Chapter: 115
Did I hear wrong?
No matter how I looked at it, those words shouldn’t have come out of his mouth.
I continued to stare at Father in confusion, but as soon as he finished speaking, he turned his gaze away from me.
“Lord.”
“I’m listening. You may speak.”
“By chance, do you not get along with the Namgung Clan’s Lord?”
Father reacted to my question. The eyes that were previously focused on the letters on the desk returned to me.
“Why do you think that?”
“It just feels that way.”
The reactions from both Namgung Jin and Father somehow gave me that impression.
What could have happened between those two?
Father didn’t answer my question. He just silently looked at me and then redirected his gaze.
He didn’t confirm it, but on the other hand, he didn’t deny it either.
“I was originally going to talk about this at night, but since it turned out this way, I might as well say it now.”
‘So he’s just going to dodge the question I asked moments ago.’
I never got an answer, and I had a gut feeling he wouldn’t tell me. Pressing for it probably wouldn’t yield a good outcome anyway.
“First, let’s discuss the Heavenly Pill I promised you.”
“Yes.”
Now that I think about it, that was something I was promised.
He mentioned that I would receive it as a reward if I managed to bring back Gu Ryunghwa from Mount Hua.
‘I completely forgot about that with all the other stuff I’ve been gobbling down lately.’
From the treasures of Mount Hua to the demonic Qi and yesterday’s flower, I had absorbed far too much Qi in such a short time. My body felt like it was on the brink of chaos.
Moreover, I still had other herbs I had received from Celestial Plum Blossom.
“It would be poison to me at this point.”
It seemed like Father was aware of that too.
After consuming the flower’s Qi last night, the amount of Qi in my body only increased.
Due to that, I hadn’t even finished organizing the Qi that was swirling within me yet.
So adding more Qi to it right now felt a bit daunting.
Lost in thought, Father suddenly asked me,
“Have you crossed the threshold?”
At his unexpected question, I stood up straight.
He wasn’t looking directly at me, but I could sense he was inspecting my body.
‘No lies would pass. I feel like I’ve been caught already.’ Not that I intended to lie to begin with.
After a brief hesitation, I replied,
“I have.”
“Hmm.”
Father nodded at my response.
“Good work.”
As he spoke, a slight smile broke through his usually stern expression. This was the first time I’d witnessed my father make such a face, and it threw me for a loop!
‘Is he happy about this?’
That expression seemed a bit frightening, to be honest.
“You may have reached a higher point than other kids your age, but don’t let that turn into arrogance. Just continue to work hard as you have been.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“If you wish, I can grant you the Heavenly Pill as promised—though do you have anything else in mind?”
Knowing full well that the pill wouldn’t help me much right now, it would be wiser to ask for something else as a reward. Alternatively, I could accept the pill and consume it later.
“I’ll need a bit of time to think about it.”
Father nodded again, signaling I could take my time.
I waited for him to say something more, but silence lingered.
‘What’s going on?’
This couldn’t be all he had to discuss, so why the silence?
There were many important subjects to touch upon, like fighting Ya Hyeoljeok at Mount Hua or healing the Sword Master. Surely, those matters were of greater significance than my recent peak achievement.
I had even jotted these down in my letter and prepared explanations for when we met…
Yet Father didn’t pose a single question.
‘Why are you looking so confused?’
“Is there something more you wish to discuss?” he asked, seemingly perplexed by my lingering presence.
“I want to know why you’re not asking me more questions.”
“About what?”
“About the matters I wrote to you previously.”
I spent over three days contemplating how to write that letter, discussing it with Elder Shin.
But my father seemed completely uninterested.
In fact, he just shrugged it off, saying, “Everything you mentioned is in your letter, so what’s the issue?”
“Is that really enough?”
“Seriously trivial matters, it seems. The important stuff seems to be over, so you may leave.”
Instead of probing further, he abruptly dismissed me. Was he really not going to ask anything at all?
