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Light Novel: Volume 14 Episode 15
Manhwa: N/A
“Nanjing sect?”
“Oh, Zhao Yiguang, the one whom Pyo-wol met. He’s my younger brother.”
“Now that you mention it, the two of you do look alike.”
“I often hear that, though I don’t find it exactly as a compliment.”
“You don’t seem to like your brother.”
“It’s rare for siblings to get along well. It’s the same in our family.”
When Pyo-wol mentioned Zhao Yiguang, Pyo-wol didn’t miss the gleam of disdain that flashed through Zhao Yuseol’s eyes.
For whatever reason, it was clear that Zhao Yuseol had an extreme aversion to her younger brother.
“May I join you for a moment?”
“Take a seat.”
With Pyo-wol’s permission, Zhao Yuseol took a seat.
Zhao Yuseol exuded an air of dignity that was difficult to approach.
She looked at Pyo-wol with a defiant expression.
Looking around, Pyo-wol spoke,
“I don’t see any escorts around.”
“I had to shake them off before coming here, so it was a bit troublesome.”
“Do you have a problem with your escorts?”
“My brother assigned those guards for surveillance.”
“You must have a complicated family situation.”
“It’s a common occurrence in families like ours. It’s nothing special.”
Zhao Yuseol said nonchalantly.
“Is it like a power struggle between the eldest son and the eldest daughter?”
“That’s right. If there’s any problem, it’s that the eldest son is trying to become the head of the family just because he’s a man, when he’s without any ability.”
“How amusing.”
“It might be amusing to you but to me, the one directly involved, it’s just a continuous cycle of bloodshed.”
Zhao Yuseol bit her red lips.
She was known to be beautiful and intelligent from a young age.
It wasn’t just a matter of being slightly more intelligent, she boasted extraordinary talents to the point of being called a prodigy.
The problem was that she was too outstanding.
Zhao Sumok, her father and the patriarch of the Zhao family, feared that his daughter’s exceptional talent would overshadow his son, Zhao Yiguang.
As a result, he had Zhao Yuseol’s activities strictly monitored and restricted to prevent her from showing her capabilities and limit her radius of influence.
For this reason, Zhao Yuseol’s name was hardly known to the outside world, while Zhao Yiguang took the spotlight.
Whenever Zhao Yuseol went out, she was always accompanied by bodyguards. They not only protected her, but also had the primary duty of monitoring her movements and whereabouts.
As Zhao Yiguang grew older, he personally appointed Zhao Yuseol’s own escorts. With all of the escorts under his control, Zhao Yuseol’s freedom of action became even more limited.
This made it difficult for her to come to Lake Tai.
Zhao Yiguang was constantly suspicious of her intentions.
Fortunately enough, even after a series of twists and turns, she finally arrived at Lake Tai. But even then, there were escorts still watching her closely.
“If it weren’t for you turning the Zhao family upside down, it would have been impossible for me to lose them.”
“The Zhao family has been turned upside down?”
“Not just the Zhao family, but other influential factions, such as Changjiang Fortress, are also on high alert. After all, depending on what Master Pyo does, their fate might be at stake.”
“I have no intention of exerting influence over them.”
“That’s because Master Pyo is the strong one. The strong usually don’t pay attention to anyone, while the weak have to consider the strong’s movements to have a higher chance of survival. It’s for that exact reason that I have come to see you.”
Zhao Yuseol didn’t hide her true intentions.
In fact, her visit to Pyo-wol was quite an adventure.
If her father, Zhao Sumok, and her younger brother, Zhao Yiguang, caught wind of her interaction with Pyo-wol, she didn’t know what retaliation would await her.
Maybe they would marry her off to a man whose face she didn’t even know and kick her out of the house.
Not only does Zhao Yiguang have the power to do that, but so did her father, Zhao Sumok.
Zhao Sumok had always believed that his son should inherit the Zhao family. So, no matter how exceptional Zhao Yuseol’s talents were, he didn’t pay her any attention. He was even afraid that Zhao Yuseol would obstruct his son’s path and thus, he desperately hid his daughter’s existence.
Because of her father and brother, Zhao Yuseol had to live in hiding until now, suppressing herself.
If she were an ordinary woman, she might have given up and lived a normal life, but unfortunately, she was too excellent and brilliant. Her exceptional talent would not tolerate her to live an ordinary life like this.
Zhao Yuseol never had any intention of simply living as someone’s wife.
