Chapter 66
Let’s all remember this.
A father’s fist is strong.
Furthermore, the fist of a father trying to protect his daughter can be considered the absolute strongest.
And I…
SMASH-!!
…experienced it firsthand.
“You son of a bitch!!”
“N-No. Great Hero…! There’s a misunderstanding-!”
WHACK-!!
“Aargh-! Fuck! I said it’s a misunderstanding-!”
No, was this person always this much of a Master?
Struck by Yu Haseong’s sudden punch, I fell straight backward.
On top of that, he must have hit the wrong Pressure Point when he struck me, because my body instantly stiffened.
And Yu Haseong, whose eyes had rolled back in fury, didn’t miss that opening. He mounted me and started raining down punches.
Pow-! Pow-!
“No, urgh, th-there were circumstances. Circumstances-!”
“You’re talking about circumstances after seeing the state my daughter is in! You son of a bitch! What did you do to my daughter! What did you do!”
“What do you mean? What did I do? I didn’t do anything! Ask her! Just ask her!!”
Only when I desperately screamed did Yu Haseong stop his fists and ask Yoo Somyung.
“Daughter… what did this fellow do to you… Are you hurt anywhere…?”
At that…
“My body… well…”
Yoo Somyung answered in a pitifully trembling voice.
“My back… my back hurts so much…”
“Your back…? Why does your back…”
Flinch.
For a moment, as if a terrible thought had crossed his mind, Yu Haseong suddenly stopped all movement. Then… he looked at Yoo Somyung’s waist once…
Glance.
“…”
This time, he looked at my waist, his gaze naturally trailing down to my nether regions.
“Esteemed Father, it’s really not that, really…!”
Chiiiill-.
…Despite my explanation, the atmosphere turned impossibly cold. It felt like the temperature inside this small Abandoned Warehouse wasn’t just dropping, but freezing.
What was more serious than anything else was Yu Haseong’s facial expression.
First, despair. Next, anger. Then, anger again. Endless anger.
Still, the fortunate(?) thing was that Yu Haseong had stopped swinging his fists.
‘Did he regain his reason…?’
For a moment, I judged it to be so, but…
Shring-.
…I was wrong.
He drew the Sword from his waist and shouted.
“Hwaaaah-!! Did you think you’d be safe after daring to defile…, keuhk… defile Somyung-!!!”
“I didn’t-!!”
“I will cut off every single part of you that touched Somyung-!!”
He said he would cut off every part, but Yu Haseong’s eyes were solely fixed on my nether regions. This person… was trying to turn me into a prospective eunuch right now.
“Fuck-!!”
Naturally, I couldn’t help but fall into a state of panic.
Fuck, my body wasn’t moving because the wrong Pressure Point was hit, and the person in front of me was trying to castrate me. There was no way I could maintain my sanity!
Furthermore, this Yu Haseong guy’s eyes are completely rolled back right now.
How are those the eyes of a Righteous Faction member! Those are the eyes of a Demonic Cult member who has already killed several people!
And Yu Haseong, with those Demonic Cult eyes, raised his Sword high.
“No-! Just die-!!”
“Young Lady Yu! Somyung-ah!! Please save this Older Brother just once! Stop your dad!!”
The only one who could stop this situation right now was Yoo Somyung. Knowing that, I looked at her beside me with truly desperate eyes, but…
“Ah… my back hurts.”
…She just avoided my eyes and patted her own back.
“Hey, you crazy bitch! Your back hurts because you slept in a weird position, so why are you pulling this shit on me!!”
“How dare this bastard speak to my daughter like that again!!”
“Aaaaaaagh-!!”
And so, my wailing only grew louder.
* * *
“I’m sorry.”
“…”
“You always play jokes on me, so I wanted to try playing one too.”
“Fuck… if you play a joke twice, I’ll be playing patty-cake with my Master in Hell.”
I really almost died… but anyway, I survived.
‘Dad! Wait a second!’
