Chapter 279: Winter Rain (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 279: Winter Rain (3)
I had already sensed the Sword Queen’s presence at the inn. The entire building was saturated with the distinct Taoist Qi of the Mount Hua sect, and among those auras, one stood out with exceptional power.
“I didn’t expect a visit from you…”
The Sword Queen looked genuinely surprised when I followed Yung Pung into her room.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, I cut straight to the point. I had no intention of dragging this out.
“Hmm…”
Her expression turned thoughtful after hearing my request. A subtle smile touched her lips.
“That’s… difficult to grant.”
“Difficult?” I asked.
“It doesn’t feel like you’re asking me to accept her as a disciple… nor are you asking me to instruct her.”
“Is the request itself problematic?”
Thankfully, that didn’t seem to be the case, as she shook her head.
“No. I’m merely curious.” Her gaze drifted to the rain outside the window. “I didn’t expect you to use your boon in such a manner.”
In exchange for saving her life, the Sword Queen had promised me one request. I was calling in that debt now.
“You aren’t even asking me to resolve her Inner Demons. You simply want me to observe her swordplay. Do you truly believe that is sufficient? And from what you describe, the task is not without its complications.”
I had made no grand demand of the Sword Queen. My request was simple: watch Gu Yeonseo wield her sword.
“Yes. If it is not an undue burden, I would be grateful if you could do this for me.”
“Hmm…”
Asking the Sword Queen, of all people, to merely observe another’s sword was borderline disrespectful. She fell silent, clearly puzzling over my motives.
“Is it truly enough? You could instead ask me to cure that child’s Inner Demons.”
“This will be sufficient.”
After a moment’s silence, the Sword Queen nodded. “If you insist, I will do it.”
“…Thank you.”
“It is nothing. Compared to the life debt I owe you, this repayment feels shamefully small.”
Her tone was light, smiling as she spoke. It seemed she had recovered well. Considering the devastating injuries she had sustained, she might not have regained her full strength, but her aura felt robust and mostly restored.
“Is this all you require of me?”
“Yes. My apologies for the sudden visit.”
“Not at all. In fact, I am glad you came before I depart.”
“You’re leaving?”
“Hmm… You will find out tomorrow, so I shall say no more.”
Tomorrow? Wasn’t that when the Heavenly Dragon Academy opened? I stared at her, wondering what she meant, but she simply smiled, offering nothing further.
She then changed the subject. “Aren’t you going to ask about your little sister?”
“Seeing your calm demeanor, I am sure she is well.”
“Hmm…” Her expression soured slightly, as if displeased with my answer. What had I said wrong?
“You can be quite perceptive, yet remarkably dense about such things.”
“Pardon?”
“It is nothing worth pondering. Do not worry about your request; I will see it done before the day is out.”
“Thank you…”
I was relieved she had accepted. Honestly, the easiest path would have been to ask her to take Gu Yeonseo as a disciple, but that was impossible. Gu Ryunghwa was already her disciple, and becoming the Sword Queen’s disciple meant sequestering oneself on Mount Hua—a path Gu Yeonseo would never take. For a girl with her ambitions, such a life would be a poison.
“I’ll take my leave now.”
“Very well. I shall see you tomorrow.”
“Huh? Alright.”
I bowed respectfully and exited the room. Yung Pung was still waiting outside.
“Ah, you’re finished?”
“You’re still here?”
His eyes lit up with a familiar, burning ambition when I replied. I’d seen that look before—it was the same expression he wore when he constantly pestered me for sparring matches back on Mount Hua.
I sighed inwardly. This guy was still a training fanatic.
I would have humored him, but now wasn’t the time. Yung Pung was visibly disappointed by my refusal, but he didn’t push.
“What a shame… I was hoping to mix it up with Brother Gu after so long.”
“…Could you phrase that in a less misleading way?”
‘Mix our bodies’? What was wrong with him? The very idea sent a chill down my spine. Why not just say ‘spar’? There was a perfectly good word for it.
Ugh…
The mental image was nauseating. I wanted to leave quickly. My objective here was complete; the Sword Queen had accepted my request. I left the inn without looking back.
Will this be enough?
I wondered as I walked away, but I could think of no better solution for Gu Yeonseo. If this failed, I would have to devise another plan. A faint unease lingered, but I let it be for now.
Tomorrow is going to be a hassle.
My mind was already crowded with other pressing matters: the Dishonored Venerable, the Sleeping Dragon, the Thunder Fang, Elder Shin… I needed a strategy for each. It was difficult to plot with my sluggish brain.
Moreover, the Heavenly Dragon Academy’s entrance exam was tomorrow. I didn’t know what kind of test they had prepared, but whatever it was, I had to pass. Failure was not an option.
It’s not urgent, but I also need to find time to visit the secret vault.
The vault was located in the Academy’s basement. I didn’t know its exact location yet, so I had to keep that in mind.
And also…
I have to find that bastard.
The secret vault was only a minor reason for my coming to the Heavenly Dragon Academy. I needed to meet the giant tree to learn the truth, and to do that, I had to reach the Abyss.
There weren’t just one or two ways into the Abyss, and finding a gate to a specific realm was notoriously difficult. I needed the fastest route; I had no time to waste.
I have to find the bastard who knows the way.
