Chapter 202

Chapter 202
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**Chapter 202: I Had to Hold Back**

I had to bide my time and endure.

In that fleeting moment, three or four distinct reasons raced through my mind. Picking a fight with Namgung Cheon-yeong right here and now would bring me nothing but loss.

To begin with, we stood in Taeho, territory belonging to the Namgung Clan. If matters spiralled out of control, my very life could hang in the balance.

Beyond that, if I chose to fight, I had to win. Yet even victory would prove a defeat in itself: to crush the Namgung Clan’s Young Heir before so many watching eyes would lay my true capabilities bare for all to see.

I had deliberately kept my full strength hidden all this time—revealing it now would broadcast it to the entire realm. If that had been my intention, I would have long since proclaimed far and wide that I was the Sound Demon’s disciple.

Furthermore, I had held the secret of Namgung Cheon-hu’s crimes in reserve, waiting for the perfect moment to play that card; to mismanage it now could topple my entire carefully laid plan.

And yet.

Even so.

One look at Namgung Cheon-yeong’s face, and every urge to hold back evaporated.

*Why are you the one burning with anger first, Namgung Cheon-yeong?*

We had never exchanged a single word, yet he seethed with rage directed solely at me?

There could only be one explanation.

Namgung Cheon-hu and Namgung Cheon-yeong were brothers, bound by a deep and unshakable bond.

*Your brother means that much to you, does it, you insufferable fool?*

It came as something of a surprise—but a welcome one. His vulnerability was laid bare; a wound that would sting terribly if I chose to press upon it.

“You half-baked whelp, what gives you the nerve to bare your fangs? Are you so oblivious to the fact that your brother had his very life laid to waste for running his mouth at me?”

Namgung Cheon-yeong’s features twisted into a savage snarl. A flicker of dark satisfaction stirred within my chest. Yes, he cherished his brother deeply—yet in the life I had lived before, those two had committed unspeakable atrocities together.

Namgung Cheon-hu had fallen into ruin, but he still drew breath. Which meant this arrogant youth had never known the gut-wrenching grief of losing the person closest to him.

*Go on then. Your beloved brother has been insulted. Let your anger consume you.*

Namgung Cheon-yeong’s sword began to flicker and dance in his grip, as restless as an untamed hound. I silently cheered him on. For the Namgung Clan’s Young Heir to draw his blade without so much as a shred of decorum? Before this many witnesses? The moral high ground would belong entirely to me. It meant I could thrash him soundly and leave no one able to fault me for it.

Disappointment flickered across Baek Yang-hwi’s face regardless—for someone had stepped squarely before Namgung Cheon-yeong.

“Young Heir, I must ask you to wait a moment.”

“Uncle… but—”

“Words must always precede blows.”

Namgung Sa-geom, the Clan Lord’s younger brother and senior statesman, turned his gaze toward Baek Yang-hwi. “How fares our young hero? To see one whose name has risen so swiftly of late fills this old heart with true joy.”

This was already growing troublesome. From that single opening line alone, I knew exactly what sort of man Namgung Sa-geom was.

*A calculating political schemer.*

Right here, before this entire assembly, he had framed our relationship as that of senior to junior—placing me under obligation to show all due deference as the younger party. Fail to do so, and I would hand him every justification he needed to act against me.

*Well, it is not as though there is no way through this.* If juniors owed courtesy to their seniors, then seniors bore their own set of obligations toward those who came after them. Meeting his polished words with a sharp retort would present no great difficulty.

But… for now, I simply did not have the heart for it. Setting strategy and consequence aside, I found myself entirely unwilling to extend the respect due a senior to anyone bearing the name Namgung.

*You will not find me so easily cowed, rest assured.*

“Come to think of it, this junior has been remiss in offering proper greetings! I am—”

The moment I raised my voice to carry clearly to every person gathered there, Namgung Sa-geom cut me off and seized the initiative.

