NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 114
Chapter 114: The Price of Insult (2)
Moyong Yeonhwa was inwardly shocked but did not show it on the surface.
“What nonsense are you spouting? Do you think you can get away with causing such a mess?”
Yeon Hojeong, who had been staring at Moyong Yeonhwa, flicked his thumb and forefinger.
“Silence.”
“What?”
Yeon Hojeong tossed three chopsticks that had been rolling on the table.
Mokbi, who caught the chopsticks, looked at him with puzzled eyes.
“Three. You know what that means?”
Three?
As Mokbi wondered what he meant, she suddenly felt a strange sensation.
‘Is someone watching us?’
Mokbi glanced outside the window. North, east, and south—three directions.
Yeon Hojeong spoke calmly.
“I don’t want our business to be known to others.”
In an instant, Mokbi realized what Yeon Hojeong meant.
Thump!
She stomped the floor forcefully and flung the chopsticks in her hand.
Swoosh!
Though she threw three, it seemed as if only one had been thrown. The sound of them slicing through the air was sharp.
Thud! Boom!
Shocked voices came from outside the window.
“Aaah!”
“What, what’s that? A person?!”
“A person has fallen!”
Moyong Yeonhwa’s eyes wavered.
“You…?”
Yeon Hojeong smiled.
“I don’t like flies buzzing around.”
They were agents of Huang Fengjing.
Hosun Daehuiru is the finest inn in Zhejiang, accessible only to those who qualify. Thus, Moyong Yeonhwa’s attendants were waiting in a luxurious inn a little distance away.
But Huang Fengjing was different. They were watching this place every moment.
However, their stealth skills, no matter how great, were not enough to deceive Yeon Hojeong. Mokbi, too, could catch them if she fully opened her senses.
Moyong Yeonhwa looked at Mokbi.
‘…!’
Mokbi’s eyes had suddenly become as sharp as blades.
‘A master?!’
Moyong Yeonhwa was taken aback.
She knew that Mokbi had learned martial arts. But the inner strength and gait she felt were not those of a master’s.
She was wrong.
Mokbi’s true martial arts were in a realm beyond Moyong Yeonhwa’s reach. Her steps were so advanced in the arts of movement and stepping that they seemed ordinary.
‘I can’t believe it!’
She had misjudged the person.
She thought Mokbi was just an ordinary woman that Yeon Hojeong brought along. Her face was fair, but she seemed so naive that Moyong Yeonhwa was convinced she was a second-rate martial artist unaware of the ways of the world.
The shock was the same for the children of the merchant alliance.
They thought she was gentle and foolish, a lowly martial artist of low status, but that wasn’t the case. The subtle energy flowing from Mokbi was so impressive it made their hearts tremble.
“Now tell me.”
Yeon Hojeong’s eyes turned cold.
“Why did you mess with Mokbi?”
Moyong Yeonhwa replied calmly.
“What are you talking about? The one who caused the accident was you, not me.”
“You didn’t cause the accident directly. But you must have manipulated with that snake-like tongue of yours.”
Moyong Yeonhwa’s eyes deepened.
“Don’t insult me any further. Do you think you’ll be fine after this?”
Her tone became rough.
Yeon Hojeong chuckled.
“Why? You think burying one like me is easy?”
“Of course. The prestige of Yeon’s family has grown recently, but it’s nothing compared to Mo’s. If the main house decides, burying Yeon’s family is not difficult.”
“Haven’t you thought about why that ‘not difficult’ task hasn’t been done yet?”
“At least it’s not because of you.”
“That’s why your father hasn’t appointed you as the head of the family.”
“…What?”
“You’re smart, but you’re still a child who only sees what you want to see. That’s why you’re not appointed as the head. Surely, you’re not still comforting yourself with the thought that it’s because you’re a woman, right?”
Moyong Yeonhwa’s cheeks twitched.
He had touched her sore spot. She felt a surge of anger, stronger than ever before.
“If you dare to insult me with such nonsense again…!”
Whoosh.
Moyong Yeonhwa was startled.
Yeon Hojeong, who had been five steps away, was now right in front of her, looking down.
“If I insult you?”
“…!”
“What will you do if I kill you right here and there’s no one to report it?”
Moyong Yeonhwa’s eyes shook violently.
