Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 92

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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 92
A man opened his eyes in a dimly lit chamber.
Weak light seeping through the window faintly revealed the man’s hollow eyes, unkempt beard, and sallow complexion.
Dokgo Jo-hak, the youngest son of Dokgo Cheon and Sect Leader of Baek Ok-gak, remained shrouded in darkness.
‘What have I done so wrong?’
For months now, he had confined himself within the walls of Baek Ok-gak, locked away in his own quarters, seeing no one.
“…Now all I taste is bitterness.”
Thud!
Dokgo Jo-hak hurled the wine bottle carelessly away.
The empty ceramic vessel rolled weakly across the floor, colliding with the pile of bottles already scattered there and producing a sharp clink.
“Truly pathetic. So utterly pathetic….”
Dokgo Jo-hak muttered listlessly, gazing up at the ceiling.
He knew his place better than anyone.
The most mediocre of Dokgo Cheon’s children.
My eldest brother was a monster said to carry the Family Head’s blood most purely.
My second sister was such a genius that even the Imperial Court had extended invitations to her.
My third brother, Dokgo Wi-hak… he had always looked down upon me like I was garbage, and no matter what I did, I could never surpass him.
No, not just Dokgo Wi-hak—I could never surpass any of the three.
So I poured everything into my child instead.
Dokgo Ak, my only son.
That was why I became so obsessed with him.
‘But must even my own child be devoured by my second sister’s offspring? And am I truly the one at fault? What have I done so terribly wrong?’
Dokgo Jo-hak squeezed his eyes shut.
The already dark surroundings grew even darker.
From beyond that darkness, the image of his son just before entering the Punishment Chamber appeared like a phantom.
-I have been thinking wrongly all this time, Father.
-If you are wrong, then I, who raised you, am wrong too? What poison did that wretched bastard feed you to make you speak such nonsense?
-Poison? Rather, I learned from him.
-Learn? You fool! That wretch pinned his crimes on you!
-That doesn’t mean my wrongs are erased. Regardless, it was I who stood against the Martial Arts Alliance Leader.
-Do you understand how much damage entering the Punishment Chamber will do to your future?
-Father. If you avoid responsibility and run away again this time, that will damage my future even more.
Dokgo Jo-hak, lost in recollection, clicked his tongue.
“Pathetic. To be wounded by a few words from my rebellious son and lock myself away like this. At my age, what I’m doing is laughable.”
As always, Dokgo Jo-hak stood up boldly and mocked himself.
“I must confront that wretch at once and set things right.”
But whenever he reached for the door handle to leave, his son’s final words would inevitably brush across his mind.
-Father, I am pouring my heart out for your sake, yet you would defy your parent’s wishes!
-Is this truly for my sake?
-What?
-Could it be… for Father’s sake?
The strength drained from the hand gripping the door handle.
Why had those words become a demon of the heart?
Dokgo Jo-hak still could not understand.
* * *
“So in the end, your son struck at the heart of the matter with such precision, and you were so shocked by his defiance that you locked yourself away, is that it?”
“….”
“Really now, have you no shame, having lived so many years?”
“….”
“….”
Silence hung heavy in the air.
Jang Sam’s eyes trembled slightly at the corners.
‘Young Master, please….’
Would he die if he spoke more gently?
How could he reduce such delicate and complex emotions and the conflict between father and son to something so simple?
Then Jeong So-hee spoke again.
“Father has an illness of the heart.”
Dokgo Myeong let out a soft laugh.
“Please do not ask me to understand because of that.”
“….”
“There is no law that requires a victim to understand the circumstances of the perpetrator. Why should I understand the Sect Leader, who has behaved like some third-rate villain?”
“I did not open my mouth to ask for understanding.”
“Then what?”
“It was to apologize.”
“What?”
Jeong So-hee suddenly bowed her head deeply.
“I apologize with all sincerity.”
“….”
For a moment, he was taken aback by the sudden turn of events.
Dokgo Myeong hardened his expression and spoke coldly.
“Why are you doing this?”
“That Ak-i became what he is, and that Father has been so broken—it is all my fault and my lack of virtue.”
“There is no reason for you to apologize to me, Aunt.”
“What do you mean there is no reason?”
“What?”
“I am your aunt, and we are one family.”
One family? Family?
Did she just say family?
“If I know that my son and my husband have wronged my nephew, yet I do not apologize, then I would be failing in my duty as an elder of this household.”
“I….”
I was so flustered that words momentarily escaped me.
An apology? Duty?
