Bachelor Swordsmanship Remastered [EN]: Chapter 427

427. One-Person Inheritance

Un-hyun and his group rode in a carriage toward Geumga Village.

Geumga Village was located on the outskirts of Jangsa.

The mansion was larger and more substantial than expected, but its old and dilapidated appearance hinted at difficult times.

It was reminiscent of Righteous Brother’s former residence.

“Young Lady!”

The old head butler, who opened the gate, spoke with a surprised expression.

“I’m sorry, I’ll explain later.”

Nyeong Hwa-yeong said this and stepped into Geumga Village.

Following her resolute steps, Un-hyun and his group also moved forward.

The old head butler hurried off somewhere, and Nyeong Hwa-yeong and Un-hyun’s group entered a room.

‘Ah, this is…’

Un-hyun immediately recognized that this was Geum Hye-rin’s room.

The room was decorated with feminine and elegant ornaments, and a subtle floral fragrance filled the air.

Meanwhile, Nyeong Hwa-yeong carefully laid Geum Hye-rin on the bed.

“Esteemed Guest Elder, what should we do now?”

“Who is this child’s guardian?”

“The guardian is me…”

Un-hyun quickly interjected before Nyeong Hwa-yeong could speak further.

“Does Geum So-jeo [young lady] have parents?”

“Of course. Wait a moment.”

Nyeong Hwa-yeong nodded and immediately went outside.

Un-hyun asked Guest Elder, who was examining Geum Hye-rin’s condition.

“How is her condition?”

“She’s stable for now.”

Guest Elder said quietly.

Those words implied that the situation was more serious than he let on.

Un-hyun looked down at the unconscious Geum Hye-rin.

Her small and frail appearance looked particularly pale.

Guest Elder seemed to be checking Geum Hye-rin’s condition, placing his finger on the side of her neck, but his expression remained grave.

After a while, a sound came from outside.

Step.

“I brought them.”

Along with Nyeong Hwa-yeong’s voice, an elderly couple entered the room.

They were Geum Hye-rin’s parents, the head of Geumga Village and his wife.

“Hye-rin!”

The old woman approached Geum Hye-rin with a surprised expression.

Guest Elder said with an indifferent expression.

“There’s no need to worry. She’s stable now. But her Qi [life force or vital energy] and blood are very irregular, as if she’s been shocked by something.”

Nyeong Hwa-yeong bit her lip at those words.

The old woman looked at Guest Elder with teary eyes and said.

“Thank you, Doctor.”

“I am not a doctor, but a Guest Elder.”

Despite Guest Elder’s indifferent words, the old woman bowed her head.

“Yes, Guest Elder. Thank you so much.”

The old woman turned her head and looked at the unconscious Geum Hye-rin.

With tears welling up in her wrinkled eyes, the old woman held Geum Hye-rin’s frail hand and stroked it several times.

“Thank you for taking care of my daughter. I am Geum Sa-yeol, the head of Geumga Village.”

The head of Geumga Village put his hands together and paid his respects to Guest Elder.

He sighed softly and said.

“Her health hasn’t been good lately, but it wasn’t to the point where she would collapse like this…”

“Do you know about this child’s illness?”

Guest Elder asked abruptly.

The head of the family gave a bitter smile.

“How could a father not know his daughter’s illness?”

He didn’t say anything more.

After a moment of silence, Guest Elder said.

“She will wake up soon. Let her rest well.”

With those words, Guest Elder moved to leave.

The head of the family said with a flustered expression.

“How can I send away my benefactor like this? It’s already getting dark…”

However, Guest Elder had already gone outside.

Un-hyun also paid his respects to the head of the family.

“We will also return now.”

The head of the family repeatedly tried to stop them, but Un-hyun responded to his kindness with a smile and went outside.

Il-a-yeong and Nyeong Hwa-yeong followed behind him.

“I’ll see you off.”

Step, step.

Only the sound of four people’s footsteps echoed quietly in the antique Geumga Village.

Un-hyun asked Nyeong Hwa-yeong.

“The Elder said that Geum So-jeo seemed to have been shocked; what happened?”

Nyeong Hwa-yeong’s expression darkened.

“There were several unfortunate events in Geumga Village today. I am also a guest, so it is difficult to reveal the details.”

