Chapter 153
Translator: penny
Chapter: 153
Chapter Title: The Little Phoenix's Visit
Song Yukang relayed his story, but Nangong Sua found herself utterly speechless.
It was just too astonishing to learn that the Mok Jimyeong etched in her memory was such an exceptional figure.
But Nangong Chan, the one who had actually suffered the harm, refused to accept it and raised his voice.
"Patrol Division Leader! No, Uncle! How could you do this to me!"
Song Yukang clamped his mouth shut at Nangong Chan's desperate outburst.
He himself wasn't entirely above reproach in this matter, making it hard even to meet his nephew's eyes.
At that, Nangong Chan crossed the line.
"If our clan head finds out, he won't let this slide!"
Nangong Chan had said "clan head," but in truth, he meant his own father.
The grand head of the Great Nangong Clan, Nangong Pyeong.
This struck at Song Yukang's weak spot while also wounding his pride.
Yet as a member of the Song family, which fell under the Nangong Clan's influence, he couldn't possibly lash out at a direct descendant of the Great Nangong Clan.
In the end, Song Yukang let out a small sigh.
"Sigh... Chan, I didn't want to say this much, but..."
His throat tightened mid-sentence.
He knew the enormity of the ripples his words would cause.
Still, Song Yukang laid bare his honest feelings to his nephews and niece.
"That Mok Jimyeong... he's stronger than Nangong Pyeong, that friend of mine."
Nangong Chan, who had been raging wildly, fell silent at the unbelievable claim.
On the other hand, Nangong Sua, who had been listening quietly, parted her lips slightly in shock.
"...Uncle? Is that really true...?"
In truth, she knew it was real without needing confirmation.
Who was Song Yukang?
He was three years older than the Nangong Clan head, Nangong Pyeong, and in his youth, he had been counted among the finest martial artists, even surpassing Nangong Pyeong.
Of course, time had passed, and with the full backing of the Nangong Clan, Nangong Pyeong had caught up—but still, Song Yukang had been his rival and, above all, his closest friend.
Wasn't he still serving as an elder in the Murim Alliance even now?
Words from such a man couldn't possibly be empty talk.
"Demonic arts... it must be demonic arts!"
For Nangong Chan, it was an utterly unacceptable notion.
A kid younger than him being stronger than his father?
How could he possibly believe that?
"Demonic arts..."
Song Yukang gazed into the void, lost in thought.
The murderous aura that had come crashing down like he meant to kill, the overwhelming internal energy that filled the Enforcement Hall.
Even the guy's utterly confident demeanor.
-Are you truly prepared to fight me, Mok Jimyeong?
It couldn't be demonic arts.
Even if it were, that power was real.
Thus, Song Yukang had to convince his injured nephew.
"Does that mean you think the Alliance Leader and every elder there fell for Mok Jimyeong's demonic arts? Even the injuries you're suffering right now?"
"..."
In truth, Nangong Chan knew it too.
The way that guy had looked down at him back then, that ferocious gaze.
It couldn't have been conjured by mere demonic arts.
But what could he do? If he didn't deny it like this, he simply couldn't endure it.
Nangong Chan, hailed as a prodigy since childhood, always claiming the top spot.
He couldn't admit that he, of all people, had crumbled before a kid six years his junior—the very one who had stolen the Sword Phoenix title, no less.
Nangong Chan felt as if something inside him had shattered.
The pain from his limbs paled compared to the agony surging from deep within his chest.
'Is it... really true?'
Nangong Chan began staring blankly into space.
For the first time since he was five, moisture gathered in his eyes.
Noticing his nephew's demeanor, Song Yukang took Nangong Sua and left the Medical Hall.
Nangong Sua, sensing her brother's turmoil, quietly followed.
"...Sigh."
The moment they stepped outside, Song Yukang heaved a deep sigh.
Cautiously, Nangong Sua posed a question.
"So, is Mok Daxia—no, Mok Jimyeong—really getting off with just a month's confinement?"
Even as she asked, Nangong Sua wasn't sure what emotion drove her.
Was it resentment over her blood kin's injuries?
Or worry about what lay ahead for Mok Jimyeong?
Mistaking it for the former, Song Yukang resolved once more to persuade his niece.
"...Sua, that's not the issue."
"Pardon? Then what is?"
"I couldn't say it in front of Chan, but from now on, the Central Plains martial world will bend to that Mok Jimyeong's will. And our Nangong Clan has already marked ourselves as his enemies— that's what worries me most."
