As the sun set, the sunset faded, and night began to fall.
A faint breeze brushed through the forest of the frontlines.
Around the time the shallow moon rose into the void and viscously dampened the ground.
Rustle—
Bathed in the dense moonlight, Moyong Hui-a walked along the forest path.
Even though the weather was gradually becoming warmer.
Moyong Hui-a's clothes were still thick.
Apart from that, her splendid white skin was still cold,
But unlike last year, her body had changed to know warmth.
The night wind that had only been chilling, could now be felt as a pleasant breeze.
Little by little, very little by little.
As Moyong Hui-a closed her eyes and felt the wind.
"I heard you called for me."
Someone approached Moyong Hui-a's vicinity carefully, spitting out words.
Surprisingly, the person was Gu Jeolyeop.
At the presence, Moyong Hui-a opened her eyes and observed Gu Jeolyeop.
Gu Jeolyeop looked somewhat exhausted and was slightly drenched in sweat.
"It seems you were in the middle of training."
"Just moderately... I was warming up a bit."
Even while answering, Gu Jeolyeop subtly avoided Moyong Hui-a's distinct gaze.
If Gu Jeolyeop were to pick the most difficult person here.
The first would be that demon bastard.
The second would be the First Princess, the Grand Lord.
And the third would be Seolbong, who was right in front of his eyes.
'...Huuu.'
Look even now.
Covering her mouth with a fan.
In the darkness seeping through the gaps of the moonlight. Seolbong's sky-blue eyes were shining coldly.
For some reason, the two eyes of Seolbong that Gu Jeolyeop faced accompanied fear.
'Does the First Young Master know?'
That the eyes Seolbong uses to look at others are mostly like that.
Constantly judging the value of others.
Endlessly confirming whether they are helpful or harmful to her.
While wondering what right she had to judge another person's value.
The unique atmosphere she possessed made it seem completely natural.
Among the bloodline of the prestigious family that Gu Jeolyeop knew.
The person who best fit the name value of a prestigious family was Seolbong.
'I don't know why such a woman acts like that towards the First Young Master, but...'
Funnily enough.
Not only the cold gaze, but also Seolbong's uniquely unapproachable lofty atmosphere.
Disappeared as if it originally didn't exist in front of the First Young Master.
'The only one on this land who doesn't know that is probably the First Young Master.'
Gu Jeolyeop, who quietly let out a sigh, adjusted his clothes that had been disheveled through sparring.
"...May I ask what business Lady Moyong has for seeking me?"
"Ah, it's nothing major."
With a smile.
Moyong Hui-a looked at Gu Jeolyeop and smiled slightly.
A bewitching smile that would have surely captivated him if it were the past.
But looking at it now, for some reason, it was only terrifying.
"We have something we need to talk about with each other, don't we?"
Seolbong spat out words in a voice that was unusually quite gentle.
Gu Jeolyeop could tell.
That the very act of spitting out that voice.
Meant a scarier situation.
"That is... what do you mean..."
"I saved you, didn't I?"
"...!"
At Seolbong's words, Gu Jeolyeop's mouth, which had been trying to speak, snapped shut.
Apart from that, Seolbong continued speaking.
"I mean the Alliance's martial artist. You left him there on purpose, right? Knowing I would come."
"...That is..."
"Yeolhyeopgeom also has a cunning side, more than expected."
Busted.
It was a scheme he used because he didn't want to get beaten.
It seemed Moyong Hui-a had figured it out at once.
'Did she come even knowing that?'
Since he actually escaped with Moyong Hui-a's help.
It must be true that she came knowing it.
While Gu Jeolyeop hid his cold sweat and shaking pupils.
"I happened to have free time, and it was nice to see the Young Master's face, so I did it."
Flutter.
Moyong Hui-a shook the fan she was holding little by little and approached Gu Jeolyeop.
"Come to think of it, if there's something going, there must be something coming, right?"
"I'm not sure what you are saying..."
"If you don't know, shall I go to the First Young Master and tell him what Yeolhyeopgeom did?"
"I will stake my life to fulfill what you desire."
