The Return of the Namgoong Clan’s Granddaughter - Chapter 143



Only Noblemtl

Episode 143

* * *

The volcano garden I went to after hearing the words of the Black Dragon Lord was truly a crucible of shock.

In the center of the courtyard, a giant was seen covering something.

The protruding shape wasn’t that big.

‘kid.’

It was a child.

Smaller than Seolhwa herself.

The faces of the great disciples of the volcano passed by.

Could it be one of those kids?

Seolhwa clenched her fist without realizing it.

“What’s going on?”

When Namgung Mucheon appeared, the elders of Hwasan who had been seriously conversing next to the dead child all turned around.

Noh Baek, the head of the Muhakdang, came out ahead.

“Lord Namgung.”

Namgung Mucheon looked at the giant and asked.

“Are you a child of the Volcano faction?”

“Yes. A disciple who was on an errand to the village at the foot of the mountain found him in the forest. He is not yet a formally initiated child, but he has been living in the volcano for a long time.”

At that moment, Seolhwa remembered a name.

‘number of people.’

That’s the kid.

The child that Yoo Kang cherished, a child he had never heard of in his previous life. The child he suspected of being a spy of the Blood Cult.

‘That kid died?’

Why? Who killed him?

Was it the work of the Blood Cult? Or a simple accident?

“What is the sign?”

Noh Baek hesitated for a moment before answering with a short sigh.

“I think I’ve been poisoned.”

“poison?”

“Can I see it for a moment?”

No Baek looked down at Seol Hwa who had emerged from behind Namgung Mucheon. His gaze was filled with a mixture of surprise and puzzlement.

Namgung Se-ga had known since the first day he arrived at Hwasan that Namgung Mucheon’s granddaughter had come with him, but this was the first time they had met in person.

I didn’t know the gap in martial arts skills she showed in the daytime battle when I heard it from my disciples, but the child I saw in front of me was smaller and younger than I thought, making it hard to believe what they said.

“Do you want to see it yourself?”

“Yes. And if it’s okay, I’d like to show it to our family council member.”

Noh Baek looked at Namgung Mucheon with a troubled expression. His eyes seemed to be asking if it was okay to show the body to a child.

Namgung Mucheon nodded.

“I think so. Would it be okay if I took a look for a moment?”

“…Okay. This way.”

Noh Baek led the two men towards the giant.

The elders who had already checked the child’s condition could be heard sighing heavily from a distance.

“Does everyone in the volcano know about this?”

“I haven’t told the disciples in detail yet. I have given them instructions to stay in their quarters. I will have to let them know after the body is moved.”

“I see.”

When Noh Baek, who was sitting across from Namgung Mucheon and Seolhwa, removed the large stone, the body was revealed.

As expected, the dead child was Myeong.

The corpse had blue lips and black skin, as if burned by fire.

“Can I touch it?”

“okay.”

Seolhwa pressed down on the corpse.

The skin was hard as stone.

What was strange was the posture of the corpse; its hands were clasped near its groin, as if it was holding something.

As if he had read Seol-hwa’s thoughts, No-baek pointed to the hand that was covering her and spoke.

“When it was first discovered, it was holding a single flower as if it was precious. It must have withered from the poison and fallen while being moved.”

“Can I ask what kind of flower it was?”

“It was a peony. It was a white peony.”

“… .”

Seol-hwa’s expression hardened for a moment.

Namgung Mucheon, seeing his granddaughter’s reaction, got up from his seat.

“Good job. I’ll have the body moved. I’ll tell the doctor at your family’s house separately.”

“thank you.”

The elders of the volcano soon moved the body to the main building.

Although he was not a formal disciple, he needed to find out more about the child of the volcano, who was poisoned by the volcano.

The volcano courtyard, where the corpses and elders disappeared, was once again empty and desolate. Standing in the desolate space, the night air felt even colder.

“Snow flower.”

Namgung Mucheon sang Seolhwa.

Seol-hwa, who had been blankly staring at the elders walking away, looked back at him.

“Your expression doesn’t look good. Do you have any idea what it is?”

“…yes.”

In fact, as soon as Seolhwa saw the condition of the body, she knew that this was the work of the Blood Cult.

A condition in which the lips turn blue, the skin turns black, and becomes hard like a rock.

“It’s a poison called gohyeoldok (固血毒). It’s the poison used in Hwaoru. As you can see, the symptoms are that your blood vessels and entire body slowly harden and you die.”

“They are truly cruel.”

Namgung Mucheon was trembling at the cruelty of the Blood Cult.

They are far more cruel and cunning than any black band I have ever seen.

Those cruel and ruthless bastards, whose sole purpose seems to be to drive people to a more painful and agonizing death.

“My name there was Ilhwa.”

