Even in the Murim Alliance, I sensed it—there were some differences between how I perceived things and how ordinary people did.
I’d never thought Yokmyogak was that spacious.
But even in such a place, there was space for over two hundred people—children suffering from Jeolmyeok and their families—to live together.
And until now, I’d been using all that space by myself.
Before heading to the Great Hall, I stopped by Yokmyogak.
The children would still be recuperating, but I wanted to check on their progress.
As I carefully stepped inside Yokmyogak, the first person I encountered was a man.
He looked to be in his forties—probably a child’s father.
The moment he saw me, it was as if lightning had struck at his feet—he froze completely, then suddenly knelt down.
“Aigo, Gaju-nim.”
While I was still wondering how to respond, the man’s call brought a torrent of people rushing in like a flock of clouds.
All of them were the children’s families.
Just like the man, they dropped to the floor the moment they saw me.
“Gaju-nim, a humble person greets you.”
“Welcome, Gaju-nim.”
Their words varied in expression, but the tone and meaning were largely the same.
It was the first time I’d ever seen so many people bowing their heads to me.
“Please, rise. Though your children are people of the Family, you yourselves are not, so there’s no need for this.”
I helped one of them to their feet.
It was the first man, the one I’d made eye contact with earlier.
He stiffened like a statue the moment I touched him.
“Having received such a boundless favor, how could we act otherwise?” he said, bowing his head.
“You saved our children’s lives, gave us shelter, and shared your food with us. To us, Gaju-nim, you are a living sage.”
“That’s right. Gaju-nim, you saved us.”
As things grew noisy on the lower floor, the children upstairs began peeking down at me as well.
I helped the others to their feet.
Gradually, everyone began to rise of their own accord.
“May I see the children for a moment?”
“Of course. I—”
“No need. Some of the children may be resting, so I’ll just go quietly on my own.”
As I glanced at the stairs, it seemed the children who had been hiding there quickly disappeared upstairs again.
Leaving the adults behind, I went up to the second floor.
Even as I climbed, the adults watched me from the foot of the stairs.
***
Han Yulim ducked into a random room the moment she saw Gold-necked Hwan heading up the stairs.
By now, she knew where this place was.
It was the famed Hwanggeum Family, the greatest family in the Central Plains.
No wonder the building was so lavish—there was a reason for everything.
“Woyang?”
The boy who spoke, lifting his head from the bed, was Peng Chawol.
He had sharp eyes and a tough demeanor, and Han Yulim had been startled when she first heard his name.
Whenever you hear the name Peng, people of the Central Plains always think of the Habukpaenga first.
In fact, Peng Chawol was indeed a child from the Habukpaenga.
But he was from a distant branch; even after his Jeolmyeok was cured, he wasn’t allowed to inherit the Main Family’s Mugong, and was cast aside.
“Let me just hide for a bit.”
“Hide from whom?” Peng Chawol looked at Han Yulim, puzzled.
The truth was, Han Yulim just couldn’t face Gold-necked Hwan right now.
She was embarrassed.
He’d really healed her, just as he’d said he would, given her food, and even provided a place to sleep.
Han Yulim had survived as a Hyeolhyeol Danshin in the Gangho for five long years.
Of all the people she’d met during those difficult years in the Central Plains, not a single one had been like Gold-necked Hwan.
She’d suffered so much humiliation.
She’d been told to become a Changi, and the Heukdo Muraebae had actually tried to assault her.
If not for the Mugong she’d learned in her Munpa, and the Eumgi from Guum Jeolmyeok, she’d have been helpless.
Given all that, Han Yulim simply couldn’t believe Gold-necked Hwan’s actions were genuine.
“You should apologize to Gaju-nim.”
Peng Chawol, who’d been watching her hiding, spoke up.
Han Yulim knew he was right.
She owed an apology and gratitude for his favor.
But instead, she replied testily, trying to cover up her feelings.
“You’ve gotten used to calling him Gaju-nim, haven’t you?”
“Of course he’s Gaju-nim. What else would I call him?” Peng Chawol asked innocently.
Truthfully, except for Han Yulim, the other children felt the same as Peng Chawol.
Children who’d spent their lives with nowhere to belong because of Jeolmyeok—now, they had someone they could rely on.
They were more than ready to be loyal to Gold-necked Hwan.
Even the families kept reminding them to be grateful for the Hwanggeum Family’s favor.
“You were abandoned too. You should know to be grateful when someone takes you in.”
“I wasn’t abandoned.”
At that, Han Yulim snapped her head around.
She nearly raised her voice, but many children were still sleeping, so she kept quiet.
“And I think I’m older than you.”
“In the Gangho, age doesn’t matter, does it?”
“Forget it.”
Han Yulim pursed her lips.
She wasn’t the one who’d been abandoned—if anything, she was the one who had left everyone else behind.
Suddenly, memories of the burning Mount Botasan came flooding back.
And the hermitage where she’d lived with her mother…
Ah.
Han Yulim sighed inwardly.
Just thinking of that day always brought nightmares.
Tonight would be no exception.
Oblivious to her thoughts, Peng Chawol pressed her again.
“If you don’t apologize, we’ll make you do it.”
“I said I’d do it. Just be quiet, will you?”
Annoyed, Han Yulim opened the door a crack and peeked out.
Gold-necked Hwan was quietly making his rounds in the corridor, checking each room.
He looked about her age, maybe even younger.
But he was Gaju, and he carried himself with the dignity the position required.
Suddenly, Han Yulim felt a wave of fear.
What if she was cast out from here?
Even if she wasn’t, the fact that she’d tried to use tricks on the benefactor of everyone here could make her a target.
Her memories of playing with her Sa Mae at Botaam—those were the only warm embers she kept close in the cold winds of the Central Plains.
