### Chapter 170: Would You Like To Go With Me? (1)
iSwish!*i
A golden aura swept through the room filled with medicines and bandages, its contained purity unmistakably sharp.
However, the energy that shot forth did not reach Jang Seonyeon, dissipating right before his eyes, just like smoke.
“Hehe…”
Even in the face of this surprise attack, Jang Seonyeon maintained his smile, as if he had expected this to happen.
“Child, your greeting is rather aggressively enthusiastic, isn’t it?”
His voice was devoid of any rhythm, and contrasting with his mocking smile, it was chillingly emotionless.
“…You.”
At Wi Seol-Ah’s reaction, Jang Seonyeon tilted his head in confusion.
“Neither you nor that kid from yesterday seem particularly startled. How boring.”
With a quiet chuckle, Jang Seonyeon, or rather Dok Gojun, let out a soft laugh.
“Did you know I was coming?” Wi Seol-Ah asked, watching Dok Gojun closely.
“Of course, how could I not know with you radiating such intense bloodlust towards this child?”
That was simply impossible.
Wi Seol-Ah was a master at hiding her intentions.
Moreover, she had been exceptionally cautious to avoid causing any harm to this child she had borrowed.
‘Then why…’
“Child.”
Before she could finish her thought, Dok Gojun spoke directly to Wi Seol-Ah.
“It seems you know me.”
“…!”
His words brimmed with certainty. He wasn’t just speaking to Jang Seonyeon; he was addressing the entity within.
“Right?”
“Stop talking nonsense.”
“If that were true, you wouldn’t be so agitated.”
Although Wi Seol-Ah maintained a calm facade, her breath betrayed her. Despite concealing her thoughts, Dok Gojun seemed to see right through her.
“I wonder what you are. That strong child harbors a colossal beast inside, yet you possess nothing.”
No sooner had Dok Gojun finished speaking than Wi Seol-Ah swung her hand again, channeling more power than before.
Slash-!
Jang Seonyeon’s arm was severed cleanly. Wi Seol-Ah scowled as she saw this.
Not only had her attack, aimed at his neck, redirected to his arm, but the severed arm didn’t even bleed.
Dok Gojun grinned as he watched the gruesome spectacle.
“I see, you must be…”
He whispered in realization.
‘Did he fend off the attack with energy?’
It wasn’t impossible, but it was beyond the capability of Jang Seonyeon’s current level.
That suggested it was an influence from the unknown entity.
Just like herself.
Despite losing an arm, Dok Gojun’s expression remained unchanged.
“How impatient you are. We haven’t even had a proper discussion yet.”
“I have nothing to say to you.”
She didn’t wish to hold a conversation with him.
Her sole intention was to finish what she had come for, and then leave.
She gathered her energy once more,
Now there was only a smidgen of it left.
The increase in intensity from earlier had allowed her attack to connect. She just needed a bit more power to ensure it would have an effect.
Dok Gojun interrupted again.
“Do you have nothing to say regarding that child you care for?”
Wi Seol-Ah paused for a moment at his words.
Simultaneously, the energy in her hand started to tremble.
Dok Gojun smirked at her unmistakable reaction.
“What an honest child you are.”
Crack.
Just as Wi Seol-Ah prepared to strike again, Dok Gojun continued.
“I’ve planted my seed within that child.”
“What?”
“I bestowed upon him the best quality I could find, hoping he would cherish it.”
At this, Wi Seol-Ah’s hair began to bristle.
In an instant, the room filled with terrifying pressure and murderous intent, weighing down Jang Seonyeon’s body, yet his smile remained intact.
“Do not fret, child. It’s not a force that would bring him harm.”
“Spare me your nauseating words; how can you speak so casually in this situation?”
The mere act of him occupying Jang Seonyeon’s body shattered any trust Wi Seol-Ah could have mustered.
This was all the more true since she knew Dok Gojun was the entity behind it.
“Whether or not you believe matters little. What’s important is something else.”
Ddddddd-
As pressure in the room intensified, the objects within it began to quiver.
“Is this the part where you beg for your life?”
“I don’t care about your feelings one bit. I merely wished to converse with you, nothing more.”
“What kind of conversation?”
She wanted to sever his neck right then and there.
She had no desire to indulge in conversations with such a loathsome being.
But if he had any connection to Gu Yangcheon, caution was necessary.
Seeing her turmoil, Dok Gojun asked.
“What have you sacrificed?”
Wi Seol-Ah clenched her lips at his question.
“To become like this, what did you give up?”
“Why do you care?”
“Child, I just wonder how you accomplished something I could not.”
Was he inquiring about twisting time to affect history?
Or perhaps…
“I am the same as you.”
Wi Seol-Ah did not respond to Dok Gojun.
She couldn’t deny his claim, as he was right in part.
Yet she couldn’t fully agree, for his assertion lacked some accuracy.
“You might be a bit brighter, slicker perhaps, but at our core, we are the same. How could we not be different when our beginnings are identical?”
“Speak plainly about what you want to say.”
“I’m simply curious. How did such a person end up like this? Is it your fault, or the child’s, that you have become who you are now? I’m simply curious; I’ve always been that way.”
Crack.
Wi Seol-Ah tightly clenched her teeth, unwilling to let this conversation drag on any longer.
But Dok Gojun persisted.
“That boy isn’t a fragment of mine.”
His tone was packed with confidence, indicating resolve since the beginning.
