I widened my eyes at Dang Juyeok’s strange words.
…Taste?
‘Am I crazy?’
Only after hearing those words did I think I understood why the Poison King had looked at me that way.
Could that gentleman have thought I was taking Nahi away because I coveted her in a different sense?
“That’s not it. Have I gone mad?”
“What does it matter? It’s not as if the saying that heroes love beauty exists for no reason.”
“No, I said it’s not…!”
“Please take good care of our lacking younger sister as well. I hope to call you by a different title next time we meet.”
“…Huh?”
“Hahaha!”
Saying that, he thumped my shoulder.
It didn’t hurt much, but my chest somehow felt heavy.
Thinking this wasn’t right, I quickly tried to clear up the misunderstanding,
when Pae Ucheol spoke to me.
“Come to think of it, Brother.”
“Hm?”
“Where is Brother Jiseon?”
It was a question about Cheol Jiseon.
“Ah. That guy.”
Cheol Jiseon, who had been staying in Sacheon with me, seemed to have changed somehow after meeting Shinui. He had been frequently going in and out,
and when he heard that Shinui would be joining this journey, he had holed up in another carriage.
‘He must not want to see his face.’
There seemed to be a problem with Shinui.
So I had asked if he was thinking of going somewhere else,
“-…I think I have to go together.”
With those words, he closed his mouth.
‘I was planning to drag him along by force anyway.’
Cheol Jiseon’s ability is something I need.
If he said he was going back to his own household, I had originally planned to stop him,
but since he went out of his way to say he wasn’t going, from my standpoint, it was a relief.
‘Otherwise, I would have had to grab him using slightly violent methods. What a relief.’
As I nodded slightly, Pae Ucheol made a somewhat disappointed expression.
“…That’s a shame. Training with Brother Jiseon was quite enjoyable.”
“…Wasn’t it only enjoyable for you?”
It seemed like Pae Ucheol had been unilaterally running Cheol Jiseon ragged? Even rather violently, at that.
I could still picture Cheol Jiseon flapping about like he was dying.
“Brother Jiseon simply needed a certain amount of training, that’s all.”
“Of course.”
A skinny, twisted body that was hard to see as a martial artist.
A voice that was timid to the extreme, matching his weak disposition.
From Pae Ucheol’s perspective, Cheol Jiseon might have been stifling.
But.
“Don’t worry.”
“Huh?”
“Because I’m planning to run him ragged myself now anyway.”
“Ah.”
Because I couldn’t bear to leave him in that state.
From the start, I had planned to run Cheol Jiseon ragged to my heart’s content from now on.
‘Though he doesn’t know this yet.’
From Cheol Jiseon’s perspective, it might be unfortunate, but if I was going to keep him by my side, he needed to be run through the wringer a bit.
I intended to whip him into shape enough to at least function properly as a person.
While I was thinking that,
“Young Master. The preparations are finished.”
Moyong Huia approached and spoke to me.
Hearing that, I looked around, and indeed, everything was ready.
And very neatly and cleanly, at that.
“…Amazing.”
Anyway, I could tell that Moyong Huia was outstanding in this regard.
“Will you depart immediately?”
“Yeah. Let’s go right away.”
There was no need to delay any longer.
I was busy too, but if I left now, the Dang Clan would also be able to work faster.
I decided to depart immediately.
I cupped my hands in a pugilistic salute to Dang Juyeok.
“Then, I shall take my leave.”
This was a courtesy extended not only to Dang Juyeok, but also to the Poison King.
Knowing that, Dang Juyeok quietly returned the salute.
Since Pae Ucheol kept looking disappointed throughout, I roughly told him to come to Guga next time and moved on.
I boarded the carriage immediately.
Moyong Huia followed and got into my carriage as well.
Seeing that, I asked.
“Why are you riding here. What about Senior Baekryeongeom?”
“Didn’t you hear…?”
“Hm? What?”
“Aunt has gone ahead to Shanxi.”
“…What?”
Moyong Huia said that as if somewhat exhausted.
She went ahead to Shanxi…?
“…Why…?”
“…I don’t know either. And I don’t want to know.”
Moyong Huia spoke as if fed up and then flopped down right beside me.
Why had Baekryeongeom gone ahead again.
No, to begin with….
‘This woman said she was my bodyguard.’
The person who had attached herself to me saying she would protect me had forgotten her role and acted on her own whims.
She had been someone difficult to understand from the start.
Now I too had given up trying to understand her.
‘She’s probably just a strange woman…’
Thinking that put my mind at ease.
Since it was about time to depart, I was about to close my eyes for a moment,
Bang-!
The closed carriage door opened and someone hurriedly entered.
“Haaaah….”
The culprit was none other than Dang Soyeol.
The problem was that Dang Soyeol looked a sight to behold.
For Dang Soyeol, who had always taken meticulous care of her appearance, her hair was a disheveled mess,
and her eyes exuded deep fatigue.
“Lady Dang?”
So much so that Moyong Huia asked in surprise.
“…Hah, I’m exhausted….”
“…”
Seeing that, I couldn’t help but furrow my brow.
Judging by her condition, it seemed related to the Dark King.
Fortunately, she didn’t seem injured, but unable to support her body properly, Dang Soyeol collapsed limply.
The carriage wasn’t very spacious, so it felt like she was falling over Namgung Bia.
