Chapter 87
Chapter 87
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: Joining Forces
-----------------------------------------------------------------
There was someone watching the stage of the Young Moon Festival.
It was Namgung Hwan.
He had been at Dengwang Pavilion when the chaos erupted, and he rushed here at once.
There was one reason he came to this place instead of the main house.
If threats had arisen on both sides, then this was the more dangerous spot.
The main house had that man.
The Sword King.
Namgung Hwan knew.
He knew just how astonishing a realm Namgung Jae had attained.
As a son, he was an object of resentment.
As a martial artist, he was the ultimate envy.
That was why Namgung Hwan coveted his position.
The seat of head of the Namgung family.
But the path to claiming it had to be different.
Proof.
It had to be so upright and honorable that no one could raise even a whisper of doubt.
So that the blood flowing in his veins wouldn't be dismissed as merely the Sword King's indiscretion, a one-night mistake.
Thus, Namgung Ji could not die here.
He wouldn't give even the slightest room for rumors that he'd gained the young lord's seat through fishing in troubled waters after Namgung Ji's death.
Even if it meant his own death.
That had been his resolve when he came.
'What am I even watching?'
Even as he thought he needed to join the fray, his body had frozen solid.
It wasn't out of cowardice or fear.
It was something even more pathetic.
The sheer beauty of the scene before him—so breathtaking it made him forget to breathe—had numbed his reason.
Even if the crowd here hadn't fallen into a trance from that outsider's sorcery.
Namgung Hwan was certain the same profound silence would have blanketed the area.
Anyone would be overwhelmed by the sight he was witnessing now.
A beauty that stole the soul and scattered the wits.
Wi Sowol, enveloped in a radiant halo reflecting off her disheveled silver hair amid the moonflowers, looked for all the world like a goddess descended to earth, her divine glow upon her.
As pristine as Hanga, the goddess of the moon.
As majestic as Sonu, the goddess of love.
How could anyone help themselves against someone like that?
"Haha..."
Namgung Hwan let out a hollow laugh.
He never imagined he'd come to understand his father's feelings like this.
That Hanga his father had seen—his own mother—must have been just as stunningly beautiful, hadn't she?
If so, then perhaps his father's mistake of crossing the line under the moon's enchantment, despite having a wife, wasn't a mere lapse but an irresistible force.
"This is..."
How could he resent his father now?
Not when even he was shaken to his core.
Who could blame or condemn whom?
Namgung Hwan felt a pang of regret, wondering if he could take back the words he'd flung at Dengwang Pavilion even now.
He knew it was a pathetic thought, yet he couldn't quell the sentiment.
He, who had always obsessed over restraint and discipline.
Namgung Hwan smiled bitterly.
With heavier steps than ever before, he made his way toward Wi Sowol.
He intended to help clean up the aftermath and express his gratitude.
And if possible, perhaps rekindle even the faintest thread of connection.
But that hazy hope of his didn't even get off the ground.
"Lady Wi. I'm late. My apologies."
A man in pristine clothes, not a drop of blood on him.
Yet the lingering aura of intense battle still wafted from his body, proving where he'd just come from.
Namgung Hwan recognized the man at once.
'Solar Dragon Seonwoo Hyun?'
He himself bore the title Sword Dragon, one of the Nine Righteous and Evil Dragons.
This was his first time seeing the man's face, but that distinctive energy was unmistakable.
The Seonwoo family's techniques were so uniquely pronounced they were hard to forget once seen.
Wi Sowol, who had just displayed goddess-like beauty and martial prowess, accepted his apology with warm familiarity.
"You're not late. Faster than Bo-yun, at least. Could you go further if needed?"
"Until the sun rises, if required."
"...Still the same as ever."
Even from the conversation alone, it was clear.
The closeness between them.
The long-standing bond implied by "still the same."
Namgung Hwan couldn't find even a sliver of an opening to insert himself.
'Hwangbo family, Seonwoo family. My chance with the Namgung has already slipped away.'
Why had the Namgung family come from Hefei, relatively close to the north, all the way to Namchang County in Jiangnan?
Cursing his ancestors with absurd resentment, Namgung Hwan halted his steps.
"Huff, pant... Young Lord..."
"Geumseong. What's the situation?"
"It seems he's joined forces with the Hwangbo young lord. The great lady's sword corps is cooperating as well."
"I see. Then let's head back."
"But..."
"Leave this to Ji. We'd just be overkill. Return to the main house. Relay the same to Jeong Yul-dae."
"...Understood."
"I'll go ahead. On the way, rally the aid of the fellow martial artists at Dengwang Pavilion and lead the White Thunder Corps. Handle Jeong Yul-dae."
"As you command."
Having thus organized his subordinates.
Namgung Hwan wrenched away his lingering regrets and turned back.
But the scene from moments ago, branded into his mind like a hot iron, would linger for a long while—perhaps for life.
"You're late."
Wi Sowol said to Hwangbo Yun, who joined after Seonwoo Hyun.
Hwangbo Yun glanced at Seonwoo Hyun, who had arrived before him, and offered a lame excuse.
"Th-there were more over here."
"Hmm..."
"It's true. That's why even the great lady joined us."
It was a fair point.
There had been more enemies here, numbers-wise.
She had no intention of truly chiding him for being late.
