*
“It seems your body is fine.”
“…Yes.”
After the spar, the father I faced looked the same as ever.
The unusual thing was that he was deliberately turning his back.
“Why are you turning your back?”
“It is nothing.”
“Is my face that amusing?”
“…No.”
‘He definitely can’t look because it’s funny.’
If even Father could not bear to look at me for long, just what state was I in?
‘And with me in this state, why the hell didn’t that bastard Jamryong say anything?’
He was the bigger problem.
Gu Huibi had burst out laughing the moment she saw me. If even Father found my face difficult to look at for long, then that bastard Uhyeok must have known from the start but didn’t say a word.
‘That bastard did it on purpose, didn’t he?’
It was obvious he hadn’t told me just so I would make a fool of myself.
If it was him, there was no room for doubt.
For now, I needed to focus on Father, so I decided to ask a few questions to lead the conversation.
“Training in another region, you say. Did something happen?”
Originally, my father did not train in other regions. There was a separate training ground for the Patriarch at the Gu Estate, so there was no overlap.
At the very least, I knew my father did not go to other regions to train.
“I could not sleep, so I briefly gave it a try.”
“It seems you trained for quite a while, considering you call it ‘brief.’”
I could tell from the lingering traces of heat nearby.
Meaning the heat had remained for quite some time.
So he couldn’t sleep.
Did he stay up all night? Just as that question crossed my mind—
“Third son.”
“Yes.”
“Where did you learn that power?”
“...”
Father went straight to the main point.
To think he would skip all the small talk—like morning greetings or asking if I had eaten—and go straight to the main subject. I was slightly flustered, but…
‘That is so like Father.’
It was, rather, a very father-like thing to do.
“You mean that power?”
“Yes.”
“Which power do you mean?”
I had been thinking of playing dumb and dodging the question, but…
“Tuapacheonmu.”
“...”
I had to press my lips firmly shut at the words Father casually uttered.
“It was Lord Paejon’s martial art, was it not?”
“…No.”
I had definitely drawn internal energy and coated my body with it, but I collapsed from a blow to the face before I could properly execute it.
How did Father know about this?
Did he realize it the moment he saw it?
“You have contained two mental cultivation techniques within your body.”
“That is… it simply turned out that way.”
There were not just two, but around four or five contained within me.
But bringing that up as well did not seem like a situation that would pass smoothly, so I held my tongue.
Only then did Father turn the back he had been keeping turned toward me.
“To think you can contain two mental cultivation techniques and still be unharmed—there must be something going on.”
Rather than asking why, it felt as though he was confirming the result and seeking the reason.
“Yes… it simply worked when I tried.”
“Did Lord Paejon tell you to do so?”
“No. Not at all. I insisted on learning it together because I could not abandon the main family’s martial arts.”
“…Hmm.”
He did not seem to like my answer. But it was the truth.
It was true that I had said I could not abandon the main family’s martial arts. It was also true that I had insisted.
“Patriarch.”
“Speak.”
“Then, did you knock me out yesterday because I tried to use two mental cultivation techniques at once?”
I had wondered if he had knocked me out to stop my body from exploding.
“Yes.”
And from Father’s answer, I knew that was correct.
Well, if I suddenly brought out another mental cultivation technique right before his eyes, it might have looked to others as though I were suddenly trying to kill myself.
Feeling awkward, I turned my head, and Father brought up another subject.
“When did you begin learning it?”
“It has only been a few months.”
“Then that means Lord Paejon is currently in Hanam as well.”
“...”
Damn, had that been a slip of the tongue? I grew cautious, wondering if it would cause a problem.
“Since it is your choice, I will say no more. If you say there is no problem having learned it, then so be it.”
“…Yes.”
“If you happen to meet the Elder in the future, tell him that I wish to see him before long.”
“Understood.”
I could tell that Lord Paejon’s expression would not be pleasant when I delivered this message, but what could I do? I had been found out.
I sighed inwardly and then spoke to Father.
“Um… Patriarch.”
“Yes.”
“Then does the bet become a thing of the past?”
At my words, Father looked at me with a profound gaze.
Yesterday’s spar was a bout meant to pass over information about my mother.
In the end, I had failed to land a single attack, so the bet had been my loss.
I knew that, but I was being shamelessly stubborn about it.
‘Do they feed you for putting on airs? You beg if you need to beg.’
Perhaps it was fortunate I was far from that kind of personality.
“You are acting lighter than expected.”
“…Ahem.”
It was a remark asking why I was dragging out a finished matter.
It was a bit embarrassing even to me, but it was not something I could simply let pass, and above all, this was not something I would bring up without justification.
“Patriarch. You clearly said yesterday that you would use only one hand.”
“...”
At my words, Father’s eyebrows twitched greatly.
Watching that, I could tell.
Father knew exactly what I was talking about.
I had clearly seen it then.
“But why did you use your right arm?”
“...”
