Bachelor Swordsmanship Remastered [EN]: Chapter 399

399. Trash is Just Trash When You Clean It Up

The people stared at the suddenly appearing Unhyun.

A moment of silence passed, but it didn’t last long.

“Who are you to dare interfere with Magistrate Na’s event!”

Chief Secretary Jang said with a frown.

He had seen people like Unhyun many times before.

Scholars who had learned a bit of writing or had some trivial connection to the government, presumptuously acting out of line.

“If you don’t want to be beaten with a club right now, get out of here!”

Chief Secretary Jang said, reaching out again to grab Wolhyang’s wrist.

But he didn’t succeed.

Swish.

Unhyun stretched out his arm and blocked Chief Secretary Jang’s hand.

Chief Secretary Jang furrowed his brow.

“This bastard, really…!”

“…Young Master.”

Wolhyang said quietly from behind.

“Thank you, but this is not something you should be involved in.”

“…Why?”

Unhyun turned his head to look at Wolhyang.

Wolhyang sighed softly.

“His master is the Magistrate. And the Magistrate’s cousin is the Vice Magistrate here in Nanjing. I’m worried you might get hurt.”

Unhyun’s eyes changed slightly.

The Vice Magistrate was the direct subordinate of the Prefect, the chief administrator of the large city of Nanjing.

Even someone who had passed the civil service examination with top honors could not reach that position without good fortune, and he was the most likely candidate to become the next Prefect of Nanjing.

In other words, he was the key power figure in Nanjing.

The Magistrate was already formidable, but he was backed by the second-in-command of Nanjing.

“Hmph, have you finally realized the situation?”

Chief Secretary Jang sneered at Unhyun.

The Magistrate and the Vice Magistrate were worlds apart.

Even those who had something to rely on and dared to stand up to the Magistrate would have no choice but to back down at the mention of the Vice Magistrate.

Chief Secretary Jang frowned and said to Wolhyang.

“More importantly, who is this guy? Don’t tell me you’ve taken in a gigolo in the meantime?”

Chief Secretary Jang’s eyes were quite fierce.

He seemed to have caught evidence of infidelity, and his murderous intent was palpable.

“If that’s the case, you’ll never die peacefully…”

“Even if it’s not the Vice Magistrate but the Prefect,” Unhyun said.

“They don’t have the authority to drag away ordinary people as they please.”

Chief Secretary Jang’s eyebrows twitched.

He glared at Unhyun and let out a hollow laugh.

“Come to think of it, there was a guy like you before. A scholar who dared to act recklessly just because he was a licentiate [a degree-holder]. Do you know what happened to him?”

Chief Secretary Jang looked down on Unhyun as he spoke.

“I had him beaten severely on the spot, locked him in the warehouse, and didn’t give him a drop of water. He became very docile in just three days.”

The scholar, whose bones were broken and flesh torn, lived with the aftereffects for the rest of his life, but Chief Secretary Jang received no reprimand.

On the contrary, he even received bribes from the scholar’s family, begging him to release him, so it was no wonder he looked down on Unhyun.

Chief Secretary Jang grinned, showing his teeth.

“Did you mention authority? Once you end up like that, you’ll know very well what kind of authority I have.”

A murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

“Hey, you guys!”

“Yes!”

The thugs who had been causing trouble answered in unison.

Chief Secretary Jang gave a bitter smile.

“Just don’t kill him.”

The thugs immediately understood what he meant.

“Yes, Chief Secretary!”

The thugs smirked and took out the short clubs they were carrying at their waists.

The clubs, carved with sharp edges, were enough to injure someone.

The murderous look in their eyes also showed that they had done this more than once or twice.

Crash, rumble.

The thugs pushed through the overturned chairs and broken furniture, approaching Unhyun.

The men guarding the brothel’s expression hardened, but they didn’t dare to stop the Chief Secretary’s thugs.

Unhyun watched the thugs with a cold gaze.

‘If only…’

If they were members of the Heroic Alliance or Green Forest [groups of martial artists and bandits, respectively], he would have taken it for granted.

Because that’s what those kinds of people were like.

But could those who belonged to officials like the Magistrate and Vice Magistrate really do this?

Unhyun gritted his teeth with a hardened expression.

It was then.

Click.

A small sound echoed through the brothel.

It was easy to miss if you weren’t paying attention, but the result was immediate.

