Ice Dragon of Namgung - Chapter 97

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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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Chapter 97
Namgung Geom’s brow furrowed.
“It seems the remnants of the Hwangcheon Sect sent a separate assassin as a contingency, in case their main plan failed.”
It was a telling detail—proof of how meticulously the architect of this scheme had planned.
“Forgive me. I should have been more vigilant in protecting the Swordmaster.”
Namgung Hwan bowed his head in contrition.
He held himself responsible for the man’s death.
“With the numbers Biryong Iljo had at hand, merely holding the Hwangcheon Sect at bay was already a strain. How could you hold yourself accountable for this?”
In truth, sending so few had been a mistake from the start.
But there had been no choice.
Had he dispatched too many, the sect’s spies within the clan might have suspected a trap.
‘I should have moved faster.’
Namgung Geom felt a deep regret that he hadn’t acted sooner.
Yet regret now was pointless.
“See that the Swordmaster’s remains are recovered with proper respect.”
“Understood.”
Namgung Hwan nodded and immediately dispatched his men.
Then he spoke again to Namgung Geom.
“Now that they’ve killed the Swordmaster, it’s clear the remnants of the Hwangcheon Sect are definitely connected to the sect.”
“The likelihood is considerable. Though it seems Wi Taegang himself remains ignorant of the sect’s existence.”
Judging by Wi Taegang’s demeanor, his ignorance was certain.
Yet that very ignorance was no proof of innocence—he had clearly established some connection with someone tied to the sect.
That person was almost certainly a spy of the sect embedded within the clan.
One way or another, the answers lay with Wi Taegang.
‘The problem is how to make him talk.’
Namgung Geom pondered ways to loosen Wi Taegang’s tongue.
Torture came to mind first.
Inflicting extreme suffering through the Icy Cold Energy.
But given Wi Taegang’s character, he seemed unlikely to yield to pain.
Of course, if all else failed, torture remained an option—but truly, it was a last resort.
Was there some other, more certain way to pry open Wi Taegang’s mouth?
His gaze fell upon the Hwangcheon Four Swordsmen.
‘What if I threatened him with their lives?’
The relationship between Wi Taegang and the Hwangcheon Four Swordsmen was key.
If they were bound by loyalty and brotherhood, Wi Taegang would never allow them to die without a fight.
But if theirs was merely a common master-servant bond within the sect, he might not care whether they lived or died.
‘Wait. I don’t necessarily need to hear it from Wi Taegang himself.’
If the Hwangcheon Four Swordsmen also knew who had given Wi Taegang his orders—
Then there was no need to interrogate Wi Taegang at all.
He could simply question the Four Swordsmen instead.
Of course, there was no guarantee they would talk easily.
But with four of them, surely at least one might break.
And for that, his approach to interrogation would need to change.
Namgung Geom recalled his last visit to aid the Seo clan, when he had interrogated Yi Geom of the Sae-hae Sect and Hwang Sadok, the Black Dragon Lord.
He had separated them into different locations to prevent them from coordinating their stories.
Then he had promised them their lives if they confessed the truth.
Namgung Geom resolved to employ the same method this time. He had the Hwangcheon Four Swordsmen isolated from one another.
Then he asked each: who had ordered the Hwangcheon Sect to attack the Namgung Clan?
“The first among you four to confess will be spared unconditionally.”
Namgung Geom set them to competing against one another.
To live, each had to confess before the others did.
If all four held firm in their denials, the secret might remain buried.
But absent prior coordination, each would inevitably suspect the others of disclosing the truth before him.
And even if they had agreed to stay silent beforehand, without trust among themselves, they could not bear the anxiety.
One way or another, the odds of at least one breaking were high.
If I stay silent but another confesses, I alone will die.
Better to disclose first and live.
Of course, if all four possessed the kind of honor and loyalty willing to sacrifice their own lives, this would fail—but such loyalty was extraordinarily rare.
Namgung Geom’s expectation proved sound.
All four of the Hwangcheon Swordsmen rushed to confess.
Not a single soul among them valued honor over their own lives.
Since all four of the Hwangcheon Four Swordsmen had made their confessions, it was easy enough to verify the truth of their accounts.
By comparing each man’s testimony, one could separate fact from fiction.
In the end, all three accounts aligned perfectly.
For some time, someone had been providing support for the Hwangcheon Sect’s resurgence.
In exchange for backing the sect’s revival, he had requested that they grant him three favors in the future.
Wi Taegang had accepted the terms, and using that man’s support, he had built up his power.
And now the first favor had been delivered.
‘Kill every warrior of the Namgung Clan on their return from Cheonju Mountain.’
That was his first request.
Namgung Geom questioned Yi Geom among the Hwangcheon Four Swordsmen, asking who the man was.
“I don’t know who he is.”
“You don’t know who he is?”
“I only heard of his existence from the Sect Master. I’ve never met him directly.”
“The Hwangcheon Sect Master didn’t tell you who he was?”
“The Sect Master doesn’t know who he is either.”
“But didn’t he say he met the man face to face?”
Namgung Geom asked, his expression turning baffled.
“He did meet him, but the man wore a mask each time. He refused to reveal his identity under any circumstances.”
Namgung Geom didn’t think Yi Geom was lying.
Still, to be safe, he pressed the other two as well.
Their answers matched Yi Geom’s exactly.
Which meant interrogating Wi Taegang would yield nothing.
“All the same, I’ll need to question him.”
Wi Taegang might know things he’d kept from the Hwangcheon Four Swordsmen.
Namgung Geom faced Wi Taegang directly.
“What business did you have with the Hwangcheon Four Swordsmen?”
