The Return of the Namgoong Clan's Granddaughter-Chapter 24

The Outer Hall martial artists of the Namgoong Clan—Ilryong, Imoe, and Sambong—had originally been bandits operating around Mount Huangshan.

Mount Huangshan lay south of Hefei, where the Namgoong Clan was based. Thanks to the clan’s constant raids to wipe out local bandits, making a living through banditry had become increasingly difficult.

Then one day, Sambong returned from the village with unexpected news.

“Brother Ilryong! Brother Imoe! Take a look at this! Namgoong is recruiting martial artists!”

Namgoong might as well have been their mortal enemy. And yet, it was also a name so grand and overwhelming that they couldn’t help but admire it from afar.

“Banditry is filthy and pathetic. I can’t stand it anymore. So how about we become Namgoong martial artists? We know some martial arts, and it doesn’t seem like they’re checking background qualifications.”

“...”

“What if they find out we used to be bandits?”

“...”

“We’ll just say we were trying to make a fresh start! They’re not going to kill us for that, right? I mean, it’s Namgoong we’re talking about. Hahaha...”

Even those three mountain bandits knew that without the Namgoong surname, it was difficult to become an Inner Hall martial artist.

But that wasn’t their goal anyway.

“Kwahaha! Did you see how they trembled just at the name Namgoong? Turns out the darkest place is right under the lantern! Making a living like this is too damn easy!”

“Don’t you think we’re better off now than we ever were as bandits? You’re lucky you listened to me, huh?”

Silk from the silk shops, food from the restaurants.

They wandered through shops taking whatever they wanted, without properly paying a single coin. And no one could stop them.

Simply because of the name “Namgoong.”

But as they say, the tail grows too long and eventually gets stepped on.

And unfortunately for them, it was none other than the Black Dragon Captain—the Namgoong Clan’s elite enforcer—who caught them.

Following the order to return and remain under probation, the three of them trudged back toward their lodgings, grumbling all the way.

“Damn it! Why the hell was the Black Dragon Captain there of all places?!”

“How should I know? They never gave a damn about patrolling the streets. Probably just out for a meal or something.”

“Let’s be real—what we did at that inn was over the top. You can only mooch off a place so many times before it gets suspicious! We kept leeching off them, so of course we got caught!”

“But their dumplings are the best! Ugh, talk about bad luck! All I wanted was one more free dumpling, and now we’re getting our pay docked!”

The innkeeper had put up a strong protest today, so they’d already planned to lay low for a while.

And yet—today, of all days, they got caught. Now their lucrative scam had cost them three full months’ wages.

“Wait a moment, brothers.”

Sambong stopped Ilryong and Imoe in their tracks.

“What is it now?”

Ilryong, always impatient, snapped at him.

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“That docked pay of ours. Where do you think it’s going?”

“Where else? Probably straight into some damn warehouse. Namgoong’s pocketing our money! Bunch of thieves, I tell you!”

“You think so? It’s Namgoong.”

“Oh, now what nonsense are you spouting again?”

Sambong’s eyes sparkled.

“Namgoong, obsessed with pomp and appearances, definitely gave that money to the innkeeper. As compensation for the damages. But think—what kind of place is Namgoong?”

“What kind of place? The most powerful martial clan in all of Zhongyuan...”

“No, a place full of hypocrites! Just a few months eating their rice and you already think you’re Namgoong through and through, brother!”

Ilryong scratched his head sheepishly.

“Okay, so what? What’s your point?”

“They’ll hand over the money to save face, but they won’t bother with the rest. If we go back to that inn right now and raise hell, no one will know.”

“So?”

“So?! You’re really slow today, huh? We’re going to take that money back! That’s our pay!”

“You think the innkeeper’s just going to let us? You saw the way he looked at us earlier—like he was ready to pull a butcher knife. Maybe it’s time we start playing it safe?”

“Then we just need to scare him. Make sure he’s too afraid to report us to Namgoong or resist us again.”

Sambong’s eyes narrowed.

A sly smile curled across «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» his lips.

“Make it very, very clear.”

When Ilryong saw that expression, a devious grin spread across his face too.

“Aha. Like the good old days, huh?”

Heh heh, heheheh. Heheheheheh.

Their shared laughter turned more vicious and more cunning by the second.

The three of them turned back toward the inn, abandoning their walk home to the Namgoong estate.

To avoid running into the Black Dragon Captain again, they chose to approach through a deserted alley.

Ilryong hadn’t felt this exhilarated in a long time.

This is what it means to be a bandit!

Ever since descending the mountain and joining the Namgoong Clan, he’d felt like a child playing games in back alleys. But today was different!

They were about to rob Namgoong’s money.

No, not rob. That money was mine to begin with.

He was just taking back what had been stolen from him.

