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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: What Was Lost, What Was Forgotten
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Early dawn. Seolhwa visited the Jeokryongdan training grounds for the first time in a long while.
She went precisely at her usual training time, but already, shouts of exertion could be heard from inside the training ground.
They were Namgung Jipyeong and the members of the Jeokryong's 11th Unit, who had been doing dawn training with her before she entered the training hall.
‘This is a bit unexpected.’
“Ugh…!”
“Grrr….”
“Aaaargh!”
They were diligently performing the training Seolhwa had told them about before she entered the training hall.
Seolhwa stepped into the training ground with light footsteps.
Namgung Jipyeong, who was standing in front of the unit members, was the first to spot Seolhwa.
“Oh! Young Master!”
At his welcoming voice, the other unit members also turned their heads.
“Esteemed Guest!”
“Master!”
“Milady!”
The unit members greeted Seolhwa, each with their own words.
Seolhwa approached them.
“You’re working hard, aren't you? It looks like you've increased the weight quite a bit in just a few days.”
Increasing the weight wouldn't be easy, yet both Namgung Jipyeong and the unit members were carrying twice the weight they had when Seolhwa first saw them.
Their external martial arts, which had been relatively lacking compared to their bodies bolstered by internal cultivation, had seen exponential growth thanks to the high-intensity training.
As members of the 11th Unit, the highest-ranking among the Outer Hall's warrior units, they naturally possessed considerable talent.
Their growth would slow once they reached a certain limit, but for a while, they would continue to show such rapid progress.
“The Cheonmuje is less than nine days away, isn't it? The first selection is in seven days, so we must prepare with all our might.”
The Inner Hall warrior promotion exam is divided into two parts: the first selection and the second selection.
For the first selection, the winners are chosen through martial contests held in front of the unit leaders of the Outer Hall's martial units. For the second selection, those chosen in the first selection compete in martial contests on the day of the Cheonmuje, in front of all the family members, to be officially selected.
Only seven days remained until the first selection.
Namgung Jipyeong pointed at the unit members and smiled brightly.
“Everyone says they have a good feeling about this time. They even asked to start training an hour earlier without me even telling them to.”
“That’s good.”
The Cheonmuje, huh. Now that he mentioned it, she recalled the maids briefly talking about it.
‘It’s already that time.’
“Um… Milady.”
“…?”
“If it's not too rude, may I ask you something?”
The eyes of the unit members standing behind Namgung Jipyeong were strangely sparkling.
“Yes, go ahead and ask.”
“That… perhaps… Young… Lady…?”
“Yes?”
“That is… your esteemed name is….”
“It’s Seolhwa. Namgung Seolhwa.”
“Gasp…!”
Namgung Jipyeong was utterly shocked.
The unit members behind him were no different.
“Huh!”
“S-see! I said it f-felt right…!”
“Is it true…?”
Only then did Seolhwa realize that she had never properly informed them of her identity.
This situation had arisen because she hadn't revealed her identity when they first met, at a time when she hadn't yet been acknowledged as a child of the Namgung family.
Suddenly, Namgung Jipyeong dropped to one knee with a thud! and performed a *pokwon* toward Seolhwa.
“Namgung Jipyeong, leader of Jeokryong 11th Unit! I greet Young Lady Seolhwa!”
Following suit, the unit members also knelt, just like him.
“Namgung Gimun of Jeokryong 11th Unit!”
“Namgung Hwang of Jeokryong 11th Unit!”
“Namgung Seorin of Jeokryong 11th Unit!”
“Namgung Baekwi of Jeokryong 11th Unit!”
The four of them shouted in unison.
“We greet Young Lady Seolhwa!”
The playful and lighthearted atmosphere from before vanished, replaced by the imposing aura of true warriors.
The five men raised their heads and looked at Seolhwa. Their faces were clearly filled with emotion.
“It's late, but congratulations on your return. It is an honor to meet you directly, Young Lady.”
Namgung Jipyeong said with an excited voice.
“Congratulations on your return!”
The unit members' voices were also filled with joy.
“We thought you were an extraordinary person, but to think you were *our* Young Lady!”
“It's an honor to receive training from you, Young Lady!”
“You are beautiful! I've been thinking that for a while!”
Hahaha, laughter erupted.
The members of the 11th Unit were genuinely overjoyed to be able to personally congratulate Seolhwa on her return.
Seolhwa smiled warmly, as if in response to their joy.
“Please rise.”
Seolhwa took Namgung Jipyeong's hand, which was still in a *pokwon*, and helped him to his feet.
“You see, I told you. An opportunity would definitely come.”
“Ah, Young Lady…!”
Namgung Jipyeong's face flushed with embarrassment as he instantly grasped her meaning.
