Chapter 58
There, a man clad entirely in black armor was walking while riding a white horse, holding a similarly pitch-black flag.
Beneath it, the corpse of a fallen person was visible.
No matter how one looked at it, it was a truly ominous card.
It was strange.
‘Elder Namgung Muyeong drew such an ominous card, and yet he named the child Namgung?’
Reading Hong-seol’s expression, Cheontonggae replied.
“This card signifies death.”
“Pardon?”
“It means that life will undergo a massive change. Since Namgung Muyeong was dirt-poor at the time, I interpreted that change in a positive light.”
A positive light?
Hong-seol tilted her head.
“Besides, I had heard information that one of the branch families of the Namgung Clan had lost its line and was looking for a bright child to adopt.”
Cheontonggae stroked his long beard once before continuing.
“I only needed to confirm if that fate belonged to Namgung Muyeong. So, I tossed coins to cast a divination. And wouldn’t you know it, they pointed directly toward the Namgung Clan’s estate!”
He had told Namgung Muyeong to head in that direction, and there, Namgung Muyeong had met a noble benefactor and found a new life.
“Wow, that’s amazing!”
Hong-seol nodded frantically.
Cheontonggae shrugged as if it were nothing.
“So, trust me and try drawing a card that catches your eye.”
“Yes, yes!”
“First, you must say what you wish to ask.”
“Yes! I… I want to know if my mother loves me.”
She wondered if perhaps everything that happened at Mount Daechok was just a terrible misunderstanding.
She wondered if, as she had heard at the <Anhui River Crossing> not long ago, her mother was suffering because she was searching for her.
If that were the case, Hong-seol wanted to return to her mother’s arms and be held by her at any moment.
As if all of this had been nothing but a bad dream.
‘Please tell me if my mother loves me…!’
Hong-seol picked a card with a desperate heart.
“Hmm?”
Cheontonggae, who flipped the card over, wore a puzzled look.
On it, ten golden cups floated alongside a rainbow. Beneath them, a family that looked happy to anyone’s eyes was visible.
‘Strange. I heard that the Mistress of the Myo Clan, Jeok Galseon, abused this child terribly, so why would such a divination…’
“Wh-what is it?”
Worried that she might have flipped an ominous card, Hong-seol leaned in.
Cheontonggae waved his hand dismissively.
“It is nothing. Just in case, why don’t you draw one more paper card?”
Hong-seol picked another card with trembling hands.
This time, it was an image of a long-bearded grandfather wearing a glittering crown, sitting on a throne.
‘Stability and trust… That cannot be.’
Deeply confused, Cheontonggae frowned and said.
“Draw one more time.”
Without knowing why, Hong-seol flipped over the card and held it out again.
“Ha!”
Seeing the picture drawn on the paper card, Cheontonggae let out a sigh of disbelief.
On a large palm sat a golden cup, and from within it, a stream of water was gushing out endlessly.
It was undoubtedly a symbol of affection that remained unceasing even now.
“This won’t do. Let’s try a different divination.”
Even after scattering rice, tossing old coins, and shaking the bamboo container, the results were the same.
After divining for a long time, Cheontonggae eventually had no choice but to throw up his hands in defeat.
“It seems I have no choice but to acknowledge it.”
It was the first time he had ever told someone a divination result that contradicted the information he knew.
“You do not need to change your fate. Your mother still loves you more than anything, Hong-seol.”
“R-really?”
Happiness flooded into the child’s pale face like a rising tide.
“Mom… loves… me.”
Clasping her hands to her chest, Hong-seol trembled with emotion.
Watching this, Cheontonggae kept his eyes on the child and sent a Telepathic Message.
- Pal-deok, are you there?
- Yes, Master! Please give your command.
One of the Beggars' Clan disciples, who had been hiding near the rafters using a concealment technique, replied via Telepathic Message.
- You must dig into the Myo Clan.
- What should I look into?
Cheontonggae looked at Hong-seol quietly.
Because she had grown up undernourished, her frame was small, but she must be about eight years old.
- It is a matter from about eight years ago. Check if there were any suspicious incidents around the time the firstborn of the Myo Clan was born.
- Understood!
Whoosh!
It did not take long for Pal-deok, having received the Master’s order, to vanish.
