Namgoong the Sword Ghost - Chapter 48

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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 48. The Sword Demon Receives a Kiss
Behind the quarters.
Ho Yeon walked with his hands clasped behind his back, his expression sullen.
“Tch! Petty, isn’t he. If you’re going to give something, give it—why attach conditions?”
“This sword, you mean? Heh, you have a good eye. Well, I haven’t needed a blade in quite some time, so I wear it about as decoration these days.”
When Mo Yong Sang Cheon fell silent for a moment before finally responding positively, Ho Yeon had allowed himself to hope.
But then.
“Hehe, very well. Travel with me as far as Sandong, and I’ll hand it over once we arrive. The General’s quarters have grown troublesome, so I must journey to Hainan—and an old man growing lonely on the road by himself, well, it simply won’t do.”
Sandong lay at the border between Hainan and Anhui, and Mo Yong Sang Cheon had thus requested that Ho Yeon accompany him that far.
It wasn’t as though he needed to change his route, but escorting a superior was bound to prove inconvenient.
―Listen here, you fool. That’s practically charity. What madman demands a swordsman surrender his blade?
“It was mine to begin with.”
―By that logic, what in this vast world isn’t yours? Go ahead and claim every stray dog that passes by.
“Are you jealous? That I’ve taken an interest in another sword?”
―What? What did you say? Hmph! Does this Gon Dae, broad and generous of heart as the very earth, look like nothing to you?
It was while Ho Yeon bickered with Cheon Rae Geom.
Pit-pat, pit-pat, pit-pat.
Light footsteps sounded, treading across the moonlit carpet, and a woman in white silks with an archer’s bearing emerged from the shadows.
She had ebony hair swept back neatly, and dark brown eyes that held the glimmer of starlight—a beauty of refined bearing.
Je Gal A Hyeon approached Ho Yeon’s side with graceful strides, light as a deer.
Rustle.
As she stood beside him, a fresh sandalwood fragrance drifted through his nostrils, settling his restless heart.
“…….”
“…….”
The two stood close for a time, gazing at the same moon.
It was Je Gal A Hyeon who broke the peculiar silence first.
“I’m glad the children have regained consciousness.”
“Hmm? Ah, yes, indeed.”
Ho Yeon recalled Seo Cheon Gi, weeping tears of gratitude and bowing his head in thanks.
Along with Na Rin, the awakened children were to be taken to the Pearl Speech Pavilion to assess their recovery, or so he’d heard.
Which was why he had entrusted Jeok Seo, the crimson rat, to Mo Yong Yul’s care.
“That boy was incredibly grateful to you. He said something about taking a fall meant for someone?”
“I took it willingly.”
“Why?”
“He just… looked so desperate.”
“Hehehehe.”
At Ho Yeon’s answer, Je Gal A Hyeon smiled warmly and nodded in understanding.
“Ho Yeon, did you know?”
“Know what?”
“You emit a light.”
“Huh?”
When Ho Yeon looked up at her in confusion, Je Gal A Hyeon spoke with affection glimmering in her dark eyes.
“You have no idea how warm and bright that light is. If I were to describe it in color, it would be a clear, golden orange—like the sun itself.”
“…….”
“That’s why so many follow you because of that light. The Guk Dae Ju, the Cheol Geom Dae, Sang Gyeom, Mo Yong Yul, and others besides.”
“……Light, you say.”
Ho Yeon recalled words Cheon Rae Geom had spoken a year before.
―You are a human. The ‘space’ in that word is the sunlight filtering through a doorway’s gap. That humans are drawn to light is a natural phenomenon.
He had always thought of himself as chasing light, but it had never occurred to him that he himself might become a light.
“Is that a good thing?”
“Well, that depends on what you choose, doesn’t it?”
“What I choose?”
“Do you wish to share your light?”
At Je Gal A Hyeon’s question, Ho Yeon fell silent.
Then she pointed with a slender finger at the stars scattered across the night sky and continued.
“Light shines clearly through darkness. Because of that, everyone drawn to you must be adrift souls desperate for a guiding light.”
“……Adrift?”
“They’ve grown weary of wandering aimlessly through a vast, dark sea. They long to follow something. And then your light flickers—calling to them. Come this way.”
Smooth.
