Creak.
The grand gates opened, and I stepped into the family grounds.
After ending a journey of several months, I could finally arrive at the Gu Family.
The season that was a cold winter had somehow become spring.
The time had come for the flowers that had been resting to bloom once again in full splendor.
This was the turning point where it had already been a year since my regression.
'...It's only been a year, but it feels like so much has passed.'
My pitiful body that struggled to even climb a single stair had been dragged up to the peak realm through all sorts of means.
Where did the days of my youth go, when I would hole up in my room and wallow in depression around this time?
A grandiose alias, "True Dragon," was now attached in front of my name.
It was a year where I experienced far too many changes like this.
"Hmm?"
As soon as I opened the door and entered, I let out a sound of surprise.
Bringing my companions and arriving at the family grounds, the atmosphere was somehow quiet.
"What?"
Since I had sent a letter in advance, someone should have come out to greet me.
Yet, the figures of the servants were barely visible.
'What's going on.'
It was a strange atmosphere.
Even if it's a household that lives locking its doors and holding its breath.
It shouldn't be to this extent.
"What's wrong, Young Master?"
Seeing me stand still, Dang So-yeol, who followed behind, approached and asked me.
For reference, Dang So-yeol had said she wouldn't go straight to Sichuan and would stay at the Gu Family for a while before leaving.
When I asked if it was really okay, Dang So-yeol slightly averted her eyes and said it was fine.
She was clearly not okay... but I didn't bother to press her on it.
"No, it's just a bit quiet."
"Definitely... It is excessively quiet."
It was quiet.
Strangely so.
Such silence can also turn into anxiety like this.
'It seems something has happened.'
Looking around, I first moved my steps toward the center.
No, I tried to move.
The moment I tried to move, I felt a presence running this way.
At first, I thought it was the Chief Steward.
But I soon realized the approaching figure was not the Chief Steward.
A small, frail body running this way entered my sight.
It didn't take long to figure out who it was.
Not to mention the unique martial uniform worn by the bloodline.
The beautifully braided hair was a familiar sight.
I looked at the girl approaching me and spoke.
"Why are you... still here?"
The identity of the one who ran urgently this way was Gu Ryeong-hwa.
Gu Ryeong-hwa was someone who shouldn't be at the Gu Family right now.
Considering the timing, she should have left for Huashan with the Sword Empress long ago.
Then why was Gu Ryeong-hwa here?
"O... Oppa..."
"You... what's wrong."
At her tearful expression and violently trembling voice, I urgently approached and grabbed Gu Ryeong-hwa's shoulders.
"What happened?"
"Oppa..."
As I got closer, Gu Ryeong-hwa burst into tears.
It seemed there was a real problem.
"First, calm down..."
"The Second Elder... The Second Elder is..."
"What?"
I tried to calm Gu Ryeong-hwa down, but rather, my emotions severely shook at the words she said to me.
"...What did you say?"
I asked Gu Ryeong-hwa without hiding my turbulent emotions.
"Oppaaa..."
Gu Ryeong-hwa shed large drops of tears at my words.
But this wasn't the situation to be comforting her about such things.
...The Second Elder is...
"Stop crying and speak clearly."
A somewhat fierce tone came out, but now was not the time to be thinking about such things.
Wi Seol-a and Namgung Bi-a urgently approached and started to soothe Gu Ryeong-hwa, who was crying so much she couldn't speak.
But I couldn't relax my expression.
Sniffling, Gu Ryeong-hwa spoke to me with a fully trembling voice.
I prayed I had heard wrong.
"The S-Second Elder... might die."
At Gu Ryeong-hwa's confirmation, I had to swallow a gasp.
Why Gu Ryeong-hwa hadn't gone to Huashan yet.
Why no one came out to greet the bloodline returning from Henan, and why the atmosphere was rather chaotic instead.
Moreover, even my intention to visit the First Elder as soon as I arrived was no longer important right now.
I almost ran and barged into the family's medical ward.
From the moment I arrived, it was filled with the thick smell of blood.
Bandages that seemed to have wiped away blood were piled up in one corner.
