Namgung Gijin (1): The Glorious Sword Lord's Return
While Namgung Gijin stripped off Damuk Hun's clothes and slipped them on, Yeon quietly turned away. Truth be told, seeing a man's naked body wouldn't stir any particular emotions in her, but it was only natural for her current body to react that way.
At first, when the flustered Namgung Gijin suddenly tried to undress Damuk Hun, Yeon had hurriedly stopped him.
"Uh... if you do that...!"
"It's fine. He's still got his undergarments on, hasn't he? I'm just borrowing the outer robes for a bit."
"Ah."
Of course, if Damuk Hun had been awake, he would've snapped that it was nonsense, but since Yeon wasn't the one losing her clothes, it seemed reasonable enough to her ears. She stopped trying to intervene. After all, wasn't it far better for one of the two men to be fully exposed than for both to be covered in undergarments and outer robes?
Once Namgung Gijin had peeled off Damuk Hun's martial robes and donned them, he looked at Yeon with an embarrassed expression.
"Heh heh. I've shown such an unsightly sight to a child like you."
"It's okay."
"Mm."
Namgung Gijin hesitated for a moment, and Yeon asked, "Is there something you'd like to say?"
"You said your name is Yeon, right? Would you perhaps give me a chance to repay this favor?"
"Pardon?"
"Thanks to your advice and your guidance here, I've ascended to a realm I'd only dreamed of. You may not grasp what this means to me, but I'm content to die right here and now. Your grace is as vast as the heavens."
"Ah... Did I really do anything? It was all thanks to you, Grandfather..."
"No. It was your doing. And now I'm so youthful that 'Grandfather' feels embarrassing to hear—I'm grateful for that too. What do you say? Back in my day, I was quite the handsome man in Anhwi Province."
With a playful gesture pointing to himself, Yeon took a closer look at Namgung Gijin's face. A straight nose, eyes brimming with sharp light, a chiseled jawline. Indeed, the features of a dashing hero.
Yeon nodded readily, and the smile at the corners of Namgung Gijin's mouth deepened a little more.
"I'll regard you as my lifelong benefactor. How about entrusting yourself to the Namgung Family? Ah, of course, I know you can't so easily abandon your roots. But you're still young, so if you wish it, I can speak with the Damuk Family and welcome you as one of ours."
"Ah..."
Seeing Yeon hesitate without an immediate reply, Namgung Gijin's expression darkened slightly.
"Hmm. Are you perhaps a direct descendant?"
"I..."
To the Namgung Gijin who had jumped to conclusions on his own, Yeon could only ponder how to casually convey her inner truth: 'I'm not related by a single drop of blood—not even a collateral branch. I'm just a lowly beggar-born servant.'
But misinterpreting the girl's hesitation in another way, Namgung Gijin smiled warmly.
"Not a direct descendant, then. All the better. If you join the Namgung Family, it would forge a strong bond between us and the Damuk Family, wouldn't it?"
Yeon pondered briefly but soon had no choice but to shake her head.
No matter how great the favor or how welcoming he was, it would only apply to Yeon herself. The faces of Wangcho, Chunbong, Seok, and Samwol—those who'd suffered with her from their beggar days until now—flickered in her mind.
"I... I like it here. My brothers are here. And we eat well."
"Heh... Is that so. The Damuk Family is enviable. Then I'll repay my debt to both you and the Damuk Family. I'll visit early tomorrow, so it might help if you mention it ahead of time. What do you think?"
"I..."
It was then.
"Mm..."
Damuk Hun, clad only in his undergarments, let out a groan as if regaining consciousness. Namgung Gijin flinched and shot to his feet.
"Oh dear. If that fool sees me now, it'll be a mess to explain. Just tell him the beggar geezer stole his clothes and ran off, Yeon."
"Yes."
"I'll come tomorrow. See you then, Yeon."
"......"
With a pat on Yeon's head, Namgung Gijin vanished in an instant, leaving only Yeon and Damuk Hun behind.
"Ugh... ugh."
Damuk Hun clutched the back of his neck, where he'd taken the unexpected blow, and staggered to his feet in a daze. Yeon quickly supported him.
