Ice Dragon of Namgung - Chapter 60

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 60
“I don’t know where you’ve gotten such ideas, but I have nothing to do with the organization you speak of.”
Namgung Cho sighed and spoke.
To look at him, there seemed to be no connection to any organization whatsoever.
“I’ve heard that as an illegitimate son, you were originally ineligible to become branch family leader.”
“Why are you bringing that up now?”
Namgung Cho bristled.
He harbored deep inferiority about his status as an illegitimate son.
That was why he despised any mention of his birth.
Namgung Geom pressed on, indifferent to whether Namgung Cho took offense.
“And yet the legitimate sons who should have become branch family leader died under mysterious circumstances.”
“What of it?”
Namgung Cho glared at Namgung Geom as he asked.
“So I began to wonder: who benefited most from their deaths?”
“You’re saying it was me?”
Namgung Geom nodded and continued.
“You became branch family leader with illegitimate status—surely the branch family leader gained the greatest benefit, did he not?”
Namgung Cho let out a scoff and posed his question.
“So you’re accusing me of murdering my half-brothers?”
Namgung Geom shook his head.
“The main family conducted an investigation at the Silver Dragon Pavilion and found no evidence, so it cannot have been you.”
“Then why did you raise the matter at all?”
“A thought simply occurred to me. What if someone arranged things so that you would become branch family leader of the Cheongyang Branch?”
Namgung Geom’s eyes sharpened as he fixed his gaze upon Namgung Cho.
Namgung Cho felt his heart plummet at the accuracy of Namgung Geom’s conjecture.
“Nonsense. Who would go to such lengths for a mere illegitimate son like me?”
Namgung Cho spoke as if the idea were absurd.
Yet his voice trembled, and he could not hide it.
“For an illegitimate son to surpass the legitimate heirs and become branch family leader, he would have needed to accept their hand. They understood this and extended that hand to you.”
Namgung Cho found himself at a loss for words.
Namgung Geom’s words struck too close to the truth.
He had known full well how dangerous it was to become a hidden agent of the organization, yet he had accepted their hand.
As an illegitimate son, there had been no other path to becoming branch family leader of the Cheongyang Branch.
“But that circumstance became a trap from which you could never escape. With your weakness exposed, you had no choice but to become their agent and obey their commands, did you?”
Namgung Cho’s skin crawled at Namgung Geom’s words.
Namgung Geom spoke as if he had witnessed everything firsthand.
But if he admitted to anything now, all would be lost.
He had to insist on denial to the very end.
Besides, Namgung Geom had no evidence either.
“I don’t know where you’ve heard such talk, but it’s nothing but baseless conjecture on your part. I know nothing of whatever organization you reference—it has nothing to do with me.”
“Even if your son were to die?”
At Namgung Geom’s words, Namgung Cho’s eyes wavered.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Your attempt to kill me constitutes treason. Surely you know that treason carries Three Generations Execution?”
“My son knows nothing of this.”
At Namgung Cho’s words, Namgung Geom shook his head.
“That is irrelevant. What matters is that he is your son.”
“What is it you want from me?”
Namgung Cho asked as if resigned to his fate.
“The truth. I want you to reveal the truth.”
“If I speak truthfully, will you spare my son’s life?”
“Of course. You will be expelled from the Namgung Clan, but I give you my word his life will be spared.”
Namgung Geom answered readily.
Namgung Myeong’s life mattered little to him in any case.
Letting Namgung Myeong live might indeed invite future trouble.
But judging from the boy’s abilities, he was confident he could manage any such threat.
“You’re certain of this?”
“I stake the name of the Namgung Clan upon it.”
“Very well. I’ll tell you everything—the truth, all of it.”
Namgung Cho’s expression showed a man who had surrendered everything.
Namgung Geom decided to give his uncle’s words credence for now.
“I will hear the Branch Family Leader’s confession once the Commander of the Nambang Inspection Unit arrives shortly.”
Before interrogating Namgung Cho, Namgung Geom had sent someone to the Nambang Inspection Unit.
He needed someone to corroborate Namgung Cho’s confession.
Though Namgung Woo and SaInbang were present, their testimony as insiders would carry far less weight than that of the Nambang Inspection Unit’s commander.
And soon after, Namgung Jinseong, the commander of the Nambang Inspection Unit, arrived.
When Namgung Jinseong heard that Namgung Cho had attempted to kill Namgung Geom, he was deeply shocked.
“Are you unharmed?”
