Chapter 40

Chapter 40

* * *

Namgung So-hye stood before the leader of the Murim Alliance, the Sword Emperor. As she bowed and paid her respects, Namgung Cheon, sitting on the throne, nodded and accepted her greeting.

Perhaps pleased to see his granddaughter after a long time, a gentle smile played on his lips.

“So, how did it go? Why did you return alone?”

His question was filled with trust.

He believed that she would never fail. However, Namgung So-hye turned her head without a word and looked at the people around them.

Namgung Cheon noticed something and waved his hand.

“You all may excuse yourselves.”

“We understand.”

Those present, including Chief Strategist Jegal Un, paid their respects and withdrew.

Except for those present here, there was no way the story would leak out, but on the other hand, the people present would definitely find out, so he had dismissed them.

“What happened? Did you not find the one who dealt with the Black Dao Association?”

“……I found him.”

Namgung So-hye's voice was somewhat dejected.

Noticing this, Namgung Cheon swallowed a groan. He had watched his granddaughter for a very long time, but this was the first time he had seen her like this.

“Did he say he would not come to the Murim Alliance?”

“Yes…….”

“Can you tell me who he is?”

“He said that in this Murim, sometimes one must pretend not to see even if they saw, and pretend not to hear even if they heard.”

“…….”

That meant he did not want to reveal his identity. To decline recruitment by the Murim Alliance, which was called the pillar of the orthodox Murim?

He was curious about what kind of person he could be.

Was he someone from the Demonic Path? Or someone who walked the Heretical Path?

Or did he intend to pretend to be a hidden master buried in the countryside?

Either way, Namgung Cheon did not like it. The attitude of that person, who ignored it instead of coming even though the leader of the Murim Alliance had personally invited him, displeased him.

But looking at Namgung So-hye, there seemed to be some other reason.

“Was he strong?”

At that single question, Namgung So-hye clenched her fists tightly. Even now, thinking about it made her shudder with fear.

She wondered if that was even human, and did not even want to acknowledge that what she had seen was reality.

It was a strength that terrifying.

“……Yes.”

“Haha, just how strong is he for you to be so dejected?”

Namgung Cheon could not understand.

“I am not sure to what extent…… However, he handled the Tyrant Force Blade as if handling a child.”

“Ma Dok-jin?”

What on earth was this about? It was surprising enough that Ma Dok-jin was in Yueyang, but to deal with him as if he were a child meant that his realm had already surpassed the peak.

Namgung Cheon's eyes gleamed with an intrigued expression.

At that moment, Namgung So-hye spoke again.

“And he said that…… pride was embedded in this child's sword.”

“……!”

Namgung Cheon's hands trembled.

Anger flared up for a moment at the statement denying Namgung So-hye's swordsmanship, but he suppressed it with extreme patience.

How did he raise this child and how much effort did he put in, for someone to speak such words so carelessly?

Feeling hollow, self-reproachful, and dumbfounded, he let out a low laugh and shook his head.

‘He saw something even I couldn't see?’

To have noticed something even the Sword Emperor of the world could not detect? Of course, the man could have been speaking nonsense, but looking at Namgung So-hye's expression, it seemed there was something she could relate to.

‘Hahaha, this is quite interesting.’

Stroking his beard, Namgung Cheon nodded.

“You did well. Rest for now. Let us hear the rest of the story in due time.”

“Yes…….”

Bowing her head, Namgung So-hye left the Cheonun Pavilion with slumped shoulders. The Sword Emperor's gaze quietly watched her receding back.

* * *

“Geez, you're terribly bad at this.”

The manor was noisy today as well.

Along with the voice of Jang Sam-tae muttering complaints, the sound of laundry being beaten echoed without fail.

Sticking close to Gwon Mu-jin's side and nagging him as if he were the master, Jang Sam-tae seemed to have no restraint.

“No, if you wash it like that, the dirt won't come off, but the clothes will turn into rags.”

“…….”

Gwon Mu-jin gritted his teeth.

Already a month and a half had passed.

Ever since he had started doing chores around the manor with that damn servant by his side. Although his body had not fully recovered yet, there was a reason he worked like this.

“I cannot stand to see anyone loafing around.”

Since birth, he had never once thought that practicing martial arts was loafing around. Wasn't that work for a martial artist?

However, it seemed Dan Woo-hyun did not think so.

Thanks to that, he was doing laundry and cleaning which were never in his destiny, and even assisting Jang Sam-tae when he cooked, so from Gwon Mu-jin's perspective, he found himself pathetic for doing this.

Moreover, the one who irritated him the most was this fellow.

Jang Sam-tae.

For a mere servant, he talked way too much.

Every time he did something, Jang Sam-tae would nag him obnoxiously from the side.

If not for Dan Woo-hyun, he would have buried him in a wild mountain long ago, and not being able to do so was a lifelong regret.

Grinding his teeth, he muttered.

“Aren't you going to work?”

“Monitoring you is my job!”

Jang Sam-tae proudly squared his shoulders and laughed out loud.

For him, who had to take charge of all the housework alone again after Namgung So-hye left, Gwon Mu-jin was like a stroke of good fortune.

Furthermore, because of the kindness of tending to Gwon Mu-jin when he couldn't open his eyes, Gwon Mu-jin also usually said nothing and tolerated Jang Sam-tae's temper.

