Light Novel: Volume 19 Episode 14
Manhwa: N/A
“Squawk!”
For the first time today, the poor learned that a man could make a sound like a pig being slaughtered.
The man who had been poking Pyo-wol’s chest with his finger was now screaming and flying through the air.
The man flew a total of five meters before crashing into the wall of a house.
This happened after he received a slap on the cheek from Pyo-wol.
He had attempted to strike Pyo-wol but instead got slapped back.
The man who had been slapped by Pyo-wol lost consciousness, his head hanging limply at his neck. But, judging by the slight rise and fall of his chest, it didn’t seem like he was dead.
“Wh, Who are you?”
“How dare you attack the Black West Society?!”
The warriors of the Black West Society looked at Pyo-wol with aghast expressions.
Although they spoke fiercely, they didn’t dare to draw their weapons.
The man who had been sent flying by Pyo-wol’s slap just a moment ago was an expert ranking amongst the top three in the Black West Society. At least in the slums, there was no one who could be a match for him.
Yet such a master had been rendered helpless by a single blow.
From this one move alone, they could tell that Pyo-wol was a master out of their league.
The question was, why would such an expert be guarding the main entrance of the Qi Family Medical Hall.
As far as the Black West Society knew, the Qi Family Medical Hall had no connection with a master of such caliber, at least from what they could gather.
The members of the Black West Society stared at each other, unable to make a move.
Then, one of them cautiously came forward. Having seen what happened to the man before, his attitude was extremely polite.
“May I ask who you are?”
“I have no reason to tell you.”
“Then, do you have any association with the Qi Family Medical Hall?”
“Why do you want to know about that?”
Despite Pyo-wol’s uninterested response, the man did not get agitated.
He carefully continued,
“If you have nothing to do with the Qi Family Medical Hall, we would like you to step aside. Then we would overlook the matter of you hitting one of our men.”
“Overlook?”
“Isn’t it better for us to be on good terms? The only reason we came to the Qi Family Medical Hall is to negotiate, not to clash. If you have nothing to do with the Qi Family Medical Hall, wouldn’t it be better for both of us if you withdraw at this point?”
The man’s rhetoric was very cunning.
While he spoke of mutual benefit, in reality, he was merely trying to dismiss Pyo-wol without any trouble.
The man’s eyes were continuously scanning the surroundings.
It was evidence that he was constantly assessing the situation.
That alone showed how quick-witted the man was.
‘Where did such a master come from?’
The man was the second-in-command of the Black West Society. However, his martial arts were not strong.
He was only favored by the leader of the Black West Society because of his sharp mind and cunning speech.
The location of the Qi Family Medical Hall was at the center of the slum area.
It was a prime location, despite being in the slums.
If they could take over this place, they could completely clear out the slums and build a new mansion district.
That’s why they had threatened to buy the Qi Family Medical Hall several times, but it was to no avail.
As the negotiations stagnated, the Black West Society was at a loss.
Out of impatience, the man had brought his men here in the slums. If talks failed, he would take over the Qi Family Medical Hall by force.
Though there were rumors about how the master of the Qi Family Medical Hall had decent martial arts skills, they still thought he wouldn’t be able to overcome their numbers.
After all, if his martial arts were truly great, there would be no reason for him to settle in such a run-down slum like this.
But unexpectedly, an obstacle had appeared.
It was Pyo-wol.
The man spoke again, more cautiously,
“If you’ll step aside, I’ll give you a reward in return.”
“What kind of reward?”
“Excuse me?”
“I dislike vague answers. Be specific.”
“Ah, well, then…”
The man rolled his eyes.
A smile already appearing at the corners of his lips. He thought Pyo-wol was more than halfway persuaded.
“Our plan is to clear this neighborhood and build a street lined with large mansions. If all goes well, I will gift you a luxurious mansion.”
“What about the poor living here?”
“They all have to be driven out. A considerable number have already sold their homes to us for silver.”
“The Black West Society has that much wealth? Enough to buy all the shabby houses in this slum?”