Wi Taegang asked the question.
He knew that Namgung Geom had separated the Four Swordsmen for interrogation.
His eyes burned with anxiety—he couldn’t know whether they had confessed or not.
“So there’s a man who helped rebuild the Hwangcheon Sect?”
“Damned bastards!”
At Namgung Geom’s words, Wi Taegang spat out a curse.
He hadn’t expected them to reveal everything so easily to Namgung Geom.
“Tell me what you know of him, and I’ll spare both you and the Hwangcheon Four Swordsmen.”
“Heh. If those dogs talked about him, they’d have made it clear I don’t know his face or his identity.”
“But if you meet someone often enough, you learn things, don’t you?”
“Perhaps. But I never bothered asking.”
Wi Taegang’s crooked attitude made Namgung Geom’s brow twitch.
“Your loyalty to him is admirable. But surely you’re not ignorant of the fact that his only purpose in aiding the Hwangcheon Sect was to use you?”
“So what? I knew it from the start and accepted his help regardless. If I can exact revenge on the Namgung Clan, what does it matter if I’m being used by him?”
“Even if the one using you is among the Samma Sect?”
“If he can destroy the Namgung Clan, I wouldn’t care if it were the Samma Sect itself or something even worse. It means nothing to me.”
Namgung Geom could feel the depth of Wi Taegang’s hatred for the Namgung Clan.
Though the Namgung Clan had merely corrected the Hwangcheon Sect’s tyranny, to him they were nothing but the mortal enemies who had slain his father.
Namgung Geom understood that even torture would not easily loosen Wi Taegang’s tongue.
And besides, he couldn’t be certain how much Wi Taegang actually knew.
Even if Wi Taegang confessed under duress, verifying the truth would be difficult.
Wi Taegang might deliberately feed him false information to sow confusion.
Extracting information through torture was a poor course of action.
But even if Wi Taegang refused to speak, there were other ways to use him.
If Namgung Geom brought Wi Taegang back to the clan, he could serve as bait to lure out the man who had orchestrated this.
Once the man learned that Wi Taegang had been captured, he would likely grow anxious that Wi Taegang might reveal his secrets under questioning.
Even if he had concealed his name and identity, he might have inadvertently left clues.
And if Namgung Geom subtly leaked what the Hwangcheon Four Swordsmen had confessed, wouldn’t he feel even more threatened?
And if, seized by that sense of danger, the man made a move to silence Wi Taegang?
Then Namgung Geom could finally capture him.
Of course, there was no guarantee the man would act.
Honestly, given how meticulous the man seemed, he likely left no trace of himself with Wi Taegang.
Even if Wi Taegang talked, there would be nothing to reveal about him, and he might not worry at all.
Still, unless another way presented itself, he had to try.
“I’ll have the Hwangcheon Sect Master escorted back to the main house. Biryong Iljo, I trust you’ll manage the task.”
“Understood. But what of the Hwangcheon Four Swordsmen?”
“Release the three who’ve made their confessions. The remaining one will be escorted along with the Hwangcheon Sect Master.”
“You’re truly releasing three of them?”
“I made a promise. It must be kept.”
“But…….”
Namgung Hwan worried that sparing three of the Hwangcheon Four Swordsmen might invite trouble later.
“One of the swordsmen sustained damage to the meridians in his right shoulder. Even with recovery, he’ll find it difficult to display his full strength. And after this, he’ll have learned clearly what it means to challenge the Namgung Clan—so please, don’t worry overmuch.”
Once Namgung Geom spoke with such conviction, Namgung Hwan said no more.
And so the three of the Hwangcheon Four Swordsmen were released.
The moment Namgung Geom let them go, Wi Taegang’s expression shifted to one of shock.
He had believed Namgung Geom was lying to make them confess.
But when he actually released them, there was no help but to be astonished.
“Then let us return to the main house.”
Namgung Geom set out for the Namgung Clan together with Biryong Iljo.
* * *
The Hwayang Pavilion in Hebi.
The most celebrated establishment of its kind in the entire region.
In a private chamber of the pavilion, a man wearing a mask that descended all the way to his nose sat alone, drinking.
How many cups had he emptied?
Someone knocked at the door.
Knock, knock!
“It is Bihua.”
“Come in.”
With permission granted, a woman whose face was veiled in silk stepped inside.
A long table stretched across the middle of the room, and the woman knelt respectfully before it.
“How did it go?”
“The swordmaster who had mastered the Black Cat Technique has been eliminated.”
“And Biryong Iljo?”
“That… failed.”
“Failed?”
Question colored the masked man’s voice.
“The Crown Prince of the Namgung Clan appeared unexpectedly, it seems.”
“The Crown Prince appeared?”
The masked man asked, his tone sharp with surprise.
“Yes. And the Hwangcheon Sect Master was captured by the Crown Prince.”
“The Hwangcheon Sect Master was captured?”
The masked man’s voice hardened.
“He subdued the Hwangcheon Sect Master and is now on his way to the Namgung Clan.”
At Bihua’s words, the masked man swallowed hard.
“Should we silence the Hwangcheon Sect Master?”
Bihua asked carefully.
The masked man fell silent in thought for a moment, then shook his head.
“No. Leave him as he is.”
“Very well.”
At the masked man’s words, Bihua nodded without further word.
And two days later.
Namgung Geom and Biryong Iljo returned safely to the Namgung Clan.
Namgung Ice Dragon
Author |
Baek Wol Geom
Publisher |
Samyang C&C Co., Ltd.
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Editorial Department
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Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. – Dream Books
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(주) Samyang C&C – The contents of this book may not be used in any form or by any means without the written permission of Dream Books.

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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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