Chapter 105

Jegal Seon-a was feeling extremely uncomfortable in her current position.

Why is that? If you think about it, everyone gathered here is someone she’s quite close to, if you consider them one by one.

Namgung Woo, who had traveled all the way from Wuhan to Luoyang hoping for a reunion, the members of Changcheon Pavilion who had fought alongside her on the battlefield for a month, and even Paeng Ha-ryeong, who had been her friend since childhood.

But the biggest reason was probably someone else. The man sitting right next to Paeng Ha-ryeong, Paeng Ja-ryeong, made Jegal Seon-a feel like she was shrinking more and more under his gaze.

“This is why I wanted to leave and come back later…!”

She had felt a strange tension ever since the Paeng family showed up.

The fact that the Paeng family didn’t call Namgung Woo but came directly to find him—what could that mean? There were no rumors that the Paeng family had arrived earlier, so they must have arrived in Luoyang today as well. And the first thing they did was look for Namgung Woo.

Even if she tried to hope that they had come to see Paeng Ha-ryeong, Paeng Ja-ryeong was blatantly focusing his conversation on Namgung Woo.

Even though it was a long time ago, the few words of greeting Paeng Ja-ryeong had exchanged with Jegal Seon-a seemed to be the extent of his interest in anyone else.

“It’s confirmed… he’s completely public now…!”

In fact, it had been half-confirmed ever since Paeng Ha-ryeong called him “Oppa,” but there was still a glimmer of hope.

Even if Paeng Ha-ryeong didn’t realize it, there had been a certain distance in the way Namgung Woo treated her.

And besides, the term “Oppa” isn’t exclusively used between lovers, right? If you take it purely at face value, it’s no different from calling someone “big brother.” It’s a term that could be applied to any older man.

Of course, considering Paeng Ha-ryeong’s personality, it definitely wasn’t used lightly.

But in the time Jegal Seon-a hadn’t seen them—about ten days since they parted at Honghohyeon—the subtle distance between Paeng Ha-ryeong and Namgung Woo had completely disappeared.

The way Paeng Ha-ryeong naturally interjected into the conversation between Paeng Ja-ryeong and Namgung Woo was too natural. Paeng Ja-ryeong also treated them as if he were a brother-in-law meeting his sister and her husband.

“But… I’ve prepared for this. Father said so too… Unlike Ha-ryeong, I don’t even know what my own feelings are… Nothing has been decided yet.”

Jegal Seon-a admitted it.

She was ignorant and her conditions were poor.

If Paeng Ja-ryeong was like that, then Paeng Hu-sang, the head of the Paeng family, would be the same. Family approval… Paeng Ha-ryeong was far ahead. But the checkpoint isn’t something only one person can pass through.

“If you think about it, I also have Father’s support, so there’s not much difference!”

Thinking like that, Jegal Seon-a’s cooling enthusiasm began to heat up again.

True to her Jegal Family roots, Jegal Seon-a trusted her brilliant mind and began fiercely racking her brain to find the best move she could make in this moment.

The topic Paeng Ja-ryeong and Namgung Woo were discussing was largely political—why this alliance meeting had been called. Jegal Seon-a didn’t know much about that, so she let it go.

The parts where Paeng Ha-ryeong occasionally chimed in were to supplement Namgung Woo’s lack of background knowledge about the martial world. Paeng Ha-ryeong could handle that alone, so Jegal Seon-a let it go.

What was left was…

“First, I’ll just listen! The wise sages wrote in their books that those who listen well will speak well later…”

Her role was to listen.

There was no way Paeng Ja-ryeong wouldn’t notice Jegal Seon-a lost in her own thoughts, looking miserable.

Seeing Jegal Seon-a’s demeanor, which clearly showed she was conscious of Namgung Woo, Paeng Ja-ryeong chuckled inwardly.

“This, this…”

He had been like that once too.

Five years ago, when he came to Luoyang.

Back then, Paeng Ja-ryeong’s popularity had skyrocketed after reaching the semifinals of the martial arts competition! At the time, he was still a late-blooming prodigy, but the number of women who flocked to him just to catch his eye was countless.

In the end, he had to fulfill his role as the young master of the Paeng family and entered a political marriage, becoming a married man. But Namgung Woo was a different story.

And from Paeng Ja-ryeong’s perspective—not as Paeng Ha-ryeong’s older brother but as the cold and ruthless young master of the Paeng family—even if Namgung Woo entered a political marriage, he wouldn’t stop at just one.

