My Father Is the Number One Under Heaven - Chapter 97

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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 97. In the Underground Prison

“Ah, what a wretch I am.”
……
“All I wanted was a decent meal, and here we are in this mess. Lord, what a disaster!”
……
“That’s why I said it from the start—just ignore them and pass quietly by.”

A shabby underground prison.
A ragged young man heaved sigh after sigh, his complaints pouring out without cease.

“But how could you charge in headlong without even looking back and drag us into this disaster? I’m losing my mind! Truly! If you’ve got a mouth, say something!”

Another man’s patience finally snapped. He exploded in response.

“How was I supposed to know they were from Huan Xi Palace? And when men in the righteous faction are dragging innocent villagers away like that, how could I just stand and watch?”

The ragged man seized on his words, twisting them with sarcasm.

“Ah, a champion of righteousness we have here. And that’s exactly why we’re both locked in this cell, isn’t it? Isn’t it?”
“Stop it! You’re driving me mad!”
“That’s enough, both of you.”

A monk among them stepped in before the quarrel could worsen.
By appearance alone, he seemed taciturn and reserved.
Yet his condition was dire.
His eyes were bruised, his lips split, his face swollen……

“But Do Il, you were wounded severely in all this, weren’t you?”
“How could I blame Myeong Hyun for stepping forward in a righteous cause? This state I’m in stems from my own insufficient skill, not from any fault of his.”
“Tsk, why must you speak so gently… Very well.”

At Do Il’s measured words, Jong Pal—the ragged man—clicked his tongue and fell silent at last.
Thus the three were revealed.
Myeong Hyun of the Mudan Sect, Do Il of Shaolin, and Jong Pal of the Beggar Clan.
Among them, Do Il was a promising future of Shaolin, known as one of the Six Dragon Monks, while Myeong Hyun was a gifted disciple beloved by all the masters of Mudan.
Jong Pal, for his part, had risen to the rank of Four-Knot Beggar at a young age, marking him as one of the Beggar Clan’s most talented rising stars.
Surely, such a combination was formidable wherever they went.
Yet how had these three ended up trapped in such a wretched prison?
The three had known each other for some time, their paths crossing and crossing again over the years.
By chance they met again at an inn, and agreed to travel together for a stretch.
They were making their leisurely way through mountain and stream when, at the foot of a hill, they spotted men from some small rural village abducting the villagers.
Myeong Hyun, burning with righteous conviction, threw caution to the wind and charged without hesitation. Battle was joined at once.
There was nothing wrong with what he did.
What fault could there be in a righteous martial artist acting against injustice?
Only the enemy proved formidable.
Against common bandits they would have prevailed, but their opponents turned out to be far more than the three could handle.

“Huan Xi Palace. I never dreamed we’d encounter them in such a small village.”
“Indeed. Our luck was absolutely wretched. Sigh.”

Huan Xi Palace.
One of the Top Ten Masters, Yeo Ryeong Shin Gun, ruled it as its master, and the organization was notorious throughout the martial world for its villainy.
Caught off guard by the enemy’s overwhelming strength, the three had been overpowered and thrown into this cell.
But why were these villagers being rounded up wholesale from a peaceful rural settlement?
That was what the three could not fathom.
When they had been brought here, the prison was already crowded with captives, each locked in their own cell, eyes darting nervously.
What did these fiends intend to do with all these people?
It was a question that haunted them.
It was truly a horrific situation.
“We must escape somehow and inform the Murim Alliance of this.”
“By what means? Our martial arts have already been sealed. How are we to escape from this prison?”

They had become utterly helpless, trapped in a dead end with no way forward.
Then it happened.
Men dressed in identical garb entered the prison and dragged them away to some unknown destination.
Since their martial arts were already sealed, resistance was nothing but a dream.
Those being dragged arrived at a large chamber.
The men, disciples of Huan Xi Palace, forced them to their knees and began shoving something into their mouths.

“Wh—what! Ack—hack!”

It was a foul-smelling liquid.
They thrashed with all their might, but it was useless. Every last drop, they were forced to swallow.
The sensation of it sliding down their throat was numbingly repugnant.

“What have you made us drink? What is this!”

Myeong Hyun and Jong Pal cried out in rage.
Their faces flushed with fury as they glared savagely at the Huan Xi disciples.
But those men merely smirked and said nothing.
Then a voice sounded.

“Poison.”

The reply came in a crisp, metallic tone.
They turned their heads toward the voice. Someone was entering the chamber.

“Extreme Poison—the kind that melts your organs one by one and kills you if you go even a single day without the antidote.”

It was Neung Beom Seong, the Deputy Palace Master of Huan Xi Palace.
He was the very man who had defeated Do Il, called the Black Dragon of Shaolin.
As the right hand of Yeo Ryeong Shin Gun, he too was a Peak Master.
No matter how much Do Il was lauded as the future of Shaolin, his level was still far below that of Neung Beom Seong.
In truth, his defeat had been inevitable.

