Chapter 34
A few days later.
Namgung Hee-myung came to Yeo-il with an unexpected matter.
"A luncheon three days from now?"
To Yeo-il's question, the third son nodded, his face noticeably thinner than a few days before.
"Yes, that's right. All the relatives except for the Lord will be there, so you should attend if you can."
The annual Namgung family reunion.
It was the day when relatives from all over the country gathered at the Namgung Clan in Anhui Province once a year.
Especially with the Martial Arts Alliance Tournament just around the corner, even more relatives were gathering, a fact she had learned from Chang-ah a few days ago, but she hadn't expected Namgung So-yo to be called as well.
"Is it an important occasion…?"
Namgung Hee-myung cut her question short and said.
"You could say it's important. Hey, I'd tell you to rest if I could. They're asking you to come for your own good."
Namgung Hee-myung gulped down the tea Chang-ah brought as if it were cold water, and continued as if making excuses.
"The only people you know from the Namgung Clan are our brothers and our uncle, right? Everyone knows you have a sore throat, so if someone talks to you, just nod or shake your head."
"How many guests will there be?"
"The number of attendees isn't that large. About thirty? Well... if anyone talks nonsense, I'll handle it, so don't worry."
"So you're saying there will be nonsense...?"
Namgung Hee-myung cut off Yeo-il's question once again.
"Do you think with thirty people there won't be any nonsense? And you don't need to talk to me at length, just combine a few words and speak simply. I thought you were supposed to be saving your voice?"
What was he in such a hurry about, cutting off other people's words? It was out of concern for Yeo-il's health.
In fact, it was an injury that would heal in a day, but this morning, Namgung Chu-myung visited again, inflicting a third wound on her that morning.
'Maybe I should injure myself again before the Gathering?'
When Yeo-il nodded in affirmation, Namgung Hee-myung's expression relaxed.
She recalled Jin Cheong-ak, who had been harassed by Namgung Hee-myung again this morning and had returned, and changed the subject.
"How's the tournament preparation going?"
"Hey, you don't need to worry about things like that. My brother and I are preparing well enough."
"That's a relief."
"Hmph! It's not a relief, it's obvious. Tell all those bastards who criticize us to wait and see. Jeok-myung will break all their noses!"
Namgung Jeok-myung had returned to the clan a while ago and had been keeping a low profile, but he had never visited Yeo-il.
Even though they were within a few minutes' walk of each other, Yeo-il didn't go to see Namgung Jeok-myung either.
She could now guess why he was keeping his distance.
'Taming.'
Using a mix of rewards and distance is a good way to take control of a relationship. It was a bothersome trick, but Yeo-il didn't care.
Because the time had finally come.
"Why is that damn crow crying so much? It's annoyingly loud."
After Namgung Hee-myung clicked his tongue at the sky, he returned to Dongcheong (his living quarters).
"Seol-yeong."
At the short call, Seol-yeong, who had been standing outside the door, quickly approached. Yeo-il whispered, looking out the window.
"It's time. Go outside."
"…Go out?"
After shaking her head at Seol-yeong's question, "Is that what you meant?", she added a short pronoun.
"Hangryong Gate."
"…Ah! I understand. I'll be back soon."
About an hour after Seol-yeong left the room, the crows' cries that had filled the sky suddenly stopped.
Crows were one of the dozens of communication methods adhered to by Hangryong Gate, the secret organization. It had apparently been signaling Yeo-il, waiting for the right time to deliver the information, and had just made contact with Seol-yeong.
In the meantime, Chang-ah arrived and rattled off the information she had gathered through the clan's maids.
"They volunteered the names of the people to watch out for without me even having to ask. I guess they were afraid of getting in trouble if I messed up?"
"Excellent."
"Excellent? Thank you for the compliment, Miss!"
Chang-ah, who had left to gather more information just in case, rushed back in less than fifteen minutes.
"Ah, Miss! It's a disaster! Something seems to have happened to Seol-yeong!"
"A problem?"
"Namgung... Uncle Chu-myung! He was bringing Seol-yeong into the clan like he was escorting a criminal! They'll be arriving here soon!"
A criminal?
Slowly grasping the situation, Yeo-il first woke up Jin Cheong-ak, who was sitting on a chair and dozing off.
Jin Cheong-ak, who opened his eyes while scratching his head, blinked blankly.
"......Hmm?"
"Get up quickly."
"Hmm?"
"Get out of the room right now and wait around here."
"Hmm?"
She pushed the bewildered man out the window and quickly lay down on the bed.
Soon, the sound of multiple footsteps began to echo in the hallway and stopped in front of the paper door.
"Miss..."
Just as Chang-ah grabbed her hand tightly with a frightened face, the door opened.
The door opened to reveal the fake Namgung Chu-myung and Namgung Pae.
Namgung Chu-myung walked in with a somewhat urgent air, stopped in front of Yeo-il, who was lying in bed, and carefully asked.
"Are you alright, So-yo? I'm sorry to come find you again like this when you were coughing up blood again today. But I had something urgent to tell you, so I couldn't help it."
"What is it?"
Soon, those who appeared to be Namgung Chu-myung's bodyguards stood next to Namgung Chu-myung with Seol-yeong's wrists bound.
"Is this attendant the one you brought?"
Yeo-il nodded, imagining Seol-yeong, who would be keeping her mouth shut with an unfair expression.
"Hoo, yes... Actually, earlier in the marketplace, I saw this attendant trading with someone suspicious."
"…"
"Did you perhaps order her to do it?"
Namgung Chu-myung's voice was dark as he asked this.
The opponent had placed people on Yeo-il as well as Chang-ah and Seol-yeong, but...
She didn't expect to be caught during contact with Hangryong Gate. Their contact was so secretive; it was just about receiving brief messages in passing.
Which meant.
'He noticed the crow as soon as he saw it and immediately followed.'
Hangryong Gate would not have leaked the fact of the contact, so it seemed that the fake Namgung Chu-myung had also been trading with Hangryong Gate for quite a long time.
Yeo-il covered her face with her hand as if she had a headache and shook her head while subtly sensing the presence of Namgung Pae, who stood silently behind Namgung Chu-myung.
Then, Namgung Chu-myung turned to Seol-yeong with a stern look he'd never shown before.
"Chu-myung! What is going on all of a sudden?"
The hallway connected to her room became noisy again. Following the two who had come earlier, Namgung Jeok-myung and Namgung Hee-myung arrived.
Namgung Hee-myung, confirming Seol-yeong's captured state, looked at Yeo-il with a surprised face and then turned back to Namgung Chu-myung.
"What is this... Sending four martial artists wearing long swords into the room of someone who's sick?"
"Namgung Hee-myung. There is a good reason for this, so lower your voice."
Namgung Chu-myung, who stopped Namgung Hee-myung, lightly bowed his head towards the clan leader.
"What are you doing home in the middle of the day, Jeok-myung?"
There was a subtle barb in his greeting.
Namgung Jeok-myung, who appeared after a long time, had a good complexion and expression, and unchanging composure flowed from him.
His gaze towards Namgung Chu-myung was also still that of treating a trustworthy younger brother, so no psychological change could be found in him.
"Haha. Even so, the Martial Arts Tournament is just around the corner, so as an older brother, I should help my younger brother's practice. What's all this commotion about in the middle of the day, Chu-myung? You didn't startle So-yo, did you?"
But only Yeo-il could notice.
The subtle sense of disgust and anger that permeated his relaxed voice.
