Chapter 114
She felt Jin Cheong-ak’s stinging gaze from behind.
It was the look of someone demanding what that line from earlier meant, but as always, Yeo Il ignored him and stepped into Jegal Ihwa’s room.
The clothes Jegal Ihwa offered Yeo Il were plain white robes, just as simple as what Jegal Ihwa herself wore.
Unlike Yeo Il’s colorful hairpins and ornaments, the things Jegal Ihwa favored were mostly silver, gold, and jadeite. A frugality no different from that of a poor scholar.
“Hm.”
Jin Cheong-ak stared at Yeo Il after she changed—no, he inspected her from head to toe—then nodded with eyes full of thought.
“It’s not my taste either… but it’s way better than before, at least. A thousand—ten thousand times better than Namgung Jeok-myeong’s horrific preferences.”
So meticulous was she that Jegal Ihwa even trimmed Yeo Il’s slightly grown nails one by one as she spoke.
“…It seems you’re close with your bodyguard.”
Jin Cheong-ak answered in her place.
“Not just close. You could say we’re soulmates who’ll spend our entire lives together until we die.”
“So you’re like fish and water.”
“More like a match made in heaven, cloud-and-rain passion, paired wings and joined branches—”
Yeo Il snapped at both sides in a cold voice.
“Stop paying attention to nonsense and finish up.”
At that, Jegal Ihwa removed a lustrous jade plaque ornament from her own waist and fastened it onto Yeo Il’s.
“…This jade plaque is an ornament I received as a gift from Grandfather when I was young. It’s something I wear at all times, wherever I am.”
So it was an item that distinguished Jegal Ihwa.
After neatly arranging Yeo Il’s long, loosened hair one last time, Jegal Ihwa bowed respectfully to Yeo Il.
“Then… please, I entrust this to you.”
As she was about to leave the room, she suddenly stopped and looked back.
“…Is there anything you want me to deliver outside in your place? Any item, or any message?”
The first faces that came to mind were the Namgung brothers.
But Yeo Il did not even say the “Nam” of Namgung. Instead, she took out a small medicine vial she had kept with the jade ring and handed it to Jegal Ihwa.
“Deliver it to the Sichuan Tang Clan’s Dangju. Say it’s the thing they’ve been desperately looking for, and they’ll understand.”
“Understood.”
Right after Jegal Ihwa took the Hongyu antidote and left—
Jin Cheong-ak, who had been leaning by the door, straightened and approached.
“What are you scheming now?”
The playful expression from earlier—when he had been spouting “match made in heaven”—was gone, replaced by eyes filled with irritation and fatigue as he glared at Yeo Il.
“Don’t tell me Gwangbyeok’s last words included ‘steal the identity of a noble clan’s young lady twice.’ Hm?”
If she gave even a slightly suspicious answer, he looked ready to latch on and dig out the truth.
Yeo Il opened her mouth as if it were nothing.
“I made a deal with Jegal Hyeonmun.”
Jin Cheong-ak let out a sigh.
“You get kidnapped in Jegal Ihwa’s place, then rescue Jegal Seonhwa…”
“What? Kidnapped?”
“Yes, kidnapped. Got a problem? You’re not worried about me, are you?”
The mouth that had been about to say something slowly closed—his face looking as if he really was worried.
Jin Cheong-ak slumped into a chair across from her and pressed his fingertips hard against his forehead.
“What’s the price?”
“Silence about my identity.”
“Ah. You mean the identity of ‘Namgung Soyo was actually Wolgeom Ilsal’….”
A clear sneer filled his eyes.
“You expect me to believe that? You made a deal for something that pathetic? That doesn’t sound like a price worth paying.”
“There’s no need to leave my identity behind when I disappear. I don’t know what trouble could come later. I got what I wanted, so it’s beneficial to quietly erase my traces if possible.”
As she answered, the thought suddenly occurred to her.
Why was she answering him one by one?
When Yeo Il acted, Jin Cheong-ak followed. It was the natural order that had continued for years.
