Chapter 104
When Namgung Jeok-myeong drew his sword, Dang Maeryeong sucked in a breath.
“No—how did things turn into this absurd situation… Put your sword away at once, Sogaju! Namgung Sojeo, you too, come to your senses. The Sogaju is one of the greatest rising talents in the Murim of this era. He isn’t someone you can do anything to just by throwing a tantrum!”
“Then Dangju must be hoping I can do something to my brother.”
“What…?”
“Otherwise, you’ll never obtain Hongyu’s antidote.”
Yeo Il stood in stillness, as if time itself had stopped, her sword lowered. With the attitude of yielding the first strike, Namgung Jeok-myeong moved forward slowly, searching for an opening.
His presence was so heavy and steady that even Dang Maeryeong, who had been voicing loud concern, fell quiet and watched the two with anxious eyes.
“Since it would be nonsense for Brother to lose to me, I’ll accept it even if you only manage to wound me.”
As if taking that as a cue, Namgung Jeok-myeong swung his sword.
It made Yeo Il’s vague assumption—that it would resemble Namgung Hui-myeong’s swordsmanship—feel pointless. His sword was astonishingly domineering.
Fast, aggressive, and heavy.
Yeo Il was not well-versed in the Namgung Clan’s sword arts, but she felt she understood why Namgung Hui-myeong had praised this man so highly.
There were more than a few moments when she nearly opened her eyes out of sheer instinct.
In truth, it would not have mattered much even if she did open them, but she did not feel like doing that against Namgung Jeok-myeong right now.
Because Yeo Il knew well that if she maintained composure while bound by restraints, the other side would trip over their own feet.
Yet, contrary to her expectation, Namgung Jeok-myeong did not waver in the slightest. He did not even show the hint of it.
Both his skill and his mindset truly deserve the name Ilseom.
He did not let his guard down against Yeo Il. Even facing a harmless-looking woman like her with her eyes closed, he did not grow flustered or sink into frustration.
But that was all.
Yeo Il could tell at once.
Namgung Jeok-myeong’s sword point was dull.
Just because his opponent was Yeo Il, the sharpness of his blade had completely withered. She had consciously shown openings several times, yet he only hesitated and let them pass.
He could not fully display the fame of Changpae Saryong’s Cheonggeom Ilseom.
At that complacency, Yeo Il clicked her tongue.
“You still haven’t come to your senses.”
Slash—. Blooming red blood painted the air like autumn leaves falling on the wind.
“Sogaju!”
Namgung Jeok-myeong retreated without panicking. The hand that felt along his right shoulder and chest quickly came away wet. The steady, controlled breathing that followed made it easy to gauge the wound’s depth.
Three or four bodyguards rushed in, blocking between them and supporting Namgung Jeok-myeong.
“Sogaju-nim.”
“……In the end, I embarrassed myself. To think I, as an elder brother, got helplessly done in by a younger sister who can’t even see properly.”
“And you’re saying that at a time like this!”
“Haha! …Mm.”
At Dang Maeryeong’s scolding, Namgung Jeok-myeong let a self-mocking smile slip, then swallowed a groan as if the pain had spiked.
“It was always like this, but… you’re quite cold, Soyo. You could have held back at least a little.”
“Judging by how much you’re talking, you must still be fine. Are you going to let me go now?”
Namgung Jeok-myeong shoved the bodyguards aside and straightened up again.
“The match is not decided yet.”
It was a foolish judgment.
Namgung Jeok-myeong gripped his sword again and came at her first. His speed was clearly slower than before. Without bothering to measure it for long, Yeo Il drove in toward the sword wound again, intending to force him back.
At that moment, from Namgung Jeok-myeong—who instead pushed in even deeper—she felt the intention clearly: If you’re cold enough, you’ll surely dig into this again.
The will to leave even a small wound on Yeo Il, even if it meant fully offering up his shoulder.
To a martial artist, the shoulder was no different from life itself. And yet he was willing to give it up for the single reason of stopping Yeo Il?
Did he really want to stop me that badly?
Then—
“Stop!”
Dang Maeryeong stepped between them, spreading both arms wide to block.
“I still can’t fully grasp what kind of situation this is, but… the Sogaju’s bleeding is not normal. If the wound keeps splitting open like this—!”
