Namgoong the Sword Ghost - Chapter 159

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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 159. The Sword Demon Hears Tidings
A day roughly a year and several months past.
The dusk-dimmed landing at Namgyeong, where water lapped against wood.
“Cough! Hack!”
“You’ve been through much.”
Mo Yong Yul, surfacing from the water cradled in an elderly boatman’s arms, was regarded by a man in his mid-to-late thirties.
His lips were darkened, his hair bound in a topknot gone entirely white—a peculiar, unsettling visage.
Splash!
Mu Young Jin took Mo Yong Yul from the boatman and hauled him onto the landing.
“Gasp! Gasp!”
“You must hide within the clan for some time. The Namgung Clan’s warriors are searching everywhere in the vicinity.”
At Mu Young Jin’s words, Mo Yong Yul asked through chattering teeth.
“Was there truly no other way?”
“Of course there was not.”
Mu Young Jin nodded as he spoke.
“Silver Form Qi is a hidden force, and until now we managed to evade notice—but as Your Lord’s vessel has grown, it becomes ever harder to conceal.”
“…”
“And returning to the Moyong Clan is impossible. There is…”
“No one there on my side.”
“Precisely. Even we lack the means to protect you. Yao Liang is the domain of the Sword King.”
“I know. This must be for the best.”
“For now, Your Lord has vanished from the world. No one keeps watch over the dead.”
Mu Young Jin drew a thin smile across his darkened lips and continued.
“You must grow in strength, in secret. Your potential knows no bounds.”
“…And the children?”
“They should be arriving about now.”
The moment Mu Young Jin finished speaking, a black raven suddenly appeared in the sky.
Flutter!
“Caw!”
“Meow!”
“Squeak!”
The raven gripped a silver cat by the scruff with its talons, while the cat clung tightly to a red rat.
“Eun Hyung O! Weol Myeo! Jeok Seo!”
As Mo Yong Yul reached out his arms, the raven tossed the cat into his embrace.
Whoosh! Thud!
“Meow!”
“Squeak! Squeak!”
Weol Myeo executed a somersault and landed neatly in Mo Yong Yul’s arms.
Jeok Seo, panicking, scurried into his sleeve for cover.
“Ha ha! Eun Hyung O, why so cross? You should all get along.”
“Caw! Caw!”
Eun Hyung O, now perched on Mo Yong Yul’s shoulder, preened her wings with deliberate indifference.
“Mew!”
“There, there. You were frightened?”
As Mo Yong Yul stroked Weol Myeo and held her close, warmth seemed to return to his body, chasing away the chill of the dark water.
“Your Lord. Around Eun Hyung O’s ankle…”
“Hmm?”
Then Mu Young Jin pointed to a slip of paper bound around the raven’s leg.
Rustle.
When Mo Yong Yul untied the note and handed it to him, Mu Young Jin accepted it reverently and began to read.
With each line his eyes traced, his expression grew more rigid.
“This cannot be…!”
“What is it?”
“An urgent dispatch from the Ki Mun leader. What we feared has come to pass.”
Crumple!
Mu Young Jin crumpled the note and opened his mouth.
“The Geo Mun leader and the Do Mun leader, who had been refusing the summons, have joined forces and murdered the Jeom Mun leader.”
“What—what did you say?”
“The Jeom Mun’s Spirit Being, Baek Seol O, has vanished. It seems they now aim for the Ki Mun leader as well, though he managed barely to escape.”
“…!”
Mo Yong Yul’s eyes widened.
In this age, the Lower Five were the assembly of boatmen, courtesans, innkeepers, coachmen, and gamblers.
Two of them had joined hands and betrayed the rest?
It was no small matter.
“…… My oversight, Lord. Not only do these men refuse to welcome your birth, but they’ve proven capable of betraying their own companions.”
“Is it…… because of me?”
“No, Lord. You bear no fault. This is my failure—I grew too focused on external threats and neglected what festered within. Forgive me.”
As Mu Young Jin bowed his head, Mo Yong Yul shook his and replied.
“No, the Master of the Hao Mun bears no blame either. It seems the Masters of the Geo Mun and Do Mun simply find it displeasing that I, an outsider by Moyong blood, have become Lord of the Hao Mun.”
“Lord…….”
“Power is never divided, not even with brothers and sisters. As one of the Moyong clan, I know this truth better than anyone.”
A low hum resonated through the air.
Secret yet intense silver-hued Qi began swirling in Mo Yong Yul’s eyes.
“Caw?”
Eun Hyung O, who had been folding his wings, turned his head at the familiar energy and regarded him.
Mo Yong Yul gazed at Mu Young Jin and declared:
“And I have learned from my elder brother what it means to be a man. With genuine strength and righteous conviction, there is no hardship that cannot be overcome.”
“Yes! Yes! Lord!”
“Tell the Master of the Ki Mun: the next Spirit Being we accept will be the Thousand Poison Violet Centipede.”
