Chapter 7 Not a Provocation, but a Resolve
Not a Provocation, but a Resolve
Chapter 7 – Not a Provocation, but a Resolve
While Muk Yeo-jin and Muk Yi-yeon faced each other in the reception hall, Namgung Ryeong-ryeong and Pyo-yeon were seated in the main chamber of their quarters.
Namgung Ryeong-ryeong frowned as she looked at Pyo-yeon’s swollen cheek and handed her a small container of premium salve.
Pyo-yeon quickly waved her hands.
>“I… My lady, I’m fine.”
“Take it.”
“…Yes.”
Knowing her mistress’s stubbornness, Pyo-yeon didn’t refuse twice. She would end up taking it anyway.
A silence settled, heavy and drooping.
Quick-witted as always, Pyo-yeon could immediately sense the guilt weighing on Namgung Ryeong-ryeong. The lady clearly thought Pyo-yeon being struck was her fault.
They had been together for nearly twenty years, yet her mistress never ceased to amaze her. One moment, she could be fierce and commanding—like when she grabbed Bang Byung-il by the throat and silenced the room earlier. But the next, she was delicate and considerate, endlessly gentle to those close to her.
Strong to the strong, soft to the weak—that was Namgung Ryeong-ryeong. How could anyone serving her not admire her?
Pyo-yeon smiled faintly, trying to lift the mood.
>“You’ve changed a lot, my lady.”
She was referring to Yeo-jin.
At the mention of her son, Namgung Ryeong-ryeong’s expression softened, and she let out a sigh.
>“You’re right. The way he stood before the Red Wolf Lord… and especially how he boldly spoke in front of the Sadocheon leaders today—he’s truly…”
“When I saw the young master today, I thought, ‘Yes, he really is the son of my lady.’”
Pyo-yeon chuckled playfully behind her sleeve.
Namgung Ryeong-ryeong narrowed her eyes.
>“And when was I ever so reckless, hmm?”
“Oh, my lady, if we’re talking about recklessness, you were ten times worse! I still remember the day you stormed into Manyeon Palace, a sword in hand, shouting, ‘Heavenly Lord! I, Namgung Ryeong-ryeong, will be your wife! Show yourself!’”
“Cough! Cough!… Forget it. That’s an order.”
“Of course, my lady. What order could I dare disobey? I’ve already forgotten. Did I say anything just now?”
Namgung Ryeong-ryeong shot her a sharp, catlike glare, but then both of them burst out laughing. The heavy feeling that had lingered earlier lifted away in an instant.
Moments like this were why she cherished Pyo-yeon so deeply.
Namgung Ryeong-ryeong’s voice softened.
>“Pyo-yeon.”
“Yes, my lady?”
“Could you find me a sword?”
Pyo-yeon hesitated. Then quietly said,
>“…My lady, your sword—I still have it.”
Namgung Ryeong-ryeong’s eyes widened.
>“You kept it all this time?”
“Of course. I even had it tended to at the forge regularly.”
“I told you to sell it or throw it away…”
On the day of her forced marriage to the Sadocheon Lord, Namgung Ryeong-ryeong had put her sword down. To her, it symbolized the chains of martial arts and her hated fate. The first order she gave to Pyo-yeon was to dispose of it.
“If you’d sold it, you could’ve bought a fine estate.”
“The blacksmith once offered me five hundred gold coins for it. I admit I was tempted.”
Yet Pyo-yeon had kept it for nearly twenty years.
“You’re just as unyielding as ever.”
“The man who struck my cheek today said, ‘Like master, like servant.’ Perhaps he was right.”
That finally made Namgung Ryeong-ryeong laugh out loud.
Yes, her life in Sadocheon was a curse—but meeting Pyo-yeon and giving birth to Yeo-jin were blessings strong enough to balance it.
As their conversation grew lighter, Namgung Ryeong-ryeong suddenly grew serious.
>“I’ll have to contact my family.”
Pyo-yeon’s eyes widened.
>“…You’ve decided?”
