Chapter 159
Chapter 159
A silent dawn where the moonlight brightly illuminated the surroundings.
Youngho sat in the Cross-Legged Meditation Posture, refining the enlightenment he had gained this time into something even more beautiful.
Brilliant petals bloomed above his head as his cross-legged body floated gently in the air.
The distance from the ground was barely about one chi, so he was not floating very high, yet it was a sight that defied common sense.
At that moment, Youngho slowly opened his eyes and set aside the enlightenment he had been tempering within his Mindscape for the time being.
Youngho rose from his spot and slipped his hand into the bundle where his belongings were stored as he spoke.
“You may come in.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the door to the quarters opened, and Namgung Cheon revealed his stiffly hardened face as he spoke.
“I apologize for coming at such a late hour.”
“I more or less expected it. Close the door and come inside.”
As if he had truly anticipated everything, Youngho behaved calmly. Seeing this, Namgung Cheon felt a mysterious sensation that he could not put into words as he stepped inside.
“Don’t stand there stiffly. Sit.”
Youngho pulled out a Wine Bottle from the bundle and, at the same time, used Object Grasping Through the Void to pull over a small table.
On the table were two cups, as if he had planned from the beginning to drink with someone else.
Youngho handed one of the Wine Bottles he was holding to Namgung Cheon and said,
“There’s nothing better than wine when having a serious conversation. Take it.”
“…Thank you.”
At some point, Youngho had cast aside the dignity of the Sword Exalted and spoke casually as if addressing a friend of the same age. Namgung Cheon showed a puzzled expression at this attitude.
Reading Namgung Cheon’s expression, Youngho snickered.
“Right now, there is no Sword Exalted and no Emperor Sword here. There are only two young fellows talking like ordinary people of the same age.”
Youngho poured an appropriate amount of wine into his cup and continued.
“Of course, depending on what kind of conversation it is, it might become drunken truth—or just a day where we quietly laugh it off.”
Youngho pointed with his chin toward Namgung Cheon’s cup, which he had not yet poured because he was staring blankly at him.
“Not going to drink?”
“Ah! Sorry—.”
While speaking, Namgung Cheon moved his lips for a moment before firming his voice again.
“…I will drink.”
Youngho chuckled as he spoke to Namgung Cheon, who had understood his intention.
“Good. It brings back all the old memories. So, what were you curious about that you came all the way here?”
As Youngho grinned slyly, Namgung Cheon felt far more relaxed than before. The tension in his shoulders loosened, and he spoke bluntly as if addressing a friend of the same age.
“If you prepared this much, shouldn’t you already know what I want to say?”
“I can roughly guess, but unless you say it yourself, I can’t know for sure. It could just be my misunderstanding.”
Namgung Cheon nodded slightly in agreement.
“The only one I know who is not inferior to Hyeon-gang, who is called the Divine Physician of Ten Thousand Hands, and Zhuge Lianhua… is a woman named Myeongnyang.”
Namgung Cheon still hesitated. He was unsure whether it was right to ask this question now.
Even though he could have easily encouraged him, Youngho quietly waited for Namgung Cheon to speak, as though he was certain that Namgung Cheon would eventually ask.
The hesitation did not last long. Having steeled his resolve, Namgung Cheon took a deep breath and met Youngho’s gaze.
“Tell me what kind of tragedy Hyeon-gang and Myeongnyang experienced.”
Tragedy.
It was truly a word choice befitting Namgung Cheon. Seeing the Namgung Cheon before him gradually becoming the Namgung Cheon he knew, Youngho unconsciously curled his lips upward.
“Tragedy… Yes, something that deserves such a description did happen. But know this. This tragedy is still happening even now—and it’s not something as grand as you might think.”
Namgung Cheon lightly bit his lip. He had expected something, but this time he had hoped his guess would be wrong.
‘Life is not easy.’
Namgung Cheon lifted his cup and poured the wine straight down his throat. He wished it were bitter, harsh liquor, but the wine he drank was instead so clean and refreshing that the word exquisite suited it perfectly.
Afterward, Youngho also emptied his cup and began speaking.
He told him everything Hyeon-gang had experienced within the Tang Clan, and how much contempt and discrimination he had suffered simply for being from a collateral line.
Perhaps because they both belonged to one of the Five Great Families, Namgung Cheon’s expression gradually hardened.
Anger. Emptiness. And finally, realization.
Namgung Cheon laughed hollowly.
But the tragedy did not end there. This time, Youngho spoke about Myeongnyang.
The story of an unfortunate genius who could not fully demonstrate her abilities simply because she was a woman was told plainly, yet it struck deeply in the heart.
A body blessed with exceptional talent in Martial Arts, yet unable to properly cultivate Martial Arts due to an innate constitution.
And upon realizing how outdated people’s thinking truly was, Namgung Cheon could only smile bitterly.
Every time another tragic story came from Youngho’s lips, Namgung Cheon repeatedly drank from his cup.
It was a little disappointing that the wine was not strong liquor, but drinking it made him feel much more at ease.
By the time Youngho finished speaking, there was no wine left in Namgung Cheon’s bottle.
He realized the entire truth.
Why Zhuge Lianhua had investigated the people around Hyeon-gang and Youngho.
He had learned far too much.
That those suffering misfortune were much closer than he had ever imagined.
And he felt grateful.
Grateful that he had been given a chance to set things right, even now.
Because of the burning in his stomach, Namgung Cheon wanted to gulp down cold water immediately, but he endured it and said,
“Thank you for telling me.”
“I’m not sure if this is something to be thankful for.”
“At least for me, it became an opportunity I could never have had otherwise.”
“That’s good then. I hope you make the most of that opportunity.”
“…Do you have anything else to say?”
“Me? Or you?”
