Chapter 112
Chapter 112
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: The Palace Lord's Test
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Heuk-pyo's eyes widened, and the handmaiden bowed her head in fear.
"I-I must return quickly."
"No, wait! Hey! Miss Handmaiden!"
Despite Heuk-pyo's protests, the handmaiden hastily turned and left the Zaha Secret Cavern.
"Young Master."
Beads of sweat formed on Heuk-pyo's forehead as he looked at Bu Eun-seol.
"According to that handmaiden, it seems you're engaged to the Young Palace Lord of Shin-nyeo-gung."
"I heard."
Bu Eun-seol remained calm even in this unexpected situation.
"First, we need to find out the exact circumstances."
Outside the Zaha Secret Cavern, Bu Eun-seol questioned another passing Shin-nyeo-gung handmaiden about the details regarding the Bo-won-sin-ju.
"The Palace Lord said that the Young Palace Lord's husband must be outstanding in both wisdom and martial arts. That's why she created the Cheon-jang-i-sib-sa-jin."
"She gave the Bo-won-sin-ju to the Young Palace Lord and told her to choose a man she fancies from among the heroes who pass through the Cheon-jang-i-sib-sa-jin."
"Until two years ago, not only the young lords of the Seven Great Hidden Palaces but also the heirs of renowned sects flocked here. But none of them managed to pass."
Bu Eun-seol finally understood the whole situation.
To put it simply, the Cheon-jang-i-sib-sa-jin was a trial created to find a suitable partner for the Young Palace Lord.
The Bo-won-sin-ju was an engagement gift to be given to the chosen one among those who passed the trial.
"It seems I've fallen for the Water Mirror Hall Lord's scheme."
For the first time, Bu Eun-seol realized he had made a huge mistake.
Back in the Gu-sal-dae, even on small missions, he always gathered plenty of information before taking action.
But now, eager to fight Jeong Cheon, he had acted rashly without proper investigation.
This was a bitter mistake on Bu Eun-seol's part.
"What should we do now?"
At Heuk-pyo's question, Bu Eun-seol looked toward the path leading out of Shin-nyeo-gung.
And he narrowed his eyes.
The thirty-sixth stratagem. For the first time since entering the Murim, he had decided to flee.
However, that grim resolve was doomed to fail.
Before Bu Eun-seol could even move, Namgung Se-a, dressed in splendid blue robes, was approaching with quick steps from the opposite direction.
"There you are."
*Swish, swish.*
And behind her, a woman in white robes, leading a retinue of handmaidens, was walking toward them.
"Is that him?"
A beautiful middle-aged woman with her hair piled up like a cloud had appeared beside Namgung Se-a.
Dressed in snow-white martial attire, she exuded an aura as noble and solemn as a white plum blossom.
Facing the middle-aged woman, Bu Eun-seol recognized her identity at a glance.
*'The Palace Lord of Shin-nyeo-gung?'*
Not only was the energy flowing from her immense, but her eyes were the spitting image of the Young Palace Lord's he had seen earlier.
"Young Hero Seol."
Namgung Se-a approached Bu Eun-seol, gestured toward the middle-aged woman, and said.
"This is the Palace Lord of our palace. Hurry and offer your respects."
The Palace Lord of Shin-nyeo-gung, Yeon Ja-mi.
The Palace Lord of Shin-nyeo-gung, renowned not only for her exceptional martial arts but also for her unparalleled mastery of formation arts, had finally appeared.
"This wanderer, Seol So, greets the Palace Lord."
But Bu Eun-seol did not bow his head. He only offered a deep salute with his clasped hands.
Namgung Se-a was flustered by this, but Yeon Ja-mi coldly waved her hand.
"That will do."
She then looked at Bu Eun-seol and furrowed her brow.
"Are you the one who passed through the Cheon-jang-i-sib-sa-jin?"
"I am."
Yeon Ja-mi looked at Bu Eun-seol's stiff reply with displeasure. Then, with slightly angered eyes, she asked Namgung Se-a.
"Where is So-ha?"
"She is resting in her quarters."
"Hmph."
After a grunt, she looked at Bu Eun-seol and spoke coldly.
"Let us move elsewhere to talk."
Following Namgung Se-a's guidance, Bu Eun-seol moved to a pavilion in a detached garden on the outskirts of Shin-nyeo-gung.
