Chapter 236
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 236
Chapter Title: Wh-who Are You?
He pulled out a bottle of bamboo leaf green liquor.
More than half of it was still left.
It was the kind of drink he occasionally sipped one cup before bed whenever the mood struck.
He'd drunk less than what remained.
The day before, when Yu Ji-gun had visited, the two of them had downed three cups each—that was the most he'd ever had in one go.
But today, a mere cup wouldn't ease this stifling feeling in his chest.
Namgung Hwi grabbed the bottle and stepped outside.
Staying cooped up in his tiny room would only make the stuffiness worse.
As he emerged,
a half-moon hung brightly in the sky.
'Heh. Even the moon looks like me.'
It was missing one side, just like him with his absent arm.
Perfectly, it was the right side that was gone on that upper half-moon.
He brought the bottle straight to his lips and gulped it down.
The lukewarm liquor slid down his throat.
Yet the tightness in his chest refused to wash away.
"Heh heh. What's got you so choked up all of a sudden?"
Yu Ji-gun had appeared out of nowhere and asked.
"Something's just bubbling up in my chest out of the blue."
Namgung Hwi replied with a wry smile.
Then he lifted the bottle to his lips again.
"Hmm."
Yu Ji-gun watched Namgung Hwi silently.
Maybe assigning him to oversee the Hidden Dragon Corps training grounds had been a mistake.
The thought crossed his mind.
"You, who polishes others' swords so meticulously, can't polish your own heart? Then swing that sword and shake off the frustration. Work up a good sweat, and who knows—maybe that anger will pour out with it."
Namgung Hwi lowered the bottle at Yu Ji-gun's words.
He stared at the man wordlessly.
"Would that be alright?"
"What's not to like? Even laborers should be free to do as they please after hours. Our shift's over anyway. You're free to do whatever now—just like knocking back that booze."
Yu Ji-gun replied with a gentle smile.
Namgung Hwi flinched and glanced at the bottle in his left hand.
Right.
If he could drink freely, then surely moving his body was no issue.
"Eh, just pick a quiet corner of the training grounds where no cadets will spot you. From what I've seen, the first-year twentieth squad's grounds in the Hidden Dragon Corps are the emptiest."
With a wink, Yu Ji-gun departed.
Namgung Hwi returned to his room to fetch his sword.
Then he quietly made his way to the spot Yu Ji-gun had mentioned.
He heightened his senses to the max, moving carefully to avoid anyone.
A laborer wandering the Dragon Training Pavilion sword-in-hand at this late hour wouldn't look normal.
He arrived at the training grounds.
Just as Yu Ji-gun had said.
He could tell at a glance.
How diligently—or not—the users of these grounds trained.
At the very least, the owners of this place weren't the type to show up here in the dead of night.
So Namgung Hwi drew his sword with peace of mind.
Shing.
The blade slid out with a clear ring.
A pure white sword body.
Well-maintained.
Just like Namgung Ji-hu's or Namgung Ji-yu's practice swords.
The sword moved slowly.
The only swordsmanship Namgung Hwi had mastered was the Grand Harmony Sword Method.
He hadn't learned anything beyond it.
Or rather, he could have, but he'd missed the chance.
After achieving mastery in the Grand Harmony Sword Method, he'd earned the opportunity to learn a higher technique—but he'd followed the young master's enticement on that excursion instead.
And during the excursion, the young master hadn't taught it to him.
Promising that upon returning home, he'd grant access to an even superior art: the Heaven-Bow Infinite Sword.
The Heaven-Bow Infinite Sword Method.
The Namgung Clan's supreme secret technique, reserved for direct descendants or the closest branch members.
The Imperial Sword Forms were exclusive to the clan head alone, with his siblings learning only the first half—effectively off-limits.
The sword art that upheld the Namgung Clan's fame in the martial world was none other than the Heaven-Bow Infinite Sword.
It was the face of the Namgung Clan.
For Namgung Hwi, a distant branch member, it was a technique beyond his wildest dreams.
