Habit (4)
Gu Cheon-woo had shed his impatience, unlike in previous regressions. Opting for leisure over the shortest path gradually revealed outlines of parts that had remained hidden before. Satisfied for the moment with uncovering this clue, he steadily built a solid foundation.
Absorb, circulate, stimulate, accumulate. The turbid energy of myriad phenomena unified into oneness, transforming into pure inner force that rotated through his entire body's meridians before settling into his dantian. He divided it into lower, middle, and upper stages, focusing now on the lower dantian. Targeting the middle and upper with an immature foundation could invite problems.
Did I set out on the upper expedition at this time?
His memories had faded to the point of crumbling like rotten deadwood. In every regression, to reach the peak, he had always chosen the swiftest path. Family matters had naturally been a complete blind spot.
It probably doesn't matter.
The clue's origin lay in qi jia—regulating the family. As the pioneer of Mireok Paedo, he had utterly excluded joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure. He now felt the need to revisit those emotions he had dismissed as indulgences.
He paid close attention to how joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure morphed into new forms during accumulation.
Dr-r-ruck!
Something approached, flinging the door open as if it were its own room. For an ambush, it made no effort to conceal its presence—the footsteps were far too lively.
Da-da-da-da-da!
The playful creature barreled into the room without a word and launched itself into the air. Gu Cheon-woo reacted on instinct.
Tap.
Charging straight at him head-on before landing sideways with graceful finesse—it was astonishing. Though unintended, he naturally caught her in his arms. This was a habit that wouldn't form from one or two tries.
"Hehe."
The wrinkle-free little lifeform peered up at Gu Cheon-woo. Her calm amid the sudden rudeness, paired with that utterly innocent smile, had a disarming magic that neutralized any absurdity.
"Hmm."
Doubt gradually clouded her large, glass-bead-transparent eyes, as if she suspected he wasn't the brother she knew.
"Our oppa didn't have a jawline like that, and his waist sure wasn't sturdy enough to scoop me up this easily. Who are you?"
"You're sharp."
"Duh, no one escapes my razor deductions. Yup yup!!"
"Your mouth could be your undoing."
"Oppa, you trying to murder your adorable little sis right now?"
Her innocent looks belied a cunning mind—this was his youngest sister, Gu Cheon-ye. Known as the Gu clan's fox for wielding her weapons like a master tactician, she knew exactly how to deploy them for maximum effect.
Yet in Gu Cheon-woo's memories, there was no trace of her current self.
—What does that grand cause matter so much! To you, oppa, we're nothing!
—Second oppa ended up like that all because of you!
An aged woman, screaming with malice as if facing an archenemy, surfaced in his mind. Every time he returned, Cheon-ye's warm gaze and welcome were absent. She always glared with resentment, cursing him with venom.
It had never made sense. Mireok Paedo was a sublime cause to purify the world—a means to protect his family.
Contrasting his memories, her innocence stirred a tangle of emotions in Gu Cheon-woo.
Did she have this side too?
An awkward itch pierced his chest.
As Cheon-ye said, maybe it was because of me?
He had been certain he saved the family, but this sliver of doubt burned like a brand—perhaps he hadn't.
Cheon-ye remembered nothing of the sect's destruction in the first regression. When Mu-myeong sent him back, the fire hadn't yet struck. He had vowed before their corpses: to eradicate all evil in the world.
For that single cause, he had... abandoned his family.
Strictly speaking, the cart before the horse.
Now, at least, he resolved to do right by her. Unlike his previous heartless regressions, warmth crept into his expression.
"I won't kill you."
"...Oppa! You sounded like a real murderer just now!!"
First real effort in forty thousand years, and the payback was "murderer"!
***
The misunderstanding cleared. Or rather, he had danced in the palm of Cheon-ye's hand. He could scarcely believe the shrill old crone of her later years and this willful tomboy were one and the same—a true vixen, showing how fragile humans were before the march of time.
"You said you're heading out on the upper expedition?"
"Yes."
"You're nuts! Warm rice at home, cozy bed—think the real world's a pushover? Step out, and you're dead!"
Huh. The line between worry and mockery blurred, but being treated like a mayfly was novel. No one had ever fretted over the Paewang's safety. Nothing so wasteful or pointless.
"You don't trust me?"
"Duh."
"Not even a worry."
"I know you, oppa. Go beg Dad now—say you lost your mind, bluffed big, grovel clean."
