Namgoong the Sword Ghost - Chapter 212

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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 212. The Geom-gwi Listens to the Dao Emperor’s Words
‘Heart Poison? What does that even mean?’
Ho Yeon’s brows furrowed as he locked eyes with Peng Hwan, who blazed like a wildfire.
Just then, Namgung Baek rushed over, startled by the sudden commotion.
Pitter-patter!
“Ho Yeon! Father-in-law!”
But Namgung Baek could not reach them.
Whoosh!
A brilliant white light flickered from Peng Hwan’s solar plexus, and in the next breath—
A White Tiger the size of a house materialized in the Yeon Gong Hall.
―Grrrrrowwwl!
“What—what in the name of—!”
Peng Hwan, having summoned the White Tiger to block Namgung Baek’s path, fixed his gaze on Ho Yeon and demanded, “Who in blazes are you?”
“Who in blazes are you?!”
“…….”
Ho Yeon’s eyes darted about as he assessed the situation.
‘He’s cast a Qi Membrane. A conversation he doesn’t want Father to hear.’
He’d merely asked about Mangsang Yusim, and yet this was the reaction.
Grandmother Geumjeong hadn’t seemed to say anything particularly urgent at the time…….
Then a fragment of a conversation he’d had with the nun Geumjeong flashed through his mind.
“Knowledge and understanding are not always good. They are also the root of attachment and affliction.”
‘……She had said that.’
He simply hadn’t been willing to accept it at the time.
Geumjeong had surely issued that warning with meaningful weight in her voice.
Since he wasn’t her disciple, he hadn’t dug deeper—but in her own way, she’d been expressing an old woman’s concern.
‘What exactly is Mangsang Yusim that it provokes such a hypersensitive reaction? Is it truly a case of knowledge being poison?’
As Ho Yeon froze.
Peng Hwan, believing the boy had simply been startled by his own abrupt outburst, released his grip.
Rustle.
Thump!
Instead, he wrapped his massive hands around Ho Yeon’s shoulders like pot lids and spoke in a grave voice.
“Forgive me. Your grandfather got carried away.”
“…….”
“But this is an important question, and you must answer truthfully. Who told you about Mangsang Yusim?”
“Mo Yong Sang Cheon.”
“……!”
At Ho Yeon’s answer, Peng Hwan’s eyes bulged wide and his teeth ground together audibly.
“Grrr! You damned Geom-gwi! You’ve picked up a poisonous habit!”
“A poisonous habit?”
“In his youth, that wretch bore a sinister epithet—the Thirsty Sword. There was good reason for it.”
Peng Hwan continued, his cheeks quivering.
“He took pleasure in destroying talented rivals. The Later Generation Disciples he ruined were legion—many became cripples who never held a blade again.”
“What? The young master of the Moyong Clan engaged in such corrupt conduct and faced no consequences?”
“That wretch was meticulous. He left no evidence.”
“Surely that couldn’t be the whole story…….”
“Moreover, it wasn’t his rivals’ bodies that Sang Cheon destroyed. He took pleasure in tearing them down psychologically.”
“…….”
“A vile taste for probing hearts and reading minds with words alone. I thought age had reformed him, but clearly it has not!”
Crack!
Peng Hwan gripped Ho Yeon’s shoulders with force and pressed his warning home.
“Whatever that wretch said to you—forget it all. Your heart belongs to you alone! Don’t let other men’s dirty hands trample through it.”
“But it’s already gotten inside, hasn’t it?”
“Which is precisely why I called it Heart Poison. Heavens, you’ve been bitten by a viper far more venomous than the Poison King’s own serpent!”
“……?”
“Do you know what Aesang means?”
“My…… form? My image?”
“The Buddha called it ‘attachment to the self.’ When Aesang grows strong, affliction is born, and one falls into the Three Poisons—greed, anger, and delusion.”
Peng Hwan’s words aligned with the counsel Geumjeong the nun had offered.
He continued.
“Once you succumb to the Three Poisons, you move in the opposite direction from Non-Self, and your mind ultimately crumbles. This is what is commonly called a Heart Demon.”
“…….”
“And in your case, it’s worse.”
“Pardon?”
“You thought this old man wouldn’t notice? You’ve hit a wall, haven’t you? Il Gak?”
