Tangmunjeon - Chapter 314



Only Noblemtl

Episode 314: The Sword Ghost

That evening, Namgung Myung headed to the guest house where his friends were staying. He was seriously injured, but his shoulders were so high up in the sky that they almost reached his ears.

The moment he felt Namgung Myung’s presence, Hyeon-gong jumped up from his seat.

As soon as the oiled door opened, Hyun-gong spoke.

“Your Majesty, are you here?”

An attitude more polite than that of a relative of the Namgung family. However, it was not an act of pretense, but an act of sincerity.

In Hyungong’s mind, Namgung Myung’s score was three points higher than his own, so it was right to treat him so politely.

However, Seolhwa looked at Hyeon-gong with a very subtle expression.

Although I don’t know, Seolhwa’s evaluation of Hyungong must have been slightly lowered in her mind.

Unlike Hyeon-gong, Dang Mu-jin and Hong Geol-gae did not pay any special attention to Nam-gung-myeong and just loafed around.

Even if you give them attention, all you’ll get in return is a nosy attitude.

The only difference between Dang Mu-jin and Hong Geol-gae was that Dang Mu-jin took a look at Namgung Myung’s wounds. The sight of him spreading expensive gold medicine like mud was quite a sight.

Namgung Myung did not give in to the indifference of Dang Mujin and Hong Geolgae, and came up to them and sat down in front of them.

He had a look on his face like he had a lot to say. But Namgung Myung summarized all of that in one word.

“Did you see it?”

Dang Mu-jin answered calmly.

“I saw it. The sight of the sword I made cutting through the Hyeonwon sword was quite a sight. It was worth spending several days at the blacksmith’s shop.”

Namgung Myung tried to refute immediately, but he had nothing to say. Dang Mujin’s story had hit a very important point.

In fact, even by Namgung Myung’s standards, this victory was not even half a victory. If Namgung Jincheon and Namgung Myung’s swords had switched, Namgung Myung would have lost nine times out of ten.

The power of the divine outsider is also a skill, but the divine outsider is not enlightenment. And Namgung Myung was not able to surpass Namgung Jincheon in terms of enlightenment. He only consoled himself with the fact that he was able to surpass Namgung Jincheon by borrowing the power of the divine outsider.

As Namgung Myung hesitated, Hong Geol-gae spoke while lying down diagonally.

“You will have to stay with Namgung’s family now, so we will have to part ways for the time being. Take care.”

Hong Geol-gae spoke in a pretended indifferent manner, but there was a subtle regret in his tone.

But Namgung Myung answered refreshingly.

“Well? I don’t plan on staying at Namgung Sega yet.”

“···You said you would straighten out the Namgung family?”

“Since the Namgung family members gathered together and publicly criticized their recent actions, something will change.”

“That’s true, but if you become the head of the household, you will have to stay in the Namgung family.”

“Just like you just took the position from Hongmyeonnogae and left all the work to him, I plan to leave the work to my father and go around. I don’t think there will be anything fun to do if I stay in Sega.”

Namgung Myung is the type of person who believes that even if he steals something, he should return it.

There was no law that said that if you stole something, you couldn’t return it.

Also, in the eyes of his friends, Namgung Myung was not a man fit to be the head of the Namgung family. After wandering around a foreign land for several years, what would he know about the Namgung family, and what would he have prepared?

Even Namgung Myung is a guy who can’t stand thievery.

If by any chance the head of the Namgung family were to get caught trying to climb over the wall, it would be exciting to think about what kind of story they would hear.

“So, when are you leaving?”

“I’m not saying I’ll leave today. I’ll stay at Namgung’s house for a while and wait for my wounds to heal.”

“How long do I have to wait?”

“Wouldn’t it take about two weeks?”

“Full moon? What… Do as you please. You have to take care of your own protection.”

Hong Geol-gae and Dang Mu-jin secretly liked Namgung Myeong’s decision.

However, Hyun-gong’s reaction became noticeably rude. This was because Nam-gung-myeong’s score was lowered as he moved away from power.

*

At the same time, Namgung Jin-ya, the poisonous brain swordsman, confirmed that Namgung Myung had left the main hall and was heading to the reception hall, and then headed to Namgung Jin-cheon’s residence.

As expected, there was only one sign of life in the house.

“Brother, I’m going in.”

“Okay.”

Namgung Jinya entered the Gajujeon and sat down in front of Namgung Jincheon.

Namgung Jincheon had also just completed treatment.

Even though he lost the duel, his injuries were much less severe than those of the winner, Namgung Myung, and there were no injuries that could affect his movements. Namgung Jinya became even more certain of his guess.

“older brother.”

When Namgung Jincheon turned his head to look at Namgung Jinya, Namgung Jinya asked.