"Uncle, are you okay?"
"I-I'm fine. But what about that old man earlier?"
Yeon said exactly as instructed.
"...He just stole your clothes and disappeared."
Lying didn't sit well with her, but she couldn't very well explain in detail that the old man had turned young, his clothes had melted away, and he'd taken yours instead.
"My clothes? No, damn it."
Only then did Damuk Hun realize he was in his undergarments, his face flushing with shame—not so much from exposing himself to the young girl Yeon, but from the warrior's humiliation of collapsing from a single blow and even losing his clothes to someone he should have protected.
"This..."
Gnashing his teeth at the mysterious old man, Damuk Hun gripped the Go board and rose, asking, "And what's with this Go board—"
Yeon cut in swiftly.
"Oh, it was just here when I arrived. Someone must've left it."
"Ahem."
Well, in this situation, what did it matter if there was a Go board or a chess set here? Avoiding Yeon's eyes, Damuk Hun muttered, "Sorry, Yeon. Uncle showed you an unsightly side."
"No, no. That old man was extremely old, so he must've trained in martial arts far longer than you, right?"
"...I can't wander around like this, so I'll head back to the estate first. Can you make it on your own?"
"Yes. Go ahead."
Damuk Hun, in his white undergarments, hurriedly unleashed his lightness skill and vanished toward the Damuk Family Estate. Fortunately, he spotted his spear left behind on the way and avoided the disaster of losing his weapon too.
After sending Damuk Hun off first, Yeon slowly made her way back to the estate.
"The Namgung Family..."
She'd heard it was the most historic martial house in Anhwi Province. The mere echo of Cheongan Namgung made even the boldest bands of unorthodox fighters bow their heads. Yet twenty years ago, they had abruptly ceased all external activities, effectively sealing themselves away. In that time, families like the Damuk and Baek—those who'd once watched the Namgung's every move—had risen to prominence. She'd overheard the kitchen staff whispering about it.
Twenty years ago... that must've been when that grandfather stormed out of his family.
Lost in thoughts of that, the mystery of Namgung Gijin's martial prowess, and how her single move had helped fulfill a warrior's lifelong aspiration, Yeon soon found herself at the main gate.
Only after passing through did she realize with a start.
"Ah, the sweets..."
Damuk Jeong's furious face flashed before her eyes, but it was already far too late. Regardless of her circumstances, the Damuk Family warriors needed their dinner, and Yeon had her own duties to fulfill.
After a brief hesitation, she dashed to the kitchen.
# Thud thud-!
"Hey! Get up!"
"Mm..."
Like every night, Yeon had helped in the kitchen the previous evening. After chopping vegetables, washing dishes, and surviving the hectic dinner rush, she'd split firewood with the kids upon their return, filled her belly with leftovers, and collapsed into sleep.
Her eyes refused to open easily.
The commotion had already roused the kids from the next room over; she could hear them stirring.
"What? Who's there?"
"Coming right now."
Samwol flung open the door, only to be suddenly grabbed by the collar and hurled aside.
Crash-
"Ugh."
Still half-asleep and dragged out to tumble across the floor, Samwol stared in bewilderment. Yeon felt the same.
Her sleep shattered, Yeon bolted out the door.
"Finally crawling out, huh?"
Damuk Jeong stood there with two Damuk Family warriors. The adults behind him looked displeased but didn't intervene with their young master.
"You ignoring me?"
"Pardon? How could I..."
Crash-
Before Yeon could finish, the table where they always ate went skidding across the floor. Fury twisted Damuk Jeong's face.
"I told you to bring sweets yesterday."
"Ah..."
Yeon squeezed her eyes shut, realizing the worst had come. She had no idea how to explain.
"I ran into a suspicious person yesterday... You can ask Damuk Hun—he saw it too."
"Making excuses? You got back during dinner hours. Plenty of time to go and come."
"But... if I didn't do it, someone else would've had to cover for me."
As Yeon kept explaining, Damuk Jeong trembled with rage.
"You... talking back! Just do what I say— is that so hard? All you have to do is obey me!"
"......"