“Understood!”
Mu Young Jin trembled with emotion, while Mo Yong Yul clenched his fists in resolve.
‘Brother, forgive me. I must leave your side for now. Until we meet again, please stay well.’
* * *
The topmost floor of a pavilion in O Ga Gang Gu.
Two figures faced each other.
“So…… that’s how it is.”
Mo Yong Yul, kneeling on bent knees, spoke cautiously, and Namgung Ho Yeon replied with a rigid expression.
“I don’t care about that. What I want to know is—why is a water ghost who died in Namgyeong standing before me?”
“B-brother.”
“Who’s your brother? I never had a water ghost for a younger sibling.”
Now hearing from Mo Yong Yul all that had transpired, Namgung Ho Yeon regarded him with a bitter smile.
Though traces of youth still clung to him, Mo Yong Yul had grown unrecognizably—now a young master wrapped in an air of mystery.
The hair that once hung thick and disheveled before his eyes now gleamed with such lustre he swept it to either side of his face.
The hunched, cramped posture was gone; his notably trained torso now stood straight and proud.
Pat, pat, pat!
“Meow!”
Namgung Ho Yeon scratched roughly at the belly of Weol Myeo, who lay across his lap, and continued speaking.
“You kept calling me brother, but it was all lies, wasn’t it?”
“No! I am your brother! I’m Yul!”
“Yul is dead. So you…… are Yol.”
“Brother, I……!”
“Hmm? Your knees are slipping?”
As Namgung Ho Yeon raised his brow, Mo Yong Yul straightened his posture and knelt properly again.
“Yol. If you truly thought of me as your brother, you should have told me, at least.”
“It’s just…… circumstances…….”
“There’s no tomb without an excuse. Do you want to end up in one?”
“…… I’m sorry.”
“No need to apologize. You’re not Yul anymore—you’re Yol. So who are you? Do I know you?”
“…… .”
Under Namgung Ho Yeon’s mockery, Mo Yong Yul’s spirit crumbled and his head sank low.
Watching this, Namgung Ho Yeon reflected silently.
‘The boy’s thoughts are showing. Didn’t the Prefect of Hangju say something exactly like this when we met?’
”
You misunderstand. While they do protect me, it is not because of the young master—it is due to the Internal Strife of our Hao Mun.”
“Since tensions among the Five Gates have escalated these past two years…….”
”
‘The attackers just now speak to it—the Hao Mun is clearly torn by civil conflict.’
Which meant Yul would not have reached out to him.
He must have judged that a careless move could drag the Hao Mun’s problems into the Namgung Clan.
‘If Yul is now Lord of the Hao Mun, then everything makes sense.’
“The investigation team includes Jegal Ahyeon, the fiancée of our lord!”
“It was a direct order from above. Observe the young lord’s every move and report it back…….”
“Those stiff fellows who refused so obstinately suddenly became docile the moment your name came up. How on earth did you manage to bring such rigid people to heel?”
All this time, the aid he’d received from Hao Mun, known or unknown, must have been Mo Yong Yul’s doing.
He understood that Mo Yong Yul had refrained from contacting him out of consideration, but even so, anger simmered beneath the surface.
‘Your karma. Accept it gracefully.’
Namgung Ho Yeon had no intention of forgiving him easily.
“Do you know how much the Grand Master has suffered because of you?”
“I, I’m sorry…….”
“And you planted a spy next to me? Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
“It’s not like that! I only told Seon Hyang Ee to be of help to you!”
“Those below interpret every word from those above a hundred different ways. Don’t you know that, you fool of a lord?”
“…….”
“Why did you call her?”
“I had information to convey to you. Using other messengers would be risky right now—in Ui Chang, friend and foe aren’t clearly distinguished.”
“You could’ve just used her.”
“Meow?!”
When Namgung Ho Yeon poked Weol Myeo’s belly, the cat thrashed her hind legs back and forth through the air in protest.
Mo Yong Yul shook his head and spoke.
“It won’t work. Weol Myeo draws too much attention, and I can’t send Jeokseo or Eun Hyung O because she’s at Baekmu Academy…….”
“Heh heh, little one. Your sister is more capable than she seems?”
As Mo Yong Yul spoke of Jegal Ahyeon, recalling how she’d recognized his Spirit Being nature, Namgung Ho Yeon tickled Weol Myeo’s ears thoughtfully.
‘So it’s not Sugam Dongtong but Water Spirit Assimilation. I thought as much.’
When Mo Yong Yul had first confessed his nature, Namgung Ho Yeon had thought his Spirit Being power resembled that of an absolute master from three hundred years ago, one known as the Five Force Asura.
Kang Ga Je, the Hao Mun master of that age, had been a unique expert who accepted the power of Spirit Beings and wielded five kinds of Heterogeneous Qi.
For this reason, Namgung Ho Yeon had been thinking that if the opportunity arose, he would hunt down Spirit Beings to provide.
