Chapter 242

Geum Usin unknowingly bit his lip hard.

His lip burst and blood flowed, but he felt no pain. The look in Geum Shinchung’s eyes felt far more terrifying than a mere wound on his lip.

Having learned the Shaolin martial arts from a young age, Geum Usin feared nothing, but he was more afraid of his uncle, Geum Shinchung, than even the Sect Master of the Shaolin Temple.

Geum Shinchung was his greatest supporter, but he was also an absolute ruler who could take everything away from him if displeased.

Everything Geum Usin currently enjoyed came from Geum Shinchung. Without Geum Shinchung, Geum Usin was nothing.

For that reason, Geum Usin feared Geum Shinchung’s emotional shifts more than anything.

When he was looked at with those all-knowing eyes, as he was now, his body would tremble uncontrollably, to the point where he couldn’t restrain himself.

“A-actually…”

He honestly recounted what had happened at the inn that day.

He told him everything, even about being caught and beaten while trying to steal Pyo Wol’s horse. He didn’t even dare to mix in any lies.

This was his uncle, Geum Shinchung, of all people.

He had a devilish ability to see through others’ lies. It was impossible to hide the truth from him.

“So you’re saying you were caught trying to pathetically steal another man’s horse?”

“Y-yes, sir.”

“Usin!”

“Yes! Manor Lord.”

“Have I ever given you less than you needed?”

“No, sir.”

“Then what were you lacking that you had to steal another man’s horse?”

“I just coveted it so much…”

“Then you should have bought it with money, or even killed the man and taken it. What is this, neither one nor the other? Because of you, I’ve been disgraced as well. If others find out about this, will they blame you? Or will they blame me?”

“I’m sorry. I was wrong.”

Geum Usin slammed his head onto the floor.

His forehead split open and blood splattered, but Geum Usin didn’t even feel the pain. His heart was filled only with fear of Geum Shinchung.

Geum Shinchung rose from his seat.

“Good. Since your head is already down, get into a push-up position.”

“Pardon?”

“Don’t move. Stay just like that.”

Geum Shinchung reached out and grabbed a nearby club.

The club, with its spiraling grooves, also shone with a golden light. It was a golden club he had specially commissioned.

Seeing Geum Shinchung grab the club, Geum Usin squeezed his eyes shut. He knew from experience what was about to happen to him.

Thwack!

In that instant, Geum Shinchung’s club struck his buttocks.

Geum Usin clenched his teeth and endured the pain.

He was Geum Usin, who had mastered the outer arts of the Shaolin Temple. He had reached a level of achievement where he couldn’t even feel the pain of most attacks. But Geum Shinchung’s club was on a different level.

The pain pierced through the muscles hardened by his outer arts and reached his very bones.

Thwack!

‘Gulp!’

The pain was beyond imagination, and Geum Usin’s eyes rolled back.

He was keenly aware of what bone-crushing pain felt like.

Thwack!

Once again, the club struck his buttocks.

“Keuk!”

In the end, Geum Usin couldn’t hold back and let out a scream.

His face was contorted in agony, and tears and snot soaked his face.

“That’s enough for today.”

Geum Shinchung set the club aside and sat down.

“Th-thank you.”

“Orabeoni, did you cry?”

Geum Siyeon crouched down in front of Geum Usin.

Overcome with shame, Geum Usin couldn’t answer. Geum Siyeon offered him a handkerchief.

“Wipe your face with this.”

“Th…ank you.”

“What’s to thank? I’m just worried people will speak ill of Dad if you go out like this. You’re not going to go around telling everyone, are you?”

“That will never happen.”

“Hoho! That’s how it should be.”

Geum Siyeon smiled sweetly.

Geum Usin felt she looked like a scorpion.

“It must hurt. Hurry up and get it treated.”

“I will.”

Geum Usin got up from his spot.

He had only been hit three times, but it felt like all the bones in his buttocks were shattered. He worried he might end up shitting blood.

Enduring the pain, Geum Usin bowed to Geum Shinchung.

“Then, this nephew will take his leave.”

“Take care of yourself. I’ll be giving you another mission soon.”

“Yes!”

With a weak reply, Geum Usin went outside.

As his figure disappeared, Geum Shinchung muttered.

“Useless thing. To think that’s my own flesh and blood…”

“Still, Usin Orabeoni tries his best to do well.”

“Other people try too. What’s important is to do well.”

“That may be true, but…”

“Enough! Stop talking about it.”

“Yes!”

“Tsk! My luck is terrible today. My only nephew comes back beaten up, and the IOU I lent out to be used has become a scrap of paper.”

“Are you talking about the IOU you lent to Snow Blade Sword Manor?”

“Yes!”

“But you got the gold taels back with interest, didn’t you?”

Geum Siyeon looked puzzled.

“Hmph! Do you think I lent out that precious IOU just to receive some interest?”

Geum Shinchung wore a displeased expression.

The reason he had lent money to the Jin Clan was to gain an upper hand in their relationship.

He had judged that if he gained an advantage over the Jin Clan, who held considerable influence in Henan Province, no sect would dare to look down on the Golden Mountain Manor.

He had used the IOU to pressure the Jin Clan to repay the loan, but he had never wanted them to actually pay it back.

But then Snow Blade Sword Manor asked to borrow the IOU, and he had no choice but to hand it over. And this mess occurred.

The Jin Clan had repaid the money, and the Golden Mountain Manor had lost its means of pressuring them.

