Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: As Ever
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Paying his respects…
This was a situation where even saying, ‘Old man, are you so close to death you can’t even sleep in?’ wouldn’t have been enough…
Tsk, tsk.
Sorry?
The word ‘sorry’ simply didn’t compute in Namgung Yul’s mind. It was a word that should never come out of his damned nephew’s mouth.
This was no ordinary matter.
No, wasn’t it like a bolt from the blue?
The faces of Jang Gae and Namgung Yul turned grim.
Seo I-ryeong and Zhuge Siyeon also came outside and exchanged greetings with Namgung Urin.
Namgung Urin greeted Zhuge Siyeon warmly.
“You haven’t left. Were you staying because you were worried about me? Thank you.”
“Uh, oh. Ye-yes. I was worried about you.”
She hadn’t left.
But now she was very worried indeed.
“Miss I-ryeong, you haven’t left either. Thank you.”
“…Ah, yes. I was worried about the Young Lord.”
It was impossible to get used to.
But for Seo I-ryeong, who had spent a fair bit of time with Namgung Urin recently, it was even stranger.
“But why does everyone look so glum? You look as if you’re not pleased that I’ve woken up.”
Namgung Yul, the Family Head of Namgung, finally spoke.
“Are you alright?”
Namgung Urin smiled brightly and said,
“Yes, Uncle. Thanks to you, my body feels light enough to fly.”
“…Th-thanks to me?”
“Yes, Uncle.”
Something was seriously, seriously wrong.
The life was draining from Namgung Yul’s face.
“Urin…”
Why would Namgung Urin not know why they were all acting this way?
He knew.
Wasn’t he the type who could read a person’s inner thoughts just from their expression?
He was just having a bit of fun.
“Uncle. Don’t worry. I know I’ve changed. I don’t know why.”
No.
Namgung Urin thought he knew the reason. But he couldn’t be sure if his guess was correct.
“But I have changed. Weren’t you always worried? You don’t have to be anymore. Many things will change from now on.”
That was what made him more anxious.
Even more!
“…Th-that’s a relief.”
At least it didn’t seem like his mind was broken. But Namgung Yul’s anxiety did not subside.
His nephew’s smile somehow resembled that of a madman. Though he didn’t want to see his nephew, who had woken up after a month, in such a light, he couldn’t help but perceive it that way.
Just then, the commotion outside woke Lady Yeonhwa, who had been sleeping, and she came out of the pavilion.
Her steps, treading absently on the piled snow, came to a sudden halt. She saw her son, the one she had worried about so much.
“Urin…”
Namgung Urin slowly approached his mother.
Tears began to fall from Lady Yeonhwa’s eyes, soon streaming down endlessly. Namgung Urin embraced his weeping mother.
“You’ve suffered so much because of your foolish son. I’m sorry. I’ll make sure nothing like this ever happens again. So please, smile now.”
Held in the arms of her son who had woken after a month, Lady Yeonhwa pulled away and gazed at his face.
“No. It was this mother’s fault. This mother’s greed nearly killed you. Don’t even think about revenge anymore. You don’t have to do it. What does it matter? Your father and grandfather would understand. So now…”
“Mother. Don’t worry. I’ll get strong enough to take revenge without you having to worry. So from now on, please take care of yourself first. I promise you. Nothing like this will ever happen again.”
“Urin… but still…”
“Mother. Please trust your son.”
“Alright, I understand. If this mother doesn’t trust her son, who will? I believe in you, my son.”
“Mother, it’s cold out. Let’s go inside now.”
“Yes, let’s.”
Just then, someone else appeared.
“You’re awake.”
So Hwi, the master of the Moonlit Pavilion where Namgung Urin was staying, arrived with Chanjo.
Namgung Urin turned his head to look at So Hwi.
“Yes. Thank you.”
He had heard from Han Seo-hui why he had been allowed to stay here.
“Don’t mention it. It was nothing.”
As long as it meant her own life would be extended.
“Still, thank you.”
