Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 48

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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 48
Hidden in the brush overlooking the main gate of the Black Bear Sect, Geum Seok-du whispered.
“He’s likely in the Black Bear Sect Leader’s study. That’s where all the important documents are kept, or so I’ve heard.”
“So what we need to retrieve is the ledger?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Getting it out shouldn’t be too difficult.”
“But… what will you do?”
Geum Seok-du examined Dokgo Myeong’s condition with an expression of shameless concern.
With only basic emergency treatment and qi circulation to barely stabilize his internal injuries, Dokgo Myeong’s complexion was far from healthy.
Yet his eyes blazed with an intensity like a yaksha painted upon a temple wall.
“What do you mean ‘what will I do’? I’ll walk right in.”
“Pardon?”
“The gate is right there, so I’ll walk through it. Why would I climb the wall?”
Wait, so…
The sect leader is dead, the main force of the Musa Corps is all laid out, so tensions must be running high—and he’s planning to simply open the gate and stroll in?
‘Did his incomplete treatment of internal injuries cause him to go mad?’
Geum Seok-du stared at Dokgo Myeong with genuine concern etched across his face.
“Young Master, surely you had a plan in mind?”
“A plan? Of course I do.”
“I knew it!”
“What’s the point of dragging things out when dealing with back-alley thugs? Just crush them all!”
Dokgo Myeong suddenly pushed himself up from the brush.
Thump!
Then he launched himself forward.
“Gasp! Y-Young Master!”
Seo Ryun, who had been watching quietly, hurried after Dokgo Myeong in alarm.
But Dokgo Myeong had already reached the main gate of the Black Bear Sect.
Crash!
Dokgo Myeong kicked the gate open.
The thick iron doors, each the width of a man’s palm, swung wide open on both sides.
‘Ah! Young Master! Please, I beg you!’
Seo Ryun, his face pale, shook his head in exasperation as he hurried after Dokgo Myeong.
Before the main gate.
In the spacious courtyard, roughly thirty or forty Black Bear Sect Disciples stood in formation.
Their startled gazes all turned toward Dokgo Myeong and Seo Ryun at once.
“…”
“…”
Dokgo Myeong blinked blankly.
“Uh, there are more of them than I expected?”
“S-Young Master…”
Seo Ryun exhaled a sigh openly.
“You dare sigh at the words of the Dragon Blood?”
“….”
“Tch, now you won’t even answer?”
At that moment, a figure who appeared to be an officer on the platform ahead shouted.
“What madmen dare enter this place!”
Clang! Clang clang!
The Black Bear Sect Disciples drew their weapons in unison.
Though a menacing aura rolled forward like waves, Seo Ryun cleanly ignored the outcry.
“Once the rebuke is finished, I shall listen. Should I subdue them?”
Shing!
Seo Ryun, stepping forward before Dokgo Myeong, drew his blade.
Though their numbers were many, they were merely a minor sect faction.
He was the captain of the main sword corps of the Cheonha Jeil Sega, and the person giving orders behind him was perhaps a master stronger than himself.
“Very well, let us see the skills of Captain Seo.”
“I shall obey your command.”
Seo Ryun stepped forward.
The future of the Black Bear Sect was already decided.
* * *
It did not take long for the fighting spirit of the Black Bear Sect Disciples to be completely broken.
“Ugh….”
“M-monsters.”
“What is this….”
The Black Bear Sect Disciples trembled in fear, staring at the two men.
Seventy percent of the disciples arrayed in the manor had been subdued.
It happened in less than half a shichen—no, less than half of that.
“Won’t you come out anymore? Hurry and come. I’ve been up all night and I’m tired.”
The young man spoke while cracking his neck.
This brat is an even greater monster.
With just a few punches, people flew about, and those struck by him couldn’t even moan.
“W-we did not recognize your esteemed presence. M-might we ask your honored name?”
An officer of the Black Bear Sect stepped forward cautiously, asking in a trembling voice.
Seo Ryun opened his mouth, looking at him.
