[Chapter 43]
Kang Yoon's eyes flashed.
A third-rate thug? That was clearly a remark aimed at him.
"Are you talking to me?"
"Where did you sell your manners?"
"Excuse me?"
"I'm the eldest son of the Byuk San Yeon family. Don't you know who I am, a person who is as good as a lord? Or did you forget? You're not senile already, are you?"
Kang Yoon bowed his head politely as he looked at Yeon Ho Jung.
"I apologize for being rude. I'm Kang Yoon, the lord of Bi Eung. I greet you, eldest son."
"Is that all?"
"Yes?"
"Don't you think you can get away with killing someone if you have no manners?"
Kang Yoon's eyebrows twitched slightly.
"That's an exaggeration."
"Are you talking back?"
"Why are you talking back? That's not what I'm doing."
"If you're not talking back, then what's with that look? Are you defying me?"
"Eldest son."
"What?"
"I'm not talking back or defying you. So please stop here."
"Stop here?"
"Yes."
"You're not asking, but ordering? This won't do, Lord Kang."
Kang Yoon's expression became more distorted.
"Don't you think you're being too harsh, even if you're the eldest son?"
"You're even arguing with me. Do your seniors know you're doing this?"
"Eldest son!"
I couldn't help but raise my voice.
Yeon Ho Jung covered his ears.
"You have no manners, you talk back at every opportunity, and you even dare to order me?"
"…!"
"At this rate, you'll have nothing to say if you're kicked out of the family, right?"
Kang Yoon's eyes trembled.
"How can you say that? I never meant to be rude to you."
"Why don't you look at yourself, huh?"
"Of course, it was my fault that I didn't greet you. But I also think you were too harsh."
"Are you referring to my evaluation of you as a third-rate thug?"
"Yes."
"Then, Lord Kang, do you think your actions are different from those of a thug?"
Kang Yoon's eyes were bloodshot.
"A thug? That's too much to bear."
"Really? You're saying I was too harsh?"
"Yes."
"Then what about them?"
"Who?"
Yeon Ho Jung pointed at Yu Ji Ha with his chin.
Yu Ji Ha's body was soaked with sweat. He looked like he had been rolled over once. His uniform was covered with dirt.
It wasn't just Yu Ji Ha. The entire Bi Eung third unit was like that.
"What did they do wrong that you made them train without eating or resting? And even make them carry ironwood swords."
"They disobeyed my orders. They violated the command and the discipline. As a lord, I had to give them a proper punishment."
"If they violated the command and the discipline, you should have executed them on the spot, instead of giving them such a dirty punishment."
That was a terrifying statement.
The faces of the Bi Eung third unit turned pale. They never thought that such a thing would lead to execution.
Kang Yoon was also flustered by the sudden bombshell.
"Execution? That's too harsh!"
"What you're trying to do now is better than that? If you're going to kill them, why don't you just cut their throats with one stroke instead of torturing them?"
"How can you call this torture? This is a legitimate discipline!"
"Discipline?"
Yeon Ho Jung's eyes glowed with a faint red light.
His gaze was so fierce that even Kang Yoon, who was known for his guts, felt a chill in his chest.
"You, you're Yu Ji Ha, right?"
He didn't expect the eldest son to remember his name. Yu Ji Ha was startled and lifted his head.
"Yes, yes!"
"Come forward."
Yu Ji Ha stepped forward.
He had more bruises and cuts on his face and hands than anyone else in the Bi Eung third unit.
"Why are you being scolded by your lord?"
"Who?"
"…"
"Ah! That, that's because…"
Yu Ji Ha looked at Kang Yoon.
Kang Yoon opened his mouth.
"Forgive me, eldest son, but I'm the lord. And I have the authority to reward and punish my subordinates. Even if you're the eldest son, this is an abuse of power."
"So you're telling me to shut up?"
"Eldest son!"
Yeon Ho Jung's voice turned cold.
"If you interrupt me one more time, I'll summon you to the Law Blade Hall."
Kang Yoon's eyes shook.
The Law Blade Hall was the organization that handled the family law and investigation. In special cases, it could also issue verdicts on behalf of the lord.
Because of its work, the family warriors feared the Law Blade Hall the most. If they violated the family law or committed corruption or bribery, they would be dragged to the Law Blade Hall and punished severely.
Yeon Ho Jung was saying that he would summon the lord to such an organization.
Kang Yoon's breathing became rough. But he couldn't dare to intervene.
Yeon Ho Jung spoke to Yu Ji Ha.
"You're the same. If you don't answer my questions immediately, you'll go to the Law Blade Hall with your lord."
Yu Ji Ha's posture became stiff.
"I, I'll correct myself! Last night, I was punished for training for an hour during bedtime! I'm sorry!"
Yeon Ho Jung frowned.
"You were punished for training?"
"Yes, yes!"
"Is it a crime for a warrior to train by reducing his sleep?"
"That's…"
"Did you, by any chance, harm the unit training by overtraining?"
Yu Ji Ha couldn't answer. That was up to the lord to judge.
But Yeon Ho Jung noticed from Yu Ji Ha's expression that he had performed well in the unit training.
Yeon Ho Jung turned his eyes to Kang Yoon.
"Why is this a crime?"
