Chapter 385
It’s an unfamiliar ceiling.
As soon as I opened my eyes, this thought crossed my mind. Sunlight streamed in through the window.
Judging from the light, I felt it was just past noon.
I immediately sat up. I needed to assess the situation.
However, as I tried to get up while bracing myself on the bed,
Ugh…
I had to cover my forehead with my palm due to the throbbing pain in my head.
What is this? Why does it hurt so much?
‘…This is.’
While still cradling my forehead, I scanned the room. It was a room I had never seen before.
From the looks of it, it appeared to be a guest room, but it wasn’t the Baekrim Inn where I was staying.
Only after confirming that did I recall what happened just before I lost consciousness.
The moment I saw my father’s fist right in front of me.
Did I get punched and faint?
‘Then how utterly embarrassing…?!’
I had just pulled off the Toua Pacheon Gong and was ready to do my best, and yet—
I ended up knocked out by a single punch!
Talk about dropping all pretense and getting blasted to smithereens.
Even worse…
‘Since I lost… does that mean I won’t be able to ask about my mother’s whereabouts?’
The whole thing was a duel to inquire about her.
I only needed to succeed with one attack.
In the end, I failed. My father even imposed the condition of not using one arm.
I was defeated because I couldn’t overcome the difference in skill levels.
‘It was only natural that I would lose.’
I hadn’t even thought I could win, but I never imagined I would lose so pathetically.
So this means my father’s level was much higher than I expected.
I staggeringly raised my upper body.
First, I needed to find out how long I had been knocked out and how things progressed after I passed out.
At that moment.
“Huh?”
While stretching out my hand, I felt an unknown sensation.
Someone was lying on one side of the small bed.
“…What…?”
I recoiled in surprise. Who is it? Who’s lying on my bed?
My head felt cool, and my thoughts spun rapidly.
There could at most be two… or rather, three people who would sneak into my bed while I was sleeping.
Anyway, the one with the highest chance among them is…
‘Is it Namgung Bi-ah?’
She was someone who used to sneak in often.
It seems she hadn’t done that recently, but if anyone did, it would likely be her.
I hesitated slightly before kicking the blanket away.
What if Namgung Bi-ah is here?
What should I do? I could just say something as usual and then go down to eat together…
“Mmm…?”
Contrary to what I expected, I thought I would see white hair first.
What was visible was black hair.
Black hair…? Who has black hair?
Ugh…
The groaning voice was deep in tone.
At least I could tell it wasn’t a woman’s voice.
Could I be hearing things shortly after waking up?
While I stood there with a bewildered expression, the other person seemed to sense my presence and raised their body.
“Ugh… It’s morning… ugh!”
As soon as I saw the guy slowly getting up, I kicked him reflexively.
He tumbled off the bed from the sudden impact.
“Oh no…! You little rascal, you punch first!”
The one clutching his stomach and screaming was Woo Hyuk, the sleeping dragon.
“…Who the hell are you?”
Why is this guy here? And why is he naked?
My eyes were drawn to his unnecessarily well-built body.
How do I feel about this? It’s disgusting, what can I say? When you wake up to see a naked guy, it’s bound to feel unpleasant.
I gritted my teeth and managed to say something.
“Why are you here?”
Looks like I’ve become a better person too.
If it were the old days, I would have thrown a punch to begin with. But today? I’m asking first!
“Why would someone be in bed? They’re trying to sleep… Put your fists down. Why are you clenching your hands?”
Of course, that didn’t last long. I’m still barely holding it together.
Holding back my feelings, I said to Woo Hyuk.
“I’m going to count to three.”
“What does this number mean?”
“It means you have three chances to endure before I punch you. Answer within that time.”
“What do you mean by that vague standard that seems kind but is actually fast? Where did that come from!”
It was ridiculous, considering the one who set such vague standards for me was saying this.
Ignoring his reaction, I raised one finger.
“One.”
“Hang on a second. Why are you being this way? There’s no need to be violent!”
“Two.”
“Hey! At least hand me a sword so I can fight back! That’s just unfair!”
Woo Hyuk was panicking and looking around, but there was nothing useful around.
“People need to resolve conflicts through dialogue from the start…!”
“Three. You little rascal, get over here…”
“I ran away!”
Bam!
My body, which was leaning forward to grab Woo Hyuk’s head, stopped in its tracks.
What was that?
“…Ran away?”
“I ran away. I ran away… ugh!”
Unable to contain myself any longer, I whacked Woo Hyuk over the head.
Screaming, he shot me a look filled with resentment.
“I told you! Why are you hitting me?”
“Sorry, I can’t just ignore you when you’re babbling nonsense.”
There’s never been such nonsense before.
Running away? Seriously, isn’t that something someone who has left their home family shouldn’t say, especially when they’re living in a non-partisan sect?
From the perspective of someone who knows Woo Hyuk’s real name, it sounded even more ridiculous.
“…If you ran away, what does that even mean? Where’d you run away from?”
“Just start talking! Where’d you run away from? Naturally, from the sect.”
