Chapter 239
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 239
Chapter Title: Quack Fortune Teller
Namgung Hwa-woo.
Thirty-nine years old this year.
The youngest brother of the Namgung family head, currently serving as Hocheon Corps Leader.
Harboring grand ambitions in his chest, he had immediately applied for the position the moment it became vacant.
They could have promoted one of the vice leaders instead, but leveraging the Namgung clan's influence, he secured the role of Hocheon Corps Leader.
Naturally, he couldn't win the support of his subordinates.
Even now, most of the Hocheon Corps' duties were handled by Vice Leader Dam Mu-hyeon.
The other vice leader, Han Seol-bing, had seized the opportunity to quit the Hocheon Corps.
He was little more than a figurehead leader.
Yet Namgung Hwa-woo was satisfied nonetheless.
After all, he hadn't coveted the position of Hocheon Corps Leader for the sake of its members.
The Hocheon Corps served as the Alliance Leader's personal guard.
That was its official designation.
But it was far from a mere bodyguard unit.
It was effectively the Alliance Leader's secret organization.
During the recent war, they had darted across battlefields at the Leader's command, hadn't they?
The Leader's personal guards routinely left him unguarded to carry out missions.
It was absurd, yet it happened openly under the Leader's tacit approval.
That was the nature of the Hocheon Corps.
And as such an organization, its leader wielded tremendous authority.
The previous leader apparently hadn't made full use of it.
Free access to top-secret documents.
Even ultra-classified files could be reviewed with prior approval from superiors.
The justification was the need to protect the Alliance Leader.
The former leader seemed to have delegated that authority to his vice leader, Dam Mu-hyeon.
'Is he an idiot... or just lazy...?'
He was an utterly inscrutable man. That monster named Ha Mu-baek.
Thanks to his demotion, Namgung Hwa-woo had taken a step toward realizing his ambitions.
Hocheon Corps Leader.
Once he assumed the position, Namgung Hwa-woo scoured the Alliance's top-secret files whenever the chance arose.
Files related to the Namgung clan.
For one reason alone.
Concerning his eldest brother, the family head.
"Those children are too exceptional to truly be my brother's kids."
Among the brothers of Namgung family head Namgung Hwa-hyeon, the most prodigiously talented was the youngest, Namgung Hwa-woo.
He had already stepped into the early stages of the Transcendent realm.
Half-step Transcendent was within sight.
In his estimation, his eldest brother Namgung Hwa-hyeon was utterly mediocre.
'That's why he ruined the Imperial Sword Form into that mess.'
Recalling the Imperial Sword Form as demonstrated by Namgung Hwa-hyeon, Namgung Hwa-woo shook his head.
It bore only the name and superficial form of the Imperial Sword Form—it wasn't the true technique.
It was the kind of sword form that would make their grandfather rise from his grave in lamentation.
Because his mediocre brother was family head, the Namgung clan had lost its title as the world's greatest.
That was Namgung Hwa-woo's conviction.
The Namgung must always reign supreme.
However, Namgung Hwa-hyeon was no match for Yeon Ja-kyeong.
The Yeon Ja-kyeong he had witnessed was a truly terrifying figure.
Thus, the title of world's greatest clan had passed to the Hubei Yeon Clan.
To reclaim what belonged to the Namgung, he himself had to become family head.
That was Namgung Hwa-woo's ambition.
To that end, he began searching for dirt on his brother.
He found nothing within the clan itself.
So he turned his gaze to the Righteous Heaven Alliance.
The repository of all the world's martial information.
And among its ranks, he had taken the position of Hocheon Corps Leader, which granted extensive access.
Unaware of this, Namgung Hwa-hyeon had actively supported Namgung Hwa-woo's appointment, believing it would expand the Namgung clan's influence in the Alliance.
Thinking back on that moment brought a smile to his lips.
What Namgung Hwa-woo focused on was Namgung Hwa-hyeon's excursion.
The one where he returned with those children.
It had been a time of intense secluded training for him.
He never imagined such an event could occur during an excursion.
