Chronicles of the Martial God’s Return - Chapter 92

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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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“What… what in the world is that?”
Jang Sam-tae stared in bewilderment at the figure Dan Woo-hyun had dragged in, unconscious and limp, gripped by the hair.
Judging by the distance from which he’d been hauled, his body was battered from head to toe—one side of his face so grotesquely swollen his features were unrecognizable.
“What could he possibly have done to deserve this?”
Gwon Mu-jin asked, cold sweat trickling down his brow.
When Dan Woo-hyun resorted to force, it was no trivial matter. He tended toward restraint, preferring to let things pass quietly—and precisely because of that, he never struck first unless provoked.
Which meant, ultimately, that this man had attacked Dan Woo-hyun first.
‘The fool must have lost his mind. He was mad, truly mad.’
Gwon Mu-jin wiped his damp brow, shaking his head inwardly.
“Throw him in a room for now.”
Watching Dan Woo-hyun toss the man aside like luggage, Jang Sam-tae let out an uneasy laugh.
“This is still a person, isn’t it?”
Regardless of his unconscious state, not to treat him like a human being at all. Whatever had transpired, Dan Woo-hyun’s mood looked far from pleasant—and this man seemed to be the cause.
That much was clear.
Jang Sam-tae shrugged and hoisted the middle-aged man onto his shoulders.
“Said he was going for a walk and brought back something peculiar.”
Just then, Namgung Cheon emerged quietly from the shadows, casting a glance at the middle-aged man being carried away.
Between the unconsciousness and the severe disfigurement—his face so damaged it was impossible to make out his features—Namgung Cheon felt a pang of sympathy.
“‘Brought back’ is imprecise. He crawled in here of his own accord.”
“Is that so? This man did?”
“Do you know him?”
“Hah, I’ve never seen this fellow before in my life.”
He glanced aside, muttering the words.
Whether he truly had never seen this man or not was unclear, but his tone suggested they were hardly on familiar terms.
Perhaps for that reason, Dan Woo-hyun pressed no further.
“I encountered him during my walk. He called out for help.”
“He called for help, and this is the state he’s in?”
Namgung Cheon regarded Dan Woo-hyun with something approaching disbelief.
If the man had asked for help, he was little different from a benefactor—yet here his appearance had been reduced to this, and his hair was being dragged through the compound.
That was hardly how one treated a savior.
Or rather…
“You received a call for help?”
The earlier remark had passed by naturally enough, but this latest statement carried far greater weight.
A call for help meant trouble had arisen. It meant someone had attacked Dan Woo-hyun, or something of comparable gravity had occurred.
Dan Woo-hyun gave a slight shrug.
“People I don’t know.”
“You… are you saying you have many enemies?”
“Hard to say. If there are many, there are many; if there are none, then there are none.”
Dan Woo-hyun smiled faintly.
The Hukdo Society came to mind, among others—people who would have every reason to harbor resentment given what he’d done to them.
But these attackers seemed of a different breed entirely.
Under the relentless hand of the man in black, they’d died without managing anything noteworthy, yet from their movements alone they’d appeared to be First-rate or better martial artists.
Moreover, they were bound together by pride and arrogance. Otherwise, they would never have dared launch an attack at this hour of morning.
It was possible they’d known that area was far from any residential quarters with few people about, but to attack at dawn rather than under cover of night spoke of immense confidence in their ability to neutralize their target discreetly.
Or perhaps circumstances had forced them—time was running out, and they needed to finish the job as quickly as possible.
“Their objective was undoubtedly this estate.”
At this, Namgung Cheon’s brow furrowed.
How many times had they discussed this? Did the man still not understand?
“It’s a Great Family. There’s a nameplate outside—a nameplate.”
……
For a moment, Dan Woo-hyun fell silent.
Namgung Cheon surely wasn’t so dim as to miss that it made no difference whether it was a Great Family or an estate. Yet to say such a thing now, in this situation—was he testing him?
Dan Woo-hyun’s eyes narrowed to slits, his expression darkening—and Namgung Cheon promptly cleared his throat loudly.
Seeing that, Dan Woo-hyun smiled with satisfaction.
“Be it a Great Family or an estate, one thing is certain—these strange ones have set their sights on this place.”
Hmm…
“I’ll look into it at once.”
Gwon Mu-jin bowed his head and opened his mouth.
When you don’t know who your opponent is, the first step is to assess their build and weapons. Physical marks—calluses on the hands, scars on the body—can all serve as clues.
But Dan Woo-hyun shook his head.
“It won’t do any good to look. They’re not in that kind of condition.”
“……But surely something might turn up, wouldn’t it?”
“The only thing we can confirm is that they’re corpses.”
Dan Woo-hyun laughed.
The man’s handiwork had been cruel—more brutal than anyone Dan Woo-hyun had seen since opening his eyes. He’d annihilated his opponents completely, leaving barely a trace behind.
The masked figures no longer maintained human form. They were nothing but meat now.
What could you extract from meat? Nothing at all.
“Then perhaps this man isn’t one of their faction……?”
Dan Woo-hyun watched Gwon Mu-jin speak cautiously and shook his head. Of course, it was possible to think that way. Sacrificing allies to penetrate enemy ranks was common enough.
What’s more, their appearance had been remarkably well-timed.
Dan Woo-hyun himself had harbored such suspicions at first. It had seemed that suspicious.
But he’d rejected the idea soon after—because the cruelty of this man’s handiwork went far beyond what you’d show when killing comrades, and because his energy was distinctly different from theirs.
As his thoughts reached that point, Dan Woo-hyun suddenly recalled a familiar sensation.
‘I’ve felt this somewhere before…….’
He fell silent in thought for a moment.
It was definitely an energy he’d encountered before. But he’d faced so many different energies, and as someone with keener senses than most, he couldn’t recall each one individually.
“The very fact that they targeted the master is grounds for execution a thousand times over. We should send word to Hong Won-chang at once and investigate the forces behind them…….”
“No. I can’t be certain they came specifically to kill me.”
“Sir?”
“Isn’t there someone in this estate who’s made far more enemies than I have?”
At Dan Woo-hyun’s words, the gazes of both Jang Sam-tae and Gwon Mu-jin turned. At the end of their stares sat Namgung Cheon.
Namgung Cheon forced an unconcerned expression, but he couldn’t deny that if anyone was the most likely target of this attack, it was himself—not Dan Woo-hyun or Gwon Mu-jin.
“Heh, heh, heh……”
He laughed softly. Yet his eyes remained sharp, at odds with the smile.
It was something he’d anticipated to some degree. Though Dan Woo-hyun had certainly earned his share of enemies, most of what Dan Woo-hyun had resolved had been credited to Hong Won-chang; so if anyone deserved retaliation, it should have been Hong Won-chang first.
If not Dan Woo-hyun, then it ought to be Namgung Cheon.
He exhaled with an awkward expression. What was on his mind, he couldn’t say, but a bitter taste was evident on his face.
Dan Woo-hyun had dredged up memories he’d rather not contemplate. Still, Namgung Cheon couldn’t bring himself to resent him for it.
As things stood, it wouldn’t be strange if Dan Woo-hyun blamed himself and cursed. Yet Dan Woo-hyun did nothing of the sort—he appeared more composed than ever, and was smiling at him.
Then Dan Woo-hyun’s voice came.
“Don’t worry. I won’t cast you out over something like this.”
“Heh, that’s kind of you to say. But are you truly certain? I thought you hated inconvenience?”
At that, Dan Woo-hyun lifted his gaze toward the sky.
Lost in thought, he said nothing but simply smiled quietly. When his eyes finally fell again, he looked at Namgung Cheon and spoke.
“You were the one who came to the estate and said you’d become my household member. As a household member, you must bear inconvenience from your master’s position—that’s the way of it.”
He laughed as he spoke.
As a household member, he would protect him without fail. Even if it meant stepping into the Martial World, which he’d thus far tried to avoid getting deeply involved with, he wouldn’t hesitate.
That resolve gleamed in Dan Woo-hyun’s eyes.
“Heh, heh!”
Namgung Cheon, watching him, felt it too and smiled softly.

