[TS] Became a Peach Saint – Chapter 296

Namgung Woon-hwi had been an exceptionally outstanding child since he was young, and because of that, the Murim Alliance leader’s love for him, the second son, was also deep.

In the Murim world, where you never know if you’ll die today or tomorrow, having a peculiar personality wasn’t exactly a flaw. At best, it was just fodder for the gossip of the common folk.

What mattered more than that was martial prowess.

But now, the second son of the Namgung family, who had always been so remarkable, was being dragged out like trash, his ankle caught in Shin Yi’s grasp.

The people at the Medical Hall whispered among themselves as they watched, but the Alliance leader didn’t stop them, simply following slowly behind.

“Ugh! Ugh! Grrgh!”

Every time Namgung Woon-hwi’s head scraped against the stones on the ground as he was dragged by his ankle, groans escaped him.

If he had lost consciousness, it might have been slightly better, but thanks to Shin Yi’s perfect treatment, even that small mercy was denied to him.

“Huu—”

Shin Yi, leisurely smoking a cigarette, dragged Namgung Woon-hwi outside and then tossed him onto the ground in a wide-open area.

“Gah!”

Despite the situation, Namgung Woon-hwi, true to his reputation as a prodigy, twisted his body mid-air and landed on his feet. He then looked around belatedly.

Already, a crowd had gathered, whispering and staring at him.

This made the veins on Namgung Woon-hwi’s forehead bulge.

“How dare these people!”

“Dare what?”

Shin Yi’s foot shot out at an incredible speed, slapping Namgung Woon-hwi’s cheek.

*Whack!*

“Kuh-uhk!”

Because of that, the teeth he had barely managed to keep in place were once again knocked out in chunks.

While Namgung Woon-hwi writhed in pain, Shin Yi waved his hand through the air. The space split open, and cooking utensils, the kind you’d use in a kitchen, popped out.

The sudden display of spatial manipulation made the Alliance leader, who had been watching anxiously, widen his eyes in shock.

*Tick, tick, tick, whoosh!*

As Shin Yi handled the tools, flames erupted from them.

Her absurd actions didn’t stop there. She placed a pot on top and poured in some liquid.

While Shin Yi was doing things that made no sense, Namgung Woon-hwi, who had finally regained his senses, looked around again.

Then, his eyes caught sight of one person.

“Grandfather!”

The problem was, this wasn’t the Namgung family estate but the Murim Alliance. The man he was calling out to wasn’t his grandfather but the Alliance leader, so he could only remain silent in response to his grandson’s thoughtless call.

But Namgung Woon-hwi didn’t notice any of that.

How much humiliation and pain had he endured while being moved around by Shin Yi?

Now…

It’s okay. By his side was his grandfather, who was counted among the strongest and most powerful. That’s why Namgung Woon-hwi no longer had anything to fear.

“This wicked woman!”

Swoosh!

Namgung Woon-hwi draws the sword he was carrying.

‘If it weren’t for the deputy inspector, I would’ve been dead for sure.’

The corner of Namgung Woon-hwi’s mouth twists as blood drips from the wound inflicted by Shin Yi.

“Tsk! It’s over now!”

From his mouth, shattered teeth and blood mix and spill out.

“Your life is over, you bug-like brat.”

Thud.

“Eek!”

As Shin Yi takes a step forward, Namgung Woon-hwi panics and stumbles backward.

It was a stark contrast to the bold figure he had just been, drawing his sword.

Thud.

Seeing Namgung Woon-hwi continue to retreat, Shin Yi kicks a stone from the ground.

The stone floats in the air, and he kicks it again.

Swoosh—!

The stone, kicked by Shin Yi, flies like a beam of light and embeds itself in Namgung Woon-hwi’s shin.

“Ahhh!!”

Namgung Woon-hwi grabs his broken shin and starts rolling on the ground.

For the people watching, it was a truly shocking sight.

Born into the Namgung family, one of the top families in the Great Gate Sect, his abilities were unmatched among the younger generation.

Moreover, his grandfather was the leader of the Murim Alliance, a colossal force, and his looks earned him the nickname “Flower Prince.” It was no exaggeration to say he had everything.

That’s why the sight of Namgung Woon-hwi shedding tears and rolling in the dirt was so bizarre.

Thud, thud.

Even in the midst of his pain, hearing Shin Yi approach, he picks up the sword lying on the ground.

“Get away! Go away!!”

Despite Namgung Woon-hwi wildly swinging his sword, Shin Yi continues to approach without stopping.

“Eek!”

This time, another terrifyingly fast kick follows.

Crash!

Namgung Woon-hwi’s sword, struck by the kick, flies away and rolls on the dirt.

