Chronicles of the Martial God’s Return - Chapter 99

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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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Sa Do-hak stroked his chin.
With the rough texture he’d grown accustomed to gone, something felt strangely out of place. The reflection staring back at him in the mirror was utterly unfamiliar—as if he were watching someone else entirely, and he couldn’t quite adjust to it.
“Hah, I wonder how I ended up like this…”
Three months had already passed since he’d arrived in Honam. Winter had turned from early frost to bitter cold, settling in for the long haul.
During those three months, he’d felled trees to build a manor estate, shaped the lumber, raised the framework, drove the nails.
Sa Do-hak of all people, and Namgung Cheon of all people!
Anyone who heard such a thing would’ve laughed it off as absurd.
Yet it was done.
He’d swallowed his pride, followed Dan Woo-hyun’s direction, and actually succeeded in constructing an enormous estate that hardly seemed real—a palace in miniature. That had been just days ago.
Creak—
Sa Do-hak pushed open the door and stepped outside.
A vast corridor stretched before him, too grand to belong to any ordinary manor. Following it a short distance, another doorway appeared, leading out again.
The moment he opened it, the full expanse of the estate came into view.
“…”
Gazing at the landscape, Sa Do-hak’s heart swelled with quiet satisfaction.
To think he’d built this with his own hands.
And the fact that he now dwelt here seemed equally remarkable.
His quarters within the Tianshan Demonic Sect had been no less magnificent and imposing, yet this felt different somehow.
The estate sprawled for several times the area.
The perimeter walls rose considerably high—so high that even a grown man standing outside could see nothing of what lay within.
At the very center stood the main residence, grand as a palace itself, where Dan Woo-hyun and Dan So-mi made their home.
On either side of it stood two auxiliary buildings. The one on the left bore the name Cheong-un Pavilion, inscribed on a plaque that Namgung Cheon had brushed himself.
It seemed he’d chosen that name because it would be his own quarters.
The other building, where Sa Do-hak himself resided, was named Ma-cheon Pavilion, the plaque for which Sa Do-hak had written himself.
The two seemed to be in competition with each other.
“He said I could live wherever I pleased… but this is rather…”
Sa Do-hak scratched his head.
Thinking it through, what they’d done made no sense. Building such a sprawling estate was unreasonable enough, but to name the pavilions Cheong-un and Ma-cheon as though establishing some organization—dwelling in them with such formality—was absurd.
Reckless as it had been, anyone else observing it would never mistake this for an ordinary manor.
‘That cunning old fox… he was almost certainly aiming for exactly this.’
Indeed, a grand plaque hung at the main gate.
Now everyone who passed through would know.
A great Major Family Clan stood on this land in Ak-yang, Honam.
Moreover, the martial artists would perceive it thus:
The recluse they’d suspected of hiding in Ak-yang wasn’t hidden at all—he lived openly here, and had established a Major Family Clan.
‘It hardly matters now.’
Sa Do-hak scratched his head again.
In any case, it was no concern of his.
He would have to return to the sect soon. He’d been away far too long and had sent no word; by now rumors would be swelling both inside and outside the gates.
“Huh?!”
At the sound, Sa Do-hak’s attention snapped toward it.
There stood Jang Sam-tae, brandishing a staff. His face bore a look of genuine surprise, but he quickly began backing away, settling into a martial stance, and shouted loudly.
“You there! How dare you trespass on these grounds!”
“What in blazes are you going on about?”
Caught off guard by Jang Sam-tae’s unexpected demeanor, Sa Do-hak tilted his head in confusion. Yet Jang Sam-tae showed no sign of relenting; instead, he heightened his intensity, assuming a combat stance.
Though Sa Do-hak found this bewildering, Jang Sam-tae only raised his voice further.
“You thief!”
“A thief? Do I look like a thief to you?”
“I don’t recall inviting any guests, so a thief you are!”
Sa Do-hak furrowed his brow, utterly bewildered.
Jang Sam-tae didn’t appear to be joking. His intensity only continued to build.