“Ugh.”

One of the thugs who had been approaching stopped and frowned.

He clutched his stomach and bent over.

“Kuh-ugh, cough.”

It wasn’t just him.

All six or seven thugs clutched their stomachs and contorted their faces.

“Keuk. Uhk. Cough.”

They couldn’t even speak properly.

They began to writhe on the floor in agony, as if their intestines were twisting.

Thud, bang.

The food they had spilled earlier was all over their bodies, but the thugs didn’t care.

They were already covered in tears and snot from the extreme pain that made it hard to breathe.

“Keuh-uh-uhk.”

The thugs who had come with Chief Secretary Jang trembled, wiping the floor with their bodies.

Unhyun turned his head to look at Guest Elder.

“Don’t waste your energy on useless things.”

Guest Elder said with an indifferent expression.

“Trash is just trash when you clean it up.”

It was a very Guest Elder-like thing to say.

And it was also a statement that refreshed Unhyun’s heart.

“Yes. That’s right.”

Unhyun replied calmly.

“Trash is just trash when you clean it up.”

His voice was slightly raised.

“W-What is the meaning of this!”

Chief Secretary Jang shouted with a flustered expression.

He had no idea why the thugs were suddenly groaning in pain and writhing on the floor.

But he was sure that this was not a natural phenomenon.

“Do you think you’ll be safe after doing something like this!”

“Well? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Wolhyang said.

She smiled and looked at Chief Secretary Jang.

“Maybe they all ate something wrong?”

Grind.

Chief Secretary Jang gritted his teeth.

“You bitch! Do you think you can avoid the Magistrate’s orders by doing this!”

He shouted as if he was possessed.

Chief Secretary Jang turned his head sharply and pointed at Unhyun.

“You too! You dared to interfere in the Magistrate’s event without knowing your place, so you will definitely pay the price…”

Unhyun didn’t listen to him anymore.

Like Guest Elder said, trash is just trash when you clean it up.

He didn’t want to leave everything to Guest Elder anymore.

Hiding behind someone else’s kindness and not getting his own hands dirty was not Unhyun’s style.

Swish.

Unhyun raised his hand.

Chief Secretary Jang’s face changed as he was still shouting something.

“Uh, uh…”

Chief Secretary Jang’s eyes trembled.

He thought it couldn’t be, but Unhyun’s gaze was cold.

“Cough!”

Suddenly, Chief Secretary Jang clutched his stomach and frowned.

Unhyun frowned slightly.

Because he hadn’t done anything yet.

But Chief Secretary Jang gritted his teeth and groaned.

“Y-You bastard…”

He looked up at Unhyun and said in a trembling voice.

“Y-You dare to… cough, ugh.”

Chief Secretary Jang couldn’t finish his sentence.

His face turned red and purple, and he clutched his stomach with both hands, bending over and stepping back.

The thugs who had been rolling on the floor had also recovered a bit and were slowly walking towards Chief Secretary Jang.

The thugs’ eyes were filled with fear as they looked at Unhyun and Guest Elder.

“L-Let’s go back for now.”

Chief Secretary Jang said, biting his lip to endure the pain.

“But just you wait. I-I will definitely… cough.”

As he was speaking, Chief Secretary Jang’s face turned blue and he collapsed forward.

Thud.

The Chief Secretary received the floor with his face.

But he didn’t feel any pain.

Because he had already lost consciousness.

“Oh no, Chief Secretary!”

“P-Please wake up!”

“Chief! Chief!”

The thugs made a fuss as they looked at the fallen Chief Secretary.

They quickly supported the Chief Secretary and hurried out of the brothel.

The people watched the scene with blank expressions.

Unhyun quietly turned his head to Guest Elder.

“I can do it. Elder.”

“I don’t want to.”

Guest Elder put his hands down and put his hands behind his back.

“Don’t get your hands dirty with those kinds of guys. I don’t want to see it.”

Guest Elder seemed to dislike the fact that Unhyun had stepped in directly at the Chwiseon House last time.

Unhyun smiled wryly.

“I don’t feel comfortable with you taking care of it, Elder.”

“What do I care about how you feel?”

Guest Elder said in a calm voice.

It was a seemingly cold statement, but he couldn’t help but feel his heart warming.

Unhyun smiled brightly.

Guest Elder still had a nonchalant expression, but the fact that he was subtly turning his head away was probably because his true feelings had been exposed.