Yeon squeezed her eyes shut. He only wanted to hear one thing; anything else would sound like excuses to him. Realizing that pledging to prioritize his words above all would end it simply, she nodded and was about to apologize—
"Enough already."
"What?"
Blocking Yeon's path was Wangcho.
"Don't butt in. Why are you suddenly—"
"Yeon, stay out of it. I said enough."
"Have you lost your mind?"
Damuk Jeong's face contorted. These beggar scum were openly defying him as a group. If he didn't crush them now, they'd climb all over him again. He raised his hand.
Slap-!
The swing was fiercer than the time he'd hit Yeon in anger. Wangcho, untrained in martial arts, couldn't block it.
Crash-
"Guh..."
Wangcho, who'd shielded Yeon, crumpled into the corner powerlessly. The other kids surged forward in fury, blocking her again.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Why hit him? Why?"
Chunbong and Samwol stepped up once more, while Seok rushed to check on Wangcho. Yeon was speechless at the sudden violence.
"Why..."
Damuk Jeong grew even angrier as the others still blocked him despite one falling.
Right—these pests were the problem. Because they protected her like this, that girl dared ignore him.
Today, I'll make you kneel and beg before me.
Gnashing his teeth, Damuk Jeong lashed out with his foot this time. The Damuk Family favored the spear as their main weapon, but that made lower-body training crucial—and thus his kicks were no ordinary affair.
His right leg extended in a graceful arc, striking Seok's side. Seok tried to block, but a young master's kick from a martial family wouldn't be so feeble as to fail against an untrained boy's clumsy defense.
Crack-!
Seok flew like a puppet with cut strings. Unable to hold back, Yeon cried out.
"Stop it!"
"...Ha. You're yelling now? Still don't get it? Your brothers are getting hit because of you today."
Yeon spread her arms to shield Samwol.
"Please stop. I'll do whatever you say from now on. Please."
"I don't like that attitude."
"......"
"Even in this situation, what's with that proud head held high?"
Then, Samwol behind Yeon muttered quietly.
"You. If I'd learned martial arts, I'd kill you right now."
"......"
The noisy room fell utterly silent in an instant.
"What?"
"If you don't kill me now, one day I'll definitely kill you."
"You..."
Damuk Jeong flinched involuntarily at Samwol's murderous glare and words, stepping back half a pace. Who had ever dared speak to this young master that way?
It was understandable he'd panic. Stepping forward in his place were the two Damuk warriors who'd silently watched until now. No matter how childish the brat's words, they couldn't stand idly by while he threatened their young master's life.
"Little punk talking big without the means to back it up."
"We'll haul you all in. Brother Hun took pity on you rootless beggars, and now you've crossed the line."
No matter how fondly the warriors had doted on Yeon, to them she was just a lowly servant. Brushing past the frozen Damuk Jeong, the two seized Samwol and Yeon's wrists tightly.
Yeon felt utterly defeated.
All this because I didn't fetch the sweets. How can the world be so unfair? I thought we could finally breathe easy...
"Let go!"
Samwol thrashed, but he couldn't escape the warriors' iron grips. He and Yeon were dragged off together.
If only Uncle Hun were here. He'd help, right? Please...
It was then.
Halt.
The warrior dragging Yeon suddenly stopped. The moment she felt his body stiffen—
Hummm—
No sound. No wind. Every Damuk Family warrior sensed it: an immense presence they couldn't resist was gazing down upon them. A pressure like a mountain began crushing everything from all sides.
"Do you even know whose wrist you're daring to grab?"
A voice laced with profound inner energy reverberated across the entire Damuk Family Estate, freezing every warrior like rabbits hearing a tiger's roar.
A white-robed youth had appeared, fixing them with his stare. His eyes were calm, but it was the stillness of a storm's eve—and in the next instant, his face twisted into a demon's snarl.
"Release those filthy hands at once, or I'll wipe your clan from existence, you vermin."
Yeon's pupils trembled.
"Gr... Grandfather."
Glorious Sword Lord ((Gwanghui Sword Monarch)) Namgung Gijin. The Fierce Tiger of Anhwi Province, who had dominated the region twenty years ago, had returned.