For all his bluster—strength barely worth comparing to an ant—there was something galling about Jang Sam-tae assuming such a posture before Sa Do-hak himself, as if ready to test his mettle.
“Keep your jest within reason.”
“You!”
Jang Sam-tae came rushing forward, channeling every ounce of his strength into deploying his Light-skill as he closed in.
He moved quite swiftly—fast enough that even Sa Do-hak, whose Light-skill was among the foremost in the Central Plains, widened his eyes.
Then again, everyone in this estate was formidable in their own right, so even a mere servant having one specialty wasn’t out of place.
Sa Do-hak let out a quiet chuckle and threw a punch.
Crack!
“Ahhh—!”
Jang Sam-tae tumbled across the floor, materializing as if from nowhere. He clutched his struck right cheek and howled like a man possessed.
Sa Do-hak may have called it a light jab, but it was far beyond what a novice like Jang Sam-tae could endure.
At that hideous shriek, Sa Do-hak muttered.
“Keep it down. You’ll burst my eardrums.”
Sa Do-hak’s brow furrowed. He sighed.
He couldn’t fathom Jang Sam-tae’s behavior.
“What on earth is this about?”
Then—another sound arose.
From the distance came a familiar old man. And Kwon Mu-jin, equally startled by Jang Sam-tae’s cry, rushed forward with a burst of Light-skill.
Sa Do-hak spotted Kwon Mu-jin and Namgung Cheon, both visibly taken aback.
Sa Do-hak’s expression soured.
“You…… you…….”
“I didn’t want to hit him. The fool threw himself at me out of nowhere.”
Sa Do-hak promptly declared his innocence.
He felt no guilt whatsoever about using his fists, but this manor estate harbored one figure whom even Sa Do-hak and Namgung Cheon held in some awe.
“Is…… is it really you, Sa Do-hak……?”
“Who else would I be? Why have you been toying with people since this morning?”
At Namgung Cheon’s trembling words, Sa Do-hak grew irritated. He brushed off his hands with a scowl, and at once the quivering Namgung Cheon burst into hearty laughter.
“Ha-ha-ha-ha! You…… what in heaven’s name happened to your face?”
“What’s wrong with my face?”
Sa Do-hak clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Only now did he grasp why Jang Sam-tae had reacted so violently.
Until now, everyone—Namgung Cheon and every soul in this manor—had known him only with his thick, unkempt beard.
But suddenly, he’d shaved it all away as cleanly as an eunuch, and naturally no one had adjusted to the sight. To some, he might have looked like a complete stranger.
Sa Do-hak pressed at the throbbing bridge of his nose.
“Ha-ha-ha! Without that beard, you look truly masculine! Why didn’t you do this long ago?”
“Be quiet, you old fool! That beard was my pride!”
Sa Do-hak stamped his foot, still fuming.
Ever since Dan So-mi had cut his beard that day, each time he glimpsed himself in a mirror, something felt amiss. He’d thought the whiskers would grow back naturally and all would be well, but the more they grew, the stranger they appeared.
‘If only yesterday hadn’t happened……’
Sa Do-hak recalled yesterday and heaved a long sigh.
He’d gone to Market Street with Dan So-mi. But the passersby had recoiled at his appearance, unwilling to draw near. When he’d approached a stall to buy her something, the vendors fled outright. Children who glimpsed his face burst into tears.
The awkward smile that had played across Dan So-mi’s lips at that spectacle lingered in his mind.
So he’d done it—shaved away the beard that had been his hallmark for decades.
“A rather handsome face, I must say.”
“Wow—Grandfather Sa looks even more imposing now!”
Dan Woo-hyun and Dan So-mi had drawn near. Unlike Dan Woo-hyun, whose mouth quirked with barely suppressed mirth, Dan So-mi’s eyes gleamed with genuine delight as she clapped her hands.
With her small legs, she strode forward eagerly and halted before him, tilting her head to gaze up. Her expression was intent, as though she meant to etch every detail of his beard-free face into memory.