She didn’t say anything more.

Un-hyun guessed that the ‘thugs of Hoam Merchant Group’ she had mentioned earlier were one of them.

But instead, Un-hyun asked something else.

“Did you say Cheonil Sword [Thousand Day Sword]?”

“That’s right. That damn old woman, no, my teacher gave me that title.”

“Your martial arts were amazing.”

Un-hyun’s words were sincere.

Nyeong Hwa-yeong’s expression brightened.

“Really? Hahaha. Your spirit was also great. But what good is great martial arts? I can’t even help the benefactor’s family…”

Her voice was dark.

The reason she was wielding her sword in the forest earlier was to relieve some of that frustration.

“Benefactor’s family?”

At Un-hyun’s question, Nyeong Hwa-yeong nodded.

“The old woman, no, my teacher said that she received a favor from Geumga Village. That’s why I came. We are a one-person inheritance, so I was the only one who could come down.”

“One-person inheritance?”

“It is an inheritance method that is passed down to only one person.”

Guest Elder said suddenly.

He stopped walking and looked at Nyeong Hwa-yeong.

“Who is your teacher?”

Nyeong Hwa-yeong, who had stopped, frowned.

“Even if you ask who it is, it’s just my teacher? The alias is Cheonil Sword, but now I am Cheonil Sword.”

Guest Elder’s eyebrows twitched.

“Does that mean that everyone used the alias Cheonil Sword the same way when they went out into the Murim [martial arts world]?”

“I don’t know. I heard the alias for the first time when I came down from the mountain.”

It seemed that she didn’t know much about worldly affairs.

Step.

Guest Elder started walking again.

He was silent as if he was thinking about something.

Un-hyun and Il-a-yeong also followed Guest Elder.

“Ah, over there…”

Nyeong Hwa-yeong said to Un-hyun.

When Un-hyun turned his head, she slightly avoided his gaze and said.

“I’m sorry. And thank you.”

Smiling, Un-hyun said.

“It’s okay. I already received your apology. Rather, you should say thank you to Guest Elder.”

Swish.

At those words, Guest Elder turned his head.

Nyeong Hwa-yeong said in a rather clear voice.

“Thank you, Guest Elder. More than that, when are you going to teach me a move?”

Those words were almost a provocation.

Guest Elder frowned, but Nyeong Hwa-yeong’s gaze did not waver at all.

Ttagak, ttagak.

Un-hyun and his group left Geumga Village in a carriage.

Looking at the receding Geumga Village, Il-a-yeong said quietly.

“I heard that the daughter of Geumga Village is not in good health; it was true.”

Un-hyun looked at Il-a-yeong.

“Do you know about Geumga Village?”

“Yes, Uncle Un.”

Il-a-yeong nodded.

“Geumga Village is a very old martial arts family. They have been rooted here for generations, but as Hoam Merchant Group joined hands with the Namgung family, their fortunes began to decline.”

The growth of Hoam Merchant Group became a disaster for Geumga Village.

As Hoam Merchant Group, the largest in scale, joined hands with the Namgung family, most of the merchant groups began to lean towards the Namgung family.

“But it’s strange. There’s no reason for Hoam Merchant Group to oppress Geumga Village now, is there? Right now, Hoam Merchant Group is too busy with the upcoming Merchant Group General Assembly. I’m relatively free, though.”

Il-a-yeong gave a bitter smile.

After the last incident, Il-a-yeong was demoted to a minor position.

“Thanks to that, I have more time to look at old documents and ledgers. As far as I know, it’s actually the Double Sword Sect that’s targeting Geumga Village.”

“Double Sword Sect?”

“Yes. They have been competing with Geumga Village for a long time, but recently their power has suddenly grown.”

“Their power has grown, how?”

Il-a-yeong shook her head.

“I don’t know the reason well. It’s a story that was in the report that came up to the merchant group.”

Un-hyun was lost in thought for a moment.

Earlier, Nyeong Hwa-yeong said, ‘There were several unfortunate events in Geumga Village today.’

It means that there are more than one or two things that are bothering Geumga Village.

“Uncle Un. I’ll prepare breakfast tomorrow morning. What would you like?”