“Why did you give in to Ming?”

“I gave in. The guy’s accomplishments were simply amazing. Didn’t you see it?”

“Just because it’s great doesn’t mean it can reach everywhere.”

Namgung Myung, who was his opponent in the martial arts, seemed not to notice, but Namgung Jinya did not miss the strange appearance that Namgung Jincheon showed in the martial arts.

Because the person who fought the most with Namgung Jincheon in the Namgung Sega clan was Namgung Jinya.

It is true that Namgung Myung’s skills are outstanding.

However, he has only just now entered the realm of the super-peak. On the other hand, Namgung Jincheon reached the realm of the super-peak in the Jeongsa Daejeon over twenty years ago, and has continued to refine himself ever since.

Just as there is a large gap in skill between the best masters, there is also a large gap in skill between the best masters. It is absurd for Namgung Myung’s sword to touch Namgung Jincheon.

If he had learned other martial arts, he might have revealed his weaknesses due to the compatibility issues between martial arts, but that wasn’t the issue. Weren’t Namgung Myung and Namgung Jincheon’s martial arts built on the same foundation?

Namgung Jincheon’s response was also strange.

It was hard to understand why Namgung Myung’s sword easily cut his forehead. Furthermore, there was absolutely no need for Namgung Jincheon to counter Namgung Myung’s trump card, the Emperor’s Sword Form.

Namgung Jincheon was able to exploit Namgung Myeong’s weak point with a different technique, destroy the Emperor’s Sword Form, and achieve victory.

Most likely, Namgung Jincheon could have broken Namgung Myeong’s Emperor Sword Form with the same Emperor Sword Form.

However, Namgung Jincheon displayed the Emperor’s Sword and was pushed back half a step.

“Brother. I saw it. You slightly twisted the swords while they were touching, creating an opening for Myung-i’s sword to cut through Heonwon’s sword.”

“···.”

Although Namgung Myung’s sword was an incredible item, a master could block Hasu’s true sword even with a tree branch.

There is no reason for Namgung Jincheon, who is holding a famous sword that is not even a branch but a sword as good as the Heonwon Sword, to be swayed by Namgung Myung.

“It seems like you wanted to pass the throne to Myung-i. When did you start preparing for it? Five years ago?”

“You’re still quick-witted.”

“Is that right?”

“Yes.”

Five years ago, Namgung Jincheon heard the news of the appearance of the Sam-an-bul and went to the place where he encountered Namgung Myung. He saved Namgung Myung, whose left arm was crushed in a collision with the Sam-an-bul.

I heard that it was on that day that Namgung Jincheon cut off Namgung Myeong’s left arm.

Looking back, Namgung Jincheon’s behavior changed around that time.

Namgung Jincheon harshly pushed his family members to the limit to maximize the power of the Namgung clan, and despite opposition, he stockpiled as much money and elixir as possible.

At the time, I thought it was an action to prepare for the coming tribulation, but looking back now, I think it was preparation to pass the position of head of the household to Namgung Myung.

By strengthening the Namgung family’s power through force and money, he prevented external forces from shaking the Namgung family.

Also, he left behind as many elixirs as possible so that the young and inexperienced Namgung Myung could take control of the Namgung family.

People tend to follow the leader who gives them the best, so Namgung Myung will be able to control the Namgung family members without difficulty.

Finally, Namgung Myung showed off his skills in front of people and showed a subtle defeat. No one except Namgung Jinya would doubt Namgung Myung’s skills.

With this, all threats from within and outside the family have been prepared, so even if Namgung Myung becomes the head of the family right away, his position will not be shaken.

“Was there a reason you had to do that?”

“Since you haven’t done anything for me until now, I think it would be reasonable to do this much.”

Namgung Jincheon is not a gentleman like other fathers.

He didn’t even want his son to know. He just fulfilled his father’s role in his own way. It was crude fatherly love.

“Myeong-i is still young. There is no need to step down so hastily. Teach her slowly, and when the time is right, you can hand over the position to her.”

After hearing Namgung Jinya’s story, Namgung Jincheon shook his head.

“No. In fact, it’s not Ming-i that’s important, it’s me. I’ve been stuck in Anhui Province for too long. I want to leave Anhui Province while I still have energy. After hearing Ming-i talk about the Sword Ghost and Sword King, I became even more convinced. I’m not the Sword King, I’m the Sword Ghost.”

Contrary to Namgung Myung’s thoughts, Namgung Jincheon was not at all ashamed of the fact that his nickname was Sword Ghost, not Sword King.

Namgung Jincheon’s talent is far ahead of that of the previous heads of the clan, and he is never behind.

