Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 239

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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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Chapter 239
It was a meticulous and satisfying revenge.
Baek Gang-ru Master, reduced to a broken mess, was handed over to the local constabulary that very day.
However, he had been the victim at the start.
Jo Ryang-ui’s revenge, however justified, had violated the law of the land. After all, wasn’t personal vengeance only permitted among martial artists?
Jo Ryang-ui, the culprit who had turned Baek Gang-ru Master into a pulp, was soon escorted to the constabulary as well, but….
‘What is this situation?’
Jo Ryang-ui sat in the constable’s office, drinking tea alongside Dokgo Myeong.
“Ah, so that’s how it came to be?”
“That’s what I’m telling you. Turns out that pig of a man was absolutely vile.”
“This is outrageous! Dokgo Myeong truly possesses the heart of a righteous hero!”
“I simply can’t tolerate injustice, you see! Ah, but would it be alright if I took this man with me?”
“Haha! Of course!”
“This fellow is decent. I like him.”
“Thank you!”
With just a few words from Dokgo Myeong, everything fell into place.
Thus Jo Ryang-ui was released.
Jo Ryang-ui asked with an incredulous expression.
“Isn’t the separation between martial and civil authority supposed to be inviolable?”
“Seeing all this gunpowder circulating these days, it doesn’t seem to be the case anymore… but well, officially it is. So why do you ask?”
“Am I really being released like this?”
Dokgo Myeong chuckled softly.
“Would a mere constable dare offend the direct line of the greatest noble clan in the Central Plains? Much less when it’s me, Dokgo Myeong himself?”
“Ah, yes.”
Jo Ryang-ui nodded, unable to hide his bitter expression.
He felt as though he had come to serve a lord whose pride was so immense it could pierce the heavens.
‘Though he certainly has the ability to back it up.’
Dokgo Myeong continued with a smirk.
“What’s good is good, that’s what I say. We both avoid headaches—how much better could it be?”
The constable would likely have forgiven Jo Ryang-ui even if he had killed the master.
Why? Because Dokgo Myeong had become his backing.
It was the power of authority itself.
Jo Ryang-ui regarded Dokgo Myeong with a peculiar expression.
“It is reassuring, certainly.”
“Is this really all it takes to impress you?”
“But may I ask one thing?”
Jo Ryang-ui’s eyes gleamed.
“What is your intention if I should become disappointed in my lord or harbor strange prejudices?”
“Prejudices?”
“That constable may be corrupt, but he is ultimately an official bound by the laws set by the nation. My lord has just crushed those laws beneath your power and influence.”
Dokgo Myeong let out a hollow laugh.
This fellow wouldn’t have had a long life even if he’d secured a position in the imperial palace.
“That’s right. It’s not the proper way to do things. But so what?”
“Pardon?”
“Worrying about what’s right and wrong gives me a headache. I’m the type who beats people if I want to beat them, kills them if I want to kill them, and takes what I want if I want it.”
“….”
“This situation? You deemed it righteous anyway, and in the process, I had the power and backing to quickly finish the tedious steps that bothered me. So I simply used them.”
“Is that the way of the martial world?”
“No, it’s my way.”
Jo Ryang-ui closed his mouth as if struck, and Dokgo Myeong chuckled softly.
“Let’s make one promise.”
“A promise, sir?”
“I said something similar to someone once before… let’s not probe each other.”
“Probe? I’m not the type to speak in roundabout ways to begin with.”
“But you were pretending to be, while gauging my reaction. Adjusting your conduct to match mine. Isn’t that your own way of surviving?”
Jo Ryang-ui’s mouth opened slightly.
Dokgo Myeong continued speaking.
“While you’re by my side, you don’t need to search for where my boundaries lie and try to adjust to them. Use that time to do your best instead. In short, there’s no need to read my moods.”
In that moment, Dokgo Myeong sensed Jo Ryang-ui, who had been following behind, hesitate slightly.
Jo Ryang-ui looked at Dokgo Myeong with surprised eyes.
‘He sees right through people’s hearts.’
Dokgo Myeong’s words were precise.
If he truly held prejudices and would be disappointed, would he have voiced them?
Yet he deliberately spoke to touch Dokgo Myeong’s nerves and observe his reaction—a twisted philosophy of life that allowed him to maintain his pride even while being disregarded all this time.
But Dokgo Myeong had said it.
Just do as you please.
He didn’t care.
