Ting!

Cheonyeong's fingers flicked quickly.

"Keuk!"

One for the punk who was carrying the money pouch first.

Titing!

One each for the three punks who were near Yongcheon and Sanghui.

"Kkeuk!", "Keok!", "Uk!"

The faces of the Black Scorpion Clan members are filled with bewilderment as four warriors suddenly fall to their knees in pain.

But that too was brief, and the tribal warriors who were nearby, their faces flushed with anger, threw their bodies towards Cheonyeong.

"Yongcheon, Sanghui. You can still move, right?"

"...Pardon?"

Yongcheon and Sanghui wore bewildered expressions at Cheonyeong's grinning words.

Can you move?

What does that...

Tuk!

Before they could even grasp the meaning of his words, Cheonyeong pushes the two back.

And at the same time, a huge blade swings as if to split Cheonyeong.

Hoo-woong!

Cheonyeong steps back half a step from the crude vertical trajectory created by the gently curved greatsword.

Teok!

Cheonyeong, who had narrowly avoided the greatsword, reaches out and grabs the head of the sword's owner.

Bba-gak!

He swings his fist concisely and violently turns the warrior's jaw.

"Kkeu-reuk..."

The warrior, whose neck was bent at an odd angle, collapses to the floor powerlessly, belying his large build.

Pa-ak!

At the same time, Cheonyeong, who had twisted his body and jumped up, turns and kicks both feet towards the warriors who had arrived late.

Bba-bak!

A concise striking sound.

Two warriors, without even being able to attack, fly to Cheonyeong's sides and are slammed into the floor.

The warriors of the Black Scorpion Clan, who were surprised by the sudden situation, soon emit a blue light from their eyes and a killing intent towards Cheonyeong.

Baekta and Danya were just as surprised.

"Hah, dammit... I knew something was fishy, I knew this would happen."

He had tried to stop him.

But Baekta had roughly expected this situation from the moment he handed over the money pouch.

Would Cheonyeong have asked for a conversation for no reason?

He must have been thinking of getting as close to his family members as possible and rescuing them.

Well, what family head wouldn't be angry seeing his family members in such a state?

He would have been the same.

However, even if it was a selfish thought, he had only wished that this situation would not happen.

Now the water has been spilled.

Since there was no way to clean it up, they had no choice but to fight.

Baekta, who had raised his internal energy, immediately flies to Cheonyeong's side, takes a position as if to guard him, and cautiously looks around with sharp eyes.

Danya, as if he had noticed, had already taken a position around him.

The Black Scorpion Clan warriors who were spread all around shouted angrily and chattered something, but he couldn't understand.

It was their language, not the language of the Central Plains. But he could guess the meaning well enough.

Because they were preparing to rush in with their weapons filled with killing intent.

Most of what they said was probably curses.

"Uta."

At that moment of heightened tension, Baihe speaks in a low voice and raises his hand.

"Everyone! Stop!"

Uta restrains the actions of the Black Scorpion Clan with a thunderous shout.

But Cheonyeong, as if he hadn't cared from the beginning.

Seuk, tu-duk.

He cuts the ropes that were restraining Yongcheon and Sanghui, grabs their wrists with both hands, and infuses them with Samyang True Qi.

What could be more dangerous than recklessly infusing true qi into a warrior who has learned a different kind of internal art?

But the two had learned the Samyang Divine Art, so they had the same quality of internal energy as Cheonyeong.

And wasn't Cheonyeong the one who knew their true qi path better than anyone else?

It was a truly fortunate choice to have taught the Samyang Divine Art not only to Yongcheon but also to Sanghui and the other family members.

Yongcheon and Sanghui frown as if they feel a sense of incongruity as the warm heat penetrates through their wrists.

"Don't resist, just let it flow. I'll take care of it."

"...Ugh."

Yongcheon and Sanghui nod their heads.

Soon, their expressions relax.

Even if they had the same internal energy, Cheonyeong's was qualitatively far superior to theirs, so they felt a sense of comfort.

