Heaven-Defying Hero - Chapter 44

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#044

 

Hwangbo Jeong, the leader of Shandong Trading Company, was furious.

 

“What the hell have you done!”

 

Crash!

 

The cup he threw shattered into pieces on the floor.

 

Given his character that valued dignity, throwing objects like this was not a common occurrence.

 

“The Hwangbo Clan isn’t some third-rate rabble! You pulled such a shallow trick!”

 

“Un, Uncle…”

 

“Don’t call me that! When this gets out, you’ll no longer be part of the Hwangbo Clan!”

 

“What do you mean by that…”

 

“If you were going to do it, you shouldn’t have gotten caught! If things went wrong, you should have hidden it even if it meant killing everyone! If not that, you should have taken all responsibility and died!”

 

That’s what clan honor meant.

 

“Don’t commit crimes. If you commit crimes, smooth things over with apologies and compensation. If that doesn’t work, cover it up with force. If even that doesn’t work, kill everyone and rewrite the incident. There are so many methods, yet what did you do?”

 

From birth, he was born with many options. It was a fate where he could make mistakes several times.

 

But if it was a mistake that went beyond even this?

 

“If you’re born with Hwangbo Clan blood and can’t even do that, is there really a reason to stay alive?”

 

What Hwangbo Jeong was talking about was qualification.

 

-Do you have the qualification to be a member of the Hwangbo Clan?

 

It was a bone-chillingly painful question.

 

The bloodline that had been a solid fortress until now was now crushing him.

 

“Uncle. Please help me.”

 

Hwangbo Taeseong knelt down.

 

‘It wasn’t that I trusted Gu Dong-gu.’

 

The plan he heard while drunk was perfect. That’s why he entrusted everything to Gu Dong-gu.

 

They expected Ja-gang-cheon, upon hearing news of his acquaintance’s attack, to rampage and charge in.

 

-If even one person dies in that process, we can use that as an excuse to attack Deungmyeong Manor.

 

Once fighting began, even the main family couldn’t ignore it.

 

-Just like Shandong Trading Company, the main family won’t refuse what Deungmyeong Manor has. Besides, there’s Song Ja-in too, isn’t there?

 

Personally, she was a burdensome opponent, but if the main family stepped forward, the story would be different.

 

‘I might even be able to solve the secret about Dogok Seongdan.’

 

Rather, if Song Ja-in sided with Deungmyeong Manor, this could also become justification.

 

‘I thought it was perfect…’

 

But Ja-gang-cheon’s reaction was beyond expectations. He only took away the person identified as the culprit and Gu Dong-gu.

 

What if they pointed to Hwangbo Taeseong as the mastermind?

 

‘I have to prevent that!’

 

But he couldn’t think of any way to do it. That’s why he came to find Hwangbo Jeong and knelt like this.

 

“Catch the real culprit first.”

 

“Wh, who…”

 

“You fool! The one who stabbed that Inryeok Sojangnin! There must be someone who actually stabbed him!”

 

“Ah!”

 

“If even that bastard gets caught by Deungmyeong Manor, I’ll officially cut ties with you.”

 

“What do you mean by that?”

 

“Are you telling me to get covered in that filth too? If they catch the real culprit, where do you think those bastards will go? Deungmyeong Manor has Song Ja-in, who’s been through thick and thin in the martial arts world. Do you think that woman will nicely kill only you and end it?”

 

It was already late, but to survive, he had to do something.

 

“I’ll go and come back.”

 

Hwangbo Taeseong jumped up and left the place.

 

***

 

The place Ja-gang-cheon arrived at through the dawn air was a small hut village located on the coast.

 

It was about half a hour’s walk south along the sea, at the end of a small road off the main route.

 

It wasn’t a place where boats could dock, nor could they trap seawater to catch fish.

 

The hut village in this unexpected location was called Gae-nusaegol (Dog Swamp Village).

 

Meaning they lived by doing dirty errands, about thirty people lived in roughly fifteen huts.

 

Thud.

 

Ja-gang-cheon leaped high and landed in the middle of the hut village. When he deliberately infused internal energy into his landing, the huts shook greatly.

 

“What’s going on!”

 

Those inside the huts rushed out in surprise, and men who had been fishing in the distance also came running belatedly.

 

Their eyes wary of the stranger were like a wolf pack whose territory had been invaded.

 

“What brings an unfamiliar young master here?”

 

Unlike the others, the person who approached first to speak was an old man with a bent back.

 

With age spots on his face and sparse white hair hanging carelessly, he was the village chief of this place. All requests for Gae-nusaegol were handled through him.

 

“I came looking for the person who attacked Uncle So Yeon-dok.”

 

“Why would you look for such a thing here?”

 

“I came after hearing from Gu Dong-gu.”

 

At those words, the old man’s eyes turned coldly serious.

 

“It doesn’t sound like you heard good things.”

 

Hearing that, Ja-gang-cheon reached out his hand.

