Namgoong the Sword Ghost - Chapter 151

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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 151. The Geom-gwi and the Promised Woman
“Winter Division Bamboo Group assignment. I’m honored to report it, sir.”
“Don’t toy with me.”
“Of course, given your skill, it’s only natural.”
“The instructors have been tense since that incident two days ago. I tried baiting them subtly, but they wouldn’t rise to it.”
“……I see the initiative was taken from me. A lesson learned the hard way.”
“Heh, it’s strange—after always striking first, to find myself struck instead. The world is vast, and talent abounds.”
Ak San Gun smiled.
Though his expression seemed hollow, a keen wind howled behind his eyes.
Two days ago, Namgung Ho Yeon had burst into the Spring-Summer Placement Exam and toyed with Cheong Seong’s Jeok Ha So Geom as though handling a child’s plaything.
He himself could have done the same, but the problem was that the initiative had been stolen from him.
‘The Jeok Ha So Geom suffered tremendous damage to body and spirit and was sent back to Sichuan. Cheong Seong raged, but the moral advantage lies with Namgung Ho Yeon—there’s nothing to be done about it.’
As part of the Cheong Seong Sect, they were only just beginning their competition, and they had no wish to create discord and invite suppression.
After a perfunctory protest, matters had gone silent.
“The moment he spotted an opening, he charged in and bit down like a beast. Bold enough to make even a mountain lord look timid.”
“For all that, it’s only made him a topic of conversation among the inexperienced.”
Ak Dae Wi, the Fall Division Company Commander, diminished Namgung Ho Yeon’s standing, but Ak San Gun shook his head.
“He offered himself as spectacle, pouring oil on the already blazing fire of his own reputation. With this, I’d say the initial momentum of Baekmu Academy belongs to Namgung Ho Yeon.”
“……I believe it’s checkmate for him, sir.”
“How so?”
“Namgung Ho Yeon became the talk only among the inexperienced of the Spring-Summer Division, but you will gain the support of the skilled veterans of the Fall Division.”
“Huh, so that’s the angle.”
During the Placement Exam, Ak San Gun had revealed not a single gap in his composure.
As the Young Master of the Shandong Ak Family and as a martial artist, he had presented a flawless front.
As a result, he was able to cultivate friendships with the Later Generation Disciples who approached him favorably.
‘Meanwhile, Namgung Ho Yeon caused a stir two days ago and has been holed up in Heuk Juk Won. Strange. He’s not the type to fail to recognize the value of the Winter Division Bamboo Group.’
Ak San Gun recalled the young rival with a savage smile, and Ak Dae Wi posed a question.
“Which group did you draw, sir?”
“The Blue Bamboo Group.”
“Were there any among them worth guarding against?”
“Mu Ui Gae troubled me most in our group.”
“The water-fox!”
“Given the nature of the Gaebangjang, he’ll never openly reach for the Student Council President position himself. But with the right handling, he could become a formidable ally.”
“Impressive!”
To Ak Dae Wi’s exclamation, Ak San Gun replied with a thin smile.
“There were several others, but the two that stand out most in my mind are these.”
“Two people, sir?”
“Mo Yong Cheol of the Yellow Bamboo Group. And Jegal Ahyeon of the White Bamboo Group.”
Ak Dae Wi’s gaze sharpened.
“Mo Yong Cheol. If I’m not mistaken, there’s something about him—like he’s crossed some threshold.”
“A, a Realm-Breaker, you mean?”
“Hmm…… I can’t be certain. There’s just an unsettling feeling about him.”
“By the heavens…….”
“And Jegal Ahyeon. A rare female warrior, that one. Do you know what she said to me?”
Ak San Gun recalled the keen light that had glimmered in her brown eyes and shook his head.
“She said my forehead was impressive.”
“Pardon?”
“Here. Specifically, the Yintang point.”
“Se, surely not……!”
Ak Dae Wi’s eyes widened.
Ak San Gun nodded.
“Somehow word has leaked out. She knows that I’m a Spirit Ability User.”
“That, that can’t be! Knowledge of Sog Nyeom Ji Ryu is so rare even the main house can count those who know on one hand!”
“Which is precisely the problem.”
Thump-thump!
A savage maelstrom began to howl behind Ak San Gun’s eyes.
“Who could it be? Who dared to wag their tongue so carelessly? Heh heh heh, I’m genuinely curious now.”
* * *
“You…… miscalculated the date?”