He didn’t even mention his own family.
I guess it’s expected since it’s the place Woo Hyuk detests the most.
“What do you mean? Are you saying you’re planning to leave the non-partisan faction?”
“Are you crazy? What about my Danjeon? I just ran away; I plan to come back someday….”
I don’t know about other places, but usually, if a member of the main branch wants to part ways completely from the sect, they take back all their martial arts and debts.
In severe cases, they might even close their Danjeon.
After listening to him, I let out a sigh and questioned Woo Hyuk.
“Out of the blue, what do you mean by running away?”
“…”
“One…”
“…You really are impatient.”
“Speak quickly.”
My tone clearly indicated my annoyance, but Woo Hyuk simply smacked his lips, not saying anything.
It looked like he didn’t want to reveal much. Normally, I wouldn’t press either.
“Two.”
It’s about time I started asking, even if it was irritating.
As I slowly began to place my hand firmly, Woo Hyuk flinched and finally replied.
“It’s a protest.”
“A protest?”
“Uh… yeah, a protest.”
“Who are you protesting against?”
Suddenly, I was puzzled by what this protest even meant.
Running away as a form of protest?
Despite my repeated inquiries, Woo Hyuk maintained an awkward expression. I knew it. The moment he made that face, he wouldn’t open his mouth.
Once I got to that point, I knew it would be a losing battle no matter how hard I pressed.
Click. I clicked my tongue inwardly and decided to ask something else.
“Everything else aside, running away and protest aren’t the issues here. What I need to know is why you’re here.”
Let’s say it’s personal. What matters to me is why the heck Woo Hyuk is here.
Woo Hyuk appeared to have been waiting for that question, flashing a bright smile.
A handsome guy’s smile always manages to rub me the wrong way.
“Oh, that. Because I ran away, I’ve nowhere to stay.”
“Oh, really?”
“I’m not saying I’m running away for just a day or two.”
Woo Hyuk beamed with a grin.
“So during my little adventure, I intended to crash at your place… Just kidding! Just kidding! Turn off the lights! My whole house might burn down!”
As I smiled and ignited flames around my body, Woo Hyuk hurriedly waved his hands, trying to stop me.
“Really? That was just a joke? Thank goodness! I could have accidentally burned you alive here.”
“This world is so vicious….”
Woo Hyuk groaned and struggled at my reaction. Did this guy genuinely intend to leech off my family?
Seeing my dismayed face, Woo Hyuk chuckled.
“Don’t worry, I was only half-joking. I have a place to stay.”
“Well, that’s good to hear.”
“You’re not even asking where…? That feels a tad heartbreaking.”
“I’ll tell you myself without asking.”
Woo Hyuk looked slightly surprised by my nonchalant response.
“You know, I find it amazing to see things like this? Were we close as kids?”
“Are you starting with that nonsense again?”
“No, I mean it’s just fascinating how well you know me! Most people don’t.”
“Just speak plain and simple! Stop sugarcoating anything!”
Woo Hyuk scrunched his nose, clearly displeased with my directness.
“I heard you’re going to Sichuan.”
At that, I had to react with a bit of surprise at Woo Hyuk’s words.
“How do you know that?”
“Huh? Iron Prince told me.”
Woo Hyuk let it slip casually regarding the source of his information.
Of all people, it just had to be the Iron Prince.
‘…Just wait till I see you.’
Our Jiseon really does spill the beans more than I expected? What a headache…
While I simmered inwardly, Woo Hyuk kept talking.
“By the way, our master is out there too. Let’s go together! I thought I’d stay there.”
Hearing Woo Hyuk’s words immediately sparked my curiosity.
Master?
‘Did this fool have a separate master?’
I assumed he was training under the older generation like Youngpoong.
Was the relationship between Gu-ryeong-hwa and Geom-hu distinct?
This was a story I had never heard before.
The master of the sleeping dragon?
But now, he’s in Sichuan again?
“He’s someone who’s always on the go, but I heard he happens to be in Sichuan this time.”
“Did you really have a separate master?”
“Of course, I did! Although I didn’t learn much… Ah, if you hear the name, you’ll probably know. He’s somewhat famous.”
“Who is it?”
Is he really that famous? Then, it would be strange not to know that he had a master.
When I inquired out of curiosity, Woo Hyuk stood up and revealed.
“Gyudo.”
I had to tilt my head at the name he mentioned.
It sounded like a name, but I had never heard it before.
Thinking about it, I wondered why I didn’t know much about someone who is supposed to be famous.
“By nickname.”
Woo Hyuk started to elaborate, and when I heard the next part, my eyes widened in surprise.
“Shaman Ghost Ship.”
“…!”
“Yep, that’s my master.”
Now that was definitely a famous individual, in more ways than one.
Shaman Ghost Gyudo.
He was one of the representative masters of the non-partisan faction and was also one of the most embarrassing figures I’ve ever seen.
Additionally, he’s a distinguished figure in the Namgung family.
Later, he also became the owner of the noble sword, Noe-a (雷牙), used by Ma Geom-hu.
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