Chapter 357: Divine Sword (2)

My steps are heavy.

My body should have felt lighter, given my advancement in cultivation.

Yet, my feet felt incredibly heavy.

This must be because the emotions weighing on my mind are so heavy, making even my footsteps feel burdensome.

I ran.

If it were up to my heart, I’d want to smash through everything and break free.

But even for a madman like me, that was impossible.

So, I just ran.

I was a little worried about Moyong Hi-ah, whom I left behind, but there was nothing I could do.

The people around me looked at me with surprised eyes.

Was my expression that strange?

I don’t know.

Because right now, I couldn’t think of anything else.

A place where many people were gathered.

It was a place set up to treat others, and today, as always, the physicians belonging to the Divine Dragon Hall were working tirelessly.

I walked past them.

Walking just a little further, I spotted the person I was looking for.

“Haa….”

I took a breath to calm my weary lungs and observed the person lying down.

She wasn’t even lying on a bed.

Those perfectly fine beds were already being used by the injured.

She, having no major physical issues, was simply lying on a nameless piece of cloth.

I approached cautiously.

Just as I was about to take a step, she began to sit up.

She slowly sat up, as if tired, and then swept her hair back with one hand.

Radiant.

The chaotic space, the noisy surroundings.

Simply by her presence, they became meaningless.

Should I say she shone?

She had that kind of power.

It was the same in my past life.

She shone so brightly that someone like me couldn’t dare get close.

Was it any different now?

It wouldn’t be different now.

It’s just that I’ve changed so I don’t care about such things anymore.

If you ask if that’s a good thing.

I don’t know yet.

“Haa….”

It’s strange how out of breath I am, even though I didn’t run that much.

Even though my body could run for days without tiring.

Strangely, my breathing was rapid.

Tap, tap.

As I took another step.

Perhaps she heard my footsteps amidst the murmuring noise, her gaze turned towards me.

Our eyes met.

Meeting her large eyes made the thoughts I was trying so hard to recall blur.

“…”

“…”

We just stared at each other without uttering a single word.

What should I say?

Even as I walked, I pondered thousands of times.

What words would sound most natural, what words would be easiest to utter, I rolled them over and over in my mind.

But no words actually came out.

I was foolishly hesitating even after coming this far.

“…Did you run here?”

Since I couldn’t speak first, she eventually spoke to me first.

“No, it wasn’t like that. I just came to see if you had woken up while training.”

I stubbornly clung to my pride.

What a fool.

Why would I need pride after coming all this way?

This damn personality of mine seems like it will trouble me until the day I die.

The only fortunate thing was that she smiled after hearing my words.

Anyone could tell it was a ridiculous excuse.

If it was going to be found out anyway, I should have just been honest.

I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t do that myself.

“How are you feeling.”

I approached, calming my rapidly beating heart.

“I’m fine.”

Hearing her answer, I knelt down on one knee.

“…If something’s wrong, tell me quickly. The physicians are busy, so we need to inform them in advance.”

“I’m really fine.”

“Then I’m glad.”

Hearing me, she looked at me and asked.

“Young Master Gu, are you alright?”

“Me? I’m fine…”

As I was about to answer, my attention was suddenly caught by the title she used to call me.

Not ‘Young Master Gu-nim’, but ‘Young Master Gu’.

It was just a difference of one character, but the gap it created felt immense.

Did she see the flicker in my eyes?

The woman smiled bitterly, as if reacting.

“…Shall we go out?”

Words spoken naturally.

It was the same voice, yet.

Was it my imagination that it lacked pitch variation and felt a bit more mature?

“Where to?”

“Somewhere we can talk.”

As she spoke, the woman stood up.

It would have been easy to refuse, but since she seemed to want it, I followed without a word.

We went outside and entered a quiet forest.

A day had passed since the attack, the dark canopy was gone, and a clear sky met my eyes.

“The weather is nice.”

“Yeah.”

“It feels like a long time since I last looked at the sky.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I haven’t had the chance to look at things like that and appreciate them.”

The woman, who had been intently watching the sky, turned her gaze towards me.

“You and I… we haven’t had that kind of time, have we?”

“…”

That was true.

I never had time to look at the sky and appreciate it.

While walking through the path of hell, where would I have had time for such things?

That’s why I couldn’t understand Ma-geom-hu, who had been staring blankly at the moon.

Now…

I could vaguely understand.

What Ma-geom-hu was seeing in the moon back then.

Perhaps it was due to my calmer emotions.

Only then did her face become clearer to my eyes.

Her eyes, slightly downturned compared to usual.

