As he drew nearer, his voice became clearer. “Such is an angry man who wants to see a dog who bit his master cut off his leg, rip his stomach, and gasp for his last breath.”
Sangnamjae waited for Naengseomok to get closer with his sword pointed. There was only one chance. Now, he had to fight with what he had, in order to protect what he had. He must inflict fatal wounds with only one count. He shouldn’t be clumsy.
‘Chest, or neck.’
Sangnamjae decided to target his chest. Now, he had a hard time even swinging his sword from side to side. He began to rush to stab his sword in Naengseomok’s chest. It was the simplest, fastest, and the only attack he could do.
He had to adjust my breathing according to the pace of Naengseomok, but the rough breath did not subside. “He was also the most useful dog I ever had. Even in this situation, his eyes do not die. Is he preparing for the final blow?”
‘Two steps.’
“Do you know what makes fishing in a rippling valley more fun than a calm lake?”
‘One step.’
“It has quite the fluttering taste.”
As soon as Naengseomok’s words were finished, Sangnamjae kicked the ground. It was the fastest speed he could achieve now, and even if his body was normal, it could not be faster than this.
Chaang! He couldn’t even hear the squeak. His hand should not be so empty.
Sangnamjae was fast, but Naengseomok was much faster and stronger than that. His trembling hands could not bear the strength of Naengseomok, and let go of his sword. With that, he suddenly stopped breathing.
Naengseomok did not end Sangnamjae’s life at once. His fingers, as thin but firm as a bamboo root, gripped Sangnamjae’s collar. “Easy as a fish in a calm lake. To lose my lifelong achievements to someone like you.”
He felt the cold sword touching his lower abdomen. “From here, let’s break it up slowly. Even if your intestines spill out, you will be able to live for a while. Look at your red intestines and regret your life. The stupidity of dying just because of a girl….”
When he felt the sword digging into his belly, Sangnamjae saw something flashing once more. As if in a fantasy, something pierced through the head of Naengseomok with a light. His torso then flew to the left, eventually getting buried in the darkness, not even visible, leaving his head shattered to pieces.
He was prepared for the time to suffer while looking at his stomach and intestines, but what unfolded in front of him was a cold book that had not been able to preserve even the corpse completely. “Hey, guys… Hey guys! If you want to come out, you should have come out sooner!”
“Why are you taking your sweet time?!”
“Stop complaining, it’s been done in the end!”
“Wow!”
The people who appeared like a fantasy in front of Sangnamjae were the Hangzhou Saseon. The gazes of the Hangzhou Saseon, who shouted at each other, then turned to the back of Sangnamjae. Sangnamjae also followed their gaze and turned his head.
Samak Gangseo, standing idly, caught his eye. ‘What happened?’
Do Pyeong-su penetrated into his line of thought. “Did you guys come here to rescue him with such sluggish movements?”
“We came out just in time when it was decisive. I was startled by the appearance of the masters and stopped.”
“Okay? Is this Gangseoseong where you guys stopped in surprise?”
Gangseoseong was a thousand li away. Oh Tong-su spoke hesitatingly. “I think I said Jiangsu-seong, not Gangseo-seong….”
“It’s not even Jiangsu! Now that these guys have big heads, they don’t care what the master said! I told you not to help that savage bastard!”
“The masters also came.”
“We have no choice but to come! He’s too noisy!”
Sangnamjae paused. “Did my wife have a child?”
Yeon Jeon Hong answered in a calm voice. “She is a daughter. Both mothers and babies are healthy.”
At this, the other man didn’t sit down because of weakness in his legs but instead knelt in gratitude to a God, of whose existence he never believed in, in the first place. Jang Mandok came, hugged Sangnamjae, laid him on the daecheong, and started treatment.
Sangnamjae’s injury was expected from the time he left Ohseonjangwon. And so, he had all the drugs, bandages, and even needles to sew wounds. Finally, it took only two angles to give him a drug that could heal the wound quickly.