The medical ward had to feel thick due to the qi of martial artists mixed in the air.
"...What in the world..."
Not only the physicians belonging to the Gu Family, but also physicians who appeared to be external personnel were moving busily.
The physicians were sweating as they tended to the patients.
The patients were all swordsmen of the Gu Family.
Judging by the patterns written on their stripped martial uniforms.
They were all members of the Five Swords Unit (五劍隊).
With shaking eyes, I moved while surveying the surrounding presences.
To find the presence I was looking for, I even pulled up my qi.
Finally, I was able to find the person I desired.
The Second Elder's presence was felt in the room at the end of the medical ward.
As I immediately moved my steps to enter the room.
Someone blocked my body.
"Y-You cannot go in!"
When I glared at the person blocking me, the mortal flinched and took a step back.
The one who blocked me was a physician of the Gu Family.
"What?"
When I glared with flashing eyes, I saw the physician's shoulders trembling.
"...T-The Divine Physician is performing the surgery. He instructed that no one be allowed to enter, as it is a critical situation..."
" "
It seemed the Divine Physician was treating the Second Elder inside this door.
It was the Divine Physician, of all people, who used the word critical.
Since it was a word brought up by the person called the best in the Central Plains, I could tell how critical the situation was.
I struggled to release the strength in my teeth that I was gritting and asked the physician.
"...Where is the Chief Steward."
I barely suppressed the impulse to smash something.
First, I needed to know.
Why such a situation had occurred.
"I greet the Young Master."
Not long after my call, the Chief Steward came directly to the medical ward.
Normally, I would have gone to find the Chief Steward.
But right now, I didn't want to move from here.
"I apologize for not coming to greet you on your way..."
"Apologies can wait. What in the world is going on?"
I cut off the old man's words as he offered his apology.
Now was not the time to hear such things.
"What exactly happened for it to end up like this?"
...There was an attack.
"An attack?"
"That is correct."
It was an incomprehensible story.
An attack?
'The Second Elder was attacked...?'
Setting aside the Second Elder's status, his usual activity range was within the Gu Family.
Of course, it seemed he occasionally went to Anhui or wandered here and there.
The very fact that a martial artist at the Second Elder's level was attacked and his life was in critical condition was an unfathomable story.
'Is it related to the Five Swords Unit?'
I looked around at the Five Swords Unit members lying down.
The Five Swords Unit was none other than the sword unit where my eldest sister, Gu Hui-bi, was the captain.
Seeing this, a thought crossed my mind.
'...Come to think of it.'
Before leaving for Henan for the Dragon Phoenix Gathering.
I recalled the words the Second Elder said to me, that Gu Hui-bi needed help and he would go visit her.
As expected, the Chief Steward brought up this matter.
"They say there was an attack on the front lines."
"So it's because of that attack that it ended up like this."
I couldn't know for sure, but the Second Elder was at least a martial artist who had surpassed the Flower Realm.
If one reached the Flower Realm in the Central Plains, it was a level that transcended human limits, making it impossible to dismiss them as just a single human.
The influence of a single existence would be like a typhoon.
Who on earth would attack such a martial artist, who could even be called a walking disaster without any shame?
And why?
"Do you know the culprit?"
"Because we couldn't be certain, we sent a search party to secure information, but... they say there is a suspected figure based on the testimonies."
I immediately listened closely to the Chief Steward's words. Fortunately, it seemed they knew the culprit.
The Chief Steward, who kept a brief silence, eventually spoke up.
"Black Night Palace Master."
At the name that reached my ears, my eyes widened like lanterns.
It couldn't be helped.
Because it was a name I completely didn't expect to hear at this point.
"...Combining the testimonies, we have determined that the figure who carried out the attack is the Black Night Palace Master."
'The Black Night Palace Master...?'
The master of the Black Night Palace, and one of the Four Archfiends.
He was a figure slated to be killed at the same time the Black Night Palace was destroyed by the Martial Alliance a few years from now.
'...Why would such a person?'