“Yeah.”
“Is that all?”
“That’s what I said.”
……
Jegal Ahyeon exchanged a brief greeting with Ho Yeon after so long apart, then pressed him urgently about what had happened two days before.
But his answer was so shocking that she couldn’t help wrinkling her nose in dismay.
“There was no ulterior motive at all?”
“Motive? For what? My uncle certainly gave me quite a look, though.”
As Ho Yeon grumbled, Ahyeon pressed her slender fingers to her brow.
‘Good heavens—was it really just coincidence?’
She had assumed Ho Yeon had some design in mind.
Perhaps he’d wanted to leave an impression of his presence, or maybe it was groundwork for recruiting talented people.
“If the content was that important, why did you send it through a servant instead of a family messenger? I barely read letters unless they come from home.”
“……So you’ve been ignoring all my letters this whole time?”
“Hm?”
“I sent you letters more than once. You’re telling me you didn’t read a single one?”
……
Ahyeon was astounded watching Ho Yeon’s eyes dart around like marbles.
Her dark brown eyes settled coldly as she spoke in a clipped, measured tone.
“Young Lord Namgung. Do you remember what this girl said that day?”
“What, what do you mean.”
“I said if you would share even the smallest light with me, I would give you everything. You don’t remember?”
“……I remember.”
“And yet you treat me with such indifference. Among the things I wrote about in my letters, there were several matters of great importance.”
Ahyeon’s dark eyes grew even deeper.
Taken aback by her uncharacteristic demeanor, Ho Yeon hastily activated Geom-sim Gamung.
‘Old Master! Help me out!’
―Now what.
‘What am I supposed to do here?’
―What do you mean what? Get down and apologize properly.
―Never apologize, you fool! This is a lovers’ power struggle! Better to stand up and leave!
―What nonsense? Boy, if you listen to this madman’s advice, you’ll ruin the family. Apologize at once.
―You understand nothing, Old Master. Love is the same as life and death—it’s a battle over who seizes the initiative.
―Nonsense. Love is about yielding. If you stand on pride, you’ll come to grief!
‘What love? What are you even telling me to do? You’re all worthless junk!’
When Cheon Rae Geom and Heuk Ya Tae Geom’s opinions clashed, Ho Yeon severed the connection.
He wished he had Ja Ha Shin Geom in a moment like this, but unfortunately he hadn’t met Un Am.
In the end, Ho Yeon had no choice but to break through on his own.
“Ah, it’s because I’m not good at writing.”
“……?”
“My penmanship is crooked and I don’t know many elaborate phrases…….”
As Ho Yeon began his excuses, Ahyeon watched him intently, ready to listen.
“If I use unfamiliar characters, we might misunderstand each other, you know? I find it easier to talk face to face than through letters.”
“……And so, after all this time apart, is there something you wish to say to this girl?”
“Well…… your neck looks good.”
“Pardon?”
“Right, it’s clean and fresh—it suits you. Keep it that way.”
At Ho Yeon’s words, Ahyeon reached up to touch her own neck.
Ever since she’d been seized by Cruel Poet Sword Chu Eum and left with reddish bruises.
There had been a period when she’d kept her collar fastened high.
Ho Yeon had phrased it as a backhand compliment, remembering that, telling her it looked fine.
“Sigh…… Ho Yeon, in times like this you’re just supposed to say you’re sorry.”
“……Damn Black Night.”
“What?”
“No, nothing.”
“Your excuse doesn’t actually answer why you didn’t read my letters, but I suppose I’ll let it go.”
“I appreciate that.”
Looking at Ho Yeon’s relieved expression, Ahyeon let out a soft laugh.
The truth was, she had never been truly angry from the start.
Whoosh!
‘Hehe, seeing the light in this emotion of yours—there’s no way I could ever hate you.’
A warm, sun-like orange light radiated from Ho Yeon now.
This warmth—a blend of crimson passion and golden affection—was something he could only feel when surrounded by family.
It was proof of how deeply they treasured him.
Jegal Ahyeon opened her mouth.
“There’s so much I want to discuss—the affairs in Buyang, what happened in Hangzhou, and more. But let me ask the most important thing first.”
“What is it?”
“How many of the Winter Division Bamboo Group students have you grown close to?”
“Why the Winter Division Bamboo Group?”
“……Don’t play dumb with me. Only the Winter Division Bamboo Group students have the authority to become Student Company Commander.”
“I’ve heard that much.”