Jo Ryang-ui swallowed dryly and spoke again.
“Your words are fine, but eventually people think, ‘I don’t like that bastard,’ don’t they?”
“That’s true. But I’m fine with it.”
“Pardon?”
“I don’t hold back.”
“…Pardon?”
“Usually those things build up from holding back, right? I don’t care what others think. If I don’t like something, I handle it right there on the spot….”
Crack!
Why did he suddenly clench his fist?
And can a person’s veins really bulge out like that?
“You can do the same going forward, I don’t mind. The Cheonma Sect members are all like that anyway. Even if there are only five of us.”
Dokgo Myeong grinned wickedly.
Jo Ryang-ui found himself laughing along without realizing it.
‘He adheres strictly to principle, yet harbors no pretense of authority. Honest, yet unafraid to challenge when necessary. Appears frivolous at first glance, but reveals profound depths beneath. Seems reckless, yet possesses his own philosophy.’
I’ve truly come to serve a master who defies easy categorization.
“If your curiosity is satisfied, shall we be on our way?”
“Where are we headed, sir?”
“Home, of course.”
“Home… you mean the Dokgo Household’s main residence in Honam, sir?”
Dokgo Myeong nodded.
“Many people are eagerly awaiting my return.”
Dokgo Myeong gazed toward some distant place with an enigmatic expression.
It was in the direction where Honam lay.
‘Ah, I’ve been away for quite some time. Finally heading back.’
In my past life, I never had a home to speak of, so I didn’t understand…
But now the Dokgo Household felt like home.
Perhaps because there were people there.
The upright Saheon Sect Leader, the excitable Jang Sam, the distinctive Cheonma Sect Elders, the difficult Household Head, and even Son Tae-im and Dokgo Jo-hak, once bitter adversaries.
I missed them—those who would greet me with complaints about how long I’d been away.
“Hah, even that absurd place… it’s home after all, I suppose.”
Dokgo Myeong chuckled softly to himself.
Jo Ryang-ui asked.
“What should I do going forward, sir?”
“Build the foundation from the ground up.”
“Foundation, sir?”
“Many people will be joining us. Most of them won’t have much sense. What’s needed in such circumstances is a specialist like you, Jo Ryang-ui.”
“A specialist? Am I a specialist? I know nothing of military strategy or formation tactics, sir.”
“Ah, well. Just let that slide, would you?”
“Yes, of course.”
Jo Ryang-ui nodded.
“So you’re asking me to manage the household, sir?”
“…That phrasing doesn’t sit right. Let’s just call you Overseer.”
“Very well, sir.”
From now on, Jo Ryang-ui would become the Overseer of the Cheonma Sect.
No matter how skilled the Cheonma Sect was in combat, without someone supporting them from behind, they couldn’t grow beyond a certain scale. This man would provide that support.
“But might I ask one thing, sir?”
“Of course, our Overseer Jo.”
“Well, I hadn’t mentioned this earlier…”
Jo Ryang-ui pointed at Dokgo Myeong’s back.
“What… what is that?”
“Yelp!”
The mysterious creature that had been clinging to Dokgo Myeong’s back the entire time.
Hoa barked as if offering a greeting.
“Ah, this one? Her name is Hoa.”
“Ho, Hoa? Could she be a tiger’s cub….”
“Grrrrrowl!”
“Gasp!”
The moment Hoa bared her fangs and growled, Jo Ryang-ui jumped back in alarm.
“Tsk, this creature.”
“Mew!”
When Dokgo Myeong tapped the bridge of Hoa’s nose, she stuck out her tongue and licked his fingers several times.
“She hates being called a tiger. Despite appearances, she’s a mystical beast.”
“Pardon? A, a mystical beast, you say?”
“That’s right. See how gentle she is? Want to see?”
Dokgo Myeong thrust his hand deep into Hoa’s armpit and thrust her forward with a flourish.
“P, please don’t do that.”
“Hmm? Do you perhaps dislike animals? Our Hoa is so adorable.”
Adorable?
Well, yes. If you look at her appearance alone, she is cute….
“I, it’s not that I’m scared… but isn’t she still a ferocious beast?”
“Ay, I’m telling you she’s a mystical beast.”
That was when it happened.
“Grrrrrowl….”
Hoa, whose eyes met Jo Ryang-ui’s, bared her fangs like a true beast.
“Eek!”
