Chapter 50
Baek Ri-gang's aimless wandering finally came to a halt before a serene pond—the very spot where he used to feed the carp every day alongside the lotuses.
"What do you think carp dream about while they live?"
"Do lowly creatures like them even have thoughts?"
"That one with the white fins is no good."
"Why's that?"
"It always steals food from the others."
"Is that so?"
"Every carp has its own personality. The one with two red spots on its back is lazy—always the last to show up."
Before he knew it, Baek Ri-gang had sunk to his knees. The carp, mistaking his reflected face for a promise of food, swarmed to the surface. Soon, footsteps echoed from beyond the tiled wall encircling the pond garden.
Baek Ri-gang's keenly attuned senses caught their conversation despite himself.
"Phew, where the hell is Palgwae Village anyway?"
"They say it's a good four weeks' walk from here. The Baek Ri Clan warriors will ride horses, sure, but riffraff like us have to hoof it."
"Sansa Cliff, of all places—what rotten luck. Why'd she have to croak there? Ugh."
"Quit griping. What choice do we have? She's still Baek Ri blood, so we gotta do the bare minimum, right? Let's at least get some sturdy shoes."
Baek Ri-gang's hand clenched around his sword hilt. In this vast Baek Ri Clan estate, there was no one who truly worried for Baek Ri-yeon—no one who grieved for her.
They figured a safe home was better than wandering the streets... or so they believed without a doubt.
But could this really be called a home?
What reason could there be for that child to suffer such treatment?
Because she was his daughter?
He had done everything to ensure she wouldn't disgrace the Baek Ri Clan, to avoid causing any disturbance. And yet, this was the result?
Did any of it even matter?
Veins bulged on the back of Baek Ri-gang's hand as he gripped the hilt tighter.
"Young master! Young master!"
Only one person in this place called Baek Ri-gang "young master." Undu came running, only to gasp at the sight of him kneeling by the pond. Baek Ri-gang schooled his expression and rose.
"What is it?"
"Ah! Someone from the Namgung Clan arrived—they found the young miss!"
"I see. Where have you seated the Namgung Clan guest? Let's go."
Baek Ri-gang straightened his robes and started walking. Undu faltered at the unexpected reaction, then realized and pressed on.
"No, wait! Young master! The young miss is alive! She's alive!"
Baek Ri-gang whipped his head around.
We'd been told nonstop riding until dinner would get us to the inn, but the carriage suddenly halted in the middle of the road. I pulled back the thick curtain over the window and peered out.
A group of riders was thundering toward us. The leader, astride a dark bay horse, exuded the strongest aura I'd ever sensed.
I flung open the carriage door in a hurry.
"Uncle!"
Namgung Wan leaped from his horse and was at my side in an instant.
"You're really safe! Wait, what's wrong with your eyes? Don't tell me you're blind?"
Huh? He hasn't heard about my eyes?
The warrior who'd been leading our group in place of Shim, the deputy left behind in Palgwae Village due to Manshin-ui's pill refinery, stepped forward.
"Young clan heir, we greet you. As for the young miss's eyes..."
But Namgung Wan was already too focused on me to hear.
"Can you see this? How many fingers?"
"Um... four?"
Namgung Wan and the other warriors gaped in shock, eyes bulging.
"Haha, just kidding. It's two."
"..."
"..."
"You think this is funny?"
"Aigoo! Young clan heir!"
The warriors grabbed the fuming Namgung Wan. Once he'd calmed, he seized my shoulders and inspected me from every angle.
"You... you're really..."
Biting his teeth hard, Namgung Wan suddenly pulled me into a fierce hug.
"Welcome back."
I could feel his arms trembling around me.
Namgung Wan dismounted and joined me in the carriage. He'd set out the moment he got word of my survival, so he knew nothing of what followed.
Uncle, is it really okay to just rush around like this? What about the clan?
Pushing my worries aside, I recounted everything since Sansa Cliff.
"...So I had to scour Manshin-ui's books to figure out how to escape the royal tomb, which took forever."
I skipped a few parts but stuck as close to the truth as I could for Uncle.
"And... I saw someone who looked like a Namgung Clan warrior there."
I offered a neatly wrapped handkerchief. Namgung Wan unfolded it, his brows furrowing slightly at the bloodstained jade plaque inside—the best identifier I'd found rummaging through the dead man's pockets, a pendant from around his neck.
"Manshin-ui said he protected me."
Namgung Wan's stoic face twisted as he swept a hand over it. He opened the carriage window and called to one of his attendants.
"Have someone verify if this belongs to Jo Choong."
"Understood."
Once the warrior was gone, I pulled out the small box I'd retrieved alongside the plaque and handed it to Namgung Wan.
"And this is for you, Uncle."
He opened it to reveal two finger-sized black porcelain vials.
"Check it out."
"What's this supposed to be?"
Namgung Wan's casual inspection turned to stone, then his eyes flew wide.
"No way... Azure Stone Oil? Is this really Azure Stone Oil?!"
Azure Stone Oil—a legendary elixir where a single drop could boost one's inner energy by several decades. It was essence condensed from natural qi over eons, yielding maybe one drop every few centuries.
"Where did you...! Ah, right. So you really were in Manshin-ui's pill refinery. To think you'd walk away with two vials of something this precious—Manshin-ui's reputation is well-earned."
"It looked the most valuable, so I took it."
Namgung Wan gazed longingly at the vials before handing them back to me, his face dripping with reluctance.
I beamed.
"I'll give you one. The other is for Dad, so no."
"What?"
He stared in disbelief. Taking a deep breath, he squeezed his eyes shut, then open, pressed the vial into my hand, and pulled away as if afraid it'd vanish.
"I'm fine."
"Uncle, your voice is shaking."
"You're imagining things!"
He bellowed, face flushed with anger.
"What do you take me for? I'm no scoundrel who'd covet something you nearly died for!"
Impressive.
I was genuinely awed by his reaction. Azure Stone Oil was something any martial artist would risk life and limb for. Building a decade's worth of inner energy took sixty years on average. Prestigious sects shortened it with superior manuals, training, and elixirs—but something granting multiple decades at once? Pure cheat item.
If word got out I had two vials, the entire murim world—Baek Ri Clan be damned—would come salivating.
To turn it down like that...
It wasn't mere willpower.
Dad's best friend for a reason. His character really is trustworthy.
I placed it back in his hand.
"Even if you say you don't need it!"
"No matter how rare Azure Stone Oil is, you're far more precious to me—the uncle who never gave up and came searching to the end."
I smiled brightly.