Chapter 67
“Young Master Cheonghyeon, Madam Sohwa urgently requests your presence.”
A maid came hurrying over, bowing quickly.
Cheonghyeon frowned slightly.
“…My mother?”
“Yes. She said you are to come immediately, without delay.”
“But I’m with a guest right now.”
“She said to explain to your guest… and come at once.”
In short, “Leave your guest and come immediately.”
But Cheonghyeon looked troubled.
When he didn’t move, the maid’s face grew tense as well.
I looked between the two of them and sent a voice transmission to him.
I was still clumsy at it, but I could manage to keep the sound from leaking out.
[If you don’t want to go, should I throw a tantrum for you? I can just say I don’t want to part and lie down here.]
Of course, I didn’t actually intend to behave that shamelessly.
‘But he really does look like he doesn’t want to go.’
Not as if he were merely reluctant because of me — but as if he truly didn’t want to face whoever was calling him.
When we’d been at the Tang Clan, he’d shown that same expression — there was something complicated behind it.
But Cheonghyeon didn’t reply.
I was just about to send another voice transmission when—
“Thanks for thinking of me.”
He turned to look at me as he spoke.
For an instant, I thought I saw him smile.
It lasted only a heartbeat.
Then, the smile vanished, and he looked back at the maid.
“I’ll go now. You take this young lady to the guest quarters.”
“Yes, young master.”
“Dangbi, I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
He turned his head sharply toward me.
“Will you wake up at the hour of the Rabbit again?”
“All Namgung people wake up at the hour of the Rabbit. But you can sleep until the hour of the Dragon.”
And with that, Cheonghyeon left.
As he walked away, his shoulders looked as if shadows had fallen over them.
Then, the maid turned to me with a polite smile.
“Hello, miss. You’re staying in Cheonmu Hall, correct? I’ll take you there right away.”
Cheonmu Hall was the easternmost of the guest lodgings, wide and immaculate.
I nodded absently and followed the maid.
But my thoughts were elsewhere.
‘Will he be all right?’
He had looked so terribly uneasy.
Just then—
Something flicked against my sleeve.
Manhyeolsa, the serpent, poked its head out suddenly.
The maid let out a muffled gasp, covering her mouth with her sleeve.
“Oh my!”
“Hm? What’s gotten into you?”
I tried to push the snake back inside my sleeve, but it wouldn’t go.
Instead, its forked tongue flickered rapidly, as if searching for something.
What is it sensing?
Manhyeolsa’s head turned sharply to the right—
—and just as it tried to slither out of my sleeve—
“Where do you think you’re going.”
I grabbed it firmly and stuffed it back inside.
Not here.
Even within the Tang Clan, Manhyeolsa couldn’t be allowed to roam freely.
How much more so in the Namgung household?
Though back in my sleeve, the snake still poked its head out stubbornly.
Something about that felt… off.
Manhyeolsa was a spiritual beast — its senses were far keener than any animal’s.
“Um, excuse me,” I said, looking up at the maid.
“Would it be all right if I looked around a little? I want to take a walk.”
“Pardon? But, miss, the young master said—”
“You’re worried it’s dangerous, right?”
I snapped my fingers.
At once, Choyo appeared from where she’d been hiding in the shadows.
“It’s fine, I have a guard.”
“Even so…”
“I won’t tell Cheonghyeon.”
The maid hesitated, glancing between me and Choyo.
Then she finally nodded.
“Very well. I’ll stay nearby. If you lose your way, please return here.”
“Got it. Let’s go, Choyo.”
I walked in the direction Manhyeolsa’s tongue was pointing.
The Namgung estate was large—
though perhaps not quite as vast as the Tang Clan’s.
Choyo followed quietly behind me, close enough not to need to hide.
“You’re taking a stroll, miss?” she asked.
“No. It’s like he’s looking for something.”
Manhyeolsa’s head tilted left.
“That way?”
“Maybe it’s nothing. But I’m curious, so we’ll check.”
Elderly servants passed us now and then, recognizing me as a guest from the Tang family.
I greeted them politely and continued walking.
Before long, we reached a more deserted part of the estate.
‘Looks like a storage area?’
It reminded me of the warehouse district in the Tang compound.
Since no one was around, Manhyeolsa squirmed, wanting to come out.
Not yet.
If we got caught here, we’d be in real trouble.
So instead of letting it out, I kept following the direction it indicated.
And then—
“Wow… this place is ancient.”
A huge, decrepit warehouse loomed before us.
So old, even the lock was rusted and half-broken.
‘The Namgung Clan has money. Why would they leave a place like this standing?’
Then—
Sssk!
Manhyeolsa darted out of my sleeve and slid into the warehouse.
“Hey!”
Startled, I rushed after it.
Just grab Manhyeolsa and get out. Don’t touch anything else.
That way, even if we were caught, maybe the punishment wouldn’t be too harsh.
But inside, it was so dark I could barely see.
I couldn’t even sense where the snake had gone.
I stood near the doorway until my eyes adjusted.
Gradually, the dim outlines of things came into focus.
And then—
“Huh?”
In the corner, I saw a large burlap sack.
Something heavy was inside it.
An animal, maybe?
Sometimes hunters stuffed live beasts into sacks until they weakened,
then skinned them once the struggle was gone.
Thinking that, I stepped closer—because Manhyeolsa was coiled right beneath it.
The serpent waited quietly until I picked it up and tucked it back into my sleeve.
Then I looked back at the sack, uneasy.
“Choyo.”
“Yes, miss?”
“Should we open it?”
“…”
If it was an animal, we’d have to close it again quickly before it lunged out.
With Choyo here, that wouldn’t be difficult.
Carefully, I untied the rope sealing the sack.
And then—
“…?”
“!”
As the mouth of the sack opened, moonlight streaming through the cracks in the warehouse door illuminated what was inside.
It wasn’t an animal.
It was—
Namgung Yeon.
Cheonghyeon’s younger sister.
“What is this? Who did this to her?”
I hurriedly pulled Namgung Yeon out of the sack.
But she didn’t move.
‘Why?’
When I examined her closely, I froze.
Her meridian points—sealed!
Her nerves had been struck; she couldn’t move a muscle.
But who would do that to her?
She was a direct descendant of the Namgung clan — even if blind and mute, still of the main bloodline.
Choyo, flustered, gently lifted the limp girl into her arms.
But neither of us could undo the acupoint seal.
Namgung Yeon’s arms and legs hung limp in Choyo’s hold.
“Let’s get her out first. We can figure out who did this later. Leaving this place is our priority.”
“Yes, miss.”
Choyo nodded.
I hesitated, then picked up the sack she’d been trapped in and rolled it up, tucking it into my sleeve.
Then I checked Namgung Yeon’s condition again.
Thankfully, aside from the paralysis, she had no visible wounds.
Wait.
Or did she?
Looking more closely, I noticed faint bluish marks along her sleeves.
Bruises?
But it was too dark to be sure.
I’ll check in the light.
If they were indeed bruises, then the one who locked her up was someone close to her.
I knew people sometimes imprisoned those they disliked —
Tang Yeong once bragged to me about locking up one of his disciples that way.
Could there be someone just as depraved here in the Namgung family?
“Let’s go. Father and Grandfather will probably be looking for me too. We’ll take Yeon to them.”
Just as I was about to leave the warehouse to examine her injuries in better light—
“!”
“…—…do it…—…go…!”
Whispers—voices—from outside.
