Chapter 8. What Comes Before Family Rules (2)
Namgung Daesan's face turned as red as a ripe persimmon.
"How dare you call her a wretched girl? Watch your tongue!"
"You're the one who should watch your tongue."
Yeonwi wasn't as angry as Namgung Daesan, and he didn't flaunt his power.
He was calm and composed. His signature blunt expression remained unchanged.
"Have you actually figured out what happened?"
"Cause and effect? Are you serious?! What the hell did you hear? Even if they argued, he broke the arms and legs of a young woman? How did the Family Head raise a son like that?!"
He was being incredibly rude, but it wasn't hard to see why Namgung Daesan was furious.
Even if she wasn't his daughter, his favorite niece was seriously injured. Anyone would be furious.
Yeonwi understood how Namgung Daesan felt.
But he couldn't let his words and actions slide, nor Namgung Sanghwa's.
"I'm actually disappointed my son held back as much as he did."
"What!"
"If it were me, I would never have forgiven someone who not only mocked my family but even tried to kill me."
Yeonwi's voice turned slightly colder.
"My son's mercy is the only reason your family's girl is still alive. You should be grateful."
"You... you bastard!"
Furious, Namgung Daesan trembled.
However, he couldn't explode with anger any further.
The Yeon Family Head was repeating the same things he'd initially ignored. Hearing it again made Namgung Daesan calm down a little.
'Mocked the family and tried to kill his son? What is he talking about?'
As if reading his mind, Yeonwi said,
"I heard that your Sanghwa, while drunk, said that Namgung had never considered our branch to be equal to the Seven Great Clans."
Namgung Daesan gritted his teeth.
"And you think that's mocking your family? Just because of that...!"
"I don't think the words of some child who hasn't even learned to control herself represent Namgung's will. Besides, she was drunk, so you can just write it off as drunken nonsense."
Even though he knew it was true, Namgung Daesan became even angrier. The Yeon Family Head was calling his beloved niece undisciplined, a drunkard.
How could he not be angry?
"But if she showed she wanted to kill them and ordered Yeon's children to kneel, that's a different story."
"Wh-what did you say?"
"Trying to kill them and humiliate them? I have no idea how the Namgung Family Head has been raising his children."
Namgung Daesan's eyes wavered.
Even though its history was short, the Byeoksan Yeon Family was one of the Seven Great Clans.
Being named one of the Seven Great Clans after only fifty years in the Central Plains meant the Yeon Family was just as strong as the others.
No, their potential was probably even greater. A weak family wouldn't be mentioned alongside the greatest clans in the Murim world.
Namgung Sanghwa had not only tried to kill the sons of such a family but had even humiliated them.
"Unbelievable!"
Namgung Daesan's face flushed red again.
"Do you have any proof? If you're going to insult Namgung based only on your son's word...!"
"This is between the children of the Seven Great Clans. Do you think I'd be careless about something like that?"
"Ugh! Then bring them here! I want to hear it directly from your son...!"
"Listen here, Namgung Leader."
Yeonwi's gaze intensified.
"Do I look like I'm joking right now?"
"..."
"My children were insulted and threatened. Honestly, I want to cut off your niece's head right now."
"But my point is!"
"Even if the Namgung Family Head himself came to apologize, it wouldn't be enough, and now some Outer Clan Leader comes here and causes all this trouble?"
Yeonwi said nothing more.
"Do you want to die?"
Flash!
A subtle killing intent radiated from Yeonwi's eyes, which hadn't lost their calm.
Feeling that killing intent, Namgung Daesan felt like he'd stepped into an ice cave. It was so cold and sharp that his inner energy stirred on its own.
"If this is what Namgung wants, fine. I'll see for myself how sharp Namgung's sword is. I'll cut off your head and take it to Namgung myself."
Namgung Daesan shouted involuntarily at the chilling voice.
"W-Wait a moment!"
"Do you have something to say?"
Namgung Daesan swallowed hard.
He only felt the razor-sharp killing intent, nothing more. Yeonwi remained calm and collected.
But Namgung Daesan could tell from just the killing intent. Yeonwi's martial arts were on a level he couldn't even imagine.
"Hold on. I think I might have misunderstood."
"Misunderstood? Do you really think you can say something that stupid to me right now?"
Namgung Daesan bit his lip.
Even he knew it was a prideful and childish thing to do.
But he had no choice. He wasn't confident he could handle Yeonwi, and if Yeonwi was telling the truth, this could escalate into something huge.
'Damn it!'
He regretted it. His brothers all held important positions in Namgung, but he was still just the Outer Clan Leader.
Inside the family, he was treated like a key member, but he was still just a Leader. His older brother, the Family Head, didn't give him much power.
It was because he was too hot-headed. Afraid he'd mess up external affairs, his brother had kept him as a Leader even at his age.
He'd resented it more than once, but maybe his older brother was right.
"For now…"
His mouth was dry.
Namgung Daesan, swallowing his pride, gritted his teeth and said,
"I apologize for barging in here without knowing the whole story."
"..."
"I was so angry about my niece that I lost my head. I'm ashamed to face the Family Head."
Yeonwi silently stared at Namgung Daesan.
His gaze was piercing. Namgung Daesan's mouth opened involuntarily.
"I-I'll look into things again. So, about what happened today..."
"Don't worry. I won't forget it."
"Family Head!"
"I'll make sure everyone in the White Path of Murim knows about this. If your family doesn't apologize properly..."
