By the time I barely managed to pull my body out of the cave, the sun had already set.
My whole body was already drenched in sweat. Even though I was the type who normally didn't care about getting a little dirty, this was enough to make me feel uncomfortable.
‘…Fucking exhausting.’
I came out, dragging my exhausted body.
Drinking in the night air that seemed to be waiting for me, I felt like I might live a little.
How long had I been making holes in the cave?
I couldn't tell by feel, but since I had skipped meals to do it, it must have been quite a while.
‘Ah, come to think of it, I came without telling them I wasn't going to eat.’
I only realized after coming out. Usually, I'd say "I'll eat before I go" or "I'll eat when I get there" to my companions.
Today, I couldn't because I was too focused.
‘It should be fine, right?’
There's no way they'd skip dinner just because I'm not there….
‘Hmm.’
I wanted to think not, but since there had been a few times they did exactly that, I was a little worried.
Should I walk a little faster?
After leaving the cave and coming down the mountain, the city came into view before long.
Even though night had fallen, the streets of Henan were still bright.
Of course, "before long" is by my standards.
If I used internal energy to raise my speed a bit, I could close that distance in no time.
‘This has changed too.’
Feeling it now reminded me of the past.
That time when I had been wheezing and walking through Sichuan to find Bigo.
‘Back then, Wi Seol-a followed me secretly.’
I didn't even notice Wi Seol-a was following until I was about to reach Bigo.
The embarrassing part was that I had run until I was exhausted, yet Wi Seol-a had followed along without any trouble.
‘It was strange back then, too.’
She was strange to begin with, but the deeper you looked, the stranger it got.
I don't know about the current Wi Seol-a, but back then, there was something about her that made it questionable to call her human.
Her weak presence, her absurd strength for an ordinary person, and so on.
Of course, by now, I vaguely knew the reason.
Actually, it wasn't even a matter of knowing or not.
‘She just wasn't human, that's all.’
Wi Seol-a is not human.
It was a statement that now made sense. That there was something about Wi Seol-a.
It's just that I didn't want to think that way myself.
‘Wi Seol-a is a person.’
If I think so, then that's what she is.
It felt like glossing over it, but I just wanted to think that.
Look at me now. Rather than the memory of how strange Wi Seol-a was back then, wasn't the only memory filling my mind the one where I had leaped through the air carrying her on my back?
It meant that Wi Seol-a's true identity wasn't such an important story to me.
‘Back then, even this distance was tough in its own way.’
It was around the time my realm had just reached the second-rate after obtaining a fortuitous encounter that wasn't one.
What guts had I had to say I'd carry Wi Seol-a and run?
‘Ah.’
That's right.
Wi Seol-a had asked me to carry her.
Had she asked to be carried because she was tired? Remembering that was quite amusing.
It was a rather pleasant memory, too.
While recalling such trivial memories, my steps had already arrived in the city.
As soon as I arrived, I took out a bamboo hat and put it on.
‘…Tch.’
Walking around wearing a bamboo hat because I was afraid someone might recognize me. This was a truly incomparably embarrassing reason.
Being too famous was a problem, too.
Especially since there were now large numbers of people from other regions in the city, it was even worse.
Those damn Martial Alliance bastards.
‘Could've spread rumors in moderation.’
They do their jobs like dogshit, but they're damn good at spreading these shitty rumors.
They're so good at it that in Henan, there are few left who don't know my alias or about me.
From a certain perspective, fame is a form of power for a martial artist, so such rumors aren't entirely bad, but….
‘…No, I think it's bad.’
I let out a deep sigh.
Honestly, this kind of attention wasn't very welcome.
It was a different kind of attention than in my previous life, but people's gazes were still more uncomfortable than enjoyable.
Should I say that this was something I would experience someday?
‘I wonder how the others endure this.’
I thought of the Four Great Families.
They had the symbol of their family embroidered on their martial robes themselves, so usually, you could tell just by looking.
It meant a direct descendant of the Four Great Families had appeared.
When I was young, I had wondered embarrassedly why they would walk around like that, but as my perspective on the world broadened a little, I understood immediately.
It was a form of value.
You wouldn't get entangled in pointless disputes, and wherever you went, you received special treatment unless something happened.
The treatment you received changed when dealing with others, and the position you stood at started high from the beginning.
