Childhood Friend of the Zenith - Chapter 132

༺ Don’t Touch Him ༻

Right before I left for the Dragons and Phoenixes Tournament, I met with the second elder who came to see me.

“Leaving again so soon even though you just returned.”

“I know. I wonder how I ended up in this situation.”

In my past life, I would still be lazing around in my home around this time.

The contrast with my current life was almost enough to bring a wry smile to my face.

“I heard that this trip won’t take that long, so that’s a relief at least.”

Due to the distance, this trip indeed won’t take that long.

Then, the Second Elder broached a different topic with me.

“Around the time you return, Yangcheon, this old man won’t be in the clan.”

“Huh? Second Elder, are you going somewhere?”

“It seems like the fifth swordsmen army has run into a problem.”

“The fifth swordsmen army ...”

It was the army that Gu Huibi led currently.

They were currently dispatched for a search. But why would the Second Elder need to go there?

Did something happen around this time? I couldn’t remember anything big.

“Don’t worry since it’s not that big of a problem.”

“Who in the world would worry about you?”

If anything, I’d be more worried about his opponents.

“Oh, and the upcoming Nine Dragon’s Day in winter shouldn’t pose a problem since both your sisters are here.”

“Are you talking about my second sister and the youngest one?”

“Yes.”

The Nine Dragon’s Day came around twice a year and it seemed like Gu Ryunghwa and Gu Yeonseo were the ones that would be participating this winter.

‘I wonder if it’ll be okay for Gu Ryunghwa to participate, as she is from Mount Hua.’

I guess she is allowed to participate after all, considering the absence of objections

I also heard that Gu Yeonseo had decided not to participate in the Dragons and Phoenixes Tournament this year.

Whether her choice was due to her attendance last year or my own participation this year,, I didn’t know.

‘...Gu Ryunghwa and Gu Yeonseo huh.’

As I contemplated the dynamics between the two, concern for Gu Ryunghwa’s well-being arose due to the obvious strain in their relationship.

But I also thought that she might be able to overcome Gu Yeonseo like she did back in Mount Hua.

‘I should probably focus more on my concerns about Gu Yeonseo’’

I didn’t really have much idea of how she was doing since our last meeting wasn’t the best.

I didn’t know how much growth she gained through her in-closed training,

But Gu Ryunghwa couldn’t be looked down upon either.

“Oh, Yangcheon.”

“Yes.”

When I responded to his call, the Second Elder took out something from his pocket and spoke.

“I heard that you were going to visit the Shaolin Temple, so- “

“I refuse.”

“Hmm?”

I denied him straight away when I saw the Second Elder trying to take something out.

That man, if I thought about how he made me responsible for delivering Mount Hua’s treasure,

I didn’t know what he would do now that I was going to Shaolin Temple.

“I am not going to take anything from you, Second Elder.”

“For God’s sake, how could you deny it when you don’t even know what I’m trying to give you?”

“...Whatever you say, I’m not going to take it.”

Who knows? He won over Mount Hua’s treasure through a drinking bet, so there was no guarantee that he didn’t employ a similar tactic for Shaolin Temple’s treasure.

The Second Elder then smiled and took out a purse.

“You little brat, you act like I always make you run errands. I just wanted to give you an allowan- “

“Thank you, Lord Second Elder, I really only have you.”

“...You really become more shameless as days go on. What am I going to do with you?”

The Second Elder let out a sigh, but still put the purse in my hand.

“I didn’t put much in there.”

“Then I might be a little dis-... I was joking. Lower your hand, please.”

I would’ve gotten hit if I let down my guard a little longer.

When I shook the purse, I heard the sound of silver coins hitting each other.

And, judging by how it weighed a great deal, it seemed like the Second Elder put a good amount of money in there, unlike his words.

“Thank you.”

“Yep, take the chance to cause some big trouble there.”

I thought I misheard the Second Elder since he said that it was normal.

“...Didn’t you tell me to keep a low profile on my last trip?”

Back when I went to Mount Hua or Sichuan, I remember him nagging me to not stir up trouble, considering my position in the clan and the privileges that came with it. But now, his advice was to cause a ruckus?

The Second Elder then looked at me as if I was the weird one.

“You are going to the Dragons and Phoenixes Tournament to cause trouble in the first place. That place will be filled with people vying for attention.”

The Second Elder might have been exaggerating a little bit, but he wasn’t wrong.

Fame might be just an extra for a martial artist, but it was pretty important as well.

In fact, it held considerable weight.

The reason why kids my age go to the Dragons and Phoenixes Tournament is to establish their names,

And why they were jealous of whether it was the Lightning Dragon, the Sword Dragon, the Poison Bee, the Sword Phoenix, or any titles that were given to highly ranked prodigies was because it was the symbol of them getting acknowledged as a martial artist, and that they would be the ones that’d lead the future.

“Though I probably don’t need to tell you that.”

“Where did you get such a firm conviction from?

“Even if I told you not to cause trouble, history suggests you’d do the exact opposite. So you would cause more trouble if I told you to.”

“...”

It was sad because I couldn’t argue with him.

The Second Elder and I continued our conversation for a bit after that, then Gu Jeolyub came towards us while covered in sweat.

“Y-Young Master, we are done loading the carriages.”

