Chapter 90
Namgung Woon, who had been watching Dam Suyeon soothe Dam Hwiyeon, looked up at the Changryong unit.
“That person…”
“…He’s the one who went missing at sea.”
Although he hadn’t done anything directly, Namgung Woon couldn’t help but feel a sense of guilt as a member of the Namgung family.
With his head bowed low and his fists clenched—
“You shouldn’t do that, unni.”
—he saw the back of someone smaller than himself. It was Eun Sowol.
“The adults were the ones who did wrong, not you, gongja.”
“But still…”
“Grandpa Yang said that the Lord of Changryong later sent people again. And he formally apologized to the elders and to you, unni. Right?”
When she asked, Dam Suyeon nodded dazedly.
“That’s right… he came to me before he left and apologized.”
“See? If we keep being angry about what happened back then, what’s the point of the adults making up? Of course! I understand how you feel, unni, but if we fight, the adults will be sad!”
Dam Hwiyeon held back her tears, lips tightly shut. Eun Sowol gently wiped her tears and patted her.
“The gongja even apologized last time. You’ll forgive him too, right? You’re the amazing disciple of Hwa Wang, after all.”
Sniffling, Dam Hwiyeon glanced at Namgung Woon and fidgeted with her hands.
“…I’m sorry.”
“…No, I wasn’t any better.”
Namgung Woon scratched his neck awkwardly, unable to hide his discomfort. Now that the kids had made up, it was time for the adults.
“I apologize. My younger sister was rude. I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
“No, we understand how uncomfortable it must be. We’re grateful you’re even looking after us.”
They awkwardly bowed to each other. Then, Dam Suyeon took Dam Hwiyeon away to comfort her.
The Changryong unit, sensing the mood, also withdrew, leaving only Namgung Woon and Eun Sowol behind.
“…Thanks for helping me. I thought you didn’t like me.”
“Why would I not like you, gongja?”
“Well…”
Unable to bring himself to say it, Namgung Woon hesitated. Then Eun Sowol spoke.
“I thought you didn’t like me.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. You always glared at me in the dining hall.”
Whenever they were in the same space, he stared at her intensely—so much that she could feel his gaze.
That stare was so intense she often tried to avoid him.
“I wasn’t glaring!”
“Then what?”
“I just… you’re Hwa Wang’s disciple, and you’re always around strong people… I was curious about you…”
Namgung Woon’s voice grew quieter and quieter.
“I don’t dislike you. I was the one in the wrong.”
Despite his embarrassment, his gaze was sincere.
It was the kind of gaze that made one understand why he was the righteous protagonist.
“Hmm… impressive.”
“What is?”
“Most people don’t admit their mistakes, even when they’re clearly at fault.”
Admitting and accepting one’s own fault is difficult, not just for kids but for adults too.
And yet Namgung Woon admitted and reflected on his.
“It’s not impressive… I was just foolish back then.”
That was only a few days ago?
“Then… do you really not dislike me?”
“No. You apologized, so there’s no reason to dislike you.”
Namgung Woon’s face slowly brightened. He scooted closer and smiled broadly.
“Then let’s be friends. I want to be friends with you.”
“Because I’m Hwa Wang’s disciple?”
“That’s part of it, but… you’re the first person who talks back to me like that.”
Was that supposed to be a compliment?
“Everyone I’ve met either fears me or treats me with hostility. So I don’t really have any friends.”
Though it sounded a bit arrogant, his position made it easy to imagine how others would treat him.
“But you’re different. You point out my flaws, and you don’t act afraid! And… you’re the first person besides my family who talks back to my older brother like that.”
Namgung Woon whispered the last part in her ear as if he didn’t want anyone else to hear.
It seemed that was his biggest reason for wanting to be friends.
“Hmmm…”
Even though his wish to be friends felt genuine, his sparkly eyes made her want to mess with him a bit.
“Actually, I’m not Hwa Wang’s disciple.”
She playfully narrowed her eyes and revealed the truth.
