Gu Jeolyeop was not participating in this Sichuan journey.
The thought that came to mind after hearing about him was.
‘This is, no matter how I look at it.’
As I thought before, it was because a problem had occurred at Gu Seonmun.
‘Is it a problem with Muyeon?’
Including the Ilgeom Daeju, a decision had been made at Gu Seonmun to fully throw its support behind Muyeon.
Having heard that, it seemed Gu Jeolyeop had chosen to return to the main house immediately.
As if grasping the implication of my words, Iljangno let out a soft sigh and spoke.
“He wished it himself. The Family Head also told him to do so.”
“Is that so.”
Father probably wouldn’t particularly care what choice Gu Jeolyeop made.
It was simply that I felt a bit of regret.
‘If he were to return to the main house just like that.’
It was a question of whether that would truly be the right thing for Gu Jeolyeop.
Of course, I didn’t think that following me around would necessarily be a better choice than that, but.
‘It just doesn’t sit right with me.’
What nagged at me was the lingering unease.
And that damned bastard’s dark expression too.
After seeing Gu Jeolyeop’s face, I too averted my gaze.
‘If that’s your choice, I won’t interfere, but.’
Since it was a conclusion Gu Jeolyeop had reached himself, believing that returning to Gu Seonmun immediately was right, I too would say no more about it.
If he had quietly come to me and asked what he should do, I might have given a different answer, but.
Gu Jeolyeop did not.
He must have been truly convinced that leaving now was the right thing.
Seeing that, if I were to harbor one wish through even a speck of attachment that had formed,
later on,
I simply hoped that Gu Jeolyeop would not express regret when he recalled this choice of his later.
******************
After finishing all my farewells, I boarded the carriage.
I rode in a carriage provided by the Gu family and did not separately call for attendants.
Perhaps because for the Dangmun side, the rear escort was the most important objective; having too many people would be somewhat inconvenient.
In Paega’s case, it seemed they had reached an agreement with the Dangmun and decided to bolster the guard.
‘As for that external matter…’
I turned my gaze toward the Paega carriage.
Cheoljiseon would be sitting with Pae Ucheol right now.
I needed to find out a bit more about him as well.
‘Going to Dangmun has been slightly delayed because of the rear escort.’
Since the route to Sichuan had been slightly changed for a safe rear escort, I also needed to ascertain if any problems would arise from that.
There was still a lot to think about.
So much remained even after organizing and reorganizing.
I felt the headache that had subsided recently returning.
Just as I let out a slightly heated breath as if exhausted,
from out of nowhere, a cold touch enveloped my forehead.
The owner of the hand was Namgung Bia.
Opening my eyes slightly to look at her face,
I met blue eyes filled with worry.
She looked at me and asked.
“…Are… you okay?”
Asking if I’m okay.
What exactly is supposed to be okay?
I answered her with a slight smile.
“I’m fine. It’s nothing.”
“…”
“I probably smell a bit right now, so stay back.”
It meant I had boarded the carriage in a disheveled state without properly washing up.
I had considered just walking outside, but Wi Seola and Namgung Bia needlessly stopped me, saying I couldn’t.
I could have just gone.
Anyway, the moment I pushed Namgung Bia away slightly, telling her not to touch me because I was a mess,
she instead reached out and guided my head.
Then, a soft sensation was felt in succession.
Wondering what it was, it was Namgung Bia’s lap.
In the moment I tried to rise at the sudden situation,
“…You’re… tired. It’s okay to sleep….”
At Namgung Bia’s voice speaking to me, I unknowingly relaxed my body.
‘How did she know I was tired?’
My body, pushed to its limits, had regulated my breathing to not show it,
controlling it to the point where my breathing wouldn’t falter.
Perhaps because of my disheveled appearance, Namgung Bia seemed to have noticed.
‘…This is troublesome.’
The moment I lay against Namgung Bia’s lap, feeling comfort,
what came afterward was the thought that it was a waste.
Time was being wasted.
