Chapter 116

Paeng Ja-ryeong, along with Jegal Hyul, had left the Martial Alliance’s grounds, and another helper was waiting for Namgung Woo.

“There was no need for me to step in.”

Yi Ho-yeong approached with a cheerful smile, as usual.

“I can roughly guess what happened. I heard the news.”

“The Martial Alliance must have controlled it to prevent it from spreading.”

“I have a wide network.”

Paeng Ja-ryeong immediately understood Yi Ho-yeong’s answer. It made sense if it was Hwang Ryong-ho.

“I already told the people at Changcheon Pavilion it would be fine. Well, even if I didn’t say anything, everyone was fine. Seems like you’re quite trusted?”

“Must be because of my strong backing.”

Namgung Woo, mimicking Yi Ho-yeong’s tone, glanced subtly at Paeng Ha-ryeong and Jegal Hyul.

“Haha! That’s true. Who would dare mess with you?”

With Yi Ho-yeong joining, the group of four quickly returned to Changmu Inn.

Welcomed warmly, Namgung Woo entered a separate room and immediately explained what had happened at the Martial Alliance.

He omitted the fact that the person assassinated was an elder of the Martial Alliance, as requested, and instead emphasized that the culprit was suspected to have a similar martial aura to Yi Ja-ryong.

“So, I’ve been tasked with tracking down the murderer.”

As Namgung Woo paused to catch his breath, various reactions poured in.

“This is insane. To commit murder in Luoyang, where the Martial Alliance stands firm.”

“It’s someone similar to Yi Ja-ryong, right? That, what’s it called, Mist Seekers? The Seekers in the Mist? Those guys, right?”

“Seekers in the Mist. A brother worse than the real younger brother.”

“Gross!”

“But, the Seekers in the Mist are being pursued by the Imperial Family…? So why would they provoke the Martial Alliance in Luoyang…?”

“Such a heinous murderer needs to be taught a lesson.”

“Ugh, this monk is at it again.”

“This time is different. Punishing the wicked. Even the Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha would gladly welcome the wicked in the underworld. Namu Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.”

With so many people, even a few words from each created a lively atmosphere.

Amidst the chatter, Paeng Ha-ryeong asked.

“So, are you going alone?”

“No. Not exactly.”

Namgung Woo, who had been planning to talk about it, looked at Myorin.

“Myorin, you’ll move with me.”

Suddenly the focus turned to her, Myorin widened her eyes and pointed at herself.

“Huh? Me?”

“Yes.”

“Just me?”

“Yes.”

“…Why?”

At Myorin’s bewildered question, two more voices chimed in.

“Right. Gaga, it’s not like you’re Geumshin or anything…”

“Um… if it’s about searching, I can help too.”

Though Paeng Ha-ryeong and Jegal Seon-a raised doubts, Namgung Woo had a clear reason for choosing Myorin specifically.

“It’s dangerous.”

The first reason was the danger. Martial Alliance elders are generally Supreme Peak Masters. Occasionally, there are Peak Masters among them for political reasons, but most are Supreme Masters.

Such a master was killed. And so secretly that no one around noticed.

It’s not a level of danger that Peak Masters like Paeng Ha-ryeong or Jegal Seon-a could handle.

“Then what about me? I’m only a Peak Master too.”

“But you have escape methods. Myorin, you always have a secret means to escape, don’t you?”

Myorin had charged into the midst of the fierce battle between the Five Yin Demon Emperor and Namgung Woo. And she had managed to escape from that battlefield.

“That was really dangerous though…”

“Most importantly, Myorin knows about Yi Ja-ryong.”

Ignoring Myorin’s complaints, Namgung Woo stated the biggest reason.

“Miss Jegal’s Resonance Power is excellent for tracking, but it’s hard to fully utilize when I’m around. And to find an enemy similar to Yi Ja-ryong, we first need to know what kind of person Yi Ja-ryong is, right?”

“Well, that’s true but…”

Unable to argue against Namgung Woo’s logical reasoning, Paeng Ha-ryeong and Jegal Seon-a sulked and slumped their shoulders.

“Well, don’t be too disappointed, Ha-ryeong. While your benefactor is out doing work, you should watch over Miss Jegal’s martial duel.”

At Paeng Ja-ryeong’s subtle hint, Paeng Ha-ryeong’s ears turned slightly red.

When the husband goes out to work, it’s the wife’s role to take care of the family affairs. Knowing that Namgung Sol carried the blood of the Namgung Family, Paeng Ja-ryeong was hinting at her to take on the role of the lady of the house.

“Ah… right. Then you won’t be able to watch my duel…”

Namgung Sol muttered dejectedly, as if just realizing.

Though she had made it to the main event, it was a pity she couldn’t show it to the person she most wanted to, but Namgung Sol accepted reality.

Though meeting Namgung Woo had changed the direction of her life by 180 degrees, Namgung Sol was still more accustomed to resigning to reality.