"It's nice to see that Yeolhyeopgeom is always so enthusiastic."
At the smile that spread once more, Gu Jeolyeop unknowingly gulped down a dry saliva.
"...What exactly are you expecting of me."
"Ah, it's nothing much. Originally... I thought something like this wouldn't be necessary, but seeing you earlier, I realized it won't do."
"Yes?"
"...I knew you were a human with no sense to that extent, but after spending time together, it was even worse."
Crunch.
It wasn't visible because she was covering her face with a fan, but.
The sound of something being distinctly gnashed could be heard from beyond that fan.
Of course, Gu Jeolyeop just pretended not to hear it.
Moyong Hui-a, who quickly changed her expression.
Spoke to Gu Jeolyeop with the same bewitching smile as earlier.
"I would like Yeolhyeopgeom to help me a bit. It's not a difficult task, it's something you can definitely do?"
"...W-what happens... if I refuse..."
"Are you curious?"
At the words he brought up just in case.
A cold energy was felt from somewhere.
A chilling cold energy enough for Gu Jeolyeop, who harbored heat in his body even if not as much as Gu Yangcheon, to feel.
"I'd really prefer it if you weren't curious."
Looking at Moyong Hui-a speaking full of laughter.
Gu Jeolyeop slightly nodded his head.
'...I need to change the rankings.'
He was certain.
That that woman was more dangerous than that demon bastard.
The past year at the frontlines.
Was not a time that could be said to be very good.
For a martial artist belonging to the Orthodox Faction, the frontlines could be considered the place they least wanted to come.
Among them, the place where the Gu Family's Five Swords Division was active was close to the center.
The one year spent rolling around there, no matter how nicely it was put, wasn't a very harmonious time.
Rustle.
After the sun set and night came.
I walked through the forest with light steps.
The forest that was wrapped in demonic energy making it hard to even breathe.
Now had no significant effect on my body.
Rather, by absorbing the unique energy exuded by demonic creatures, it even made me more active.
It would be right not to become accustomed to such power.
But it was also true that it was helping in controlling it the other way around.
[Grrr...]
Especially these days, perhaps because its sleep has decreased.
It was providing considerable help in dealing with this damn beast that wakes up at the drop of a hat and throws a tantrum for food.
'Why is it whining for food as soon as it wakes up? I fed it earlier.'
[Growl...]
Since a Demonic Realm Gate happened to open around the forest.
I moved myself, caught demonic creatures, and fed it all at once.
It must have already digested it, throwing a fit saying it's hungry.
'No, you're not hungry, you just want to overeat. Right?'
[...Grr.]
This guy that can last from a few weeks to a few months if fed once.
Acts like this just because I fed it fully recently.
'If you keep acting like this, I can stop giving you what I used to.'
When I said that with a bit of annoyance.
The cries of the guy who kept growling went ghostly quiet.
Seeing that, I clicked my tongue once inwardly.
'It only gets it through its head when I get angry.'
Human or beast.
A whipping was the answer.
Tap—!
I lightly stepped on a tree branch and launched my body into the air.
As time passed, my body became harder and larger than before.
Perhaps because the energy contained in my body had changed, it felt endlessly light.
"Since I devoured all that. Of course it should be like this."
Since entering the frontlines, I've devoured all the energy demonic creatures possessed.
It'd be strange if it were the same as before. Yep.
Of course, it wasn't just the energy.
If I were to find the parts that changed from before.
First, the purification of demonic energy had become much faster than before.
Blocking the demonic energy that entered my body from running wild.
And making the energy useful by purifying it.
Is the Gu Yeomhwarbungong circulating in my body.
Perhaps because I devoured so much demonic energy in the meantime.
The speed of purifying the demonic energy contained in my body had become much faster compared to the past.
'Is this also martial arts, so the more you use it, the better it gets?'
Even I think it sounds like dogshit when I think about it.
Other than that, nothing else particularly came to mind.
'I really can't figure it out.'
Leaving aside the beast cub inside my body.
I mean, why Gu Yeomhwarbungong can purify demonic energy.
Good is good, it's much better than it not working, but.
