Guilong? (1)
Speaking of the Xi'an Bi Clan, they are the representative noble house of the Xi'an region.
Though classified as a prominent family of the Righteous Faction, they do not particularly stand out even in the West.
Not to mention the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering, which most late-generation experts of prestigious families participate in.
They do not particularly step up to the frontlines either.
Regarding the Demonic Gate, they were a clan with no presence, reluctant to step forward unless it was a dangerous situation.
For the past dozen years, the Xi'an Bi Clan had been just like that.
If one were to ask if the Bi Clan lacked proper late-generation experts or martial artists, that was not the case either.
If one were to pick martial artists from the Xi'an Bi Clan, those with great achievements would immediately number in the dozens.
Just thinking that Baizun Bizhu, one of the Three Venerables of the World who is called the number one expert of the Righteous Faction, was from the Xi'an Bi Clan was enough to prove the prestige the Bi Clan held.
Moreover, the Guilong (Returning Dragon), who now belonged to the Dragon and Phoenix, having changed from the Five Dragons to the Six Dragons, was also from the Bi Clan, so the clan's foundation was not lacking.
It was merely that the calm lake was so deep.
The dragons swimming beneath it were just not visible.
The reason why many people joked that the Central Plains would shake if the Bi Clan moved was probably because of this as well.
'...Still, isn't this too much?'
Rain began to fall in Xi'an, and the quiet streets were filled only with the sound of rain.
The man dripping with rainwater and grime among the drizzle was none other than Qiu Weng, who had been living as a beggar in Henan.
Over the past few months, Qiu Weng had run until his feet were on fire, enabling him to arrive in Xi'an from Henan.
Honestly, it was a crazy act.
Dragging his heavy body all the way here in person when he could have just sent a letter.
'They say if your head is empty, your body suffers. Sigh, you idiot.'
Having lived as a beggar his entire life, there was no way he had anything in his head.
But even so, this was too impulsive.
'What was I possessed by back then. Damn it...'
He had been bewitched by the Chief's token that Zhenlong showed him and the subtle look in his eyes at the time, and ended up coming all the way here.
At the time, it looked like a lifeline sent from heaven.
Thinking about it now, Zhenlong probably didn't think much of it, and he wondered if he had moved too needlessly.
'Damn...'
Even so, it was already too late to go back.
Not only had he already come to Xi'an, but he had also been running around frantically gathering information.
The information Zhenlong had requested about the Xi'an Bi Clan, particularly about Guilong.
Honestly, Qiu Weng thought everything would be solved once he arrived in Xi'an.
It had been three days since he arrived in Xi'an, and the Beggar's Sect was clearly present in Xi'an, and since Qiu Weng's influence was not weak, he thought he could easily obtain the information he wanted.
However.
'What on earth is going on...?'
The information was unbelievably scarce.
The information about the Bi Clan was no different from what was recorded in the Beggar's Sect ten years ago.
Aside from the merchant guild operated by the clan itself, there was no information at all about what they were currently doing or how they were running the clan.
It felt as if they were blocking it from within the Beggar's Sect itself.
'Is there a need for that?'
If it was to the point where even someone of his level couldn't know, it meant they were blocking it from very high up.
At the very least, if so, the Third Elder.
Or even higher.
'Something seems to be tangled up...'
He had come here with the light heart of just wanting to get a connection himself!
But he had a hunch that he had gotten involved in something seriously tangled.
'Should I just run away even now?'
Forget a martial artist's intuition, this was survival instinct.
Qiu Weng, who was quick on the uptake, could feel something was strange just by walking around a bit to gather information from the first day.
'Xi'an right now is strange. Especially the Bi Clan.'
He couldn't pinpoint exactly what to say, but his senses were telling him so.
That the current Bi Clan was somehow strange.
It was the same when he requested information about the Bi Clan from the Beggar's Sect branch in Xi'an; he felt they were subtly reluctant.
Xi'an right now, and the Bi Clan, is strange.
Qiu Weng regretted it now.
He thought he should have escaped much earlier when he first had such thoughts.
"A raccoon I haven't seen before."
Then he wouldn't have ended up like this.
"I heard there's someone curious about me lately. Is it you?"
"...Keugh..."
Qiu Weng was hugging his solar plexus and crawling on the ground.
Without even properly realizing when or how he was hit.
As the extreme shock rushed in, when he barely came to his senses, he was vomiting on the floor.
'When...? When did he approach?'
He hadn't noticed at all.
When he barely lifted his head while gasping for breath.
Qiu Weng could see the one who had attacked him.
At first glance, it was a boy who looked to be no older than twenty.
If he had to compare, he would be similar to Leilong.
He seemed older than Zhenlong, whom he had met a few months ago, but he still felt lacking in maturity.
Qiu Weng knew that boy. His face had changed over time, but it was clearly the boy he had seen a few years ago.
'...Guilong (Returning Dragon).'
