Chapter 214: Omen (1)
“You seem to have caused a lot of trouble.”
I gulped down hard at Father’s chilling words.
His calm tone was definitely laced with anger.
Given how rarely Father expresses his emotions, I could tell just how serious this was.
I’m screwed.
All the actions I had planned to tidy up later piled up and exploded at once now.
So instead of blaming anyone else, it was clear I had to bear the weight of my own mess.
“… A jailbreak, huh.”
Flinch.
My shoulders involuntarily trembled at Father’s words.
“The blood of the Gu Clan, breaking out of jail?”
“… Well…”
“Before that…”
Just as I was about to explain about the Marble of Celestial Captivation, Father interrupted me.
And his gaze fell sharply upon me.
[How terrifying, you look even more like him now.]
I felt the same terror.
Father’s eyes, looking at me with emotion instead of his usual blank face, seemed far more vicious than I had imagined.
“You killed the First Elder?”
“… Yes.”
I didn’t bother making any excuses.
It was indeed what I had done.
“I heard you killed the First Elder using the name of a family member.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
“Do you know what that means?”
“… I do.”
“Then, why did you do it?”
Despite the anger beneath his calm demeanor, Father didn’t raise his voice or shout at me.
He simply wanted to know if I understood and why I acted so.
His red eyes were solely locked onto me.
It was as if they were silently saying I’d better not think of escaping without a proper answer.
Sigh.
I hadn’t thought of running away anyway.
Taking a brief moment to gather my breath, I explained to Father.
Why I killed the First Elder.
Why I escaped the prison.
Oh, and I also told him all about the Marble of Celestial Captivation in full detail.
Especially that part, I explained very meticulously.
It wasn’t a particularly long story.
I certainly had no excessive fluff to fill in either.
“…”
Once I finished my explanation, Father stayed silent, deep in thought without uttering a word.
One thing that had changed was that his anger had lessened somewhat.
And his previously sharp gaze had returned to its usual form.
That alone was a huge change for me.
Father, who had been quietly pondering, finally opened his mouth with a slight sigh.
“Answer me clearly. No lies are to be tolerated.”
“Yes…”
“The secret room you mentioned in the First Elder’s place, is it real?”
“Yes, it is.”
“If so, how do you know about that?”
I realized something as I looked into Father’s eyes.
He’s looking for a reason.
Father was searching for justification for my actions.
His focus appeared less about whether what I said was true and more about justifying my actions.
But how do I explain that?
Sure, I went for it impulsively, but aside from knowledge from my past life, I had no other way to explain my knowledge.
But telling him that was out of the question.
Since I couldn’t come up with a proper answer, Father withdrew his gaze from me, leading the conversation towards another topic.
He swiftly switched topics the moment he realized I had no answer to give.
“For the second matter, it seems your contribution is significant enough to slip by.”
He was referencing how I had tracked down Gu Huibi’s location through the Marble of Celestial Captivation and my role in helping her escape.
Father was implying that I might get a pass on this matter.
“However,”
Naturally, it wouldn’t mean I’d get away scot-free.
“Even though, if you do end up locating the secret room as you claimed, regardless, killing the First Elder on your whim crossed the line. Do you understand that?”
“… I’m sorry.”
“I hope you recognize that you still lack the power to act recklessly in the clan.”
I didn’t possess that power yet.
Knowing what those words implied, they didn’t come across as a good sign for me.
Because it meant that regardless of my actions, I’d still become the Young Master anyway.
“The Elders Meeting will be convened regarding this matter.”
I internally clicked my tongue at Father’s words.
The Elders Meeting would resume after years of no gatherings all because of this ruckus.
Well, killing the First Elder with my own hands does warrant an assembly, I suppose.
Ah, and by the way, the last Elders Meeting was also due to me.
Something about causing a ruckus with Peng Ah-hee and breaking off our engagement.
Now that I look at it, I really am a troublemaker, aren’t I?
I could overlook my past, but the number of blunders I made after my regression seemed to keep piling up.
A hint of self-loathing bubbled up within me.
Did I return to this life just to mess things up?
Of course, I shook off such thoughts immediately.
“Know this: the Second Elder will not be attending this Elders Meeting.”
“…!”
“I also won’t take your side, so it means you won’t have anyone backing you up.”
