Chapter 178

“How… no, why?”

At Paeng Ha-ryeong’s bewildered question, Princess Jihyang answered with a completely shameless face, puffing out her shoulders.

“Doesn’t it look like the security is weak? It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! How can we miss this chance to go out into the world?”

That wasn’t what she was asking, but Jihyang kept rambling on, even tilting her head as if she couldn’t help it.

Unable to stand it any longer, Yang Se-rim quietly stepped in and provided an interpretation of Jihyang’s words.

“The number of Imperial Guards in the Forbidden City has been drastically reduced. By half. We took advantage of the gap and slipped out. She even woke me up while I was sleeping…”

Jegal Seon-a thought that the latter was probably what Yang Se-rim really wanted to say.

How annoying would it be to be woken up from a deep sleep by someone higher up, only to be told to go out in the middle of the night? Even those who hadn’t experienced it would feel sympathy.

“But I heard you were under house arrest?”

“Well, um…”

Jihyang was also a little concerned.

It was one thing to get away with it once, but ignoring a house arrest order, especially one directly issued by the Emperor, and attempting a second escape was quite a burden even for Jihyang.

But Jihyang believed.

“Our Emperor is very merciful to his family. If it’s the Empress Dowager or the elders, he’ll listen to almost anything, so maybe it’ll work out somehow?”

Except that Man Gwibi is ahead of those family members. The Emperor was the type to carefully look after his family.

At least Han Gyeran would take Jihyang’s side. No matter how twisted the path, as long as they reached Beijing, it would be fine. If they brought back the son-in-law Han Gyeran so desperately wanted, wouldn’t she clap her hands and say, “Well done”?

The real problem was still the Emperor, but even that didn’t seem like it would be a big issue.

“It felt like… he was giving me permission to leave if I wanted to?”

“That’s just Your Highness’s personal opinion…”

“No, if he really intended to enforce the house arrest, he wouldn’t have left the security so lax. He’s such a thorough person.”

Even though Man Gwibi seemed to control state affairs, behind it all was the Seonghwa Emperor.

Placing his younger brother as the Commander of the Imperial Guards and planting his trusted subordinate Wang Jik as the Governor of Seochang, all of it was under the Seonghwa Emperor’s control. In fact, even Seochang, which seemed to wield absolute power, had once been abolished and then revived, clearly showing that control rested in the Emperor’s hands.

Would such an Emperor leave a secret passage that Jihyang clearly knew about untouched? Wasn’t this a deliberate signal to leave?

“I can only hope that Your Highness’s intuition is correct.”

“It’s not intuition, it’s real.”

Jihyang was confident, but those around her looked at her with mixed feelings. Pretending not to, but their eyes all said, “What kind of reckless princess is this?”

“Anyway, that’s how we left the Forbidden City, and by chance, we met Ma Seung here and ended up coming this far.”

It was good to lure the Imperial Guards away from pursuing Changcheon Pavilion, but Ma Seung had ultimately been caught by them.

Ma Seung had somewhat expected it. With such a difference in numbers, how could they escape?

The fact that Changcheon Pavilion’s escape was partially successful was meaningful, but Ma Seung didn’t expect all of Changcheon Pavilion and themselves to come out unscathed.

Until the royal family intervened.

“The problem is the people still left in Beijing.”

Ma Seung voiced his concern.

Song Woojeol and a few of the Nam Pungjo who remained at the inn. And Myorin and Heo Ryeo-mun, who were acting independently.

“You don’t need to worry about our Elder Heo. If it’s him, he’ll manage to escape safely even if he were inside the Forbidden City.”

Mun Se-gang, who had been listening, spoke up when the conversation turned to Heo Ryeo-mun.

Then, as eyes turned to him, he coughed awkwardly, feeling the pressure despite being a former prodigy of Yongbongjijae.

“It’s the path to fulfilling the sect’s long-cherished wish. The sect leader must have judged that Elder Heo alone could represent our entire Wudang Sect.”

“Of course. Seeing as Gowon Jinin hasn’t sent him down from Wudang Mountain, it’s clear he’s a sure bet.”

At Yang Kwae’s blunt interpretation, Yang Jeong was speechless.

“Calling him a bet… that’s disrespectful to a senior of the martial world.”

“For a wanderer with no lineage to follow a senior is even more disrespectful.”

When Yang Kwae brought up his own background to counter, another voice chimed in.

“Then now that you have a lineage, you should pay attention to etiquette. If the family head taught you martial arts, then you two should be considered part of the family. As a member of the Namgung Family, you should observe proper etiquette.”

“Ah… yes.”

At Namgung Baek’s words, Yang Kwae stood at attention like a new recruit and immediately bowed to Mun Se-gang.

“My apologies.”

“No, it’s… fine.”

Wrapping up the impromptu comedy, Namgung Baek shifted the topic.

“Ma Seung, you don’t need to worry.”

Namgung Baek could feel it. The overwhelming presence covering the outer city of Beijing.

“He’ll be here soon.”

It didn’t take long for his words to come true.

§

Some distance from Beijing, Namgung Woo reunited with those waiting for him.

“Is everyone safe?”

“Yes, brother. Fortunately, there are no casualties. Some are slightly injured, though.”

