Chapter 109
Thousand-Faced Demon had said it.
That a powerful sorcerer could sense traces through objects and people—traces left by an extraordinary person kept close for a long time.
Is this a crisis?
Yes. This was definitely an awkward situation.
When Yeo Il could not easily open her mouth, a faint killing intent began to pour in from all sides.
Unable to stand it, Namgung Hui-myeong twitched as if to speak, but once he registered Jegal Hyeonmun’s presence, he had no choice but to suppress his emotions and squeeze Yeo Il’s hand tightly.
“Child.”
“…….”
“Can you not answer? If so, I will not demand an answer any further.”
Nonsense. If she let it slide like this and move on to some other topic, then at the Jegal Clan, Yeo Il would become the public enemy in both name and reality.
And Jegal Hyeonmun was one of the greatest sorcerers of the era, acknowledged even by the First Evil.
He had surely placed powerful spells over the Jegal Clan. Escape would not be easy.
Yeo Il turned her mind calmly.
Should I kill him?
She considered it, briefly, but it was a bad move.
With her eyes closed, there was no guarantee the Jegal Hyeonmun in this space was truly the real Jegal Hyeonmun.
Then do I have something that can let me evade Jegal Hyeonmun’s suspicion?
Something that would not be strange even if it carried Cheonmu Ryeong’s aura.
…She did.
The moment she found her answer, Yeo Il spoke.
“I have never met him.”
Someone immediately picked at that.
“Suspicious, Great One. How could her answer be that late?”
“Is answering late the problem? If you had told me in advance, I wouldn’t have ‘dragged my feet’ before answering.”
“Hah. What did you say?”
Namgung Hui-myeong enthusiastically rubbed the back of Yeo Il’s hand. It was praise for a good comeback.
“Hm. Fine… If you have never met Cheonmu Ryeong, then is there something you possess that was not yours from the beginning?”
Pretending to think for a moment, Yeo Il took out an item she had kept close to her chest.
“This jade ring.”
If it was Jegal Hyeonmun, he would surely sense Cheonmu Ryeong’s trace from this as well. Since Cheonmu Ryeong had kept Yeo Il close, hadn’t she always carried the jade ring with her?
“Where did you get that item?”
“It is a jade ring I received from a peddler who would visit from time to time.”
“Were you close with that peddler?”
“If ‘close,’ then close. If ‘distant,’ then distant. At the time I had been driven out of the Namgung Clan and lived as if hiding, and he was the only outsider who kept company with me while I was isolated in the mountains.”
“Did he sell you the jade ring?”
“No. He gifted it to me for the New Year. When I said I had never once received something that could be called a gift since I was born, he gave it to me.”
When she brought up her rather unfortunate childhood, the spectators’ harsh momentum eased a little.
Whether she meant it or not, Namgung Hui-myeong—who had been busily patting the back of her hand as if to cheer her on—had stopped at some point. It seemed he was more shaken than expected by learning about Namgung Soyo’s life away from home for the first time.
“Great One.”
“The child’s words are not false.”
“Then right now, that jade ring—!”
“Leave it be. It is an ordinary jade ring with no sorcery placed upon it.”
Had Jegal Hyeonmun truly fallen for Yeo Il’s excuse?
I don’t know.
Given who the opponent was, she could not hope for only a favorable result. Offering the jade ring would not erase the trace of Cheonmu Ryeong that had seeped into Yeo Il, after all.
She sent Jin Cheong-ak a voice transmission.
[When this meeting ends, just in case, you should be outside the clan estate.]
After a short gap, he replied.
[I don’t want to. More importantly, did you think of what you’re going to ask?]
She was about to snap at him for spouting such nonsense at a time like this when Jegal Hyeonmun’s kindly chuckle brushed her ear.
But what followed did not feel kind at all.
“However, child—what is this long, private conversation you’ve been having with the man to your left since earlier? This old man is curious for the first time in a while. Must you pretend not to know and leave me out?”
The atmosphere around them, which had eased for a moment, turned vicious again.
“Voice transmission?”
“Are you saying that man sent a voice transmission behind our backs?”
As the murmuring grew louder—
Jin Cheong-ak let out a roaring laugh, then shouted in a voice as loud as his laughter.
“Did you hear that? Haha! This is a bit embarrassing. I was secretly reciting a love poem.”
At that, the murmuring all around became even more chaotic.
Half of it was shocked sighs at Jin Cheong-ak’s rudeness, and the other half was empty laughter at his absurd answer.
Only Jegal Hyeonmun kept his composure as he asked again.
“Oh? Love?”
“I’ve taken Namgung Sojeo to heart… haha. On days like today, when inspiration hits hard, I find myself wanting to convey these burning feelings vividly.”
Before Jegal Hyeonmun’s followers could seize on Jin Cheong-ak’s insolence, Yeo Il cut in first.
“It’s a joke, so don’t take it seriously.”
“Hm? To this old man’s ears, it sounded only serious. Do you mean it was fabricated?”
“Jin Daehyeop is acting as my eyes in place of me, since I cannot see. I was listening as he told me the names, appearances, and positions of those present here.”
“Was that so? I’m pretty sure I was reciting a love poem.”
It was nonsense like only he could spout. But because of it, Yeo Il became certain.
He not only noticed the voice transmission, he pinpointed me and Jin Cheong-ak exactly… There’s no way he fell for something like the jade ring.
Then Namgung Hui-myeong raised his voice and asked.
“Great One, why did you call for Soyo?”
After a moment, Jegal Hyeonmun answered.
“Leave the child behind and have everyone step out for a while.”
“What?”
“Great One, why are you suddenly sending us—”
In an instant, silence covered the room. Everyone looked flustered at Jegal Hyeonmun’s order.
The most flustered was Namgung Hui-myeong. He gripped Yeo Il’s hand more tightly and said,
“Soyo cannot see. She’ll only feel at ease if I remain by her side.”
“So that’s how it is, child. What do you think?”
It sounded like he was simply asking her opinion, but to Yeo Il’s ears it sounded completely different.
Are you allowing Namgung Hui-myeong to stay here?
“…Please step out, Hui-myeong Oppa. Surely Jegal Hyeonmun-nim won’t harm me.”
The others, including Jin Cheong-ak, were already leaving one by one.
Namgung Hui-myeong hesitated, still seated, and only when he was the last did he rise, leaving a short whisper by Yeo Il’s ear.
“He can’t see, just like you. Remember that.”
…Blind?
Tap.
The door closed.
Jegal Hyeonmun gestured to Yeo Il.
“I want to hear your voice from closer. Come a little nearer.”
As she narrowed the distance, Yeo Il lifted her eyelids without hesitation.
In that moment—
A pair of eyes, wide open and perfectly fine, greeted her. Jegal Hyeonmun’s black pupils were fixed precisely on Yeo Il’s face.
But Yeo Il did not panic.
There’s no focus.
He was merely holding his eyes open.
And the Jegal Hyeonmun before her was real, not a hallucination woven by sorcery.
Should I kill him?
But Yeo Il had stepped into the Jegal Clan for her own purpose. If possible, she wanted to watch the situation a little longer.
Her hand moved soundlessly, slowly, toward her hairpin.
And just as her fingers hovered at the end, still unable to fully seize it—
“Why have you come to the Jegal Clan, Wolgeom Ilsal?”
The hairpin left Yeo Il’s hand and shot like an arrow toward Jegal Hyeonmun’s throat.