Chapter 136 – Is He Really Born? (2)
Nam Gung-hye’s expression became complicated.
She had not expected to see her father with another younger sibling when she went to find her mother to convey the contents of the letter she received from Kang Yoon.
Or did she really not know? It might be closer to not wanting to think about it.
“Shall we hold our Gyeon, together…?”
Even though she was a skilled martial artist, it seemed that giving birth to a child was still difficult for her mother, who had a slightly pale face and couldn’t even open her eyes properly, as she held the baby who was also weak.
“In the end, you named him that.”
“It’s a good name, isn’t it?”
Kang Yoon had asked for the name Gyeon, which means to be strong, to be given to their son when he was born.
Seeing that they had even thought about the name so much, it seemed like they really loved the baby…
“Oh, he’s so small…”
Nam Gung-hye carefully held the baby so that his weak neck wouldn’t bend, as her mother had instructed her. The baby was very small, even to the point where it was hard to believe that he was the same person, but his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears were all there, without missing a thing, which was amazing.
He seemed to resemble both his mother and that detestable man.
“Does he resemble his father?”
That’s how it looked to her mother.
Now that she thought about it, it seemed like the baby’s eyes, which were round and about to close, would curl up and form a detestable smile, just like that man.
She thought she would shudder at the thought of having that man’s child, but strangely enough, she felt affectionate towards him.
The hand that protruded from between Nam Gung’s arms, which held the baby, lightly clenched into a fist, and when she pushed her finger in between them, the small hand lightly grasped her finger.
“Little one, it’s your sister…”
“Waaaaah!”
Of course, the baby, who didn’t understand anything yet, started crying, not knowing who his mother was or that Nam Gung-hye couldn’t give him milk. When she urgently handed the baby over to Eun So-young, Eun So-young breastfed him, letting out a sigh of relief.
The room, which had become noisy for a moment, quickly became quiet. Nam Gung-hye watched her mother with a look of wonder as she breastfed the baby.
Meanwhile, Eun So-young, who had been smiling softly as she watched the baby suckling hard, suddenly opened her mouth.
“Sang-gong told me that there are many good things in the first milk that a mother produces…”
“…I’ve never heard of that before?”
“The doctor said that even the midwives haven’t heard of it before.”
Nam Gung-hye let out a hollow laugh. Even if it wasn’t a doctor, where did she hear such a thing?
But her mother seemed grateful, regardless of whether she believed it or not.
“I don’t know where you heard that from, but still, aren’t you grateful? It’s not like you’re feeding him something wrong…”
Nam Gung-hye felt envious as she watched her mother feed the baby with overflowing love.
The baby who received so much love, and the mother who gave that love.
Even though she knew that the baby was born out of wedlock, she was confused by the emotions she felt towards him.
“Soon, Lady Hwangbo Gaju will come to find Gyeon. The date hasn’t been decided yet, but… if you can attend, it would be good, Mother.”
“…Lady Hwangbo?”
The current Lady Hwangbo Se-ga was the granddaughter of Hwangbo Jun, who was Nam Gung-hye’s matchmaking partner. Eun So-young raised her eyebrows at the fact that it was not her father, but her grandfather who was coming to find them.
“I think… it’s likely that Pangga was attacked by Mayak. They will probably talk about my wedding too…”
It seemed like some kind of strategy meeting.
“…I see. I understand.”
Eun So-young nodded heavily and looked at her daughter’s face, which made her realize how much she had grown compared to the baby.
A face that resembled her a lot, a daughter who would become Hwangbo Se-ga’s daughter-in-law if the matchmaking went smoothly.
Eun So-young vividly remembered the time when her daughter was a baby more than 20 years ago. No, she remembered every moment of her growing up.
“Your mother still loves our daughter.”
“…What are you suddenly talking about?”
She was a daughter who had fallen in love with another man and became pregnant, but Eun So-young hoped that she would be happy even after getting married.
Since Hwangbo Jun was not in a position to become a Lady, Nam Gung-hye and he could surely live happily in love.
“Just… I just want our daughter to be happy.”
“…She will be.”
Nam Gung-hye replied as if it was an obvious answer.
But Eun So-young also believed that she could surely live happily until she got married to Nam Gung-tan.
And she actually believed that she was happy. She realized that her happiness as a woman was half-hearted only after it was too late.
‘I hope she can be like that…’
If she couldn’t get happiness as a woman, wouldn’t it be better not to realize it for a lifetime?
Eun So-young couldn’t find an answer.
Shingang.
In the place where the gun faction of Mayak was located, the head of Mayak, Yeongho-kyeong, who was also the father and leader of the Shinma, Yeongho-sang, was discussing something.
“They must be playing some strange game.”
“Isn’t it their choice?”
“If they knew that the delicious drink was made by the Mayak people, then maybe.”
“Leader, you came back without any problems, so let’s end it here…”
Stay in character.