On the contrary, worried that his brother might lose the heir position due to lacking descendants, he had redoubled his cultivation efforts.
Something had happened during that excursion.
Yet even the name of the guard who had accompanied him remained unknown.
"Tch."
Namgung Hwa-woo clicked his tongue.
He still hadn't uncovered that guard's name.
The Alliance's records were vast beyond measure.
The head of Heavenly Eye Pavilion's Omniscient Hall might know, but asking him directly was impossible.
Suppressing his frustration, Namgung Hwa-woo visited the Omniscient Hall's archive once more today.
The archivist tilted his head upon seeing him.
"The vice leader was just here a little while ago. Was there something incomplete about those records?"
The archivist's expression suggested no such thing should be possible.
Namgung Hwa-woo wondered what was going on but feigned ignorance.
He knew Dam Mu-hyeon frequented the hall, but assumed it was for corps business.
Lately, though, there had been no special matters.
This unusual occurrence piqued his curiosity.
"I need to review them personally once more."
"Understood. This way, please."
The archivist guided him and opened a certain book to show him.
"This section."
Namgung Hwa-woo examined it carefully, then his eyes widened in shock.
The name he had sought so desperately was right there.
Namgung Hwi. Namgung clan collateral low-rank warrior. Participated as escort during Namgung Hwa-hyeon's excursion in XX year, then went missing. Presumed dead in the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest.
'Found it.'
A smile crept across his face unbidden.
"Have you confirmed it?"
Namgung Hwa-woo nodded.
"I see. Nothing unusual."
The archivist closed the book and shelved it.
Namgung Hwa-woo left the Omniscient Hall.
As he headed to his office, his heart pounded fiercely.
He had found a lead.
Just one lingering question.
Why had Dam Mu-hyeon suddenly looked into it? It had nothing to do with him.
He knew the man was nosy and keenly interested in all sorts of information.
Still, this seemed too out of the blue.
He investigated Dam Mu-hyeon's movements.
It had been over a year since he became Hocheon Corps Leader.
Even as a figurehead, that was enough time to plant a subordinate or two.
'A Thousand-Li Black Crow had flown in?'
He knew exactly what manner of spirit beast it was.
But the one assigned to the Hocheon Corps had gone rogue on its own.
"Whitey, was it?"
A black creature named White—what a joke.
No new Thousand-Li Black Crow had been assigned yet.
So it had to be that Whitey who came flying in.
After Whitey arrived, Dam Mu-hyeon had stirred.
Which meant it was connected to wherever Whitey was.
And Whitey was with former Vice Leader Han Seol-bing.
Reports said it had fled because it followed her too closely.
Therefore.
'Dragon Training Pavilion.'
Something had happened there.
Time passed swiftly.
Daily life remained unchanged.
Sweeping around the training grounds of the Fierce Dragon Corps and Hidden Dragon Corps, doing laundry at the washing area.
And occasionally polishing weapons in the armory.
Armory duties had grown somewhat lax.
Inevitably so, since the kids had no swords.
Laundry work, however, he threw himself into wholeheartedly.
Namgung Ji-hu trained so diligently that his training clothes piled up.
He washed them until they looked brand new.
Even secretly channeling internal energy to do so.
And at night, every few days, he helped Namgung Ji-hu with his training.
Namgung Hwi had never known such happiness since that day.
He couldn't tell if this was a dream or reality.
Doubts crept in—did he deserve this happiness?—along with anxiety over how long it might last.
Right now, he was washing Namgung Ji-yu's training clothes.
'Ji-hu's Great Linked Sword Method has improved even more. At this rate, he might break through a wall soon.'
Finishing up with full focus, he overheard the other workers chatting.
"He's really something."
"Really?"
"Yeah. That fortune teller never misses."
"Incredible. How'd a guy like that end up in Wuchang?"
"Hah. Nonsense. Never misses? He didn't know a single opponent's tile. Heh heh heh."
One of the male workers chimed into the women workers' conversation.
"What's that about?"
"The amazing fortune teller you're talking about—the short, one-eyed one, right?"
The women nodded at the man's words.
