Chapter 202: I'll Be Back (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 202: I'll Be Back (2)
For a moment, I thought my eyes were deceiving me.
It was a reasonable assumption. Wi Seol-Ah had no business being here right now.
“Why are you here?”
This was the most random thing to have happened to me recently, surpassing even the shock of glimpsing Gu Huibi through the Marble of Celestial Captivation. Why was Wi Seol-Ah here when she should have been fast asleep at home?
“You…”
“Are you going somewhere?”
“What?”
I opened my mouth to question her, but she spoke first, cutting me off.
“Young Master, are you going somewhere?”
Beneath the pitch-black night sky, Wi Seol-Ah’s puffy eyes locked onto mine.
“…Yeah.”
My first instinct was to flee without another word, but her gaze rooted me to the spot.
“I was… just planning to go somewhere for a little while.”
“Where?”
“You wouldn’t know the place even if I told you.”
“…Then why is Young Master going to such a place alone?”
Her retort left me momentarily speechless. Her tone held an uncharacteristic weight, stripping away my usual glibness.
“The other sisters and I… we’ve been worried about you.”
“…”
It felt oddly like a scolding, something the Wi Seol-Ah I knew would never typically do. As I stood there grappling with this unfamiliar dynamic, she pressed on, her eyes drilling into me.
“Young Master, why do you always have to do everything alone?”
“When have I ever done that?”
“You’re doing it right now!”
“It’s because that place is far too dangerous for any of you.”
“Dangerous?”
“Yes. So, there’s nothing to be done about—”
“If it’s so dangerous, then why are you going there all alone…?”
Her persistent arguments stretched the conversation out. I briefly considered raising my voice, insisting these were two separate issues.
Drip-
But seeing the tears streaking her face, my words died in my throat. She looked far too pitiful.
“I… I worked hard. I trained diligently… and I learned how to use a sword.”
Her tearful confession made me frown.
“…You learned what?”
Swordsmanship? Wi Seol-Ah? From whom?
Could it be the Sword Venerable?
That was the only possibility that came to mind. In my past life, Wi Seol-Ah had been the Sword Venerable’s successor. Her swordsmanship was a mirror of his, making it obvious. But the problem was that she had taken up the sword in this life as well.
That was not supposed to happen.
I, more than anyone, wanted her to avoid the sword in this life. I believed I was given this second chance for that very purpose. She should never wield a sword again.
“Why are you learning how to use a sword?”
“Because… Because only then could I protect Young Master.”
“What?”
Her words hit me with the force of a blunt weapon.
Because of me?
When had things gotten so twisted? So many unexpected events had blurred the timeline, making it impossible to pinpoint a single moment.
“What nonsense are you spouting? You’ll protect me?”
It might have been different in my previous life, but right now, Wi Seol-Ah was just a servant. She possessed beauty and strength beyond her years, but she was still a servant. That was my only hope for her—even a life of servitude was better than the path of the sword, as long as she could live in peace. I didn’t plan to keep her as my servant forever, but for now, that was my wish.
Despite my intentions, Wi Seol-Ah persisted, her voice trembling.
“I… I can do it… I was told that I could.”
“By whom? Your grandfather?”
“…”
Wi Seol-Ah fell silent, unable to answer. No matter how I thought about it, the only person who would say such a thing was the Sword Venerable.
However…
Would he really have said those words to her?
I honestly couldn’t fathom it. But this new information about her sword training made things click into place. So that’s why she disappeared every day before dinner. Was it all for training? But then… did she find me here because she was out training?
This late at night?
That seemed unlikely. As my thoughts raced, Wi Seol-Ah’s voice broke the silence, filled with a profound sadness that tugged at my heartstrings.
“Can you… just not go?”
But even that couldn’t sway my resolve. This matter was far too important.
“You said… that it’s dangerous. So can you just not… Ugh.”
Just as I was about to explain, Wi Seol-Ah stopped herself abruptly, holding back her tears and swallowing her words. What was going on?
As I stared at her in confusion, she spoke again.
“…I understand…”
“Understand what…?”
Was she giving up because she knew I would refuse? Wi Seol-Ah wiped her tears away.
“If you can’t do that, then could we…”
Suddenly, she flinched, leaving her sentence unfinished. Hesitation hung in the air as she seemed to reach a different conclusion, but she stopped herself again. As this cycle repeated, tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to overflow.
Wi Seol-Ah seemed oddly unsettled.
“Then… What is it that I can do…? I’m useless like this!”
Seeing her in such a state pained me. But just as I stepped forward to console her…
“…!”
I sensed several presences approaching from the direction of the clan. They must have noticed I was missing. I couldn’t afford to linger; getting caught would mean serious trouble.
Swiftly, I pulled something from my pocket—a crimson accessory given to me by the Celestial Plum Blossom, courtesy of the Second Elder. I pressed it into Wi Seol-Ah’s hand.
“Take this.”
“Young Mas…”
“Sorry, let’s talk after I return, okay? I won’t be long.”
