Omen. (5)
'How long has it been since I last saw him.'
At the very least, I hadn't seen Gu Jeol-yeop since I killed the First Elder.
Not that I had bothered to look for him, either.
Because I thought seeing his face in itself would be a problem after that.
'Because even if I went to see him, there was nothing I could do.'
Should I have at least apologized?
I couldn't do that.
It wasn't an act committed on impulse to begin with,
And if I were to do that, I shouldn't have killed him in the first place.
I looked at Gu Jeol-yeop with somewhat flustered eyes.
Unlike before, his face was gaunt.
He looked an absolute mess, having clearly suffered severe mental anguish.
'I didn't expect him to come looking for me.'
We would have had to face each other eventually regarding matters related to Gu Seon-mun.
Since the Elder Council had also ended, I was planning to visit him within a short time.
But I didn't expect Gu Jeol-yeop to come looking for me instead.
Swish.
The guy approaches me little by little.
One slow step at a time.
'...Hmm.'
Given the circumstances, Gu Jeol-yeop might do something to me, but
I first took no action and quietly watched him.
At that moment.
Wi Seol-a tried to stand in front of me as if to protect me, so I hastily grabbed her shoulder.
Telling her not to.
"Young Master."
"Right."
A moment that felt longer than usual passed.
Gu Jeol-yeop stood before me.
"...There is something I wish to ask."
Hearing him say he had something to ask, I expressed a question inwardly.
It seemed Gu Jeol-yeop had no intention of doing anything to me.
Though naturally, even if he did try something, I had no intention of just taking it.
And in the midst of all this, he wants to ask me something.
"Ask."
My permission fell,
But Gu Jeol-yeop's lips did not open easily.
I quietly waited for his mouth to open.
After waiting a little longer, his lips finally parted.
"...Why did you do it?"
I could see his lips trembling as he spat out the words.
'Heh.'
Pfft.
The first thing he asks is neither resentment
Nor angry cursing.
But asking me for a reason.
'I heard he'd been holed up in his room all this time.'
I had been secretly hearing news.
That after the First Elder's death, he held the funeral and holed up in his room, not coming out.
"You're asking why I did it?"
"...Yes."
"Didn't you hear? Why I did it?"
"No, I heard."
As he said, he probably heard it long ago. Perhaps from the Second Elder, or Mu-yeon, or through other Sword Squad members.
It wasn't a small matter, so there must have been plenty of talk going around.
"Then why ask? You said you heard."
"Because I felt I had to hear it directly from you."
Curious.
Gu Jeol-yeop's eyes were still fixed on me.
The emotions contained within couldn't be hidden, boiling over on the surface,
And those boiling emotions would clearly not cool down for a long time.
Even in such a situation, Gu Jeol-yeop was asking me for the reason.
Of course, he might have chosen this method because he couldn't do anything to me, but
'Does this mean he won't run away?'
I wondered if I could even use the word 'run away' for this.
Regardless, Gu Jeol-yeop came to face me directly.
Recalling that, I spoke to him.
"Your grandfather crossed a line I could overlook."
Contrary to my thoughts, the voice that came out was resolute.
"He didn't just target me, but touched those around me. Furthermore, he was becoming a poison to the Gu Family."
Without any intonation, flatly.
I brought up an incredibly cruel story for Gu Jeol-yeop.
The consideration of beating around the bush wasn't meant to be used right now.
"I couldn't let it slide, so I took matters into my own hands."
"..."
"If you thought you might hear something different from me, I'm sorry, but there is none."
I didn't know what words he was expecting that made him come to me, but
These are the only words I can say.
Gu Jeol-yeop, who stared at me silently after hearing my words, spoke as if answering.
"I didn't have any words I was expecting."
"Then?"
"I just don't know, that's why."
"You don't know?"
Hearing Gu Jeol-yeop's words, I frowned slightly as I couldn't quite understand.
What could he mean by not knowing?
"What I should do from now on... I don't know."
"So you came to ask me that?"
"...No. It's not that."
I could understand him losing his way with so much shaken up.
However, if he came to me to resolve that,
It was truly a foolish thing to do.
'Foolish guy.'
What conclusion could he possibly be seeking from me?
What did he hope to gain by seeking out the one who killed his grandfather?
It seemed Gu Jeol-yeop himself didn't know either.
Yeah, at best, Gu Jeol-yeop was a greenhorn who hadn't even reached twenty.
