ML Chapter 32

“There was a major battle two days ago. One hundred elites from our main house clashed with two hundred vanguard troops from the Hengshan Sword Sect at Hunzhou.”

“There was a battle?”

And a large one involving hundreds of troops, at that. My heart sank for a moment, but then I remembered Wi-peng’s earlier words.

Good news and better news. I’d already heard the outcome, in a way.

“We won, didn’t we?”

“A great victory. Less than thirty escaped alive. About the same as our casualties.”

Judging by the scar running from Wi-peng’s forehead to chin, it must have been an intense battle.

Well, they did outnumber us two to one.

Anyway, thank goodness we won. For the Taiyuan Jin Family, this was a battle where they committed nearly half their fighting force. A loss would have been devastating.

“It’s a shame we missed the Hengshan Sect Master, but capturing the Twin Ghosts of Hengshan was a great achievement.”

“Twin Ghosts of Hengshan?”

“Yes, the Twin Ghosts of Hengshan. They were masters under the Hengshan Sword Sect… their loyalty was remarkable. They fought with such disregard for their lives that we had no choice but to kill them.”

Wi-peng touched his fresh scar.

“If we’d captured them, we could have extracted important information.”

“You—I mean, Senior Wi killed them?”

“My lord and I each took one. They were decent.”

I was speechless watching Wi-peng casually sip his tea.

Holy shit… are masters just a joke to him?

It was the fiercest battle of my 27 years of life. I suffered all kinds of internal injuries and got sliced up like a steak. Even then I was out for five days—practically had a spa day at the River Styx.

Yet he takes down a master of that caliber and calls them “decent”?

This guy’s a complete monster.

This incident made one thing clear: there are levels even among masters. Thank god such powerful people are on my side.

“By the way.”

Clatter.

Wi-peng set down his teacup and fixed me with a peculiar gaze.

“You were impressive.”

“What?”

“One Strike One Kill Jo Pil. Taking him down is beyond what ‘impressive’ can describe.”

You guys seem way more impressive to me.

This feels like an A-rank hunter praising me for killing goblins well.

“Ah, yes. Well, thank you.”

I wanted to wrap up the Jo Pil discussion there. My condition and mood weren’t great, plus I wanted to check my pending system rewards.

Let’s rest now. I’m still a patient, damn it.

I winked to convey this meaning, making Wi-peng frown.

“Is your eye hurting? Should I call a physician?”

“…No, I’m fine.”

“You just had a spasm around your eye.”

“That wasn’t a spasm.”

“Yes, it was. I saw it clearly.”

“No, that was—”

Just then, Wi-peng rolled his eyes back and started trembling violently.

The table shook and tea spilled from the cups. I cried out in shock.

“Oh my god, Senior Wi!”

This guy must have epilepsy. Wait, how does a master have epilepsy?

As I hurriedly tried to stand, the trembling stopped. Wi-peng returned to normal and said calmly:

“That’s what you did.”

“Are you alri— wait, what?”

“That’s what you just did, Third Young Master. You had a spasm in your eye.”

“So you were… imitating me?”

What kind of weirdo is this…

I tried to explain the difference between a wink and a seizure but was struck speechless. Wi-peng was glaring at me like an angry dictator.

“…Should we just continue talking about Jo Pil?”

“Let’s do that.”

Wi-peng nodded with satisfaction.

Fucking weirdo.

In the end, I had to recount my fight with Jo Pil from start to finish.

How he moved, what martial arts he used. There were tense moments due to Wi-peng’s sharp questions.

“You cut Jo Pil’s leg tendons with a dagger?”

“Yes. I had it hidden beforehand.”

“Jo Pil couldn’t have missed that… please continue.”

When the long story finally ended, Wi-peng released his held breath. His complex emotions showed clearly in his gaze.

“Third Young Master. You’ve achieved something tremendous.”

“Ah, thank y—”

“I hate to admit it, but I’m sincere.”

“…Ah, yes.”

“Thinking of all the trouble you’ve caused makes my blood boil, but I’m truly impressed. Sincerely.”

“Who would have thought? The Third Young Master who spent his days stealing clan funds for brothels, stumbling drunk through the streets and smearing mud on the family name, would become such a great person. I, Wi-peng, am sincerely amazed.”

Just curse me out directly, you bastard…

Barely holding back a stream of profanity, I said:

“I got lucky. Jo Pil let his guard down too.”

Wi-peng shook his head.

“No. It was all skill. Excuses about someone letting their guard down or hidden daggers don’t matter. If Jo Pil could be killed by such things alone, he wouldn’t have been One Strike One Kill Jo Pil. The martial world is a place where only the strong survive.”

“Only the strong survive.”

I rolled those words on my tongue.

Bitter and sweet somehow. The martial world—this game—was always such a place. I survived there, and grew stronger.

“Jo Pil unleashed all his martial arts. In the end, he even drew upon his primordial qi. A master trying to kill you while sacrificing his own life. But what was the result?”

“I won.”

“Yes. Exactly that.”

“Then I was stronger than Jo Pil?”

Wi-peng, who had been looking disgruntled, turned serious.

“What are you saying? Jo Pil was stronger. Do you think masters are a joke?”

“You were just strong enough to kill Jo Pil through ambush.”

Seriously, enough of this.

As I considered pulling a weapon from my inventory, Wi-peng smirked. His first smile I’d seen.

“Well done.”

I looked at Wi-peng suspiciously.

“What are you going to add this time?”

His smile deepened.

“I’m sincere. Though it’s true I quite disliked you… this time I have no choice but to acknowledge you.”

