Episode 100
The next day, the Nagajang estate was thrown into chaos.
All because Nasaehwang had returned half-paralyzed.
Mrs. Min was beside herself with rage at the pitiful state of her beloved son.
“What kind of scoundrel! What damnable wretch dares to lay a hand on the heir of Nagajang in Heungui?! This is unforgivable! Send letters to every martial family nearby! Search every corner of Heungui until you find that bastard!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
The entire estate buzzed like a disturbed beehive for half a day. It wasn’t until the afternoon that Mrs. Min’s fury somewhat subsided.
But only somewhat—her anger was far from spent.
The doctor’s grim warning that Nasaehwang’s bones might never heal properly left no room for relief.
Clack!
“Ahhh!”
“You wretched girl! How dare you leave my room in such a mess! Do you think you can keep working in Nagajang like this?!”
“I-I’m sorry, ma’am!”
“And what’s wrong with this tea? It tastes awful!”
Crash!
Mrs. Min unleashed her wrath on everyone in sight. Then, as the afternoon wore on, a thought suddenly struck her.
She called out sharply to the servants.
“Bring Seo-yu here at once!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Grinding her teeth, Mrs. Min waited in her room for Nasaeyu’s arrival.
She blamed everything on that girl—the source of all this misery.
Silently, she vowed, If she dares say she won’t marry again, I’ll tear her apart!
If only that girl were here now, Mrs. Min felt she could hurl every insult in the book—and maybe even lay a hand on her, just like when they were children.
Soon after, Nasaeyu entered the room.
Mrs. Min glared at her the moment she sat down and demanded, “So, have you given any thought to your marriage?”
Nasaeyu smiled faintly and replied, “Yes, I have.”
Mrs. Min frowned, feeling a twinge of disappointment.
If she accepted too easily, Mrs. Min thought, she wouldn’t get to vent all her anger.
But then Nasaeyu spoke again—slowly, deliberately.
“I’ve decided I absolutely will not.”
Such a firm refusal was beyond anything Mrs. Min had imagined.
Her fury surged to the very top of her head as she shouted, “You insolent girl! How dare you—!”
But she couldn’t finish her sentence.
Nasaeyu met her gaze steadily and said, “I’ve already told you—I have no intention of marrying against my will.”
Mrs. Min could only gape, unable to respond to Nasaeyu’s calm, measured words.
What she didn’t realize was the overwhelming presence radiating from Nasaeyu—a top-tier martial artist’s aura that pressed down on her like a physical weight.
Nasaeyu was a devoted daughter who had always put her family first, sacrificing herself for them.
But she was also an elite warrior on the front lines, capable of ending an enemy’s life without hesitation if necessary.
Until now, Nasaeyu had treated Mrs. Min as her father’s new wife and the lady of Nagajang, no matter how unfairly she was treated.
But that was over.
After hearing from Seon Woojin that Mrs. Min had poisoned her father, Nasaeyu no longer saw her as family.
From now on, there would be no mercy or hesitation in how she dealt with Mrs. Min.
Mrs. Min, swallowing hard at this unfamiliar side of Nasaeyu, stammered, “Y-you don’t care if you never see your father again?”
Using the head of the Nagajang family as leverage had been Mrs. Min’s best card to trap Nasaeyu until now.
But Nasaeyu only smiled faintly and replied, “Of course I care. That’s why I’m planning to bring in a renowned doctor from outside the family right away—someone who can truly heal my father. I know a distinguished physician connected to Goeui.”
Mrs. Min’s face instantly paled.
But she gritted her teeth and shouted, “W-what nonsense is this?! The doctor I painstakingly brought here is treating him well! Why would I look for another?”
Nasaeyu asked, puzzled, “If he’s too ill to even see his only daughter, how can you say he’s being treated well? Shouldn’t he be well enough to see me for you to claim the treatment is effective?”
“W-well…”
“And why do you seem so uneasy about me bringing in a distinguished doctor? I thought you’d be glad.”