Even in a situation where she was monitored by her bodyguards, she secretly built her own power.
Over the course of more than a decade, the power she had built was by no means insignificant. Zhao Sumok and Zhao Yiguang were completely unaware of this fact.
That’s how remarkable Zhao Yuseol’s abilities were.
The only problem now was that she had no legitimate reason.
In order for a daughter to overtake the son and ascend to the position of the family head, she needed a valid reason, or her brother needed to make a significant mistake. Alternatively, she could possess such a powerful force that she wouldn’t have to worry about anything.
That’s why Zhao Yuseol sought out Pyo-wol.
“You’re a smart man, so I won’t bore you with unnecessary explanations. Please help me a little. I’ll definitely repay you.”
“……”
“What the Nanjing sect or Zhao family needs right now is not Yiguang, but me. Yiguang is actually ruining our family. Father doesn’t know how wicked he is and how he’s going down the wrong path.”
“Tell me. What is Zhao Yiguang doing so wrong?”
“I can’t tell you here, since it’s the Zhao clan’s weakness.”
Zhao Yuseol glanced around discreetly.
The guests in the inn were stealing glances at them.
Pyo-wol stood up from his seat and said,
“Then let’s move somewhere else.”
“We don’t have to go far. We can just go to your room. I’m sure Master Pyo’s room is the safest place in Lale Tai.”
“Aren’t you afraid of the rumors that would spread?”
“Of course not. If I were afraid of such things, I wouldn’t have come this far.”
Zhao Yuseol smiled. As she did, her eyes formed gentle curves.
Behind those smiling eyes, there was strong ambition.
The two of them went upstairs to Pyo-wol’s room together.
They could hear the guests chattering, but Zhao Yuseol’s expression didn’t change as she climbed the stairs.
Thump!
Zhao Yuseol’s eyes lit up as she entered Pyo-wol’s room.
“Your room is simpler than I expected.”
“Tell me. What is Zhao Yuguang doing so wrong?”
“Why are you in such a hurry?”
“……”
“Since it’s such a complicated story, it can wait a little longer.”
Zhao Yuseol approached Pyo-wol, revealing her bright red tongue between her red lips.
Pyo-wol stood in place, staring at her intently.
A strong fragrance emanated from Zhao Yuseol’s body. The closer she got, the more intense the scent became.
Zhao Yuseol put her arms around Pyo-wol’s neck and locked eyes with him.
“You’re not scared, are you?”
“Are you bluffing?”
“What?”
The next moment, Pyo-wol wrapped his arm around Zhao Yuseol’s slender waist and pulled her closer.
“Ah!”
Zhao Yuseol unintentionally let out a startled gasp.
Her previously confident demeanor was replaced by a look of embarrassment.
No matter how bold she pretended to be, Pyo-wol could see that she was nervous.
Although she had great ambition, she was still a woman.
She would be lying if she said she wasn’t embarrassed by this situation where she was in the arms of a stranger. However, she made an effort to hide her agitation and said nonchalantly,
“Who says I’m bluffing?”
“Then you won’t regret it.”
Pyo-wol took Zhao Yuseol’s red lips with his own.
Zhao Yuseol’s eyebrows trembled. However, she didn’t avoid Pyo-wol’s lips. Instead, she actively responded.
“Ha–”
* * *
“Kuegh!”
A sturdy-looking martial artist groaned in pain.
It was because Zhao Yiguang’s fist had struck his abdomen.
Thud!
Zhao Yiguang struck him again.
The man gritted his teeth and endured the pain.
“Did I ask you for something significant? I just told you to diligently follow and monitor her movements. Was that such a difficult task?”
“No, it wasn’t.”
“Then why did you lose her?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Do I look like a joke to you? How could you not carry out such a simple task and created such a mess?”
“I made a mistake.”
“Do you even realize what you did wrong?”
Thwack!
Zhao Yiguang began beating the man again.
The other martial artists watching from the sidelines couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread.
The person being unilaterally attacked by Zhao Yiguang was none other than the captain of Zhao Yuseol’s bodyguards.
It was his job to monitor Zhao Yuseol’s movements and report any developments. However, today he and the other bodyguards had lost track of Zhao Yuseol’s whereabouts.
In their brief distraction, Zhao Yuseol had disappeared, and now the captain was paying the price for it.
Under Zhao Yiguang’s merciless beating, the captain was left battered and bruised.