“I…… I see. Does this suit me better?”
“Yes! The beard was nice too, but So-mi likes how you look now so much better. Don’t you all agree?”
Dan So-mi spun around to survey them. She met each person’s eyes in turn, and smiled radiantly. That luminous face and its expression brought forth an indescribable peace.
Namgung Cheon, who wanted to laugh, merely nodded and turned away, while Kwon Mu-jin found himself nodding in agreement almost before he realized it.
“Ugh, blast it! I got hit for nothing! If you’d just explained properly from the start, I wouldn’t have lunged at you!”
“You’re the one who threw yourself at me, not the other way around!”
“Oh hell! I’m dying of pain! Pay my medical expenses—pay up! You beat me senseless and now you’re acting innocent!”
Sa Do-hak swallowed a hollow laugh.
Medical expenses and such were beside the point; if he’d landed that blow with full force, this man would be dead, yet he seemed entirely oblivious to the fact.
Sa Do-hak had sensed it before, but this Jang fellow really was a good sort.
Sa Do-hak, entertained by the thought, chuckled to himself.
“Tell me, Manor Lord. Have you any thought of leaving this one in my charge?”
“Hmm?”
“No matter how I look at it, the boy’s wits are scrambled. I’ll straighten him out from top to bottom—why not let me take him on?”
“Wh…… what are you saying? I…… what’s wrong with me……?”
Jang Sam-tae shrank in fear.
He knew full well who stood before him. Yet Sa Do-hak could speak so sharply because everyone in this manor deferred to Dan Woo-hyun’s will—a reality that bound even Sa Do-hak and Namgung Cheon without exception.
Ultimately, betting on Dan Woo-hyun’s backing, he’d raised his voice. But if Sa Do-hak got his way, Jang Sam-tae would be finished.
His face went pale as ash.
“No, you mustn’t!”
Jang Sam-tae looked up at Dan Woo-hyun with desperate eyes.
Dan Woo-hyun, as if sensing the longing in his heart, broke into a thin smile.
“A fine idea. Though I suspect it’ll require quite a bit of effort?”
“Ha, no need to worry about that. I rather enjoy working with high-maintenance fellows.”
Sa Do-hak gazed at Jang Sam-tae with a laugh.
The way he smiled while watching Jang Sam-tae’s ashen face called to mind the image of death itself.
There was no doubt—until Sa Do-hak left, Jang Sam-tae would not escape his grasp.
In that moment, as Jang Sam-tae wrung his head and groaned, Dan Woo-hyun, Namgung Cheon, and Sa Do-hak all turned their eyes toward the gate.
Jang Sam-tae, perplexed, followed their gaze.
“Hmm?”
The firmly closed gate of the manor estate suddenly swung open.
Dan Woo-hyun turned to see who it was and recognized a familiar face.
He had grown noticeably leaner than several months ago—his once-soft frame was gradually hardening into something lean and muscled.
Hong Won-chang.
He had arrived.
Yet for some reason, his complexion seemed strained.
“What brings you so early in the morning?”
It was Dan Woo-hyun who spoke first, having caught the unsettling air about Hong Won-chang as he entered. His gaze carried an ominous weight.
“I—I beg your pardon, my lord. There… there was no time to…”
Hong Won-chang steadied his breath with trembling eyes.
Then he glanced up at Namgung Cheon.
A faint wind blew, and a sense of dread descended.
Namgung Cheon’s brow furrowed.
“You remember what I asked you about before…?”
“Ah, you mean the investigation into An-hui’s affairs?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
Namgung Cheon nodded readily.
He recalled having given Hong Won-chang that errand back when the manor estate was still under construction.
But at the sight of Hong Won-chang’s expression, Namgung Cheon could not hide his unease and pressed him further.
“What is it? Speak plainly, man.”
“It is… I… the Namgung Clan has…”
“The Namgung Clan has what? Out with it—don’t drag it out.”
“…It has collapsed, or so I am told.”
Those words fell sharp and cold, spreading through the courtyard like winter frost.

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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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