Seolhwa opened her mouth with her head bowed.

“One flower, that’s the name meaning white peony.”

The white peonies that bloom on the cliffs have a strong fragrance. Some say that it is noble to bloom alone on the barren cliffs and give off a strong fragrance.

One, the strong scent of peonies is a struggle for survival.

It contains the earnest hope that bees and butterflies passing by the bottom of the cliff will smell its scent and come to it.

The scent of peonies is the fragrance of life.

The blood horse said so.

‘Look at the peonies that are struggling to survive and giving off their fragrance. Aren’t they beautiful?’

‘The scent of anger is so strong and persistent.’

‘You look like that peony.’

Looking back, I could understand what it meant.

In his previous life, he was a flower on a cliff.

It was a life where I had to live alone on a cliff, away from a forest full of grass and flowers.

It was an anecdote that had finally dried up and withered away.

“Snow flower.”

Seolhwa looked up at the force pressing down on her shoulder. Namgung Mucheon was already kneeling in front of her, meeting her gaze.

“You said so. No matter where you grew up, what clothes you wore, or what kind of life you lived. You are Namgung’s child.”

Those were the words that Seolhwa had declared in front of everyone at Cheonmuje.

“I think so too.”

“… .”

“You are Namgung Seolhwa. No matter what you were called before, the fact that you are the eldest granddaughter of Namgung Mucheon will not change.”

Namgung Mucheon smiled gently and stroked Seolhwa’s hair.

“Don’t forget that fact.”

That kind smile was so warm.

It was a reassuring smile, reminding us that we were no longer on a cold, bleak cliff, but in a community where we bloomed and lived together.

* * *

Namgung Mucheon, Seolhwa, Jangmunin of Hwasan, and No Baek, the head of the Muhakdang, surrounded the body of Myeong.

The herbalist priests of Choryun and Hwasan examined the bodies of the deceased, and the disciples of the herbalist priests assisted them.

Cho-ryeon and Yang-wang-gak-ju examined the body carefully.

It was hard as a rock and not easy to examine, but when Namgung Mucheon felt the acupuncture point that Seolhwa had told him about, his stiff body loosened up.

Cho-ryeon said as she was examining the inside of the corpse’s mouth.

“It wasn’t poisoned.”

“What do you mean? That wasn’t something that happened to me.”

“This child swallowed poison himself.”

Cho-ryeon opened the corpse’s mouth and showed it to everyone.

The innermost part of the molars was particularly stained black.

“Can I pull this out?”

Jang Moon-in nodded at Cho-ryeon’s question.

The herbalist took a pair of tongs and pulled out the molar that Choryun had pointed at.

The molars had a groove running down the middle, into which a thin thread was tied.

“There are traces of poison being ingested. This child has liver. I don’t know where the liver is….”

Cho-ryeon’s gaze briefly turned to Seol-hwa.

“Who said you brought it?”

“I brought it.”

Noh Baek said, pointing to himself.

“He was a wandering child. He said he was hungry, so I gave him something to eat, and he followed me. That’s why I brought him here. I only brought him here after confirming that he had no parents or relatives… .”

Noh Baek clenched his fist.

“Who would use a child like this as a liver? I never would have thought of it.”

I just wanted to feed a starving child.

All I did was provide a place for a child to lay his head while he was sleeping on the cold street.

It was just a way to create peers for a child who enviously looked at the neighborhood children playing together.

Although he brought the child to the volcano, he did not expect the child to have outstanding martial arts skills or talent.

I just wanted to let you live an ordinary, routine life.

Who would have thought that this child would be a liver transplant?

Noh Baek turned to Jang Moon-in and bowed his head.

“It was my fault. I will step down from my position as elder and step down from the front line.”

No-un looked embarrassed.

Although he was not a formal disciple, he was the head of the school and he could not help but be held responsible for bringing the liver into the volcano, which was a huge problem.

No-un let out a long sigh and put his hand on No-baek’s shoulder.

“First, go back to your residence. I will discuss responsibility for this matter with the elders and then slowly ask you to take responsibility.”

After Noh Baek greeted Jang Moon-in again, he also took a lottery ticket from Namgung Mucheon.

“I apologize for showing such an unpleasant appearance to you, even though you personally visited Namgung Se-ga. I will step down.”

“Rest in peace.”

After No Baek stepped back, Jang Moon In told Yak Wang Gak Ju and his disciples to step back for a moment.

Soon, only Namgung Mucheon, Seolhwa, Choryun, and Noun were left in the room.

Now that it was revealed that the child named Myeong was a spy of the Blood Cult, it was necessary to discuss the plan again.

As Namgung Mucheon put up a curtain in the room, Choryun opened her mouth as if she had been waiting for it.

“The poison is ready.”