The moment he saw Namgung Geom, he examined him for any signs of injury.
“I’m fine.”
“My apologies. I was asleep and unaware that the Crown Prince was under attack. It’s shameful of me.”
Namgung Jinseong bowed his head.
“Lift your head. There’s no blame here.”
Namgung Geom harbored no resentment toward Namgung Jinseong.
Who could have foreseen that Namgung Cho would attempt to murder him?
“But why have you called for me?”
“I would like you to listen to the Cheongyang Branch Family Leader’s confession alongside me and serve as a witness to his testimony.”
“Understood. I will testify to everything I hear, precisely as it is said.”
Namgung Jinseong agreed readily.
Namgung Geom went with Namgung Jinseong to the room where Namgung Cho was being held.
When Namgung Jinseong saw Namgung Cho bound to the chair, his expression grew conflicted.
He could not fathom that Namgung Cho had tried to kill Namgung Geom.
What possible reason could Namgung Cho have had to murder him?
Yet Namgung Geom would surely not lie about such a matter.
Namgung Jinseong had many questions, but he waited quietly.
Once he heard Namgung Cho’s confession, all would become clear.
Namgung Geom began the interrogation while Namgung Jinseong observed.
“Branch Family Leader, for now I ask that you refrain from unnecessary remarks and answer only yes or no to my questions.”
Namgung Geom had not forgotten how Hwang Daein, the Bloodlust Master, had died attempting to reveal something about the cult, his mouth pouring blood through the Seventh Technique.
There was a need for caution in case the same circumstances might unfold with Namgung Cho.
“Very well.”
“You mobilized your personal guard unit to kill me. Do you acknowledge this?”
“I do.”
Namgung Cho admitted it readily.
“Were you acting under someone’s orders when you attempted to kill me?”
“I was.”
Namgung Geom nodded and moved to the next question.
“Was it one of the Three Makyung cults that instigated you?”
“No.”
At Namgung Cho’s answer, Namgung Geom’s brows furrowed.
“You’re saying it was not one of the Three Makyung cults that ordered you?”
Namgung Geom asked once more.
“That’s correct.”
Namgung Cho’s answer remained unchanged.
‘He’s lying.’
Namgung Geom had seen the flicker in Namgung Cho’s eyes when the Three Makyung was mentioned.
It was certain—an agent from one of the Three Makyung cults.
“It seems you have no intention of speaking the truth.”
“My son’s life hangs in the balance. My answer carries not a shred of falsehood.”
Namgung Cho spoke firmly.
“Then tell me—who ordered you to kill me?”
Namgung Geom decided to hear what Namgung Cho would say.
If it wasn’t the Three Makyung, then there would be no reason for him to spout blood through the Seventh Technique.
“Your Grace, it might be better for the Crown Prince not to hear that answer.”
At Namgung Cho’s cryptic words, Namgung Geom’s brows drew together.
“Spare me the games. Tell me plainly who gave you the order.”
“If I lay bare the truth, you will save my son—that much is certain, yes?”
“If the Branch Family Leader speaks the truth, we will keep our promise and spare the Small Family Leader, as I said. The Nambang Inspection Unit Commander here is my witness.”
Only then did Namgung Cho seem reassured. He nodded and opened his mouth.
“The one who ordered me to kill the Crown Prince was…….”
Namgung Cho did not answer immediately, but paused deliberately.
Namgung Geom waited in silence for his response.
“So who is it, then?” Namgung Jinseong asked impatiently from beside him.
Unable to contain his frustration, Namgung Jinseong pressed the question.
“Cheonroe Jeonju.”
“Impossible!”
At Namgung Cho’s answer, Namgung Jinseong sprang to his feet in shock.
Namgung Geom, by contrast, let out a hollow laugh, as if the very notion were absurd.
“Do you truly expect me to believe that?”
“It’s an open secret that I support Cheonroe Jeonju as the successor.”
That much Namgung Geom already knew.
“So you’re saying you attempted to kill me on Cheonroe Jeonju’s orders?”
“Cheonroe Jeonju feared that you, as the Legitimate Son, would eliminate him in the Small Family Leader selection trials. So he decided you had to be removed.”
Namgung Geom snorted at Namgung Cho’s words.
“Everyone knows the Branch Family Leader supports Cheonroe Jeonju. You expect me to believe you killed me with the Branch Family Leader’s own hand?”
If Namgung Cho, who backed Namgung Byuk as the Small Family Leader, were to murder Namgung Geom, then anyone would suspect Namgung Byuk.
