Long time no see, brother-in-law. (2)
Namgung Cheonjun, who had been scattering thunder qi around the inn, quickly gathered his energy and approached us.
If he could conceal his energy so easily, did that mean he had deliberately entered while scattering it around like that?
‘He must enjoy drawing attention.’
I had no intention of thinking badly of someone like that.
It wasn’t as though there were only one or two people like him. And besides, he was from the Namgung Clan.
[He’s exactly the same as that Ming bastard was when I first saw him.]
‘You mean the Thunder Heaven One Sword?’
[Yes. That brat used to pull the same shitty stunts when he was young, so I folded him in half….]
‘…In half?’
Why was this old man reminiscing about something so vicious in such a wistful tone?
And if the Thunder Heaven One Sword had been like that as well, perhaps having an obnoxious personality was simply a characteristic of the Namgung Clan.
In the meantime, I glanced toward Moyong Huia, only to find that her gaze was also fixed on Namgung Cheonjun.
There was nothing strange about that.
In my previous life, the two of them had been engaged.
[What? So you’re saying you slept with a woman who already belonged to someone else? What a complete piece of tra—!]
‘That kind of filthy situation…. No, why do all your thoughts end up going in that direction?’
It seemed as though he had been interested only in the matter of sleeping together ever since earlier. Or was that just my imagination?
To be more precise, Moyong Huia had not been engaged at the time.
The engagement between the two had taken place after they escaped from the Demon Realm.
Even if Moyong Huia had possessed her memories from the Demon Realm, would she have become engaged to him?
‘She would have.’
That was the kind of woman she was.
For the sake of necessity, creating feelings that did not exist was no difficult task for her.
—What are you talking about? You mean she doesn’t pretend, but actually creates them?
—…A fool like you wouldn’t understand even if you died. Do you really have a stone in your head instead of a brain?
—That crazy bitch…. Why are you picking a fight after speaking to me first? Do you want to die?
—You were crawling on the floor the last time you picked a fight with me, yet the flames coming out of your mouth still haven’t died down. They went out like a candle during the duel, though.
—Hey, you fucking…!
—Wow, they’re fighting again! Hey! Break them up!
—Let go of me! I’m really going to burn that crazy bitch alive this time!
—Where’s the Little Sword Empress? Hurry up and stop them!
‘…’
Whenever I thought of the past, my head began to throb.
Why had we acted like that?
They were ridiculous memories. Embarrassing memories, too.
Even so, they were memories that only I possessed now.
And had possessed for an exceedingly long time.
Not one of the survivors remembered anything from the Demon Realm.
No one except me.
What had happened there.
What we had gone through and what we had endured over the course of several years.
How far our relationships with one another had progressed, or even whether we had shed tears for someone.
No one remembered.
That was the contract we had made.
“Big Sister.”
“…Hello.”
As soon as Namgung Cheonjun arrived, he spoke to Namgung Bia.
As usual, Namgung Bia merely raised her hand slightly in greeting.
But because of that, the murmuring around us grew even louder.
“Big Sister? Didn’t the Thunder Dragon just call her big sister?”
“Then that woman must also be a blood relative of the Namgung Clan… Oh my….”
“What’s the matter with you?”
Thanks to that, everyone’s attention turned toward us. Ah, this wasn’t a good situation.
‘…All the effort I put into setting up the qi barrier had gone to waste.’
A sigh escaped me.
It wasn’t as though I had set up some extraordinary qi barrier.
If I tried something like that at my level, I would only attract more attention.
The barrier surrounding us was merely part of a concealment technique that used internal energy to reduce our presence to an appropriate degree.
I had only wanted to attract a little less attention.
Our appearances already drew more than enough attention wherever we went, so I had needed to do at least this much.
‘It’s useless now.’
Once people’s attention had been drawn, it was all for nothing.
As if to prove it, I could feel gazes coming from every direction.
