MTL NOVEL Chapter 180
The joy of being cleared of false accusations is a truly pleasant matter, but there are times when it feels somewhat inconvenient.
Right now, for instance.
“Sword Sage! I apologize!”
“……”
During the trial at the courthouse, it became widely known that I lived not as Namgung Cheolbin or Sword Sage, but as Byul Rak and White Blade Wanderer.
Because of this, it also became known that I resided with the Taewon Jin Clan.
Also, as is the case right now, there were some people who came to apologize for misunderstanding me. Most of them were acquaintances from before who had distanced themselves from me due to the false accusations.
I don’t harbor any ill feelings toward them, but neither do I feel particularly positive about them. So I simply accept their apologies, tell them to return to their daily lives, and send them off.
However,
“I must sincerely apologize! Sword Sage!”
Some insist on doing something for me right now.
If they feel a strong sense of guilt toward me, that’s commendable, or if they mistakenly think I will achieve something great in the future and want to benefit from it, that can be quite aggravating. But both cases are equally troublesome.
I don’t need their apologies or anything in return.
“Go back, I have nothing more to say.”
“Tsk, but!”
“To avoid further entanglement with me will be the best way to help me.”
“Th, then! I will offer you useful information, Sword Sage! Please, grant me the chance to atone for my fault!”
“Information?”
They came again today. A man named Haowen, the regional head of the Mountain Bureau.
Is he trying to impose a debt on me? I was about to refuse when he beat me to it and started speaking.
“Ho, have you heard of the Law Dragon… also known as the Monk Dragon….”
Had he not started the conversation, I might not have known, but now it’s too late since he’s already brought it up.
“…Law Dragon? Sounds like a title one of Shaolin’s later generation experts might use.”
“Y, yes, you’re correct! Recently, an outstanding novice emerged from Shaolin and participated in the Hundred-Man Martial Arts Exchange without ever losing a single bout! The world has even included him among the Nine Dragons and Seven Blossoms!”
“Nine Dragons and Seven Blossoms, quite impressive, I’ll admit.”
But why insist on telling me this? Though I did not say it aloud, my eyes must have conveyed the message.
Seemingly catching my meaning, Haowen quickly moved to the next point.
“H, his religious name is Zaping! Law Dragon Zaping, currently one of the trending young martial artists in the world!”
“…Zaping?”
Hold on. Could he really be…
“A, you know him, Sword Sage!”
My son, who left the Namgung household to become a monk over ten years ago.
“Hmm~ hmmm~.”
Continuously humming a cheerful tune, Soeun Yu couldn’t help but be in a great mood. Almost all her dreams had come true, and just last night, something she wished for daily finally happened—spending a night with Cheolbin.
Of course, it wasn’t a lustful and sticky night.
Regardless, their bond as husband and wife grew stronger, and thinking about it made Soeun Yu’s mood lighten automatically.
Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-.
Picking up the knife, she chopped vegetables and prepared a meal. This was the field she recently started focusing on.
When she was the mistress of the Namgung Manor, she rarely had the need to cook or handle petty household errands. Those jobs were largely reserved for the maidservants.
But things are different now. Soeun Yu is no longer the lady of Namgung Manor; she is just a guest in the Taewon Jin Clan.
And she liked it this way. Specifically, it made her happy to be able to do something for her husband, Byul Rak.
“Hmm~ hmmm~.”
She was humming cheerfully while doing housework when,
“Uh, um…”
Behind her, a soft voice murmured.
Recognizing the owner of the voice, Soeun Yu turned around carefully and responded.
“What’s the matter?”
Looking at her tousled hair and swollen eyes, the Taewon Jin Clan’s head, Gayoung Jin, replied hesitantly.
“N, no? A, Ah, well, that… that…”
Thud.
Haowen’s appearance indicated something was not quite right.
Yu So-eun sensed an urgent matter, even though she didn’t know the details, and put down her knife.
“Um… would you like some tea? You could sit down?”
Yu So-eun pointed to the chair beside her. Jin Gayoung hesitated for a moment before shaking her head, trembling.
“No, no, it won’t take long! Just a brief moment, really…”
‘Something’s troubling her.’
Her face was filled with panic, lips were pale, and her eyes were swollen from crying.