I felt a tad relieved since I wouldn’t have to come up with any excuses—but it also felt unsettling.
I didn’t expect him to ignore everything that happened in my life entirely.
‘I knew Father was like this, but isn’t he being way too aloof?’
It felt a bit ridiculous.
In any case, as I was almost out the door, I remembered something else and brought it up.
“Lord, about the Tournament of Dragons and Phoenixes…”
He didn’t respond, but I pressed on. I was reminded that Tang Soyeol expressed a desire to attend the tournament with me.
To be honest, I figured he’d reject that request.
“Lady Tang mentioned wanting to attend the tournament with me. May I?”
“The daughter of the Tang Clan?”
“Yes.”
I had already left the clan twice this year.
Considering how I had been trapped there before I became a young lord in my last life, things were night and day.
And at a time like this, sending me to a large gathering full of important figures? That seemed implausible…
“It’s fine, you can go.”
“Huh?! Wait, what?!”
“We already have the invitation, so I’ll send you with some escorts.”
“Why?!”
“Hmm?”
Father wore a puzzled expression at my outburst.
*‘Why are you making that face?’
“Why are you suddenly allowing me to go?”*
“You seem to be acting strangely. I approved because you asked.”
“Is this a trick question?”
“So you don’t mind me leaving the clan so freely?”
“Do as you wish if that’s your desire.”
“What in the…?”
Everything was unfolding in such an odd manner. ‘This isn’t how things were supposed to go. Why on earth is he agreeing to this request?’
He felt so different from my past life. That difference left me speechless.
‘What happened?’
He wouldn’t have changed this much just because I mentioned reaching the peak realm, and yet he still bore the same unreadable expression.
Something had shifted within him, but I couldn’t figure out what it was.
“Do you have anything more you want to ask?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Then you may leave.”
In the end, I got up and started to make my exit. That’s when Elder Shin suddenly interjected.
“You’re not seriously saying you won’t go, are you?”
‘About the Tournament of Dragons and Phoenixes?’
“Yes, especially after you said you disliked long travels.”
‘Hmm…’
As Elder Shin noted, I wasn’t thrilled about leaving the clan again, and I downright dreaded long trips…
But the Tournament of Dragons and Phoenixes was being held in Henan, and that was significant.
It wasn’t very far compared to other locations, and I had someone to meet there anyway.
I had been waiting for a good reason to go out, and this presented itself now that I did.
It was still a few years away, but the sooner I got to it, the better.
Though I was a touch uneasy about going there with Tang Soyeol. ‘Oh well.’
While I was mulling that over, Elder Shin asked me,
“Henan, huh? Is Shaolin still located there?”
‘Of course Shaolin is in Henan.’
Henan’s Shaolin Sect.
One of the Ten Major Sects and the most influential faction within the Orthodox Alliance.
Considering that the Murim Alliance is positioned in Henan, that’s a testament to its significance.
Moreover, although the Shaolin Sect doesn’t currently have a notable young prodigy, in a few years they would produce a talented figure who would take the vacant Dragon seat after Peng Woojin.
I had a pretty close association with that person in my past life.
“If you head to Henan, would you like to visit Shaolin?”
‘Shaolin? Why would I do that?’
“There’s something I want to see. Just going to check it out will be enough, so please oblige me.”
‘So just going and nothing else?’
“Yes, just looking is enough—no need to worry.”
The Murim Alliance and Shaolin were relatively close, and this was the first time Elder Shin had made such a request. If he only wanted me to observe, that wouldn’t pose a problem.
While mentally organizing my thoughts, I was about to step out when Father’s voice called out from behind.
“Wait.”
I turned around at the sound of his voice.
“There’s a schedule in an hour, so prepare yourself. I’ll send you the location details.”
“A schedule? All of a sudden?”
What could it be? I was planning to go see the Immortal Healer afterward!
As my confusion peaked, Father continued.
“Don’t be late; it’s regarding your engagement.”
‘Ugh.’
Just hearing it drained all my energy.
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