“How did you know?”
At the Dark King’s words, Gu Cheorun looked into his eyes. Eyes like an abyss, dark and devoid of light or shadow.
After quietly watching those eyes, he spoke.
“It was impossible not to know.”
The Poison King’s letter, containing news of his son.
How could he not know that the Dark King had intervened to ensure it reached the Gu clan?
Thinking about it, the answer was simple.
The distance from Sichuan to Shanxi was by no means short.
With Gu Cheorun’s strength, he could arrive in a short time. But that would not be the case under ordinary circumstances.
And yet—
“It arrived only a few days after the incident occurred.”
The speed at which the letter arrived was strange.
No matter how quickly it had been sent, it was impossible given the time involved.
Therefore, he had to suspect someone’s intervention. He had merely concluded that person was the Dark King.
There was only one problem with that.
“I don’t understand.”
The Dark King looked at Gu Cheorun and asked,
“You may have had your doubts. But there was no evidence whatsoever to make you certain that I was responsible.”
That the letter had arrived quickly did not necessarily mean the Dark King had intervened.
Yes, someone might have stepped in and employed some means to hasten it.
But that alone could not be the reason Gu Cheorun was certain it was the Dark King.
When he asked about that, Gu Cheorun answered in a calm voice.
“You are here, Elder.”
The Dark King’s brow shifted slightly at his words.
“That alone was enough reason for me to be certain.”
“Hmm.”
So that was why.
Only then did the Dark King understand why Gu Cheorun had come to that conclusion.
‘He noticed?’
When the group had set out from Henan for Sichuan, the Dark King had infiltrated their party in disguise.
Had Gu Cheorun realized it back then?
And yet he had not let it show?
The Dark King looked at Gu Cheorun with newfound interest.
“Then why did you not show any sign of it at the time?”
“There was no reason to.”
The Dark King had infiltrated his son’s party. That alone could have caused any number of problems.
There was no reason?
At those words, the Dark King’s lips curled slightly.
“What would you have done if I had harmed your son?”
“Do you intend to do so?”
The Dark King gave a short laugh at Gu Cheorun’s words.
He had already done something akin to harming him.
He had used his Authority to kill the boy more than hundreds of times.
But if the question was whether he intended to do so of his own will—
“That depends on what your son does.”
He had no intention of making the first move.
He could not promise that he never would. But for now, he had no such intention.
“Then that is enough.”
“Why? Do you think that little brat will never do such a thing to me?”
Was that faith in his son?
“It is not that. He is my son, but there are certainly thorns jutting from the boy.”
Sharp thorns. Gu Yangcheon undoubtedly possessed such a side.
Gu Cheorun also knew that he himself had played a part in creating those thorns.
“Then?”
“Even if he has such a side, if that child were to act in such a way, I would believe there was certainly a reason for it.”
He did not believe Gu Yangcheon would never do so. But if he did, there would be a reason he had been forced to.
That was the nature of Gu Cheorun’s faith in Gu Yangcheon.
The Dark King could not understand it.
“How is that any different from faith in one’s child?”
“To call it faith would be inaccurate. It is closer to atonement.”
Not believing because he trusted, but trusting because he had to.
When it came to the reason he had to do so, Gu Cheorun would call it atonement.
Atonement for having made his son that way.
After hearing this, the Dark King asked,
“And what will you do if I kill that little brat because of it?”
Even if Gu Yangcheon had acted with good intentions and had some reason for doing so—
There was no reason for the Dark King to understand it.
Nor was there any reason for him to look favorably upon that courage.
Gu Cheorun must have known that better than anyone.
So why was he speaking this way?
When asked, Gu Cheorun looked at the Dark King and said,
“I hope you will not do so.”
Gu Cheorun hoped the Dark King would not.
This was partly for his son’s sake. But put another way—
“For your sake as well, Elder.”
Thrum—
The Dark King’s body vibrated faintly at Gu Cheorun’s words.
Refined killing intent. Not the rough, blunt killing intent of a martial artist, but that of an assassin tempered to an extreme degree.
It was calm and quiet.
Yet because it was compressed, the closer one was to it, the more viciously one felt the malice it carried. It poured from the Dark King’s body.
“You have grown quite bold. Bold enough to threaten me.”
Do not do so, if only for your own sake.
The meaning of those words was clear.
It was an unmistakable declaration that if the Dark King touched his son, Gu Cheorun would not stand by idly.
The killing intent grew denser with every passing moment.
The situation was on the verge of exploding.
Even as the Dark King’s aura gradually intensified, Gu Cheorun merely watched him quietly.
Then—
“Hmm.”
The Dark King released his aura in an instant and withdrew his killing intent.
“Do not worry. I have something I want from that little brat as well.”
He had released his aura slightly, but Gu Cheorun did not move an inch.
He had realized it was merely an attempt to test him.
The Dark King also had something he wanted from Gu Yangcheon, so he had no intention of doing anything to him.
Rather, the boy needed to remain alive. As Gu Cheorun had said, not for Gu Yangcheon’s sake, but for his own.
‘The answer to breaking this curse.’
