“The Tang Family has caused us quite a bit of harm over the years.”
At Jeok Wigang’s cold tone, Tang Un pleaded desperately.
“I will repay that debt in the family’s place. I will become your hands and feet and do whatever you command. So please spare the Tang Family.”
“Anyone listening would think I came here to wipe out the Tang Family.”
“That may not be your intention, but if you chose to do so, you certainly could.”
Sensing Jeok Wigang’s mood soften, Tang Un breathed a sigh of relief.
“If you become the Tang Family Head, perhaps the Tang Family and our True Martial Sect could become brothers. Don’t you think?”
“It would be the greatest honor our family could ever receive. If we could become brothers with you, the greatest expert of all time—no, the greatest expert in the entire universe—I would do anything.”
He was quite skilled at flattery too.
Jeok Wigang shook his head as though conceding defeat.
“I just received word. The Tang Family has accepted our demands, so I intend to release all of you.”
“May I remain here a little longer?”
“Hmm? Why?”
“I would like to learn more about you.”
“If you refuse to leave, it will look as though we broke our promise.”
“Then... I will go home, receive permission, and return.”
Jeok Wigang chuckled.
“Come with me instead. I have a few things to discuss with the Tang Family Head.”
Tang Un looked at him nervously.
“There is no need to be so tense. I mean exactly what I said. I am merely going there to talk.”
“Understood. Then I will guide you there personally.”
Tang Un had decided it would be better to bring Jeok Wigang himself than risk some misunderstanding leading to a clash with the Tang Family.
“Good. Let’s go.”
*****
The moment Tang Un returned, the entire Tang Family estate erupted into chaos.
Tang Pae abandoned everything and rushed outside, inspecting Tang Un from head to toe.
“Were you injured anywhere?”
“No, Father.”
“Are you in pain?”
“Not at all.”
“What about food? Did those bastards at least feed you properly?”
“Yes. They treated me almost excessively well.”
“How does that make any sense?”
“It is the truth. They treated me so well that I returned fully rested.”
Tang Pae frowned.
Then he noticed the man standing behind Tang Un.
“And who is the man who came with you?”
“Well...”
How was Tang Un supposed to introduce him?
As the man who had abducted him?
Knowing his father’s temper, Tang Pae would attack without a second thought.
While Tang Un hesitated, the man introduced himself.
“My name is Jeok Wigang. I am the Merchant Master of the True Martial Merchant Company.”
“What? The True Martial Merchant Company!”
Not only Tang Pae, but every member of the Tang Family present recoiled in shock.
Tang Pae’s face immediately twisted.
“Are you insane? Or have you become so desperate to die that you have lost your senses?”
Seeing Tang Pae ready to unleash poison at any moment, Tang Un quickly intervened.
“F-Father! Please calm down!”
“Because of that bastard, the Tang Family’s prestige has fallen into the dirt! Do you have any idea how lightly the world will regard us now?”
“You should be precise. Our prestige did not fall because of him. It fell because of the Tang Family’s own wrongdoing.”
“Un, what is wrong with you? What did that bastard do to you?”
Tang Pae anxiously inspected Tang Un’s body again.
Then he glared at Jeok Wigang with open hostility.
“You bastard! What have you done to this child? If you have bewitched him, undo it at once!”
“Father, I possess the Heavenly White Eyes. No illusion or bewitchment can affect me. You know that.”
“T-that is...”
It was true.
“Then why are you acting this way?”
“Because we were the ones who wronged them first. Please calm down and speak with him.”
Tang Pae looked at Tang Un.
There was desperate earnestness in the child’s eyes.
Tang Un was exceptionally intelligent.
There had to be a reason he was behaving this way.
“Very well. I will do as you ask.”
“Thank you, Father.”
After patting Tang Un’s head, Tang Pae ordered a subordinate,
“We will take our guest to the reception hall. Prepare tea and refreshments.”
“Yes!”
Tang Pae glared at Jeok Wigang.
“Follow me.”
*****
Jeok Wigang and Tang Pae sat facing each other across steaming cups of tea.
Jeok Wigang calmly lifted his cup and took a sip.
SIP—
“Mm. This is top-grade Longjing tea.”
“What would you have done if I had put poison in it?”
At Tang Pae’s pointed question, Jeok Wigang grinned.
“Then I would have only myself to blame for trusting the Family Head.”
Had Tang Pae poisoned someone who placed such trust in him, he would merely have proven himself a petty coward.
“Clever. I do not stoop to childish tricks like that.”
“I assumed as much.”
Tang Pae awkwardly suppressed a laugh and turned to the matter at hand.
“Now speak. Why did you wish to meet me?”
“To negotiate.”
“Negotiate?”
“The Heavenly Flower Merchant Company’s attacks caused the True Martial Merchant Company considerable losses. I believe compensation is in order.”
“Did you not attack the Heavenly Flower Merchant Company in return and seize its goods? I would say that is sufficient.”
“Not even close. Besides, we sent every last one of your people back alive. The two incidents are hardly comparable.”
“Very well. How much do you want?”
“Ten times the losses suffered by the True Martial Merchant Company. Pay that, and we will never raise this matter again.”
“What? Ten times?”
BANG—!
CRASH—!
Tang Pae’s fist shattered the table, sending the teacups and refreshments crashing to the floor.
“Are you playing games with me? Or do you truly wish to die?”
Jeok Wigang’s expression turned cold.
“Do I look as though I am joking?”
The instant Tang Pae met his gaze, he flinched despite himself.