That was the power that reputation held.
If you looked closer, it would be much more complicated, but from my perspective, that was about it.
Of course, even if there were many such good things.
‘Until things calm down a bit… let's not stand out.’
No matter how I looked at it, I felt like I didn't fit that side.
I pulled the bamboo hat down further.
After erasing my presence by moving my internal energy, I hastened my steps.
Because I wanted to get to the inn quickly.
As I walked a bit like that.
Stopping short—
At a certain place, my steps came to a halt.
It was a shop that looked like a tavern. A place I knew, too.
It was where Moyong Hui-a sometimes bought dumplings. Maybe because I had said they were delicious, she always bought them from here.
"…Hmm."
I wondered what to do but didn't ponder long. I went straight into the shop and ordered food.
And by the time I came out, my one hand was holding something bulging.
I had bought quite a lot, but since there was at least one person who would eat it all anyway, I figured it was okay to buy a little more.
Should I buy some yakgwa too?
If I passed by some, I should buy them.
Thinking so, I walked toward the inn again.
The crowds were still large.
The night of the streets was bright.
A food smell wafted from my hands.
I walked, enjoying such streets for a moment. Despite hating such crowded streets, I paradoxically wished for them.
Because seeing many people meant I could feel that the blood tribulation had not yet arrived.
Thinking that, I moved my steps slowly.
Not long after, as I walked a bit more, I felt the crowds gradually thinning.
Passing through the vibrant streets, I was approaching the inn.
‘But even so, isn't this too few?’
Just as I wondered if something was going on due to the smaller-than-expected crowd.
"Hmm?"
Sure enough, I saw something in the distance.
It felt like the crowd was somewhat gathered. Were they doing something?
‘No wonder there were fewer people than usual.’
That seemed to be the reason.
The moment I tried to turn around, thinking I'd just go back.
"…I apologize."
A familiar voice reached my ears.
I turned my head. Following the voice, a woman's back came into view.
I recalled what I had been thinking about earlier regarding symbols.
That the symbol of the Four Great Families was value.
The Gu Family was no different.
Our household had something that could be called a symbol of its own.
There existed martial robes with it embroidered on the chest, but I usually didn't bother wearing them.
It's embarrassing, walking around like that.
I probably wouldn't wear them in the future either.
‘Besides, no one wears them anyway.’
I had never seen my father or even Gu Huibi wearing them.
They wear them for important occasions.
They wore them at the last Righteous Faction Conference, after all.
Anyway.
If you're asking why I'm bringing up that symbol now, it's because the woman over there was currently wearing martial robes with that symbol.
And Gu Family martial robes, at that.
A deep red martial robe with a pattern drawn in pale yellow embroidery.
That was the symbolic outfit worn by the direct descendants of the Gu Family.
There was only one direct descendant I could recall who walked around wearing such an eye-catching outfit.
‘Gu Yeonseo?’
Yes.
The owner of the voice was Gu Yeonseo.
After confirming that, I approached the gathered crowd.
Gu Yeonseo was offering an apology to someone.
Seeing that, I slightly furrowed my brows and examined the opponent.
The person Gu Yeonseo was apologizing to was a middle-aged man of enormous build.
If I had to compare, he gave off a feeling that reminded me of Iljang-ro.
A massive frame that made the waist sword at his hip look small.
He wore black martial robes.
On his fingers was likewise a black ring.
After checking that far, I naturally knew who the opponent was.
Moreover, it was someone whose face I had encountered several times; there was no way I wouldn't know.
That man was.
‘Paeng Patriarch?’
He was the head of the Paeng Family, known as the Blade King.
‘Why?’
Doubt swept over me.
Why were Paeng Patriarch and Gu Yeonseo in such a situation?
And in the middle of the street, out of nowhere.
Gu Yeonseo's shoulders were hunched as if intimidated.
Paeng Patriarch's expression as he looked at her was extremely unpleasant.
"…Hmph. The younger generation these days is truly pathetic. To think you can't even see straight while walking."
"…"
"Moreover, to brush against the shoulder of a senior far above you. Is that what you were taught at home?"
"No… It's my fault."
The moment Gu Yeonseo spat out an apology without excuses, one of my eyebrows shot up.
‘Would you look at this?’
