The Traitor's Daughter
Namgung Sol’s mother, Namgung Si-hui, had once had a lover. Because she loved him, she wanted to live. She dreamed of a future together with him. When the Family Head died and defeat in the Sword Clan Blood Feud became inevitable, Namgung Si-hui began searching for a way to survive. And an opportunity was given to her. In exchange for selling her own bloodline, she was offered the chance to protect those she loved.
“Hand over the survivors of the Namgung Family. In return, I will spare the ones you cherish.”
It was an opportunity personally guaranteed by Dokgo Wol, the head of the Dokgo Family. Namgung Si-hui took the hand he extended. Thus, the Namgung Family collapsed from within. Dokgo Wol kept his promise. Namgung Si-hui was free. She lived with her beloved, turning her back on the sin she had committed. She gave birth to a child. It was a daughter. Hoping the girl could live as an ordinary commoner, she named her Sol. Jeong Sol.
Then her husband died. Of illness. It was a common occurrence. The body of a person who had never properly cultivated martial arts was fragile; dying from what seemed like an insignificant disease was nothing surprising. From that day on, Namgung Si-hui taught her daughter an inner cultivation method. She withheld all martial techniques, including sword arts, and only passed on the art of nurturing inner energy so that her daughter might stay healthy. She prayed that at least her child would not leave her side as meaninglessly as her husband had.
But Namgung Si-hui did not know that the one who would leave the family first would not be her daughter, but herself.
And so the daughter, while sorting through her mother’s belongings, discovered a secret. The secret that she herself was a survivor of the Namgung Family.
Namgung Sol finished her confession about her origins and glanced nervously at Namgung Woo.
“A-Are you not angry?”
Namgung Woo answered with genuine bewilderment.
“Angry? Why would I be?”
“What? Because… the Namgung Family fell because of my mother…”
Namgung Sol grew even more flustered and added the explanation like an excuse. From Namgung Woo’s perspective, however, getting angry would have been the more artificial reaction. A traitor? Even he did not particularly welcome such a person. But was there any need to direct that anger at the traitor’s child, who had nothing to do with it? In the present age, guilt by association was still very much in effect, yet to Namgung Woo, who had lived in the future, it was a system that did not resonate with him at all.
Rather, what he found harder to understand was why the child of a traitor would throw her life away for a family she could barely remember, simply because she was that traitor’s daughter.
“I understand to some extent. You learned of your mother’s sin and decided to atone for it… But there’s still one part I can’t accept. Was it really necessary to go that far? What you were trying to do didn’t look like you genuinely wanted to rebuild the Namgung Family. It only looked like you intended to carry your mother’s sin and die together with it.”
Namgung Sol stopped glancing at Namgung Woo and lowered her gaze. Her eyes grew hazy and lost focus. Her attention settled on faded memories of the past.
“Do you know? Until just five years ago, there was a rebellion in this country.”
The civil unrest in Henan Province that began twelve years ago. It was called the Wuyang Civil Revolt. The rebellion, which erupted in the first year of Emperor Seonghwa’s reign, lasted a full seven years. It did not end with a single uprising; multiple rebels appeared in succession, prolonging the conflict. As the revolt dragged on, it gradually turned into warlordism, and as the rebels even began cultivating martial arts, the government slowly realized the situation was no longer manageable.
Just as the sense of crisis that the rebellion could not be allowed to continue any longer spread all the way to Beijing, Emperor Seonghwa sought help from Mu-geuk, the greatest under heaven, who had entered the martial world yet still maintained a close relationship with the imperial family. It was Mu-geuk’s final public act. A mere three days. The long, drawn-out civil revolt ended just like that.
“The place where the revolt broke out was in Xingyang, but its aftereffects reached the surrounding regions. Nam Jikrye was tasked with supplying provisions to the Hugwang Army, which took on the role of suppressing the rebellion in place of distant Beijing.”
The small spark ignited in Xingyang drained the lifeblood of the common people of Nam Jikrye. Already burdened with the heavy duty of sending supplies to Beijing, Nam Jikrye now had grain requisitioned once more under the pretext of military rations. The produce of the south thus vanished northward and westward.
“People all said the same thing. That it was better when the Namgung Family was still around.”
