Whooooosh-!!
The deployed barrier shook violently.
It was partly due to failing to properly control his energy, but the main reason was how shockingly impactful the old man's words were.
"...What do you mean by that?"
He glared at the old man with deeply furrowed eyes.
Did you turn back time? The old man had certainly asked him that.
'What?'
His quickly cooling mind raced.
How could he know that to ask him?
Surely not.
'...Is that old man a regressor too?'
He was already aware that there was another regressor besides him.
Even if he didn't know whether their definition was turning back time or coming from another world.
It wouldn't be strange even if there was another figure who preceded him.
As such, he stared at the old man fully on guard.
Was the first head of the Baekhwa Merchant Guild truly a regressor?
As he was staring while recalling all sorts of thoughts.
Clack-.
The old man set down the teacup he was holding and continued speaking.
"I heard it in passing. The feats First Young Master has accomplished are so immense for your age that I simply threw it out there wondering if that might be the case."
"..."
"Seeing your reaction, it seems my joke went too far. I apologize."
"...A joke, you say."
"Hmm?"
The old man tilted his head with a peculiar look in his eyes.
"Then, did you really turn back time?"
"No. How could that be. That's absolutely impossible."
Hahaha.
He laughed, even forcing himself to wave his hand in dismissal.
"It was just such a preposterous statement that I was momentarily flustered. Turn back time, you say... That's nonsense, isn't it?"
As he spoke, hiding his panic, the old man quietly stared at him.
'Is he doubting me?'
It was extremely troublesome.
Was he probing because he knew something, or was he doubting him because his reaction was strange? It was hard to figure out.
'Damn it.'
It was only at times like this that he recalled being told he was terribly bad at acting around Noya.
It would be different if he had known and reacted in advance. But with words related to regression suddenly popping out, his mind went completely blank.
No matter how much he tried to play dumb, it seemed too late. As he was agonizing over that.
"I don't think it's something that makes no sense."
"Pardon?"
The old man looked at him and spoke calmly.
"First Young Master. Living as a merchant, you see. You end up meeting a great many people."
He still turned his mind, pretending to listen.
"Some claim they came from another world. Or that this body isn't theirs, but actually the former Greatest Under Heaven. You meet all sorts of people."
"Aren't those just crazy bastards?"
Another world, this body isn't mine—I didn't know what kind of crazy talk that was.
'They don't seem to be in their right minds, do they?'
They were ridiculous words.
"Do you believe them...?"
"I don't."
"However."
"But I don't think it's all lies either."
"Pardon?"
"The world is full of things far more nonsensical than that. And I am not perfect enough to be certain. So I can't say it's all untrue."
"..."
Within the calmly spoken words, there was an incomprehensible thorn.
"First Young Master."
"...Yes."
"Though it started as a joke. Your circumstances are not that important to me."
"..."
Cold sweat ran down.
How could he describe this feeling?
A feeling of cold energy blasting from somewhere even though it wasn't cold. The creepiness of thousands of sharp daggers aiming at him from all directions.
He knows everything.
That old man knows everything about me.
It was a sensation piercing right through the crown of his head.
'Ugh...'
He had felt this way when facing Mok-yeon too. But this side seemed more severe.
What should he do?
A worry flashed by, but there weren't many options anyway.
"I'm not sure what circumstances you're referring to... First off, what is the reason you called me here?"
I don't care about that nonsense. Why did you call me?
At times like this, it was important to just push through blindly.
He wasn't confident in playing dumb properly. Besides, it wasn't a reasonable suspicion to begin with.
So he spoke with his eyes slightly narrowed. The old man, who had been quietly watching that, reacted shortly after.
"Ah, right. The reason. Yes... The reason."
The old man nodded a few times as if he had forgotten for a moment.
"I apologize. As I age, I've developed a habit of constantly forgetting things."
"..."
"Right... I called First Young Master."
What is this. Has he gone senile?
The conversation kept feeling like it was veering off somewhere.
"...Why did I call you again?"
"..."
It really seems like he's gone senile?
The old man stared blankly into space for a moment before his eyes widened shortly after.
"Ah. I remember now..."
"...Ah, yes. That's a relief."
"Right. I was going to ask you something."
"Yes... I'll listen."
What was he going to ask this time?
Unlike before, he waited for the words with a sense of tension.
Then.
"It's nothing else. First Young Master."
"Yes, elder."
"Do you intend to become the Family Head?"
"..."
