Chapter 83 Yeo Il was inwardly startled. Namgung Pae's destination being Hangryong—was it not an exceedingly plausible conjecture?
"So you see mountains, not only stars."
"No? What use is it to look at a mountain stuck in one place like a nail? I merely overheard it in passing."
"You overheard it quite skillfully. The one you overheard must have sharp ears."
The old person burst into loud laughter, only to break into an even louder and wilder coughing fit.
When Yeo Il casually reached out, her hand touched sparse hair. She patted it lightly as if to calm them. One might expect an outburst at such discourtesy, yet the other did not restrain her action.
"What trace would a dying old body possess? Before a corpse that wavers between breaths, any human is bound to let their guard down."
"For a corpse, there is quite a light in your eyes."
"You have no eyes—how do you see mine?"
"It is because I have none that I see better."
The old person laughed again, then coughed so violently it seemed blood might spill. Suddenly bending over, they gulped something down. It seemed they had drunk from the pond where red carp swam.
"Do you know hwigwangbanjo?"
"..."
"I see two men and one woman. There are a few more… but none compare to those three."
"..."
"Pretty face, but cursed beyond measure. No… not cursed. It is only natural that the insane cling to one another."
Was hwigwangbanjo meant to refer to themself?
Yet the repetition of the same words suggested a wandering mind. Or perhaps they had lost their senses from drinking pond water.
"Then must I avoid those three?"
"You cannot."
"..."
"But you can prepare."
The old person cackled and whispered in secret.
"One will make you an outcast."
They clicked their tongue as if in pity.
"Another will preserve you like a specimen."
And finally, they sighed.
"Because of the last, you will become crippled."
Outcast. Preserved. Crippled. It was a prophecy no different from a curse. So much so that the claim of being able to prepare sounded like mockery.
Yeo Il spoke calmly.
"Is that so."
She did not know who the one woman and two men mentioned by Nanny Jang were.
"But one reaps what one sows. There is nothing surprising about it."
The old person said nothing further.
After standing in silence for a time, Yeo Il quietly turned and returned to her bedchamber.
A variety of dishes were laid out before a table that seated more than ten.
It was a convivial meal prepared to bid farewell to elder relatives who had been staying at the Namgung Clan.
They had appeared particularly close to Namgung Pae and had remained at the Namgung Clan even after the Namgung Assembly where that incident occurred, not hurrying home.
All were people deeply connected to the Namgung Clan, so the clan spared no expense in offering fine liquor and precious ingredients in gratitude.
It is unexpected that Namgung Hui-myeong is absent.
According to Namgung Jeok-myeong, he had recently been focusing entirely on training, even forgoing meals and water. It seemed a crucial moment to break through a wall, so they could not bear to disturb him.
"Young Master Go is not present, Aunt."
Danli Mukran seemed particularly pleased that Go Sangbaek had been mentioned by Yeo Il, answering with a faint smile rarely shown toward her.
"Nanny Jang, who cared for the Go siblings, came from the Go Family, but her health has declined rapidly, so Sangbaek is tending to her personally."
Among countless nonsensical remarks, the old person's repeated question—did she know hwigwangbanjo—came to mind and unsettled her.
"If she is that unwell, should she not be sent back?"
"Even so, she must recover somewhat before returning, must she not? She is quite old; she cannot endure much strain."
A middle-aged man seated beside Danli Mukran tilted his cup of liquor and shook his head.
"Even so, should she not be sent away before she worsens further, Sister? What if she breathes her last inside the household?"
At those words, Danli Mukran glanced subtly at Namgung Pae before letting out an exaggerated sigh.
"Ah. It was my mistake to take interest merely because she was once a renowned Heavenly Diviner. I summoned her personally to find matches for Jeok-myeong and Hui-myeong, yet within a few days her face grew haggard, and her mind wandered."
"Is not aging the way of nature? Send her back by tomorrow. The two pillars of this house are not yet wed. At such a crucial time, if the clan must dispose of a corpse—"
Ugh.
Yeo Il covered her mouth briefly and suppressed the nausea, bowing her head as if embarrassed.
"My apologies. My stomach has felt unwell since the day before yesterday."
"...Tsk. Look at that. The child is frail to begin with, and now her stomach has been upset since two days ago. At this point, one cannot simply call it coincidence."
While pretending to steady herself, she bent slightly and picked up a leaf that had fallen to the floor.
That leaf again.
A mysterious signal sent to Yeo Il by the secret figure who followed Go Sangbaek.
But this time, blackened letters had been burned into the leaf.
Kill.
A threat of murder.
So suddenly?
She concealed the leaf within her sleeve and straightened. It might have been imagination, but she felt as though Namgung Pae was watching her.
"Haha, let us not see everything so negatively. As you said, is not everything the way of nature? I too am meeting the women Aunt has arranged. If it is my fate to find the one Heaven has bound to me, no storm will prevent it."
At Namgung Jeok-myeong's banter, the elders drinking burst into hearty laughter.
"Brat. Your words always sound impressive!"
Namgung Jeok-myeong appeared no less busy than Namgung Pae. It seemed he had been spending time in turn with the women Danli Mukran had pressed upon him.
"Yes, since you have granted one of this aunt's wishes, I will not belabor it. …But reduce your visits to Giyeonru. You must consider the dignity of the Namgung Clan."
Namgung Jeok-myeong responded to Danli Mukran's advice with booming laughter.
"As if a cat would give up the fish market!"
"How dare you compare yourself to such vermin! Setting that aside, do you not know it is discourteous to the other party? Not one or two girls have wept before me after you spoke of that wench Cho-hong of Giyeonru!"
He met the women Danli Mukran arranged, yet rather than rejecting them himself, he seemed to employ a tactic of making them tire and leave of their own accord. Truly, he was like a serpent.
"Hahaha! Jeok-myeong's conduct is that of a true man!"
"As he says, he has simply not yet met his match. Do not scold him too harshly, Mukran. Once he finds a woman to whom he will give his heart, he will naturally cease stepping into Giyeonru."
Perhaps because Namgung Jeok-myeong's reputation had been restored, those who had subtly pressured him during the Namgung Assembly now showed boundless trust.
Amid the noisy, drunken conversation, Yeo Il quietly called to Namgung Pae, who alone sipped his tea in silence.
"Uncle Pae."
Clack. The sound of a teacup being set down was heard.
"Speak."
"I wish to follow you as well."
The answer to her abrupt request came not from Namgung Pae, but from Danli Mukran.
"Before elders, you must speak properly, Soyo. Follow where?"
"I heard you found medicine to alleviate Father's illness. Though I was born an illegitimate daughter, he is my only father. Please allow me to accompany Uncle."
The bustling table fell silent at once.
"...The Patriarch's illness? Is what Soyo says true?"
Ignoring Namgung Jeok-myeong's lowered question, Namgung Pae asked Yeo Il,
"Where did you hear that?"
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