Time spent sleeping like this.
Right now was a situation where even this time should be used for something else.
I wondered if it was okay to lie down to sleep like this.
‘Come to think of it, Moyong Hia…’
Moyong Hia, from whom there had been no word recently, had fortunately sent a letter saying she would participate in the Sichuan trip a bit late due to circumstances.
She had said she would join up within a few days of departure.
While recalling that, I suddenly felt something strange.
‘Fortunately…?’
Why had I felt relieved to hear that Moyong Hia was participating in the Sichuan trip?
Was I out of my mind because I was tired?
‘…For now, I need to think more about what awaits in Sichuan than that.’
I had to forcefully erase it and think of other things.
There were many reasons I had deliberately chosen Sichuan.
But among them, even now, there was one thing that particularly concerned me, aside from matters like Baekmaseok or the Yeonga.
‘Coincidentally, that bastard is there.’
My own force to stop him when the great blood calamity I had been thinking about came to pass later.
One of the people I would place in it happened to be based in Sichuan.
Originally, it would be 1-2 years later that he showed prominence, but
I planned to find him a bit earlier.
‘If my prediction isn’t wrong, finding him won’t be very difficult.’
If the information I had heard in my previous life was unchanged,
that bastard would be hiding out in the tallest mountain in Sichuan.
He was the first step toward establishing my force.
One of those who were born as demons in the previous life, and who wouldn’t feel any emotion even if I corrupted him into a demon in this life.
As I was recalling that bastard’s face,
a gentle touch suddenly felt like it was stroking my hair.
Was it Namgung Bia?
Or Wi Seola sitting beside me?
I couldn’t tell.
The only thought that came to me was
how this light touch brought peace to my exhausted mind; I found it truly wondrous.
Even as I thought I should get up,
my exhausted body didn’t seem to permit it, so I eventually decided to sleep for a while.
I should sleep just a little and then get up.
That was my intention.
******************
Gwimunsan of Sichuan (Gwimun Mountain).
One of the great towering mountains, it was the name of the largest mountain in Sichuan.
Not only the mountain’s size, but due to its rather eerie atmosphere and unusually cold air, people called it the mountain possessed by ghosts.
Because of this, the rumors floating about the mountain were also quite terrifying.
Such as ghosts appearing if one climbed the great mountain at night,
or that if one sought the mountain alone, they would not return alive.
The evil rumors about Gwimunsan were quite famous.
Besides these, there were countless absurd rumors surrounding the mountain.
But there was one fact those people did not know.
On Gwimunsan, in truth, there were no ghosts.
Of course, ghosts might exist,
but the rumors of ghosts appearing at night were false rumors spread by those who had established themselves on Gwimunsan.
The saying that those who recklessly visited the mountain couldn’t return alive was true, but
that was not because of ghosts, but because of what humans had done.
Those who had secretly established themselves on the great mountain,
and spread rumors to prevent people from approaching.
In the Central Plains, they were called “Nokrim.”
Ever since the Magyeongmun occurred in the past, demon beasts had begun appearing in mountains and seas,
and now, the numbers of the Nokrim path had decreased considerably.
Seeing this, some said somewhere that the seed of bandits had dried up.
It was not wrong.
To the extent that there were virtually no people who had seen bandits throughout the Central Plains, and as escort agencies and such moved to strengthen their forces to guard against demon beasts,
the range in which the Nokrim could operate had shrunk considerably.
Given such a situation,
calling those based on Gwimunsan the “Last Nokrim” would not be strange at all.
An eerie dwelling on the mountainside.
Rattle-rattle-rattle-.
Inside, liquor bottles were rolling around in a room that was near chaos.
Flies swarmed over the liquor bottles scattered messily here and there and the food that looked like it hadn’t been cleaned up after eating,
and in that filthy mess, men who looked like they hadn’t washed in days could be seen tangled together, snoring loudly.
Unlike the quiet forest, it was a point where one would worry the mountain would rumble from the snoring the men let out.