In Hwangbo Yun's case, he'd likely spent time cooperating with Namgung Ji.
Unlike Seonwoo Hyun, who had sliced through Mijinhyang and rushed straight here, Hwangbo Yun had helped Namgung Ji tidy up the mess.
"What about them? Can we just leave them like that?"
Hwangbo Yun asked, eyeing the commoners still under the mind-control spell.
"Obviously we can't leave them as is."
But cleaning that up wasn't their role.
There was a perfect candidate for the job.
"Ryu Dae-go."
"...Yes."
Wi Sowol had already instructed Ryu Yeonseo to stay nearby in case of emergencies.
Ryu Yeonseo climbed onto the stage and gazed at the entranced crowd with complex emotions.
If she'd realized those offering herbs were from Mijinhyang and immediately alerted the Namgung family, would the outcome have changed?
Mijinhyang might have backed off.
Or they might have prepared even more thoroughly and secretly, causing greater disaster.
What-ifs about the unchangeable past led nowhere.
Ryu Yeonseo simply focused on what she could do now.
Her hands gripped the namho tightly.
"Think you can lift it?"
"I'll try."
"Shall we help?"
Hwangbo Yun suddenly pulled out her pipa.
Wi Sowol gaped at her in disbelief.
Why the hell did she bring that?
She didn't fight with it on her back, did she?
Seeing her expression, Hwangbo Yun grinned sheepishly and sent a transmission.
[In case the musicians were Mijinhyang too. I figured I'd step in.]
Preparedness was good, but did she have to sneak it along?
As Hwangbo Yun fiddled with the pipa, Ryu Yeonseo quickly took her hand.
"No need. This is my task. And this spot is perfect."
Ryu Yeonseo surveyed the stage and slotted her bow between the namho's strings.
Soon, a gentle melody resonated outward.
The performance spread, driving away the lingering scent of blood.
Like scabs forming over wounds to sprout new flesh, her tender notes soothed Namchang County in the wake of battle.
They dulled the pain, sharpened hazy minds.
Churned qi and blood settled, breaths steadied.
As the crowd immersed in the music, focus gradually returned to their dazed eyes, one by one.
"...Who's she?"
It was Namgung Ji, who had approached unnoticed.
The sudden assault was one thing.
But keeping up with the bizarre experts pouring out from everywhere in Namchang County was overwhelming.
He'd expected Hwangbo Yun's skill, but Wi Sowol being this capable too?
And why was the Seonwoo young lord here?
Had the Dengwang Branch Conference unknowingly elevated to the level of the Dragon-Phoenix Conference, drawing all Eight Great Families?
And now this sound arts expert with an extraordinary look.
"I'm embarrassed."
He realized too late that blurting it out was rude—her turn came after the others.
He needed to reflect on himself first.
"Blinded by the young lord seat, chasing surface glamour. I should have delved into Namchang matters, mingled with the people..."
Hmm, well.
To Wi Sowol, Namgung Ji's current self-reproach seemed more bad luck than anything.
In her past life, she hadn't been here.
Thus, no Hwangbo Yun.
No Wi Sowol meant Ryu Yeonseo would still be in hiding.
Seonwoo Hyun... unclear.
Maybe he hadn't come to Namchang then either, since she didn't know of it.
'In the past life, Namgung Ji never became young lord.'
Surely, without Wi Sowol's group's aid, he'd faced this alone.
Without Wi Sowol, Baek Ha would have played Hanga, and the ritual would have spanned all Namchang.
The result, naturally...
'He died.'
In battle, no doubt.
The more she thought, the more curious why the Namgung family hadn't fallen then.
Had Namgung Ji unleashed innate true qi to thwart Mijinhyang's ritual?
Otherwise, she couldn't see how he'd win.
"Great Lady. Handle the cleanup."
"You're leaving? To the main house?"
Wi Sowol nodded.
If they'd started, they had to see it through.
Hwangbo Yun stretched, ready to follow.
Seonwoo Hyun planned to go too, but had concerns.
"Lady. You sure you're alright?"
Just as Wi Sowol had checked on his blazing agony.
Seonwoo Hyun had sensed her poisoning when she'd tested syphilis treatment by infusing its toxin.
Qi flowed both ways.
"I'm fine. This sound art is easing it. I can fight once more."
And she had to.
For the Namgung siblings she'd vowed to save.
"...I'll entrust the main house to you."
Namgung Ji could only clasp his hands in lament at her resolve.
His inadequacy shamed him.
But as a Namgung, he'd uphold at least the final courtesy.
"Let's go."
As Wi Sowol stepped off, Hwangbo Yun and Seonwoo Hyun followed.
Ryu Yeonseo's melody continued behind her.
Wi Sowol raced toward the Namgung estate, taking the tune as her parting song.
Namgung Hwan and the Namgung warriors at the forefront, Wi Sowol's group close behind.
As they raced to the Namgung estate.
Two figures had arrived first.
Standing before the estate's main gate, both cut striking figures.
One had a sword and saber at his waist, the other with an empty sleeve flapping in the wind on one arm.
"Dokbi-ya. What a mess your house is in."
"...Shut it."
It really was fucked.
Crimson Blaze Twin Dragons Seon Woo Hoon and Poison Arm Sword Lord Namgung Do.
The conversation between these two renowned super-elites was utterly mundane.