Now that’s a big problem.
I was aware both in my past life and in this one, that the Third and Fourth Elders didn’t favor me.
And considering I had just killed the First Elder, it didn’t bode well for my situation.
Wait, so the Second Elder isn’t coming, huh?
Was this Father’s directive?
What kind of nonsense is this, leaving out an Elder from the Elders Meeting?
As I frowned, Father added one more statement.
“I expect you to take responsibility for the situation you’ve caused up to this point.”
The parental words coming through, even with the strained relationship, still felt unbearably heavy.
“Understood.”
I repressed a sigh and replied.
I had no rebuttals to offer, and when he urged me to take responsibility, it felt like he was addressing his own involvement as well.
In the quieter atmosphere that settled, Father shifted his gaze back to the letters and spoke softly to me.
“The outcome regarding Gu Sunmoon and your punishment will be determined after the Elders Meeting.”
Please just sit still during that time frame.
“Yes, understood.”
To stay put until the Elders Meeting reached a resolution.
But surely, nothing else problematic will arise…
Even if it did, I had no choice but to remain still.
If I caused more trouble right now, there would really be no hope for me.
I wouldn’t die at Father’s hands, but I guessed he would burn my hair off.
[But it seems you’re never one to get hit, huh?]
True.
No matter what accidents I caused in my past life, Father never laid a hand on me.
I supposed this time wouldn’t be any different.
But losing my hair is a definite no.
I’d much rather take a beating.
I couldn’t let that incident happen.
Moreover, Gu Sunmoon had lost its leader, and the only successor, Gu Jeolyub, was still young.
Given that the Second Elder wasn’t a swordsman, it seemed the position would shift to someone else.
Or perhaps Gu Jeolyub would step up as the junior successor of Gu Sunmoon, managing it alongside Father.
And about Jeolyub…
It was a name that had been weighing on my mind.
I hadn’t seen him again since I sent him off to the medical room.
Not like I could just check on him at this point.
After wrapping up the matter concerning the secret room where the First Elder’s affairs take place, it was necessary to meet him.
I couldn’t just ignore him.
While grappling with my unsteady emotions internally, Father caught my attention and suddenly brought up a peculiar topic.
“I heard you got a title. The True Dragon, right?”
“Pardon?”
I blurted out, taken off guard by his mention of that silly title.
Why on Earth was he addressing that?
Moreover, it felt absurd every time I heard it.
What even is a True Dragon?
I had never thought about it before, but now that I had a title like that, it felt overwhelmingly grand for someone like me.
It felt more like I represented the truest of snakes rather than a majestic dragon.
“Not bad.”
“… Pardon?”
I was momentarily flabbergasted at Father’s response.
What did he just say?
“Good job.”
He spoke while lightly nodding his head, as if genuinely commending me.
Watching that made me feel extremely awkward, almost sick to my stomach.
What on earth is going on with him? Did he get hurt during a duel with the Palace Lord?
That couldn’t be the case; I witnessed him wrecking everything without a scratch.
Maybe he had food poisoning from some bad meal.
Setting that aside, I asked Father.
“If you have nothing else, may I ask a question?”
I rubbed my full belly. Father looked at me.
“It seems you have business with the Moyong Clan. What’s going on?”
“Moyong… oh.”
I was sure he exchanged brief words with the elder of Moyong Clan, but his expression suggested he’d completely forgotten it.
“Just business.”
“…”
Right, obviously.
Who asks that as if they’re unaware?
“It means you don’t need to concern yourself with it.”
I gave up immediately upon hearing Father’s words.
I knew perfectly well he wouldn’t divulge anything more.
[Aren’t you giving up a bit too quickly?]
Experience from my past life comes in handy like this.
[What a useless form of help, indeed…]
Flutter—
“If you’ve nothing else to say, then you may leave.”
After Father’s dismissal, I promptly turned around and stepped out of the lord’s room.
As I stepped into the fresh air outside, I noticed the sun was setting slowly.
Guess he doesn’t intend to toss me back into the dungeon.
That was likely due to Father returning to the clan.
Honestly, slipping back into the jail didn’t sound all that awful.
Because I sensed that hell awaited me back home.
If facing Father was my first hell, then the next hell was bound to be something far, far worse.