Guilong, Jin of the Bi Clan.
Only once. He was a late-generation expert who appeared at the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering, imprinted his figure in the memories of many, and then disappeared.
"Who are you."
Guilong calmly leaned down and met Qiu Weng's eyes.
With his brownish hair tied back tightly, the roughly worn black martial uniform, and his world-weary, apathetic eyes held an unfathomable weight.
Qiu Weng had seen such eyes recently.
'He resembles Zhenlong.'
Unlike Guilong, who had a somewhat soft impression, Zhenlong had a fierce, wolf-like appearance, which was very different.
However, the look in their eyes was so similar it was uncanny.
Just looking into his eyes gave Qiu Weng a feeling of being crushed by an unfathomable weight.
"Are you not going to answer?"
When Qiu Weng didn't answer, Guilong slowly reached out and placed his palm on some part of Qiu Weng's body.
Just when Qiu Weng wondered what Guilong was trying to do.
"...Agh!"
Qiu Weng screamed at the top of his lungs.
Because an excruciating pain beyond words began to pour over his entire body.
He screamed in that agony for a while, but as soon as Guilong removed his hand, the pain immediately subsided.
"Heok... Heok..."
"Do you now feel like talking?"
Qiu Weng could tell.
That the screams he had let out so loudly had not leaked out to the surroundings at all.
Guilong had blocked the qi at that moment to prevent the sound from leaking out.
It was an overwhelming application of inner qi.
"Where did you come from."
"W-wait a minute..."
When Qiu Weng again didn't answer, Guilong reached out his hand once more.
Seeing that, Qiu Weng immediately shouted.
"I-I came from Henan!"
"Henan?"
At Qiu Weng's shout, Guilong made a questioning expression.
"Yes, yes! Young Hero Bi. I am Qiu Weng, who works as a beggar in Henan."
"I see. Henan."
Guilong nodded as if he understood, but separately, his hand naturally grabbed Qiu Weng by the throat.
"N-now... wait a minute...!"
"Why?"
"That's what I want to know...! Why are you grabbing my neck...?"
Until Guilong grabbed Qiu Weng's throat as if it were nothing, Qiu Weng couldn't resist even once.
Perhaps because of the blow he had just taken, his body wasn't moving as he wanted.
This meant that with just a single strike, the inner qi within his body had been shaken up and paralyzed.
Guilong answered Qiu Weng's words.
"It's because I still have a lot to ask."
Guilong's voice was calm.
But to Qiu Weng, it felt like a threat that he would be killed if he didn't answer properly.
It probably actually meant that.
'...Damn it.'
How did he notice?
Just in case, Qiu Weng hadn't even made a direct approach yet, and rather, he was careful not to approach the Bi Clan's radius of action.
No matter how quietly the noble house hid its presence, a prestigious family was still a prestigious family, so if he wasn't careful, he was bound to be caught.
In that sense, Qiu Weng thought that no matter how much he thought about it, he hadn't done anything to get caught.
Then suddenly. A thought crossed his mind.
'-A raccoon I haven't seen before.'
This was what Guilong had said to him just before.
The word raccoon itself meant the Beggar's Sect.
Guilong's words contained a subtle nuance.
'A raccoon I haven't seen before... The Xi'an beggar bastards did seem strangely cowering...'
Even the unknown atmosphere that lingered around this branch.
Somehow, Qiu Weng had a feeling that all of this might be related to the Bi Clan. Or rather, to that Guilong.
If so, it made sense how he was caught.
If the reason the story about him reached Guilong's ears was because Qiu Weng had requested information about Guilong at the Xi'an branch.
'...These bastards are total traitors!'
If it were true, it was a huge problem.
Because it meant the Beggar's Sect's branch was under the tight grip of a mere late-generation expert.
'It's not like I'm one to talk, running all the way here at the request of a brat.'
His own situation wasn't much different, which made him feel bitter, but anyway, it was a problem.
Guilong, who had been quietly watching such Qiu Weng, let out a word.
"It seems you are quick-witted."
"...!"
Guilong seemed to notice that Qiu Weng had realized something and smirked.
As if it didn't matter even if he found out.
Did it mean he would kill him anyway even if he found out?
Or did it mean he would kill him even more because he found out?
Whatever it was, for Qiu Weng, it was a life-or-death crisis.
"You said your name was Qiu Weng."
"...Y-yes."
"I see. Now that I look at you, you look like someone I've seen somewhere..."
"..."
At Guilong's words, Qiu Weng awkwardly turned his head.
Just as he said, Qiu Weng had seen Guilong before. There was no direct connection; he had only watched from afar when Guilong dealt with late-generation experts who picked a pathetic fight with him the first and last time he came to the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.
'...'
The memory from that time was not a very good one for Qiu Weng.
Just recalling how Guilong had dealt with them made his legs go weak.
"It seems you are curious about me. May I ask the reason?"
It seemed like he was speaking with some courtesy, but the situation was not like that.
