Martial God of the Sun and Moon - Chapter 458

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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 458
“But Captain, why are you here?”
“How could I sit idle when I’m worried our First Captain might be digging himself into a hole?”
“When did I ever say I was easy to handle?”
Dokgo Myeong shrugged his shoulders.
“You’re not easy to handle, but you are a bit frustrating.”
“What did you just say?!”
“No, but don’t you have anything to say first? Where in this world can you find a commander so considerate! You should be moved to tears and express your gratitude!”
“Wake up!”
Despite her words, Namgung Sohwa broke into a smile.
How could she not be grateful? As he said, where in the world would you find someone who stepped up like this for a subordinate’s affairs?
Even after growing this close, one might expect some negligence, yet Dokgo Myeong was someone who always rolled up his sleeves with unwavering consistency.
‘Of course, he always ruins his dignified appearance with some ridiculous comment at the very end.’
That was when it happened.
“Hehehehe.”
A smile spread across the lips of Namgung Hun, who had been watching with a stern expression.
“I’ve raised my hands in complete defeat to both of you. I’m utterly defeated. Truly… I’m embarrassed.”
His voice carried a strangely satisfied tone.
“Looking at you two like this, you’re remarkably alike. It’s like watching a close brother and sister.”
“Brother and sister? Me and that reckless fool?”
“What did you say? Reckless fool?”
Namgung Hun, watching the two bicker again, wore an expression that seemed both troubled and intrigued.
That was when it happened.
Crash!
Suddenly, a door burst open violently from behind.
“That’s enough!”
Everyone’s gaze turned.
Namgung Hun’s youngest daughter, who appeared to be less than ten years old, came rushing forward with fierce momentum and glared with angry eyes.
“Stop bothering our father! Get out of our house!”
“Y-Yeo-eun. Why are you doing this?”
Namgung Hun was at a loss for words.
His eldest and second sons hurriedly burst out of the room and tried to restrain the young girl named Yeo-eun.
“We apologize. Please continue with what you were saying.”
“Let go of me! Brothers, don’t you see? That man is bothering our father! He’s bad… mmph!”
“G-good grief.”
The eldest eventually covered his younger sister’s mouth and forcibly dragged her away.
The second son, with a composed demeanor, bowed apologetically several times over.
And Dokgo Myeong…
‘…Mister?’
For a moment, his mind went blank.
Uncle?
Not a warrior, not a young master, not even a small hero… an uncle?
“Kid. Why are you calling me uncle? Even like this, I’m still….”
“I don’t care! You’re a bad uncle!”
“…!!”
Dokgo Myeong’s body, which had been sitting, swayed.
Seeing Dokgo Myeong’s vacant expression, Namgung Sohwa whispered in his ear with a giggle.
“She called you uncle. You must look really old.”
Dokgo Myeong’s pupils trembled fiercely.
At that moment, Namgung Hun bellowed sharply.
“Yeo-eun! Who taught you to behave so rudely!”
“Y-yes? I was just….”
“How dare you interrupt while adults are conversing! Did I teach you to act this way!”
“B-but….”
“These two people didn’t come here to torment your father—they are guests! Very important guests at that!”
“…!”
“Now apologize at once!”
“B-but I was trying to take father’s side….”
“Enough! Hush!”
Namgung Yeo-eun’s expression contorted. Her lower lip trembled so much it looked as though she might burst into tears at any moment.
She gripped her skirt tightly and turned her head away sharply.
Her eyes glistened with tears and her cheeks puffed out—it was clear she was thoroughly upset.
Yet….
“I-I’m sorry….”
Though her expression was sullen, she bowed her head first.
“I thought you were someone trying to torment father. S-so… I made a mistake.”
Namgung Sohwa looked at her with surprised eyes.
At an age where she would still feel hurt that her father hadn’t taken her side, it wasn’t easy to apologize despite her displeasure. Her bold and clever nature shone through clearly.
Namgung Sohwa suddenly asked her a question.
“What’s your name?”
“It’s Yeo-eun. Namgung Yeo-eun.”
“Yeo-eun, you’re very kind and clever. I’m Namgung Sohwa.”
Namgung Sohwa offered gentle praise and stroked her hair.
“Namgung Sohwa?”
“Yes, but actually we’re distant relatives. It might be hard to understand, but….”
“No. I understand.”
“Hmm?”
Namgung Yeo-eun continued speaking very deliberately.
