Namgoong the Sword Ghost - Chapter 33

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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 33. The Sword Ghost’s Vindication
“Phew.”
“Ugh…….”
“Hah……!”
The Hugijisu dismounted, all of them looking utterly exhausted.
They were members of the Baekga Geomdan’s Second Unit.
After riding relentlessly day and night, they had made the journey from Shimyang to Daelian in just four days.
“There, there. Good girl. You must be tired, yes?”
“Neigh!”
Jegal Ahyeon stroked the horse’s mane, soothing the animal with gentle touches.
At her tender ministrations, the horse whinnied contentedly.
“Lucky you, younger sister. You’re such a natural rider.”
Beside her, a woman dressed in a brown sleeveless robe let out a strained sound.
She was Un Seoa, the second daughter of the Unping Geomgae.
“Horsemanship is my hobby.”
“Ah, I see. That’s why—being from Manchuria and all?”
Un Seoa nodded and spoke; Jegal Ahyeon offered a subtle smile in return.
Watching that smile, Un Seoa turned her gaze straight ahead.
“Isn’t it magnificent? This place rivals the imperial capital itself.”
Not just she, but all the members of the Baekga Geomdan’s Second Unit were lost in wonder at the vast estate before them.
The enormous gate was painted entirely in gold, no less impressive than the seat of the Moyong Family.
Bu Gajang
‘Bu Gajang. One of the Liaoning Eight Families, which accumulated vast wealth through the never-freezing port of Daelian. And…….’
Jegal Ahyeon watched a man approaching the main entrance of Bu Gajang, her thoughts churning.
He wore a thin smile, radiating an air of supreme confidence.
“Oh my! Isn’t he utterly charming? Moyong Cheol has been my admiration for ages.”
“I see.”
“The position of unit leader will naturally go to Moyong Cheol. Since Bu Gajang is his maternal family’s seat, no other unit could possibly surpass us.”
“They say money makes even spirits dance.”
“Precisely. The ‘Bu’ in Bu Gajang once meant a wharf, but now it represents wealth itself.”
Un Seoa nodded, speaking with evident pride.
She had praised the Unping Geomgae—so why did she boast as if the glory were her own?
Jegal Ahyeon understood the reason well.
‘This is exhausting.’
It had been like this the entire journey to Daelian.
Hovering at her side, Un Seoa constantly belittled her in subtle ways, while Moyong Cheol flaunted his familiarity as if claiming her as his own.
A pulse of energy rippled through her.
Through her Simseogamhwa, the emotions pouring from Un Seoa were saturated with malice and jealousy.
The moment Jegal Ahyeon clutched her throbbing head, a man’s voice echoed in her ear.
“If your head aches, focus.”
‘Hoyeon…… I miss you.’
Jegal Ahyeon closed her eyes briefly, imagining Namgung Hoyeon.
Though he spoke harshly, his heart was as pure as a child’s.
She had met many people with contradictions between appearance and reality, but no one quite like him—so strangely divided between outer and inner self.
‘Hoyeon. Why do you conduct yourself with such false malice?’
Hypocrites were common enough, but one who performed false malice like him was rare.
And the emotion he felt right after the ambush in Hapsan…….
‘Resignation? What exactly have you resigned yourself to? What pain lies hidden within you? I want to know everything about you.’
As Jegal Ahyeon imagined him, a smile bloomed on her lips.
She didn’t even notice that her headache had already faded away.
“Miss Jegal.”
At that moment, a cold and arrogant voice shattered her reverie.
Opening her eyes, she found Moyong Cheol gazing at her with an enigmatic smile.
“M-Moyong! It’s been so long……!”
“You seem quite cheerful. What were you thinking about?”
Un Seoa tried to address Moyong Cheol, but he ignored her entirely, fixing his gaze upon Jegal Ahyeon as he asked.
“Nothing in particular.”
“……Is that so?”
At her words, Moyong Cheol’s eyes narrowed, then he broke into a low chuckle.
“I’ve just heard some rather interesting news.”
“……What is it?”
“Information about Section Leader Namgung Hoyeon.”
“……!”
Jegal Ahyeon’s eyes widened, and Moyong Cheol’s lips curved into a smile as he continued.
“Word is he’s in Shimyang, indulging in wine and women with a courtesan at his side.”
“That can’t be true!”
“It’s fact. The Goedongjidan seems to have abandoned their pursuit of him. Though I suspected as much, given that Sanggwan Hae and Dang Segi are in his section.”
Sanggwan Hae was by nature a merchant rather than a warrior, and Dang Segi’s position as heir to the Dang Clan, a prestigious house of Sichuan, meant he had little need for renown.
“Ha, perhaps the gap between his ideals and reality drove him to despair, and he fled into the arms of wine and women. Pathetic, truly.”
