Chapter 82
Yoon Taeshin, seeing that Eunsowol’s pouty duck-like lips had slightly relaxed, carefully reached out his hand.
“I’m sorry, little one. I scared you without thinking of my size. None of us meant to do that.”
He spoke in a voice far too gentle for his large frame.
“If you’re afraid, I won’t come any closer. But just remember this—none of us would ever harm you. I swear it on Hae-nam.”
Eunsowol slowly began to relax at his polite and softly murmured voice. Then, she quietly took his outstretched hand.
‘Ah, it’s just like Uncle’s hand.’
A warrior’s hand, rough and full of calluses. And yet, so incredibly warm.
“Hee… I’m okay. I was just a little surprised.”
When Eunsowol smiled harmlessly with her soft, rice-cake-like face, the three main disciples of Hae-nam, who were watching her, melted on the spot.
*
“Is it tasty?”
“Do you want to try this one too?”
“Yumyum. I drank it all!”
Eunsowol, now surrounded by Dam Suyeon and the main disciples, was being showered with snacks as if she had never been shy.
For a brief moment, her eyes gleamed greedily as she reached for the snacks. Then, looking around, she asked the disciples:
“But where did the uncles go?”
“The important guests went to Haeundang. The grown-ups are probably talking by now. Why? Do you want to go to your uncle?”
“No. If Uncle comes, I won’t be able to eat all this. Please tell him I only had a little bit. Promise me!”
Everyone there nodded, and Eunsowol, pleased, swung her legs cheerfully.
She placed a plate of snacks on her lap and resumed eating with newfound determination.
Baekwoon, who was sitting in her arms, also eyed the snacks eagerly, but Eunsowol kept him at bay.
“You can’t eat this. It’ll hurt your tummy.”
Kyung! Kyukyung!
“No means no! Why are you so greedy with food? Who did you get that from?”
Just like her owner, clearly.
Everyone looked at Eunsowol munching with crumbs all over her mouth.
“Geez, just a little bit—no, no. Not that. Eat this one instead!”
The two wrestled for a while.
To others, it simply looked like a small animal and a child playing together.
Those watching couldn’t help but smile softly.
“Sa-sook! Is Suyeon unnie okay? Can I see her?!”
Just then, a very young voice rang out.
It clearly wasn’t from one of the large-bodied main disciples.
Through them emerged a girl who looked a few years older than Eunsowol. Her lips were pressed tightly together, and tears welled up in her eyes.
Dam Suyeon stood up and ran toward her.
“Huyeon!”
The moment her name was called, the tears in the girl’s eyes streamed down.
“Huuu… Unnieeeee!”
She threw herself into Dam Suyeon’s arms and sobbed loudly.
“Oh dear, I’m sorry. Huyeon, I wanted to see you right away, but I was so busy hosting the guests I couldn’t come.”
“I… I thought you were going to die…!”
“Why would I die? I can’t die while leaving you behind. Don’t cry, okay? I’m not hurt at all. I should’ve come to see you first. That was my fault, wasn’t it?”
“Right, unnie’s a dummy! Why did you go to a pirate ship?! Huuuu!”
Dam Suyeon, holding back her tears, did her best to comfort the sobbing Huyeon.
Seeing their conversation and similar features, Eunsowol easily guessed they were sisters.
‘Wow, how can they look so alike?’
The dark skin, the bright eyes, the youthful yet healthy glow—she was bound to grow up to be quite the beauty, like Suyeon.
Eunsowol was staring at Huyeon’s face when their eyes met.
Huyeon stepped out of Suyeon’s arms, sniffled, and bowed to Eunsowol with a martial greeting.
“Thank you for saving my sister! My name is Dam Huyeon! I’m a new disciple of the Hae-nam Sect!”
“She’ll become a second-generation disciple when we do. She entered before all of us, so she’ll likely be our senior.”
Yoon Taeshin, now beside them, explained.
She was only seven years old and had joined less than six months ago.
‘What? She looks more like eight or nine.’
Tall, sturdy for a child—an impressive physique.
