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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: 23화
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“Ha, how could I not know that Hefei’s peace is all thanks to the Namgung martial artists! I merely…!”
“Exactly!”
Whoosh— Thud!
“Ugh…!”
The burly man threw the innkeeper to the ground.
Yet, no one intervened. They all knew the man was a martial artist from the Namgung.
In a street under Namgung’s jurisdiction, who would dare stop a Namgung martial artist from acting so arrogantly?
There were ranks among Namgung martial artists, but ordinary folk wouldn't know that.
In Hefei, where order was maintained by the Namgung name, anyone from the Namgung was practically an absolute authority.
Seolhwa popped a warm dumpling into her mouth and chewed, watching Namgung Cheongun.
From the moment the man grabbed the innkeeper’s collar, his expression had already turned cold.
‘Does Father know his hand, which was just stroking my head, has now frozen?’
If he knew, he wouldn’t have let it happen.
Namgung Cheongun was so enraged by the Namgung martial artists’ outrageous behavior that a chill ran through his eyes.
However, as he was concealing his identity, he couldn’t act rashly.
The guards, hidden among the crowd, were quietly drawing upon their internal energy, indicating they would intervene if a dangerous situation arose.
“You know it well!”
The Namgung martial artist stood tall before the fallen innkeeper.
“We’re busy protecting the peace of Hefei, yet you disrespect us so much just because we couldn’t pay for some dumplings and noodles?”
“But, it’s not just once…”
“Ah, come on. I told you, I forgot my coin purse!”
A thunderous voice echoed through the inn.
Some of the diners quietly slipped away, while others even shot the innkeeper displeased glances.
They simply wished for the commotion to end quickly.
“Ugh…”
How powerless an ordinary person was before a martial artist.
With Namgung martial artists, who were supposed to maintain order, instead causing trouble, there was nowhere to seek help, no way to resolve the situation.
“I, I understand. Then, please, be sure to… bring it next time…”
The innkeeper ultimately had no choice but to back down.
He knew that escalating the commotion further would only make things worse.
“Kwahahaha! Alright! I’ll definitely bring it next time! Of course! Thanks for the meal!”
The Namgung martial artist patted the head of the innkeeper, who was slumped on the ground, and walked past him. The men who had been with him also chuckled and followed him out of the inn.
“Father…”
The attendant, who had been anxiously pacing a short distance away, rushed over and helped the innkeeper to his feet.
“It would be better to report them to the local government…”
“Don’t. They are Namgung martial artists. Would the local government take our side?”
“But, how many times has this happened already? The money they’ve owed us already…”
“Shh. There are many ears listening.”
The father and son hushed each other, fearing they might be slandering the Namgung, and got up. The innkeeper bowed deeply to the inn’s patrons.
“Oh, dear, I apologize for the disturbance. As an apology, I will offer a plate of dumplings to each of you. Please, enjoy your meal.”
Broken tables, shattered utensils, and now even free dumplings. The losses from this incident alone were considerable.
Swish—
“…?”
Seolhwa, who had been watching the situation with interest, looked up at Namgung Cheongun, who had somehow risen.
From beneath his lowered bamboo hat, Namgung Cheongun smiled and said,
“Seolhwa, keep eating for a moment. I’ll be right back.”
Seolhwa nodded.
Namgung Cheongun then walked out of the inn. The moment he turned away from Seolhwa, his expression grew cold.
Soon after, two of his guards followed him out.
The remaining three stayed by Seolhwa’s side.
Seolhwa picked up another warm dumpling. Steam was rising from it.
‘What kind of punishment will he mete out?’
In the Hyeolgyo, such things were commonplace, not even warranting punishment.
But wasn’t this the righteous faction?
The righteous orthodox faction, which valued righteousness and chivalry, wouldn’t let scoundrels like those get away with it.
Moreover, weren’t they tarnishing the Namgung’s name? This concerned the family’s reputation, so they certainly wouldn’t let it slide.
‘They’ve got some nerve. Selling the Namgung name so brazenly right in front of the Namgung’s doorstep.’
Given that they didn’t seem to expect to be caught, were they on patrol?
Patrolling the streets of Hefei was one of the duties of the Outer Hall’s martial force.
Considering that no one came running despite the commotion, it seemed the martial artists causing trouble were in charge of this sector.
A short while later, one of the guards who had followed Namgung Cheongun returned and spoke to the innkeeper.