And by now, he was just a boy unable to endure an overwhelming situation.
I asked such a Gu Jeol-yeop.
"Do you resent me?"
"Yes."
Gu Jeol-yeop's answer was without hesitation.
"Do you want revenge?"
"..."
This time, there was no answer.
It looked like he wanted to spit out an affirmation from his mouth, but
It seemed it wasn't easily done.
"You don't?"
"...I do."
"Then why did you hesitate?"
Was he hesitant to say he dared to kill a blood relative of the Gu family?
If you look at it that way, it could be, but
If it were me, I wouldn't have hesitated.
'With the enemy who killed my family right in front of me, would I be able to keep my sanity?'
I don't know about now, but
At least at Gu Jeol-yeop's age, I wouldn't have.
Just as I was wondering how he could be like this,
Gu Jeol-yeop answered regarding this.
"...Because it goes against the code of the pact."
"The pact?"
Somewhat out of the blue.
The pact?
"Truly, if the Sect Leader... my grandfather did what you said he did,"
Gu Jeol-yeop's frail shoulders tremble slightly.
"...I have no right to resent you, Young Master."
He didn't hide his ambition,
And went so far as to commit misdeeds against direct blood relatives to make his grandson the Family Head.
And behind the scenes, he was secretly scheming against the family.
If all those words were true,
Gu Jeol-yeop was saying he himself had no right to resent me.
Did that mean he was experiencing confusion at his own self for resenting me despite that?
It was something I couldn't understand.
"You're making this complicated."
"..."
"I don't know why you're suddenly bringing up the pact, but there's nothing I can do for you."
Whether Gu Jeol-yeop resents me,
Or truly harbors murderous intent, there's nothing I can do about it for him.
Even if he holds resentment, I won't care.
Or, if he harbors murderous intent,
'I'll have to kill him.'
I will kill him.
There won't be a second time.
The consideration I can offer at my level is simply not touching Gu Jeol-yeop right now.
After the First Elder died, a funeral was held, but
He wouldn't be able to enter the ancestral tomb where the final remains of the Gu family's important figures were gathered.
Because they couldn't place a sinner there.
Once the First Elder's crimes are fully revealed,
Gu Jeol-yeop's treatment as well.
If he shares the burden of his grandfather's karma, who knows what will happen.
Even if Gu Jeol-yeop is without sin.
The bloody karma given by this damned land is unavoidable.
Minimizing the damage regarding this.
Was the only thing I could do.
'I don't know if that guy would want this, though.'
Thinking of Gu Jeol-yeop's personality that I briefly faced, he probably wouldn't want it.
"What have you decided to do with Gu Seon-mun?"
"...The Second Elder said he would take charge of it temporarily."
"The Second Elder?"
I was slightly surprised by Gu Jeol-yeop's words.
The Second Elder, who has nothing to do with swords, is taking over Gu Seon-mun?
Is he only taking charge of management while someone else handles the main affairs?
'It's better than it falling into the hands of the Third or Fourth Elder,'
But it was a somewhat out-of-the-blue story.
"Are you okay with that?"
"...I don't have the power. I neither have the ability nor the qualifications to be the Sect Leader."
It was true that Gu Jeol-yeop was the prospective Young Sect Leader.
But that was strictly because he was the First Elder's grandson.
It was also true that his talent was outstanding.
But that alone wouldn't solve everything.
"I don't know what intentions brought you to find me, but I can't show you the way."
"..."
"Moreover, it's strange for you to ask me for direction in the first place."
It's not right for me to tell Gu Jeol-yeop what to do right now.
Conversely, seeking to gain something from the one who killed his grandfather is also strange.
Let alone not being able to resent me.
"I feel sorry towards you. But only that much."
Regardless of what kind of person the First Elder was.
I killed his blood relative.
I did feel sorry about this.
"If you want to resent and hate me, go ahead. I'll accept it."
I won't take responsibility, but
I can accept it.
Though I don't know what choice Gu Jeol-yeop will make because of this.
Gu Jeol-yeop, who heard my words, didn't hide his darkened expression and just muttered.
"I... don't know."
"Then think about it. What you want to do."
I couldn't apologize any further to Gu Jeol-yeop.
Therefore, I was in no position to comfort him.
Nor could I impart any teachings.
Even if I went back to the past, I probably wouldn't make any other choice besides killing the First Elder.