Hong-seol was so busy calming her pounding heart that she did not even realize someone had left.
‘Mom really did love me.’
Hong-seol rubbed the red, snowflake-shaped birthmark on her arm repeatedly.
‘That feeling wasn’t a lie after all!’
Her dainty fingers trembled.
Cheontonggae picked at his ear with his pinky finger and asked.
“So, do you intend to return to your mother right away? If so, then…”
“No.”
At the unexpected answer, Cheontonggae looked at Hong-seol. The child was pressing her lips tightly together and shaking her head.
‘Ho-ho, what an interesting child.’
What could be the reason?
Cheontonggae’s head tilted in curiosity.
Hong-seol spoke in a voice that seemed to suppress her emotions over and over again.
“I… I still have things I must do at the Namgung Clan.”
“Huh, is that so?”
Cheontonggae raised one eyebrow.
The child before him looked as if she were desperately holding back the urge to run into her mother’s arms right now.
‘I heard that this child recently became a disciple of Namgung Ho.’
If so, the answer was obvious.
‘Namgung Ho, she wants to learn martial arts under that old man before returning. Well, that would be more beneficial for the child, too.’
Assuming Hong-seol’s intentions in his own way, he stood up and brushed off his seat.
“It is time for those outside to come in.”
Cheontonggae dispelled the energy barrier that had been surrounding the room.
It had been a device to ensure that the conversation he shared with Hong-seol would not leak outside.
“Come on in!”
No sooner had Cheontonggae spoken than Namgung On and Bing Yuhwa burst in.
“Hong-seol!”
As soon as she arrived, Bing Yuhwa wrapped Hong-seol in her skirt.
At that, Hong-seol’s mood softened pleasantly.
‘She smells nice. It’s a scent that puts my heart at ease.’
While Hong-seol was smiling bashfully, Namgung On brought up his business.
“We are looking for the Immortal Physician of Ten Thousand Miles.”
“Ha! You are looking for a difficult person to find.”
“Yes. So, I ask that you please issue a general mobilization order to the Beggars' Clan.”
“I refuse.”
“We will pay whatever fee you desire.”
“I said I refuse.”
“Why is that?”
“Do you have to ask when you know the reason?”
The corners of Cheontonggae’s mouth, covered by his beard, twitched with dissatisfaction.
Seeing that, Namgung On shook his head slowly, as if he couldn’t believe it.
“Surely not, Elder?”
“It is exactly that ‘surely.’ If it is a matter of helping that man, Namgung Ho, I refuse!”
“Haa.”
Bing Yuhwa let out a sigh, her face turning cold.
The ill-fated relationship between her father-in-law, the Grand Patriarch of the Namgung Clan, Namgung Ho, and the Beggars' Clan leader, Cheontonggae, had continued since their youth.
To be precise, Namgung Ho had often teased Cheontonggae when he was a young beggar in the Beggars' Clan.
In particular, the story of how he rode Cheontonggae like a horse after winning a bet was famous.
‘I can’t believe this.’
Bing Yuhwa clutched her throbbing head and pleaded.
“Elder, please, I beg you to reconsider just once.”
“What must we do to soothe your anger? Would it suffice if my father-in-law offered an apology?”
Namgung On also quickly offered conditions. But Cheontonggae was stubborn.
“It is useless even if that old man apologizes this late. I will not budge from here!”
A heavy silence flowed through the shop.
‘What should we do?’
‘Is there no way?’
Bing Yuhwa and Namgung On looked at each other with troubled expressions. But there was no suitable solution.
If money wouldn’t work and an apology was useless, what more could they do?
Was all that remained… ‘threats’?
Namgung On quickly calculated the odds of intimidating Cheontonggae in his head.
Even if he deployed all the guards waiting outside, the chances of subduing Cheontonggae were extremely low.
He was a master of the Transformation Realm and the head of an entire faction.
Even if they succeeded in subduing him by some miracle, it would be a problem. The relationship between the Namgung Clan and the Beggars' Clan would be ruined beyond repair.
‘What is to be done?’
It was a dead end!
Just as Namgung On was lost in lamentation, a voice as clear as jade spread through the room.
“Don’t worry, Clan Lord! Grandfather Cheontonggae will help me.”
It was none other than Hong-seol.
0 Comments