“If you’re really grateful, how about now?”
“Now?”
“Yes, now. They say to strike while the iron is hot. Now that you’re awake, you’ll be leaving soon. Am I wrong?”
Everyone was intensely curious about what was going on.
What kind of matter between the master of the Moonlit Pavilion and Namgung Urin needed to be dealt with while the iron was hot?
Han Seo-hui stepped forward and said,
“I’ll take Mother inside.”
Namgung Urin gave Han Seo-hui a bright smile.
Lady Yeonhwa, also curious, called out to her son.
“Urin.”
“Don’t worry. It’s nothing serious.”
Namgung Yul also called out with worried eyes, wondering if he was about to cause trouble right after waking up.
“Urin, what on earth is…”
“Uncle. It’s really nothing. So please, don’t worry and go inside.”
Jang Gae also spoke up. His eyes, having reached the absolute realm, could not fail to notice So Hwi’s bewitching aura.
That was why he was worried.
“You must be careful…”
“Old man, why are you acting like this too? Please don’t. It makes you look foolish in your old age.”
“…You brat…”
Namgung Urin turned his back and quickly moved with So Hwi toward the main building of the Moonlit Pavilion. Han Seo-hui also took Lady Yeonhwa back to her room.
So did Seo I-ryeong and Zhuge Siyeon.
Jang Gae’s gaze turned to Namgung Yul.
“…Your nephew’s insolence is still the same.”
Namgung Urin had claimed with his own mouth that he had changed, but his insolence was no different than before.
No.
Spitting out rude words with a smile made him seem even more insolent.
“…It seems so. What a relief.”
Jang Gae’s eyebrows shot up fiercely.
“…A relief?”
Being publicly humiliated was a relief?
“You know that’s not what I mean. Why are you really being like this?”
Truly acting foolish.
“Hmph. Tsk.”
* * *
“How are you feeling? Is your body okay?”
So Hwi asked Namgung Urin after they arrived at her office on the fifth floor of the Moonlit Pavilion’s main building and sat down.
“You’re asking that a bit late.”
“That’s not what I was asking.”
“Ah.”
She meant his body had to be okay so there would be no problems in treating her.
“You seem quite callous.”
“I have to be to maintain this position.”
It was no easy task to hold the position of a branch leader of the Lower Five Gates. In the world of the Lower Five Gates, you never knew when, where, or how some other bastard might try to climb over you.
The current martial world seemed to have learned directly from the Lower Five Gates.
“It’s not like I’m after your position.”
So Hwi tilted her head.
“You’ve changed a lot, you know?”
“Is that a compliment or an insult?”
“Right. That’s more like you. What was that just now? ‘You’re asking that a bit late?’ That’s not something you would say. You’re the type who would know I’m not someone to worry about you.”
“I’m still not used to it either, so let’s drop it.”
“Alright. Your personality seems the same as ever.”
“Shall we begin then?”
“Fine.”
Namgung Urin was about to place his palm on So Hwi’s dantian. Startled, So Hwi stopped him.
“Wait a moment.”
“Why?”
“Your hand, does it have to be on my dantian?”
“Why, are you scared? Then forget it.”
If one had malicious intent, it was a part of the body that could be destroyed in an instant. That was why martial artists never allowed outsiders to touch their dantian.
Not even a lover.
“No.”
“Then what?”
“It’s just… too suggestive. Is it okay if I feel something during the treatment?”
“Whether you feel something or not is your business.”
“Are you sure it’s okay? What if something goes wrong during the treatment?”
“That, I don’t know. It’s my first time doing this too.”
“Hey!”
“A joke, it was a joke. I don’t want to die.”
“Who in the world wants to die! And if you change so suddenly like that, you’ll die young too, you punk!”
She said this because Namgung Urin, who had never known the word ‘joke,’ had just made one.
“I think even dying would be hard for me.”
“Must be nice. To find even dying difficult.”
“Enough with the bullshit. Let’s start.”
“Wait a moment.”