 

“Gack!”

 

As the old man whose neck was grabbed struggled, the men all drew their weapons at once.

 

From rusty swords to axes and sickles, but none of them posed a threat to Ja-gang-cheon.

 

“If you want to live, just do what you’re told. There’s no particular reason I need to keep you alive anyway.”

 

Then, someone crouched low and approached behind Ja-gang-cheon.

 

Bang!

 

Ja-gang-cheon’s foot moved like lightning and burst the approaching man’s head.

 

That one strike made the surroundings quiet. And the strength left the eyes of the struggling old man too.

 

He was shocked by Ja-gang-cheon’s nature of casually displaying killing techniques.

 

“I, I’ll hand him over.”

 

Thud!

 

The old man collapsed to the ground, touched his neck, then shouted to a nearby man.

 

“Bring Heuk-seo.”

 

“Village Chief…”

 

“Do you plan to all die? We can get compensation from Gu Dong-gu later.”

 

All the men’s gazes turned toward one person at once.

 

The one backing away with a flustered expression was a small-built man in his early forties with protruding cheekbones.

 

“Ch, Chief, you bastard! You’re the one who ordered it!”

 

As he screamed in desperation, Ja-gang-cheon moved.

 

Crack!

 

“Aaaaah!”

 

With both ankles shattered instantly, he collapsed to the ground screaming.

 

Ja-gang-cheon grabbed the back of his neck and looked around at everyone in Gae-nusaegol as he spoke.

 

“You bastards here. If I meet you again, I’ll definitely kill you.”

 

Leaving that warning, Ja-gang-cheon tried to leave Gae-nusaegol dragging the man called Heuk-seo.

 

Then, someone was approaching noisily from the distance.

 

Leading an old escort from Shandong Caravan, the one who appeared was Hwangbo Taeseong.

 

“You…”

 

Hwangbo Taeseong looked at Heuk-seo that Ja-gang-cheon was holding, then made an expression filled with various thoughts.

 

But Ja-gang-cheon showed no reaction even seeing him and just tried to pass by. Hwangbo Taeseong found this deeply troubling.

 

“Why are you just leaving?”

 

Ja-gang-cheon answered the question that burst out in frustration.

 

“All I can do right now is kill them. That’s not enough.”

 

“What did you say?”

 

The moment Ja-gang-cheon passed by, Hwangbo Taeseong couldn’t hold back and swung his hand.

 

But his target wasn’t Ja-gang-cheon.

 

It was a strike aimed at Heuk-seo, who was being held by Ja-gang-cheon.

 

Thud.

 

His hand stopped right in front of Heuk-seo’s crown.

 

When the strike infused with internal energy was blocked, a small whirlwind formed and disheveled Heuk-seo’s hair.

 

“What are you doing right now…?”

 

Heuk-seo had briefly held hope the moment Hwangbo Taeseong appeared.

 

Though he hadn’t heard the details about this incident, he knew that Hwangbo Sega was behind it.

 

But Hwangbo Taeseong had actually tried to kill him instead.

 

“You damn bastard!”

 

Ja-gang-cheon ignored the cursing Heuk-seo and spoke to Hwangbo Taeseong.

 

“You’re not good at anything.”

 

Leaving behind that harsh assessment, Ja-gang-cheon departed with Heuk-seo.

 

***

 

Returning to the manor, Ja-gang-cheon recalled past memories once more.

 

-It was when North Cheon City was just beginning to grow. There was so much envy and jealousy. Among them, the fight with Northern Ice Palace was truly cruel and fierce.

 

The most interesting thing while on the island was listening to Mother’s stories about the martial arts world. Father’s stories were honestly entertaining, but there was something frustrating about them somewhere.

 

Especially the story of North Cheon City becoming the hegemon of the demonic martial arts world never got boring no matter how many times he heard it.

 

-We gained the upper hand in the tense standoff when we caught a minor weakness of Northern Ice Palace. We didn’t use that weakness right away.

 

-Why not?

 

-If we had used it then, we could only have inflicted a small wound. So we used that weakness to find an even bigger weakness. By continuously gathering weaknesses like that, Northern Ice Palace couldn’t treat us carelessly anymore.

 

-But wouldn’t you end up fighting eventually?

 

-We had nothing to fear. But there was a better method, so there was no reason not to use it.

 

-What was that method?

 

Ja-gang-cheon recalled that story and put it into practice.

 

***

 

“Sigh.”

 

Hwangbo Jeong sighed as he looked at his nephew kneeling with his head bowed.

 

“In the end, you couldn’t accomplish anything.”

 

“That bastard’s martial arts are stronger than mine…”

 

Hwangbo Taeseong couldn’t bring himself to finish his words. He couldn’t accept that Ja-gang-cheon was stronger than him.

 

He was a descendant of the prestigious Hwangbo Sega who had enjoyed all the family’s benefits.

 

From childhood, he had learned not only with elixirs but also exclusive martial arts that only bloodline members could learn, and all of this was taught directly by the most outstanding masters.

