Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 70

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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 70
Dokgo Myeong’s expression hardened.
“A troublemaker?”
“Yes, the rumors say you cause incidents wherever you go. And this time you’ve touched an elder of Hwangshan?”
“I didn’t touch him—he touched me first.”
*Chuckle chuckle!* “The way you’re bristling up, you must feel a bit guilty, hm?”
“I don’t feel guilty at all.”
“When an elder speaks, you should simply nod and agree.”
“But I’m saying it because it’s the truth—”
“Ugh, what kind of man complains so much?”
…
Dokgo Myeong squeezed his eyes shut, his face flushed with barely contained frustration.
‘Damn this household! I’d rather die than endure this!’
Dokgo Myeong rubbed the back of his neck.
He hadn’t even recovered from his exhaustion before meeting Dokgo Cheon, and now this stubborn old codger was here scratching at his nerves.
‘And not just any old man at that…’
The Dokgo Family hadn’t enjoyed its current prestige for very long. Before the wars, they’d been called the lowest-ranking among the Six Great Families.
It was the current family head, Dokgo Cheon, who had elevated them to the position of the greatest family under heaven—
‘And this old woman walked alongside him every step of the way.’
Dokgo Hwi-hwa folded both hands atop her walking staff and smiled wickedly.
“So you’ve left the Hwangshan Sect’s foremost disciple half-dead, I hear?”
“I simply corrected some bad habits.”
“They say he’s become useless—can’t even use martial arts?”
“Fortunately, at least he didn’t die.”
Dokgo Hwi-hwa let out a short laugh.
“Weren’t you afraid?”
“Should I have been?”
“Of making an enemy of the Nine Sects?”
“They were acting like common thugs in an alley.”
At his unguarded words, Dokgo Hwi-hwa laughed again.
“You’ve misunderstood me.”
“Pardon?”
“I wasn’t asking if you feared the Hwangshan Sect—I was asking if you feared the Main Sect.”
In that instant, Dokgo Wi-hak, who had been listening quietly, turned his sharp gaze toward Dokgo Hwi-hwa.
Even under that piercing stare, Dokgo Hwi-hwa didn’t blink. She simply kept her deep smile fixed on Dokgo Myeong.
“To manage a household the size of the Main Sect, there’s something more important than making allies—reducing enemies.”
…
“That’s the problem. You seize your own gains like a ghost, yet you bring enemies to the family.”
“I’ve already discussed this matter with the family head.”
“You fool. Do you really think the family head will protect you?”
Tap!
Dokgo Hwi-hwa scoffed with amusement, tapping her cane lightly against the floor.
“Did you think I built this family to let brats like you run amok?”
“….”
“Of course not. If you’re going to strut about so fearlessly, why should I let you be?”
The air in the chamber suddenly turned cold.
Dokgo Hwi-hwa was clearly smiling. Yet beneath the wrinkled eyelids curved like a crescent moon, a blade-like gleam flashed in her eyes.
Dokgo Myeong met that gaze calmly, then slowly opened his mouth.
“Then don’t let me be.”
“Hmm?”
“But my temperament is rather difficult, you see. If you intend to put a leash on me, you’ll need to make it very secure.”
“….”
“Would you like to try?”
The moment a smile appeared at the corner of Dokgo Myeong’s mouth.
Bang!
Dokgo Hwi-hwa’s hand came down on the table.
“…Puhehe!”
Dokgo Hwi-hwa burst into laughter, looking at Dokgo Wi-hak.
“Look at this audacious brat’s manners. Wi-hak, how on earth did you educate your son?”
“….”
“My goodness! These young ones these days are so frightening, I wonder if they’ll manage to speak properly and live at all.”
Dokgo Hwi-hwa laughed with amusement, slapping her knees repeatedly.
Dokgo Myeong let out a deep sigh and spoke in a weary voice.
“Are we done now?”
“Hmm?”
“Haven’t you tested me enough? I’m rather exhausted from the journey, so shall we end this?”
Dokgo Hwi-hwa’s eyes gleamed.
“You figured it out?”
“The Gajubu reacted exactly the same way.”
“Is that so?”
“Needling my nerves and then laughing it off—your manner of speaking is perfectly identical.”
Dokgo Hwi-hwa gazed at Dokgo Myeong with a subtle smile.
‘What kind of person is this?’
Put a leash on him?
Here I am, with a loose mouth but a blade sharpened in my heart—what frozen leash could possibly hold me?
‘I knew he was fierce, but he’s a beast like no other. Not just bold, but overflowing with audacity.’
Recently there had been talk of him within the faction, so I held some expectations, but it seemed a true prodigy had emerged.