The young master had promised: join him on the excursion, and by his authority, he'd make it possible to learn it.
It wasn't unprecedented.
Driven by ambition for martial prowess, he'd set out on that path.
'Who knew that path led straight to hell.'
The Grand Harmony Thirteen Thunderbolts.
He should have been content there.
Even that had been a reward for his prodigious talent, mastering the Grand Harmony Sword Method at a young age.
As he began swinging the sword, old regrets flooded his mind.
This wouldn't do—he couldn't wield it properly like this.
He shook his head vigorously to scatter the distractions.
Then Namgung Hwi resumed the Grand Harmony Sword Method's starting stance.
Left-hand sword, since his right was gone.
No choice—he only had his left arm.
Thus, the Grand Harmony Sword Method, altered into a left-hand form unlike its original, slowly unfolded from Namgung Hwi's hand.
Slowly, yet swiftly, beautifully.
His pristine white blade embroidered the night air.
The first time he'd unleashed swordsmanship since arriving at the pavilion.
There'd been no opportunity before.
Perhaps because his mindset had changed so much in the interim.
The swordsmanship had evolved too.
A step beyond what it had been when he left his village.
Namgung Hwi felt it clearly.
And so he delved even deeper into the art.
The frustration in his chest had vanished before he knew it.
Only the sword remained.
And so Namgung Hwi entered a trance.
'I have to make it my own.'
Late at night.
Namgung Ji-hu grabbed his sword again and headed to the training grounds.
What he'd gained from sparring with Ha Mu-baek.
It couldn't end as a fleeting insight.
To fully internalize it, endless practice was the only way.
Thus, Namgung Ji-hu headed to an empty Hidden Dragon Corps training ground to swing his sword.
Only the half-moon illuminated the darkness.
How long had he walked?
Somewhere nearby, the sound of a sword slicing through the air reached him.
Not far from the first squad's grounds.
Namgung Ji-hu tilted his head.
To his knowledge, no Hidden Dragon Corps cadet would be practicing swordplay at this hour.
Naturally, his steps turned toward the sound.
Pure curiosity.
Besides, it wasn't far from his destination anyway.
'The first-year twentieth squad's grounds?'
The closer he got, the stranger it seemed.
No helping it.
Those cadets weren't the diligent type, as far as he knew.
He arrived at the grounds.
Namgung Ji-hu was stunned.
A familiar face was swinging a sword.
One arm, scarred face.
Undoubtedly the new laborer from recently.
But how could a mere laborer unleash such beautiful swordplay?
One-armed, with only his left.
Namgung Ji-hu found himself staring blankly.
For a moment.
The moment he recognized the familiar swordsmanship, his eyes widened.
No wonder.
He'd been slow to notice because it was left-handed.
But clearly,
'Grand Harmony Sword Method!'
The Namgung Clan's exclusive technique.
A basic one for lower warriors, true—but outsiders could never learn it.
And here was a Dragon Training Pavilion laborer performing it.
He'd never seen anyone like that back at the clan.
'How on earth...'
The question flashed through his mind briefly.
Then Namgung Ji-hu was drawn into the man's Grand Harmony Sword Method.
Before, he wouldn't have seen it.
Only after his duel with Ha Mu-baek could he perceive this perfection unfolding before his eyes.
How long had the man swung in trance?
Suddenly, insight dawned; he gathered it all and lowered his sword.
"Hoo."
A deep breath escaped his lips.
He felt refreshed.
The frustration? No trace of when it'd been there.
The phantom pain from his severed right arm was gone.
The scar on his face no longer ached.
Only relief remained.
He'd poured it all out swinging here.
'The elder was right.'
He resolved to do this more often in the future. As he turned to head back to his dorm,
"!?!..."
Namgung Hwi's eyes shot wide.
Lost in trance, he hadn't sensed the approach.
And now,
Namgung Ji-hu stood before him.
Gaping in shock.
Their eyes met in the air.
Focus slowly returned to Namgung Ji-hu's gaze.
He was emerging from the shock of Namgung Hwi's sword.
"Wh-who are you?"
