Chapter 228: Going To Battle (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 228: Going To Battle (4)
Wi Seol-Ah was gone.
She had left the Gu Clan alongside the Sword Venerable without so much as a single word.
…Why?
It was an abrupt farewell.
I had always known that Wi Seol-Ah would eventually leave the Gu Clan, but I never expected it to happen so soon.
And there was more.
The Immortal Healer, too.
When I heard that the Sword Venerable had departed with Wi Seol-Ah, I was also faced with the news that the Immortal Healer had left as well.
I asked Hongwa about it. She told me that the Sword Venerable and Wi Seol-Ah had vanished in the dead of night while everyone was asleep, leaving no message behind. She had been so concerned that she inquired with the clan, and the butler confirmed that the two had indeed left.
Which means Father already knew.
He was aware that the Sword Venerable and Wi Seol-Ah would be leaving.
…Why didn't she tell me?
The question gnawed at me.
Why had Wi Seol-Ah said nothing? Did she not know herself that she would be leaving? If not, then why hadn't she even left a letter? What kind of circumstances could have led to this…?
As my thoughts spiraled deeper…
Grab.
I felt a hand take mine.
It was Namgung Bi-ah, walking beside me.
"…Calm down…" she said, looking up at me with worried eyes.
It felt strange. I used to be the one looking up to her.
"What do you mean, 'calm down'? I'm fine."
I pretended everything was normal. My mind was in turmoil, a veritable earthquake, but I couldn't afford to show it. Of course, even if I tried to hide it, Namgung Bi-ah would likely see right through me.
"Did you see it?" I asked.
"…See what?"
"Her leaving."
Namgung Bi-ah shook her head at my question. She hadn't seen it either.
"…I see."
I wondered why she had left so suddenly. Just why.
But then again, it was strange that she stayed with the clan for so long in the first place.
Despite the sting of the thought, it was the truth. When I really thought about it, Wi Seol-Ah spending so much time with me was an anomaly.
When I had met Wi Seol-Ah for the second time in my past life, it was after I had been dragged to the battlefront by the Fifth Army for causing major trouble. The Wi Seol-Ah I knew then was vastly different from the one I knew now, and our meeting had been brief. We didn't properly meet again until much later, when word spread that she was the officially recognized successor to the Sword Venerable.
So, Wi Seol-Ah being with me here and now was the strange part. A series of coincidences, a few things altered by my regression—twisted and turned until they led to this outcome.
Yet, knowing all that, hearing that Wi Seol-Ah had disappeared still left my mind feeling hollow.
Did I foolishly think we could be together forever, just because we spent some time side-by-side?
What a shameful desire. I had forgotten my place.
-Young Master!
At the sound of a voice, I spun around without thinking, even though I knew Wi Seol-Ah wouldn't be there.
Am I losing my mind?
Was Wi Seol-Ah leaving the clan really enough to mess me up this badly? Or was it the realization that she mattered to me far more than I had ever admitted?
Even I could see that I was far too shaken by this.
* * *
Several days passed.
After concluding my closed-door training and handling accumulated matters, I threw myself into relentless practice.
I filled the training ground with flames, summoning and extinguishing them repeatedly. My qi had stabilized significantly during my seclusion, allowing me to train endlessly without tiring. I drew lines in the air with my fingertips, burning away my emotions with the fire.
Elder Shin, whom I could usually ask for advice, was not here. He would be asleep for a while.
That's what I gathered from my conversation with that beast.
My closed-door training had yielded many gains, but it had also raised more questions. I was left to search endlessly for the reason that bastard was inside my body.
Did I find an answer in the end?
No, I did not.
I might not have found the answer, but I gained a sliver of understanding. If I had to compare it, it was no bigger than a fingernail. Yet, even that much felt overwhelming.
…It was actually rather overwhelming.
If I had been a little more greedy during my conversation with that creature, I might have been devoured. In hindsight, it was a certainty.
[…Grrr… Crk…]
Just look at it now. I could feel the bastard regaining its appetite, unsatisfied.
…It might have been better if I never knew.
Ignorance of the danger this thing posed would have been more comfortable. One less thing to worry about.
[…Food…]
Hearing its discontented mumbling, I clenched my teeth.
