Chapter 77
“It is my fault.”
Namgung Jin spoke gloomily, his gaze fixed on the floor.
“I believe I made the situation worse by mentioning the Golden Divine Healer.”
“No, it’s not! If we’re going to talk about fault, it’s my own for healing people without knowing any better.”
“What fault is there in one person healing another? Your healing is flawless. I simply should have been more careful to warn you when the people began to cheer and call you the Golden Divine Healer.”
Soso thought that would have been better, too.
But what was done was done. The past could not be undone.
Sighing in regret over the past would only wither her heart.
Therefore, rather than regretting the past, Soso wanted to discuss what to do now.
“Young Master, we cannot put spilled water back into the cup. Let’s think about what to do from here.”
“For starters, we must ensure that information regarding your identity does not leak out any further. I will send a message to my father regarding this matter.”
“Still, I am glad that only the trustworthy warriors of the Namgung Clan know my true identity.”
“Trustworthy…”
Namgung Jin repeated the words as if he liked the sound of them, his lips curling slightly.
The Namgung Clan was the first and last place she had revealed her healing abilities in front of so many people.
Because they had left the clan immediately afterward, it was highly likely that rumors about her had not yet spread far.
“Perhaps it will be easier to hide my identity than I thought.”
Even so, she decided she would be more careful from now on.
Unless it was absolutely necessary, she would not reveal her healing abilities in front of many people.
But no sooner had she made that resolution than a profound question suddenly arose.
‘If Young Master Eon-u has become the Heavenly Demon, and if he is suffering from `Madness`…’
What should she do?
Should she follow the Heavenly Demon as if she had been waiting for this, and heal him?
What if Namgung Jin and Jegal Haesu pointed fingers at her or turned their backs on her because of it?
It was a dilemma that made her head ache.
Yet, Soso felt that in the end, she would not be able to turn away from Young Master Eon-u, her top priority.
Even if everyone else in the world turned their backs on her.
* * *
The Finance Division of the Jegal Clan.
Jegal Sochu, the Division Head, had been shouting the same thing over and over again lately.
“Again… the wealth is missing again!”
He had realized, albeit late, that the Jegal Clan’s treasures had vanished.
It had happened while he was away from the clan on the Clan Head’s orders.
A fan made from the hide of a Ten-Thousand-Year Poison-Horned Serpent, Heavenly Silkworm Silk… and so on. How many precious treasures had disappeared!
Had a thief broken into the Jegal Clan?
That was not the case.
In truth, Jegal Sochu knew the culprit who had spirited the treasures away.
‘Jegal Haesu, you rascal…!’
It was undoubtedly the work of Jegal Haesu, who had evaporated into thin air a few months ago.
Hardly anyone knew the location of the warehouse where the treasures were kept, and even fewer had the authority to enter it.
Furthermore, these items had been perfectly in their place until Jegal Haesu disappeared.
“Haesu, you brat, just let me get my hands on you.”
Enraged, Jegal Sochu slammed his fist onto the table.
But a few minutes later, his face grew noticeably dark. With a long sigh, he wiped his face as if washing it with his hands.
Jegal Haesu, who had spent his days rotting in a corner of his room, only to leave the clan without a word and even steal the clan’s treasures.
Jegal Sochu was deeply worried about him.
He had an inkling as to why he had committed such an eccentric act.
Jegal Haesu had likely left the clan to find Jegal Sagun, who had been abducted by the Demonic Cult.
Without even knowing how terrifying the Demonic Cult was.
Jegal Sochu knew very well how much Haesu had loved and followed Sagun.
He also knew that after Jegal Sagun was kidnapped, Jegal Haesu had come out of his room and secretly practiced martial arts.
Jegal Sochu had thought it would only be for a short while.
He thought that after training like that, he would hit a wall and return to being the Lazy Young Master.
But, unbelievably, the boy had really left the clan.
‘Haesu, why couldn’t you just stay buried in your room… why…’
He had an underlying illness; what would happen if he returned to the clan as a corpse before long?
Jegal Sochu was terrified that such a future might come to pass.
Of course, Haesu would have no idea that he was this worried. He would only assume that everyone thought of him as a fool.
Indeed, many in the clan thought of Jegal Haesu as a useless person.
They worried that the stigma of being the “Lazy Young Master” would bring shame upon the Jegal Clan.
Some had even argued that Jegal Haesu should be stripped of the “Jegal” surname.
But Jegal Sochu, Jegal Haesu’s grand-uncle, was not among that majority.
Though he did not show it on the outside, Jegal Sochu felt pity for Jegal Haesu.
‘It is not Haesu’s fault that he was born with an illness.’
Jegal Sochu knew how hard Haesu had tried.
He knew how diligently he had practiced martial arts, despite not having a natural talent for it and suffering from his condition.
Jegal Haesu had trained until he vomited blood, but almost no one recognized that effort.
That was because the Jegal Clan valued visible results over such efforts.
But because of that, the Jegal Clan had ultimately lost all of its direct descendants.
‘Jegal Cheon, my brother, you should have at least embraced Haesu.’
Or perhaps, should he himself have acknowledged Haesu?
It felt as though the very foundation of the Jegal Clan had crumbled away.
The clan he cherished was now precariously perched on the cliff of ruin.
Jegal Sochu’s sigh deepened.
“Haesu… if you return safely, then I will embrace you.”
But before that, he would have to pay the price for stealing the treasures!
“Jegal Haesu, you rascal!”
Thinking of the missing treasures, Jegal Sochu’s face turned beet red with renewed anger.
And just then, a man with a neat appearance appeared behind him.
“Division Head, please have a cup of tea.”
A voice as clear and melodic as rolling jade beads.
Jegal Sochu brightened at the sound of a voice that was pleasant even to another man’s ears.
“Is that you, Baek Sam?”
“Yes.”
Baek Sam, dressed in scholar-style silk robes, set a cup down on the table Jegal Sochu had been pounding.
The pleasant aroma of the tea seemed to wash away his worries.
“I live because of you, I truly do.”
Jegal Sochu slurped the tea as if it were liquor.
Baek Sam smiled beautifully at Jegal Sochu and snapped his fan open.
“Your head is still radiating heat, Division Head. I shall fan you.”
Baek Sam brought his hands together respectfully and began to fan him.
“Oh! More to the right!”
“Yes~.”
“More to the left as well!”
“Yes~, as you command.”
“Refreshing. This is good.”
Jegal Sochu’s face, which had been flushed red with rage, returned to its usual state.
Sau had wondered about the secret behind Baek Sam’s ability to wrap the Jegal Clan around his finger…
In truth, the greatest secret was the flattery he applied in exactly the right place at the right time.
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