By the time I finally dragged myself out of the cave, the sun had already set.
My entire body was drenched in sweat. Even for someone who usually didn’t care about getting a little dirty, I was filthy enough to feel uncomfortable.
‘…This is fucking exhausting.’
I came out, dragging my weary body along.
The night air that blew in as if it had been waiting for me made me feel a little more alive.
How long had I spent making holes in the cave?
I couldn’t really tell, but since I had skipped a meal to do it, it must have been quite a while.
‘Ah, come to think of it, I left without telling them I wouldn’t be eating.’
I only realized it after coming out. Normally, I would tell the others that I was going to eat before coming, or that I would eat after I arrived.
Today, I hadn’t been able to because I was so focused.
‘It should be fine, right?’
Surely they wouldn’t skip dinner just because I wasn’t there….
‘Hmm.’
I wanted to believe they wouldn’t, but they had done so several times before, which made me a little uneasy.
Should I walk a little faster?
Once I left the cave and climbed down the mountain, the county seat came into view before long.
Even though night had fallen, the streets of Henan were still brightly lit.
Of course, “before long” was according to my standards.
With my qi, I could easily close the distance by increasing my speed a little.
‘This has changed too.’
Feeling the difference brought the past to mind.
I was reminded of the time I had walked around Sichuan, panting as I searched for the secret vault.
‘Wi Seol-ah secretly followed me back then.’
I hadn’t even noticed that Wi Seol-ah was following me until I was nearly at the secret vault.
What was embarrassing was that although I had run myself ragged, Wi Seol-ah had followed me without showing the slightest sign of fatigue.
‘She was strange back then.’
She had always been strange, but the deeper I thought about it, the stranger it became.
I didn’t know about the Wi Seol-ah of today, but there had been something about the Wi Seol-ah of that time that made it difficult to call her human.
Her weak presence, her absurd strength for an ordinary person, and so on.
Of course, by now I had a vague idea of why that was.
In truth, there was no need to wonder about it.
‘She simply wasn’t human.’
Wi Seol-ah was not human.
The words finally felt real to me. That there was something else inside Wi Seol-ah.
It was just that I didn’t want to think of her that way.
‘Wi Seol-ah is a person.’
If I thought of her that way, then that was what she was.
It felt like I was glossing over the matter, but that was simply how I wanted to think of it.
Even now, look at me. Rather than remembering how strange Wi Seol-ah had been back then, wasn’t I instead recalling how I had carried her on my back and leaped through the air?
That meant Wi Seol-ah’s identity was not particularly important to me.
‘Back then, even this distance had been difficult.’
It had been around the time I had just reached the Second Realm after obtaining an opportunity that wasn’t quite an opportunity.
What had given me the nerve to say I would carry Wi Seol-ah on my back and run?
‘Ah.’
Right.
Wi Seol-ah had asked me to carry her.
Had she said she was tired and asked to be carried? Thinking back on it was rather amusing.
It was a good memory, too.
As I recalled such random memories, I had already arrived at the county seat.
The moment I arrived, I took out my bamboo hat and put it on.
‘…Tsk.’
Wearing a bamboo hat so no one would recognize me was an utterly embarrassing reason to do so.
Becoming too famous was a problem in itself.
Moreover, there were now large numbers of people from other regions in the county seat, making it even worse.
Those damn Murim Alliance bastards.
‘Couldn’t they spread rumors in moderation?’
They did a shitty job at everything else, but they were strangely good at spreading these kinds of ridiculous rumors.
They had done it so well that there were now few people in Henan who didn’t know my title or who I was.
In a way, fame was a form of power for a martial artist, so rumors like these might not be entirely bad….
‘…No, they’re bad.’
I let out a deep sigh.
Honestly, I wasn’t particularly pleased with this kind of attention.
It was a different sort of attention from what I had received in my previous life, but people’s gazes were still more uncomfortable than enjoyable.
Should I say this was something I would have had to experience eventually?
‘I have no idea how the others put up with this.’
I thought of the Four Great Families.
Since they embroidered the symbols representing their clans onto their martial uniforms, it was usually possible to recognize them at a glance.
It announced that a blood member of one of the Four Great Families had appeared.
When I was young, I had wondered why they embarrassed themselves by walking around dressed like that. But as my understanding of the world broadened, I immediately realized why.
It was a kind of value.
They could avoid being dragged into pointless disputes, and wherever they went, they would receive preferential treatment unless something extraordinary happened.