When he puts it like that, I have nothing to say. Feeling somehow embarrassed, I forced a cough.

“cough Well, I nearly died, but all I did was take down Jo Pil and a few vagrants. cough“

“How many masters do you think exist in one province? Even in all of Shanxi where our main house is located, there aren’t even twenty.”

Twenty. A far smaller number than expected.

“The Hengshan Sword Sect must have taken quite a hit. Losing three masters like that.”

“But the biggest blow is something else.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s…” Just as Wi-peng opened his mouth.

“Justification. The justification for starting this war is gone. Because the Third Young Master of the Taiyuan Jin Family is plenty strong without using poison. Yes indeed.”

A trembling voice from the doorway.

The giant Jin Wi-gyeong spread his arms with tears in his eyes.

“My youngest!”

Please just leave me alone.

In the end, I had to replay the chase and battle with Jo Pil one more time.

“Then the vagrants who were pursuing the survivors…”

“Those sons of bitches who deserve to be torn apart!”

BANG!

“Jo Pil’s Divine Flame Palm caused internal injuries…”

“That bastard! How dare that vicious vagrants! Even ripping out his organs and chewing them up wouldn’t be enough!”

BANG BANG BANG!

I stared blankly at the devastated bedroom. The result of Jin Wi-gyeong’s excessive immersion.

Wi-peng had already moved far away and was mouthing words.

• Better not tell that story again.

For the first time, we were in complete agreement.

Jin Wi-gyeong finally calmed down after huffing and puffing for a while…

“If that bastard were alive, he wouldn’t have died peacefully.”

Crunch. I watched sadly as the bed corner crumbled to dust. Wi-peng shook his head.

“My lord. Please calm down. You’re making the Young Master nervous.”

This time the words definitely had an effect.

Seeing me sitting sadly wrapped in bandages, Jin Wi-gyeong’s eyes reddened.

“Look at our youngest. How much must this child have suffered to be so shell-shocked?”

GRAB!

A hand like a pot lid grabbed my shoulder and pulled. I’m pretty big myself, but this guy is practically a small ogre. I trembled in fear as he hugged me to his broad chest.

“There, there, youngest. It’s alright now. It’s alright.”

After finishing his one-sided emotional embrace, Jin Wi-gyeong sniffled.

“I thought you’d always be a child… but you’ve grown up now. Wi-peng, you know what?”

Wi-peng answered without taking a breath.

“Yes. You don’t need to tell me.”

Of course, Jin Wi-gyeong ignored him completely.

“Word is spreading not just through the main house but even to the streets. The story of a hero who led a suicide squad to raid enemy territory, defeated One Strike One Kill Jo Pil and a hundred vagrants, and rescued the Shuozhou Branch members.”

“Wow, that’s amaz— What?”

I blinked. Wait. Was that story about me?

“Um, I think there’s some misunderstanding here.”

“Yes, my lord, there’s a misunderstand—” Jin Wi-gyeong smiled contentedly.

“Our youngest is so modest. Wi-peng, shut your mouth.”

“No, it’s not modesty, the rumors seem distorted.”

“Indeed. I understand you cherish the Young Master, but this is too much. If rumors are too far-fetched, people won’t believe…”

“Rumors? Far-fetched?”

BOOM!

Wi-peng’s voice was buried in the thunderous noise. I gaped at the gaping hole in the bedroom wall.

What the hell are you doing, you madman?

Jin Wi-gyeong extended his fist again. With the sound of compressed air exploding, what remained of the wall collapsed.

As wood and bricks rained down from the two-story pavilion, people outside raised an outcry.

“Third Young Master! The Third Young Master’s quarters are collapsing!”

“Call people! Quickly!”

While everyone was still in shock, Jin Wi-gyeong lifted my body high.

Let go. Let go, you crazy bastard!

Though I struggled with all my might, I couldn’t match Jin Wi-gyeong. Terror swept over me with each step he took toward the blown-out wall.

He’s planning to drop me!

Over fifty people had gathered below. It might be called the second floor, but given the pavilion’s size, it was at least ten meters high. The gusting wind was dizzying.

If I fall, that’s fractured bones minimum.

Even as chills ran down my spine, more people kept gathering. Over fifty people craned their necks to look up at us.

“What’s going on? Wasn’t there an accident?”

“It’s the Lesser Family Head, but who’s he holding?”

“The Third Young Master! It’s the Third Young Master!”

Someone’s shout spread ripples through the crowd.

“The Third Young Master? No, that Third Young Master?”

“The Third Young Master who defeated One Strike One Kill Jo Pil has awakened!”

What is this situation? As my eyes and ears spun, a solemn voice rang out clearly.

“Do you see?”

“Ah, yes, I can see, but please put me do—”

“Do you hear?”

“Yes, I can hear too, but first—”

“What do you feel?”

“Embarrassment. And shame.”

“They believe in you. They’re calling your name!”

“No, you fucking bastard.”

The final curse was buried under the crowd’s shouts.

“Third Young Master! Third Young Master!”

Dozens more had gathered in that brief moment. Countless gazes flew up and pierced me.

No, what is this.

That’s when Jin Wi-gyeong, with a grave expression, stuck his hands under my armpits. Then lifted me high.

Right on cue, thunderous cheers erupted.

• WAAAAAAAH!
• Third Young Master! Jin Tae-kyung!
• Hidden Dragon of Shanxi! Hidden Dragon of Shanxi!

And…

Fuck. This isn’t The Lion King or something.

In my ears, the BGM of an old animation played.