Episode 180

Zhuge Yeon looked around her blankly.

She saw familiar faces. The person who stood there was most definitely Namgung Sohye, the child she had been with since her childhood.

She was standing there, looking embarrassed, scratching her head.

“Are you feeling fine now?”

“I’m fine.”

It has been ten days, so how could one not be alright?

The fact that Zhuge Yeon almost died was now in the past. It has been around ten days and Zhuge Yun hadn’t yet opened his eyes, and it was only yesterday that he came to his senses.

But on the other hand, she felt bad.

The father and daughter were suffering so much in that cave.

Swish!

“Euk!?”

The walnut in Zhuge Yeon’s hand was crushed to bits. Hearing that sound, Namgung Sohye went pale.

How scary!

Although Zhuge Yeon was known to be on the gentle and feminine side, she was a child who lost herself in her emotions at times and didn’t know what to do.

At such times, Tang Mun-hye, of the Sichuan Tang family, felt like the kindest. Even though that child was also known to be quite a naughty one.

“So you… you mean you were here the last time we came here?”

“Uh… that…”

“Going through all those things, for your grandfather’s search… And I searched everywhere to find out about your disappearance… but you made fun of us?”

“Fun!?”

Zhuge Yeon had this wide smile while looking at Namgung Sohye, who was shocked. And then approached her and sniffed her scent.

‘All I could smell till now is sweat…!’

That thought made her smile change.

“You are a piece of work, eh.”

“Euk!?”

Swish!

Zhuge Yeon moved to her place with long strides. As she was looking back, anger rose to the top of her head and it looked like this anger wouldn’t subside that quickly.

Namgung Sohye just slumped.

“What… work… piece of…?’

She felt sad.

“Is this alright?”

Dan Woo-hyun looked at Zhuge Yun, who had just come to his senses. He was a terribly wounded man who hadn’t opened his eyes for ten days. The mental and bodily exhaustion must have been so extreme that even speaking was difficult.

But Zhuge Yun smiled and nodded.

“It is fine. I am alright. If I whine so much, how can I be the Commander of the Murim Alliance?”

A small bitterness was contained in that smile.

But he soon turned his head and looked at Namgung Chun. That stiff face softened and tears formed at the corners of his eyes.

“Thank you… Alliance Leader…”

“Hehe, I am not a leader anymore, am I. Do not say that.”

Kuak!

Zhuge Yun let out a small groan.

In his mind, only Namgung Chun was the leader of the Murim Alliance. Even if he lost one arm, he was still a beast that no one could surpass.

“And since you are alive… I am glad.”

He held onto Namgung Chun’s sleeve and teared up. His arms were in a terrible state, but he didn’t want to let go of that robe.

“You too. I am glad you are fine.”

Namgung Chun too had tears in the corners of his eyes. He had so many memories with Zhuge Yun, as they had known each other for so many years.

Would he have been sad because this man was someone he shared sadness and joy with?

That was also the reason why when Zhuge Yun was said to be attacked, he ran ahead of everyone.

“White-faced sword… that was the Alliance Leader.”

“Uh? What do you mean?”

“A lot of people call you that. The one-armed man in the white mask… and…”

Zhuge Yun turned to the other side. The person who was indifferent with arms crossed.

That same old man he had seen last time. The one using Demonic qi.

Since he wasn’t wearing the mask now, he could identify him.

“The Black-faced person was you? Lord of the Demonic Cult?”

“Huh…”

“If others come to know about you two being gathered like this, they would be shocked to the core.”

Two of the best warriors in the Central Plains.

If one thought about the fact that the Justice Faction and the Demonic Cult have long been at war, it would be impossible for them to be at the same place.

So how should he accept this now?

Zhuge Yun’s gaze turned to Dan Woo-hyun.

‘And the strength of this man?’

The leaders of two strongest groups, the Justice Faction and the Demonic Cult, are being brought in without any clashes. He didn’t think that Dan Woo-hyun was stronger than them, but it seemed certain that he had the skills to do it.

And so, Zhuge Yun made his decision.

He got up from the bed with much thought.

No one seemed to come and stop him. Because the look in his eyes was that of a man who had made a firm decision.

Zhuge Yun got up and bowed to Dan Woo-hyun.

“I am Zhuge Yun… I want to be of some strength to you, even if it is in a small way. Will you accept it?”

This was a bold statement, considering he was bowing his head.

But this was the last bit of pride he had.

Zhuge Yun didn’t raise his head and waited for Dan Woo-hyun to answer.

At that time, laughter sounded.

“I don’t like people who use their brains. Most of them are the ones who rip off their lord’s throats if they have different interests.”

“I…”

“But that’s fine. There is no one in this family who uses their brain, so we can have someone who does that.”