At Peng Hwan’s words, Namgung Ho Yeon’s eyebrows twitched.
Peng Hwan, who let out a soft chuckle at the sight, continued.
“That’s why you were so eager to finish the bout quickly. Curious, that. You weave Jik Gang Ki with considerable skill, yet something feels clumsy about it. Your experience hasn’t caught up with your insight? Is it the fate of a prodigy?”
At Peng Hwan’s murmuring, Namgung Ho Yeon clicked his tongue inwardly.
‘Tch. Caught.’
“This old man speaks of the imbalance between body and spirit.”
The Sword Emperor Muyeo Hae had perceived it through the Young Neung known as Insight into All Things.
Yet Peng Hwan had arrived at the same conclusion through nothing but the collision of bodies.
Truly, the instinct of a beast.
Peng Hwan offered his counsel to Namgung Ho Yeon.
“Even a serpent digests its prey slowly over weeks once it feeds. Do not covet the next meal while harboring such an imbalanced disparity.”
“……Yes.”
―See? What did I tell you, brother!
‘Shut up.’
As Heuk Ya cried out triumphantly, Namgung Ho Yeon answered brusquely.
Already irritated from being scolded, he found it grating to have her chiming in from the sidelines.
So this was why scolding mothers-in-law were preferable to supporting sisters-in-law?
As Namgung Ho Yeon grasped this facet of family discord and pouted his lips, Peng Hwan smiled broadly and stroked his head.
Stroke. Stroke.
“Aha! Such fierce ambition! No wonder you reached such heights at so young an age!”
“Ah, please stop. It’s making me dizzy.”
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Though Peng Hwan meant only to pat his head, Namgung Ho Yeon found his head jerking back and forth, the world spinning before his eyes.
Observing him thus, Peng Hwan lowered his voice and spoke.
“Whatever makes you so hurried, do not rush. You are not alone.”
“…….”
“If something troubles your mind, ask this old man. How could I refuse anything my precious grandson asks?”
“…….”
“You are doing well enough. Indeed. Of course—my bloodline. Hehehehe.”
Namgung Ho Yeon glanced up at Peng Hwan, who wore a satisfied smile.
At first, he’d thought this some manner of fearsome gorilla, but looking at him now, the old man had a certain warmth to his features.
Tsk-tsk-tsk!
Whoosh!
As Peng Hwan dispersed both White Tiger and Gi Mak simultaneously, Namgung Baek stared in bewilderment, his eyes darting between the two.
The atmosphere had been dire moments ago, yet now they were laughing and patting each other’s heads.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
“Oh! Grandfather, stop! I’m getting dizzy!”
“Puffaw! Aren’t you shy.”
“Think about your own strength! You’ll break my neck like this!”
“Don’t worry. A human neck doesn’t break so easily.”
“Really! Should I just pull out all your whiskers?”
“Guffaw! That sounds splendid!”
Watching the grandfather and grandson draw even closer, Namgung Baek murmured to himself.
“Is there something about geniuses that lets them understand each other? This is beyond my comprehension.”
* * *
Startled by the deafening crash that echoed across the entire estate, people rushed toward the Yeon Gong Hall, which stood on the verge of collapse.
Before it stood Peng So Hwa, cradling her youngest son—who was larger than herself—like a baby bird, at a loss for what to do.
“What’s wrong! Are you alright, dear?”
“Yes.”
“Oh my! This isn’t blood, is it?”
“Ah, I must have scraped myself a little.”
“Ugh! That must hurt. Let’s go to Uiyak Dang at once.”
“I’m fine, really…….”
“Let’s go!”
Urged forward by Peng So Hwa, Namgung Ho Yeon found himself being dragged toward Uiyak Dang whether he liked it or not.
‘Tch, I was planning to keep training. Well, at least I’ve achieved the first objective.’
Ho Yeon rotated both wrists, examining them with a satisfied smile.
The Muk Rin Bi Gap had become so natural that during his fight with Peng Hwan, he’d scarcely been aware he was wearing it.
If it posed no hindrance in combat with a master, he would feel no sense of alienation facing anyone.
“Does your wrist hurt, sweetheart?”
Peng So Hwa asked with concern as she watched Ho Yeon rotate his wrist.
