Chapter 244
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 244
Chapter Title: So Come In
Namgung Ji-hu and Namgung Ji-yu.
The two headed toward the lecture hall with faces full of worry.
It was only natural they'd be concerned.
For reasons unknown, someone hiding the Namgung name had met with the Namgung Clan head's younger brother.
And the two clearly knew each other.
"The instructor went with him, but still..."
Namgung Ji-hu muttered.
Even with that monster-like man there, no major disaster would befall them, but the worry lingered.
His heart pounded fiercely.
Namgung Ji-yu felt the same.
"Huh? What's up? Why do you two look so grim?"
At that moment, Dang Jin-san, on his way to the lecture hall, spotted them and approached.
"..."
Namgung Ji-hu couldn't respond.
His face grew even stiffer.
Dang Jin-san's gaze shifted to Namgung Ji-yu.
"What's going on?"
Reading from their expressions that it was no trivial matter, Dang Jin-san dropped his playful demeanor and asked seriously.
"Well..."
Namgung Ji-yu explained briefly.
Someone from the Namgung Clan had come and left the Dragon Training Pavilion with Instructor Ha.
And among that group was a one-armed laborer named Namhui.
They were worried about the sudden appearance of the Namgung Clan member.
She glossed over anything that needed hiding.
She couldn't reveal Namhui's true identity, after all.
"If Instructor Ha stepped in, it'll work out somehow."
Yeon Ha-min said softly.
Baek Ri-pyeong nodded beside her.
Dang Jin-san wore a look of agreement.
"But you're still worried, huh?"
The two didn't answer Dang Jin-san's question, but it was obvious enough.
"Well, then there's nothing for it but to go check ourselves."
Dang Jin-san said as if the decision was already made.
"How?"
Namgung Ji-hu asked.
It had been quite a while since the three left.
And they had no idea where they'd gone.
How could they find them in the vast capital?
Hearing Dang Jin-san's words, regret flooded Namgung Ji-hu—he should have followed from the start.
To Namgung Ji-hu's question, Dang Jin-san turned to look behind him.
At the end of that gaze.
Was Ha Seol-ran.
"M-Me?"
Ha Seol-ran jumped in surprise.
Because he'd suddenly looked her way.
Dang Jin-san grinned.
"You know where Instructor Ha is, right?"
Ha Seol-ran glanced around for a moment before slowly nodding.
Her brother and master's presences were harder to sense than most people's.
She'd lost track of them plenty of times.
She'd even wondered if she could find them if they truly put all their effort into hiding.
But right now, her brother wasn't hiding his presence at all.
So finding him was easy now.
A presence fainter than others'.
That was her brother.
He had a habit of diffusing his presence faintly.
It had been hard to detect before she realized it, but easy afterward.
At Ha Seol-ran's affirmation, Namgung Ji-hu was stunned.
"How?"
The same words as before, but laced with entirely different emotion.
"Hey, hey, that's not important. Just go find them."
Dang Jin-san patted Namgung Ji-hu's shoulder.
Ha Seol-ran gave them as precise a location as possible.
She could've gone with them to make it easier, but their atmosphere suggested she shouldn't.
And so, Namgung Ji-hu and Namgung Ji-yu left the Dragon Training Pavilion.
"A proposal?"
To Namgung Hwi's question, Namgung Hwa-woo nodded.
"No need to hear it. My resolve won't change."
Namgung Hwi was firm.
"You should hear it out, as a father. I think I understand the feelings behind your decision."
"..."
Namgung Hwi clamped his mouth shut.
"Collateral branch."
The short word slipped from Namgung Hwa-woo's lips.
Namgung Hwi's eyes twitched.
"If it's revealed that those children are yours, they'll become collateral branch members. And very distant ones at that. The kind who can't learn arts beyond the Great Connection Sword Method. But those two kids have already mastered the Soaring Palace Freedom Sword. They've built their internal energy with the Soaring Palace Great Connection Heart Art."
Strength entered Namgung Hwi's remaining fist.
"Ji-hu has even learned the Emperor's Sword Form, hasn't he? The clan elders won't let that slide. Those stuffy old fools in their backroom closets. They'll surely try to reclaim the arts."