I would only be able to find out if it was truly the Black Night Palace Master once the Second Elder's treatment was well finished.
But if it was true, I had to know why the Black Night Palace Master went out of his way to attack the Five Swords Unit and the Second Elder.
'This too, was an unforeseen event.'
I had no memory of the Second Elder suffering such a major incident at this time.
There was a possibility I couldn't remember.
'But there's no way I couldn't remember something like this.'
Even if I were a fool, I wouldn't forget something like this.
I had experienced the future changing countless times.
'...Could things turn out like this?'
If it was something that didn't happen in the past, the highest probability was that it changed because of my actions.
'Then from where?'
Even if I might not be able to untangle it now that it's tangled, I had to find where it got tangled.
I had to know how the Black Night Palace Master's footsteps reached that place.
"...Wait."
While forcing my throbbing head to shift my thoughts.
I realized one important fact.
"Chief Steward."
"Yes... Young Master."
"Where is my sister?"
"..."
At my question, the shadow on the Chief Steward's face grew deeper.
The Five Swords Unit was Gu Hui-bi's sword unit.
If the Second Elder went to the front lines to help Gu Hui-bi.
Where was Gu Hui-bi herself?
"Where is my sister?"
Gu Hui-bi was not in the medical ward. Moreover, given Gu Hui-bi's personality, if she was in good condition, there was no way she wouldn't be here.
She wasn't the kind of person who would hole up in her room and leisurely rest while her sword unit and the Second Elder were injured.
So I had to know Gu Hui-bi's whereabouts even more.
At my words, the Chief Steward hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"...They say the Black Night Palace Master took the First Young Lady."
"Ha."
At the Chief Steward's words, I wiped my face with my hand.
It was a continuous streak of bullshit.
Without even properly unpacking my luggage, I spent time leaning my back against the door in the medical ward.
Wi Seol-a occasionally came and tried to take care of my meals, but it wasn't a situation where anything could enter my mouth.
I just stroked my dry lips and stared straight ahead.
It wasn't looking clearly at any one place, but rather because I couldn't handle my scattered gaze and let it loose.
'Gu Hui-bi was kidnapped.'
The Chief Steward certainly said so. That Gu Hui-bi was dragged away by the Black Night Palace Master.
'Then was the purpose Gu Hui-bi from the start?'
Was the reason the Black Night Palace Master suddenly appeared on the front lines and incapacitated the Five Swords Unit, including the Second Elder, really because of Gu Hui-bi?
If so, why did he take Gu Hui-bi?
'Why? Why Gu Hui-bi of all people.'
It was a part I couldn't understand no matter how much I thought about it.
'...The problem is.'
Because of this incident, my father was absent from the family.
'Did they say he moved with the First Sword Unit?'
They said my father left the family at the same time the Second Elder was placed in the Divine Physician's hands.
The purpose was probably to search for and recover Gu Hui-bi.
As long as something at the level of the True Demonic Sect didn't open, it was enough for my father, who usually didn't move from the Gu Family, to move directly.
It seemed my father himself judged it to be a critical matter.
Because to call it simply his daughter's matter, I didn't think my father was a human with such deep parental love.
It felt like there was some other reason.
Crunch—
My teeth ground together involuntarily.
I didn't know such a situation would be greeting me right after returning from Henan.
'That old man who looked like he could easily endure for another ten years...'
Not to mention the recommendation letter from the Tyrant, it was a situation overflowing with things to question about the ring I had casually left with him.
Who would have thought that bear-like old man would be lying down like that.
"...Fuck."
At the quietly whispered curse, Gu Ryeong-hwa, who was sleeping next to me, moved slightly.
Because of that, I had to hold back the curses that were about to burst out.
Looking at such a Gu Ryeong-hwa, I recalled the Sword Empress.
The Huashan expert who was temporarily staying at the Gu Family with Gu Ryeong-hwa.
'They said the Sword Empress also departed with the First Sword Unit.'
Not only my father, but I also heard that the Sword Empress, who was staying with Gu Ryeong-hwa, moved saying she would help.
