“...”
“...”
Their eyes met briefly.
Gu Huibi could not say a word as she watched the scene unfold before her eyes.
Mi Hyoran looked at her eldest daughter like that and only let out a breath.
Time passes like that.
“Hmm?”
Mi Hyoran gently lifted the child in her arms and sat her to the side, then carefully moved the refreshments and tea placed in front of them out of sight.
And then.
“You're here.”
“...”
“Sit.”
She acted exactly as she usually did, as if nothing had happened at all.
Seeing that, Gu Huibi almost wondered if she had just seen an illusion for a moment.
“Mother.”
“...”
“What is this...?”
Of course, there was no way that would work.
At Gu Huibi's frowning question, Mi Hyoran's brow furrowed slightly.
It seemed she had noticed it wasn't going to work.
“What... what on earth is this... No, what is that child...”
Gu Huibi stuttered, unable to even speak properly. Her eyes were shaking wildly, as if she was considerably shocked.
It was an expression as if she had seen something she shouldn't have. Let alone.
“That kid...”
Her moving gaze turned toward the child and froze right there.
And her already wide eyes opened even wider.
It was unavoidable.
How could she not be shocked upon seeing that face?
“...Huh?”
The child tilted its head looking at the completely stiff Gu Huibi.
The child's innocent expression sucked her into her memories just by looking at it.
[Look at this! It's a flower-! I'll give it to you, big sister.]
[Big sister-! Play with me-!-!]
The days when there was still a lot of laughter.
The figure running towards her to give her a plucked flower.
The younger brother who firmly held the youngest's hand and toddled after her.
“...Uh... Uhhh...”
It's exactly the same as back then.
Strictly speaking, he might look a bit cuter... but clearly, that child heavily resembled her younger brother.
Seeing that, Gu Huibi's body moved on its own.
The appearance Mi Hyoran had just shown. The reason she had been suddenly called all the way here.
None of that entered her mind.
Let's approach first. Let's approach, stroke his head, and then think.
As Gu Huibi thought so and tried to approach the child.
At that moment.
“Yang Cheon...”
Whooosh-!!
“...!?”
A whirlwind swirled next to Gu Huibi.
Something whipped up a wind and darted forward like an arrow.
An acceleration that no one around could react to. At the ensuing situation, Gu Huibi fixed her gaze on one spot.
There.
“Yeon-ah...?”
The black-haired woman she kept as a younger sister was tightly hugging the child who resembled her younger brother.
Gu Huibi was bewildered by the speed she couldn't even perceive and the sudden situation.
Even Mi Hyoran next to her held a rare look of surprise.
In that moment when everyone was panicked.
Click-.
Presences sprang up here and there.
At this, Gu Huibi immediately moved her body and shouted.
“Wait-!”
Thud dud dud-!!
Blades poured down from all directions.
******************
After moving for a long time, half-dragged by the First Elder.
By the time I noticed, I had arrived in a somewhat familiar space.
A neatly maintained path. The high-class residence visible above it.
It was a space that didn't really suit me, but the background was familiar.
‘I came to the Tang estate yesterday, so how could I not know.’
Yesterday.
That too, the space I headed to while being extremely wary at night was here.
Exactly the residence where Madam Mi was staying.
Led by the First Elder, I arrived here once again.
The purpose was to see someone.
Since the residence was Madam Mi's, one might think I came to see her.
That wasn't it.
‘Hmm.’
I survey the residence with an unknowingly tense expression.
Right, I didn't come here to see Madam Mi.
The First Elder said I came to see my grandfather, didn't he.
‘To be precise, rather than grandfather...’
Maternal grandfather.
If one were to insist on expressing it, it would be that.
‘Even though not a single drop of blood is mixed.’
If you ask me who my grandfather is right now, it seems like that old man I met last time is the only one, but strictly speaking, there was one more.
The Baekhwa Merchant Group run by Madam Mi. The first head who initially created it.
That was the man who was Madam Mi's father.
‘...Hmm.’
As I recall him, questions arise.
Could such a person really be called a maternal grandfather?
‘If you think about it, he's not even my real grandfather.’
Anyway, since I was the child of a concubine, I didn't share blood with Madam Mi, so naturally he couldn't be called a maternal grandfather.
Furthermore.
‘I've never even seen him.’
I had never seen Madam Mi's father, the first head of the Baekhwa Merchant Group, since I was born.
