“I am Gucheolun.”
At the man’s words, the antechamber was instantly weighed down.
And yet, he had merely spoken his own name.
Had internal energy been contained within his voice? No. Was he using internal energy to crush the air? Neither was that the case. This was merely the presence the man exuded. They were being crushed by that man’s gaze without even realizing it.
Immediately after the man seated himself in the seat of honor and uttered his name, the waiting room was quickly filled with the sound of commotion.
“If that is Gucheolun… wasn’t he the great hero?”
“The great hero? If he is the great hero… the Patriarch of the Shanxi Gu Clan?”
A man who had once been the foremost late-generation prodigy bearing the nickname “Divine Dragon,” who had served as Commander of the Divine Dragon Corps under the Martial Alliance that had now disappeared, and who was currently serving as the Patriarch of the Shanxi Gu Clan.
He was also a martial artist said to be among the Central Plains’ Hundred Great Experts, but this was merely a past achievement. By now, he was said to have weakened considerably.
Moreover, a title that was used more than “Hero” had recently emerged. The nickname of a martial artist that was now spreading not only across Hanam but the entire Central Plains—
Little Yama. Guyangcheon.
The late-generation prodigy who had put an end to the Divine Dragon Hall raid, the very reason and essence for which this Righteous Faction gathering was convened. No, he was also a figure who had newly received a nickname to the point that he could no longer be called merely a late-generation prodigy.
The man was the father of that Little Yama. Until recently, he had been more famous as the father of the Sword Peak, but now he had become more renowned as the parent of Little Yama.
And those who knew even a little about Gucheolun would say this upon hearing of Little Yama:
“As the father, so the son.”
When a tiger gives birth, how could it bear a dog?
In a way, it was only natural for a monster to beget a monster.
Now he was called a toothless tiger, a remnant of the past hiding in Shanxi, but those who remembered Gucheolun in his prime could hardly see him as such.
Look even now. There were countless people overwhelmed merely by Gucheolun’s appearance. Gucheolun neither unleashed his internal energy nor took any particular action. Those who remembered that time were simply being crushed by his presence of their own accord.
In the silence that had fallen due to Gucheolun’s introduction, the first to speak was Dangcheongi.
“It has been a long time since we last met.”
It had been easily several decades since Dangcheongi had last faced Gucheolun. Accordingly, Moyongtae, who had been wearing an expression of displeasure, also cautiously paid his respects.
“…It is a pleasure.”
Naturally, Moyongtae did not like Gucheolun very much. It had been that way since the past. Because they were of a similar age, they had often crossed paths even in their days as late-generation prodigies. There had been a time when Moyongtae was called the “White Dragon,” and they had clashed then. Even then, the Dragon Phoenix Conference had existed.
As for the result, Moyongtae had already erased it from his memory. It meant he had been defeated so wretchedly that he did not wish to remember.
Moreover, there had been a time when his own younger sister had chased after Gucheolun, claiming to like him, so Moyongtae found Gucheolun all the more unpleasant. At least in that regard, very much so.
‘…The father and son are both something else indeed.’
Inside, it felt as though a thousand fires were soaring.
Because his precious daughter had said something just moments ago, he was suppressing himself with all his might, but Moyongtae had no intention of forgiving the rotten bastard called Little Yama.
‘If it had only been about my daughter, I would have let it pass somehow.’
Rumors said that women overflowed around him. Upon hearing that, rage had shot straight to the top of his head, but he had endured it for now. For there were truths one could only know by facing the matter directly.
In fact, after meeting the rotten bastard in person, Moyongtae had even changed his mind briefly. The reason was none other than this: it made no sense for women to swarm around someone who looked like that. Little Yama’s face was not ugly, but neither was it handsome. Combined with the fierce eyes unique to the Gu Clan, he looked so fearsome that he was difficult to look at for long.
And such a bastard had his precious, outstanding daughter clinging to him, saying she liked him?
‘Something is wrong.’
Moyongtae thought so.
The reason his daughter was so clingy—not quite clingy—to such a wretched man. It was simple. His daughter had an innate illness, and the only being who could cure it at present was none other than Little Yama.
How it had come to be, he did not know in detail. But the physicians sent together, including the elders of the Moyong Clan, had confirmed it as well. That was why he endured. Having to entrust his daughter to a man of the same age. The fact that, in the process, his daughter had ended up giving her heart. He had been able to endure it somehow.
