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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: The Granddaughter's Return
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* * *
‘It’s as if the young lady is currently asleep inside a hard shell. Perhaps the blunting of her pain and emotions was a choice she made herself.’
The scale of her pain was so immense, her life so fiercely challenging, that she couldn't have survived without suppressing her emotions.
‘For the shell that encapsulates the young lady to break, effort is needed. Show her beautiful things, and speak many kind words to her.’
One must knock on the child’s heart.
So that the child, hidden deep within herself, can hear her call and break free from her shell.
‘Love her. A lot.’
Everyone who heard the words of the Medicine Hall Master at that moment was left speechless.
Eight years.
After eight years, the child had returned on her own.
The child who was once so bright and cheerful, so sensitive that she would cry and laugh at the drop of a hat, had returned a different person.
But even so, Seolhwa was still Seolhwa, wasn’t she?
Regardless of her appearance or personality, Seolhwa was his daughter.
The daughter he had loved and longed for so dearly.
“Seolhwa.”
Seolhwa stared blankly at the man who knelt before her, smiling.
‘Was Namgung Cheongun always such a crybaby?’
He cries and laughs at the drop of a hat.
Seolhwa felt a little confused, unable to comprehend the vast gap between his laughter and tears.
This was the father she had killed with her own hands.
In this life, she intended to accept everything he desired.
But to think it would be this difficult from the start.
‘Which tune am I supposed to dance to?’
Namgung Cheongun gently stroked the back of Seolhwa’s hand.
His mouth was smiling, but his eyes looked sad.
“Seolhwa. Do you know why your name is Seolhwa?”
Seolhwa shook her head.
“Snow is the most beautiful flower gifted by the heavens. You came to us on a day when pure white flowers covered the entire world.”
He raised his hand and stroked Seolhwa’s hair.
Unlike Namgung Mucheon, his touch was remarkably gentle.
Seeing the child who merely blinked at him without pulling away, Cheongun let out a soft chuckle.
“The name Seolhwa was given to you by your mother. She was a woman who loved you very, very much.”
“What happened to my mother?”
Cheongun’s hand froze.
His smile faded slightly.
“She ascended to the heavens that sent us Seolhwa. Seolhwa was too great a gift for us, so the heavens took your mother away.”
‘So, Mother passed away.’
That was a fact she had just learned.
She had suspected it in her previous life, as Namgung Cheongun had no wife, but realizing that the deceased woman was her mother felt strange.
‘…?’
Again, her heart throbbed with a piercing ache.
It seemed it would be best to learn the Namgung family’s internal cultivation method as soon as possible.
Namgung Cheongun’s words continued.
“You probably don’t remember your mother, but…”
He paused for a moment, as if pressing something down, then looked at Seolhwa with a clear smile.
“Both your mother and I love you very, very much. Eight years ago, and still now. Never forget that fact.”
Seolhwa nodded, facing him, feeling as if he might burst if touched.
“I’m happy to be back too.”
“…Yes.”
His hand moved again, carefully, slowly.
After gazing at Seolhwa with a sad expression for a moment, he briefly shook his head as if shaking off his emotions, then offered a bright smile.
He held both of Seolhwa’s hands.
“Tomorrow, shall we go sight-seeing in town with Father?”
“Tomorrow?”
“It will take about a day to make the announcement that you’ve been found. Since things have turned out this way, I’d like to show you the streets of Hefei, where you used to run around as if it were your front yard when you were little.”
Seolhwa hesitated to answer.
‘I want to learn the Namgung family’s internal cultivation method tomorrow.’
She had thought that since she was recognized as a Namgung child, she could finally learn the Namgung family’s martial arts.
If the announcement was delayed, wouldn’t learning martial arts also be delayed?
“There was a *tanghuru* shop you used to like when you were little. I was thinking of going there.”
One day should be fine.
Thanks to Namgung Cheongun’s early arrival, she had been recognized as a Namgung child sooner than expected, so one day wouldn’t hurt.
‘Because I am Namgung Cheongun’s daughter.’
She had decided to fulfill the role of a daughter in this life.
* * *
In the dark night, someone was moving with hurried steps beneath the shadows of the Namgung family manor.
Entering the inner halls, he stopped before a path that branched into three.
Straight ahead, high up, Cheonho Hall was visible.
After gazing at Cheonho Hall for a moment, he quickly changed direction and hastened his steps down the left path.
A knock was heard at the door.
Namgung Cheonghae, who had been attending to family affairs late into the night, looked up.
“Come in.”
He hadn’t announced himself, but the aura beyond the door was enough to identify the visitor.
“I greet the Second Young Master.”
“Commander of the Yellow Dragon Unit. What brings you here at this late hour?”
The one who sought Namgung Cheonghae was Namgung Horak, the Commander of the Yellow Dragon Unit, one of the Namgung family’s five martial units.
