Namgoong the Sword Ghost - Chapter 59

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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 59. The Sword Demon Meets Eun Cho Ae
“Hmm….”
Step, step, step.
Upon arriving at the grand estate, Namgung Ho Yeon adjusted his clothes.
He wore a neat indigo martial robe, its chest embroidered with white lightning bolts bursting from clouds.
This robe had been embroidered by his mother’s own hands, and his sleek hair had been combed all morning by his sister.
“Young master, shall we enter?”
Beside him stood Namgung Sang Bo, the treasurer of the clan, dressed in a similarly blue martial robe and wearing a tense expression.
He approached the estate and showed a letter to the gatekeeper.
Moments later, a broad-shouldered man emerged and escorted Namgung Ho Yeon and Namgung Sang Bo inside.
“Surrender your sword.”
Upon reaching the main hall, the man demanded that Namgung Ho Yeon disarm.
Namgung Ho Yeon shook his head.
“Then I cannot enter.”
“How disrespectful. You mean to present yourself before the Imperial Princess with a sword at your waist?”
The broad-shouldered man’s face hardened into a stern expression as he spoke down to Namgung Ho Yeon, and beside him, Namgung Sang Bo’s complexion went ashen.
At that, Namgung Ho Yeon smiled faintly and replied.
“That is not what I meant. This body is itself a sword—to disarm, I would have to turn back.”
“Hmm?”
The broad-shouldered man paused, considering Namgung Ho Yeon’s words, then let out a hearty laugh as he grasped the jest.
“Ha ha! Bold spirit indeed! To have reached the realm where one becomes a blade at such an age? Truly, a worthy son of the Namgung Clan, renowned throughout the martial world.”
“With such thorough precautions in place, are you still uneasy?” Namgung Ho Yeon asked, glancing around.
He observed his surroundings carefully.
‘The auras I sense around here alone number in the hundreds. Every one of them a seasoned martial artist.’
Indeed, this was a place befitting a member of the imperial family.
Above all, the man before him emanated a spiritual force rivaling that of Namgung Ho Yeon’s father.
In other words, at the very least, a master of supreme cultivation.
“Ha ha, merely a matter of protocol.”
“Well then, I understand.”
Namgung Ho Yeon nodded and produced three swords, along with the Wol Young Dan Hong from his sleeve.
He had no wish to appear presumptuous. There was no reason to provoke the estate’s master.
Click, click.
After passing through several doors, they finally arrived at the chamber where the Imperial Princess resided.
Two Imperial Guards stood before the entrance like stone statues, keeping watch.
“Your Highness. A delegation from the Namgung Clan has arrived—they claim to be benefactors of Man Hong of the Bobusan.”
“Let them in.”
As the broad-shouldered man announced their arrival, the sound of jade spheres rolling drifted from within the chamber.
The woman’s voice carried an innate majesty and refined elegance.
Click.
The door opened, and a woman appeared clad in a crimson outer robe embroidered with golden ginkgo leaves, a faint aroma of musk attending her.
“Welcome. I am grateful you accepted my invitation.”
Her hair was arranged high in clouds, adorned with a golden phoenix ornament and a jeweled step-shake that glittered with various gems.
Leaning against the armrest of her chair, the woman turned her head to follow the afternoon sunlight, her bearing as graceful as a lotus caught in a drowsy moment.
“Oh?”
In the eyes of the woman regarding Namgung Ho Yeon—deep and clear as a pond—there mingled a hint of ennui and curiosity.
Then her peach-bud nose twitched, and a mysterious smile bloomed at her lips like the moon veiled by clouds.
“How amusing.”
The Imperial Princess of Talent and Artistry, Eun Cho Ae, had taken an interest in Namgung Ho Yeon.
* * *
“It is remarkable indeed. Does the very land recognize its master?”
“That can hardly be the case. It is all due to the benevolence of the Imperial House.”
“Ha ha, you have a honeyed tongue.”
Namgung Ho Yeon explained to Eun Cho Ae how the Namgung Clan had come to cultivate tea leaves in Seogjong Soil.
She listened with evident interest, her chin resting on her hand.
Namgung Ho Yeon wore a mask of perfect courtesy as he addressed the Imperial Princess—more carefully than ever before.
‘Back in the days of the Former Empire, I’d slain a number of imperial blood myself. Troublesome matters that spawned from it, too.’
As Namgung Ho Yeon recalled the past, Eun Cho Ae smiled and spoke.
“My mother is quite fond of your tea leaves. I thank you for it.”
“You honor me.”