Thus, as long as his daughter could live, and moreover, if his daughter said she was happy, he could endure anything. Furthermore, “Because the child is happy.” It was a daughter he had not seen in a long time. Moyongtae had seen his daughter smile so brightly for the first time in over ten years. This could be called a rightful change. That was why Moyongtae endured regarding Little Yama.
He had heard that there was a fiancée, but his daughter had said she planned to break the engagement and promised to become engaged to him, so he had endured. Since they would be connected to the Gu Clan anyway, he could pay careful attention to the alliance pact as well. Everything was for his daughter. To Moyongtae, who had lost his wife, his daughter was his entire world.
But then.
‘…He had other women even while he had my daughter?’
Just imagining it made his teeth grind with rage.
Moyongtae had clearly seen it then. The people at the table where Moyong Hui-a had been staying.
“They were filled with women.”
And all of them were girls as beautiful as his own daughter.
From the standpoint of Moyongtae, who thought his daughter was the best, if he could say they were of the same level, it meant they were considerable. Such young women would frequently send their gazes as if they had been waiting the moment Little Yama entered the inn.
Moyongtae had been able to find one conspicuous woman among those women. A woman with blue-white hair and blue eyes. Moyongtae could tell she was of the bloodline of the Namgung Clan merely from her martial garb and aura. And as far as Moyongtae knew, there was only one daughter among the direct bloodline of the Namgung Clan at present.
He had heard she was called Geommuhui. As her name suggested, she seemed to possess beautiful looks and an outstanding realm, but what was important to Moyongtae was something else.
The problem was that Little Yama’s fiancée was precisely Geommuhui, and unlike what his daughter had said, they still seemed to be on good terms.
In other words, “That bastard has no intention of breaking the engagement. He must be planning to toy with my daughter.”
Crack.
Strength entered Moyongtae’s arm. Had the table not been made of rock, it would have shattered immediately.
“Was he playing with me then as well?”
The moment they first met on the street. He remembered Little Yama’s back, boldly stepping forward at his own words asking for directions.
Though Moyongtae had not known, the bastard had known that every word he spat was directed at himself, yet he played along. Even when Moyongtae said he would smash his limbs, the bastard had empathized, telling him to do exactly that.
“So he was playing with me while knowing everything.”
He did not think Little Yama had failed to understand this. For if one had any sense at all, it was not hard to know. It was clear. The bastard had insulted him.
Reason whispered that this might be prejudice, but Moyongtae was no longer listening to such things. In any case, he had never liked that bastard’s family from the beginning.
“Once the gathering ends.”
Once this matter was over, Moyongtae planned to go find Little Yama. His daughter kept telling him she would handle it herself and asking him not to do so, but he could not endure it as a father.
He did not plan to kill him. His desire to kill him burned fiercely, but he had to keep this one point. Moyongtae merely intended to fix that impudence from the position of a “senior.” Though the process would be rough.
While Moyongtae ground the sword within his heart, barely suppressing his emotions.
“It is a coincidence that we have gathered here like this. I heard a rumor.”
The man whom Moyongtae hated even more than Gucheolun and the bastard called Little Yama spoke up. It was none other than the Blade King, Paengjeou.
“I say this because the Gu Patriarch is here, but I hear your son has been quite outstanding these days.”
He had wondered what the recent rumor was about, and sure enough, it was a story about Little Yama.
“It must be nice to have such a precious son?”
As Paengjeou spoke with a smile, Gucheolun turned his head to look at him. Was it because of the unique gaze in his eyes? Gucheolun’s eyes looked extremely cold.
“The child simply did well.”
In response to Paengjeou’s words, Gucheolun gave an answer as well. It was an extremely indifferent voice, as if he had no particular interest.
Perhaps Paengjeou did not like Gucheolun’s answer. His eyebrows trembled slightly. As if not to be outdone, Paengjeou added another word.
“Even if a child has done well, would that not be because someone is supporting him from behind?”
Hearing Paengjeou’s words, Dangcheongi and Moyongtae finally seemed to realize what intention Paengjeou had in bringing up that story. There were many rumors about Little Yama these days, but the one who had originally been the foremost late-generation prodigy called the Divine Dragon was none other than the young Patriarch of the Paeng Clan, Paeng Woojin.