Thump, thump, thump.
Having finished his words, Moyong Cheol departed, and Jegal Ahyeon clutched her throbbing head again, shaking it slowly.
‘Hoyeon…… No, that’s not it. I believe in you.’
* * *
“Achoo!”
“Hm? You’ve caught a cold?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“You should dress warmly. The winds from Siberia to the north blow through Liaoning quite sharply.”
“All right.”
Under Moyong Yul’s worried gaze, Hoyeon watched the middle-aged man kneeling before him.
“Hehe.”
When Hoyeon’s gaze fell upon him, the middle-aged man offered a feeble smile to prove his harmlessness.
“That’s repulsive.”
“Pardon?”
“You look like some buffoon. Show me a hearty laugh instead.”
“A hearty laugh? Ah, uh, uh-ha-ha-ha!”
“Louder.”
“Wuh-ha-ha-ha-hah!”
As the middle-aged man laughed as heartily as he could, Hoyeon nodded in apparent satisfaction.
“Yes, a man ought to live according to his nature.”
‘And who are you to say that!’
Ma Mujeon, the Shimyang branch chief of Haowen, was flabbergasted.
The young—no, boyish—man before him was pretty-faced, yet harbored a demon within.
‘Namgung Hoyeon. All the intelligence so far has been garbage. This man is dangerous.’
Ma Mujeon’s instinct for danger, honed from his days as a back-alley scavenger all the way up to his position as branch chief, was screaming a warning.
Do not be fooled by appearance.
The boy before him was dangerous.
‘He toyed with Wi Igyeom.’
Wi Igyeom, known by the ridiculous epithet of Shadow Sword Sage, may have been.
But his skill was genuine.
To rise to senior vagrant status required not only skill but also proven results.
“Ah, what was his name? Sage? I apologize for taking his hand. My instinct moved my body of its own accord.”
Noticing Ma Mujeon’s expression, Hoyeon flashed a grin and apologized.
“N-no, not at all! He wasn’t even one of our disciples, just a vagrant hired through a mercenary lodge. Hehe.”
At Ma Mujeon’s words, Sanggwan Hae and Moyong Yul frowned uncomfortably.
But Hoyeon and Dang Segi regarded him with unsurprised eyes.
The martial world was a ruthless place, after all.
“So then, what of the Goedongjidan?”
“Well…….”
Ma Mujeon hesitated briefly, and Hoyeon leaned the Cheonrae Geom against his shoulder with a smirk.
Cling!
“Director Ma. I haven’t forgiven you yet. How I feel will depend entirely on what you tell me now.”
“O-of course.”
“Or is it? Is Haowen involved in this Goedongjidan business?”
“W-what?!”
At Hoyeon’s words, Ma Mujeon’s eyes widened in shock.
“As I understand it, the five professions of Haowen are: inns, courtesans, boats, brokers, and gambling dens. Could it be that Haowen’s Broker Guild is behind the Goedongjidan……?”
“T-that’s absurd!”
Snap!
Ma Mujeon sprang to his feet and launched into a vehement denial.
“The Broker Guild was expelled from Haowen three hundred years ago! And those bastards got Haowen utterly annihilated by the Sword Ghost!”
‘Well, I hit them with everything I had.’
Watching Ma Mujeon’s flushed face as he shouted, Namgung Hoyeon found himself drifting into memory.
The Amun was a branch of the Haowen that made human trafficking their livelihood.
It was also the organization that the Sword Ghost had first waged war against when he was thirteen.
After that, whenever Haowen came up, his instinct had been to break first and ask questions later.
‘I was so young then. Yes. Burning with youthful vigor.’
As Namgung Hoyeon smiled faintly, Ma Mujeon felt goosebumps prickle across his entire body.
‘This madman—like something out of the Sword Ghost!’
From Haowen’s perspective, that was the highest curse imaginable.
“That’s just your view as branch chief. Unless you’re the leader of all Haowen, you can’t possibly know everything, can you?”
“That is… well…”
“Shall I bring a formal proposal to the Geomhoe? That the Amun has been revived?”
……
Cold sweat began streaming down Ma Mujeon’s face at Namgung Hoyeon’s words.
‘If even a whisper of the Amun reaches the Baekga Geomhoe, it’s over! The Hugijisu will fabricate crimes to take down Haowen operatives, all to steal credit…!’
Ma Mujeon glanced sideways at Namgung Hoyeon.
He wore an ambiguous smile.
‘So that’s how it is. This isn’t a choice—it’s survival. To stay alive, I have to eliminate others. Completely.’
Resolve crystallized in Ma Mujeon’s eyes.
He opened his mouth.
“The Goedongjidan operates as a network organization, so it’s difficult to pinpoint any single faction.”
“Their main theaters of operation?”
