Namgoong Family – 5

Namgung Soyu and Inho, having concluded their meeting with the family head, exited the palatial Namgung estate.

Actually, saying they “exited” wasn’t quite accurate, as the entire stretch of wall outside the gate still belonged to the Namgung family.

Namgung Soyu walked along the path with the same expression she had when she arrived, and Inho silently followed behind her.

As they walked along the well-maintained path, Inho’s Master remained silent.

No, rather, her face seemed to be growing more rigid with each step, as if she had a stomachache.

“Master. Are you alright?”

Inho asked worriedly, as her condition didn’t seem normal.

“…What do you mean?”

Soyou feigned an indifferent expression, but only succeeded in looking awkward.

Inho hesitated to press further, wondering if it was meddling, and kept his silence.

They continued walking and arrived at what he assumed was their destination: a house.

“……”

Namgung Soyu, standing before the gate, swallowed hard.

She reached out and knocked on the gate.

-Knock, knock

Soon after, the gate opened from the inside.

A servant peeked out.

“Who is…”

The man’s face hardened as he took in the visitor’s face.

He widened his eyes as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have, and cleared his throat a couple of times.

“Lee Hang, it’s me.”

Namgung Soyu said, suppressing the surge of joy that threatened to burst forth.

“……”

Despite it being the return of the master’s daughter after a long absence, the servant’s face didn’t change.

No, he greeted her with a face full of fear, as if he was being threatened.

“Aren’t you a disciple of Yomryun Skill… What brings you here…”

At the distant title, the corners of Namgung Soyu’s lips, which had been curved in a faint smile, drooped downwards.

Had she held onto a sliver of hope? Betrayal and disappointment slowly filled her face.

“H-How can you call me that? It’s me, Namgung Soyu. I grew up in this house…”

Namgung Soyu’s voice was filled with trembling.

“I don’t know anything about that.”

The servant muttered, avoiding her eyes.

Inho’s face contorted into a scowl at the deliberate action.

“What’s all the commotion?”

A young man’s voice came from inside the gate, and the servant flinched before speaking towards the other side of the gate.

“A disciple of Yomryun Skill has arrived.”

“Yomryun Skill? Ah…”

As the young man’s voice indicated understanding, Namgung Soyu raised her voice.

“Brother. It’s Soyou. Please open the gate.”

Namgung Soyu said clearly, suppressing the tears that threatened to spill over.

“Brother? I don’t have a sister.”

Soyou bit her lower lip at the unchanged tone of voice, as if addressing a stranger.

“Even if I left the family, it’s not right to turn me away like this.”

Tears that she could no longer hold back soaked into her voice.

“…Even if you are a disciple of Yomryun Skill, it doesn’t seem right to visit without prior notice. If you wish to visit, send someone formally. Lee Hang, you come in too.”

“Yes, yes. Young Master.”

The servant glanced at them before quickly closing the gate and going inside.

Feeling the presence beyond the gate disappear, Soyou collapsed onto the ground.

Her shoulders trembled slightly.

“Hngh… Heuh… It hurts here.”

Tears streamed from Namgung Soyu’s eyes as she pounded her chest with her fist.

“……”

Countless words swirled in Inho’s mind, but he couldn’t string them together into sentences.

He felt that no words of comfort would be of any use in the face of Namgung Soyu’s sorrowful sobbing.

“The daughter of this family… the daughter has come home!”

She muttered, staring at the gate with vacant eyes.

“Shouldn’t they at least… shouldn’t they at least see my face once?”

She continued to speak, as if resenting and questioning.

“Is breaking off the engagement… such a deadly sin?”

“…Was it so hateful that I wanted to show you how much I’ve grown, as if to prove a point?”

Soyou cried out, striking her chest.

“Does becoming a disciple of a Successor Martial arts mean I’m no longer a member of this family, that’s why you’re doing this?”

Soyou smiled bitterly, yet her eyes wept.

She melted the sorrow that had formed in her heart and poured it into her voice.

“Cheong-yeon of Bingryungong and Kim Hak of Noeryungong are also disciples of Successor Martial arts! Yet they come and go from their families and communicate with their families.”

“But why only me… why only I have to suffer such humiliation?”

“What am I… what am I to this family, anyway?”

As if she no longer had the strength to shout, her voice gradually faded.

She sat on the ground, hugging her knees, and didn’t stop crying.

