Namgung Heavenly Demon - Chapter 58

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 58

 

After everyone had left the Gajujeon.

 

Namgung Cheon’s gaze turned toward Namgung Mugang sitting in the Taesaui and Jegal Hwa standing beside him.

 

“If you have something to ask, I will listen attentively.”

 

At those words, Namgung Mugang slowly descended from the Taesaui and stood before his son.

 

His unfathomable gaze swept over Namgung Cheon’s entire body.

 

Soon, a strange light flickered in Namgung Mugang’s eyes.

 

There was no need to ask anything.

 

What had happened in Honam, what battles had been fought.

 

And how much blood the sword in that scabbard had absorbed.

 

He could tell just from the changed aura alone.

 

As the two locked eyes.

 

Namgung Cheon took out two objects from his robes and presented them to Namgung Mugang.

 

“These came from Gwimyeon Gyejoo’s secret vault.”

 

A book and a wooden plaque.

 

Namgung Mugang’s eyebrows twitched upon seeing them.

 

Not missing that change, Namgung Cheon pointed to the book and said.

 

“This martial art was an evil technique that devours one’s innate qi.”

 

He then pointed to the wooden plaque.

 

“This pattern… is something I’m seeing for the first time. So, I ask.”

 

Namgung Cheon continued while looking at the wooden plaque.

 

“This symbol of nine overlapping circles. What exactly is it?”

 

Namgung Mugang’s gaze lingered on the pattern carved into the wooden plaque.

 

His pupils wavered.

 

But only for a moment.

 

He soon erased all emotion and returned to an indifferent expression.

 

“Forget it.”

 

A single word carrying weight that could not be defied.

 

“You don’t need to know yet.”

 

“…”

 

‘As expected.’

 

Namgung Cheon’s eyes grew cold.

 

He had ordered silence.

 

Then there was only one reason.

 

Either this secret was massive enough to shake the entire Namgung Clan, or he judged it was still too early for him to handle.

 

Nevertheless, Namgung Cheon did not back down.

 

The reason he had revealed this wooden plaque without hiding it was precisely to ask this question.

 

“By any chance, is this related to why you were away from the family for so long?”

 

At that question, Namgung Mugang’s gaze finally shifted from the wooden plaque to Namgung Cheon.

 

A long time passed.

 

The air inside the Gajujeon settled as cold as ice.

 

Finally.

 

“…It’s not unrelated.”

 

Namgung Mugang answered the question.

 

“I understand.”

 

That was enough.

 

Pressing further would be overstepping his bounds.

 

Namgung Cheon knew the line he should not cross.

 

As the atmosphere grew heavy, Jegal Hwa gently intervened.

 

“Let’s leave the conversation at that. You’ve worked hard traveling such a long way. Rest well.”

 

Namgung Cheon rose from his seat without another word and bowed respectfully.

 

Then he turned to leave the Gajujeon, but suddenly stopped in his tracks.

 

“Ah.”

 

Namgung Cheon turned his head to look at Jegal Hwa.

 

“What is it?”

 

“I met my maternal grandmother in Yungjoong.”

 

“Yes, I know.”

 

Namgung Cheon remained silent for a moment as if choosing his words, then opened his mouth.

 

“My grandmother told me many stories about mother. How she made a mess of the flower garden with blooming bloodheart flowers when she was young…”

 

“…!”

 

Jegal Hwa’s usually calm eyes shook greatly for a moment.

 

But Namgung Cheon did not stop.

 

“I also heard the story about how she turned the family upside down because of the arranged marriage.”

 

Jegal Hwa’s cheeks turned very slightly red.

 

It was an extremely rare sight to see the renowned Wuhua Hou flustered and blushing.

 

Namgung Cheon quietly added.

 

“However…”

 

“Speak.”

 

Namgung Cheon’s gaze turned toward Jegal Hwa.

 

“While grandmother spoke of such things, her expression looked joyful yet somehow lonely at the same time.”

