Chapter : 63
“How long are we supposed to keep living like this?!”
Thud! Thud!
Kicking at the floor in a frenzy, Namgung Hyechan finally exhausted himself and reached out toward the table. Grabbing the liquor bottle, he tipped it straight into his mouth.
Gulp, gulp.
His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.
“Hyechan!”
Even though he was his father, he was no longer someone Hyechan could look up to—having lost his dignity as the Great Elder.
A displeased voice rang out, but Hyechan ignored it and kept drinking. Then suddenly he noticed a shadow blocking his path and stumbled back in shock.
“Hiiik!”
Crash!
The bottle slipped from his hand and shattered on the floor.
As he stood frozen, unable to move, the gaze of the Dark Heaven Unit Leader shifted toward Great Elder Namgung Gyu.
“Was I sent by the Patriarch?”
Namgung Gyu instinctively felt that this visit from the Dark Heaven Unit was the last lifeline left for him and his son.
But Namgung Hyechan…
“Y-you dare to startle me?!”
The moment he realized it was a person, not a ghost, he tried to lash out. Namgung Gyu hurriedly grabbed him by the back of the neck.
“How much more of a fool will you make of yourself?!”
He shouted and almost flung his son aside, but stopped.
Still, he was his son.
Had he been born the legitimate heir, he might have become like Seonyu. Instead, as the eldest son of a low-born concubine, he had never been able to stand tall, always compared to Seonyu, until things had come to this.
Yeonhwa—and even Hyeju, who had been compared alongside him—were pitiful. But his son’s blunder was especially painful, for he had wanted to place in his son’s hands everything he himself had never possessed.
In the end, Namgung Gyu loosened his grip and pushed his son down into a chair.
Then he signaled to the Dark Heaven Unit Leader.
Speak.
Without delay, the leader began.
“The young lady is heading to Anhui—to the main house.”
The more Namgung Gyu listened, the darker his expression became.
When the explanation ended, he clasped his hands on the table and spoke.
“So? Why did the Patriarch have you tell me this? Is he offering consolation—telling me that once even the Anhui main house, which once distanced itself from the Alliance and supported only the Namgung Clan, falls into her hands, there will never be good days for us again?”
“That is not the case. The Patriarch wishes to grant the two of you a chance at revival.”
“…What must I do?”
“First, our Dark Heaven Unit will get you out of here.”
“And then?”
“You will be given a personally handwritten secret letter from the Patriarch. With that order, you are to go to the main house in Anhui.”
As Great Elder, Namgung Gyu had wielded power in place of the ailing Patriarch. He had the instinct to see where events were heading—and how he and his son might survive.
“You want us to prevent the power of the Anhui main house from being scattered and placed into the hands of someone who will one day become an outsider by marriage. But the moment we leave here, the tentative charges against us will be confirmed—and new ones added. Isn’t that too great a risk?”
The Dark Heaven Unit Leader glanced around the room.
For the Great Elder of a grand clan—and the eldest young master once considered the next Patriarch—the quarters were pitiful beyond measure.
They were confined here under the name of reflection instead of imprisonment.
If they lost all influence and something happened to the Patriarch, even being confined here with food and drink would be more than they deserved. If they disappeared—or died—no one would care.
And yet they dared speak of risk in the face of this opportunity?
Though the leader tried to suppress his emotions, a trace of disdain showed in his eyes.
As silence dragged on, Namgung Gyu cleared his throat and spoke in a gentle tone.
“This old body matters little. Even if the Patriarch grants me a poisoned cup in place of mercy, I would accept it gladly. But my son is different. Though he made a grave mistake, he is still the eldest young master—and young enough to rise again from failure. Shouldn’t a path to live be opened for him?”
Instead of prolonging the conversation, the Dark Heaven Unit Leader laid out the plan.
“You will secretly leave through the annex. This is not escape. It is the execution of the Patriarch’s special order.”
The essence was to deliver the handwritten letter stating that this incident—though it unfolded within the Martial Alliance in Uichang—was a succession dispute internal to the clan, unrelated to the Alliance.