“Sometimes, like grass by the roadside, one must sway in the wind knowing nothing to survive. Do you still wish to know?”
“…!”
The bearing of a captain of the main sword corps of a renowned orthodox sect, the Cheonha Jeil Sega. Everyone held their breath.
Of course, everyone except one person.
“Haha! Grass by the roadside, he says! Truly our Captain Seo! Magnificent!”
Ah, my lord. Please, spare me.
Seo Ryun sighed with a deflated expression.
“I won’t ask. But couldn’t you at least tell me why you’re doing this? If our sect has done something wrong, I’ll correct it immediately, so please….”
Dokgo Myeong’s lips curled into a cold sneer.
“Just think of it as karma, you pathetic fools.”
Dokgo Myeong turned his head and swept his gaze across the Black Bear Sect Disciples who hadn’t yet fallen.
“The same goes for you worthless bastards.”
“….”
“Your leader is dead, your comrades are dead or wounded. Yet you cower and tremble before just two men? Why did you even set foot in Gangho? If you became warriors, you should at least live with dignity. Look at the pathetic state you’re in now.”
“….”
“When you were sucking the marrow from common folk and living in luxury, didn’t you think a day like this would come? What a shame. Today is that very day.”
His words were merciless and brutal.
Yet the Black Bear Sect Disciples dared not voice their anger.
Whoooosh!
It was because of the aura emanating from Dokgo Myeong’s entire being.
The sensation of controlling space and the power of the Hwicheon Gi.
The Black Bear Sect Disciples couldn’t even open their mouths against the mysterious energy that shook their senses and spirits.
‘Master…!’
Seo Ryun, who had been watching quietly, looked at Dokgo Myeong with astonished eyes.
Harsh words, yet containing righteousness.
Words so just that they were sharper than any blade.
‘The way of the righteous swordsman!’
Without realizing it, I thought so.
To guide evil toward righteousness—wasn’t this the very image of a true hero of justice?
“Y-you’re right….”
The officer hurriedly opened his mouth.
“But we, we have our circumstances too!”
“Circumstances?”
“We weren’t like this from the beginning. All of our sect’s misdeeds were carried out under the orders of our leader—Song Mun-ak. Before he came here with Salpung-dae, we were….”
The man poured out his words with a desperate expression.
“Ah, enough, enough. Why do you all say the same things? Did you learn this as a group somewhere?”
“…Yes, yes?”
“That your superiors ordered you, or that you’re actually tragic villains. Something like that, right?”
Well, that was true, but….
Wasn’t this supposed to be the part where I listen to such backstories?
“So, among you, has anyone ever resisted the leader?”
“….”
“There you have it.”
Dokgo Myeong let out a scoff.
“So… what will you do with us?”
Dokgo Myeong nodded and raised his hand.
“I’ll give you three choices. First….”
Dokgo Myeong spread three fingers and his eyes gleamed.
“You’ll be beaten until you’re nearly dead, quietly.”
“…?”
“Second, you resist and get beaten to a pulp.”
“…What did you say?”
“Third, you get beaten to near death and dragged off to the magistrate’s office to face punishment.”
Seo Ryun, who had been listening, pressed his forehead.
‘Extortion….’
Yes, it had to be extortion, right?
Even Seo Ryun couldn’t make sense of it anymore.
“Was it your plan from the beginning to destroy our sect? Did you also harm the sect leader?”
“You’re only catching on now?”
“You damn bastard….”
The man gnashed his teeth.
Fear and deference had already vanished without a trace.
“That’s right. Now your true nature shows itself.”
“Why did you bother running your mouth like that if you were going to do this?”
“Drawing a line.”
“A line?”
“Someone I respect most taught me that. Fortunately, you’re on the other side of it.”
Dokgo Myeong chuckled.
The man’s expression hardened as he clenched his fists.
“Do you think we’ll just take this lying down?”
“Then you’ll get beaten to a pulp.”
“Attack!”
The man shouted.
Dokgo Myeong cracked his knuckles and laughed.