Scribble, scribble.

Unhyun turned his head at the sound of footsteps.

Wolhyang put her hands together and bowed politely.

Rustle.

“Thank you for your help.”

The ornaments on her head sparkled as she bowed.

Unhyun replied in place of the silent Guest Elder.

“It’s nothing. Like you said, it seems they ate something wrong.”

Wolhyang smiled at Unhyun’s gentle voice.

“Yes. But it’s clear that you stepped in to help me when I was in trouble.”

Wolhyang looked at Unhyun intently and said.

“…As expected, you are someone that Sowol would praise.”

That statement immediately piqued Unhyun’s interest.

It was common for them to critique each other’s writing at the academy.

Unhyun, who had been subjected to sharp criticism that left his painstakingly written works, as well as the writer, in tatters, couldn’t help but be concerned.

“The, the praise, what did she…”

Wolhyang covered her mouth with her sleeve and laughed.

“You should hear that directly from Sowol, shouldn’t you?”

Unhyun had an awkward expression.

There was no way he could ask Sowol to tell him that.

First of all, it wasn’t polite, and it didn’t seem like the quiet Sowol would tell him.

“But I’m worried.”

Wolhyang’s expression darkened.

“Magistrate Seo Geukyoon is a persistent man. You two should leave this place quickly.”

Even a martial arts expert would be reluctant to clash with the government.

Even the Magistrate who governs the county would be burdened, let alone the higher Magistrate, and the Vice Magistrate of the large city of Nanjing behind him.

Even if they hadn’t committed any crimes, it was the same.

Because the Magistrate could make up any charges he wanted.

But neither Guest Elder nor Unhyun’s expression changed at all.

“I see.”

Unhyun said calmly.

Wolhyang felt a bit frustrated.

“It’s not just the Magistrate. As I said before, the Vice Magistrate of Nanjing is behind the Magistrate. Even the Four Great Sects can’t stand up to them.”

That was a new word for Unhyun.

“The Four Great Sects?”

“Yes. Shaolin, Wudang, Mount Hua, and Emei are called the Four Great Sects. The Tang Clan, the Namgoong Clan, the Jegal Clan, the Hyeokryun Clan, and the Moryong Clan are called the Five Great Clans.”

Wolhyang smiled wryly as she spoke.

“But it seems like I shouldn’t be the one telling you this?”

It was absurd for her to be teaching a martial arts expert about the Four Great Sects and the Five Great Clans.

Perhaps this expert was a recluse who had been living in seclusion for a long time.

“Is the Moryong Clan one of the Five Great Clans?”

But Unhyun asked again, his eyes shining.

Wolhyang nodded.

“Yes. Now that the Gongson Clan has lost its power, the Moryong Clan is usually counted. More than that, it would be better to leave today. Magistrate Seo Geukyoon is a persistent man, but the Vice Magistrate is even more vicious…”

“Hyun-ah.”

Guest Elder suddenly called out to Unhyun.

There were no more words, but Unhyun knew what he meant.

“I’m sorry.”

Unhyun said to Wolhyang with a serious expression.

“Is food available now?”

“Pardon?”

Wolhyang asked without realizing it.

It was like a guest who suddenly came in early in the morning.

It wasn’t morning now, and this wasn’t a restaurant, but a brothel.

But Unhyun’s expression as he looked at Wolhyang was serious.

“Haa.”

Wolhyang sighed softly.

And soon, she smiled gently and said.

“I’ll make it for you.”

“Thank you very much.”

Unhyun said with a bright smile.

“It seems like the Elder likes the food here. Ah, I would appreciate it if you could prepare a variety of dishes, even if the portions aren’t large. No alcohol, but the best tea.”

Wolhyang looked at Unhyun with an awkward expression.

In some ways, he seemed like an innocent scholar who didn’t know the ways of the world.

But her eyes were trembling slightly.

‘Could it be…’

Guest Elder might be an incredible expert, so that could be the reason.

He didn’t seem to have much interest in worldly affairs.

But it was definitely surprising that even Unhyun was so nonchalant.

He had spoken so freely about the position of Prefect, so there was no way he wouldn’t know the power of the Nanjing Vice Magistrate.

A strange light flashed in Wolhyang’s eyes as she looked at Unhyun.

The only person who noticed that was her bodyguard and sworn sister, Yeonhwa.