By drawing a comparison to this, Paengjeou was engaging in petty politicking—elevating Little Yama and the Gu Clan in order to gain standing for the Paeng Clan. Normally, one would hear this and empathize, each taking what they could gain. However, Gucheolun looked at Paengjeou and gave a different answer.
“The family did nothing. They are things the child accomplished alone. Not only I, but the clan as well, we have done nothing in particular for that child.”
It was decisive.
It was questionable how he could cut it off so decisively. By now, it must have been a rather embarrassing situation for Paengjeou. Sure enough, Paengjeou’s expression twisted slightly.
The master of the Tang Gate. The Poison King, Dangcheongi, let out a sigh inwardly as he saw that. That damned bear cub was still the same no matter how old he got. They were each paying respects because they had become Patriarchs, but he would often show such an empty head.
“He wasn’t even at that level in the past.”
Even back then, he had wondered if the man’s brain was filled with muscles. It had felt like it had gotten worse recently. He wondered if he had swapped his martial talent for brains. No, to be exact, perhaps it started from the point when Paengjeou’s son, Paeng Woojin, began to stand out. In any case, who knew what he would do if left here any longer.
The moment Dangcheongi caught his breath and was about to speak, Paengjeou spat out words again.
“If you say so, it is a cause for congratulations… but it is strange. I am certain it was not like that in the past.”
Thud.
The atmosphere sank sharply at Paengjeou’s words. Those words referred to the story of how the Paeng and Gu families had been engaged and then broken it off.
“As time passes, childish appearances are bound to disappear. I consider that fortunate. That your child has grown up well, I mean.”
It was a story that those who knew, all knew. The incident where Little Yama had hurled verbal abuse at the daughter of the Paeng Clan and broken off the engagement.
“Perhaps he has greatly repented for his mistake back then. These days, he seems to be doing well with different young ladies. It is a fine sight.”
The ones who reacted to Paengjeou’s words were not Gucheolun. It was Dangcheongi and Moyongtae, who were listening. Paengjeou was gradually crossing the line now.
And he had his reasons. Among the rumors of Little Yama, the word “womanizer” always followed. As the saying “hero and lust” goes, there were rumors that he kept many beautiful young ladies around him. And those young ladies in the rumors happened to include the daughters of Dangcheongi and Moyongtae, who were right here. Paengjeou had scratched up the part everyone had been painstakingly pretending not to know.
“It is only natural that the more capable a man is, the more women cling to him… which means your child must be quite—”
“Patriarch Paeng. How about leaving it at that?”
Moyongtae, unable to endure any longer, interjected.
“If you bring up any more than this, are you confident you can handle it?”
“What is there that I cannot handle? I do not believe I have spoken any crooked words.”
Seeing him speak with a grin, something nauseous churned in Moyongtae’s chest. Paengjeou, watching him, looked at Moyongtae and said:
“Ah, come to think of it, Patriarch Moyong’s daughter was Seolbong. I have heard she is quite an extraordinary friend.”
“Patriarch Paeng.”
“Indeed, it seems people must match in level to get along. Since Seolbong is also an extraordinary friend like Little Yama, she must be by his side, no?”
As soon as Paengjeou finished speaking, Moyongtae’s eyes gradually transformed into something sharp.
“The Poison Peak of the Tang Gate as well… This is quite… regrettable. If I had not let that friend slip away back then, by now…”
In the very moment the enraged Moyongtae tried to rise at Paengjeou, who had finally crossed the line.
“Enough of this racket.”
Coo…
At the lightly tossed voice, the people around him had to freeze. Because it was an incredibly cold and heavy voice.
Hearing this, Paengjeou stiffened rigidly for a moment, then quickly demanded back at the one who had spoken.
“…What did you say?”
The one who had spoken was Gucheolun. Ignoring Paengjeou’s retort, Gucheolun took a sip of the tea laid out before him.
Seeing that attitude, Paengjeou’s voice rose somewhat.
“I asked what you just said.”
At the words asked as if growling, Gucheolun turned his gaze to Paengjeou once more. And spoke.
“I said it is noisy.”
“Are you speaking to me?”
“The one making noise here is none other than you. Is there another?”
His appearance, speaking indifferently as if asking why one would even ask such a thing, was truly something to behold.
“Patriarch Gu…!”
At Gucheolun’s words, Paengjeou’s expression contorted drastically and he rose. No, to be precise, he tried to rise.
Thud-!
“…!”