Beg on her behalf? Forty thousand years, and he'd never stooped so low. Worse, on his knees till his palms bled. It all felt like concern for him—absurd.
"Father approved."
"Dad too. This ain't your first rodeo. Mom comes back, how many beatings you think?"
"Trust me."
"Hoo? You'd usually waffle—aged a year, got some spine now."
She toyed from atop his head, but at just thirteen. Gu Cheon-woo sighed. How had he acted toward this kid?
If he couldn't earn even his sister's trust, time for reflection. And from now on, he'd prove it.
No rush. Suspending Mireok Paedo left time to spare. Come to think, the last hundred regressions offered no personal moments.
Gu Cheon-woo sought her view.
"What should your brother do?"
"That tone? Perfect fight-starter. Talk like that, you'll catch a knife at the inn."
"Unlikely."
"Doctrine of the Mean says: heed your pretty sis, rice cakes fall in your sleep."
Knife fight at an inn? His were always serene—meals in utter silence, not even breaths.
Didn't quite land.
"I'll take it to heart."
"Forgiven this once."
"My thanks."
"But grant my request too."
"Speak."
"Why play dumb? How many times I've begged for martial arts. Say no again, I'm running away for real!"
Her cotton-ball fists clenched in resolve—adorably so. Picturing herself as the world's top heroine, rampaging through the jianghu.
Huhu.
To Cheon-woo, ignorant of her wishes, it was music sweeter than a crane's cry. So simple.
"Granted."
"For real? Back out later, you're dead!!"
"I speak once."
"Liar. Three words, four even. Be this bold in front of Mom too."
Paewang doesn't deceive. The more past unearthed, the greater the disconnect. Mireok Paedo's champion, Paewang's dignity, in tatters.
If she craved it so, he'd back her fully. Once decided, no turning back—even for kin.
"I'll support you with all I have to become a heroine."
"No bluffing."
Gu Cheon-woo furrowed his brow. He'd raised one before. Life-Death Boundary was rough, but she later shook the jianghu.
"Expect great things. Huhuhu."
"You looked evil just now—like a perv savoring my suffering."
"You will become a heroine."
"Your enthusiasm's killing my vibe!"
Her oppa always vetoed, citing danger. She wondered if he'd sold out his cute sis to Dad for his own skin.
"That resolute, were you?"
His low rumble startled her. Half-joking moments ago, now joking felt fatal. "Won't kill" hit like thunder.
Scared of oppa?
Unbelievable. Today, no pushover vibe.
Maybe a ploy to crush her spirit. Yield now, and initiative slips—uneasy hunch.
Beauty, brains, grit—she steeled herself.
Ugh! Her cute defiance. Pressure like a mountain about to pulverize.
This instant, oppa seemed an ineffable, omnipotent absolute.
"What's wrong?"
"N-not... scared!!"
"Silly."
Back to normal. Misread? Yeah, imagination.
Oppa underestimating her? Skyfall-level impossibility.
Oppa should lavish all on sis without regret. True family.
"Off today. I'm out."
"To be a warrior, steel your heart and return."
"I am a warrior."
"Then good."
Cheon-woo stared at the spot where Cheon-ye had vanished like the wind.
World's greatest heroine...
An era prizing virtuous wives and wise mothers. Warrior path defied parents unless martial clan.
Cheon-ye as warrior strayed from qi jia.
But true desire? Brotherly duty to aid.
Valid cause plus sublime purpose—parents would yield.
I'll teach her the path of Mireok Paedo.
Cheon-woo's core: righteousness. Aligned with top heroine.
Mu-myeong claimed the world wouldn't end without him, but ignore suffering jianghu?
If she bore that sublime cause—not bad choice.
Forty thousand years at it. Wrong or not, convictions don't flip overnight.
Self-leading? Same old end.
One won't suffice?
No Paewang judgment. Still, talent lacking.
Couldn't proxy Mireok Paedo.
Quality fails, quantity?
Solve step-by-step.
Even Cheon-woo poured his all into Mireok Paedo. Distractions doomed it.
—My life's ruin is all you, oppa—if not for marrying that bastard!
Marriage: great rite, or life's highway to hell.
Every Cheon-ye meet: brother-in-law rants.
This time, no wedding needed.
Just become the heroine.
No marriage for Mireok Paedo? Four centuries' life still filial enough.