Cheonyeong, who had flowed true qi into the bodies of Yongcheon and Sanghui, finds the foreign energy that was blocking their blood vessels.

"Hmm."

The acupoint striking technique is quite good. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

And he's also meticulous. Starting with the Hegu point, he had blocked all the vital points.

But it's not at a high level.

If it's this much.

"It's going to sting."

"Yeah!"

Yongcheon and Sanghui nod their heads and grit their teeth at Cheonyeong's words.

Tuk! Tu-tuk! Tuk!

Every time their blood vessels were pierced by Cheonyeong's true qi, Yongcheon and Sanghui grimaced in pain and their bodies trembled minutely.

"Keok! Heok, heo-eok..."

"Ugh..."

The pain of having their blood vessels forcibly pierced was not at the level of a sting.

Yongcheon and Sanghui groan and collapse at the pain that felt as if their bodies were being carved out with a knife.

It was understandable that their bodies would be numb as the blocked energy poured out at once and spread throughout their bodies, and that it would be difficult to control their bodies due to the subsequent dizziness.

"Eat this, and pull yourself together for a moment."

"...Yes."

Just in case, Cheonyeong hands them an antidote, and Yongcheon and Sanghui swallow it in one gulp and recover their bodies, controlling their breathing.

Only then does Cheonyeong turn his body and look at the Black Scorpion Clan, who are surrounding him with sharp eyes.

"Damn it, what are we going to do now?"

Baekta shouted angrily.

"What do you mean, what are we going to do?"

"Well, you must have thought of something, right?"

"..."

"You don't? An escape route? You've figured that much out, right?"

Baekta's face gradually contorts as Cheonyeong remains silent.

"You, don't tell me you did this without any thought? Impulsively?"

How could that be?

He had thought of something. It's just that the direction didn't head towards escape as Baekta said.

"Heh! You crazy...! Don't you see them? There are over a hundred! And there are even the young chief's elite guards! In contrast, we're only five, five! And two of us are injured!"

"So what?"

"What do you mean, so what! What do you mean, so what! We're about to die, you punk!"

Baekta's voice gets louder and louder.

Well, he had a right to be angry.

But even in his anger, he remained intensely vigilant of his surroundings, emitting a sharp aura that prevented anyone from approaching.

"First, be quiet. Let's talk. Stop getting so worked up."

"What? What's that?"

Cheonyeong, who had pushed aside the questioning Baekta, steps forward and looks at Baihe.

He, who was sitting on a large chair, looking down.

There was no bewilderment or surprise in his facing eyes. It was an expression as if he were watching a forest fire in someone else's neighborhood from a distance.

It must be confidence. The conviction that no matter what Cheonyeong's party did, they could not escape the Black Scorpion Clan's branch.

Well, the numbers were too different.

What threat could a mere five people be?

It would look like a meaningless struggle.

"What is this?"

"I thought I should check the circumstances."

"Circumstances?"

"Yes. I heard that the calculation was wrong, very wrong."

Cheonyeong scratches his head and approaches the money pouch.

Teob.

Baihe asks with a cold gaze as he bends down to pick up the money pouch.

"Calculation... what do you mean?"

"I heard just now that it was you guys who were in the wrong first."

"We were in the wrong?"

Baihe caught the end of his words and asked, but Cheonyeong, without thinking of answering, throws one of the money pouches he had picked up towards Baekta.

"Hey, I've paid you back."

"Huh?"

"Don't say anything else later."

"No, that's..."

Baekta didn't understand Cheonyeong's actions at all.

What kind of punk is this?

Is this the time to be discussing debt repayment?

"Don't frown just because I didn't pay interest. The debt of the heart. I'll definitely repay that later."

"No, that's not it..."

Am I doing this because of a debt?

You were talking to the young chief just now. Why are you provoking him when you could have solved it smoothly?

Baekta, who had become embarrassed by Cheonyeong's grinning expression, was on the verge of looking at Baihe's expression.