Tang Un, who had been watching quietly, hurriedly stepped in.
“F-Father. We were the ones at fault, weren’t we? Let us compensate them tenfold.”
Tang Pae stared at Tang Un, his face twisted.
“You wretched boy... Why are you behaving this way?”
He could not understand it.
Tang Un loved and cherished the Tang Family more than anyone, yet now he was siding with this damned man.
“Father, please. Agree to it. Please?”
Something about Tang Un’s pleading unsettled Tang Pae.
“Tell me why I should.”
“For the sake of the Tang Family.”
Tang Un possessed the ability to see another person’s strength.
For him to go this far meant...
Tang Pae looked at Jeok Wigang.
This was the man who had made him flinch with nothing but a glance.
Tang Pae cautiously sent Tang Un a voice transmission.
—Is that man stronger than your father?
—Yes.
—Hmm. Even if he is stronger than me, he cannot possibly face the entire Tang Family alone.
—He could, and with ease. Erasing the Tang Family would be a trivial matter for him.
—What? He is that powerful?
—Yes. One of the subordinates serving him is a Divine Transformation Realm martial artist.
“What?”
Tang Pae was so shocked that he answered aloud instead of through voice transmission.
Startled by his own outburst, he looked at Jeok Wigang.
“Pay no attention to me. Please continue your conversation.”
“Er...”
—Father, why do you think he came here alone? Because he is that confident. The Tang Family is not even worth his consideration.
—Could you not have misjudged him?
—I could not believe it either, so I looked again and again. The result was always the same. I cannot even measure the power within him.
Tang Pae stared at Jeok Wigang in shock.
—He is offering the Tang Family an opportunity. We must seize it. Father, please trust me.
With Tang Un pleading so desperately, Tang Pae had no choice but to believe him.
—Very well...
Tang Pae ultimately decided to follow Tang Un’s advice and turned to Jeok Wigang.
“My apologies for keeping you waiting.”
“Have you reached a decision?”
Tang Pae nodded.
“We will compensate you tenfold.”
A smile appeared on Jeok Wigang’s previously impassive face.
“Excellent.”
“What is your second demand?”
“You know Hae Jeon, the Master of Delicacies, correct?”
“I do. What is your relationship with him?”
“Hae Jeon is my subordinate. Yet the Tang Family insists on tormenting him, and I find that rather displeasing. At the very least, you should have left his family alone. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“One of my subordinates was overzealous. I apologize.”
“Do not apologize to me. Apologize to Hae Jeon. The Family Head will personally offer that apology and publicly set the record straight regarding the injustices he suffered.”
Tang Pae was taken aback.
To clear Hae Jeon’s name, the Tang Family would have to expose everything it had done to him.
“Could we not reach a private agreement with Hae Jeon? I will compensate him financially for everything he endured.”
Jeok Wigang shook his head.
“I am not asking for money. I am asking you to restore his honor.”
“Then the Tang Family’s honor will collapse.”
“You should have lived more decently, then.”
Tang Pae’s face contorted.
This damned bastard.
He wanted nothing more than to shove a fistful of poison down Jeok Wigang’s throat, but he restrained himself with superhuman patience.
Tang Pae looked at Tang Un again.
Tang Un nodded.
Tang Pae released a long breath.
Is this truly the right choice?
He could not bring himself to voice his agreement.
Restoring Hae Jeon’s honor would require the Tang Family to announce every despicable act it had committed against him.
Tang Pae could accept almost anything else, but not that.
If the world learned that the Tang Family had resorted to such cowardly acts against a mere cook, what remained of its prestige would be utterly crushed.
Tang Pae looked at Tang Un once more.
Sensing the change in his father’s eyes, Tang Un spoke urgently.
“Do not do this, Father.”
“I am sorry. I cannot allow the Tang Family’s prestige to fall any further.”
“N-no! You cannot!”
“Leave us. That is an order from the Family Head.”
“Father!”
“What are you waiting for? Take the Young Family Head away.”
“Yes!”
The air rippled.
Two shadowy figures emerged from concealment and seized Tang Un by the arms.
Tang Un struggled, but they sealed his qi and dragged him away.
“Father! You cannot do this! Father!”
Tang Pae forced himself to ignore Tang Un’s desperate pleas and glared at Jeok Wigang.
“For Tang Un’s sake, I intended to settle this peacefully if at all possible. But I cannot accept your latest demand.”
“Is that so?”
“I will compensate the True Martial Merchant Company tenfold, as promised. But I cannot grant your demand regarding Hae Jeon. The choice is yours. You may take what you have gained and leave, or you may make an enemy of the Tang Family.”
“If I choose to become your enemy, then I will have walked into the heart of hostile territory by myself.”
“Precisely. No matter how powerful you are, you will not leave the Tang Family estate unscathed.”
Jeok Wigang grinned.
“Then allow me to offer you one final opportunity as well. Agree to both demands now, and nothing will happen. But...”
Jeok Wigang’s gaze turned terrifyingly cold.
“If you decide to make an enemy of me, the Tang Family will have to endure a very considerable loss.”
“Fighting you would merely result in collapsed buildings and injured people. Such damage can be repaired with time. The family’s prestige cannot. I cannot even imagine how many years it would take to rebuild it.”
“You will regret this. I recommend trusting your son’s eyes.”
“No. I have made my decision.”
RATTLE—
RUMBLE—
The moment Tang Pae finished speaking, doors opened on every side.
Countless martial artists stood beyond them, glaring at Jeok Wigang as they unleashed their killing intent.