“I have uncovered information about the esteemed guest in the Hall of Heavenly Guests, so I stopped by to report.”
Namgung Cheonghae’s face showed intrigue at the Commander of the Yellow Dragon Unit’s words.
Namgung Cheonghae neatly set down the brush he was holding and leaned back in his chair.
“Speak.”
“The esteemed guest in the Hall of Heavenly Guests is said to be a young girl.”
“A girl…? Are you saying she’s a child of a prestigious family or an heir to a great sect?”
Even so, they wouldn’t open the Hall of Heavenly Guests for just anyone.
“Or perhaps she’s a master on par with Father?”
“It doesn’t seem so. According to the maidservant, the esteemed guest showed no signs of being from a prestigious family or sect, and even her internal energy is said to be below that of a first-rate master.”
“That cannot be confirmed.”
“Indeed.”
It was possible she was a master so profound that a mere maidservant couldn’t discern it.
“However…”
The corner of the Commander of the Yellow Dragon Unit’s mouth curved faintly.
“I heard quite interesting news today, you see.”
“Interesting news?”
“It is said that the First Young Master is in the Hall of Heavenly Guests with the child.”
“My elder brother has returned?”
Namgung Cheongun had recently left on an escort mission and was said to be far away, requiring three days to return.
But now, his elder brother was here? And with the esteemed guest of the Hall of Heavenly Guests?
‘This isn’t good.’
An esteemed guest of the Hall of Heavenly Guests was likely someone of great influence, even in the Central Plains.
If such a person grew close to his elder brother, his elder brother’s influence would surely grow as well.
Currently, the Elder Council supported him because his elder brother had practically abandoned the family and roamed outside, but if his elder brother decided to build up his power, there was no telling what might happen.
‘Father wants to establish my elder brother as the Young Clan Head, so there’s no telling when the Elder Council might change their minds.’
“Is this reliable news?”
Namgung Cheonghae, who usually remained unperturbed even when presented with difficult-to-obtain information, showed a hint of unease.
Commander Namgung Horak of the Yellow Dragon Unit did not miss that small change.
“Do not worry too much, Second Young Master. It does not seem to be the kind of meeting you are imagining.”
Namgung Cheonghae’s face hardened.
“What do you mean?”
“According to the maidservant, the First Young Master is doting on the esteemed guest quite a lot. He even carried the guest and strolled through the Hall of Heavenly Guests’ garden.”
Carried the guest…?
“Do you still not understand?”
Namgung Cheonghae abruptly stood up from his seat without realizing it.
The Commander of the Yellow Dragon Unit grinned at his reaction.
“Could it be… that he found Seolhwa?”
“You will know soon enough.”
Namgung Cheonghae lowered his gaze, confusion clouding his eyes.
The child they hadn’t found a single trace of for eight years, the child most of the family had given up on—he really found her?
Seolhwa returned?
That meant…
‘My elder brother will return to the family.’
“Second Young Master.”
Namgung Cheonghae lifted his gaze to look at the Commander of the Yellow Dragon Unit.
“We cannot simply wait idly forever, can we?”
Even though he had taken charge of the family’s affairs and silently cultivated his strength, Namgung Mucheon had not granted him the position of Young Clan Head.
“It is time to make a move.”
Whether by choice or by coercion, there is a time for everything.
A carriage is only a carriage when it is rolling. Whether pulled from the front or pushed from behind, a rolling carriage has a purpose.
Those who had boarded that carriage had long wished for it to start rolling.
Now, that time had come.
“Hurry before the First Young Master establishes himself. Our three martial units will support you, Second Young Master.”
* * *
*Thud!*
A sudden sound echoed through the training grounds of the Hall of Heavenly Guests.
It sounded like a falling boulder, but in reality, it was the sound of Namgung Jipyeong, the squad leader of the Red Dragon 11th Unit, collapsing.
“I… I can’t… anymore…!”
Namgung Jipyeong, literally sprawled out like a big ‘大’ character, had a shadow fall over his face.
Namgung Jipyeong opened his eyes and looked up at the child staring down at him.
The child tilted her head and said,
“Fifty *geun* (thirty kilograms) is already too hard for you?”
At her innocent, malicious-free words, Namgung Jipyeong flared up.
“Fifty *geun*?! My arms and legs combined make two hundred *geun*! Two hundred *geun*! Who in the world makes you practice sword forms with two hundred *geun* tied to your limbs and without even being allowed to use internal energy, huh?!”
“I guess the Namgung family doesn’t make you do things like this?”
“We have external martial arts training, but this is…!”
Seolhwa stroked her chin with a serious expression, scanning Namgung Jipyeong’s body.
‘So that’s why his lower body…’
“W-what are you looking at…?”