Rebuild the Namgung Family? Good.

But if the Namgung Family is to be rebuilt, and there’s only Namgung Woo, is that really a family? It’s more like a faction.

Even though he had secured one person, the road to rebuilding the Namgung Family was still long and arduous.

The surest and easiest way to solve that problem was for Namgung Woo to marry multiple women and quickly have children.

“Ha-ryeong must have prepared for that too.”

As an older brother who cared for his sister, of course, he wanted to help Paeng Ha-ryeong fend off the women flocking to Namgung Woo. But was that really the best path for Paeng Ha-ryeong?

“Ha-ryeong wouldn’t want me interfering, and it would be unseemly to meddle with the family’s benefactor.”

Unless it was after Namgung Woo had fought the Dokgo Family and borrowed the Paeng Family’s strength.

But until the Paeng Family repaid all their debts, that was out of the question.

Having reached a conclusion, Paeng Ja-ryeong smoothly wrapped up his conversation with Namgung Woo and stood up from his seat.

“I just arrived today, so I must still be tired. I’ll take my leave first.”

“Won’t you stay for dinner?”

“Haha, it’s been a while since I’ve been to Luoyang. I should meet some old acquaintances. I’ll excuse myself first.”

With a plausible excuse, Paeng Ja-ryeong left, and Namgung Woo didn’t try to stop him.

After Paeng Ja-ryeong left, the focus of the conversation shifted to Jegal Seon-a.

It was nearing dinner time. If they stayed for dinner, it would likely be quite late.

Namgung Woo knew that the prestigious sects had bases in Luoyang, but he still asked Jegal Seon-a out of courtesy.

“By the way, Miss Jegal, have you found a place to stay?”

Namgung Woo expected her to say yes. He thought she would answer like Paeng Ja-ryeong, saying they had a villa in Luoyang, and then he would invite her to dinner. But Jegal Seon-a’s thought process rejected that expectation.

“Ah, no!”

“That’s good. Then let’s have dinner… Huh?”

“Eh…?”

—

At the top floor of Central Heaven Pavilion.

In the alliance leader’s office, which occupied an entire floor, Woo Myeon was reporting on the upcoming alliance meeting.

“Today, the Moyong Family was the last to arrive. The Nine Sects and One Gang, the Seven Great Families, and 16 representatives from the White Path Martial World of each region—33 in total—have all expressed their intention to participate.”

“Excellent. I don’t know how much I rely on you staying with the alliance. I always depend on you.”

“Don’t mention it. I’m the one who’s grateful to you, Alliance Leader, for keeping me here. Even if I returned to the court, I wouldn’t have been able to secure a significant position.”

Woo Myeon spoke bitterly.

Even though he had received a pardon from the emperor, the label of being from a family that had deposed the emperor never disappeared. Even if it had been a national decision to protect the country.

Remembering the tragedy of his family, which would never disappear, Woo Myeon suddenly thought of a young girl and spoke again.

“By the way… it really turned out as you predicted, Alliance Leader.”

“Hmm?”

“That child.”

“Ah, you mean Sol.”

Regarding Namgung Sol, Woo Myeon had suggested they might need to consider other measures, but Gakwon had said it would work out and not to worry.

And just as Gakwon had said, Namgung Woo had taken in Namgung Sol. He had simply let her find her own way, and something had happened that even Woo Myeon couldn’t fully grasp. But since the sorcerers said there were no major issues, there was nothing to worry about.

If it had been a formal request, they would have had to pay a corresponding price, but since Namgung Woo had stepped in, there was no need to worry about the fee. It was truly a case of getting something for nothing.

“Isn’t it amazing? The Alliance Leader of the Martial Alliance and the Sangpyeon Hall Master… their request is something so significant in the martial world. Those who don’t know its weight are few.”

Ordinary people would spend their lives hoping to see their faces just once, and if such an opportunity arose, they would struggle desperately, even at the cost of their lives, to grab that lifeline.

To Gakwon, one of the Twelve Peaks’ peerless masters and the Alliance Leader of the Martial Alliance, that was his worth.

Woo Myeon, feeling as if his inner thoughts had been exposed, awkwardly coughed and spoke.

“Of course, if Sol protects that child well, we will provide some level of support, morally speaking. However, since it’s not an official request from the Martial Alliance, in the future, when there is a request, we will prioritize them and provide indirect support…”

“No need for that. He’s already won over two of the Seven Great Families. Such half-hearted support would only be a nuisance to that child.”

