Chapter 173

Meanwhile, there was someone else, aside from the Blackspot Leader, who was boiling with rage.

“You pests, sucking the blood of common folk, ought to hide quietly beneath a rock and keep out of sight! How dare you put a bounty on my disciple? I should have wiped you out long ago!”

Blue flames surged from Seomun Sulin’s eyes.

This was no metaphor. It was an actual eruption of her energy, flickering like flames thanks to the hue of Zhu Yang’s Mindfulness Sutra at sunset.

This rage stemmed from her understanding of the situation.

And it intensified particularly because her disciple had done absolutely nothing wrong.

To help an innocent old man, she had charged into Sapa territory and chased down the troublemaker.

Sure, her reckless behavior could earn her a scolding, but sincerely, her heart was commendable, and she was set to gain fame as a virtuous female warrior.

Even a hundred praises wouldn’t suffice for such a disciple.

But what? Ten thousand gold coins?

Of course, even if her disciple had hidden his identity, it would eventually be revealed.

Seomun Sulin rose from her seat.

“It’s been a while; I should pay Jo Hyun-ryang a visit.”

Jo Hyun-ryang was the Grand Elder of the Black Dragon Clan, arising after the fall of the Jinju Clan and the betrayal of its sole heir.

He was more famous by the name of the current Leader of the Martial Alliance.

Originally, he hadn’t intended to participate in the Martial World Tournament.

The star of the event was meant to be her disciple, not Seomun Sulin herself, so she had aimed to avoid the spotlight.

But Seomun Sulin was now taking off.

—-

This year’s Martial World Tournament had an important agenda.

A vacancy had arisen in the ten great clans due to the fall of Jinju. The Jinju Clan had perished, to be precise, incinerated from within by a defector.

Mo Yongseong, the clan head of Mo Yong Clan, murmured,

“Ah, Ahyeong wasn’t that kind of child.”

Unyeonjeong had originally been betrothed between the Mo Yong Clan and her family, and as a child, she often visited the cool lands of Liaoning for summer vacations.

The little Unyeonjeong that Mo Yongseong remembered was a sickly and sensitive little crybaby, but since the Jinju Clan abruptly broke the engagement, he hadn’t seen her since.

Now, he only heard the occasional rumor that she was doing well as a patrol member of the Martial Alliance.

What could have happened to her that led to this?

However, realizing that the betrothal hadn’t been formally annulled was quite dizzying.

It could have been the Jinju Clan that fell instead of hers.

Who knows, perhaps after the broken engagement, she had faced some hardships and harbored grievances, but she was once a timid child who trembled at the sight of ordinary animals, even the likes of a marten or squirrel that a regular girl would find cute.

How could such a child hold any grudge and annihilate a clan? The mind boggles.

Anyway, after hearing the news, one could only become a little sensitive to the marriage prospects of their child.

Thus, it was impossible not to react sensitively to the news delivered by the White Guard.

‘My lord, lately Confucius has been associating with a beggar. The rumors are quite horrifying, referring to her as a wretched woman. What should we do? Is it only during the day? At night, the Green Guard is entirely unresponsive, so it seems they’re seeing each other frequently. We must immediately capture that woman and give her a good beating to teach her some respect and drive her away!’

However, the accounts penned by the Green Guard contradicted this.

“While the behavior of the beggar girl may seem beggar-like, she spoke with reason and appeared to be a wise woman. Moreover, when dealing with the Young Master, she acted like a sister, simply friendly, and the Young Master merely followed her sisterly lead, so discussing the matters between men and women is utterly unfounded slander. Furthermore, her martial prowess is of high strength, possessing at least a peak level competency. She teaches the Young Master nightly, and he’s been showing significant progress lately.”

In truth, the White Guard was so eager to find fault with anything that he was practically in a frenzy.

However, the more taciturn Green Guard, who took it upon himself to stay on night watch, seemed far more credible.

But both testimonies ultimately centered around a beggar.

With the prestige of the clan, how could the direct descendant associate with a beggar, not just any female beggar?

Furthermore, the Green Guard was single while the White Guard had two wives.

The Green Guard knew nothing of the affairs between men and women, so he didn’t understand that a sister could become a lady and that a lady could become a noble consort.

There was no need to go too far; Mo Yongseong had once been robbed of his son’s nurse by his younger brother.

After deliberating, Mo Yongseong decided to first hear his son’s side of the story.

Of course, he meant to hear about his son, not the beggar.

“Jun, they say you’ve been hanging out with an unusual friend lately?”

“Ah. The beggar lady?”

“Hmm.”

His throat went dry. What does “beggar lady” even mean? Where does the “lady” fit in behind “beggar”? It sounded utterly absurd coming from the mouth of the direct descendant of the Mo Yong Clan.

“Right. So, how did you come to know her?”

“She’s not just an acquaintance; she’s a friend!”

“Hmm.”

Already, it had escalated to “friend.” Mo Yongseong’s expression became increasingly serious.

“Well, you see, Father, White Warrior said before that every female beggar is a dirty—uhm.”

“Why’s that?”

“The beggar lady said I shouldn’t say bad words, that they’re bad, especially in front of my parents.”

“Just this once, I’ll allow it. So?”

“That beggar lady says they’re all filthy harlots…”

“That White Guard…”

Veins bulged on Mo Yongseong’s forehead.

