Chapter: 137
Long time no see, brother-in-law. (2)
Namgung Cheonjun, who had been flaunting his lightning Qi around the tavern, quickly composed himself and approached us.
If he could hide his Qi so easily, does that mean he was showing off on purpose?
‘Looks like he enjoys the limelight.’
I didn’t see that as a bad thing, though. After all, there were plenty of people like him—especially from the Namgung Clan.
[He’s exactly the same as when I first saw Myung.]
‘Are you referring to the Thunderous Sword?’
[Yes, he used to act like that when he was younger too, and I had to teach him a lesson…]
‘…You what?’
How could this old man speak of such violent memories so nostalgically?
And if the Thunderous Sword had acted like that, then that obnoxious personality might just be a personality trait of the Namgung Clan.
While I was lost in thought, I glanced over at Moyong Hi-ah, who was also fixated on Namgung Cheonjun.
It wasn’t surprising at all.
In my previous life, they had been engaged.
[Wait, so you actually ‘that thing’ with a woman who was already taken? What an asshole…!]
‘I had a legitimate reason—Wait, why does this always turn into that topic?’
Was it just me, or had Elder Shin been stuck on this topic for hours?
To clarify, the Moyong Hi-ah from then wasn’t engaged.
Their engagement started after they escaped the Abyss.
I wondered if Moyong Hi-ah would have gone through with it had she remembered her time in the Abyss.
‘She probably would.’
She was that kind of person.
Someone who could effortlessly create feelings for others to achieve her goals.
—What are you saying? Why would you use ‘create feelings’ instead of just ‘act’?
—…A dumbass like you wouldn’t understand even if you died. Are you sure you don’t have a rock in your head?
—You crazy bitch… Why are you insulting me when you started talking to me first? Wanna die?
—You were crawling on the floor during our last confrontation, yet your tongue hasn’t stopped flames like it was during our duel. It disappeared faster than a candle’s flame.
—Hey, you piece of…!
—Geez, they’re fighting again! Hey! Someone stop them!
—Let go of me! This time I’m going to burn that bitch to a crisp for real!
—Where is the Young Sword Master!? We have to hurry and stop those two!
‘…’
Thinking about those good old days makes my head throb.
Why was I like that back then?
It was a truly embarrassing memory.
But now, it was just a memory I alone carried.
For a long, long time.
No one who escaped the Abyss remembered their experiences.
Except for me.
No one remembered what had happened…
What they went through for years and what they had to endure…
What kind of relationships they built and whose tears were shed for whom…
No one remembered a thing.
That was part of our deal.
“Sister.”
“…Hey.”
Namgung Cheonjun addressed Namgung Bi-ah as soon as he arrived.
Namgung Bi-ah merely waved her hand in greeting, as usual.
But because of that, the chatter around us became increasingly noisy.
“Sister? Did the Lightning Dragon just call her sister?”
“Does that mean she’s a blood relative of the Namgung Cl- whoa…”
“What’s going on here?”
Thanks to him, all eyes turned in our direction.
Ugh, this was definitely not a good situation.
‘…Now everything I set up was for nothing.’
I sighed.
It was hardly a grand plot.
If I tried to set up a barrier at my level, I’d just end up getting caught.
Instead, I aimed to create a barrier that would reduce our visibility just a tad.
It was a necessity, especially with the attention-grabbing girls in our group.
‘But now that’s all pointless.’
Once you attract attention, there’s no turning back.
As proof, I felt numerous gazes honing in on us.
Most of them wandered elsewhere, not directly at me.
The vile and greedy gazes were painfully obvious.
It was understandable since the majority were still young, untrained in concealing their intentions.
I couldn’t just ridicule them for that.
If I were in their shoes, I’d likely act the same.
Namgung Bi-ah inched closer to me.
Tang Soyeol and Moyong Hi-ah seemed to be accustomed to this, but Wi Seol-Ah and Namgung Bi-ah likely weren’t.
I breathed in my Qi.
I still didn’t want to stand out, but I couldn’t just sit back any longer.
Whoosh-!
A wave of pressure from my Qi scattered throughout the tavern.
Those who had been whispering and watching extorted coughing sounds and looked away.
They realized it was a warning.
A slight heat mixed in with that wave added weight to it,
But that wasn’t my doing.
I glanced at Gu Jeolyub with wide eyes.
Noticing my gaze, Gu Jeolyub seemed to hesitate before speaking.
“…Is there a problem with this?”
The pressure from earlier had been from Gu Jeolyub.
Considering the strength behind it, he had to have used a hefty amount of Qi.
I nodded back to a slightly nervous Gu Jeolyub.
“No, you did well.”
If he hadn’t acted, I would have had to step in.
