Chapter 21
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: People Change
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"But what brings the Family Head here?"
I asked Nangong Hak, who still had his eyes fixed on the room where Yeoseol had vanished.
"Is it strange for a father to visit his child's quarters?"
"Ah, no, of course not."
"It's not that I've come to see Mubaek, either. When old Scholar Gu visited yesterday, I didn't realize and had Scholar Cheon join us, which must have embarrassed you. So I came to apologize."
"He's not someone worth worrying over that much. I've long forgotten any ill feelings."
"Hahaha, is that so? Then is it about your younger sister that you wanted to see me?"
"Yes. It seems I'll need to keep her with me until she regains her memories, at least for a while."
"Why even ask such an obvious thing? The Nangong Family is like Scholar Cheon's own home. Use whatever you need freely."
Nangong Hak drew closer and whispered to me.
"Isn't Scholar Cheon familiar with the family hand signals?"
"Ah."
I smiled awkwardly, and Nangong Hak spoke seriously.
"I didn't hand over the hand signal token as a joke. It carries that much authority."
"I am always grateful for the Family Head's consideration."
I bowed at his generosity.
At that moment, the window to my quarters flew open, and Cheon Yeoseol shouted.
"Old man! Don't bully my big brother!"
Her words drew a wry smile from me.
"That brat..."
I glared at Yeoseol, and she quickly slammed the window shut.
I sighed to myself, thinking once more that I needed to teach her manners above all else.
In the days that followed, I repeatedly lectured Yeoseol in a nagging tone as part of her education.
What she needed right now wasn't learning to read or write—it was understanding her own situation immediately.
"Yeoseol, if you just swing that stick around wildly like that, some thugs will come and drag you off."
"This isn't allowed either?"
I looked down at the ground where she stood.
A pile of dead insects lay scattered at her feet.
"They're bothering the flowers."
"They're not bothering them—they're just visiting to play."
"Ah, so these bugs are coming to play with the flowers?"
"Yeah! Flowers can't move and just stay still. That's why bugs that can fly come to play with them."
I continued.
"Would you like it if someone who came to play with you ended up dead?"
"No."
"So don't swing the stick around no matter what."
It gave me chills seeing the bugs cleanly bisected and dead.
I couldn't comprehend how this young girl could draw out sword energy that even first-rate masters struggled to produce.
Thanks to the near-brainwashing education over the next few days, Yeoseol stopped picking up sticks.
I lied and told her they smelled like shit so she wouldn't touch them.
I focused on warning her against parts where she might inadvertently reveal her strength and taught her etiquette as well.
With no memories and little prior education, it had been like reciting scriptures to a cow at first, but now I was starting to see some results.
Nangong Hak listened to Gu Jinha's report and dispatched men to track the Demonic Cult and Blood Cult forces.
No significant movements had been detected yet, but he kept combat units on standby for immediate deployment.
The Murim Alliance's White Tiger Unit and Inspection Unit actively joined the search, but they too found nothing substantial.
"Keep the Nangong Demon Subduing Unit on constant alert. They could deploy at any moment."
Just as the Nangong Family had its Subjugation Yard for dealing with the Demonic Cult and unorthodox sects, they maintained a dedicated martial force for such threats.
As Nangong Hak stepped out from reviewing intelligence reports, he suddenly missed the cute little girl he'd seen before and headed toward Scholar Cheon's quarters.
Seeing Yeoseol sitting in the flower garden watching butterflies, Nangong Hak smiled warmly.
Yeoseol was munching on scorched rice crusts while gazing at the flowers when a butterfly landed on one. She picked up a twig from the ground.
As she raised it toward the butterfly, her big brother's words came to mind, and she muttered.
"Are you here to play on the flower too? Big brother said not even to swing chopsticks if you're just playing."
Yeoseol dropped the twig.
Big brother wouldn't give her food if she didn't listen.
She desperately wanted to split the butterfly in two with the twig, but she hated the sad look in his eyes, so she tossed it away.
"Isn't the butterfly pretty?"
Nangong Hak asked as the girl stared at the butterfly for a long time.
"I don't know."
"You don't know? Why not?"
"I can't see its face."
Nangong Hak chuckled at her saying she couldn't tell if it was pretty without seeing its face.
"Why'd you come again, venerable elder?"
He burst into laughter at the change in how she addressed him.
"You used to just call me old man."
"Big brother said calling old people 'old man' makes them upset. He taught me to respect elders."
"So now it's 'venerable elder'?"
"Yeah."
"That's not bad at all. Much better than being the father of a scoundrel."
"But it's just the truth, so don't feel bad, venerable elder. When I break a dish, big brother calls me stupid and scolds me, but I put up with it. You shouldn't get mad at the truth."
"Right. That's correct."
"Did you come to bully big brother?"
"No, not to bully him. I'm here to see the scoundrel today."
"Oh? The scoundrel's over that way. He's been swinging sticks around a lot lately."
Nangong Hak reached out to pat the cute girl's head.
Thwack!
Cheon Yeoseol swatted his hand away before it could touch her hair.
"Big brother said not to let just anyone pat my head. Only big brother can touch my hair."
"That's right. It would be rude."
Nangong Hak found her so adorable saying that, he couldn't help reaching out again.
Thwack!
Yeoseol swatted his hand away once more.
"Everyone makes one mistake. But doing it twice isn't a mistake—it's on purpose, big brother said. He told me to stay away from people like that. Even the venerable elder, father of the scoundrel, needs to be careful."
Yeoseol, annoyed, tacked on "father of the scoundrel."
"I'm sorry."
Nangong Hak apologized readily.
"The scoundrel never apologizes to me, but the venerable elder, his father, is a bit better."
