Youngest Daughter of the Ultimate Martial Master Namgung Family

Chapter 3

It had long been known that Uncheon Namgung was not in good health. He was weak to the point that the number of times he’d gone outside could be counted on one’s fingers.

That was why Heeran hadn’t run into Uncheon as often as she had her other siblings. And also why she didn’t know how to handle this situation.

“What about your medicine? Where is it?!”

Like Heeran, Uncheon hadn’t mastered martial arts. But unlike her, he had a solid position in the family. That was why Heeran thought there had to be some kind of useful medicine around him, such as an herbal decoction or an elixir.

“Do you not have an elixir or some other kind of medicine?! Do you have any idea how much blood you’ve coughed up?”

Even at a glance, this was not normal—not even for someone with his condition. When he saw his sister making a fuss over him, a peculiar look came over Uncheon’s face.

“I don’t have time to explain everything, so listen to me first.”

He then coughed up more blood, but he spoke calmly, as if he were used to it. “If the situation has become a mess and there’s no chance to save it, you have to abandon it.”

“What are you saying all of a sudden?”

“Do you know why?”

“Uncheon.”

“If you cling to something that won’t change, you might lose something more important. So in whatever situation, you should never forget what is most important. Understood?”

“N-now is not the time for you to be saying such things! Do you not have medicine?! Where is your medicine?!”

You look like you’re going to pass out any minute and your hands are covered in blood... So why are you saying what sounds like your dying words?

Heeran’s eyes darted back and forth violently due to the ominous feeling that crept up on her.

“Answer me.”

Even when Uncheon urged her, Heeran didn’t open her mouth.

The look on his face—words that didn’t seem like they’d come from his mouth. These were extremely unfamiliar to her. She was struck speechless by her bizarre sense of anxiety.

If she answered that she would do as he said, she felt like Uncheon would close his eyes in relief and cease to breathe. It was an unfamiliar fear that she had never felt before.

“Heeran.”

“Okay, okay!” she shouted through gritted teeth. “I understand, so tell me where your medicine is!” She felt like she had fallen into a maze, and she couldn’t find the exit.

She didn’t know anything.

She didn’t know why her eldest brother, Hwi Namgung, had brought her to this room.

She didn’t know why her second oldest brother, Uncheon Namgung, was insisting that she heed words that seemed uncharacteristic of him.

She really didn’t know anything.

It felt like she had been dropped into a strange world all alone.

“Don’t ever forget that.” Uncheon vomited more blood.

“Uncheon Namgung? Hey!”

Uncheon was shaking in a precarious way. Heeran held on to him so that he wouldn’t fall over. His face became distorted.

“What’s going on?” she asked. “W-why are you suddenly not acting like yourself?”

Uncheon didn’t answer.

“Why are you acting like you’re about to die?!”

You’ve been a person I’ve disliked all this time... Why don’t you remain that way? Why be like this?

“It’s not like that,” he murmured.

“What’s not like what?”

“It’s only because there’s not a lot of time.”

Uncheon Namgung had stopped coughing. He looked at Heeran’s hand as she held him.

“It... was so easy like this.”

He’d said it so softly that Heeran hadn’t heard him. She asked, “What?”

“Find the yellow leaf of the Geumrin Merchant Group.”

“The yellow leaf of the Geumrin Merchant Group?”

“You just have to tell them that it’s time.”

At that moment, Uncheon, who had constantly seemed like he was going to fall over, suddenly stretched out his hand and pulled Heeran into a tight hug.

“Close your eyes.”

“Uncheon Namgung?”

She tried to escape from his arms, but it was no use.

Heeran had no idea where Uncheon—who, moments before, had been staggering as if he would collapse at any moment—was getting this kind of strength. No matter how hard she pushed, he was like an immovable boulder.

Heeran’s face was filled with confusion. The metallic smell of blood and the strong scent of medicinal herbs were unfamiliar.

Suddenly, the arm that was firmly holding on to Heeran moved, and Uncheon’s eyes were filled with killing intent. He quickly swept his hand across the table and drew an arc in the air.

A chopstick filled with qi pierced the air.

It flew through the window and hit one of the assassins who had secretly been hiding outside. Without even having time to scream, he fell backward with a thud.

A second chopstick then silently pierced through the roof tiles and hit the assassin who had been hiding on top of them.

“Ugh.”

The groaning assassin fell from the roof with a thud.

And the last chopstick was aimed at the chest of the assassin who had been standing outside the door pretending to be a guard. This was a surprise attack that had been planned before the assassins had even noticed that something was amiss.

After killing all the enemies, Uncheon’s eyes became bleak.

Has this place already been breached?

Uncheon held on to Heeran more tightly. It had happened faster than Uncheon had calculated.

