Heavenly Inquisition Sword Novel - Chapter 262
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Chapter 262: Does Sister Have Someone She Likes?
Heaven and Earth Alliance.
Uicheon Pavilion.
Early evening (5:00 PM).
Since her return from Yeon Jeokha’s residence, Heart-Reading Solitary Flower Namgung Yeon hadn’t left her quarters. She even declined the sparring request from Blue Cloud Swordsman Namgung Cheon, citing fatigue. Namgung Cheon eyed her with curiosity.
During the day, she seemed perfectly fine, but when he saw her again in the evening, it looked as if she had been through a fierce battle.
“You don’t look well. Are you feeling unwell?”
“I’m fine. Just a bit tired.”
“I’m glad to hear that. The departure ceremony is in three days, and you can’t afford to be sick. This mission is especially dangerous, and our father is relying solely on you.”
“Brother.”
“Yes?”
“Did you like Jin Sojeo from the start? Or was there a special reason?”
“Why do you ask that all of a sudden?”
“I’m just curious about what it feels like to like someone.”
Namgung Cheon nodded without much thought.
As expected, Namgung Yeon approached relationships between men and women academically.
“I think I grew attracted to her over time. But lately, I’ve come to believe that maybe I liked her from the beginning.”
“Why?”
“You know, with my background and skills, many beautiful women have shown interest in me. But I never felt drawn to any of them. If I had developed feelings after meeting them a few times, I would have been with one of them.”
“Was it love at first sight?”
“Something like that. It’s like I finally realized that I’ve always liked her.”
“It’s complicated.”
Namgung Yeon shook her head.
How can someone finally like a person they’ve always liked?
Though her brother’s words weren’t hard to understand, they seemed more complex than studying the I Ching.
“Someday, you’ll understand too. Now I must go. Jin Sojeo and her group should be heading out for dinner.”
“Are you going to dine together?”
“No, but if I want to ‘accidentally’ run into her, I must prepare.”
“Ah…”
Namgung Yeon nodded in understanding.
She couldn’t fathom why her brother went to such lengths when so many women showed interest in him.
When Namgung Cheon left, Namgung Yeon stared out the window.
Did he like Jin Sojeo from the first moment?
She found that hard to grasp.
She clearly remembered the day Yeon Jeokha called her ‘mom’ when she patted his head.
Having a good memory isn’t always a blessing.
Namgung Yeon raised her hand.
She could still feel the texture of Yeon Jeokha’s head from fifteen years ago.
She could recall the emotions she felt upon discovering he was being mistreated and the expression in the boy’s eyes when he looked at her as if he were about to cry.
So she didn’t understand.
How can someone finally like a person they’ve always liked?
The comment that Yeon Jeokha had someone he liked not only shocked her but also made her have a fleeting fantasy that perhaps that person was her.
But that fantasy vanished in an instant.
She knew that Yeon Jeokha saw her as a mother or the reincarnation of the Mysterious Woman of the Nine Heavens.
Perhaps that’s why she could never approach him as a woman.
“It must be that girl, Nam Sugyeong from the Namyeon Inn.”
It seemed they had lived together as a family and developed a sibling-like affection.
They even combined their surnames to name the inn.
As usual, Namgung Yeon opened the I Ching.
The letters didn’t penetrate her mind, but reading calmed her.
As she absentmindedly flipped through the book, an unexpected voice came from outside.
“Sister Namgung, are you there?”
It was Yeon Jeokha’s voice.
Namgung Yeon’s heart began to race. She quickly flipped through the pages of the book.
After turning the pages randomly, she finally calmed down and said in a steady voice:
“Come in.”
It was a calm voice, but to Yeon Jeokha, who had reached a high level of martial arts mastery, it sounded like thunder.
Without delay, Yeon Jeokha entered and sat down in front of Namgung Yeon.
He sat down and went straight to the point, trying to hide his nervousness.
“I came to ask for your advice. Recently, the Seven Great Sects patrol captured an old man named Baek Gyo, the Invisible Hand. Last night, someone stole an artifact, and it seems Baek Gyo was lurking around there. There’s no evidence or witnesses, but they caught him because he has a reputation as a thief. The people from Jeokpung Stronghold say he’s innocent, and I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to act hastily and be wrong.”
“Did you visit Baek Gyo?”
“Huh? How did you know?”
“You seem to not fully trust him. You would have gone to see him before forming an opinion.”
“Yes, I visited him in prison and asked if he stole it. He says he didn’t, but I can’t trust him. He’s a liar and a thief.”
“I’ve also heard about the Young Buddha Pearl. It’s so small that if someone decides to hide it, it will be hard to find.”
“Ugh! What should I do? I can’t just stand by, but I also don’t want to cause a fuss if he’s the culprit.”
“Haha.”
Namgung Yeon smiled softly as she watched Yeon Jeokha wrestle with the dilemma.
Who would have thought that the six-year-old boy would grow up to be a hero capable of handling Nokrim and the Heaven and Earth Alliance?
