Chapter 23

“Uncle! I like her! I like her!”
“Hehehehehe. I see you like his scent! I’ll capture him alive and drag him in front of you, what shall we do?”
A greatsword the size of his own body was tied tightly around the thirsty girl’s back, and the middle-aged man who was casually carrying the greatsword on his shoulder laughed heartily.
“Ugh, but why are you making such a fuss over her, I’m just trying to find out what she did wrong!”
“Hehehe. That’s right.”
The girl, one of the wives of the head of the Namgung Clan, Namgung Mu Baek, pointed to the stage of the sword conference, where the uproar caused by the wives of the Namgung Clan had subsided somewhat and they were taking a short break.
“But why is everyone making such a fuss. Uncle?”
The middle-aged man looked at the girl in amusement and smiled roguishly.
“Xiang’er, this is the place called the Southern Palace. As I said, it’s a place that’s recognized even in the middle realm for its slender swords.”
“Hm.”
“That’s why there’s such a fuss. It’s an uncomfortable truth that everyone’s been trying to hide, and everyone’s scrambling to protect their vested interests, to avoid tearing down what they’ve built.”
“Ohhh……. And she did that?”
The girl called Incense stretched out her palm and slapped the middle-aged man across the face. Despite the prank, the middle-aged man smiled and accepted the girl’s prank.
The middle-aged man wiped the smile off his face.
He sensed that he was being flattered.
“I heard you discussing Kang Ho’s physiology. Fang Dae-hyup. No, I should say Ho Tai Dao.”
The approaching man was dressed in a white robe, the sleeves of which were emblazoned with Taijiquan symbols, and he held a fencing stance toward the middle-aged man.
“The appearance of the Confuciuses of the Southern Palace seems to be of interest to the Old Sect, Wu Cha.”
Without even turning her head to the man, the girl who had been burning her thirst with her log-like forearms slammed down and smiled warmly.
“Incense.”
“Hmph!”
The middle-aged man, looking at his nephew with warm eyes, smirked.
“Uncle wants some sweetmeats, why don’t you buy one, and you can have what you want.”
“Dangguo! Woof, okay, I’ll get one right away!”
Xiangyi snatched the silver coin from the middle-aged man’s hand and rushed off to the streets, where the smell of tempting food wafted through the air. She was so swift that she quickly disappeared from sight.
The warmth in his eyes turned sharp as soon as she was out of sight. The man stood in an exaggerated posture, a look of bewilderment on his face, as he felt the illusion of a heavy, synchronized energy.
“That’s her, the girl that Ho Tao Pangak’s favorite, the one who’s considered the most valuable late exponent of the Hebei Ping Family.”
“She’s only ten years old.”
“Fang Daiqiao is famous for not accepting disciples in Hebei Ping Street, but she’s the only one he’s accepted. It can’t be because of love for his nephew that he’d accept a nephew after all the greats.”
“Perhaps we should move the shaman out into the open. There are plenty of voles here.”
“I take that as a compliment, Wu Liangsu Buddha.”
“I’m here to see the Confuciuses of the Southern Palace.”
“Otherwise, I wouldn’t have traveled all this way.”
“Moreover, it must be interesting to see such an event. I’m sure he’s got a good tease.”
The Southern Palace was arguably one of the most prestigious families of the Six Great Houses, and to have their shame exposed would be a slap in the face to the other Six Great Houses.
“Of course not, we should share the difficulties and hardships of the Zheng Clan. It’s just sad that the name of the Southern Palace has fallen to the ground. Isn’t that right, Fang Daihua?”
Fang Daiqiang turned and looked at the man. The man staring back at him with a smile he didn’t like, and the myriad auras behind him.
Pangak scanned the room.
“So it wasn’t just the shaman.”
Behind the man in the shaman’s robes stood several monks, beggars, bhikkhus, and well-groomed martial artists.
“With the Nine Sects working together like this, the future of the Zheng Sect is indeed bright. Indeed, Master Hyun-Young.”
Despite the mocking sarcasm in his voice, the shamanic master called Hyun Young smiled lightly, nodded, and pointed straight ahead.
“I’m sure you’ve already heard of him, but allow me to introduce him to you, Master Mok Wu of Shaolin. Grandmaster Zhang Qian of the Volcano, Grandmaster Qu Ta of the Opening, Isaac Xinyi of the Amifa…….”
Fang Gak’s gaze naturally shifted backward. He hadn’t simply come to learn about the Confuciuses of the Southern Palace; they were also prominent figures in the Old School.
There were many faces he had seen along the way, and there were some whose pure aura he felt whenever he made eye contact with them, making him think that they were not beneath him.
“Speaking of which, Ho Tae Dora is a martial artist who recently defeated Maragumma in one fell swoop and made the power of the Zheng Sect widely known. Some of you may be familiar with him.”
Hyun Young smiled with narrowed eyes and slapped his palms together, as if his role was over. As Fang Gak faced the members of the Old Pile, he heard Hyun Young’s words in passing.
“May the power of the Six Great Families always be as boundless as it is now. Bountiful.”
Master Hyun-Young and the members of the Gu Family disappear, saying they’ve seen enough.
Pangak could see the members of the Gu Pile Sect passing by, and at the same time, he could see the members of the Six Great Families in the distance.
He saw members of the Sichuan Tang Family, the Mo Yong Family, the Jie Gal Family, and the Huang Bo Family, but they didn’t recognize each other. Each of them was busy trying to figure out who the Southern Palace Clan was.
