Chapter 91: Chapter 91
Moreover, despite the number of wounds, none were fatal. They were shallow.
“It’s impressive that she managed to slice Wang-u’s body to that extent when most blades can’t even scratch him. But that’s all it is. Trying to fight with such pathetic martial arts that you can’t even control your own internal energy. Isn’t that just ridiculous?”
Asking me that was even more ridiculous! Mao’s face contorted. He couldn’t fully understand everything Maeng Won-won had said, but not a single word was wrong.
From skin to bone. Her mastery was insufficient to carve through his monstrously hard, impenetrable physique.
Furthermore, her erratic breathing couldn’t sustain the prolonged use of the White-White Blood Demon Art, which she hadn’t even fully mastered.
And this manifested as a predictable outcome.
THWACK!
Chwi Hong-ran, who had maintained the upper hand through hundreds of exchanges, was suddenly overwhelmed and took a direct blow to the abdomen.
“Argh!”
Her back bent like a shrimp, and her bloodshot eyes bulged. CRASH! She was sent flying all the way to the annex and collapsed helplessly.
“Hey, are you okay?!”
Mao ran over, gritted his teeth, and gathered her in his arms to check on her. Her bloodshot eyes and white hair were slowly returning to normal.
“I’m… fine.”
The words came out strained. Anger at his own helplessness seeped through Mao’s teeth.
If only he had power. Then this wouldn’t have happened.
‘If only this thing…’
Mao stared down at the Azure Dragon Blade in his hand.
The gray steel seemed to drink in the moonlight and whisper to him.
Asking for his yang energy. Suggesting they tear these people to shreds together.
Thump, thump. His heart raced, and his grip tightened.
If he just sent his internal energy… then…
“See? Ridiculous, isn’t it?”
Right then, Maeng Won-won broke his reverie with a bright laugh.
“Damn it…”
Mao sheathed the Azure Dragon Blade and shouted.
“Are you… completely insane?”
“I had a little hope, but well. Nothing special.”
“Hey!”
It was so absurd that Mao bellowed. But she was a madwoman with innocent eyes. She tucked her hair behind her ears and beamed.
“Still, not bad. I thought it was just you and your adjutant. But you were secretly building a faction like a sly little cat. If there’s anyone else, don’t hide them. Bring them all out. Wang-u wants to stretch his legs today, too.”
“Shut up! You think I’m just going to let this go?”
“And if you don’t? Got a plan? It’s useless. You don’t have anyone on your side.”
Mao’s eyebrows quivered. True. He had no one. No, he Had, no one. But not anymore.
Step, step.
Mao’s gaze shifted to the entrance behind Maeng Won-won. Sensing the presence, she turned her head as well.
A man in white robes walking toward them with an indifferent face. A thoroughly unremarkable appearance, but a bastard who grew on you the more you looked at him.
“Jang I-seo…”
His only ally.
“I have returned.”
*
Jang I-seo surveyed the scene and let out a breath of relief. A little later and it would have been a disaster.
“You’re… Jang I-seo?”
At Maeng Won-won’s question, Jang I-seo gave her a fleeting glance and walked in without replying.
“Hah.”
She let out a breath of disbelief. But Jang I-seo was unfazed.
He had rushed back without rest, anxious about leaving them alone for too long.
“Are you alright?”
“Jang I-seo…”
How was it that every time he left, things ended up like this?
To Mao, who looked up at him like a drowned dog, Jang I-seo nodded as if to say everything was fine now.
Then he looked at Chwi Hong-ran, who sat propped up, barely catching her breath as she offered a bow. He spoke with his eyes.
‘You did well. Rest.’
‘Thank you, Master.’
He could grasp the general situation just by looking.
Now it was time to hear the other side. As Jang I-seo turned his head, Maeng Won-won jutted out her lower lip in greeting.
“You don’t look the part, but you’ve got a nasty temper. Nice to meet you. You know who I am, right?”
Why wouldn’t he know?
A mute, boulder-sized man and a chatty, fist-sized girl. This contrasting combination was one of a kind, as far as he knew.
