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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: The Return of the Namgung Family's Granddaughter
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Chapter 98
Jin Soyak’s severed meridian condition was the Yin-Yang Grand Severed Meridian.
It was one of the severed meridian conditions where the severed meridians of the Six Yang and Three Yin converged, preventing the body’s vital energy from gathering and disrupting the flow of qi and blood.
In childhood, like Soyak was now, there were no particular symptoms other than weak musculature, but the true terror of the Yin-Yang Grand Severed Meridian began as one approached ten years old.
Once it manifested, the face would turn blue, and excruciating pain would strike the entire body at irregular intervals.
The accumulated abnormal symptoms would lead to twisted qi and blood, triggering seizures.
The onset of seizures meant death was near.
Once a seizure occurred, pain would return frequently, and eventually, the completely twisted qi and blood would cause blood to pour from every orifice of the body, leading to death.
Such were the symptoms of Jin Soyak’s Yin-Yang Grand Severed Meridian.
‘Jin Soyak is six years old, just like Hwarin.’
It wasn’t yet time for the symptoms of the severed meridian condition to outwardly manifest, so it must have been difficult to notice. The fact that they already knew meant they were fortunate.
‘In my previous life, Jin Soyak was alive.’
And not just 'alive,' but what else?
‘He had become a blood-crazed demon.’
Maeng Deungho’s previous life epithet was Black Demon Ghost.
He was called the Black Demon Ghost because he killed people indiscriminately, but all of his murders were for the sake of his son, Jin Soyak.
Maeng Deungho had merely overshadowed him; the true demon was Jin Soyak, not Maeng Deungho.
Within the Blood Sect, only those within the Sixth Blood Lord’s domain knew this fact.
Seolhwa had vaguely overheard it in the Blood Lords’ conversations, but she had forgotten since she didn’t know Maeng Deungho’s son’s name.
‘I remember hearing he was someone who craved blood maniacally.’
In that sense, Jin Soyak’s current appearance was quite unexpected to Seolhwa.
‘To think he was such a cheerful and filial child when he was young.’
Aside from growing up in the Water Fortress, he was just an ordinary child. He loved to play and laughed easily.
He seemed weak, perhaps due to the severed meridian condition, but other than that, he didn’t seem to be in pain.
‘How did he treat the severed meridian condition in my previous life?’
It couldn’t have been easy to find a treatment method, could it?
Could it be that the reason Maeng Deungho swore loyalty to the Sixth Blood Lord in the previous life was…
It was then.
“!”
She sensed someone with a powerful presence approaching the group.
Seolhwa erased her presence and hid behind the boat, observing the approaching figures. There were two of them.
One was Maeng Deungho, and beside him stood a man who was thin for a bandit, looking somewhat frail.
‘That person is…’
Seolhwa’s brow furrowed sharply as she recognized him.
‘Ma Jongui.’
In her previous life, he had been under the Sixth Blood Lord, just like Maeng Deungho.
If Maeng Deungho was a dog, then Ma Jongui was a fox, one might say.
He was like a strategist, sticking close to the Sixth Blood Lord, winning his favor with cunning words, and devising schemes to move his forces.
It was thanks to this fox-like Ma Jongui that the somewhat foolish and reckless Sixth Blood Lord’s forces were able to gain any recognition within the Blood Sect.
‘Why is Ma Jongui… here…?’
Seolhwa’s eyes narrowed as she looked at Ma Jongui.
Her doubt didn’t last long.
Releasing a kidnapped child freely, feeding them meals every day, providing a comfortable sleeping place.
Unless the reason for kidnapping the child was to show compassion, considering the strange situation, there was only one answer.
‘It was Ma Jongui who told Maeng Deungho to kidnap the Namgung family’s child.’
Ma Jongui was capable of such a thing.
The six Blood Lords would, by this time, have already concluded their contracts with Hyeolma and would be focusing on recruiting their own forces.
The Sixth Blood Lord, who had established his power base in the Water Fortress, would also try to swallow up as many water fortresses as possible before the Blood Sect made its move.
Considering he would seize the position of Chief Master of the Eighteen Fortresses of the Yangtze River just five years later, Ma Jongui’s presence beside the Sixth Blood Lord now was natural.
Maeng Deungho hadn't recognized her. And now Ma Jongui had appeared.
‘Maeng Deungho hasn’t yet joined the Sixth Blood Lord, but Ma Jongui is already the Sixth Blood Lord’s man.’
Finally, all the pieces were falling into place.
Seolhwa sent a telepathic message to Yu Gang before the two men could get closer.
—The Fortress Master is coming.
—Okay.
—I’m not here. If they look for me, say I went to the outhouse. The person with Maeng Deungho might recognize me.
She saw Yu Gang subtly glance at the two approaching men.
—Got it.
Yu Gang pretended to play with the children again.
However, Maeng Deungho and Ma Jongui stopped about ten steps away from the three and watched the children without coming any closer.
She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Ma Jongui’s eyes kept narrowing as he kept looking at Hwarin, so it seemed certain they were talking about Hwarin.
‘Did they come to confirm the kidnapped child?’
The two soon turned and walked away towards the Fortress Master’s barracks.
