Cheongun, who needed to check on Jin Soyak’s condition, first headed to the Medicine Hall, while Seolhwa and Ryeong made their way to the Outer Hall.

In front of the guest quarters of the Outer Hall, a figure with a bamboo hat pressed low over their head was being guided by Namgoong Yeom, the Outer Hall Lord.

When the two approached, Namgoong Yeom, who saw them first, clasped his fists toward Seolhwa.

“I greet the young lady.”

The bamboo-hatted figure, who had been standing face-to-face with Namgoong Yeom, also turned around.

At the sight of the person’s face, Seolhwa’s expression instantly stiffened.

Half of the bamboo-hatted person’s face was covered with scars.

They were severe burn scars, stretching diagonally upward from the nose.

Both tightly shut eyes were included in those scars.

‘Blind.’

And a woman.

A middle-aged blind woman in rather shabby clothes, showing no signs of martial training.

With such a ragged appearance that one might have mistaken her for a beggar if encountered on the street, she was hard to distinguish due to the bamboo hat covering her head and the scars obscuring her features, but she was indeed a woman.

‘Who is she?’

In both her previous life and her current one, Seolhwa had never met or even heard of such a person.

And yet she claimed to be her guest?

Namgoong Yeom stepped forward beside the blind woman and spoke.

“This person insisted she was your guest, so I sent a message.”

— Forgive me. She was so insistent on meeting you that I couldn’t fully restrain her. I thought she might truly be your guest, so I couldn’t drive her away outright.

Namgoong Yeom’s voice transmission carried a faint note of embarrassment.

As the first to receive visitors at the Namgoong estate, he could not recklessly expel someone whose identity was unclear.

Especially not someone like this blind woman, who invoked the direct bloodline of the family without any traceable background or connections.

Normally, he would have had the visitor wait at a guesthouse and then sent someone to verify whether they were truly the young lady’s guest, but this time, Seolhwa had arrived before the woman could even be shown inside.

— What should I do, young lady?

Seolhwa turned to look at the blind woman.

She was only smiling serenely.

“I’ll receive her. Go about your duties.”

“Yes, understood.”

After bowing to Seolhwa, Namgoong Yeom withdrew.

Seolhwa stepped closer to the blind woman.

“Hello. I am Namgoong Seolhwa.”

“Ohh, so you are Namgoong Seolhwa.”

The blind woman casually extended her hand toward Seolhwa.

But before it could reach her, Ryeong intervened to block it.

“Be careful.”

“Ahh, forgive me. I cannot see.”

“It’s fine.”

At Seolhwa’s nod, Ryeong reluctantly stepped back.

“May I ask what brings you here?”

“Do you not remember me?”

Seolhwa’s brows knit slightly.

She searched her memory again at the blind woman’s words, but the face was still unfamiliar.

“I’m sorry. I lost my childhood memories. Have we met before?”

“It is indeed our first meeting.”

The blind woman chuckled softly.

To ask if she remembered, then to claim it was their first meeting.

At the blind woman’s wordplay, Ryeong could not hide her displeasure.

— She seems like the sort who pretends to know the young lady just to freeload. Let me slip her a few coins and chase her away.

The Namgoong Clan was renowned across the Central Plains, far beyond Anhui.

There were always those who came uninvited, invoking false ties with the family’s name to demand something in return.

Even clinging beggars were no rare sight.

Ryeong judged this blind woman to be one of that kind.

But.

— No. Wait.

Seolhwa’s thoughts differed from Ryeong’s.

Looking again, Seolhwa faintly sensed a trace of inner force within the woman.

It was so weak that, without her training at Songshan, she never would have noticed it.

‘She’s definitely not trained in martial arts.’

And yet she had inner force. Was that not strange?

Seolhwa picked up the small bundle placed beside the blind woman and asked.

“Is this all of your belongings?”

Ryeong swiftly took the bundle from her.

She clearly wanted to throw the woman out immediately, but since Seolhwa had chosen to observe, she had no choice but to follow her lead.

“Why do you ask about my belongings?”

“As my guest, I thought to receive you in my own quarters, not in the guest quarters. It will be more comfortable that way.”

“To keep watch on me?”

“Watch you? Hardly. It will simply be more convenient for both of us.”

Seolhwa glanced at Ryeong as she continued.

“Only, I was on my way to the Medicine Hall. My guard will escort you to my quarters. Please wait there until I return....”

“And what business do you have at the Medicine Hall?”

After a brief look at the blind woman, Seolhwa replied.

“...A sick friend. I’m going to visit.”

“May I come along?”

“....”

“It will be rather dull to wait alone in a room....”

The blind woman scratched near her ear as she added.

A guest of unknown identity, and now so unrestrained.

Though somewhat discourteous, after a moment’s hesitation Seolhwa readily nodded.

“Very well.”

Ryeong’s eyes widened in shock.

