Chapter 31: The Disciple of the Namcheon Sword Guest (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 31: The Disciple of the Namcheon Sword Guest (2)
Twelve years ago.
The memory of that day remains vivid.
A maidservant, her hands trembling, handing me a bowl of medicinal decoction.
At only eight years old, I couldn't consume spirit medicine in its raw form. Even if it meant losing some of its potency, the medicine had to be brewed like a herbal decoction for me to ingest it.
After taking it, I entered a state of energy circulation and breath control, only to fall into a state of Qi Deviation.
My mother pleaded with the Family Head to find the culprit, but the investigation fizzled out into nothing.
It was because that maidservant had vanished without a trace.
"Twelve years ago, the day I suffered Qi Deviation. Your maid brought me that spirit medicine."
"W-what are you talking about?"
Lady Yang’s face turned pale with bewilderment.
Playing innocent, are we?
Who didn't know that the maid was from the Peony Hall?
Everyone simply let it slide because they could guess who the real culprit was. Even your precious husband, the Family Head, did the same.
"Did you think I would forget?"
At the coldness in my voice, she stammered out an excuse in a panic.
"I think you've misunderstood something. That matter was..."
"A maid from the Peony Hall acted on her own to tamper with the spirit medicine intended for the third son of the Yikyang So family? Don't give me that bullshit."
"D-don't come any closer!"
She scrambled backward.
My unleashed anger must have exerted a heavy pressure on her. Not that I cared.
"So, you are capable of feeling fear?"
"I-it’s a misunderstanding. It wasn't me."
"Truly loathsome."
The way she tried to make excuses until the very end was disgusting. After all the terrible things she had done to me, she now tried to act like a self-sacrificing mother doing it all for her son.
I took a step toward Lady Yang.
"Stay back!"
She thrust her palm out as if to block me, screaming for me not to approach.
If you had truly reflected on that day, you would have apologized to me. In the end, this is all you are.
"You told me not to covet your son's position? How laughable."
If I were still weak or had no connection to the Namcheon Sword Guest, she wouldn't be acting like this. She would have beaten me and thrown me out, just like she did before my regression.
Backing away, she bit her lip hard and spoke.
"Do you really think you can take the spot as the family's representative for the Successor's Martial Discussion after threatening me like this?"
Finally showing your true colors, I see.
Yes, pretending to be afraid doesn't suit you at all. I replied in a frigid tone.
"Do as you please. Tell the Family Head or whoever you want."
"What?"
"In exchange, I will bring this matter to light properly."
"Bring it to light?"
"Everyone will see the face hidden behind the mask of the Yikyang So family's mistress. I wonder what our fellow martial artists will say when they learn you laid hands on your eight-year-old stepson because you were afraid of him."
Her expression froze at my words.
Did you think I would let my anger get the better of me and strike you here? I'm sorry, but I'm not that short-sighted.
"I've warned you. If you've understood, don't ever seek me out for such useless matters again."
With that final word, I turned to leave the inner chamber.
Panicked, she reached out to grab my sleeve.
"W-wait!"
Slap!
I coldly brushed her hand away.
It was at that moment.
Sss!
I glanced upward.
A fine powder drifted down from the ceiling.
'Their composure broke.'
I had sent the maids out, but there was still a presence hidden within the room. Likely her personal bodyguard.
The person who had been hiding their presence so well that most wouldn't have noticed had just slipped.
I spoke loudly enough for the person above to hear.
"I have no intention of harming your master, so don't interfere."
Lady Yang looked shocked. She must have thought I hadn't noticed.
Now that I was done, it was time to go.
Thud!
The floor vibrated as someone dropped from the ceiling.
It was a slender figure wearing a mask. Judging by the curve of the chest, it was clearly a woman.
"Guard Jo."
Lady Yang seemed even more flustered by her appearance. Had she not called for her intentionally?
The masked woman, addressed as Guard Jo, pulled off her mask. Then, she gave a fist-and-palm salute.
"Guard Jo, protector of Lady Yang, greets the successor of the Namcheon Sword Guest."
She was older than I expected. She looked to be in her forties or fifties, and her expression suggested she had much to say.
Of course, I had nothing to say to her.
I ignored her and reached for the door, but Guard Jo spoke urgently.
"It was I who sent the maid to you that day, Young Master."
"!?"
My hand stopped at the door handle. I slowly turned my head back.
"What did you just say?"
"The Mistress only found out about it later."
"...She found out later?"
I looked at Lady Yang. Her expression was incredibly complex.
Thud!
Guard Jo dropped to her knees. She bowed her head to the floor and spoke.
"I acted on my own. I could not stand by and watch as a child not born of the legal wife became a threat to the other young masters."
"Ha!"
I was momentarily speechless. So, she was claiming that she, not Lady Yang, was responsible for the incident.
A doubt flickered in my mind. Even if I wasn't the son of the legal wife, I still carried the Family Head's blood. Someone from the Yikyang So family wouldn't have dared to lay a hand on me.
"You're from the Jogok Yang family, aren't you?"
"......"
Guard Jo didn't answer. Her silence was a confirmation.
The Jogok Yang family, a prestigious martial family in Jogok, was Lady Yang's maiden family. That meant Guard Jo was a secret guard she had brought with her from her home.