People treated them differently, and they could begin from a higher position the moment they stood alongside others.
That was the power of fame.
It was probably much more complicated if one looked into it in greater detail. But from my perspective, that was about the size of it.
Of course, even if there were plenty of benefits….
‘Until things calm down a little…. I shouldn’t stand out.’
No matter how I looked at it, I didn’t seem suited to that sort of thing.
I pulled my bamboo hat down farther.
Immediately after using my qi to erase my presence, I quickened my pace.
I wanted to get to the inn as soon as possible.
I walked for a while like that.
Then—
I came to an abrupt stop in one spot.
The place looked like a tavern. It was somewhere I knew, too.
It was where Moyong Huia occasionally bought dumplings. Perhaps because I had said they were delicious, she always bought them from here.
“…Hmm.”
I wondered what to do, but I didn’t deliberate for long. I went straight into the shop and ordered some food.
By the time I left, I was holding a considerable amount of food in one hand.
I had bought rather a lot, but there was at least one person who would eat it all anyway, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to buy a little extra.
Should I buy some yakgwa as well?
If I passed by somewhere selling them, I would pick some up.
Thinking that, I resumed walking toward the inn.
The crowds were still thick.
The night on the streets was bright.
The smell of food clung to my hand.
I walked along, enjoying the street for a little while. I disliked streets like this, yet paradoxically, I also wished for them to remain this way.
Seeing so many people meant that the blood calamity had not yet arrived.
With that thought in mind, I continued walking slowly.
Not long after, as I walked a little farther, I felt the crowd gradually thinning out.
I had passed the busy streets and was drawing closer to the inn.
‘Even so, this is too empty.’
Just as I began to wonder if something was going on because the crowd was smaller than expected—
“Hmm?”
As expected, I saw something in the distance.
There seemed to be a crowd gathered over there. Were they doing something?
‘No wonder the streets were emptier than usual.’
That must have been the reason.
I was about to turn around and leave when—
“…I’m sorry.”
A familiar voice reached my ears.
I turned my head. Following the voice with my eyes, I saw the back of a woman.
What I had said earlier about symbols came to mind.
That the symbols of the Four Great Families represented value.
The Gu Clan was the same.
Our family had a symbol that could be considered our own, and there were martial uniforms with it embroidered over the chest. But I generally chose not to wear them.
It was embarrassing. Walking around dressed like that, I mean.
I probably wouldn’t ever wear one in the future, either.
‘No one wears them anyway.’
I had never seen Father, or even Gu Hee-bi, walking around in one.
They did wear them to important occasions.
They had worn them at the last Orthodox Alliance Gathering, after all.
Regardless.
The reason I brought up that symbol now was because the woman happened to be wearing the martial uniform bearing it.
The Gu Clan’s martial uniform, to be precise.
It was a dark red uniform with a pattern embroidered in pale yellow.
That was the symbolic clothing worn by blood members of the Gu Clan.
And as far as I could remember, there was only one blood member who went around wearing such conspicuous clothing.
‘Gu Yeonseo?’
That was right.
The owner of the voice was Gu Yeonseo.
After confirming that, I approached the crowd.
Gu Yeonseo was apologizing to someone.
The moment I saw that, I slightly furrowed my brow and examined the other party.
The person Gu Yeonseo was apologizing to was a middle-aged man with a massive build.
In a way, he reminded me of the First Elder.
He was so large that the weapon at his waist looked small by comparison.
He was wearing a black martial uniform.
A black ring was also worn on one of his fingers.
Once I saw that much, I naturally knew who he was.
I had even encountered his face several times before, so there was no way I could fail to recognize him.
That man was—
‘The Peng Clan Head?’
He was the head of the Peng Clan, known as the Saber King.
‘Why?’
A question swept over me.
Why were the Peng Clan Head and Gu Yeonseo acting like that?
And in the middle of the street, of all places.
Gu Yeonseo’s shoulders had drawn inward, as though she had been intimidated.
The expression on the Peng Clan Head’s face as he looked at her was thoroughly unpleasant.
“…Hmph. The younger generation these days is utterly disappointing. You can’t even walk without looking where you’re going.”
“…”
“Worse yet, you struck the shoulder of a senior who stands far above you and simply walked on. Did your family teach you that such behavior was acceptable?”
“No…. It was my fault.”
The moment Gu Yeonseo apologized without making any excuses, one of my eyebrows rose.
‘What’s this?’