Reclaim the martial arts.
What method would they use?
For arts already learned and etched in the mind.
"They can't erase memories from your head, and there's no justification to kill... so they'll probably just cripple the dantian. But for a martial artist, losing one's dantian is..."
"Enough."
Namgung Hwi finally spoke.
"That's what you're worried about, right? So you're trying to settle things with your brother alone. Knowing it'll mean your death. You just want to vent the resentment built up in your chest?"
Namgung Hwa-woo didn't stop talking.
Each word dug into Namgung Hwi's heart.
Because none of it was wrong.
"If I become clan head, I'll abolish those outdated house rules. We're all of Namgung blood—why divide us into direct and collateral, restricting arts based on proximity to the main line? It's idiotic. Self-destructive thrashing that weakens us."
A change came over Namgung Hwi's face.
He never imagined the direct-line Namgung Hwa-woo would hold such radical views.
Clans naturally prized bloodlines, discriminating between direct and collateral to preserve and strengthen them.
"Talent does flow through bloodlines sometimes. I don't deny that. But talent blooming from blood knows no direct or collateral divide. Like you and me."
Namgung Hwa-woo gazed steadily at Namgung Hwi.
Resentment filled his eyes.
His father, the former clan head, had many brothers.
The most outstanding was the youngest, Namgung Hwa-woo.
But he'd been excluded from the start simply for being the youngest.
His eldest brother, mediocre in talent, became heir and then head solely by virtue of primogeniture.
When he failed to produce heirs, there'd been subtle expectations.
But he'd overcome it with ruthless means.
"Anyone bearing the Namgung name will learn all the clan's arts. Achievements will reveal themselves by talent. From those who excel, I'll pass the Emperor's Sword Form and nominate them as future clan head candidates."
Namgung Hwa-woo was merely the clan head's youngest brother. Hocheon Corps Leader of the Righteous Heaven Alliance.
He had no authority to decide such things.
Yet he spoke his plans boldly, as if he were already clan head.
"And among them will be Namgung Ji-hu."
At those words, Namgung Hwi's eyes widened.
"Your brother knows Ji-hu is collateral blood. He wouldn't allow it."
Namgung Hwi chewed his lips, wrestling with the dilemma.
"Then first, I need to become clan head."
That was the crux.
What good were words without power?
Namgung Hwa-woo was a nobody.
"That's my plan. And for it to happen, I need your help."
Namgung Hwa-woo made his proposal, not for Namgung Hwi's personal gain, but for the future of Namgung Ji-hu and Namgung Ji-yu.
Namgung Hwi gazed quietly at the ceiling.
Then downed his drink.
"Do you think I'd trust the Namgung Clan?"
His response was a question.
Hardly surprising.
He'd trusted the clan's young master once, only to be betrayed and nearly killed.
And fate had twisted.
The one now making sweet promises was that man's brother.
The situation felt eerily similar.
How could he trust easily?
To the question, Namgung Hwa-woo nodded, his face showing full understanding.
Then he turned his head.
At the end of his gaze stood Ha Mu-baek.
"Here's your guarantor."
Ha Mu-baek scowled at the words.
He'd come along intending to accompany Namgung Hwi to the Namgung Clan and help.
To ensure Namgung Hwa-woo didn't pull anything shady.
Not to be dragged in as a guarantor.
"Do you know who this man is?"
"Hocheon Corps Leader."
Namgung Hwi answered curtly.
"Precisely, former Hocheon Corps Leader. I'm the current one. Anyway, what do you think his true skill level is?"
"Impossible to tell."
Namgung Hwa-woo nodded at Namgung Hwi's reply.
"As expected from your caliber—you can tell. Well, you've reached a higher realm than me. That man single-handedly sealed Pavilion Lord Pang's faction."
At Namgung Hwa-woo's words, Namgung Hwi's eyes bulged.
One person dismantling a group.
He'd never even imagined it.
"With that man, even if I hide in the depths of the Namgung Clan, he could kill me."
Namgung Hwa-woo stated it with conviction.
He disliked Ha Mu-baek, but acknowledged his prowess.