It was almost as if she was crying endlessly, reminding Soeun Yu of her own past self. This instantly triggered feelings of empathy.
She naturally empathized with others due to her nature.
“Miss, please speak your mind. Calm down first.”
“Ah, uh, well, well, eek…”
Jin Gayoung clenched her fists, trembling as if trying to force herself to say something difficult.
By the time Yu So-eun began to wonder,
“Help, please! No, grant me permission!”
“…?”
Jin Gayoung suddenly shouted.
“What help do you need from me, Miss?”
“N, no, I mean… Ah, there is always the seat beside the master!”
Crash!
Suddenly, Jin Gayoung dropped to her knees before Yu So-eun.
Yu So-eun was dumbfounded by the unexpected action.
“I won’t ask for anything else… even being a concubine is fine. Please, let me be by his side!”
“Miss?”
“I can’t go on like this. I can’t live without him. If I don’t have him, I really will die.”
“Miss, please calm down…”
“It’s not difficult, right? Of course, as the wife, you must want to monopolize him, right? I would too! However…”
The dignity and authority of the head seemed entirely forgotten as Jin Gayoung even crawled to grab Yu So-eun’s ankles.
This desperation stemmed from the morning conflict with Byul Rak.
Even though Jin Gayoung had led an up-and-down life, usually managing to stay rational during most situations,
The thought of being permanently separated from Byul Rak was terrifying.
Thus, Jin Gayoung, a personality who wouldn’t have imagined kneeling down to anyone she considered as an enemy, begged.
“I really… I can’t live without him…”
“…”
“Hooohk, since the day you saved me and gave me clothes to wear, I dreamed day by day… I can’t just give him up… I’ve lived just to meet him… Hooohk.”
Drip, drip-
Hot tears dripped on Yu So-eun’s feet. Her gentle heart was moved.
Yu So-eun knelt and grabbed Jin Gayoung’s shoulders, lifting her up as their eyes met.
“Miss… please don’t cry.”
Moreover, Jin Gayoung perceived Yu So-eun as a complete rival.
Yu So-eun was different.
“You’re the one who saved him, aren’t you?”
“Hoohk?”
“If it weren’t for your help, I might never have reunited with him.”
From the beginning, Yu So-eun regarded Jin Gayoung as her benefactor.
Even about her feelings for Byul Rak, her heart wished to fit somewhere between Jin Gayoung or Hong Ryun.
It was the declaration of single-minded devotion from Byul Rak that altered it.
“You care for him as much as I do, don’t you?”
“Blackhoooohk, sniffle, sniffle…”
“Even if I’m okay with it, I will help you. This is my way of returning your kindness.”
If Yu So-eun had been a fierce and possessive person, she would have easily rejected Jin Gayoung’s plea.
But Yu So-eun, with her understanding and considerate nature, would argue against being the cruelest in the world.
“I’ll try to convince him. Of course, if he refuses strongly, there’s not much I can do, but as a man, he’ll surely be attracted to you in some way.”
“Aaah… th, th, thank you so much…”
“Think nothing of it, I’m the one who’s grateful.”
“To think that I’ve only disliked someone like you the whole time…”
Puff.
Perhaps from crying all morning, Jin Gayoung collapsed into Yu So-eun’s arms like a wilted flower. It was a broad and warm embrace.
Jin Gayoung’s resentment melted like snow under the sun. Feeling the warmth, her instincts made her lean her head.
Warmly hugging Jin Gayoung, Yu So-eun felt as if she were holding Namgung Su-a, perhaps because of similar ages.
Thinking of Su-a now, her curiosity grew. What is Su-a doing alone back at the Namgung Manor?
Pat, pat-
‘What might our daughter be doing right now?’
A red-haired red-eyed woman walked through a secluded cave in the Central Plains.
“Kerrrr…”
In front of her, several ferocious Jiangshi were baring their teeth and acting rowdily.
Even though they dare not challenge the woman who had mastered the Blood Ghost Techniques to an extreme level,
Among them was a figure dressed in white. Someone who was once known as the White Shadow Assassin King.
“How’s his condition? It seems fairly good?”
“…I doubted it at first, but you’ve done an impressive job. At this level, we could soon invade the Central Plains.”