“I actually already knew. That I’m not Namgung Yeo-eun but rather Namgung Yeo-eun.”
Whether Namgung Hun’s expression filled with shock or not, his youngest daughter continued without stopping.
“Father and my brothers don’t realize I know, but I actually understand everything. So my real name is Namgung Yeeun. And Father was struggling because of someone called the Sect Leader. Sister, are you that Sect Leader?”
Everyone seated there drew a sharp breath simultaneously.
While she seemed precocious for her age, none of them had expected her to be this perceptive.
‘She reminds me of myself.’
Namgung Sohwa saw her own childhood reflected in Namgung Yeeun.
A life where she had to mature too quickly. Even when true maturity was impossible, she had to pretend.
Was this child experiencing the same?
“Well… the Sect Leader doesn’t refer to a person, but rather a household. And yes, I am indeed that.”
“Then now that you’ve been found, can Father finally be happy?”
Namgung Sohwa crouched down and met Namgung Yeeun’s eyes.
Then she nodded, her lips curving into a full smile.
“Yes, I intend to make it so.”
At that moment, Namgung Hun spoke in a subdued voice.
“…Now that my wife and three children have appeared like this, allow me to make a proper introduction.”
Namgung Hun met the eyes of his family members in turn.
“Pay your respects. This person stands as your equal in generational rank—eight degrees removed—yet as the bloodline of the main house, she shall be your Commander. Furthermore, from this day forward, our family shall serve her as our Sect Leader.”
Namgung Hun’s bearing had completely transformed.
“All of you, pay your respects. Including you, madam.”
The eldest and second sons’ eyes widened in shock. Only the wife maintained a composed expression, as if she had expected this.
“I am Hwi, the eldest son. I pay my respects to the Sect Leader.”
“I-I am Hwan, the second son. I p-pay my respects to the Sect Leader.”
“I am Ha Eun-baek, the wife of the second son. I pay my respects to the Sect Leader.”
Namgung Sohwa, flustered, stammered in protest.
“Why are you doing this suddenly? There’s no need for such formality.”
“That cannot be. When establishing a household, propriety is paramount.”
Namgung Hun shook his head.
“Now that you are the Sect Leader of the Namgung household, it is only proper that we show utmost respect. Therefore, please accept my salutation as well.”
Namgung Hun descended from the platform, bowed deeply, and assumed the formal salute position.
“I, Namgung Hun, formally pay my respects to the Sect Leader. I am truly grateful that you have accepted this humble man.”
“Ah…”
Namgung Sohwa hastily assumed the formal salute position as well.
“I should be the grateful one. I will never forget the dedication and efforts you have shown until now.”
Beneath the moonlight.
Before the platform of a small thatched cottage, the humble ceremony they performed held a subtle resonance that stirred the heart.
‘Yes, this is what the martial world should be.’
This was the martial world as it should be.
A scene where people concluded their respective stories and grievances, pledging their futures to one another.
Politics, schemes, deception, violence, war—none of these existed in what Dokgo Myeong knew the martial world to be.
“Ahh!”
Dokgo Myeong could not contain himself and raised both hands again with an exclamation of admiration.
Clang!
However, under Namgung Sohwa’s murderous gaze, I eventually had to lower my hand awkwardly.
Dokgo Myeong, scratching his head sheepishly, cleared his throat before speaking.
“Well, I think that’s enough warmth for now. It seems we should return to reality. Since we’ve made our decision, there’s much work to be done.”
* * *
The next morning.
Namgung Sohwa and Dokgo Myeong were heading somewhere under Namgung Hun’s guidance.
“This place is…?”
“It’s the street that burned during the great fire. Now it’s become a neighborhood where the Black Blade and vagrants live.”
It was a desolate area. The outer edges had been somewhat restored, but the deeper into the street one went, the more charred building remnants and abandoned houses filled every corner.
“…”
Beggars and vagrants wrapped in straw mats peeked at them from every nook and cranny.
It was a lawless zone where no trace of government authority could be found.
“When you say the great fire, do you mean the Anwhui Great Fire?”
“In this region, it’s more commonly called the Hapbi Great Fire. It was an incident during the chaos when heterodox sects’ retaliation nearly burned the entire castle to ashes.”
“What are they doing, those bastards.”
“There were restoration efforts as time passed, but the government gradually withdrew its support, and now it’s been abandoned.”
Then Dokgo Myeong suddenly spoke toward the back of Namgung Hun’s head.
