〈Chapter 110〉 Oops. ⑴
Oops. ⑴
I had set out on the road to return to the family estate, and before I knew it, the seasons had changed.
The sweltering heat had passed, and the green leaves once brimming with life had already taken on new colors.
A calm, wind-filled autumn had arrived.
Thinking back to how it was spring when I first returned, I was now experiencing my third season.
"I've finally arrived..."
Having sat in the carriage for too long, I twisted my stiff waist.
Crack-!
Just from moving slightly, creaking sounds could be heard.
Perhaps because we had entered the city, I saw a large crowd of bustling people.
[Is this Shanxi?]
'Is it your first time here?'
[How could that be? It's just so different from my memories.]
Was it really that different from the time Elder Shin was active? I was a bit puzzled by him speaking as if seeing the place for the first time.
'A lot of time has passed.'
Perhaps sensing our arrival, Namgung Bi-a, who had been sleeping while leaning on Wi Seol-a's shoulder, slightly opened her eyes. I was about to wake her anyway, but she woke up on her own.
Namgung Bi-a stretched her arms and shifted her body this way and that. Watching her, I spoke.
"You must have slept soundly, you look refreshed?"
"...Refreshed."
Though she replied somewhat testily, Namgung Bi-a accepted it as is.
I let out a small laugh at that and turned my gaze to the window.
Wi Seol-a, who had been sleeping beside her, would probably wake up soon too.
"It seems we'll arrive shortly."
At Mu-yeon's words as he walked alongside the carriage, I cast my gaze far ahead.
The wall surrounding the Gu family estate came into view in the distance.
Seeing the oppressive wall that enclosed the family estate made it feel real once more.
"I'm really back."
It was a return home after several months.
When the carriage entered the Gu estate, countless people were already gathered at the main gate.
I had expected this from the start. After all, I had sent a message to the family in advance.
Just Gu Ryeong-hwa's return would have been quite the commotion, but with the addition of the Divine Doctor and the Sword Empress's names...
As I stepped down from the carriage, I saw a middle-aged man with fierce features at the front of the group. Heroic Gu Cheol-un—my father had come out first to wait.
[That must be your father.]
'You recognized him right away?'
[You look exactly alike, it would be strange not to know...]
...Do I really look that much like him? Come to think of it, I did hear that a lot since I was young.
And the more I grew, the more I heard it.
[But you look even fiercer. Remarkable in many ways.]
'...'
That's definitely not a compliment.
I walked forward and met my father's gaze.
My eyes locked with my father's. Facing those deep, luminous red eyes was still a bit overwhelming.
"Hm."
One of my father's eyebrows twitched as he looked at me without a word.
A crimson flame brimming with intensity swept over me in his gaze.
It seemed he had noticed the changes in me.
'I thought I hid it fairly well.'
Though it hadn't been that long, it was sufficient time to conceal my qi.
I had purified all the demonic qi drawn from the Asura, and calmed the internal qi that had been running wild outside my middle dantian.
With this, I thought I had reached a level where I could somewhat hide my realm, but it seemed I couldn't evade my father's gaze.
My father watched me silently before opening his mouth.
"I received everything you sent, and the letter from the Huashan Sect as well. It seems many things happened."
"...There were various matters."
My father gave a slight nod at my words. A rather understated reaction.
I had simply intended to return the spiritual beast and bring back Gu Ryeong-hwa, but flesh somehow kept getting added to the bone. How was I to know such incidents would occur?
"You've just finished your journey, so rest for a day and come to my room by midnight tomorrow."
"Understood."
Even after meeting for the first time in ages, that was the end of our conversation. My father quickly passed by me and headed to where the Divine Doctor and Sword Empress were.
My father approached the Divine Doctor and slightly bowed his head.
"It has been a long time, Divine Doctor."
"...Indeed it has, a long time, Gu Family Head. It has been over ten years."
"Have you been in good health during that time?"
"How could an old man growing ever older be healthy? I'm merely living because I can't die. It's fortunate that the Family Head's complexion doesn't look bad."
It seemed my father and the Divine Doctor were acquaintances.
Well, given the period my father was active, it wouldn't be strange even if they had crossed paths.
"I have prepared things so your stay will be without discomfort."
"What have you prepared?"
"Since you said you didn't want an excessive level of service, I prepared a separate pavilion."
"...Tch, this welcoming reception itself is already too much, and I clearly said a small room would suffice."
