the blood splattered on his trouser leg and said,
"Don't try to dump your problems on other people."
"Cough! Keheok!"
"We're even."
Everyone’s face was filled with astonishment.
That included Yeon Ji-pyeong. Even though he was watching right there, he had no clue what Yeon Ho-jeong had just done.
He'd never seen a move and not understood it before. He was totally confused and shocked by how brutal his brother was being.
"Bro- Brother!"
"Pyeong-ah."
"Yes?"
"Next time something like this goes down, don't waste time talking unless you absolutely have to."
“……?”
"Do you think people who listen to reason act like this in public? These guys are already bad news."
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes gleamed.
"If you want to teach them a lesson, knock them down first, then talk."
That was a harsh thing to say.
Yeon Ho-jeong walked towards Namgung Sang-hwa. He glanced at Yang Woo, but his eyes were totally blank, like he didn't even care.
Namgung Sang-hwa’s face contorted.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Yeon Ho-jeong remained silent. He just kept walking towards Namgung Sang-hwa, calm and steady, like he was taking a walk in the park.
He was totally ignoring her. Namgung Sang-hwa lost it.
"You son of a bitch! Don't you dare ignore me!"
Cheeeeee!
A dangerous energy started radiating off Namgung Sang-hwa.
This was a whole different level of power than Lee Jeong-hak had. Yeon Ho-jeong's eyes lit up.
‘Azure Sky Qi, huh.’
That was Azure Sky Qi, from one of the Namgung Family's prized inner energy techniques. It was a top-tier method, supposed to be the foundation of all their martial arts.
‘She’s got talent, no doubt.’
Was she even eighteen?
That was some serious power for someone her age. She was definitely top-tier.
But Namgung Sang-hwa had one major flaw.
"Get on your knees, right now! If you beg nicely, maybe I'll let you off easy..."
Whoosh!
"Heok!"
Namgung Sang-hwa jumped.
Yeon Ho-jeong, who had been walking at a constant pace, had suddenly increased his speed. If you weren't ready for it, that kind of move would freak you out.
Namgung Sang-hwa’s right hand instinctively swung out.
Pararaak!
Her hand sliced through the air, razor-sharp. She might be a bitch, but she knew her martial arts.
Yeon Ho-jeong’s hand moved to meet it.
Namgung Sang-hwa smirked.
‘Dumbass!’
He was stupid enough to try and block her Heavenly Wind Palm head-on. She could split a log in half with that move now.
Trying to block the Heavenly Wind Palm barehanded? He'd be lucky if his hand and shoulder weren't completely shattered.
Namgung Sang-hwa poured even stronger Azure Sky Qi into her hand.
It was then.
Whiririk!
‘Huh?!’
Yeon Ho-jeong’s hand twisted like a snake and climbed up Namgung Sang-hwa’s wrist.
It was like he was made of rubber. It wasn't as fast as her Heavenly Wind Palm, but it was so perfectly timed she couldn't get away.
Yeon Ho-jeong's fingers jammed into her elbow, right on the Crooked Pond pressure point.
Crack!
"Aaaaaaah!"
Namgung Sang-hwa screamed and staggered backward.
The Azure Sky Qi flowing to her hand just... stopped. Her whole right arm, the one she'd used for the Heavenly Wind Palm, went numb.
"Wh-what kind of black magic is this...!"
Snap!
“……Huh?”
Namgung Sang-hwa blankly looked down at her leg.
Her left leg was twisted inward, bent in a way a leg shouldn't be able to bend.
That's when it hit her: her leg was broken.
"Kuaaaaaak!"
Thump!
Namgung Sang-hwa crumpled to the ground.
It wasn't that she was careless. She could have dodged it, but she didn't.
She figured if she backed off, he'd wait for her. That's how all her sparring matches had gone.
But Yeon Ho-jeong didn't fight fair.
Once you started a fight with him, it was all-out until someone gave up or died. That was the Black Path way.
"Gah! You... you bastard! You broke my leg?! You and your whole family are dead meat!"
Snap!
"Kuaaak!"
Namgung Sang-hwa screamed again. Her left arm was also broken.
Namgung Sang-hwa was about to curse him out again, but she froze.
He was staring down at her with cold, empty eyes. There was nothing human in that look.
He was looking at her like she was a thing, not a person. That's how Yeon Ho-jeong saw her; that was how he felt.
"What are you going to do?"
"Ugh, what, what do you mean?"
"So, how are you planning to kill me and my family?"
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled.
That smile sent shivers down Namgung Sang-hwa and Yang Woo's spines.
"You're a funny one. Planning to haunt me after I kill you?"
The words were even scarier than the smile.
Come back as a ghost? He was basically saying he was going to kill her.
That's when it finally hit Namgung Sang-hwa: she'd messed with the wrong person.
She stammered and said.
"I-if word gets back to the main family about this, they'll never forgive you!"
"Really?"
"Yes! So, release me right now…!"
Bang!
Yeon Ho-jeong, kicking and breaking a chair, picked up one of the broken chair legs.
"Then I guess I'll just have to kill you and bury the evidence. That way, nobody from Namgung will ever know, right?"
Namgung Sang-hwa went white as a sheet.
"You…!"
Thwack!
She didn't even scream this time. He hit her in the head, and she just went down.
She should have been out cold, but somehow, her mind was sharper than ever, which made the pain even worse.
Terror flooded Namgung Sang-hwa's face.
She realized this psycho was actually capable of killing her.
Tssssssss.
Behind that terrifying face, the killer instinct of the legendary Black Abyss Grandmaster was starting to surface.
You smile at him, he smiles back. But you lay a hand on him, and he'll destroy you. It doesn't matter if it's a shove or a knife. Once you hurt him, he'll come at you and won't stop until you're ripped to pieces.
That was the Black Abyss Emperor, the Black Fortress Lord, the reason all those outlaws bowed down to the Black Path Grandmaster.
"Now, stop talking and tell me what I want to hear."
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled, raised the club, and started swinging. Hard. Thwack, thwack, thwack!
