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Baek Seong-gi, the second son of the Hyeoncheon Baek Clan.
That was the first name I received at birth, and the name I could never truly possess.
Because it sounds like a word for a certain body part? No.
From the beginning, I was a body unworthy of the surname 'Baek.' Not even a drop of the Hyeoncheon Baek Clan's blood flows through my veins.
"The head of the Hyeoncheon Baek Clan, Baek Su-gwang, fell in love with a woman. She claimed to be the illegitimate child of the Namgung Clan head and a courtesan."
"...I've never heard of this."
"Of course not. The murim is full of secret histories."
Chilseonghwa.
That was the name of the mother who bore me. It was a courtesan's name, and I do not know the name she carried as a Namgung. She never existed in the Namgung Clan's family register, after all.
"I do not know if she truly was a Namgung illegitimate child. But she was so beautiful that rumors called her the greatest beauty in Anhui."
"I've never heard of a beauty named Chilseonghwa in Anhui...."
"Of course not. With so many daughters of the White Path, would the world officially call an illegitimate child born of a gisaeng the province's greatest beauty?"
She could never be Anhui's First Beauty.
Just as a lotus blooms in muddy water, people's eyes are drawn to the flower in clean water, not the swamp.
"She became engaged to a young man of the Hyeoncheon Baek Clan who was smitten with her. Over two years, she bore him two sons."
"That was you, Gaga."
"Yes. But there is one small problem."
Even as I spoke, a dry laugh escaped me.
"She bore sons, but one of them was not the child of the man she was engaged to."
"......What?"
"There was a guard warrior the clan secretly assigned to her. From childhood, he protected her in every way, and in the end, the woman committed an indiscretion with her own guard warrior."
Engaged to a young man from a powerful family, yet she bore the child of the one she truly loved.
"Do you know the term 'Tak-ran'? She did something akin to a cuckoo. Though in this case, since it's a child, should we call it a Tak-a?"
"Gaga...."
Never dreaming what a tragedy this would bring upon her child, she hid the whole truth and gave birth to Baek Seong-gi.
"Well, my childhood was... not bad at first. The Hyeoncheon Baek Clan might not rank among the Eight Great Families, but they were wealthy and loved enough to take a Namgung illegitimate child as a wife. At least, until that day came."
"That day?"
"Yes. The day the Clan Head discovered the whole truth."
If she wanted to hide the truth, she should have hidden it to the very end. But she felt a pang of guilt for exploiting Baek Su-gwang's pure heart.
"Just before she died, she left a letter for her son. All the truth was written in that letter, which was discovered years after her death. A truly terrifying woman. She hid the letter with treasures, calling it a gift for his twentieth coming-of-age day."
"......."
Dokgo Yeon's hand, clasped in mine, began to tremble. I squeezed it tight and soothed her.
"But the truth has a way of coming out. A great earthquake struck Anhui, shattering the sealed boxes containing the gifts. While carefully repackaging those gifts, Baek Su-gwang found it."
"He saw the letter."
"Yes."
It must have been divine punishment for hiding the truth and mocking a man's genuine heart.
"How could he love a child that wasn't his? If only the woman were alive, he could have vented his wrath upon her, but she was already dead and in her coffin. Ultimately, his resentment turned toward the child."
"Gaga, did you...?"
"So I bolted."
"...Huh?"
Dokgo Yeon's expression, which had been on the verge of tears, froze at my casual words.
"Well, it's not like I didn't notice something was off. See, I have a half-brother from a different father. Before she had me, she'd already borne one to Baek Su-gwang."
"Ah...."
"But that guy wasn't her biological child either."
"...What?"
Faced with a mess more tangled than yarn, Dokgo Yeon's brows furrowed.
"The woman had a younger sister. Baek Su-gwang had a child with the sister too, and the babies were switched. The true child of Baek Su-gwang, whom the woman carried and bore, vanished."
"Wh-What on earth?! I feel like I'm losing my mind!"
"What do you mean, what? It's just a Gaejokbo of a family."
Even the local dogs have a less complicated pedigree than this. Seeing Dokgo Yeon lost in confusion, I felt the need to organize things for her.
"Listen carefully."
"The child of the guard warrior and Chilseonghwa is me, Baek Seong-gi."
"The child of Baek Su-gwang and Chilseonghwa's younger sister is my half-brother, Baek Bo-jun."