“I must receive punishment for returning without my disguise. If I had died or been seriously injured, there would be no need for such punishment!”
The head of the Mayak, Yeongho-kyeong, who was also the father and leader of the Shinma, was discussing something with his subordinates.
“They must be playing some strange game.”
“Isn’t it their choice?”
“If they knew that the delicious drink was made by the Mayak people, then maybe.”
“…”
“In addition, we can cut off the future of these young and promising men. Isn’t the situation quite plausible?”
The leader’s sharp words made the subordinate back off without finding any benefit.
“I know why you did it. You wanted to provoke those who realized that they were eating Yeongdan and that it was an act of hostility towards our sect.”
“…”
“And you can be responsible for the future of the prisoners who will die meaninglessly because of your greed?”
The leader’s anger was slowly boiling, and the two men were under pressure. Although they were both top-notch martial artists, they were far inferior to the leader.
The leader’s boiling anger was like lava, and it felt like being pricked with needles.
“We will win. Yes, that’s true. Maybe we can even dominate the martial arts world and enjoy a much richer life than now. But didn’t we say that the next step is the problem?”
“Leader, please consider the situation…”
“Shut up! Do you think you have the right to criticize the actions of the men under your command? You were just a little more reasonable in your approach, but you…!”
“I won’t do it anymore. I was wrong, Father.”
“…”
The leader was momentarily stunned, and the pressure that had been building up slowly weakened.
Yeongho-kyeong lowered his head slightly and spoke again.
“I realized that my thoughts were wrong. I won’t do such things anymore, please believe me, Father.”
“Ha…”
Despite the good relationship between the two women, the leader gave a nod to the elder and the pressure that had been building up slowly weakened.
Although Yeongho-kyeong had never compromised his position on the orthodox martial arts, the leader was completely relieved by his daughter’s words.
“Good, it’s very fortunate that you have changed your mind. Then from now on, be quiet and…”
“But I still believe that the future of our sect lies in the Chungwon.”
“…I don’t understand what you’re talking about. Didn’t you say you wouldn’t do such things anymore?”
“Of course. There will be no need for such things in the future.”
Under the gaze of the leader and the elder, Yeongho-kyeong spoke.
“The disciple of the Hemma will come to our sect.”
“…Who did you say? Maybe I didn’t hear it properly because I’m getting old…”
“Did you say the disciple of the Hemma? Did that person have a disciple?”
The leader interrupted the one-armed elder’s denial of reality and asked sharply.
“Yes. He’s a young man with a huge amount of inner energy from the Do-moon who can feel the magic of the Holy Blood.”
“…Is that all?”
“Yes.”
“What about his age and martial arts level?”
Although Yeongho-kyeong thought it was strange that the leader was asking so many questions, he answered first.
“He’s in his early twenties and is roughly at the top level of the first-class.”
“You’ve been fooled.”
When the leader rebuked him, Yeongho-kyeong’s expression became angry. But the leader continued speaking, ignoring his reaction.
“You have a misconception because you don’t know that person well. I know him well. He’s an incredibly arrogant person.”
“…”
“Barely first-class in his early twenties? It’s impossible to accept someone with such a low level of talent as a disciple.”
“But his inner energy is undoubtedly at the peak level. And if he can sense the magic of the Holy Blood, there’s no other explanation than the Hemma martial arts…”
“He must have eaten a lot of elixirs. And there’s no law that says that person sensed the magic of the Holy Blood, is there?”
Yeongho-kyeong had nothing to say. Come to think of it, there was no solid evidence.
There was no one who survived a head-on fight against the Hemma, so there was no information on his martial arts.
Thanks to that, he had seen him perform martial arts several times, but he had never been sure.
Was he too hopeful? Did he fall for the scam artist’s trick?
“Then… what should we do if that person…”
“If he comes, let him come, and if he doesn’t, he should pay the price for deceiving the sub-leader of our sect when he’s caught later.”
The leader seemed to have stamped the person as a complete scam artist, but Yeongho-kyeong had a premonition.
That person was undoubtedly the disciple of the Hemma. Despite his father’s denial, Yeongho-kyeong felt destiny from that person.
Kang Yoon, he would be the key to the future of the Ming-gyo. If he could get the help of the Hemma, the day would not be far off when he would achieve the world of Ming-gyo.
“Please keep it a secret from the other members of the sect for a while.”
“Do as you please. It’s not good for you if it’s revealed later that it was a fake.”
He didn’t say it for that reason, but he thought it was better that way.
There was no need to show the possibility of cooperation with the Hemma to those who supported the conflict with the Chungwon-murim or those who opposed it.
He would take the lead. If he found out that the person was real and that the two of them were joining forces among the Three Sovereigns, the public opinion of the sect would tilt dramatically.
“Even if he’s the Sovereign, he can’t ignore that.”
Yeongho-kyeong hoped that Kang Yoon, who appeared within the promised deadline, would be able to prove himself as the disciple of the Hemma with dignity.