"I'm glad you think so."
Chatting with Yeoseol made Nangong Hak feel like he'd returned to his innocent youth.
Nangong Hak smiled faintly at the aura emanating from Nangong Mubaek's training ground.
'The youngest has advanced another step.'
It was unexpected.
He'd thought his son had little martial talent compared to the others, but his recent growth was nothing short of prodigious.
For a whole year, there'd been no progress in the Vault of Heaven Unfettered Sword Technique, yet suddenly he'd mastered the first half and was training the middle section. It wouldn't be long before he grasped its essence.
"Hm?"
Arriving at the training ground with those thoughts, Nangong Hak was inwardly shocked.
Just days ago, he'd been starting the middle section—had he already mastered it all?
'This surpasses even the eldest's talent. A late bloomer?'
The Vault of Heaven Unfettered Sword Technique was an advanced sword art that required insight to progress even a single step.
Yet there were no flaws in the middle section's forms.
"Has Father come?"
Sensing his father's presence amid his focused training, Nangong Mubaek greeted him politely.
'He's changed. His eyes, his stance, his martial arts. How can a person transform so completely in such a short time?'
The speed of his son's change was beyond comprehension.
"How's your training going?"
Nangong Mubaek looked embarrassed.
"It's improved a bit, but there are still many shortcomings."
Nangong Hak had no retort.
This wasn't the response he'd expected.
The boy used to brag loudly at the slightest progress.
Now so mature, he seemed like a different person. Nangong Hak studied him closely.
"It seems you've finally grown up."
"After meeting Scholar Cheon the other day, it was like a fog lifted from my mind, brightening everything. My mindset and thoughts have changed a lot since then."
Nangong Mubaek was still struggling to adapt to his own transformation.
'My decision was right. Bringing Scholar Cheon in as the youngest's writing tutor.'
Nangong Hak nodded and quietly spoke.
"Last time I saw you, you were just beginning the middle section of the Vault of Heaven Unfettered Sword Technique. How is your progress so swift?"
A smile tugged at Nangong Mubaek's lips.
"Father, please don't misunderstand. The truth is, I advanced after hearing Scholar Cheon's advice. When I perform a sword form, he precisely points out my flaws and corrects them."
Even the Nangong Family's martial instructors couldn't do that.
It required complete mastery of the Vault of Heaven Unfettered Sword Technique.
"What exactly did he advise, and on which parts?"
He needed to confirm if Scholar Cheon's guidance was accurate to ease his mind.
Wrong direction could lead to qi deviation, so he remained cautious.
"Here."
Nangong Mubaek demonstrated the forms and explained various cases.
After listening intently, Nangong Hak marveled.
"He pointed that out too?"
"Yes. Without Scholar Cheon, it would have taken me months to realize it."
"You're right. I pondered that part for ages myself. Your brother struggled there for three months."
The part Nangong Hak mentioned was the sixth form, Twin Dragon Mountain Collapse.
Twin Dragon Mountain Collapse depicted two dragons coiling around a mountain to bring it down, but without properly interpreting the two dragons, there was no progress.
"For days, I split my sword energy into two and executed the form, but I couldn't follow the proper footwork."
Recalling the excitement, Nangong Mubaek's tone grew animated.
Nangong Hak nodded in understanding, fully empathizing.
"And then?"
"No matter how I split it into two streams of sword energy, my internal energy flow was off. Scholar Cheon, who was watching, made a single comment."
"What did he say?"
"The energy from the two dragons is indeed two streams, but they don't both come from the sword. One from the sword, and the other from elsewhere."
"Where?"
"The left hand."
"Heh."
An exclamation escaped him.
"Sword energy from the blade, while projecting palm force from the left hand. And he said it must be the Heavenly Thunder Triple Palm, which doesn't conflict with the Vault of Heaven Unfettered Sword Technique at all. When I unleashed sword energy and the Heavenly Thunder Triple Palm simultaneously, the internal energy flowed perfectly."
The Heavenly Thunder Triple Palm was a secret art passed only to direct family, elders, and high-ranking captains.
Twin Dragon Mountain Collapse couldn't be mastered without realizing it combined two secret arts.
'The family leadership knows this, of course. But how does Scholar Cheon? Is he truly one who knows ten from hearing one?'
One who knows ten from hearing one meant a sage who comprehended ten truths from a single explanation—one glance piercing ten profundities.
Nangong Mubaek glanced at his father cautiously before speaking.
"Truthfully, when I was stuck on Twin Dragon Mountain Collapse, I asked other martial instructors, but none gave a satisfactory answer. So I reluctantly sought Scholar Cheon's advice."
Fearing rebuke for revealing a family secret to an outsider, his excuse met an unexpected response.
"When you hit a wall in training, seek Scholar Cheon's advice."
"Is that really okay?"
"It's fine. Scholar Cheon is practically one of the family."
With his father approving, there was no hesitation.
He wanted to complete the Vault of Heaven Unfettered Sword Technique with Scholar Cheon by his side.
And it no longer seemed far off.
"The latter half of the Vault of Heaven Unfettered Sword Technique requires real combat and experience. Join the Nangong Demon Subduing Unit tracking the Demonic Cult and Blood Cult as a member. They'll deploy tomorrow, so prepare."
It might be dangerous, but Nangong Hak chose his youngest's growth.
Nangong Mubaek, already realizing this himself, accepted gladly.
Children of martial families didn't shy from battle, even on perilous fields.
"Understood, Father."
The polite bow from his youngest felt unfamiliar; he stared several times.
Since the madness-inducing aura of the Demon Melody Star had faded, Nangong Mubaek had been changing bit by bit.
It was a change clear enough for all to notice.