Chapter 248
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 248
Chapter Title: Then, Go
"Hm."
Dam Mu-hyeon had hidden himself in the shadows of the outer walls, watching everything that had transpired up to now.
He had trailed after the Namgung Corps Leader and uncovered an unexpected truth.
'Who would have thought he was pursuing the very information I dug up...'
At Han Seol-bing's request, he had gathered and sent her documents on Namgung Hwi.
And Namgung Hwa-u had used them as a lead to track him down to the Dragon Training Pavilion.
He had suspected as much when Han Seol-bing asked, but it was still shocking that Namgung Hwi was alive and well, hiding out here.
"What are you doing here? Not guarding the Alliance Leader? Is it really okay for both the Corps Leader and Vice Corps Leader to be out like this?"
Ha Mu-baek's voice suddenly came from right beside him.
Dam Mu-hyeon flashed a grin.
As if he had known the man would show up.
"Come on. The Alliance Leader told me to come."
"The Alliance Leader? Why?"
"He wanted me to chase after our Corps Leader and see why he took off on vacation in such a hurry."
Ha Mu-baek frowned at that.
"Namgung Hwa-u?"
"He sensed something big brewing in the Namgung Clan. Or so he said."
Dam Mu-hyeon answered with a perfectly matter-of-fact expression.
"After our Vice Corps Leader headed to the Dragon Training Pavilion, the Alliance Leader's face has been looking much brighter."
"Why?"
"At first, he looked grim... but after the Pavilion Lord's incident blew up, he was all smiles."
Ha Mu-baek nodded slightly at Dam Mu-hyeon's response.
It wasn't intentional.
But looking back at his past actions,
they were all tangled up with the Alliance Leader's enemies.
The Nine Great Sects and Five Great Clans.
And on top of that, he hadn't aided the Alliance Leader's allies like the Myriad Things Alliance or Seon Yu Valley.
It was coincidence, but too exquisitely perfect to chalk up to mere chance.
'Even that old monster couldn't have calculated something like this.'
Ha Mu-baek shook his head, thinking briefly of Heavenly Eye Pavilion Lord Gong Son Dan-gyeong.
"So?"
"Now I just report what I've seen. That's it."
Dam Mu-hyeon replied to Ha Mu-baek's question as if it were the most obvious thing.
"Namgung Hwi was at the Dragon Training Pavilion, Namgung Hwa-u came chasing after him. Something huge is about to go down in the Namgung Clan. Oh, and it looks like our Vice Corps Leader is involved too."
"Skip that last part."
Dam Mu-hyeon tilted his head curiously.
"You'll find out anyway, won't you?"
"Knowing after it blows up is different from knowing before. If they learn I'm tangled up in it, that old coot Gong Son and the Alliance Leader might pull some other scheme."
Ha Mu-baek knew full well that weakening the White Path Society was one of the Alliance Leader's key goals.
He hated the idea of the Alliance Leader's influence meddling in something he was doing of his own will.
"No veto power, huh?"
Dam Mu-hyeon asked with an awkward smile after a moment's thought.
"Who do you think turned a blind eye to you wandering around in the first place?"
He knew.
From the moment he entered Wu Chang, he had been caught by that monstrous Corps Leader's senses.
No matter how well he hid his presence, coming anywhere near the Dragon Training Pavilion would give him away anyway—so he had moved openly.
Figuring the man would come find him eventually.
And that moment was now.
The monstrous Corps Leader was demanding one thing of him.
"Just to be sure, what happens if I refuse?"
"For old times' sake, I won't make it hurt. Just stay quiet until it's over."
From those words, Dam Mu-hyeon gleaned one fact.
'The Namgung Clan is about to get turned upside down soon...'
With a look that said this was his final question, Dam Mu-hyeon asked,
"What if I say no and go back to the Alliance to spill everything?"
Ha Mu-baek looked at him with utter pity.
As if he couldn't believe the man was asking that after everything he'd been through with him.
"Then the name Dam Mu-hyeon vanishes from everyone I know."