Surprised at my unexpected praise, Gu Jeolyub awkwardly averted his gaze.
[Elder Shin’s right; despite all the insults, he’s keeping his cool.]
Just like that, my perception of Gu Jeolyub started to shift slightly.
‘Maybe he’s not entirely a bad person.’
It made me consider seeing beyond just his identity as the First Elder’s grandson.
“Lady Tang is present too.”
“Hello…”
“It seems you’ve become even more beautiful.”
Namgung Cheonjun flashed a smile as he said this. Any girl would be pleased hearing that from a handsome man.
However, Tang Soyeol’s smile was unusually strained.
It seemed like she was putting all her effort into maintaining it.
“T…hank you.”
She might not have hidden her trembles in her voice well…
But to outsiders, it would look like she was enchanted by Namgung Cheonjun’s handsome face.
“And you are…”
“My name is Gu Jeolyub.”
Gu Jeolyub stood abruptly and greeted Namgung Cheonjun.
Namgung Cheonjun hesitated upon hearing Gu Jeolyub’s surname but quickly composed himself.
“Nice to meet you.”
It seemed he was genuinely excited to meet the Lightning Dragon, as Gu Jeolyub appeared to be on cloud nine.
‘This guy?’
From what I could see, it was easy to see how young prodigies looked up to figures like the Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes.
Yet, I couldn’t help but wonder if Gu Jeolyub would maintain that awe once he discovered the true nature of Namgung Cheonjun.
Namgung Cheonjun’s gaze then shifted towards me.
He still wore that grin.
“It’s been a while.”
While Namgung Cheonjun was addressing me, my focus remained on Moyong Hi-ah.
He asked who Gu Jeolyub was but simply skipped over Moyong Hi-ah.
It didn’t seem like he was greeting us in any particular order; rather, it felt like he was deliberately saving me for last.
‘Is he deliberately ignoring Moyong Hi-ah?’
Moyong Hi-ah seemed unfazed, almost as if she was used to such treatment.
They weren’t engaged at this point, but had they crossed paths before?
To be fair, the four noble clans probably met frequently.
Namgung Bi-ah was the odd one out; she had hidden herself away her whole life.
“…I heard you were engaged. Congratulations.”
Setting aside my wonderings, Namgung Cheonjun directed his attention to me.
How insincere that congratulations felt.
His barely perceptible smile twitching confirmed that.
I was thankful that he hadn’t changed a bit.
But was he now trying to be friendly with me?
Nah, no way.
That was hard to believe.
I replied with a smile, returning his greeting.
“Yep.”
My brief response seemed to make Namgung Cheonjun’s eyebrow furrow slightly.
But I decided not to stop there.
“Long time no see, brother-in-law.”
His mask slipped for a moment at my words.
“Oh wait, should I be calling you sister-in-law instead?”
Namgung Cheonjun’s entire demeanor shifted upon my words, reminding him of our previous encounter when I had kicked him in his genitals.
But he quickly regained his composure.
This was quite unexpected.
His past self would have reacted differently.
Yet, Namgung Cheonjun merely smiled.
“Yes, since we will become family soon.”
‘What’s he up to?’
He seemed to be holding back with all his might, but I couldn’t figure out why.
I would be better off if nothing escalated, yet…
Did Namgung Jin mention something to him? It wasn’t likely since Namgung Cheonjun wouldn’t have been around when Namgung Jin returned to the clan.
“Let’s just be good friends and leave our past behind.”
Those were nice words, but could it really be that straightforward?
I struggled with that notion myself.
It wasn’t that I looked down on Namgung Cheonjun… Well, actually, I did, but…
The look in his eyes suggested he hadn’t changed at all.
I hoped for his sake that he could keep his emotions in check until the end.
‘I doubt I could give you a pass the second time, my little Cheonjun.’
So I genuinely hoped he could hold it together.
The meal wrapped up shortly after that incident.
By the time Moyong Hi-ah decided to join us, we were nearly finished.
I worried that Namgung Cheonjun might try to join in…
But unexpectedly, he merely glanced at Namgung Bi-ah before heading up to his room.
After that, Moyong Hi-ah also offered her polite farewell and followed Namgung Cheonjun.
‘So her goal was indeed Namgung Cheonjun.’
I found myself curious about Moyong Hi-ah’s intentions.
Despite Namgung Cheonjun being her objective, her reaction upon seeing him seemed oddly mellow.
To put it differently, she appeared reluctant to react at all.
Perhaps that was just my misinterpretation.
Moyong Hi-ah now was much younger than when I first encountered her in my past life.
Back then, she appeared almost emotionless, but now, there might be a touch of innocence in her.