Perhaps it was merely the lament of those reminiscing about the past. Yet to Namgung Sol, their lives had been unbearably harsh—so harsh that some had ultimately given up their breath trying to endure it. And if the Namgung Family had still existed, their lives would indeed have been different.
Long established in Hapbi, the Namgung Family had ruled as a powerful local clan and worked to protect the livelihood of Nam Jikrye’s people. It was not because they were absolutely virtuous. In the end, it had been a relationship of mutual benefit. The Namgung Family shielded the commoners of Nam Jikrye from internal and external tyranny, and in return, the people offered respect and support. Unlike the Namgung Family, however, the Dokgo Family, which newly seized control of the martial world in Nam Jikrye, responded with absolute obedience to the imperial family’s demands. After all, they were not originally a great local clan that had governed the land, but people who had served in the military and pledged loyalty to the throne.
“If the Namgung Family had remained, the Dokgo Family would not have cooperated so readily with the requisitions, if only for the sake of public sentiment. The suffering the people of Nam Jikrye endured… must be my mother’s fault…”
After pouring out her gloomy thoughts, Namgung Sol forced a bright tone.
“Still, they say that with the Emperor’s reforms to the tax system, life has become better than before. That’s a relief, isn’t it?”
“Of course it is. If things had stayed the same, the next rebellion wouldn’t have broken out in Xingyang but in Nam Jikrye. In that case, it would have been the Dokgo Family, not Mu-geuk, that finished suppressing it.”
Namgung Woo spoke with a cynical edge. He held no respect for the imperial family, and Namgung Sol’s forced cheerfulness also displeased him.
“Um… well… that is…”
Namgung Sol wanted to ask something but hesitated, unsure how to address him.
“You can speak comfortably.”
“Ah, yes! Then… what should I do now?”
Namgung Sol twisted her fingers as she finally voiced the question. Until now, she had only tried to fulfill her duty as the last descendant of the Namgung Family in her mother’s stead—opposing the Dokgo Family and meeting her end. That, she had believed, was the only way to atone for her mother’s sin. But if a true successor of the Namgung Family stood before her, what was she supposed to do? Namgung Sol had no answer. That was why she pushed the decision onto Namgung Woo. Even if he treated her as a sinner, she was prepared to accept it humbly.
Yet the answer Namgung Woo gave matched neither what she had hoped for nor what she had feared.
“What do you mean? Just live however you want.”
“Pardon?”
“If I have to give advice, stop thinking about dying for the Namgung Family or repaying your mother’s sin with your life. It would be a waste to throw your life away for something so trivial.”
Namgung Woo rose to his feet as if that was all there was to say. He had sought out Namgung Sol because, if she was a survivor dreaming of rebuilding the family, he had intended to establish a cooperative relationship. But what Namgung Sol wanted was not reconstruction—it was atonement. Their paths did not align. Namgung Woo had no intention of interfering in her life simply because he knew more of the Namgung Family’s martial arts or had reached a higher realm. In that he would not force someone to follow him, he supposed he and Namgung Sol were alike.
But Namgung Sol could not accept his attitude that ending things here would be fine.
“W-Wait a moment! You heard my story! I… I’m also of Namgung blood…”
“I’m trying to build a family, not chase after death.”
“I would too! If rebuilding the Namgung Family were possible, of course I would choose that path! Until now… there was no hope at all… But if it’s you… Please let me help! I beg you!”
Namgung Sol clutched at Namgung Woo’s pant leg and cried out desperately. To an onlooker, it might have looked like a woman clinging to a lover trying to abandon her.
“First, let go of this…”
As Namgung Sol only gripped tighter, Namgung Woo let out a dry laugh.
“I never planned to say no from the beginning. But remember this: what I need isn’t someone who wants to die, but someone who wants to live.”
Namgung Sol nodded so vigorously that it seemed her neck might break, then shouted in the brightest voice she could muster.
“I’ll remember that!”
Changmu Inn. The members of the Changcheon Squad, who had gathered in haste at Namgung Woo’s summons, immediately understood why he had called them upon seeing the girl smiling brightly beside him. Once everyone had assembled, Geumsin being the last, Namgung Woo lightly tapped Namgung Sol’s back.
Still more accustomed to civilian life than the martial world, Namgung Sol bowed deeply at the waist instead of offering a fist salute.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you all! I’m Namgung Sol! Please take care of me!”
“Well… I’ll explain the details later. From now on, she’ll be with us.”