1151 - Childhood Friend of the Zenith

"What caused all this? How did we end up here?" The questions were endless. "What the heck is going on? Why did this happen?" Hyeon So Yeon calmly responded to the bewildering question. "I said I wanted to go, and they told me to go." "What…?" She wanted to go, and they just said she could go? What kind of madness was this? "Did the Sect Leader really say that?" "Yes!" Her response was confident and cheerfully bright. Seriously, who is this woman? While the Sect Leader's permission still puzzled him, the most pressing issue was why. "Why do you want to go?" She had no apparent reason to tag along on this mission, so why was she insisting? Oh. "Hold on... Is Nam Goong Jin going too?" "Yes, didn't you hear?" "…" Nam Goong Jin is going too? That wasn’t information he was previously aware of, but now it made sense. 'Is it similar to how Lady Mi followed her husband?' Recalling how Mi Hyo Ran followed when her husband headed to Hanam, it seemed somewhat similar but also not quite the same. '…But it's a bit different, isn't it?' The situation felt different. Hyeon So Yeon had once cared for Nam Goong Hyung, not Nam Goong Jin. Later, she had feelings for the future Guisun. Nam Goong Jin, after all, also had affection for Mi Hyo Ran. While he couldn't understand her insistence, the problem remained. "So, Hyeon So Yeon is coming with us?" "Hmm…" "Why? Is it unpleasant?" Upon noticing his doubtful expression, Hyeon So Yeon asked boldly. "Yes." "Oh my!" Her eyes widened, startled by his straightforwardness. He was worried she'd take offense, but— "You have no choice. Deal with it." "…" She responded with more confidence than he could muster. His head ached. Just then— "Ahem…" He heard a cough. Turning his head, he saw Gu Ryun. Although the carriage was substantially large, it felt cramped with Gu Ryun's presence. While Pe Jon was also large, Gu Ryun was even larger. He looked like he had much to say, his eyes quite pitiful. Hence, despite his intention to ignore, he finally spoke. "…Do you have something to say?" "Uh…" He hesitated with his words. Seeing this, he patiently waited. "…I haven’t told that guy." "Oh—" He nodded, understanding Gu Ryun's implication about keeping his lineage a secret from his father. 'I had expected as much.' He wasn't surprised. The current Gu Ryun wasn't too different from the elder he knew, even in personality. 'If it were the First Elder…' He expected the first elder to keep quiet until things were confirmed. "Thank you." "…" As he offered his thanks, Gu Ryun's lips twitched as if wanting to say more. But then— "Tch." Pe Jon, seated next to them, clicked his tongue and interrupted. "It's too cramped. I'm leaving." "What?" Without warning, he dragged Gu Ryun outside. Whether Pe Jon left to give him space or simply felt claustrophobic, he didn't know, but the carriage suddenly felt much emptier. 'Hmm…' Reflecting on the now spacious area, he thought. 'With such a large group, can we all fit in this carriage?' While pondering the logistics of fitting all the people, he heard— "Don't worry." "Yes?" Hyeon So Yeon smiled at him and continued. "I provided a carriage at my own expense. The Sect Leader was quite pleased." "…" His curiosity resolved. He had wondered how she got permission to join. 'Of course, money was involved.' No wonder, given her wealth, as much as Mi Hyo Ran's. 'Is it okay for the Martial Alliance to work like this?' Although he questioned the morality, from the opposite perspective, he'd probably do the same. Money is indeed powerful. Just then, the door opened, and his father stepped in. Upon entering, he made eye contact with him. "…" They exchanged no words, merely a silent glance, as his father settled by the window. Watching this, Hyeon So Yeon casually inquired. "What about that peculiar lady?" It almost made him choke. The peculiar lady could only refer to his mother, and she asked rather bluntly. In response, his father briefly looked at Hyeon So Yeon. "Why? Isn't she coming with us?" "…Not this time." "Really? I thought she acted against her husband's wishes the last time." Touched upon her sneaky past actions, his father momentarily paused but soon clarified. "It's fine. This time, she truly won't." "Hmm. I see. That's disappointing. She was entertaining." It seemed Hyeon So Yeon was simply disappointed not to have company on this trip. The uniqueness of his mother was evident but overlooked in comparison. "…Are we ready to depart?" "Yes." His father's nod confirmed it. No other members boarded, suggesting they were in another carriage. 'As for Pe Jon and the First Elder…' Though unsure of their whereabouts, he was confident they'd join regardless. 'We head to Shanxi.' Strange as the group assembly might be, reaching Shanxi was all that mattered. Just as he nodded, preparing himself— Swipe. "Um?" His father handed him something. 