Most of them swept around rather than focusing directly on me.
The vulgar desires contained in those furtive gazes were painfully obvious.
Naturally, most of them were inexperienced youngsters who did not know how to conceal their eyes.
I could not really blame them for that, either.
Even I would have been no different in their place.
Namgung Bia moved a little closer to my side.
Dang Sohyeol and Moyong Huia seemed accustomed to it, but Wi Seol-ah and Namgung Bia probably were not.
I drew internal energy up from my dantian.
I still did not want to stand out, but I had no intention of simply watching this happen.
Whoosh-!
Pressure formed from internal energy spread around the inn.
Those who had been murmuring coughed awkwardly and turned their gazes away.
They had realized that it was an unmistakable warning.
The slight heat mixed into the energy only added to its force.
The problem was, however, that I had not done it.
I looked at Gu Jeol-yeop, seated in front of me, with widened eyes.
Perhaps noticing my gaze, Gu Jeol-yeop moved his lips uncertainly before speaking.
“…Was this also something that could cause trouble?”
The internal energy just now had been Gu Jeol-yeop’s doing.
Judging by the strength of the pressure, he must have used a considerable amount of internal energy.
I answered Gu Jeol-yeop, who seemed to be gauging my reaction.
“No. You did well.”
If Gu Jeol-yeop had not done it, I would have.
Having received unexpected praise, Gu Jeol-yeop awkwardly looked away.
[Even after taking so much abuse, he still refuses to bend his convictions.]
As Old Man Xin had said, I had begun to view Gu Jeol-yeop a little differently.
‘Perhaps he isn’t simply someone I should think badly of.’
I felt that I needed to uncover a little more of what had been hidden beneath the shadow of the First Elder.
“I see Miss Dang is here as well.”
“Hello….”
“You seem even more beautiful than before. It’s a pleasure to see you.”
Namgung Cheonjun spoke with a charming smile. Anyone would have found the words pleasant coming from such a handsome face.
But Dang Sohyeol’s lips were trembling slightly.
She was clearly struggling to maintain her expression somehow.
“Th…ank you.”
She seemed unable to conceal the tremor in her voice, though.
To anyone else, she probably looked as if she had been bewitched by Namgung Cheonjun’s face.
“And this is….”
“My name is Gu Jeol-yeop.”
Gu Jeol-yeop sprang to his feet and greeted Namgung Cheonjun.
Namgung Cheonjun seemed to hesitate for a moment upon hearing Gu Jeol-yeop’s surname, but he quickly composed his expression.
“Pleased to meet you.”
Perhaps he found it amazing to meet the Thunder Dragon, because Gu Jeol-yeop looked somewhat excited.
‘Look at that guy.’
From the perspective of an ordinary younger-generation cultivator, I could understand just how impressive the reputation of the Five Dragons and Three Peaks was.
Still, I wondered whether Gu Jeol-yeop could maintain that reaction after learning what kind of person Namgung Cheonjun was.
Before long, Namgung Cheonjun’s gaze reached me.
He was still smiling.
“It’s been a long time.”
As Namgung Cheonjun spoke to me, my eyes fell on Moyong Huia.
He had asked about Gu Jeol-yeop, yet skipped over Moyong Huia.
It was difficult to regard it as merely a difference in order. His intention to seek me out last seemed quite deliberate.
‘Is he deliberately ignoring Moyong Huia?’
Moyong Huia did not seem offended, either. If anything, she looked accustomed to it.
This should have been before their engagement. Had they already shared some connection?
Then again, it was not as though the Four Great Families rarely met one another.
Namgung Bia, who had lived almost completely hidden away, was the stranger case.
“…I heard that you were engaged. My congratulations.”
Putting those questions aside, Namgung Cheonjun spoke to me.
It was a congratulation he did not mean.
The proof was the faintest tremor at the corners of Namgung Cheonjun’s lips.
Fortunately, it seemed his true nature had not changed.