Once again, the old man threw an unexpected question.
"...Out of nowhere?"
"That's right."
"That's too out of the blue."
Intend to become the Family Head.
At that question, his head tilted involuntarily.
"Why are you curious about that?"
His tone naturally became prickly. Clear discomfort was evident in it.
Was that the question he went out of his way to call him here for?
With only nonsensical talk flowing out since earlier, it was the point where he was starting to get annoyed.
"I don't understand why you are asking."
And after even requesting him to deploy a barrier, was this all he had to ask now?
"Family Head. Well."
Would he become the head of the Gu Family?
He hadn't particularly thought deeply about it. And for good reason.
"That is not for me to decide. The choice is for the Family Head to make."
Strictly speaking, it would be the influence of his father and the elders.
Even if he didn't want to do it even if he died. That wasn't something he could control.
Even if I say I don't want to do it. Or even if other siblings say they want to do it.
The choice regarding this would only be made by his father, the Family Head. There was nothing he could do.
'The only thing I can do is probably run away.'
Running away from the family because he didn't want to do it.
He could probably do at least that.
In fact, he had done just that in his past life with that intention.
However.
"I still don't understand why you are curious about this."
Why would this old man be curious about such a thing?
Especially someone he had never even seen in his past life.
'Perhaps, is it really because of his granddaughters?'
The guy who was practically guaranteed the position of Young Patriarch.
That guy had been exerting more and more influence, so did he make this trip because that rubbed him the wrong way?
As a reason, it seemed the most credible.
He wouldn't like it.
A concubine's bastard who doesn't even carry his surname beating the legitimate wife's children and ascending to Family Head.
If he came for that reason, I had nothing much to say either.
"What effect does me becoming the Family Head have on you?"
"Influence... It's not nonexistent. Since our daughter is involved, after all."
As expected.
Was it really because of Madam Mi and Gu Huibi, Gu Yeonseo?
"If that's the problem, I have nothing to say. As I mentioned earlier..."
"Then, if they make you the Family Head, it means you have the intention to accept."
"..."
Would he do it if they made him Family Head?
He had to furrow his brows at that question.
"...Well."
It was a point where he had to inherit the position of Young Patriarch, but Family Head...
"That too is not an issue for me to decide. It's not a position easily obtained just because one wants it, nor is it something one can avoid just because they don't want to do it."
"..."
Did that serve as an answer?
The old man's gaze remained unchanged at the words spat out while hiding his inner thoughts.
Was it not the answer he wanted?
"First Young Master."
"Yes, elder."
"Do you know what the Head of the Gu Family means?"
"...Pardon?"
"Before that, young master. I'm asking if you know exactly what the meaning of the 'Ga' in Gu Ga is."
"Well, just a household where people are together. Isn't it something like that?"
Like other places, what could be so great about the meaning of a family?
Whether it's the Namgung, the Murong, or any other family, they don't obsess peculiarly over the meaning of their names, as far as I know.
"Why is that an important part?"
"Seeing your reaction, it seemed you didn't know, so I asked."
"I don't know?"
The meaning of Gu Ga and the meaning of the Family Head.
That I don't know that?
'How absurd.'
It was so absurd that a hollow laugh almost escaped.
How dare he claim to know anything.
How dare an old man who probably hasn't experienced anything claim to know anything.
"Then, do you know? The meaning of our family."
"At least more than you, First Young Master."
"Then, tell me. What exactly do you know?"
What could he possibly know to act so arrogantly? It was an outrageous situation.
So go ahead and spit it out. He laid out the stage for him like that.
"Hmm. The Gu Family, you see."
Bang-!
Just as the old man was about to speak. The closed door opened and someone entered.
The person who entered with a rough noise was precisely Madam Mi.
'Damn.'
Thinking no one would come in, he had only deployed a barrier, not blocked it off.
That seemed to have been a problem.
With a fully flushed expression, Madam Mi entered and stepped into the barrier.
"Madam Mi...?"
"What is the meaning of this?"
Before he could even ask what was going on, Madam Mi approached the old man and pulled out a frigid voice.
At that voice, the old man also shifted his gaze and looked at Madam Mi.
"Head. You're the one committing an atrocious act, Head. Interrupting recklessly while we're in the middle of a conversation. This seems like an act that has crossed the line by a wide margin."
"Wait a minute..."
"The one who tried to cross the line isn't me, but you."
"..."
His mouth shut involuntarily.