In the beautiful garden, bathed in warm sunlight, rare and exotic flowers bloomed, and a small pond lay before them.
"..."
Inside the pavilion, Bu Eun-seol and Palace Lord Yeon Ja-mi sat facing each other.
Aromatic tea sat on the table, but Bu Eun-seol stared straight ahead without even glancing at it.
"What is your school?"
These were Yeon Ja-mi's first words after a long silence.
"I cannot reveal it due to personal reasons."
It was common in the Murim for people to hide their origins.
But she spoke again, her eyes filled with disapproval.
"I heard your specialty is fist techniques?"
"That is correct."
From her sharp and constrained tone, it seemed she was displeased even by the fact that Bu Eun-seol used fist techniques.
"You live as a wanderer?"
"I do."
Yeon Ja-mi took a sip of tea and muttered lowly.
"A school that lets its disciple live as a wanderer must be an insignificant one."
Hearing this, the look in Bu Eun-seol's eyes changed slightly.
It was not out of anger.
It was because a plan to escape this seemingly inescapable trap had just occurred to him.
*'The Palace Lord doesn't like me from the start. This makes things easy.'*
As this thought crossed his mind, Bu Eun-seol felt at ease and regained some of his composure.
"Where did you hear about the Bo-won-sin-ju?"
At Yeon Ja-mi's question, Bu Eun-seol's mind began to race.
*'If I say it was a job from Jeok-cheon-mak-ji, I will incur her wrath.'*
Although Shin-nyeo-gung was famous for its formations, it was still one of the Seven Great Hidden Palaces of the Murim.
As its Palace Lord, Yeon Ja-mi was a master among women who stood shoulder to shoulder with the supreme masters of the Murim. If she were to become angry and take action, Bu Eun-seol would be no match for her.
"I found out by chance."
"By chance? Speak precisely."
"High-level information circulates in the wanderers' market. I was lucky enough to hear about the Bo-won-sin-ju from an old man selling information."
"Hmph."
It was an unconvincing explanation. Yeon Ja-mi, frowning slightly, spoke again.
"So-ha was in poor health as a child, so she has always remained in the palace. As a result, she is like a pure child who still knows little of the world."
"I see."
"That is why I set up the Cheon-jang-i-sib-sa-jin. To find a partner who is at least worthy of her."
She took a sip of tea and said frostily.
"And I told her to give the Bo-won-sin-ju to anyone she fancied among those who passed the Cheon-jang-i-sib-sa-jin."
Staring intently at Bu Eun-seol's face, which was blurred by disguise, Yeon Ja-mi once again furrowed her elegant brows.
"But that was merely my idea. Not So-ha's."
She paused for a moment before speaking again.
"I heard you used your internal energy to move the ceilings and break through the formation. Is that correct?"
"It is."
"I see. But it is difficult to consider that method as proof of your martial skill."
He didn't need to hear any more to know what she was getting at.
Yeon Ja-mi was making excuses.
*'What a relief. A true relief.'*
The more hostile Yeon Ja-mi's gaze became, the more delighted Bu Eun-seol felt.
After all, without the Palace Lord's permission, the marriage with the Young Palace Lord would not be established.
"It seems the Palace Lord does not find me to her liking."
Having regained all his composure, Bu Eun-seol took a sip of the now-cold tea.
At that, Yeon Ja-mi gave a cold smile and shook her head.
"Do not worry. I am not one to go back on my word. I simply... wish to say that your martial skill has not been proven."
A strange light flickered in Bu Eun-seol's eyes.
*'I see now. She wants something else from me.'*
"What would you have me do?"
Yeon Ja-mi responded swiftly to Bu Eun-seol's question.
"Are you willing to face our palace's Mother-Child Spear Arts?"
"Mother-Child Spear Arts?"
"It is one of our palace's guardian martial arts. The three Hall Masters—Su-jeong, Mu-ryeong, and Ja-bu—have mastered it."
"You mean the three Hall Masters learned the art by dividing it among themselves?"
"No. The Mother-Child Spear Arts is an art originally performed by three people at once."
Bu Eun-seol had never experienced Shin-nyeo-gung's martial arts before.
Furthermore, hearing about a spear art performed by three people made his mouth water as if he were facing a delicious meal.
"So you want me to fight them."