Seolhwa’s expression darkened as she watched them.
‘As expected, I shouldn’t have been idly fishing.’
Ma Jongui was not as careless as Maeng Deungho. He wouldn't leave Hwarin, who was freely roaming, alone.
Now that Ma Jongui had seen her, he would surely try to get Hwarin into his grasp.
‘If that happens, there will be no chance to escape.’
Seolhwa looked at the riverside. Hwarin and Soyak were playing by the river, looking for pretty stones.
The setting sun over the river illuminated the children’s innocence. It would have been quite a beautiful sight if this weren’t the heart of enemy territory.
Seolhwa approached Yu Gang, who was sitting a short distance away, watching the children.
“We need to get out of here right now.”
Yu Gang turned to Seolhwa at her low, whispered words. He lightly brushed away the dirt from the spot where Seolhwa was about to sit and asked,
“Why?”
“The instigator saw Hwarin. Soon, people will come to take Hwarin away.”
“The person from earlier?”
Seolhwa nodded.
Yu Gang’s eyes took on a serious glint.
Escaping this place safely was still not an easy task. But if they delayed any longer, it would become difficult to protect Hwarin.
“I don’t want to do as you said. But there’s no other way.”
In the end, the only option they had was to use Soyak as a hostage to delay pursuit as much as possible.
Even then, it was uncertain whether they could safely escape the bandits’ pursuit.
“I checked the boats.”
Seolhwa looked at Yu Gang, surprised by his words.
Even he, who she thought would refuse outright, knew there was no other choice.
“The boats that are too big won’t be movable by just us. The small ones are slow and risk capsizing, but…”
“We can disembark at the nearest land.”
“Yeah. It’ll probably be easier to hide on land and give us a bit more of an advantage for escaping.”
They shared the same thought.
She had noted a good spot on the way to the Water Fortress. The condition of the boat only needed to be good enough to reach that point.
The longer they traveled by boat, the more disadvantageous it would be for them.
“Just promise me one thing.”
“?”
—That you’ll release Soyak once we reach land.
Seolhwa turned her gaze to the children playing in the distance.
“I was planning to. After that, having him with us would only be a burden.”
“…Okay.”
Yu Gang nodded calmly.
“That’s enough.”
He stood up from his spot.
“Let’s go.”
Yu Gang and Seolhwa approached Hwarin and Soyak. They planned to take the two children to the boat Yu Gang had scouted.
‘First, like we’re going fishing, if Soyak brings the boat over…’
Would the bandits even allow that? For now, act naturally…
It was then.
A loud bang echoed from one side of the Water Fortress, and smoke billowed up.
It was in the opposite direction from Seolhwa’s group, towards the fence leading to the forest.
“!”
Seolhwa and Yu Gang simultaneously ran towards the two children. Yu Gang pulled Hwarin, who was closer, while Seolhwa pulled Soyak.
Rumble—
The ground vibrated, causing the two children, who hadn’t learned martial arts, to stumble. However, thanks to Seolhwa and Yu Gang holding them, the children didn’t fall.
‘What is it?’
Seolhwa looked in the direction from which the smoke was billowing.
At the same time, a sharp clang, clang, clang, clang of an alarm bell rang through the Water Fortress, signaling danger.
“It’s the enemy!”
“It’s a surprise attack! Defend!”
“Grab your weapons!”
‘Enemy?’
The bandits grabbed their weapons and rushed towards the source of the loud noise. Even those who looked like ordinary fishermen transformed, pulling black hoods over their heads.
The Water Fortress instantly became a chaotic battlefield.
‘No way, already…?’
Had the Namgung family’s pursuit team already arrived?
If anyone were to attack the Water Fortress now, it could only be the Namgung family. But how could they have followed so quickly?
‘I need to confirm.’
Seolhwa handed Soyak to Yu Gang.
“Stay here with the children.”
As Yu Gang took Soyak, he simultaneously grabbed Seolhwa’s wrist.
“Wait! What are you going to do alone?!”
“I’m going to see who attacked.”
This could be an opportunity, or it could be a crisis.
If those who attacked the Water Fortress were from the Namgung family, they could join them with the children, but if not, things would get complicated.
‘If push comes to shove, we’ll have to escape amidst the chaos.’
So, first, she needed to find out who had attacked the Water Fortress.
“Hide.”
“Hey, hey!”
*Thwip!*
Seolhwa entrusted the two children to Yu Gang and moved.
Concealing her presence and moving swiftly was Seolhwa’s specialty as an assassin.
She reached the source of the loud noise in an instant, unseen by anyone.
*Bang—! Crash! Bang!*
“Aargh!”
“Don’t let them get any closer! Block them!”
The fence where the explosion occurred had long since lost its purpose, with logs broken and fallen.
Enemies poured through the breached entrance, and a battle instantly erupted.
The Water Fortress seemed to have anticipated the attack to some extent, as they were arrayed in an orderly formation around the breached entrance, confronting the attackers.
*Clang! Clang!*
“Don’t be pushed back! Don’t retreat, everyone… *Cough!*”
A surge of blue energy rippled among the swarming bandits.
Seolhwa recognized the attacker instantly.
‘It’s Father…!’