Dan So-mi gazed at the middle-aged man sprawled out motionless.
The thick beard covering his face caught her eye first. It grew so densely across his entire face that she wouldn’t be able to tell who he was even if he weren’t swollen.
And standing beside him, there was a strange smell.
Like someone who hadn’t bathed in a long time.
His clothes were rags and his face was puffy. Blood was visible in places, so clearly he’d been beaten by someone.
She figured that’s why Dan Woo-hyun had brought him here.
Where on earth had he been beaten like this?
‘Ah!’
A memory suddenly came to Dan So-mi.
More than a year ago, when she’d first met Dan Woo-hyun. Back when she was a beggar with no money and no parents, stealing to survive, and had been beaten nearly to death for it.
Then perhaps this man was……?
“Is he a beggar?”
Dan So-mi rolled her large eyes and glanced beside her. Namgung Cheon was there, looking reluctant yet staying close.
He laughed awkwardly.
“Well, judging by his appearance, he does seem to be a beggar, but…….”
“I… I need to make sure he eats first! So-mi knows how it is! With some food, he’ll feel better right away!”
Dan So-mi clenched her fists with resolve. But Jang Sam-tae, who prepared the meals, was out on Market Street in Ak-yang today.
The moment that thought struck her, Dan So-mi’s shoulders sagged and her head drooped.
“But Sam-tae isn’t here…….”
“Heh heh, if it’s made with your own hands, I’d eat even grass clippings without complaint.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
Dan So-mi’s eyes brightened like a child’s. She couldn’t cook elaborate dishes the way Jang Sam-tae did, but she could manage simple things well enough.
She’d even made something for Dan Woo-hyun once. True, after he took a single bite he’d told her never to cook again, but it couldn’t have been entirely without flavor—he’d eaten the whole thing after all.
Thinking of that, Dan So-mi sprang to her feet.
“I’ll be right back!”
“Heh heh heh, go on then.”
Patter-patter—
Namgung Cheon watched the girl’s receding figure as she hurried out. Soon the door closed, and the sound of her footsteps faded into the distance.
Namgung Cheon smiled softly.
Such a precious child. The kind one longed to hold in one’s arms for a lifetime.
But before that.
Glance—
He rolled his eyes toward the man lying motionless beside him.
No sign of consciousness, no movement at all.
It must have been more than five hours by now.
With that thought, he spoke quietly.
“You’re going to wet yourself, you wretch.”
“…….”
“Embarrassing, isn’t it? Looks like you took it in one blow, heh heh.”
“…….”
No reply came, though he spoke. Since the man was unconscious, no answer would come no matter what he said—and yet Namgung Cheon’s mouth kept moving.
Strangely, though, the middle-aged man’s pupils trembled faintly.
“Did you really fall in one strike?”
“…….”
“Tsk tsk—and here I thought you were the great Ma Hwang…….”
“It was a sneak attack!”
The middle-aged man shot upright, glaring at Namgung Cheon with his expression twisted in indignation. Then, realizing their eyes had met, he awkwardly turned his head away.
He’d been caught feigning unconsciousness.
“Tsk tsk, pitiful…….”
Namgung Cheon clicked his tongue.

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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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