The reason I was unsure about it was…
Because I had been through too much with that frightening woman.
Just a gentle poke could send her into tears.
She had mastered the art of feigning sorrow better than anyone, despite that cold voice and demeanor.
If there was one issue, it was probably her physical condition.
A disease.
That was also a significant factor in Moyong Hi-ah’s future demise.
I didn’t know precisely what ailment afflicted her.
‘She claimed it wasn’t the Nine Darkness disease.’
Nine Darkness disease was a notorious illness in the past.
It was once considered incurable; excessive dark energy would disrupt one’s Qi flow.
However, nowadays, remedies could be derived from Firebird beaks, a type of Red Demon, or other similarly energized herbs.
Of course, these remedies came at a cost, but the Moyong Clan wasn’t some little backwater family. They had the resources.
So, it had to be a different issue entirely.
[How surprising.]
As I pondered these things, Elder Shin chimed in.
“What do you mean?”
[From what I gather, it seems your relationship with her was quite the mess, yet here you are worrying about her. Do you have feelings for her that you’re oblivious to?]
“…Of course not.”
Just like Elder Shin observed, our relationship really was a mess. Maybe even worse than that.
There was merely a flicker of a connection.
—I needed your flame. Though that seemed meaningless in hindsight.”
Moyong Hi-ah, who voiced that bitter sentiment, spoke no lies.
—This isn’t something you can call a sacrifice. Even if it could be called a sacrifice, it’s not something you should bear alone!
Her final shout definitely carried weight as well.
However, I couldn’t claim her words lingered in my heart.
Forgetting her words was likely due to being overwhelmed by tasks post-Abyss.
“I’m not here to help her.”
My only goal was to safeguard those around me.
Sure, I’d appreciate it if Moyong Hi-ah joined us, but that wasn’t why I was here.
Plus, it felt odd to label her as friend or foe at this point.
‘Why am I overthinking this because of her?’
I pushed everything aside and stood up.
No point mulling over it now; it wouldn’t come to me anyway.
I just needed to focus on what I needed to do.
“Shall I go train?”
Those words were directed at Muyeon, who waited outside the door.
Muyeon looked startled, having not anticipated my appearance.
I continued speaking, “I told you, you don’t need to stand guard right outside.”
“…Young Master, it is customary for an escort to…”
“Don’t ruin it with a lecture. Look around you; who else has their guards stationed right outside their doors?”
To back up my point, not a single guard was found stationed at any other room’s doorway.
This was a proud tradition of young prodigies.
It was a way to show they weren’t weak and didn’t need protection.
But to me, it all seemed pointless.
Still, it gave me an excuse to voice my displeasure with Muyeon.
“Instead of lecturing me, how about you come train with me?”
“…Understood.”
In the end, Muyeon fell silent and began following me.
Since Bacheonmaru was a residence for young prodigies, a training area was set up in the back.
I couldn’t use martial skills there due to all the eyes watching, but physical training should be fine.
Moving my body would always prove to be the best way to clear my thoughts.
On my way to the training area with Muyeon, I also decided to bring Gu Jeolyub, who had been lounging around in his room.
“Why me…?”
Gu Jeolyub asked in confusion.
“It’s nice to train together. What’s wrong with that?”
Honestly, I just wanted to make him squirm for that overly excited look on his face upon seeing Namgung Cheonjun.
Gu Jeolyub seemed serious about his training, as he had never shied away from it.
As we approached the training area,
“Oh, Young Master,”
“Hmm?”
“I heard this earlier—“
“Gu Young Master!”
Before Muyeon could finish his sentence, a booming voice echoed from a distance, shaking the surrounding area.
Was that voice calling for me?
Just in case, I turned to Gu Jeolyub.
Given that we shared the same surname, I was unsure, but Gu Jeolyub looked just as bewildered.
“Then who…?”
Turning around, I noticed someone already standing right before me.
Before Muyeon even had time to draw his sword.
And fast enough to catch me off guard.
“Wow! I’ve missed you so much! It’s been ages!”
The young man, with a bright expression, shook me roughly by the shoulders.
I get that he was excited to see me, but this was overkill.
“Oh wait…”
This felt oddly familiar.
I was speaking of the overwhelming sensation I was about to experience. It didn’t take long to identify who it was.
Why was this person here? Hadn’t he graduated from young prodigy status?
The young man I was seeing after months still bore a lanky frame, contrasting his surname.
His black uniform and the distinctive ring on his finger left no room for doubt.
He was the Heavenly Dragon and the future Sword Master.
And right now, he was the young lord of the Peng Clan.
“Peng Young Master… Could you please let me go first…Ugh, stop shaking me already!”
It was Peng Woojin.
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