Chapter 5: The Only Grace
A year ago, a week after the Demonic Cult's invasion of Sichuan.
It was a night shrouded in pitch-black darkness.
Light poured from the most secluded chamber of the Namgung family.
As the quiet dawn broke and everyone else slept, only a single lamp's shadow moved busily.
Ever since her father's visit to the Namgung family three days prior, Tang So-hwa's judgment had grown clouded.
Her father, who valued cleanliness and appearance, wore clothes stained with blood and dust, and his usually neatly tied hair was hastily bound, betraying his haste. He had even returned immediately, unperturbed by Namgung Hyun's refusal.
Perhaps it was a time when even a single person's help was desperately needed.
Tang So-hwa knew that her going would offer little help, but she also knew that if she perished here, she would forever be haunted by regret.
The instant So-hwa stepped out of her room, her path was blocked by a shadowy figure.
She looked up, and a beautiful face, one that even the faint moonlight couldn't obscure, met her gaze. It was Yeon-a, the commander of Namgung Hyun's personal martial force, the Ghost Guard, and, notoriously, his lover.
To encounter her in her own modest chamber at this particular moment filled her with unease.
So-hwa gazed at her with cold eyes and spoke.
“Move.”
Yeon-a's gaze fell to Tang So-hwa's sleeve.
“Did you bring your flying knives?”
When she didn't answer, Yeon-a asked again.
“How many did you bring? Ten? Twenty? A hundred?”
Yeon-a sighed, her face weary.
“These are foes that even Kunlun, Qingcheng, Mount Emei, and the Tang family couldn't stop. Do you truly believe they won't withstand a hundred knife strikes? After you've thrown ten—no, a hundred—flying knives, how will you face them then?”
It was her stark warning: 'If you go, you will only die.'
So-hwa's lips slowly parted.
“It seems you're mistaken.”
A calm voice, devoid of anger or sarcasm, cut through the darkness.
“I am going to die.”
At her words, Yeon-a furrowed her brow.
“Rather than survive alone, I choose to be by my family's side. Of course, someone like you would never understand. I have no need to make you understand, so move aside.”
“...Your home is here.”
At that, Tang So-hwa scoffed.
“Are you out of your mind? My surname is Tang, not Namgung.”
“...”
“I told you to move.”
Yeon-a extended a letter from her sleeve.
“This is a letter I wrote myself. Please deliver it to Madam. It is addressed to Huashan, Wudang, and Zhongnan. They are acquaintances of mine; they will not refuse my request.”
So-hwa's gaze fell to the letter.
Yeon-a had been brought into the Namgung family, but there were limits to her martial arts training within the family.
Though not to the same extent as the Tang family, the Namgung family was also a closed sect. Unfortunately, advanced martial arts suited to Yeon-a's prodigious skill were only taught to direct descendants.
As she wasn't of Namgung blood, she perfected her swordsmanship on her own.
Her wanderings across the Central Plains at Namgung Hyun's command proved beneficial. Navigating countless lines of death, she encountered various martial artists. Through innumerable life-or-death battles, she perfected her martial arts, eventually defeating Un-gil of the Wudang sect, one of the Ten Great Swords of the World, and earning her place among the world's top ten swordsmen.
However, she herself had no interest in such honor.
The only thing important to her was Namgung Hyun.
Therefore, Tang So-hwa couldn't believe this letter.
Because it was an act that defied Namgung Hyun's will.
“...Did he permit this?”
Though the subject was unstated, Yeon-a seemed to understand the question and shook her head.
“It is my will.”
“You disregard my will, so why should yours be respected?”
Yeon-a spoke calmly.
“It is an apology.”
“An apology?”
So-hwa's brow furrowed.
If an apology were due for merely having a concubine, then all the family heads of the prominent families in the Central Plains would have worn out their knees from bowing.
Tang So-hwa realized that the apology Yeon-a was offering was not simply about their shared relationship.
Strictly speaking, Yeon-a had been intimate with him before Tang So-hwa and Namgung Hyun's wedding.
If an apology were due, it should come from Namgung Hyun, who clung to both love and power, not from the martial artist standing before her.
While it was an undeniable fact that Yeon-a's presence was unsettling, So-hwa wasn't so petty as to blame an ambiguous figure for her own discomfort.
And Yeon-a should have resented Tang So-hwa. Though it wasn't her doing, Yeon-a had lost a child due to Poisoning symptoms, and all the Namgung family members believed So-hwa was responsible.
It was unfair, yet the situation and evidence were clear. It couldn't have fit so perfectly unless someone had deliberately orchestrated the circumstances.
Thus, Yeon-a's words about wanting to apologize to her made no logical sense.
At So-hwa's silence, Yeon-a hesitated before opening her mouth.
“I have never had a child.”
So-hwa's brow twitched.
“When I was young, I suffered a grievous stab wound to my abdomen. At that time, the physician had declared I would never be able to bear children.”
“Perhaps your body changed over time. For someone of your caliber, it would not be strange for your very bones and flesh to suddenly renew themselves.”
What relevance did past wounds hold for a woman who had achieved Hwangoldal-tae? Yet, Yeon-a let out a small laugh.
“I know how you've seen me, but since Madam and the family head were wed... I have not been intimate with the family head.”
It was unbelievable.
Her wedding had taken place more than a decade ago.
The reason So-hwa acknowledged Yeon-a's existence as the concubine was because Namgung Hyun truly loved her, and Yeon-a genuinely cherished him in return.
