10 times. Why did you do that?
Baek Mi-ju, who had been frowning, approached her eldest son, Yeon Mu-baek, and whispered.
“Is your nephew like that?”
Yeonmu Baek nodded his head.
Baek Mi-ju’s face distorted at her son’s reaction.
“why?”
“I don’t know.”
Baek Mi-ju felt her stomach turn at Yeonmu Baek’s words, but she had to hold it in.
Meanwhile, Namgung Yeon entered the courtyard without hesitation as if he were the owner of the house.
She stood tall in front of the small room where Yeonjeokha had lived, relying on her past memories.
Then he turned around and glared at Baek Mi-ju.
Baek Mi-ju felt hurt inside, but she pretended not to notice and forced a smile.
“Yes. That is the enemy’s room.”
It is true that it is a room that was used ten years ago.
Of course, no one has used it since then. The room has always been empty since Yeonjeok-ha was six years old.
She locked Yeon-jeok-ha in the storage room, but did not use his room for any other purpose.
Namgung Yeon took off his shoes on the threshold and entered Yeonjeokha’s room.
Namgungcheon quickly explained to his aunt.
“It seems like they are trying to find out where the youngest has gone. If Yuna takes an interest, there is nothing they can’t solve. They will be able to find the youngest soon.”
“… … .”
Baek Mi-ju laughed inwardly.
‘Huh! If you search through a room that’s been empty for ten years, how can you know where that guy went? Is that girl a powerful shaman or something?’
Has it been a while?
Namgung Yeon came out with an indifferent face.
She put her shoes back on the step.
Then, this time, Baek Mi-ju, who had been just watching, stepped forward.
“Nephew, if you know where our enemy has gone, please tell me. In the meantime, I… … .”
Before Baek Mi-ju could finish speaking, Namgung Yeon passed her by.
Baek Mi-ju’s face distorted at Namgung Yeon’s attitude of acting as if he didn’t exist. There is a limit to how much you can ignore someone, but Namgung Yeon went beyond that limit.
This is the moment when Baek Mi-ju, who is overcome with emotion, is about to say something.
Namgung Yeon crossed the yard like the wind and went out the front gate.
Namgungcheon bowed and spoke to Baek Miju, who was standing there with a blank expression.
“It seems that something urgent has come up for Yeon-ah. I will also be leaving now. Aunt, I hope you live a long and healthy life. Priest, I will go first.”
Baek Mi-ju was speechless at the sudden greeting and just blinked.
As soon as the precious guests who haven’t been here in ten years arrive, they leave right away.
As the younger brother quickly leaves, the eldest son hurriedly finishes greeting him.
In her common sense, this kind of thing could not happen.
What kind of strange thing is this when Namgungcheon is scolding his younger brother and making him kneel and still not feeling well?
But Yeonmu Baek, far from stopping her, bowed as if it were natural and responded.
“Sir, I won’t send you far away. Please take care of yourself and go back. There will be a day when we meet again in the world of martial arts. Please help me out then.”
“Yes, we are strangers. We have been eating from the same pot for ten years. If you need help, send a message to Namgung Se-ga at any time. I will run to you even a thousand miles away.”
Baek Mi-ju was pleased with the farewell speeches from her eldest son, Yeon Mu-baek, and Namgung Cheon.
This is normal.
It would be impolite to come to greet the family after ten years and just look into the room of the enemy and then leave.
As Namgungcheon moved, the Yeon clan rushed to the main gate again.
However, Baek Mi-ju, whose pride was greatly hurt, sat on the floor and did not move.
After a while, the eldest son, Yeonmu Baek, returned after seeing them off.
“Mubaek, are they gone?”
“Yes. I saw the carriage leaving the alley and came in.”
Baek Mi-ju asked in a sharp tone.
“Is that the kind of girl that is?”
The words, ‘The carriage pulled out of the alley,’ immediately made me swear.
A bitter smile appeared on Yeonmu Baek’s face.
“Mother, I am glad you stopped. Once the master starts, there is nothing that cannot be solved.”
“Are you such a great woman? A dumb, half-assed idiot?”
“It’s not that he can’t do it, he just doesn’t do it well. And in Namjikrye Seong, the priest’s nickname is Hwayong Doksim. It’s a nickname given to him because he can read people’s minds.”
“Huh! Nonsense. You can know the depth of ten feet of water, but you cannot know the heart of a one-foot person.”
“That’s not necessarily the case. I’ve seen her read people’s minds several times in Namgung Se-ga. There’s even a saying that goes, ‘You can fool ghosts, but you can’t fool the mind of a wise man.’”
“They must be some elaborate schemes.”
Baek Mi-ju also thought that her son had been deceived.
“I was surprised when the chief sneered at me earlier. He was so angry that he was like a murderer. Mother, is it true that the youngest son ran away from home?”
“Why? Are you afraid I might have killed that lowly bastard?”
“If that was the case, the private would not have just left. What on earth happened to the youngest?”
However, thanks to having been educated for ten years in a prestigious family, Yeonmu Baek was always referred to as the youngest.
Baek Mi-ju was displeased, but she didn’t blame her child because he was acting like an adult after seeing her for the first time in ten years.
“I told you I ran away from home.”
“really?”
Yeonmu Baek asked his younger siblings.
“You answer. Is it true that the enemy ran away?”
When Yeon Seung-baek and Yeon Seon-joo asked with a serious expression, their consciences were secretly pricked. Still, it was true that Yeon Jeok-ha had run away from home, so they felt somewhat proud.
Yeonseungbaek nodded.
“It’s true. The guy ran away and the house was turned upside down.”
Only then did Yeonmu Baek let out a long sigh of relief.