“I didn't ask for your esteemed name with that intention, Young Lady. It was merely because the period of your stay as our esteemed guest coincided with the period of your return, Young Lady. And so, out of sheer emotion...!”
“I know.”
Even if she was dull to emotions, by now she could distinguish between genuine feelings and feigned ones.
And Seolhwa did not doubt their sincerity.
“First, I want to make it clear that I have no intention of disparaging your sincerity. Please understand that what I'm about to say is something I had planned long before, separate from that.”
Namgung Jipyeong and the unit members sensed something extraordinary in Seolhwa's words.
Tension appeared on their faces.
“I intend to make all of you Inner Hall warriors.”
“…!”
“Gasp….”
“Because all of you are more than qualified.”
At the astonishing words that flowed from her lips, the unit members froze in surprise.
They had heard the same words before, but the weight of them felt different to the five men now.
When she was merely a passing master, and when she was the Young Lady of Namgung.
There would have been no difference if it were advice on martial arts, but the weight of her words when discussing Namgung affairs had to be different.
“You said it yourself, Warrior. That in the vast web of interests within Namgung, skill isn't everything.”
“Th-that is…”
Namgung Jipyeong's complexion turned pale.
It was as if he had spoken ill of Namgung in front of the Young Lady of Namgung.
“…I was thoughtless.”
“I'm not scolding you. Quite the opposite.”
“…Pardon?”
“From now on, I intend to be your backing.”
“…!”
“And if anything other than your skill stands in your way, I intend to remove it all.”
Seolhwa spread her arms shoulder-width apart toward the five men.
“You might worry about what a Young Lady who has just returned to Namgung can do. However, I hope you will trust me as much as I trust you.”
It might sound funny to ask them to trust a child, but not a single one of the five men laughed.
This was because they knew her martial prowess, and the power felt in her voice as she spoke captivated them.
“The only thing I cannot control is your will.”
The will to do it.
The will not to give up.
The will to achieve it, no matter what.
“For the next seven days, please focus on doing your best to improve your skills. So that you don't stumble over the obstacle of insufficient skill. Then, you will surely achieve good results in seven days.”
Seolhwa concluded her words with a gentle smile.
Even after she finished speaking, the five men remained silent for a while, overcome by the lingering impression of her words.
In their eyes, Seolhwa was nothing short of a ray of light.
Namgung Jipyeong was the first to pound his chest with a thump! and shout.
“I, Namgung Jipyeong! Will do my utmost!”
Following suit, the unit members shouted, not to be outdone.
“Me too! I'll truly work hard!”
“I'll work myself to the bone until I drop!”
“I'll keep going until I die!”
“What if I die doing that…? Bah, then I'll die! What's the big deal? I'll just die! I'll die, I tell you!”
A determination akin to staking their lives followed.
Seolhwa nodded with a satisfied expression.
“Good. In that case, how about we have a sparring match today?”
Namgung Baekwi had already scurried to the weapon rack and brought back a wooden sword.
“Here it is!”
“Thank you. Then, who wants to go first….”
“Of course, the leader should go first, shouldn't he!”
Namgung Jipyeong swung the wooden sword he had already retrieved, *whoosh, whoosh*.
Since he had already sparred with Seolhwa before, he moved his bulging arms, baring his teeth in a grin.
“This time, it will be different from last time!”
Perhaps thanks to his diligent external martial arts training, his physique seemed to have grown noticeably larger in the meantime.
Seolhwa smiled and assumed a ready stance, holding the wooden sword.
It was an impeccably clean and refined posture.
“You'd best come at me as if your life depends on it.”
The corners of her lips curved upward gently.
“Because I'm also a little different from last time.”
Whoosh—
Seolhwa's figure vanished in an instant.
Immediately after, a *thwack*—! sound and a scream of 'Aaaargh!' echoed through the training ground.
The sparring match between Seolhwa and the five men, filled with rampant screams, only ended when all five men had completely collapsed.
***
A space where silence flowed so profoundly that the chirping of birds and the sounds of insects felt like the loudest noises.
The pavilion where the retired Namgung elders resided was located in the most peaceful and quiet part of Namgung.
Cheongun raised his gaze and looked at the old man sitting before him.
His emaciated body was covered in wrinkles, and his frame had lost its strength, making him appear small and frail, yet a mysterious, profound power emanated from the old man.
The former Head of the Martial Arts Hall and current Head of the Council of Elders.
Namgung Punghak.
“Yes. What is it you wish to say to me?”
After a quarter-hour had passed, Cheongun straightened his posture and replied to the question.
“Please lend me your strength.”
Punghak looked at Cheongun.
From his dark, wrinkle-covered eyes, an undeniable sharpness could be felt.
“You left the family for eight years, abandoning all family affairs. And now you covet that position?”