‘There’s someone in this family who speaks like that?’
No. That couldn’t be right.
This has to be some kind of trick!
“Just tell me honestly. What is it you want from me?”
“Exactly what I said—an apology.”
“…Really? You’re not hoping I’ll forgive the Sect Leader?”
“Forgiveness comes after the guilty party has apologized. How could I demand forgiveness first when your uncle hasn’t even apologized to you?”
“…I see.”
Well, that was true enough.
But seriously?
“Still, if your uncle were to apologize to you sincerely first, I would hope you might accept it.”
“That’s… all there is to it?”
“I know you came here on business. But there’s an old saying: cultivate yourself, regulate your family, govern the state, and bring peace to the world. Family comes before business, does it not?”
“…!”
My jaw dropped.
At this point, I had to admit it.
She was being sincere.
‘There’s actually a normal person in this family!’
It was the greatest shock I’d experienced in recent memory.
Which is why I couldn’t help but ask.
“But if you’re as upright as this, Aunt, how did the family end up in such a state?”
“…”
Thwack!
Jang Sam clutched his forehead and dropped his head, and even Jeong So-hee paused for a moment.
But she soon answered calmly.
“I was often away from the family because my health was poor.”
“Now that I think about it, I don’t recall ever seeing you at the family estate. Are you doing better now?”
“Much better these days.”
I nodded, then let out a long sigh.
“Well, I understand what you’re saying, Aunt.”
When I thought about it, my relationship with Dokgo Jo-hak was somewhat ambiguous. Unlike with Dokgo Ak, there wasn’t much connecting us.
At most, he’d tried to lay hands on me and said some petty things that got under my skin.
But letting that go was another matter entirely.
I clicked my tongue.
“As the saying goes, those who tie the knot must untie it. The Sect Leader is the one who needs to resolve this. Don’t expect anything from me.”
“Yes, I understand.”
I sighed deeply and clicked my tongue repeatedly.
Then, I suddenly noticed Jeong So-hee’s face as she gazed at me.
“I’m grateful to you.”
Dokgo Myeong stopped without realizing it.
Jeong So-hee was smiling.
A gentle, benevolent smile bloomed like a flower across that stern face.
Dokgo Myeong stared blankly at that smile.
‘…Now I understand why this person made me so uncomfortable.’
It was because there was no trace of malice or selfish intent.
She was simply family—a niece living under the same roof—someone capable of offering a genuine smile.
That’s what made it so difficult. Dokgo Myeong had never possessed anything called family in his entire life.
“I haven’t done anything worthy of gratitude.”
“Accepting your aunt’s apology is something to be grateful for, as is the change you’ve brought about in Ak-i.”
“Pardon?”
“Of course, it seems you dug a trap and had Ak-i fall into it, but still.”
“….”
“….”
…Is she really grateful? Or is she being sarcastic?
Is she speaking in riddles?
Cold sweat dripped down Dokgo Myeong’s face.
“But setting aside the Sect Leader, where exactly is that Ak-i? He should have left the Punishment Chamber long ago….”
“He went back in of his own accord.”
“Pardon? Back where?”
“The Punishment Chamber.”
“What? Why would he go back there of all places?”
“He said wall-facing meditation has been a great help to him.”
“…?”
That boy has truly become strange.
I hit him several times, even struck his head a few times, so surely….
“Still, it’s thanks to you. I’ve never seen him so focused and devoted to something before.”
Dokgo Myeong closed his mouth tightly for a moment, glaring into empty space.
It was supposed to be a simple matter to wrap up quickly, yet nothing had progressed and his mood felt restless and unsettled.
And in that instant, Dokgo Myeong felt irritation at this entire situation.
‘Damn it, since when have I tolerated feeling frustrated?’
Dokgo Myeong’s eyes gleamed.
Jang Sam, who had been nervously glancing at Dokgo Myeong’s profile, flinched in alarm.
‘His eyes have gone mad. The young master’s eyes have gone mad again!’
Dokgo Myeong let out a low chuckle.
That laugh.
That ominous, unmistakable laugh had emerged!
Soon Dokgo Myeong’s head turned sharply and his mouth opened.
“Aunt, there.”
“Hmm?”
“I have a solution to propose. Will you forgive me?”
Forgive?
A slip of the tongue? Normally, wouldn’t one ask for permission instead?
“I’m tired of all this pathetic groveling. I’ll wrap this up cleanly myself.”
Dokgo Myeong made a slashing motion across his own throat as he spoke.
‘Master! That’s not it! That’s completely the wrong gesture!’