So much so that I would prefer to crawl all the way back into the prison again.
“Welcome back, Young Master. You’ve been missed.”
Stepping into my place, after what felt like ages, I was met first by Hongwa’s warm greeting.
Hmm… that spells trouble.
The real trouble began here.
The fact that it was Hongwa who greeted me first, and not someone else.
In normal circumstances, someone would have dashed toward me to embrace me, but I couldn’t spot her anywhere.
I was sweating cold bullets by this point.
I masked my worry and cautiously posed the question to Hongwa.
“Where are the girls?”
“…”
At my inquiry, Hongwa flinched slightly, and I noticed her pupils shaking a bit.
With that reaction, I smiled and nodded to myself.
Oh no, I’m in deep trouble.
I realized I was indeed in trouble upon seeing Hongwa’s reaction.
“Lady Namgung arrived and has gone into her room. She seemed tired.”
“Is that room… mine?”
“Oh, yes.”
Why did she reply as if it were the most obvious thing in the world?
Why was it just natural for her to sleep in my room?
“They said Lady Tang had some matters to attend to in the city.”
“Well, I suppose that’s a minor stroke of luck amidst the misfortunes.”
“What?”
Lady Tang having business in the streets, huh.
It was bizarre enough that a descendant of Sichuan had commitments in Shanxi, but that wasn’t the issue at the forefront of my mind.
“What about Wi Seol-Ah?”
That was a first.
It was the first time I had uttered her full name with my own mouth.
Perhaps I had never done so in my past life either.
Normally, I called her the Celestial Sword or by some title.
“Oh, Seol-Ah is…”
Hongwa hesitated momentarily.
But fortunately, she did tell me about Wi Seol-Ah.
“-Seol-Ah should be on the back mountain.”
I headed in the direction of the mountain.
The sun would set soon, so why the heck did Wi Seol-Ah go up there?
Didn’t she hear I had returned to the clan?
[Isn’t it obvious? She doesn’t want to see your face.]
As Elder Shin bluntly confirmed my creeping fears, I found myself biting my lip.
Why did my heart feel so tight?
It was a feeling I had encountered too often, yet it always felt like an overwhelming burden.
Climbing up the mountain after hearing she was somewhere in that vicinity, I felt certain I knew where Wi Seol-Ah would be.
I didn’t sense her presence.
Her aura had always been faint, and even in my peak state, I couldn’t find her easily, but I assumed Wi Seol-Ah would be in a place where she could see the sunset.
If my guess held water, that could be either a cliff or a mountain peak, but in Gu Clan’s back mountain, there was only one place suitable for that.
And sure enough.
On a hill where the sunset was visible, I spotted someone.
Swish—whoosh!
Along with the sound of a wooden sword slicing through the air, it was swinging around.
At first glance, it appeared to be swordplay, yet to a martial artist, it looked like a hodgepodge of an unrefined sword path.
It was more of a mockery of real swordplay.
She learned swordsmanship, did she?
I was genuinely astounded to see her swinging that wooden sword.
Thud—
Maybe I had made some noise?
Her unrelenting movements came to an abrupt stop as she turned to look my way.
Huh?
Of course, it was Wi Seol-Ah there, and she looked back at me, but for some reason, my breath hitched.
What’s going on?
Wi Seol-Ah had hair with a subtle hint of brown against her black strands.
The radiant golden hair I remembered from my past life was absent.
Her gaze was obsidian black and not the golden hues I recalled.
Yet, somehow, I found myself reminiscing about the past as I stared at Wi Seol-Ah.
Could it be the way the sunset highlighted her dark hair?
Yes, that must be what’s causing the mix-up.
“Uh, hi?”
I cautiously greeted Wi Seol-Ah.
Waving my hand slightly along with it.
My greeting came off as quite pathetic, but no other words came to mind.
“Hi.”
Thankfully, Wi Seol-Ah responded.
Her voice sounded deeper than before, but at least I heard something in return.
“It’s been a while.”
“Yeah. About that last time, I was in a hurry—”
She didn’t seem particularly angry, so I intended to slide in my carefully crafted excuse.
“Gu Young Master.”
“… What do you mean by that?”
I found myself staring at Wi Seol-Ah as my sentence trailed off.
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