“Truly. My mother’s health has not been good, so she came to Hwacheong Ji to recuperate. Wanting to lift her spirits as a daughter, I happened to meet Man Hong of the Bobusan, you see?”
At Eun Cho Ae’s words, Namgung Sang Bo, standing behind her, felt a flush of warmth spread across his face.
Her remark carried profoundly positive implications.
And indeed, she didn’t disappoint.
“Might you be willing to sell us more of the Tea Leaves you’ve cultivated?”
“Of course. We’ve brought a cartload with us.”
“Ah, excellent. I shall pay you handsomely for it.”
“We didn’t come seeking payment. Having noble persons such as yourselves appreciate our Tea Leaves is reward enough.”
Ho Yeon recited the rehearsed lines without a single word out of place.
‘The value isn’t the coin—it’s the prestige of being tea consumed by the royal house, wasn’t it?’
Before departing from the clan, Ho Yeon had been forced to memorize situational dialogue.
The masters of finance, foreign affairs, and the archives had huddled together to compose these scripts, word by word.
Privately, Ho Yeon thought it excessive, but for the clan’s revival, he would do what was necessary.
“Hmm? How admirably selfless.”
Eun Cho Ae’s phoenix-like eyes narrowed as she studied him.
Then she turned to Namgung Sang Bo and spoke.
“You there—can you bring the cart with the Tea Leaves at once?”
“Y-yes, of course!”
“General Eon. Go with this man and fetch the cart.”
“As you wish, Your Highness.”
“Make haste.”
General Eon, a burly man of few words, glanced between Ho Yeon and Eun Cho Ae before nodding reluctantly.
Creak! Thud!
As Namgung Sang Bo and General Eon stepped outside, only Ho Yeon and Eun Cho Ae remained in the chamber.
Rustle.
Eun Cho Ae straightened her posture, abandoning the languid recline of moments before.
The drowsy air that had filled her vanished, replaced by an authority as sharp as frost.
“Listen well, Namgung Ho Yeon.”
“Yes.”
“Do you know what I despise most?”
“I… I couldn’t say.”
“It is those who wear masks.”
Disappointment flickered in Eun Cho Ae’s gaze as she looked down at him.
“I have witnessed countless human faces within the Imperial Palace. Perhaps because of this, I can discern at once whether someone wears a mask or not.”
……
“Man Hong of the Bobusan was an honest man. Though he didn’t know my true identity, he was sincere in his loyalty to his benefactor.”
……
“I was curious what sort of person commanded such loyalty. How disappointing you turn out to be.”
Ho Yeon, who had been listening in silence, opened his mouth.
“Is it not discourteous to unveil one’s true face upon first meeting?”
“Hmm?”
“That mask you speak of—it goes by many names: propriety, decorum, etiquette. To suddenly expose one’s bare face to another might prove… unpleasant.”
Eun Cho Ae fell silent for a moment, considering, then nodded slowly.
“You have a point. Your words are just. I have seen so many hide their ugly, true selves behind masks that I presumed you would do the same, didn’t I?”
As she muttered to herself, finding her own reasoning sound, Ho Yeon’s thoughts turned inward.
‘A singular royal personage, this one.’
Ordinarily, royalty do not recant their words.
They are born righteous, after all.
‘Most Imperial Enemies fill me with rage—I’d like to cut them down—but not this woman.’
Regarding her with an expression of curiosity, Ho Yeon felt Eun Cho Ae smile brilliantly as she spoke.
“Then you, with my permission, shall remove your mask.”
“Are you certain? My true face is rather… unsightly.”
“Ha, compared to the bare faces I’ve beheld, yours would be positively endearing. Come now.”
As Eun Cho Ae urged him forward, her eyes gleaming with anticipation, Ho Yeon found himself grimacing inwardly.
‘Damn it. This wasn’t in the script… Well, to hell with it.’
Ho Yeon realized that what had been a prepared performance had somehow become improvisation.
Since he’d never had talent for acting anyway, his bare face felt far more natural.
“Your Highness, if I may—I’ve been wondering about something since earlier.”
“Of course.”
“Doesn’t that get heavy?”
“Hmm?”
When Namgung Ho Yeon pointed to Eun Cho Ae’s hair, piled high like gathered clouds, she blinked and ran her fingers through it with a laugh.
“Ha-ha-ha! Of course it’s heavy! But there’s nothing for it. The imperial family must always stand high, you see. Since I’m small of stature, I must pile my hair high to compensate.”
“Tsk, what a pitiful tale. I’m dying from not growing tall enough myself.”
“Hee-hee-hee! So we’re kindred spirits in this. How old are you, exactly?”
“Sixteen, Your Highness.”