‘I just found out he was even alive.’
Let alone seeing him in person, I had never even heard of him.
So he was alive.
‘I wonder if my sisters knew about this.’
I don't know if Gu Huibi or Gu Yeonseo knew.
I'm a total stranger, but they would be real granddaughters.
Of course, that made it even stranger.
‘Why on earth.’
Not only did such a figure as the first head suddenly appear, but he also insisted on taking the First Elder as a guard and came to Henan.
And doing so...
‘Why me?’
Why go out of his way to ask to see me?
This too was something that didn't happen in my past life.
Probably, as always, the accidents I caused were the problem.
‘No matter how much I think about it, I don't know.’
What was the problem that made things turn out this way?
Even if I racked my brain right now, nothing came to mind.
So I raised my head and looked at the huge back in front of me as I asked.
“Excuse me, First Elder.”
“Hmm?”
At my call, the eight-foot-tall old man looked back.
“Why on earth are you looking for me?”
Why is the first head of Baekhwa looking for me? I ask the First Elder this, but.
“Well.”
“...”
“Just, wouldn't he have called you because he wants to see his grandson?”
A particularly helpful answer didn't come back.
Well, it's my fault for expecting something from this old man.
“...I'm not even his grandson, so why would he want to see me. And, if he wanted to see me, he would have come to see me earlier.”
“Umm, is that so?”
“In the first place, why did you take on the role of a guard, First Elder? You're a man of age.”
A figure who is an elder of a prestigious family.
It was just strange that such a person took on the role of a guard and followed us all the way to Henan.
At my words, the First Elder casually scratched his cheek with his hand.
“...Just, well. It just happened that way. It worked out. Wouldn't it be fine to just think you came out for a walk as well as seeing this guy since you were going to see him anyway?”
“A walk? That's usually called a trip, not a walk-”
Swipe-!
I turned my head while speaking.
Because the First Elder had swung his fist right at the top of my head.
As the fist grazed the air, the First Elder let out a hollow laugh.
“Oh ho. Dodged?”
“Use your words, use your words... Violence is bad.”
“Hmph, as the days go by, it seems you're getting better at nitpicking words.”
The First Elder moved his wrist as if it was a shame.
Looking at him, I spoke.
“Speak honestly.”
“Hmm?”
“Didn't you come because you lost another bet?”
“...”
Flinch-! At the question, the First Elder's shoulder flinched slightly.
“Wha... what do you mean? What did this old man lose?”
“Is that not it?”
“Of... of course not! You brat, do you see this old man as a madman addicted to betting?”
“For someone saying it's not, your track record is quite splendid.”
“...”
As if he had nothing to say to that, the First Elder clamped his mouth shut.
How could I not suspect it.
‘Where else would you find a human who brings back a rare artifact of the Huashan Sect just because he won a drinking bet.’
Think of the hardships I went through in Shanxi because of that.
Whenever I thought that old man caused an accident, it was always related to alcohol or bets.
‘Judging by his reaction, it's that again.’
Sure enough, it seems there's some suspicious reason this time too.
‘So obvious.’
As if eager to change the subject, the First Elder kept whistling.
The funny thing is that he couldn't even whistle properly, so only the sound of wind hoo! hoo! could be heard.
“...First Elder.”
“Ahem, didn't I say it's not?”
My foot.
I could tell just by looking at his expression. This old man had done something again.
“Please speak honestly for real.”
“About what?”
“What kind of accident did you cause this time?”
I kept pressing the First Elder as if interrogating him.
An accident caused by the First Elder? At first glance, it seems like not a big problem since if an individual causes it, they can clean it up themselves.
For me, it wasn't.
‘Absolutely.’
Seeing the things I experienced while living this life, I was certain.
‘The accidents this old man causes affect me.’
No matter how much I tried to run away, I strangely got tangled up in them.
How many times had the First Elder's accidents turned into shit for me to clean up? It seemed like it wouldn't be different this time either, so I was trying to somehow get a confession out of him.
“No, I said no. Do you not trust this old man?”
“Of course I don't trust you. I don't know about others, but how could I trust you, First Eld-”
Woooooooong---!!!
“!”
I stopped mid-sentence and turned my head.
It was because energy had surged from inside the residence.
“Hmm? What's wrong?”
The First Elder looked puzzled by my reaction. It seemed he hadn't perceived it.
Did I feel it because my qi perception had heightened?
Probably not.