Nasaeyu’s sharp gaze pierced Mrs. Min, who swallowed hard and cried out, “I’m just worried that if another doctor comes, he might say something foolish and make the master’s condition worse!”
But her excuse fell flat.
“Is there any way his condition could get worse? Or are you deliberately blocking me because his condition isn’t as bad as you claim?”
Nasaeyu spoke softly and steadily the entire time, but the deadly intensity she radiated crushed Mrs. Min.
Unable to bear it, Mrs. Min screamed in desperation, “Y-you insolent girl! How dare you doubt me—!”
But Nasaeyu’s overwhelming presence cut her off again.
With a presence that seemed ready to crush Mrs. Min outright, Nasaeyu said slowly, “Mother, I was on the front lines. I killed dozens of mados and learned something—evil people raise their voices the loudest when confronted with the truth. Isn’t that strange?”
Her eyes were like a snake eyeing its prey.
Faced with Nasaeyu’s fierce gaze, Mrs. Min was speechless.
Her undergarments were dampening with sweat.
If this went on much longer, she might break down in tears.
But Nasaeyu stopped pressing her.
She bowed her head slightly and rose from her seat.
“I’ll be going now.”
Mrs. Min, pale as death, couldn’t utter a word until Nasaeyu left the room.
Only long after Nasaeyu had gone did Mrs. Min’s angry voice erupt from her chamber.
“That arrogant girl! How dare she—!”
But it was a timid, muffled scolding, as if she feared Nasaeyu might hear.
Hearing this, Nasaeyu chuckled softly.
She was the kind of woman who became meek when facing someone stronger than herself.
How foolish.
Mrs. Min, and even Nasaeyu herself, who had been dragged around by her for so long…
Back in Nasaeyu’s room, Seon Woojin, who had secretly followed her, was already there.
He smiled and said, “Well done, Lady Na. That was quite satisfying to watch.”
Nasaeyu smiled bitterly in return.
“I feel a bit bitter. To think I tried so hard to accept a woman like that as my mother… I feel so foolish and pathetic. If only I had steeled my heart from the start and pushed her away, Father wouldn’t be like this now…”
Nasaeyu had endured countless hardships and sacrifices to keep the family peace.
But realizing all that patience and sacrifice had been for nothing left her utterly hollow.
No, it wasn’t just useless—it was like mistaking a wolf for a dog and entrusting the family’s safety to it.
It was a terribly foolish choice.
Seeing Nasaeyu’s bitter expression, Seon Woojin looked at her with sympathy and comforted her.
“You were too young to understand back then. Just because there are evil people who exploit the good doesn’t mean goodness is wrong. It’s not your fault, Lady Na. It’s the fault of the woman who deceived and used you when you were a child.”
Nasaeyu’s eyes glistened as she looked at him.
Seon Woojin smiled warmly and continued, “And it’s not too late. I think it’s fortunate we’ve found a chance to set things right before it’s too late. Now, we can restore everything to how it should be.”
Those words were a tremendous comfort to Nasaeyu, who had been drowning in self-doubt.
With Seon Woojin’s warm words and gaze, she smiled again.
“Right? We can fix everything, can’t we? Father, Nagajang…”
She looked at him with deep eyes and said, “Thank you so much, Lord Seonwoo. I don’t even know how to properly express my gratitude. It’s all thanks to you.”
Seon Woojin met her gaze just as deeply.
“Don’t mention it. Just being able to do something for you is enough for me.”
Their eyes held each other’s warmth so deeply that neither could look away.
For a moment, they simply stared silently.
In that moment, Seon Woojin felt as if he were dreaming.
His words just now—how being able to help Lady Na was enough—were his purest truth.
For the first time in his two lives, he was able to do something for the one person he truly loved.
And now, at this very moment, Nasaeyu was looking at him with a tenderness he had never seen before.
At this very moment, he didn’t feel like Jo Won, the son she had to look after, but rather like a man standing confidently before her.