'A letter?' It was indeed a letter. "What is it?" "Take it. It's a message from the Sect Leader for you." "…Suddenly?" "Yes." A sudden letter? Bewildered, he reached to open it. Clap—! His father gripped his wrist. "Not now—after we arrive. Said it concerns a confidential mission." "…." Hearing that, he tucked it away. He was instructed to read it only upon arrival. 'What if I read it along the way?' "Why not just give it to me after we arrive?" Although such thoughts crossed his mind, he dismissed them for now. "Alright." "Please, begin the journey." Upon hearing his response, his father promptly instructed the coachman. "We shall depart now!" With the sharp crack of a whip, the carriage began to move, commencing their journey to Shanxi. * * * The journey to Shanxi proceeded swiftly, and since not much happened, it seemed somewhat uneventful and dull. The only excitement arose from hunting the occasional monster and dealing with remnants of the evil factions they encountered. "So this was how the evil factions operated back then." In his time, encounters with these factions were rare. The purges under the Sword Master, when he was the Alliance Leader, nearly eradicated the majority of them. 'Interesting.' In this context, such encounters with evil factions were indeed curious. Of course— '…I actually felt sorry for the attackers.' The assaulters were not particularly skilled, posing little threat. Initially… 'Considering the kind of people in this carriage, they're quite an eccentric group.' Most were martial artists of a high caliber, and with one of the Three Sovereigns present, it was an absurd bunch. Who would be insane enough to attack them? Furthermore, there wasn't even anything worth plundering. 'If there was even a chance for some gain, it would be understandable.' Without that, only the most desperate fools would attempt a raid. Despite the attacks, they were dealt with thoroughly. No attacker was spared. Flames roared—!! "Argh… Aaargh!" A martial artist caught in the flames screamed as he burned to death. Watching the person turn to ashes, his father waved his hand. Crack-! The flames subsided, leaving only charred remains. "…I don't think I'll have an appetite for a while." Hyeon So Yeon's face twisted at the sight. To outsiders, the handling of the situation might have seemed harsh. 'Well, considering…' In his opinion, it was a relatively merciful way to deal with the evil faction followers. Although Nam Goong Jin and Hyeon So Yeon appeared to have difficulty accepting it. "Your father seems much colder than he appears…" "More like anyone can see it once they look." "That's true." Anyone could see he was stern and noticeably aloof. Though he used fire-element techniques, his father was the coldest person he knew. 'He was like this even when young.' Even in the temperamental Guga, he was an unusually cold figure. His father, in his youth, wasn't vastly different from what he knew. "It's done. We can move on now." Looking at the surrounding ashes, his father turned back. After clearing out the attackers, the carriage resumed its journey. This had happened several times already. The continual ambushes were becoming routine. With another crack, the horses neighed as the carriage sped onward. 'We should be arriving soon.' After spending so much time cramped in the carriage… He narrowed his eyes, looking outside. The landscape was familiar. Even though it was ages ago, the mountain paths were similar, and the scenery was something he recognized well. 'Shanxi.' The place he was born and raised in, although it was a time before he was born. Finally, they arrived at Shanxi. '…Hmm.' He found himself unexpectedly tense, unsure exactly why. 'Calm down.' He only needed to see what was necessary and confirm a few things to hopefully return sooner. '…I’m not even sure this is the right way.' Tasks he was pursuing in this unfamiliar world might not be right. But— 'There's nothing else.' It was the only plan he could think of. With that conclusion in mind— A flicker. "…?" He turned his head. 'What is that?' He heard the sound of a spark flying from somewhere. It wasn't his father. His father was sitting cross-armed with eyes closed. 'What was that?' If not, then where did it come from? Just as he tried to cast it aside as a figment of his imagination, he heard it again. A flicker… Once again. 'Huh…' It wasn't an illusion. As he turned his eyes, sharply sensing the oddity— Crack-! "Indeed." With the sound of an ember, a voice spoke. "It's you, who has been burned." '…!' He quickly leaned out the window. The sound came from outside. But— '…What is going on?' Nothing was amiss outside the window. After that, silence resumed. "…." Confounded, as he processed what just happened, the coachman checked on him by leaning out and said: "Oh! Don't worry! We'll arrive shortly! I can see it now in the distance." Following the coachman's pointing hand, he saw it too. Shanxi lay ahead. Finally, he reached this land from the past, his ancestral home.