“You really don’t like animals, do you? We’ll be traveling together in the carriage for a while—what are you going to do?”
Dokgo Myeong chuckled with amusement while Jo Ryang-ui worried about the days ahead, and Hoa remained between them.
The two of them and one beast headed toward the Dokgo Household like that.
* * *
Rummmble!
Jang Sam, who was combing the front courtyard of the Saheon Sect as usual, flinched.
“What, thunder from a clear sky….”
Rummmble!
Thunder rumbled across the sky once more.
At that moment.
Rummmble!
Dark clouds were beginning to gather.
Just moments ago the sky had been so clear—what strange magic was this?
Jang Sam felt a slight sense of foreboding and stopped combing.
‘Now that I think about it, I did hear it was around this time….’
The day when Dokgo Myeong was supposed to return.
In truth, no message had arrived. Was Dokgo Myeong the type to send such notices?
Then how did he know?
It was something Geum Seok-du had discovered.
“Brother Jang! Brother!”
Crash!
A man burst through the gate and came rushing in.
It was Geum Seok-du, who had now grown his hair quite long.
“Huff, huff, huff….”
“Why are you in such a hurry? What’s the matter?”
Geum Seok-du gasped for breath and jerked his head up as he asked.
“Has he arrived, perhaps?”
“…He hasn’t come yet. But if you’ve learned something, shouldn’t you be the first to know? Why are you here asking me?”
The reason these men knew of Dokgo Myeong’s return.
It was because Geum Seok-du, who was training at Cheon I-gak, had secretly tracked Dokgo Myeong’s movements.
“Th, that’s… in the m, middle of it, the Captain’s trail disappeared!”
“Huh?”
“This is terrible!”
Jang Sam’s eyes widened.
“D, disappeared? Surely nothing has happened to the Young Master…!”
“He must be hiding his movements to catch us off guard! He’s waiting for us to let our guard down before appearing to torment us! Ugh!”
“…?”
“I thought perhaps he’d secretly returned to the household, so I came here first, but he hasn’t… It must be it! It absolutely must be!”
Is that right?
Shouldn’t we be worried first when his trail disappears?
“Thunder and dark clouds gathering… It’s definitely a sign that the Captain has returned. I, I must go back and check right away.”
“Wh, where are you going?”
“To the newly built Cheonma Sect training grounds. If I’m doing something, won’t I receive less harassment?”
Geum Seok-du vanished in an instant.
Jang Sam blinked blankly.
Then it happened.
Creak!
Someone else carefully pushed open the gate of Sa Heon-gak and poked only his face through.
“J, Brother Jang! Brother Jang! Here! Over here!”
“…Brother Son? What is it?”
“That….”
Son Tae-im trailed off and glanced around.
Jang Sam let out a hollow laugh.
“Are you perhaps looking for the Young Master?”
“Has he returned?!”
“He hasn’t arrived yet.”
“Ah, is that so? I saw dark clouds gathering out of nowhere and thought perhaps. Hehe, you must be working hard.”
Son Tae-im laughed awkwardly and withdrew.
After that, similar incidents repeated themselves.
“Has he arrived?”
“Did he come?”
“No, he didn’t come? But I heard thunder?”
“Where is that fellow! My sister came looking for a martial duel! Hahaha!”
“He didn’t come? Phew, thank goodness. Dark clouds were gathering, so I thought….”
Starting with the Cheonma Sect Elders, people connected to Dokgo Myeong streamed in and out of the Saheon Sect one after another.
Jang Sam felt something was odd.
‘Wait, what do dark clouds and thunder have to do with the young master?’
Just what kind of person did everyone think Dokgo Myeong was?
It was utterly incomprehensible.
Still, if I looked at it positively, wasn’t it a good thing?
‘So many people are concerned about the young master… concerned… about him, right?’
Jang Sam shook his head vigorously.
That was when it happened.
Bang!
Once again, someone kicked open the door and burst in.
Jang Sam let out a heavy sigh and shouted.
“Ah! He still hasn’t arrived! He hasn’t come yet!”
How many times was this now?
Without realizing it, Jang Sam raised his voice and turned his head.
But then.
“Tsk, Brother Jang, not only do you not come to greet me anymore, but you’re already annoyed just seeing my face?”
“Ah, ah! Young Master!”
“Yeah, it’s me. It’s been a while, Brother Jang.”
Dokgo Myeong grinned widely.
It had been nearly half a year since his return home.

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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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