Geom Mugeuk sat up on the bed.

“I see you often these days.”

At Geom Mugeuk’s words, Seonak stood there dumbfounded for a moment, then spoke softly.

“Must have been some misunderstanding.”

Unlike earlier when he had been forceful and aggressive, now he was calm.

“Someone seems to be trying to put Elder Seo in trouble with false information.”

‘That someone is you!’

Seonak felt his anger rising but also realized this was unlike himself.

Lately, since getting tangled up with the Little Pill Master, his emotions had been harder to control.

When he barged in here earlier, he should have been more composed and polite in checking the bedding. Even if he had seen Geom Mugeuk lying there, he shouldn’t have been so shocked.

“Apologies for the rudeness.”

Seonak composed himself with a formal tone.

“This is not something that ends with an apology. I will formally lodge a complaint at the Palace Lord’s residence about today’s incident.”

“Do as you please.”

Seonak left the room with the martial artists he brought.

After they left, Ian shouted at Geom Mugeuk.

“When did you get here?”

“Just a little while ago, when you opened Elder Seo’s door.”

“Through the window?”

Geom Mugeuk nodded. Ian looked at Chimma.

‘Hmph, just as I thought, you knew he was here but pretended not to!’

Ian sighed in relief, her heart settling.

“Ah! You really startled me! I thought my heart was going to burst earlier.”

Chimma responded to her words.

“He probably stuck to the window to make your heart burst. Came in just at the right moment to surprise you.”

Ian nodded in agreement with Chimma’s joke.

“Of course, if it means startling someone, he’d hang in a snowstorm without a second thought. Well, since he startled you so much, he must have achieved something going out.”

The words were meant to push Geom Mugeuk on the offensive.

“We found the mastermind behind it.”

Ian gasped in shock, even more than when uncovering the bedding earlier.

“Really?”

“Luck was on our side.”

“You really are the best at scaring people!”

Geom Mugeuk had covertly infiltrated Bukhyeolmun and watched Hanseol meet with Yang Seok.

While everyone was focused on that meeting, he intended to investigate inside Bukhyeolmun. He noticed a bodyguard who had come with Yang Seok leaving his post.

Unusual behavior, so Geom Mugeuk followed him and witnessed the bodyguard casting a blood technique (혈공) using blood on Sibi. Although pretending to care for her, the bodyguard had swiftly applied the technique, so even if Geom Mugeuk wanted to help, he couldn’t.

“Who is that?”

“He is the chief bodyguard responsible for the heir of Bukhyeolmun.”

Chimma and Ian nodded with stern expressions. As expected, the enemy was hiding in an entirely unexpected place.

“Then you deliberately revealed yourself to him?”

Earlier, Seonak had been convinced that Geom Mugeuk was not here.

Geom Mugeuk nodded in confirmation.

“I wanted to see the level of his martial skill and check whether Bukhyeolmun and Elder Seo were connected.”

“Did you confirm both?”

Geom Mugeuk nodded again.

“One more thing: our being stuck here will be resolved. Elder Seo committed a grave offense against the Demon Sect’s Little Pill Master, so Binggung now has a reason to release us.”

Ian stared blankly at Geom Mugeuk.

“Do you know what thought crossed my mind then?”

“What thought?”

“Ah! How lucky it is that you’re on our side, not our enemy!”

Do you know what I thought?

How lucky I am that you stand beside me with such a bright spirit.

“I was so startled, but thanks to that, my heart has grown stronger.”

Now Geom Mugeuk looked at Chimma, who was silently gazing out the window.

What was she thinking? Drinking? The dead Original Lord? Or the Concubine left behind?

All wrong. Right now, Chimma was thinking of Geom Mugeuk. How could she be so clever? How could she handle things so calmly and competently?

If Geom Mugeuk weren’t here, would she be able to handle all this herself? For the first time in a long while, she felt like a sibling, not just a younger sister.

“Hyung.”

Not a hyung. Better call him a younger brother.

Thinking such nonsense, she turned back to Geom Mugeuk.

From the mouth of this brother-like sibling came the words she had longed to hear.

“It’s finally time to throw a drinking party.”

Returning to Binggung, Hanseol headed for the Palace Lord’s residence.