Still, not being able to understand it was the same thing.
The realm rises.
As the vessel widens, internal energy is filled into it.
The overflowing internal energy seeps back into the body.
Through a long repetition, it is tempered and refined, seeking a higher realm.
While repeating that tedious and arduous process.
If there was one fact I came to know.
'...Is that the three-mouthed bastard is always hungry.'
The guy hiding deep in the dantian.
Was not in another specific space.
Nor was it in the Madocheonheupgong which I thought was the power of the Heavenly Demon.
I had a thought that maybe it was inside the Gu Yeomhwarbungong.
The minute sense of presence felt within the internal energy.
For some reason, it made me think so.
[Growl...?]
'It knows ghostly well that we're talking about it. Honestly.'
I don't know much about the guy.
The day I closed the gate for secluded training last year.
What I learned then was merely its 'name'.
Why exactly it was inside my body.
Controlling the energy that seeped into my body as it pleased.
And whether it was unknowingly regulating it so my physical body wouldn't break down.
I still couldn't figure it out.
Because of that, I needed to end this damn co-sleeping quickly.
'When on earth does Old Man Shin plan to wake up.'
A year has long passed.
Even more, it will be summer soon.
Meaning the period Old Man decided to sleep was gradually coming to an end.
"Tsk..."
On top of that, it was about time to stop staying at the frontlines.
The time to return to the Family was approaching.
'I could have gone back earlier, but...'
Funnily enough, seeing that I cleaned up and blocked the incident that broke out half a year ago.
The punishment of staying at the frontlines was withdrawn.
But I sent a letter to my father saying I would stay on the frontlines myself.
'Because there was something left to handle.'
When I sent the letter back then, did I send it saying I would stay because it was the duty I must fulfill as a bloodline of the Gu Family?
I really felt like dying of cringeworthiness while sending it.
Duty as a bloodline my ass.
I'm too busy trying to survive, what Gu Family.
The reason I held it in and rolled around even though I could have slipped out of the frontlines long ago.
Was ultimately because of me.
Of course, it was also because rolling Gu Jeolyeop around was more fun than expected.
'This also doesn't have much time left either.'
A month, or maybe shorter than that.
If my prediction is correct.
Thud!
After moving through the air with quick leaps for a while.
The presence of others was felt far away.
The number was roughly fifteen or so.
Among the group where each person could be seen as a well-trained martial artist.
Two exceptionally outstanding energies were felt.
One was a burning energy that seemed to blaze.
And the other was a chillingly sharp lightning energy.
'It seems there are no abnormalities.'
Confirming that the energy was stable, I let out a slight sigh.
Meaning it looked like no one was hurt anywhere.
I tidied up my expression moderately.
And lightly leaped, jumping into the approaching group.
Tap—!
"Oh."
Seeing me arrive, the person at the very front spat out a sound as if welcoming me.
"Little brother, you must have missed your sister a lot? Running up so urgently like this."
The woman smiled and spewed out bullshit words.
She was the Gu Family's eldest daughter, the one called the First of the Six Dragons and Three Phoenixes, the Sword Phoenix, Gu Huibi.
"You're saying skin-crawling things as soon as you see me."
Her black hair fluttering in the wind still had a good sheen.
The internal energy contained in her body had become denser.
A faint energy was felt in her walking stride that looked like she was walking roughly.
This was proof that Gu Huibi had grown stronger over the past year.
"Nothing happened while you were gone, sister?"
"Nothing happened. Except for some guy going out and picking up another person?"
As if she understood the meaning of my words.
Wrinkles formed between Gu Huibi's brows.
"...Again?"
"Again..."
"That kid is really something. Picking someone up every time she goes out. It's been a while, should I have a chat with her?"
Looking at Gu Huibi speaking as if she was enjoying it, I had to send a cheering message to Gu Jeolyeop inwardly, telling him to stay strong.
Though I bother and roll him more.
That guy should also know that thanks to that, Gu Huibi wasn't rolling Gu Jeolyeop directly.
'If he knows that, the times that bastard sucks up to me will decrease.'
In my view, Gu Jeolyeop was a guy who didn't know gratitude.