"Then am I to assume the Jogok Yang family was behind it?"
At my question, she replied in a startled voice.
"No! As I said, I acted entirely on my own."
Is this woman trying to take the fall by herself?
It was hard to judge with so little information. However, she had revealed everything herself, presumably to protect Lady Yang.
"I have served the Mistress since she was in her maiden home. We have lived like sisters, and I could not bear to see her so anxious because of you, Young Master. That is why I committed such an unpardonable act."
"And that's why you did it?"
"I wanted you to know that the Mistress had nothing to do with it. I am deeply sorry. If you wish to punish me, I will accept it gladly."
Thud!
She slammed her forehead against the floor.
Revealing the past and sacrificing herself to remove Lady Yang's weakness... What extreme loyalty.
Then, Lady Yang stepped in front of Guard Jo and spoke to me.
"No! It was I who ordered it! Guard Jo is lying out of loyalty, so there is no need to listen to her!"
"Mistress!"
Surprisingly, Lady Yang was now claiming she did it. Looking at her now, it seemed she was trying to protect the woman called Guard Jo.
—Impressive. Truly impressive.
The Lesser Conversation Sword clicked its tongue. I felt the same way.
This was the same demonic woman who had been so cruel to me. Yet, for her own people, she was willing to sacrifice herself regardless of status.
"Whew."
A sigh escaped me involuntarily.
Seeing this, it seemed that human evil doesn't stem from nature, but from malice toward others. She knew how to cherish her own, and her people were prepared to die for her. I could see what kind of person she usually was.
Lady Yang spoke to me, her eyes even welling with tears.
"I am the one who did everything, so leave Guard Jo and my children alone. If you must resent someone, resent me!"
"No! I did this on my own! The Mistress is lying to protect me. I will take responsibility!"
"No! I told you it was me!"
Watching them, I shook my head.
Two middle-aged women making such sorrowful faces... It made me feel like I was the villain here.
I spoke to them, my face softening into a much gentler expression.
"If I were to lay a hand on you two here, I would be the one disgraced."
At my words, both women's eyes widened. Sensing a peaceful resolution, Lady Yang and Guard Jo looked at me with eyes filled with gratitude.
I gave them a bright smile and said, "Did you really think I'd say that?"
"!?"
Thud!
"Gah!"
The moment I finished speaking, I shoved Lady Yang aside with force. Then, I kicked the kneeling Guard Jo square in the chin.
Crack!
"Agh!"
Struck by a kick infused with internal power, she tumbled backward. A panicked Guard Jo tried to push herself up, but I quickly struck her pressure points.
Lady Yang screamed in shock.
"W-what are you doing?!"
"The friendship between a mistress and her guard is truly touching. But I don't know why you're blathering about it so proudly in front of the victim."
"You!"
"The bottom line is that you knew about it too, didn't you?"
My pointed remark left her speechless, like a mute who had eaten honey.
What a joke. Regardless of who took the lead, the fact that you knew and turned a blind eye is malicious in itself. And yet you have the gall to wrap it up in the guise of 'beautiful friendship'?
I spoke to the guard, who could neither move nor speak due to her sealed pressure points.
"Fine. I'll believe your story. Then you must pay the price."
I placed my hand on Guard Jo's abdomen. Her eyes went wide. Lady Yang tried to stop me, but it was too late.
Boom!
"Mmmph! Mmmph!"
Veins popped in Guard Jo's eyes as she writhed in agony.
I had just destroyed her Dantian.
Since she claimed with her own mouth that she was the one who ruined me back then, it was only right that she paid the price.
"You lowly wretch!"
Lady Yang, unable to contain her rage, finally showed her true colors.
"It's a good thing you know how to cherish your people."
Since two eccentrics from the Hengshan Sect were guests at the Yikyang So family, I wanted to keep things as smooth as possible. But you were the one who provoked me.
I reached into my robe and pulled something out.
Two small pills.
I forced one of them into the mouth of the agonizing Guard Jo. I pinched her nose and waited until she reflexively swallowed it.
"You! What did you do?!"
I tossed the other pill to Lady Yang. She caught it instinctively.
I grabbed Guard Jo by the collar and said, "Eat it."
"What? W-what is this?"
"A poison pill."
"!!!"
She froze in panic at my words.
From the beginning, there wasn't just one way to secure the position of the family's representative. Naturally, if there was a best-case scenario, there were also second-best, third-best, and worst-case scenarios prepared.
"Y-you've truly gone mad. Are you telling me to eat this poison pill right now?"
"You'd better."
"What?"
"Otherwise, I'm taking this woman to the Family Head right now to tell him I've found the culprit. It's perfect, actually. We have so many guests at the main house right now."
Her face turned deathly pale. She knew better than anyone what would happen if I did that.
Clutching the poison pill, she hesitated, then bit her lip and spoke.
"Do you not realize what will happen to the family if you do that? You, who claim to want the representative's spot—are you planning to drag the entire family into the abyss?"
I gave her a wide, beaming smile.
"That would make me very happy."
"!?"
At my words, she shuddered as if a cold chill had run down her spine.
I was truly grateful to her right now. Grateful that she had given me the perfect excuse to use the worst-case scenario I had prepared just for her.