Whether he was a Doting Father or a daughter-obsessed fool, Yu Haseong stopped his actions right before his Sword touched my body upon hearing Yoo Somyung’s voice.
And after her explanation, I was able to keep my life. Then, we ended up having this alone time together.
Of course, I didn’t want to have any alone time with her, but Yoo Somyung said she had something to tell me.
“I’m going to leave now.”
“Then of course you should leave. What, was the Young Lady of the Righteous Faction going to join our Green Forest?”
“When I return… I’ll make sure the remaining Dragon Slaying Squad members are punished.”
“…That’s obvious too. If you can’t do that, I’ll go find them and kill them all myself.”
“Then… can I come visit you again after that?”
“…”
I couldn’t help but sigh at that question. She was asking me with words, but her eyes contained the firm will to come find me again.
“If I tell you not to come, will you not come?”
“No, I want to come. I…”
She hesitated for a moment before continuing.
“I didn’t get what I wanted here. About the Willow Flower Sword Art… and about you…”
“If that’s the case, you don’t have to come.”
“Hm?”
I patted the head of the wide-eyed Yoo Somyung and continued.
“First, your Willow Flower Sword Art. From what I can see, you’re on the right track. I guarantee you’ll be able to achieve great mastery.”
I wasn’t saying this because I had read the novel. Watching the Sword she wielded… I felt that she was properly re-establishing the lost Willow Flower Sword Art.
“Great mastery… around when?”
“Before you grow old and die?”
“…”
“No, did you think you could comprehensively Master a single Sword Art in ten or twenty years? Wow, you’re totally trying to get it for free.”
It wasn’t like she was learning an existing Sword Art from a Master, so there was no way it would be easy for a Rising Star who had just started pouring her passion into Martial Arts to reinvent a Sword Art.
Unless there was a fortuitous encounter or a special opportunity, she would definitely have to undergo Training for a long time.
“And secondly… you already know about me. I’m someone walking a different path from you. Don’t go out of your way to want to know about me or try to learn something from me.”
Bad Company Corrupts.
It’s a bit awkward to say this myself, but I’m like black ink. There would be nothing good about having someone like her, a white canvas, near me.
Her staying by my side wasn’t good for her, nor was it good for the original plot’s development. Considering that, it was indeed better for her to leave me.
Yoo Somyung seemed to think about my words for a moment before asking.
“Are the thoughts I have, the path I’m walking, definitely the Righteous Path…?”
“Constantly doubting yourself like that is proof that you’re walking the Righteous Path. If you arrogantly think you’re always right, you’ll end up becoming a bastard like Dokgoyeong.”
“Dokgoyeong…”
She trembled for a moment, as if his face had briefly come to mind.
“Anyway, will you be okay…?”
“With what.”
“I heard you formed an agreement with the Murim Alliance. But… the Dokgo Noble Family is still out there.”
“…”
“The Dokgo Noble Family is a family with enough power to ignore the Murim Alliance’s orders and make their own move if push comes to shove. Will they forgive you… the one who killed their blood relative?”
“What are they going to do if they don’t forgive me? I won’t forgive those bastards either.”
They were the ones who failed to manage their own kid properly, so what right did the Dokgo Noble Family have to talk about forgiveness?
“Tell them to come if they’re pissed. We’ll have a refreshing clash, and one of us will go down in refreshing ruin, that’s all.”
At my answer, Yoo Somyung let out a small laugh and said:
“That’s truly an answer befitting someone running the textbook Unorthodox Path.”
“The textbook Unorthodox Path… Is that so?”
After that, we talked about a few more things before finishing up and heading straight out. As soon as we opened the door, Yu Haseong greeted us with a face full of anxiety.
“…Are you done talking? My earlier misunderstanding has been completely cleared up, but you didn’t do anything weird inside just now, did you?”
“Do you prefer a grandson or a granddaughter?”
“This bastard-!”
Looking at it now, Yu Haseong really was Yoo Somyung’s father. He was a great person to tease, flaring up and reacting immediately at the slightest joke.
“It’s a joke, a joke.”