“Already?”

That’s disappointing, it seemed like there was less baggage than I thought.

Despite his heavy breathing, Gu Jeolyub respectfully lowered his head upon noticing the Second Elder by my side.

“Good day, Lord Second Elder.”

“Oh, It’s Jeolyub. Seems like you’ve grown quite a bit since our last meeting.”

Gu Jeolyub put on an embarrassed smile on his face. He did indeed seem taller than the last time we met.

I too, also grew a little this year, but not as much as him... which I didn’t particularly appreciate.

The Second Elder then spoke to me while looking at Gu Jeolyub.

– Go a little easy on this child since he’s a poor one.

– That might be a little hard, but I’ll try.

He spoke to me telepathically, so I did the same.

The Second Elder seemed a little surprised by that, but he let it pass since he already knew what martial realm I was in.

“Anyways, have a good trip.”

“Yes.”

After those words, the Second Elder started to walk away.

Despite making a bothered face every time, he does everything I tell him to. And he didn’t do anything else besides sparring with Muyeon from time to time.

Though I did take jabs at him with my words every time I saw him.

– You, bring me water.

– I did earlier.

– Did you clean the carriages?

– I did in the morning. Like you told me to yesterday.

– ...Did you eat yet?

– Not yet.

– ...Let’s eat.

He was surprisingly better at working than I expected.

Why?

Why is he good at it?

“I don’t understand.”

“About what?”

“Just everything, whether it’s him, him, or that guy, I don’t get it.”

“Young Master, grandpa always told me that the world is beyond complete understanding..”

“...Elder Wi taught you many things, huh.”

Early education in life is rather scary.

I spoke to Muyeon, who was walking along the carriages.

“Muyeon.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

He responded while looking ahead, yet his Qi emanated from his body, and was surrounding the near area.

It seems like,

‘...He’s overcoming his barriers .’

Whatever transpired, it seemed like it wouldn’t be too long until Muyeon overcame the wall of peak realm.

Which meant that he was putting in that much effort.

“Do we have to go to the Murim Alliance right away upon our arrival?”

“No. We can go after we rest at the lodge that they provided us.”

“They even provided us a lodge?”

They normally wouldn’t do such a thing.

It seemed like the Murim Alliance was concerned about something.

‘I’d know if I ever participated in one.’

The one time I participated after I became the young lord, the day turned into a mess.

The incident that occurred in the Dragons and Phoenixes Tournament at that time.

I would’ve learned a good number of things if that damned thing didn’t happen.

‘I just have to... make sure something like that doesn’t happen this time.’

It was a disaster of an incident.

Because all of the young prodigies in the area at that time, met their untimely demise.

No casualties occurred that day, but I knew.

That everyone, excluding me, died.

‘...Can I call that resurrection?’

As written in the Murim Alliance’s record, everyone survived, including me.

However, the problem was that no one besides me had any memories of the Abyss.

‘...’

I’ve experienced a considerable expanse of time, including my current life, but the ache in my heart remained the same if I thought about what happened back then.

‘How pointless.’

It was in the past.

And it was something I needed to make sure it wouldn’t happen again.

“Young Master.”

I focused my senses on the voice of Gu Jeolyub.

“The palace is now within sight...”

“Is that so? Could you wake that bear up?”

In response to my words, Wi Seol-Ah shook Namgung Bi-ah, who fell asleep while leaning on Tang Soyeol.

“Oomph...”

“Sis! You need to wake up!”

“Agh! You drooled, sis...!”

I’ll pretend I didn’t see what I just saw.

‘Hanam huh.’

Drawing in and releasing a breath, I savored the chilly air.

The heart of the Orthodox Faction that was the root of every problem.

I arrived at Hanam, where the Murim Alliance and Shaolin Temple were, after a pretty long ride.

* * * *

Bacheonmaru, the lodge that the Murim Alliance provided us.

In the room where the baggage was unpacked, a beautiful woman was frowning.

Though her expression conveyed a hint of displeasure, it failed to diminish her remarkable beauty.

“Maybe we arrived too early, My Lady.’

The woman smiled slightly after hearing her servant.

“...What can we do about it? That person is said to arrive around this time.”

Within the woman’s eyes gleamed a hue reminiscent of the sky on a clear day.

While staring into those eyes, the servant carefully asked,

“Should I prepare a drink?”

“...I’m tempted but it’s fine, It wouldn’t go unnoticed if I have some right now.”

The woman started to think while staring at the snow outside the window.

“Sori.”

“Yes, My Lady.”

“Isn’t life really a drag?”

After hearing the sudden harsh words from the woman, the servant tripped while unpacking their baggage.

Then the servant quickly shouted.

“Mistress please...! Exercise caution with your words!”

“Who cares, no one’s here.”

“What would you do if the lord heard you...”

“Father? Would he fly from Yoryung to all the way here?”

“...If it’s the Lord, then he might.”

The woman then chuckled after hearing her servant.

She admitted that her father might actually do such a thing.

After watching the snow outside for a long time, the woman closed the window.

“It’s cold.”

She didn’t like the snow, regardless of where it fell.

While calming down the body that was shivering due to the cold, the Ice Phoenix, Moyong Hi-ah thought to herself.

That winter was a drag of a season.

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