Bloodline is Everything - Chapter 186

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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【Bloodline is a Thug Chapter 186】

186. The Avenger (1)

I was too flustered to form a coherent response.
It was only natural—I hadn’t expected this person to show up at all.
And worse, Kwon Myung-woo hadn’t come alone.
“It’s been a while.”
A scarred man with no hair or eyebrows on his face greeted me—nothing but scars covering where features should have been.
It was Gu Eon, the commander of Gangtaedae, the notorious punishment unit of the Kwon Family.
“Is this the first time since the Mei Hong incident?”
Gu Eon stared at Mei Hong with eyes as dark as soot. She shrank back.
“Since I haven’t heard anything troubling since then, it seems you’re keeping her on a tight leash.”
Every time Gu Eon opened his mouth, the air felt thick and suffocating with unease.
He hadn’t even raised his voice, but the oppressive atmosphere was innate to him.
“Still, don’t let your guard down. I’m always watching over both of you….”
“What the hell is this bastard going on about?”
Kwon Myung-woo suddenly slapped the back of Gu Eon’s head with his palm. Gu Eon’s torso lurched forward sharply.
“S-sir!”
“You punk, why are you spouting that garbage to someone who’s doing everything right!”
Kwon Myung-woo raised his hand as if to strike again. Gu Eon’s body flinched.
“Say something like that to my Han-ul one more time, and things won’t be so pleasant! You got that!”
“….”
“What, not answering? You want to plant your face on the ground in front of all these people?”
“I-I’ll watch my words from now on.”
Watching that disagreeable man immediately bow his head, I found myself gaping.
“Ah, Han-ul, my apologies.”
“No, sir. But what brings you to this place?”
“This guy! You really don’t know anything, do you! There’s only one reason I’d come here!”
Kwon Myung-woo was about to speak with a chuckle.
A long, rumbling sound echoed out.
Silence fell instantly. Kwon Myung-woo rubbed his belly with an embarrassed expression and spoke.
“First, let’s fill our stomachs.”

* * *

Kwon Han-ul immediately began searching for a restaurant.
He rented out an entire meat specialty restaurant to match Kwon Myung-woo’s preference for dishes loaded with meat.
While not quite top-tier, it was a popular establishment known for serving only high-quality meat.
Kwon Myung-woo and the Heukcheon Team scattered throughout the restaurant, devouring the food the waiters brought out with ravenous enthusiasm.
“Mmm! This is quite a decent restaurant!”
Kwon Myung-woo grabbed an entire roasted pork leg and tore into it with his bare hands.
His eating method was so shockingly voracious that the waiter standing behind him widened his eyes in disbelief.
“Why don’t you eat as well?”
Kwon Han-ul laughed awkwardly and cut into the steak in front of him, bringing a piece to his mouth.
Honestly, just watching Kwon Myung-woo inhale his food made me feel full without eating.
“You lot are the same. How will you build muscle eating like that? For Hunters, food comes first and second! We fight on our stomachs!”
Kwon Myung-woo directed his words not only at Kwon Han-ul but at the Black Darkness Corps as well. Kwon Hu-don, Mei Hong, and Gael Garsian all accelerated their eating pace in response.
“Kwon So-ri, you certainly eat with gusto! You’re truly worthy of managing a branch!”
“Th-th-th-th-thank you very much!”
Kwon So-ri, sitting across from Kwon Myung-woo, let out a startled cry. She appeared unusually tense, completely unlike herself.
“Three more servings!”
It wasn’t just Kwon Myung-woo eating this much. The Heukcheon Team members were also consuming an astonishing amount of food. The waiters were visibly rushing about.
At that moment, Kwon Han-ul recalled something odd. He turned to Gu Eon, who was sitting beside him.
“Captain Gu Eon.”
“What is it?”
Gu Eon replied curtly. It seemed the resentment from being struck on the back of the head by Kwon Myung-woo still lingered.
“Isn’t the Gangtaedae eating with us?”
Only the Heukcheon Team members were inside the restaurant. The Gangtaedae who had come with them were nowhere to be seen.
At Kwon Han-ul’s question, Gu Eon twisted his lips. It was a smile so bitterly cold it was chilling.
“How could master and dog share the same table?”
Gu Eon treated the Gangtaedae not even as servants, but as dogs.
Considering the Gangtaedae’s position, it wasn’t strange at all.
The Gangtaedae was a unit created to capture criminals within the Heukcheon Group and work them to death.
“The Gangtaedae is standing guard around this restaurant. Don’t worry about it.”
Kwon Han-ul acknowledged and didn’t press further.
In truth, I had no interest in the Gangtaedae itself. There was only one person among them I cared about.
‘Bae Cheol-min.’
A member of the Cheongsong Bae Family and a Healthy Blood holder.
At the same time, a man currently imprisoned in the Gangtaedae for attempted assassination of the Family Head.
‘The Cheongsong Bae Family is receiving terrible treatment from Heukcheon for aiding my father.’
To be precise, it wasn’t the entire Bae Family, but rather the successor Bae Chul-soo who had aided my father.
The reason I’m alive today is because Bae Chul-soo helped my father.
And Bae Chul-soo lost his life in return, dragging the entire family into ruin.
Because of this, I couldn’t help but be concerned.
‘Bae Cheol-min was watching me too.’
Just moments before Kwon Myung-woo arrived, I had spotted Bae Cheol-min within the Gangtaedae ranks.
Bae Cheol-min had been watching me too. The moment our eyes met, he broke into a smirk.
—I simply hope you’ll acknowledge it.
A past conversation with Bae Cheol-min surfaced in my mind.
—That our Cheongsong Bae Family made efforts on behalf of your father.
I finished cutting my steak and placed it in my mouth.
The taste didn’t register properly.