‘If he were adequately manageable, I would have broken his line entirely.’
Dokgo Hwi-hwa chuckled.
“I lived peacefully for a while in the quiet, but it seems those good days are over.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You, that’s who. You look like a born rebel through and through, and it’s obvious the family will face turbulent times because of you.”
Dokgo Myeong furrowed his brow.
“Really, I’m telling you I haven’t done anything to provoke anyone first.”
“So if no one bothers you, you plan to live like a mouse, just like your father?”
“….”
“See? I’ve never met a single person who talks like that and actually lives quietly.”
Dokgo Hwi-hwa fixed Dokgo Myeong with a peculiar gaze.
“It seems you’ll need to conduct yourself carefully if you want to survive.”
“I understand.”
“How are things on our side?”
“Pardon?”
“There are many vacant positions in the Elder Council.”
The atmosphere in the chamber shifted abruptly at those words.
* * *
“The Council Leader visited in person?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“He dragged that old body of his and made the journey himself. The man’s full of vigor, I’ll give him that. Is there anything else?”
“Nothing except that Wi Baek the Overseer received a summons from the Gajubu.”
“Hmm, I see. You’ve worked hard.”
Dokgo Un-hak dismissed his subordinate and gazed ahead.
“I’m wondering if I sent you too hastily. I was trying to gauge the situation, but it seems I’ve drawn unwanted attention instead.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“About Myeong-i’s matter. I didn’t expect the Council Leader to move so quickly.”
Before Dokgo Un-hak.
There stood Dokgo Yeon, reporting back to her father.
She leaned back in her chair with a nonchalant expression.
“I never thought you’d actually come back having done nothing but the blade dance. Why didn’t you try something else?”
“I did try something.”
“Hmm? What?”
“I did the blade dance.”
Dokgo Yeon spoke with confidence.
Dokgo Un-hak let out a hollow laugh.
“You were so eager to do just one blade dance? You even gave a gift on your way out?”
“Father, you don’t understand, which is why you say such things….”
Dokgo Yeon grinned widely.
“That one is my kind of person.”
From achieving that level of skill in such a short time to that vicious aura and merciless technique.
Blood doesn’t lie. Though the bloodline was distant, it didn’t matter to Dokgo Yeon.
Finally, a kindred spirit had appeared in a family full of monkeys.
Though he still denied it, I was certain it wouldn’t be long before he admitted the truth.
“Sometimes I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“It happens. Anyway, I couldn’t recruit that fellow even if I wanted to, and I won’t.”
“Heh, he must have made quite an impression on you?”
“Very much so.”
At my daughter’s enthusiastic response, Dokgo Un-hak clicked his tongue.
“Besides, if you try any more tricks with him, he’ll catch on like a ghost. I don’t want to miss a martial contest with that fellow.”
He’s certainly of the same ilk, but there’s something about him that feels like he’s mixed in with our cunning older brother.
“And Father, wasn’t achieving your goal already accomplished just by sending me?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
At those words, Dokgo Un-hak smiled slyly and changed the subject.
“That aside, the Patriarch moved personally, it seems…”
Dokgo Un-hak’s expression turned cold in an instant.
“It seems quiet contact like this won’t work anymore.”
“Why would that heavy-bottomed one move personally?”
“A countermeasure.”
Dokgo Un-hak rested his chin on his hand.
“To prevent us from monopolizing him. Moreover, he moved openly so the rumors would spread far and wide.”
“Is that boy really so coveted?”
Dokgo Un-hak’s eyes gleamed.
It was as if great ripples were spreading across a still lake.
“He’s barely past twenty. At that age, he can converse with this old man as an equal. Do you not understand what that means?”
“….”
Dokgo Un-hak burst into hearty laughter.
“Moreover, his name now carries the reputation of all of Guizhou, the Southern Trade Route, and the martial world of Anhui.”
At such a young age, he had accumulated such achievements, yet he was being underestimated precisely because of his youth.
‘His individual influence already rivals that of any renowned master in Gangho.’
Dokgo Un-hak narrowed his eyes.
‘The problem is, I can’t fathom what that clever fellow is thinking.’
Was there anything more dangerous than not knowing someone’s purpose?
He was someone who understood far too well how this game was played to be merely working diligently without thought.
‘Yet he openly pushed away the hand I extended.’
Was he trying to raise his own value?
Or had he been considering the Elder Council from the beginning?
“Unlike his father, that one’s unpredictable. Is that another concern?”
“Pardon?”
“Never mind. Let’s drop this topic and hear about the mission instead.”
Dokgo Un-hak’s eyes grew sharp.
“The situation with the Moyong Family is strange?”
