Chapter 56
The sound of brutal beating continued relentlessly.
Thwack! Thud! Thump!
Once it started, the beating cruelly showed no signs of stopping. But no one dared to intervene.
"Sh-shouldn't someone stop this?"
"This is too much, even if he made a mistake."
The vicious and cruel demeanor was far from what one would expect from emissaries of the Murim Alliance. People were too afraid of becoming the next target of this horrific violence to step in.
So they could only shuffle nervously and stamp their feet in distress.
By now, the servant was a bloody mess, drifting in and out of consciousness. But the attacker's companions showed no inclination to stop him. As if his actions were perfectly justified.
"P-please... spare me... I-I'm sorry..."
"Ha! You dare ask for mercy after spilling water on my clothes? You haven't been punished enough!"
It was clearly wrong to react so brutally to an accidental spill, but the man showed not the slightest hesitation in his actions.
As the servant collapsed to the ground once more, unable to endure any longer, the man raised his foot to strike again.
But just then,
"Stop it!"
"Huh? Who are you?"
A pretty little girl stepped in front of the servant, shielding him.
"Get out of the way, brat."
But despite his harsh words, the girl shook her head.
"This doesn't concern you. Move aside."
"He's in pain! Stop hurting him!"
"What? That servant spilled water on my clothes!"
"Even so, you shouldn't hit him! Just accept his apology!"
Of course, apologies had already been offered multiple times.
But what did those apologies matter now? His clothes were already wet and his mood thoroughly soured. He simply needed an outlet for his anger.
Seeing the little girl stubbornly refuse to move, the man's face twisted in rage.
"Do you want to get hit too? I said move!"
"No! I won't!"
"You...!"
She clearly wasn't a servant, but what did that matter? The very act of daring to obstruct him in his anger was a transgression.
"You're really making my blood boil. Fine, have it your way!"
"No! Don't! Hitting people is wrong!"
"I warned you. This is your own fault for not moving."
The man no longer cared that a child stood before him. He raised his hand, as if to strike down anyone who dared get in his way.
Yul squeezed her eyes shut in fear.
Just then,
"Hey now! What do you think you're doing?"
Suddenly, some burly men appeared, blocking Yul.
"You there, what are you trying to do to our Young Miss?"
"What's this now? You... Tch, unbelievable."
The young man furrowed his brow and raised his voice.
"The Peng Family's hospitality is atrocious. First servants carelessly spilling water, now mere warriors daring to speak so rudely."
The White Wolf Unit members glanced between the servant and the man, quickly grasping the situation.
But even so, this was clearly excessive behavior by any standard.
Moreover, he had just tried to strike Yul.
These so-called "guests" had already crossed the line, and then some.
"Guests?"
Gu Tae-san spoke up first, unable to contain himself.
"Only those who act like proper guests deserve to be treated as such."
"How can someone causing such a ruckus be called a guest? Huh?"
"What? You big oaf, are you looking for a fight? How dare a mere warrior!"
"Won't you feel pathetic getting beaten by a 'mere warrior'?"
The man acted as if ready to draw his sword at any moment. Gu Tae-san and the other White Wolf Unit members responded just as forcefully, refusing to back down.
The situation was about to explode.
"Now, now! Let's all calm down."
A man who had been quietly observing until now stepped forward.
It was Jo Min, the leader of the Scholar Forest Group.
"Haha. There seems to have been some misunderstanding."
He spoke with a brazen expression, feigning innocence.
"Did you just say 'misunderstanding'?"
No matter the mistake, such treatment of a person was unacceptable.
As Gu Tae-san's eyes flashed with rage, ready to lunge at any moment, Peng Do-hwan held him back. O Chae-mu then stepped forward.
"You spilled water on his clothes, so you brutalized our Peng Family servant to this extent and even tried to strike our Young Miss. Everyone here witnessed it. What part of this is a 'misunderstanding'?"
The tall, handsome man methodically listed out each point.
Jo Min tilted his head curiously at the man and asked:
"And you are?"
"O Chae-mu, Deputy Commander of the Peng Family's White Wolf Unit."
Oh?
A glint flashed in Jo Min's eyes for a moment.
It was as if he had found an interesting new toy.
"Haha. So you're the famous White Wolf Unit I've been hearing so much about lately. My apologies for not recognizing you."
He too had been hearing that name frequently as of late.
Hiding his intrigued expression, Jo Min continued:
"Haha. My younger brother here has a bit of a hot temper. It seems there was an unfortunate mistake."
He kept talking nonsense about "mistakes", even after they had beaten someone to such a state.
"I apologize once again. We are truly sorry for this incident."
"Leader, why are we apologizing..."
"Be quiet."