The arm Father used when he struck my face last night had been his right hand.
“Isn’t that right?”
Father remained silent.
His fierce scowl was quite frightening, but I could faintly tell that expression was part of his fluster.
“Then I won the bet, right?”
“...”
There was still no answer. Father must have tried to stealthily brush it off and pretend otherwise, but I would not miss something like this.
I was better than anyone at finding fault in others’ actions—how could I miss this?
Before the bet spar began, Father had sealed one hand.
The sealed hand had clearly been his right hand.
The fact that he had used it in the end meant that I had won, did it not?
As I watched Father to see what he would say—
“I do not know what you are talking about.”
“Wow.”
At Father’s answer, I couldn’t help but let out an exclamation.
I never thought I would live to see the day Father would weasel out of something.
“So that is how you are going to play it?”
“However, you seem very disappointed. I shall give you one more chance.”
“No, what is this about? What am I disappointed about?”
You are trying to sneak your way out?
What did I have to be disappointed about?
I stared at Father, dumbfounded. Then I had to let out a hollow laugh inwardly.
For Father to act like that even after coming this far, in the end…
“…You really do not want to send me there, do you?”
“I told you so from the beginning.”
“Even so, I must go. I will go, no matter what.”
“...”
“Even if you try to stop me, it means I will push through with everything I have got.”
I had to go.
By whatever means necessary.
I could not simply send away the divine sword contained within my body, and to learn the things that concerned me, I absolutely had to break through.
This meant that no matter how much Father tried to stop me, nothing would change.
When I spoke with such determination, Father fell silent for a moment and then spoke to me.
“Very well.”
“What?”
Very well? Just as I swelled with unexpected hope at that unforeseen answer—
“If you so wish to go there, I shall set one condition.”
At Father’s following words, I had to frown.
“A spar? Again?”
It was a fight I could not win right now.
I was certain of that after confirming the gap between Father and me yesterday.
Perhaps if I recovered all the realms I had reached in my previous life.
But in my current state, I could not reach him.
More than anything, the time it would take to recover all of my previous life’s power was also a problem.
“It is not a spar.”
“Then what?”
“What is the current realm of your mental cultivation technique?”
“Seven-Star.”
Technically, it was the early stage of Seven-Star.
It was thanks to reaching the Transformation Realm and the ring of the Nine Flames Fire Wheel Art growing together.
“Reach Nine-Star. If you do, I shall tell you.”
“…Nine-Star?”
“Yes.”
Nine-Star was a realm I had reached in my previous life.
Then, in other words, did that mean he would tell me once I recovered all of my previous life’s power?
‘Though it is a bit different from that.’
It would be different from my previous life.
Back then, I had been more focused on increasing demonic energy than the main family’s martial arts. If I aimed for it now, I would reach it much sooner.
That much was not bad, but—
“May I ask why… it must be Nine-Star?”
The condition he set was more specific than I expected, so I was a bit dubious.
Having heard my question, Father answered without hesitation.
“Because you must be at least that strong to survive.”
“...”
I was left speechless at Father’s answer.
I did not know what kind of tremendous place it was for him to set such a condition, but looking at Father’s face, I could tell there was no further compromise to be had.
‘So this is all I could gain from bringing up the arm.’
Even if I tried to cling and ask if he had not used both arms.
I could tell the spar itself had taken place out of Father’s consideration to begin with, so pressing the issue further was the best I could do.
‘Nine-Star…’
It was only two stars ahead, but the gap between realms only grew thicker the further one went.
“…Understood. Nine-Star—once I reach it, I shall ask again.”
But there was no immediate way, so I had to concede.
I said I understood, but I intended to find another way while raising my realm.
At my words, Father nodded.
And then.
“...”
“...”
Perhaps because the conversation had ended, a long silence fell.
It was a very uncomfortable silence.
Just as I was agonizing over whether to flee or bring up something more—
“Third son.”
“Yes.”
“Have you eaten?”
“...”
I was quite flustered by Father’s words. It was something I had heard somewhere before.
‘Where have I heard this?’
The moment I thought about it, I could recall immediately.
‘It is what I always used to say.’
It was something curtly thrown out when there was nothing in particular to ask, merely to check if anything was wrong or if one was going around hungry.
“I… have not.”
“I see.”
Having heard my answer, Father immediately passed by me and began walking.
And he threw out a short phrase as he went.
“Then let us go eat. Follow me.”
“...”
I quietly watched Father’s retreating figure. For some reason, it felt like the first time I had heard such words from him.
He meant for us to eat breakfast together, did he not?
After mulling over that meaning for a bit,
I too began to move my steps cautiously.
“…Yes. Father.”
At the words I spat out, Father’s shoulders stirred faintly.
I worried I might have seemed strange for saying it so bluntly.
But Father did not say a word.
What followed was the same silence as always.
However.
Unlike before, the current silence was not very uncomfortable at all.
That felt quite strange.