The Hwangbo Clan’s Beloved Live-In Son-in-Law - Chapter 60

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 60

“I didn’t expect you all to be here.”

Qitian had said there would be some familiar faces…

But I never thought it would be these faces.

Namgung Bin looked at Hahee with a somewhat troubled expression.

His friend’s face, seen after a long time, was badly injured.

“Did something happen?”

“…No.”

It was due to a large gap in information.

Between Sichuan and the Central Plains lay treacherous mountains stacked layer upon layer that even messenger birds found difficult to cross.

Naturally, the Sichuan expedition team, having been dispatched long ago, had no way of knowing who Namgung Bin had come with or how.

Therefore, Hwangbo Yeonghil carefully relayed the story up to this point.

He deliberately omitted Dang Cheongi’s story and Hahee’s story.

“Hmm…”

At this, Namgung Bin’s face hardened.

“I see, so that’s what happened.”

He muttered self-deprecatingly. A deep sense of defeat settled on his face.

“…What’s wrong? Is there some even worse news?”

What more could there be here…

This was the Namgung Bin that Hahee had known since childhood, someone who remained unshaken by any crisis.

Unlike himself, he was the predetermined heir of his family from birth.

A friend he had once envied.

Namgung Bin frowned like never before.

“Seol is in danger. I’ve sent that child into a death trap.”

Thud.

As soon as those words ended, the door opened and Qitian walked in casually with a guard carrying a large axe.

“It’s been a long time. Young Master Namgung. This is the first time I’m greeting you with this face.”

“…Qitian.”

Namgung Bin looked at him with surprise.

His height, build, face, and even voice were all different.

How could anyone see this man as that shabby bandit from before?

Qitian smiled broadly as he looked at him.

“What happened to Seol?”

“Haha. You ask as if it’s only natural.”

“Would I pretend not to know?”

“Well, there’s no need for that. Don’t worry. She’s coming safely.”

So she was captured after all.

Namgung Bin’s well-groomed eyebrows twitched.

Seeing this, Qitian shook his head.

“There seems to be a misunderstanding. She’s walking here of her own accord.”

“…What?”

Confusion appeared on Namgung Bin’s face.

Qitian smiled slyly.

“She’ll probably arrive in about two days. Prepare yourself until then. I’ll let you meet her.”

“What are you scheming?”

“Well, thanks to this, I’ve naturally thought of a way to dispose of you all, shall we say? So eat well and rest well. I’ll treat you well for these two days. Ah. But I’ve mixed some Sangongsan into the food. It won’t harm your body much, so make sure to eat well.”

The group all looked at Qitian at once. He mixed what into it?

Qitian seemed to find their faces amusing and laughed brightly again.

“Haha. I’m saying this to mean don’t stubbornly refuse to eat. Otherwise, I’d have to deliberately shatter your dantians. It’s better if we don’t do such terrible things to each other.”

So that’s what he came to say.

Their physical conditions have recovered adequately too. Good.

Well then, rest well everyone.

Qitian turned around without lingering.

The group urgently tried to speak to him, but he left without listening.

“…Master Ha. What is all this about?”

What remained was one guard who had followed Qitian. Namgung Bin opened his mouth toward him.

“Iron Axe!”

When the man silently turned his head away, Namgung Bin shouted once more.

In Sichuan land, there was only one person with the surname Ha whom Namgung Bin would call “Master” and who wielded an iron axe.

One of the Eight Leaders of the Green Forest.

The village chief of Mugyeongrim who guards Jian Ge.

“Gon’aengryeong Ha Cheoljin!”

Dang Cheongi glared and called out that name.

Ha Cheoljin stopped walking abruptly.

“So telling us to surrender quietly was for this purpose. For just a few coins of profit? Where did all that righteousness you showed in Hebei go?”

Namgung Bin spoke with a voice tinged with faint disappointment.

Hahee looked back at him with somewhat surprised eyes.

This calm friend, with his vast magnanimity, rarely showed disappointment.

That was because he didn’t expect much to begin with.

Wasn’t he that insufferable fellow with arrogantly high pride and the conviction that he should rightfully stand above others?

“Sichuan is truly fertile land. Sharing a little wouldn’t make it insufficient, would it?”

A heavy voice flowed from Ha Cheoljin.

“Only those who have would share among themselves. Wasn’t it because you disliked that that you went into the mountains?”

“Even those leftover crumbs are abundant, you see.”

“…One of the names of the Eight Leaders of the Green Forest has fallen to the ground.”

Namgung Bin’s voice became emotionless again. It seemed he had erased even his faint expectations.

Ha Cheoljin chuckled.

“Did a mountain bandit ever have a name to fall?”

I’m also from Guizhou.

Saying this, Ha Cheoljin also walked away.

Silence fell over the prison.

Namgung Seol is coming on her own.