Then was he trying to become friendly with me now?
‘As if.’
I could not believe that for a second.
Returning Namgung Cheonjun’s smile with one of my own, I answered,
“Yeah.”
Perhaps because my reply had been so short, Namgung Cheonjun’s brows furrowed slightly.
But what could I do? I had no intention of stopping there.
“Long time no see, brother-in-law.”
At my smiling words, Namgung Cheonjun’s mask slipped for an instant.
“Ah, no. Should I call you sister-in-law instead?”
At the follow-up, delivered with another charming smile, Namgung Cheonjun’s face finally twisted.
It was a remark meant to remind him of the nasty thing I had done to his groin before.
But he soon returned his expression to normal.
That was rather unexpected.
In the past, he would have done something, anything.
Instead, Namgung Cheonjun merely continued to smile.
“That’s right. We’re going to be family now, after all.”
‘What’s with him?’
He looked as though he were enduring it through sheer stubbornness, but I had no idea why he was holding back.
It was fortunate for me, at least, if his restraint meant that no unnecessary trouble arose….
Had Namgung Jin warned him about something? The timing did not fit. Namgung Cheonjun should not have been there when Namgung Jin returned to the clan.
“Let’s get along from now on. Let’s forget the past.”
Those were very fine words, but would it really be that easy?
I was not doing a very good job of it myself.
It was not as though I was ignoring Namgung Cheonjun…. Well, I was ignoring him, but still.
The gaze visible between his smiling eyes showed that Namgung Cheonjun had not changed.
I hoped that Namgung Cheonjun would endure, properly restraining those furtive emotions of his.
‘Because I don’t think I can overlook it twice, Cheonjun.’
So please, hold it together here.
******************
The meal ended soon after that.
Moyong Huia had asked to join us when we had nearly finished eating in the first place.
I had wondered whether Namgung Cheonjun might join us as well.
Unexpectedly, he merely glanced once at Namgung Bia before heading up to his room.
Moyong Huia then paid her respects and followed after Namgung Cheonjun.
‘So Namgung Cheonjun really was her objective.’
I was curious about Moyong Huia’s intentions.
For someone whose purpose seemed to have been Namgung Cheonjun, her reaction had been rather muted, which made things somewhat ambiguous.
To put it more precisely, perhaps she seemed as though she did not want to do it.
That could have been my imagination.
She was also much younger than when I had first met Moyong Huia.
Back then, Moyong Huia had been a woman who seemed as though not even a drop of blood would come from her.
But now she might simply have been an inexperienced girl.
The reason I could not even be certain of that was because that terrifying woman had deceived me so many times.
Making tears well up in her eyes at the slightest touch had been nothing to her.
Even with her cynical voice and manner of speaking, she had been better than anyone at creating the wistful sorrow of a woman with a broken heart.
If there had been one problem, it had to be that constitution of hers.
Severed Meridians Syndrome.
It would later become one of the main reasons Moyong Huia lost her life.
I did not know exactly what illness she had.
‘She did say herself that it wasn’t Nine Yin Severed Meridians.’
Nine Yin Severed Meridians was the most representative form of Severed Meridians Syndrome.
It was an incurable illness from the past, caused by an excess of yin qi that prevented internal energy from circulating properly.
In the present day, it could be treated with medicinal ingredients possessing yang energy, such as the beak of a Flame Radiance Bird among red-grade magical beasts.
Of course, they were extremely expensive, but the Moyong Clan was hardly some small local clan. There was no way they lacked that much money.
So it must have been another problem.
[How unexpected.]
While I was thinking over one thing and another, Old Man Xin spoke to me.
“What do you mean?”
[Judging from the way you speak, your relationship seemed to have been a complete mess, yet you’re worrying about her this much. Did you perhaps share some feelings without realizing it?]
“…Of course not.”
As Old Man Xin had said, our relationship really had been a mess. It could hardly have been worse.