‘This man!’
Now she understood why he had eliminated the watchers of Huang Fengjing.
Yeon Hojeong had turned this place into a completely isolated space. There were many people eating, but this issue was a fight among the children of the six great families. Their opinions held little power.
Of course, he wouldn’t really kill her. But subduing or trampling her would be no problem.
After all, if Yeon Hojeong’s side claimed it wasn’t true, there would be nothing to say.
“What a petty man.”
“To smash an opponent, any despicable act is permissible.”
Moyong Yeonhwa bit her lip.
‘Damn it.’
At least for now, she had no way to oppose Yeon Hojeong.
Both Yeon Hojeong and Mokbi were masters with martial arts far superior to hers. And now, without Huang Fengjing or her attendants, she was completely alone. The realization was very disconcerting.
“I’ll ask one last time.”
Yeon Hojeong’s eyes blazed with fire.
“What’s the reason you messed with Mokbi?”
Moyong Yeonhwa’s lips quivered.
“…Is that so important?”
Wham!
Moyong Yeonhwa’s mouth gaped open.
‘…What?’
Her waist had folded in half. Yeon Hojeong’s knee had struck her abdomen.
Yeon Hojeong looked down at Moyong Yeonhwa with cold eyes.
“You took my last words too lightly.”
“Cough!”
“Goodbye.”
Crash!
Moyong Yeonhwa spat blood and staggered back. She had been hit in the jaw with a palm strike.
Her head shook violently from the powerful force. She couldn’t regain her senses.
Perhaps it was fortunate that her jaw hadn’t shattered.
‘Eek!’
Even in her dazed state, Moyong Yeonhwa reached out her hand.
Vroom!
The energy emanating from her delicate hand was incredibly sharp. It was the Sudden Wind Divine Hand of the Mo family.
Boom!
Yeon Hojeong’s fist shattered the energy wave of the hand technique and then struck her thigh.
Crack!
“Aaah!”
An immense pain swept through her lower body.
It hadn’t broken, but it was enough to bring her to her knees. She had lost all sensation in her lower body.
Moyong Yeonhwa hurriedly raised her head.
Yeon Hojeong was already holding his fist.
Whizzing!
A translucent white vortex swirled around his fist.
‘Gasp!’
Death loomed.
The energy gathered in an instant was terrifying, enough to shatter a skull with a single blow.
“You’ve underestimated me.”
Yeon Hojeong’s voice, laden with murderous intent, made Moyong Yeonhwa’s heart race twice as fast.
‘Bluff.’
It had to be a bluff. If she died now, not only Yeon Hojeong but the entire Yeon family would be engulfed in flames.
He couldn’t possibly kill her. It was merely a threat.
Roar!
Yeon Hojeong laughed like a demon as he swung his fist.
Moyong Yeonhwa’s pupils shrank.
‘Stop! It will stop!’
Even before the fist touched her, the force of the blow sent her hair flying backward.
Time seemed to slow down. The fist, pushing through the air like a wave, appeared to move languidly.
‘He can’t possibly kill me…!’
Then, Moyong Yeonhwa saw Yeon Hojeong’s eyes.
The genuine killing intent in those eyes blazed. A fierce red aura was visible within the unique blue energy.
The murderous intent of a savage beast.
Moyong Yeonhwa clenched her eyes shut.
“There’s no reason!!”
Crack!
A chilling sound echoed throughout the floor.
“Heugh! Heugh!”
Moyong Yeonhwa gasped for air. Genuine fear filled her slowly opening eyes.
She had nearly died.
Moyong Yeonhwa trembled as she turned to look behind her.
‘Gasp!’
Behind her, the floor and walls were in shambles, as if crushed by a heavy blade storm.
‘This bastard…!’
It wasn’t time to be relieved about being alive.
The fact that he had withdrawn his internal energy mid-strike was impressive, but the scene created by the pressure of his fist was chillingly formidable.
Had he not pulled back his power, her entire upper body would have been crushed. It wasn’t just a forceful fist technique but an Inner Energy Fist Technique that spun and expelled energy, obliterating both the external and internal.
A terrifying assassin. There would have been no need for such an attack unless he intended to erase the very existence of Moyong Yeonhwa.
“No reason?”
Moyong Yeonhwa bit her lip.
