Chapter 65
“Oh my, Lord Tak! You were here all along?”
The moment Yeo Gong spotted Tak Joong-hak, he strode in with delight.
“What a coincidence this is! I had planned to visit you soon to pay my respects, but to meet you here like this!”
“Did Lord Yeo also come craving noodles?”
Tak Joong-hak gladly offered the seat next to him.
“The noodles here are quite good. I was just about to try the dumplings.”
“My granddaughter made these dumplings yesterday.”
As Shin Geum headed to the kitchen to prepare noodles for Yeo Gong, he sent a voice transmission to Tak Joong-hak.
“I saved them especially for you, Lord Tak. Please, enjoy them all.”
“Oh, so the First Young Lady isn’t just talented in martial arts, it seems.”
Yeo Gong marveled as he reached for the dumplings with his chopsticks.
Tak!
Before he could grab one, Tak Joong-hak’s chopsticks intercepted his.
“These are mine.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Your portion is being brought right now.”
Just then, Shin Geum approached, carrying noodles and dumplings in both hands.
“The speed of service here is impressive.”
“In a small shop like this, having too many hands in the kitchen just creates chaos. But with noodles and dumplings, as long as they’re prepped in advance, they can be served quickly.”
Though a little surprised by Tak Joong-hak’s reaction, Yeo Gong quickly turned his attention to Shin Geum.
“I forgot to introduce myself. I am Yeo Gong.”
“I already know, sir.”
“…You know me?”
His voice dropped slightly, but Shin Geum continued as if oblivious.
“How could a lowly woman like myself know of such esteemed figures? I merely heard Lord Tak call your name earlier.”
“Ah, I hadn’t thought of that.”
Yeo Gong chuckled, stroking his beard.
“Well, let’s eat. I must say, I’m lucky today—I get to try the dumplings made by the First Young Lady herself.”
“Actually, these were made by me.”
“…What?”
“The last dumpling Lord Tak received was the final one made by Seol-ha.”
Seeing Yeo Gong’s disbelief, Shin Geum added,
“But don’t worry, I’m the better cook. Rest assured as you eat.”
“Are you certain your skills are better?”
Tak Joong-hak interjected while sipping his tea.
Shin Geum glanced at Tak Joong-hak’s plate.
He had already eaten half the dumplings.
“They are truly exceptional. In all my years, I’ve never had dumplings this delicious.”
“Is that so?”
Shin Geum tilted her head, replying nonchalantly.
“Well, there are rare occasions when she outdoes me. It seems Lord Tak was lucky this time.”
At Shin Geum’s quick admission, Tak Joong-hak burst into laughter.
‘Are they mocking me?’
Watching their exchange, Yeo Gong felt oddly irritated.
He even started to wonder if Tak Joong-hak was lying about Seol-ha’s dumplings being the last ones.
But it would be absurd to hold a grudge over a mere dumpling.
Suppressing his unease, Yeo Gong picked up his chopsticks and tasted the noodles.
‘Oh?’
He was genuinely surprised by how good they were.
Tak Joong-hak hadn’t been exaggerating—the noodles were indeed excellent.
“You like them?”
“They are quite delicious.”
“In that case, enjoy your meal while you talk. I’ll step aside.”
“No, stay.”
Uncharacteristically, Yeo Gong stopped Shin Geum from leaving.
“Weren’t you already here before I arrived? Let me join in your conversation.”
Smiling, Yeo Gong looked back and forth between Tak Joong-hak and Shin Geum.
“It wasn’t much, really. I just asked him to look after my granddaughter.”
Since Yeo Gong had invited him to sit, Shin Geum, a commoner, had no choice but to comply.
Her only concern was whether Yeo Gong would notice something unusual about her.
She had heard that the Cheonhyeol Guijong Heart Technique heightened sensitivity to Qi flow.
Though Yeo Gong was said to be a level below Tak Joong-hak in martial arts, it was best to be cautious, especially at such close range.
“I was truly amazed by the First Young Lady’s martial prowess. She’s a rare genius.”
“She was always talented in everything she did.”
“Had she ever practiced martial arts before?”
“No, never. I have no idea how she ended up as the Cult Leader’s disciple, it’s quite a mystery to me.”
“No, I meant you.”
“……!”
Shin Geum’s eyes widened deliberately.
“I may be mistaken, but I can sense Qi in your Dantian—you’re no ordinary woman.”
As he slowly chewed a piece of meat from the noodles, Yeo Gong fixed his gaze on Shin Geum.
“Oh dear, how could I say such a thing in front of two esteemed Lords? I only learned a bit by watching from the side for the sake of my health. It’s nowhere near a level worth mentioning to others.”
