novelraw Chapter 153 : Chapter 153
Chapter 153 : Chapter 153
Chapter 153 - Welcome
A place that no one paid attention to anymore.
There was a man who appeared alone in the main building of the Yi Family Clan.
It was the elder of the True Dragon Sect, Iron-Faced Cloud Dragon Yubeop.
Grind.
An unpleasant sound leaked from within Yubeop’s mouth.
‘Insolent brat…….’
Yubeop was mulling over his conversation with Biyoung from a moment ago.
What?
Only bring the strong ones?
Although the history of the True Dragon Sect was not that long, it was strictly a part of the Nine Sects One Union.
It was incomparable to the Diancang Sect, whose very foundations had been completely blown away.
However, Biyoung had advised him with an attitude of utmost confidence.
He had told him to bring only the most powerful of the younger generation.
‘He’s a strange one in many ways.’
Let's say he could be rude because he was like a wild brat.
But Biyoung didn't even flinch at the internal energy he had subtly released.
Even the swordsmen he had brought with him couldn't withstand that internal energy for more than a few seconds.
‘That means his internal energy is much more solid than that of the third-generation disciples…….’
It was incomprehensible.
Occasionally, those with a talent for the sword were born, but with internal energy, there was no such possibility.
Looking at his age, he didn't even seem to be twenty yet.
Most of the third-generation disciples of the True Dragon Sect were five or six years older than Biyoung.
They were diligent and talented kids, so much so that Yubeop personally took them around.
He couldn't believe that Biyoung's internal energy was superior to that of the children who had grown up in the fertile soil of the True Dragon Sect.
“Have you arrived, Elder?”
From inside the main building, a man with a small build came out to greet him.
It was the Family Head of the Yi Family Clan, Yi Gwon-su.
“I have just finished speaking with the Sect Leader of the Diancang Sect.”
“Then……?”
“We have agreed to have a sparring match with the Diancang Sect soon.”
“It went as you wished. Thank you so much.”
A ray of hope flashed across Yi Gwon-su’s face.
In fact, it was Yi Gwon-su, not Yubeop, who had first brought up the sparring match with the Diancang Sect.
Although he couldn't openly oppose them with so many eyes watching, Yi Gwon-su quickly thought and chose the next best option.
The position of the Family Head of the Yi Family Clan was not a seat one could win by sitting around playing mahjong.
If the Diancang Sect, which Sedong had chosen, were to be utterly crushed in a sparring match against the True Dragon Sect, his declaration of entry would also lose its meaning.
‘And it would be even better if everyone watched that scene.’
The image of the Diancang Sect martial artists being thrown out while splattering blood was drawn in Yi Gwon-su’s mind.
He bowed his head repeatedly to Yubeop with a triumphant smile.
“Thanks to you, I will be able to relieve a great deal of my worries. Our Yi Family Manor will continue to maintain a close relationship with the True Dragon Sect in the future.”
“That is what I desire as well.”
Something akin to a smile appeared on the lips of Iron-Faced Cloud Dragon Yubeop.
The sparring match with the Diancang Sect was something they also wanted.
The sect that was kicked out of the Nine Sects One Union and the sect that took its vacant place.
Even a dog in the marketplace could guess that the two sects could not maintain a good relationship.
He had been concerned about the rumors spreading throughout Yunnan anyway.
If they were to crush the Diancang Sect in front of everyone, the baseless rumors circulating among the public would subside as if they had never existed.
On the other hand, he also intended to instill confidence in the third-generation disciples.
If the disciples, who had little experience in Jianghu, were to crush the pushovers of the Diancang Sect and gain practical experience, it would be an excellent form of nourishment.
Elder Yubeop, who was picturing the sparring match in his head, made a request.
“Ah. I have one favor to ask.”
“What is it? Just say the word, Elder.”
“On the day the sparring match is held, please gather as many people as possible. The juniors will enjoy brandishing their swords more if there are many people watching, wouldn't they?”
“Of course. I will gather so many spectators that there won't be any room to stand.”
Was this where the expression ‘your mind is my mind’ came from?
With their conversation flowing so smoothly, Yi Gwon-su was once again convinced.
