Chapter 322 – Do You Really Want Me to Teach You? (1)
They provided an overwhelming amount of power to eliminate Fahrenheit’s army. Although it was unclear where Ho-ryeong had obtained this power, he had gathered nearly a hundred experts.
Among them, some possessed peak-level martial arts skills, but ironically, due to their lack of proficiency, they were attacked first and more than half of them became cold corpses.
“If it weren’t for Gang Yoon…”
“You fools! If you were cornered like rats, you should have quickly bitten the bullet and come back! Aren’t you the ones who caused this situation by stalling for time?”
When Yi Gwi opened his mouth as if to make excuses, an abstract shout burst out, and Yi Gwi closed his eyes tightly and bowed his head to the point where it touched the ground.
“What more excuses do you have to make when you haven’t fulfilled the orders of the Great One? Hao-na, please just let me speak.”
“…Speak.”
Hwang Du-myeong forced his rough breath to calm down and listened to Yi Gwi’s words.
“The only reason we messed up was due to our carelessness. Gang Yoon, that man, must be killed now.”
“If you’re going to use that little brat as an excuse…”
“He’s not a little brat. He almost fought us on equal footing while facing me and Samje at the same time.”
“What…?”
Hwang Du-myeong turned his head indifferently, but Sam-gwi was not present at the moment. He had suffered injuries that were so severe that he couldn’t even guarantee his own life, thanks to the vicious memorization that was specially created to destroy the internal organs.
According to the words of the Noh Eung-cho, who introduced himself as Yeong-cho, it was a miracle that he was still alive.
The specialized memorization, which was created to destroy the internal organs, had exploded and turned into small blades that messed up the major blood vessels.
Since he was advised not to use the Un-gam-saeng-sim martial arts again, Sam-gwi was practically as good as dead.
“Nonsense! No matter how powerful he is, he’s just a demon…!”
“That’s right, Great One! He’s nothing more than a devil!”
Hwang Du-myeong trusted Yi Gwi. He was not only the most skilled martial artist among his subordinates, but also had excellent judgment and decision-making skills, which is why he had placed him in a high position among his subordinates.
However, it was difficult to believe these words.
“He must be killed! If we leave him like this, he could become a supreme master, or even worse, a blood demon! If another bloodthirsty creature appears in the Kang-ho, hostile to us…!”
“Shut up! Even if he has become proficient in martial arts, it’s just a coincidence!”
“Great One!”
“He’s just a kid. He has to stay that way. We can’t kill him. He doesn’t pose any threat to the country.”
“Ugh…!”
“Are you okay, Great One?”
Ilgwi, who was vomiting blood, was helped up by Hwang Du-myeong, but he pushed his hand away and stood up on his own.
“It’s fine… You guys, prepare to report on the damage… I’ll report to Ho-ryeong myself…”
“Yes, Great One.”
Despite the embarrassment of failing a task he had entrusted to them, Ilgwi gave his advice, but his expression darkened as things had gone awry.
But he couldn’t refuse the orders of his lord, who was glaring at him with bloodshot eyes, and Ilgwi had to retreat reluctantly.
‘What the hell…’
Even though both the Eunryunhui and themselves were unknowingly being thwarted by a man named Gang Yoon, Ilgwi couldn’t understand why his lord was letting him go.
‘It can’t be left like this.’
There was no way to break Hwang Du-myeong’s strange stubbornness, and they couldn’t act without his orders.
Then, wouldn’t it be better to ask someone who can act to help them instead of them taking action themselves?
Watching the claws of Hojo, which were embedded in the waist of his youngest member, being smashed to pieces, Ilgwi made a secret decision.
“I’m back!”
“Come in!”
When Gang Yoon, who had returned after nearly two weeks, announced his arrival with a loud voice, Juyeolin, who had been waiting impatiently, was the first to rush out to greet him near the entrance.
“Did you have a good trip? Are you hurt anywhere? Did everything go well?”
“I had a good trip, my lord.”
After checking if there was anyone else around, Juyeolin hugged him gently, and she breathed in his scent deeply.
She was the woman who had become bored with her daily life after the man, who was the center of her life, disappeared.
Other women had their own things to do, and even Maeso-hyang was doing the work that Gang Yoon or Dang Hye-won used to do. But as long as the Hwang family said she should do something, everyone clapped their hands, so she had nothing to do except read books and play around with the children.
Recently, she had even started to enjoy practicing martial arts, but since night work had stopped, she only had time to play with the children and touch their chubby cheeks.
“No injuries, and everything went well.”
“Good job! Excellent!”
In such a situation, the fact that the man who was the center of her life had returned safely, and even achieved his goal, was more than she could ask for.