“No—we should be the ones to extend greetings first! More than that, we owe you a sincere apology! On behalf of the former Young Heir Namgung Cheon-hu, and all the wrongs he inflicted upon the Baek Clan, I offer you my deepest apologies.”

He spoke with a ringing shout, and bowed so formally it bordered on ostentatious reverence. This was the man who held authority second only to the Clan Lord himself within the Namgung Clan—of the Soaring Heaven Sword Clan, one of the Five Great Clans beneath the heavens.

“The former Young Heir Namgung Cheon-hu committed an unforgivable wrong against the Baek Clan, led astray though he was by demonic obsession. I apologise to you from the very core of my heart!”

Namgung Cheon-hu had once allied himself with the Black Path to bring about the Baek Clan’s utter destruction. He had approached us under the pretense of standing for justice, only to leak our secrets piece by piece, and finally throw open the gates so our estate might be stormed. It was an outrage that defied heaven itself—unthinkable for the heir of a celebrated orthodox clan such as the Namgung.

And yet… rumours of Namgung Cheon-hu’s treachery had never spread far and wide. Even though an elder from Shaolin had testified to his crimes, and the truth had been declared before countless witnesses.

*How delightfully cunning. Namgung Sa-geom, you are far more than a mere schemer.*

It felt as though ice-cold water from the deepest mountain waterfall had been poured straight over my head—chilling me to the bone. My mind sharpened instantly.

*I have grown arrogant.*

“Great Young Lord of the Baek Clan… will you accept this Namgung’s apology?”

The reason word of Namgung Cheon-hu’s crimes had never reached every corner of the realm was plain: the Namgung Clan had deliberately suppressed and controlled the flow of information. That was precisely why Baek Yang-hwi had planned to lay the truth bare at the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly, when the moment was right. The fewer people who knew now, the more devastating the disgrace would be when it finally broke.

*My carefully held card has been played—and by someone else’s hand.*

The Namgung Clan stood among the Five Great Clans of the world. Those who bore such a title were never weak or easily dismissed. I knew better than most to let emotion cloud judgment—yet I had been fully prepared to cast aside all restraint today? Pure, unbridled arrogance.

*Ever since I turned back the flow of time… I have known nothing but unbroken success.*

Up until now, the Baek Clan had built its power and influence across Gangseo, rising to become not merely the strongest clan in the region, but one whose name commanded respect across the realm. From this moment forward, everything would need to change. The foes I faced henceforth would be nothing like those I had overcome before. Namgung Sa-geom had just driven that truth home with piercing clarity.

*For that, I am truly grateful.*

A slow smile spread across my face. I had lost my composure the moment I looked upon Namgung Cheon-yeong’s face—but this enemy, Namgung Sa-geom, had snapped me back to my senses. If he knew that, would he count it a golden opportunity he let slip through his fingers?

“Of course I accept, Great Hero Namgung. The Soaring Heaven Sword Clan is a pillar of orthodox virtue, a house that has upheld justice and chivalry through every age. How could I ever doubt the purity of your intentions!”

My words were loud in praise of the Namgung Clan, yet Namgung Sa-geom’s eyebrow twitched ever so slightly—so faintly that almost no one would have noticed. I had read the meaning beneath his greeting perfectly.

*Just as I suspected. This uncle of theirs is no ordinary man.*

“The former Young Heir’s failings shall be set right by the Young Heir who follows him. Our Namgung Cheon-yeong is a genius the likes of which this generation has never seen! I ask only that you grant him the chance to make amends?”

“There will be ample opportunity soon enough. The Dragon-Phoenix Assembly is nearly upon us.”

“Wrongdoing should be set right without delay—for the sake of harmony between our two clans as well. Young heroes forge lasting bonds through shared sweat! What say you to that?”

Namgung Sa-geom had made no secret of his displeasure when Namgung Cheon-yeong had drawn his sword in reckless haste. Yet now he was the one proposing a spar? He had seen through me: he knew that I, having regained my composure, understood that crossing blades now would be nothing but loss.