“It’s quite an expensive poison, but we needed this assurance for our own peace of mind.”
“You bastard! Do you truly think you’ll escape unscathed after doing this to us!”

Myeong Hyun roared in fury.
Unable to control his emotions in such circumstances, his face flushed crimson and purple with rage.

“Ah, you mean the Gudae Mun Sect and the Beggar Clan? I’ll admit, if they all came at once, that would give me pause.”
“Release the antidote now and free us! If you do, we’ll at least grant you a merciful death…!”
“But here’s the thing.”
“…?”
“No one knows you’re here.”
“…! The villagers saw us! What are you saying!”

Not all the villagers had been brought to the prison—only some of them.
If any who had witnessed what happened came forward, then perhaps….
But Neung Beom Seong’s next words shattered Myeong Hyun’s hope entirely.

“Those villagers? I killed all but the few we had use for.”
“What?”

Myeong Hyun’s face went blank without thinking.
Behind him, the faces of Do Il and Jong Pal turned to ice.
Watching the three of them fall silent, Neung Beom Seong’s lips twisted into a wide smile.
“Dear, dear. You think we’re fools, do you? That we wouldn’t consider such a thing? Ah, what’s to be done? How could the Gudae Mun Sect or the Beggar Clan ever find us and mete out punishment? Hmm? Tsk-tsk.”
The eyes of the three men widened sharply.
To commit such horrible, unspeakable acts and yet laugh without the slightest hint of remorse—he seemed less human than some vengeful demon.
How could such vile, despicable creatures exist in the world?
Yet whether the three men were shocked or not made no difference to Hyeol Myeon Gwi, who simply shrugged his shoulders and continued.

“Fortune smiled on us, it seems. The Fighting Arena opens tomorrow, after all. And here come these rare talents, walking straight to our door on their own feet. The Palace Master will be delighted.”

By “fortune,” he certainly did not mean the three men.
Hyeol Myeon Gwi added his words with a sneering grin.

“Not that I need say it, but it would do you well to keep your heads down. Unless you fancy dying horribly with your organs melting inside you.”

With that, Do Il and the other two were dragged back to the prison.
Slumped on the cold stone floor, they sat in stunned silence for a long time.
What they had just heard did not feel real.
Of course, they had heard countless tales of the evil deeds such villains committed.
But to witness it firsthand was far more terrible and cruel than anything hearsay could convey.
How could anyone wearing a human face do such things? How could they?
In the lengthening silence, it was Do Il who finally spoke quietly.
“Let us not speak of that, for now.”

Surely some of those who had died had families here in this very prison.
If they heard that news, how they would despair and wail.
Those already trembling in captivity had no need of additional suffering.
The pain and sorrow were inescapable, but it would be better to learn of it later, after they escaped this place and returned home.
Myeong Hyun and Jong Pal nodded in agreement with Do Il’s words.
They shared his thoughts.

“…I’m sorry. This is my fault, all of you.”

Myeong Hyun hesitated a moment, then let out a deep sigh and lowered his head in apology.
Jong Pal cleared his throat and shook his head.

“Don’t apologize. There’s nothing to apologize for. I spoke in frustration just now. We couldn’t simply ignore such vile deeds, could we?”

Do Il nodded in agreement.
Myeong Hyun only bit his lip, drowning in remorse.
It was the worst possible situation. How on earth could they escape this place?
All was darkness.
Just as they sat sighing heavily in such desperate circumstances—
Another man was dragged into the prison.
The guards holding him on either side spoke to each other as they entered.

“Where’s this one from?”
“Word is they caught some thick-headed scholar lurking about on the way back.”
“Ha. Bad luck, that one. If tomorrow weren’t the day the Fighting Arena opens, he might’ve slipped by. Ha.”
“Well then, in with him!”

Chuckling, the two guards shoved the man through the open cell gate as though hurling refuse.

Thud.

The man collapsed limply to the floor.
Yet no one stepped forward to help him up.
The first to approach him was Myeong Hyun.
He offered the man his hand.

“Are you all right?”

A nod.

The man gave a small, downward nod, his gaze averted.
The shock of being dragged in suddenly and locked in this Underground Prison had left him momentarily speechless.
Watching the man’s state, Myeong Hyun ground his teeth.

“These vile wretches! How can human beings do such a thing!”
What could they possibly be planning, snatching people indiscriminately like this?
One thing was certain—their purpose was anything but honorable.
Myeong Hyun, Jong Pal, and Do Il all heaved sighs of despair.
But in their despair, they failed to notice.
The eyes of the man who had just been dragged in—cold and utterly expressionless, in a way that was striking.

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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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