It’s something that requires Sangong poison.

Ah.

Namgung Bin let out a sigh.

“Everyone should prepare. There will be a fight.”

***

Contrary to Qitian’s words, it took three days before the door opened again.

Everyone was silent, because Dang Cheongi, Hahee, and Namgung Bin each had many thoughts.

Hahee especially so, ever since hearing from Namgung Bin that he had come with Xie Baowei.

“Come out.”

Having been in the damp underground prison for so long, their eyes were severely dazzled when they came out.

They barely managed to walk out, bumping into things here and there as they followed the guards.

Though it might be awkward since their bodies couldn’t circulate internal energy, most of these people had used their bodies all their lives, so their steps quickly became steady.

“Where are we going?”

The guards said nothing.

Once their eyes became somewhat accustomed, their vision finally cleared.

The village was as quiet as a dead village.

Behind the tightly closed doors, it was impossible to tell if there were people or not.

“Where did everyone go?”

However, upon closer inspection, soldiers with spears and swords were hidden at every major intersection of the alleys.

The village was built along the mountainous terrain, with many places to hide everywhere.

It was terrain where one person could easily block dozens or hundreds.

The group kept turning their heads to assess the terrain and military strength.

The guards didn’t even stop them from doing so.

“Tch.”

Peng Sohui struggled as if frustrated. But she was helpless against four or five guards surrounding and pulling the ropes that bound her.

Soon, after walking from one end of the village to the other, the entrance came into view.

Bandits… No.

The missing villagers stood awkwardly holding weapons.

Both the original people of Chenggu and the bronze-skinned refugees from Guizhou.

Though no children or women were visible, their numbers easily reached three hundred.

Behind them, fierce-eyed bandits stood surrounding them.

“Qitian!”

In the distance, Qitian’s face and those who appeared to be leaders could be seen.

Gonakryeong Hacheoljin also stood beside them, his face endlessly crumpled as if he had heard something, yet he remained there.

They called out to Qitian, but he didn’t even look their way.

The guards passed even that point and continued dragging the group along.

It was about seventy paces.

A distance well within arrow range.

The guards set them down there and carelessly placed old, chipped spears and swords nearby.

Then they hurriedly ran back to the village.

“Did you see?”

“Mm.”

Dang Cheongi asked with a hardened face, and Namgung Bin answered with a light groan.

Everyone seemed to share the same feelings, as no one spoke.

Counting those visible plus those hidden, roughly a thousand, and adding those unseen, who knows how many more there might be.

Even excluding those crude militia, counting only the well-trained, well-prepared soldiers alone reached that number.

Even calling it rebellion…

There were no words.

“…There seemed to be cannons too.”

“We’re all dead.”

It wasn’t the cannons that were frightening.

It was the 100,000 Imperial Guards that were terrifying.

The heavenly wrath that would cover Sichuan land with spears and swords was terrifying.

“…Ah. Over there.”

“They’re coming.”

As expected. Looking toward the opposite side, hazy dust clouds were approaching from far away.

Namgung Bin had moved together with Namgung Seol.

When they followed Qitian to this village, Ha Cheoljin and the guards appeared before them.

Instead of giving up the fight, Namgung Bin sent Namgung Seol away.

Where would she have gone?

“A thousand? It seems one company’s worth of troops has come.”

“Just right. Enough to save face.”

The Sichuan army was distributed among numerous guards under the Provincial Command Office.

Most were positioned around Chengdu, but guards were also established at major strategic points like the Loyal Guard, Pacifying River Guard, and Defending City Guard.

Since Gaoxian County had no such guard, the reason for choosing Chenggu was understandable.

Yibin also had a guard, where a force of slightly over 5,000 men was stationed.

Among them, one company had been dispatched.

“The reason they left us here is also clear.”

Die fighting at the hands of government soldiers.

Suspicious individuals gathered in Chenggu and were dispersed.

Though there were descendants of great families among them, their resistance was fierce, so they were suppressed.

Wouldn’t that be how it would be reported to the steward?

Those ignorant guards would serve as excellent witnesses.

“…Damn it.”

Hwangbo Yeonghil let out a sigh.

Glancing at his aunt, her face still seemed vacant as if her soul had left her.

“Take one of these each.”

Dang Cheongi, who had somehow used the fallen spears and swords to cut his bindings, searched his body and produced five pills.

He quickly swallowed one of them himself.

“These are pills that disperse the poison effects of Sangong poison. However, the drawback is that the medicine takes effect slowly.”

“How long?”

“…Half a shichen (one hour).”

“Our internal energy will circulate in our coffins.”

It was half a shichen considering vigorous movement.

Normally it took about one shichen, but Dang Cheongi deliberately didn’t mention that.

“…Where did you hide it? They searched your body thoroughly.”

“Don’t try to find out.”