Fang Gak felt that he was no different from them, and at the same time, he felt out of place.
“I heard you discussing Kang Ho’s physiology. Fang Daiqiao. No, it should be called the Tiger Sword Dao.”
“May the power of the Six Great Families always be as great as it is now. ”
Looking at the other members of the Six Great Families, each of whom, unlike Gu Feifang, seemed to be looking for something to feast on in the South Palace, Fang Gak felt a chill run down his spine.
“Hmph.”
Just as he was calming his nerves by thinking about the meaningful things Hyun-young had left behind.
“Brother, brother, here, here!”
I rolled the glutinous rice into a ball and sprinkled it with white sugar.
A tiny child, younger than Hyang-yi, clung to him, dragging him along.
“The …… Grand Duke of the Southern Palace?”
The Grand Duke, who had made quite an impression since the first battle, had just caused a disturbance, so what is he doing here?
He seemed oblivious to the crowd of people watching him, and was too busy looking after the little boy.
“Big brother, big brother, I want this! I want this!”
“Is this what Walli wants to eat?”
Pangak looked at the Grand Duke, who was looking at Tang Guohana with a puzzled expression, and the child, who was smiling brightly as he called the Grand Duke his brother.
“Brother, don’t you have any money?”
“……I don’t have any money.”
There was no sign of restlessness.
Pangak couldn’t help but laugh as he looked at the Grand Duke of the Southern Palace Family.
What kind of place is the Southern Palace Family?
I hate to admit it, but it’s one of the top sword factions of the era, led by the Nangong Mu Bai.
To think that the Grand Duke of such a sect would be embarrassed in front of the Tang Family because he didn’t have a single coin in his pocket.
Moreover, I was pleasantly surprised by his attitude, which was at odds with the curious offstage shouting earlier, and my eyes widened as I couldn’t help but stare at him.
“If you have some money, give it to me.”
“……What, are you trying to extort money from me?”
“No, I’m not. The kid wants to eat. Can’t you give him that too?”
“You’ve already extorted me, and you’ve mortgaged your title as Grand Duke.”
“That’s a lot of money.”
“A penny? A penny?!”
“Ah. I see. You don’t have the money, do you?”
“Don’t be silly, you know who I am!”
The middle-aged man standing next to the fuming Grand Duke was the one who had the last laugh. He didn’t immediately recognize the man, as he only remembered him as a stern, cold face, but he was definitely someone he knew.
“……Anbaek?”
Here before him was a man who had never been more heartless in front of the Sect, who had never shown anything more than a dry smile even to those of his own party, and who still commanded respect and reverence with the single title of Iron-Blooded Swordsman.
He was also one of the few people Fang Gak recognized in the Zhongyuan Martial Forest.
An Baek’s heart sank as well, perhaps because of the stare. An Baek’s eyes widened, and a smile appeared on his lips.
I didn’t expect this kind of relationship with An Baek, who suddenly disappeared when my sister said she had to free Han, who had left for the heavens, but it didn’t matter.
Pangak’s heart sank as he walked toward Anbaek. He hugged her like a man and made amends.
But then.
“Do you have any money?”
He scowls at her. This man.
* * *
Filthy.
Namgung-wall is happily munching on the sugar cubes in his hands, and the two people are looking at him with a happy expression.
“Big brother, here, eat this!”
“You have to leave the competition soon. Eat up.”
I stopped gawking and turned to the girl standing next to me.
“I’ll pay you back.”
“It’s okay! I have plenty of money!”
I envied her.
“What, you don’t have money, are you a beggar?”
A beggar, who am I kidding?
I don’t know what to say, because she’s looking at me with eyes as pure and sunny as the walls of the Southern Palace.
He’s just curious, I suppose.
“No, beggars can’t, and who says you can’t?”
“I said yes, but why are you acting like an adult? You’re not even an adult yet, and you sound so stiff.”
“I’ll pay you back anyway.”
“Well…… then pay me back later with something else!”
It’s like someone is Ho Tae-do’s disciple. Hmmm.
“Well, everyone has their own circumstances, right?” ”More than that, your uncle is named Ho Tae Do, right?”
“Hmph, that’s right.”
I’ve heard the name Ho Tae-do before. When I was rolling like a dog on the battlefield and climbing the ranks of the Heavenly Lord, he was one of the answers to the question of who was the strongest in the Zheng Clan.
Perhaps it was Hebei Zedao.
Such a Hebei Zedao.
From the corner of my eye.
“What am I supposed to do if he just disappears without a trace?”
“A man might do that.”
“Ha. Do you know how much trouble I’ve been in since you left? I’ve done all the cleaning up.”
“That’s what you were supposed to do.”
“You damn fool!”
Ho T’ai T’o, who was widely known for his fierceness and resemblance to a criminal, was no better than a child in front of his uncle.
“Was this the reason why big brother …… had to leave?”
“It’s still ongoing. As you can see.”
At the uncle’s determined response, Fang Gak stood and looked at the uncle.
“That uncle is your nephew. You must be related by blood to cause trouble.”
“Is that a compliment or an insult?”
Fang Gak, who was obviously insulted, shifted his gaze to me.
“Nevertheless.”
Pangak opened his mouth, his gaze fixed. I looked at him, too.
“I can finally put my worries to rest.”
With those words, Fang Gak erased all memories of his encounter with Gu Feifang and the members of the Six Great Families earlier.
“I can rewrite the story. A new one.”