When Jang Mandok tapped Sangnamjae on the shoulder, Do Pyeong-su said, “You don’t have to worry. After all, Mandok cured him, so if anything goes wrong, it can be fixed. You’re lucky.”
“Huh… I guess I’m really lucky. Really…”
The more he said this, the more tears seemed to flow. “By the way, Master…”
“Why?”
“You said that the reason you saved Namjae earlier was because the boy was too noisy, right?”
“Yes, and…?”
“Is that a reason?”
“If he is being noisy, it will interfere with the death penalty. The manor is also noisy. It’s not good in many ways. Because of this, I had no choice but to come to the rescue.”
“That’s right! So did we! Hahaha!”
Oh Tong-su, who soon burst into laughter, was hit in the back of the head, but he was still in a good mood, so the smile did not leave his lips. “How can our disciples turn away? Aren’t you curious?”
At Do Pyeong-su’s words, Yeon Jeon Hong spoke. “He is our disciple, but it’s also the reason for the death penalty.”
“It is. I hate sleeping in a place that smells of blood, and I have no choice but it seems as if I have to face this predicament today.”
As they left the Seobaeksalmun Gate and were about to go down the mountain, he saw someone coming up quickly through the darkness. “Were there any remnants?”
Judging from his light work skills, he seemed to have a fairly high level of martial arts. However, the appearance revealed under the moonlight was too ripe even if it were familiar to the eye. “Isn’t that Gong Moonju?”
“Yes.”
Gong Seong-tak, who was going up the mountain road quickly, found them and slowed them down. “Huh? Why are the bosses here? There are also generals.”
Seo Seok-san then asked. “Why is Gong Moonju here?”
There was no reason for Gong Seong-tak to be here except to save Sangnamjae. But at least it was too late. “You have already saved him, I see. I’m a little late. Hahaha!”
“Little? Huh… I guess I’ll have to work harder on light engineering training instead of each method. My disciples had already arrived and were waiting.”
“It’s not late, it’s just because I’m slow!”
“Then?”
“I was looking for another place in the middle…”
“Somewhere else?”
“It was late because I stopped by and came back to the gate on the way to the Seobaek Gate, not the Seobaeksalmun Gate. Who would have known that there was a sect of similar clans nearby?”
Since he had no experience as a strongman, he understood as much as possible that it could be the case. Then, as if thinking of something, Go Seo-bang asked. “You went wrong with the Seobaek Checkpoint? So, how did the Seobaek Checkpoint turn out?”
Shake! Seong-tak trembled and turned his body. “Go, there is a long way to go. We must hurry.”
“So, how did the Seobaek Checkpoint go?”
Gong Seong-tak’s work after that proved to be quite fast.
They arrived at Oseonjangwon when the noonday sun was full. Geom Woo-bin, Koh Shinji, and Sehwa were waiting at the main gate of Oh Seon Manor.
Koh Shinji ran towards Sangnamjae. She truly believed in Geom Woo-bin’s words, that he would return safely. Still, tears of relief flowed endlessly. Sehwa held the baby to Sangnamjae, who was rubbing Koh Shinji’s back. The child with white skin and dense facial features was asleep.
Sangnamjae, who received the child, did not know what to do. It was more difficult to just hold a child than to ride his single rope.
The child who woke up from that clumsiness burst into tears. Then, Oh Tong-su said. “Would it make the child cry more to have a father? Did you just save me?”
“Yeah. Shall I go back and throw it away?”
They burst into laughter and entered the Oseonjangwon. It was a warm noon on an autumn day.
“What are you talking about?! My sword was the first to cut the head of Munju in the last hundred years! So, one letter of my name must be entered! Of course I have to take my father’s last name… there must be embroidery at the end of my name!”
When Do Pyeong-su raised his voice, the other three showed absurd expressions. “So, why don’t we name the girl Shinsoo? Doesn’t it mean a divine animal, like a dragon or a phoenix? Sangsin-soo? Rather, it is better to add the last character of my name to Sangshinsan.”