But Paengjeou ultimately could not rise. Because Gucheolun had grabbed his shoulder and pressed down with his hand.
“What…”
Paengjeou showed a surprised reaction at this. Gucheolun was fairly large himself, but no matter what, he had been considered inferior to Paengjeou. The Paeng Clan was a bloodline renowned throughout the Central Plains for sheer strength. Yet Gucheolun had lightly grabbed and pressed down such a Paengjeou.
Gucheolun spoke to Paengjeou, who had failed to properly grasp the situation.
“Paengjeou.”
“…!”
“It seems you have forgotten what I told you in the past.”
Gucheolun’s expression was as usual, and his voice was unchanged as well. But the way he addressed and spoke to Paengjeou had changed.
“What the…!”
“‘Do not bark recklessly.’ I am certain I told you clearly?”
“…!”
It was a voice transmission. Gucheolun was sending a voice transmission to Paengjeou.
“Even after growing old, you could not fix that petty habit.”
“…You bastard…”
Paengjeou tried somehow to rise, but the force weighing on his pressed shoulder was so strong that he could not possibly get up.
What in the world was happening? He had heard that the Hero had long passed his prime and no longer showed any semblance of those days.
“Do you wish to relive the shame of the past even after becoming a Patriarch?”
At Gucheolun’s words, a memory of the past surfaced. The day when, despite being a mere bloodline scion of a minor clan, he had gone to find Gucheolun because he had heard him called the Divine Dragon when he did not deserve it.
That day, before Gucheolun, Paengjeou had spoken of his grandfather. Gucheolun, hearing the story, had offered no other answer to Paengjeou. He had simply taught him with his body. He had taught him what a wall was. He had taught him what happened when one wagged one’s tongue wrongly.
The molar that was pulled from Paengjeou that day never grew back. Teeth would not grow back anyway, but because Gucheolun, who had pulled Paengjeou’s molar at the time, had seared the hole shut with flame.
It had happened when the two were just past twenty. It was also the most disgraceful memory in Paengjeou’s life.
Crack.
Paengjeou, unable to overcome his pride, tried somehow to rise, but Gucheolun’s arm did not move an inch. On the contrary, only the pressure he held grew stronger.
“Paengjeou.”
“Kuh…”
Killing intent was felt in the voice transmission. Emotions not outwardly expressed were contained in that quiet voice. So that no one else could hear, but only Paengjeou.
“Do not create karma you cannot bear. Do you still not know?”
Where did such deep and dark emotions come from?
When Paengjeou ultimately could not hold back and tried to raise blade qi in his other hand.
“If you draw that here.”
“At this moment, the Paeng Patriarch will be replaced by your son.”
At Gucheolun’s words, Paengjeou’s body stiffened rigidly. The meaning that the Patriarch would change. It meant he would kill Paengjeou right here in this place.
“Do you wish for that?”
A thought flashed through his mind. In the Martial Alliance, and moreover inside it, could Gucheolun think he would be fine after brazenly killing Paengjeou? That couldn’t be.
As this thought flashed by, Paengjeou had to gnash his missing molar. Was this not already the thought of one convinced that he would lose?
Surging fighting spirit. Unbending pride. Even distracting thoughts lingering in the past. There was so much that made Paengjeou’s body want to rise. But what Paengjeou ultimately chose was not to stand his ground with pride.
Strength gradually left Paengjeou’s body. He had given up resisting and released his strength. Gucheolun, confirming this, immediately withdrew his hand from Paengjeou’s shoulder.
As if nothing had happened, Gucheolun took another sip of tea. But Moyongtae and Dangcheongi, who were watching, could guess that something had definitely occurred in that brief moment. And rightly so. Because Paengjeou’s expression looked so humiliated.
Just as they wondered what to do about this atmosphere that had turned icy cold in an instant.
Creak.
The door at the entrance opened and someone entered. It was a handsome middle-aged man in blue martial garb with blue-white hair. He was precisely the last of the Four Great Families. The Heaven-Piercing Sword King of the Great Namgung Clan, Namgungjin.
“Dear me, am I the last one to…”
As soon as Namgungjin entered through the door, he had to furrow his brow at the strange atmosphere. Because something strange was flowing in the air. Having confirmed that, Namgungjin spoke.
“Well, this is… how should I put it, an atmosphere as though someone just got thoroughly chewed out.”
Though Namgungjin spoke with a touch of jest, no one offered a denial.