“What?”

Un-hyun was startled.

For the prickly Il-a-yeong to make breakfast, it was no surprise that he was surprised.

“Oh, we have accommodation at the inn…”

“Inn?”

Il-a-yeong frowned.

“What are you talking about? An inn when you have a house. My mother would be very disappointed if she heard that. Don’t waste money on useless places and come with me. The head butler has already prepared a room.”

“Huh?”

Every word was right, so he couldn’t argue.

But Un-hyun, who had vivid memories of the past, couldn’t help but be flustered.

“Still, there are other people in the group…”

“Tell them all to come. There are many rooms. Besides, our house is the same as Uncle’s house.”

Il-a-yeong was firm.

When he saw her like this, she looked so much like Righteous Brother Il Chung-hyun.

“Did you understand?”

Il-a-yeong said, looking straight at Un-hyun.

At that gaze, Un-hyun nodded without realizing it.

“Y-yes.”

Only then did Il-a-yeong smile with relief.

Un-hyun realized once again that Il-a-yeong was a really pretty and confident young lady.

“Why are you smiling?”

Il-a-yeong gave a sharp look.

It seemed that he had been smiling without realizing it.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

Il-a-yeong asked back, but Un-hyun didn’t answer.

Instead, Un-hyun asked Guest Elder.

“How is Geum So-jeo’s condition?”

Earlier, Guest Elder said, ‘She’s stable for now.’

That meant that Geum Hye-rin’s condition was not good.

“Bad.”

Guest Elder answered calmly.

“To the extent that it is a blessing that she is still alive.”

Not only Un-hyun but also Il-a-yeong’s expression darkened.

No one opened their mouths in the face of the young lady’s harsh fate.

Ttagak, ttagak.

The carriage broke through the dark night road and headed towards Akyang.

The moonlight in the sky faintly illuminated the main road.

***

Geumga Village, Geum Hye-rin’s room.

Click.

Nyeong Hwa-yeong, who opened the door and entered, saw Geum Hye-rin sitting on the bed.

“Young Lady, are you okay?”

At Nyeong Hwa-yeong’s question, Geum Hye-rin smiled.

“Yes. I’m okay. I’m sorry for causing trouble.”

“You don’t have to be sorry to me. Ah, that Guest Elder took care of you. He seems to have considerable knowledge of medicine.”

“I see. I should thank him later.”

“I already did it, so it’s okay.”

Geum Hye-rin gave a bitter smile.

Judging from the atmosphere between Guest Elder and Nyeong Hwa-yeong earlier, it didn’t seem like she had given a proper thank you.

Still, it was true that Nyeong Hwa-yeong had worked hard, so she smiled and said.

“Thank you. You worked hard because of me.”

“No, I’m glad you’re okay.”

Geum Hye-rin smiled, and Nyeong Hwa-yeong finally breathed a sigh of relief as if she was relieved.

“Um, but…”

Nyeong Hwa-yeong said hesitantly.

Geum Hye-rin looked at Nyeong Hwa-yeong with a puzzled expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“That scholar from earlier. He didn’t even blink an eye in front of my sword…”

“Yes.”

“What do you think of him?”

Geum Hye-rin couldn’t understand at all.

“I don’t quite understand what you mean…”

“No, that’s what I mean.”

Nyeong Hwa-yeong said hesitantly.

“Strangely, whenever I look into that scholar’s eyes, my heart flutters. Suddenly, my whole body tenses up…”

Geum Hye-rin couldn’t hide her surprised expression.

“Do you perhaps like that person?”

Nyeong Hwa-yeong was startled.

She quickly waved her hand.

“No, it’s not like that! I’m just worried about him, and his spirit seems okay…”

Geum Hye-rin smiled as she watched Nyeong Hwa-yeong rambling.

“Then take a closer look again. Anyway, I’m thinking of inviting him over to thank him.”

For the sake of the grateful Nyeong Hwa-yeong, who came from afar to repay an old favor, this much was not even a chore.

“R-really?”

Nyeong Hwa-yeong’s expression brightened.

The great master now felt like an innocent peer.

In fact, the two were not that far apart in age.

Geum Hye-rin smiled.

But the subtle pain that pierced her chest was not disappearing.