Chapter: 540
The carriage is almost ready.
It finished much faster than expected.
The servants were bustling around, and that must be why Mo Yong-hee stepped out.
“Should we pack some food as well?”
“There are too many of us for that. It would be better to stop and buy something along the way.”
“Then I’ll do that.”
All I do is respond to the questions Mo Yong-hee asks me from time to time.
She could just handle it herself, but Mo Yong-hee came to check on things.
As I was scanning the surroundings with my gaze, I heard, “So, are we finally leaving?”
A sleepy voice chimed in from next to me.
It was Woo Hyuk.
I frowned at him.
“Did you just wake up?”
Judging by his appearance, it looked like he had rolled out of bed.
As expected, Woo Hyuk grinned upon hearing that.
“I just napped a bit! I found a sunny spot. Haha.”
“Just wipe the sleep out of your eyes.”
“Ouch!”
Woo Hyuk hurriedly rubbed his eyes at my comment.
I couldn’t understand why a guy who looked so good had to wander around like that.
Looking at him struggling to wake up, I asked,
“You said you were coming with us.”
“Huh?”
“Our place.”
“Oh, right! That’s what we agreed on.”
Woo Hyuk headed toward Guga.
This was decided based on the movement of the ghost ship.
The ghost ship also decided to go to Guga.
‘… The ghost ship follows Namgung Bi-ah.’
To be precise, it was less about following and more about the ghost ship having business in Shanxi.
‘Didn’t you say you already got permission from your father?’
It seems they talked about staying in Guga during his father’s visit.
When did that happen? Before I knew it, our party had grown so much.
Furthermore…
“It feels like pests are piling up at my house… Am I imagining things?”
“When you put it that way, I’m getting hungry. Does your house have good food?”
“…The food is really good, but I don’t think you’ll find any food for yourself.”
“No way! That can’t be true!”
Today, Woo Hyuk seemed especially smug.
He already loves to sleep. Should I let him sleep forever?
Alright, let’s go with that.
I made up my mind to catch Woo Hyuk, but then…
“Brother!”
I heard a distant shout.
Curious, I turned to look, and it was Pae Woo-cheol.
My eyes widened at the sight.
“What are you doing here?”
“I heard you were leaving today, so I came rushing over.”
“Ugh.”
I let out a sigh upon seeing Pae Woo-cheol’s awkward smile.
Even though the Pae family and the Dang family are close, there’s still a fair bit of distance between them.
He traveled all the way here just to see me off? Well, I guess that makes sense.
“…How did you get in?”
Right now, it wasn’t exactly a time when someone could come in just because they wanted.
The Dang family has forbidden outsiders from entering, so how did he manage to get through?
I looked at Pae Woo-cheol with that question in my mind.
“I brought him in,” someone chimed in from behind Pae Woo-cheol.
A man with green hair, similar to Dang So-yeol, who looked to be just over their twenties.
“…The Dang Clan Master.”
He was the son of the Poison King and the head of the Dang family.
He gave me a polite smile as he explained the situation.
“I brought Pae Woo-cheol in because he wanted to see off the old prince.”
“Is that permissible? Won’t you get scolded by the Poison King?”
“Haha, I don’t think the Lord has the time to scold me right now.”
It means that his own family must be falling apart, yet he says that with a smile.
I thought to myself,
‘Because he’s the head of the family…’
To be honest, I didn’t know him that well.
I had certain prestige in my past life, but I had no idea what he did or if he was overly powerful.
I just thought of him as an average person.
That’s exactly what I was thinking, but then—
‘I don’t think it’s that simple.’
The aura I sensed from the Dang Clan Master was peculiar.
It was not about technique; something deeper was at play.
“…Thank you.”
“How can we be thanked for this? We have received far more from you.”
The Dang Clan Master smiled in response to my thanks and gave my shoulder a gentle pat.
“I appreciate it, Your Highness.”
“…”
“The family head was too busy to join us. Please convey my gratitude to your head of the Gu Clan.”
“…Yes.”
“Oh, and…”
As we spoke, he leaned a little closer and whispered in my ear,
“The request you made has been granted.”
“Oh, thank goodness.”
The request I had made to the Poison King separately was whether I could take Nahi with me.
Given that I had created materials using her, and I was in a situation that required jewels, I naturally had to take Nahi.
So, I separately requested the Poison King in the past, and it seems he accepted it.
However, one thing gave me pause: the expression on the Poison King’s face when he heard it seemed odd.
He had frowned sharply, appearing quite displeased.
Why would that be?
Just then, the Dang Clan Master spoke again.
“I found it a little surprising.”
“What do you mean?”
“Nahi is attractive, but I never thought she would be your type,” he said.
“…What? Huh? What did you say?”
I widened my eyes at the strange comment from the Dang Clan Master.
…My type?
‘Is this guy insane?’
After hearing that, I finally understood why the Poison King viewed me that way.
Did he really think I wanted to take Nahi for some other reason?
“No, that’s not it! Am I crazy?”
“What does it matter? They say such heroes are often targets of envy.”
“No, no, that’s not the case…”
“Please take care of my sister. I hope we can address each other differently next time.”
“…Huh?”
“Hahaha!”
He laughed heartily while giving my shoulder a friendly slap.
It wasn’t painful, but for some reason, my chest felt heavy.
This probably isn’t right, so I hastily tried to clear up the misunderstanding.
At that moment, Pae Woo-cheol piped up.
“Speaking of which, brother.”
“Huh?”
“Where’s Brother Ji-seon?”
It was a question about Cheol Ji-seon.
“Ah. That guy.”
Cheol Ji-seon, who stayed in Sacheon, seemed to have changed after meeting Shin-ui and began going out often.