“Ha-ryeong, are you hurt anywhere?”

“Ah, no. I’m fine, and Seon-a is too.”

That’s a relief.

He had already confirmed there were no deaths, but the fact that there were no serious injuries allowed Namgung Woo to fully relax.

He had already experienced the horror of seeing those who trusted and followed him get hurt or die, and he never wanted to go through that again.

After checking on Changcheon Pavilion, Namgung Woo turned his attention to the newcomers.

“Your Highness…”

“Call me Hyang.”

“…If Her Majesty the Empress Dowager finds out, she’ll be furious.”

“Um… wouldn’t she be happy if she knew I was with Namgung-nim?”

It wasn’t an easy statement to refute.

Half believing she’d be furious, half thinking she’d praise them.

Namgung Woo couldn’t say for sure which stance Han Gyeran would take. Maybe she’d take both.

Namgung Woo left the matter of what to do with Jihyang to his future self and turned his attention elsewhere.

“First of all, thank you for your help.”

Since becoming the head of the Namgung Family, Namgung Woo had to be careful with his respect, but Ma Seung was a benefactor to Changcheon Pavilion.

As the Great Master of Changcheon Pavilion, Namgung Woo treated Ma Seung with the proper etiquette.

If anything, Ma Seung seemed uncomfortable with the respect, finding it excessive.

“I just didn’t want to feel ashamed.”

Ma Seung’s answer was the epitome of a chivalrous hero. But that was the stance of a hero, not a soldier.

Knowing that, Ma Seung’s expression was dark as he answered, acting according to his conscience.

“What do you plan to do now, Commander?”

“Now that I’ve confirmed the safety of Changcheon Pavilion’s members, I plan to return and turn myself in.”

Ma Seung and his subordinates had set their roles to end here.

“The Imperial Guards’ actions this time were too unjust, so we helped you, but we also violated orders. We must take responsibility for that.”

Of the 50 guards under Ma Seung, only a little over half followed his lead.

The other half acknowledged their loyalty and the injustice of the situation, silently allowing their independent actions, but ultimately didn’t join them. They believed that disobeying orders, even for a just cause, was also wrong.

It was hard to say there was no self-preservation in that, but the logic was also clearly correct.

‘What a waste…’

A man who stubbornly follows the right path.

Even if he himself judged that he had strayed from that path, Ma Seung was resolute enough to accept the appropriate punishment without hesitation.

Some might call that stubbornness foolish, but Namgung Woo liked that about Ma Seung.

His martial arts skills too.

‘But Imperial Guards are supposed to renounce their martial arts when they leave their position.’

The Imperial Guards weren’t hereditary positions. In a world without martial arts, perhaps, but in a place where martial arts were the most intuitive measure of power, the Imperial Guards were the Imperial Family’s most important weapon.

To make the Imperial Guards’ blade sharper, the Imperial Family improved and refined their martial arts, creating techniques specifically for the Guards. Even Gwak Dan acknowledged the high level of these techniques, making both his Dokmun Martial Arts and the Imperial Family’s martial arts his true martial arts.

Given the level of these Ascendant Martial Arts, the Imperial Family strictly controlled the Guards to prevent the techniques from leaking.

While it was unavoidable if some techniques leaked due to death or disappearance during missions, they would never tolerate a large number of Guards transferring to another organization.

Unlike the Martial Alliance, which was a coalition of various organizations, the Imperial Guards were a single entity.

But Namgung Woo had a way to recruit them.

“Why don’t you join us instead?”

“We can’t. We are Imperial Guards.”

“The role of the Imperial Guards is varied, but the most important thing is protecting the Imperial Family, right?”

“That’s correct.”

“Here is the youngest princess of the Imperial Family. Leaving her behind would also be an improper act for the Imperial Guards, wouldn’t it?”

If they said they hadn’t abandoned their duties but had temporarily left to protect the Emperor’s youngest sister, then Ma Seung and his subordinates’ departure from their duties would have some justification.

“But…”

However, Ma Seung was unsure if such a loophole was acceptable.

Jihyang was a runaway, and instead of bringing her back to the Forbidden City, they were following her?

Even if they couldn’t lay hands on her because she was a member of the Imperial Family, they had the Emperor’s house arrest order as justification.

“That’s still…”

Before Ma Seung could refuse, Yang Se-rim, sensing it was her turn to step in, took a step forward and gathered everyone’s attention.

“Ahem! Ahem! I’ll specially hand over the role of guarding Her Highness to you. Besides that, I still have to be her friend, companion, and maid. It’s a bit bothersome to guard her too…”

“Se-rim?”

Jihyang tilted her head slightly and called her name with a chilly tone.

But Yang Se-rim, unshaken by fear, calmly sent a Whispering Transmission.

[Don’t you get it? Changcheon Pavilion’s Great Master wants to take Ma Seung with him. If you step in now, you’ll score big! Got it?]

Of course!

Finally understanding the situation, Jihyang quickly spoke before Ma Seung could answer.

With the dignity of a royal and the grace of a princess.

“Fine! I, Princess Gasang, grant you permission. I’ll explain everything to His Majesty, so you shall follow and guard me!”