“What do you see? Are they still there?”

“Hold on a second. The pillar’s in the way—I can’t see clearly. Can’t you check from your side, brother?”

The three crouched in an alley behind the inn, peeking through a small window to check the interior.

They were making sure there weren’t any Namgoong martial artists or the Black Dragon Captain still inside.

Unlike earlier, what they were about to do now was a truly criminal act. So they had to be cautious...

“What are you doing?”

“...!”

“...!”

The three men, lined up at the window peering inside, jolted at the sudden voice of a child behind them.

They should’ve turned to see who it was—but for some reason, their bodies wouldn’t move.

They couldn’t turn their heads, couldn’t lift a finger.

All they could do was roll their eyes wildly, still frozen in place as they looked through the window.

“Don’t bother struggling. I struck your numbing points. You won’t be able to move for at least two hours.”

Their pupils trembled in panic.

They wanted to scream, but no sound came out.

“Oh right, while I was at it, I struck your Mute Point too. If one of you screamed, that’d just be annoying.”

When the hell...!

They might only be first- or second-rate martial artists, but martial artists were martial artists all the same.

And yet, they had no idea when they’d been struck. They hadn’t even sensed the slightest presence.

A master...!

Pressure point strikes required extremely delicate control of internal energy—only peak-level experts and above were said to be capable of it.

Which meant the one who had struck them from behind was at least a peak-level master.

What the hell do you want from us?!

They needed to be able to speak if she expected them to answer!

“You probably have a lot you want to say, but I don’t have time. I’ll just say what I came to say.”

...!

“Ilryong. Imoe. Sambong.”

The darting eyes of the three men stopped cold at once.

She knows who we are...?

How the hell...?

“I know guys like you very well. The kind who’ll do anything if there’s money in it. Still, I didn’t expect you’d be pretending to be Namgoong’s martial artists.”

She even knows we’re with Namgoong!

Who is this? That voice... it's a girl’s?

Seolhwa glanced down at the three twitching backs of their heads and let out a quiet laugh.

To think I’d run into these bastards here.

Ilryong, Imoe, and Sambong.

In her previous life, they had been members of the Blood Demon Cult.

More precisely, they were bandits from the Green Forest who later joined the cult.

They’d requested to be accepted as subordinates, claiming to know the Namgoong Clan well—and they had actually provided some usable information.

She’d wondered how such nobodies had inside knowledge of Namgoong.

So they were Namgoong’s martial artists?

Well, more accurately, they were scoundrels wearing Namgoong’s mask.

She had plenty of questions—how they’d gotten into the clan, what they were after—but there wasn’t time.

“Guys like you don’t even deserve a chance to repent. If you were the type to feel remorse, you wouldn’t have done what you did in the first place.”

The fact that they were here instead of returning to the estate was proof enough.

She felt a little bad for Namgoong Cheongun, but no amount of second chances would change what these men were.

They had betrayed Namgoong, betrayed the Green Forest, and crawled to the Blood Demon Cult like bats seeking shelter.

In her previous life, their end had been death.

After outliving their usefulness and trying to leak information about the cult, they’d been caught—and executed by Ilhwa herself.

“To be honest, I’d rather kill you before your rotten seeds even have a chance to sprout...”

The three heads twitched again.

“But I’ll let you live. Because you’re with Namgoong—for now, at least.”

For now, because they were still Namgoong.

And they were surprisingly useful.

Ilryong was dumb, but his martial arts were serviceable. Imoe never spoke, but he did whatever he was told. Sambong was sneaky and quick-witted, if a little too cunning.

Perfect tools to be used.

Meanwhile, Sambong brightened at Seolhwa’s words.

She’s sparing us because we’re with Namgoong...?

Harming someone under Namgoong’s name wasn’t something you could take lightly. Even if they were just Outer Hall martial artists, Namgoong was still Namgoong.

There wasn’t a single faction in Zhongyuan that would want to turn Namgoong into an enemy.

That’s Namgoong for you...!

Even peak-level masters had reason to fear the clan! Of course!

Just the fact that he wasn’t going to die was enough for Sambong to feel relieved. He was inwardly cheering when—

...!

Something suddenly appeared behind his head.

It looked like a hand, but no matter how much he rolled his eyes downward, he couldn’t see what it was doing.

W-What is she going to—?!

The attacker forced Sambong’s mouth open and shoved something inside.

Something hard—about two knuckles long.

No... don’t—!

He tried with all his might not to swallow it, but the attacker lifted his jaw and tapped his throat with a sharp motion.

It slipped down with a humiliating gulp—so fast, so easy.

It traveled down his throat and into his body.

Sambong knew instantly.

It’s over...

“I said I’d let you live, not that I’d let you go.”

A voice—innocent as a child’s and yet devilish—whispered directly into his ear.