A man long past forty, and the Clan Head of the Bang Clan of Liaoning.

His epithet is disgusting, but even so, as the head of a martial clan, he’s still a martial artist in name.

His realm isn’t very high. At most, second-rate? Around that, probably.

It was an absurdly low number for someone who’d lived his whole life as a martial artist.

And it wasn’t even a matter of talent. He’d just held a sword, that was all. It meant he’d lived without doing anything you could call effort.

A life far from training. And even as Clan Head, he didn’t exactly work hard either.

He’s not a good father, and he’s not a good husband.

If you evaluate Bang Cheonho as a human being, a hundred out of a hundred people will look at him and say—

—the scum of the earth.

There isn’t a better way to describe him.

Even among the Bang Clan of Liaoning—where the evaluations of past Clan Heads are so harsh they’re practically cruel—

Bang Cheonho is treated as close to the best butcher of them all.

The reason even the heir apparent—his eldest son—doesn’t get much attention no matter how badly he fucks up is also because of Bang Cheonho.

Because the heir apparent’s youthful disasters weren’t even as bad as Bang Cheonho’s.

With a man like that becoming Clan Head, it was only the natural course that the family would get wrecked.

But heaven, with its absurd depth of “consideration,” gave even a man like that one insane gift.

Not just a gift.

A gift close to the very peak.

That gift was—

‘A face.’

Bang Cheonho’s face.

Tragically, the only reason the Bang Clan hasn’t collapsed outright...

And the reason a scum like him can run around with that kind of personality and behavior and still keep his life...

Is because of that.

So superior.

So overwhelming.

A face that’s absurdly, oppressively handsome.

As if proving that one good-looking face is enough to live an easy life—

Bang Cheonho has lived his entire life off that face.

Someone once said this.

That Bang Cheonho’s face shines.

That when he smiles, the sky splits open.

That when he says a single word, every woman in the world walks toward him.

That if there were such a thing as “the most beautiful under heaven,” not “the strongest under heaven”—

Then not some woman, but Bang Cheonho would’ve taken that epithet.

It’s the kind of shameless, insane ass-kissing you can barely stand hearing.

But—

‘...It’s not wrong.’

Even from me, his son, trying to judge objectively, it wasn’t completely wrong.

Because Bang Cheonho really is that handsome.

That was also why his face stayed intact even though he kept causing accidents with women.

There was a time when something exploded badly and he got beaten half to death.

And even then, they said his face was too precious to hit, so they left his face alone and beat him until he was bruised all over his body.

That’s the kind of man he is.

A man who trusted one face and lived his whole life off it, and will keep living his whole life off it.

Bang Cheonho really is that man, but—

The problem was—

‘...Why is this guy here?’

Why that Bang Cheonho was standing in front of me.

A man who should’ve stayed inside the Bang Clan of Liaoning and only done his stupid bullshit in there.

“...Why are you here?”

Why in Henan.

And why in Jegal Jin’s quarters.

While I was scowling at that damn handsome face—

[...Ha.]

Yoo Cheongil let out a sound of admiration while looking at Bang Cheonho.

[Yeah... he really is freakishly handsome.]

It’s not the same as when he occasionally called me “a good-looking bastard” or whatever.

This was admiration.

The kind that spills out when you see something overwhelmingly beyond you.

Everyone reacted like that when they saw Bang Cheonho for the first time.

Humans don’t even feel envy in front of an overwhelming gap.

Bang Cheonho had that kind of face.

“Oh, son.”

He smiled at me.

His bright smile made him look just past twenty, like his age meant nothing.

Given his realm, it would be accurate to call it impossible baby-face.

“...What. What is this?”

Is this a dream? I’d rather it be a dream.

...My father is here?

I couldn’t imagine a worse nightmare.

“Come in and sit.”

Jegal Jin spoke to me. I looked at him and flinched.

‘That expression...’

Like he was about to kill someone on the spot.

It wasn’t even in the same category as the malice he’d shown me.

This was the real thing.

There was real resentment sitting in his face.

“...Uh.”

“Sit down.”

