Chapter 77
“This… if you turn it like this, ta-da!”
In front of Seol Do-jin and So-gyo, Yeong-ung (Unyeong) smiled brightly as she turned the device that opened the secret passage.
“A secret passage appears.”
Hearing this, Seol Do-jin was surprised and called out to her.
“Yeong-a?”
“Yes, brother?”
Yeong-ung’s expression was calm, as if nothing unusual had happened.
“Is… is it really okay to show this? Didn’t Father say it should be kept secret?”
“Oh, come on. What’s the big deal? I’m only showing it to you and So-gyo.”
“Still….”
Seol Do-jin worried, but Yeong-ung didn’t care. After all, it was So-gyo and Seol Do-jin—what could possibly be wrong?
“Aren’t you curious? I wonder where this passage leads.”
“Uh… uh? Yeah, I’m curious.”
Seol Do-jin’s eyes sparkled with curiosity as if his previous worries had vanished. Yeong-ung suddenly felt playful.
“Haha. I’m not going to tell you.”
“Ah, why! Where does it lead?!”
Seol Do-jin held his head in his hands and screamed dramatically.
Seol Do-jin always tried to appear mature in front of Yeong-ung. But now, he exaggerated, acting comically.
Seeing this, Yeong-ung burst out laughing. So-gyo, standing nearby, couldn’t hold back either.
“Hehe. It’s a secret passage. I won’t even tell you, brother.”
Saying this, she closed the secret passage door and placed her hand on her chest. Thump, thump—a pleasant vibration spread through her chest.
Yeong-ung had noticed that Seol Do-jin had been attentive to her mood ever since she arrived at Subokgak.
Even after her conversation with Jang Jae-hyung, Yeong-ung had been thinking for days about how to handle the Seol family situation.
“Shall we show the young master Subokgak?”
So-gyo had asked casually, probably meaning to lighten her mood. Seol Do-jin understood and tried to make Yeong-ung smile by observing her mood.
‘He must have been like this back then too…’
In the past, she really hadn’t known.
Even when Seol Do-jin acted foolishly, Yeong-ung had always visited Yeonhongwon.
She must have tried just as hard back then, yet Yeong-ung never saw it. Such visible affection, and yet it went unnoticed.
Now, she could see the hearts of those who cared for her. Yeong-ung bit her lip and spoke brightly.
“Shall we go see something else?”
“Again? What else is there?”
Seol Do-jin, amazed by the secret passage, asked curiously what else might exist.
“Of course, there’s more. But brother, are you jealous?”
Yeong-ung narrowed her eyes and looked at Seol Do-jin, suddenly feeling mischievous.
“Me? Of what?”
“Father built Subokgak just for me.”
“No, no. That’s not it. Yeong-a, I told you it was great when making Yeonmu-jang too.”
Waving his hands, Seol Do-jin emphasized that he wasn’t jealous, looking genuinely flustered.
“Hahaha. Brother, it’s just a joke, a joke. Why are you taking it so seriously?”
“Oh… that’s it? I was worried…”
Yeong-ung laughed heartily, and Seol Do-jin finally relaxed, secretly muttering how innocent she was. Yet she smiled.
A person who was serious about everything, who put effort into everything.
Her brother, Seol Do-jin, was such a person.
Yeong-ung smiled and moved forward. Stopping in front of a large storage cabinet, she looked at Seol Do-jin and So-gyo.
“Don’t be surprised. This is my armory.”
Then she opened the cabinet door.
“Ta-da!”
Seeing the cabinet filled with weapons, Seol Do-jin exclaimed in surprise.
“Wow, what’s all this?”
Having just started training, he expected maybe only wooden swords. But seeing the countless types of weapons, his eyes widened, and his jaw dropped.
Among the weapons were some he had never even held before.
“Yeong-a, weren’t you learning swordsmanship? There are so many other weapons too?”
Yeong-ung had recently started wielding the sword skillfully, learning the Samjae Sword technique.
“Yes, I’m learning swordsmanship, but I might be better with other weapons too.”