I briefly ruffled her hair, then launched myself forward, leaving Wi Seol-Ah behind. As the distance grew, concern for her gnawed at me, but I couldn’t turn back now. It felt like we had much to discuss.
But that can wait until after I return.
First, I had to put out the urgent fire. That was my sole focus.
* * *
After Gu Yangcheon left, Wi Seol-Ah stood alone, wiping away the endless tears streaming down her cheeks. Clutching the accessory he had given her, she stared in the direction he had vanished.
Then, a voice spoke to her.
[Child…]
Hearing it, a rare expression of anger crossed her face.
“Why can’t I?!”
Every word dripped with frustration.
[…]
“I can’t ask him to stay, I’m not allowed to follow him either… Then what can I even do?!”
Even at Wi Seol-Ah’s cries, the owner of the voice remained silent, intimately aware of her emotions.
“Big Sis said it yourself… That I could achieve my goal if I worked hard, that I could protect the Young Master. But then why am I not allowed to do anything?”
[There isn’t… anything you could do, as of now.]
“I don’t understand.”
[Didn’t I let you come here and see him, because you wanted to?]
After learning he was sneaking away, Wi Seol-Ah, with the voice’s help, had followed Gu Yangcheon.
“Was I the only one who wanted this?”
[…]
Wi Seol-Ah couldn’t comprehend it. “…Big Sis also wanted this, didn’t you?”
The silence that greeted her question seemed to confirm her words.
[…I]
The voice tried to speak, but words failed her.
Wi Seol-Ah continued, “You are so unfair, Big Sis.” She felt the voice was being unjust. “You also like Young Master.”
She really liked him. Wi Seol-Ah knew that better than anyone. In some ways, the emotions swirling within the voice were far denser and heavier than her own.
“So why do you always choose to hide, Big Sis…?”
It only confused Wi Seol-Ah more. If she liked him that much, why not express her feelings? To the young girl, such actions seemed foolish.
[How fascinating…]
“What is?”
[To think I could’ve become like you, if my circumstances were just a little different…]
Subtle differences from the very beginning had shaped Wi Seol-Ah into who she was now. In the eyes of her past self, the current Wi Seol-Ah was entirely different—no longer hesitant to speak her mind, more honest, unafraid to express her emotions. She was certain that even if she directed those feelings toward Gu Yangcheon, he wouldn’t hate her or push her away.
This transformation was only possible because of Gu Yangcheon.
Yet, despite her envy of the present Wi Seol-Ah… she felt sorry. Not letting her speak her mind… hoping she wouldn’t reveal her emotions… and even this farewell—these were all choices she had made. They left her unable to say anything to her younger self.
“…”
Wi Seol-Ah, who had been venting, fell silent. She didn’t need to hear more; their shared emotions told her everything she needed to know about what her older self felt.
Clutching the accessory Gu Yangcheon had given her, she wiped her tears. Her thoughts lingered on the boy she couldn’t stop.
“…Young Master.”
She remembered him ruffling her hair, and her hand unconsciously went to the same spot. Her older self’s words were still difficult to understand, and it pained her to see Gu Yangcheon always getting hurt, but…
“I miss you…”
All she wanted right now was to see the one who had left. That was the sole wish of the young Wi Seol-Ah.
* * *
In the northern reaches of the battlefront stood a blue mountain, once vibrant with lush, elegant greenery but now a desolate landscape of towering dead trees, rugged rocks, charred remains, and blackened corpses.
At the heart of the ravaged mountain, where few traces of life remained, a blistering inferno raged. The heat was so intense it threatened to consume anyone who dared look upon it. Flames danced alongside scorching air, spiraling upward like a colossal whirlpool, devouring everything in their path with voracious hunger.
Then, suddenly, the flames that had consumed the mountain vanished as if they had never existed. Simultaneously, the towering inferno ravaging the surroundings ceased. The fire disappeared as swiftly as it had appeared, leaving behind a gaping crater.
In the center stood a fierce man—a figure whose mere gesture had obliterated everything around him. Dozens of corpses lay strewn about the crater, their bodies burnt, scorched, and reduced to ashen remnants. Facing his absolute might, the martial artists of the Black Palace could do nothing but accept their demise. This place, once a branch of the Black Palace, now bore no trace of its former existence. Everything had turned to ash with a single gesture.
“…”
The man observed the corpses surrounding him, then slowly turned his head. Behind him, someone who hadn’t been there before knelt respectfully.
“My Lord, a letter from the Second Elder has arrived.”
The man, Gu Cheolun, wasted no time opening it. The letter contained only a few words in the Second Elder’s rough handwriting, but they were enough to make Gu Cheolun’s eyebrow twitch ever so slightly. Within that letter lay something he had long desired.
Having read it, Gu Cheolun issued an order without hesitation.
“Captain of the First Swordsmen.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“Prepare the army.”
His once emotionless eyes now burned crimson. The pressure he exuded overpowered everything in the vicinity; even the colossal mountain seemed to cower before him.
“We are going to the Misty Mountains.”
With that declaration, Gu Cheolun disappeared, his flames vanishing with him.