Chapter 32
“You’ve returned.”
Looking around, I saw the same courtyard from before.
Strangely though, Gilnang was nowhere to be seen.
More than that—
“It’s going to rain.”
Raindrops began to fall.
Considering how clear the sky had been just a moment ago, the weather was rather fickle.
“No matter how much I look around, I can’t see him.”
There weren’t any traces of someone having come by.
There’s no way a pouch with no legs could just vanish on its own.
Hmm.
I searched a bit more to find the missing Gilnang.
But soon I gave up and decided to return to my quarters first.
Strange as it was, I wasn’t particularly worried.
“A fellow with that much ability won’t run into trouble.”
If anything happened, he could just blow away someone’s consciousness like he did with me. What’s there to worry about?
And as it turned out, that was the right assumption.
‘Good thing! You came back just before the rain got worse!’
Back in my quarters, there was Gilnang, sprawled right on the bed.
It wasn’t so much baffling as simply fascinating.
“A pouch with no arms or legs couldn’t have crawled here by itself… you used divine power, didn’t you?”
‘That’s right!’
Gilnang was just… intriguing.
Not many beings used divine power in that way.
But then, he voiced a counter-opinion.
‘If anything, I find you stranger, Young Master. To think someone could hold so much divine power in the world… The Golden Clan’s bloodline isn’t bad, but it’s never that strong. Just what are you?’
He spoke cautiously.
And it made sense.
Apparently, while my consciousness had been knocked out, this fellow had confirmed the divine power sleeping within my body.
It was irritating, but also interesting.
I wondered just how much he had seen to make him so wary.
‘When he was captured at the Golden Clan Treasury, he wasn’t this careful…’
So I decided to probe him a little.
“Divine power? I don’t know what you mean.”
‘Ah! Was that something I wasn’t supposed to know?’
“I’m telling you, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
‘Aha…! Now that I think about it, I must’ve been mistaken. Ha ha! Divine power, really! As if that still exists these days!’
Well, one thing was clear.
Gilnang was a terrible actor.
‘At least he’s quick-witted enough to pick up on things, I suppose.’
I chuckled lightly.
“Never mind that. Tell me what you thought after looking through my body.”
Gilnang hesitated, then spoke after I nodded for him to go ahead.
‘Are you really human?’
This fellow…
It was sharper than I expected.
He continued.
‘I’ve spent most of my life inside the Treasury, so my experience is limited, but my years aren’t short.’
“And your point is?”
‘Are you an immortal? Or perhaps a divine general descended from the heavens?’
Without hesitation, I gave him an answer.
“I’m human.”
It wasn’t a lie.
I had a human body and lived as one.
I just had a past life as a sword, but there was no reason to explain that.
It was also part of my promise to Yeomra.
So I answered without hesitation, and Gilnang’s response was amusing.
‘Then you must be someone who will become such a being in the future.’
It didn’t feel like mere flattery—the excitement in his tone was genuine.
And then I realized why.
‘When you rise high one day, could you take me with you? If possible, give me a proper position too, hehe.’
What do you call that again?
A request?
Yes, a request.
I must’ve lived too long.
“To think I’d one day receive a request from a pouch.”
Gilnang jumped up in alarm.
‘Request?! Heaven forbid, I’d never dare!’
“If that’s not a request, then what is?”
‘Of course, I didn’t mean for you to just drag me along! I only meant… if you found me useful, then take me with you!’
I stroked my chin.
That wasn’t really a problem.
The real question was—
“Are you confident in yourself?”
A pouch has no eyes, nose, or mouth.
Even so, at that moment I felt as though Gilnang were smiling.
‘Of course! You’ve seen my ability yourself!’
True enough.
It had left quite an impression.
So much so that I’d planned to ask him about it when I returned.
Since it came to mind, I asked—and Gilnang happily explained his power.
‘Its name is Empty Flash (空閃, Gongsŏm).’
Literally, “flashing through space.”
To use it, he said, one needed a medium already infused with divine power. The farther the distance from that medium, the more power was consumed.
And there were limits to the range itself.
“So it does have restrictions.”
Distance and range aside, it didn’t feel like a problem.
Any ability without such restrictions would be the real problem.
Even as it was now, it was an outstanding power.
“How exactly does it activate?”
I asked, thinking maybe I could learn it.
But almost immediately, I shook my head.
Understanding space itself was necessary, and its concept was different from the principles of Nothingness.
“Trying to learn this would cause more harm than good.”
