Chapter 528: Just Let Me Hold It Once. (35)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 528: Just Let Me Hold It Once. (35)
“How did you know?”
Gu Cheolun met the Dark King’s gaze. He stared into those abyssal eyes, dark and devoid of any light.
After a moment of silence, he finally spoke. “It was impossible not to know.”
The letter from the Poison King, bearing news of his son—how could he not have realized the Dark King’s hand in ensuring it reached the Gu Clan?
The deduction was simple, if one bothered to think it through.
The distance from Sichuan to Shanxi was far from short. While someone of Gu Cheolun’s strength could cover it quickly, an ordinary message could not. And yet…
“It arrived only a few days after the incident occurred.”
The speed was unnatural. No matter how fast the courier, it should have been impossible. That left only one conclusion: someone had intervened. And Gu Cheolun had simply settled on the Dark King as the most likely culprit.
Yet one point remained unclear.
“I don’t understand,” the Dark King said, his eyes fixed on Gu Cheolun. “Suspicion is one thing. But you have no proof it was me.”
He had a point. The letter’s swift arrival implied outside help, but that alone didn’t necessarily point to the Dark King.
In response to the question, Gu Cheolun replied calmly, “Are you not here, Elder?”
The Dark King’s eyebrow twitched almost imperceptibly.
“That alone was reason enough for my conviction.”
“Hmm.”
So that was it.
The Dark King finally understood. He noticed.
Back when they had left Henan for Sichuan, the Dark King had disguised himself and infiltrated the group. Had Gu Cheolun been aware all this time? And yet he had said nothing?
He regarded Gu Cheolun with newfound interest. “If so, why didn’t you expose me then?”
“There was simply no point.”
The Dark King had slipped into his son’s entourage. That knowledge alone could have sparked countless complications. No point, he says.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of the Dark King’s mouth. “What would you have done if I had decided to harm your son?”
“Do you intend to do so?” Gu Cheolun countered.
The Dark King let out a short, dry laugh. In a way, he already had. He had used his power to kill the boy hundreds of times over. But if asked whether he intended to do so of his own volition…
“That would depend on your son’s actions.”
He had no plans to initiate anything himself. He wouldn’t say he wouldn’t do it, but for now, the thought hadn’t crossed his mind.
“If that is the case, then that is enough.”
“Why? Do you think that boy would never provoke me?” Was it blind faith in his son?
“That’s not it. He is my son, but the boy has his thorns.”
Sharp, protruding edges. Gu Yangcheon definitely possessed such qualities. Moreover, Gu Cheolun knew he himself was partly responsible for fostering them.
“Then?”
“Even with those edges, if he were to act against you, I believe there would be a compelling reason.”
It wasn’t that he believed his son incapable of such actions. Rather, he believed that if Gu Yangcheon did so, there would be a justification behind it. That was the nature of Gu Cheolun’s faith in his son.
The Dark King found it difficult to comprehend. “How is that any different from faith?”
“To call it faith… it would be closer to atonement.”
It was not belief born of trust, but belief born of necessity. And if asked for the reason behind that necessity, Gu Cheolun would call it atonement—atonement for having shaped his son into what he had become.
Hearing this, the Dark King pressed further. “And what will you do if I kill that boy, regardless of his reasons?”
Whatever intentions Gu Yangcheon might have, the Dark King had no obligation to acknowledge them. Nor did he have any reason to look favorably upon such audacity. Gu Cheolun knew this better than anyone. So why speak this way?
In response, Gu Cheolun looked directly at the Dark King and said, “I am hoping you will not do so.”
He hoped the Dark King would refrain. Partly for his son’s sake, but also, in another sense…
“It is also for your sake, Elder.”
Woong—
A faint tremor passed through the Dark King’s body.
Refined killing intent emanated from him—not the blunt, heavy aura of a typical martial artist, but the silent, razor-sharp pressure unique to an assassin. It was serene, yet so densely compressed that its venomous nature grew more palpable the closer one stood.
“You’ve grown a lot. To the point of threatening me.”
Do not do it, for your own sake. The meaning was unmistakably clear. It was a declaration: if the Dark King laid a hand on his son, Gu Cheolun would not stand idly by.
The killing intent thickened with each passing moment, creating a hair-trigger tension.
Even as the Dark King’s aura intensified, Gu Cheolun merely watched in silence.
Then, abruptly…
“Hmph.”
The Dark King released his aura, withdrawing the killing intent as quickly as it had appeared.
“Don’t worry. I, too, have something I want from that boy.”
He had unleashed his aura as a test, yet Gu Cheolun hadn’t flinched. He must have seen through the ploy.
The Dark King indeed had his own reasons for needing Gu Yangcheon alive. As Gu Cheolun had said, it wasn’t for the boy’s sake, but for his own.
The answer to breaking this curse.
The curse that bound the Dark King—or more precisely, the key to breaking the curse that shackled his bloodline. Gu Yangcheon held that answer. He had to.
