“Did news fly from Joseon?”
Murong Sang-a returned to the office in Changbong Hall and summoned the deputy, who brought the news from Joseon.
“I received a report while proceeding with the task ordered by the lord, and no matter how I think about it, I felt I had to inform you.”
The lord is sensitive to news from Joseon. I must speak as carefully as possible. The deputy nodded gravely and prepared to share the news he brought.
“Is it about Master Kang?”
Murong Sang-a’s eyes trembled. There was only one matter she had commanded.
Finding the remains of the executed traitor.
Could it be good news? Bad news?
Whatever it was, she had to listen calmly. Murong Sang-a managed to ask with a neutral expression, but to steady her relentlessly pounding heart, she placed her hand on her chest.
“There is still no clear news regarding Master Kang’s remains. However…”
“However?”
“There is news related to the grave of the deceased lord’s mother.”
“Are you talking about the grave of my mother-in-law who passed away a long time ago?”
Murong Sang-a’s expression hardened at the unexpected news.
Why was she hearing about her mother-in-law’s grave?
What on earth could this mean? Murong Sang-a hoped her ominous premonition was wrong and asked the deputy.
“…They want to exhume the grave in Joseon.”
“Exhumation? D-did you just say exhumation?”
Her bad premonition was indeed right. No, it was a much harsher reality that greeted her.
Exhumation. To remove a grave.
It wasn’t a punishment like execution by decapitation. Various reasons led to exhumation, such as land disputes or graves of unclaimed bodies.
For some, it might be a trivial matter. But for Murong Sang-a, the daughter-in-law of the Kang family, it was not.
“Someone who owns the land wants to wish for an exhumation.”
“Are you saying they would let that inhumane act slide?”
Murong Sang-a’s eyelids showed no sign of closing. Her mouth didn’t seem to want to shut either.
The deputy, shocked beyond measure, hesitated whether he had to keep explaining to his lord, but eventually opened his mouth.
“…Isn’t it the grave of a traitor’s family? They say they won’t leave it alone, so it’s become quite the stir.”
“…….”
The disheartening truth stabbed at the heart of Murong Sang-a, the daughter-in-law of the Kang family. Her gaze fell like her heart, lost and wandering.
“Please purchase the land where my mother-in-law is buried. I don’t care how much it costs.”
As a daughter-in-law, she couldn’t bear to see her mother-in-law’s grave disturbed. Murong Sang-a managed to compose herself and said with a determined face.
“My lord!”
The deputy spoke in surprise.
“What is the problem?”
“It’s far too noticeable. There was uproar in Joseon when the women of the Kang family disappeared all at once. If they find out that the grave of a traitor’s family has been purchased, who knows what will happen!”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Murong Sang-a’s voice was resolute.
“My lord, I didn’t bring this up for no reason. Before, just tidying up the graves under your orders brought out cries saying, ‘Who’s going to manage the grave of a traitor’s family!’ It’s far too dangerous.”
“Are you telling me to just watch my mother-in-law’s grave be dug up?”
Murong Sang-a’s painful anger burst forth.
An indescribable sorrow seeped from the face she had been trying to keep expressionless.
“I can only apologize for disturbing your heart, my lord. But we can only think of you first.”
Her mother-in-law’s grave could vanish.
Because of her.
Murong Sang-a bit her lower lip, desperately trying to hold back the sorrow welling up inside her chest.
“We must do whatever it takes to stop this.”
The deputy, looking at his lord, who seemed ready to dash to Joseon at any moment, was momentarily speechless.
In just two years, Murong Sang-a had transformed from merely the direct descendant of the Murong family into an ideal lord leading the next generation of the Murong family.
But even for such a lord, there are things that cloud her judgment. The deputy felt a pang of sympathy for her guilt and continued speaking.
“The good news is that the discussions about the exhumation are still in the negotiation stage. Also, there are reasons it may not happen.”
“Reasons?”
“Master Kang’s mother passed away from illness long ago, but she was exceptionally beautiful and kind to the poor, earning great renown. Even the local leaders have been subtly dissuading the landowner, questioning if it’s right to hold the deceased accountable.”
“Are you saying it’s not an immediate threat…?”
The deputy quickly nodded at the somewhat calming lord.
“Yes. We’ll have to keep an eye on the situation, but at this time, there’s no need for you to take any risks.”
The deputy repeated that they still had time.
“Thank goodness… I’ll think of other ways in the meantime.”
Murong Sang-a felt a bit relieved and let out a small sigh of relief.
“I hope you won’t worry too much.”
Murong Sang-a didn’t respond and ordered the deputy to take a break.
—-
The mournful moonlight illuminated a woman’s face.
“How could I not worry?”
Assassination attempts, displays of power, negotiations with the Jurchens. The martial artists of the Spear Peak Band had fallen into a deep sleep on that night. Murong Sang-a sat on her bed, unable to find sleep.
Her chest was tight. Her heart felt heavy.
“An assassin can be killed, and the Jurchens can back down if we show strength.”