When I heard that Shin-ui would be joining us for this trip, I saw him cramped in another carriage.
‘I guess that means he doesn’t want to see me.’
There seemed to be some issue with the gods.
So, I had asked if they were planning to go somewhere else.
– “I think we need to go together,”
he had said before closing his mouth entirely.
‘Originally, I planned to drag him back.’
Cheol Ji-seon’s abilities were crucial for me.
If he had insisted on returning to his family, I’d planned to stop him right then.
Luckily, he insisted on not going, which put me in a fortunate position.
‘Otherwise, I would’ve had to use a somewhat forceful method to keep him around. Thank goodness.’
As I nodded in thought, Pae Woo-cheol wore a slightly disappointed expression.
“…That’s unfortunate. Training with Brother Ji-seon was quite fun.”
“…Weren’t you the only one enjoying it?”
It seemed like Pae Woo-cheol had been the only one pushing Cheol Ji-seon—perhaps quite aggressively!
I still remember how Cheol Ji-seon looked while gasping for breath.
“Brother Ji-seon thought he needed some training.”
“That’s true.”
A figure that hardly resembles a martial artist at all, with a skinny frame.
Paewool may have felt frustrated at Cheol Ji-seon’s timid character and meek voice.
But—
“Don’t worry.”
“Eh?”
“I’m planning to take charge from now on.”
“Oh.”
It’s tough to leave that poor guy hanging.
From now on, I planned to give Cheol Ji-seon a real workout.
‘He probably doesn’t realize this.’
While it may be unfortunate for Cheol Ji-seon, if he’s going to stick around, he needs to toughen up a bit.
I intended to guide him enough to have him behave like a decent human being.
Just as I was thinking that,
“Sir, everything’s ready.”
Mo Yong-hee approached and informed me.
Upon hearing her words, I looked around and realized everything was indeed ready—very neatly organized too.
“…Impressive.”
One thing was clear: Mo Yong-hee is undeniably competent in this domain.
“Are you leaving right away?”
“Yep. Let’s go now.”
There was no need to dawdle any longer.
I, too, was busy, yet it was high time we departed so the Dang family could get back to their work more efficiently.
I decided to set off immediately.
I clasped my hands together and took a ceremonial bow to the Dang Clan Master.
“Well then, I’ll be taking my leave.”
This bow also applied to the Poison King.
Knowing that, the Dang Clan Master accepted my bow with a nod.
In the midst of it, since Pae Woo-cheol continued to look regretful, I casually suggested he visit Guga next time before moving on.
I promptly boarded the carriage.
Following suit, Mo Yong-hee took a seat in my carriage as well.
Looking at her, I asked,
“Why are you sitting here? Where’s Senior Baekryeon?”
“Didn’t you hear…?”
“Hmm? Hear what?”
“My aunt went ahead to Shanxi.”
“…What?”
Mo Yong-hee seemed a bit weary as she said that.
She went to Shanxi first…?
“…Why…?”
“…I don’t know. And honestly, I don’t care to know.”
Mo Yong-hee spoke as if deeply annoyed, plopping down next to me.
Why did the White Lotus Sword leave first?
No, from the get-go…
‘This lady is supposed to be my escort.’
The person who volunteered to protect me seems to have forgotten her duty and decided to act on her whim!
It was hard to grasp her character originally, but now I’ve decided to give up trying.
She’s just an odd lady… that thought brought me some comfort.
It was nearly time to depart, so I thought about closing my eyes for a moment.
Bam!
Then, the carriage door burst open, and someone rushed in.
“Huahhh…”
The intruder turned out to be none other than Dang So-yeol.
The problem was, she looked a mess—totally unlike the well-kept Dang So-yeol.
Her hair was disheveled, and her eyes were filled with deep fatigue.
“Dang So-yeol?”
Even Mo Yong-hee looked surprised to see her like this.
“…Ugh, I’m exhausted…”
“…”
That made me frown.
She seemed to be in a state related to the Dark King.
Fortunately, she didn’t appear injured, but Dang So-yeol lay down, swaying as if she couldn’t steady herself.
The carriage was narrow enough that it felt like she was about to topple over Namgung Bi-ah.
Seeing that, Mo Yong-hee asked,
“Should I get you some water?”
“I’m…fine…”
What was she doing here again?
It was a question brimming in my mind, but I couldn’t ask it since I already had a feeling about why Dang So-yeol was in this condition.
“Are you alright?”
That was the only thing I could manage to say.
Could I ask whether she was going with us or if she had made up her mind?
I couldn’t voice that either.
As I barely managed to voice a question,
Dang So-yeol looked at me with tired eyes and smiled slightly.
“I’m okay.”
“…”
Her voice was tired but steady.
After hearing Dang So-yeol’s response, I couldn’t help but bite my lip.
There were many things I wanted to say, but nothing came out.
Without asking any more questions, I simply closed my eyes.
Heeeek!
Not long after, the sound of horses neighing proudly echoed.
The carriage began to move little by little.
‘Are we finally setting off?’
It started to feel real now.
I was finally heading back home.
How long had it been since I headed to Guga?
Amid the comfort I felt, a sharp wave of anxiety washed over me.
Grind, grind!
The wheels were turning.
Although it seemed like the horse stumbled, it quickly regained its footing as it trotted.
I kept my tired eyes closed, sensing the motion.
The rattling sensations
and the breeze brushing my hair outside the window.
Even amidst the uncomfortable situation, the fact that one task was completed allowed me to take a brief respite.
Was that why?
On my way home, I could finally catch a proper sleep after such a long time.
And like that, as the carriage picked up speed, time flew by quickly.
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