Gone was the face that always seemed to be smiling, replaced by a calm aura.

It was a sight different from Wi Seol-ah, whom I got to know in this life, yet it felt more familiar and sorrowful.

Feeling that, I asked.

“Since when….”

“Just a moment.”

Just as I was about to ask the question I wanted to ask.

The woman interrupted me and blocked my path.

I looked at her questioningly, wondering what she was trying to do.

“I have something to say first…”

“What is it?”

I wondered what she was going to say.

Was she going to curse me for something I couldn’t do?

If so, I could accept it.

Cursing, well… as long as she wasn’t drawing a sword, that much was fine.

The moment I thought that.

“I’m sorry…”

She offered me an apology.

“What?”

“I’m truly sorry…”

It was an unexpected statement.

The very fact that she was apologizing to me.

“Why apologize all of a sudden?”

“…I’m sorry…”

“I asked why?”

Seeing her trembling eyes, as if she were about to cry.

I didn’t know what to do.

Why was she suddenly trying to cry?

“No, why are you…”

“I found out too late about the things Young Master Gu did for me.”

“…!”

“…I’m sorry. Even now… I’m truly sorry.”

My heart sank with a thud.

It felt like a long dagger had flown and pierced my chest, which was heavily weighed down.

‘How?’

My thoughts raced wildly at her words.

How did she know?

No, what did she know?

How far, how far does she know?

“…What are you talking about? Don’t cry, calm down first.”

Was she talking about what happened in ‘Demon Realm’?

No, that was something no one else remembered except me.

Moreover, I hoped no one would remember it.

If not that, was it about the time during the war?

Whatever it was, I hoped she knew nothing.

“What are you talking about? I… don’t really understand.”

“…I’m sorry for making things difficult for you.”

“No, I told you to stop apologizing?”

“…”

At my words, she looked at me pitifully.

What could the meaning in that gaze be?

My head throbbed.

How much does she really know?

‘Could it be… she knows about that too?’

It can’t be.

It must not be.

She must not know.

That I became a demon for her.

I truly hoped she wouldn’t know.

“Stop apologizing… I don’t want to hear that from you.”

“…”

It wasn’t something I did to hear that.

I thought someone had to do it.

I just thought I was unlucky to be the one chosen.

I regretted it to death, thinking why the hell I had to do it, but.

In the end, I thought it was okay.

Thinking that the person in front of me might have been a little more comfortable.

That was enough.

“…It’s in the past.”

“…”

Hearing my words, the woman flinched.

It’s all in the past.

It’s as if it never happened.

It will be as if it never happened.

“Now, we just need to make sure it never happens again.”

“…”

The more I spoke, the sadder her expression became.

Why?

Why was she making that face?

I couldn’t know.

I didn’t know what she knew, but I hoped that would become something that never happened too.

This current life was for that purpose.

“Young Master Gu…”

“Yeah?”

“Are you happy now?”

“…Suddenly?”

“Yes.”

I couldn’t understand the intention behind the woman’s question.

Asking if I was happy out of the blue.

‘Happiness.’

I asked myself, but it was difficult to give a clear answer.

“I don’t think I’m particularly happy yet.”

Honestly, I don’t even really know what happiness is.

Because I haven’t had the time to ponder it peacefully, neither in my past life nor in this one.

It’s a world where nothing has ended.

For me to ponder such things.

After all the accumulated matters are resolved.

When the time comes to clear my stifled heart and look around slowly.

Isn’t that the kind of worry I can have then?

“What about you? How are you?”

“Me?”

Hearing my question, the woman smiled.

“I am happy… at least for now.”

Her smiling face was beautiful enough to make my tightly held heart tremble with a ‘thud!’, but.

I felt that her smile seemed somewhat forced.

While observing that smile.

“I have something to ask.”

I wanted to get to the main point now.

Because there were many things I wanted to hear.

As if she understood my intention, she adjusted her expression.

Seeing that, I asked.

“…Since when was it?”

The meaning of this question was literal.

Since when was it?

When she wasn’t the current Wi Seol-ah.

But the Divine Sword of her past life.

I thought it wasn’t from the very first moment we met.

Because the girl who handed me potatoes back then clearly had eyes that knew nothing.

“I want to know since when you became you. That’s what I want to know.”

“…”

Hearing the question, Wi Seol-ah quietly closed her eyes for a moment.

She seemed to be organizing her thoughts.

A few seconds passed, and Wi Seol-ah opened her eyes again.

And then she told me.

“It was probably a few days after Young Master Gu came to the present.”

“…A few days?”

Just a few days?

The difference is not much compared to what I thought.

Perhaps that’s why.

