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Chapter : 03
Namgung Hyechan scowled suddenly.
“Just act a little considerate and pay attention once in a while! Why do you have to be so sarcastic about it! Didn’t the Head of the House also say at the academy that you should follow my orders?”
“You would only say that if you dared to look down on your superior,” she muttered, about to continue lecturing, but Yeonhwa had no intention of listening further.
“So, did the Head of the House leave my marriage in my cousin’s hands?”
Yeonhwa’s marriage, backed by Samryeong, was meant to benefit the Namgung clan as a whole.
It was a role that could never have been entrusted to Namgung Hyechan, who hadn’t even completed the academy or joined the Guard yet.
“Th-That’s not it…! But I, as your superior, shouldn’t I at least give an opinion? Besides, I wasn’t saying it had to be done this way—I was just trying to show that there were options!”
“You mean Yangryuk Trading Company?”
Yangryuk Trading Company was far below the level of someone Yeonhwa could even consider as a strategic marriage partner.
Yeonhwa wondered if her rather incompetent cousin had been unduly influenced by Oh Minki of Yangryuk Trading Company…
Or if his father, the elder Namgung, had deliberately chosen a lesser match so that Yeonhwa wouldn’t gain more influence.
She thought it made no sense unless it was one of the two.
“How long has it been since marriage talk started for it to already cause this commotion?”
Yeonhwa recalled the notice the Head of the House had given her before the joint training, and her chest felt heavy.
“What’s wrong with Yangryuk Trading Company!”
Still unwilling to give up, Hyechan clung stubbornly, but Yeonhwa waved her hand dismissively.
Ji Won-hyung, who had been standing back to avoid getting involved, stepped forward.
“Let’s stop here.”
“Who gave you the right!”
Namgung Hyechan ignored him and reached toward Yeonhwa, trying to push forward.
Ji Won-hyung could not just watch!
Bang!
Ji Won-hyung struck Hyechan’s arm down, spun around to his outer side, and moved behind him.
As he lifted his foot to kick Hyechan in the backside of the knees, Hyechan’s body pitched forward, and he dropped to his knees on the deck.
Boom!
The sequence of events, already drawing attention due to the commotion, instantly focused everyone on the deck.
The Cheongryongdae members gathered at the bow were among those watching.
“Whenever there’s a commotion, isn’t Hyunmudai always involved?”
“Hyunmudai gathers unruly elements without proper grounding. No matter how much Lord Muryung favored his younger sibling, their nature doesn’t change.”
“Exactly. It was too harsh from the start. Even if Namgung Yeonhwa is special to them, shouldn’t someone from the Namgung clan go to Jujakdae properly?”
After reorganizing Hyunmudai and immediately appointing her as the grandmaster, the Odae members who had been waiting for Yeonhwa, who had always stood out from childhood, and Hyunmudai members who had hoped to be under Muryung Tak Museong, must have found the situation laughable.
“Not wrong, but what can you do? She’s Samryeong’s Replin—the one flaw in their otherwise perfect abilities. We can only accept it.”
“It’s all because none of our Nine Legacy Faction came from Samryeong!”
Munyeong Muyong Yunhwan came from Odae, Muryung Tak Museong was from the small Nanga faction, and Jaeryeong Yang Eunjung represented the small merchants of the Jungcheong trading group with no connection to the Nine Legacy Faction.
“Yes, if there had been someone from the Nine Legacy Faction among Samryeong, they would have mediated impartially to uphold the way of the gentleman.”
The Cheongryongdae grandmaster, Moon Jeong-myeong of Hwasanpai, frowned at the lost opportunity.
He worried because he knew many in the Nine Legacy Faction feared the decline of their sect due to no representation in Samryeong.
At that moment, Mu-deok, usually calm, patted Moon Jeong-myeong on the back energetically.
“What’s there to worry about! Even if they aren’t here now, they’ll appear in the future!”
When did Samryeong even become Samryeong?
After that incident seven years ago, three extraordinary people had risen to lead the Martial Alliance, but a newly emerged talent could also potentially become Samryeong.
Everyone’s gaze shifted simultaneously, as if by agreement.
A woman leaned against the ship’s railing, looking at something.
She was Gu Heeryang, finally the hope found by the Nine Legacy Faction—perhaps not on par with Samryeong, but certainly comparable.
Following her gaze, Yeonhwa was visible at the rear of the ship.
“Seems like Hyunmudae Grandmaster is bothering you.”
“How could it not? As soon as we left Uichang and boarded the ship, there’s already trouble.”
No one pointed out that the commotion wasn’t entirely Yeonhwa’s fault—it stemmed from Namgung Hyechan and Namgung Hyeju of Jujakdae, and Oh Minki of Baekhodai.
“If only Cheongryongdae had trained alone with the Guards, it wouldn’t have been this chaotic.”
Mu-deok’s frustration grew; with only Cheongryongdae, there might have been a chance to spar with the Grandmaster.
Even as attention flitted briefly, the chaos at the rear intensified.
“Huh? Huh?”
Mu-deok had little interest in the accident, except to criticize.
But when Gu Heeryang licked her lips, smiled mischievously, and started to move from the railing, he was startled.
“The Grandmaster cannot suppress Hyunmudae Grandmaster for a trivial quarrel unrelated to training—it would surely cause rumors.”
Moon Jeong-myeong stepped forward.
“It’s not something for the Grandmaster to handle. I’ll manage it.”
As Moon Jeong-myeong moved, Gu Heeryang huffed, clearly annoyed, and was pulled back to the railing by Kwak So.
Meanwhile, Moon Jeong-myeong hurried to the rear.
He looked down on Namgung Hyechan, unconscious after being slammed to the deck by Ji Won-hyung.
He swung the swords held by Namgung Hyeju and Oh Minki, stopping the fight just before it completely collapsed.
Moon Jeong-myeong, mediating, glared at Yeonhwa.
“Hyunmudae Grandmaster, training effectively began the moment you left this Alliance. Even if Jujakdae members caused the incident first, this kind of commotion disrupts the training atmosphere.”
By framing the incident as more than a private quarrel in the Namgung clan, Moon Jeong-myeong justified his interference and tried to increase Yeonhwa’s accountability.
But Yeonhwa gazed only at the scenery outside, as if none of it concerned her.
Moon Jeong-myeong had watched her handle Namgung Hyeju and Hyechan from the beginning but hadn’t expected such defiance directed at him.
“Hyunmudae Grandmaster! The Grandmaster—!”
“Isn’t that a bit strange?”
Moon Jeong-myeong, raising his voice, was cut off by Yeonhwa pointing toward the ship’s direction.
“What’s strange, hmm?”
His eyes widened.
‘The Cheongryong Grandmaster noticed too.’
Thick fog had fallen, and the ship was heading into a remote area. Anyone with keen eyes would sense it immediately.
Yeonhwa nodded.
Since the Alliance’s headquarters had moved to Uichang, most of the water pirates along the Yangtze had disappeared…
Yet like a stain on cloth, some evil remains no matter how much you wash it.
A few survivors had fled up the Yangtze, hiding in the treacherous Three Gorges, attacking passing merchant or pleasure ships.
Of course, they wouldn’t dare attack a ship carrying Martial Alliance warriors without scouting first.
‘We still have to check that.’
Yeonhwa recalled how their ship had been dressed up extravagantly, like a pleasure cruise, rather than a mission vessel.
With that, she concluded immediately and informed Moon Jeong-myeong.
Then she turned to Ji Won-hyung.
“There’s going to be trouble.”
Ji Won-hyung’s eyes hardened.