When Jo Min frowned at the man who had been causing trouble, the previously fierce man gritted his teeth and stepped back.
Jo Min then turned back to O Chae-mu and the others, offering more apologies.
With Jo Min repeatedly apologizing like this, it became awkward to keep pressing the issue.
For now, the priority was resolving the situation and treating the bloodied servant. It seemed unwise to escalate things further at the moment.
Tch.
It left a bad taste in their mouths. Though they were furious, it seemed they would have to report this incident through proper channels later and address it then.
"Well, since you put it that way, we understand. We also apologize if we spoke rudely earlier."
"Haha. Not at all. It's truly an honor to visit one of the Five Great Families and meet such renowned individuals."
"You flatter us. Please don't put too much stock in rumors."
Even true stories tend to get exaggerated as they spread by word of mouth.
Just as neighborhood gossip about a couple dating can transform into a married pair with three kids after passing through just ten people.
The current rumors about the White Wolf Unit were similarly inflated.
While those who only cared about fame might be thrilled, it was naturally burdensome for level-headed individuals.
The same was true from the White Wolf Unit's perspective.
Especially since even the stories known to be "facts" were completely fabricated.
O Chae-mu's words made Jo Min burst into laughter.
"How modest of you. But as a martial artist myself, I can't help but feel excited to meet the White Wolf Unit."
Peng Do-hwan and O Chae-mu suddenly felt uneasy.
They had a sinking feeling about where this conversation was headed.
"So I was thinking, since we've met like this, perhaps we could have a bit more exchange? What do you say?"
"Exchange...?"
"How about a sparring match? What better way for martial artists to interact?"
It was just as they had feared.
Despite O Chae-mu's clearly displeased expression, Jo Min continued excitedly:
"I expect it would greatly benefit both sides in improving our martial arts. Of course, we wouldn't use real swords, so there's little risk of injury. May I make this request?"
His way of speaking left little room for refusal.
"You see, the reason we're visiting prestigious families like this is because our masters instructed us to broaden our horizons."
"Hmm."
"If you would grant us this, our visit to the Peng Family would not be in vain."
As Jo Min said, there was no particular reason to refuse.
If there hadn't been any issues up to this point.
But that wasn't the case now. Not only was it an inappropriate situation for sparring, but with the current bad blood between them, a match was likely to result in accidents.
So the right thing was to decline.
Having made up his mind, O Chae-mu spoke in a firm tone:
"There are many other fine warriors in the Peng Family besides us. So we must respectfully decline."
This should do it.
The White Wolf Unit had only recently returned to headquarters after being released from probation.
Moreover, O Chae-mu now felt a sense of responsibility to prevent any further unsavory incidents involving the White Wolf Unit.
Above all,
*These guys are dangerous.*
His instincts were screaming at him.
He could tell from the look in their eyes and their attitudes.
Getting entangled with them seemed likely to be extremely troublesome and risky.
"You refuse... I see."
Not expecting this response, Jo Min blinked in surprise for a moment, staring blankly at O Chae-mu.
O Chae-mu quickly pressed his advantage, aiming to end the conversation:
"We'll be taking our leave now. We hope you have a pleasant and productive stay at the Peng Family. Farewell."
O Chae-mu bowed politely, then prepared to depart with Yul and the injured servant.
Though the other White Wolf Unit members weren't thrilled about avoiding a fight they hadn't started, they understood O Chae-mu's reasoning and were ready to follow his lead.
But then,
"What's this? We heard they beheaded the Extreme Evil Laughing Demon, but they're just pathetic cowards."
"Are all Peng Family warriors like this? How disappointing."
"Those rumors must have been made up."
"Right, as if they could take down an Absolute Great Evil looking like that... What a joke."
They were now openly insulting not just the White Wolf Unit, but the entire Peng Family, clearly intending to be overheard.
This absolutely could not be ignored.
Their intentions were far too transparent.
But beyond that, they had been constantly crossing the line.
Were they too young to know better?
Or had growing up under the mighty name of the Murim Alliance made them like this? Were they simply rotten to the core?
All sorts of thoughts ran through their minds.
Most likely, it was all of the above.
Everyone knew that enduring and walking away was the right answer.
But,
*Grind.*
If someone were to ask if it was truly right to endure even as their family and comrades were being insulted, and avoid confrontation at all costs...
*The answer is absolutely not!*
O Chae-mu too gave up on restraining himself any longer.
His patience had reached its limit.
"Very well."
O Chae-mu, who had been about to leave, stopped in his tracks and turned to face Jo Min and the Scholar Forest Group members.
"Let's have that sparring match."
It seemed he was a member of the White Wolf Unit to his very core after all.
And so, the situation spiraled out of control.
Jo Min's smile deepened.