Chapter 37
“Everyone is grateful to Sojeo. You even bolstered our morale.”
“…….”
“Fortunately there were no fatalities, but everyone must have been shaken by the sudden invasion of the demonic cult.”
“Those called the madmen—surely they were sent by the cult…”
“That’s right. It seems Uncle helped the madmen infiltrate the clan.”
“How regrettable.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have meddled in clan affairs and put you in danger, Sojeo.”
“It’s all right. I wasn’t hurt. More importantly…”
Just as Sojeo was about to confess that she really felt she might turn back into the Millennial Snowroot, a loud voice cut through the crowd.
“Baek Sojeo! I owe you a great debt. Truly, the cure was miraculous!”
The voice belonged to Namgung Seonyul.
Although he was the head of the clan, he stepped forward and bowed to Sojeo with great ceremony.
“I will regard you as a benefactor of the Namgung family.”
“M-Master of the clan!”
Sojeo hurriedly bowed deeply.
Being praised as if she were some great person felt awkward and uncomfortable—she wasn’t that impressive.
Despite Sojeo’s embarrassment, Seollin, who was standing beside Namgung Seonyul, also stepped forward and made a formal salute.
“I too will consider Baek Sojeo my lifelong benefactor.”
“M-Madam!”
Even after Sojeo pleaded for them to stop, Seollin removed the face covering she had been wearing and loudly announced to the crowd without hesitation.
“Baek Sojeo healed an old internal injury of mine as well.”
“Waaaah!”
Unending cheers exploded from the crowd.
If an outsider had heard, they might think a great battle had been won.
Sojeo’s face burned crimson.
“So humble. I’m so embarrassed I want to leave. I really think I’ll turn into the Millennial Snowroot for real!”
“Yes. Let’s go rest now.”
Namgung Jin’s face wore a crooked smile as he whispered sweetly.
“Sojeo, to help you move smoothly, could you pretend to faint for a moment?”
Sojeo nodded and, acting as if she had run out of strength, feigned collapse. Namgung Jin caught her firmly in his arms.
At once the crowd burst into thunderous praise again.
“Look—the Golden Court Lady has fainted!”
“She used up all her energy to treat the Namgung family’s warriors!”
…P-please. Enough, already.
Sojeo squeezed her eyes shut; they trembled from embarrassment.
“Father, Mother. It seems Sojeo is very tired and should rest.”
“All right, take her away at once.”
“Yes.”
Namgung Jin spoke softly to Sojeo as well.
“We will move now.”
He used lightness skill and flew straight to the clan’s small main hall.
No sooner had he entered the guestroom than Sojeo’s body—poof—changed.
Having seen that strange transformation a few times now, she felt less awe and more that it was just cute.
She was relieved to return to her Millennial Snowroot form once they were away from the crowd.
Namgung Jin looked down at the root that now rested in the palm of his hand with a practiced air.
“Good thing you were wearing special robes.”
The Millennial Snowroot—dressed in the thin-silk monk’s robe—sat quietly and faced him.
“I’ll stand guard until you turn back into a person. Those wicked things might pop out again.”
Namgung Jin placed Sojeo on the bed and took a small chair nearby.
Though Sojeo wasn’t wounded, his silk clothes were in tatters and his complexion didn’t look good.
‘Because of me, he can’t rest.’
Sojeo drooped a few tiny roots listlessly.
She had mustered her courage and displayed her ability, but she’d only been able to heal one person—and had even caused Namgung Jin to go to trouble.
At that moment, feeling glum and lowering her head a little, Namgung Jin spoke as if he had read her thoughts. He quietly approached the bed.
He lowered himself so their eye levels matched—the Millennial Snowroot and the man. Then, very carefully, he took hold of the tip of the right root of her.
As if taking someone’s right hand.
“So don’t be disheartened.”
‘…….’
The warmth from Namgung Jin’s hand through the root was genuinely comforting.
Sojeo placed her left root gently on top of his hand—an unspoken thank-you.
“You are my benefactor and a benefactor of the Namgung family. Use me whenever you need.”
She felt she hadn’t really helped that much, yet Namgung Jin’s face seemed, for some reason, a little flushed.
It wasn’t until deep into the night that Sojeo returned to human form.
But she did not wake—she must have been utterly exhausted.
Namgung Jin didn’t bother waking her; he lingered for a while and watched her face.
Flawless white skin, long dark lashes…truly beautiful.
He had thought no woman other than his mother could strike him as beautiful, yet here he was, staring like a boy who’d never known love. He finally shook his head.
‘Staring at a sleeping person for this long…that’s not proper.’
Coming to his senses, he stationed reliable guards around her.
With the situation mostly settled, he went to see Namgung Seonyul briefly.
The madmen who had sprawled across the clan hall were now cleared away.
After finishing all the arrangements, Namgung Seonyul sat by the window of the clan hall, his face lost in thought.
“Father. Did you fake going to the Martial Alliance because of Uncle? Please tell me what happened.”
“Yes. I never actually went to the Martial Alliance. I spread false information to gauge Hyuk’s reaction.”
“When did Uncle make a deal with the demonic cult?”
Namgung Seonyul told Namgung Jin about the investigations he and the elders had conducted—how they had been watching Namgung Hyuk after learning he had dealings with the cult.
“…In the meantime I received a suspicious message supposedly from the Martial Alliance. It sounded off, so I pretended to go and instead hid in the Namgung household. I wanted to see who would act while I was away, and whether Hyuk might be involved.”
“I see.”
“Sure enough. While I wasn’t there, Hyuk caused the trouble. To bring the cult into the clan—what a reckless thing to do.”
“I think someone egged him on. I don’t believe he’d do such a thing alone.”
No matter how much Hyuk might have hated his father or me, he was usually sensible. He wouldn’t risk his life for this.
“Who do you think that person is?”
“…When the madmen appeared, I heard flute music and the voice of Somagi. I suspect Somagi incited Uncle.”
“Somagi…!”
“And those madmen without ‘eyes’ seem to be controlled by that flute.”
“That wretched creature is still haunting Anhui Province!”
A dark murderous intent rose behind Namgung Seonyul.
“I will personally kill that man with my own hands.”
“I will not spare Somagi either.”
“How dare those bastards even turn our Hyuk into a madman…”
“I could sense demonic energy from my uncle. He likely consumed something like the cult’s spirit pill or learned their martial techniques.”
Namgung Seonyul nodded slowly.
The image of Namgung Hyuk beginning to turn into a madman was sharply imprinted in his mind.
“Jina. Do you remember that follower of the Shaman Sect whom King Kwon Myeongheo personally killed not long ago?”
“Yes.”
That follower had been kidnapped during the Eight-Arm Blood Chaos and later appeared as a madman attempting to attack the Shaman Sect.
It was similar to what had happened today at the Namgung clan.
“Myeongheo said he heard faint flute music back then, too.”
“So it’s clear the flute is used to control madmen.”
“Indeed. Then can you guess how those madmen were made?”
Namgung Jin answered uncertainly.
“Aren’t they made to be used as soldiers? Without eyes, created solely for slaughter—perhaps as a way to avenge what happened fifty years ago?”
“Of course that could be one reason. But those madmen aren’t intentionally made that way; they are ‘failed creations’ that became like that out of necessity.”
“What?”