Je Gal A Hyeon’s finger, which had been pointing at the night sky, descended and gently tapped Ho Yeon’s forehead.
“Can you take responsibility for them? Can you guide them in the right direction?”
“…What are you asking me to do? Did I tell you to follow me?”
“Hehe, I’m not asking you to do anything. A star simply shines in its place. That’s all.”
“……”
Ho Yeon fell silent for a moment, then shrugged and spoke.
“I don’t know about shining. I’m just going to live by the path my feet take me. That’s how it’s been, and that’s how it’ll stay.”
“Then… could I walk that path beside you?”
At Je Gal A Hyeon’s sudden proposal, Ho Yeon’s eyebrow twitched.
The look of someone who’d been expecting this.
“The Hundred Family Sword Tournament is over, so you’ve come for my answer, haven’t you? I…”
Ho Yeon began to nod and offer his response to her proposal.
“Shh!”
Je Gal A Hyeon pressed her index finger to his lips and shook her head.
Then, with a playful smile, she spoke.
“You’ve already given me your answer. You proved yourself at the Hundred Family Sword Tournament—you showed you’re a hero worthy of claiming me.”
“Ha, you’re something else…”
“My betrothal to Mo Yong Chul has been broken. My father’s scales are far too sensitive, you see. But that’s not all.”
Soft rustle.
Je Gal A Hyeon bowed her head toward Ho Yeon.
Her lustrous, three-layered hair fell like a curtain, blocking his view of the world beyond.
In that space cut off from everything, the two of them locked eyes.
“During more than half a month apart from you, I thought long and hard. Did I truly want you as a refuge to escape to?”
“……”
“I thought so deeply my head stopped aching. The feelings of others no longer mattered. Then I realized what truly mattered to me—just one thing.”
“……”
“I don’t want a savior. I want a companion. Someone to walk beside, to hurt with, to cry and laugh with as one.”
Slowly.
Je Gal A Hyeon’s face drew close.
Then, soft and burning warmth was seared onto his lips like a fire seal.
At some moment when time seemed to stop, she slowly pulled back and moved away.
The curtain of black hair parted, and cool air extinguished the heat.
Je Gal A Hyeon’s face, bathed in moonlight and blushed crimson, came into view.
“I want you, Ho Yeon. If you’ll share even a little of your light with me, I can give you everything I have.”
“You…”
“I’m going back to the Je Gal Estate tomorrow. I’ll resume the martial training I’ve suspended for three years, and I’ll build my own faction within the clan.”
“What?”
At her words, Ho Yeon furrowed his brow and asked.
“Didn’t you say you hated your family?”
“That’s true. But this ordeal taught me something—to walk with you, I can’t run from anything.”
Je Gal A Hyeon’s deep brown eyes had hardened like earth after rain.
She had been profoundly shaken watching Ho Yeon’s battle with Baek Jong Woo.
And she had understood.
Only a phoenix could stand beside the dragon that was Ho Yeon.
“So I’d like to put off my answer for now. Give me your words when I’m fully prepared, when I’m ready.”
“……”
“Then you can look down at me and kiss me, yes?”
“……”
“This is but a brief parting, little lord.”
Tap, tap, tap.
Je Gal A Hyeon moved forward.
If she lingered any longer, she feared she might never leave.
Yet as she departed, Ho Yeon found a hollow laugh rising from the sandalwood fragrance still faintly hanging in the air.
“Ha—what kind of cunning woman pulls something like that?”
As Ho Yeon touched his lips,
he realized what had happened to him.
A single white thread had drawn taut around him—shy, subtle, but unbreakable.
* * *
Tap, tap, tap.
Je Gal A Hyeon walked on.
The blush that had risen to her nape was already fading back to its natural color.
She had been smiling softly to herself, lost in thoughts of what had just transpired, when she suddenly stopped in her tracks.
“Whoa!”
“Ugh!”
Crack!
Je Gal A Hyeon cried out suddenly toward the brush beside her, and Mo Yong Yul came tumbling out from within.
“Well, well—what are you doing?”
“That’s my line! What are *you* doing?”
“What do you mean?”
“You know—in front of everyone like that…!”
“Don’t worry. Nobody saw us except for one little rat hiding on top of the wall.”
“…!”
Mo Yong Yul’s eyes widened, and Je Gal A Hyeon smiled brightly.