Suddenly, he thought this was the perfect moment to confess to her.
And so, he opened his mouth.
“I, Sojeo, actually…”
But just then, Naseoyu snapped back to reality, avoiding Sun Woojin’s gaze and asking somewhat flusteredly, “Ah, what am I thinking? I’m supposed to pretend to leave the house now, right? Should I just go out right away?”
Sun Woojin’s eyes darkened with regret as he looked at her.
The atmosphere had been so perfect, yet the timing had slipped away.
Still, he hesitated for a moment.
‘Should I just say it now?’
After some thought, swallowing his disappointment, Sun Woojin replied.
He figured it was better to wait for a more certain opportunity.
“Yes, you should leave now.”
At this point, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Lady Min had complete control over the Nagajang estate.
Therefore, Sun Woojin judged that they needed more decisive evidence to push Lady Min out.
Even if they forced Naseohwang, her son, to confess again, most of the Nagajang staff—loyal to Lady Min—would refuse to believe it.
Sun Woojin continued.
“If Sojeo leaves the Nagajang, the woman will likely do one of two things: either try to harm your father before you bring in the honorable official, or try to harm you. I believe there’s a higher chance she’ll go after your father.”
Naseoyu looked puzzled.
“Why’s that? Given what happened today, I’d think she’d want to kill me.”
“It’s a matter of efficiency and likelihood. It’s easy for her to harm your bedridden father, but to kill you would require significant effort. With her low martial skills, she can’t be sure she’d succeed. Even if she hired assassins, it would cost a lot of money—and from what I’ve seen, she’s the type who’d never spend her own money.”
Only then did Naseoyu understand Sun Woojin’s reasoning.
Indeed, Lady Min had always acted like a miser, clutching tightly to every resource she controlled.
Interestingly, that was also why she had managed the estate’s finances so prudently—because she saw Nagajang as her own possession.
Naseoyu nodded.
“Got it. So I’ll pretend to leave the house and hide to protect my father.”
“Yes. Then, when she makes her move, we’ll catch decisive evidence and bring her down. It might be uncomfortable since you’re not used to hiding, but it shouldn’t take long. She seems quite cowardly and will likely act quickly.”
“Okay, I’ll pretend to leave the Nagajang right now.”
“I’ll stay and protect your father.”
Lady Min had no idea, but her plan to destroy the head of Nagajang and Naseoyu was actually leading her slowly toward her own ruin.
Plans are made by people, but their success is decided by fate.
Of course, Sun Woojin and Naseoyu didn’t realize that this was true for everyone.
That night, at the Jo family estate—the Mu family mansion—located on the southern outskirts of Huengui, Guizhou Province, a sudden storm of bloodshed erupted.
It began with the sleepy gate guards, yawning as they kept watch.
With heavy eyes, they noticed three figures approaching the estate.
“Hey, someone’s coming.”
“Huh? Yeah, there are three of them.”
“At this hour? Could it be something we need to report inside?”
The guards straightened up, preparing for whoever was coming.
But then—
“What the—?!”
“Who the hell…! Aaah!”
Thud! Crash! Scream!
They didn’t even have time to react.
The three men and women suddenly accelerated like wild beasts, pouncing on the guards.
Like wolves rushing into a rabbit’s den, they tore through the gate guards in an instant.
A faint crimson glow radiated from their eyes.
“Screams! At the main gate!”
“Is this an enemy invasion?!”
Inside the estate, the screams of the gate guards stirred panic.
Without hesitation, the three broke down the door and charged inside.
Crash!
“W-who are you?! Aaah!”
“Monsters! Help! Aaah!”
“Run! We need to call for help! Aaah!”
Within less than an hour, over fifty members of the Jo estate were slaughtered.
When no one remained alive inside, the three began tracking the fleeing guards northward.
This time, they moved more deliberately.
As they left Yunnan Province, they realized that letting a few escape and then pursuing them was the easiest way to find their next targets.
The intelligence of these iron beasts had already developed to that level.