She only learned this fact after coming to the Namgung family four years ago and was shocked at the time, yet she acknowledged it and stepped back, unwilling to interfere with their affectionate relationship.
In retrospect, Tang So-hwa had never loved Namgung Hyun.
After Namgung Hyun revealed his true nature, when he even ceased his obligatory visits to her, she felt a profound sense of liberation.
Yeon-a's calm voice pierced So-hwa's mind.
“It was not for Madam, but for him. I wished for him to finally establish a stable family in this lifetime.”
A gentle answer, as mild as her nature, flowed forth.
“I have always felt remorse towards you. You may not believe me, but it was not easy for me to ignore Madam's suffering either.”
Tang So-hwa did not want that apology.
Bereft of any reason to maintain her composure, So-hwa's composure crumpled.
“Now you wish to live comfortably with a mere word? Is that your way of apologizing?”
Yeon-a bowed her head.
“How could that be? I have never taken your suffering lightly.”
Her long hair rustled as it cascaded forward. As the dark curtain of her hair obscured her face, So-hwa could not discern Yeon-a's expression.
Only a voice so calm it was almost devoid of emotion reached her ears.
“I will repay it with my death.”
At those words, Tang So-hwa was speechless.
Yeon-a broke the silence once more and stated her grim resolve.
“I will protect the Tang family.”
A light laugh, like the whisper of the wind, was heard.
So-hwa couldn't bring herself to be angry at that laugh.
Unfortunately, Tang So-hwa knew her own limitations well. She was not an outstanding martial artist. Her going now would be akin to striking a rock with an egg.
Yeon-a, raising her head, smiled. Her gaze briefly fell to the letter in So-hwa's hand.
“They will likely come to help. But, one never knows... Madam must remain here.”
“Why?”
“Shouldn't there be at least one person to monitor the situation, ensuring the path isn't blocked?”
Tang So-hwa had no choice but to close her mouth.
Because it was a veiled warning to be wary of Namgung Hyun.
“Did you not love Namgung Hyun?”
“I apologize to Madam, but yes. I love him.”
“Then why are you doing this?”
“My heart has caused you immense pain. It is not right for you to lose everything as a consequence of my closing my eyes, intoxicated by love.”
Yeon-a bowed her head again.
“To explain: had I told the truth then, I feared he would harm someone else, and thus I could not speak.”
So-hwa understood the words, which lacked a clear subject or further elaboration.
If Yeon-a had confessed that she had no child, Namgung Hyun would have used other means to frame So-hwa.
At that time, he might have killed someone to eliminate evidence and claimed Poisoning.
If it were Namgung Hyun... he was certainly capable of such a thing.
He was someone who would not hesitate to use the woman he claimed to love as a weapon.
If he could cut off Tang So-hwa's external communication and confine her, isolating her in a small annex in a corner, he would have done so.
Yeon-a hesitated, then handed over a small note she held in her hand.
“If I die, please deliver this to him.”
“What is this?”
Instead of explaining, she curved her lips into a faint smile and replied briefly.
“It is where I will be buried.”
So-hwa refused, imploring her not to die and to deliver it herself, but Yeon-a vanished without a word.
And she never returned.
The three Daoist sects who received Yeon-a's letter arrived without delay and halted the Demonic Cult's eastward advance.
Although they could not prevent the annihilation of the Tang family and Yeon-a's demise, they helped recover the bodies.
Tang So-hwa tried to recover Yeon-a's body herself, but she could not decipher the note's meaning. Thus, she delivered the note Yeon-a had left to Namgung Hyun, and for the first time, Namgung Hyun broke down before her very eyes.
That sight was truly repulsive.
It was also sickening.
That sight of him, acting as if he had lost the entire world, in front of her, who had truly lost everything.
After using the woman he claimed to love as a shield and driving her into all manner of deadly situations, what exactly had he done himself?
About a week before Namgung Hyun's birthday, So-hwa intended to visit Yeon-a's burial mound.
As a courtesy to the one who had sacrificed her life for her, she intended to apologize for her impending act of taking Namgung Hyun's life. Upon inquiring about the location of her burial mound, she learned that Yeon-a was interred on Mount Emei and that the name 'Yeon-a' had been bestowed upon her by Namgung Hyun.
Though it remained unknown what transpired on that mountain, it was said that Yeon-a remained by Namgung Hyun's side to repay a perceived kindness.
A false kindness.
Can such a man be called salvation?
After keeping her by his side and using her as a mere sword her entire life, were these tears now truly love?
Namgung Hyun, who had been blaming So-hwa for Yeon-a's death and raging against her, never once blamed himself.
It was likely because he felt no guilt whatsoever for his own actions.
It was then that So-hwa first felt pity for Yeon-a.
Even if one were one of the world's top ten swordsmen, her life was truly fleeting.
As time passed and a miracle befell Tang So-hwa, she naturally thought of Yeon-a as she vowed revenge against Namgung Hyun.
Kindness repaid twofold, resentment tenfold.
It was the Tang family's rule to weigh resentment more heavily when settling accounts of gratitude and resentment.
She, in particular, was someone who took kindness lightly, yet Yeon-a's kindness remained a persistent thought.
That girl, who, in this new life, likely bore a different name, might not know Tang So-hwa, but Tang So-hwa wanted to help her live a life vastly different from her previous one.
In this life, she wished for her to peacefully learn martial arts from a master, unburdened by the need to cross lines of death, and to fully enjoy her own life instead of sacrificing it for another.
That was the only kindness Tang So-hwa felt compelled to repay in this life, and the first account of gratitude and resentment she had to settle.