“Still an age of promise, then. I am at twenty years—the age of full bloom—and have already resigned myself to growing no taller.”
As Namgung Ho Yeon cast aside his courteous mask and behaved according to his true nature, Eun Cho Ae’s eyes sparkled with delight as she peppered him with questions.
“What sort of place is the martial world beyond the palace?”
“Much the same as anywhere else—a place where people live.”
“I’ve rarely ventured beyond these palace walls, so the outside world fascinates me. I thought coming here might satisfy my curiosity, but everyone insists on coddling me.”
“Well, if anything happened to Your Highness, more than a few people would lose their heads.”
“Hee-hee-hee! There was a time I tried to climb over the wall, and General Eon wept bitter tears.”
“…That man certainly has his trials.”
As Namgung Ho Yeon stared at her in disbelief, Eun Cho Ae turned to him with an almost pleading curiosity.
“Have you traveled? What is the farthest place you’ve been?”
“Recently, I journeyed to Yao Ning Province and back.”
“Yao Ning! I’ve heard there are Saekmogin there! Is it true their eyes are blue? Do they have hair of gold?”
“Yes. One whom I’ve taken as a brother has blue eyes.”
“Oh! How wondrous! Are they beautiful?”
“Very beautiful.”
“What business took you so far?”
“I attended the Baekga Geom-hoe. It’s a gathering where—”
Namgung Ho Yeon answered each question from the princess, who was nothing but curiosity incarnate.
He then compressed the account of the Baekga Geom-hoe, the identification and elimination of the Hwaedongjidan, into half an hour’s worth of narrative.
Eun Cho Ae cycled through fascination, fury, and sorrow as she listened.
“How could such a terrible affair occur within the Eun Nation! Why does no such report appear in the memorial documents?”
“Likely because there are more pressing matters demanding attention?”
“A gang abducting children, and the imperial authorities made no move! How can the Provincial Governor of Yao Ning call himself an administrator!”
“From what I gather, he was rather occupied countering rival factions.”
“Still, even so—!”
The sight of Eun Cho Ae’s pale fists, blue veins standing forth with the force she exerted, struck him as refreshingly genuine.
‘What is this? Is she really imperial?’
For all her majestic bearing—like a phoenix wreathed in dignity—her spirit possessed none of that poison. She was more like a lark, innocent and unsuspecting.
How she survived in a palace where schemes and machinations ruled was a mystery.
‘Hmm, this makes it rather difficult to exploit her…’
While Namgung Ho Yeon hesitated, Eun Cho Ae’s eyes grew bright with questioning.
“You are truly only sixteen? The judgment to mobilize your clan’s forces, the decisiveness to identify enemies and seize the offensive, and moreover martial prowess known as the Seonjeon Noe Ah technique…”
Eun Cho Ae found it utterly unbelievable that someone four years her junior had accomplished all of it.
“This technique you call Cheonroegi—could you show it to me?”
“Mm…”
“Was it a presumptuous request?”
“No, well…”
Namgung Ho Yeon felt the presence of watchers closing in from all directions and scratched his head.
Though it seemed only two occupied the room, in truth a dozen or more guards were monitoring his every move.
“I’ll show you briefly. Please be at ease.”
Namgung Ho Yeon spoke to the guards who watched him, raising his index finger.
Crack!
The Cheonroegi burst forth from his fingertip, white lightning flickering brilliantly before vanishing.
“That’s—amazing! Is all martial arts like that?”
“The techniques I’ve learned are somewhat unusual.”
“Could I learn them?”
“Worried I’d steal your livelihood?”
Namgung Ho Yeon shrugged and continued.
“Besides, the Imperial Palace archives don’t hold many superior techniques, do they?”
“Hmm, I browsed them once, but I only read through the Geumgang Bulgoe Ji Sin Gong and the Yeo Ui Geumgang Gong a few times. I doubt I could master them.”
“…”
At Eun Cho Ae’s words, Namgung Ho Yeon’s mouth twitched.
Martial artists throughout the realm coveted Shaolin’s divine techniques, and she had merely skimmed through them.
‘She truly is imperial.’
No matter how carefree she appeared, she was born to power itself.
Namgung Ho Yeon, having confirmed it, steadied himself and opened his mouth.
“Come to think of it, you dislike people wearing masks—something recent must have come to mind.”
“Oh? What might that be?”
“Those men in wooden and silver masks—what were they loading into that carriage?”
“What do you suppose they were carrying?”
As Eun Cho Ae blinked her eyes curiously and asked, Namgung Ho Yeon smiled faintly and answered.
“Salt.”

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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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