“Well done, Dangju.”
Using Dang Maeryeong as a shield, Yeo Il grabbed the back of her neck, swung her around, then shoved her toward Namgung Jeok-myeong.
And as Namgung Jeok-myeong staggered backward, seemingly worried Dang Maeryeong might be hurt, Yeo Il slipped behind him and struck a vital point with her hand.
Thud.
He collapsed.
“……I have no intention of harming Brother any further, so calm yourselves.”
At Yeo Il’s warning, the bodyguards—who had been giving off a hostile air—stopped moving.
As if they had heard the commotion here, the warriors guarding Bukcheong were rushing over in a quick wave.
After returning the sword to Dang Maeryeong, Yeo Il slightly disheveled her clothing and hair, then sank down beside Namgung Jeok-myeong.
Then she shouted in a voice full of worry.
“Ah… Brother Jeok-myeong! Please wake up, Brother!”
Her tear-laced despair echoed through the corridor, and the clan estate began to grow noisier by the moment.
After securing many witnesses, Yeo Il allowed Namgung Jeok-myeong’s bodyguards to support him.
Dang Maeryeong, who watched the process in silence, finally parted her dry lips.
“Namgung So—.”
[Stay quiet. If you want Hongyu’s antidote. I have to leave the clan without trouble for you to get what you want too.]
[…Who are you?]
[…]
[Were you always this cold? And your sword skill doesn’t feel like that of a blind person at all… Is it really as the rumors say—there is another, real Namgung Soyo?]
Yeo Il turned her head toward Dang Maeryeong, who stood there with a confused expression. Covering her mouth with her sleeve, she smiled faintly.
“How could that be?”
Not long after, maids came running from afar, supported Yeo Il, and took her back to Seocheong.
Namgung Jeok-myeong collapsed.
As for the sword wound left on his shoulder, Yeo Il testified, “Brother ended up like this while protecting me after I was taken hostage by an intruder.”
Namgung Jeok-myeong’s bodyguards did not interfere with her testimony.
“…….”
Dang Maeryeong also returned to her room without adding a single word.
At least on the surface, it was a family matter between siblings, so it would have been difficult for her to insert herself.
The intruder—whom Yeo Il described as an unknown expert—vanished without leaving any other trace.
But because no one in the clan could imagine that Yeo Il had left such a deep sword wound on Namgung Jeok-myeong, known as Changpae Saryong’s Ilseom, Yeo Il’s lie steadily became accepted as fact.
And with Salmak’s return already making Anhui Province uneasy, flesh was added to the bones, and within half a day the rumor spread widely: “Namgung Jeok-myeong was injured while trying to save Namgung Soyo, who had been taken hostage by Salmak.”
After staying by Namgung Jeok-myeong’s side all night, Yeo Il said to Namgung Hui-myeong, who had come to check her condition again.
“The timing is bad, but I want to help the Jegal Clan together with Dangju-nim. They said the Tang Clan in Sichuan will attach an escort for me on the return trip, so you don’t need to worry.”
Getting permission from the overprotective Namgung Hui-myeong would be close to impossible. But Yeo Il intended to leave the clan no matter what, even if she had to invoke Namgung Jeok-myeong’s name.
Sure enough, after hearing her intention, Namgung Hui-myeong stayed silent for a long time.
Then the answer that came was—
“Fine.”
Surprisingly, it was affirmative.
“We need to move as soon as possible. We’ll depart the moment the sun rises, so go to sleep early today.”
“…You’re coming with me? Shouldn’t you be taking care of Brother Jeok-myeong?”
“Taking care of him? Hah. My brother isn’t someone who’ll weaken from a single ambush. He doesn’t need anything like that. He probably intended to send me to the Jegal Clan anyway.”
That was, in fact, exactly the case.
“And if it’s not me, who’s going to protect you? I’ll say this in advance—this me is different from before. What happened in Hubei Province won’t repeat itself, so put your mind at ease.”
“Yes.”
“…Still, this time, separate from my brother’s incident, I have a bad feeling about the schedule. Just in case, brace yourself.”
Feeling Namgung Hui-myeong’s presence disappear with a hardened air, Yeo Il thought his instincts were exceptionally sharp.
From the start, she had no plan to ever return to the Namgung Clan again.