'Even if I spared him, I just wouldn't kill him with my own hands. I would have ultimately made him die.'
Either by crushing his dantian and letting him die slowly.
Or by using some other means, I would have tightened the noose around the First Elder's neck.
Just as my choice was.
The First Elder's choice wouldn't have been any different.
Gu Jeol-yeop, who was only staring at the ground with an extremely shadowed face,
Swept his face with his hand as if exhausted.
I merely watched Gu Jeol-yeop's state.
Without uttering a single word.
When only the wind was quietly blowing.
Gu Jeol-yeop, who was chewing on his lips, slowly asked me.
"...I heard you are heading to the frontlines."
"When did you hear that?"
The topic just came up, so where on earth did he hear it?
"The Second Elder told me. That the First Young Master would go to the frontlines."
"What?"
What is this about.
The Second Elder told him in advance that I would be heading to the frontlines?
This means.
'...Did Father and the Second Elder already talk?'
It meant they had already discussed sending me to the frontlines as punishment for this incident.
'Despite being as big as a bear, he's quite shrewd.'
He's probably still furious about me disobeying and escaping.
And I had been subtly avoiding him.
I looked at Gu Jeol-yeop and asked back.
"So, why does that matter?"
At my question, Gu Jeol-yeop spoke with an exhausted face.
"I want to come with you."
"What? Where."
"To the frontlines where you are going, I mean."
"Are you crazy?"
What kind of nonsense is this now.
He wants to go to the frontlines with me?
"What's your intention?"
"I want to follow you to find that out."
"Have you completely lost your mind?"
Saying he'll go with the person who killed his grandfather.
'Is he making an early reservation to assassinate me?'
Unless it was that, I honestly couldn't understand what state of mind led him to say such a thing.
"What I should do... I want to decide after that."
Whether to live resenting me, or live seeking revenge.
Or, if not that, to accept it and overcome it.
The boy who was confused and unable to grasp a direction seemed to have finally decided to face it head-on, but
"Hah."
To me, Gu Jeol-yeop making such a decision was just baffling.
Because it was a choice I wouldn't have made.
"...Do as you please. Though I don't know if the higher-ups will allow it in the first place."
If it were the past, maybe.
With our relationship in ruins now, they would never send me off with Gu Jeol-yeop by my side, who might harbor ill intentions toward me.
And even if, by some slim chance, this was permitted,
"I said I'd accept it if you resent me, but I have no intention of accepting anything beyond that."
As I said earlier.
If you harbor something more than that,
I will cut it off as well.
Whether he was done talking.
Gu Jeol-yeop, who was quietly looking at me, slightly bowed his head and turned to walk away.
In the background, I caught sight of a few martial artists who appeared to be from Gu Seon-mun.
They were probably there either to protect Gu Jeol-yeop, or conversely, because they didn't know what he might do to me and followed along.
[You've gone soft.]
As I watched Gu Jeol-yeop's retreating back, Sin Noya spoke to me.
'Are you saying I should have killed that guy?'
[I wouldn't have done that, but you're different, you greenhorn.]
It was a piercing remark.
True, if it were the past, I would have killed Gu Jeol-yeop long ago without hesitation.
When I killed the First Elder, that is.
But I didn't.
Gu Jeol-yeop might harbor a grudge against me and become a stumbling block in the future.
And no matter what happens, we could never have a good relationship.
As long as Gu Jeol-yeop didn't cross the line, I wanted to avoid killing him if possible.
My desire to live differently from the past came first.
Second, it was pitiful to see him ruined by the karma of his blood relative.
Because I had been like that.
[That's why I say you've gone soft.]
'You're right.'
My current actions meant leaving a spark in a situation where the disaster of a blood calamity was bearing down right before my nose.
It was true that I was leaving an ember.
But.
"...I wanted to try indulging in this kind of greed, at least."
[Tsk.]
Noya didn't say anything more after that.
Squeeze.
Feeling something wrap around my hand, I looked down.
Wi Seol-a was softly holding my hand.
"Young Master... are you okay?"
"Why, do I not look okay?"
"Yeah... you look like you're having a hard time."
"Don't worry, I'm perfectly fine."
I didn't know why Wi Seol-a saw it that way.
I was fine.
As always, I had to be perfectly fine. I stroked Wi Seol-a's hair as she looked at me with worry.
And I spoke to the empty air.
"So please, say something now."
It looked like no one was there, but someone was.
