My Father Is the Number One Under Heaven - Chapter 56

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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 56. Brutality
Thud. Crash. Crash. Thud.
Once the beating began, it showed no mercy—it simply would not stop.
Yet no one moved to intervene.
“S-shouldn’t someone stop him?”
“I mean, yes, he made a mistake, but this… this is too much.”
These men from the Moorim Alliance were savagely ruthless, and everyone present feared they might become targets themselves if they dared to interfere.
So they all flinched and shuffled their feet nervously, watching from a distance.
By now the servant had bloodied, slipping in and out of consciousness.
Yet his companions made no move to stop their attacker.
As if such cruelty were simply the natural order of things.
“P-please… p-please have mercy… I was… I was wrong.”
“Ha! You dare ask for mercy after splashing water on my clothes? Clearly you haven’t had enough.”
To beat someone so savagely over nothing more than an accidental splash was plainly wrong—yet the man showed not a shred of remorse for his actions.
Unable to endure any longer, the servant crumpled to the floor again, and the man raised his foot once more.
But then—
“Stop it!”
“Huh? And who are you?”
A lovely young girl stepped between the man and the servant.
“Get out of the way, kid.”
But despite his savage tone, the girl shook her head.
“This has nothing to do with you. Move along.”
“He’s hurting! Stop it!”
“What? That servant splashed water all over my clothes.”
“But still, don’t! Just accept his apology!”
Of course, the servant had already apologized several times.
But what difference did that make now?
The clothes were soaked, and his mood was utterly ruined.
He simply needed somewhere to vent his anger.
When the small girl refused to budge, the man’s face twisted with rage.
“Do you want a beating too? Get out of here!”
“No! I won’t!”
“You—!”
He could tell she wasn’t a servant, but what did that matter?
The very fact that she dared to block him in his anger was her mistake.
“You all really know how to get under my skin, don’t you? Fine. Let’s do this, shall we?”
“No! Don’t! Hitting people is wrong!”
“I warned you clearly. You chose not to move.”
The man no longer cared whether the girl stood before him or not.
He raised his hand with the conviction that anyone who blocked him would pay the price.
Yul-i squeezed her eyes shut against her fear.
Just then—
“Hold on now. That won’t do.”
Suddenly, burly men stepped in front of Yul-i, blocking the man’s path.
“What do you think you’re doing to our young lady?”
“What is this now? And you? Damn, I’m losing it.”
The young man’s brow furrowed deeply as he raised his voice.
“The Peng Manor certainly knows how to treat guests—splashing water on people for no reason, and mere martial artists speaking out of line like this.”
The Baeklang-dae members exchanged glances and quickly grasped what had happened.
Yet even so, everyone could see this had gone far, far too far.
Moreover, just moments ago, he’d tried to strike the young lady Yul-i.
These “guests” had crossed the line long ago.
“Guest?”
Gu Tae-san spoke first, his patience exhausted.
“A guest deserves hospitality only if they act like one.”
“How can someone who commits such violence be treated as a guest? Well?”
“What? You big oaf. You want to go a round with me? How dare a mere martial artist—!”
“If you get beaten by a mere martial artist, won’t that be embarrassing?”
The man moved as if to draw his sword, and Gu Tae-san and the other Baeklang-dae members matched his aggression without flinching.
The situation teetered on the edge of violence.
Just then,
“Stop, both of you. That’s enough.”
A man who had been watching the situation in silence stepped forward.
It was Jo Min, the leader of the Sarim-dan.
“Ha. It seems there’s been some misunderstanding.”
He spoke with shameless composure, playing innocent.
“Did you just say misunderstanding?”
No matter how one tried to excuse it, there was no way to justify reducing a person to this state.
Gu Tae-san, ready to charge with bloodshot eyes at any moment, was restrained by Peng Do-hwan, and then O Chae-mu stepped forward.
“You splashed water on his clothes and reduced our household servant to this condition, and you even attempted to lay hands on our young lady—all of us here witnessed it. What misunderstanding could you possibly mean?”
The tall, composed man laid out the facts methodically, point by point.
Watching him, Jo Min tilted his head and asked,
“And you are?”
“O Chae-mu, Vice-Captain of the Baeklang-dae attached to Peng Manor.”
Ah?
A flicker of interest crossed Jo Min’s eyes in that instant.
It was as if he’d found an amusing toy.
“Ah, so you’re from the Baeklang-dae—those fellows whose reputation has been spreading lately. My apologies for not recognizing you.”
He, too, had been hearing the name Baeklang-dae frequently of late.
Soon after, he masked his intrigued expression and spoke.
“Ha. My younger brother does have something of a hot-blooded temperament, I’m afraid. That’s likely where this misunderstanding arose.”
After reducing a person to this state, he’d been spouting nothing but excuses about mistakes and misunderstandings.
“Let me offer my sincere apologies once more. I’m truly sorry for what’s happened.”
“Group Leader, why should we be apologizing—”
“Be quiet.”
When Jo Min’s expression darkened toward the man who’d been causing the disturbance, the savage fellow ground his teeth softly and retreated.
