The Return of the Namgoong Clan's Granddaughter-Chapter 5

Ilhwa and Seop Mugwang arrived in Anhui Province at remarkable speed.

Since she wouldn’t be able to use lightness techniques after purging her internal energy, they’d decided to get close to Hefei first and then begin her energy circulation and recovery.

The place they stopped at was a secluded valley on the eastern side of Mount Huangshan.

Seop Mugwang led her to the entrance of a cave.

“This is where I’ve trained. There’s no real path here, and the thick vegetation keeps people out. You won’t find a better place for what you’re planning.”

Ilhwa looked around.

It had every condition she’d been hoping for. Not even animal tracks marked the area—clearly, even wildlife avoided this place.

“Alright, kid. Time to be reborn.”

Ilhwa glanced up at him.

After spending a few days together, she’d realized that Seop Mugwang was more thoughtful than he let on.

He always checked if she was comfortable, if she was hurting, if anything was wrong.

He might grumble a lot, but he always made sure she had food—hunting wild game, roasting it over a fire, making sure she ate properly.

And thanks to his knowledge of shortcuts, they’d reached Anhui faster and with less effort than she’d expected.

“Thank you,” Ilhwa said sincerely.

Her gratitude must have come through, because Seop Mugwang’s eyes widened a little. Then he let out a short laugh and gently patted her on the head.

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“Don’t die, kid. It won’t be easy, but just focus on circulating your energy.”

Ilhwa nodded.

Seop Mugwang stared at her quietly for a moment.

“Need a hand?”

Ilhwa shook her head.

“I can do it myself.”

He shrugged and lowered his hand.

“Yeah, you probably can...”

Despite his words, concern lingered in his gaze.

Watching a child face something that could easily kill her, so calm and composed, made him let out a soft sigh. He walked over to a nearby rock and sat down with a thump.

“When you’re reborn, work on that stiff way of speaking, will you? You look like a thirteen-year-old, but you sure don’t sound like one.”

He plucked a blade of grass nearby and stuck it between his teeth, chewing lazily.

“When you go home, you’ll see your parents, won’t you? If their kid talks like a grizzled old man, they’ll just end up worrying even more.”

He wasn’t wrong.

Being thrown back into the body of a child at the age of thirty had left her speaking like an adult without realizing it.

It would be strange. I should probably fix that.

Ilhwa nodded.

“Okay. I will.”

Seop Mugwang smiled in satisfaction.

“Good. Stay alive, kid.”

Ilhwa gave him a polite bow as he chewed the grass and swung his legs, then stepped into the cave.

Just as her silhouette was half-swallowed by the darkness—

“Got a favorite food?”

After a pause, her lips moved from within the shadows.

“...Candied hawthorn.”

Her voice was small, but clear.

Seop Mugwang waved her off.

Go on.

And then, she was gone—vanished completely into the cave’s depths.

As soon as her presence faded—

The gentle amusement on Seop Mugwang’s face turned cold in an instant.

Behind him, figures emerged, clad in black uniforms with blue sashes tied around their foreheads.

The hidden strike unit of the Namgoong Clan: the Secret Wind Sword Corps.

“Did you take care of all the rats?”

“Yes, Captain.”

One of the men stepped forward and handed him a torn headband.

It was embroidered with a crimson crow—the mark of Fire Crow Tower.

“Take this back to the Clan Leader. Let him know the girl has arrived in Anhui.”

“Yes, sir!”

Just as the man was about to leap away with a lightness technique—

“Oh, and—pick up some candied hawthorn on your way back.”

“...Candied hawthorn, sir?”

“Yeah.”

A grin slowly returned to Seop Mugwang’s face.

“While you’re at it, grab every kind you can find in the market. All of them.”

****

Inside the cave, a straw mat had been laid out—just big enough for one person to sit on.

Clearly, Seop Mugwang hadn’t been lying when he said he’d trained here often.

Ilhwa sat down cross-legged on the mat.

She pulled a pouch from her robes. As she opened it, a wave of energy rushed out so intense it almost knocked the breath from her lungs.

It felt like sunlight had erupted from inside—like a flash of golden brilliance had burst into being.

So this is... the Great Return Pill.

A mythical elixir said to heal even fatal wounds and grant incredible internal power just by being consumed.

Even within Shaolin, it was reserved for the rarest of cases.

The fact that she had one now no doubt had to do with the Blood Demon pulling strings behind the scenes—but she would think about that later.

Gulp.

Ilhwa swallowed the pill in one go.

The Great Return Pill melted the moment it touched her tongue—disappearing without a trace.

Whooosh—

A vast, immeasurable power surged into her body like a roaring sea, like an endless storm.

Just tasting it was enough to feel as though she were glimpsing the next life.

Focus...

Losing herself in the power of the pill now would mean no return.

No matter how miraculous an elixir, even it could become poison depending on the person.

And for Ilhwa in her current condition, that warning was especially true.

She couldn’t afford to let the energy overwhelm her.

She closed her eyes and focused on the power steadily flooding through her.

The pill’s pure internal energy coursed through her meridians without resistance, spreading rapidly to every part of her body.

Her body twitched.

As the overwhelming force rushed in, the blood energy that had been flowing through her veins began to stir, as if it felt threatened.