“Diverse. In truth, you could say all throughout Liaoning. But the more accessible the region, the more children have gone missing.”
As Ma Mujeon began pouring out what he knew, varied emotions played across the faces of Sanggwan Hae, Moyong Yul, and Dang Segi.
‘Well, well. A fine question. A true dragon, this one.’
‘Sir! I have nothing but respect for you!’
‘Remarkable. He threatens people like it’s the most natural thing in the world.’
After his hesitation gave way to resolve, Ma Mujeon had begun passionately advocating for the annihilation of the Goedongjidan.
“These bastards are trafficking children through the inland routes—Ryojung, Taean, Ryoyang, Ansan, Buknyeong—and by water through Yeonggu, Gaeju, Jangha, and Daelian! These damnable sons of bitches! Hack! Spit!”
“Truly, Branch Chief Ma, your righteous indignation knows no bounds.”
“It does! These vermin who deserve a beating! We should tear their mouths open and throw them in dog bowls!”
At Ma Mujeon’s fervent tirade against the Goedongjidan, Moyong Yul instinctively shrank back, unsettled.
“In your estimation, Branch Chief Ma, how do you foresee this Baekga Geomhoe concluding?”
“That is… well…”
“Don’t hesitate. Speak freely.”
At Namgung Hoyeon’s urging, Ma Mujeon cleared his throat and found his voice.
“Ahem. Eradicating the Goedongjidan is, in practical terms, impossible. If it were possible, the Moyong Family and the Liaoning Eight Families would have done it long ago.”
Even as Ma Mujeon spoke, he waved his hands apologetically before the four men.
“I’m not questioning the capabilities of the Hugijisu. But these creatures are experts at hiding. I suspect this Baekga Geomhoe will ultimately become a contest of numbers.”
“Numbers?”
“Since completely rooting out the Goedongjidan is nearly impossible, whichever team captures the most heads will claim victory.”
Sanggwan Hae and Dang Segi nodded at Ma Mujeon’s words.
“I think so too.”
“The other teams likely share that view. The First Team headed to Buknyeong, which connects to Beijing, and the Second Team went to Daelian, a port city.”
“Correct. The Third Team took an unusual path to Dandong, though their maternal estate, the Baegyak Sanjang, is located there, and he’s fallen behind in the succession race.”
As Ma Mujeon added his commentary, Moyong Yul looked at Namgung Hoyeon with concern.
“Sir, doesn’t that put us at a serious disadvantage?”
“Hmm? Why’s that?”
“We have the fewest members.”
“I’d agree with that.”
“I concur.”
Sanggwan Hae and Dang Segi both sided with Moyong Yul’s assessment.
To capture more heads, more team members were obviously needed.
With time physically limited, the First and Second Teams, who could split into multiple sub-units, clearly held the strategic advantage.
‘So, what now?’
Dang Segi studied Namgung Hoyeon, who appeared lost in thought, curiosity evident on his face.
The Baekga Geomhoe, which Namgung Hoyeon had been forced to attend under his father’s orders.
He’d intended to simply kill time and leave, but then he’d stumbled upon something amusing.
“Branch Chief Ma. Hand over everything you know about the Goedongjidan’s hideouts and routes. Everything.”
“Of course. However, I cannot provide reinforcements from our disciples. They all have their livelihoods to attend to…”
Ma Mujeon, worried that Namgung Hoyeon would mobilize Haowen operatives to hunt down Goedongjidan, moved first.
At that, Hoyeon let out a soft chuckle and spoke.
“The reason I’m asking for information is to distribute it to Teams 1, 2, and 3. You can do that, can’t you?”
“Pardon? W-well, that is possible, but… why would you hand information over to your competitors?”
As Ma Mujeon asked in puzzlement, Hoyeon shrugged and answered.
“Everyone seems to have forgotten—what’s the real purpose of Baekga Geomhoe? Isn’t it to band together and crush the bad ones? Why are you all so caught up in competing that you’ve lost sight of the mission?”
……
……
……
……
At Hoyeon’s words, everyone fell silent.
Sound reasoning.
The very justice that could be called the essence of Baekga Geomhoe had spilled from Hoyeon’s mouth.
“That said, don’t worry—I have no intention of falling behind in this competition.”
……?
As Hoyeon spoke while glancing sideways at Moyong Yul, the latter blinked, clearly not understanding.
At that, Hoyeon turned to Ma Mujeon.
“Director Ma. One last question.”
……You may ask two, if you wish.”
Moved by Hoyeon’s words, Ma Mujeon answered in a grave voice.
At that, Hoyeon’s lips curved upward as he continued.
“One will do. It’s……”
The more Hoyeon spoke, the more mysteriously the faces around him shifted.
* * *
That night.
In Shimyang, the sons of the Golden and Silver Families vanished without a trace.

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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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