"And as for the 'real child' of Baek Su-gwang and Chilseonghwa, even I don't know where she is or what she's doing. Chilseonghwa's younger sister took her and is probably raising her well somewhere."
In terms of age, she's an older sister, one year my senior. I don't know where she is or what she's doing, and I have neither the means nor the desire to find her.
"In all the murim, you'd be hard pressed to find a more tangled family tree than the Hyeoncheon Baek Clan. Heh heh heh."
"It seems like a very sad and complicated story, but you're telling it so lightly that I don't know how to react, Gaga."
"Just take it lightly."
In my previous life, I was drenched in hatred and rage, but I scrubbed it all clean the moment I threw myself into the river right after regressing.
"Because now, I am not Baek Seong-gi."
"...Ah, so that's why you used 'Baek'?"
"Hm?"
"Was that why you called yourself 'Doctor Baek' when you kidnapped and ravished me?"
"......Probably?"
I really just picked the first random surname that came to mind. I unintentionally made the Ice-Colored Demon's surname 'Baek.'
"...Well, it shouldn't cause any trouble. The world has more Baek families than just the Hyeoncheon Baek Clan."
"That's a relief. I can tell it's actually bothering you right now, Gaga."
"...It would be a lie to say it bothers me not at all."
The resentment from the pain of having my bones and sinews twisted from a savage beating before my regression hasn't vanished, but at the very least, I have no intention of dragging it into this life and settling scores.
But since I'm here on this rare occasion, maybe I could at least say hello. Accompanied by Dokgo Yeon, I sought out a place I thought I'd never return to in my life.
The grave of Chilseonghwa.
With a beautiful flower by my side, I visited the grave of my birth mother.
* * *
Rustle.
A gray-haired, middle-aged man walked toward the graves, holding seven flowers. An old man acting as his aide guided him along the path.
"This way, Clan Head."
"Thank you, Steward."
"Not at all. I am merely doing my duty."
The steward led the clan head with a voice thick with tears. Among the countless tombstones here, the middle-aged man sought only one, yet tragically, he himself did not know which grave was 'hers.'
"This way... Hm?"
The steward, leading the clan head, was surprised to see a man and a woman bowing before a grave with their hands clasped in prayer.
A fine-looking young man and a woman of outstanding beauty—it was possible for such people to be here, but the headstone they were paying respects to was so damaged that one couldn't even tell who the owner was.
"You there."
The steward approached the young couple, his face flushed. The pair naturally clasped hands and turned their heads toward him.
"Do you even know whose grave this is?!"
"...We were just passing by and felt pity seeing the state of the headstone."
"We're sorry. Are you the caretaker, sir?"
At the couple's meek apology, the steward awkwardly turned his head. For a place purporting to be the Hyeoncheon Baek Clan's burial ground for the dead, the state of the headstone before the pair was utterly disgraceful.
"Guests, what business brings you to the Hyeoncheon Baek Clan's graves?"
The middle-aged man, Baek Su-gwang, the Clan Head of the Hyeoncheon Baek Clan, asked the two in a voice drained of strength. The young man greeted him calmly, while the woman looked at him with a startled face.
"Ah, well."
"We saw the damaged headstone and felt pity."
"...Thank you for praying for the repose of the departed. However, this is our family's private land. I must respectfully ask you to leave."
At Baek Su-gwang's words, the young man nodded heavily. But his feet did not move.
"This grave."
There was a weight in his gaze that made clear he had something to say.
"Who is the owner of this grave?"
"You there!"
"......."
The steward scolded the young man in a stern voice, but Baek Su-gwang found it difficult to answer readily. He felt as if the young man's eyes, slightly hidden by the hair on his forehead, were piercing right through him, and his lips would not part easily.
"That grave is...."
Without a doubt, he is a master of at least the Peak realm. Baek Su-gwang could not fathom why such a powerful martial artist had come to the Hyeoncheon Baek Clan's graveyard.
"...The grave of the one who was my wife."
At Baek Su-gwang's words, which sounded as if he were vomiting up the pain of old wounds, the young man twisted the corner of his mouth. The woman looked at the young man with worry in her eyes and clutched his hand.
"Pardon our many rudenesses. Are those flowers for your wife?"
"No."
Baek Su-gwang pointed to a smaller grave beside it, one without even a name on the headstone.
"They are for my son."
"A son... But I understood the Hyeoncheon Baek Clan's young master to be alive and well."
"A son I lost over ten years ago."
"......."