*This is genuinely entertaining.*

A man who read your intent one step ahead, and struck first with words woven of silk and steel. I had thought foxes so clever as this were rare indeed—but watching Namgung Sa-geom’s verbal dance fanned the spark of competition within me.

“Our Namgung Clan values propriety and law no less than justice and chivalry. For warriors, there is no simpler or truer way to show respect and honour custom than through a friendly bout of arms! What say you, Heaven-Covering Sword Dragon of Gangseo?”

*Does a whelp so lacking in manners not need proper etiquette beaten into him? A teacher wielding the rod, as it were.*

He had even sent that last line as a silent transmission, meant for my ears alone, all to goad me. It was a trick I had often used myself when bored—yet being on the receiving end felt strangely bracing.

Baek Yang-hwi surveyed the faces around him with cold clarity.

*The mood of this gathering has shifted.*

If a spar was to happen, it ought to have happened earlier—when Namgung Cheon-yeong, blind with fury, had charged forward without a shred of grace. Now, crossing blades with him would bring me no credit at all.

*I still long to strike that arrogant face the moment I see it. But now is the time to hold fast.*

The trouble was that Namgung Sa-geom did not look like a man who would let this rest. Like a serpent that had caught scent of weakness, he would cling and press the advantage without cease—of that I was certain. I needed a way to slip free of this impasse with grace…

Ting!

That was when it happened.

Ting, ting!

A melody drifted through the air, clear and sweet. It was no mere sound; it carried something more—power, or an aura woven directly into every note.

“Hmm?”

“What is that sound?”

Dozens of young heroes began murmuring, their voices rising in volume—yet the melody floating from afar remained pure and distinct, never drowned out. As though carved into the very air itself.

“Over there—look!”

“Who is… good heavens!”

“It cannot be… how can such a person walk this earth?”

Those who turned to look froze where they stood, eyes wide and mouths hanging open. Their gazes fixed, unable to look away, their expressions softening into quiet wonder. It was only natural.

Approaching along the tranquil shores of Lake Taeho, she came. A beauty who commanded every eye, holding all who saw her spellbound.

Ting! Ting!

With every step, the sound was like jade beads rolling gently one against another—the melody of jade in motion. As she drew nearer, her singular presence wrapped around every hero there, warm and undeniable.

So vivid, so captivating, that the tension building between the Baek and Namgung clans—on the very brink of explosion—dissolved in an instant.

“Jeon Seol-ha, disciple of the Sound Demon!”

“It is true! That is the one they speak of—Closed Moon Jade Phoenix!”

Closed Moon: a title bestowed in praise of one of the three most peerless beauties of all time—so lovely that the moon itself would hide its face in shame. Jade, too: a gemstone of cool, quiet grace, the very symbol of beauty through the ages. And so they called her Closed Moon Jade Phoenix.

*Disciple of the Sound Demon, Closed Moon Jade Phoenix… you have earned yourself a truly splendid title while we were apart, Seol-ha.*

Her light steps had closed the distance between us, until I could see the soft expression on her face. The young heroes watched as Jeon Seol-ha wore a faint, radiant smile—so beautiful it would set any man’s heart racing. Only then did they see the joy shining in her eyes: the joy of meeting someone she had not seen in far too long.

“Aha ha ha!”

She laughed aloud, clearer than the waters of Lake Taeho, fresher than the sky above it—and sprang lightly into the air.

*This feels oddly familiar.*

Jeon Seol-ha always launched a surprise attack whenever we met after a long separation. Knowing her spirited, tomboyish nature, I had fully expected her to do the same again.

I was certain of it.

Whoosh!

My hands rose to block—yet met nothing. Her movement was nothing like what I had prepared for. Instead of striking, she landed lightly directly before me, and leaned close until our faces were nearly touching.

A sweet fragrance filled the air. She was so close. Her eyes, mere inches from my own, seemed as vast and deep as a hidden mountain lake. She spoke, her voice soft as a whisper against my skin.

“Have you been well, Hwi oraboni?”
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