Chapter 56
Once they returned to the Namgung residence, Hongseol wouldn’t know when she’d be able to attend another ceremony again.
Today, she absolutely had to visit the place Elder Namgung Muyoung had mentioned.
‘The elder said that if I went there, I could meet a noble person.’
Namgung On and Bing Yuhwa both wore expressions as if wondering why she was hesitating so much.
Hongseol hesitated and then spoke.
“Um… it’s a place I have to go to alone.”
“That won’t do!”
“That won’t do!”
Both shouted simultaneously, in a way that made them sound like a single voice.
Namgung On and Bing Yuhwa scolded Hongseol without pause as they ran after her.
“How can you wander around the ceremony alone at your age!”
“No parent would ever allow such a thing!”
Hearing that, Hongseol placed her hand over her chest. Her tiny heart pounded rapidly.
‘Parent… Master Gaju and the Master of the Medical Hall are my parents…’
It wasn’t entirely unimaginable, but hearing it directly from Bing Yuhwa felt strange.
Hongseol scratched her cheek and laughed nervously.
Even though she wasn’t allowed to go alone, she felt like she was floating on air.
“Where exactly are you planning to go?”
“Well… actually… Elder Namgung Muyoung…”
Hongseol chattered on about her sparring match with Namgung Jongwoo and how she had helped foster the relationship between Elder Namgung Muyoung and his grandson.
“So the elder said that?”
Bing Yuhwa narrowed her eyes slightly and continued.
“Though sly, stubborn, and only caring for his own family, he’s not one to speak nonsense.”
Huh… it sounded like the Master of the Medical Hall was just criticizing the elder!
While Hongseol was puzzled, Namgung On and Bing Yuhwa held her small hands firmly.
“If it’s a place you must go, then the three of us will go together.”
Overjoyed at having their hands holding hers so tightly, Hongseol couldn’t help but laugh happily again.
“Great! Let’s all go together.”
Huff, huff.
Using the Celestial Wind Divine Technique, Namgung Uigyeol dashed across the rooftops, mentally exhausted.
‘What kind of woman is this?’
For half a shijin already, he had been chasing a woman carrying a pipa on her back, sprinting across the rooftops of Hapbi.
Even with his inner energy propelling him, he was getting winded.
Yet the woman ahead showed no signs of fatigue.
‘She must be a master on par with the Supreme Gaju!’
Namgung Uigyeol swallowed hard. He couldn’t let her get away.
Clenching his teeth, he raised his inner energy. Blue celestial energy flared, and his speed doubled.
‘Just a little… a little faster!’
Black bamboo hat, sleek figure, and the stone pipa she carried on her back like a life force.
The woman perfectly matched the appearance of the person he sought—none other than the Master of the Black Qi Sect, Dokbijo.
Thanks to his exertion, her shadow grew close enough to almost touch.
Daeyeon 19 Style!
Namgung Uigyeol moved to seize her arm using the famous Golden Claw technique of the Namgung family.
Slap!
But the woman spun quickly, and his hand grasped nothing but air.
“You’ve followed me this long without losing me. Impressive.”
She tossed off her bamboo hat and spoke, leaving him stunned.
Under the hat was not a wrinkled old woman exuding evil energy, but a young woman.
‘Could it be… a reversed energy technique?’
Then he should be able to recognize her to some extent.
Sweat beaded on Namgung Uigyeol’s forehead.
The woman emitted no malicious aura—only pure energy.
‘I mistook this woman for Dokbijo… what a mistake.’
“Chasing a woman in broad daylight, a burly man—what a shameless act!”
“Ah… um…”
Realizing his error, Namgung Uigyeol was at a loss for words.
Though he didn’t know her, her manner of speaking suggested she was from a prestigious martial family.
‘Is she from the Moyong Clan? Or the Jegal Clan? Or perhaps the renowned musician clan, Yakgangseon?’
If so, he couldn’t admit he had mistaken her for a rogue sect.
Martial artists valued honor above life.
“Why did you follow me?”
Her sharp voice made his throat dry.