How could a question thrown at someone lying on the ground with their neck grabbed be a question?
It was a threat.
"...W-well."
How should he answer? Should he even answer in the first place?
Saying 'Zhenlong is curious about you' was too strange a thing to say.
In the first place, even Qiu Weng had no idea why Zhenlong, who had never even met Guilong, was curious about him.
Qiu Weng chose unavoidable silence, but Guilong didn't rush him. He just added more pressure to the hand gripping his neck.
'This is rushing me, damn it...!'
Anyway, it seemed these brats these days had absolutely no respect for adults.
In the eyes of the apathetic young master who seemed to say he wouldn't give a second chance.
"P-Paejon!"
Qiu Weng eventually blurted out the name in desperation.
Did that shout work? The strength in Guilong's hand, which had been gradually tightening, loosened.
Just when he thought the shout had helped.
"What did you say?"
Qiu Weng had to endure the pressure pouring in from all directions in an instant.
The vicious fighting intent became a weight that crushed Qiu Weng's back.
"G-ghaa...!"
Was it a problem to mention Baizun's name in front of the Bi Clan's bloodline?
The fighting intent emanating from Guilong's body was incredibly fierce.
But Qiu Weng couldn't stop here. Once it was out of his mouth, he had to spit out something to survive.
"The d-disciple of Baizun... wanted information about you, Young Hero Bi...!"
Strictly speaking, he was only an assumed disciple, but Qiu Weng spat it out first to survive.
Then, the crushing fighting intent disappeared as if it were a lie, and Guilong withdrew his hand that was gripping Qiu Weng's neck.
Soon after.
"Haha-!"
Guilong burst into loud laughter.
'Why is he acting like that... I'm scared.'
Qiu Weng had to be frightened by the sight of him cackling as if it was the funniest thing in the world.
Guilong, who had been holding his stomach and laughing for a while, suppressed his laughter and asked Qiu Weng.
"Baizun.... Right, Baizun's disciple is curious about me?"
"That's... right."
Zhenlong had said himself that he was not Baizun's disciple.
But the fact that he carried Baizun's letter of recommendation, the martial arts he used were on the brawling side, and his overwhelming presence compared to his peers...
People were slowly spreading rumors that he might have really received Baizun's teachings.
Of course, Zhenlong was desperately begging them to please erase the rumors.
'I'm sorry... Zhenlong.'
It was an unavoidable choice for Qiu Weng to survive.
"Ah, I see. Baizun's disciple."
Guilong clicked his tongue and stood up. Then he asked Qiu Weng.
"Who is it?"
"Pardon?"
"The one who is said to be Baizun's disciple and is curious about me."
He was thinking about how to deal with an annoying fly that had gotten tangled up, but it turned out an interesting situation was unfolding.
'Who could it be.'
Guilong looked down at Qiu Weng and thought.
He was curious who it was. A guy with such audacity to impersonate Baizun's disciple.
'I'd like to see his face at least once.'
It seemed such rumors were spreading now that he had disappeared.
When he was active, if such a thing happened, he would have personally shown up and smashed them to pieces.
'He said he'd take care of it properly, that damn Jiulun bastard.'
It was a mistake to trust that guy.
Take care of it my ass, when such ridiculous rumors had already spread, what taking care of was he going to do?
Like that, Guilong, who had laughed for a while, looked at Qiu Weng and said.
"Let's hear the story."
"Yes? What story do you mean..."
Guilong lightly grabbed Qiu Weng and hoisted him over his shoulder.
Being treated like a sack of rice was utterly humiliating for Qiu Weng, but it wasn't a situation where he could even think of resisting.
"Think about that carefully when we get there."
Guilong walked away, taking Qiu Weng with him.
To hear about the guy who called himself 'his' disciple.
While Qiu Weng was going through a rough time in Xi'an.
Gu Yang-cheon had just arrived at his clan.
Since everyone had moved while being nervously on edge from the moment they were attacked, the return journey was much harder than expected.
By the time many were exhausted from the fatigue of the journey.
"...What did you just say?"
Gu Yang-cheon asked back with startled eyes.
"Brother... ah..."
The one speaking to Gu Yang-cheon with a tearful face was, surprisingly, Gu Ryeong-hwa, who should have returned to Huashan long ago by now.
"...Elder Yi..."
"Don't cry and speak properly."
At Gu Yang-cheon's fierce shout, Gu Ryeong-hwa burst into tears.
Wi Seol-a and Namgung Bi-a rushed to Gu Ryeong-hwa, who was shedding large drops of tears, and urgently hugged her.
Even while looking at such Gu Ryeong-hwa, Gu Yang-cheon couldn't soften his expression.
In his head, he prayed that the words he had just heard were misheard.
Because it was such an absurd story.
Gu Ryeong-hwa said to Gu Yang-cheon while shedding tears.
"E-Elder Yi... might die."
Damn it, it seemed she had heard it right.