Dark and Light Martial Emperor

Chapter 2. The Return of Tang-A (1)

“I’m going crazy.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who was locked up in the ancestral hall, grumbled.

“You’re as merciless as ever.”

After the ritual was over, his father decided his punishment with one word as he entered his office.

‘You will stay in the ancestral hall for three days and apologize to your ancestors.’

With that, his father went straight to his work. He didn’t even look at Yeon Ho-Jeong.

He was rather glad to see that. As time passed, memories tended to shrink or inflate, but his father was exactly as he remembered.

That’s why he felt reality and was sure that he had returned to the past.

…He didn’t like the fact that he had to be locked up for three days, though.

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who leaned his head against the wall, wondered again.

‘How is this possible?’

That was the part he had been thinking about the most for half a day since he was locked up in the ancestral hall.

He didn’t know if there was an afterlife, but he was sure that he wouldn’t go back to the past. If everyone regressed to the past after they died, the world would have been chaotic.

In other words, his regression was not an ordinary thing.

‘I need to know why. An unknown phenomenon will cause problems sooner or later.’

It was the same for martial arts. There must be a reason for achieving more than effort, and if you ignore it, your life will be in danger.

That was why he couldn’t be happy, even though he had regressed to the past.

He sighed as he was lost in thought.

“Damn, this is not a problem that can be solved by thinking.”

He needed some basic knowledge to make a guess.

Yeon Ho-Jeong gave up his worries after thinking a little more.

“Anyway, there’s no suspicious sign, so I’ll have to be satisfied with that for now.”

He had returned to the past, so his body was also the body of the past.

But his refined soul was still that of the Black Pearl Emperor, the Black Taoist Master of the Black Darkness.

His senses, which had surpassed the human limit, told him. It’s okay. There’s no answer to worry about, so forget it for now.

He felt better when he let go of his worries.

‘I can live the life I missed once again… Can I get rid of the regrets and sorrows of the past?’

His heart pounded.

He made a lot of mistakes in his childhood. In fact, they were more like the outbursts of a timid person who couldn’t adapt to the environment.

That’s why he had a lot of regrets.

If he had been a little calmer, a little more careful, and a little more courageous,.

Then his past would have been much different.

He smiled bitterly, and his eyes sparkled.

“Wait a minute, this is not a normal thing, is it?”

It wasn’t just because of the question of regression.

He got up without realizing it.

“How old am I now?”

It must have been a much older past than twenty-six years ago. The family was fine and peaceful.

Then I’m not even twenty years old, right?

‘Judging by Ji-Pyeong’s appearance, he’s about fifteen or sixteen. Then I’m eighteen or nineteen?’

It was too old a past, even if he had accumulated great martial arts. He couldn’t remember when it was just by looking at his father’s and brother’s faces.

He had forgotten the past and ran forward for too long.

‘Then…?’

It’s autumn when you look at the weather.

That meant that he had only six months at the shortest and a year and a half at the longest until the family’s destruction.

‘Damn it!’

He became anxious. It wasn’t time to sit back and relax.

He hurriedly opened the door of the ancestral hall.

Clang!

“Huh?!”

He looked at the boy standing outside the door with a surprised eye.

Snow-white skin. He was quite tall, but his clear eyes and cute appearance made him look very young.

“Ji-Pyeong?”

“Brother? Where are you going?”

“Huh? Uh… That…”

He realized that he had nowhere to go when he tried to go. He had reacted without realizing it because he realized the urgency of time.

Ji-Pyeong blinked his eyes.

“You can’t leave the ancestral hall, can you? Didn’t father say that you would be punished for three days?”

“…Right.”

“Ouch! No, you can’t. The Flying Eagle Squad is patrolling around here. If you get caught, you’ll get this, this.”

Ji-Pyeong drew his neck with his palm. It was a pretty fierce gesture, but his expression was so innocent that he laughed.

“By the way, why are you here?”

“Hehe, there’s a shortcut from my place to the forest behind the ancestral hall. I dug a hole.”

“A hole?”

“Yes.”

“What for…?”

Ji-Pyeong took out a thick bundle from his bosom and proudly held it out.

“Here!”

“…?”

“…”

“What is it?”

Ji-Pyeong scratched his head shyly.

“Rice balls.”

“Rice balls?”

“It’s too harsh to starve even if you’re punished. You have to drink water and live for three days, that’s not right.”

“What if you get scolded by your father?”

“Hey, he wouldn’t scold me for this.”

He could, though.

Anyway, he couldn’t blame him for bringing rice balls.

“Come in.”

“Yes!”

Ji-Pyeong came into the ancestral hall with a giggle and quickly untied the bundle. Then three rice balls with faint steam came out.

Yeon Ho-Jeong picked up a rice ball. It was almost the size of his face.

“Are you hungry? Eat a lot. I’ll bring you more tomorrow.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong looked at Ji-Pyeong as he stared at the rice ball.

He was smiling all the time, but Yeon Ho-Jeong could feel the strange anxiety that was hidden in his brother’s smiling face.

And he knew better than anyone what that anxiety was.

“Ji-Pyeong.”

“Yes?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong paused for a moment.

What should he say first? He was worried.

He remembered his past mistakes more vividly when he faced him like this. There was no life without regrets, but what he regretted the most were the things related to his brother.

And that was not something to delay.

Yeon Ho-Jeong spoke honestly after much deliberation.

“I’m sorry for everything.”

It was an unexpected apology. Yeon Ho-Jeong was confused.

“What? What do you mean?”