“I came to drink tea.”

Although she said she would drink after coming back, Binggung was startled that Hanseol came right away.

“Come here.”

Hanseol sat at the small table arranged in the Palace Lord’s residence; Binggung brewed tea herself.

“I’ll make it.”

“No, just sit.”

Binggung started brewing tea herself.

While doing so, Hanseol silently watched her mother’s back.

She wanted to say something but the words wouldn’t come out. Should she ask about the tea? Or bring up Bukhyeolmun first? Or at least talk about the weather?

Having exchanged only formal words for so long, she had no idea what to say.

She realized that speaking was like martial arts. No matter how great the technique, if the body isn’t trained, it’s useless; no matter how earnest the heart is, if the words don’t come out, it’s pointless.

Speaking isn’t done with the head or heart but with the mouth—that was her sudden realization.

Meanwhile, Binggung finished brewing tea.

“How is the tea?”

“Good.”

Words didn’t flow, only awkward silence.

Binggung was no less awkward.

What should she say to her daughter? This was also a lifelong dilemma for Binggung.

So the two just quietly drank tea. They say true closeness can be judged by how natural silence is—these two were far from it. The suffocating silence would have been unbearable if there hadn’t been tea in front of them.

But Binggung didn’t want to break the silence with just any words.

In some ways, she liked this awkwardness. It felt like a new relationship beginning.

After a long silence, Hanseol broke it.

“Palace Lord, who do you think will survive longer: the heartless or the kind?”

An abrupt question, but Binggung answered first.

“The heartless.”

Then Hanseol smiled faintly.

“You think like me.”

“All martial artists think that way, don’t they?”

“Ian, who came with the Little Pill Master, said she thought kind people would survive longer.”

Ian was the child Hanseol had noticed at their first meeting.

“I was just curious. What do you think, Palace Lord?”

Maybe because of that question, Binggung finally spoke what was in her heart.

“I wanted to raise you strong. To be a child who won’t be shaken by the howling northern winds.”

The tea in Hanseol’s cup rippled with a wave.

So? How are you now? Do you think you’ve grown into that child?

Talking with her daughter, Binggung realized for the first time.

The effort she had put into creating this moment and the words she spoke just now were not due to sudden emotions or Geom Mugeuk.

Her instinct knew it. If things continued as they were, she would lose her daughter. She was already almost lost. She had only ignored it with the excuse of being busy. She was just a Palace Lord passing Binggung down, not a mother.

Maybe it was already too late. Maybe she ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) lived with that thought, unwilling to face it.

Then Geom Mugeuk appeared. The words about him still standing behind her flew and struck her heart, and she came to this moment.

And she wanted to say this no matter how embarrassing.

“You have grown well into such a child.”

Silence fell.

It was just a single phrase, but Hanseol felt part of the ice wall freezing her heart crack and shatter. The barrier was still huge, but it was the first time it had broken.

Hanseol finished her tea and put down her cup.

“Next time, I’ll make the tea.”

To throw a drinking party at someone else’s house, you need the owner’s permission.

“You look happy.”

At my words, Binggung gave a faint smile.

“My daughter came by.”

Her expression showed how that visit went.

“Congratulations.”

“It’s thanks to you.”

“I only spoke. You turned back.”

Binggung felt great gratitude toward Geom Mugeuk. Now she understood the unbelievable shifts in his heart recorded in the reports.

“But what should we do? I might have to ruin your good mood.”

“What is it?”

Geom Mugeuk said seriously.

“I intend to deal with Elder Seo. Please allow me.”

Binggung was silent at the shocking statement. Perhaps she expected it.

“I saw a martial artist from Bukhyeolmun using blood techniques.”

At the mention of blood techniques, Binggung’s eyes glinted coldly. She knew of no martial artist in Bukhae who used blood energy. This meant a conspiracy was underway at Bukhyeolmun.

“He was connected to Elder Seo.”

“Any proof?”

“None.”

“Then are you going to kill an elder of Binggung just on suspicion?”

“I think it’s enough. Adding the earlier mistakes and lies from Elder Seo, it’s a reasonable judgment.”