 

“…”

 

Strength entered Jegal Hwa’s hands.

 

Her mother’s face, which she had forgotten for so long, seemed to be drawn before her eyes through her son’s calm voice.

 

She lowered her eyes for a moment, then opened her mouth as if nothing had happened.

 

“…Mother said unnecessary things.”

 

Her tone seemed reproachful.

 

But as she spoke, the corners of her eyes were slightly moist.

 

Namgung Cheon bowed deeply once more.

 

“Then, I shall take my leave.”

 

After Namgung Cheon left and the door of the Gajujeon was firmly closed.

 

A strange silence flowed inside the Gajujeon.

 

After staring at the closed door for a long while, Namgung Mugang quietly spoke.

 

“I didn’t know you had such a hard time insisting on that marriage.”

 

Jegal Hwa’s face reddened once again.

 

Namgung Mugang chuckled briefly and looked at the spot where Namgung Cheon had been standing.

 

“He’s changed a lot. His actions are unhesitating, and now I see he even makes jokes.”

 

At those words, Jegal Hwa’s expression became serious again.

 

He had certainly changed.

 

And quite dramatically at that.

 

That’s why she was worried.

 

She feared that with his changed temperament, he might even try to dig into that dangerous secret you were trying to hide.

 

“You gave him a warning, but…”

 

Jegal Hwa let out a quiet sigh.

 

“Judging by his actions so far, it will be difficult to stop him.”

 

“I know.”

 

Namgung Mugang spoke.

 

A bitter smile crossed his lips.

 

“I made him that way.”

 

Jegal Hwa immediately understood the meaning contained in those words.

 

Regret and guilt over not trusting his son and neglecting him for so long.

 

All those emotions were melted into her husband’s bitter smile.

 

However, unlike her husband’s bitterness, a smile actually spread across Jegal Hwa’s lips.

 

She recalled Namgung Mugang from his younger days.

 

A lone wolf who rejected the shackles of being the heir to the Realm’s Greatest Swordsmen and wandered the world with just his sword.

 

The current Namgung Cheon bore a striking resemblance to that figure.

 

‘You were the same way back then. That appearance…’

 

Swallowing the words she couldn’t bring herself to say, she quietly placed her hand on her husband’s shoulder.

 

* * *

 

The front courtyard of Namgung Cheon’s quarters, tinged with the blue energy of dawn.

 

The sound of cutting through air split the silence as it sliced through the cool air.

 

Clang―!

 

Two swords clashed in midair and fell.

 

Mujin’s sword was fast and sharp.

 

The secretive yet deadly trajectory characteristic of the Eulmyeol Sword.

 

“Hup!”

 

Mujin retrieved his sword with a short battle cry and thrust forward again.

 

The sword tip vibrated minutely, creating dozens of phantom images.

 

Dazzling sword shadows where reality and illusion were hard to distinguish.

 

Namgung Cheon found the exact reality within those confusing sword shadows.

 

And he raised his sword.

 

Very slowly and smoothly.

 

Whooom.

 

The atmosphere around Cheoncheon’s blade settled heavily.

 

Mujin’s charging sword rapidly lost speed as if caught in a swamp.

 

Namgung Cheon didn’t miss that opening.

 

The smoothly rotating sword suddenly stopped, then shot out in a straight line.

 

Flash.

 

A blue flash grazed past Mujin’s neck.

 

Thud.

 

Mujin quickly stepped back, breathing heavily.

 

Whether fine hairs had been cut, a cool sensation circled around his nape.

 

“…Hah, now it’s really becoming unmanageable.”

 

Mujin clicked his tongue as he sheathed his sword.

 

Unlike him, who was drenched in sweat, Namgung Cheon’s breathing remained perfectly calm without a single disturbance.

 

“Young Master, you seem to change with each passing day.”

 

Even at Mujin’s admiration, Namgung Cheon calmly sheathed Cheoncheon.