Not killing him.
Cutting ties.
Ha Mu-baek was ruthless on matters like this.
"Sigh."
Dam Mu-hyeon let out a deep sigh.
"Guess I'll have to run my ass off. If I want to report that I only saw Namgung Hwa-u meet Namgung Hwi and came straight back."
Ha Mu-baek nodded.
"Then, go."
And with that, Ha Mu-baek vanished.
Dam Mu-hyeon stared at the spot for a moment before leaping away.
And he truly ran at full speed.
The shorter his time in Wu Chang, the better excuse for only uncovering that much.
To claim he had confirmed Namgung Hwa-u meeting Namgung Hwi and rushed back immediately,
he needed to shave two days off the journey.
Namgung Hwi packed his things at the dormitory.
He had knocked out one disciple and shattered a worker's arm and hand.
He could no longer work here.
"Leaving?"
Wi Ji-gun's voice came then, and Namgung Hwi opened the door.
"Elder. I'm sorry. You've helped me so much, and here I am leaving so suddenly."
Namgung Hwi bowed deeply.
"Have you accomplished your purpose in coming to Wu Chang?"
"Thanks to you, more than I could have dreamed. Something I never dared hope for even in my dreams has come true."
Wi Ji-gun nodded at Namgung Hwi's slightly trembling words.
"Yes. That's the Heavenly Mandate for you."
Namgung Hwi wasn't surprised by Wi Ji-gun's words.
As he cleaned around the Hidden Dragon Corps training grounds today, he had reflected on everything.
And realized that Wi Ji-gun had roughly guessed his situation and shown him consideration.
Of course.
Considering how he must have looked every time he ran into the Namgung siblings here.
It would have been harder not to notice.
"Your grace, Elder—I can never repay it."
"Haha. It was just fate. No need for that. Forget it quickly and live happily from here on."
Namgung Hwi's eyes reddened at Wi Ji-gun's kind words.
"Looks like there are some knots to untangle first."
"Yes. I have to unravel the tangled threads. If I can't untie them, then cut them."
A choked voice escaped Namgung Hwi's lips.
Wi Ji-gun nodded.
"Right. That's the way. That rascal Mu-baek seemed like he'd help. Milk him for all he's worth—he's damn strong. Haha. It was a pleasure having this connection with you too."
With that, Wi Ji-gun left the dormitory.
Namgung Hwi stared blankly at the spot where he had been.
He had gained a fateful encounter in Wu Chang.
Wi Ji-gun's existence was that fateful encounter for him.
People called finding things like millennium snow ginseng or Azure Spirit Oil a fateful encounter.
But he had gained something incomparable to any of that.
His son and daughter.
A fateful encounter he wouldn't trade for the world.
One question lingered unresolved even now.
Why had Wi Ji-gun shown him such kindness?
He truly couldn't fathom it.
The man said it had been a pleasure, but what had Wi Ji-gun gained in the end? Nothing.
That's why
he couldn't forget what he had been told to forget.
Each bone etched with gratitude.
He would never forget that grace.
Namgung Hwi walked alongside the Namgung siblings.
Toward where Namgung Hwa-u was.
"Namgung Hwa-u came to the Dragon Training Pavilion today."
Namgung Hwi quietly spoke.
At his words, the two looked at him as if they had no idea.
"It was when you clashed with that Hwang fellow."
"Ah, so that's why..."
Namgung Ji-yu murmured as if it suddenly made sense.
"I thought the aura you revealed was too much for the likes of him. So it was for Namgung Hwa-u."
Namgung Hwi nodded at her words.
Namgung Ji-hu and Namgung Ji-yu, walking at a distance, had sensed that aura too.
It had seemed excessive for dealing with a mere Namgung Clan collateral disciple and a worker.
Who would have thought his father was employing such profound technique.
"Wasn't it you who called for it? Namgung Hwa-u will be the one regretting it. I sensed his presence, so I thought it was a good chance and showed him clearly."
"Well done. He'll be even more desperate now."
Namgung Ji-yu smiled faintly.