Namgung Daesan's face turned pale.
This was it. This was what he was worried about.
If everything Yeonwi said was true, the Namgung Family's reputation would be ruined. And he'd be responsible, along with Namgung Sanghwa.
It was a huge problem. He'd charged in here out of anger, and now his hot-headedness was going to drag the family's name through the mud.
"F-Family Head…"
"Get out of my sight."
"..."
"I'll be watching very closely to see what your family does."
Yeonwi turned his back.
Namgung Daesan, biting his lip, left through the south gate. The entrance he'd smashed his way through now looked like the jaws of hell.
And so, Namgung Daesan left the Yeon Family.
Yeonwi shook his head, looking at the broken south gate.
"What a waste."
It was a waste, but it was better this way.
"Where is the Chief Manager?"
"You called for me, Family Head!"
A slender man came running from a distance. He'd learned martial arts, but he didn't seem very skilled.
The man, who looked to be in his mid-thirties, was Taegyeong, the Chief Manager of the Yeon Family.
"Tell Elder Sang of the Construction Department to build a new gate. Tell him to use better wood than last time."
"Ah, yes!"
Taegyeong said with a somewhat anxious face.
"But Family Head. Are you alright?"
"Hmm?"
"Weren't you too harsh…?"
It seemed he had watched everything from afar.
Yeonwi shook his head.
"Clean this up first, and thoroughly investigate everything tomorrow."
"Ah, yes! I understand."
Leaving the cleanup to Taegyeong, Yeonwi walked alone towards the inner courtyard.
At that moment, a shadow appeared.
It was Yeon Hojeong.
"Father."
Yeonwi was not surprised. He had already sensed his first son's presence.
"It's late. Go to bed."
"I can't fall asleep."
Yeonwi stopped walking and looked at Yeon Hojeong.
The moon was especially bright tonight. Stepping out of the building's shadow, his eldest son's eyes looked incredibly deep in the moonlight.
Yeonwi was about to tell him to go to bed again, but he suddenly felt like asking his son a question.
"What do you think?"
"What do you mean?"
"What do you think the Namgung Family will do?"
Yeonwi didn't know why he suddenly asked that question.
However, Yeon Hojeong's answer surprised him inwardly.
"The important thing isn't the Namgung Family; it's our family, right?"
"What do you mean?"
"Even if the Namgung Family doesn't apologize, you're going to let this go, aren't you?"
"Why do you think so?"
"There's no need to burn down the house just to shake off some dust from our clothes, is there?"
He could even think that far ahead.
Putting aside the clumsy analogy, Yeonwi thought his son's insight wasn't bad. No, considering how he'd been up until now, it was a huge improvement.
Maybe he'd been arrogant to think he knew his son so well.
Yeonwi, who had been watching Yeon Hojeong intently, turned his back again.
"Do you think this is something small that we can just ignore?"
"Yes?"
"You are my son."
Yeon Hojeong blinked.
Yeonwi, having finished speaking, was already walking far away. His gait was no different from usual.
Yeon Hojeong, staring blankly at his father's back, scratched his head.
"Who doesn't know that?"
The next day.
"Ugh."
The cool autumn breeze did not cool his body.
Droplets of sweat were already forming puddles. But Yeon Hojeong's posture remained unchanged.
Creak.
The door opened, and Yeon Jipyeong appeared.
"Brother, I'm here… huh?!"
Yeon Jipyeong's eyes widened.
"Brother, what are you doing?"
"Can't you see? I'm training in the horse stance."
"H-Horse stance?"
Yeon Jipyeong was understandably taken aback.
The horse stance strengthens your lower body, and it's the foundation of all martial arts. But there was no reason for his brother, who'd mastered the Flying Swallow Art, to be doing something so basic. If he wanted to train his body, there were plenty of other ways.
Yeon Hojeong frowned.
"This is a punishment given by Father."
"Punishment is a horse stance? Wait, how long have you been like this?"
"Miosi (5-7 AM)."
"What! It's been almost four hours already?!"
"Not much left."
Yeon Hojeong's body wasn't fully developed yet. Doing a horse stance for half a day without using inner energy would be torture for anyone.
Yeon Hojeong grumbled inwardly.
'Doing this won't change anything.'
Early in the morning, he had received a message from his father through Chief Manager Taegyeong.
'Given the circumstances, it doesn't look like you did anything wrong. But you have one sin. The sin of a warrior. Cruelty only leads to more bloodshed, and that's not the White Path. Spend two shichen in horse stance to remember your original intentions.'
If horse stance training could change his personality, he wouldn't have survived in the Black Path.
At first, he thought it was pointless, but he still did it diligently, treating it like training. He reviewed the Flying Swallow Art and thought about what he needed to do next.
Yeon Jipyeong whispered softly.
"Brother, you can stop now. It's almost been four hours."
"It's alright."
He didn't really think it was a sin, but what could he do with the family being like this? He'd probably have a lot to complain about, but he figured he should at least try to get used to it.
A little later, when it was a bit past four hours.
Only then did Yeon Hojeong release his horse stance.
"Ugh, my legs are wobbly."
"Are you tired? Wait a moment, I'll bring you food."
It was then.
Thump. Thump.
Someone was knocking on the main gate.
"Is the Eldest Young Master here?"
"Ugh, who is it?"
"The Family Head is calling for the Eldest Young Master."
Yeon Hojeong grumbled as if it were annoying.
"Guess he's here to check my homework. Sigh, geez."
