-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: The Namgung Sega Granddaughter's Return
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Seop Mugwang's aura faltered for a moment.
“Seolhwa?”
The name Ilhwa chose was her true name, which she had heard from Namgung Cheongun just before his death.
If he, too, was searching for a child of the Namgung, then a small doubt would be enough reason for him not to kill her easily.
And her prediction proved correct.
Seop Mugwang withdrew his killing intent.
“Hmph. What a funny kid. Why would I be your senior? I’ve never had a junior who emanated such an unpleasant aura as you.”
His tone was still gruff, but the hostility in his voice had noticeably lessened.
A peculiar emotion flickered across his face as he looked at Ilhwa.
“You. How old are you?”
“I believe I am thirteen.”
“You believe? You don’t know your own age?”
“Due to an accident, I lost my memories from before the age of five, so I can only estimate my age based on what I’ve been told.”
Seop Mugwang’s expression turned chillingly serious.
Not even a hint of his earlier playful teasing could be found.
“I need to see the back of your neck.”
“…”
Ilhwa slowly turned around and bowed her head.
Beneath her tightly tied hair, a gruesome scar from a sword wound was revealed.
Upon seeing the scar, Seop Mugwang’s expression visibly hardened.
“How did you get that scar?”
“I don’t know.”
“And who taught you martial arts?”
“Until now, I served the Luzhu of Hwaoru in Yunnan as my master.”
“That sounds like you mean ‘not anymore’.”
“They tried to kill me.”
Seop Mugwang frowned. His gaze drifted to the pouch containing the Daehwandan.
“That item could potentially be poison for you. Do you know that?”
The Daehwandan’s power was pure internal energy infused with Shaolin’s inner strength. In contrast, Ilhwa’s internal energy was turbid and rough in nature.
Although the Daehwandan’s efficacy was astonishing, there was a high risk of Ilhwa falling into Juhwaimma if she consumed it due to their conflicting internal energies.
Seop Mugwang, thinking she intended to take the Daehwandan, had warned her.
Ilhwa nodded, answering calmly.
“I plan to use it as an ingredient to expel the internal energy I possess.”
“What did you say?”
Seop Mugwang looked at her in surprise.
He was speechless for a moment, then let out a dry laugh.
“Do you know what will happen if you expel your internal energy?”
“I’m prepared for that much.”
Expelling her internal energy meant abandoning all the realms she had achieved and returning to being a third-rate martial artist, no, an ordinary person who barely knew internal energy.
Though she was still young, giving up the realms she had achieved through her own blood and sweat would certainly not be an easy decision.
Yet, the child’s eyes were earnest, without the slightest waver.
‘Huh!’
Seop Mugwang, dumbfounded, asked,
“Why? Why do you want to expel your internal energy?”
“Because I want to go home.”
If she returned to the Namgung without expelling her blood energy, she might be cast out again.
“If I return with this kind of power, my family might not accept me.”
Seop Mugwang’s expression hardened instantly.
His gaze, fixed on Ilhwa, took on an even deeper, more profound light.
“Do you know where your hometown is?”
“According to a fragmented memory that surfaced by chance, it’s Hefei, Anhui Province.”
“…”
Over the past eight years, Seop Mugwang had met hundreds of girls with the same name as the Patriarch’s granddaughter.
Therefore, even when the child spoke the name ‘Seolhwa,’ he hadn’t held much hope.
But then, seeing the sword scar on the back of her neck, he thought something was odd.
And now, her hometown happens to be Hefei?
Hefei, where the Namgung Sega’s main residence was located?
Seeing Seop Mugwang’s undisguised astonishment, Ilhwa realized she had overcome a hurdle and felt relieved.
If Seop Mugwang came to believe she might be a child of the Namgung, the immediate danger of dying on the spot had vanished.
As if to prove it, the intense aura he had emitted upon his first appearance had completely disappeared.
Ilhwa unconsciously relaxed the grip on her tightly clenched hands.
“Ahem, ahem!”
Realizing he had been staring blankly, Seop Mugwang quickly composed his surprised expression.
“Good.”
Ilhwa tilted her head.
‘…Good?’
He pointed at Ilhwa and grinned.
“This one will specially help you.”
Seop Mugwang, with a confident expression, gave himself a thumbs-up, tapping his own shoulder.
“Don’t you need a Hobeop to perform Ungijo-sik? Kid, I, this great one, will act as your Hobeop to ensure your regeneration is successfully accomplished.”