“Didn’t I tell you to speak comfortably?”
“No matter what, you are the commander of the Sect Leader…”
“I hate formality.”
Namgung Sohwa nodded in agreement.
“…Then I’ll do so from now on.”
“From now on?”
It was the moment Dokgo Myeong tilted his head in confusion.
They had arrived at an empty lot.
Namgung Hun spoke in a trembling voice.
“Sect Leader, we’ve arrived.”
“This place…?”
“Yes, this is… the old estate grounds of the main family.”
“…”
Namgung Sohwa’s pupils trembled once.
The scattered debris and piles of stone suggested that a grand manor had once stood here, but now it was merely covered in thick weeds.
“This is where the Changcheon Gate once stood. Shall we go in?”
They walked between charred and crumbled wooden pillars that reached only to Namgung Sohwa’s waist.
With buildings that were half-destroyed or reduced to mere frameworks everywhere, an ominous atmosphere seemed to permeate the place.
“These sword marks on this wall… they seem to be relatively recent?”
At Dokgo Myeong’s question, Namgung Hun smiled bitterly.
“You’re perceptive. That’s right.”
“The depth and shape of the marks are familiar. The Moyong Family?”
“You’re saying you can tell just by looking at that?”
“During the war, I took so many blade strikes from those Moyong Family bastards.”
Dokgo Myeong wiped away the sword marks carved into the wall and asked.
“Has there been grave robbing?”
“Grave robbing, you could say. More precisely, it was probably several verification procedures. They were checking to see if there might be anything left.”
“How persistent.”
Namgung Sohwa did not participate in the two men’s conversation. She simply kept her mouth firmly shut, taking in the remnants of the fallen ancient family with her eyes.
‘I have to rebuild all of this.’
Seeing how thoroughly destroyed everything was, her resolve actually surged forth instead. Yes, let me try. That was the thought that came to her.
If it couldn’t be done now, then the next generation would carry it on, and if not then, the generation after that. She simply wanted to do this, so she felt no despair.
“It’s this way, not that way.”
Namgung Hun guided them naturally, like someone who had visited many times before.
Deeper inside, and deeper still.
Thus they arrived at what had once been the great hall of the Namgung Family, but was now nothing but a vast expanse filled with piles of stone.
“You’re saying it’s hidden here? But there’s nothing at all.”
“All great families create secret passages where direct descendants can hide when major crises occur.”
“Ah! Then could it be…?”
“Yes. I’ve cleaned this place several times, and during that process, I discovered the mechanism.”
Namgung Hun looked around here and there, then grasped one of the stones on the ground and applied force.
Click!
Suddenly the stone sank inward. The moment he twisted the stone left and right a few times in that position.
Boom! Whoooosh!
The sound of something engaging could be heard, then the ground split open and dust poured down like a waterfall below.
It was a staircase leading underground.
Namgung Hun spoke.
“Inside here are the family heirlooms I’ve spent my entire life gathering.”
* * *
As they descended the stairs, a long corridor appeared.
Despite being underground, the air in the corridor was fresh. Night-luminous pearls were embedded in the ceiling and walls, so it wasn’t dark. It seemed to serve not only as a secret passage to escape when crises occurred, but also as a space to hide temporarily.
After walking through the corridor for quite some time, a faint light began to appear in the distance.
The three soon reached a spacious cavern.
“Ah…!”
Namgung Sohwa let out an exclamation.
Dokgo Myeong maintained his composure, but internally he could not hide his astonishment.
‘An enormous quantity. He gathered all of this alone?’
Starting with various books—palm-leaf manuscripts, bamboo books, paper books, and more.
Unidentifiable ornaments, a plaque with only half remaining that read “Eternal Heaven”, a half-severed blade, a broken sword hilt, and so on.
All manner of objects were piled up here.
“M-may I examine them?”
Namgung Sohwa asked in a trembling voice.
Namgung Hun nodded in acknowledgment.
“Of course. However, you must exercise caution. Many of these items are in poor condition due to having passed through so many hands.”
Namgung Sohwa swallowed hard and nodded.
Soon after, she began examining various items with trembling hands.
“What is this…?”
“These are the ancestral tablets of our forebears.”
“And that one—is it the family genealogy?”
“Indeed it is.”
“This is a book documenting the family’s history!”
Her eyes gleaming with wonder, she soon encountered treasures beyond belief.
“What about the items on this shelf?”
“Those are the secret techniques of the main branch.”
“…!”

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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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