That's Not How You Use Martial Arts

Chapter 32
The Namgung Family (3)

『 Translator – Divinity 』

Ho-jeong, nearly unconscious from the continuous drinking, began to blabber.

“I came all the way to Anqing to meet the woman I’m supposed to marry, and that bitch refuses to see me, saying she’s sick? People praise her as the most beautiful woman in Anhui, and her arrogance is through the roof!”

“Y-Young Master, such words…”

One of the guards standing behind Ho-jeong intervened in a panic, but the damage was done.

“Oh my, the most beautiful woman in Anhui… are you talking about Miss Seol-yak-bing of the Seol family?”

The courtesans were surprised by Ho-jeong’s words.

As women whose profession was to cultivate their beauty and sell their smiles, they were always sensitive to beautiful women.

Seol-yak-bing, the most beautiful woman in Anhui, was the object of envy and admiration for all women in Anhui, not just in Anqing.

To think this young master was going to marry such a woman?

The courtesans became curious about his identity once again.

Some of them, unable to contain their curiosity, asked probing questions, but Ho-jeong just joked and deflected their inquiries.

It seemed this young master didn’t want to reveal his identity.

Just as they were clicking their tongues in disappointment, the youngest courtesan in the pavilion cautiously spoke up.

“Then, are you also a martial artist, Young Master?”

“Hmm?”

Ho-jeong tilted his head and looked at her, and the young courtesan, seemingly smitten with him, spoke in a timid voice,

“I heard that the young miss of the Seol family was engaged to a famous martial arts family. So…”

“A martial artist… well, I suppose I am one, if you think about it.”

Ho-jeong answered with a smirk.

The courtesan’s face brightened, and she asked another question.

“Th-then… can you also fly through the sky with lightness skills and shoot Sword Qi?”

–Pause

“……”

Ho-jeong paused for a moment at the young courtesan’s innocent question.

Then, he suddenly burst into laughter.

“Pu, puhahahahahaha—!!”

“Wh-why are you laughing?”

Ho-jeong continued laughing as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.

The other courtesans also started laughing along with him.

The senior courtesan next to the youngest one patted her head affectionately, seemingly amused by her bewilderment.

“Hehehe… lightness skills, Sword Qi… I used to have such fantasies when I was young, keke.”

Ho-jeong, finally calming down, emptied his cup in one gulp.

And then, looking at the youngest courtesan, he answered with a smile,

“It seems you’ve been reading those street novels, but even for a martial artist, such things are impossible. Lightness skills, Sword Qi, they’re all just fiction.”

“…Is that so?”

The youngest courtesan tried to hide her disappointment, but it was evident on her face.

Seeing that, Ho-jeong’s expression subtly darkened.

The youngest courtesan’s face overlapped with his own from when he was a child.

Back in his ignorant childhood.

There was a foolish boy who, immersed in those street novels, fantasized about flying through the sky and wielding Sword Qi.

“Hmph.”

He smirked, remembering his childhood self, then erased the memory from his mind and pulled the courtesans on either side of him closer.

“Kyaah!”

“Let’s stop with the boring talk and have some real fun! The night is still young!”

“Yes, sir~!”

The sweet laughter of the courtesans echoed once again from the top floor of the Azure Cloud Pavilion.

***

Namgung Seon-u, the head of the Namgung family and known as the Lightning Thunder Sword, returned to the estate not long after.

And as soon as he saw Master, his face lit up, and he embraced him.

“Brother Yeo! How long has it been?”

“It’s been well over ten years.”

Master, grinning as he hugged his sworn brother, quickly composed himself and introduced Hwa-ryeon.

Hwa-ryeon, who had taken off her veil, bowed politely to the Namgung family head.

“It’s been a while, Master Namgung. I am Ju Hwa-ryeon, daughter of the former Paecheon Fortress Lord.”

“…Brother.”

The Namgung family head, even more surprised than when he saw Master, turned to him with a slightly hardened expression.

His eyes seemed to hold a hint of reproach and resentment.

Master met his gaze directly.

“I can guess what you’re thinking. But would you mind listening to our story first?”

The Namgung family head looked at Master with a complicated expression for a moment, then sighed and nodded.

“…Shall we head to the main hall first?”

And so, we followed the Namgung family head to the main hall.

As we headed towards the heart of the vast estate, I expanded my senses as far as possible.

I had been feeling it since earlier, but now I was certain after confirming it myself.

There were too few people.

This vast estate was eerily empty.

Moreover, most of them seemed to be maids and servants who hadn’t trained in martial arts.

Where had the other members of the Namgung family gone?