In the face of an irrevocable mistake, she was just a kneeling sinner.
The mistakes she made always manifested in other ways, revealing their results. Murong Sang-a hugged her knees like a small child.
“My mother-in-law…”
She didn’t know precisely who she was, only that she had fallen ill and passed away when Master Kang was young. But that didn’t mean her guilt faded away.
Because.
It’s a mother’s keepsake.
Murong Sang-a looked at the ring on her left hand’s ring finger.
Zhangbai Silver ring.
The ring that represented the lost half of Murong Sang-a and was meant to be accepted as a token of love.
“Master Kang must have always kept this ring.”
Of course, he would. It was her deceased mother’s keepsake. It was with this ring that he realized she was surrounded by Demonic Cult members and rushed to save her with desperate gallantry.
“And he gave me that ring.”
Master Kang held onto the ring, unable to forget his deceased mother. That ring connected them. And Master Kang gave that ring to her.
Filled with everlasting love for his mother.
He had given it to his one and only wife as a proof of love.
Murong Sang-a stared at the ring with a face that seemed ready to burst into tears at any moment.
The ring shimmered in the mournful moonlight, displaying an eerily beautiful grace.
A precious item that could not be bought even if mountains of gold were offered. No, it didn’t matter what you piled up. Nothing could replace the ring given by Master Kang.
“I haven’t even found Master Kang, who is in Joseon yet…”
Even now, at this moment, she didn’t know where he was enduring the cold wind.
And now, the grave of her mother-in-law was at risk of exhumation.
The things Master Kang had done for her only grew larger as the days passed, but she couldn’t do anything for him.
In Joseon, wear the ring your husband gave you on your left hand’s fourth finger. Even if your husband is far away, think of him with the ring.
Murong Sang-a carefully played with her ring, thinking of the face of Master Kang, whom she could never forget.
Should she risk it?
‘What if I end up not being able to find Master Kang’s remains?’
If they caught on to her movements in Joseon, further search activities might become impossible.
Everything could turn to nothing. The women of the Kang family, whom she had barely hidden, could return to being servants.
Her chest felt heavy. Her fingers felt like they would fall off.
For the greater good, she had sacrificed small things, but she didn’t want to sacrifice even a single thing belonging to Master Kang.
“Master Kang, what should I do?”
There was no answer.
There couldn’t be one.
She had committed an irreversible mistake with her own hands.
The woman who had committed an unforgivable sin that could never be atoned for felt the pain that tore at her insides reflected in her gaze.
Murong Sang-a rose from her bed and left the bedroom.
“Miss, where are you going with a sword?”
“I’m going to the training grounds.”
She felt like she would collapse if she didn’t swing a sword at least.
Murong Sang-a headed towards the training grounds.
——————
It felt like she was cutting through an illusion.
Even as she focused and swung her sword, the heavy worries in her heart didn’t disappear.
Ultimately, Murong Sang-a halted her meaningless sword dance only after noticing a shadow near the entrance of the training ground.
“Who’s there?”
She called out in a guarded voice at the sound approaching toward the training ground.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize there would be a guest.”
The owner of the flustered voice was someone Murong Sang-a recognized.
“Qingyun, was it?”
Murong Sang-a lowered the tip of her sword and spoke to the unexpected visitor.
“When I asked the Sibi to practice the Sword of Wu, they said nobody would be watching at this hour, so I must have misunderstood.”
Qingyun, thinking she did something wrong, hurriedly explained the situation.
“The Sibi informed you correctly.”
“Is that so?”
Murong Sang-a looked at Qingyun, who appeared relieved. The training ground was originally Murong Sang-a’s personal training space, but sometimes the higher-ups from the Spear Peak Band would use it too.
The Sibi must have informed her to curry favor with a martial artist from the Mount Wu Sect.
Though the martial artist in front of her seemed to look like a man, he had a slender appearance much like a woman, pleasing to the eye.
“Qingyun, please continue your practice. I’m going to take my leave.”
If her benefactor wanted to practice, there was no need for her to engage in meaningless swordplay. Murong Sang-a attempted to leave the training ground to force herself to sleep.
“It seems you haven’t even started yet. How can I take someone’s practice time away?”
“I was just trying to move my body because I couldn’t sleep.”
“Indeed. When a martial artist can’t sleep, swinging a sword is the best choice. So, since we’re both here, could you do me a favor?”
Qingyun’s eyes sparkled as if a good idea had come to her.
“What favor?”
Rather than immediately answering, Qingyun quietly walked to the center of the training ground.
The martial artist from Mount Wu seemed to close her eyes for a moment to concentrate, then drew her sword with an extraordinarily smooth motion.
The moon is bright.
The wind is cool.
It’s the perfect weather for a sword dance.
The woman in front of her was a direct descendant of the Murong family. A rare opportunity. Qingyun raised her sword towards Murong Sang-a and said,
“Would you grant me the chance to witness the sword of the Murong family?”
Qingyun, as a martial artist of the Mount Wu Sect, was issuing a challenge to behold the sword of the Murong family.
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