Had there ever been a time when such immense anger was felt from Madam Mi's voice?
It was probably the first time seeing it.
"Do you not realize it's an overstepping behavior?"
"Is it wrong to try to teach what one doesn't know?"
"It's wrong to try to teach things that don't need to be known right now."
"You're wrong. The mistake is not knowing what one should know. And the ones who created this situation are the sinners."
"You are not the one who can judge that mistake. It's just useless meddling."
A verbal fight with not an inch of yield began in an instant.
It was too brutal to be seen as a conversation between a father and daughter.
A few more exchanges went back and forth like that.
"I'll say it again, Head. I am still in the middle of talking with First Young Master. So, could you please leave?"
When the old man spoke to Madam Mi, she immediately looked at me.
"First Young Master."
"Yes? Yes..."
"I'm sorry. Thank you for coming today, but it seems we'll have to see each other next time. It looks like my conversation with this man will be a long one."
"No... I think I also need to hear that-."
"I'm asking you."
"Yes ma'am..."
He moved his feet without even looking back.
It wasn't because it was a request. It was because Madam Mi's eyes as she said that were intensely terrifying, contrary to her polite attitude.
Even if he wanted to hear more, it seemed like a situation where he wouldn't be able to.
'...'
Why the Gu Family is called the Gu Family.
And. What the position of the Family Head entailed.
Whether that old man truly knew about this. Questions rose, but he wouldn't be able to hear it now.
'...Tch.'
He thought about just sitting there stubbornly.
Whoosh-!
After retrieving the energy around him, he walked away, leaving Madam Mi behind.
"...Then, I'll see you next time."
No answer was heard.
Hiding his lingering regrets, he grabbed the door.
Rattle, thud-!
The door closed just like that.
Right after Gu Yang-cheon left like that.
"Mujin."
Mi Hyo-ran called out to someone in a low voice.
At that moment, energy spread out centered around the room.
Whoosh-!
The barrier had been deployed once again.
A wind made of internal energy brushed past Madam Mi.
Her neatly managed hair shook, and within it, her eyes, steeped in cold energy, were directed at the old man.
"What are you doing?"
"Do you want me to repeat the words I just said?"
The old man answered, looking around.
"It seems you've installed a Cheongeoseok (Listening Fish Stone)."
Listening Fish Stone.
It was a rare artifact that, when installed in a room, allowed one to hear what was happening inside.
Its range was narrow, the limit distance for attempting eavesdropping was terribly low, and it wasn't difficult to identify the artifact, so it was a rare artifact that was rarely used.
"Yes. Because I don't know what nonsense you might spout."
"It seems you've picked up such tricks in the time we haven't seen each other, Head. Or."
The old man's colorless eyes turned to Mi Hyo-ran.
"Does that mean that child has become that precious to you?"
"..."
His tone changed. Hearing this, a crack formed on Madam Mi's brow.
"Enough to treat the father you haven't seen in over a decade so coldly."
When he spat out the word 'father', Mi Hyo-ran's brow crumpled severely.
"Are you thinking of playing the role of a father now? It's far too late for that."
The anger soaking her face was vivid.
Seeing that, a faint smile hung on the old man's lips.
"It's been a long time since I've seen you angry."
"Don't change the subject."
"Are you that afraid of letting that child know the truth? You must also know that it's something they'll eventually find out."
The young man he had briefly faced. The bloodline of the Gu Family and the Family Head's only son.
He recalled the bastard named Gu Yang-cheon, who had been making the Central Plains noisy lately.
"It's useless."
"So, did you come all the way here just to say that? Decades after disappearing, is this all you do?"
"It was killing two birds with one stone. If I didn't do this, you wouldn't talk to me."
"Don't make excuses. It wasn't me who refused to talk and left as I pleased."
Hearing the answer, Mi Hyo-ran's voice grew louder.
"You're still as self-willed as ever. How dare you, not even the Family Head, try to bring up that matter."
Bang-!
Mi Hyo-ran's thin hand struck the wooden table strongly.
Swish.
The cup overturned, and tea flowed onto the floor.
The flowing tea soon dropped to the ground, soaking the cloth laid on the floor.
Even while watching that scene, the old man's attitude remained the same.
"Being self-willed is due to my innate nature, so what can I do?"
"You call that an excuse...!"
"And you were the same. Didn't you ignore me, your father, and choose that stone-like bastard of the Gu Family?"
"..."
The stone-like bastard of the Gu Family.