Now that she finally had another chance at a warm life, had she just lost it in a moment of weakness?
It was too late to take it back, but at least she could apologize and give thanks.
If he didn’t accept it, that couldn’t be helped.
She was about to open the door and step out, when suddenly, the door swung open from the outside.
Startled, Han Yulim, who had been crouched behind it, banged her head and fell back onto her rear.
“What are you doing here?”
Han Yulim looked up.
A beautiful yet cold face—Gold-necked Hwan.
“Welcome, Gaju-nim.”
Peng Chawol instantly sprang up and bowed.
Gold-necked Hwan nodded at him.
“Hm. How’s your body?”
“I’m fine, thanks to being able to do Qi Circulation and Breathing.”
“Ah, right. You said you were from the Habukpaenga.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Gold-necked Hwan’s tone was cold, but his words were not.
Peng Chawol’s response, meanwhile, was already brimming with respect.
Han Yulim slowly rose to her feet as she watched.
Gold-necked Hwan turned his gaze to her.
“Is this your room? I thought boys and girls were separated.”
“No. No, it’s not…”
Han Yulim hung her head.
She wasn’t used to honorifics, nor did she know how to apologize.
“Then why are you here?”
“…Uh, um…”
She couldn’t get the words out of her mouth, and she found herself frustrated.
At that moment, Gold-necked Hwan spoke.
“Are you all right?”
“…Huh?”
“You shouldn’t just answer ‘um’. I’m the Gaju, you know.”
“…Ah, I’m sorry.”
She’d replied in plain speech, startled by the abrupt question.
Back at Botaam, the only person she ever used honorifics with was her mother, so it didn’t come naturally.
“I-I’m fine.”
“Good.”
As if that was all he had to say, Gold-necked Hwan turned to leave.
But then, in a flash, Han Yulim used Gyeonggong to block his way.
Gold-necked Hwan simply looked at her, as if waiting for her to speak.
“…I-I’m sorry…”
Han Yulim mumbled, barely audible.
Was it pride, embarrassment, or shame?
She was still too young to fully understand her own emotions.
“I understand. You had good reason.”
Gold-necked Hwan answered simply, meeting her eyes.
“You must have suffered a lot in the Central Plains. Of course you couldn’t trust me right away.”
“How did you…?”
Han Yulim was shocked.
She’d never told anyone about her past.
Had Gold-necked Hwan been following her since Botaam?
But it didn’t seem that way.
“I can spot someone drowning in despair at a glance.”
Han Yulim was startled.
There wasn’t a hint of jest in his words or his face.
In truth, Han Yulim didn’t even know that the Hwanggeum Family had been overtaken by righteous sects.
To her, Gold-necked Hwan had just seemed like a Bujatchip Gongja.
So how could he know such things?
“I accept your apology. For now, the energy of the Elixir probably hasn’t settled, so go back to your room and rest.”
With those words, Gold-necked Hwan gently patted Han Yulim’s shoulder.
It was honestly the worst.
Instead of being scolded, she was only comforted.
What had her respected mother always told her?
Just as Gold-necked Hwan was about to leave, Han Yulim felt something surge up inside her.
“Urk.”
Blood dripped from Han Yulim’s lips and splattered on the floor.
She should have been resting after taking the Elixir, but she’d used Gyeonggong and even forced her mind, so her Gi Maek had twisted.
As the pain from her Gi Maek shot through her, Han Yulim bent over, and suddenly, a warm energy flowed into her back.
She didn’t need to look—she knew instinctively it was Gold-necked Hwan’s Qi.
His warmth immediately untangled the twisted Gi Maek and safely guided the Elixir’s energy through her body.
Jin Gi Do In.
It was a technique that drew another’s Naegong into alignment with your own.
Only someone with deep understanding of Naegong could use Jin Gi Do In, and it wasn’t easy to perform on someone who had taken an Elixir.
“Take a deep breath.”
Gold-necked Hwan’s voice came from behind.
Han Yulim took a deep breath from her Dangyeol, and his warmth spread throughout her body.
It was so comfortable, she never wanted to leave that sensation.
Soon, Gold-necked Hwan withdrew his hand from her back.
It was astonishing.
For the Gi Maek to be unraveled so easily—when it had taken even the best Sa Mae an entire hour to fix it in the past, he had done it in moments.
“You’re all right now?”
“Yes.”
Han Yulim bowed her head at his words.
“Thank you, Gaju-nim.”
“You’re my people now. Of course I would help.”
With that, Gold-necked Hwan left the room.
Han Yulim just stood there, dazed.
For some reason, tears began to fall.
Peng Chawol watched silently.
Han Yulim simply stood and sobbed quietly.
She didn’t even know why.
***
All the children were fine.
Perhaps because I’d bought the best Elixirs, there didn’t seem to be any side effects.
There had been a moment when Han Yulim coughed up blood, but having your Gi Maek tangled was fairly common and not serious, so I didn’t pay it much mind.
At the moment, I was sitting in the Gaju’s study at the Main Family house, surrounded by books.
These were the various Mugong brought by Haomun.
“…There really are a lot.”
Once again, I realized just how many there were.
I hadn’t expected this much.
There were even Mugong from one of the Samsun, Yak Seon.
Since I didn’t know which art each child would excel at, I wanted them to at least be able to handle every weapon basically.
There were thirty Sword Techniques, eight Bubeop, and three Pyeonbeop.
There were also many other overlapping Mugong.
It would be impossible to teach them all, so my plan was to combine the strengths of these arts and create new Mugong.
The children weren’t ready yet, and neither Gang Un nor Mok Hyeonhak had arrived.
I needed to create as many Mugong as possible during this time.
Mugong that had never existed in the Central Plains before—Mugong made solely for the Hwanggeum Family.