The Fifth Young Lady Maeng Won-won, a bloodline of the Maeng Family and cousin to Maeng Hwi.
‘But it’s not even daytime.’
Jang I-seo glanced up at the sky. It was a night where the stars were clearly visible. Yet showing up unannounced at this hour to cause trouble.
Between Hong-ran’s injuries and the shattered gate, her intentions were clearly not good.
At this level, it was safe to say the Fifth Young Lady had launched an unprovoked attack on the Seventh Small Palace.
‘Could it be because of Maeng Hwi?’
Yes, that was possible. He had stayed here for a while and spent time with him, so that could have become an issue.
But regardless of the reason, this was far beyond the pale.
“What is the meaning of this?”
Maeng Won-won tilted her head and muttered.
“That’s strange.”
“Strange how?”
“You don’t know who I am?”
How much more did he need to know? When Jang I-seo didn’t offer a proper response, Mao stepped up close, swallowed hard, and explained in the quietest voice he could manage.
“It’s the Fifth Young Lady. Better be careful. She’s not normal. She wrecked the whole place the second she got here.”
“Mao, I can hear everything. It hurts my feelings when you talk about a simple greeting like that.”
“A greeting? You call this a greeting?! You shameless bitch!”
“Bitch?”
Maeng Won-won’s eyes turned cold. She had only meant to say hello. Well, that wasn’t going to work, our dear Mao.
Her gaze shifted to Hong-ran, who was sitting in the back.
“Jang I-seo, I came because I was curious about you, but never mind. I’ve lost interest today. Instead, give me that woman. Then I’ll quietly go back.”
A truly preposterous demand. Was this something to say with a smile? Jang I-seo’s brow furrowed slightly.
He had a general idea of her type. Someone who slapped price tags on people’s foreheads and treated anyone below a certain standard as subhuman.
The textbook embodiment of the Demonic Cult, the type that had been Jang I-seo’s number one priority for elimination during his Counter-Espionage Division days.
Fatigue was setting in, so he spoke bluntly.
“What is your real reason for coming here?”
“I told you, I came because of you. Hmm, now I see you’re the distrustful type? Your face is full of suspicion. Now I understand why Maeng Hwi turned out so twisted.”
“What business do you have with me?”
When he pressed her again with a cold tone, Maeng Won-won murmured, still maintaining her smile.
“I heard you were close with Maeng Hwi.”
So it was about that after all. Jang I-seo didn’t deny it and nodded.
“Is that a problem?”
“It is. The boy has changed too much. Now he’s saying he wants to sever ties with the Maeng Family.”
Maeng Hwi? Jang I-seo and Mao’s faces changed simultaneously.
He had said he’d be right back, but to go to the main house and do something like that. Why on earth.
“Why do you think? He got some wild ideas. He’s always been weak-hearted. Uncle still believes a kid like that can become Young Cult Leader. Father and son are truly fools. Don’t you think?”
Maeng Won-won giggled, mocking them to herself, then smoothly continued.
“But do you know how furious Uncle would be if he learned that the boy gave everything up because of you? He probably wouldn’t let it go. He’d wipe out your entire lineage. Oh, don’t worry too much. I haven’t told him about you yet.”
“Hey, what the hell! What does that kid Maeng Hwi have to do with Jang I-seo!”
“Why wouldn’t it matter? Maeng Hwi said it himself, clear as day. Because of Jang I-seo.”
“What? You bunch of scam artists! You came here with this all planned out, didn’t you? What, trying to sell me snake oil!”
As Mao erupted in fury, Jang I-seo waved him off and asked calmly.
“So. You want me to persuade the Sixth Young Master? To tell him not to give up?”
“No?”
Hmm?
“Tell him to give up.”
What was this now?
“Tell him to declare his support for me in front of everyone. Having two heirs in one family is a bit awkward, isn’t it? Hard to focus.”
Hah. So this was what it was about. A power struggle. She was pretending to care for Maeng Hwi, but in reality, she was more hostile to him than anyone.