But today, for some reason, he rebelled.

“What a funny guy. Weren't you the servant who is supposed to do this kind of work?”

“It's true that I'm a servant, but looking at it, aren't you in the same boat? The master didn't say you were a guest. So I am your senior, and you should listen to me.”

Gwon Mu-jin sighed as he looked at Jang Sam-tae who was smiling mischievously. Standing up, he walked over to face Jang Sam-tae.

It seemed he could tolerate it no longer.

A laundry club was held in his right hand.

He grinned, tapping his palm with it.

“You, follow me to the back for a moment.”

“Do you think I won't follow you if you tell me to?”

Jang Sam-tae shouted high and mighty. Although Gwon Mu-jin's face sneering at his courage was visible, he didn't even care and huffed.

‘Why does a guy who came in later than me have so much to say?’

Gwon Mu-jin turned around and moved toward the back of the manor.

Seeing that, Jang Sam-tae snorted and ran away in a hurry.

Toward the inner courtyard.

“Master-! That guy is!”

“Hey, you son of a bitch!”

So-mi stared at Jang Sam-tae as he ran panting into the courtyard. She wondered what was happening to make him sweat so much.

She also saw Gwon Mu-jin chasing behind him.

He was chasing after Jang Sam-tae with a terrifying look, holding the laundry club firmly in his hand.

It looked just like playing tag.

So-mi, closing her Thousand Character Classic book that she studied at the academy, muttered quietly.

“Dad went out.”

“So-mi! So-mi! That guy is trying to beat me to death!”

Panting heavily, Jang Sam-tae hid behind little So-mi's back.

It seemed that the roles of the protector and the protected had been reversed, but from Jang Sam-tae's perspective, he was desperate.

Gwon Mu-jin of the Twin Blades.

Jang Sam-tae was doubtful whether the human in front of him was that terrifying expert of the unorthodox path, but putting that aside, he knew at least that this guy's martial arts were out of the ordinary.

That was why he had fled in a hurry.

Fortunately, So-mi stopped the two of them.

“You must not bully Uncle Jang.”

“Ahem!”

Gwon Mu-jin hid the laundry club behind his back and coughed dryly.

Bright sparkling eyes, chubby cheeks, and skin white as jade.

He had seen quite a few children, but this was his first time seeing a child this cute.

Moreover, her voice was so soft and pretty that the moment he heard it, he felt as if his heart was skipping a beat.

Furthermore, she was the child who had found him and played a massive role in saving his life.

Naturally, he couldn't help but grow fond of her and want to protect her.

Gwon Mu-jin forced a smile and spoke.

“I'm absolutely not bullying him! Hahaha! This uncle never bullies people.”

So-mi tilted her head.

“Yes, So-mi believes Uncle Gwon. But why are you holding the laundry club?”

“Ah, this is, you see. I saw a mad dog earlier, and I was worried it might harm So-mi, so I was trying to catch it.”

So-mi's eyes went wide.

This was because she had sometimes seen such dogs in Yueyang. Dogs that wandered around the marketplace and rushed madly at people.

Just thinking of such a scary dog rushing at her made her body tremble.

But soon she opened her eyes wide and looked at Gwon Mu-jin.

“You mustn't! The teacher said we should not carelessly harm living things.”

“Haha, yes, yes. Do not worry. I will just hit it a few times to teach it a lesson.”

“Hic!”

“No! If you get hit, it hurts! So that dog will hurt too. And if Uncle Gwon gets bitten by mistake, it will hurt a lot! So you mustn't!”

Gwon Mu-jin felt a lump in his throat at those words.

How could he not be touched when a mere seven-year-old child pitied a dog on the street and even worried that Gwon Mu-jin might get bitten?

Gwon Mu-jin looked at So-mi with a proud expression.

“You have a truly kind heart.”

“Pardon?”

“Haha, you are nothing less than a fairy!”

“Hehe, thank you.”

At the praise that was hard to understand, So-mi smiled awkwardly.

This uncle was a bit strange.

Why would he look for a fairy in a place like this?

Since fairies lived in heaven.

“By the way, where did the master go?”

“Dad…… went to the mountain.”

So-mi turned her head with a huff, looking somewhat sulky.

She had wanted to go to the mountain together after a long time, but Dan Woo-hyun had requested that she study quietly today.

Lately, as she attended the academy, the time she spent with Dan Woo-hyun had decreased, which So-mi did not like.

She puffed up her already chubby cheeks to express her dissatisfaction.

“Ah, he went hunting again?”

While staying at this manor to recover his body, Gwon Mu-jin had grasped Dan Woo-hyun's lifestyle to some extent.

Despite having plenty of money, Dan Woo-hyun occasionally went up the mountain and brought down things to eat.

Deer, wild boars, and sometimes even bears and tigers.

Gwon Mu-jin glanced at So-mi.

‘Come to think of it, the tiger skin from the one he caught a few days ago was spread out in this child's room.’

Looking at that, Dan Woo-hyun's affection for So-mi truly seemed never to cool down.

‘Well, if I had such a good child as my daughter, I would do anything too.’

Smacking his lips, he turned his gaze and glared at Jang Sam-tae.

Jang Sam-tae stuck out his tongue.

Wiggle.

Gwon Mu-jin's face contorted at once.

Thwack!

“Aaargh!”

“Uncle!”