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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Seop Mugwang's Advice
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Seolhwa’s movements abruptly halted.
Seolhwa stared blankly at the sword blocking her way, then—
“…! H-huh! Cough…! *Cough!* H-huh!”
She coughed, sputtering for breath.
Someone silently supported her as she frantically gasped for air.
“H-huh… *Gasp*…”
When her breathing somewhat stabilized, Seolhwa looked up at the person.
Seop Mugwang, who had been watching her with a stern gaze, tilted his head and asked,
“Why are you so angry?”
“…Was I angry?”
“Yes. Very much so.”
Seolhwa straightened herself, letting go of his arm.
“It was quite fierce. There was no killing intent, but it was clear that if anyone got in your way, you’d utterly destroy them.”
It was that intense, huh?
“I don’t really know.”
Seolhwa looked down at her sword.
Anger? She hadn’t intended to get angry.
“Well, it’s not a bad thing.”
Seop Mugwang chuckled, ruffling Seolhwa’s hair.
“You need to get angry sometimes. And cry. It’d be even better if you laughed.”
Seolhwa’s lips curved gently as she retorted,
“I laugh often these days.”
“Not those artificial laughs. The kind, you know, the bright, innocent kind that just makes you happy to see…”
Like the giggling of a child.
Wouldn’t a typical thirteen-year-old burst into laughter at a falling leaf? Could such a laugh come from this child?
As he thought this and glanced over, Seolhwa tilted her head.
“Isn’t it time for you to get married?”
Seop Mugwang’s expression crumpled.
“…What did you say?”
“I heard it somewhere. That if you start liking children, it means it’s time to get married.”
“…Let’s not even talk about it, you brat.”
Seop Mugwang grumbled, pulling his hand away from Seolhwa’s head.
She faintly heard him muttering, ‘What’s the point of talking to a rock?’
“How did you get in here?”
She had clearly told Yeoyul and Namgung Ryeon not to let anyone in.
“How did I get in? I climbed over the wall.”
Seop Mugwang nonchalantly pointed to the wall behind the training grounds.
Seolhwa thought that Seop Mugwang was probably the only person in the Namgung Sega who could so brazenly admit to climbing over walls.
“What, you have a problem with that?”
“No.”
Seop Mugwang chuckled, a proud smile on his face, then asked,
“What’s going on?”
She was a child who didn’t show her emotions. No, she was a child who didn’t know how to show them.
From such a child, the anger he felt from her sword was by no means light.
“….”
Seolhwa stared intently at Seop Mugwang.
‘He hasn’t heard.’
It was a rumor spreading among the Namgung’s servants.
The one who spread the rumor, if not a fool, would have taken steps to ensure it reached the Patriarch’s ears as late as possible.
Even if not, there were no servants foolish enough to badmouth the Patriarch’s beloved granddaughter near the Patriarch’s residence.
Therefore, Seop Mugwang, who was always by the Patriarch’s side, might not have heard the rumor.
Having thought that far, Seolhwa nodded.
“I was thinking.”
“Thinking about what?”
“I was wondering how far the Namgung’s justice is allowed to go.”
Seop Mugwang stroked his chin with a puzzled expression, tilting his head.
“Now that I think about it, you, little brat, have a truly peculiar side to you, don’t you?”
“Me?”
“You often think things that I wouldn’t expect.”
Just recently, when they met in front of the Patriarch’s residence, she had asked if it was sad when family died.
“So, what are you plotting this time?”
“How did you know?”
“Your expression.”
Seop Mugwang pointed at Seolhwa’s face. His eyes narrowed.
“It’s the same expression you had when you first came to the Namgung.”
Struck by his accuracy, Seolhwa rolled her eyes, averting her gaze.
She looked into the distance for a moment, then turned her head to find him still gazing at her with narrowed eyes.
“What is it?”
“How much authority should I use that comes with being a young lady of the Namgung?”
“Do you have a rat you want to catch?”
“Yes.”
“Inside? Outside?”
“Probably… inside.”
Seop Mugwang’s lips twisted into a subtle smirk.
His chuckle was like that of a Heukdo.
“As the Patriarch’s closest confidant, I can confidently say that whatever you do inside the Namgung will be fine.”
“Whatever I do?”
Really?
“Yes. As long as you’re not getting rid of a clan head, of course. You’re not going to just go around killing people, are you?”
“No, I’m not.”
“Then anything.”
Seop Mugwang grinned, ruffling Seolhwa’s hair once more.