Did Gu Yeonseo bump into Paeng Patriarch's shoulder while walking?
From the conversation, that's what it seemed like.
"You should have seen me first and approached with courtesy; that would have been barely enough. Tsk tsk."
Paeng Patriarch's expression as he repeatedly spat out words was subtle.
Rather than being angry, it was closer to a smirk of having caught prey.
‘Bumped shoulders?’
That was something impossible by my common sense.
The crowd wasn't small, but it wasn't that large here either.
It was inconceivable that a man of Patriarch Paeng's stature would allow an opponent to close the distance until their shoulders bumped.
Which meant.
This was closer to a shoddy setup.
"She is still young, but… this is a matter that requires revisiting the Gu Family's educational standards once more."
When the Gu Family was mentioned, Gu Yeonseo flinched. I could see her ears turn red and her body shrink in an instant.
Perhaps because he saw that, the corners of Paeng Patriarch's mouth seemed to rise slightly.
"They say the children's talents are exceptional, but… in terms of basic etiquette like this, the education seems quite lacking…."
"N-no…! This is entirely my fault for not seeing ahead…."
"Gah—!"
Paeng Patriarch exploded in anger, and Gu Yeonseo started in surprise, stepping back.
"I hadn't even finished speaking, yet you dare interrupt me!"
"…I'm sorry. Please forgive my rudeness…."
Every time he found fault with Gu Yeonseo, the corners of Paeng Patriarch's mouth rose.
"For a direct descendant of the most famous family to cut such a figure…! How disappointing."
"…That is."
Gu Yeonseo tried hard to speak but firmly shut her mouth. Because Patriarch Paeng's words just now had become a shackle.
At that attitude, Paeng Patriarch put on a satisfied face and continued.
"Dear me. There were some unfortunate matters regarding the Gu Family, but I was trying to look on the bright side. Seeing this, I suppose I should consider it fortunate that things ended badly back then."
"…!"
He even mentioned the broken engagement, and Gu Yeonseo tightly shut her eyes.
By the time I confirmed that situation, my body was already moving.
"If the bloodline is in such a state, there's no need to see the others…."
Paeng Patriarch's words, which had been continuously spoken in anger, cut off abruptly.
Because I had plunged between the two.
If I watched any longer, I felt like my blood pressure would spike and I'd die first. It couldn't be helped. I couldn't die from something like this here, after all.
I grabbed Gu Yeonseo's shoulder and pulled her straight back.
Gu Yeonseo's eyes widened at the sudden pull.
I pulled Gu Yeonseo behind me and stood before her instead, as if protecting her from Paeng Patriarch.
"Wha…?"
Paeng Patriarch's gaze looking at me, who had suddenly appeared before him, seemed quite flustered.
Of course.
I was bewildered too.
How could I not be flustered when he spoke in such a manner?
"Mister."
At the word I casually spat out, Paeng Patriarch's brow furrowed.
Perhaps because it was a title he had never expected.
Well.
Where would a gentleman who was the Paeng Family Patriarch have ever been called "mister"?
Watching his gradually furrowing expression, I spat out,
"You speak—"
"Like a fucking asshole."
"Like a fucking assho… huh?"
The moment I tried to continue, I felt my strength suddenly drain.
Because someone had barged in and spat out the words I was about to say first.
"You have a filthy mouth for a person. You think your mouth is a trash can? Spitting out trash."
"What…?"
Paeng Patriarch examined the opponent with a bewildered expression.
The one who had spat out these words wasn't me.
It was the words of a woman who had appeared beside me with her arms crossed at some point.
Just as Paeng Patriarch was, I too was busy examining the woman who had suddenly intruded.
Because I had never thought there would be another insane person besides me who would hurl curses outright at the patriarch of one of the Four Great Families.
As I was examining the woman with eyes full of surprise.
"Huh?"
I let out a sound without realizing it. Because I had checked the woman's martial robe.
A light blue martial robe and the embroidery on the chest. Along with several ornaments she was wearing.
Things I had seen often somewhere.
‘This is…?'
Of course.
Because they resembled the items of the Moyong Family that Moyong Hui-a wore.
It wasn't just a resemblance.
The martial robe was exactly the same. The ornaments had the unique shapes produced by the Moyong Family.
In other words.
That woman was a direct descendant of the Moyong Family.