Chapter 71
“Yeona!”
Namgung Taegang burst into the quarters where Lady Sohwa was staying.
Without giving the attendants any time to greet or guide him, he walked straight to the place his wife was.
Knock knock.
Namgung Taegang knocked on the door.
“My lady, it’s me. May I enter?”
A faint sound of agreement came from inside.
Namgung Taegang immediately pushed the door open and stepped in.
There, his wife Seok Sohwa was sitting with Namgung Yeon held in her arms.
“Yeon is fine,” the lady said, gently stroking her.
“May I examine her myself?”
“Go ahead.”
Namgung Taegang took Yeon from his wife.
Upon hearing her father’s voice, Namgung Yeon smiled brightly.
“Yeona, are you alright? What happened, hm?”
Taegang soothed her with a voice full of worry and concern.
Yeon, however, simply continued smiling no matter what he said.
“Is she injured anywhere?”
“She’s perfectly fine, thanks to the young lady of the Tang family.”
“So that child is our benefactor.”
“We may need to find a new nursemaid.”
Seok Sohwa spoke quietly.
Namgung Taegang nodded.
Though she seemed fine for now, no one knew when Seok Sohwa’s unstable state might resurface.
He could not entrust childcare to someone unpredictable.
“But we’ve already had trouble twice because of this nursemaid issue…”
Namgung Yeon was a child so precious to Taegang that he wouldn’t mind even if she were lodged within his own eye.
Yet she was also his most fragile wound.
A girl who could neither see nor speak.
She could still hear, walk, and run without issue. If she learned martial arts as she grew, such flaws would not matter much.
There were martial artists in Jianghu who, despite physical disabilities, still became ranked among the Ten Great Masters.
However, within the Namgung Clan, there were undeniably voices who belittled her for her blindness.
Knowing this, Taegang constantly felt uneasy.
“Yeona, it’s alright. Father will definitely catch and punish the ones who tried to harm you.”
Taegang embraced her tightly.
He whispered,
“Hurry and grow strong. Once you are older and more powerful, things like this will never happen again…”
Namgung Yeon had to learn how to protect herself.
Until that day came, Namgung Taegang wanted to shield her so perfectly that she wouldn’t receive even a single scratch.
If he had the strength to do so.
The next morning.
“They found a corpse.”
“I figured that would happen…”
“The tongue was severed. The Azure Dragon Sword Unit recovered the body.”
Huh?
The tongue was cut off?
Namgung Wiryong looked at me as he spoke.
“Would you be able to confirm the identity? If you do not wish to see it, one of your guards can do it for you.”
I hesitated for a moment.
Of course I didn’t want to see a corpse.
And clearly, the adults did not feel comfortable showing one to an eight-year-old child either.
However—
“I can look.”
If I had already seen my father’s corpse…
why would it matter to see the body of the kidnapper I killed myself?
Though, saying I’m not scared at all would be a lie.
He was the man I killed.
Which meant I should confirm it.
“It will be gruesome.”
“There’s no such thing as a pleasant-looking corpse.”
“Oh? You’re not intimidated?”
“I am scared—just inside my mind.”
Namgung Wiryong looked at me with intrigued eyes.
I swallowed nervously and stepped beside him.
“Let’s go, Clan Head.”
“You’re bold and fearless for someone so young.”
“Do you like me, then?”
“Yes.”
Wiryong answered without hesitation.
I followed alongside him and Grandfather toward where the corpse was kept.
Members of the Azure Dragon Sword Unit and Tang family guards followed behind.
Then suddenly—
Prickle.
Huh?
I felt a sharp gaze from somewhere.
I looked up.
For some reason, Grandfather was staring at me in silence.
Wha—?
That startled me!
I cautiously called out,
“Grandfather?”
“Do not follow him too closely.”
After saying that, he pressed lightly on the top of my head and turned his eyes away.
I brought both hands up and held my head, confused.
What was that about?
Grandfather snorted hmph and stepped just a little ahead of me.
Only half a step, so it was easy to keep up.
“Grandfather, wait for me!”
“Then follow closely.”
And so I walked beside and behind him alternately.
Before I realized it, we had arrived, and the men of the Azure Dragon Sword Unit stopped walking.
I lifted my gaze.
A shape covered with a cloth lay before us.
That must be the corpse.
I instinctively knew.
The heavy metallic scent of blood lingering in the air made it impossible not to.
“Choyo?”
“Yes, young miss.”
At some point Choyo had approached and was already beside me.
Since she had also seen the man’s face, it was right for us to confirm it together.
If she looked hesitant, I would have told her not to look,
but thankfully, she didn’t seem frightened.
Rather, she looked impatient—almost eager for the cloth to be removed.
“You may unveil it.”
At my words, a Namgung clan warrior in deep blue martial garb lifted the cloth.
A familiar face was revealed.
“That’s the man.”
His body was stiffened from paralysis poison.
His mouth was shut tight, but the dried blood trailing from the corners was clearly visible.
“Was his tongue cut out?”
“Yes.”
The warrior forcibly pried his jaw open, revealing the absence inside.
So it really was cut.
He would have died anyway…
The tongue must have been removed because he held information that must never be spoken.
Which meant there was someone behind the kidnapping.
Then Namgung Wiryong finally spoke.
“Thank you for confirming.”
“Yes.”
“I will handle the rest.”
With a gesture, the warrior let the cloth drop back over the corpse.
“If there is any related information later, will you also inform me?”
“Are you curious?”
If the nursemaid had acted alone, I wouldn’t have cared much.
But this time was different.
Someone was behind it.
I have the right to know who that is.
And since he said she would be “taken somewhere,” there might be other children kidnapped in the same way.
“Yes.”
When I nodded, Wiryong also nodded.
“I will inform you.”
“Thank you, Clan Head.”
Just dealing with Tang Paejin was stressful enough, and now even more troublesome matters kept piling up.
Still, I couldn’t ignore it.
That was not how I was taught.
Thinking of Tang Paejin, who had remained in Tanggata, I couldn’t help but wonder:
Is he scheming something dangerous again while we’re away?
Tang Paejin could not and should not be trusted.
Also—I needed to visit Tang Mountain soon…
So much work.
At this rate, I might die buried under tasks.
But no—
After gaining the miracle of regression,
I refused to die that easily.
The events of the previous night were kept secret within the Namgung clan.
A few sharp-witted individuals seemed to have guessed something,
but none wished to provoke Namgung Wiryong, so no trouble arose.
The birthday banquet proceeded without problems,
and Namgung Yeon was temporarily entrusted to Lady Sohwa and the attendants.
And the nursemaid who was being interrogated…
“Before we even administered Manghoncho, her energy meridians twisted and she died.”
She died in the prison cell.
Was it murder, or suicide?
If her meridians reversed, suicide was more likely than murder.
However—
Why did it feel so unsettling?
Everyone involved in the kidnapping had died in strangely unpleasant ways.
They were careless enough to fall for the plan of a child like me.
So I hadn’t expected a powerful force behind them.
But now…
Maybe the mastermind was far more dangerous than I assumed.
For now, I must be careful.
The murdered man may have said that I saw him.
In that case, silencing me would be likely.