The guard handed the innkeeper a heavy pouch, and the innkeeper bowed repeatedly in gratitude.
Afterward, Namgung Cheongun returned.
“Whew…”
Seeing him plop down in front of her, Seolhwa swallowed the dumpling she had been chewing.
“What did you do?”
“Hm? What did I do? About what?”
“The punishment. Weren’t you going to punish the martial artists who dined and dashed?”
Namgung Cheongun blinked in surprise.
Then he chuckled, pulling his bamboo hat down a little deeper.
“Oh, you knew all along, so you readily let me go.”
“Because you had to catch them before they got too far.”
“I can’t hide anything from your keen eye.”
Seolhwa shrugged.
It was an obvious cause and effect based on the circumstances, not a keen eye.
“I found out their names and affiliations. I told them to return to the family and confine themselves. Their three months’ salary will be docked, and that money will be given to the innkeeper.”
“And?”
“And? That’s all.”
Seolhwa frowned.
Even if it was the righteous faction, they were letting off those who tarnished the family’s name with just a salary cut?
“Aren’t you going to cut off their hands or tongues?”
This time, Namgung Cheongun frowned.
“Why their hands and tongues?”
“They harmed the innkeeper and damaged the family’s prestige, didn’t they? They used their martial arts with malicious intent, so their hands should be cut off, and they tarnished the family’s name with their three-inch tongues, so their tongues should be cut off.”
‘If it were the Hyeolgyo, it wouldn't have ended with just hands and tongues.’
If a Hyeolgyo member was found to have disgraced the Hyeolgyo’s name, the only punishment was death.
And not just a simple death, but having all their true energy sucked dry by the Hyeolma, their vital energy withered away.
However, that was the Hyeolgyo’s law. Since this was the righteous faction, she had toned down her words, but Cheongun’s face was filled with shock.
He remained silent for a moment, a confused expression on his face, then shook his head.
“I will cut neither their hands nor their tongues.”
“Why not?”
“If I cut off their hands, their life as martial artists would end, and if I cut off their tongues, they would have to live their entire lives unable to eat properly or even converse with others.”
“That is the punishment. They will live their whole lives regretting what they did.”
“Although the crimes they committed, hidden from the family’s eyes, are wicked, they are not so heinous as to warrant such a severe punishment. We should give them a chance to correct their mistakes.”
“Is that so?”
Although she didn’t like the slap-on-the-wrist punishment, Seolhwa decided to let it go.
If that was the law of the righteous orthodox faction, the Namgung, there was nothing she couldn’t follow.
“Eat your food. It’ll get cold.”
It tasted better when warm.
Seolhwa sighed, looking at the cooled dumplings.
Cheongun gazed at Seolhwa with a troubled expression.
A moment later, the innkeeper brought a new plate of dumplings. Thanks to this, the two finished their meal with warm dumplings.
After leaving the inn, Namgung Cheongun, as promised, took Seolhwa to a Tanghuru shop.
Seeing Seolhwa’s eyes sparkle like a child’s in front of the Tanghuru, Namgung Cheongun almost bought the entire Tanghuru shop on the spot.
However, due to Seolhwa’s strong protest, they settled on buying all the Tanghuru that had already been made.
Paper bags filled with Tanghuru were placed in Namgung Cheongun’s and Seolhwa’s arms respectively.
The two crunched on their Tanghuru while admiring the shops in Hefei.
Cute hair ornaments, jade rings larger than Seolhwa’s thumb, and sparkling embroidered flower shoes.
Every time she saw something pretty, Namgung Cheongun tried to buy the entire shop, and at some point, Seolhwa got tired of stopping him and simply turned away, ignoring him.
It was in the midst of their sightseeing.
“Father. I need to pee. Can I go to the latrine?”
“Oh? Of course! Let’s go there, quickly.”
Namgung Cheongun hastily led Seolhwa to the nearest inn.
To let her relieve herself comfortably, he rented an entire room and even waited outside the room.
‘Having a lot of money is tiring too.’
Seolhwa, who had expected him to take her to a secluded alley, shook her head.
In any case, she had achieved her goal by creating distance from Namgung Cheongun.
‘One guard at the entrance, two on the first floor. And one on the roof?’
The remaining one was visible among the people on the inn street.
Having located Namgung Cheongun and the guards, Seolhwa opened a window in a direction their gaze couldn't easily reach.
The inn room was on the second floor.
Thud—!
Seolhwa leaped out the window without hesitation.