“Neither is that child. Hence my intrigue; two children have caught my attention, and yet they aren’t even creations of mine.”
“I couldn’t care less about your intentions.”
At Wi Seol-Ah’s furious retort, Dok Gojun replied.
“I will not interfere.”
“What?”
“I merely observe and wait. For this just piqued my curiosity.”
Wi Seol-Ah despised his tranquility.
Especially since she sensed the darkness and brutality concealed within him.
To her, he radiated a sickening facade of normalcy.
“Are you anxious that I might do something to that child?”
“If you know anything, don’t even think about touching him.”
Grinding her teeth, she gathered her energy.
“Or before I know it, I could barge into your nest and wreak havoc.”
As Wi Seol-Ah unleashed a dense killing intent, Dok Gojun’s expression displayed slight shock.
“Seems you’re aware of much more than I anticipated.”
“And do you believe I wouldn’t act on that knowledge?”
‘If I keep using this body excessively, I’ll be straining this child’s limits.’
‘My soul will likely decay, and I won’t even be able to bid him farewell, which I longed for.’
Despite this, Wi Seol-Ah had no intention of hesitating.
She was willing to bear all the burdens if it meant reducing his, even slightly.
‘What worth does my soul even have?’
In comparison to all that was done for her, her own contributions felt trivial.
It struck her that her soul bore little value.
Dok Gojun found Wi Seol-Ah’s declaration amusing.
“I already told you, but I do not intend to harm that child.”
His words were untrustworthy.
He had claimed to have planted a seed within him.
Wi Seol-Ah recognized the fate one faced when possessing Dok Gojun’s seed.
If his words were true, then it was her failure to have prevented this.
“That child will appreciate it too; it’s a gift for him, as I have grown fond of him.”
“Don’t kid yourself. He would find your meddling repulsive.”
He wasn’t someone who needed such power.
He was capable of standing independently and would undoubtedly do so in this life as well.
Now that he had escaped the bonds of his past, Gu Yangcheon would soar.
That was precisely why Wi Seol-Ah positioned herself here in the first place.
Despite her furious glare at Dok Gojun, he remained unfazed, even when threatened.
Wi Seol-Ah was well aware of where his heart was located,
Deep within the earth’s depths.
She couldn’t attack that crucial point, forcing her to refrain from any rash actions.
Still, if Dok Gojun continued wading through his machinations, she was ready to strike.
“Do not worry.”
As Wi Seol-Ah’s fury escalated, Dok Gojun gestured for her to calm down.
“My power can’t harm that child.”
It wasn’t that he wouldn’t harm him; it was that he couldn’t—at least, that’s what he implied.
The smile he wore vanished as he made his declaration.
Wi Seol-Ah kept her guard up; that too could easily be another form of deception.
Her grip intensified.
“By your response, it seems you are as clueless about what’s inside that boy as the rest of us.”
A ravenous beast was coiled within his body, lurking as if in slumber.
Dok Gojun couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought of that terrifying entity.
“I am ancient and patient. Having endured countless years, there’s no way I would harm that child.”
As smoke filled the room, it wasn’t due to any Qi.
“I sincerely hope for that child’s growth, which is why I’m generously gifting him. And now that we’ve tied a bond, he will come looking for me. You surely understand that’s the natural order of things.”
While speaking, Dok Gojun casually took hold of his own throat.
Wi Seol-Ah’s eyes widened in shock.
“So I hope you’ll continue to stand by that child.”
“What do you mean…?”
“It’s a bit wasteful, yet I don’t find myself too regretful. This is a necessary sacrifice for my plan—and also, a gift for you.”
Wi Seol-Ah lunged for Jang Seonyeon, attempting to grip him, but the suffocating smoke obstructed her.
“My conversation today proved highly entertaining. I look forward to our next encounter.”
Thud!
Wi Seol-Ah unleashed her energy, dispersing the smoke, rushing towards Jang Seonyeon.
Craaack.
However, he twisted his neck without hesitation, collapsing onto the floor.
Despite appearing grotesquely twisted, suggesting he had met an untimely end, Dok Gojun’s voice continued to emanate from Jang Seonyeon’s mouth.
“It was delightful to meet you, my daughter.”
With those last words…
The light extinguished from Jang Seonyeon’s eyes.
Wi Seol-Ah concealed her contorted expression and trembling shoulders. She longed to vent her boiling fury, to unleash chaos in her surroundings, but she forcibly held it back.
She was in no position to act on such urges.
Whether it was this life or in her past, she grappled with emotions of helplessness.
‘What the hell does the Celestial Sword symbolize, and why am I the Zenith?’
‘Here I am, utterly incompetent, powerless—and in the end, I accomplished nothing this time either.’
Wi Seol-Ah closed her lips tight, waving her hand.
Fwoosh.
Golden flames enveloped Jang Seonyeon’s body, erasing every trace of him in an instant.
Among the swirling energies, Wi Seol-Ah bowed her head, trembling with suppressed breaths.
‘…I’m sorry.’
His face remained vivid in her mind.
If only she could have done something for him.
But she still felt a weight dragging her down.
Even contemplating charging into the underground was tempting, yet she knew that would place a heavier burden on him.
She truly couldn’t do anything for him.
What little she could convey felt worthless; she remained paralyzed despite achieving the Zenith, still haunted by guilt.
-Foolish girl.
His words echoed back to her.
Now, she understood the feelings behind what he had said back then.
So, Wi Seol-Ah merely fell silent.
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