Her brother said he realized he had always liked his beloved, but her case was different.
Since she couldn’t foresee that the six-year-old boy would become a hero, love came without warning.
Perhaps feelings of love are as varied as people themselves.
“Why are you laughing? I’m agonizing here.”
“What seems complicated on the surface isn’t so much if you think about it a bit.”
“Do you know who the thief is?”
“We’ll discuss that later. First, tell me about Baek Gyo. From the day you met him until today, before he was caught.”
“Well, I don’t know him very well. I just lived with him for a while at Five Peaks Mountain. He’s a thief with bad habits, even stealing from other bandits. One day, when Five Peaks was in danger, he moved to Jeokpung Stronghold. I didn’t see him after that. Oh, yes, today he bought alcohol from Old Shim. After that, he was caught. That’s all I know.”
“There’s one more thing. He was wandering around Muheo Sanin from the Demon Extermination Division, wasn’t he?”
“Oh, yeah. I forgot to mention that. Do you think that helps catch the thief?”
“The Demon Extermination Division of the Heaven and Earth Alliance is like a nest of dragons and tigers. Even the Invisible Hand would find it difficult to steal there.”
“Then, is the thief someone else?”
“But his behavior is suspicious. I don’t think it’s a coincidence.”
“Suspicious?”
“Wandering around Muheo Sanin and meeting with Old Shim on the same day isn’t a coincidence. It’s not something that happens without intention.”
“So, Baek Gyo is the thief?”
“As I said, even the Invisible Hand would find it difficult to steal from the Demon Extermination Division.”
“It’s complicated.”
“I suspect someone, but it’s hard to point the finger directly. We need to wait a few days.”
“But the departure ceremony is in three days.”
“It might be resolved before then.”
Namgung Yeon smiled mysteriously.
Yeon Jeokha stared at her, mesmerized, but he quickly looked away to avoid making her uncomfortable.
“Is something wrong?”
Namgung Yeon tilted her head, puzzled by Yeon Jeokha’s sudden evasion.
“Oh, nothing.”
He shook his head and recalled Old Shim’s words.
Young Master Yeon, just tell Lady Namgung one thing: ‘The person I like is you.’ That will be enough. Just thinking about it made his heart race.
Should he really say it?
What if it became awkward and he could no longer see her?
Suddenly, he felt a pang of resentment.
“Sister Namgung.”
“Yes?”
“Aren’t you curious about who I like?”
“…”
Taken aback by the unexpected question, Namgung Yeon quickly sought refuge in the I Ching.
Holding the thick book brought her calm.
Confucius attained enlightenment about the ways of heaven after three years of studying the I Ching, they said.
Trying to distract herself, she listened to Yeon Jeokha’s voice in her ears.
“Aren’t you curious about who I like or don’t like?”
“What do you mean?”
Namgung Yeon’s voice trembled slightly.
It wasn’t that she wasn’t interested. It was that she was too interested.
“You didn’t ask who I like. If I knew you liked someone, I’d be very curious and would ask you.”
“It’s not that I’m not interested. I was just waiting for you to tell me.”
“Oh, I see.”
Yeon Jeokha’s face brightened a bit.
He hadn’t considered that Namgung Yeon was simply waiting for him to tell her.
“And you? Do you have someone you like?”
Yeon Jeokha glanced at her sideways, a mix of hope and anxiety.
Heart-Reading Solitary Flower, Empress Warrior; those titles referred to Namgung Yeon’s prowess, intelligence, and beauty.
Many men would have shown interest in her. It wouldn’t be strange if she had formed ties with someone from the Five Great Families and the Seven Great Sects.
Surprised, Namgung Yeon began to flip through the I Ching frantically.
Page after page, the only sound between them was that of the book turning.
Only when she reached the last page did she open her mouth.
“The I Ching is about yin and yang. The alternation between yin and yang is the Dao. All things in heaven and earth interact, and the same happens with people. So, it is said that the Dao is an alternation of yin and yang.”
Yeon Jeokha scratched his head at the complicated explanation.
“I don’t understand difficult things like that. I’m ignorant.”
“This isn’t difficult. It’s just the natural law of yin and yang.”
“Oh, so you don’t have anyone you like.”
Yeon Jeokha came to that conclusion hastily.
If she had someone she liked, she would have talked about it.
But talking about the I Ching instead…
Clearly, she wasn’t interested in matters of the heart.
Her unchanging attitude both reassured and discouraged him at the same time.
‘I can’t tell her that to someone like her.’
Yeon Jeokha set aside his thoughts and paid attention to the lesson.
“…The myriad things in the universe change infinitely due to the interaction of yin and yang. The contradiction and opposition between the two cause new phenomena.”
“If you are the yang, then I am the yin. We will either unite or separate, right?”
Namgung Yeon, comparing yin and yang with her feelings, was revealing her true feelings in a way that even Yeon Jeokha couldn’t understand.
Still, while talking about the I Ching, her face lit up.
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