* * *

Everyone focused intently on their meal for a while.
Once we’d eaten our fill, Kwon Myung-woo’s eating pace noticeably slowed.
Seeing my opportunity, I asked Kwon Myung-woo a question.
“Now then, would you explain why you’ve come to Parsak?”
“Ah, I nearly forgot.”
Kwon Myung-woo wiped his mouth with a napkin before beginning his explanation.
“I came to find Mei Xiao, the Blood Slayer.”
At that moment, the sound of cutlery clattered. Mei Hong stared at Kwon Myung-woo with eyes wide as saucers.
Her expression brimmed with questions. On her behalf, I asked Kwon Myung-woo directly.
“You’re saying Mei Xiao is in Parsak?”
“To be precise, we suspect she’s hiding somewhere in Badakhshan.”
Kwon Myung-woo gulped down his wine before continuing.
“Recently, rumors have spread that the Mei Family Vault exists in Badakhshan. The Information Bureau of Heukcheon suspects Mei Xiao herself might be the source of these rumors.”
“Have you obtained concrete evidence?”
At that, Kwon Myung-woo shook his head.
“There’s no evidence. But information about the vault suddenly spreading at such a time feels suspicious. Moreover, according to the Information Bureau’s investigation, members of the Mei bloodline have been frequently spotted in Badakhshan Province recently.”
With too many suspicious points to simply overlook, Kwon Myung-woo had come in person.
“I intended to stay here for a while and pursue Mei Xiao. But hearing you were in this place, I rushed right over.”
Suddenly, Kwon Myung-woo asked with a puzzled expression.
“But why are you here? Don’t tell me you came after hearing the rumors about the Mei Family Vault?”
At his words, I first examined the faces of the Black Darkness Corps members. They too exchanged cautious glances.
As the atmosphere grew awkward, Kwon Myung-woo slapped his forehead with his palm in exasperation.
“Good grief, Han-ul. Falling for such rumors and coming here. Now I see you’re not as clever as I thought.”
“No, that’s not it—”
“Vaults and such sound impressive, but they’re rarely worth the effort. When Heukcheon already possesses its own vault, why would you be captivated by the warehouse of a family that’s already fallen?”
Kwon Myung-woo clicked his tongue and reproached me. I felt an inexplicable sense of injustice.
Part of me wanted to reveal the truth and clear up the misunderstanding. But this wasn’t a decision I could make alone. I needed to consult with Mei Hong, the Black Darkness Corps, and others.
“What are you thinking about over there!”
Kwon Myung-woo barked at me. I swallowed my grievance and listened to his lecture in silence.

* * *

Fortunately, I managed to escape Kwon Myung-woo’s sermon quickly.
It was thanks to Kwon Myung-woo becoming absorbed in the dessert that arrived after the meal.
While Kwon Myung-woo savored his dessert, I stepped out onto the restaurant’s outdoor terrace for a moment.
I was leaning against the railing, feeling the breeze, when it happened.
“Come out now.”
I spoke without even turning around. Then someone emerged from the shrubbery arranged on the terrace.
A small frame. Yet a body that appeared solid and well-built.
“Bae Cheol-min. It’s been a long time.”
“You remembered me.”
Bae Cheol-min smiled with satisfaction.
“I’m delighted to meet you again like this. Gangtaedae is such a dangerous place that one cannot guarantee survival there.”
Bae Cheol-min spoke with levity. Yet I sensed he was wearing a mask.
“Bae Chul-soo.”
The moment I uttered that name, the mask Bae Cheol-min wore shattered.
His face contorted, and his eyes blazed with intensity.
“I’ve discovered who helped my father.”
Unable to easily control his emotions, Bae Cheol-min placed a hand on his chest and took a deep breath.
But soon he gnashed his teeth and clawed at his chest with his fingers.
Five fingers tore through skin and gouged into muscle. Blood streamed down.
“…How did you come to know about that person?”
“I cannot reveal that. And it’s not what matters most, is it?”
At my words, Bae Cheol-min laughed like a man possessed.
“You’re right. That’s not what matters. What matters is deciding what to do from now on.”
Bae Cheol-min laughed hoarsely before speaking.
“Bae Chul-soo was my older brother.”
I was taken aback by this revelation. In other words, Bae Cheol-min was a direct descendant of the Cheongsong Bae Family.
“There was quite an age gap between us brothers. When my brother sacrificed himself for you, I was still a mere child who couldn’t properly wield any power.”
Because of this, Bae Cheol-min couldn’t fully understand what had transpired back then.
However, he knew the most important part.
“My brother acted righteously. He threw away his life for your father, who had been falsely accused. Though he couldn’t have anticipated the aftermath.”
Rage ignited in Bae Cheol-min’s eyes.
“…What became of the Cheongsong Bae Family after that?”
I asked in a strained voice.
Truth be told, I didn’t want to ask. But I had to know.
“They were stripped of all authority and demoted to laborer status. They were deployed to dangerous dungeons to extract resources from those places.”
“Dungeons?”
“The Gangjcheol bloodline has excellent adaptability. They’re perfect for deployment to toxic zones and acidic regions where other hunters struggle even to set foot.”
Bae Cheol-min spoke with derision.
Suddenly, I noticed the scars scattered across Bae Cheol-min’s body.
While some were ordinary scars, most bore the grotesque marks of fire—charred, melted, and fused into the flesh.
It wasn’t difficult to imagine what kind of childhood Bae Cheol-min must have endured.
“Then, Kwon Han-ul, I have a proposal for you.”
Bae Cheol-min met my gaze directly, his expression barely concealing a surge of anticipation.
“Let us take revenge against Heukcheon together.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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