Suddenly, the dwelling’s door burst open and someone ran in.
Bam-!
“Chief!”
A man with a bushy beard kicked the door open and roared.
As if reacting to that sound, the men who had been snoring until just now groaned and stirred.
“Ugh… my head hurts….”
“Wa… water!”
“Uuurk-!”
“Ugh! You bastard…! Don’t puke here!”
“Grab this bastard and throw him!”
Amidst the chaos that erupted in an instant, the person who had shouted first looked around and spoke.
“Where is the Chief? Where is the Chief?”
“What, it’s the youngest?”
“Youngest… First, bring some water.”
Despite the man’s urgent words, the others didn’t seem to listen, too busy raising their voices at each other.
However much they had drunk the previous day, the room was filled with the smell of alcohol.
The man kept asking about the Chief, but not a single person answered.
Perhaps because of that,
“No! You people! I’m asking where the Chief is!”
Whether because the man was furious, he shrieked.
Then,
the noisy atmosphere in the room quieted down in an instant.
Feeling that, the man trembled.
Because the gazes of those looking at him were unusual.
“…Hah, look at this bastard?”
“Did the youngest eat something wrong? He’s got quite a voice. Did that bastard just yell at us?”
“Ptoo.”
Crack.
Those who had been collapsed as if dying from hangovers slowly raised their bodies.
One wouldn’t know when they were lying down, but when they all rose, each one’s build was considerable.
To the point where it seemed the tops of their heads would touch the dwelling’s ceiling.
At their builds and the faint killing intent they exuded, the man trembled and stepped back.
“No… Brothers… That’s not…”
“‘That’s not?’ Seems his tongue has lost its mind because we haven’t taught him a lesson in a while.”
“Shall we teach him a lesson for the first time in a while?”
Thick fingers reached out toward the man.
The man squeezed his eyes shut seeing that.
He anticipated the pain that would follow,
but strangely, the pain he had expected was not felt.
The moment the man, thinking something strange, slightly opened his eyes,
“…Huh?”
the others who had been approaching him were standing straight as if nothing had happened.
The moment the man confirmed that and was about to frown, wondering why they were acting that way,
“…So.”
he had to stiffen at the voice coming from behind.
Hearing the voice, the man forced his stiff head to turn and look back.
There stood the “real deal,” with a height a head taller than the massive builds in front.
His bare upper body was packed with firm muscles,
and though his body was covered with deep scars here and there, rather, that created an overwhelming atmosphere.
Within the disheveled long hair, a profound gaze that inspired fear just by looking could be felt.
Meeting those eyes, the man called out to the other with a trembling voice.
“Ch-Chief… Ugh!?”
The man called Chief grabbed the man’s neck and lifted him up.
The sight of a fully grown adult male being lifted by the neck in a giant hand was far too alien.
“What business is it that you’re bothering me with since morning?”
“…Th-that… Ugh….”
“If it doesn’t satisfy me, you die just like this. Understood?”
The dense killing intent mixed in his voice began to dominate the man’s entire body.
His appearance speaking with the corners of his mouth raised high was utterly terrifying.
Looking at such a Chief, the man barely spat out words.
“…D-Dangmun….”
The Chief’s eyes slightly widened upon hearing the words the man barely managed to spit out.
Following that,
Thud-!
“Keo-heok!”
The man who had been held was released and crashed straight to the floor.
So strong was the grip on his neck that the fallen man had to gasp for breath immediately.
“Hahk… Hahk…!”
He had barely managed to catch his breath, but
that too was brief.
Scrape.
The Chief lowered his knee to face the man who was prostrate and asked.
“What about Dangmun. Speak.”
Faced with the Chief’s broad smile as he asked, the man trembled down to his shoulders.
The identity of the man called Chaeju, radiating such an overwhelming atmosphere:
He was the master of the last Nokrim stronghold remaining on Gwimunsan,
and a man who would enter the command of the Heavenly Demon and come to be called Nokwang.