Rustle-.
From the bushes next to the tree, a burly man appeared, making one wonder how he could have hidden there.
Perhaps his body hadn't fully healed yet.
It was the Second Elder, heavily wrapped in bandages.
"Unlike before, your senses have gotten a bit quicker."
"Wouldn't it be stranger that you hid there with that body?"
Even saying that, the Second Elder's stealth skills were quite outstanding.
If I hadn't caught him with my energy sense just now, I wouldn't have known.
"Do you have a reason for telling him about the frontlines?"
"He asked, so I told him."
"And you didn't tell me?"
"Why would I tell that to a grandson who doesn't listen to a word his grandfather says?"
"..."
As expected.
The Second Elder still seemed displeased about my escape.
As I felt a slight sense of guilt and scratched my cheek, the Second Elder continued speaking.
"I know you asked to look out for Jeol-yeop's convenience."
"...Ahem."
How did he know? I secretly told my father.
"So is that why you decided to take charge of Gu Seon-mun?"
"It's better than the Third or Fourth Elder taking it, so I said I'd do it. I'm only taking charge of management. The First Sword Division Leader said he'd take responsibility for the martial arts of the members."
"The First Sword Division Leader?"
In terms of swordsmanship, the strongest in the Gu family was the First Sword Division Leader.
I didn't know how he'd compare to the First Elder in his prime.
But right now, that was the case.
'The First Sword Division Leader... I guess that's okay.'
Recalling him, he was a much better person compared to others.
At the very least, he wasn't the type to scheme behind people's backs.
"Is your body okay?"
"Wow, you ask quickly."
"It's better than not asking... Please put your fist down. Are you senile, Second Elder?"
The old man, whose body wasn't even fully intact, seemed to have a temper that was still alive and kicking.
"It's fine. This much will heal if I apply some acupuncture, so what."
"...Is the Second Elder's acupuncture needle some kind of Celestial Stone Oil?"
If applying that heals you, why would there be divine doctors in the world?
"Anyway, you've brought quite a peculiar guest too."
"Ah."
At the Second Elder's words, I recalled the old man who was probably in the Gu family's prison by now.
'I forgot about the Hao Sect Leader.'
I had momentarily forgotten about the Hao Sect Leader we brought together from the Black Night Palace.
"What's the story with him?"
"By any chance, do you know him too, Second Elder?"
At my question, the Second Elder stroked his beard and let out a dry cough.
"I just saw him in passing. He was so insolent, I knew he'd end up like that."
'The Second Elder knew about the Sect Leader too.'
Why did everyone know so much about the Hao Sect Leader, who was supposed to be unknown?
'Anyway, it's not a normal household.'
It was a moment that made me even more certain.
"He's an old man we found in the Black Night Palace, and my father told me to bring him."
In times like this, it was best to use my father as an excuse.
As expected, when I mentioned my father, the Second Elder just nodded without saying much.
"...If so, the Family Head will handle it."
Whether they'd establish contact with the Hao Sect.
Or use him for some other purpose, I didn't know, but the Sect Leader had already caught my father's eye.
It was difficult for my hands to reach.
So much for the guest.
The Second Elder, who roughly cut off the conversation, took out a letter from his robes and handed it to me.
"I didn't know you had ties with the Beggar Sect."
"The Beggar Sect?"
The Beggar Sect, out of nowhere?
Wondering what he meant, I took the letter.
On the letter the Second Elder gave me, the seal of the Beggar Sect's Information Bureau was stamped.
'This is...'
By the name written small beneath the seal.
I could tell who had sent it.
Chu-ong.
It was a letter handed to me by the future Beggar King.
'I knew a letter would come, but'
It was faster than expected.
What kind of information was it about?
If it was information about Muk-gwon and Pae-jon that I requested in Henan...
'I hope it's about Pae-jon if possible.'
If I had to choose, I wanted information about Pae-jon rather than Muk-gwon.
Because that side was more urgent.
'I hope there are no problems.'
The letter Chu-ong sent me had a short phrase written on it.
-Jinryong Young Master... surv...
-No problems.
"..."
The first line, which looked like it was written and then erased, was one thing.
But seeing the second line, I carefully folded the letter and put it in my pocket.
Then, I nodded and whispered.
"Looks like he was caught."
It seemed I could forget about Chu-ong for a while.
He'll manage well on his own. He's the Beggar King, after all.