As she enjoyed the embrace of the man, other women began to appear, and Juyeolin reluctantly let go of him.
“Hey Soyoung, everything okay?”
“Yes, I came back without any injuries.”
“So-hyang, was work not too hard? Sorry for leaving you with urgent work.”
“It was nothing. But wait, you made all of that? Who are you?”
“Ha-jeong, why are you leaving? Come here.”
Feeling a bit uncomfortable, the man hugged each woman in turn until he saw an unexpected face.
“Hey Hye-mae!”
Although he greeted her warmly with open arms, Namgung Hye stood there with a chubby expression.
The man inwardly winced, but he approached her slowly and hugged her as well.
“When did you arrive? Was the journey difficult?”
“…Yes.”
Namgung Hye had arrived a few days ago and was overwhelmed by the number of women present. She had heard that there were many women, but this was too much.
When she found out that the group had even involved the emperor’s granddaughter, she felt dizzy.
But she couldn’t say anything harsh to the person who was hugging her and smiling brightly, as her temperament was not strong enough to protest.
‘Ugh…’
Although Namgung Hye had to endure it, if she had known that the man was plotting to overthrow Ju-yaek-seon, she would not have let it go so easily.
Namgung Hye greeted the women she had not been able to see while she was alone with the man, and finally greeted the female official in charge of this place.
“I’m Namgung Hye. I’ll be here for a while… please take care of me.”
“I’m Ju-yaek-seon. I heard you’re pregnant?”
“Yes, I am.”
As the other person was a female official and a woman, Namgung Hye replied casually.
Although there was no sign of her belly protruding yet, she had already experienced morning sickness and had received the official’s judgment that she was definitely pregnant.
“I see. Can I check your pulse right now? Is that okay?”
“Are you sure it’s okay? First, I should detoxify…”
“I’m fine. I took enough rest on the way here, so there’s no problem.”
Although Namgung Hye declined, Ju-yaek-seon forcibly took her hand and led her to her room, which was filled with the smell of medicinal herbs.
Namgung Hye extended her wrist, and Ju-yaek-seon took her pulse.
“There doesn’t seem to be any problem at the moment. Just be careful with your diet and that should be enough. I’ll write down some good foods for you, so try to eat dishes that include those ingredients.”
“Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. It’s just my duty.”
Ju-yaek-seon wrote down some instructions on a piece of paper and handed it to Namgung Hye. As she left the room, Ju-yaek-seon felt the need to check with her officials if anything had happened while she was away.
But Namgung Hye didn’t leave right away after receiving the paper.
“Um, Ju-yaek-seon-nim? I have something to ask… Is it okay?”
“Yes, of course.”
Ju-yaek-seon met Namgung Hye’s eyes and could see the anxiety in them.
It was a common anxiety among women who had just become pregnant, and Ju-yaek-seon tried to soothe her by smiling softly.
“I, in my current state… about having intimate time with my husband at night…”
Ju-yaek-seon patiently listened to Namgung Hye’s hesitant words, but her expression twisted at the following words.
“Is it okay?”
“…It’s generally not recommended. Although the baby is protected by amniotic fluid, it’s still a delicate time.”
He was definitely involved with Kang Yoon. Ju-yaek-seon tried to force a smile and widened her eyes at Namgung Hye’s words.
“But it’s not just normal intimacy… I was thinking of using my inner energy to protect the baby while doing qigong…”
Ju-yaek-seon had heard a similar story before. It was Kang Yoon who had asked if it would be okay to protect the baby with inner energy.
“But I’ve never heard of using qigong before…”
This was because Namgung Hye didn’t know the details. Ju-yaek-seon knew about the relationships between the men and women in the palace, but she didn’t know that Kang Yoon had learned qigong.
She hadn’t revealed that she was a disciple of Hemma yet, and Namgung Hye, who had experienced Kang Ho’s teachings, had mentioned something that didn’t need to be said.
“Well, then it should be okay. If the protection is broken, the person providing the inner energy will notice and stop, right?”
“Right? Thank you, Ju-yaek-seon-nim!”
Namgung Hye wanted to confirm because she knew that the men in the palace would most likely try to take advantage of her body even after she became pregnant. But because of that, Ju-yaek-seon, who had learned about the secret sexual activities of the men, felt uneasy.
It wasn’t exactly righteous to secretly uncover someone’s hidden secrets, but now she was in a situation where she owed a debt of gratitude to the other person.
Although it wasn’t intentional, knowing something that the other person wanted to hide made Ju-yaek-seon’s conscience weigh heavily on her chest.
‘What should I do about this…’
Pretending not to know wasn’t right, but revealing that she knew wasn’t honorable either. Ju-yaek-seon’s anxiety only grew as she thought about it.