Shut up. You'll eat soon enough without you pestering me.
[…Grrrr…]
It growled, but it probably understood.
Blaze.
My flame, still complemented by Taoist energy, burned with the same pinkish-red hue. The Taoist energy helped stabilize the wild, reckless energy native to the Gu Clan and suppressed the recoil from our rough martial arts.
Clench.
I clenched my fist, controlling my qi. The energy flowing from my dantian filled my middle dantian, causing the summoned flame to grow denser and larger.
As I stared at the flame, I began to channel another type of energy hidden within my body.
Thud.
My body bulked up momentarily, surging with immense power. The heat I was gathering exploded outwards, flooding my surroundings. And with that…
Blaaaze!
The pinkish-red color of my flame gradually shifted to a deep, vivid blue.
"…"
I had mixed Blood Qi into my flames. As I watched the passionate blue flame burn before me, the creature in my mind complained.
[…This… I don’t… like it…]
It had a distaste for Blood Qi. To be precise, it wanted to devour the energy, but seemed to dislike it being present inside me.
Stop complaining and stay still.
I disregarded its opinion. After swinging the blue flame through the air a few times, controlling its arc…
Flash.
I extinguished it.
"Whew…"
It was still difficult to maintain for long. "If I pushed myself, I could probably last a few minutes."
But that was only if I ignored the recoil that would follow.
Drip… Drip.
Even though I never broke a sweat during physical training, I was sweating now after just that brief exertion.
As expected, it has nothing to do with the amount of qi I possess.
No matter how vast my qi reserves or how skilled my control, using Blood Qi seemed to operate on a different level entirely.
"I should only use it when absolutely necessary."
Unless I was in dire straits, it was wiser to avoid tapping into the Blood Qi. I also needed to uncover why the Blood Demon had implanted this within me.
As I caught my breath after the brief training session, I sensed a presence approaching.
"Good work."
"…Ah, thank…"
I naturally reached out my hand, but paused mid-motion. It felt awkward; the person handing me water after training was different now.
"Young Master…?"
"It's nothing. Thanks."
Hongwa looked at me strangely. I avoided her gaze and drank the water. Once my thirst was quenched, I asked her in a kind tone.
"Any messages?"
"No, nothing. I believe that's the fourth time you've asked today."
"And you answered all four times?"
"Yes."
"Did I really? Sorry."
I scratched my cheek with an awkward smile. Nothing was scheduled to arrive, so it was understandable if she was annoyed by my constant asking.
"You're asking because of Seol-Ah, right…?"
"Not necessarily."
"…"
Hongwa continued to stare at me with that odd look, but I ignored it and walked past her. I needed to wash up, drenched as I was in sweat.
As I passed, I spoke to her. "Could you prepare a meal?"
"…I will."
"Alright, thanks."
After I left the training area, Hongwa, left alone for a moment, let out a deep sigh.
"…Where did you go, Seol-Ah?"
It had been a shock for Hongwa too, losing a girl she treated like a little sister so suddenly. But the person most affected was undoubtedly the Young Master. Even now, he walked away with dull eyes.
It wasn't a good look for a scion of a noble clan to be so affected by the disappearance of a servant, but given the unique relationship between Gu Yangcheon and Wi Seol-Ah, Hongwa could understand somewhat. Everyone in the clan knew he treated Wi Seol-Ah differently.
After a moment of worry, Hongwa shook her head to clear her thoughts. Wi Seol-Ah's departure pained her too, but she couldn't let it interfere with her duties. She quickened her steps to follow Gu Yangcheon.
* * *
After the meal, I walked along a forest path within the Gu Clan grounds. Namgung Bi-ah was, unsurprisingly, walking ahead of me.
Lately, she had started appearing at mealtimes, even during her own training periods.
I believe Tang Soyeol has gone to Sichuan.
I had known it was going to happen, so I wasn't particularly surprised. She had told me she needed to go to Sichuan for a while, promising to return before my closed-door training ended. But that was obviously impossible. The distance between Sichuan and Shanxi was too great for her to conclude her business in just two months.
"Now that I think about it," I began.
"…Hmm?"
"What are you going to do?"