“Isn’t it true that it is a bad word?”

“Yes, you shouldn’t say such things carelessly. Not just in front of your father, but with anyone. Speaking such words will only demean you, so you must avoid them.”

“Ah. The beggar lady told me that using bad words is like declaring I’m a bad person, so it’s better just not to use them at all.”

“Hmm.”

Mo Yongseong’s expression softened somewhat.

It seemed the Green Guard’s account painted her as a reasonable and wise woman.

Indeed, the Green Guard was trustworthy.

“Hmm. And? Did you learn anything else?”

“Ah. Also…”

Mo Yongjun hopped up and started chattering about gender equality education, filled with excitement in front of his father.

What he shared seemed overly favorable towards women, but it was valid education regarding proper conduct and mindset.

Since a woman taught it, it swung in her favor, but even so, such virtues should still be upheld by any man, so there shouldn’t be any issues.

Everyone knew it but chose not to follow it.

“So what do you think, Father? Is it all true? The lady said if I hear something I don’t understand, I should confirm it with an adult…”

“Excellent. Everything you said is correct.”

Mo Yongseong beamed, opening his arms wide.

Overjoyed, Mo Yongjun leaped into his father’s embrace.

But Mo Yongseong’s heart was anything but joyful.

It felt like a heavy stone was tied to him when he heard the story about giving gold coins to the beggar woman for her chest.

And the thought that he might not know something gnawed at him.

Everyone was ecstatic about his youngest son learning martial arts on the heavenly body, but no one had ever informed him about the basic duties people ought to maintain.

It was the same for Mo Yongseong; he thought it was so obvious that everyone must have understood or would eventually know.

But upon reflection, how could one know if no one teaches them?

In general, it should be the mother guiding them, yet, ah, dear wife, why did you leave so soon…

So he had looked down upon the beggar woman, only to realize she was the savior of his child!

He had been taught to regard everyone he met as a mentor, yet I had thought I knew better!

He was about to call for that woman to express his deep gratitude…

“…Ah, and also! Right! The beggar lady asked me to marry her.”

“What? How dare she! What did you say?”

“I told her I don’t like girls with covered faces. You told me before, didn’t you? That women cover their faces because they look ugly…”

“Right. That’s true. Whew. Well done. Good job.”

Mo Yongseong was immensely grateful for the teaching he didn’t even remember giving.

Now he realized she wasn’t just his child’s benefactor but a cunning schemer!

She was trying to seduce an innocent kid to improve her own fortunes!

“Jun, let me just say this, marriage is a serious matter for the family, so you must never, NEVER decide on your own. And that beggar lady, especially not. No way, no how. Even if dirt gets in my eyes.”

“I said I didn’t want to either! So the beggar lady said she absolutely wouldn’t marry me no matter what.”

“What! How dare a beggar say such nonsense!”

Hearing this only made him angrier.

“Ah, Father?”

“Cough. No, forget that. She said she wouldn’t marry? Tell me more!”

Realizing his feelings were a bit unclear, he thought it difficult to discern whether this was some wicked ploy or merely banter among siblings.

One can only make judgments after keenly observing a person’s eyes, gestures, and words—it couldn’t be deciphered from mere hearsay.

Thus, there was only one way to ascertain the truth: to speak with her directly.

—-

Pang Dae-san was truly having the worst time of his life.

Even leaving the clan would only bring a swarm of women, which was more of a hassle, so he spent his days locked away, training.

He had even achieved some level of accomplishment, reaching the peak of his martial prowess.

However, Pang Dae-san didn’t stop training.

Because just the other day—

“Hey, little brother! I thought you looked at girls like a stone, but this is quite something. Look at you!”

“What are you talking about, sister?”

“I saw it! Just now! You sly boy.”

Pang Choryeo jabbed Pang Dae-san in the side.

Just to note, Pang Choryeo never learned the concept of strength control her whole life; it really hurt.

Along with the pain in his side, Pang Dae-san’s voice dropped a level due to the rather blatant and annoying behavior.

“What did you see?”

“That girl—Qing Ah. She was pretty, wasn’t she?”

Pang Choryeo grinned while saying this.

Pang Dae-san was at a loss.

Why was that name suddenly popping up?

“You mean Seomun Qing?”

“Yeah. That Seomun Qing. You’re friends? Friends, right? Friends-y! The friend of that Oki-rin. Girlfriend. Lady friend. Female friend.”

To Pang Dae-san, Pang Choryeo was more like an annoying mother than an older sister.

Pang Choryeo had raised him throughout his childhood. This was a flat-out fact.

Pang Dae-san bottled up his irritation stemming from that connection.

“Sister, this is really annoying. Can you please stop?”

“Hmm, you better toughen up then. She’s reaching supreme martial artist level soon. It’s said she’s already undergone a transformation. Hey! Where are you going?”

“I’m off to meditate in retreat. Don’t misunderstand.”

“Sure! Good luck, little brother!”

And that look Pang Choryeo had was infuriating enough to negate any gratitude he felt for her raising him.

Then, disaster struck.

As soon as that ‘inescapable companion’ arrived at the Northern Pang Clan, it literally meant there was no escaping.

So, he had to escape before that arrival, but he had become so absorbed in training that he completely forgot about it.

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