“The maximum size of a Student Company is one hundred. From what I understand, the Winter Division Bamboo Group has roughly the same number.”
Ho Yeon nodded at Ahyeon’s explanation and spoke.
“So if we’re assuming a hundred companies are formed, we’re talking about a force of up to ten thousand soldiers. Calling this an academy is laughable.”
“Exactly. This isn’t an academy. It’s a pocket Martial World. And the faction leaders of this pocket Martial World are the Winter Division Bamboo Group students. Victory will depend on how many of them you can bring to your side.”
Jegal Ahyeon’s chestnut eyes gleamed.
This was a miniature version of the Warlord Partitioning Era.
The warlords who occupied their strongholds in each region were the Winter Division Bamboo Group students themselves.
They had to supplement their forces with up to a hundred soldiers from the remaining halves and groups, building their own power base.
They would ally and conflict with each other, ultimately birthing a single unified emperor—and that person would become the Student Council President.
“One Winter Division Bamboo Group student is not one. That’s why securing as many of them as possible is the most crucial thing.”
“Why?”
“Why? Because obviously you need to become Student Council President.”
When Jegal Ahyeon spoke with firm resolve, Ho Yeon chuckled and replied.
“I’m not particularly interested in that position.”
“What did you just say?!”
“I wouldn’t mind interfering, though.”
“What on earth……are you talking about?”
“Well, I heard something from Geol Wang. Do you know what an Association is?”
“An Association? You don’t mean the Student Council?”
“No. Something bigger. These people are…….”
Ho Yeon relayed to Ahyeon the information he had about the Association.
She listened intently to his words, sometimes furrowing her brow, sometimes wearing an expression of dawning realization.
“……That’s hard to believe.”
“I wouldn’t have believed it either if I hadn’t met them myself.”
“I’ve sensed a strange undercurrent a few times while gathering intelligence in the Military Affairs Department…….”
“Well, the Baekga Maeng’s intelligence network lags behind other factions anyway. Geol Wang’s account must be accurate.”
“I trust you, not Geol Wang. If you said it exists, then it’s real.”
Ahyeon furrowed her delicate brows and fell into serious thought.
After a moment, she spoke.
“So you came to the academy to prevent that Association’s operative from taking control of the Student Council?”
“That’s right.”
“Then the solution is simple. You just become Student Council President.”
At Ahyeon’s words, Ho Yeon shrugged and replied.
“I’ve thought about that, but I’m keeping it as a backup plan.”
“So what’s your primary plan?”
“Finding a substitute.”
“Huh?”
“For example, you.”
Point.
When Ho Yeon pointed, Ahyeon blinked her round eyes.
“If you become Student Council President, I can rest easy. You’re someone I trust.”
“That’s flattering, but as for me…….”
“I trust you completely.”
“But that’s just…….”
“Whether you become Student Council President or I do, it’s the same thing anyway. Isn’t it?”
……
As Ho Yeon pressed forward swiftly, Ahyeon looked at him with eyes that mingled joy and resentment in equal measure and spoke.
“……You’re doing this on purpose.”
Ahem.
“In other words, you’re just looking for someone to dump the responsibility on!”
“Passing it off? There’s a perfectly good word for it—transfer. Why force the issue?”
“Enough! I’ve barely escaped military service, and now we can finally be together. Don’t try to saddle me with work again.”
“Tsk.”
When the scheme fell through, Namgung Ho Yeon clicked his tongue in disappointment.
Jegal Ahyeon, watching his expression, let out a deep sigh and asked.
“So… you’re telling me you haven’t befriended a single Later Generation Disciple this whole time?”
“Well, there is one.”
“Really? Who?”
“Bang Pung Gae. A wandering swordsman who practices the Maeng Ya Po Hyo Geom Beop.”
“……?”
When Namgung Ho Yeon broke into a smile, Jegal Ahyeon tilted her head in confusion.
A flash of blue light.
The emotional luminescence emanating from him flickered like a mischievous child discovering an amusing toy.
* * *
Gulp.
The sound of his throat swallowing echoed louder than thunder in his ears.
This was his first time commanding the attention of hundreds of people.
Bang Pung Gae tightened his abdomen, squared his shoulders, and bellowed with absolute confidence.
“That’s right! I’m the man recognized by the Thunder God Dragon Namgung Ho Yeon himself! The wandering swordsman Bang Pung Gae!”
The crowd erupted in cheers.

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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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