She only stopped crying when Inho placed his hand on her shoulder.

She had been so caught up in the sorrow of being turned away that she had forgotten about Inho’s presence.

“Master, let’s get up now.”

“……..”

“Master. The ground is cold. The sun is setting too. We were originally planning to stay here, weren’t we? Since we can’t go in, we’ll have to find another place to stay.”

“…I made a scene. I’m sorry.”

Soyou apologized, uncharacteristically.

“Are you done crying?”

Inho smiled and brought his face closer, as if his Master was returning to her original self.

Soyou blushed and turned her head away as Inho’s face came close enough for their breaths to mingle.

“Alright. Let’s get up.”

Inho grabbed Soyou under her armpits and lifted her up as if lifting a child.

“L-Let go.”

Soyou protested in a voice as small as a mosquito’s, but Inho paid no attention.

“Come on. We have a long way to go. There might not be any rooms left.”

Soyou stared blankly at Inho’s retreating figure as he strode ahead.

“?”

Inho, who had been walking three or four steps ahead, suddenly bent down and picked up a large rock from the ground.

“Why a rock all of a sudden?”

Before Soyou could finish speaking, the rock flew past her with a whoosh.

The rock flew with terrifying speed and struck the gate directly, piercing it with a tremendous sound.

The sound of people gathering could be heard from the gate with a large hole in it.

“Let’s run!”

Inho, who had run back, grabbed Soyou’s hand and ran for his life.

“Are you crazy? How could you throw a rock at the Namgung family’s house, even if they are distant relatives?”

“Do you have any proof that I threw it? You don’t, do you? We just need to escape from the scene.”

“Crazy bastard… crazy bastard…”

Soyou muttered, running alongside Inho.

“We’re never going to go to a place like that again anyway.”

Inho said calmly, running forward.

“What?”

“There’s no need to be recognized by people like that.”

“The people who recognize and support Master’s efforts are not far away.”

“Are you talking about my Master?”

Namgung Soyu recalled the face of her Master, covering her mouth with a fan and laughing.

“And Grand Master too.”

Inho, who had been running forward, made eye contact with Namgung Soyu and smiled.

“I’m here too. Someone who’s always watching over Master.”

-Thump, thump

Soyou thought that her heart had been beating irregularly lately.

“So… you’re saying that we should start preparing for the promotion?”

Zhuge Min, who had come to Anhui with Yeomjin and his party, said.

After sending Soyou and Inho ahead, Yeomjin and her carriage headed to the Martial Arts Alliance.

Upon arriving at the Martial Arts Alliance, they entered a detached building in a remote location.

It was because they had something to discuss in secret.

“That’s right. I believe the Zhuge family will be able to prepare everything without any shortcomings.”

“Of course. The previous Yomryun Skill… and the Yomryun Skill before that, and the Yomryun Skill before that, always sought out the Zhuge family for promotion.”

“…Yes, thanks to that, I was able to grow a lot.”

“Huhu, it’s best to bury the past in your heart. As a result, you achieved great success in Martial arts, so it wasn’t a bad outcome, was it?”

“I agree.”

Yeomjin opened his fan with a rustle and covered his mouth.

“Then, until when should we prepare? What about the timing?”

“Soyou hasn’t completed the given task yet. Once she completes that, there’s nothing more I can teach her.”

“Indeed… her progress is fast.”

“She works hard. To the point where it’s pitiful to watch.”

“You’ll be promoting her within a year… so please prepare slowly. However, it must be certain.”

“Is there any doubt? However, in matters like this, there must be something in return. There is something I would like to ask from your side as well.”

“What is it?”

“I know you have close ties with the Sichuan Tang Clan.”

“And?”

“Recently, the Zhuge family has been creating a poison master comparable to the Tang Clan’s poison master.”

“I see… so, you want me to give you information about that poison master.”

“That’s right.”

“I understand. …This is just my personal curiosity, but was there anyone who sponsored the poison master?”

“The Zhuge family is targeting children with high aptitude. All of them are distant relatives.”

“They may be distant relatives… but aren’t they still the same Zhuge?”

“For the glory of the family, some sacrifices must be made.”

“Have there been any successes among the poison masters you’ve created so far?”

“Since there are no secret methods, we’re using somewhat primitive methods, so there haven’t been many successful cases.”

“But there have been some, haven’t there? Impressive.”

With that dry exclamation, their conversation came to an end.