Then Jo Min turned to O Chae-mu and the others and offered his apologies again.
With Jo Min apologizing repeatedly like this, continuing to press the matter became awkward.
For now, what mattered most was settling the situation and treating the bloodied servant’s wounds; it seemed wiser not to escalate things further at this moment.
Tsk.
A bitter taste filled his mouth. His inner frustration burned, yet it seemed this matter would have to be reported to his superiors and pursued through proper channels later.
“Well, if that’s how you wish to handle it, we understand. We too spoke somewhat carelessly, so we apologize for that part.”
“Ha. No, it’s quite the honor to visit Peng Manor, one of the Five Great Clans, and to meet such renowned figures as yourselves, whose names have been rising of late.”
“You’re too kind. Rumors are merely rumors, after all—I’d ask that you not put too much stock in them.”
Once the truth passes through people’s mouths, it inevitably becomes exaggerated.
Just as a simple rumor about who someone in the neighborhood is dating, after passing through ten people, becomes the tale of a household with a marriage and three children.
The rumors about the Baeklang-dae had likewise been greatly inflated as they spread.
Those concerned only with fame might find it delightful, but those with sound judgment could only find it burdensome.
The same held true from the Baeklang-dae’s perspective.
And since the very facts known as truth were themselves somewhat fabricated, it was all the more unavoidable.
At O Chae-mu’s words, Jo Min let out a hearty laugh.
“How humble you are. But being a martial artist myself, I can’t help but feel my spirits lift when meeting members of the Baeklang-dae.”
Peng Do-hwan and O Chae-mu felt a sudden unease wash over them.
They had a sinking feeling they knew exactly what he was leading toward.
“So, since we’ve had the fortune to meet like this, I was hoping we might deepen our exchange. What do you say?”
“An exchange, you mean…?”
“A duel, perhaps? For martial artists, what finer form of exchange could there be?”
It was exactly as they’d feared.
Despite O Chae-mu’s clearly reluctant expression, Jo Min pressed on with undisguised enthusiasm.
“It would greatly benefit our mutual advancement in martial arts, I believe. And naturally, without real swords, there shouldn’t be serious injury. Would you consider granting this request?”
His rhetoric was crafted so carefully that there seemed no graceful way to refuse.
“The truth is, our masters encouraged us to travel among these great families to broaden our horizons.”
“Mm.”
“If you would grant this, it seems our visit to Peng Manor need not be in vain.”
By Jo Min’s reasoning, there was little legitimate grounds for refusal.
Had there been no incident in between.
But things were different now. The situation was hardly conducive to a duel, and given the poor feeling between them, proceeding would be asking for an accident.
It was better not to.
Having made his decision, O Chae-mu spoke in a firm tone.
“Peng Manor has many other skilled martial artists. So I’m afraid we must respectfully decline.”
That should suffice.
Baeklang-dae had only recently been released from confinement and returned to the main estate—hardly enough time to settle back in.
And O Chae-mu now bore a certain sense of responsibility to ensure that no such unseemly incidents occurred within Baeklang-dae again.
But more than that,
‘Dangerous. These men are dangerous.’
His instinct spoke clearly.
You could see it in the eyes and bearing of that man and his companions.
To become entangled with them seemed only to invite exhaustion and peril.
“I see. You dislike the proposal.”
Jo Min, who had not anticipated such a refusal, blinked slowly and stared at O Chae-mu in bewilderment.
Then O Chae-mu moved first.
To close the conversation before more could be said, before any further offer could be made.
“We shall take our leave now. I hope your time at Peng Manor proves both fruitful and pleasant. Farewell.”
O Chae-mu offered a crisp, formal bow and turned to depart with Yul-i and the injured Servant.
The members of Baeklang-dae found no pleasure in retreating from a fight they had walked into.
Yet they understood all too well what motivated O Chae-mu’s decision, and so they followed his lead without protest.
But then,
“So you beheaded the Absolute Evil himself, and yet here you are—craven cowards?”
“Are all of Peng Manor’s warriors like this? Pathetic.”
“Those rumors must be fabrications.”
“How could someone like that be Absolute Evil? It’s a joke.”
They were openly mocking not only Baeklang-dae but all of Peng Manor—making certain everyone heard.
Such an insult could never be allowed to pass.
The provocation was far too transparent.
But beyond all else, they had continued crossing the line throughout.
Was this ignorance born of youth?
Or did it come from growing up beneath the mighty name of the Moorim Alliance? Or was it simply their nature?
Every possibility seemed plausible.
In truth, he suspected it was all of them combined.
And yet everyone knew that endurance—swallowing the insult, holding one’s tongue—was the right answer.
But,
Crunch.
If someone were to ask whether it was truly right to suffer the mockery of one’s clan and comrades merely to avoid such a moment…
‘No. Never.’
O Chae-mu’s patience had finally shattered.
His forbearance had reached its limit.
“Very well.”
He stopped in his tracks and turned to face Jo Min and the Sarim-dan members.
“Let us duel.”
He was, after all, undeniably a man of Baeklang-dae to his very bones.
And so it came to pass.
Jo Min’s smile deepened.

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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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