When that word came out, this time Mi Hyo-ran's mouth was shut.
"I clearly said it. He is a storm. He won't bow his head to anyone, and to achieve his karma, he will eventually throw even you away. That could be seen just by looking at the monster wearing the mask of a woman next to him."
Mi Hyo-ran's arm, resting on the ground, trembled for a moment.
"My brilliant daughter. You said it then. That if it were him, he would ultimately overcome everything."
"...That's."
"Looking at it now, how was it? Did he overcome everything as you wished?"
"..."
"How ridiculous. He couldn't overcome anything. Rather, he presented a vessel to contain a storm like himself. Truly magnificent. Was it to have the vessel build karma in his stead? If so..."
"Watch your mouth."
At the crushed tone, the old man's eyebrows shook this time.
"There is no one in this world who can insult that person and that child in front of me."
Swoosh. Mi Hyo-ran's hand on the table fell.
Drop-! Something dripped and fell onto the ground where the tea was flowing.
It was a drop of blood falling from Mi Hyo-ran's hand.
She must have hit the table quite hard, as her hand was wounded.
"That goes for you too."
Mi Hyo-ran put fangs in her voice as if the pain meant nothing.
"...Haha."
At that sight, the old man suddenly burst into laughter.
However.
"You are still within your lingering attachments."
The laughter he held in a moment vanished instantly.
"The lingering attachment that you could be by his side if it were you. You still haven't let go of that attachment."
"..."
"Why do you still not understand? My daughter. That is something people like us cannot do."
Squeeze.
Mi Hyo-ran tightly clenched her wounded hand.
The more she did, the blood became endlessly thicker.
"I told you to at least discard those inner feelings if you were going to leave, yet you still haven't been able to discard them."
"I have never once thought it was impossible. And that... will not change even as time flows-"
"How much of that time do you think is left?"
"..."
At the old man's words, Mi Hyo-ran's breath, which had been spitting out words, caught in her throat.
"Do you think there is any time left?"
"...You."
"Seeing the fully grown bastard's child, I can tell."
Resembling his father, a presence that had already grown too large to hide.
Many would see that and consider it an anomaly.
How could he possess such power at that age?
How could he reach that point?
Countless people would be curious about it. But the old man wasn't curious about such things.
Perhaps it was obvious.
"The time is running short."
To inherit the karma, they had to be born as unnatural existences.
"You know that better than anyone, don't you?"
The origins of the Gu Family for generations were such existences.
"That bastard, who is barely wearing the shell of a human, will soon inherit the will for his karma. If his child is ready, it is inevitable."
The Head of the Gu Family.
The meaning it held.
"Becoming a vessel and accepting the sins. Thus, discarding human emotions and leaving only the conviction to uphold the law."
When that happens.
"Daughter. If that happens, do you think he will remain as the person you wanted to be by your side?"
"..."
Mi Hyo-ran couldn't offer any answer to the old man's words.
"Do not harbor expectations. When that time comes, he will no longer be the person you knew. No, he probably won't even be considered human to begin with."
Only a vessel remained.
Do you think anything is contained within?
"That will hasten the timing as that child becomes more prepared... No, perhaps."
The old man looked at the door Gu Yang-cheon had left through and softly spat out.
"...He might already be prepared."
In the eyes of the old man speaking like that, for some reason, guilt was seeping in.
*****************
Sseuuuu.
In the middle of a cave where wind seeped in.
The quiet space where not a single sign of life was felt was only dark.
Nothing was visible.
Not a single thing was visible.
In such a space.
Clank.
Clank.
Short sounds mixed in as if trying to destroy the stillness.
Very deep inside the space.
This was the sound coming from there.
What on earth was the sound for? The question wasn't very long.
The center where the sound was heard. In the severe darkness where one couldn't see an inch ahead, an anomaly appeared.
Flare-!!
A spark burst.
The spark that burst in an instant was small, but as if that small spark was never weak, it instantly burst light in all directions.
The surroundings brightened, revealing what was inside.
Only then could the reason for the sound be known.
On one side of the space was an enormous door.
A door so massive that it was difficult to even measure its size.
It was enough to make one wonder how such a door could exist inside this space.
Between such a massive door, proportionate to the door's size, large iron chains were wrapped around the door panels.
Clank-!
This sound was coming from the chains.
The sound of the chains shaking. The sound of the chains, trying to somehow open, screaming.
