Chapter 2: The Namgung Clan
Chapter 1 – The Namgung Clan
It was cold.
It was too cold.
It was so cold that his teeth clattered.
Had he fallen into hell?
Indeed, having killed so many people in his lifetime, he was doomed to not go to a good place after death.
“Still, this is too cold.”
Jin Cheon-rang could not bear it and leaped up.
“Pant, pant, pant…!”
Along with his rough breaths, something pattered down from his mouth.
“Ptui! Ptui!”
What was this? Was it rice?
Although it was dark around him and hard to see, judging by the sensation lingering in his mouth, it seemed to be grains of rice.
His body was wrapped tightly in hemp cloth.
Fortunately, as he moved around, the hemp cloth slowly unraveled.
Come to think of it, cotton balls were stuffed into his ear canals and nostrils as well.
Jin Cheon-rang, who pulled out the cotton, knit his brows tightly.
What on earth was all this?
After a brief moment of grumbling, Jin Cheon-rang shuddered all over from the bone-chilling cold that felt as if it would freeze his entire body.
Could this be the Eight Cold Hells spoken of in Buddhism?
As time passed, his vision gradually grew accustomed to the darkness.
Let’s see.
It was a room that was not very spacious.
Every corner was filled with blocks of ice.
The doorposts, paper windows, and ceiling were also visible.
They were not much different from what was commonly seen in the Central Plains.
So there were rooms in the afterlife as well.
Ah, if this was the afterlife, would he be able to meet his son?
No.
There was no way his son would have fallen into hell.
Indeed, his son, of all people, must not be in a hell like this.
Let’s look again.
Incense had also been lit.
Looking below the bed, a single coffin sat there forlornly.
‘Somehow, it’s a bit strange for the afterlife.’
The coffin placed right in front of him, the hemp cloth that wrapped his body tightly, the cotton balls blocking his nose and mouth, the rice that filled his mouth.
Jin Cheon-rang fingered the rice he had spat out moments ago.
“Then could this be the funerary rice?”
Only now could he roughly grasp the situation.
‘What? Were they in the middle of holding my funeral?’
The fact that they had shrouded his body and even prepared a coffin meant that at least three days had passed since his death.
That meant it was just before he was to be placed in the coffin…
Was there anyone who would hold a funeral for me?
With that bastard Alliance Leader’s personality, my head should have been proudly displayed on a pike at the main gate of the Martial Alliance.
No, more than that, how am I alive?
Just then, the sound of murmuring was heard outside the door, and soon two men entered, carrying armfuls of hemp cloth.
“Now that we’ve moved the coffin, let’s hurry. Dawn will break soon, so let’s get this over with.”
“Whew, our young master is truly pitiful. Almost no one has visited to offer condolences even after three days. In the past, the whole world would bow its head at the mere mention of the Namgung Clan.”
“Quiet with that useless chatter. Didn’t he inherit the blood of the Great Killing Star? Frankly, I’m afraid we might get harmed just for holding his funeral.”
“Eh, no way. Still, we should show respect to the deceased…! U-Uaaack!”
The man who was speaking fell back on his rump in sheer terror.
How could he not be shocked?
When a corpse had sat straight up and was staring blankly at them.
The man beside him knit his brows.
“Huh? Why are you suddenly acting like that? It’s as if you saw a ghost—Aaaack! A g-g-ghost—uh-heungg…”
The moment the man’s eyes met Jin Cheon-rang’s, he foamed at the mouth and fainted right then and there.
Jin Cheon-rang knit his brows and walked over.
“Hey, look here.”
“Hieeeek! You l-lowly ghost! B-Begone! Begone at once!”
The man who managed not to faint cried out, his face as pale as a sheet of paper.
“I am neither a lowly ghost nor a vengeful spirit. Where is this place?”
“W-What?”
“I said, it seems I am not dead yet. I asked where this place is.”
Only then did the man scan Jin Cheon-rang with a bewildered expression.
He was indeed a person with a physical form.
It was just bizarre that it was clearly the body of someone who had died.
The man swallowed hard.
“I-Is it really… you, Young Master?”
“Young Master…?”
“P-Excuse me for a moment…!”
The man groped Jin Cheon-rang’s foot with trembling hands.
He could definitely feel it.
Grope, grope.
Passing the knees, passing the thighs…
Wait. How far up was that hand going to go?
When Jin Cheon-rang slapped the hand away, the man recoiled in horror.
“Gasp! Are you… r-r-really alive?”
“Well, it seems so for now. I asked where this place is. Do you want to speak after getting hit?”
At Jin Cheon-rang’s irritation, the man jumped up and suddenly ran out, screaming like a madman.
“Oh my goodness! The Y-Young Master has resurrected! The Young Master has come back to life!”
Left alone in the room, Jin Cheon-rang stood blankly before letting out a sigh.
‘These guys, seriously… They should have just answered what I asked!’
By the way, did people normally shrivel up like this when they died?
Looking down at his limbs, they were skin and bones, looking as if he would collapse at any moment.
Just then, his eyes fell upon a bronze mirror hanging on one wall, and he walked toward it.
Perhaps because dawn was breaking, bright light seeped through the crack of the open door.
Glancing casually into the bronze mirror, Jin Cheon-rang gasped and fell back on his rump.
“Gasp! W-What? Who is this?”
A strange face reflected in the bronze mirror.
Yet, it was a youthful appearance that felt somehow familiar.
Though it was a neat and handsome face, it looked somewhat weak and frail.
What is this? This isn’t me.
Was he about sixteen or seventeen years old?
It was then.
Just then, a presence was felt, and the door swung wide open, revealing a woman dressed in mourning clothes.
She was looking at Jin Cheon-rang with a face filled with intense emotion.
In that instant, Jin Cheon-rang froze like stone.
‘Namgung Seon…?’
No.
She resembled her greatly, but it was not her.
“Who are you…?”
Slap!
In an instant, his cheek was whipped to the side as his eyes flashed.
It felt as if the world was spinning.
No, why is this crazy bitch slapping my face the moment she sees me!
Thoroughly enraged, Jin Cheon-rang swung around,
Grab!
What is this again?
Was the woman not suddenly embracing him passionately?
He could not gather his wits.
Only the thumping sound of a heartbeat rang in his ears.
The woman’s racing emotions could be felt in their entirety.
Perhaps because he felt her warmth, his fiery anger subsided a little.
Finally, the woman spoke in a voice thick with tears.
“Thank goodness. I don’t know the reason, but it’s a great relief.”
Her arms were trembling faintly.