Although I was dying to ask, it was difficult to do so carelessly.

In the end, I arrived at the main hall without saying a word.

We entered the office within the main hall and sat down in order next to the Namgung family head, who was seated in the highest seat.

“First, I’ll ask why the daughter of the former Paecheon Fortress Lord has come here.”

“Brother Namgung…”

Master called out to the family head at the faint hostility he sensed in his voice, but the family head’s gaze remained fixed on Hwa-ryeon.

Hwa-ryeon quietly endured his sharp gaze and took out an old book.

It was the Blood Explosion Technique manual they had retrieved from the Dark Heaven Squad.

“This is…!”

The Namgung family head was so shocked that he jumped to his feet, seemingly recognizing the book just from the title “Blood Explosion Technique” written on the cover.

“To appear with such an ominous object, what is your intention?”

“It’s a warning.”

“What… a warning?”

Hwa-ryeon explained to the bewildered Namgung family head what had happened in Gun-gang County.

The assassination attempt by the Dark Heaven Squad and Shin Se-gon.

And the perfect justification Paecheon Fortress had obtained, the Blood Explosion Technique.

“Th-that can’t be…!”

Not only the Namgung family head, but also Namgung Hyeon and Miss Seol, who were sitting next to him, turned pale.

They were probably imagining the same horrifying scenario we had earlier.

“Master Namgung, Paecheon Fortress has obtained the perfect justification to oppress all the martial arts factions.”

“……”

“And seeing what Paecheon Fortress is doing in Hefei, you must already know how they intend to use it.”

“…Huu.”

The Namgung family head let out a deep sigh and slumped back in his chair.

Even as she watched the Namgung family head holding his forehead as if he had a headache, Hwa-ryeon continued speaking relentlessly.

“The current Paecheon Fortress has lost its original purpose and is running rampant. If this continues, countless martial arts factions will be falsely accused of colluding with the Demonic Cult and brutally crushed.”

“…So, what do you want us to do?”

The Namgung family head, who looked years older in that short time, asked, and Hwa-ryeon answered curtly.

With a word that was all too familiar to me.

“The Murim Alliance.”

The Namgung family head’s eyes widened at that word, and Namgung Hyeon mumbled in a daze,

“The Murim… Alliance?”

“Yes, the Murim Alliance. We gather all the forces of the orthodox faction and fight against Paecheon Fortress.”

***

To put it bluntly, the Namgung family head refused our proposal.

—If what Young Mistress Ju Hwa-ryeon says is true, it’s certainly something we should join forces for. However, the current situation of the Namgung family is precarious, and we can’t afford to prepare for something that hasn’t even happened yet. I apologize, but it would be difficult for us to join you..

Hwa-ryeon left the main hall without any objections.

She remained silent even as we returned to the guest room.

“…Is she dejected because her request was refused?”

Seol-i, who had come up next to me, asked softly as she looked at Hwa-ryeon.

Dejected because her request was refused?

“No, not at all. Look at her, she’s burning with passion.”

“…What does that even mean? How can you tell?”

“How can I tell? It’s obvious from her expression.”

I shrugged and approached Hwa-ryeon.

“So, what are you planning to do? Investigate first, as expected?”

Hwa-ryeon nodded at my question.

“Yes. We need to uncover the truth behind what’s been happening in the Namgung family.”

“Then we should start with the most recent incident. In that case…”

“Wait, hold on!”

Seol-i suddenly interrupted our discussion of future plans with a shout.

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong? You ask what’s wrong? What are you trying to do? The Namgung family head refused your request, so why are you suddenly talking about investigating?”

Seol-i’s face clearly showed that she didn’t understand anything.

Come to think of it, was the conversation a bit too fast for a fourteen-year-old?

I explained it to Seol-i in an easy-to-understand way.

“So, the Namgung family head said he couldn’t help us because the family is in crisis right now, right?”

“…Yes?”

“That means he can help us if we resolve the family crisis, doesn’t it?”

“Ah…!”

Seol-i’s eyes widened as she finally understood.

“So we’re going to help the Namgung family. To make them accept our proposal.”

I grinned and turned my head.

Just then, the two people who had remained in the main hall, unlike us who had left earlier, Namgung Hyeon and Miss Seol, were coming out.

Spotting us, they approached.

Namgung Hyeon spoke with an apologetic expression.

“I apologize. You came all this way to inform us of such a grave matter, and yet…”

“I think it’s too early to be saying that.”

“Yes?”

Namgung Hyeon looked at me with a puzzled expression.

I immediately told him that I wanted to investigate the ‘unfortunate’ incidents that had occurred in the Namgung family.