“Dad! Why did you lend the IOU to Snow Blade Sword Manor? Do they have something on you?”

“Something on me? What nonsense.”

“Then why did you lend it to him? I don’t understand why you would give up the IOU so easily. And to a mere Steward, not even the Manor Lord of Snow Blade Sword Manor…”

Geum Siyeon cautiously asked what she had been wondering all this time.

Her father, Geum Shinchung, was a man who feared nothing in the world.

Even in a world ruled by martial might, Geum Shinchung’s financial power surpassed it. The martial artists protecting the Golden Mountain Manor were experts who would be well-respected in any other sect. It was incomprehensible that Geum Shinchung, who commanded countless such experts, would readily agree to the request of a mere Steward.

Geum Shinchung crossed his arms and said.

“There was a good reason for it.”

“What reason?”

“Siyeon!”

“Yes!”

“I am happy that you are my daughter.”

“I’m so happy to be your daughter too.”

“Yes! You are pretty, smart, and very quick-witted. You know a lot, too. But what you know is not everything.”

“What do you mean?”

“The things you don’t know yet are because I haven’t told you about them. And there is a reason why I haven’t told you.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Siyeon!”

Today, for some reason, Geum Shinchung’s voice sounded unfamiliar to Geum Siyeon. It was the first time since she had come of age that Geum Shinchung had spoken to her so seriously.

That made her feel even more cautious.

“Yes!”

“Remember this. In the Jianghu, what is unseen is more dangerous than what is seen. When you one day take my place, you will understand what I am saying.”

In the end, Geum Shinchung did not give Geum Siyeon the answer she wanted.

Her brow furrowed deeply with unresolved suspicion.

‘Just who is that man?’

In the deep, dark night, Pyo Wol strolled alone through the Jin Clan residence.

The atmosphere within the Jin Clan had calmed down considerably.

The initial excitement from so many people gathering at once had cooled with the arrival of the Sword Venerable, Han Yu-cheon.

Pyo Wol thought this chilled atmosphere was much better. In truth, the Jin Clan had been overly heated for too long.

It was difficult to make calm judgments in such an agitated state. Emotions tended to take precedence over reason.

But with Han Yu-cheon’s arrival as a turning point, the heroes began to think about the current situation more coolly.

They had joined the Jin Clan with thoughts of glory and fame, but now a sense of anxiety about what the future might hold was creeping in.

As a result, the atmosphere in the Jin Clan grew cold and subdued, and the martial artists who would have previously stayed up all night now went to bed early.

Thanks to this, Pyo Wol could quietly take a walk and organize his thoughts. But his peace did not last long.

“Brother Pyo, are you also out for a walk?”

He hadn’t walked far when someone approached him.

The man approaching Pyo Wol with a pleased expression was none other than Namgung Wol.

“Are you also out for a walk?”

“I couldn’t fall asleep.”

Namgung Wol replied with a smile.

He naturally came to Pyo Wol’s side and walked with him.

For a while, neither of them said a word.

It was a night that brought many thoughts.

Both Pyo Wol and Namgung Wol walked on, lost in their own reflections.

It was Namgung Wol who broke the silence first.

He suddenly asked Pyo Wol.

“Who do you think will win, Brother Pyo? I hope the Jin Clan wins.”

“Is it because it’s Jin Geum-woo’s family?”

“Of course, that’s part of the reason. But the bigger reason is that I don’t want Snow Blade Sword Manor to win.”

“Why not?”

“There are many suspicious things about him. And parts that don’t make sense.”

“What part doesn’t make sense?”

“Snow Blade Sword Manor’s past activities. After they were driven from Mount Tianjung by the Jin Clan, almost nothing is known about their movements. That’s impossible, logically speaking.”

When they lost their home and were miserably driven out of Runan by the Jin Clan, only about three hundred people remained with Snow Blade Sword Manor.

It wasn’t a large number, but it wasn’t a small one either.

For a group of three hundred people to move without leaving any trace was by no means ordinary.

How they managed to amass such great wealth and support so many members was completely unknown.

Even the Thousand Water Society had tried to investigate with determination but had failed.

To have accumulated enough wealth and military power to threaten the Jin Clan, yet the process is completely unknown? It was logically impossible.

“It’s as if Snow Blade Sword Manor suddenly fell from the sky. The process of their return to Runan is also unclear. If so many people had moved, there should have been traces, but there’s nothing of the sort.”

“……”

“It’s as if someone deliberately erased their tracks.”

Namgung Wol stopped walking and looked at Pyo Wol.

Even in the darkness, his eyes shone clearly.

Pyo Wol was reminded of Jin Geum-woo when he saw Namgung Wol’s eyes.

Jin Geum-woo’s eyes had been just like that.

His eyes were always searching for an answer. That was why he had wandered All Under Heaven in search of one.

Whether he found the answer he sought, even Pyo Wol did not know.

In the end, he lost his life, and the truth he was searching for was never revealed to the world.

If Pyo Wol hadn’t met him, he too would not have known what Jin Geum-woo had wandered the world searching for.

Namgung Wol was searching for the truth about Jin Geum-woo’s death.

His eyes desperately wanted an answer.

“Do you have any idea what it could be?”

“No.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Hoo! I thought Brother Pyo might know…”

Namgung Wol’s face showed a brief look of disappointment.

At least one thing was certain.

His feelings for Jin Geum-woo were genuine.

Pyo Wol said.

“I hope you live a long life.”

“Pardon?”

At Pyo Wol’s sudden words, Namgung Wol blinked.