Chapter 158

The unclear origins of Namgung Woo were secondary.

Namgung Baek regarded Namgung Woo not as an imposter with an unknown identity, but as the true successor of the Namgung Family and the current family head.

Thus, he showed respect to the still young Namgung Woo and maintained proper etiquette befitting their roles as elder and family head.

“Elder.”

“Yes, Family Head.”

Now, Namgung Baek fully established Namgung Woo’s position with the title of Family Head.

Namgung Woo did not refuse him.

“Do you know of any other surviving members of the Namgung Family?”

Namgung Sol, born after the family’s destruction.

Namgung Ju, who luckily managed to escape.

Namgung Baek, who hid alone as the Small History Elder, following the Family Head’s orders.

At a time when there might have been none, this number was already beyond expectations, but now, perhaps it was time to be a bit more ambitious.

However, contrary to Namgung Woo’s faint hopes, Namgung Baek shook his head.

“I apologize, but I do not know much either. I was hiding in a safe house outside the Southern Directly Administered Region… Though it’s embarrassing to say, I suspected there were traitors within, so I moved to a more secure location.”

Traitors. At the mention of this by Namgung Baek, one person couldn’t stay still.

Namgung Sol, with a trembling heart, raised their hand. It was something that needed to be said. Just because Namgung Woo had glossed over it, it didn’t mean the past could be completely brushed aside.

“Um…”

As attention turned to them, Namgung Sol felt even more nervous and spoke.

“The traitor… was my mother.”

The confession flowed out.

The secret recorded in Namgung Si-hee’s memoirs came out through Namgung Sol’s mouth.

When the story ended, the reactions of Namgung Baek and Namgung Ju were somewhat contrasting.

Namgung Ju, who believed the safe house he was in had been massacred due to Namgung Si-hee, clenched his teeth, while Namgung Baek, having already suspected the traitor, sighed relatively calmly.

“Family Head…?”

“I knew.”

“May I ask how you dealt with it?”

“Nothing.”

At Namgung Woo’s words, Namgung Ju momentarily showed signs of rebellion but ultimately held back.

He asked.

“Why?”

“Because I couldn’t find a reason.”

Even now, having learned the pain of loss, Namgung Woo had no intention of punishing Namgung Sol for their mother’s crime.

Rather, it made him feel even more affectionate. At least Namgung Si-hee truly loved Namgung Sol. The internal energy of the Great Lotus Heart Technique remaining in Namgung Sol’s body was a desperate legacy of Namgung Si-hee’s love, wishing for Namgung Sol to live long.

Even after losing such a person, Namgung Sol had made a resolution.

To face their mother’s crime head-on and bear it without turning away.

“My decision remains unchanged. If you have complaints, you may disobey.”

“If that is the Family Head’s will, I will follow.”

“…Elder.”

“In this time of crisis, if I were to overturn the Family Head’s judgment by clinging to mere family rules, I wouldn’t have sought the Family Head in the first place.”

In times of crisis, appropriate measures are necessary.

The fallen Namgung Family is now nothing more than a tent barely supported by the pillar that is Namgung Woo. And such hope may never appear again.

Judging so, Namgung Baek followed Namgung Woo, even though it was a gamble that could lose the family’s history and martial arts.

“My thoughts were short-sighted… I will follow the Family Head’s will.”

“Do not think of harming Sol.”

“Family Head, though I am a coward who even abandoned my name and hid, I am not that petty.”

“…It was a slip of the tongue. Forget it.”

Namgung Woo awkwardly apologized.

As the atmosphere lightened slightly, Paeng Ha-ryeong suddenly interjected, clapping her hands.

“Now we have a proper group! With four people, rebuilding the family won’t be a distant dream.”

“Rebuilding… it still sounds like a dream, but we have the minimum group.”

Namgung Baek chose his words carefully. However, his slightly raised voice suggested he was emotionally charged.

“Family Head, since we’re on the topic, I’d like to make a suggestion.”

Namgung Baek spoke with a tone filled with determination, as if he would see this through no matter what.

“Since you are the Family Head, shouldn’t you know the family’s history? Even if you don’t need to follow it exactly, how about taking lessons on the family from me?”

Seeing Namgung Baek’s face, which clearly said refusal was not an option, Namgung Woo thought.

‘Is this how the Joseon King felt before a royal examination?’

It was a lesson he wanted to avoid but couldn’t.

§

On the way to Geumju.

As Namgung Woo was organizing the lesson he had learned from Namgung Baek in his mind, Jegal Seon-a approached him.