They arrived at the inn like that.
Namgung Hwa-u was standing at the entrance.
He had come out sensing the aura Namgung Hwi had subtly revealed.
"Let's go in."
The annex in the inn's rear garden.
He was using it alone.
The four sat around the table.
Namgung Hwa-u, who had personally prepared tea, spoke first.
"What do you want me to do?"
Namgung Hwa-u bowed his head first.
Namgung Ji-yu gave a slight smile.
He was sharp, as expected.
In just two days, he had perfectly grasped his own situation.
And that was why he harbored such ambitions.
"To be clear, even the proposal I made last time is something none of my other brothers could offer."
Namgung Hwa-u added.
It was true.
In a clan that prized bloodline, Namgung Hwa-u's offer was revolutionary.
He had already assessed that Namgung Hwi's family couldn't empower any other brother and tacked that on.
"Close the Elder Council."
Namgung Ji-yu said abruptly.
Namgung Hwa-u's face hardened at that.
The Elder Council.
It existed as a matter of course in most major sects and clans.
Where retired masters gathered.
A great source of strength in times of crisis for the sect, but a headache when they began meddling in operations.
"You know what that means, right?"
Namgung Ji-yu nodded at Namgung Hwa-u's question.
"Of course. But considering what the Hocheon Corps Leader plans to do after becoming clan head, it's a place we'll have to clash with eventually."
Namgung Hwa-u grimaced.
It wasn't wrong.
All his envisioned changes disregarded bloodline.
He would face endless opposition from those old fogeys.
"Those former masters are that strong. Even as clan head, you can't handle armed resistance. They're still elders of the clan."
That was the problem.
In truth, closing the current Elder Council was something he desired too.
He just lacked the power to do it.
"We have someone who promised to help."
Namgung Ji-yu said with a faint smile.
She didn't need to say who.
Namgung Ji-yu had already met Ha Mu-baek the day before.
She had confirmed various things with him and made her request, knowing it was feasible.
"In that case. But closing the Elder Council only applies to the current one. As long as the clan exists, we can't eliminate it entirely."
Namgung Ji-yu agreed with that.
Former masters were another source of power.
But for now, they hindered their goals, so they had to be sidelined.
"Is that enough?"
At Namgung Hwa-u's question, Namgung Hwi spoke.
"I'd like you to procure a sword."
"A sword?"
As Namgung Hwa-u asked, Namgung Hwi's gaze went to Namgung Ji-hu's waist.
"As you can see, he doesn't have a decent one."
Namgung Hwi's tone and demeanor toward Namgung Hwa-u had shifted.
Namgung Hwa-u didn't point it out.
Previously, it had been direct and collateral lines.
Now, they were equals.
Or more precisely, he was the one at a slight disadvantage.
"Not just any sword, I assume?"
Namgung Hwi nodded as if it were obvious.
"The Great Firmament Sword."
Namgung Hwa-u's face stiffened at the curt reply.
One of the Namgung Clan's three great treasured swords.
The Sovereign Pure Heaven Sword was the clan head's sacred relic, possessable only by the head.
The remaining two were the Great Firmament Sword and the Thunder Phoenix Sword.
These three were the Namgung Clan's treasured swords.
The Great Firmament Sword and Thunder Phoenix Sword were kept deep in storage, unclaimed.
Only the clan head could choose their wielders, and the current head had chosen none.
To give the Great Firmament Sword to Namgung Ji-hu, the prerequisite was Namgung Hwa-u becoming clan head.
Especially now that they had agreed to close the current Elder Council.
"Understood. Consider it done."
Namgung Hwa-u nodded deeply.
Namgung Ji-hu, who had been staring in shock since the sword's name was mentioned, blinked.
"You have more than enough qualification."
Namgung Hwi patted Namgung Ji-hu's shoulder.
"Keep those promises well."
At that moment.
Ha Mu-baek appeared like a ghost.
No one had sensed his presence.
In one of Ha Mu-baek's hands dangled a scrawny, one-eyed man.
Chu Dong.