“Who put a mouth on me! I’m asking why you followed me!”
Namgung Uigyeol had no choice but to close his eyes and shout:
“…B-Because you are too beautiful!”
Sorry, my dear…
Thinking of his wife at home, Namgung Uigyeol bled tears of regret in his heart.
“….”
“….”
The silence lasted for a moment.
“Hahaha!”
Suddenly, the woman laughed, infuriating him.
It seemed she was laughing because he didn’t satisfy her expectations.
“Since fate brought us together, give me your name. I will remember it myself.”
“….”
“I won’t spread rumors that you flirted with me, so don’t worry.”
“Namgung… Uigyeol.”
The woman paused, then softly replied:
“Ah, that head.”
Hearing this unfamiliar nickname, Namgung Uigyeol’s forehead twitched.
“What did you just say?”
“Nothing. By the way, since you met someone from the Namgung family, I have a question.”
Namgung Uigyeol answered irritably.
“What question?”
“Who is the most promising late-stage practitioner in the Namgung family?”
The unexpected question made Namgung Uigyeol pause.
The first person that came to mind wasn’t Namgung Baekdo, Jeokdo, or Heukdo—it was Hongseol.
Yet he couldn’t reveal her identity to a stranger.
“I’m under no obligation to answer you.”
“Oh? Really?”
Her gaze seemed to peer through his entire body. Namgung Uigyeol shivered.
‘Better get away quickly.’
He bowed respectfully and quickly distanced himself from the woman.
“So, her famous Namgung Baek wasn’t mentioned right away…”
Someone else then, huh?
The woman’s red lips curved into a pleased smile.
Hongseol stood in front of a shabby back-alley shop.
The roof tiles were broken, and the wooden door had holes gnawed by rats.
Even the flag with Cheonginu-seol written on it hung limply at the entrance.
Namgung On tilted his head.
“Are you sure this is the place the elder mentioned, Hongseol?”
Bing Yuhwa answered.
“He may be deceitful, disagreeable, and money-minded, but he wouldn’t mislead you about the location.”
Hongseol swallowed hard.
‘Ah, the Master of the Medical Hall really dislikes Elder Namgung Muyoung…’
She hadn’t known that when Namgung On once opposed his brother Namgung Yeol over the Gaju position, Elder Namgung Muyoung sided with Namgung Yeol and separated.
And Bing Yuhwa still considered Elder Muyoung an obstacle.
“Since we’re here, let’s go in, little one.”
Encouraged, Hongseol pushed open the wooden door.
Cre-eak.
The old door groaned eerily.
Inside was dark.
“Is anyone here…?”
A chilling voice replied.
“How did you get here?”
“I… I came on the recommendation of Elder Namgung Muyoung…”
“Is that so? What did that fool say?”
“That if I came here, I could meet a noble person who could change my fate…”
“Hah!”
Suddenly, a withered hand shot out from the darkness and grabbed Hongseol’s wrist.
In an instant, she was pulled into the darkness.
“Eek!”
“Let go!”
Clenching his teeth, Namgung On swiftly extended his arm using the Daeyeon 19 Style.
Pat! Papak!
The old man, covered in liver spots, blocked Namgung On’s Golden Claw with one hand like a monster.
Then, he released Hongseol, seemingly testing Namgung On.
Bing Yuhwa immediately hugged the freed Hongseol.
“Are you alright, little one?”
Hongseol nodded frantically, unsure of what was happening.
“Hehehe… the young one of the Namgung family has grown a lot.”
The young one of the Namgung family?
Could he mean Master Gaju?
Hongseol looked up at Namgung On, confused.
Whoosh.
Even without a firestarter nearby, the old man’s fingertip ignited the lamp.
“Sammaejinhwa!”
Recognizing it, Bing Yuhwa muttered in astonishment.
This was a technique only a highly skilled martial artist could perform—igniting flames with inner energy.
It meant the opponent in front of them was at least a master of fire techniques.
“Hehe, it’s been a while, On. And this icy little one from the Northern Sea…”
Crackle, crackle.
As the wick burned, the old man’s toothless face was revealed.