 

Yet to be outmatched in martial arts by some seventeen-year-old punk of unknown origins.

 

‘No matter what it takes, I will definitely kill that bastard!’

 

It was while he was cursing Ja-gang-cheon inwardly.

 

A sturdy man in his mid-fifties opened the door to the annex and entered.

 

He was the guest leader of Shandong Trading Company and one of the people Hwangbo Jeong trusted most.

 

Without even glancing at Hwangbo Taeseong kneeling there, he quickly approached Hwangbo Jeong and made an urgent report.

 

“Among those captured at Deungmyeong Manor, two excluding Gu Dong-gu have been moved.”

 

“You mean Jeong Chilseong and that Heuk-seo fellow?”

 

“That’s correct.”

 

“They suddenly moved locations?”

 

“Deungmyeong Jangju took the two to the black market.”

 

“What!”

 

Bang!

 

Hwangbo Jeong slammed down his chair and shot up.

 

“Are you saying he just handed over our weakness to Hao-mun?”

 

“We can’t know the detailed circumstances. The inside of the black market is beyond our intelligence network’s reach…”

 

“Damn…”

 

Even in this difficult situation, Hwangbo Jeong had secretly had a solution.

 

‘Now that things have come to this, the main family has no choice but to step in to avoid complete disgrace. To prevent dirty rumors from spreading, we’ll have to attack Deungmyeong Manor, so I should directly lead that operation and monopolize the business in Jiao-nan.’

 

He had also planned to use the main family’s power to absorb Deungmyeong Manor and achieve his dream of expanding beyond Shandong Province. But this report was beyond his calculations.

 

‘Of all things, Hao-mun.’

 

If they dealt with Deungmyeong Manor here, Hwangbo Sega wouldn’t be able to hide the fact that they had committed murder and extermination to conceal their shame.

 

Because the organization that had that information was none other than Hao-mun.

 

‘We’ve handed our weakness to the enemy.’

 

Hao-mun would want Hwangbo Sega to make a move. And they would certainly criticize through every mouth they could mobilize.

 

“Damn it!”

 

Clang!

 

The tea set he swept away rolled randomly across the floor.

 

“You return to the family immediately!”

 

“What? But like this…”

 

“We need you gone so we can at least make excuses! Go back to the family right now and go into seclusion or self-reflection! Never appear before my eyes again!”

 

“I, I understand, Uncle.”

 

Hwangbo Taeseong hung his head powerlessly.

 

At the same time.

 

“Sister. Please take care of these guys for me.”

 

Yeon-hee looked at the two men tied up like objects and collapsed, then let out an incredulous laugh.

 

“You’re not the naive Lord who knew nothing about the world that I used to know. Did Subordinate tell you to act this cunningly?”

 

Ja-gang-cheon, who had come to Hao-mun alone, responded with a grin instead of words. He was still practicing that story Mother had told him.

 

-With Northern Ice Palace’s weakness in our hands, we didn’t use it to pressure them directly. We handed it over to Moyong Family, who didn’t get along well with Northern Ice Palace. Northern Ice Palace ended up exposing their shame to their most troublesome enemy.

 

That’s why he had come to Hao-mun. However, he still kept Gu Dong-gu captured at Deungmyeong Manor.

 

“Do you know who these guys are?”

 

“Would you believe me if I said I didn’t know?”

 

“No.”

 

“Fine. But you know that if I entrust these guys to you, our relationship changes, right?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

Yeon-hee’s smile deepened.

 

“Personally, I prefer accomplices over friends. That relationship is much easier to calculate.”

 

Ja-gang-cheon thought for a moment, then nodded.

 

“Whatever you call it doesn’t matter. But I agree that we should use this opportunity to benefit each other.”

 

“How would I use you, Lord?”

 

“Don’t use me, use these guys as an excuse to devour the Shandong Trading Company branch. Let’s split it fifty-fifty.”

 

Yeon-hee suspected this might be someone else wearing a human skin mask, given how unlike Ja-gang-cheon this way of speaking was.

 

Meanwhile, Ja-gang-cheon recalled Mother’s story again.

 

-We told Moyong Family. Let’s split Northern Ice Palace fifty-fifty.

 

Now he had become the protagonist in the story Mother had told him.

 

“You don’t like it?”

 

“Of course not. I welcome it. But the Shandong Trading Company branch – I’ll take that as my spoils of war.”

 

It wasn’t just symbolic meaning. Like opening a small tea house at the port, it was a request to be able to use that location as she pleased.

 

“Good.”

 

“This is the first time Lord and I have laughed and reached an agreement like this. Our relationship seems to be getting better and better.”

 

“What are you talking about? We’ve always reached agreements with smiles.”

 

At those words, Yeon-hee felt her stomach turn as she thought.

 

‘Where did that innocent guy I first met go?’

 

Yeon-hee once again questioned whether he was truly a human-faced beast.

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