Despite the Divine Doctor's grumbling tone, my father's expression remained the same.
His gaze now turned to the Sword Empress. Gu Ryeong-hwa was clinging tightly to the Sword Empress's back, and when my father's gaze fell upon her, I noticed her shoulders tremble slightly.
The Sword Empress calmly offered her greetings to my father.
"...It has been a long time."
"Yes, it has been a long time."
"I heard you plan to stay with your daughter."
"If you would permit it, that is certainly my wish."
"I understand your intent, so there is no reason to refuse. I hope you stay comfortably."
"Thank you for your consideration."
My father then looked at Gu Ryeong-hwa but said nothing more.
"You worked hard."
Those words were the end.
I wondered if he was being too indifferent toward his daughter whom he hadn't seen in so long, but Gu Ryeong-hwa actually looked more at ease with such a reaction.
When the greetings ended and I was thinking it might be time to go inside, someone was approaching my father.
"...Hm?"
It was Namgung Bi-a.
Namgung Bi-a, having stepped down from the carriage, was walking toward my father.
"I greet the Family Head of the Shanxi Gu Family. I am Namgung Bi-a of the Namgung Family."
She spoke while bowing her head modestly, but her way of speaking was different. I had never seen Namgung Bi-a speak so precisely.
There stood a person I was seeing for the first time in my life. The vacant look was gone, replaced by a straightened posture and neatly arranged hair that exuded a proper atmosphere.
Namgung Bi-a's characteristic halting speech that trailed off at the end had disappeared, replaced by the figure of a mature and elegant woman.
"...Who is she?"
[I'm not sure if that's the same girl who was drooling while sleeping earlier...]
It was a sudden change to the point of being bewildering.
My father looked at Namgung Bi-a and nodded.
"...I am Gu Cheol-un. I heard the news. I heard you have been traveling with my son."
"Thanks to the young master's consideration, I was thankfully able to join you."
"Things turned out that way, but please know the Namgung Family is looking for you. Since we've confirmed your whereabouts, our side will need to send word."
Namgung Bi-a nodded at my father's words.
After exchanging a few more words, she quickly came over to this side.
"What?"
"Huh...?"
When I asked in surprise, she had already returned to her original expression and tone in an instant.
What was this, a little, no, very scary...?
Was she someone who could speak like this originally?
"What, no, what did you talk about?"
"...Until people from my family come...they said to stay here..."
Seeing her return to her original state, it felt like I had seen an illusion.
It seemed the Namgung Family would be contacted after all. Since this wasn't a normal traveling arrangement from the start.
I had thought people from the Namgung Family might already be stationed and waiting at the Gu estate, given what I expected.
Fortunately, that didn't seem to be the case.
"Will you be okay?"
Without realizing, I ended up asking Namgung Bi-a.
Whether I was asking if it would be okay to go back, or if it would be okay to stay here for a while, I wasn't even sure myself.
It was truly a question I blurted out unknowingly.
Namgung Bi-a showed a slightly surprised expression at my question, but soon smiled.
At the sudden smile, I was the one who became a bit flustered.
Namgung Bi-a spoke.
"It's fine."
It was a firm tone.
"...Because there's nothing left to be afraid of now."
After utterting those incomprehensible words, she moved her steps following the servant's guidance.
What could those words just now have meant?
It felt like they contained many meanings, but more than that, the smile Namgung Bi-a had shown lingered in my mind.
[A girl with the art of enchanting people.]
I could tell it wasn't about her appearance.
I was seeing sides of Namgung Bi-a that I hadn't known existed. To be precise, should I say it was a different appearance from the Demonic Sword Empress?
Even though she was clearly the same person, she looked so different.
It was different from the hollow eyes she always had, and different from the faint smile she would occasionally show.
[You seem to regret it.]
I nodded at Elder Shin's words. If I said I regretted it, that would be the right expression.
Honestly, I was a bit regretful.
Because I realized too late that she could be this kind of person.
Someone grabbed my hand as I was staring blankly. I felt a warm, soft palm.
"Young master! Let's go in quickly!"
Wi Seol-a had approached at some point and taken my hand.
"Right, we should go in now."
Whether the conversation had ended, my father also guided the guests and headed into the family estate.
'He said to rest for a day first.'
Telling me to come to his room by midnight tomorrow probably meant just that. I was a bit tired from the long camping anyway, so I needed time to rest.