That it was the right thing to continue the business with a sect with the True Dragon Sect.
“I’m looking forward to it. To see what the result of the sparring match will be.”
***
The prison house of the Yi Family Clan.
“Sedong!”
“Y-Young Master!”
Yi Hae-dong and Steward So Hyeon, locked up side by side with a wall between them.
As if they had coordinated, they lunged forward and called out to Sedong with desperate voices.
Sedong looked at the two with low, sunken eyes.
“It’s a misunderstanding, Sedong. All of this is a misunderstanding! How could I have done such a terrible thing to you?”
“It’s the same for me, Young Master. How many years have I served by your side, Young Master? How could I have dared to do such a thing?”
Sedong gave a bitter smile.
To deny it like this even when all the circumstances were clear.
He could see how naive they had thought he was all this time.
“Stop it.”
Sedong’s voice was soft and gentle.
However, his eyes were burning hotly like a torch.
“The Sedong who used to take beatings whenever he was hit no longer exists.”
“…………!”
At the completely changed appearance of Sedong, the two were at a loss for words.
“Still, because of the years we spent together, I just came to deliver the contents of your punishment myself.”
“P-punishment?”
At the word punishment, Yi Hae-dong’s face turned pale.
When Sedong appeared at the prison house, he had been hoping that he would show leniency.
That's why he had planned to shamelessly shift all the blame onto So Hyeon.
Had the investigation related to the Three-Eyed Snake Soup already been completed?
“First, Steward So Hyeon.”
Sedong’s indifferent gaze turned to the steward who had been with him his whole life, So Hyeon.
Perhaps out of shame, So Hyeon lowered his eyes and only stared at the floor.
“It seems that besides the Three-Eyed Snake Soup, the amount of the main family's assets you siphoned off is considerable.”
“…………!”
When had he figured it out to that extent?
So Hyeon’s face hardened.
“After confiscating all the assets you have accumulated, I plan to hand you over to the authorities.”
“!”
“Since the main family has already decided on your banishment, you won’t have a place to set foot even after you’ve paid for your crimes.”
“Young Family Head!”
So Hyeon called out to Sedong with a voice like a scream.
If the money he had saved his whole life and his position as a steward of the Yi Family Clan were taken from him?
All that would be left was a worn-out, shabby body on the verge of sixty.
No.
He couldn’t be sure if he could even survive in prison before he finished paying for his crimes.
It was, in effect, a death sentence.
“Next is you, older brother.”
As if he couldn’t hear So Hyeon’s wails at all, Sedong turned his head towards Yi Hae-dong.
“Brother, you go to Anping and open a cloth store. The Jinju Eon Family is on good terms with our main family, so they will help you.”
“What…… what did you say?”
Anyone who didn’t know the inner story would tilt their head at those words.
He said he was going to give a punishment, but now he was saying he would open a cloth store for him?
However, Yi Hae-dong’s brutally crumpled expression said it all.
That for the eldest son of the Yi Family Clan, it was an extremely harsh punishment.
“Are you telling me to run a shop in the marketplace? No, apart from that, Anping! Are you really trying to drive this older brother to his death!”
Anping was a city located in Hebei Province, a region on the complete opposite side of the vast Central Plains from Yunnan.
No matter how powerful the Yi Family Clan was, the moment they stepped out of Yiliang County, they couldn't escape the status of unknown nobodies.
Not another county in Yunnan, but Anping in Hebei Province, meant that no one would know Yi Hae-dong.
He would have to run the shop purely on his own strength.
A nobleman who had lived a life of luxury, receiving the services of servants his entire life.
“Absurd! I’d rather die than live crammed in a marketplace!”
“Then do so.”
“W-what did you say?”
“If your wish is to meet your fate, I’m telling you to bite your tongue right there.”
Yi Hae-dong doubted both his eyes and his ears.
Was this child in front of him the same person as his innocent, deer-like, bright younger brother?
“I’ve delivered the message, so I’ll be going. I hope we don’t see each other’s faces for the rest of our lives.”
“S-Sedong!”
“Young Family Head!”
Despite their desperate voices, Sedong turned his back without hesitation.
Thump, thump.
His slumped shoulders gave a sorrowful impression, but his firm steps never stopped.