“Yes. Excuse me.”

This wasn’t a mood where I had any right to refuse, so I went in and sat carefully.

The moment I sat, my father put a hand on my shoulder.

“Aahaha. Well, well. Long time no see. Has it been one or two years? You’ve grown a lot while I wasn’t looking, huh? Looks like you got taller.”

“...I didn’t grow at all.”

“...Oh. Did you not?”

My father laughed awkwardly.

In reality, I hadn’t grown even a little since before I left the Bang Clan.

That part pissed me off. If I was going to take after him, I should’ve taken his height too.

‘This bastard is tall too.’

It really was a cursed thing.

“...Seriously, why are you here?”

“Why am I here? I came to see my son, what else would it be?”

“Don’t make me laugh.”

Bullshit. Even for bullshit, that’s bullshit.

“If you came to see me, you should’ve gone somewhere else. Why did you come all the way to Henan?”

There was definitely a distance from Liaoning. He came all the way to Henan to see me?

Then the timing didn’t fit.

Especially—

‘If he came after hearing I’d be attending the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering, even more.’

Then the timing fit even less. Which meant “I came to see you” was a blatant lie.

When I pointed that out—

“Well, now...”

My father smacked his lips lightly and said,

“You’re still smart. See? I told you—you’re the Bang Clan’s future. Hahahaha.”

“Please stop saying weird shit...”

When I spoke while holding back irritation, my father patted my back a few times and continued.

“I was already on my way to Henan for something. But then I heard a rumor.”

“A rumor?”

“That you’re attending the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering. Ah, as your father, how could I endure that?”

“....”

“My son is attending the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering! How could I hold myself back? Of course I had to come. So I worked hard to track you down. Well? Feel good?”

Must be nice.

‘Ah... for fuck’s sake.’

So he happened to be traveling here anyway, then heard rumors on the way and came?

“Father-in-law, look at this. My son is this smart. I raised your grandson beautifully, didn’t I?”

Oh. My god.

Before I could even string my thoughts together, the nonsense my father spat out made my head go dizzy.

The title he used for Jegal Jin, and the words that followed—everything.

“...Father-in-law?”

Just like I expected, Jegal Jin’s eyebrow shot up sharply.

“When did I ever permit you to use that disgusting title?”

“Ah, so it’s not that. Understood... then... Father...?”

“You rotten bastard...”

“Strategist, please calm down...!”

I cut in urgently before more nonsense could spill out, but—

My father didn’t stop.

“Come on, why are you like this? If my son earns Father’s approval, then we’re family anyway. That isn’t exactly wrong—”

“HA!!”

KWAANG—!!

At my father’s words, Jegal Jin slammed his dry, small fist down on the desk.

“After I bothered to look at that damned face, wondering what kind of garbage you’d spew—this is what you say?”

“Garbage? I think this is good news for you too. Our second is truly a genius. He’ll clearly be useful even if he goes to the Jegal Clan—”

“Get out.”

Jegal Jin roared.

“I wanted to see whether you could spew garbage in front of your own son too, and you really are the same.”

“Ehem.”

“...You should be grateful I didn’t cut your throat, and you’re saying what?”

‘Shit.’

I’m fucked.

“I don’t need to hear any more. Get out.”

“...Ah, well, that’s unfortunate...”

My father smacked his lips at Jegal Jin’s voice and stood.

“Is it because you’re getting old? You’ve gotten angrier since I last saw you. I’ll bring you some herbal medicine tomorrow—”

“Do I need to kill ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ you for that worthless tongue to stop?”

“I’m leaving. Son, let’s go.”

“......”

Why the hell is he still alive?

There’s only one thought in my head as I look at my father.

I’m impressed by Jegal Jin’s patience—while also carefully standing to follow him—

“Oh, but still.”

Bang Cheonho smiled and said to Jegal Jin, 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

“I trust you won’t forget what I told you.”

“......”

“I’ll be going. I’ll come greet you properly again later.”

“...If you come again, I really will kill you.”

At Jegal Jin’s thorny words, my father flinched and hurried out of the room.