-There's a saying that a nobleman's revenge, even after ten years, is not too late. But it seems I won't even need ten years. Exactly three. Three years should suffice—what do you think?
The word "three years" that Mok Jimyeong had uttered during the trial.
Absurd as it sounded, it wasn't entirely implausible.
-Then how long did it take the Alliance Leader to advance from early to mid Flower Realm? I did it in less than six months...
Song Yukang had been stuck at early Flower Realm for over a decade.
Even Nangong Pyeong, with the full support of the Nangong Clan, had taken nearly ten years to make that breakthrough.
Yet this guy had done it in a mere six months.
A simple calculation showed his three years equaled sixty years for Nangong Pyeong—geniuses were truly unreasonable beings.
And such a genius now harbored vengeance against the Nangong Clan.
"The glory of the Great Nangong Clan might just vanish because of that Mok Jimyeong."
This was Song Yukang's greatest concern.
But hearing it, Nangong Sua felt her mind suddenly clear.
"Uncle, are you saying our Nangong Clan should befriend Mok Daxia?"
"Of course it'd be ideal if we could, but at the very least, we need reconciliation. Though that would bruise Nangong Pyeong's pride terribly..."
His own son—the sole heir—had been gravely wounded by a mere youth in his thirties.
Yet they had to sue for peace.
Could the head of the Great Nangong Clan truly swallow that?
Yet Nangong Sua eased Song Yukang's worries.
"I can do it! I think I can!"
"You, Sua...?"
"Yes!"
Even as she spoke, she couldn't pinpoint where this conviction came from.
It was just a feeling.
Perhaps from the way he'd acted at the drinking party, or his kindness when she'd visited the White Tiger Unit—somehow, she felt she could reconcile with Mok Jimyeong.
"...Are you sure? That guy..."
Song Yukang nearly let slip that he was "no different from a madman," but barely swallowed it.
No need to plant a negative image in his niece, who wanted to handle it herself.
Instead, he offered encouragement.
"...Then I must ask something difficult of you, Sua."
"Don't worry, Uncle. I'll go see him myself."
"In that case, I'll have to meet with Nangong Pyeong. Sigh... wonder what he'll say..."
This was the best course, in Song Yukang's mind.
When the horn grows too twisted, better to cut it off early—Nangong Sua decided to meet Mok Jimyeong the very next day.
Conveniently, he was under confinement, so no need to track him down.
Arriving at the manor Moyong Hui had mentioned before, Nangong Sua timidly knocked on the gate.
Knock knock-
"Is Young Master Mok home, by chance?"
In truth, I'd half-given up on seducing the Little Phoenix, Nangong Sua.
I'd shattered her beloved older brother's limbs, and when I left the White Tiger Unit afterward, she hadn't even spared me a glance.
Still, I'd been rationalizing it by telling myself Moyong Hui was the priority...
"Lady Nangong? What brings you here...?"
In an utterly unexpected turn, the Little Phoenix had shown up out of nowhere.
'No, maybe it's not so surprising.'
The man who injured her blood kin had gotten off too lightly.
She might have come to vent her anger.
As I'd guessed, Nangong Sua hesitated before stating her business.
"Um... I came about what happened a few days ago."
My mind raced at once.
'Tch, how do I handle this.'
If Song Yukang or Nangong Chan had shown up, I'd have beaten them senseless and sent them packing without a second thought.
But Nangong Sua was a beauty.
What conversation would we have?
Could this overturn the already-set verdict?
As various worries swirled, it suddenly hit me how stupid I was being.
'Who cares. A beauty's come calling.'
If the verdict gets overturned, I'll just raise hell then. If something else displeases me, same deal.
When had I, Mok Jimyeong, ever hesitated with a beauty before me?
Putting on an apologetic face, I apologized first.
"Ah, sorry about that time. Seeing my beloved paramour insulted right in front of me, I just couldn't hold back..."
But her reaction was odd.
"No, that's not why I came..."
Rather than anger, she seemed hesitant.
Or maybe embarrassed?
As I pondered possibilities, Nangong Sua spoke first.
"You said you'd treat me last time..."
Her words brought back our exchange at the White Tiger Unit entrance, right before I'd beaten Nangong Chan.
-My apologies, Lady Nangong. I've been so busy since arriving here. But today I have time, so allow me to make it up to you with a treat.
'No way...?'
What a delightful surprise.