“Haha! We have reliable backers and people who are looking out for us. So don’t worry.”
“Who might they be?”
“Excuse me?”
“Who are the people who have your back?”
The man’s face stiffened.
He found it strange that Pyo-wol was probing so persistently.
Only then did the man realize that Pyo-wol was not persuaded at all.
‘Damn it!’
He cursed inwardly.
Of course, he made sure Pyo-wol couldn’t hear.
Struggling to maintain a composed expression, he said,
“I cannot say more until I hear your promise.”
“Is that so?”
“If you wish to know more, then promise me you will step aside.”
“I promise. So, who are the people involved–”
“You must honor your promise. The Heavenly Golden Manor and Hundred Strike Sect. These two factions are the ones backing us.”
The Heavenly Golden Manor was a merchant company that controlled the Shaoyang region, while the Hundred Strike Sect was the largest sect in Shaoyang.
They were, so to speak, the most powerful groups in Shaoyang.
It was because of their backing that the Black West Society could act so boldly.
“Heavenly Golden Manor and Hundred Strike Sect?”
“Now that I’ve told you the truth, please step aside. I don’t think a great master such as yourself would ever go back on his word.”
“Go in.”
Pyo-wol cleared the way without a fuss.
“Let’s go in.”
The man, filled with pride, led his subordinates into the Qi Family Medical Hall.
One of the subordinates whispered to the man,
“Do you really intend to give him a mansion when we don’t even know his identity?”
“What do I care? I’m sure the Heavenly Golden Manor or Hundred Strike Sect will take care of him properly.”
“You always know best, brother.”
The subordinate gave him a thumbs up, but he did so in a way that it was out of Pyo-wol’s sight.
As befitting the largest sect in Shaoyang, the Hundred Strike Sect had many masters.
Although they didn’t know who Pyo-wol was, they were still confident that the masters of the Hundred Strike Sect would be able to deal with him.
For now, their priority was to intimidate the Qi Family Medical Hall and take over their land.
They entered the medical hall with great momentum.
The poor who were watching from a distance cursed at Pyo-wol.
“That, that…”
“What is he doing? Stepping aside so easily?”
“You can’t trust anyone in this world.”
Even as he heard the jeers directed at him, Pyo-wol did not blink an eye.
He crossed his arms and leaned against the main gate’s pillar, counting inwardly,
‘One, two, three…’
It was the moment.
“How dare you!”
A lion’s roar that resounded through the slums erupted from inside the Qi Family Medical Hall.
Kwaang!
“Eek!”
“Keugh!”
“Sa, save me!”
Following the roar were the desperate screams of the Black West Society martial artists who had entered the Qi Family Medical Hall with such bravado.
Only then did Pyo-wol take his back off the pillar and enter the Qi Family Medical Hall.
Inside the Qi Family Medical Hall was a truly gruesome scene.
All the martial artists of the Black West Society were sprawled on the ground with their limbs bizarrely twisted.
In the center of them all stood the Wind Saint.
With his hands clasped behind his back, the Wind Saint’s face was filled with rage.
He was disturbed while receiving treatment from the divine doctor.
It was fortunate that the divine doctor had withdrawn the acupuncture needles just as the Black West Society martial artists entered. Had they interrupted at the climax of the treatment, the Wind Saint’s internal injury could have been aggravated.
The Wind Saint’s anger reached its peak because they had almost disrupted a critical moment.
He had single-handedly neutralized all the martial artists of the Black West Society in an instant.
There was no way that a bunch of martial artists from a minor sect could stand a chance against an absolute master like the Wind Saint.
“You scoundrels! Who sent you?”
The Wind Saint quickly grabbed the collar of a fallen martial artist and locked eyes with him. But the martial artist couldn’t respond.
He had already lost consciousness.
He was foaming at the mouth, with his internal organs and heart meridians severely shaken.
The Wind Saint grabbed the other man by the collar. But he, too, was unconscious.
The Wind Saint’s gaze then turned towards Pyo-wol.
“You know, don’t you? The people targeting the Qi Family Medical Hall?”