This is progressing too quickly. Internal information was leaked.

Uncheon began assessing the situation by trying to guess the martial art practiced by the assassins.

“What’s that noise?” Heeran asked confidently. “Something’s happened, right?”

Uncheon paused, remaining silent.

“Ah, let me go! You were vomiting blood just moments ago!”

A faint warmth passed over his cold, stiff face. And at that moment...

“Uncheon Namgung!”

They heard a new voice shouting. The door then opened with a loud crash. Heeran flinched and tried to escape from Uncheon’s arms, but he wouldn’t let go of her.

“Uncheon, you...”

“You’re very late, Eldest Sister.”

“Their attack came earlier than expected.”

“I know, so go now, quickly, to Eldest Brother.”

It was only then that Uncheon let Heeran go from his grasp. Once she was finally free, Heeran turned around.

Su-ryeon Namgung had appeared at some point. She was standing in the doorway holding a sword dripping with blood. Behind her, Heeran could see the bodies of the assassins beyond the wide open door.

Seeing the bloody landscape, Heeran took a deep breath.

“What are you going to do?”

“There are still things to clean up, so go on first, Eldest Sister.”

Su-ryeon looked like she had just finished fighting—she was a mess. Then there was Uncheon, whose entire front was covered in blood.

Heeran froze. She sensed something unusual was going on.

“The bastards are moving faster than we thought. If you don’t hurry... Ahee will be in danger too.”

When she heard the name that came out of Uncheon’s mouth, Heeran’s eyes widened to the point that they could probably tear at the corners.

What did you just say?

However, as if those words had sparked a fuse, Su-ryeon grabbed Heeran. Her sister gave her no time to resist, so Heeran quickly turned to Uncheon. She was shocked by his expression.

He’s... smiling?

Uncheon Namgung was smiling? Her cold Middle Brother was smiling?

Unless it was a scoff or cynical smile, he was not a person who smiled. He wasn’t a person who could make such a lovely, affectionate expression.

Heeran felt short of breath.

It was a smile she would never forget. When she looked at him, an eerie premonition suddenly passed through her heart.

Heeran’s gaze quivered erratically. Uncheon’s bloodstained clothes, the room that had become a mess, and the corpses scattered about were all unfamiliar things.

And Uncheon Namgung, the one who was at the center of all this, was unnervingly calm.

It was as if he was used to all this.

Heeran’s face hardened at her sudden realization.

Did he know?

Hwi had dragged her and locked her in this room. Here, she had met Uncheon. However, other than the moments when he had faced her and expressed strong emotions, he had never been taken aback.

He’d spoken words that she didn’t understand—words that seemed like a request. He’d suddenly called her by her childhood name. And he’d even produced a smile, one that somehow gave off an ominous feeling.

He knew everything.

Uncheon Namgung, the genius who could sit and foresee events coming from a thousand miles away, had already predicted the outcome of this entire situation.

Heeran’s face became distorted. As if to avoid eye contact, Uncheon turned his head and said to Su-ryeon, “Too much time has passed. Please go now.”

“When... you finish your work, come to the Patriarch House.”

“Okay.”

“Don’t get hurt.”

“I didn’t know you’d get this worried, Eldest Sister. Who could even succeed in hurting me?”

One corner of Uncheon’s mouth curled up. Reassured by his words, which were full of confidence that bordered on arrogance, Su-ryeon turned her body.

“L-let me go!” Heeran struggled to escape from Su-ryeon’s hold, but it was no use. The arm that was holding on to Heeran showed no signs of loosening.

Heeran chewed on her lips roughly. Behind Su-ryeon, who was holding her, she saw Uncheon smiling.

Why...?!

Once again, everything had gone awry.

First, there was her eldest brother, who had said he wouldn’t hand her over even though doing so would solve everything. Then there was her second oldest brother, who spoke words she didn’t understand with an expression she had never seen from him...

Numerous unspoken questions swirled wildly around her mind. But she couldn’t ask any of them.

As soon as Su-ryeon took a step, the surrounding scenery changed.

It was too late.

Heeran may have not mastered martial arts, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have eyes. Su-ryeon was using a movement technique. A distance that should have taken twenty steps was quickly reduced to one step. Thanks to this, it didn’t take long to reach Hwi’s office.

This was the Patriarch House of the Great Namgung Family. But it was different than usual. When they arrived in front of the house, Su-ryeon stopped in her tracks. Heeran froze at the glimpses of the scenery that could be seen in the dark.

Around them, she could see the bodies of soldiers who were supposed to be guarding the Patriarch House, as well as the corpses of masked assassins.

Heeran’s body trembled.

“This can’t be happening.”