Seeing the sword covered in dust, Namgung Woon-hwi feels a strange kinship with it.

“Wh-why…?!”

He desperately calls out to his grandfather, who always cherished him, but only silence answers.

All that remains for Namgung Woon-hwi is despair.

He had experienced firsthand how wicked the woman before him was.

She was a demoness.

Shin Yi’s hand slowly reaches out and grabs Namgung Woon-hwi by the hair.

Yikes, standing up.

But Namgung Woon-hwi’s broken shin couldn’t properly support his body.

“Ugh…”

“You’re trying to show off to a woman, and just because some tea splashed, you’re going to swing your sword at a ten-year-old kid?”

“I, I am the legitimate heir of the great Namgung family.”

“So?”

No matter where you went in the vast Central Plains, just mentioning his name would earn him respect.

Everyone trembled under the name of the Namgung family.

“I’m fundamentally different from those lowly scum!!”

As Namgung Woon-hwi shouted in rage, the murmurs of the crowd watching instantly disappeared, and silence filled the space.

Thanks to this, the Murim Alliance leader, who had been watching alongside, lowered his head and pressed his forehead.

It was something that shouldn’t have been said.

Everyone knew it. Especially the commoners, who couldn’t help but know, even if they didn’t want to.

Even though everyone was equal as commoners unless they were royal officials, there was an invisible hierarchy.

That’s why it was something that shouldn’t have been spoken.

Martial artists who stake their lives and honor on a single sword.

In the martial world, everyone dreams of that, but not everyone can achieve it.

How many commoners have been sacrificed under the name of a martial artist’s honor?

It was like a dream within a dream.

The efforts of commoners are futile from birth.

“Hey.”

“Why are you doing this to me!”

Namgung Woon-hwi screamed in frustration.

Slap!

And the response that came back was a slap from Shin Yi.

“Answer.”

“Ugh…”

Namgung Woon-hwi felt like he was losing his mind.

It seemed like getting hit with an iron club would hurt less than this.

But the eyes of the onlookers began to fill with glee.

Though they didn’t show it, everyone was thinking the same thing.

It felt so satisfying.

Seeing someone who treated their lives as less than spilled tea getting beaten like dust on a rainy day, how could they not feel that way?

Slap!

“Gah!”

“Answer.”

Namgung Woon-hwi couldn’t even scream from the pain that felt like his face was being torn off, but Shin Yi persistently demanded an answer.

Slap!

“Guh…”

“Answer.”

Slap!

“Answer.”

As time went on, the number of onlookers kept increasing.

Since there was no one to stop them from watching, at first it was only martial artists, but soon…

Even the servants who were watching started to gather, forming a crowd.

Squeeeeak—!

“Answer.”

The onlookers who were watching him instinctively covered their ears.

It wasn’t a sound that could come from a human face, nor should it ever be made.

Squeeeeak—!!

“Answer.”

Thanks to that, Namgung Woon-hwi’s once delicate face, which had just healed, was now beyond recognition.

Shin Yi grabbed Namgung Woon-hwi by the hair and dragged him along.

It was the place where the cooking tools had been laid out earlier.

“Ah… Aah…”

As Shin Yi’s hand stopped above the pot, Namgung Woon-hwi, who was being held, began to be consumed by terror.

What appeared before Namgung Woon-hwi’s eyes was bubbling, boiling oil.

In extreme fear, Namgung Woon-hwi’s pants became soaking wet.

“P-please… spare me…”

Did Namgung Woon-hwi’s words reach him? The face that was facing the boiling oil was lifted up.

“Take a good look at how they see you.”

“Huh…?”

Since his hair was in Shin Yi’s grip, all Namgung Woon-hwi could do was move his eyeballs left and right.

In Namgung Woon-hwi’s gaze, the expressions of the crowd and the emotions they held began to show.

Joy. Ecstasy. Satisfaction.

‘Why…?’

To anyone watching, it was clear that Namgung Woon-hwi was the one being subjected to inhumane treatment.

So why were they looking at him like that?

“It’s because you’re human.”

“Because I’m human…”

“An ugly truth no one wants to face.”

“……”

“That’s why everyone hides it deep beneath the surface. But you have the ability to dig it up, Emotion Master.”

Namgung Woon-hwi’s face slowly descended again.

Not by his own will, but by someone else’s.

“To be able to manipulate emotions. You could’ve been great if you were born in the right era.”

“Ah…”

“A mediocre talent born in the wrong time. This is what they call Holy Water.”

The cruelly bubbling oil came closer to Namgung Woon-hwi’s face.

“Once you go in and come out, you’ll be a new person.”

“N-no… please…”