“No… hm?”
Ho Yeon began to deny it, then caught sight of Peng Hwan standing dazed and let out a grimace.
“Ah, it’s a bit tingly. The muscle might be strained?”
“Oh!”
Peng So Hwa reacted as though she’d heard the sky itself had collapsed, then whirled around with a sharp look at Peng Hwan.
“Father, how could you do such a thing!”
“Cough!”
“Hmph!”
Peng So Hwa left the shocked Peng Hwan behind and strode away.
Ho Yeon, cradled in his mother’s embrace, wore a mischievous grin.
‘Hehe, serves him right. I told him to stop. How dare he go petting the renowned Geom-gwi?’
―What childish nonsense is this, I ask you?
‘Exploiting an opponent’s weakness is only natural strategy. Give me some credit.’
―Good heavens.
Ho Yeon bantered with Cheonrae Geom as he walked away with Peng So Hwa.
Peng Hwan, watching them go, smacked his lips and murmured to himself.
“Tsk, I understand So Hwa’s feelings. A son like that deserves to be treasured like a household god.”
“What was that?”
At that moment, a crisp voice called out from beside him.
Turning, Peng Hwan saw Peng Gu Pae—a head shorter than himself but still imposingly built—standing there.
“Ah, Gu Pae.”
“Grandfather. What happened here?”
“We had a Bi Mu bout.”
“A Bi Mu bout?”
Gu Pae gazed at the Yeon Gong Hall, which was on the verge of complete collapse.
“These days, a Bi Mu bout means demolishing an entire pavilion.”
“That’s what manhood is. You thin, scrawny thing wouldn’t understand.”
“Grandfather, you’re abnormally large. I’ve never been outmatched by anyone in terms of build.”
“Puhaha! You’re joking, surely?”
“Hmph! Just wait. I’ve doubled my food intake recently, so I’ll catch up soon.”
“Hehe, ten years too early.”
After exchanging pleasantries with his grandson for the first time in ages, Peng Hwan’s expression hardened as he asked a question.
“So, what brings word?”
“A letter came from the main house. The Pasuhn Blood Cult is stirring, it seems.”
“Why so suddenly?”
“It appears the Gwangpung Dan, led by Pok Cheon Gang Jang, has been poking around the Yeop Region, which has provoked them.”
“Tsk, tsk.”
“More importantly, your absence from Hebei seems to have presented them with an opportunity.”
“Curse it all. I come to visit my daughter after so long, and these old bones can’t catch a break. I’ll have to take the Blood Cult master’s head.”
“What will you do?”
“Anhui should be stable now. I’ll head back.”
He’d originally planned to stay a few more days and teach Ho Yeon about the Essential Principles of Qi Aura.
But with that no longer necessary, an earlier return seemed feasible.
“Ah, but tell them I’ll stop somewhere on the way. It’ll take a few days longer.”
“Where will you be going?”
“Henan.”
Peng Hwan continued with a predatory smile that was utterly chilling.
“Hm, Sang Cheon. Let me see your face again after all this time.”
* * *
“Hmm, I’m feeling a chill.”
“Are you well?”
“Heh, it’s nothing much. I must be short on sleep. I had unavoidable business in Liaoning.”
“If you’re tired, I can postpone our meeting until next time.”
“No need. If I did that, they’d be nattering on about trifles before long—I can already see it coming.”
At Mo Yong Sang Cheon’s words, Jegal Shin San smiled softly.
“I’m sure the Baekga Maeng will think we’re simply throwing our weight around.”
“Hah, such tiresome people. And yet we must discuss the future alongside them.”
Mo Yong Sang Cheon lifted his gaze toward the massive gate plaque above.
Murim Alliance
“The Murim Alliance. It’s been a good thirty years since I last set foot here.”
“Indeed. When we first established the Baekga Maeng, I never imagined we’d return to this place.”
“Times change, as they must. The forming and dissolving of alliances — is that not the very nature of mankind?”
“They lack the foresight, after all. They could never have predicted that the Baekmu Academy would achieve such remarkable results.”
Mo Yong Sang Cheon smiled meaningfully at Jegal Shin San’s words before speaking.
“Well then, shall we discuss it? This new White Alliance that’s taking shape.”

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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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