Especially the fact that he lied to Binggung to the very end about requesting Hyangseol Bingju to be brewed for the dead Original Lord. During that process, Binggung also saw another side of Seonak.

“You won’t find clearer evidence from them. They’re too cunning for that. Even if you took time to find it, it’d already be too late.”

A silence followed. I gave her time to think.

“The person you should be worried about now isn’t Elder Seo. Though you know him well and he’s your main concern, he’s only a limb attached to the body. You should focus on the head and torso.”

This was what moved her decisively.

“I’m not the one making this decision.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your bad premonition is calling us. I’m just telling you that your feeling is correct.”

At last, Binggung made a decision. It didn’t take long.

“I will personally deal with Elder Seo.”

“Of course you should. But regarding Elder Seo, please give Chimma a chance first.”

Given the circumstances, it was likely Elder Seo killed the Original Lord of Baekjuseolwon.

There was one more hesitation, but the decision came quickly again.

“I will permit the drinking party. But I want to be invited too.”

Seonak was arranging ornaments in the main hall.

When his mind was cluttered, he would take out all the ornaments and rearrange them anew.

He lined them up precisely again. The pleasure of perfect alignment without the slightest deviation.

While absorbed, he heard the hall door open behind him.

The sound was different from usual.

Normally, before the door opened, a subordinate would report someone’s arrival.

But the door opening like that alone meant an unwelcome guest had come.

The guards outside must have been subdued.

Seonak didn’t turn and said,

“Wait a moment. It’s almost done.”

Only after perfectly aligning the last piece did he turn around.

The one looking at him in the hall was Chimma.

The moment their eyes met, he instinctively knew.

‘He came to kill me.’

Seonak sat at the table for welcoming guests.

“Thank you for waiting. Now, please sit.”

Chimma sat opposite him.

Seonak placed a cup before himself and another across from him.

“I’m thirsty, probably from working. Would you pour me a drink?”

Chimma took the blood wine bottle hanging at his waist and opened the stopper.

The fragrant scent of Bingju spread. It was the Bingju the Original Lord made before he died.

Chimma deeply inhaled the scent, then poured wine into the cup before Seonak.

But he did not pour Seonak any.

Chimma drank alone. It was the first drink in a very long time. As the alcohol spread through his body, he closed his eyes and showed a pleasant expression. Drinking the Bingju stirred his longing for the Original Lord.

Though his eyes were closed right in front of him, Seonak couldn’t attack. The blood energy flickering around Chimma’s body shimmered like heat haze, as if alive.

Slowly opening his eyes, Chimma asked,

“Why did you kill that person?”

He poured a second cup only for himself.

Seonak toyed with the empty cup before him and said,

“You should ask after drinking. Where’s your compassion?”

Even in this situation, Seonak was not afraid.

“You must be confident you can kill me.”

Chimma said nothing, only silently gazing at him, neither affirming nor denying.

“That’s because I was complacent. I was too relaxed. There was no one in Bukhae to make me wary.”

Once cheerful and carefree, Seonak was beginning to show his true self. His real ki was revealed. The ki that spread out was cold and intense enough to freeze the world. He was actually a higher-level master than previously known.

“Complacency is a terrifying thing. You, being a Majon, must have lived achieving everything. You must have beaten enemies you should never have beaten. Win after win. But in truth, the opponent wasn’t you but the fear of the Demon Sect that devoured you.”

Chimma was not shaken by Seonak’s momentum. He drank another cup of wine.

Slowly, Chimma’s ki spread around them like mist.

“I’m the one drinking, but you’re the one spouting nonsense.”

At Chimma’s ease, Seonak bared his teeth in a grin. The always-friendly smile twisted into that of a snarling beast.

“She was weak. Even if you secretly made it, it would have ended there. But she kept worrying about it. One day, she came to me saying she had to tell the Palace Lord the truth. Are your suspicions cleared now?”

Then Chimma gave an unexpected reply.

“I never wondered. The reason people like us kill good people is obvious, isn’t it? A trivial and selfish reason.”

“Then why did you ask?”

Just then, a voice came from behind.

“I said I was curious.”

Cutting through thick mist, Binggung entered and sat down.

She calmly stared at Seonak and asked,

“Was that also for Binggung’s sake?”