Couldn’t she just say one line and make him be quiet? But when she lifted her head and met Jin Cheong-ak’s eyes, that urge faded.
Maybe because she had gone through a slightly different wave of emotion than usual, she felt like she understood the reason, late as it was.
Perhaps because she knew the end of this plan.
“You’re talkative today, Master. It doesn’t suit you. What are you hiding from me?”
Maybe because things were proceeding smoothly as she intended.
“Our—”
Instead of biting at Jin Cheong-ak’s provocation, Yeo Il brought up something else.
“Where should we go after this?”
It wasn’t to change the subject. She was simply suddenly curious—where Jin Cheong-ak wanted to go.
“Since the Hangryong Gate Master might come looking for me, it’d be better to lie low for a while. If we go back near Xinjiang, it wouldn’t be bad for avoiding Cheonmu Ryeong’s eyes, either.”
“…….”
“And there’s no one to handle the menial tasks in Seol-yeong’s place, so how about you borrow your influence and recuperate for about a year? Coincidentally, the old man’s last words included ‘help myself and rest so deeply my bones decay.’”
Needless to say, as he stared at Yeo Il, Jin Cheong-ak’s eyes grew even more suspicious.
“Are you trying to charm me?”
“Do I need to?”
“…….”
“Think about where you want to go. After we save Jegal Seonhwa, we’re leaving immediately.”
“Hah.”
Jin Cheong-ak crossed his arms with a face like he might lose his mind from disbelief. For a long time—truly a long time—he stared at her face as if he had to pry out what she was hiding.
Then he finally said,
“…For now, toward Yunnan.”
Only easy to read at times like this.
The last fallen leaves fell.
Sitting by the window, Yeo Il silently stared down at the pile of fallen leaves on the table, then the moment she sensed a familiar presence nearby, she clenched them in her hand and crushed them into powder.
Jin Cheong-ak came in through the wide-open window and tossed something thin to her.
“The youngest gongja seems extremely worried about you, Master. A brotherhood deep enough to make you cry. Even though he doesn’t even know what plan you’ve got.”
It was a letter.
While Yeo Il spent time with Jegal Ihwa, it seemed Namgung Hui-myeong had been mingling with the Jianghu people in the clan estate, sharing various experiences.
The image of him never neglecting daily sword training flickered before her eyes.
“Are you going to write a reply? Well, at least a simple message—this Jin Cheong-ak can help—”
“No.”
Jin Cheong-ak shrugged, as if he had expected that.
She often felt it—sometimes he asked pointless things, as if Yeo Il were an ordinary person with no connection to Salmak at all.
“Danghong said this. Jegal Hyeonmun’s power has weakened a lot.”
Then tonight, was it.
Yeo Il looked up at the sky as the sun began to set, then closed the window.
It had been three days since she took Jegal Ihwa’s identity, so tonight would be the last night she stayed at the Jegal Clan.
“…Yeo Il. Are you really fine going alone?”
Yeo Il looked at Jin Cheong-ak as if he were saying something strange.
“Who are you worried about?”
His face looked unsatisfied in every way.
If only he were a bit more stupid and ignorant—someone who believed whatever she said at face value.
Why did he keep probing people and making it exhausting?
Before the conversation with Jin Cheong-ak grew longer, Yeo Il jerked her chin lightly toward the door—telling him to leave because she wanted to be alone.
Instead of obeying, Jin Cheong-ak stubbornly remained there, then finally let out a long sigh as if he couldn’t help it.
“Then… we’ll meet at the promised place, at the promised time.”
Yeo Il answered only with a nod, and Jin Cheong-ak left the room.
Yeo Il stared silently at where he had gone, then closed her eyes.
At the hour of Zi that night.
“This can’t stand! To take a filthy hostage and drive Jegal Hyeonmun-nim to the edge of a cliff—! It’s time for us, the orthodox faction, to unite our strength and show the Cheonma Divine Cult what’s what!”
As news spread that even Jegal Ihwa had been dragged away by the Cheonma Divine Cult, the sense of crisis among the Jianghu people staying in the Jegal Clan reached its peak.