Ilhwa was inwardly surprised.
Offering to act as her Hobeop meant guarding her while she was defenseless during Ungijo-sik.
To prevent anything that might disturb her Ungijo-sik from approaching her.
With the possibility of assassins from Hwaoru, sent by Hyeolma, pursuing her, the help of Pungnoesin was akin to a stroke of luck.
However.
“May I ask why?”
“What did you say?”
Seop Mugwang seemed quite surprised, as if he hadn't expected her to decline the offer.
However, her subsequent words were quite reasonable.
“As I have no means to protect myself, I am not in a position to refuse your kindness, Senior, but I do not understand why you, whom I met for the first time today, would wish to help a young girl like me.”
“…Hmm.”
Seop Mugwang sighed softly, stroking his chin.
The reason was, of course, that this child might be the Patriarch’s granddaughter. But he couldn’t just say that outright.
“There’s no reason. I’m the kind of person who has to do what I want to do. But if you truly need a reason, I suppose I’ll have to make one up, won’t I?”
Seop Mugwang chuckled, pointing at Ilhwa.
“Firstly, I absolutely detest people who exude a foul aura like you.”
His eyes narrowed.
It felt as if the dense aura from when he first appeared was now shooting from his gaze.
“It’s admirable that you want to expel all that foul internal energy, and it’s also pitiful that your greatest wish is to return to your hometown.”
She had said she wanted to return, not that it was her wish.
“Well, this should be enough, right?”
Having finished speaking, Seop Mugwang crossed his arms, seemingly satisfied with himself.
Although his last words were a bit strange, there was no reason to refuse his offer.
“I am grateful for Senior’s great generosity.”
“Good. That’s how it should be.”
Seop Mugwang chuckled.
* * *
“Ugh…!”
The Heugunbang Leader instantly looked down at the sharp blade resting against his neck, his eyes filled with fear.
“W-why are you doing this…! This isn’t what we agreed upon!”
Above the mask, a red raven was embroidered on the forehead.
The symbol of Hwaoru.
“Where did you hide the item?”
“H-hide it?! It hasn’t even been an hour since Hwaoru’s Soruju took the item!”
The blade dug into his neck.
Feeling the chilling sensation at his throat, the Heugunbang Leader trembled as he looked up at the masked figure holding the sword to him.
“What did the Soruju look like?”
“Sh-she was a girl, barely ten years old…!”
Sharp eyes, visible through the mask, gazed at him for a moment.
Then, the masked figure withdrew the sword and turned away.
“Let’s go.”
The masked figure vanished in an instant.
The remaining masked figures, positioned throughout, followed suit.
Watching the black forms disappear over the distant wall, the Heugunbang Leader collapsed to the ground.
‘The child’s words were true!’
The Heugunbang Leader recalled what Hwaoru’s Soruju had said before leaving.
‘When I leave, tell your subordinates to clear out of here and flee as far as possible. Hwaoru’s assassins will arrive here shortly.’
‘How could assassins attack here after I’ve handed over the item? Didn’t Young Hero say you were Hwaoru’s Soruju?’
‘I am for now, but not once I leave this place.’
‘What do you mean…?’
‘If they come looking, tell them the Soruju took the item. There’s no need to hide it.’
‘If I do that, they’ll pursue Young Hero, won’t they?’
‘It doesn’t matter. And…’
The child had said that Hwasan and Shaolin would soon attempt to subdue Heugunbang, and at that time, Hwaoru would help Heugunbang and absorb them.
She claimed Hwaoru’s true intention in instructing Heugunbang to steal the Daehwandan was to absorb Heugunbang’s forces in the first place.
‘If you fall under Hwaoru, they may seem benevolent at first, but later they will kill you, Leader, and absorb Heugunbang’s forces. I have taken care of your internal factions today, so prepare yourself for that time.’
Recalling those words, the Heugunbang Leader realized that all the people who had died by the child’s hand were the elders who formed factions within Heugunbang and their subordinates.
While he had been plagued by headaches from these factions causing internal division, the child had dealt with them all.
The Heugunbang Leader pulled out a black pouch from his bosom. It was what the child had given him just before leaving.
‘A week from now, if you follow the instructions written on the note inside this pouch, you will be able to protect Heugunbang from Hwasan and Shaolin.’
He couldn’t help but marvel at the child’s foresight, who had resolved all the elements threatening Heugunbang with just a few words.
‘Just how many steps ahead does that child see…!’
Surely, she must be a master who had achieved Banrohwandong.