“They say it’s the Black West Society, Heavenly Golden Manor, and the Hundred Strike Sect.”
“Why would they do that?”
“They plan to drive out all the people living here and build luxury mansions instead.”
“They disturb the medical hall for such a trivial reason?”
“Man’s desires know no bounds.”
“Hah! Truly, the laws of heaven have fallen to earth. To think they’d attempt to seize a medical hall that saves lives, for such a reason.”
The Wind Saint was genuinely enraged.
“Since negotiations have failed, they’ve resorted to force.”
Qi Musung and Qi Sun-hye, who had been taking care of the patients, came outside.
Anger filled their faces as they looked at the Black West Society martial artists scattered on the floor.
That’s when the divine doctor came out.
After looking at the martial artists on the floor for a moment, the divine doctor looked at Qi Musung.
Seeing Qi Musung biting his lips, it seemed the attack had shocked him.
The divine doctor said,
“If something like this happened, why didn’t you come to me for help sooner? Why did you let the problem grow?”
Qi Musung’s anger erupted at the divine doctor’s tone, which seemed reproachful.
“I let it grow? Do you even know how much I’ve tried to resolve this issue peacefully? How many times my daughter and I visited and discussed this matter with the the Black West Society? Do you think I don’t know that before you speak?”
“That’s–”
“You have always been like that, Father! You would only come and visit us when it suits you, dump a bunch of nagging, and then leave. Do you know who has to clean up with the mess? Me. Do you have any idea how much Sun-hye and I have struggled to deal with the consequences of your careless words? No, you don’t. Because being irresponsible is your nature.”
“S, Son?”
The divine doctor’s eyes widened at the unexpected outburst from his son.
He hadn’t expected his son to react so strongly to something he’d said without thinking.
“While you were comfortably honing your medical skills outside, Sun-hye and I did everything we could to keep Qi Family Medical Hall afloat. Even when we lost all the people who trusted and supported the family, and we had to pay out of our own pockets to make ends meet, we never complained. This was because we thought this was our calling. You shouldn’t speak to us like that. Others may not know better, but you, Father, should not say such things to us.”
Qi Musung’s forehead and neck bulged, his veins showing.
At the sight of his son’s anger which he was seeing for the first time, the divine doctor was rendered speechless. He could only purse his lips in response.
He had no idea that his usually stoic son harbored such deep rage within.
To make matters worse, his granddaughter also seemed to agree with Qi Musung’s words.
He found their expressions unfamiliar and strange.
The fact that his own bloodline could show such a demeanor was a huge shock to him.
“So did I make the problem worse? Fine, let’s say I did. Why? Because I didn’t want to ask for your help, Father. You would leave again, anyway. Why should I consult with someone who irresponsibly leaves without notice, and seek solutions from him? After all, if you cause a problem with your solution, it’s the ones who are left behind who have to deal with the aftermath.”
“……”
Qi Ju-yul could not utter a word.
He had never dreamed that his son and granddaughter thought so poorly of him like this.
He had always thought that his dedication to perfecting his medical skills and saving lives, would be naturally understood by all. But his son and granddaughter actually harbored deep resentment towards him in their hearts.
“Ah…”
Qi Ju-yul could not find the words to say and could only look up at the sky.
Qi Musung said,
“Just don’t do anything. We will take care of it. Whether we lose the medical hall or move it somewhere else, we will handle it. So please, just don’t do anything. I’m begging you.”
“I’m sorry. I really had no idea you felt this way.”
“You didn’t care, so please, let’s just live as if we never knew each other.”
“Son!”
Qi Ju-yul called out desperately, but Qi Musung and Qi Sun-hye did not answer and went inside.
The Wind Saint approached Qi Ju-yul who was left behind.
“Go after them now.”
“They don’t want to talk to me.”
“All the more reason you need to be courageous.”
“Do you think I’m in the wrong, too?”
“Who am I to judge? I’ve never had a family of my own. But I do know if you don’t talk now, you might never get another chance to do so.”
“Hoo.”
“Be brave.”
“Hoo…”
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