Chapter 940: Do you know who my mom is?

After meeting Cheonma, I walked the streets.

It wasn’t like we specifically talked about walking and then walked.

It was more like I was walking, and Cheonma was following me.

We still weren’t talking.

I still wasn’t at a point where I could converse with Cheonma.

Besides, what kind of conversation could I even have with her?

At best, I might vent my resentment or spew curses.

The fact that I wasn’t even doing that meant I was exercising patience.

That’s what I thought.

And.

I had to.

I walked for a long time.

Though it wasn’t a long distance in terms of steps, it took a long time.

This was because I was keeping my strides short while looking around the area.

As always, the streets here really resembled the grounds of the Hwasan Sect.

‘It really feels like they just brought it over directly.’

Perhaps it’s not just a feeling, but actually the case.

It seemed quiet, yet vibrant.

The current street was filled with voices, including the sound of people’s laughter.

Every time I saw it, I thought:

‘How much must they have missed it.’

How much must Shin Noyang have missed this street and scenery?

How much longing would it take to want to create this street themselves?

Those thoughts would occasionally surface in my mind.

Should I call it pathetic? I couldn’t find the right words.

I just feel kind of annoyed.

Whether that annoyance is directed at me,

Or at someone else, I don’t know.

If I had to say, it’s probably annoyance directed at myself.

“…”

The fact that Shin Noyang ended up in this situation is practically my fault.

“Tsk.”

I clicked my tongue and scanned the street further.

Today, besides just looking around, I had to confirm something I couldn’t do last time.

‘It feels like it was somewhere around here.’

When I was wandering around last time, I definitely saw it nearby.

The Hwasan Sect itself isn’t incredibly vast, so it shouldn’t be that hard to find, but strangely, I couldn’t see it.

“Hmm.”

I narrowed my eyes and looked back.

“Hey. You….”

Just as I was about to ask Cheonma something.

I had to frown as I looked at her.

“…What is that you have?”

“Hm?”

At my question, Cheonma looked at what she was holding in her hand.

It was a skewer.

Cheonma stared at it for a moment, then offered the end of the skewer to me.

“Want some?”

“…”

Does she think I asked for it?

I was so dumbfounded I couldn’t even speak.

‘When on earth did she grab that?’

I definitely saw her empty-handed just moments ago? It seemed she’d grabbed a skewer while I wasn’t looking.

“…Hey.”

“Yeah.”

“Did you pay for that?”

When I asked if she’d properly paid, Cheonma tilted her head.

“Money?”

“…”

Judging by her reaction, she definitely hadn’t paid. My head started to ache.

“She told me to just take it.”

“…Right, she probably said that.”

It was somewhat known that Shin Noyang had brought Cheonma and me here.

From the looks of it, Shin Noyang’s standing here seemed quite significant.

Perhaps that’s why they were giving out food freely,

“Go give that back right now.”

I didn’t want to accept handouts like that.

I took out money from my pocket and thrust it into Cheonma’s hand.

For reference, the money was confiscated from Gu Bong.

Honestly, if this were Sanseo, I’d have just taken it, but this is Shin Noyang’s territory.

I didn’t want to cause trouble unnecessarily.

Cheonma took the money I gave her, nodded without a word, and ran off behind us.

Watching her, I saw her approach a street vendor not long after.

It seemed she bought it from there.

“…Haa.”

As I watched her, I couldn’t help but sigh.

The reason being:

‘…Is that really Cheonma?’

Could that idiot really be Cheonma? That doubt surfaced.

Looking at her face, she was definitely Cheonma.

Her body was also Cheonma’s.

But what was with those actions?

‘Seriously… something is really weird, isn’t it?’

She had absolutely no dignity, and her voice and actions showed no hint of seriousness.

I felt like she was almost the same as Wi Seol-ah when she was young, but could that really be the Cheonma I knew?

The more I looked, the less I understood.

‘Did she get swapped out somewhere?’

At first, I thought she was like this because she hadn’t reappeared long ago.

Maybe after going through something, when she reappeared again, she’d become the Cheonma I knew?

That’s what I thought, but…

‘There are only a few years left until then.’

At most, two years.

After that much time passes, it would be the period when the original Cheonma appeared.

And yet.

‘If she’s still in this state now….’

Will she really become the Cheonma I knew as time passes?

It was hard to say.

‘Or maybe it’s a good thing.’

Actually, if it wasn’t the case, it would be fortunate for me.

I already had my hands full with the Blood Demon incident, but wouldn’t it be great if Cheonma, whom I considered the biggest headache, collapsed on her own?

Thinking about it, it would certainly be a good thing, but…

‘If she collapsed, why?’