However, the reason why Namgung Jincheon was called a swordsman and not a swordsman was because he seemed like an evil spirit because he truly enjoyed fighting.

The most enjoyable time in Namgung Jincheon’s life was the Jeongsa Daejeon War about twenty years ago.

Fighting to the death, resting as if dead, then running back to the battlefield with creaking and screaming limbs to fight again. Namgung Jincheon loved that kind of life so much.

But that is not a lifestyle that the head of a giant Sega family would choose.

That is why Namgung Jincheon did not want to become the head of the Namgung family. Namgung Jincheon loved the battlefield more than his family.

I wanted to give up my position as head of the household to my brother who had character, and just roll around on the battlefield until I die.

After the Jeongsa Daejeon was over, I wanted to travel alone to the north and south to find a rival, and if I couldn’t find one, I wanted to run to Saewoe Murim.

However, Namgung Jincheon’s father, Namgung Unyang, insisted on putting Namgung Jincheon in the position of head of the household.

Although Namgung Jinya’s talent was considerable, it was nothing compared to Namgung Jincheon’s.

Namgung Jincheon accepted his fate and stayed in Anhui Province. He lived as a strict head of the household and expanded the Namgung family.

But every time I went to bed, I dreamed of battlefields.

A heart-pounding life-or-death battle. A life dancing precariously on the edge of a sword. A sword swing while holding onto your side to prevent your internal organs from spilling out after being stabbed in the side. A clue to enlightenment finally obtained. The next realm reached like that.

Namgung Jincheon wanted to become a swordsman again. And the opportunity finally came.

Namgung Jinya said.

“Brother. The Battle of Jeongsa is over. There is no more battlefield to advance to. They say that the wind of blood is blowing from the Demonic Cult, so please hold onto your position until then.”

“Even after the Jeongsa War, the Sapha martial arts world still remains. It’s not like I have to fight the Sapha warriors. I want to face off against Yeongbo Jinin for the first time in a long time. I heard that Yu Jin-kwang is at his peak, and I want to take a look at the sword of the Blood Rain that was so famous. I also want to have a proper fight with Sam-an-bul. Or I could go see Cheonpae or Tu-hee. When I’m ready, I’ll also go see Hwa-yeon-shin-ni. But in the end, I’ll have to head to the Demonic Cult.”

“Are you saying you want to go to the Demonic Cult alone?”

“Yes. I will fight until I die. I don’t know if I will die of exhaustion or if I will die from a sword strike.”

Namgung Jincheon trembled slightly as he spoke, as if he was excited just thinking about it.

Namgung Jinya let out a deep sigh. He couldn’t stop her even if he tried.

Namgung Jincheon muttered.

“Shin Seung. You said that the old man reached the next realm before he died? I want to reach that realm too. No, I want to go further than Shin Seung.”

Namgung Jinya looked around the room. There was a sword and a bamboo stick. A small backpack was sticking out from under the bamboo stick.

“You’ve already packed your bags… When do you plan on leaving?”

“Tomorrow night.”

“There’s no need to leave so hastily. I’m not asking you to wait for years. Just wait for a month or two before you go. If you leave suddenly, your family will be shocked.”

Namgung Jincheon smiled faintly after hearing Namgung Jinya’s story.

“No. We have to hurry.”

“Is someone chasing me?”

“That guy Myung-i is definitely going to leave Namgung Se-ga. I have to leave first.”

Are you going to pass on the same fate to your son, sitting in a position you didn’t want to live in?

However, Namgung Jinya could not stop Namgung Jincheon rashly because he knew how long his older brother had endured it.

If you think about it, Namgung Jincheon’s preparations were a bit off from what a father’s love could be.

Although he had made all preparations for his son and his family, they were only preparations for his own departure.

Namgung Jincheon opened the door slightly and looked outside. There was still a bit of red in the western sky, but it was now clearly night. The cool breeze of late autumn was pleasant.

“Yeah. Nothing’s going to change even if I wait another day. Now that we’re on the subject, I think it’s better to leave.”

Namgung Jincheon got up from his seat, taking his hat and backpack with him.

Namgung Jinya couldn’t bring himself to hold onto his older brother.

Namgung Jincheon quietly left the house, took a few steps forward, and then looked back. There was a subtle sense of regret in his expression.

“They say that in the end, a person lives up to his name. I will go to heaven. You stay in the fields of Anhui Province in my place. I am sorry, little brother.”

In the end, Namgung Jinya let out a sigh and a laugh.

“See you in the afterlife, brother.”

Only then did Namgung Jincheon leave Namgung Se-ga with a much lighter gait.

*

“···Father?”

It was not until around lunchtime the next day that Namgung Myeong realized that Namgung Jincheon had disappeared.