It might seem forced, since all parties and the stage of events were in Uichang’s Martial Alliance. However, since the investiture of the Young Patriarch and the succession ceremony would be held at the main house—and succession disputes were by nature internal clan matters that strictly rejected outside interference—the justification was not entirely lacking.
“The Patriarch said that depending on what you accomplish at the main house with the letter, your future will change.”
At that assurance, Namgung Gyu’s eyes flashed.
It was a better proposal than any scheme he had conceived.
“As expected, the Patriarch has not turned his back on this useless elder brother!”
It sounded like a cry on the verge of tears—but the emotion in his eyes was different.
Even bedridden and crippled, he did not forget his low-born half-brother. Was such nobility the privilege only of the legitimate heir?
The inferiority complex that had long scratched at the depths of his heart raised its head again.
“Make your preparations. We will come at night.”
Before disappearing, the Dark Heaven Unit Leader cast one more glance at Namgung Hyechan.
Unlike Namgung Gyu, who could be reasoned with, that one looked dangerously unstable.
“Until you reach the main house, no one must discover you are gone. We have prepared doubles and have made arrangements outside. Move quietly. Until you depart, you must not cause any trouble whatsoever.”
With that warning, the leader vanished without a trace.
Namgung Gyu approached his son. Though he must have heard everything, Hyechan’s face was half vacant.
He lightly slapped his son’s cheek.
“This is our last chance. Get hold of yourself. We must not lose it!”
His grip tightened.
When night fell, figures appeared atop the annex roof.
Silently they removed tiles and split into two groups.
Half remained above to keep watch. The others descended, escorted the two waiting men, and led them out of the annex.
Two substitutes took their place and lay down, pretending to sleep. Only after confirming the real Great Elder and his son had safely left did those on the roof restore the tiles and withdraw.
No sooner had they disappeared than the next shift of guards surrounded the annex.
“Where are the previous guards?”
One of the new shift asked.
From the darkness, someone resembling a prior guard ran up, shouting:
“Must’ve been the late-night meal—everyone’s down with stomach trouble, running back and forth to the latrine!”
“What?”
Suspicion flickered—until he recognized the man’s face.
“Younger brother! You were on the earlier watch?”
“Yes! Elder brother, was it you? Ha, don’t eat boiled meat at night. It’s cold, and greasy food will have you taking turns at the latrine, vomiting and all. Total chaos.”
“Is that so?”
He gave him a quick once-over but noticed nothing amiss.
Soon the previous guards appeared from the direction of the latrine, adding their own complaints. Heads nodded.
“Unlucky lot. Go get something warm to drink and rest.”
After confirming the presence of the Great Elder and his son—actually their doubles—no further questions were asked.
The former guards withdrew. The new shift yawned as they took position around the annex.
How much preparation had gone into creating that brief window went unspoken as the night passed.
From afar, a pair of eyes watched the entire process.
“They’re off.”
The murmurer turned and left the Namgung estate.
“My lady, the Great Elder and his son have left the Martial Alliance.”
At Seong Yeon-taek’s report, Yeonhwa nodded.
“There were no signs of suspicion?”
She was checking whether any trace of interference with the Dark Heaven Unit’s plan had been revealed.
“None.”
At first, Seong Yeon-taek had questioned whether extra measures were necessary.
But Yeonhwa had insisted that the Dark Heaven Unit alone was worrisome enough—and with the Great Elder and especially Namgung Hyechan involved, there was no telling what idiotic blunder might ruin everything. She ordered precautions.
Though doubtful, he did not object, having seen enough in past reports.
“Shall we simply let them head to the Anhui main house?”
Yeonhwa shook her head.
“No.”
“Then what more must be done?”
With simple curiosity, he asked—and she answered:
“Make sure they don’t have an easy journey. Make it as difficult and exhausting as possible. As long as all four limbs remain attached, that’s enough.”
Her tone was indifferent, but the instruction was clear.
Realizing just how deeply the Great Elder and his son had earned her ire, Seong Yeon-taek bowed his head.
“I receive your command!”
Thus began the trials that would descend upon the Great Elder and his son—and upon the Dark Heaven Unit aiding their path.