She nodded toward the various weapons.
Many weapons used by martial artists were neatly arranged: wooden practice swords sized for her small frame, swords (do), spears (chang), axes, bows, and so on.
There were also strange-shaped scythes, broken sword pieces, clubs (gon) and rods (bong), hidden weapons like amija, throwing knives (bido), shurikens (bipyo), and beads of various sizes.
Looking at the armory, Yeong-ung spoke.
“That’s why I asked Father to let me try out as many weapons as possible.”
The iron weapons had been dulled for training. From this, one could see how much care the Seol family took in preparing these weapons.
Feeling her father’s intentions, Yeong-ung caressed the weapons.
“One of these might suit me best.”
In the past, Sword Ghost Seol Yeong-ung had been unmatched with the sword. But she could handle other weapons skillfully as well.
She had learned that a swordsman should never put down the sword, but having trained alone, she was not bound by such rules.
On the battlefield, she couldn’t always carry a sword—life-and-death moments required flexibility.
‘Before I could pull my sword from an enemy, someone else might have attacked me.’
Getting used to fighting with whatever weapon was at hand, Yeong-ung had become adept with many types of weapons.
Though her most practiced sword remained the easiest for her, this time she planned to train seriously with all weapons.
As if wielding a sword, she would handle any weapon like one.
“Wow, amazing! Our Yeong-a thought of that. I thought you’d naturally pick the sword since you learn from Geum Dae-ju. My thinking was too narrow.”
“Right?”
“Absolutely. You did really well.”
Seol Do-jin patted Yeong-ung’s head in praise.
“Yes, since you don’t know which weapon suits your hands best, it’s good to explore from now on. A martial arts teacher should seek someone skilled with various weapons.”
When Yeong-ung first mentioned it, Seol Ja-dan said the same.
Like father, like daughter.
She could feel their shared care for her, bringing a lump to her throat.
All the worries about handling Mojongbaek and Cheongung alone over the past few days seemed foolish.
With her family here, she had been overly preoccupied with small matters. She didn’t want to admit it, but she had been scared.
Like the day the Seol household burned, like the day at Cheonmabigo when everything seemed lost. She feared losing it all.
‘I just need to protect my family. No need to be scared. I’m not the young Seol Yeong-ung anymore. I am the Sword Ghost.’
Yeong-ung looked at the Vajra (Geumgangjeo) in the armory, gripping her fists.
‘If… I remove it all, even if Asura awakens again, I can handle it myself…’
She clenched her fists and resolved once more.
“Miss, Miss. Where are you?”
Outside, Hyang-a’s voice called.
“I’m inside here.”
Closing the armory door, Yeong-ung called out.
“Brother, you must be hungry. Hyang-a brought lunch. Eat before we go.”
“Yes, let’s do that.”
Seol Do-jin nodded brightly at her suggestion.
After enjoying the lunch Hyang-a brought, Seol Do-jin returned to his quarters.
“So-gyo, shall we go?”
Carrying the basket, Yeong-ung spoke, and So-gyo nodded.
“Yes, miss. Please watch your step.”
Yeong-ung stood again before the secret passage with So-gyo. She took a deep breath and stepped down the stairs.
The walls were embedded with night lights, so it wasn’t dark.
Everything was prepared meticulously, and Yeong-ung felt her nose sting again with emotion.
“Where does this passage lead?”
In large estates, it was common to build secret passages when constructing new buildings. But for Yeong-ung, secret passages brought back bad memories.
So she couldn’t help but ask.
“Haha. Curious, are you?”
Yet Seol Ja-dan smiled as if it were nothing.
“Yeong-a, you’ve always stayed within the Seol household, haven’t you? Since you seem to enjoy the mountains, I created a path directly to the back gate.
When you go to the family burial grounds, use this passage quietly. But you must always be accompanied by So-gyo.”
Seol Ja-dan had only intended to give her a gift.
Yet this simple act allowed Yeong-ung to transform a bad memory into a joyful one.
