Chapter 122: This Isn’t Right…? (2)

[Heh heh….]

[Heh heh heh heh…!]

The laughter echoing in my ears made my head throb. What could possibly be so funny? Them laughing all day long was quite the eyesore.

“Could you please be quiet?”

[Hoo hoo, serves you right…. This is one of the top five most refreshing moments of my entire life.]

“You’ve lived that long, and this is only top five…?”

[Hee hee hee!]

Unable to stand Shin Noy’s antics any longer, I left the training grounds. A cool breeze blew, but I barely felt it due to the heat radiating from my body.

A day had passed since the martial duel with Namgung Jin last night. Perhaps because I caused such a huge incident, the clan was completely turned upside down.

It wasn’t just that I had a duel with the Namgung family’s clan head, but the fact that Clan Head Namgung admitted defeat was the real issue.

“You don’t look the type, so why suddenly….”

If I had just received the reward for the bet and pretended I lost, wouldn’t that have been better for both of us? He could have protected his position as clan head. This puts me in a difficult position as well.

The only fortunate thing was that I didn’t mention using a sword.

The justification for the duel was on my side, and even if my methods were excessive, Namgung Jin also admitted his fault, so it wouldn’t escalate into a clan dispute.

However, besides that, there was still a major problem.

‘This is all Noy’s fault….’

[Look at this guy…? I helped you out yesterday, and you’re blaming me.]

‘If you were going to help, you should have seen it through…!’

A disciple, my foot.

A disciple to the Clan Head of the prestigious Namgung Clan? What kind of insane talk is this?

I had said something insane to that arrogant, prideful man… My head was throbbing.

Seeing the man leaning against the tree with his eyes closed seemed to make it worse.

The man speaks to me.

“You’ve come out.”

“…How long have you been waiting?”

“Not long.”

Namgung Jin, the Sky-Piercing Sword King, was leaning against the tree, waiting for me. For reference, this was the first time I’d seen him since being dragged away half-bound yesterday.

“Are you alright?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Your body.”

“I’m fine. No injuries.”

Although it was a duel using real swords, neither Namgung Jin nor I suffered any physical harm. Shin Noy hadn’t swung his sword with the intent to kill, and Namgung Jin’s sword hadn’t even touched me.

Namgung Jin was looking at me quietly. I didn’t know what kind of gaze it was, but his handsome face, so similar to Namgung Cheonjun’s, was incredibly burdensome.

“I’ve made sure nothing harmful happens to you, Gongja.”

“…”

“Why the long face?”

It was because the change in address felt extremely awkward. Not just the title, but his tone too. Gongja… Just yesterday, he was calling me a blood clot, ‘you bastard’, ‘kid’, and all that.

“If you don’t like the title, shall I call you ‘Master’?”

“No.”

[Hee hee hee…!]

Namgung Jin continued speaking at my firm refusal.

“I don’t think you meant that sincerely.”

“Of course not. It wasn’t sincere.”

[Why do you ignore my sincerity? I was sincere.]

I ignored Shin Noy’s words. My mind was currently filled with thoughts on how to resolve the situation.

There was some excuse for trying to suppress him with the sword. I hadn’t even used the bet, my body was at its peak, and Gu Clan was a clan that used both martial arts and swordsmanship.

If I said, ‘I could do it because my talent is immense,’ would anyone have grounds to argue? Even if there were questions and dissatisfaction, there was no way to investigate it.

But using the Namgung family’s sword techniques? That was unsolvable. There was no way to explain it.

I wasn’t the Namgung family’s secret love child, nor a hidden disciple, nor anything like that.

‘Seriously, what do you expect me to do after causing such a scene…?’

[Didn’t you dump this task on me too?]

‘Ugh….’

I looked at Namgung Jin. The anger from yesterday was gone, replaced by a much calmer gaze.

Namgung Jin, standing still, spoke to me.

“I haven’t made this matter public yet.”

A chilling statement.

“This isn’t a threat; I’m not in a position to do such things. I’ll accept the bet too. Since my daughter is already arranged to be engaged to you, Gongja.”

He showed no particular reaction. Did he not care about Namgung Bi-ah? The way he casually brought up Namgung Bi-ah’s opinion without even asking her seemed wrong.

Although things turned out the way I wanted, a sense of unease remained.

“As I said yesterday, if you have any wishes, I will grant them. If you tell me to kneel, I will. If you want me to see you as a master, I will.”

To say such frightening and burdensome things so casually.

“…What is this, that you’re willing to do all this for?”

“What is this? That’s a ridiculous question. Are you using it without knowing what it is, Gongja?”