“...I’ll take my leave.”

I bowed the moment I arrived, and had to walk back out again.

*****

I came to Jegal Jin’s quarters and came right back out.

If you measure it by time, it wasn’t even long enough to drink a sip of tea.

And my mind was a mess.

Seeing my father at this hour was one thing.

This whole situation was another.

“...What the hell was that?”

When I asked with exactly how I felt—

Bang Cheonho, walking ahead, looked back at me.

“Hm? What’s what?”

“What the hell did you just do?”

“What did I do? I came out after having a pleasant chat with Father-in-law.”

“......”

Pleasant? Where?

As I stared, mouth open, Bang Cheonho laughed.

“Well? Your grandpa is pretty healthy for his age, isn’t he?”

That made my face twist. Right. I had to ask that too.

“...Why didn’t you tell me my maternal grandfather is Strategist Jegal?”

I found out late, and I almost lost my mind when I did.

When I pressed him about it, my father tilted his head and said,

“You didn’t ask. If you were curious, you should’ve asked.”

“What the hell am I supposed to do with this insane bastard?”

It was an answer that made you want to die.

“...No—ah. Hah.”

I started to say something and stopped, letting out a sigh instead. Maybe it was because it’d been a while since I’d seen him, but I remembered something I’d forgotten.

You can’t have a long conversation with my father.

It makes me explode.

“...Why are you really in Henan?”

“I told you. I’ve got something going on.”

“So what. What does my father have going on in Henan?”

When I asked again, my father frowned.

“Hey, I said I’ve got something going on. Why are you prying? If you’re curious, become the heir apparent—”

“I won’t ask.”

“...Fast bastard.”

Clicking his tongue like it was a shame, my father kept walking.

“I really did come because of something. I’m a Clan Head too, son. I can have business.”

“A man who thinks about women’s names all day has business? Isn’t it just another woman problem?”

“...Ahem.”

So it is. This bastard came because of another woman.

‘For fuck’s sake.’

Maybe because I didn’t expect anything, it almost felt like a relief.

If it had been something else, I might’ve actually worried.

‘...Wait.’

Thinking that made me remember the letter I’d gotten from my older brother earlier.

That last line—be careful.

Was he talking about this?

‘Be careful because you might run into Father?’

Honestly, that was enough justification.

Not that it mattered now—it was already too late to “be careful.”

“...Anyway. That’s how it is.”

“How is that ‘anyway’—”

“Seeing your face is enough. The important thing is, let’s talk tomorrow when I see you again. Your father’s busy at night, you know. I’m going first, yeah?”

“What? No—”

Maybe he didn’t want to hear nagging, because my father suddenly threw out a few lines and took off running.

He’s just leaving?

“No—!”

Before I could grab him, he was already far away.

“God, I’m going to lose it. Hah.”

Just running into that damned man flipped my insides over.

It felt like only cursed, rotten shit happened after I came to Henan.

*****

As the moon was moving toward the center of the sky.

On a night so clear it felt unusually bright, an old man sat slumped against a tree under the forest.

A dry, small old man missing one arm.

So still he didn’t even seem to breathe—if you glanced wrong, you’d think he was dead.

A frail old man no one would ever guess to be strong.

And yet—

Ssssk.

When the old man opened his eyes, he gave off a presence completely different from before.

A man who had reached the end as a sword.

Sword Emperor Ui Yangyeon.

That was the old man’s identity.

An old man wrapped in murderous aura.

The Sword Emperor sat there, unmoving, staring somewhere as he breathed out a cold breath.

From that direction, someone was walking slowly toward him.

“Ah, dear. I’m not late, am I?”

A handsome man with an especially bright, cheerful smile.

The Sword Emperor didn’t say a word as he looked at him.

He just stared at the man’s face, sending a sharpened gaze.

As if that kind of stare wasn’t frightening at all, the man approached and looked down at the Sword Emperor.

Their eyes met.

And with the moonlight shifting, the man’s handsome face came into view.

“It’s been a long time, Sword Emperor.”

That man was Bang Cheonho.