Rather than that, Gakwon himself would showcase Shaolin’s peerless martial arts to broaden Namgung Woo’s horizons. That would be more in line with what Namgung Woo desired.

Those who reached the level of peerless master at a young age were undoubtedly obsessed with martial arts.

‘Ha-gyeong Jinin was like that too.’

Ha-gyeong was the winner of the last martial arts competition. Now, he held one of the Twelve Peaks’ seats, but five years ago, he was known as the top late-blooming prodigy, bearing the title of “Dragon.”

And Ha-gyeong had used the implicit privilege given to the winner—the ability to challenge anyone in Luoyang to a martial duel—on Gakwon.

“But on the other hand, I’m a bit worried.”

“Worried?”

“Did he just take Sol in for no reason? He must have thought there was something to gain… Knowing he’s from the Namgung Family, did he target him? Those who approached him like that weren’t few.”

The first to contact Namgung Sol, who had openly revealed himself as a Namgung, wasn’t the Martial Alliance.

It was the small and medium sects who wanted to get their hands on the Namgung Family’s martial arts.

The reason they backed off after the Martial Alliance (more precisely, the Alliance Leader’s direct unit) silenced them by mentioning the Dokgo Family was that they realized the martial arts Namgung Sol possessed weren’t that remarkable.

“The martial arts Sol has learned aren’t worth enduring conflict with the Dokgo Family. But the reason he took Sol in… honestly, only one thing comes to mind.”

Perhaps the Alliance Leader had read his interest in Namgung Sol. In Woo Myeon’s opinion, that seemed the most reasonable inference.

Even though Gakwon’s Upper Dantian martial art, Mind-Reading Power, didn’t work on him, as a veteran of the martial world and the Alliance Leader of the Martial Alliance, he had accumulated experience.

Woo Myeon thought Gakwon must have read something he hadn’t noticed.

“I know Sol is cute, but…”

“It’s not that, so don’t worry.”

“Huh?”

“Rather, I didn’t know you were so worried about Sol.”

“…You wouldn’t understand, Alliance Leader.”

Woo Myeon remembered.

The time when his family was torn apart, labeled as traitors.

The helplessness, despair, and emptiness he felt back then… Namgung Sol must be feeling the same.

Using his father’s actions as a lesson, Woo Myeon always prepared a way to shift responsibility and handled matters accordingly. The reason he helped Namgung Sol solely based on Gakwon’s request was because he saw his younger self in that little girl.

“The endless pressure of having to rebuild a fallen family… it’s hell.”

“Why wouldn’t I understand?”

Gakwon didn’t know his family.

He had been taken to Shaolin Temple at such a young age that he couldn’t remember, living as a novice monk.

But he had a sect he loved like family.

Watching that sect half-destroyed in the Blood Sect’s calamity, Gakwon screamed in his soul every day.

All but two of his fellow disciples, like brothers, had died. The senior disciples, the Gongja generation, had all passed away, leaving none behind.

It was the result of the Blood Sect choosing Shaolin Temple as the first place to reveal their existence to the world. Truly, Shaolin’s strength was remarkable, as they ultimately stopped them, but the surprise attack without any declaration of war meant Shaolin lost half their strength from the start.

The 30-year closure Shaolin chose wasn’t much different from rebuilding a fallen family.

“…I spoke out of turn. Knowing Shaolin’s circumstances, I still…”

“Enough. It all started because this old monk was stubborn.”

Stopping Woo Myeon’s self-reproach, Gakwon changed the subject.

“Rather, I feel the time is coming again, and it frightens me.”

“The time is coming?”

“Looking at the brilliant young talents now. Since the last martial arts competition, prodigies have been emerging one after another. Ha-gyeong, followed by Nam-woo, and who knows who else might appear.”

Fifty years ago, it was the same.

Right before the Ghost Gate opened, as if declaring this was the peak of the human era, countless talents emerged like bamboo shoots after rain.

And as if a trial had been prepared for them, the Blood Sect arrived.

Mencius said that heaven prepares trials and hardships to nurture those who will play great roles.

If so, then conversely, the appearance of great figures could be seen as a harbinger of great trials to come.

With Gakwon’s concern-laden prediction of the future, Woo Myeon, after serious consideration, cautiously asked.

“…But Alliance Leader, is it okay for you to seek heaven? Even though you’re a monk, you’re still a martial artist.”

“Is it strange? Then instead of heaven, say Buddha.”

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