The Namgung Clan
With every brush of the wind, quiet ripples spread across the clear surface of the pond.
Birds alighted at the water’s edge to drink, then took flight again, tracing elegant curves through the air.
Aside from the pond being rather beautifully arranged, there was nothing particularly special about it—yet Seomun Hwi stood gazing at the scene, lost in thought.
“Even if this is the Dang Clan, the pond itself isn’t poisoned.”
At the calm voice, he turned his head to find Dang Sohye approaching with her graceful figure.
“…I wasn’t thinking that.”
To be honest, a flicker of suspicion had crossed his mind, but what good would it do to say so?
As Seomun Hwi stood there nonchalantly, Dang Sohye soon gave a slow nod.
“It was a joke. Was it funny?”
“Yes. Quite funny.”
The complete stillness of his lips betrayed the lie, but it hardly mattered.
“I’ve never once managed to make anyone laugh. Looks like I’ve succeeded this time too.”
Shamelessness was, after all, her greatest strength.
“Men tend to smile for no reason when they see a beautiful woman.”
Yet Seomun Hwi was no pushover either.
When he twisted it to imply it wasn’t her joke that had amused him, Dang Sohye’s unreadable gaze met his.
“The reverse is true as well. Being with you is rather enjoyable, Young Master.”
She returned his words exactly as received, the corner of her mouth twitching ever so slightly.
“…I am, after all, the man renowned throughout Anhui for his humor.”
“Is that so? I always thought Biyeon was the funniest man in Anhui.”
To bring up the young master of the Namgung Clan—with whom relations were far from amicable—while conversing with the young master of the Seomun Clan…
Had it been anyone else, he might have shown some discomfort, but in this case, it couldn’t be helped.
“…They say blood is thicker than water, do they not?”
Namgung Biyeon, the young master of the Namgung Clan, was none other than Dang Sohye’s cousin.
That was why he still remembered his considerable surprise upon first hearing of the marriage talks between himself and Dang Sohye.
“Have I offended you by praising another man?”
As the Dang Clan was the master of all poisons, perhaps she had some venomous technique hidden on the tip of her tongue.
Watching Dang Sohye, who refused to yield a single word yet still played at innocence, Seomun Hwi let out a soft, hollow laugh.
“I simply find your affection for your blood kin pleasing. By the way, I wonder when I might meet the clan head. I feel I ought to return to my own clan soon.”
“Ah.”
Only then did Dang Sohye’s eyes widen slightly, as if recalling something.
“Father left in haste for the Namgung Clan. Before departing, he asked me to convey his sincere apologies to Young Master Seomun Hwi.”
“…The Namgung Clan, you say?”
Even as a young master, he currently represented the Seomun Clan.
This might be Sichuan, but to leave for the Namgung Clan without a single word—unless they were looking down on him?
“Yes. Urgent news arrived last night. After Mount Hua and Zhongnan, the Namgung Clan has also sided with the Alliance Leader.”
At Dang Sohye’s unexpected words, Seomun Hwi’s already stiff face twisted sharply.
For nearly twenty years, the Namgung Clan had conducted itself as if under a self-imposed seclusion.
And now, suddenly breaking their long silence to side with the Alliance Leader?
Though he hated to admit it, the Namgung Clan perhaps held the greatest influence within the Orthodox Faction after Shaolin.
It was precisely because they had maintained their silence that the balance had barely been preserved.
If this was true, then from the Seomun Clan’s perspective, the very anxiety they had long feared had finally erupted.
As Seomun Hwi’s gaze wavered, her fingertips gently caught his collar.
“Father went himself, so there shouldn’t be any major issues. Even the Namgung Clan cannot simply ignore the Dang Clan.”
The Dang Clan head, who rarely ever left Sichuan, had moved personally.
That was some comfort, yet looking at it the other way, it meant the situation was that dire.
“I cannot simply stay here like this. Even now…”
“Don’t be hasty. Focus only on what you must do, Young Master.”
“…?”
What else was there for him to do besides returning to the clan right now?
When he sent her a puzzled look, Dang Sohye lightly tapped Seomun Hwi’s chest with her index finger.
“To ensure the Dang Clan remains on the Seomun Clan’s side, shouldn’t you stay here and build a good relationship with me?”
Indeed, if even the Dang Clan followed the Namgung Clan and turned, the Seomun Clan would be driven to the edge of a cliff.
Even so, hearing it directly from the person involved left him with a peculiar feeling.
“…You intended that?”
This time, Dang Sohye smiled brightly enough that he could tell what she was thinking.
“A little.”
She was incomparably beautiful when she smiled, yet in that smile, Seomun Hwi saw the face of someone who had been flickering in his mind of late.
I kept wondering who she resembled… Seeing her smile, I finally understand.