“…Yes.”
“No reason means you picked a fight just because she’s with me?”
“…”
“Your answer?”
Moyong Yeonhwa spoke with a venomous voice.
“Yes! That’s right!”
Surprisingly, it was true.
Moyong Yeonhwa had genuinely wanted to torment Mokbi and had instigated the conflict. There was no grand reason or hatred behind it.
Yeon Hojeong’s eyes deepened.
“Worse than a rogue from the underworld.”
Shiver.
Moyong Yeonhwa’s body trembled, not from fear, but from rage.
She wanted to scream, but she kept her mouth shut, realizing that giving in to her emotions would only be detrimental.
‘Damn it! Damn it all!’
She was not one to make such childish mistakes.
The Mo family cherished her for her ruthless heart and high-level strategies. Moyong Yeonhwa had never disappointed the Mo family.
But there was a side of her that the Mo family didn’t know.
It was her inferiority complex.
The Mo family had, knowingly or unknowingly, inflicted many wounds on Moyong Yeonhwa’s pride, mostly due to the issue of the family headship.
But recently, a presence had emerged that inflicted even greater wounds on her pride.
Yeon Hojeong.
Moyong Yeonhwa couldn’t bear her father praising Yeon Hojeong as a more exceptional talent than herself.
To accept that would mean acknowledging that her failure to become the family head was not due to her gender, but her lack of ability.
A heart wounded once greatly affects a person’s life.
Moreover, the sight of the mute Huang Fengjing agents returning had ignited her temper to the extreme. She believed Yeon Hojeong was mocking her.
Sending the agents in the first place was a mistake. But she neither acknowledged nor even realized it.
Her shaken pride and anger had driven the situation to this point.
Moyong Yeonhwa suddenly raised her head.
“How dare you use lethal moves against the eldest daughter of the great Mo family! The main house will never forgive the Yeon family!”
Yeon Hojeong smiled.
“It’s good to be spirited, but you’ll never surpass the main house in your lifetime.”
“You…!”
Thud!
Moyong Yeonhwa collapsed. She had been struck unconscious.
Yeon Hojeong spoke to the merchant alliance’s heirs.
“Take care of her. And…”
He whispered a few words into the ear of a young man.
The young man’s face turned pale.
“The, the Mo family?!”
Yeon Hojeong patted the young man’s shoulder.
“You don’t want to be utterly ruined, do you? Especially not when you’re just starting out.”
“Is, is that true?”
“Why would I lie about something you can easily verify?”
“Gasp!”
“Accidents should be kept to a minimum for forgiveness. You don’t want to end up a beggar, do you? You shouldn’t drive such a nail into your parents’ hearts.”
“…”
“Act wisely. Understand?”
“…Yes, I understand!”
After patting the young man’s shoulder several times, Yeon Hojeong walked over to Mokbi, holding an axe.
“I’m starving to death. Let’s go out and eat.”
“Are you sure?”
“Huh?”
Mokbi looked worriedly at Moyong Yeonhwa and the merchant alliance’s heirs.
“What if they hold a grudge…”
“Don’t worry. By the time that clueless woman wakes up, the world will have changed a bit.”
“Huh?”
“He wouldn’t have crushed her without thinking.”
Even if Moyong Yeonhwa didn’t want to go, she had to be sent to Moyong Woo, even by force.
He would have liked to cripple her for life, but now was not the time.
‘Moyong Yeonhwa would make a decent prey for Moyong Woo.’
Mokbi smiled as she watched Yeon Hojeong’s eyes sparkle with anticipation.
“I may not know much, but hasn’t your father been troubled a lot because of you?”
“If I weren’t his child, I might have been dead.”
“Heh.”
“Let’s go. Let’s have a drink today.”
“Are you buying?”
“As if I have money.”
“I have lots of money.”
“Where would you get money?”
“My father gave me an allowance.”
“What? To you?”
“Yes.”
“Damn it. Then you’re buying.”
“No double talk.”
“I have it. Today, you’re buying.”
“Alright, then.”
“Ha ha ha.”
“Do you have to laugh like that?”
“Complaining about my laughter now?”
The deadly atmosphere from moments ago seemed to have been completely forgotten.
As they left Hosunru, the faces of the two were quite cheerful.