 

“You seem to be the same way.”

 

Namgung Cheon’s gaze turned toward Mujin’s sword.

 

“Your sword has become lighter.”

 

“…You can feel it?”

 

Mujin chuckled as he looked down at his own sword.

 

“When I emptied my heart, the sword became filled. I think I’m finally beginning to understand the meaning of Eulmyeol that Master spoke of.”

 

Mujin wiped away his sweat and laughed heartily.

 

Namgung Cheon silently watched such a Mujin for a moment.

 

A sword that naturally fills up after being emptied.

 

This was an incomparable achievement as a martial artist.

 

Both of them had reached a higher level in their martial arts through this journey in Gangho.

 

But martial arts alone could not cut through the world.

 

Namgung Cheon’s gaze left Mujin and turned toward the gap in the quarters’ door.

 

Through the gap, he could see a large wooden chest placed on the table.

 

A thoroughly practical problem that needed immediate resolution, separate from martial prowess.

 

His brow furrowed.

 

The power that moved Tianxia wasn’t just martial force.

 

Rather, the current Gangho was a place where invisible chains of financial power were woven even more tightly than before.

 

That’s why money held considerable significance.

 

‘I need to think about this.’

 

After finishing his sparring with Mujin, Namgung Cheon washed off his sweat, entered his room, sat at the table, and opened the chest.

 

Gleam.

 

Golden light poured out, filling the room.

 

Gold ingots and treasures taken from Gwimyeon-gye.

 

A massive fortune that would easily amount to tens of thousands of nyang.

 

Money that an ordinary person could live off for generations without working.

 

But to Namgung Cheon’s eyes, it merely looked like cold chunks of metal.

 

He picked up one gold ingot.

 

The weight pressing down on his palm, the cold sensation of metal seeping through.

 

‘In my previous life, I conducted all transactions with this gold.’

 

Gold was currency that circulated by itself.

 

Absolute value that needed no doubt or proof.

 

But now it was different.

 

Over the decades that had passed, Gangho’s accounting methods had become completely different from what he knew.

 

Namgung Cheon recalled his memory of browsing through Baekcheon Trading Company’s ledgers.

 

‘They didn’t trade with gold or silver certificates.’

 

Even in transactions involving tens of thousands of nyang, it was extremely rare to exchange physical gold or silver.

 

What had taken their place were promissory notes.

 

A few pieces of paper were substituting for amounts of gold that would require carts to transport.

 

‘The trading methods have changed.’

 

Namgung Cheon fell into thought while handling the gold ingot.

 

If he went out with this gold ingot now to buy something, what would actually happen?

 

If he went to the marketplace and presented this, would merchants gladly hand over their goods?

 

‘No.’

 

Nine times out of ten, they’d wave their hands in refusal first.

 

Unverifiable weight, gold ingots whose origin couldn’t be proven.

 

If they rashly accepted such items, they wouldn’t be able to handle the consequences.

 

Money that couldn’t be spent freely even if one wanted to.

 

This wasn’t money, but merely heavy stones.

 

‘But letting this rot away would be foolish.’

 

Money is power.

 

But stagnant money cannot become power.

 

Therefore.

 

‘I need to make the money flow.’

 

He had to transform this massive capital into another sword that he could wield at will, anytime and anywhere.

 

Namgung Cheon pushed the gold ingot back into the chest.

 

Thunk.

 

A dull sound echoed in the room.

 

‘I have to admit it.’

 

That he didn’t fully understand the current methods of handling money and their complex flows.

 

Pretending to know what one doesn’t know is the most foolish act of all.

 

Therefore, he needed someone who could provide an answer to this problem.

 

‘How convenient that such a person exists.’

 

A faint smile appeared on Namgung Cheon’s lips.

 

‘Baekdwang.’

 

Yes, he would know.

 

How to release these gold ingots into the world most efficiently and most secretly.

 

How money should be handled in today’s world.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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