"Gambling den ghost. That's him. But he loses every time. Thanks to him, I feasted yesterday. Heh heh heh."
The women tilted their heads, skeptical.
Their faces said it couldn't be.
"But he predicted the gender of Kang the Commissioner's child ten days before birth accurately..."
The woman's husband worked for Commissioner Kang's household, so she'd heard the rumor and gone to him herself.
"What a clown. He guesses other folks' unborn kids right but can't read his opponents' tiles and keeps losing. Pfft hah."
The man chuckled as if it were hilarious.
The other women, tempted by the tale, now hesitated about visiting the famed fortune teller.
Namgung Hwi's expression hardened as he listened.
"Huh? Nam Hwi. What's wrong?"
A fellow laundry worker beside him asked.
"Nothing."
With that, Namgung Hwi resumed washing someone else's clothes.
But his mind grew complicated.
A certain person had come to mind from the story.
'So he's still alive.'
Given Namgung Hwa-hyeon's temperament, he would have hunted the man down.
But recalling that time, it wouldn't have been easy.
Back then, that man had told Namgung Hwa-hyeon the second child would also be a girl.
And to come find him again later before leaving.
Four days afterward, the messenger bird arrived.
Shortly after receiving it, Namgung Hwa-hyeon set the plan in motion.
At the time, he could only speculate on the message's contents.
But upon hearing of Namgung Ji-yu and Namgung Ji-hu's sibling tale in Hefei, his guess was confirmed.
Yet a question soon arose.
'Dropping clues like that... his tail should have been caught ages ago. How is he still alive?'
Inexplicable.
Ha Mu-baek went out after a long while.
He'd heard there was a new tasty restaurant.
As he headed there.
A crowd had gathered by the roadside.
There.
A flag reading "Fortune" in a single character fluttered.
A one-eyed fortune teller was divining, eliciting gasps from the onlookers.
'A fortune teller.'
Deeming it trivial, he started to pass by, but the one-eyed man's gaze met Ha Mu-baek's.
The moment he saw Ha Mu-baek, the fortune teller's face lit up in shock.
"A n-noble person! A noble one!"
At his shout, all eyes turned to Ha Mu-baek.
Ha Mu-baek scowled instantly.
Undeterred, the fortune teller pushed through the crowd toward him.
"I've wandered the world and seen countless people, but never one with such a noble countenance. This must be fate—let me read your fortune. Come here."
Wanting to smash his face for the nonsense, but with everyone watching, Ha Mu-baek held back.
Even for him, he wouldn't throw a punch over something so petty.
Especially against a commoner.
Reluctantly, he was dragged over.
The fortune teller had already pulled out his divination sticks and cast them.
"Hah. As expected, a noble soul. It seems you'll soon have occasion to right a disrupted heavenly fate."
Chu Dong admired sincerely, thrilled to his core.
His true purpose in coming to Wuchang was none other than this.
A divination had directed him here.
The prophecy of a noble person here who would sever his cursed fate.
He planned to fleece some rich fools, enjoy some gambling, as a bonus.
Chu Dong never stayed long in one place.
Rumors spread, and those ghosts would come hunting.
Fortunately, his divinations about his own fate were uncannily accurate.
Not so in the gambling dens.
Thanks to that, he was still alive.
He'd devoted himself to divination as much as to sorcery.
Because he knew his future.
Waiting here for days, divining.
Finally, he met the noble one.
The sticks confirmed it: one who rights disrupted heavenly fate.
This was the one.
The savior.
He hadn't revealed what fortune he'd seen.
Chu Dong had divined the noble one's fortune regarding himself.
Only one disrupted heavenly fate tied to him.
'Namgung. That damned bastard.'
Resentment flashed in Chu Dong's eyes for an instant before vanishing.
"Quack."
Ha Mu-baek smirked and walked away.
Chu Dong didn't pursue further.
Mission accomplished.
Now he just had to tail the noble one.
However.
Chu Dong never dreamed.
That his divination was correct, but his interpretation wrong.
That he himself was involved in the disrupted heavenly fate, a thought that hadn't even crossed his mind.