When Zhao Yiguang’s violent outburst finally ceased, the captain was left sprawled on the ground, completely powerless like a piece of minced meat.
Zhao Yiguang, gasping for breath, spoke to the remaining bodyguards,
“Get this bastard out of my sight. And find Zhao Yuseol quickly before she does something foolish.”
“Yes!”
The guards replied in unison as they picked up their captain and headed out.
As Zhao Yiguang watched their retreating figures, he muttered to himself.
“Those idiots, not a single one of them knows how to do their job properly. Useless freeloaders.”
It was then.
“You seem really pissed off. How about calming down a bit?”
Someone said, entering his living quarters.
Zhao Yiguang furrowed his brow and looked at the owner of the voice. He had forbidden unauthorized individuals to enter his residence. However, as soon as he saw the owner of the voice, his furrowed brow relaxed as if it had never been there.
“Oh, it’s you.”
“I could hear the sound of you, using your fists even from outside.”
The man who answered was none other than Bok Hojin.
Bok Hojin didn’t seem too concerned about Zhao Yiguang’s use of violence. After all, there were occasions when he also resorted to violence against his subordinates as a form of release.
Zhao Yiguang asked,
“What brings you here?”
“You sent me to meet you, didn’t you?”
“Ah! Right. I apologize. I’ve been preoccupied.”
“Get your act together. If we make a mistake, we could end up being devoured by him.”
“Him? Pyo-wol?”
“That’s right, Isn’t he the reason why Lake Tai and Jiangsu are in a frenzy right now?”
“Mm.”
“If that guy continues to stay in Lake Tai at this rate, you and I will suffer a great blow. People are already talking about Pyo-wol as if he’s above us.”
Zhao Yiguang’s expression turned serious upon hearing Bok Hojin’s words.
The two of them were well aware that Pyo-wol’s martial prowess far surpassed theirs. The actions Pyo-wol had demonstrated so far were astonishing, beyond their ability to replicate.
Simply being strong in martial arts didn’t mean they could exhibit the same feats as Pyo-wol.
Zhao Yiguang and Bok Hojin were both formidable individuals, but even they didn’t have the confidence to show the same level of martial prowess as Pyo-wol when placed in the same situation as him. That’s why they considered Pyo-wol to be superior to them.
The problem was that even those who knew nothing also held the same perception.
If rumors started to spread among martial artists, they would, no doubt, be constantly compared to Pyo-wol.
Especially the longer Pyo-wol stayed in Lake Tai, the more intense the comparison would become, and people would undoubtedly perceive Pyo-wol as someone vastly superior to both of them.
Even if this was true, it was dangerous for such a perception to be ingrained in people’s minds.
This was because as that perception built up, it would become that person’s reputation.
In other words, no matter how much fame Zhao Yiguang gained and how great of a person he becomes in the future, people would always think of him as being beneath Pyo-wol.
Such perception would undoubtedly hinder Zhao Yiguang’s various endeavors in the future. That’s why neither Zhao Yiguang nor Bok Hojin was happy about Pyo-wol staying in Lake Tai for so long.
The problem was, there was nothing they could do about him now.
“The Sword Blossom Pavilion has been wiped out, while the Cheolsan manor has fallen into chaos. We could end up the same way if we’re not careful.”
“To think that the Chanjiang Fortress and Zhao clan have to tread lightly because of one person. How unpleasant.”
“For now, we can only be patient and hope for the best.”
“Until when?”
“Until our patience runs out.”
“Damn it!”
Bok Hojin’s lips twisted.
He had lived his whole life without caring about anyone’s opinions and doing things his own way. The word “patience” was unfamiliar to him.
The vague need for patience in this situation made him uncomfortable.
Zhao Yiguang looked at Bok Hojin without saying a word.
Then, as if remembering something, Bok Hojin said,
“Oh, by the way, I heard something strange.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about Cheolsan manor. There’s a rumor that the person who kidnapped Tang Ik-gi was an apprentice from Cheolsan workshop?”
“An apprentice kidnapped Tang Ik-gi?”
“I thought it was ridiculous, too. Tang Ik-gi may be a bit lacking, but he’s not the kind of person to be kidnapped by an apprentice. However, there are several witnesses. It’s not something we can simply ignore.”
“Why would the apprentice kidnap him for?”
“They said that the apprentice’s parents died a few days ago, and his only younger sister went missing.”
“Hm?”
Zhao Yiguang’s eyebrows twitched for a moment.