“Ha! That’s fortunate. No one can fool the eyes of a private. I don’t know, but she’s a really scary person. Is that the enemy’s room over there?”
“That’s right, oppa. But it won’t be a big deal.”
“why?”
The clueless speaker blurted out Baek Mi-ju’s secret.
“He didn’t live there. He lived in the warehouse after his father passed away.”
“what?”
The surprised Yeonmu Baek ran into Yeonjeokha’s room without even taking off his shoes.
All there was was a small blanket and a writing table.
It was clean, as if it had been cleaned regularly, but there was no sign of human habitation.
Even an ordinary person can see it with their own eyes, so it is impossible for a private investigator called Hwayong Doksim not to know.
Yeonmu Baek ran outside and asked again.
“Warehouse, warehouse? Is that the warehouse behind Gasan?”
Yeon-seon Joo kept rubbing his arm as if he had been teased by Baek Mi-ju.
“……huh.”
At that moment, Yeonmu Baek’s new form flew over the wall like the wind.
It was so urgent that I ran with light technique.
The Yeon clan, including Baek Mi-ju, rushed to the warehouse, wondering what was going on.
Yeonmu Baek looked around with a very nervous expression on his face.
In front of the wide open warehouse door, a chain snapped like a stick of candy.
Looks like someone has already been there.
Looking at the cut cross-section, it cannot be explained as anything other than the peak of black energy.
As you can see, it is Namgungcheon’s work.
The dry saliva in my throat gulped down.
You locked up the cargo in the warehouse?
If he was a vicious demon from Gangho, I can understand. But it wasn’t when he was only six years old. Being bullied when he was young and not knowing what was right are two different things, and being locked up and raised like a dog.
‘Huh? No way?’
If the atmosphere was such that a six-year-old child was locked up in a warehouse for ten years, they might have killed him.
If that were the case, Waryongjang would have his wings broken before he could even fly.
‘Mother, please… … .’
I hope that never happens.
Baek Mi-ju, who had come running in a hurry, spoke as if making an excuse.
“It’s true. I locked him up, but I didn’t kill him. That lowly bastard ran away on his own.”
Yeonmu Baek calmed his thumping heart and went inside.
The small warehouse was filled with the smell of sewage and mold.
I studied at Namgung Se-ga for ten years and learned a lot about martial arts.
Where a person dies, there are ghosts, bloodstains, and the smell of death.
Fortunately, the inside of the warehouse was filled with only a musty smell, so I didn’t feel anything like that.
At least no one died here.
‘Ah! Thank goodness.’
Yeonmu Baek carefully looked around the warehouse.
Traces of people living a troubled life were visible everywhere.
A bed where a child must have slept curled up with his or her worn-out clothes.
As they left the warehouse, Yeonmu Baek and Baek Miju’s eyes met.
“… …Why did you do that?”
“Because I didn’t want to see anything related to that girl. I didn’t want to live under the same roof as that lowly guy.”
“Then it would have been better to just throw him out of the house.”
“I wanted revenge on that woman who ruined my life and Waryongjang.”
Yeonmu Baek shook his head.
Mother is not in her right mind only when it comes to the little mother and the problem of the lower class.
“The death penalty and the private sector came here and left. What do you think the Namgung family will think of us?”
In fact, Baek Mi-ju and Namgung Se-ga were not planned.
I never thought that pretty, stupid girl would remember Jeokha. In a way, it might be a good thing. If she had seen that guy locked in the warehouse, things would have been worse.
“Ha! But I won’t tell anyone. Even if they curse me and call me a bitch… … . After all, you’re the disciple of that family. Their reputation is at stake.”
Yeonmu Baek looked at the distant mountains with blank eyes.
That’s right.
Since he is also the disciple of the Sword King Namgung Byeok, he will not spread rumors. However, from now on, he and Waryongjang will have no choice but to live while keeping an eye on the Namgung family.
There is a difference between voluntary obedience and forced obedience. Yeonmu Baek was saddened by the reality that his relationship with his respected teacher had become a mess.
***
Namgungcheon glanced at his younger brother from inside the shaking carriage.
When he was walking around Waryongjang, he was full of life and death, but now he is rather calm.
I feel so heavy-hearted.
Unlike in the past, when I think of the name Waryongjang, that small warehouse comes to mind.
“Yeon-ah, are you okay?”
Namgung Yeon, who was looking out the window, nodded.
Looking at her beautiful face without a single shadow, it’s really okay.
“Can you tell where the cargo went?”
At that part, Namgung Yeon shook his head.
Namgungcheon didn’t ask any more questions.
Even though my younger brother is good at reading people’s minds, he is not a ghost. He is smart and can only guess the situation by looking at facial expressions and surrounding objects.
“No matter where I go, I’ll live well… … . I survived in that hellish place, so I’ll live well.”
Namgung Yeon closed his eyes to the sunlight streaming in through the window.
The day I met Yeonjeokha ten years ago came to mind vividly as if it were yesterday.
“mom…….”
He shook his head and said, ‘No.’
Then Yeonjeokha lowered her head as if she was about to cry.
I held him quietly like that.
Soon, hot tears began to drip down my arms.
She wiped his tears away with the hem of her clothes.
Did you think we had become close?
Jabjagi Yeonjeokha held his hand and walked briskly.
When he reached the hole, he stuck his head in without hesitation.
His little feet wagged as he walked away.
He himself crawled into the hole before his two feet disappeared.
Just like that time, he went out into the world through a hole. But this time, he didn’t come back. He must have left to live as a human.
Namgung Yeon quietly cheered inwardly.
Protect you.
Wuxia,