At Seo Seok-san’s words, Yeon Jeon Hong snorted. “Are you a godly mountain? Is there anything you can do to make Shinji’s daughter a shaman later? It’s a girl, so of course it should be a girl’s name. If a girl’s name contains Hong, it becomes pretty.”
Seo Seok-san then spoke while rolling his name in his mouth. “Call my name. Sang-Shin Hong. Sang-Shin Hong. It’s quite the tongue twister.”
“Even if it’s a little difficult to sing, then… as long as it has a good meaning…!”
When Jang Mandok knocked on the table, the whole thing shook. Jang Mandok then showed his will by writing the name with his finger on the table. Do Pyeong-su let out a long sigh.
“Mandok. Even if you think about it, the girl’s name is not Shindok. My name is at least better than Shindok or Shinsan or Shinhong.”
“What are you talking about! The child’s name is definitely Shinhong!”
“Shinsan is the best!”
The four people jumped to their feet and there was a conflict of opinions, so what inevitably followed was a clash of aggression. If it had been too late for the Sangnamjae couple to appear with their children, the roof of the pavilion would have collapsed.
“Hey! The husband and wife are here. Sit this way, this way.”
Do Pyeong-su politely guided them to their seats, and Yeon Jeon Hong poured tea for the two of them.
“This was given to me by a close friend of mine, and it tastes amazing.”
Unfamiliar with the Blood Lion’s excessive kindness, the two sat down with bewildered expressions. “Oh! What a cute child! You are very beautiful because you resemble your mother and father, you are beautiful!”
At Seo Seok-san’s praise, Jang Mandok took something out of his arms and held it to Sangnamjae. A root of wild ginseng was held in his thick hand. “Let her eat the moon. It sounds like you’ve aged it properly for postpartum cooking. This cowardly bastard.”
“Yeah, did you name her? We have one good name and three names like Jiral.”
The three of them stared at them, but the bright smile of Yeon Jeon Hong towards the Sangnamjae couple remained. The laughter didn’t go away. “Anyway, I have something to discuss under the child’s name.”
At Koh Shinji’s words, the Blood Lion pulled her tight and sat down. “Talk about anything. I will give you the best answer.”
Seo Seok-san’s promise made the other three gossip, saying that this guy couldn’t be trusted and that he didn’t listen to flirts with hair, and the atmosphere became harsh again. Fortunately, the child woke up and the energy of anger dissipated surprisingly quickly.
Sangnamjae then spoke. “I would like to write one letter of the name of Jangju in my child’s name, will you allow me?”
For a moment, the Blood Lion was speechless. He was not someone else and he was going to be named after Geom Woo-bin, but he couldn’t bet on him. Still, Do Pyeong-su asked with pity. “Do you have any plans to add one more person to your name? There are quite a few people with three names.”
“Yes…?”
Seo Seok-san quickly canceled the other man’s words. “No. The death penalty will love it too. Okay, what was your name?”
“I plan to put the first letter of the name of the master and the last letter of my wife’s name.”
“Is it Sangwoo?”
The Blood Lion tilted his head. “It’s kind of strange because it looks like some kind of cow.”
“No, I’m going to call her Ji-woo and Sang-ji-woo, not Woo-ji.”
“Ah! Jiwoo! It definitely clings to one’s mouth.”
“I shouldn’t ask anymore.”
“Go practice, then be back in an hour. Then ask me.”
When the Sangnamjae couple left a word of thanks and disappeared, the Blood Lion, who was looking at each other with a sullen expression, smiled. “If we say that our name is in a child’s name, we should be very strict.”
“If that couple wants to include the names of all the people they have been blessed with, the names of their children will be ten.”
“I’m going to drown while you call my name to save me from drowning.”
As the Blood Lions were exchanging jokes, a baby’s cry could be heard in the distance. “It’s not bad to hear that, either.”