The chains blocking the tightly closed door and the door trembling, wanting to open at any moment. And.
Rumble-!
There was a figure holding onto such chains and door while sweating.
A body quite large for a human.
His entire body was full of muscles, and as much as his muscles were packed, his body was also full of dense scars.
If human, he was a giant like Mount Tai, but compared to the iron chains he was holding, he looked far too small.
Such an existence was holding onto the chains with all his might and enduring.
It must have been extremely hard to hold on, as sweat was dripping down.
His arms were trembling, and his eyes were bloodshot red, but the man didn't let out a single groan.
"..."
He only applied more force to the chains he was holding.
A steadfast attitude of never letting go. As the man was tightly gripping the chains like that.
Blaze---!!!
The flames burst out, forming stems, and burrowed into the chains.
Rattle.
The stems stuck to the chains and began to fix the trembling chains in place.
The trembling chains tightened the door even more.
Then the shaking stopped, and the sound was no longer heard.
"..."
Only after seeing that did the man let go of the chains.
The part he had been holding was thickly covered in blood.
The man's hands were also a mess, with the skin completely torn off.
Because of that, the pain must have been immense, but the man was still maintaining an expressionless face.
Towards such a man.
"Magnificent."
An old man with red eyes approached.
"To think you really endured this."
At the old man's words, the man slowly turned his head.
"You have come."
A thick voice and exhaustion were fully felt within the expressionless face.
"How is it, was it worth doing?"
"..."
Hearing the words, the man looked back at the door.
The door he had been holding onto with all his might until just now was enveloped in flames, not even moving.
"Don't look at it with regret. Honestly, I didn't expect you to hold out this much."
"I am not regretful."
"Then that's a relief."
Cluck.
The old man let out a laugh.
At the sound of the laugh, the man looked at the old man. And his gaze headed not to his face, but to his arm.
The loose sleeve of his left arm.
The old man was in a state where his original arm was gone.
"Ah, this."
At the gaze, the old man spoke with a smile.
"I had some business to attend to before coming. Why? Are you curious?"
"I am not curious."
"So cold."
"..."
Leaving the old man's reaction behind, the man reached his hand to the side.
Whoosh-!
The martial uniform on the floor was lifted and sucked into his hand.
He immediately put on the martial uniform. It was an extremely nonchalant reaction. Seeing that, the old man spoke.
"That grandson of yours has quite a formidable spirit."
It was a tone as if he wanted to play a prank.
Halt.
At the words heard, the man's head moved.
Having confirmed his gaze, the old man widened his eyes as if slightly surprised.
"A more entertaining expression than expected."
"Did you meet that child and come?"
"Don't make such a scary face. I just wanted to see my grandson's face as a grandfather."
Rumble---!!!
Even with the old man's words, the inside of the cave vibrated greatly.
The fighting spirit spreading from the man's body was the cause.
"What did you do."
"Hmm."
As if finding such a reaction amusing, the old man made a peculiar expression.
"If I say I did something, what are you going to do?"
Rumble...ble...
With the question as the end, the vibration stopped. Was there no reaction? It looked like it, but this was a prelude.
The prelude felt right before a disaster erupts.
Cluck.
At that sight, the old man slightly raised his hand.
"How scary. You might even hit your own father at this rate."
"..."
"Don't worry. Since he is my precious grandson before being your child, I didn't do anything strange. I really just came to see his face, so don't get so worked up."
At the old man's words, the man, who had been quietly watching him, eventually turned his head as if releasing the tension in his body.
If it weren't for the words just now, what would have happened?
What kind of deed would that stiff child have tried to do to him?
The old man was curious about that for a moment, but decided not to bother checking.
Because that wasn't what was important right now.
"Son."
The old man continued speaking.
"Don't forget. Before that time passes, you must raise the child to the position of Young Patriarch. And, before it's too late... you must come to this position."
"...I am aware."
"Yes, you must be aware."
Blaze.
Gradually, flames also bloomed on the man, Gu Cheol-un's body.
"That is our karma."
"..."
He didn't spit out an answer.
He just entrusted his body to the flames.
There was a place he had to leave immediately and head to.
Like that, Gu Cheol-un faded from the spot, becoming a flame.
A space where no one was left.
Within it, the old man calmly moved his steps.
The location was right in front of the door.
Approaching slowly, the old man standing in front of the door spoke.
"How truly pitiful."
The old man's expression as he spat out those words.
Contrary to his words, not a single ounce of emotion was felt.