noveldrama
Chapter 425
Chapter 425
The two tall men gazed into the distance.
They had strikingly similar features—bold impressions, high-bridged noses—but despite standing side by side, the young man dressed in Ipwang Fortress' blue martial robes had a noticeably slanted posture.
It was as if he had taken a step back at an angle, distancing himself, uninterested in entanglements.
The slightly older man beside him was the first to speak.
“You defy your superior’s command so easily? It’s been some time since I delivered the order for you to return to the main fortress, and yet here you are again.”
“You must have the vision of a stagnant well, unable to see beyond its depths. Once we reach Ipwang Fortress’ Blue Rank, we are permitted to carry out independent missions. We judge the situation ahead of time, act at our own discretion, and report later. Whether I receive punishment or reward—that is for my superiors to decide.”
“I was once the king of Shandong’s martial world. The methods of Ipwang Fortress' lower ranks are of no concern to me. In any case, you seem to have more freedom than the great families. Back in my day, Ipwang Fortress was no different from a military order.”
“The moment you step into the martial world, your daily life becomes a battlefield. Unlike the fattened pigs of noble families, we have far too many enemies. Naturally, we have more discretion.”
The young man’s tone teetered between respect and sarcasm, his words sounding both polite and biting at the same time.
With deep shadows cast over his sunken eyes and a blood-red poppy flower between his teeth, his demeanor made such contradictions seem effortless.
The older man scoffed like an amused elder.
“You have quite the tongue.”
“And what of you, Grandfather? What are you doing here? You’ve even reversed your aging with martial arts. If it were me, instead of following around a grandson who severed ties with his clan, I’d be enjoying a hedonistic life in Hangzhou.”
“Hedonistic life? I feel more inclined to hang you from a tree instead.”
With Dengfeng County behind them, grandfather and grandson stared out over the vast plains.
Ma Gwang-ik, the Great Flame Dragon of Ipwang Fortress.
Hwangbo Gon, the Divine Benefactor King and former patriarch of the Hwangbo Clan.
Their gazes stretched toward Jinan in Shandong.
A place where the Hwangbo Clan had once reigned supreme with unparalleled authority.
Yet the wind that blew toward them now carried nothing but hollow humidity, dissipating into emptiness.
“…So, severing ties, is it? That’s why you abandoned your full name. No one in Ipwang Fortress seems to know about it.”
“Well, yes.”
“And why?”
“The so-called retainers of my family were treating the common people as personal slaves, and yet, even as the eldest son, I couldn’t say a word against it. Compared to playing at being a chivalrous hero, I found my own life far more valuable.”
“…”
“Hwangbo is a name with some history, isn’t it? But whether it was the retainers who died or myself, neither of us were worthy of inheriting the name that our ancestors built.”
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