If I rushed in, the clash of concepts could cause serious damage—like falling into qi deviation.
At least in martial cultivation, it would be harmful, not helpful.
So, unlike my initial thought, I reached my conclusion without much regret.
‘Abandon it.’
It was certainly rare and valuable.
If I were willing to forsake martial studies, I might be able to learn it.
But it wasn’t worth that price.
“In the end, what matters most for my future is my own strength.”
I couldn’t afford to choose the path of weakness.
Really, it wasn’t even much of a dilemma—I was only briefly tempted.
Besides, it didn’t matter if I couldn’t learn it.
The owner of that divine ability was right before me.
“Very well. Depending on your performance, I’ll consider your request—whether or not to give you an important role.”
‘Truly?! Thank you! Thank you so much!’
Gilnang expressed joy with his whole body.
Honestly, I didn’t believe I’d ever become some immortal or divine general.
Even for someone as long-lived as me, that was nothing more than a fairy tale.
‘Surely he knows that too.’
Yet he was so thrilled, trembling all over.
And with his trembling came a surprising thing—like a musk pouch, a sweet fragrance spread from within.
At first I was bewildered, but then noticed it resembled plum blossoms, quite pleasant.
So I had to ask.
“That too… is it another ability of yours?”
Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much.
The ability I knew him for was storing countless objects inside his pouch, so I thought maybe he had some flower pollen stored in there.
But his answer was surprisingly pleasing.
‘That’s my other ability, Flying Flower (飛花, Bi-hwa). Want me to show you how to use it?’
He went on to explain how it worked.
Unlike Empty Flash, it seemed safe enough to learn.
So of course I did.
But I didn’t plan on taking it for free.
“I’ll give you extra credit for this.”
That was the happiest thing Gilnang heard all day.
As expected, I decided to carry Gilnang with me from now on.
On my left sleeve, inside.
Following the Sword of Destruction, he became the second divine relic I kept on me.
What was amusing was the sword’s reaction.
Woom.
“Are you… jealous?”
Just carrying Gilnang on me was enough for the sword to hum in discomfort.
But one sentence was enough to pacify it.
“This pouch may be older, but here, you’re the senior. So act like it.”
Woom woom!
That was its last hum, but this time it rang with satisfaction.
Gilnang too had no complaints, showing no reaction.
I suppose he hadn’t lived long for nothing.
“Well then, time to head out.”
I glanced out the window.
The raindrops had grown into a heavy downpour.
But I didn’t mind the weather.
What mattered was the sound of footsteps, pushing through the rain, heading toward me.
I went out in advance, and soon Songgok appeared, hurrying over.
Once he noticed me, he quickened his pace, bowed, and spoke.
“Young Master, members of the Hao Clan have just arrived.”
“Where are they now?”
“I’ve guided them to the reception hall.”
“Well done. Let’s go.”
“Yes, I’ll escort you.”
Songgok opened an umbrella he’d prepared and moved to hold it over me.
“No need. Hand it here.”
I refused the gesture and held it myself, walking ahead.
As we neared the reception hall, I stopped Songgok for a moment.
“Songgok.”
“Yes, Young Master?”
I thought briefly, then shook my head.
“Never mind.”
He looked puzzled but didn’t press further.
Truthfully, there was no reason.
It was just that his new way of addressing me had caught my attention.
‘Young Master of the Clan.’
Come to think of it, Yu-guk had once asked Golden Tree if a successor had been chosen.
Golden Tree hadn’t answered, only smiled faintly, which was essentially the same as answering.
And later, he even gave me the key to the Golden Clan Treasury.
To be honest, I didn’t feel burdened.
I’d already prepared myself when I set these events into motion.
Rather, the opposite—it felt… strange.
‘Am I being acknowledged?’
It was the first time I’d felt fully recognized as a member of the clan.
All because of a single change in title.
It was remarkable.
So different from life as a sword.
‘This must be what it means to live as a person.’
The funny thing was, it didn’t feel out of place at all.
Almost as if I’d been human from the start.
Looking back, it was even clearer.
‘At first, I tried so hard to act human.’
But at some point, I no longer needed to try.
It just came naturally.
And so—
“Welcome, members of the Hao Clan.”
I decided to greet them differently than I had planned.
“I am Geum Jamun, humble but entrusted as the Young Master of the Golden Clan.”
For today, at least, I would set aside both my memories as a divine sword and my old name, Gui Heo-ja—
And face them as the Young Master of the Golden Clan.