Had Gu Yeonseo struck the Peng Clan Head’s shoulder while walking down the street?
That was how it seemed from their conversation.
“You ought to have approached me after spotting me first and paid your respects. Tsk, tsk.”
The Peng Clan Head’s expression as he continued speaking was strange.
Rather than anger, he looked as though he were smiling because things had gone exactly as he wanted.
‘She bumped his shoulder?’
That was impossible, according to common sense.
The crowd wasn’t small, but neither was this area particularly crowded.
There was no way a man like the Peng Clan Head would have allowed someone to get close enough to bump into his shoulder.
In other words—
This was nothing more than a pathetic scheme.
“You’re still young, so perhaps that’s why. But it seems we need to take another look at the Gu Clan’s educational standards.”
At the mention of the Gu Clan, Gu Yeonseo flinched. I could see her ears turn red and her body shrink back in an instant.
Perhaps because he noticed that, the corners of the Peng Clan Head’s lips seemed to rise slightly.
“I’ve heard the children of the Gu Clan possess great talent…. But when it comes to basic etiquette, it seems your education is severely lacking….”
“N-No, that’s not it…! This was entirely my fault because I couldn’t see where I was going….”
“Enough!”
When the Peng Clan Head suddenly shouted in anger, Gu Yeonseo jumped in surprise and took a step back.
“I hadn’t finished speaking, yet you interrupted me!”
“…I’m sorry. Please forgive my rudeness….”
The corners of the Peng Clan Head’s lips rose each time he found another fault to pick at with Gu Yeonseo.
“To think that this is what the blood member of the most famous family in the world looks like…! How disappointing.”
“…That’s…”
Gu Yeonseo tried to force the words out, but then firmly closed her mouth. The Peng Clan Head’s last remark had become a shackle around her.
The Peng Clan Head looked pleased by her attitude and continued speaking.
“Well now. There may have been an unpleasant incident involving the Gu Clan, but I was trying to think of it in a favorable light. Seeing this, however, I suppose I should consider it fortunate that things ended badly back then.”
“…!”
When he even brought up the broken engagement, Gu Yeonseo squeezed her eyes shut.
The moment I confirmed the situation had reached that point, my body was already moving.
“With the state of their own bloodline being like this, there’s no need to even look at the rest of—”
The Peng Clan Head’s angry speech abruptly cut off.
I had pushed my way between the two of them.
If I watched any longer, my blood pressure would rise and kill me first. I had no choice. I couldn’t die over something like this.
I grabbed Gu Yeonseo by the shoulder and pulled her backward.
Her eyes widened at the sudden tug.
I drew Gu Yeonseo behind me and stepped in front of her, blocking the Peng Clan Head as though to protect her.
“What…?”
The Peng Clan Head looked genuinely flustered as he stared at me, who had suddenly appeared in front of him.
Of course he did.
I was flustered myself.
How could I not be, when he was speaking like that?
“Mister.”
At my offhand address, the Peng Clan Head’s brow furrowed.
Perhaps because it was a form of address he had never expected.
Of course.
How often had the head of the Peng Clan ever been called “mister”?
Watching his expression gradually twist, I spoke.
“You sure know how to—”
“You sure know how to talk like a fucking asshole.”
“You sure know how to talk like a—Huh?”
Just as I was about to continue, I felt the strength drain out of me.
Someone had abruptly cut in and said what I had been about to say first.
“You have a filthy mouth. Do you think it’s a garbage can? Is that why you keep spitting trash out of it?”
“What did you say…?”
The Peng Clan Head stared at the speaker with a bewildered expression.
It hadn’t been me who said those words.
They had come from a woman who had appeared beside me at some point, arms folded.
Just as the Peng Clan Head did, I was too busy examining the woman who had suddenly butted in.
I hadn’t thought there would be another madman besides me who would immediately curse at the head of one of the Four Great Families.
As I stared at the woman with eyes filled with surprise—
“Huh?”
A sound escaped me before I realized it. I had noticed the woman’s martial uniform.
The pale-blue uniform and the embroidery on her chest. Even some of the ornaments she wore.
They were items I had often seen somewhere before.
‘Could this be…?’
It had to be.
They resembled the articles of the Moyong Clan that Moyong Huia wore.
It wasn’t merely a resemblance.
The martial uniform was exactly the same, while the ornaments had the distinctive shapes characteristic of those produced by the Moyong Clan.
In other words—
That woman was a blood member of the Moyong Clan.