The curse placed upon the Dark King.
More precisely, the key to breaking the curse bound to his bloodline.
Gu Yangcheon would possess the answer.
He had to.
Even now, as he looked at Gu Yangcheon, the Dark King could feel his heart beating rapidly.
‘It has grown far stronger than when I first saw him.’
Resonance.
The scent of the curse he had sensed the moment he laid eyes on Gu Yangcheon.
Back then, it had been faint—so faint. Yet now, for some reason, he could sense it with such startling clarity.
What had changed?
‘A change in his body. Is that the key?’
At a glance, he did not appear all that different, but something about Gu Yangcheon had changed.
The Dark King could tell.
His eyes were unlike those of other people.
Thump.
His heart was beating. Merely looking at the boy caused it to run wild.
At first, he had thought it was killing intent. But recently, the Dark King had realized that was not the case.
Yes, this was not killing intent.
‘This is…’
“I can only thank you for looking upon him favorably.”
As the Dark King continued thinking, Gu Cheorun’s words made him shake his head.
This was not something to think about now.
“I have never looked upon him favorably.”
It was true. He had not particularly thought well of the boy.
But perhaps that answer was sufficient, for Gu Cheorun merely nodded.
There was something else they needed to discuss.
“Now, I would like you to answer my question.”
How had the Dark King intervened?
That was what he wanted to know.
As Gu Cheorun had said, the Dark King had indeed intervened in the matter.
He had not personally moved the letter. He had merely used the Iron Night Assassination Unit to deliver it more quickly.
When it came to such matters, he could proudly say that the Iron Night Assassination Unit was faster than anyone else.
If Gu Cheorun asked why the Dark King had done so—
“I only did it because that fellow asked me to.”
The Dark King answered with a nod.
Following his gaze, Gu Cheorun turned his eyes.
There stood his son, being thoroughly beaten, along with Paejon, who seemed to be enjoying himself.
—Agh…! Fuck…! You hit my bones…!
—I told you to move back. Why did you charge in so foolishly?
—…You told me not to dodge earlier!
—Listen to this brat. You’re speaking far too casually.
—Should I speak formally to my little brother? I’m still the elder here—! Elder, I was joking. Really, I was just jok—
—It is fine. A person naturally improves after being beaten. It is all part of the process. Come here. If you dodge, you will injure your bones.
—…Damn it.
“…”
At the appalling sight, Gu Cheorun almost turned his head away, but forcibly endured.
“…Paejon asked you?”
“Yes.”
It was something Paejon had requested of the Dark King the moment he heard that Gu Yangcheon was in trouble.
He had asked the Dark King to deliver the news to Gu Cheorun as quickly as possible.
As it happened, the Poison King had been sending a letter to the Gu clan at the time.
The Dark King’s eyes extended throughout the entire Tang Clan, so it was impossible for him not to know.
He had merely used that opportunity.
‘I thought he did not seem particularly interested.’
Paejon was more concerned about Gu Yangcheon than expected.
Perhaps because he was the disciple he had spent so many years searching for.
Or perhaps because of something else. There was no way to know.
‘So he is taking on the role of a teacher, in his own way.’
The Dark King had watched Biju by his side for a long time.
It was simply strange to see that madman, who thought of nothing but martial arts, behave this way.
Especially since he had asked the Dark King for a favor for someone’s sake.
‘He has changed.’
Biju was changing in some way.
Whether it was in the right direction or not, even the Dark King did not know.
He had never been interested enough to care.
He saw Paejon plop down atop the fallen Gu Yangcheon.
Gu Yangcheon was half-conscious, panting out exhausted breaths.
Paejon’s hand could be seen as he looked down at him and chuckled.
It was trembling faintly.
Proof that Paejon was exhausted as well. Seeing this, Gu Cheorun turned away.
“Thank you for telling me. I have somewhere to be, so I will take my leave.”
“Hmm.”
After confirming that Gu Yangcheon’s training had ended, Gu Cheorun walked away without hesitation.
Watching his back, the Dark King suddenly spoke.
“Cheorun.”
He stopped abruptly.
His own name, spoken as it had not been in a long time.
There were probably only a handful of people in the Central Plains who could call Gu Cheorun that way now.
The Dark King was one of them.
“Tell Guryun that I will visit him in the near future.”
“…”
To convey a message to an elder through the clan head.
What a bizarre situation, Gu Cheorun thought, but he did not mind and nodded.
“When I return, I will tell him.”
With those words, Gu Cheorun vanished like a spark.
Left alone, the Dark King looked at Gu Yangcheon once more.
The aura surrounding him was growing denser.
Merely looking at him caused his emotions to rise.
At first, he had thought it was killing intent. Then he had thought it was anger.
But now, the emotion had grown even stronger.
—I’m going to die… Please get off me… I’m really going to die like this! Agh! My head…!
—Your mouth is still lively, so I suppose I can continue a little longer. Get up.
“…”
He did not want to admit it, but now he could feel it clearly.
The emotion he felt while looking at Gu Yangcheon…
It was undoubtedly—
Awe.