I know. The value of the sword techniques Shin Noy showed me last night. Moreover, Namgung Jin would have investigated it even more thoroughly. I wondered if it was something worth acting this subserviently for.

“To me, right now, it’s more necessary than anything.”

Namgung Jin might have seen it as a fragment of enlightenment, or perhaps he was simply captivated by the path of the sword. Highly valuable martial arts are like poison to a warrior. If you get addicted carelessly, you can’t escape. The problem is, I have no way to give this to him. I showed it, but have no way to teach it? What kind of shitty situation is this? If I say, ‘Actually, I don’t really know…’ now…

‘There’s no way he’d believe that.’

[Yeah, he wouldn’t believe you.]

‘…’

I stopped thinking at Shin Noy’s voice, tinged with laughter. Then, a sudden question arose, and I asked Namgung Jin.

“Aren’t you curious about how I can use the Namgung family’s sword techniques?”

This was an important question. From Namgung Jin’s perspective, he wasn’t asking the question he should be asking right now. Isn’t it strange? Even if he was blinded by swordsmanship, not asking the most crucial question.

At my question, Namgung Jin made a strange expression instead.

“Is there really a need to ask?”

“What…?”

“Gongja, you must be one of them. Isn’t that why there’s no need to ask?”

Them?

‘…Who is he talking about?’

What came out of Namgung Jin’s mouth was unexpected. It wasn’t that I hadn’t thought about it; I had already made a guess close to certainty. Perhaps he was talking about the Black Night Palace, but that couldn’t be it. That wasn’t a name that should have come up in this situation. Then who were these ‘them’ Namgung Jin was talking about? Who were they that Namgung Jin could overlook it so casually?

As I remained silent, Namgung Jin’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Gongja…?”

“That’s right. I didn’t know you, Clan Head Namgung, already knew.”

As Namgung Jin started to suspect something, I put on a brazen face and answered. Because if I denied it, I wouldn’t have a proper answer.

[How can someone be so shameless….]

‘This is all because of the crap Noy stirred up, so don’t say anything.’

[Is it really okay to do that?]

‘It’s not okay. It’s all Noy’s fault.’

[You don’t think about what you ate and pooped, and you’re blaming me again. What a rotten bastard.]

If things went wrong, I might end up taking the Namgung Clan Head as a disciple, so I had to do something. I didn’t know who ‘they’ were, but they were beings that could make Namgung Jin understand right now. It wouldn’t be strange for me, a blood relative of Gu Clan, to belong somewhere and possess the Namgung family’s sword techniques.

‘…What is it?’

Thinking like that, no organization came to mind. It was already overwhelming just dealing with the Black Night Palace, and now I had to think of something else. Were there even people who met such absurd conditions in the first place?

‘Not that I recall.’

If that was the case, it could be an unknown group, or perhaps Namgung Jin’s scheme. Too many possibilities were spinning in my head. As I repeated these complex thoughts, Namgung Jin continued speaking to me.

“Since you revealed your identity to try and teach me, I believe you must have had something you wanted.”

“That’s… right?”

Of course, I had no wishes. Even if I did, I wouldn’t have asked Namgung Jin for it.

[This has gotten interesting.]

‘…Is this funny to you right now?’

I felt like my brain was burning, not knowing where things went wrong, but Noy just laughed heartily, finding it amusing. What kind of backing did Namgung Jin imagine I had?

“While I’d love to discuss this right away, first, I need to talk about my subordinates.”

“What about them?”

“I heard yesterday that your attendant was attacked by my subordinate and is now bedridden.”

“…That’s right.”

The attendant’s name was Bi-hee. As expected, hearing the name didn’t ring any bells, so we weren’t particularly close. Still, I remembered the look she gave me at the end.

“And because of that, you beat my subordinates half to death, leaving them bedridden.”

“You don’t seem to be blaming me for that, so what are you trying to say?”

“Of course, I’m not blaming you. It’s just that it’s an important matter. No matter how influential the Namgung Clan is, they aren’t so brazen as to enter another clan’s territory and treat an attendant that way.”

Right, which is why it’s even more absurd and baffling. Gu Clan isn’t a clan that gets easily ignored, and besides, this is the place I came to for an engagement. To treat the attendant of a blood relative scheduled for engagement in such a manner? Unless they saw it as less than a neighborhood anthill, it couldn’t have happened.

As I concluded that, Namgung Jin spoke.

“No one did such a thing.”

“…What?”

“I mean, none of the Namgung people, including myself, committed such an act.”

I came to ask for martial arts instruction, but instead of apologizing, are they playing dumb? I felt like rage was boiling up inside me.

“Then, was the guy I encountered back then a ghost or something?”