“As Brother Paeng said, Ha-ryeong, take care of Sol. If the culprits realize I’m chasing them, it might become more dangerous for you. Try to stick together as much as possible.”

Even without Supreme Peak Masters, if there are multiple Peak Masters, the situation changes.

Several mature Peak Masters can even challenge a Supreme Peak Master.

With Geumshin and Paeng Ha-ryeong, who are close to the peak of Peak Mastery, they could take on a Supreme Peak Master together.

Add the Yang Brothers, who are skilled in joint techniques, and the versatile Jegal Seon-a, and they could hold out until reinforcements arrive even if the murderer attacks.

“And, Great Hero, could I have a word with you?”

“Not here? You don’t need to worry about guards. The commission period is until the end of the alliance meeting. The fee will be covered by the Jegal Family.”

“There’s something I need to discuss separately.”

“…Alright. Shall we step out?”

Leaving the puzzled others behind, Namgung Woo went outside with Yi Ho-yeong.

The training ground where Namgung Sol had secluded herself for training. Namgung Woo didn’t even bother to set up a barrier. If it was important, Yi Ho-yeong would block the sound himself.

“What do you want from me?”

“Huh?”

Yi Ho-yeong was slightly, really just slightly, surprised.

He thought Namgung Woo had some idea, but he didn’t expect him to be so direct.

“Well… was it too obvious?”

“Ever since we first met, you’ve been sticking around me too much. At first, I thought it might be a coincidence, but after coming to Luoyang, I started to think there might be some intention behind it.”

Now that it had come to this, perhaps there was no need to hide it anymore.

Yi Ho-yeong straightforwardly revealed the reason he had been lingering around Namgung Woo.

“After seeing your martial arts, I started to feel a strange sense of déjà vu.”

“…From my martial arts?”

“I felt like I had seen it somewhere before.”

Yi Ho-yeong was in his late thirties, approaching forty.

At the time the Namgung Family was annihilated, he was preparing for his coming-of-age ceremony after completing his studies.

As Namgung Woo’s tension rose, Yi Ho-yeong continued.

“After seeing it a few times, I realized something was different. Similar, but subtly different. Like the difference between basic and advanced martial arts. Your martial arts were more advanced.”

“Did you want to confirm its identity?”

“That was the initial goal.”

“Did you figure it out?”

“The identity of the martial arts? Well… I have a guess, but I’m not sure. But I definitely know why I felt that déjà vu. It was the martial arts of someone I knew.”

Yi Ho-yeong recalled the old memories of someone who used martial arts similar to Namgung Woo.

And the perfectly identical martial arts he had seen just the day before.

“Namgung Sol. The martial arts she used were exactly the same.”

No way.

Namgung Woo’s pupils dilated, clearly showing his shock.

Namgung Woo had vaguely expected that Yi Ho-yeong’s reason for following him was either competitive spirit or curiosity as a fellow wanderer. But who would have thought he would suddenly encounter traces of another Namgung Family member, not Namgung Sol, here?

“…Is that all?”

“No, of course not.”

If it was just curiosity, he wouldn’t have followed this far.

Yi Ho-yeong’s goal went beyond confirming his suspicions.

“I’d like to meet him once. That guy, he’s not in a very good state right now.”

§

The next day.

As he had said before, Namgung Woo took Myorin and went into the city of Luoyang.

Walking slightly apart because it felt a bit awkward to be right next to him, Myorin, unnerved by Namgung Woo’s unusually sharp aura today, asked.

“Hey, Great Master, did you have some grudge against Yi Ja-ryong? Why are you so murderous today…?”

A grudge against Yi Ja-ryong? None. If you consider fighting to the death as a grudge, then it’s not entirely wrong, but before that, the relationship between Namgung Woo and Yi Ja-ryong was one-sided, with only Yi Ja-ryong aware of Namgung Woo’s existence.

Namgung Woo stopped Yi Ja-ryong’s rebellion not out of personal hatred or to protect the Beijing Imperial Family and maintain the stability of the world.

Simply, there were people he knew there, and he had the power to save them, so he stepped in.

But after meeting Yi Ja-ryong, Namgung Woo could no longer be unrelated to him.

Not as the one who killed him, but as someone who knew something about his secret.

“Not really.”

Even though he had decided to live in this world, a faint unease still lingered in Namgung Woo’s heart.

If he had suddenly crossed worlds, who knows when he might return to his original world without any warning.

At the very least, he needed to know why and how he had crossed worlds.

Yi Ja-ryong, whom he had killed with the resolve that he might never know.

But now, a clue seemed within reach. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t anxious.

Namgung Woo’s tone was calm, but Myorin sensed it was a lie. The fact that he spoke like that meant he didn’t want to delve deeper into the topic.

Myorin pretended not to notice and asked something else.

“Or, um, did something happen with Hwang Ryong-ho?”

“…Something did.”

“What? What was it?”

“That.”

Namgung Woo pointed, and Myorin frowned as she looked.

“A tea house?”

“Right. Let’s have some tea.”