I didn't know how much power the Sword Empress, who was being consumed by demonic energy, had recovered after her treatment.
Even if she had fully regained it, I was simply grateful that the Sword Empress moved for a matter she didn't need to go out of her way for.
I had asked Namgung Bi-a and Dang So-yeol to go to their rooms first.
I had also requested Hong-wa to keep Wi Seol-a company.
I didn't want to show this expression to anyone right now.
Especially not to them.
When I was waiting for time to pass absentmindedly for a while.
Creak.
The door of the room where the Divine Physician was treating slowly opened. As soon as I heard the sound, I urgently got up.
The one dragging his body out as if exhausted from inside the door was the Divine Physician.
The Divine Physician made a surprised expression when he found me waiting in front of the door.
"Why are you here..."
"Divine Physician...! Is the Second Elder alright?"
I cut off his words and suddenly started shouting, so the Divine Physician covered his ears and fiercely frowned.
"My eardrums will burst, you brat! Why are you shouting and throwing a fit to startle people!"
Ugh—
The Divine Physician, who spat out words as if roaring, let out a groan and staggered.
At that sight, I immediately supported the Divine Physician.
"...Are you okay?"
"It's because I sat for too long, so it's fine. It's all because I'm old."
Saying so, the Divine Physician took off his outer garment.
"The treatment went well. It will take a long time for him to recover his qi, but he will open his eyes soon."
At the Divine Physician's words, I let out the breath I had been holding. Seeing me like that, the Divine Physician clicked his tongue briefly.
"Have you been stuck here since you returned?"
" "
"You foolish brat, you're not a physician, so what changes by waiting here?"
The Divine Physician spat out words bluntly and cleared the way for me.
As if telling me to go in.
I immediately stepped into the room.
Inside the room, the Second Elder was lying flat.
With his massive frame lying down, the room looked particularly small, but that wasn't what I needed to see right now.
'...There is a trace of his upper body being pierced.'
Even if the treatment was over, the trace remained clearly.
So much that it couldn't be hidden even by the tightly wrapped bandages and was visible to the eye.
I could guess that the Second Elder's body had suffered fatal wounds, even if they weren't large.
Not only that, I could tell how messed up his body had been.
The Divine Physician, who followed me in, added words as if explaining.
"Even in a state of unconsciousness, his internal qi was hemostasis the wound. Moreover, his regenerative power was outstanding. If even one thing was weak, he would have died long ago from such a wound. Truly a monstrous body."
"...Haa."
"If you've checked, go now. You being here only annoys me."
"...Do you know roughly when he will wake up?"
At my question, the Divine Physician sneered and answered.
"If I knew that, would I be a physician and not a Daoist? He will open his eyes within four days at the longest, so stop your useless worrying and get the hell out!"
Even while spitting it out fiercely, all the information was inside.
Since it was a remark to stop worrying and go rest quickly, I looked at the Second Elder for a moment before turning my back.
As the Divine Physician said, there was nothing I could do right now even if I stayed here.
"...Please take good care of him. I will come to pay my proper respects after dressing appropriately."
"Hmph."
I left the Divine Physician behind, carefully picked up Gu Ryeong-hwa, and stepped out of the medical ward.
Soon after, I handed Gu Ryeong-hwa over to the servant waiting outside.
"She probably won't wake up easily, so just take her to her room."
"Understood."
I had secretly hit a pressure point on Gu Ryeong-hwa, so she wouldn't wake up.
She would probably wake up on her own by tomorrow morning.
"Shall I contact the quarters and have them prepare a meal?"
The servant seemed to have brought it up out of worry for me, who had skipped all meals.
I shook my head and refused.
"It's fine. I don't want to eat anything right now. Besides."
Crick.
I rolled my stiff shoulders and looked in a certain direction.
"There's a place I need to go to."
I suppressed the fluctuating killing intent along with my emotions.
Because I had to put aside the mixed emotions regarding the Second Elder and Gu Hui-bi.
"I'll be a bit late."
Saying so, I moved my steps.
The place I was heading to was Gu Seonmun, where the First Elder would be.