“I’m a worthless bastard. I was jealous of my brother for a pride that was nothing. I should have cheered for my brother’s growth, but I couldn’t.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong bowed his head.

“I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

“Hey, brother! Why are you saying this all of a sudden?”

“I’m not apologizing to be forgiven. I just want to admit my mistake and tell you that I won’t do it again. That’s all.”

In the past, before the Yeon family was destroyed,.

Yeon Ho-Jeong hated Yeon Ji-Pyeong to the extreme.

It was not for any other reason. It was because Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s talent was unprecedented in the family history.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s talent was not bad either, but it was nothing compared to that of his brother. Yeon Ho-Jeong had built a tower with blood and sweat for five years, but Yeon Ji-Pyeong had built it comfortably in less than three years.

Still, when they were young, they were not bad to each other. Rather, they had a deeper bond than any other siblings.

But when Yeon Ho-Jeong was fifteen,

When the family didn’t know who to give the position of junior head to among the brothers,

That’s when Yeon Ho-Jeong closed his heart. He was jealous of his brother, hated him, and even treated him as if he didn’t exist.

‘What a fool.’

What was that position of the junior head for?

He realized it after the family collapsed and his kin died. There was nothing more pathetic than putting meaning on the positions they had in the family.

And he realized it again.

In his unconsciousness, he couldn’t reflect on himself, but he still loved his father and brother.

He realized it too late. But regret is always late, he missed the moment to apologize to his family.

He kept that sincerity in his heart for his whole life.

“I won’t say much. I’m just sorry, and sorry again. Even if you hate me until you die, I won’t be disappointed or resentful.”

“Brother.”

Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s eyes reddened.

He had brought the rice balls with courage because he felt that his brother’s eyes were different from before when he saw him at the ritual. He came with a throbbing heart, wondering if his brother had forgiven him.

He was relieved. His brother didn’t hate him or despise him anymore.

“Uh-huh.”

He sobbed like a thunderstorm.

Yeon Ho-Jeong felt sorry and embarrassed by Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s tears.

His brother was a good guy. This reaction was natural.

But for Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had lived as a ruler of the black path, this reaction was very rare.

Do the weak get sympathy? Nonsense.

The weak were stepped on, killed, and used to gain strength. That was the survival principle of the black path martial arts. They were not the objects of sympathy, but the prey.

In that insatiable gap of time and emotion, Yeon Ho-Jeong confirmed once again that he had returned to the past.

After a while, Yeon Ji-Pyeong calmed down his emotions.

“I’m sorry. I made a fool of myself in front of you, brother.”

“What are you talking about? I’m the one who’s sorry.”

“No. It’s all my fault, why are you apologizing?”

He knew it wasn’t empty words. That’s why he was more sorry and grateful.

Yeon Ji-Pyeong smiled sheepishly. He was happy that their bond was restored, no matter how it happened.

Yeon Ho-Jeong casually said without realizing it,

“They say you grow hair on your butt if you cry and laugh.”

“What?”

“…”

“…”

Yeon Ho-Jeong had no talent for jokes.

He shouldn’t have done what he didn’t do. He coughed awkwardly and hardened his expression.

Yeon Ji-Pyeong was tensed up by the change of his expression.

“Ji-Pyeong.”

“Yes?”

“How old are you now?”

Why are you asking about his age out of the blue?

He was nervous, but Yeon Ji-Pyeong answered obediently.

“Fifteen.”

“Then I’m eighteen, right?”

“Huh? Yes, yes?”

He felt a little relieved. He had a year and a half left, not six months.

Of course, that didn’t mean he had time to spare.

“How much have you learned of the Flying Swallow Heart Method?”

Then, he heard a presence outside the ancestral hall.

“Master Yeon.”

It was a businesslike and stiff voice. Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s face turned pale.

“I know you’re in there. I’m coming in.”

Creak.

The door of the ancestral hall opened, and a sturdy man appeared.

He had a sword on his left waist and a heavy broadsword on his back. His eyes were sharp, and his aura was stern.

He was Kang Yoon, the leader of the Flying Eagle Squad.

“Come out now.”

Kang Yoon didn’t even look at Yeon Ho-Jeong.

Yeon Ho-Jeong nodded.

“Go.”

“I’ll see you in three days, brother.”

“I know.”

Yeon Ji-Pyeong got up.

Kang Yoon said.

“You have to take all the stuff you brought with you.”

“Huh?”

Kang Yoon didn’t say anything more. He just glanced at Yeon Ji-Pyeong with his unwavering eyes.

Yeon Ji-Pyeong bit his lip.

“I brought the rice balls with effort. Don’t you need strength to apologize?”

“I don’t know about that. I only know that the Yeon family’s reward and punishment applies equally to the kin. It’s the order that the head gave himself, so it must be done.”

It was a hard voice that didn’t tolerate any objections.

Yeon Ho-Jeong wrapped up all the rice balls and handed them to Yeon Ji-Pyeong. Yeon Ji-Pyeong bowed his head.

“I’ll buy you something delicious in three days.”

“I know.”

Kang Yoon’s eyes flashed.

Everyone in the Yeon family knew that the brothers didn’t get along. But today seemed a little different.

“Let’s go.”

“I know.”

His feet didn’t seem to touch the ground, and Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s steps were slow.

It was when Kang Yoon was about to close the door of the ancestral hall.

“Kang Leader.”

“Do you have something to say?”

“I told him to bring the rice balls. Take that into account when you report.”

Kang Yoon’s eyes flashed again.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Bang.

The door of the ancestral hall closed.

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled.

“I didn’t know that such a stiff atmosphere could be so exciting.”