At the tip of Geumjeong Peak. Cheongwol and Ak Seo-a, now ready to set out on the road once more, were exchanging farewells amid the send-off.
“I feel as though I’ve only taken and given nothing in return.”
Since the day they first spoke, Cheongwol had spent occasional time with Jeonghwa, and having grown fond of her in that short while, she could not hide her regret.
“Isn’t that what a temple is for? Pay it no mind.”
Jeonghwa, understanding Cheongwol’s heart, answered with a kind smile.
“I heard you’re heading to the Dang Clan.”
When Ma Tae-sang, who had been quietly watching from the side, asked, Cheongwol gave a slight nod.
“Yes. There’s something I must do.”
“I don’t know what it is, but if you go with Seo-a, it will be a help.”
As Ma Tae-sang turned his head to look at her, Ak Seo-a took out the clan head’s token from her bosom and showed it.
“I’m keeping it safe.”
“Good, that’s a relief.”
…So it was real after all.
Upon realizing the clan head’s token was genuine and not a fake, Cheongwol felt a little awkward.
“Seo-a.”
Having sensed something from the words exchanged during the spar, Ma Tae-sang called Ak Seo-a’s name with a somewhat dark expression.
The matters he had overlooked with the excuse of loving both children had ultimately left deep scars on everyone, especially Ak Seo-a.
He did not expect a mere word of apology now to earn forgiveness.
Even so, he could not simply let the mistakes he had committed pass without correcting them.
“All this time, I have…”
Just as Ma Tae-sang’s mouth was about to open, Ak Seo-a approached silently and embraced him.
“Uncle. You’ve worked hard all this time.”
“…”
“I don’t know about others, but I know. Between Ji-ho and me, the one who suffered most was you, Uncle.”
In a situation where anger would have been more than justified, why was this kind child protecting him who had stood by and let things come to this?
“I won’t do anything to hurt your heart anymore. So please treat us siblings as you used to. You will, won’t you?”
Just as she had smiled brightly in his arms as a child.
Ma Tae-sang lightly stroked the head of Ak Seo-a, who was looking up and smiling at him.
What had begun as staying as a guest for only a month had somehow become a year.
Then until the twins were born.
Then until Ak Seo-a’s illness was cured.
Little by little the period of stay had lengthened, and now they were nailing him down not to leave at all.
Even without words, knowing he could not leave…
“…Whose request could I refuse?”
While the two were reuniting, Ak Ji-ho came limping from not far away.
He had clearly been told it would take a full month before he could walk again, yet it seemed he had forced himself out of bed, determined to see his sister.
“I told you to stay lying down and not come out.”
Ak Seo-a made a worried face at the sight, but Ak Ji-ho paid it no mind.
“Not listening to others is a family trait of ours.”
Gently cupping his sister’s cheek with his hand, Ak Ji-ho glanced at Cheongwol.
“Don’t just trust Young Lady Cheongwol and act recklessly. Think twice, thrice before getting involved in anything. Understand?”
“…I’m not a child.”
“Because I worry. When your business at the Dang Clan is done, where will you go? Wherever it is, tell me beforehand. Or at least send letters regularly.”
At the endless nagging, a faint smile spread across Ak Seo-a’s lips.
“Alright. I haven’t decided where yet, so I’ll send letters. You take good care of yourself too.”
“…I can take care of myself, so you just do well. Remember what I said.”
After finishing his words, he looked at Cheongwol again.
“Young Lady Cheongwol. Please look after my sister well. She may be a bit immature, but she is my one and only precious sister.”
Cheongwol, well understanding his heart, smiled gently.
“Don’t worry. I won’t let her go around getting beaten up.”
As the two figures gradually receded into the distance, Ma Tae-sang let out a slight sigh of relief.
“A child of that caliber would certainly have been raised with care even in Wudang. That such a child has formed a bond with our Seo-a is fortunate indeed.”
“Indeed. Thanks to that, I was able to make up my mind as well.”
“By that, you mean…”
“Wudang is surely watching that child from somewhere. If they have left her alone until now, there can be only one reason. If Wudang has decided its will, Shaolin will likely share a similar mind. As fellow inheritors of the Buddhist martial lineage, should we not unite our wills?”
At Jeonghwa’s words, vitality returned to Ma Tae-sang’s face for the first time in a long while.
“…Thank you. The clan head will be greatly pleased to know that Emei will stand with us.”
“You flatter me.”
Just as the two were praising each other,
Ak Ji-ho carefully opened his mouth.
“…A disciple of Wudang? Who are the two of you speaking of?”
Ma Tae-sang frowned slightly as he looked at him.
“Who else? Are you saying that even after experiencing Young Lady Cheongwol’s martial arts firsthand, you failed to recognize it as Wudang’s?”