“…It had better be a joke. If you ever cross the gates of our house for something like… asking for my blessing in marriage, I will slaughter you the moment you step inside.”
“…I told you it’s not like that.”
He should keep his Doting Father tendencies in check… Looking at this guy, I could see a future where Yoo Somyung just lived and died as an old maid.
I calmed down the growling Yu Haseong and raised my hand to say goodbye.
Staring blankly at that sight, Yu Haseong opened his mouth.
“…And you had better govern Hunan Province as affectionately as if it were your own home. If I hear talk that you are ruling with tyranny, I will immediately lead an Extermination Squad here.”
“I’ll take care of that too, so please just go.”
Ever since he saw that I had taken Somyung as a hostage, it felt like some sense of trust had vanished from Yu Haseong’s eyes.
I forcefully pushed his back as he looked at me like a child playing near the water’s edge.
At that, he said his goodbyes as if he had no other choice.
“Take care. If possible… I hope we don’t have to see each other again.”
“…”
It was a greeting that could seem somewhat heartless, but I could understand the meaning hidden within it.
The Murim Alliance and the Green Forest.
Since we belonged to different factions, if we met again, there was a high chance it would be as enemies.
“Sure, let’s do that.”
As I nodded, Yoo Somyung also waved her hand at me.
“See you again.”
“I told you not to come…”
“Even if you tell me not to come, I want to. The Dragon-Phoenix Gathering is next year, so it might take a while because I have to prepare for that, but…”
“Ah, the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.”
Simply put, it was a tournament where the rising stars of the Righteous Faction gathered to compete in skill.
‘The Original Protagonist will be coming too…’
If one showed distinct achievements and got good results at the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering, one could earn the title of Dragon or Phoenix. The Original Protagonist also participated in the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering to earn the title of Dragon, not to mention winning the championship.
“I’ll come find you again after I earn the title of Phoenix.”
“If you come, I’ll chase you away.”
“I’ll still come.”
“This little…”
Before I could say anything else, Yoo Somyung turned her body away as if she didn’t want to hear it.
Yu Haseong also shot me one last glare before standing next to his daughter and walking away.
It was a parting with the willow-tree father and daughter, with whom I had a strange connection.
* * *
‘The textbook Unorthodox Path…’
Watching the retreating backs of the father and daughter, I recalled the words she had said to me earlier.
She had called me someone walking the textbook Unorthodox Path. I, too, had told myself that I was walking the Unorthodox Path.
However, looking at myself up until now, I realized that was actually incorrect.
I was on the Unorthodox Path, but I hadn’t been walking it.
I was just sitting on the Unorthodox Path, rolling around on the ground, not walking. To be exact, I had given up on walking.
But…
‘I guess I can’t do that anymore.’
…I had too many guys to take responsibility for to just roll around on the ground.
Now… it seemed I needed to get back up and take a few more steps.
“Those two are finally leaving.”
Just then, Munseok appeared from behind me and spoke. He, too, watched the retreating backs of the two people as he continued.
“I heard the Righteous Sword Knight-errant is a man who knows how to take responsibility. Since he made an agreement before leaving, the Murim Alliance probably won’t interfere with us for the most part now. Congratulations. You’ve now become the true power of Hunan Province, so what do you plan to do now?”
“Ahjeossi, are you an idiot?”
“Hm?”
“No, what, is the Murim Alliance the Emperor? Is it the Heavenly and Earthly Deities? If it tells us to take Hunan Province, does Hunan Province become ours?”
No, it doesn’t.
The Murim Alliance is just one of the interested parties. Even if it steps back, it doesn’t mean the Master of Hunan Province has been decided.
Munseok blinked for a moment at my words before asking me.
“Then… what are you planning to do?”
“Now I have to make Hunan Province completely mine. Let’s go. We have a lot of work to do.”
With those final words, I placed my hand on Munseok’s shoulder, and we headed back together.
Still, it’s a relief.
This time, there are quite a few people to walk the Unorthodox Path with me.