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Chapter 10
Jin Yeon-gyeong swallowed a groan.
Her trembling gaze turned toward the three enemies.
The moment their eyes met, goosebumps rose and a chill ran through her.
A sticky resentment swirled and churned violently inside her chest, and a pitch-black emotion consumed her whole body.
She wanted to kill them.
Her tongue moved as if drawing a bowstring.
“Those bastards, right now……”
She thought the words would come out easily.
The resentment she had accumulated was that great.
But her quivering lips suddenly froze stiff like stone.
It was just one sentence.
Just a single sentence.
Yet she could not bring herself to say it.
Why did saying that one line—telling someone to kill creatures worse than worms—feel like vomiting something foul?
She saw Yoo Su-cheon, Jeon Ak-gwan, and Cheon Il-seong trembling.
The terror-stricken expressions on their faces were exactly the same ones the Dan family members had worn until just yesterday.
Jin Yeon-gyeong bit her lip.
‘If I do the same thing as those bastards, I’ll become the same kind of person as them.’
Her heart, heavy with resentment, ached.
But even if she killed them, that pain would remain.
It would not change—tormenting her for life, hurting until the day she died.
And there was another reason she couldn’t bring herself to say the words to kill them.
Dan Hyeon-woo.
She couldn’t bring herself to tell her son to kill someone.
If blood had to be spilled, it should be on her own hands—she could never make her son do such a thing.
Caught between her pent-up resentment and her inability to act, tears finally fell from Jin Yeon-gyeong’s eyes.
Her hands trembled with frustration, yet she couldn’t use them to point at them.
She resented herself for not being able to speak.
“Hyun-woo.”
“Yes, Mother.”
“Let us live as human beings. Let us not become like them.”
Jin Yeon-gyeong’s tearful words.
Yoo Su-cheon, Jeon Ak-gwan, and Cheon Il-seong let out deep sighs of relief, wiping away cold sweat.
It felt as though they had just died once and come back to life.
“Thank you for showing mercy.”
Yoo Su-cheon spoke sincerely to Jin Yeon-gyeong.
Jeon Ak-gwan found that surprising.
Wasn’t Yoo Su-cheon someone who never bowed his head?
And yet, to say such words to Jin Yeon-gyeong, whom he had once considered insignificant—he spoke far too readily.
“Th… thank you.”
Jeon Ak-gwan reluctantly forced out a word.
If Yoo Su-cheon was thanking her, he couldn’t remain silent.
Even Cheon Il-seong, who had been beaten the worst and had no internal energy, spoke up.
“Th-thank you for sparing m—my li—ife… th-thank y—”
“My mouth’s swo—ollen, can’t t—talk pro—perly…”
“What did you say?”
The moment Dan Hyeon-woo glared at him, Yoo Su-cheon quickly covered Cheon Il-seong’s mouth.
His slurred speech made it sound like he was mocking them.
And Hyeon-woo’s murderous glare suggested he was deciding whether or not to draw his sword.
Jin Yeon-gyeong turned her head away from the three.
She did not want to hear their thanks.
Then she spoke her true feelings.
“That doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven them. Because of what they did, the head of the household lost his mind, my precious daughter is suffering at an inn, and my grandson can’t even attend school at his age. Forgive the ones who did this to our family? Hyun-woo… honestly, I don’t know what I should do.”
The expressions of Yoo Su-cheon, Jeon Ak-gwan, and Cheon Il-seong stiffened again.
It seemed it wasn’t over yet.
Considering what they had done, there was no way they would be forgiven so easily.
Dan Hyeon-woo understood his mother well.
The resentment toward those who had destroyed their family could not possibly be resolved so easily.
Then a thought came to him.
“Mother, how about this?”
“What do you mean?”
Hyeon-woo leaned in and whispered softly into Jin Yeon-gyeong’s ear.
As she listened, her eyes widened in surprise.
“Hyun-woo, are you truly thinking of doing that?”
“If you are fine with it, Mother.”
Jin Yeon-gyeong’s gaze trembled slightly as she looked at the three kneeling men.
Truthfully, she never wanted to see them again.
But if they did as Hyeon-woo suggested, it would both serve as revenge and greatly help the Dan family.