Two energies from different roots can never become one.

The blood energy, rooted in blood itself, was insatiably greedy—it devoured foreign energy to expand itself.

But that only worked when the opposing energy was weaker or at least evenly matched.

Rumble—

The blood energy that had once dominated her meridians was helpless against the surge of power.

Like a giant being crushed under a greater force, it began to retreat—slowly, but surely.

“If blood energy is a river, then the Great Return Pill’s pure energy is an ocean.”

Not just powerful enough to resist being devoured—it completely overwhelmed everything in its path.

So if she simply let it flow, the blood energy would naturally be pushed out over time.

But just pushing it out isn’t enough.

Ilhwa wasn’t just trying to purge the blood-based energy—she wanted to erase all traces that she’d ever practiced blood-based martial arts. To return her meridians and body to a perfectly pure state.

To do that, she’d have to rip out every last fragment of blood energy clinging to her blood vessels.

Faster. Stronger. Like a storm tearing through everything—unrelenting!

As Ilhwa began circulating the Great Return Pill’s energy more aggressively, the power that had slowly spread through her meridians suddenly surged like a cyclone.

Sweat beaded on her forehead and rolled down her temples in thick streams.

Huff—RUMBLE—!

It was as if a massive storm had descended upon her. Waves of internal power crashed through her body, flooding every corner.

The remnants of blood energy that clung to her blood vessels couldn’t withstand the violent surge and were swept away.

Like a rat biting a cat when cornered—

Twitch!

The blood energy gathered in her lower abdomen suddenly flared, as if it would destroy her core in retaliation.

It lashed out wildly, fighting for survival.

Hgh...!

Ilhwa sucked in a breath.

A dark red stream of blood trickled from the corner of her lips.

The Great Return Pill’s power was the invader, trying to seize control. The blood energy was the defender, desperate not to be expelled.

The clash of the two forces shook her dantian with dangerous intensity, as if it could shatter at any moment.

One wrong move, and her core would collapse—or worse, she could descend into madness.

“I won’t lose...!”

Ilhwa clenched her fists tightly.

****

Night fell outside the cave. A dark rock sat near the entrance.

There, arms crossed and eyes closed, sat Seop Mugwang, captain of the Namgoong Clan’s Secret Wind Sword Corps.

His expression was calm, almost relaxed—but his legs wouldn’t stop bouncing.

She should be out by now...

What if something had gone wrong?

What if her meridians had twisted during the energy purge, or the power of the Great Return Pill had overwhelmed her and driven her into qi deviation?

The more he thought about it, the faster his legs shook.

Then, suddenly, Seop Mugwang twitched an eyebrow and opened his eyes.

He stared into the pitch-black cave, then let out a low chuckle.

“Unbelievable, that kid.”

He leapt down from the rock and walked to the cave entrance.

In his hand was a paper bag stuffed with children’s clothes—and skewers of candied hawthorn.

“Glad to see you made it out, kid.”

Soft footsteps echoed in the dark, and a small silhouette emerged from the shadows.

Seop Mugwang raised an eyebrow as he looked her over.

A completely different kind of energy was radiating from her now—clean and pure.

Oh? Not only did she purge the blood energy, but she’s already cultivated new inner strength?

It was second-rate at best, but considering her age, it was nothing short of amazing.

He’d been hoping she’d survive without falling into madness—and instead, she’d managed to reclaim internal energy of her own.

“Well done.”

He handed her the bag of clothes and candy.

Ilhwa looked up at him.

The silver moonlight shimmered in her dark eyes—they were clear now, sharpened by the purging of her inner toxins.

“Thank you.”

“I should be the one thanking you.”

For staying alive.

Ilhwa tilted her head, not understanding what he meant. Seop Mugwang simply patted her on the head.

“Come on. You haven’t bathed in three days. Let’s get you into some warm water—you stink.”

During the circulation of her energy, all the impurities in her body had been expelled.

Black grime had seeped out of her skin, and the smell was... unspeakable.

“Three days...?”

“Yeah. It’s been three full days since you entered that cave. You didn’t know?”

Ilhwa nodded slowly.

She had been so focused on the energy purge that she had completely lost track of time.

Three days...

He stayed outside guarding me for three days?

Just sitting there in silence in that desolate place—that couldn’t have been easy.

She owed him.

Suddenly, her stomach let out a soft growl.

As she rubbed her belly, Seop Mugwang burst into laughter.

“Of course you’re hungry! You’ve been starving yourself for three days. And since we’re back in your hometown, I’ll treat you to a local specialty!”

Without warning, he scooped her up in his arms.

After three days of fasting and exhaustion, Ilhwa’s body felt as light as a feather.

“...!”

She looked up at him in surprise.

“Hold on tight, kid. I’m not catching you if you fall.”

Letting out a low chuckle, Seop Mugwang launched into [N O V E L I G H T] a lightness technique and took off.

Ilhwa, cradled in his arms, looked out into the night as the cool wind rushed past her cheeks. Below, the roaring waves of the Yangtze River shimmered beneath the moonlight.

And beyond it—city lights gleamed like stars, welcoming her home.

Finally... Hefei.

It was a night filled with the warm sweetness of candied hawthorn drifting through the air.