“…I, Zhuge Yun, am confident in matters of the brain.”

Dan Woo-hyun sat on the chair and looked at Zhuge Yun’s form. The constant gaze made it feel as if his body was getting cut into numerous pieces.

Cold sweat formed on Zhuge Yun’s forehead. This was because he had no idea if he was accepted or not.

He was running out of breath in anxiousness and he had never felt this way before, not even with Namgung Chun.

“But one should show their skills before that, right?”

When it came to showing his skills, Zhuge Yun’s pride took a hit. Although they weren’t as great as the Namgung family, the Zhuge family was one of the original Five Great Families and the brains that the Murim Alliance runs on.

If one was going to do that, then surely he must be qualified.

“Then shouldn’t Warrior Dan also show? I wonder if you can embrace Zhuge Yun or not…”

His tone was polite as usual.

Although his tone was quite different from last time he saw it, Zhuge Yun’s voice and expression, which was looking at Dan Woo-hyun, held a firmness.

It was because Zhuge Yun had guessed that the man called Dan Woo-hyun was probably the one behind all this, so he remained in Hunan without leaving. But his ability has never actually been witnessed.

“I do not need to embrace anyone. You can give your loyalty to this old one.”

With that, Dan Woo-hyun stood up to leave. This meant it was alright regardless of whether he joined or not.

Reminding him that he wasn’t someone to be tested, he declared that the loyalty of Zhuge Yun should be toward Namgung Chun, and not him.

In the end, it meant that Dan Woo-hyun did not care about Zhuge Yun or having him with him.

But, if he wanted to stay in this place and follow those he wanted, showing yourself worthy of the position was necessary.

ZhugeYun was so dumbfounded by those words that he laughed.

He raised his head and saw the door closing.

“Well, that’s how he is.”

Sa Dohak shrugged and laughed.

It was quite fun to see Zhuge Yun, who had made up his mind, and asked someone other than Namgung Chun to lead him, get kicked in the shin.

Zhuge Yun too seemed to know how awkward it was, and smiled.

Dan Woo-hyun thought as he left the room.

What an interesting man.

Being confident and wanting to show his skills. If he thought about where there was a person like that, well, there was none. But the flow of time now and the past differed so much.

A thousand years have passed, and no one knows about Dan Woo-hyun.

If they knew his identity, they wouldn’t have been able to speak as such.

Rather, they would have been feeling so down in front of him that they wouldn’t want to do anything, and that was why this was fun.

Being with people who didn’t know who he was a thousand years ago.

Dan Woo-hyun smiled and left the place.

He headed to the garden, moving as if taking a walk. And he found Namgung Sohye seated near the corner of the yard.

“What are you doing?”

“This… a bit… it can be said as correcting the broken…”

“I have no idea what you are saying.”

“I don’t know either.”

Namgung Sohye burst out laughing and stood up. She dusted off her clothes and stood in front of Dan Woo-hyun and let out a small sigh.

She hesitated, as if she had something to say.

Dan Woo-hyun urged,

“If you have something to say, then say it.”

“N-not exactly…”

Dan Woo-hyun frowned.

When Namgung Sohye met his gaze directly, his head turned. His face, which was red, was now looking shy.

“If you don’t want to, then forget it.”

“Lord Dan!”

Right when he chose to leave and turn back, she grabbed his sleeve.

Well, then she did have something to say.

So he stopped and looked at her once again.

She took a deep breath as if she had made up her mind, and then opened and closed her lips numerous times. After a while she looked into his eyes and said,

“You know right?”

“What?”

“The Three Heavens… Nam Joo-ryeon’s…”

“What do you mean?”

As expected, Namgung Sohye mumbled softly.

Dan Woo-hyun knew the martial arts used a thousand years back. When she realized the truth, the doubts she had in her head began to clarify.

She clenched her fists.

“Tell me! You said it was the Blue Sky Illusion Bird Sword! Tell me about that martial art.”

“Isn’t the Namgung Solar Qi equally good?”

“I want to get stronger. So if you know… do tell me.”

Namgung Sohye had no intention of backing down.

It was a golden opportunity to learn Nam Joo-ryeon’s martial arts.

If that person was really the one who started the Namgung family, it wouldn’t be so odd for her to learn her swordsmanship.

Dan Woo-hyun looked at her and smiled.

Namgung Sohye didn’t seem to have any intention of backing down.

Confirming that he said,

“What do you think is the reason I know that?”

Namgung Sohye took a deep breath. She had just one answer to this question.

Without hesitating, looking straight into his eyes, she said,

“Because you are the Martial God.”

For the first time, Dan Woo-hyun was surprised.

A swift wind blew in and embraced the two people.