“Hyun-woo, I think your idea is a good one. Let’s do as you say.”
“I’ll prepare a delicious dinner. Please rest until then.”
For the first time in a long while, Jin Yeon-gyeong smiled.
Yoo Su-cheon, Jeon Ak-gwan, and Cheon Il-seong felt a chill from that smile.
‘Just what did they talk about?’
They wanted to ask, but couldn’t.
Hyeon-woo’s fierce gaze didn’t allow it.
With half curiosity and half dread in their hearts, they watched Jin Yeon-gyeong enter the room.
Creak.
As she stepped inside, she saw her husband sitting in the far corner, mouth slightly open, his mind gone.
Even if seated in the sunniest spot, he would eventually retreat to the corner and crouch there.
For a moment, she regretted telling them not to kill the three who had reduced the head of the Dan family to this state.
But she shook her head and sat beside her husband.
His hand, which she reached out and held, was slightly warmer than it had been two days ago.
“Hyun-woo made Yoo Su-cheon—whom even the top experts of Zhejiang find troublesome—kneel, and he even defeated the leader of the Nine Dragons Sect. Ever since he was young, he kept saying he’d become a master of the martial world… and he really did. Our son is amazing, isn’t he?”
“……”
There was no answer.
Her husband, Dan Yu-seon, stared blankly into the air.
What could he possibly be seeing?
Jin Yeon-gyeong followed his gaze and spoke again.
“Honey, our Hyun-woo has taken back the Dan family estate and the Danhwa Wine Shop.”
“……”
“So please, gather your strength too. Let’s pass the position of head of the Dan family to our son, and you and I can live happily. So please… stop looking into the void and look at me.”
After Jin Yeon-gyeong entered the room, Dan Hyeon-woo spoke.
“Cheon Il-seong, go to a physician and get treatment first.”
“Y-yes… un—understood…”
“The other two—Yoo Su-cheon and Jeon Ak-gwan—return here at sunrise tomorrow.”
“Um… I was stabbed in the abdomen as well.”
Jeon Ak-gwan spoke cautiously.
Blood was still flowing from his wound.
It was quite deep.
But Hyeon-woo shook his head.
“The head of the Mokhwa Merchant Group has no internal energy, so he needs treatment just to survive. But you have internal energy. One night of treatment is enough.”
“Under…stood.”
Jeon Ak-gwan answered reluctantly.
“Leave for today.”
Yoo Su-cheon supported Jeon Ak-gwan and Cheon Il-seong.
Normally, he would never have done such a thing.
But he had caused Jeon Ak-gwan’s injury, and Cheon Il-seong looked pitiful beyond words.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes, Brother Yoo.”
As the three crossed the threshold of the Dan family’s main gate, their eyes met.
Just what had Jin Yeon-gyeong and Dan Hyeon-woo whispered about?
“What kind of scheme did they come up with to tell us to return tomorrow?”
The next morning.
Yoo Su-cheon and Jeon Ak-gwan immediately found out what had been discussed.
“The front of the house is dirty.”
“…Pardon?”
“I told you before—I don’t repeat myself.”
“……”
Yoo Su-cheon and Jeon Ak-gwan looked at each other.
At first, they didn’t understand.
Then, in an instant, their expressions twisted.
‘You’re telling the leader of the Nine Dragons Sect and Hangzhou’s top expert to sweep the front yard?’
They knew they had become like servants.
But this wasn’t the kind of servitude they had imagined.
Managing the Nine Dragons Sect in place of its leader…
Holding a high position in the Dan family…
Acting as a protector…
Something fitting for men of their stature.
But this?
Menial labor?
The lowest of the low?
They looked at Hyeon-woo with desperate eyes that seemed to ask, ‘Are you serious?’
Hyeon-woo coldly pointed at the front gate.
“Now.”
With that single word, they were forced forward.
Holding brooms, Yoo Su-cheon and Jeon Ak-gwan stood in front of the Dan family estate.
They couldn’t believe they had become servants, but they had no choice but to obey.
But why was the place so dirty?
It was filthy beyond belief.
‘…Right. Because of us.’
No one would dare clean in front of a house constantly visited by debt collectors.