I could somewhat understand the peculiarities Wi Seol-ah had shown until now.

It felt like the pieces were fitting together as her moments, which often gave off an inexplicable aura and confused me, came to mind one by one.

‘How on earth?’

Does that mean Wi Seol-ah is also a returner like me?

‘Then, in Sichuan too….’

The fact that I broke through the formation in the Jin family’s archives in Sichuan.

And all the physical abilities I couldn’t understand when I saw them…

“It’s different.”

“…Hm?”

As I was gradually organizing my thoughts.

Wi Seol-ah suddenly expressed disagreement.

Could she read my mind?

“What’s different?”

Wi Seol-ah continued speaking, as if to correct my thoughts.

“Unlike you, who completely traveled back in time and assimilated with your current body… I am merely parasitizing this child right now.”

“Parasitizing?”

“The owner of the body is still this child’s. I am merely borrowing the body.”

What that means is.

The current Wi Seol-ah remains as she is.

Does it mean the soul of the Divine Sword from the past life is attached, like Shin No-ya in my body?

“…That…”

What’s different?

If a soul traveled back to its original body.

Isn’t that also a return?

Although technically different, I thought the broad strokes were the same.

‘Wait.’

Then, another thought suddenly occurred to me.

Wi Seol-ah seemed to know what had happened to herself.

I don’t know what method she used to become like this.

But it seems like she came here using her own power.

If that’s the case.

“…Was it you who sent me back?”

The reason I was able to return to the past through regression.

Was it the power of the Divine Sword?

Wi Seol-ah’s eyes widened in surprise at my question, but.

Soon, she put on a pitiful expression.

“No… I couldn’t do that.”

‘As expected, that’s not it.’

I wondered if I could find out the secret about my regression.

But it seemed Wi Seol-ah wasn’t the one.

Should I consider this fortunate?

As I tried to think that way, Wi Seol-ah continued speaking.

“If it were up to me… I would have wanted to do that even if it meant pouring everything I have into it… but I wasn’t capable enough to contain that much karma. Sending myself to this place in this state was my limit.”

Surely, the Divine Sword was the greatest under heaven of her era.

She was the only one who defeated the Heavenly Demon, who had killed the Three Saints single-handedly, so it was natural.

But if even the Divine Sword couldn’t do it.

‘Who could it possibly be.’

The World Tree said it wasn’t her.

What I could know a little is that, given the World Tree’s past record of having regressed Yeon Il-cheon herself.

It means such a thing is possible.

This implies that one must be as powerful as the World Tree, known as the master of the world, to regress a single human.

‘So. Who on earth?’

I still don’t know.

I know this world wants something from me right now.

How could I not know? Seeing how things are progressing, it’s quite obvious.

The situation is already bad enough, and this makes me even more frustrated.

What can be considered fortunate, at least.

Is that I got to see the person before me one more time.

Just as I was about to move on, thinking I’d consider this part later.

“Do you want to know…?”

I had to pause at the Divine Sword’s words.

“…What did you say?”

“Who is the being that turned back Young Master Gu’s time… Do you want to know, Young Master?”

“You… do you know who turned back my time?”

“I know…”

My eyes widened at her words.

While wondering how Wi Seol-ah could know that.

If she knew, I hoped she would tell me.

“If you wish to know, I can tell you.”

“Of course, then tell me…”

“However… you might regret it if you hear it.”

Just as I was about to tell her to tell me immediately.

I had to frown at Wi Seol-ah’s warning words.

Might regret it?

Seeing my expression, Wi Seol-ah slowly approached me and said.

“Still… will you listen?”

“…”

For some reason, I hesitated at those words.

The words ‘you might regret it if you hear it’.

What on earth could be intertwined with my regression that would make me regret it?

While those words sounded somewhat frightening.

It didn’t take long for me to decide on an answer, overcoming that.

“Still, I have to hear it.”

It wasn’t the first or second time I’ve regretted something.

I was thoroughly sick of running away out of fear.

I had to keep moving forward.

“I knew Young Master Gu would say that.”

Hearing my answer, Wi Seol-ah had an expression as if she had expected it.

“I will tell you.”

Just as I was waiting for Wi Seol-ah’s words.

Hwooooo…

Wind blew from behind.

It was a spring breeze.

“The being who turned back Young Master Gu’s time… it wasn’t me.”

As the wind blew, shaking my hair, Wi Seol-ah seemed to carry her words on the wind as she began to speak.

The third spring I faced after my regression.

On this day, I finally.

“The Heavenly Demon (Heavenly Demon).”

Learned who the being that sent me back was.

“It was her.”