"…"
"Your lord may be rude, but what he said just now seems reasonable."
"But…"
"But?"
Yu Ji Ha bit his lip.
He must have felt wronged. No matter how important discipline was, how could it be a crime for a scholar to read books and a warrior to train his martial arts?
Was it because of his resentment? Yu Ji Ha spoke in a depressed voice.
"I joined the Bi Eung unit last year."
"So?"
"I worked hard to get into the Bi Eung unit. But for the past year, personal training was strictly forbidden. Only unit training was allowed."
"So?"
"I came to the unit, so I had to act according to the unit's rules. That's natural. But I wanted to be more than that. But for the past year, not only me, but also the other unit members' skills didn't improve even a bit."
Yeon Ho Jung's eyes deepened.
"Instead, the Bi Eung unit's strength itself must have improved. Everyone was united as one."
"Yes."
"How old are you?"
"Eighteen."
"Eighteen is an age when you know everything, right? You're a Bi Eung unit member. If you entered the Bi Eung unit, you need to act according to the Bi Eung unit's rules. You can call that responsibility."
"…"
"I understand your resentment. But there is a law of the organization in the organization. Since you chose to enter the organization, you have to bear the responsibility of the organization."
"So I wanted to quit."
"What?"
Yu Ji Ha said with a bitter expression.
"In the end, I failed to adapt to the organization. So I followed the legal procedure and requested to leave the army. But it was not accepted."
"You followed the legal procedure and requested? Then why couldn't you quit?"
Yu Ji Ha vented his anger.
"They said once you're in the Bi Eung unit, you're always in the Bi Eung unit. They said the only way to leave the Bi Eung unit was to die."
Yeon Ho Jung's eyes turned cold.
Now he understood why Yu Ji Ha wanted to make some personal time. He disobeyed the lord's order, so it was definitely a violation of discipline, but for Yu Ji Ha who wanted to become stronger, there was no other way.
Kang Yoon hurriedly intervened.
"That's nonsense! That was just a remark for the sake of the unit's solidarity, it's not really like that!"
"But that's what happened."
Yeon Ho Jung's voice became colder as time passed.
"You say it's not really like that, but why couldn't he leave? He followed the legal procedure, didn't he?"
"There needs to be some flexibility in the procedure. At that time, there was a presentation of the strengths of the units in the family. It would be a big problem if a unit member left in that situation."
"That was a natural measure?"
"Yes."
"That flexibility in the procedure was for the sake of the Bi Eung unit, then."
"Of course. The Bi Eung unit becoming stronger means the Yeon family's power is rising."
Kang Yoon said confidently.
And to Kang Yoon, Yeon Ho Jung threw the word he had been holding back.
"Incompetent bastard!"
"What, what did you say?"
"According to your words, the Bi Eung unit becoming stronger means the Yeon family's power rising. Then, who needs to become stronger for the Bi Eung unit to become stronger?"
"…!"
"Why can't you answer? I'm asking you what the minimum requirement is for the Bi Eung unit to truly become stronger, not for the sake of getting a good evaluation at the family's presentation."
"That is…"
"Is it enough for you to become stronger?"
"…"
"The unit members need to become stronger for the unit's strength to rise. But you, under the pretext of doing it for the organization, forcibly detained the unit member who wanted to leave the army."
Kang Yoon's face crumpled.
"Detention is a bad word. I had no choice at that time."
"Then what about after that? Why is this guy still in the Bi Eung unit?"
Kang Yoon couldn't answer easily.
In fact, he had forgotten about that part. He thought that if he trained them properly, they would adapt on their own.
They all grow up like that. So he thought that Yu Ji Ha's request was not worth considering.
"Is that discipline? To prevent him from leaving even though he followed the legal procedure?"
"…"
"Answer me."
"No, but that's all for the sake of the Yeon family…"
"Oh, is that so? This is all because of your personal judgment that it's for the sake of the family."
Yeon Ho Jung smiled.
"So this is it. You stake your life on the law and discipline, but you argue for flexibility in the parts that you think are important, and you only use a sharp blade in the parts that you think are not important."
"That's not true!"
"What's not true, you incompetent bastard."
Kang Yoon's face turned fierce.
"Even if you're the eldest son, I can't tolerate any more insults. And this matter is entirely the Bi Eung unit's matter. Don't interfere anymore."
Kang Yoon didn't like Yeon Ho Jung from the beginning.
No, he hated him. He didn't see Yeon Ho Jung as a person from the moment he knew that he was a pathetic guy who wandered around the streets as the eldest son of the great Byuk San Yeon family.
It was the same even after Yeon Ho Jung changed. The Chang Eung unit had a lot to say about the eldest son's changed appearance, but he never believed it.
The eldest son was meddling in the Bi Eung unit's affairs. Kang Yoon had endured enough.
Yeon Ho Jung's smile faded.
"Don't interfere?"
"Yes."
Yeon Ho Jung said to Yu Ji Ha.
"You, go and bring the Law Blade Hall Master."
The atmosphere of the Great Yeon Martial Arts Hall became tense.
Yeon Ho Jung said to Kang Yoon.
"Since you did whatever you wanted with the Bi Eung unit for the sake of the Yeon family, I have to kick you out of the lord's position for the sake of the family."
"…!"
"Be prepared to strip."