With a sigh, they began sweeping.
Swish. Swish.
What a pitiful situation.
After about half a gak, Jeon Ak-gwan’s face flushed red.
No matter how he thought about it, this was too much.
He threw down his broom.
“This is insane! Us, reduced to servants—does that make any sense? I can’t take it! I’m going to protest, so don’t stop me!”
He strode confidently toward the main gate—
At that very moment, the gate opened, and Dan Hyeon-woo stepped out.
“I told you to clean the front. Why are you coming back?”
“Uh…”
The moment he faced Hyeon-woo, Jeon Ak-gwan’s confidence vanished completely.
The killing intent in his presence and gaze alone extinguished his anger.
Now meek as a lamb, he stammered.
“Th-that is…”
“I’ll give you half a gak more.”
Jeon Ak-gwan quietly stepped back and picked up the broom again.
With Hyeon-woo watching with folded arms, he found strength he didn’t know he had.
Sweating profusely, he worked hard.
‘Haha… this isn’t sweat from hard work… it’s cold sweat.’
Fear engraved itself deep in his heart.
As they swept, several townspeople passed by.
The moment they saw Yoo Su-cheon and Jeon Ak-gwan holding brooms, they froze in shock.
The infamous leader of the Nine Dragons Sect and one of Hangzhou’s greatest experts… sweeping?
Of course, they couldn’t believe it.
Even the two sweeping couldn’t believe it themselves.
When they finished, Hyeon-woo spoke.
“From tomorrow, finish within one sikgyeong.”
“Every day?”
“Not every day. Until your debt is repaid. And what are you doing now?”
“…Pardon?”
“If you’re done with the morning cleaning, go buy groceries.”
“Gr-groceries? You mean… going to the market for food?”
“Chicken porridge sounds good this morning.”
Hyeon-woo placed one silver coin into Jeon Ak-gwan’s palm and went inside.
Yoo Su-cheon and Jeon Ak-gwan blinked at the coin.
“You’re saying we have to mix with housewives, buy chickens, and carry them back here?”
“It’s chicken porridge, so vegetables too. But… who’s carrying those?”
Yoo Su-cheon answered:
“This is driving me insane.”
The usually bustling market was quiet today.
Because Yoo Su-cheon and Jeon Ak-gwan had arrived.
The merchants looked worried, wondering what trouble Jeon Ak-gwan would cause today.
Whenever the Nine Dragons Sect appeared, nothing ever ended quietly.
As Jeon Ak-gwan stood before a merchant, the man asked nervously:
“Wh-what brings you here…?”
“Three chickens.”
“…Pardon?”
“I said, give me three chickens!”
“…What?”
Jeon Ak-gwan snapped angrily.
But… chickens? Not money? Not seizing the shop?
The merchant’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Wh-what vegetables go into chicken porridge?”
“Ve-vegetables?”
“Bring them now!”
“Y-yes, right away!”
The merchant quickly gathered chickens and vegetables.
Since chicken porridge required little, the ingredients were prepared quickly.
The merchants were bewildered.
Normally, when these men came, someone would die or lose everything.
But today, they were only taking three chickens and some vegetables?
Just as everyone thought that, Jeon Ak-gwan suddenly thrust his fist toward the merchant.
‘Of course! There’s no way they’d just take chickens and vegetables!’
Startled, the merchant covered his face.
But then Jeon Ak-gwan opened his palm—
A silver coin lay there.
“Take it.”
“…Y-you’re actually paying?”
“You don’t want it?”
“N-no! I’ll take it!”
Even as he accepted the coin, the merchant couldn’t believe it.
Jeon Ak-gwan was not someone who paid.
Still confused, the merchant watched as Jeon Ak-gwan picked up the vegetables and Yoo Su-cheon carried the chickens.
The two infamous figures of Hangzhou—
“Let’s go.”
At Yoo Su-cheon’s words, Jeon Ak-gwan followed, face flushed red with humiliation.
They had come… and nothing happened.
Looking at the silver coin, the merchant muttered:
“Did the Blood Slaughter Ghost Sword and the Nine Dragons Sect leader turn over a new leaf? Are they even in their right minds?”