The hero of the last war.
Namgung Hwi looked at Ha Mu-baek in disbelief.
Ha Mu-baek gave a slight nod, affirming Namgung Hwa-woo's claim.
"If I break my promise, kill me anytime. Since he followed you here, you two must be close."
Namgung Hwi's eyes trembled with complex emotions.
He agonized over what to do.
He couldn't reach a conclusion.
"I'd rather you break it. I don't like your antics—makes me want to kill you."
Before Namgung Hwi could decide, Ha Mu-baek gave his approval first.
Namgung Hwa-woo chuckled at that.
"I won't break my word if only to avoid dying to your sword."
"Just one question."
Namgung Hwa-woo nodded to Namgung Hwi.
"Why would a direct-line youngest young master think that way?"
The direct line enjoyed every privilege and vested interest in the clan.
It was incomprehensible that a direct-liner like Namgung Hwa-woo would seek to dismantle them.
"Direct line? Hah. Even among direct lines, there are ranks. My father was clan head, but my mother was his concubine. Seems you stayed in the outer quarters and never knew."
A bitter smile played on Namgung Hwa-woo's lips.
"Bloodlines are a curse. That's why I've never married. To not pass on this damned blood."
Namgung Hwi's eyes widened—he hadn't known.
Finally, he made his choice.
"I accept the proposal. What do I need to do?"
Namgung Hwa-woo smiled warmly.
"A wise choice."
He looked satisfied.
"You have one task: turn the Namgung Clan upside down. Expose every dirty secret of Namgung Hwa-hyeon and stir up a storm."
"You mean die?"
Ha Mu-baek interjected.
The clan warriors would swarm him.
"I'll handle them. We need to make it public. Until now, it was just suspicions without proof."
"Proof is still lacking. It's just your claim. How do you prove those kids are Namgung Hwi's? 'They look alike' won't cut it."
Namgung Hwa-woo nodded to Ha Mu-baek's question.
As if he'd anticipated it.
"Do you know there's a ritual to verify Namgung bloodlines?"
"I've heard."
"There's a bloodline verification ritual, so why not one for father-child bonds?"
At Namgung Hwa-woo's words, Namgung Hwi's eyes widened again.
"Such a ritual exists? Chudong said it was impossible... even Mount Mosan Sect doesn't have it..."
Namgung Hwa-hyeon was meticulous.
He'd checked from the start if such a father-child ritual existed.
"Mount Mosan probably doesn't. But Seonyu Valley does."
Ha Mu-baek looked mildly surprised at Namgung Hwa-woo.
Such a ritual existed.
In Seonyu Valley, no less.
"It's troublesome if it gets out, so Seonyu Valley keeps it secret. And it's extremely difficult—only one person can perform it now. Ma Jin-gi or something..."
The biggest hurdle was cleared.
Then.
"Even so, we should hear from the parties involved first."
Ha Mu-baek said, arms crossed.
"Parties?"
Namgung Hwa-woo questioned.
"The two kids. It's their lives."
Namgung Hwi trembled faintly at Ha Mu-baek's words.
That meant.
Revealing himself as their father.
Namgung Hwa-woo paused in thought, then agreed.
"We'll do that."
He looked at Namgung Hwi.
Only his decision remained.
"I don't know..."
He couldn't decide.
"One thing: the kids think your brother isn't their father. Ji-yu is a very smart girl."
"How do you know?"
"The clan secretly investigated their origins. With their father's cold treatment and the whispers around, it's natural they'd conclude that. That's why she was sent to the Dragon Training Pavilion too."
A girl like Namgung Ji-yu couldn't become clan head.
To check her brother's ambitions, sending only Namgung Ji-hu would've sufficed.
There was reason behind sending her too.
"Then..."
Namgung Hwi had to decide but couldn't.
Creak.
Then Ha Mu-baek rose from his seat.
"Let's ask them directly."
He strode to the tavern door and flung it wide open.
There stood Namgung Ji-hu and Namgung Ji-yu, faces stunned.
"The barrier blocked all sound. So come in."
At Ha Mu-baek's words, the two hesitated before stepping inside.