In my past life, Jang Seonyeon was responsible for the calamity that dragged all the Young Prodigies from the Dragons and Phoenixes Tournament into the Abyss. But Jang Seonyeon himself didn’t possess the power to open such a gate. He managed it thanks to the ‘bastard’ beside him.
What was his name again?
The man with the monstrous ability to detect spatial weak points and tear them open with his bare hands. His name was… Zhuge something.
I clicked my tongue in frustration. Of course it had to be a Zhuge.
They were a clan that had been destroyed long ago, leaving its survivors with only a surname to their name. I’d asked the Beggar’s Sect for information several times, but unlike Zhuge Hyuk, they had found nothing. That bastard was probably living under an alias.
Will he appear this time?
All I knew was his connection to that incident. I only remembered him because he was with Jang Seonyeon back then.
I’ll find him.
I prayed this part of history remained unchanged.
Pitter-patter.
I walked back through the rain-soaked streets. The city was livelier than usual, likely because the Heavenly Dragon Academy was opening soon. Judging by the swords at their hips and their conditioned bodies, the crowds were filled with young martial artists who had come to take the exam.
The influx of visitors had the merchants beaming. It wasn’t just the Young Prodigies who had been awaiting this day.
Tap.
“Ah, sorry,” someone mumbled after bumping into me. With so many people around, such collisions were inevitable. I hated crowded places.
“Master, over here! Try this!”
“It’s cheap and delicious! Noodles so good they astonished the Alliance Leader!”
I ignored the merchants’ shouts as I passed. While I disliked crowds, I had a soft spot for bustling streets. They reminded me of the avenues I wandered after first regressing. Those memories were precious. Streets like this were brimming with life, a sign that calamity had not yet befallen the world. The sight made me feel like I’d been given a second chance. A little discomfort was a small price to pay.
I continued past the merchants hawking their wares in the rain, intent on returning to my inn.
Then…
“Try a yakgwa!”
The call made me stop.
Yakgwa…
It had been a while since I’d heard that word. Of course. I hadn’t bought any since Wi Seol-Ah left. The treat always reminded me of her smiling face whenever I gave her some.
Curious, I pushed through the crowd toward the vendor. An old man with a wrinkled face greeted me with a smile.
“Ah, would you like to try one?”
“I’ll take two.”
Seeing the money, his smile widened as he handed over the honey pastries. I bought only two; I didn’t want too many.
“Thank you, Master!”
His tone seemed to shift slightly, but I paid it no mind. I took a bite of the yakgwa. The texture and taste were the same as always, yet somehow it felt less sweet.
Is it because the girl who used to eat it so happily isn’t here?
If that was the reason…
How pointless.
It was foolish to feel this way just because I missed someone. I thought of her cheerful face and asked the empty air, I wonder how she’s doing. Was she eating well? Was she sick?
And…
Was it really okay for me to stay away completely? I wanted to ask her all these questions. I knew I’d get no answer, but I asked anyway.
Pitter-patter.
My questions were washed away by the rain, dissolving without ever catching the wind.
“…”
Like a breath, scattering on the air.
I finished the remaining yakgwa and continued through the falling rain. I couldn’t afford to wallow in sentimentality; I was busy enough as it was. If I delayed any longer, the others at the inn would start to worry.
Just as I prepared to move on…
[Grr…]
The beast inside me stirred.
“I thought you were asleep.” It had been quiet for so long, I assumed it was hibernating for the winter. Apparently not.
[Grr… Grrr…]
It continued to growl, as if disturbed from a deep slumber. It sounded almost like a complaint.
“Are you hungry? I fed you plenty of demons on the way to Henan.” Why was it complaining now?
[Grr…]
The beast growled on, dissatisfied, but its agitation didn’t seem directed at me. It felt more like it was barking at something else.
“What’s the matter with–”
I started to soothe it, but then…
“Huh?”
I felt a presence. A familiar one. My neck stiffened as I swiftly turned to look.
My eyes locked onto the roof of a nearby building. There, standing atop the high roof, was a figure whose face was completely covered. They would have looked suspicious to anyone, but that wasn’t what mattered.
What mattered was that the woman was staring directly at me from a distance.
…Why?
I wasn’t asking why she was staring at me. I was asking why she was here.
Even with her face hidden, I was certain it was a woman—her presence was unmistakably, intimately familiar.
Just why?
After my regression, I had been unable to sense her at all. She had concealed her presence utterly, as if she had erased her very existence. So why was it so clear now? It was just like the girl I had known in my past life.
“…You.”
At the sound of my startled voice, the girl flinched, realizing she had been spotted. She leaped down from the rooftop and vanished into the crowd.
“…”
By plunging into such a dense mass of people, she made her presence difficult to track. Mingling her qi with that of the crowd confused my senses.
Seeing her tactic, I knew what I had to do.
“Causing trouble the moment you show yourself.”
Slam.
“ Agh! What the—!”
“ Ugh…! ”
I released a wave of qi. The people around me recoiled in shock and stumbled. It seemed she thought she could escape me, but she had miscalculated, despite knowing my nature.
Her plan was to hide within the crowd, but unlike last time—when I lost her due to my own incompetence—I had no intention of letting history repeat itself. No matter the cost.
It was possible I was mistaken, or that she had no desire to see me. But if it was truly her, then unfortunately for her, I had no intention of letting her slip away again. Whether she liked it or not.