The young man fell silent for a moment. Baek Su-gwang placed the flowers on the grave of his dead son and offered a brief, silent prayer.
"...A son I lost long ago, due entirely to my own mistake."
For a long moment, the young man could not speak. He turned his head toward the headstone, closed his eyes, and then bowed deeply toward Baek Su-gwang, taking the formal martial salute of a bow with hands clasped.
"We have been very rude, Clan Head. These uninvited guests will take their leave now."
"No. It is our fault for showing an unseemly sight to passersby. ...Are you two lovers? Or a married couple?"
"We are a married couple."
The woman spoke in a clear, distinct voice. Oddly, Baek Su-gwang felt a challenging spirit aimed at him in that voice and gave a bittersweet smile.
"A married couple, both of you Peak Experts or higher. You have found a good match. A perfectly matched pair."
"Thank you."
The woman beamed and looked at the young man, while the young man gave an awkward laugh and scratched his head.
"Beware of Sex Demons. It's said that Sex Demons appear relatively less often in Anhui, but you never know when a scoundrel like the Ice-Colored Demon might show up."
"Yes, we will be careful. Thank you for being so generous with uninvited guests such as ourselves. We shall live well."
"Hmm? ...Uh, yes. Live well."
Baek Su-gwang felt an uneasy, strange atmosphere. The quiet young man was one thing, but the elated woman also seemed somewhat outside the norm.
"I say this out of an old man's meddlesome concern, but I hope there will be no lies between you as husband and wife."
"Kk."
The young man turned his head away with a bitter smile. Baek Su-gwang felt a moment of displeasure, but oddly, he could not bring himself to speak harshly to the young man. It was a peculiar feeling.
"Yes, understood."
Even the woman, who had been smiling radiantly, answered in a voice that was slightly cold before leading the young man away and vanishing from sight. Baek Su-gwang scratched his cheek.
"I said something unnecessary."
"Not at all, Clan Head. ...Hm?"
The steward, who had been angry at the couple, noticed the flowers placed behind the headstone and tilted his head in puzzlement.
"Seven... blossoms?"
"......!!"
By the time Baek Su-gwang turned his head in alarm, the young man and woman were already gone.
* * *
"It would have been better if he hadn't added that last line."
"Exactly. If we'd heard that unknowingly, it would have been a lesson carved into our flesh and blood."
We had decided to stop at an inn for a light meal, but we couldn't help laughing dryly at Baek Su-gwang's final, superfluous remark.
"Chilseonghwa died of a rage-induced illness precisely because she found out he'd been toying with her younger sister."
Looking at Baek Su-gwang, I felt it once again. Humans truly are shameless creatures.
"He did seem like a good person."
"At least on the surface, he does."
It was saddening to see him looking so aged and powerless, but that didn't stir any pity in me for Baek Su-gwang. Ultimately, both Baek Su-gwang and Chilseonghwa had wronged each other.
"But it's quite strange. Where has the son gone?"
"Gaga, that... your...."
"This is confusing, so just call him 'that guy.'"
"You're talking about the older brother who is a complete stranger, right?"
"Yes."
Still, officially, Chilseonghwa should be his mother as well. Why is he not even showing his face in the Hyeoncheon Baek Clan's territory? Could he, like me, have discovered a convoluted and idiotic secret of his birth and run away from home?
"You there."
I called for the waiter. Though his face was full of blatant annoyance at first, a radiant smile bloomed when he saw the coins I placed on the table.
"What can I do for you, Young Hero?"
"A bottle of Bamboo Leaf Wine. And do you have any interesting stories to go with it?"
"Well, there have been so many unsettling incidents lately that it's less interesting and more... Ah!"
The waiter chuckled and opened his mouth.
"You know the young master of the Hyeoncheon Baek Clan?"
"Mm."
"He recently left for Jinan."
"Jinan? Why?"
I was about to accept the cup Dokgo Yeon was pouring for me, but all the taste of the wine vanished from my senses.
"He went to register as a suitor, saying he'd fallen for a daughter of the Hwangbo Clan he saw at the Decisive Battle of the Two Phoenixes and was going to ask for her hand. Who was it... was her name Jihye? Hye-ji?"
"Hwangbo Hye-ji?"
"Ah! Yes, that young lady. He said it was love at first sight and kicked up a storm about marrying her. The Clan Head had a hard time trying to stop him before giving up and sending him off in secret. Heh heh."
"......."
It seems the ties of the past are not so easily shaken off.