Right now, since I wasn't used to it, I had sealed most of my qi perception. My range was much narrower than usual.
Then what was this energy?
‘...This.’
It immediately pierced through and ambushed my heart.
As if resonating, my heart violently throbbed in response.
Thump-!
Whoooooong-!
At the same time, the energy was felt once more from the residence.
“...”
“Yang Cheon-ah?”
The First Elder called me with a worried expression, but.
Hwaruruk-!!!
My toes had already sparked with flames and burst forward.
Boom-!
My internal energy interlocked, increasing the acceleration.
With a couple of steps, the surrounding scenery instantly shifted.
The probability of an accident was high since I couldn't control my speed, but I didn't care about that right now.
It was that urgent.
Hwaruk--!!!
Piercing into the residence like a handful of flames.
I grazed the entrance.
Before the guard keeping watch at the door could even perceive me, my body was already inside the residence.
Even so, my speed didn't decrease.
The destination was where the energy was felt.
If it wasn't my illusion.
‘This energy is definitely...’
I clenched my teeth and regulated my breath.
Since it wasn't that far, I reached the destination in a matter of seconds.
The energy seemed to be felt from Madam Mi's room deep inside the residence.
I headed straight into the room.
And I hastily checked the scene unfolding inside.
“...Hmm?”
I had to narrow my eyes as soon as I saw it.
‘What is this.’
The room was packed with countless people.
Perhaps because the residence was large, the room wasn't small either, but with this many people in it, it looked somewhat cramped.
What was seen inside.
‘Gu Huibi.’
Gu Huibi gripping her sword and glaring at something. And Madam Mi with shocked eyes.
And there.
‘Cheonma (Heavenly Demon)?’
A woman with a familiar back.
Cheonma was hugging Ddoldoli.
Around her, martial artists dressed in black were surrounding her.
Judging by their state, they seemed to be the secret guards (Anho) who were protecting Madam Mi from the shadows.
They were all aiming their swords, full of killing intent, at Cheonma.
‘...What is this situation.’
What in the world is this situation?
Why is Cheonma hugging Ddoldoli in that room? And not only that, why is she slowly emitting energy?
“...”
I rolled my eyes to figure out the incomprehensible situation.
At that time.
“Let go right now.”
One of the secret guards said to Cheonma.
“If you don't let go right now, I will cut you down.”
Crazy.
Attacking Cheonma.
I swallowed a groan at that crazy remark.
At the same time, I looked at Gu Huibi and Madam Mi.
The distance from Cheonma, who was gathered in the same room, was close.
If Cheonma's nerves got irritated here and she went on a rampage, it would be difficult to escape while taking those two with me.
Judging up to that point, I moved immediately.
Hwaruk-!
“Hah!?”
“What-!”
I pierced deeply and entered through the gaps between the blades.
The secret guards tried to react immediately to my sudden appearance, but fortunately, upon seeing my face, they stiffened.
“Young Master...?”
“Put away your swords.”
“Pardon?”
“Put those away for now and take care of the Head first.”
“But...”
“I'll handle this, so hurry.”
“...”
At my firm words, the secret guards made displeased expressions, but fortunately, they moved first and secured Madam Mi.
Barely, a little distance opened up.
Only then did I approach Cheonma.
Cheonma, who was still holding Ddoldoli.
“Hey.”
“...”
“What are you doing.”
No movement even at the calling voice.
Cheonma was holding that kid Ddoldoli and only repeatedly breathing.
Seeing this, I added words.
“What the hell are you doing throwing a fit here.”
A somewhat aggressive tone.
It was to check Cheonma's reaction.
Unlike my words, my inner mind was trembling endlessly.
What is the real reason she is doing this?
Does she have some intention?
I wondered if something had changed in this life, but was the reality still that of Cheonma?
All sorts of anxieties seep in.
“I'm asking what kind of behavior this is right now.”
As I spoke, I put strength into my heart.
If a problem arose, I had to immediately activate Taan.
It was the strength for that.
My slowly extended hand touched her shoulder, and I applied force to gently pull her apart.
Swipe.
At that moment, Cheonma raised her head and met my eyes.
Cheonma's face was revealed amidst her black hair.
Halt.
Upon seeing that, my body froze like a stone.
It was unavoidable.
“...What's wrong with you.”
Cheonma, who had been embracing Ddoldoli.
“Crying?”
Was crying.
And very sorrowfully at that.