Despite Jang Sam’s alarm, Jeong So-hee simply nodded with an expressionless face.
“Very well. I don’t understand what you’re saying, but do as you wish.”
“No regrets, then? Hehehehe!”
* * *
“Huff… hah…”
In the darkness, a young man’s breathing flowed out in steady rhythm.
Whoooosh!
A formidable surge of vital energy erupted and was drawn back in, repeating endlessly.
The young man, Dokgo Ak, breathed deeply.
‘I have never been more desperate than this.’
Since returning from the Jingcheng Alliance and entering the Punishment Chamber, Dokgo Ak had undergone many changes.
The first three days were torturous with boredom, by the fifteenth day I regretted it, and from the second month onward, I resigned myself to it.
When three months had passed, I reflected upon myself and trained in martial arts, and at that moment I felt an enlightenment filling me completely.
Now I no longer bothered to count the days.
‘I will advance further and show Father my answer.’
Dokgo Ak pictured his father’s face in his mind.
He wanted to prove to his father, who was filled with stubborn pride, that he had been right.
He hoped that would break through his father’s mental demons.
Because they were family.
‘And I will show that bastard my transformed self as well.’
Over his father’s face, Dokgo Myeong’s face appeared.
That lunatic, that demon from hell, that guy I want to punch just once.
And… that guy I want to be acknowledged by, just once.
I want to show Dokgo Myeong my changed self.
When that happens, what will he say to me?
“Until it’s over…”
Suddenly, his voice echoed in my ears like an auditory hallucination.
“It’s not over…”
Yes, that bastard always said something like that.
“…It’s not finished.”
Right, it’s not over until it’s over… wait?
“Krraaaagh!”
Dokgo Ak jolted awake and sprang to his feet.
“What, what, what?!”
“Tch, you brat. See, people really do need their heads knocked around a few times before they come to their senses. I’ve reformed one person. Reformed them, I did.”
“You, you, you’re Dokgo Myeong! Why are you here!”
“Pfft, did you really get hit in the head that badly? Why are you even stammering now?”
“Why, why are you? Here…!”
Just as I was about to shout in anger.
My vision suddenly spun in dizzying circles.
I collapsed straight onto the ground.
“Gaaahhh!”
Perhaps the impact had been too severe while I was cultivating my inner energy.
My inner force reversed its flow, and blood surged violently toward my head.
“Damn it, damn it. Ugh. Are you alright?”
“Ugh, ugh… you, you damn….”
“Breathe, just breathe. Come on.”
“Gaaahhh….”
“Tsk, this bastard really is a handful.”
Dokgo Myeong suddenly raised his fist.
‘Surely he’s not going to hit me in this state?’
Even as I trembled in agony, my eyes widened in shock.
‘I, I may have made mistakes… but not like this…?’
I squeezed my eyes shut.
And Dokgo Myeong’s fist came crashing down directly onto my back.
Boom!
“…!”
My mouth fell open in surprise.
The pain was less severe than expected. The vibration that reached my lungs had simply caused my mouth to open involuntarily.
Whoosh!
A fiery force burrowed into my body, incinerating all the turbid energy before guiding every trace of qi down to my dantian.
Then, spreading and diffusing like a gentle current, it maintained the harmony between inner and outer force, correcting the flow of my inner power.
“Cough! Hack!”
Turbid energy mixed with my cough as it came out.
Dokgo Myeong nodded and stood up.
“You owe me your life now.”
“You almost caused me to fall into demonic cultivation, you bastard!”
I shouted in anger before suddenly coming to my senses.
“Huh?”
It was fine.
The reversed inner force and the warning signs of demonic cultivation had vanished without a trace.
I steadied my racing heart and looked Dokgo Myeong up and down.
“What, what are you?”
I could tell that Dokgo Ak had made progress through relentless effort.
‘He corrected the flow of his inner energy with such crude methods?’
Wasn’t that something difficult even when internal cultivation reached its peak?
Only then did I see it clearly.
A body honed through discipline, breathing refined and controlled, inner energy settled with weighty presence.
In that instant, my legs trembled.
Dokgo Myeong had truly become a monster.
“Forget training for now. Come with me.”
“What, what?”
“Let’s go rehabilitate your father too.”
Rehabilitate? Who? Father?
Dokgo Ak stared at Dokgo Myeong’s hand with trembling eyes.
No, surely not?
No matter what… surely not?
Crack!
A chilling sound of bone echoed from Dokgo Myeong’s clenched fist.

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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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