I remembered the man I met at the entrance of the annex. I felt something strange about his reaction and actions towards the attendant, so I subdued him and pushed forward, which resulted in the attendant being bedridden there.

Namgung Jin asks me.

“That’s why I’m asking you, Gongja. Who was that person?”

“What on earth are you talking about…”

“The martial artist Gongja met wasn’t one of ours. The one who did that to the attendant, and the one who secretly left them in the outhouse. My subordinates knew nothing about it.”

At Namgung Jin’s words, I could only look at him with trembling eyes.

“Are you telling me to believe that absurd statement?”

“To be affiliated with Namgung, one must receive a restriction. If you wish, I can summon my subordinates to confirm. If you don’t trust me, I know the Gu family has plenty of means to prove it.”

Namgung Jin’s expression and demeanor didn’t seem like he was lying, but it wasn’t something I could easily believe. The man who blocked me at the entrance. I twisted his arm, broke his ribs, and then knocked him out with a blow to the jaw. Since I made direct contact, I had enough to feel his energy. His face. What did his face look like? …It’s blurry. No matter how fleeting the glance, it shouldn’t be this hard to remember.

“I’ve already reported this separately to the Gu family head, but I came to confirm it more thoroughly. I’ll have to send a separate written report about this matter as well.”

“…What do your subordinates say, Clan Head Namgung?”

“They say they don’t know, as if they collectively have memory problems.”

No matter how I heard it, the situation was strange, and I ended up swallowing dryly. If what Namgung Jin said was true, then the issue of Namgung Jin becoming my disciple or whatever wasn’t the main problem anymore.

“…First, we’ll have to wait for your attendant to wake up…”

Namgung Jin continued speaking, but I walked away without hearing the rest.

[Where are you going? It seems there’s more to discuss.]

‘I need to go see Father.’

The collective memory issues, the face I couldn’t recall clearly. Just hearing Namgung Jin’s words set off alarm bells in my head.

‘…It couldn’t be.’

The characteristics clearly reminded me of ‘that guy’, but that couldn’t be right. That guy was supposed to be locked up beneath Gu Clan at this very moment.

******************

Screech, crackle-.

The sound, like bones shattering, filled the room. The man was manipulating his strangely twisted arm, trying to return it to its original shape.

Screech-.

“That brat’s hands are strong, I never thought a little runt could do this to me. My chest is smashed too, you know?”

The man spoke towards the darkness. He thought no one was there, but a reply came from beyond.

“You could have easily escaped, but you did something unnecessary.”

“Escape? This old geezer speaks so easily. Thinking it’d be easier to get things done while sucking the marrow out of that Namgung bastard?”

“That was the contract, so you must fulfill it.”

“That’s absurd.”

Saying that, the man threw a book into the darkness.

“I wrote down what you wanted. This should be enough, right?”

“This is done, but what about the second task?”

“Why ask when you already know? I failed. A meddler showed up at the end.”

“The guy who did that to your body?”

“I couldn’t get hit without feeling pain, or I would have been discovered right there. That’s why I say it would have been easier to just kill him and bury him…”

“Stop with the foolish talk. It’s enough that you failed. It wasn’t a particularly important task anyway.”

If he had targeted someone of martial artist caliber instead of an attendant, it would have been easier to twist the situation. The man found it difficult to understand what that damned old man was saying.

The old man speaks to the man.

“That face should suffice for now. You no longer need to be at the Namgung residence. Return.”

“I kind of got attached, it’s a shame.”

Along with the man’s regretful words, his facial muscles twisted strangely.

Swoosh, creak.

He changed from a middle-aged man to an old man, then to a middle-aged woman, and finally into the form of a boy.

The one who was now a boy asked the old man.

“Can I rest for a while now?”

His tone was the same, but perhaps because his face had changed, his voice sounded completely different too.

“Next is Shaolin.”

“…Wow, seriously? You’re kidding me, you won’t even let me rest?”

“If you want to be released later, then do so.”

“Fuck… What do I need to do?”

The old man calmly answered the boy’s question, laced with curses.

“As always, the item to steal is the same. The deadline should be enough if it’s before winter ends, right?”

“They give the deadline like shit too. Do you know what I’ll do first when I’m released?”

“I’ve heard it more than a hundred times. You say you’ll kill me first.”

“You know well. I’ll be waiting.”

“I’ll be waiting for you to bring good results.”

There was no further reply to the old man’s words. The boy had already disappeared. Since this was something that always happened, the old man didn’t pay it any mind.

The old man’s gaze fell upon a letter in his hand. It contained interesting content. It was related to the failure this time. The sender of the letter was written as Gu Changjun.

The old man slowly read the letter and firmly stamped his seal near the end. It signified acceptance of the request.