‘And Hao Mun snatched it away in the middle of it all? Tch.’
Namgung Ho Yeon shook his head and asked.
“So, what information were you trying to pass on?”
“About the Gong Ryeong Mun.”
“Gong Ryeong Mun? Those people from before?”
“Yes, that’s right. The Gong Ryeong Mun is a gathering of promising young scholars expanding their influence by taking control of the Jeom Mun, and they’re plotting something here in Ui Chang.”
“As if there aren’t a dozen of those types scattered across Zhongyuan.”
“But they’re dangerous. They’ve stolen nearly a hundred Thunder Celestial Mines.”
Mo Yong Yul spoke with a serious expression, but Namgung Ho Yeon merely tilted his head.
“Thunder Celestial Mines? What’s that?”
“Eh?”
“Is it some new candy? Sounds tingly?”
At Namgung Ho Yeon’s response, Mo Yong Yul muttered as if at his wit’s end.
“You really are…… unchanged, aren’t you?”
“That’s an insult? What’s wrong with my height?”
“N-no, I never said such a thing. Oh! Come to think of it, my height and yours are about the same now, aren’t they? Hehe.”
“Funny? If I stand on your corpse, I’d be taller?”
“Ah, anyway, about the Thunder Celestial Mines…….”
Mo Yong Yul explained what the Thunder Celestial Mines were, and Namgung Ho Yeon scratched his cheek as if dumbfounded.
‘So they made bombs to try to catch a Sword Demon?’
―Young master, how notorious must you have been for later generations to create such monsters to counter you?
―Pufufu! At that time, Oniya was a catastrophe, not a human being!
Listening to the words of the Cheon Rae Sword and the Heukya Tae Geom, Namgung Ho Yeon chuckled and muttered.
“Ha, these fools went to all that pointless trouble.”
“But their power is real. Nearly a hundred Thunder Celestial Mines, if placed right, could level a decent-sized fortress.”
“So you called Seon Hyang Ee to deliver this information? Worried I’d become some hothead without restraint?”
“……Yes.”
Namgung Ho Yeon stared at Mo Yong Yul for a moment as he nodded, then rose from his seat.
“Fine, I’ve heard it. I’ll be going.”
“Ah, yes. Safe travels…….”
“Can you manage it?”
“Eh?”
At Namgung Ho Yeon’s sudden question, Mo Yong Yul looked up at him.
Namgung Ho Yeon then spoke.
“Being the lord of Hao Mun. Is it worth doing?”
“Ah…….”
Mo Yong Yul answered Namgung Ho Yeon’s question, his fingers fidgeting.
“At first, I thought we were using each other. Hao Mun gives me the power to forge my own future, and I help them achieve their desires.”
“But?”
“But now that I’ve been in Hao Mun and watched their lives up close, I keep seeing more and more of myself in them.”
Mo Yong Yul continued, a wistful smile crossing his face.
“A courtesan bowing and smiling to a guest who spits at her. A dancer who still performs for the next patron even after being cheated of her wages. A ferryman who rows hard but is looked down upon for reeking of fish. And so on.”
“…….”
“Their figures overlapped with mine in the Moyong Clan. That’s why I made a vow.”
Crunch!
Mo Yong Yul clenched both his fists and looked at Namgung Ho Yeon as he spoke.
“Just as you helped me, I want to help them too.”
“No matter what others say, don’t lose heart. Your eyes are as beautiful as Azure Heaven. That is the highest praise the Namgung can give.”
Recalling Namgung Ho Yeon’s words that had transformed his life, Mo Yong Yul cried out.
“I am your brother! I want to be like you! I can save someone too!”
“Meow!”
“Chirp!”
In response to Mo Yong Yul’s cry, Wolmyo, sprawled across the floor, sprang up as if joining in.
And Jeokseo, hidden in his collar, poked its head out and flared its nostrils.
Watching this, Namgung Ho Yeon let out a quiet laugh and spoke.
“You’re better than the Sword Demon.”
“Pardon?”
“He lived his entire life only for himself.”
“……?”
“Heh, when did that little thing following only behind me grow so much?”
“B-brother……?”
“Someone once told me this: a boy becomes a man when he realizes it’s not about living well, but about living right. You’ve already become a man.”
“Ah……!”
Recognition from the brother he had admired bloomed across Mo Yong Yul’s face like sudden light.
Step, step, step.
Passing by the transfixed Mo Yong Yul, Namgung Ho Yeon continued.
“Live for those who let you be yourself. That’s when you find happiness.”
“Y-yes, I will remember this well!”
“Good. Well, in any case…….”
Click!
Opening the door, Namgung Ho Yeon glanced back over his shoulder with a soft smile.
“I’m glad you’re alive. Yul. My brother.”
“……!”
“If you disappear without a word next time, you know what happens, right?”
“Then I really will become Yeol!”
“Heh. Yes, I’ll come find you again.”
Tap!
Two brothers meeting anew, finding each other once more.

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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
—————