* * *
“Sect Leader, didn’t you say this was a private meeting?”
“Hah, one wrong move and I’d be tempted to strike you.”
“….”
Dokgo Wi-hak fixed a sharp gaze upon Dokgo Hwi-hwa.
She didn’t even blink.
‘Well, that figures.’
Dokgo Myeong scratched the back of his head with an exasperated expression.
Suddenly, Dokgo Cheon’s laughter-tinged warning echoed in his ears.
Both the Outer Sect and the Elder Council would move, he’d said….
“Is this why you came?”
“That cunning dog Un-hak already sent his own daughter, so why shouldn’t I come?”
“…That was a forced wager match, though.”
“A convenient pretext nonetheless.”
Dokgo Myeong smacked his lips.
“Why no answer? Are you thinking of refusing?”
Dokgo Hwi-hwa’s eyes sharpened as she pressed for a response.
Dokgo Myeong chuckled and shrugged his shoulders.
“No, why not?”
“Then?”
“Hmm….”
Dokgo Myeong suddenly straightened his back and leaned against the chair.
His posture was quite….
‘Arrogant, isn’t it?’
Meanwhile, one corner of his mouth curled upward.
“Well then, why don’t you make an offer?”
“An offer? What kind?”
“How much have you prepared to bring?”
“…What are you saying, you brat?”
“If you’re going to recruit or sway me, you should bring something to the table! You can’t just swallow a promising talent like me with empty hands! Come on! Surely that’s not your plan?”
Promising talent?
Well, it’s true enough, but does he have to say it himself?
Dokgo Hwi-hwa looked at Dokgo Wi-hak with a bewildered expression.
“Did I hear that correctly?”
“…Likely so.”
Dokgo Wi-hak kept his eyes tightly shut as if his head ached.
Dokgo Hwi-hwa burst into laughter.
“What do you want, you cunning fox? Let’s hear it.”
“That’s something the buyer should say, not something you ask me.”
Dokgo Hwi-hwa let out a scoff.
“A slippery one indeed. Are you trying to haggle?”
“….”
“If you’re not careful, you could split yourself in half down there.”
“I’m not entirely sure what you mean, ma’am.”
“Anyway….”
Dokgo Hwi-hwa cast a sidelong glance at Dokgo Myeong and Dokgo Wi-hak, father and son.
“Like father, like son, they say. The boy’s manner of speech is outrageous, and the old man keeps his eyes blazing with intensity….”
“When have I ever had blazing eyes, ma’am?”
“Damn it. Tsk!”
Dokgo Hwi-hwa clicked her tongue.
“But tell me—have you finally changed your mind?”
“What do you mean, ma’am?”
Dokgo Hwi-hwa didn’t answer, instead directing her gaze toward the left side of the Study wall.
A single sword lay there, still in its scabbard.
Those who knew, knew.
That the blade within that scabbard was no longer whole.
“I heard you went all the way to Anhui yourself to save your son. So you haven’t changed your mind after all?”
“No, ma’am. It was merely a brief journey.”
Dokgo Hwi-hwa shook her head vigorously.
“I shouldn’t have asked.”
“….”
“Still, prepare yourself mentally. Word has already reached the ears of the Jinmu Pavilion, they say.”
The Jinmu Pavilion.
It was the organization of the Mudang’s core masters—those who stood shoulder to shoulder with the Arhats of Shaolin and the Plum Blossom Swordmasters of Hwasan.
“Why are you telling me this, ma’am?”
“I came here like a senile old woman and made a mess of things, so shouldn’t I at least tell you something useful?”
With a grunt, Dokgo Hwi-hwa leaned her weight on her cane and rose to her feet.
“Are you leaving, ma’am?”
“Yes, I have someone else to meet.”
“Please take care on your way.”
“No need to see me out. Don’t bother following me.”
“….”
Dokgo Hwi-hwa waved her hand dismissively and turned around.
Just as she was about to open the door and leave, Dokgo Hwi-hwa suddenly turned her head back.
“As an elder, I’ll offer you one piece of advice.”
Dokgo Hwi-hwa’s voice was cold, unlike before.
“Those who stand with no one will find that no one extends their hand when they fall into peril. Remember this well.”
“And the moment you take someone’s side, the other will draw their blade. I will keep this close to heart.”
“Ha!”
Dokgo Hwi-hwa let out a hollow laugh.
“Stubborn brat. The son of that boy won’t yield an inch to his elders… Ugh! Tsk!”
Click! Thud!
Dokgo Hwi-hwa finished speaking and opened the door to leave.
Dokgo Myeong broke into a self-satisfied smirk.

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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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