Chapter 116
Running away is the best option.
Yeo Il had long since thrown away dignity, pride, and anything resembling “a Jianghu person’s honor” to the dogs. She had no qualms about (cheaply) stabbing at an opponent’s blind spot, or luring them into lowering their guard (so she could bolt).
Not long after she unleashed her Lightness Skill, she felt a presence rapidly closing in from behind.
Not several—one.
Probably the white-haired swordsman who had been guarding Choi I-ryang’s side.
Yeo Il increased her speed. If possible, she intended to lead him all the way back to the Jegal Clan like this.
If blood had to be spilled, it should be spilled in front of as many eyes as possible. That was why she had come this far.
Then, she sensed another presence approaching quickly from the front.
This time too—one.
As she scanned the surroundings to change direction—
An unexpected voice rang out.
“Namgung Soyo! Is that you over there? If it is, answer me!”
Namgung Hui-myeong.
…Damn it.
The moment she was certain it was him, Yeo Il slowly slowed her steps and closed her eyes.
When she set Jegal Seonhwa’s corpse back on the ground, she had wondered if she really needed to go this far, but before that doubt could deepen, her movements and tone had already shifted from Yeo Il back into Namgung Soyo.
“Soyo!”
Namgung Hui-myeong rushed up and grabbed her shoulders. She felt heat radiating from him.
His palms were soaked with sweat, and every time his ragged breath fell against her head, she felt the powerful beat of his heart.
“Hui-myeong Oppa, how did you get all the way here…?”
Yeo Il could not finish.
With a sudden scrape, her head snapped to the right. A burning heat flared across her left cheek.
“Have you finally lost your mind, Namgung Soyo!”
Namgung Hui-myeong had struck her.
Maybe that was why, without thinking, Yeo Il lifted a hand and brushed her heated cheek.
“I thought maybe not, but you really did get kidnapped in Jegal Ihwa’s place! Is this what you meant by ‘helping’? Huh? You can’t even see properly—why would you throw yourself into danger that doesn’t even fit your station!”
“…How did you know?”
“Hey. Is that what matters right now? How would I know? Because someone saw Jegal Ihwa still in her quarters! The kidnapped person is still there, and the one who’s supposed to be there isn’t—how could anyone not know!”
Someone saw Jegal Ihwa still in her quarters?
That was strange.
There’s no way.
Jegal Ihwa had been hiding deep inside the estate under Jegal Hyeonmun’s protection. She had not returned to her quarters even once.
In other words, false information had been spread.
And if there was a reason that false information was deliberately fed to Namgung Hui-myeong—
“…This is a trap, Oppa. Run right now—!”
At that moment—
A black figure shot out of the bushes like an arrow, and Namgung Hui-myeong rolled on the ground while hugging Yeo Il.
Had he spotted Jegal Seonhwa’s corpse? He sprang up with a hardened face and shoved Yeo Il behind his back.
“…Tch. Hey, Soyo. I’ll finish the nagging when we get back, so hide right behind me.”
Hide? Yeo Il frowned.
He doesn’t even know what situation he’s in.
No doubt about it.
Choi I-ryang intended to deal with not only Yeo Il, but Namgung Hui-myeong too, right here. Otherwise, he would not have lured Namgung Hui-myeong here with a lie.
The white-haired martial artist who had failed his surprise attack dusted off his clothes and slowly closed the distance.
Namgung Hui-myeong immediately drew his sword, grinding his teeth as he shouted.
“Even at your age, you’re not ashamed to threaten a young woman? If I were you, I’d die of shame with my face shoved into ice water!”
The other man spoke.
“Namgung Hui-myeong.”
At the low call of his name, Namgung Hui-myeong’s eyebrow twitched as if asking whether the man knew him.
With cold eyes lacking any emotion, the white-haired man continued.
“If I know your name, then you should know mine as well. I am Ye Ju-un. The man who will wipe out the Namgung Clan.”
A Ye of the Cheonma Divine Cult. Was he from the same family as Ye So-gun?
I heard there aren’t many Ye family members left, even within the Cheonma Divine Cult.
But the way he spoke of wiping out the Namgung Clan made it certain. Even more so when she saw the chilling hollowness in his eyes—the particular emptiness of someone who lives for revenge.
Baring his teeth, Namgung Hui-myeong glared at him.
“Big dreams. Who says you get to wipe anyone out?”
“I’ll put it simply. You die here. If you want someone to resent, resent your biological father. Your only sin is being born Namgung Je’s son.”
Namgung Hui-myeong’s already-pinched brow twisted violently.
“What kind of bullshit is that!”
Ye Ju-un answered with the same flat face.
“It means this is Lady Ye So-gun’s revenge.”
“Lady Ye So-gun? Damn it. Who the hell is that damned Ye So-gun, and what was she even doing? Why drag in a name that has nothing to do with the Namgung Clan—what’s the point!”
“A name that has nothing to do with you? As Choi I-ryang-nim said, you truly know nothing.”
“Then what is it I don’t know—”
“Lady Ye So-gun is Namgung Soyo.”
“…What?”
“To be precise, Lady Ye So-gun was forced by Namgung Je to become Namgung Soyo. Even losing her perfectly fine eyes to that beast….”
Namgung Hui-myeong turned to Yeo Il with a face that could not comprehend it, then clenched his teeth and stared back at Ye Ju-un.
“Shut up. Jeok-myeong Hyung said he’d never even heard the name Ye So-gun.”
“You believe that at face value? Naïve. Still, don’t feel too wronged, Namgung Hui-myeong.”
Ye Ju-un’s eyes turned toward Yeo Il.
“I’ll send that fake to the underworld as your companion.”
His sword surged toward Yeo Il.
The one who blocked and protected her without hesitation was, of course, Namgung Hui-myeong.
They clashed violently. And Namgung Hui-myeong was pushed back one-sidedly.
“As the world says, you’re usable. But unfortunately, I don’t have time to play with you.”
“Kgh.”
Ye Ju-un handled Namgung Hui-myeong with seasoned ease.
Each time he moved as if to attack Yeo Il, Namgung Hui-myeong rushed in to respond. The enemy used those gaps to carve small and large wounds across Namgung Hui-myeong’s body.
Yeo Il, who had stood like a statue behind Namgung Hui-myeong’s protection, moved only when Ye Ju-un’s sword slipped in with perfect precision, aiming for Namgung Hui-myeong’s vital point.
“…….”
The blade that drove into his side was stopped by Yeo Il, and Ye Ju-un’s eyes narrowed.
“Huff….”
Namgung Hui-myeong, who had survived at the last possible moment, stumbled back until a tree blocked him.
A moment later, his eyes met Yeo Il’s—who had watched everything.
A pair of pitch-black eyes met his gaze boldly in the center of that slender face.
Namgung Hui-myeong went blank for an instant.
“Soyo, you—.”
Kiiik—
As Ye Ju-un tried to pull back, his sword was blocked by Yeo Il’s, letting out a strange grinding sound.
Ye Ju-un stared stiffly at his own blade, helplessly stopped without being able to exert any force.
“…So that’s what it was.”
As if realizing the truth too late, Ye Ju-un’s eyes snapped wide.
“You were the one who killed the Chuhyeol Sword Ghost?”
With clenched teeth, he swung his arm, and the sword—freed from Yeo Il—returned to his grasp.
But the blade that had been fine just moments ago now had a large chunk missing.
In contrast, Yeo Il’s sword was fine.
A sword that looked worthless at a glance still held its original sheen and shone sharply, and tension unlike before settled over Ye Ju-un’s face.
Then—
“Who’s there! State your name!”