There would be no other conclusion.
“Surely Cheonroe Jeonju isn’t foolish enough to attempt such a thing.”
Namgung Jinseong nodded, acknowledging the logic of Namgung Geom’s argument.
Namgung Cho shook his head and spoke again.
“The one who killed you would have been revealed as a spy of the Sapaelyeon hidden within the Cheongyang Branch—not I.”
Once Namgung Geom was dead, evidence could be fabricated without difficulty.
Moreover, the Sapaelyeon had ample motivation to kill Namgung Geom.
Namgung Geom had dealt the Heksalmun, one of the Sapaelyeon’s major factions, catastrophic damage.
It would be entirely natural for the Sapaelyeon to exact vengeance on Namgung Geom.
“If something went wrong, not just the Branch Family Leader but three generations would face execution—and you followed Cheonroe Jeonju’s orders regardless?”
Namgung Jinseong, listening from the side, asked as if he still could not comprehend it.
“I had no choice but to follow Cheonroe Jeonju’s orders.”
Namgung Cho spoke with a bitter smile.
“You’re saying there was a reason you had to follow Cheonroe Jeonju’s orders?”
Namgung Jinseong pressed further, and Namgung Cho nodded.
“Cheonroe Jeonju possessed evidence of a fatal secret of mine. If it were revealed, everything would be finished regardless, so I had no choice but to obey him.”
“What secret could possibly be so damaging that everything would be finished?”
Namgung Cho hesitated before finally speaking.
“I have evidence in Cheonroe Jeonju’s hands that proves I murdered my half-brothers and half-sisters.”
“Did the Branch Family Leader truly kill his half-siblings?”
Namgung Jinseong’s face went pale with shock.
He had heard rumors of such a thing, but had assumed them to be lies spread by someone envious of Namgung Cho.
To learn it was true seemed impossible to believe.
Yet now that Namgung Cho had admitted it himself, there could be no doubt of its truth.
“In my hunger to become Branch Family Leader, I committed acts I should never have committed. And now, as punishment, I am reduced to this.”
Namgung Cho spoke with apparent regret.
Namgung Jinseong regarded him with troubled, conflicted eyes.
“The Branch Family Leader would have served himself better learning the art of deception than martial prowess. He is truly skilled at weaving lies.”
Namgung Geom clicked his tongue.
Had he not caught the flicker in Namgung Cho’s eyes and the shift in his expression when the Sammakyung was mentioned, he would have nearly fallen for it entirely.
Even Namgung Jinseong appeared ready to believe Namgung Cho’s words.
“Why would I lie at this point? Everything I have said is the truth.”
Namgung Cho was trying desperately to make Namgung Geom believe him.
But Namgung Geom was not so easily swayed.
“You’re trying to provoke conflict between me and my second uncle, aren’t you?”
The moment Namgung Geom saw through his scheme, Namgung Cho started in genuine alarm.
Yet he forced himself to remain composed and asked casually.
“And what would I possibly gain from such a lie?”
Namgung Geom did not believe him.
He was already certain that Namgung Cho was a spy for the organization.
What puzzled him was why Namgung Cho persisted in hiding the organization’s true identity.
Loyalty to the organization?
Or was it perhaps fear of the organization’s retaliation?
Either way, he was already a dead man.
But his son remained alive.
If Namgung Cho revealed the organization’s true identity, would it simply sit idle?
Even if Namgung Geom chose to spare Namgung Myeong, the organization would not leave him be.
“You’re doing this to protect the Branch Family Leader’s son, aren’t you?”
At Namgung Geom’s words, Namgung Cho’s face flickered with shock.
But he quickly composed himself and spoke.
“What are you saying? If I wanted to save my son, I should tell the truth, not lies. Why would I lie?”
“You fear that if you expose the organization’s identity, it will retaliate against Namgung Myeong, don’t you?”
Namgung Cho could not answer, struck by the accuracy of the words.
“Either you were threatened — that if you failed to complete the organization’s orders, they would not spare Namgung Myeong — or you’re trying to sow discord within the Namgung Clan as a fallback. Is that not so?”
At Namgung Geom’s continued words, Namgung Cho was genuinely astounded inside.
Namgung Geom had deduced everything as though he had been watching from nearby.
But there was no way he could admit it.
“I have told you all I have to tell. Whether you kill me or let me live, that is for you to decide.”
Namgung Cho closed his eyes, as though he had nothing more to say.
Namgung Byulryong
Author |
Baek Wol Geom
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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