Even now, just watching the boy, the Dark King could feel his own heart pounding erratically.
It’s become much stronger than when I first saw him.
Resonance.
The scent of the curse he had sensed upon first laying eyes on Gu Yangcheon. Back then, it had been faint, but now, for some reason, it was startlingly clear.
What had changed?
A change in his physical body. Is that the key?
Outwardly, he didn’t look much different, but something about Gu Yangcheon had undeniably shifted. The Dark King could perceive it. His eyes were different from others.
Thump.
His heart hammered in his chest. Just looking at the boy made it race uncontrollably.
At first, he had mistaken the feeling for killing intent. But recently, he had come to realize it was something else entirely.
Yes, this was no mere killing intent.
This is…
“I am only grateful that you see him in a good light.”
Shaken from his thoughts, the Dark King shook his head at Gu Cheolun’s words. This was not the time to dwell on such things.
“I have never seen him in a good light.”
It was the truth. He held no particular fondness for the boy. Yet, as if that answer sufficed, Gu Cheolun simply nodded.
It was time to return to the main subject.
“Now, I would like you to answer my question.”
How exactly had the Dark King intervened?
As Gu Cheolun had surmised, the Dark King had indeed played a role. He hadn’t personally moved the letter, but had simply tasked the Night Reapers with expediting its delivery. When it came to such tasks, the Night Reapers were unrivaled in speed.
If Gu Cheolun were to ask why he had done it…
“I only did it because that guy asked me to.”
The Dark King answered with a slight nod of his head.
Following his gaze, Gu Cheolun looked toward his son, who was being thoroughly pummeled, and the Dishonored Venerable, who for some reason seemed to be enjoying himself a little too much.
“Aargh…! Damn it…! You hit bone…!”
“Hey, I told you to dodge backward. Why do you charge in so foolishly?”
“…You told me not to dodge earlier!”
“Look at this punk. Dropping the honorifics?”
“So I should speak formally to my little brother? I’m still the older brother…! Elder, I’m kidding. Really, I’m kid—!”
“It’s fine. People are meant to be fixed by being beaten. It’s all part of the process. Come here. If you dodge, you’ll break a bone.”
“…Damn it.”
“...”
Faced with the absurd spectacle, Gu Cheolun was tempted to look away, but he forced himself to endure it.
“…The Dishonored Venerable, you say.”
“Yes.”
It was a favor the Dishonored Venerable had requested as soon as he heard something had happened to Gu Yangcheon. He had asked the Dark King to ensure the news reached Gu Cheolun as quickly as possible.
Coincidentally, the Poison King had been sending a letter to the Gu Clan at the time. The Dark King’s eyes were spread throughout the entire Tang Clan; he couldn’t have missed it. He had simply seized the opportunity.
I thought he didn’t seem very interested.
The Dishonored Venerable was far more invested in Gu Yangcheon than he had let on. Perhaps it was because the boy was the disciple he had sought for so long. Or perhaps there was another reason altogether—the Dark King couldn’t say.
Is he playing the role of a master in his own way?
He had watched Bijuu from the sidelines for a long time. It was strangely awkward to see that madman, who usually thought of nothing but martial arts, behaving this way. Especially him asking for a favor.
He’s changed.
Bijuu was changing, somehow. Whether it was for better or worse, the Dark King didn’t know. Nor did he care.
He watched as the Dishonored Venerable plopped down squarely on top of the fallen Gu Yangcheon. The half-unconscious boy gasped for air. The Dishonored Venerable chuckled as he looked down, but his hand, resting on his knee, was trembling faintly.
It was proof that even he was exhausted. Seeing this, Gu Cheolun turned away.
“Thank you for telling me. I have matters to attend to, so I will take my leave.”
“Mm.”
Confirming that Gu Yangcheon’s training was over, Gu Cheolun left without a backward glance.
Watching his retreating figure, the Dark King suddenly called out.
“Cheolun.”
Halt.
It was a name he hadn’t heard in a long time. In the current Central Plains, those who could address Gu Cheolun so familiarly could probably be counted on one hand. The Dark King was among them.
“Tell Gu Ryoon that I will pay him a visit in the near future.”
“...”
Passing a message to an Elder through the Clan Head—it was a bizarre situation. But Gu Cheolun paid it no mind and simply nodded.
“I will relay the message when I return.”
With those final words, Gu Cheolun vanished like a dying ember.
Left alone, the Dark King once again turned his gaze to Gu Yangcheon.
The boy’s aura was deepening, growing more profound. Just looking at him stirred something powerful within the Dark King.
At first, he had thought it was killing intent. Then, he had mistaken it for anger. But now, he recognized it as an even more potent emotion.
“…I’m gonna die…. Please get off… I’m really going to die like this? Aaargh! My head…!”
“Seeing as your mouth is still running, I suppose we can go on. Get up.”
“...”
He didn’t want to admit it, but now he could feel it clearly. The emotion that swelled within him as he watched Gu Yangcheon…
This was, without a doubt,
Awe.