"Hey, Young Chief."

"Speak. Man from the Central Plains."

"I heard that you guys harassed our Sanghui first."

"Harassed?"

"Yes."

"Hmm, is that how you express courtship in the Central Plains?"

"Court...ship?"

"Yes."

"That's different from what my kids said. They said you guys tried to drag her away by force even though she said she didn't want to."

"That's natural."

"Natural?"

"That is the law of the Black Scorpion Clan."

"The la~w?"

"I am the young chief. I can court all who reside in the land of the Black Scorpion. And they have no right to refuse."

"Heh!"

What a dog-like law.

No matter how great the authority of the tribal chief was, to say that a woman's will didn't matter in courtship.

Even a political marriage arranged for the benefit of the family is not like that.

"She refused my courtship, so I used force, and your subordinate recklessly attacked the warriors."

Cheonyeong, who had finally understood the whole situation, glances at Yongcheon.

That punk...

What must he have been feeling?

To protect his family member as a Deputy Family Head? Or his woman?

Whatever it was, Yongcheon had done nothing wrong.

"Young Chief."

"..."

"I have no reason to argue about your laws. But, the application of the law should be limited to your tribe. Sanghui is a person from the Central Plains and also my family member. What you did may be courtship in the laws of the Black Scorpion Clan, but in our Central Plains, it is called this. Forced molestation, and kidnapping. You have just committed such a crime against my family member."

Baihe bursts out laughing at Cheonyeong's words, which pointed out each and every thing.

"Man from the Central Plains, you are mistaken about something."

"Mistaken?"

"The law of the Black Scorpion applies equally to all who reside in its land."

"Hmm. Is that so?"

Cheonyeong slowly nods his head and says.

"Well, alright. If that's your law, then that's that. But, you see, the law of our Tang Family's estate is not like that."

"What?"

"If a grudge arises, we repay it with ten times the interest. If someone touches my family member, we will surely retaliate."

"..."

"Now, then, shall we review the situation according to the law of our family?"

Baihe's eyes twitch at Cheonyeong's words.

"Sanghui expressed her refusal to your forced molestation. Nevertheless, you used force, and the Deputy Family Head made a reasonable resistance. In response, you attacked them in a group, restrained them, and even demanded money from me. Is that right?"

"...What are you trying to say?"

What do you think I'm trying to say, you stupid punk.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth!

It means that a wrong always entails appropriate compensation.

"What will you compensate with?"

"Compensation?"

"Yes. Since you injured my family member, will you pay with your life? Or, with goods? Precious treasures? I'll decide after hearing the compensation you offer first."

Baekta, who was listening from behind, just gaped.

This punk... is he crazy?

What are you going to receive?

Compensation? In a situation where you might die right away?

Baekta was so surprised that he couldn't even speak properly.

"Keuk, keuk keuk, keu-hat-hat-hat-hat!"

Look at that. The young chief of the Black Scorpion was also so bewildered that he was laughing like crazy.

"Keuk keuk keuk, my goodness. The master of the Tang Family's estate was a very interesting person."

"..."

"You dare to come to the land of the Black Scorpion and question the young chief of the Black Scorpion about his wrongdoing, and demand compensation?"

"Because that's the principle in the law of the Tang Family's estate."

"Alright, alright... I like it. The law of your family, the Tang Family's estate, is in line with that of our Black Scorpion, which makes a clear distinction between favor and enmity."

Baihe, who had nodded his head, loses his smile. He looks at Cheonyeong with a cold gaze and says.

"But, man from the Central Plains. Did you forget that this is not the land of the Tang family, but the land of the Black Scorpion, not to mention just five, no, the number of people?"

"How could I?"

"And yet, you're going to talk about the law of the Tang family here?"

"Of course."

"Of course?"

"Yes."

"Why is it of course?"

"That's because..."

Cheonyeong straightens his back, smiles, and says confidently.

"The place where I stand with my two feet is the land of the Tang family."

(End of Chapter)