But Seolhwa calmly asked the blind woman,

“Shall I help you walk?”

“That would be kind.”

“Ah, young lady...!”

Before Ryeong could protest, Seolhwa stepped to the blind woman’s side and took her arm to support her.

Her clothes were filthy, and she smelled of long unwashed skin, but Seolhwa paid it no mind.

The woman moved forward with one hand on Seolhwa’s support and the other tapping her cane.

Watching Seolhwa and the blind woman walk ahead, Ryeong sighed softly and followed after them.

****

“Ugh... ngh....”

Soyak’s whimpering groans filled the Medicine Hall.

Even though Cheongun was channeling inner force into his body and Chor Yeon was burning incense to ease the pain, the suffering showed no sign of subsiding.

“....”

Cheongun withdrew his hand and looked anxiously at the boy writhing in pain.

“It seems that even channeling inner force is no longer of much use.”

Chor Yeon, who had just replaced the burnt-out incense, also looked at Soyak with concern.

Each time the seizures came, their intervals grew shorter, and the pain more severe.

To cure Meridian Severance, the meridians had to be pierced at the very peak of the symptoms, making such suffering inevitable, but it was still painful to watch the child endure it.

Now even the medicine had little effect.

All they could do was hope Soyak survived through this ordeal.

“Meridian Severance is not an ailment that can be cured easily. That the young lady Seolhwa knows a treatment is nothing less than heaven’s blessing for this child.”

“It is fortunate he is not by my father’s side. If Seolhwa were the one suffering like this, I doubt I could bear to watch in my right mind.”

“Is that so? The Young Clan Head I know would be the one to endure more firmly than anyone else. Surely you would not show weakness before a suffering child.”

“...I am grateful you say so.”

Meanwhile, arriving at the Medicine Hall with the blind woman in tow, Seolhwa unexpectedly encountered another person.

“Hwarin-ah?”

Namgoong Hwarin, crouched in front of the entrance and sniffling, lifted her head.

At the sight of Seolhwa, her face twisted with tears.

“Seolhwa unnie―” 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

She leapt up and threw herself into Seolhwa’s arms.

Seolhwa, startled, patted her on the back.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“Soyak... Soyak... he hurts so much....”

He hurts so badly, but I can’t do anything for him.

Hwarin, still sniffling, finally burst out crying.

Come to think of it, Hwarin had often spoken about Soyak.

Not only did the family lack other children their age, but their temperaments had matched well, and since returning from Surochae, they had remained close.

“Unnie― Jin Soyak won’t die, right? Hm? What if he dies―”

Seolhwa gently rubbed her back.

“It’s alright. He won’t die. He’s hurting because he’s going to get better.”

“Hhic, really?”

“Yes. If he can just endure this, he’ll grow stronger.”

“Then Jin Soyak will be able to run around all /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ he wants?”

“Yes.”

Run around freely—and even practice martial arts.

Since coming to the Namgoong Clan, Soyak had longed to learn its martial arts and become one of its warriors.

If his Meridian Severance could be cured, it was more than possible.

“So don’t worry too much. Instead of worrying, think ahead about all the things you want to do with him once he’s well.”

Seolhwa’s confident words soothed Hwarin’s heart.

She nodded.

Seolhwa smiled softly.

“Shall I go inside, then?”

“I... I’m fine.”

“Why? Were you just coming back from seeing him?”

“I... I can’t....”

If she saw him in such pain, she’d only cry again. Leaving those words behind, Hwarin fled the scene.

Watching her retreat, Seolhwa entered the Medicine Hall.

The blind woman followed close behind.

When she knocked on the door of the room, from which voices and incense scent flowed, it opened and Chor Yeon greeted her.

“Welcome, young lady. I heard you had returned, but I hadn’t the chance to greet you.”

“I know you’re busy. It’s fine.”

“Have you come to check on Jin Soyak?”

“Yes.”

“And this is...?”

Chor Yeon pointed at the blind woman standing behind Seolhwa.

“My guest. She wished to see, so I brought her. Please remain here for a moment—there’s incense burning throughout the room, it could be dangerous.”

“Very well.”

At the word “guest,” Cheongun craned his neck, curiosity flashing in his eyes as he looked at the blind woman.

Leaving the blind woman in Ryeong’s care, Seolhwa stepped into the room.

“How is Soyak?”

“As you can see, the seizures have worsened. Neither inner force infusion nor pain-relieving medicine has any effect anymore.”

“Then the time to pierce the meridians is drawing near. Who will perform it?”

“Lord of the Martial Hall.”

Namgoong Mugang.

Second only to Namgoong Mucheon in the main household’s martial strength.

Though Cheongun and Namgoong Hyeok, Lord of the Black Dragon Unit, had both attained the level of consummate masters, neither was as strong as Namgoong Mugang.

With Namgoong Mugang, they could entrust the task with confidence.

“However, there is one problem.”