***
“Kyahaha! Welcome, Junior Brother!”
Hyeokri Hong jumped up and down, her face blooming with a smile.
In terms of age and the order of joining the sect, she was the youngest in everything.
As someone who liked to be treated like an adult, it was a situation she didn’t quite like, but a jackpot named Sedong had rolled in.
She had already taken a liking to Sedong’s cute appearance and gentle personality.
“I look forward to working with you, Senior Sister.”
“Of course! Of course! Of course! Just trust me and follow me!”
As Hyeokri Hong puffed out her chest and acted like a senior, all the martial artists around burst into laughter.
“Junior Sister Hong. Let’s not overdo it.”
“You want to be treated like a Senior Sister with your hair braided in pigtails like that?”
“Kekekeke.”
“What is it?”
As Hyeokri Hong set a double-fuse in her brow, the younger generation disciples each feigned ignorance and avoided her.
Jeokseo came and filled the empty space.
“Hoholhol. I thought only the silk long robes suited you, but the martial uniform also looks quite good on you.”
“Thank you, Sect Leader.”
“Before the initiation ceremony, I thought about your generational rank. The order is clearly the last, but I heard you helped Biyoung even before we reclaimed the main mountain?”
“Rather than help…… it was merely passing on some simple information.”
“Hoholhol. Besides, I heard it’s been a long time since you learned our sect’s martial arts. So I plan to assign your generational rank to be the same as Biyoung’s.”
“Eeek?”
Even before Sedong, Hyeokri Hong reacted drastically.
“S-Sect Leader! Does that mean Young Family Head Sedong will become my Senior Brother? Not my Junior Brother?”
It was the face of someone who had lost a fish they had all but caught right before their eyes.
As for Jeokseo, who knew what she wanted, he could only laugh playfully.
“Hoholhol. Then did you intend to order around a man who is six or seven years older than you as your junior brother?”
“Isn’t that the law of the sect!”
“There is no problem. The time he helped Biyoung was long ago, and at that time, there was no one else to get permission from, was there?”
“Keuung…… but……!”
Of course, if one were to nitpick, there would be loopholes.
But for the still young Hyeokri Hong, this way of calculation was an unfamiliar part.
“Hoholhol. Is it okay for you to stay here? It seems the training has started.”
“Oh no!”
Hyeokri Hong, who had been making a sour face, twisted her body as if she had been electrocuted.
If she was late for training time, she couldn’t guarantee what kind of punishment that devil-like guy who acted as an instructor would mete out.
“Let’s go quickly, Junior Brother…… no, Senior Brother!”
Hyeokri Hong hurriedly grabbed Sedong’s hand and started walking.
Sedong looked towards the Sect Leader with an awkward smile.
“Then, I’ll be off, Sect Leader.”
“Hoholhol. It’s your first training session, so be careful.”
“Yes, Sect Leader.”
Sedong took Jeokseo’s words to be careful as a customary greeting.
However, after arriving at the training hall, he realized that those words were not uttered lightly.
“Haaaaaap!”
“Keuooooooooo!”
“Iyaaap!”
Why were there large stones tied to the limbs of the people swinging their swords?
Not only Eung Gajin and Uma, but even the Jeong-i, with their slender limbs, were swinging their swords with stones tied to their four limbs.
‘This is…….’
The training method of a prestigious Orthodox Faction that was once part of the Nine Sects One Union?
This?
This beast-like method?
While Sedong’s mind was filled with confusion, a clear voice rang out from beside him.
“What are you doing, Senior Brother? If you don’t follow the movements, that devil will throw a fit!”
When he turned his gaze in the direction Hyeokri Hong was pointing, it was true that Biyoung was looking this way with ghostly eyes.
“Hooooo. Not only are you late, but you’re going to be lazy too?”
“!”
As Sedong looked around in a panic, a man with narrow eyes kindly tied knots with stones to his arms and legs.
“Welcome to hell…… no, to the Diancang Sect. Junior Brother.”
A heavy, no, a freaking heavy sensation was transmitted to his limbs.
‘S-swinging a sword in this state?’
Sedong could finally feel that he had entered the Diancang Sect.