“You have an interesting skill, don’t you?”
“You couldn’t possibly…!”
“Hehe, little one. Your older sister is more capable than you thought, isn’t she?”
Tap, tap, tap.
Je Gal A Hyeon approached lightly and placed a hand on his waist, leaving Mo Yong Yul squirming like a child caught in mischief.
“So you do have a taste for the unsavory?”
“I, I wasn’t doing it on purpose…”
“Were you spying on Ho Yeon?”
“No!”
“Then why?”
“I… I just wanted to be like him… wanted to learn how to become like that…”
Mo Yong Yul wrung his hands as he spoke, and the corners of Je Gal A Hyeon’s lips curled upward.
“You too have been drawn to the light?”
“…”
“Is that why you hated me? Afraid I’d steal your light?”
“…”
Mo Yong Yul fell silent, and Je Gal A Hyeon laughed softly before speaking.
“You’re still young.”
“…What?”
At Je Gal A Hyeon’s provocative words, Mo Yong Yul’s brow twitched.
“I’m already mature! I’m an adult!”
“I’m not talking about your years.”
“…Then what?”
“Your resolve.”
She leaned forward.
Je Gal A Hyeon lowered her head, bringing her eyes level with his.
Mo Yong Yul shrank back, his face flushing red.
“How much longer do you think you can remain at Ho Yeon’s side?”
“What… what are you saying?”
“Soon enough, you will feel the truth of my words in your very bones. Ho Yeon is already a dragon prepared for Ascension.”
She leaned close. Closer still.
Je Gal A Hyeon stroked his tousled hair as she continued.
“Only those who are truly ready can bask in the light. Rather than guarding against me, guard against yourself.”
“…Guard against myself?”
“A swan glides serenely across the water, but beneath the surface, it must paddle ceaselessly.”
Je Gal A Hyeon straightened, offering Mo Yong Yul a meaningful farewell, her expression grave and cryptic.
“When you see Ho Yeon next, I hope you’ll still be at his side.”
“…”
Tap, tap, tap.
Je Gal A Hyeon slowly vanished into the darkness, and Mo Yong Yul remained rooted to the spot for a long time afterward.
* * *
The next day, the Je Gal Clan departed Yao Ning.
Days later, another group set out from the Mo Yong Clan manor.
* * *
“Send the captured spy to the Flesh Interrogator and extract every scrap of information possible.”
“Understood.”
“And what of the pursuit of the Third Young Master, who has disappeared?”
“It is ongoing.”
“Approach it with the possibility that Sal Mak may have already taken it into account. I’ll permit minor clashes.”
“Understood.”
Even as Mo Yong Mu Gyeol issued instructions to Mo Yong Gyeom, the head of Guk Dae Ju, his hands moved busily across the documents before him, scanning and noting directives.
It was clear that the Mo Yong Clan’s honor had been tarnished by this incident at Baek Yak Mountain Manor.
Yet depending on how the aftermath was handled, they might yet salvage what seemed lost.
“I…”
“Something on your mind?”
When Mo Yong Gyeom remained silent despite the orders, Mo Yong Mu Gyeol looked up.
Mo Yong Gyeom then asked carefully.
“Are you certain about this? Sending the Fourth Young Master to Anhui…”
Tap.
At the question, Mo Yong Mu Gyeol’s brush—which had been moving rapidly—stilled.
A moment passed, and then his hand resumed its motion as he spoke.
“What choice do I have? If I didn’t send him, he looked ready to hang himself from the rafters.”
“But…”
“I know. I’ve made it clear to him. He’ll come to understand.”
“Then I suppose it’s for the best.”
Mo Yong Gyeom nodded in acceptance, and Mo Yong Mu Gyeol smiled faintly to himself, his thoughts drifting.
‘It was the second time.’
The boy had come to him of his own accord to make a request.
The first time was when he’d asked for a blue-eyed cat that resembled his own father.
The second was days ago, when he’d come asking to be sent to Anhui.
‘Or more precisely—to be near the Nam Goong Clan. More precisely still, to Ho Yeon’s side.’
That name had been crossing his ears with increasing frequency of late.
Mo Yong Mu Gyeol, who had fallen briefly into thought, gave Mo Yong Gyeom a further instruction.
“Have word sent through the network. I have a commission to make.”

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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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