“Hmm… You mean you haven’t officially become one yet?”
Namgung Woon hesitated before speaking.
But he didn’t change his attitude or look down on her.
“My uncle scolded me a lot, saying not to take disciples lightly.”
“Then does that mean Hwa Wang wants to take you as his disciple?”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because he really likes you. My brother said he’s never seen Hwa Wang smile like that.”
What kind of expression did Yang Hwichun usually make that everyone spoke so poorly of him?
“And I don’t care whether you’re his disciple or not. I just like you.”
His soft smile seemed sincere.
“Okay! Let’s be friends!”
With her cheerful acceptance, Namgung Woon’s face lit up even more.
“Yeah! Great! We’re friends now, so you don’t have to speak formally.”
“Got it!”
She had always found it awkward speaking formally to a seven-year-old anyway.
The two of them soon dropped their bait into the lake with their tiny hands and fishing rods.
As they waited for a fish to bite, Eun Sowol asked a question out of curiosity.
“By the way, why do you need the Millennium Flame Fox? Does the Alliance Lord need it?”
“Hmm… My brother told me not to tell anyone…”
Namgung Woon hesitated, then quickly looked around.
The Changryong unit was talking with the third disciple of Haenam, and no one would overhear here.
He leaned in and whispered to Eun Sowol.
“The vice-captain of the Cheongun Guards is hovering between life and death.”
“What? Who?”
“The Cheongun Guards. Think of them as the Alliance Lord’s personal guard. They’re the strongest of the strong within the Alliance.”
They never moved without orders from the Lord and acted as his hands and feet.
A vice-captain of such a group would be an expert at the peak of their power… and yet they were on the brink of death.
“Gasp! Did they get hurt fighting a bad guy?”
“That part, I don’t know. But that vice-captain is also the Alliance Lord’s beloved.”
Eun Sowol’s eyes widened—it had never been mentioned in the original work.
Now that she thought about it, in the original story, the leader of the Murim Alliance when Namgung Woon became an adult was from the Sandong Ak family, not Namgung.
But now, Namgung Woon’s uncle held that position.
“If we get the Millennium Flame Fox’s core, we can save her. That’s why the Alliance Lord urgently sent my brother and the Changryong unit to Haenam Island.”
“Well, if it’s someone he loves…”
“That, and she’s an important figure in the Alliance. And… originally, they were supposed to get married next month.”
But then the vice-captain returned from a mission with severe injuries, and the Alliance Lord had lost his composure.
Now she understood why Namgung Kyung was pushing himself so hard to find the fox.
In the original story, they had found the beast and returned to the Alliance HQ with its core.
‘But… did they really use the core to save her?’
If the core had been used to save her, it shouldn’t still exist in the original timeline.
But in the original story after Namgung Woon’s regression, the core still existed in the Namgung family.
Unless… there were two Millennium Flame Foxes?
“…I hope so.”
With a complicated heart, Eun Sowol turned her gaze to the summit of Yeomobong.
Just imagining her uncle struggling to find the fox up there made her uneasy.
Meanwhile…
“It’s the Millennium Flame Fox!”
“Don’t let it escape elsewhere!”
At that very moment—
Deep within the cave’s lava zone, the Millennium Flame Fox had appeared.
Everyone was frantic, desperate to hunt it down.
Dokgo Ryong had just entered the lava zone through a long tunnel to relieve another team.
In the open lava zone, Haenam elders were leaping into the sky, Changryong members had drawn their swords, waiting for the right moment, and Dang Jin-ak was panting heavily, clutching a poison-laced dagger.
“At this rate, they’ll all collapse. Let’s switch out.”
Namgung Kyung stepped into the lava zone ahead of Dokgo Ryong. Dokgo Ryong rushed to Dang Jin-ak.
“Your time’s up. Go rest above.”
Dokgo Ryong placed a hand on his shoulder—only to feel a damp, sticky substance like blood.
Turning his head, he saw Dang Jin-ak’s face flushed red, drenched in sweat.