“What now?”
So Hwi stood up and began to clumsily take off her clothes. Namgung Urin hastily stopped her.
“That’s enough. You don’t have to take your clothes off.”
“Let’s take them off, just to be safe.”
For a simple internal check, clothes were not a major issue, but for treatment involving injecting internal energy through the dantian, it was safer for skin and hand to be in direct contact.
“I said stop.”
“Why? You’ve never seen a woman naked before, have you? I’ll give you a special look this time. It’s not easy to see a body like mine. So, be grateful.”
“I’m good. Stop it. I might just not do the treatment.”
“Oh, come on. Don’t be shy.”
“Hey, hey! Where does an old lady over thirty get off having lewd thoughts about a young man not even of age! Huh? Know your limits. I’m serious, I won’t do it.”
“…You knew?”
So Hwi thought Namgung Urin didn’t know her age.
“Yes.”
“How did you know?”
“I have my ways. So stop with the pointless antics and just lie down.”
Because of the Primordial Chaos, he could roughly guess a person’s age.
“Really? And yet you were locking lips with a woman who’s almost thirty. If you’re going to do it, do it quietly in a room. Why do it outside for everyone to see? Kids these days, honestly.”
“You saw?”
“Yes.”
Chanjo saw it first, and then Chanjo woke up So Hwi to watch together. That was how long Namgung Urin and Han Seo-hui had been kissing.
“So I saw. Now hurry up and lie down.”
“The Iron Blood Sect Master is amazing too. At that age, how can she…”
“Will you shut up?”
“Aish. Looks like I’ll have to be satisfied with just your hand. Tsk.”
To begin So Hwi’s treatment, Namgung Urin’s hand touched her dantian.
“Ah, that feels good.”
“Quiet.”
“…”
The Primordial Chaos seeped from Namgung Urin’s palm into So Hwi’s dantian. The infused chaos located the scattered impurities near her dantian.
These impurities were the unfiltered dregs left over from absorbing another’s innate qi. They had accumulated and were leading So Hwi to her death.
After burning away all the impurities in her dantian, the Primordial Chaos began to flow through her meridians. The impurities had spread throughout her entire body. If left alone, her life would have truly been in danger before long.
After about thirty minutes, Namgung Urin’s palm lifted from So Hwi’s dantian.
“It’s done. Try a simple small heavenly cycle.”
“A small heavenly cycle? Now?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Just do as I say.”
“Are you my husband or something? Not like you’re going to give me anything.”
“Aish, honestly!”
“Alright, alright. I’ll do it.”
So Hwi reluctantly sat cross-legged and circulated her energy through one small heavenly cycle.
Her eyes widened.
Namgung Urin asked.
“How is it?”
“What is this? What happened?”
Her circulation of internal energy was twice as good as before. The biggest factor was that all the impurities in her meridians had been burned away.
“It’s your luck. And from now on, don’t even dream of using the Maiden’s Secret Method. If you don’t want to die.”
In truth, that was a lie.
From now on, practicing the Maiden’s Secret Method would not cause any significant harm to her body. However, since it was an absorption technique forbidden in the martial world, it was better not to use it, which was why Namgung Urin had made it up.
There was a fact that many martial artists, no, the entire martial world, did not know. Absorption techniques caused no problems for the practitioner if learned after reaching the transcendent level.
This was because the transcendent realm was a state where one gained the ability to filter out all impurities while drawing in an opponent’s internal energy.
However, human greed made that impossible. It was a result of the endless desire to become stronger.
Wanting to become a peak master, wanting to become a master who could look down upon the world, they practiced martial arts using absorption techniques despite knowing they shouldn’t. Learn an absorption technique after reaching the transcendent level?
With human greed, that was an impossible feat.
“I’m so grateful I could cry.”
“If you’re really grateful, don’t just say it with words. Give me something.”
“Alright. I know something incredible. And it’s related to you.”
“What is it?”
“I know why Baekri Jang-won knelt before you in that duel.”