Martial Arts Masochist

“Hey, you crazy bastard!”

Gu Yeong Uncle, spinning round and round, glared at me with irritation as I opened my eyes.

I was lying in the inner courtyard of the Chengdu Beggars' Sect, taking a rest.

“Why’d you go that far, why! If I’d known it’d come to this, I would’ve stopped you!”

“Uncle, I think I’m gonna puke.”

“Tch, Childuk! Quick, get a basin and a cup of water!”

No matter how much he snapped at me, the moment I let out a weak whimper, his momentum died and all he could do was worry.

Even in my dizziness, the sight made me chuckle.

Wham! “Ow! Urk!!”

Gwak Du Uncle smacked my forehead as I laughed, and my churning stomach flipped over. I hurled a basinful into the one Ma Childuk Uncle barely managed to toss my way.

Ma Childuk Uncle, uncharacteristically, rebelled against Gwak Du Uncle.

“Hyung! Can’t you see he’s half-dead? Beat him later!”

But Gwak Du Uncle didn’t back down.

“He’s gonna croak either way, so what’s so weird about me finishing him off with my own hands!”

“Uncle?”

“You mutt, who the hell are you to grab the Poison King’s messenger with your bare hands! Even if you didn’t know about Jegal Yong, you heard it yourself—you could die!”

Dizzy. My ears were ringing too.

I felt like I was dying.

I gave up on soothing the uncle and shot back.

“...I didn’t die, did I? That’s what matters.”

“You...!”

“With the Poison King right there, you think he’d let me die? Huh? Urk! Cough! The guy who played that game with his prospective son-in-law—would he kill him? Of course there was an antidote!”

“Whether you croak or not, what I wanna know is why the hell you did it!! Were you that desperate to beat Jegal Yong? Or did you just wanna ruin Dang Sojeo’s wedding that bad!! Risking your life for something so trivial!!”

Thud! The uncle slammed his fist into the ground and bellowed.

“Get your head straight!! You and Dang Sojeo can never be together!!”

“...”

What the hell...

“...Uncle. Your stomach’s bad too—stop spouting nonsense. Urp...! When did I ever risk my life? I knew I’d survive. And when did I ever say I wanted to be with Dang Sojeo?”

“You think I’m a fool—”

“No, I said no! Urk...! Th-there’s just some things I can’t explain! That’s it!”

Gwak Du Uncle let out a long sigh through his nose and grumbled.

“What the hell did you eat to make you this reckless...!! Aren’t you scared of anything, you punk! Watching you is shredding what’s left of my heart!”

...Back in the day, I would’ve been terrified of that messenger too, but my tolerance has shot way up now.

Why fear poison when the antidote’s right there?

Why fear something with a zero percent chance of killing me?

Cheongwol scares me more.

Touching the messenger won’t kill you, but touch Cheongwol wrong and you’re dead.

Dead, for real.

And I’m the guy who survived that.

Snap! Amid the dizziness, I grabbed Gwak Du Uncle’s wrist.

Wait, no—it was Ma Childuk Uncle.

“Anyway. The reason I ended up like this? It’s a secret from Cheongwol Sojeo.”

Something told me it wasn’t a good idea.

Cheongwol flips out just hearing Dang Soran’s name.

I’d calmed her down by promising to punish Dang Soran later... but no need to poke the bear.

“That might be tough, Seojin.”

Gu Yeong Uncle replied.

“Ah, come on! When I beg like this, urp...! Cough! Just go along—”

“—Not that...”

The uncle pointed at something, lowering himself to my eye level.

Far across the beggars’ courtyard, a lone figure stood.

I tried to focus, but my vision kept blurring.

But instinctively, I knew.

...It was Cheongwol.

****

“Clan Leader!!”

The moment she crossed the threshold into the clan leader’s quarters, Dang Soran unleashed the words she’d been holding back.

“How could you bring out the Black Ultimate War scorpion there!! What if Young Master Seojin had died!!”

“Explain the energy that settled into his dantian first.”

“Father!!”

Dang Jeokcheon regarded his daughter with an even calmer gaze than usual.

Under that seemingly indifferent yet profound stare, Dang Soran realized her outburst had gone too far.

She often forgot.

To her, her siblings, and the family, he was endlessly kind—but to outsiders, he was a blade as cold as ice.

The moment he deemed someone an enemy, Dang Jeokcheon showed no mercy whatsoever.

Anyone who handled poison needed the resolve to ignore even the dying gasps of those writhing in agony from it.

“...I lent him some of my energy to pay a debt.”

In the end, Dang Soran swallowed her anger and spoke.

“A debt? What debt? Answer properly, Soran.”

It wasn’t just Dang Soran holding back her temper.

Perhaps that was exactly why he’d brought out the Black Ultimate War scorpion.

“You’ve now passed the Tang Clan of Sichuan’s internal arts to an outsider. Don’t think you can brush it off as just the Secret Blood Heart Method. I’m rebuking the act itself. Depending on the situation... I may have to punish you.”

No matter how much her father tried to intimidate her, the image of Han Seojin foaming at the mouth and collapsing fueled her rage.

That scorpion prodding his hand. Han Seojin standing unfazed.

Then his face turning blue, collapsing...

She’d injected the antidote right away, so no real harm done—but seeing him suffer made her chest burn.

And the one who’d done it was her beloved father.

“Are you curious what debt I owed?”

In the end, Dang Soran laid it bare.

“My heart demon.”

Dang Jeokcheon’s resolute eyes wavered instantly.

The corners drooped, his lips parted slightly.

As if he were facing his own nightmare again.

“...Who do you think is resolving it for me?”

Dang Jeokcheon couldn’t answer.

“You don’t think I’m overcoming it alone, do you? If that were possible, I wouldn’t have holed up in my room for over a year.”

“...”

Dang Jeokcheon failed to compose his expression for a long while, then covered his face.

“We’ll discuss that later... This isn’t a conversation for emotions like these.”

“Father!”

“No need to make such a fuss!”

Dang Jeokcheon barked.

“I gave that Leather Room owner the Detoxification Immortal Root long ago. As a gesture for you two to tie the knot amicably. Didn’t you once come crying to me that he was bullying you and beg me to scold him?”

Only then did Dang Soran understand her father’s excessive actions.

Why he’d chosen the Black Ultimate War scorpion of all things—and the extra pain Han Seojin had to endure because of it.