Tsk tsk...
I personally stepped up to raise his realm.
Fearing he might be lonely, I occasionally kept him company for conversation.
If something blew up, I even stepped in and handled it for him.
'Why is that bastard so terrified every time he sees me?'
If it were me.
One shouldn't treat their benefactor like that...
Come to think of it, it's pissing me off?
'I guess I need to raise the intensity of rolling him.'
I should double it when we return.
"Sister is very touched. For her little brother to come out to greet her in the middle of the night like this."
"It was my turn, after all."
"Are you embarrassed?"
"...Sister, did you hurt your head or something?"
Her body looked fine.
At that level, I actually wondered if she had severely injured her head.
"I'm telling you again... it was just my turn..."
Thud.
The mouth that was about to speak, enduring the annoyance, closed.
It felt as if even the wind blowing at that moment had stopped.
At merely the sound of a woman's footsteps.
The people forming the group moved their bodies and created a distance so the woman could walk comfortably.
As if making a path.
The stopped wind blew again.
The moonlight radiated as if illuminating the woman approaching this way.
The light blue hair bathed in the light shone softly as if embracing the moon.
How beautiful.
She was a figure as if a human was made out of the word "beautiful."
Gulp.
I merely stared quietly at such a woman.
I moved my gaze and examined her from head to toe.
Even though it must have been a journey where battles took place, her hair was undamaged and shining even more.
The Gu Family's martial uniform she must have worn to move comfortably was flawless.
It was enough to make me mistakenly wonder if she hadn't gone through combat.
But the lightning energy faintly felt along her shoulder line clearly indicated that the woman had engaged in combat with all her might.
'That makes sense.'
That was why so many personnel could return without a single person getting hurt.
The woman approached this way with an expressionless face.
Facing the blue eyes that seemed to embrace the sea.
I also opened my mouth.
A very rough question, unlike the emotions contained inside.
Even I thought it was really unremarkable.
The woman who heard my words took one more step closer.
The gaze that used to match eye level well.
Had already changed to a position where I was looking down.
To my question, the woman slowly opened her mouth and gave an answer.
"...I didn't eat..."
A truly curt and somewhat halting way of speaking.
"I told you to eat before moving around."
"...Sorry..."
"Eat when we get back, I saved some for you."
"Yeah..."
She takes one more step closer.
A truly light step.
Along with an unidentifiable floral scent brushing the tip of my nose.
Why is it.
The flower I thought had already bloomed long ago.
Was blooming even more splendidly as time went by.
To a level I couldn't dare handle.
The woman came up to a reachable distance, then.
Lightly bowed her head.
Her hair swayed and moved, and the top of the woman's head came into my view.
Gulp.
It was a sudden action, but.
I knew why she was doing this to me.
Because it was a habit that had grown particularly thick over the past few months.
While caring about the strange gazes of the people behind me.
As if I had no choice, I raised my hand and placed it on the top of the woman's head, gently stroking it.
The hair felt at my fingertips was still soft.
"You worked hard."
"...Yeah."
Adding unremarkable words.
As I took my hand off feeling a bit awkward.
The woman, Nangong Bi-a, raised her head again.
"...Uhm"
After meeting her eyes, I had to slightly swallow a groan.
Because Nangong Bi-a, who met my gaze, was smiling.
"I told you not to smile carelessly."
"Yeah...?"
"I told you not to just smile anywhere. That's a weapon."
With Nangong Bi-a's looks, it was definitely a weapon.
And quite a strong one at that.
At my words, Nangong Bi-a offered an answer as if she was somewhat unfairly treated.
"...I didn't smile anywhere else..."
"Then what about right now?"
"...It's in front of you..."
I asked for no reason.
Feeling a strange heat rising to my ears, I turned my head and looked at the path we came from.
"...Let's go back."
Because staying still was also awkward.
As I was scratching the back of my head at the ticklish feeling.
—What bullshit. She's spouting bullshit. ""
I heard someone muttering a little further back.
It was clearly Gu Huibi's voice.
I heard it all, but.
I tried hard to ignore it and moved my steps.