'The flower is the biggest problem.'
The flower I obtained after killing the Asura at the Black Night Palace branch hadn't been consumed even after several months.
I thought seven days and nights would be sufficient, but unifying it with my body was taking much longer than expected.
[It's also because you put it off, saying you hadn't familiarized yourself with the sensation.]
Elder Shin asked. Meaning, can I eat it now?
'Yes, I've organized things enough at this point.'
If you asked if it was perfect, I couldn't give a confident answer, but I thought satisfactory preparation had been made.
'I plan to consume it tonight.'
Elder Shin didn't say anything else at my words. It was a reaction like telling me to do as I pleased.
The quarters I entered after a long time looked just the same. Even if I wasn't there, the servants would have been maintaining it, so that was obvious.
The few people who had left together for Shanxi were clearly tired too, but they unpacked and started working right away.
I felt they were remarkable in many ways.
I lightly washed my body tired from the journey and changed clothes. There was still time before sunset, so I was thinking of resting a bit when...
"Young master."
A servant approached and delivered a message.
"What is it?"
"They said there is a guest at the separate pavilion."
"A guest, suddenly? My guest...?"
A guest when I had just returned? I asked while rising.
"Who is it?"
At the servant's following answer, I had no choice but to hurry over.
Ten days.
The guest who came to the Gu estate to see me had spent a whopping ten days.
It was too long a time to spend in an unfamiliar place with no one looking for her.
That much time would be enough to just consider it bad luck and move on to next time.
Let alone anyone else, for a precious daughter of a prestigious family to spend, the atmosphere must have been somewhat uncomfortable.
Nevertheless, the girl said she had spent ten days here.
Looking at the girl, I asked.
"...How did you come to be here?"
She tried to meet my gaze, but the girl kept desperately avoiding my eyes.
Her face slightly flushed, the girl who had been sipping steaming tea for a while continued to remain silent.
"Miss Dang."
When I called out lightly, the girl flinched and trembled.
"Yes...?"
"I heard you came looking for me."
The precious daughter of the Tang Family whom I had encountered at the previous Tang Family Martial Assembly was sitting before me.
The girl currently known as Poison Phoenix, who in the future would be called Poison Empress.
Dang So-yeol took deep breaths for a long while before barely opening her mouth.
"Y-yes! I came... to see you."
It seemed like she had mustered courage to speak, but her words trailed off as she spoke.
"...From Sichuan to here? That far distance?"
"Yes, it wasn't that... far?"
Even as she said it, it shifted to a question as if she found it strange herself. How could it not be far, I've been there.
'I went there intending to raid their storehouse, but what about her?'
When I first heard, I momentarily thought she had come looking for Namgung Bi-a instead of me.
But recalling that this was the Gu estate, I could tell that wasn't the case.
That was how strange this was.
[...You bastard.]
'What, excuse me?'
I thought I misheard for a moment.
At the ear-piercing, filthy curse, I tried calling out to Elder Shin again, but whether the old man had disappeared somewhere, only silence came and went.
In the end, I decided to leave Elder Shin alone for now and focus on Dang So-yeol in front of me.
"First of all, is it correct that you came looking for me?"
"Yes, yes! I came to see you, Gu Gongja-nim..."
"Why?"
"That's, to see... e-eep!"
Stopping mid-sentence, Dang So-yeol slapped her own lips. Then with a beet-red face, she started gulping down the tea.
'...That's hot though?'
Even I, who was practicing fire techniques, couldn't drink hot things well, but Dang So-yeol didn't seem to feel the heat.
Having finally finished all the tea, Dang So-yeol exhaled a sweltering heat and spoke to me.
"G-Gu Gongja-nim..."
"Yes?"
"...There's something I wanted to ask you about, so I came like this."
From Sichuan to Shanxi, a blood descendant of the Tang Family came in person.
Just what important matter made her come all the way here in person?
With questions in mind, I asked Dang So-yeol.
"Please go ahead."
"That... there was something I wanted to ask before..."
"What kind...?"
In Dang So-yeol's eyes, which seemed to have calmed down somewhat, there was a faint resentment mixed in.
What could she be wanting to ask that she'd have such a look in her eyes? The question mark floating in my head could immediately find its answer in Dang So-yeol's question.
"...You said your name was Gu Jeol-yeop... what happened to that?"
...Oops.
Something I had completely forgotten came to mind.