“Do whatever you want. The Patriarch seems to care for you more than you think.”
At that moment, a familiar warmth spread through her chest again.
The more she mulled over the words that Namgung Mucheon cared for her more than she thought, the more the warmth intensified.
Seolhwa frowned and scratched below her neck, and Seop Mugwang let out a small laugh, saying,
“Do that again, like before.”
“Like before?”
“Let me see your sword.”
“Ah.”
Seolhwa nodded and immediately took her stance. After a deep breath, she swung her sword.
*Swish—Swish—*
The afterimages of sword energy once again connected in the air. But this time, unlike before, the swordsmanship was light and impeccably clean.
She understood why Seop Mugwang had said there was anger in her sword just a moment ago.
When she was moderately out of breath, Seolhwa stopped her sword and turned to Seop Mugwang.
He, who had been watching her with a serious gaze, grinned and nodded.
“How is it? Do you understand what I meant?”
“Yes. It doesn’t feel difficult.”
“A sword that pours out emotion and a free sword are bound to be different. It’s good to imbue your sword with emotion. Sometimes, emotion can strengthen your sword like a surge of inner force. But.”
Seop Mugwang raised his index finger. His gaze sharpened.
“First, don’t wield your sword while being swayed by emotion. That will only gnaw away at your body and mind.”
“….”
“Especially, anger blinds you. It impairs your judgment. Sometimes it becomes a stronger driving force than any other emotion, but most of the time, anger is what tries to devour your life.”
Wield emotions, but don’t be wielded by them.
That was what Seop Mugwang wanted to tell Seolhwa.
However, when he finished speaking, Seop Mugwang couldn’t help but feel a touch of bitterness.
He read a feeling of facing a difficult task on the child’s face as she nodded and looked down at her sword.
‘She can comprehend swordsmanship without being taught, yet she’s so ignorant about emotions.’
He hadn’t seen just one or two maidservants laughing and moving about as he came to this residence.
This child was the only one in the Namgung who couldn’t laugh freely. That made him worry about her even more.
“If you weren’t a child of the Namgung, I would have taken you as my disciple. What a waste.”
Seolhwa blinked.
“Just because I’m a child of the Namgung, does it mean I only need to learn the Namgung’s swordsmanship?”
“…?”
“It would be an honor for me to learn the Pungnoesin’s swordsmanship.”
Pungnoesin was the title used to refer to Seop Mugwang in the murim world.
Calling him by his martial title, not his Namgung position, was an expression of respect for his martial prowess.
Because Pungnoesin was a title he earned himself, with his own strength and his own sword, not merely as the leader of Namgung’s elite martial force.
Seop Mugwang, who had been blinking blankly with wide eyes, burst into laughter. “*Kwahaha!*”
“You truly are brilliant! I know it’s flattery, but it’s nice to hear, isn’t it?”
“It’s not flattery.”
Seolhwa genuinely wanted to learn his swordsmanship.
Though overshadowed by Namgung Mucheon, Seop Mugwang’s martial prowess was high enough to be compared to the Ten Great Masters.
Moreover, it was an achievement accomplished with his unique martial arts, not belonging to any specific sect or family.
Even a three-year-old who had learned martial arts would know how remarkable that was.
Seop Mugwang’s expression inadvertently grew serious.
“…Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know what that means?”
For a child of the Namgung to learn another sword instead of the Namgung’s own was tantamount to forfeiting their right as a successor.
In other words, it meant giving up the position of Namgung Patriarch.
“Do you know that if you’re not the Patriarch, you can’t learn the family’s secret techniques? You’d still want to be my disciple, even after seeing your grandfather?”
Namgung Mucheon’s sword, to those who walk the path of the sword, was the very essence of ultimate swordsmanship, something they couldn’t help but revere.
An overwhelming aura that dominated its surroundings, and an extremely heavy sword that was impossible to block even when one knew it was coming.
Once seen, it could never be forgotten; when he wielded his sword, people would unconsciously follow its movements. That was Namgung Mucheon’s sword.
And she wanted to give that up?
“Don’t. As one who also walks the path of the sword, I honestly don’t recommend it. While I may be a capable master in my own right, isn’t your grandfather the Sword Emperor?”
“I’m not saying I won’t learn the Namgung’s swordsmanship.”
“No matter how much of a martial genius you are, you can’t walk two paths at once.”
“I’m not saying I’ll walk two paths either.”
“Then?”
Seolhwa pondered for a moment.