I supposed it was because a small debt still remained between us.
—I needed your flame. Looking back now, though, it was meaningless.
Moyong Huia’s bitter words that night had not been a lie.
—This isn’t what you call a sacrifice. Even if it is… even if it is a sacrifice, I’m saying you don’t have to bear it alone!
The way she had shouted at me in the final moment had not been a lie, either.
But had I carried those words in my heart ever since? No.
There had simply been too much to deal with after returning alive from the Demon Realm, and I had forgotten them as I lived on.
“There’s no question of helping her or not.”
For me, simply protecting the people at my side was already difficult enough.
It would be good if Moyong Huia became an ally, but that had not been the purpose of this journey in the first place.
Besides, it still felt strange to divide people into allies and enemies.
‘I only saw her face, and now I’m thinking about all this.’
I shook off my thoughts and rose to my feet.
There was no way I could find an answer by worrying over it now.
For the moment, I would do what I needed to do.
“Should we go train?”
I directed the words at Muyeon, who had been waiting outside the door.
Muyeon looked surprised, as though he had not expected me to come out.
Seeing that, I continued as if dumbfounded.
“Hey, I told you that you didn’t need to stand guard outside the door.”
“…Young Master, a guard is supposed to….”
“If you’re going to give me a long lecture, forget it. Look around you. Is anyone else keeping guards outside their doors?”
As if to prove my point, there wasn’t a single room nearby with guards stationed outside its door.
It was the pride unique to the younger generation.
They wanted to show that they weren’t so weak as to need guards.
As far as I was concerned, it was a completely pointless battle of pride.
Still, I was glad to have an excuse to keep Muyeon at a distance.
“If you’re going to nag me, then come train with me instead.”
“…Understood.”
In the end, Muyeon stopped talking and followed after me.
Since Bacheonmaru was lodging for the younger generation, there was a training ground behind the building.
We couldn’t use martial arts with so many eyes watching us, but simple physical training should be fine.
Whenever things got a little complicated, moving my body was still the quickest solution.
I was on my way to the training ground with Muyeon when I also brought along Gu Jeolyeop, who was probably rolling around inside his room.
“Why me…?”
Gu Jeolyeop asked me in bewilderment.
“It’s better to train together. Isn’t it?”
The truth was, I simply wanted to work him hard because I hadn’t liked the lovestruck look in his eyes when he saw Namgung Cheonjun earlier.
Gu Jeolyeop seemed to take training rather seriously himself—I had never once seen him take a break—so he followed without complaint.
And just as we were nearing the training ground—
“Ah, Young Master.”
“Hm?”
“I heard some news earlier…”
“Young Master Guuuuu!”
Muyeon was about to say something when a booming voice rang out, loud enough to shake the surroundings.
Was he calling for me?
Just in case, I asked Gu Jeolyeop as well.
There were two people surnamed Gu, after all, but Gu Jeolyeop wore an expression that showed he had no idea either.
“Then who…?”
I turned around to see what was going on, only to find someone already standing right in front of me.
He had moved so quickly that Muyeon hadn’t even had time to draw his sword.
I hadn’t even had time to react.
“Wow! I’ve missed you so much. It’s really been a long time!”
The young man beamed brightly as he grabbed my shoulders and shook me violently.
For someone claiming to be happy to see me, he was being far too aggressive.
“Ah, wait…”
That feeling was familiar.
That utterly insane atmosphere of his, I mean. It wasn’t difficult to figure out who he was.
Why was this man here? He should have already graduated from being considered part of the younger generation.
The young man I had come face-to-face with after several months still had the same somewhat slender physique, ill-suited to his surname.
The black martial robes he wore and the ring on his finger spoke for his origins.
The former Divine Dragon, and the future Blade Emperor.
The current heir of the Paeng Clan.
“Master Paeng… Let go of me first—Ah, stop shaking me!”
It was Paeng Ujin.