* * *
“Hey! Tie that properly!”
“Y-yes…!”
“Finish tying everything and bind your ankles too. Understand?”
“Yes!”
The Black Bear Sect Disciples, thoroughly beaten, were tying their own hands and feet together.
‘What am I even witnessing right now.’
In any case, traveling with Dokgo Myeong made one question their own common sense.
Seo Ryun shook his head repeatedly.
Then Dokgo Myeong spoke up.
“Captain Seo, did you get in touch?”
“Ah, yes. Support from the Bunja Division should be arriving. They said they’ll handle the ledgers and documents if you hand them over.”
“Good.”
Capturing all the Black Bear Sect Disciples was one thing, but disposing of them was another matter entirely.
These were audacious fellows who had even bribed the government officials, after all.
‘Being the patriarch of a clan has its perks.’
Once I became a patriarch-level figure of the Dokgo Clan, I could receive support from the Main Sect. It meant I could dump all the tedious cleanup work onto them.
“So the disposal is all taken care of…”
Dokgo Myeong turned his head smoothly.
Boxes and bundles were stacked neatly in one corner of the courtyard.
Dokgo Myeong’s lips stretched wide.
“Hehehehe!”
“…”
“Hehehehehehe!”
“…”
“I haven’t eaten anything all night, yet my stomach feels full. How much is all this worth!”
“…”
Dokgo Myeong gazed upon the accumulated silver, silk, precious swords, porcelain, and all manner of treasures that could be converted to wealth, his face breaking into a beaming smile.
All of it had been accumulated by the Black Bear Sect. The quantity and volume were staggering.
“Righteousness… righteousness…”
Seo Ryun was muttering to himself in the corner with a hollow expression.
“Patriarch Seo, what’s wrong?”
“…It’s nothing, sir.”
“Then when people from Tianerge and the Bunta arrive, have them request personnel from the Geumsan Sect.”
“The Geumsan Sect… did you say, sir?”
Dokgo Myeong nodded.
“The wealth that was wrongfully extorted from the common people must be returned. When it comes to matters of money, the Geumsan Sect is the best.”
“Y-Young Master!”
Seo Ryun broke into a wide smile.
As expected! I knew it!
Though this young master could be frivolous at times, mad, selfish, always causing trouble—still, I believed he possessed a sense of righteousness.
“I shall organize all the wealth and distribute it among the common people. If we use this dirty money cleanly, then the victims…”
“What are you talking about?”
“Pardon?”
Suddenly, Dokgo Myeong’s expression turned serious.
“If I give all that away, what happens to me? Fine, the wronged commoners deserve it, but should I worry about the rest of these bastards too? Not a chance!”
“…”
“What’s dirty or clean about money? Any money without a label and any money that can’t be traced—it’s all mine! And that alone is worth a fortune!”
Seo Ryun decided to stop thinking.
Dokgo Myeong gazed at the chests for a while with warm eyes, as if venerating a sacred altar.
“Young Master, I… found it all.”
Then, Geum Seok-du approached Dokgo Myeong and Seo Ryun hesitantly.
In his arms were a thick book and several sheets of paper.
“Is that sufficient?”
“Yes, thanks to you, I found it. Thank you.”
“So? Now let me hear the real story. What exactly were you looking for?”
It was something I had never heard of even in my past life.
What could this man possibly be after?
“Ah, it’s really not much of a story, but….”
Geum Seok-du’s face flushed slightly as he abruptly handed over the documents.
A debt certificate.
The documents detailed the debts and dates of borrowing, the regions and locations where they lived, and the ledger contained records of interest paid thus far and various other matters.
‘The borrower is… someone named Kim from the embroidery shop? What is this?’
Could there be some hidden cipher?
Just as I was about to ask why he went through all that trouble for this….
‘The surname is the same, isn’t it?’
Dokgo Myeong looked at Geum Seok-du.
Geum Seok-du rubbed the back of his shiny head and answered.
“That is… my sister.”

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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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