"That's right. Of course, it is not to determine a winner or loser, but merely to prove your martial skill..."
"I'll do it."
As Bu Eun-seol answered without hesitation, a sweet smile graced Yeon Ja-mi's lips.
"Really?"
A bright smile also spread across Bu Eun-seol's lips as he looked at Yeon Ja-mi.
"Gladly."
* * *
Shin-nyeo-gung, inside the Medicine God Hall.
In the center was a transparent bed, upon which sat Namgung Un in a meditative posture, his entire body covered in densely packed needles.
"What kind of nonsense is this? A duel?"
After hearing the story from Bu Eun-seol and Heuk-pyo, who stood opposite him, he suddenly leaped up and shouted.
"After passing the formation, now they want you to duel... Isn't this completely unreasonable?"
As he jumped, the needles stuck in his body flew off.
An old woman who was organizing acupuncture tools from afar came over, huffing and puffing.
"You damn brat! How many times are you going to make me re-apply the needles!"
"Ah, right. My apologies."
"If you move again, I'm not giving you the Primordial Gold Needle treatment!"
The old woman, still fuming, stuck the golden needles back into Namgung Un, who had sat down again.
This time, Namgung Un didn't move a muscle, carefully moving only his mouth.
"Brother Seol. Just give up. As soon as I'm done with these needles, I'll go and complain to my aunt."
Seeing him getting excited and spitting, Heuk-pyo shook his head.
"My lord, it's fine for you to just stay put."
"What, you're not worried?"
"Well, you see, our Young Master... actually enjoys fighting."
"Huh? Enjoys fighting?"
Namgung Un rolled his big eyes and looked up at Bu Eun-seol.
Seeing his faint smile, it seemed the words weren't nonsense after all.
"Hm?"
But then, Namgung Un happened to notice a round, disc-like object wrapped around Heuk-pyo's wrist and his eyes widened.
"Huh? Isn't that the Dang Clan's hidden weapon, the Hyeol-ryeon-hwan?"
At Namgung Un's question, Heuk-pyo quickly hid it under his sleeve and said awkwardly.
"You know of it, my lord."
"That's a hidden weapon primarily used by members of the Dang Clan. Were you a member of the Dang Clan?"
"No, it's just that the Third Young Master taught me how to use this Hyeol-ryeon-hwan and its techniques."
"The third? You mean Dang Gon?"
"You know the Third Young Master, my lord?"
Namgung Un nodded slightly at Heuk-pyo's words.
"I saw him a few times during family gatherings when we were young. But since he has such a quiet personality, we never became close."
Blinking his eyes, he looked at Heuk-pyo.
"I heard he recently became the Young Clan Head... but surely you're not that Black Whirlwind who stormed the Blood Poison Valley with Dang Gon?"
"Black Whirlwind?"
"I'm talking about the boy who supposedly led the Dang Clan's masters with Dang Gon to attack the Blood Poison Valley."
*'Has a rumor like that already spread?'*
Heuk-pyo was momentarily startled but waved his hands in denial.
"How could that be? I don't have that kind of skill."
"Come to think of it, they say that boy's movement technique is incredibly fast too?"
"How could that be, my lord? My movement technique is terrible."
Heuk-pyo broke out in a cold sweat.
Rumors are things the person involved is always the last to hear. Much like how someone losing their fame fails to notice it.
"But what's with this 'my lord' at the end of every sentence? Just call me 'Brother'. Hahaha."
"What? How could I dare..."
"What does a title matter? We'll be traveling together for a while anyway. Hahaha."
Unlike a scion of a great family, Namgung Un didn't care much for the Murim's hierarchy or etiquette.
It was a disposition befitting a free-spirited wanderer, but a personality far removed from that of a solemn noble family.
Perhaps it was this unpretentious side of him that earned him the title of the Namgung family's troublemaker.
"Then I will call you Young Master."
"If you insist, I can't force you. Do as you please."
Namgung Un smacked his lips in disappointment. Then he turned to Bu Eun-seol and said.
"Since it's come to this, let's drop the formalities between us, too."
When Bu Eun-seol's eyes widened, Namgung Un grinned and said.
"I'm twenty-one this year, so I'll call you Brother Seol. How about it?"
"No."
Namgung Un's expression stiffened slightly.
To think there was someone who would refuse to be on brotherly terms with a scion of the great Namgung family.