“Um, Great Hero. I’ve been thinking about what you said last time.”

“Ah, yes? What did I say?”

“About that Pung Hyeon guy.”

A member of the Beonse Sect, suspected of opening the Black Ghost Gate.

A madman who called himself a god.

When this was mentioned, everyone reacted as if it was nonsense, but Jegal Seon-a seemed to have something on her mind, looking serious.

She usually doesn’t reveal herself much, so at the time, it was brushed off.

But it seemed Jegal Seon-a really had some clues.

“There is a god with the surname Pung.”

Pung Hyeon, who sought his mother in death. That means he had parents too. Indeed, even in myths, gods had parents and children like other beings.

Pung Hyeon calling himself a god and having a mother weren’t contradictory.

“Which god?”

“At first, I thought it might be the Wind God. Pungbaek (Wind Earl), Pungsa (Wind Master), the gods that come to mind with the character for wind. But the ‘Pung’ they use isn’t a surname but a character symbolizing their divine status.”

Namgung Woo quietly listened to Jegal Seon-a’s lengthy explanation. Jegal Seon-a didn’t seem to realize it, but when she showed off her knowledge like this, her eyes sparkled, and she fidgeted with her hands, explaining very enthusiastically.

If someone said she looked like a little puppy wagging its tail and clinging, Jegal Seon-a would get angry.

Unaware of Namgung Woo’s thoughts, Jegal Seon-a waved her fingers and got to the point.

“Though the names of gods are usually like that, some have distinct surnames and given names. The most representative would be the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. And if we’re talking about a god with the surname Pung… Qingdi (Green Emperor), Taihao Fuxi.”

“Fuxi?”

The progenitor god who created the Eight Trigrams and captured the world in writing.

Namgung Woo tilted his head at the name of Fuxi, who is placed at the forefront even among the Three Sovereigns in terms of divinity.

“Fuxi has the surname Pung?”

“Well, it’s a bit complicated. In ancient times, surnames were distinguished separately. Strictly speaking, it should be considered as the Pung surname with Fuxi. Usually, surnames follow the maternal line, and given names follow the paternal line, but over time, they merged into one.”

Taihao Fuxi.

Breaking down the name completely, it becomes Fuxi of the Pung surname from Taihao.

“Then here’s the question. Who would be the mother that Pung Hyeon was looking for?”

Jegal Seon-a asked, raising a small, cute fist.

Though her appearance was cute, the topic she brought up was too intense for any such feelings.

“If Fuxi’s wife… Nüwa?”

“Correct. Given the tradition of them being siblings, Nüwa also uses the Pung surname. And as you know, Great Hero, Nüwa is…”

“The goddess who created humans.”

Suddenly, a memory flashed through Namgung Woo’s mind.

When was it?

It was already a year ago.

When he first experienced the Ghost Gate, Namgung Woo had talked about Nüwa with the Yang Brothers.

About Nüwa.

“…Those shaped directly by Nüwa’s hands became nobles, and those born from clay pellets scattered by a rope dipped in mud became commoners.”

“Correct.”

“And just as Nüwa created humans, Hong Yerong created demons.”

It fits.

“The Beonse Sect worships Nüwa. Seomun Pyo, that guy, considered himself directly shaped by Nüwa.”

Seomun Pyo, who despised them as clay pellets.

For him, who was steeped in a sense of superiority, killing a friend of decades wouldn’t have been difficult. From the start, he had been pretending to be friends with those he considered beneath him, deceiving others.

“Then what about the fake part?”

“Nüwa is said to have created humans by imitating her own form. If he considered himself a god, wouldn’t all humans be fakes imitating gods to Pung Hyeon?”

Pung Hyeon. Beonse Sect. Nüwa. Seomun Pyo.

As the pieces started to fit together, Namgung Woo felt like he was beginning to understand something.

‘Heavenly Boundary Power. A force closer to the essence of life than Innate Life Force…’

Could it be the source from which Nüwa created humans?

Then Pung Hyeon is the real deal.

‘Perhaps…’

Everything might be connected.

Namgung Woo coming here, the destruction of the Namgung Family, the opening of the Ghost Gate, the appearance of the Beonse Sect, all of it.

“…The next step is decided.”

“Huh? Are you going to attack the Dokgo Family already?”

“It’s still too early for that. For now, we need to address something more fundamental.”

Someone who can fill the missing pieces.

Someone who knows more secrets than anyone.

“We need to capture Dongbang Hwa.”