Namgung Ji-hu asked in a trembling voice.
He could confidently say he'd never seen such flawless Grand Harmony Sword Method even in the clan.
Not from his father the clan head, nor from the elder hailed as the Namgung Clan's Greatest Sword.
No one.
Naturally, he was dying to know the man's identity.
"Just a laborer at the Dragon Training Pavilion, young master. I apologize for showing you my ugly form and troubling your eyes."
With those trembling words, Namgung Hwi hastily fled the scene.
"W-wait..."
Namgung Ji-hu reached out, but the man's back was already receding.
He considered pursuit, but his legs wouldn't move.
He needed to sort the exploding inspirations in his head.
And test them.
'First things first. I can track him down later—I know who he is now.'
He didn't even make it to his own grounds.
Right there, where Namgung Hwi had just swung his sword,
Namgung Ji-hu drew his blade and slowly began the Grand Harmony Sword Method.
"Hmm. Looks like he's got a story."
Ha Mu-baek watched from afar,
stroking his chin and nodding.
"So the nameless one is from the Namgung Clan."
Han Seol-bing said from beside him.
"Not nameless—Nam Hwi."
Ha Mu-baek corrected her.
"Namgung Hwi, then. Shall we look into him?"
Han Seol-bing asked.
Thick curiosity gleamed in her eyes.
"Too much hassle..."
He felt it was meddling where he shouldn't.
"Aren't you curious about his backstory?"
"Eh..."
Ha Mu-baek gave no clear answer.
"Didn't you see that laborer Nam Hwi's eyes just now? Not ordinary at all. And that Grand Harmony Sword Method from the Namgung Clan..."
Han Seol-bing said excitedly.
Ha Mu-baek had erected a barrier, so their words wouldn't leak.
"Do as you like."
With that, Ha Mu-baek left.
Han Seol-bing lingered a bit longer, watching Namgung Ji-hu's training, then departed.
There was one more gaze watching Namgung Hwi from afar.
Yu Ji-gun.
The one who'd deliberately pointed him to the twentieth squad's grounds.
"Deep story in that heart of his."
He murmured calmly, pity in his eyes.
Displeasure filled Namgung Hwa-hyeon's face.
His nephews.
He'd gathered them to check their progress, but their achievements were all meager.
No—their mastery of the Imperial Sword Forms to this degree in such time deserved praise.
But the comparison was the problem.
His eldest son, Namgung Ji-hu.
That boy would have surpassed them even from seeing it just once.
Moreover, without taking the transcribed manual.
Sensing Namgung Hwa-hyeon's foul mood, they kept their heads bowed silently.
"At this rate, none of you can become young master. The Namgung Clan's supreme Imperial Sword Forms reduced to this? Tsk tsk."
Clicking his tongue, Namgung Hwa-hyeon turned and left the grounds.
Those left behind ground their teeth and clenched their fists.
Back in his study, Namgung Hwa-hyeon had no outlet for his frustration.
"Clan head. Il Yeong reporting."
A secretive voice from above, the ceiling.
"What news?"
"The young master seems focused more on Grand Harmony Sword Method practice than the Imperial Sword Forms."
Namgung Hwa-hyeon tilted his head at the report.
"What do you mean?"
"The Dragon Training Pavilion's security is tight, so I couldn't observe directly. But through agents, piecing it together—it seems to be the Grand Harmony Sword Method, not the Imperial Sword Forms."
Namgung Hwa-hyeon couldn't judge from Il Yeong's words.
That brilliant child fixating on Grand Harmony Sword Method out of nowhere?
"Understood. Keep watching."
"Yes."
With that, Il Yeong vanished.
Alone, Namgung Hwa-hyeon.
"Grand Harmony Sword Method..."
Suddenly, one face came to mind.
One no longer of this world.
'Bloodlines, huh...'
Irritation crossed Namgung Hwa-hyeon's face.
"If he wastes time on frivolities and fails to master the Imperial Sword Forms properly, then so be it—can't be helped."
He murmured to himself, unheard by any, and gazed out the window.