As we walked, I asked the question to Namgung Bi-ah, who was quietly keeping pace beside me. I had been ordered by the clan to go to the battlefront. I didn't mind going myself, but Namgung Bi-ah was the problem. I couldn't just leave her alone in the clan.
"Do you want to go back to your clan for a lit-"
"I'm going with you."
Her response was firm and immediate, catching me off guard.
"…To that place?"
"Yes."
"Why would you go there?"
I wasn't going for a short visit, nor would it be a brief stay. There was no need for her to trouble herself by accompanying me. Besides, she would have to go to the battlefront eventually anyway; it was a rite of passage for every scion of a noble clan. She didn't need to follow me there…
"…You are going…"
"…"
I was rendered speechless by her simple, matter-of-fact words. Their weight was far heavier than I expected.
"I'm not… going anywhere…"
"What do you…"
"…So… you don't need to worry."
She spoke with her head tilted, and her words felt like a blow to my head.
Worry?
Namgung Bi-ah spoke as if I were worried about something. But I couldn't ask her what she meant, because deep down, I knew. I was worried about the possibility of her leaving as well. It was a possessive, childish fear.
Had Namgung Bi-ah noticed?
"…And…" she added, as I was swallowing my shame.
"…Seol-Ah… will… come back soon."
"…How do you know that?"
"I know… but why don't you?"
"What?"
"How do you not know… when I do?"
She will obviously come back. So why don't you know that? Her voice held a note of confusion, almost a reprimand. It felt like she was telling me to wake up from my pointless anxieties.
Then she walked ahead with light steps.
"If she doesn't come, then we could go look for her."
"…"
"…That's… what I did."
She had done that. To see me. Namgung Bi-ah whispered those words.
She said them plainly, but they filled the emptiness inside me.
That's true. It's as simple as going to look for her.
It really was that simple. If I wanted to see her, I just had to find her. But I had been struggling as if it were an insurmountable task, which was incomprehensible. Was it really so hard just because I didn't know where she went?
It's more that I didn't try.
For some reason, I felt I had to accept it. For some reason, I thought I wasn't allowed to seek out Wi Seol-Ah after she left. That was the excuse I had been telling myself while taking a step back.
I could have really used Elder Shin's advice right then, but of course, the old man was asleep.
Hearing Namgung Bi-ah's words, I couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle.
"That's true. All I have to do is look for her."
"…Yeah."
This is what happens when someone is both foolish and overthinkes things. They miss the simple path right in front of them.
Feeling grateful, I subconsciously reached out to pat Namgung Bi-ah's head.
"…I'm really sorry to interrupt right now,"
A voice abruptly cut in.
When I looked, I was surprised to see it was Moyong Hi-ah. Why was she here? I had been so lost in thought I hadn't even sensed her approach. And I wasn't the only one startled; Namgung Bi-ah was glaring at Moyong Hi-ah with sharpened eyes.
"Please don't stare at me that way, Sword Dancer. I thought hard about the right moment to interrupt."
"…"
Upon hearing this, Namgung Bi-ah let out a rare "Hmph" and turned her head away.
…Why do they have such a bad relationship?
For some reason, Namgung Bi-ah, who was generally friendly with Tang Soyeol and Wi Seol-Ah, always seemed to growl at Moyong Hi-ah.
I stepped slightly closer to Namgung Bi-ah, shortening the distance between us, and asked Moyong Hi-ah, "What brings you here?"
If it was about the 'heat' she needed, I had given her some when we met a few days prior. I'd heard she couldn't handle too much at once, so we had agreed to meet once a week, if I recalled correctly.
"Oh, it's nothing special… but if the Young Master goes to the battlefront, it becomes a problem due to our contract."
"…Right."
That made sense. The Moyong Clan had said they would handle the matter, so I hadn't concerned myself with it. Was that the issue?
"So we decided to go with you."
"…Pardon?"
"The battlefront. It seems I'll have to accompany you."
Moyong Hi-ah delivered this news with an alluring smile.
"Crack."
"…!"
Zap-!
The moment I heard Moyong Hi-ah's response, a cold sweat broke out on my face, triggered by the surge of Lightning Qi I felt emanating from behind me.