And a senior disciple already? If she’s the senior disciple of Hae-nam, then…
‘Isn’t she the one who picked a fight with the protagonist and got completely wrecked?’
She was portrayed a bit like a villain in the original story, but not a truly bad person.
Later, she cleared up her misunderstanding with the protagonist and led Hae-nam in the fight against the Demon Sect.
So there was no harm in getting close to her now.
“I’m Eunsowol. I’m younger, so just call me Sowol.”
Huyeon’s slightly upturned eyes, like Dam Suyeon’s, softened and became round.
Her dark cheeks turned red as she cleared her throat.
“Ahem! Then call me Huyeon unnie! Since you’re still just a baby!”
“Okay! Unnie!”
Huyeon smiled proudly, her face glowing pink.
“I’m so glad we found Unnie. Things have been crazy lately with all these weird people showing up.”
“Sa-jil.”
Yoon Taeshin quietly warned Huyeon. She immediately covered her mouth.
“Weird people? Who?”
But Eunsowol had already heard.
While the main disciples hesitated, Dam Suyeon spoke up.
“Lately, more and more people from the martial world have been coming to Hae-nam.”
“Su-mae!”
“It’s fine. It’s okay to tell Sowol. She’s with the Fire King’s group anyway.”
Yoon Taeshin had been about to scold her, but at that, he closed his mouth with a groan.
“Martial artists are visiting? Why?”
“Some crazy guy spread a ridiculous rumor… People are coming to check if it’s true.”
“You shouldn’t say crazy guy in front of a kid!”
“Ah… I mean, some weird people! Anyway, not just martial artists—tons of riffraff are swarming in, so we’re super busy. Even that pirate raid was because of that rumor!”
Though they didn’t explain the rumor fully, Eunsowol had a good idea what it was.
“Who started the rumor?”
“No idea. But if someone wanted to mess up Hae-nam, they did a great job. Even the unorthodox sects are slowly trying to come in now.”
“That’s not the worst of it. The Martial Alliance came this morning too.”
“What?! The Martial Alliance?!”
Dam Suyeon’s eyes widened in shock.
“Yeah. They came when everyone was panicking looking for you. I don’t know if it was the Alliance itself or the Namgung Clan…”
“There was a Martial Alliance flag on the ship, so it must’ve been them.”
“But most of the people aboard were from the Namgung Clan.”
“Well, the Namgung Clan holds most of the high positions in the Alliance. That’s not unusual.”
“Maybe they used the Alliance as a front. If they came because of the rumor, saying they’re here to investigate under the Alliance’s name would sound more legitimate.”
The Martial Alliance was one of the main orthodox forces, standing shoulder to shoulder with the Five Great Clans and the Nine Great Sects.
‘Why does no one seem happy about them being here?’
“Hmph, I hate the Martial Alliance and the Namgung Clan!”
Huyeon pouted, furrowing her thick brows.
“Why? The Martial Alliance is supposed to be full of good people.”
“Good? Ha! The elders said they refused to help find Unnie!”
…What now?
“We asked several ships for help in finding her, but the Martial Alliance refused, saying the fog was too thick.”
“They probably meant it was dangerous because of the fog.”
“Then why did they arrive in that same thick fog at dawn? They just didn’t want to help because they had their own priorities! I’m so glad you found Unnie, Sowol.”
Huyeon smiled shyly, saying she would’ve been devastated if Suyeon hadn’t been found.
That smile reminded Eunsowol of a line from the original novel:
“Chivalry? Who dares speak of chivalry? If the Namgung Clan truly had it, my sister wouldn’t have died like that…!”
Those were the words Huyeon shouted at the peak of the protagonist’s rise to fame, during one of the later arcs.
Hae-nam never liked the Namgung Clan, but Huyeon especially despised them.
She hated them—because of her sister’s death.
‘This version is so much better.’
The girl who should’ve been grieving and despairing over her sister’s death was smiling brightly.
The main disciples who had cried their eyes out over Suyeon were now smiling again.
Even Suyeon herself, who had nearly died, was cheerful and full of life.
Eunsowol liked this story more than the original.