Seeing that, Moyong Huia asked.
“…Shall I give you some water?”
“I-I’m fine….”
Why did she come here too.
That was the question, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask. Because I knew why Dang Soyeol had ended up like that.
“Are you okay?”
That was all I could say right now.
Whether it was okay for her to come along, whether she had resolved to take that path.
I couldn’t ask such things.
When I barely managed to ask,
Dang Soyeol looked at me with tired eyes and smiled faintly.
“I’m okay.”
“…”
A voice that seemed exhausted yet somehow steady.
Hearing Dang Soyeol’s answer, I bit my lip helplessly.
There was much I wanted to say, but nothing I could voice.
Without asking further, I too simply closed my eyes.
Hiiing-!
Before long, the sound of a horse neighing vigorously was heard.
The carriage began to move little by little.
‘So we’re going back now.’
Only now did it feel real.
The feeling of going home, that is.
How long had it been since I was heading to Guga.
Amid the comfort I had barely obtained, a biting unease rose up.
Geugeugeuk-!
The wheels moved.
They seemed to sway as if staggering, but as the horse galloped, they naturally found their balance.
With tired eyes closed, I felt that movement.
The rattling sensation.
And the feeling of the wind brushing my hair from outside the window.
Even in the seemingly uncomfortable situation, thanks to the fact that one matter had been concluded, I was able to rest for a while.
Perhaps that was why.
On the way home, I was able to sleep properly for the first time in a long while.
And so.
Just as the carriage gained speed, time flowed quickly.
Time truly flowed quickly.
Summer passed.
Autumn came.
Before long, autumn left and winter came once again.
Such farewells repeated.
Three years.
Three years had passed before I knew it.
To some, it might be called a short time,
but that short time was a period in which countless events occurred in the Central Plains.
The first news was that the Murim Alliance had publicly announced the evil deeds committed by the Dang Clan.
The announced news was the story that the Sacheon Dang Clan had conducted human experiments for their own benefit.
And that they had kidnapped children over a long period for those experiments.
When the news spread, many were outraged.
“-Punish the Dang Clan!”
“-How could a righteous orthodox family do such a thing!”
The uproar was far greater than expected.
Though it was said they had beheaded all the elders said to have planned the affair,
that alone could not quell the anger toward the Dang Clan.
“-The Dang Clan is no longer one of the Four Great Families.”
“-How could one call a family that committed such evil deeds by that title.”
Such talk began to spread,
and stories that began in one corner extended their reach throughout the Central Plains.
The Dang Clan’s apology and their cessation of all ongoing businesses to enter closed-door seclusion was likely also a reason for this.
As seasons passed, the number of people who truly called the Dang Clan one of the Four Great Families gradually decreased.
The tale of the Dang Clan, once a blazing fire, faded away,
and all that remained now was talk of which family would ascend to the empty seat among the Four Great Families.
The second incident was.
Starting with a report from Sacheon, the Alliance had confirmed through intelligence that red-grade Demon Realm Gates were truly beginning to open.
Because of that, there had been quite a commotion at the time.
The appearance of the red Demon Realm Gate, which had not been seen for centuries.
Because of this, the damage had been severe for a while.
The reason peace in the Central Plains had been maintained even when demonic beasts appeared was ultimately because the danger level of green and blue demonic beasts was low,
and because the realm of martial artists capable of handling them was relatively low.
Red demonic beasts were different.
Peak-level martial artists.
It was said they were strong enough that several had to gather to hunt one.
Thus, the importance of peak-level martial artists skyrocketed.
What was fortunate,
for a full five years,
or even ten, unlike the enormous damage expected for that period,
the damage caused by red demonic beasts was remarkably less than expected.
The reason was
that almost simultaneously with the news that red Demon Realm Gates had erupted,
thanks to an [Anonymous Informant] who revealed through the Beggars’ Sect how to deal with red demonic beasts.
“-Red demonic beasts possess a membrane made of qi.”
“-The membrane rotates, protecting their entire body.”
“-It possesses the ability to absorb internal energy, but if a martial artist who has reached the peak focuses with extreme concentration. They can find a gap in the rotating membrane.”
“-Aim for that spot.”
At first, it was hard to believe,
but it didn’t take long for it to be known as fact.
Thanks to that.
As the countermeasures spread, the damage that would have been enormous could be kept relatively small.
Additionally, the fact that the appearance frequency of red Demon Realm Gates was drastically lower than other grades was likely also a reason.
What was important here
was that, whatever the case, cracks had formed in the era once called the Age of Peace.
The third incident was.
[The Lord of the Murim Alliance has changed.]
Shortly after Falling Sword Jang Cheon left, the Alliance had to seat a new Lord,
and a political fight broke out over this.
The selection of the Lord was conducted in secret within the Murim Alliance, so it was unknown,
but from what little information was known,
it was said that there had been a conflict between the Wudang Sect Leader and the Peng Family Patriarch over the Lord’s seat.
And before long, news came that the Wudang Sword Immortal had ascended to the Lord’s seat after Falling Sword Jang Cheon.
This was unprecedented.
It was the first instance since the founding of the Murim Alliance of a martial artist from a sect becoming the Lord.
And.
The fourth incident was precisely
the red Demon Realm Gate that went berserk in Qinghai.
News that the Kunlun Sect Leader, Qinghai First Sword Ui Bi-jin, had died because of it.