“I have nothing to say. More precisely, I don’t have the right to say anything.”
“I’m the same as you. I no longer have the right to comment on this matter. These wounds are not mine—they belong to my subordinates.”
There would be nothing more to say now.
Now that he knew the truth, Namgung Cheon would certainly correct it. If possible, he would even try to mend the relationships.
‘It will be very difficult.’
Relationships that had already twisted apart were not easy to restore, and even correcting them would be difficult.
Youngho slowly lifted his cup and spoke.
“If my subordinates wish for revenge, I am willing to lend them a hand.”
Namgung Cheon’s face grew grave.
In the Martial World, revenge was an extremely common thing.
But if the Sword Exalted helped with that revenge, the situation changed entirely.
If the Sword Exalted moved personally, it would become an utterly horrifying calamity.
Youngho glanced at Namgung Cheon’s serious expression and drank another cup.
The wine flowing down his throat was truly smooth and clean.
“I hope your goal is achieved.”
It was not merely encouragement to resolve the current situation.
Youngho was also expressing his wish for the ideal world Namgung Cheon desired to be realized.
Whether he understood that or not, Namgung Cheon looked at Youngho with a strange expression at the vague remark.
After staring at him silently for a while, Namgung Cheon gave a small nod and stood up.
“I won’t forget the help you gave me.”
“Alright.”
“But you shared wine with Sister Hwangbo Nyeong without cups. Why did you give me a cup?”
Namgung Cheon still remembered.
When they drank together, Hwangbo Nyeong had liked the dreamy, mystical atmosphere surrounding Youngho.
Every time she spoke of that moment, her eyes became hazy and she smiled pleasantly.
A mysterious atmosphere that stirred curiosity.
So he asked the question without thinking too deeply.
He wanted to continue the conversation, but with this question, Namgung Cheon instinctively felt he could not remain in Youngho’s quarters any longer.
However, the answer he received only made his regret grow even more.
“When the conversation is too serious, wine should be emptied slowly. You always drink too quickly.”
The way he spoke, as if he knew him well, and the accuracy of his words.
Namgung Cheon suddenly felt regret that Youngho belonged to the Unorthodox Faction, and without saying anything more, he hurriedly left Youngho’s quarters.
“…What?”
Hyeon-gang spoke to Tang Gunhyeon, unable to hide his disbelief.
“The Tang Clan Head wants to meet me?”
“…Yes.”
“Do I have to meet him?”
“There is no intention to pressure you. If you wish to meet him, we will arrange it.”
“Oh really? Then that’s fine.”
“…Pardon?”
As if he had heard something strange, Tang Gunhyeon picked his ear with his little finger and asked again.
“Are you saying you will not meet my father?”
“Yeah. Why should I?”
“Ah… I hesitate to say this, but… have you never thought about revenge?”
“Revenge?”
Hyeon-gang paused and thought for a moment.
Although it was brief, the answer remained the same.
Hyeon-gang looked directly into Tang Gunhyeon’s eyes and spoke.
“I might think the Tang Clan deserves to be ground up, chewed apart, and called damned bastards—but I’m not thinking about revenge.”
“…What?”
The words coming from someone called a Divine Physician were unbelievably crude, but judging by how strongly he spoke, his hostility and hatred toward the Tang Clan seemed considerable.
Yet he had no intention of revenge?
“Ah, I did think about it in the past. I was betrayed by someone who called himself my master, and the Tang Clan Head protected his own children while ignoring the value of other people’s children. It disgusted me.”
“Then why…?”
“I still hate the Tang Clan. If you ask whether I resent them, of course I’ll say yes. I’ll keep cursing them too. Probably for the rest of my life. They deserve it.”
It was extremely rude to say this in front of Tang Gunhyeon, who belonged to the Tang Clan.
However, Tang Gunhyeon—who himself had once acted like a reckless wastrel—could understand Hyeon-gang.
“But revenge… it’s not really worth it.”
“…Pardon?”
“If I asked the Young Master for help, he would support me without asking any questions. But then we’d have to wage war against the Tang Clan, and the casualties would be no joke.”
He kept speaking as if it were obvious.
People dying would be tragic, and treating injured people was a hassle.
So why bother with revenge?
In the end, the conclusion was simple.
Hyeon-gang would not take revenge on the Tang Clan.
At least, the Hyeon-gang Tang Gunhyeon saw would not seek revenge.
He would simply hate them and bear hostility.
Suddenly, Tang Gunhyeon remembered something Youngho had said before.
Value.
Yes.
To Hyeon-gang, the Tang Clan was not even worth taking revenge on.
Tang Gunhyeon was so shocked he was speechless.
Meanwhile, Hyeon-gang continued speaking.
“By the way, why does the Tang Clan Head want to meet me? Is he injured somewhere?”
“Ah… he wishes to offer an apology…”
“Hosan, am I crazy? When this guy says apology, does he mean the fruit? Or is the Tang Clan Head trying to ask forgiveness but saying it like this to save face?”
“Orthodox Sect people can be strange, so maybe he’s really trying to give you fruit. But can we accept something from the Tang Clan?”
“There’s definitely poison in it. Do you think the Tang Clan is that naive?”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.”
Tang Gunhyeon tilted his head, unable to understand the conversation between Kang Hosan and Hyeon-gang.
“The Tang Clan Head wishes to ask forgiveness from the Divine Physician of Ten Thousand Hands.”
“….”
Hyeon-gang spoke with an indifferent expression.
“No thanks. I won’t forgive him. Let’s just go back to training.”
Namgung Cheon, who had been watching all of this, had eyes trembling pitifully.
Beside him, Kang Chowon spoke while polishing her sword with complete disinterest.
“I told you. Their karma is just too heavy.”