“I’d be better than a kid who never wanted it in the first place, wouldn’t I?”
He could easily imagine what Maeng Hwi’s life must have been like. And why he had become such a frail child.
With vipers like her circling from the moment he was born, how could he have turned out any other way?
“Why come to me? If you disliked it that much, you could have spoken to the Sixth Young Master directly.”
“Hmm, it seems he follows you around quite devotedly. Wounds always hurt more when they come from someone you care about. Hehe.”
For a reason like that? Jang I-seo and Mao felt sick to their stomachs looking at Maeng Won-won’s beaming smile, as if they had swallowed a rotting snake.
“How about it. Easy, right? I won’t accept a refusal. Because then I might get hurt. And I hate being upset.”
Maeng Won-won gave a subtle signal, and Thump, thump! The massive Wang-u stepped forward imposingly.
A silent threat that the moment he refused, they would use force.
“Jang I-seo…”
Mao showed distress.
It was understandable.
Even Mao, who was an outsider to these matters, knew Wang-u’s reputation well.
There was a saying.
‘If the snow mountains have a yeti, the Maeng Family has Wang-u.’
In short, the very monster that lived in the Maeng Family.
Crooked teeth from birth that had claimed a piece of his own tongue. Arms longer than his legs, and strength beyond imagination. That was the Great Giant, Wang-u.
The story of how he rose to the One Hundred Demon Stars was also famous. The Light Sword Rakshasa, a guest of the Maeng Family, had picked a fight with him to test a servant’s skills.
At first, Wang-u stood there like a fool, helplessly taking his attacks. But the moment the Third Elder gave permission to fight back.
‘KRAAAAH!’
He ended the fight in a single strike, slamming his pillar-like arm down onto the man’s skull.
Instant death.
He had killed the Light Sword Rakshasa, a member of the One Hundred Demon Stars, with a single blow.
“Why no answer? When someone asks a question, isn’t it polite to answer?”
As Maeng Won-won pressed him again with a smile, Mao whispered like a man chewing on something foul, as if giving up.
“Jang I-seo. Just say yes for now. Say yes and buy us some time. The sun will rise tomorrow. Then we can figure something out.”
“Is that what you want?”
“Huh?”
“The reason you want to build your strength. Wasn’t it because you didn’t want to be pushed around by things like this anymore?”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
“The sun will rise tomorrow even without you, Seventh Young Master. But this moment right now will never come again.”
Jang I-seo’s razor-sharp words made his chest flinch.
This moment, right now, that would never come again.
“Not tomorrow. Today. Right now. What is it that you want, Seventh Young Master?”
What I want…?
Mao looked down at the Azure Dragon Blade in his hand.
‘…’
He hated senseless sacrifice. He hated being dragged around. Being on the receiving end was too unfair. Ma I-sin, the Fifth Young Lady. He hated these bastards enough to beat them to death.
However…
“But there’s nothing I can do! I don’t have any power right now…”
“When have you ever had any?”
“Hey, you bastard!”
“The world is teeming with the strong. Will you keep retreating every time you meet one? Has retreating ever changed anything? No. This is only the beginning. No one will stop until you’ve fallen off the cliff.”
Mao’s brow contorted.
Every word was right. He felt it even more acutely because he had lived it.
He had bowed his head to Ma I-sin’s will. He had kept his mouth shut and survived.
He had consoled himself that this was the best he could do. He had been grateful that no one else was hurt.
But had that been sincere?
Absolutely not.
His blood had boiled. Tears of blood had flowed.
Ma I-sin hadn’t stopped. Jang I-seo and the people of Wolha Village had nearly died.
Therefore.
“Jang I-seo, I get it now. Retreating isn’t the answer. The real best option is…”
Mao pointed the blade forward with eyes full of resolve and declared.
“Even if I die today, I’ll shatter every last one of them with my own hands! Maeng Won-won. I’ll kill you first!”
“What is he even saying?”
“Lower your sword.”
That’s not it.