At Dang Cheongi’s firm words, Peng Sohui received the pill with a very disgusted expression.

Seeing everyone else put theirs in their mouths, she squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed it.

By then, the guards of Uibin Guard had also stopped about a hundred paces ahead.

There was a brief commotion among the guards, then one person came running.

“Brother!”

“Seol-a.”

It was Namgung Seol.

“What is this situation…? They suddenly sent me here! They took Yukhua (Six Flowers: Namgung Seol’s horse). The atmosphere was… Sister Ha?”

“…”

“Why are you here… Young Master Dang? Little Peng? Yeonghil.”

“It’s a long story.”

Namgung Bin cut off his sister’s words.

Simply.

“Get ready.”

They’re coming.

Flash.

Military flags rose from the Uibin Guard soldiers.

Thump. Thump.

Following the drummer’s rhythm, the soldiers each gripped their spears tightly and approached step by step.

“…If possible, don’t kill them.”

“If impossible?”

“…Still don’t kill them. If you don’t want to bring shame to your family.”

Dang Cheongi said while picking up stones and putting them in his clothes. He wrapped the cut rope around his hands, creating simple knuckle guards.

Seeing this, Hahee snapped a spear shaft in half. Hwangbo Yeonghil followed suit with a hardened face.

Peng Sohui held her blade still in its sheath.

Namgung Bin and Namgung Seol did the same. They held their swords still sheathed.

“Most of Sichuan’s guard posts are hereditary soldier-farmers. They’re different from those border soldiers.”

Watching the military formation slowly approaching, Dang Cheongi spoke.

“If we just break their momentum, they won’t easily attack. If we buy time for our internal energy to recover, we might create a chance to escape. What comes after… let’s think about that later.”

Thump.

It was a force of one thousand.

Only six stood here.

Namgung Seol had internal energy so he could endure longer, but the rest had to last half a shichen relying purely on physical strength.

…Was it possible?

No, before that.

“…Those are just hereditary soldier-farmers?”

The sight of a thousand soldiers marching in formation was overwhelming.

Even though they were martial artists who lived by the sword, they had never stood on a battlefield where thousands clashed.

At most it had been dozens, or at most a hundred even in large-scale conflicts.

Even if one’s individual martial prowess was far superior to theirs, it was extremely difficult for one hand to handle ten hands.

But there were a thousand people over there, meaning two thousand hands.

“Back to back, if you only look ahead there aren’t that many.”

“Those few will keep coming endlessly though.”

If they pushed forward with their bodies, there was no way to block them.

Gulp.

Someone’s swallowing sound was so loud.

Ah. Was that me.

Just when I thought that.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

Stop.

The drumbeats and footsteps ceased.

The distance was fifty paces.

“Damn. Are they going to shoot arrows?”

“They’ll need evidence that we resisted.”

“Then, shall we try kneeling?”

At Peng Sohui’s words, everyone’s eyes turned to her. For a moment, small… no, great hesitation appeared in their eyes.

“The elders of my family always say that merchants must always be flexible, whether it’s their backs or knees…”

Heh. Peng Sohui laughed.

Should we?

While they were just watching each other’s reactions.

“…Then they’ll just kill us anyway. They won’t spare us.”

Namgung Bin spoke in a calm voice.

Probably, those higher-ups had already coordinated everything.

“Heh, hmph! I am Hwangbo Yeonghil, heir of the Hwangbo Family! Would I dare kneel before bandits!”

“The Dang Family’s knees never touch the ground.”

Fighting spirit rose again.

Whew.

The faces of the soldiers lined up in long rows came into view one by one.

Despite the overwhelming difference, there was not a trace of fear. Only excitement before battle filled them.

Thump.

The war drum sounded once more.

A mounted officer came forward and opened his mouth.

-Nothing to fear! Will we let these worthless Guizhou mountain barbarians set foot on this land! Look! At those pathetic fools! The Commander has promised wine and meat, so let’s have something to brag about to the other bastards!

Waah!

As his words ended, the soldiers roared with all their might.

The momentum unleashed by a thousand soldiers made not only the six warriors flinch, but even the residents of Chenggu waiting behind them.

Namgung Bin gritted his teeth.

Thump.

“They’re coming.”

Soon, thump again.

“If we fight with the spirit of one against a hundred, we might win.”

“Brother Hwangbo. We’d still be four hundred short.”

“…Then let’s make it one against a thousand?”

“Brother Hwangbo could do it alone.”

Thump.

Though they tried joking, the tension didn’t ease.

Thump.

Their hearts just pounded along with the drumbeats.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Then soon.

Thudthudthudthudthudthud.

-Charge!

Along with the violently beating war drums, a soul-rending battle cry erupted.

At the same time, the soldiers who had been in formation poured out like crashing waves.

“They’re coming!”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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