“Is that so?”
Shin Geum deliberately feigned embarrassment, brushing her head in a sheepish manner.
‘They say he has mastered the Cheonhyeol Guijong Heart Technique… He is indeed perceptive.’
Adjusting her Qi flow as Tak Joong-hak had suggested turned out to be the right move.
Had she still been in her previous sealed state, Yeo Gong would have sensed something amiss immediately.
“Now that I think about it, how is your youngest daughter doing?”
To divert Yeo Gong’s attention, Tak Joong-hak brought up his daughter, someone he would never normally mention.
Immediately, Yeo Gong’s expression hardened.
“…So you’ve heard as well, Lord Tak?”
“Seung-myeong seemed a bit concerned. It seemed excessive on Second Young Master’s part. How hurt must she have been to shed tears in a place like that?”
“She should never have been sent there in the first place.”
After returning from the Yeong-eun Pavilion gathering, Yeo So-min had locked herself in her room, crying non-stop.
She had been pampered and cherished since childhood, even if she lacked wisdom.
Yet, to have her unrequited love, Jeok I-geon, openly scorn her in front of others was enough to make Yeo Gong’s blood boil.
“My daughter said the Second Young Master seems to have feelings for the First Young Lady. What did your grandson say about this, Lord Tak?”
“Second Young Master and the First Young Lady?”
“Yes. You haven’t heard?”
The gazes of Tak Joong-hak and Shin Geum met in midair, both hearing this for the first time.
“So-min might have misinterpreted, but she swears that Second Young Master’s eyes when looking at the First Young Lady were completely different than usual. She calls it a woman’s intuition.”
Though he had scolded her for making such claims, seeing her swollen face from crying made his anger rise instead.
“She’s still young. These things pass. Try not to worry too much.”
“I truly hope that’s the case.”
Though they sat eating together and discussing their children, Tak Joong-hak and Yeo Gong were actually engaged in a mental battle.
While Tak Joong-hak was preoccupied with why Yeo Gong had come to Shin Geum’s shop, Yeo Gong was growing suspicious of the relationship between Tak Joong-hak and Shin Geum.
They might think they were deceiving each other, but Yeo Gong had caught on to the strange, almost intimate flow of Qi between them.
He couldn’t put it into words exactly, but their connection seemed far too familiar.
There was definitely something he wasn’t aware of.
“Marip.”
“Yes, Lord.”
After finishing his meal at Shin Geum’s shop, Yeo Gong strolled through the streets for a while before stopping near a lakeside.
“Hyeonwol Hall had the noodle shop completely surrounded.”
“There were far more guards than usual accompanying Lord Tak.”
“Exactly.”
Why?
Yeo Gong pondered as he walked.
It made sense for Shin Geum to receive attention, being the only family of the First Young Lady.
However, the way things looked today, it seemed as if they were outright protecting Shin Geum.
Were they trying to prevent other clans from approaching?
If that were the case, then they should have stopped her first. They should have shut the store and relocated entirely.
When things weren’t adding up, the best course of action was to change perspectives.
Yeo Gong systematically erased his prior assumptions and re-examined the situation from a fresh angle.
Then, suddenly, a memory from their earlier conversation resurfaced in his mind.
‘…Was I too focused on viewing her only as the First Young Lady’s grandmother?’
That faint trace of inner energy he had sensed from Shin Geum.
For just a brief moment, his heightened Qi perception detected an exceptionally pure flow of energy—the kind rarely found within the main sect.
‘Yes… I need a different approach now.’
His mistake was investigating Shin Geum solely as the grandmother of the First Young Lady.
“Marip.”
“Yes.”
“We need to conduct a thorough investigation into this Shin Geum.”
“Shall I assign additional surveillance?”
“That would take too long.”
“Then…?”
“I will use the Soul Subjugation and Spirit Seizing Technique.”
The Soul Subjugation and Spirit Seizing Technique was a type of soul manipulation technique passed down only to the direct lineage of the Yeo family.
Once ensnared by it, the target would divulge all their secrets, completely unable to resist.
It even erased their memories afterward, making it a perfect tool for someone like Shin Geum.
“Make sure Hyeonwol Hall doesn’t catch on.”
“As you command!”
The more he thought about it, the more the strange Qi flow he had sensed from Shin Geum gnawed at him.
He had initially brushed it off.
But if Shin Geum was truly hiding something, then he needed to uncover it.
“Tak Joong-hak…”
And if he did, he might finally understand why that old man had suddenly re-emerged into the world.
—
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