“Yes. My son has vowed to change. I cannot weigh him down like a burden when he tries to soar.”
“You’ve made the right choice, my lady.”
But unease flickered in Namgung Ryeong-ryeong’s eyes. The moment she stood tall again, the pressure and opposition would be fierce. Those who would suffer most would be her people—like Pyo-yeon.
“It will be difficult. Very difficult.”
But Pyo-yeon met her gaze steadily.
>“My lady… Forgive me, but the dragon I wish to see soar is not the young master. It is you.”
The words struck Namgung Ryeong-ryeong like a tremor. Her old epithet echoed in her ears—one forgotten by the world.
The Mad Dragon Sword.
“Do not worry about me, my lady. Spread your wings wide and fly across the skies.”
Meanwhile, in the reception hall, Yeo-jin and Yi-yeon were locked in a silent war.
Yi-yeon bore down on him with sheer presence, sweat dripping from his chin and pooling on the table. Her aura was suffocating, pressing into him like a storm.
It was punishment for his audacity. Through her overwhelming pressure, Yi-yeon’s meaning was clear:
“You dare claim you’ll surpass me in five years?”
His limbs shook, his breath came short, but his gaze never wavered. His eyes answered in return:
“Yes. I will. Sister.”
It was not arrogance, nor certainty. It was will.
To defeat the monstrous cultists of the Original Sound Sect, to destroy the parasites infesting the martial world, he had to surpass even someone like her—within five years, or less.
This was not a provocation. It was a vow to himself.
‘I will surpass you, sister. Within five years.’
The pressure grew heavier until numbness spread through his body. At the brink of collapse—
Yi-yeon abruptly withdrew her aura.
>“Ha!”
Yeo-jin smiled, breath ragged.
>“Hah… hah… That means I win, sister.”
She said nothing. But she couldn’t deny it. The pressure she unleashed would have crushed even seasoned Red Wolf soldiers. Yet this boy had endured.
He was no longer the fragile child she once knew.
And though his cheeky words irritated her, she found herself… liking this defiant younger brother.
“You’re bold enough to say you’d kill your own brother. What a shameless brat.”
“Then he’d better not provoke me again. Next time, I might actually do it.”
Yi-yeon felt a reluctant smile tug at her lips. Yeo-jin noticed immediately.
>“You’re even more beautiful when you smile, sister.”
She flinched—he had caught her unguarded.
>“At this rate, in five years you’ll be the greatest womanizer in the martial world.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad.”
Yi-yeon chuckled softly. Against her will, she was warming to him.
Their talk drifted to other matters, until she suddenly revealed something unexpected.
>“The Punishment Hall of Mangdam Hall hides more than punishment cells. It holds Father’s old training chamber.”
Yeo-jin’s eyes narrowed in surprise. He had known this—but for her to reveal it willingly?
“Why tell me such a secret, sister?”
Yi-yeon smiled faintly.
>“Do my words sound sharp to you? I don’t resent you, Yeo-jin. If anything, I’m grateful. The position of Red Wolf Lord was nothing but a burden. Mother forced it upon me. Now I’m free.”
Her face clouded, and Yeo-jin’s heart hardened. A mother who only used her daughter… The opposite of his own. His mother had once told him:
“Live as you wish, Yeo-jin. Don’t worry about anything else.”
Back then, he hadn’t understood the cost she would pay for his choice.
Not this time. He clenched his fist.
>‘This time, no one will harm those I love. I’ll repay every pain a hundredfold.’
Yi-yeon rose gracefully.
>“I should go. Give my regards to your mother.”
“Yes, sister.”
At the door, she turned back.
>“For a while, I’ll be in Xiaobaek Mountain, Yunnan. If you need me, send word there.”
Yeo-jin’s eyes lit up.
>“Any request at all?”
She only smiled faintly before leaving.
To him, that was as good as a yes.
>‘With someone like her backing me, crossing mountains will be like walking plains.’
This life truly seemed to be turning in his favor.