If the Cheonma of my past life and the current Cheonma are different.

What reason could make them different? Thinking about the reason, the answer was simple.

‘It must be because of me.’

What’s there to say? Most anomalies are caused by my actions.

‘So, where did the problem start?’

There were countless potential problems, but pinpointing the cause within this situation wasn’t easy.

I’d caused too much trouble.

“…”

Because of that, I recalled my words and shook my head.

‘Thinking about it now won’t help me understand.’

Even if I knew, it wouldn’t bring back the Cheonma from that time either…

“…Hm?”

I stopped thinking and widened my eyes.

“What the?”

What was I just thinking?

“Bring back what? Why would I bring it back?”

Am I fucking crazy?

If Cheonma isn’t around then, isn’t that good? Why would I think about bringing her back?

“This is messed up, seriously?”

Did she get her head smashed when Noyang hit her last time? What is she thinking?

This is something that couldn’t happen unless she’d lost her mind.

“…Is this because of the regression thing weighing heavily on me?”

It could be. No, I believed it was.

Because Turtle’s words lingered, I wanted to know what exactly Cheonma expected from me by causing the regression.

It must be because of that that I just had those thoughts.

Otherwise, it makes no sense.

What reason would I have to be curious about the Cheonma from back then?

‘She was one of the reasons my life went down the drain.’

The biggest reason was me,

and Cheonma was arguably the next most influential entity.

“…Hoo.”

Just as I was sighing again and trying to sort out my thoughts.

“I’m back.”

Cheonma, who had gone to pay for the skewer, returned.

Hearing her, I looked at her.

She was looking at me with a bright expression.

Her violet eyes and pale skin caught my eye, making me frown involuntarily.

I reached out and grabbed Cheonma’s nose.

“…???”

Cheonma, whose nose was suddenly grabbed, widened her already large eyes even further.

The funny thing was, she didn’t resist.

Why was she just standing there?

“What is your real identity?”

I asked, overwhelmed by the complexity of the entire situation.

“…”

Cheonma didn’t answer when she heard my words.

She just looked at me with her characteristic gaze.

That annoyed me, so I clicked my tongue and withdrew the hand holding her nose.

“Forget it. What am I even doing right now?”

This isn’t the time to be dealing with her.

I ran my hands through my hair messily.

Meanwhile, my fingertips continued to tremble.

I tried my best to ignore it and started walking again.

Just then.

“Distinguished Guest?”

A voice, seemingly unfamiliar yet familiar, came from behind.

I turned my head and saw a woman with white hair and cat ears.

It was Seol Yeong, who they said was a first-generation disciple.

“I called out just in case, and it is you? But what brings you here…?”

“What about you? Why are you here?”

“Ah, I…”

At my question, Seol Yeong showed me the bundle she was holding.

It was a basket containing clean cloth and needles.

“I need to buy some fabric and go to the blacksmith to get needles repaired.”

“Ah. Ah?”

I reacted belatedly after hearing her words.

“Why are you acting like that?”

“You’re going to the blacksmith?”

“Ah, yes.”

At Seol Yeong’s answer, I nodded too.

Perfect timing.

That was exactly where I was planning to go anyway.

“I need to go too. Take me there.”

So I said cheerfully to Seol Yeong.

“Huh? Ah… yes. Alright.”

Seol Yeong agreed with a somewhat reluctant expression.

---

Following Seol Yeong, I arrived at the blacksmith shop.

As I had expected earlier, the blacksmith shop wasn’t too far from where I was.

Kkang-! Kkang-kkang–!

The sound of metal being hammered echoed, along with a faint, metallic smell.

Since my senses of smell and hearing had become heightened, it felt even clearer.

“Oh, who is this?”

As soon as I stepped inside the blacksmith shop, someone noticed us and approached.

It was a very short old man, similar to the gatekeeper.

“Isn’t that Seol Yeong?”

“Nice to see you. Have you been well?”

Seol Yeong greeted the old man with a smile.

They seemed to know each other well.

“This time, I was thinking of getting needles repaired and acquiring a few more. Is that okay?”

“Oh, sure, that’s great.”

The old man laughed heartily at Seol Yeong’s words.

Then, he looked at me and slightly furrowed the wrinkles around his eyes.

“And who might this be?”

“Ah, this person is… a guest brought by our Sect Leader.”

“Hmm. So it is that person after all.”

As soon as Shin Noyang was mentioned, he nodded in understanding.

Just what kind of person is Shin Noyang here? It was fascinating how everyone reacted like that.

As I was marveling at this, the short old man approached me.

“Greetings. I am Myung Song, in charge of this blacksmith shop.”

Introducing himself, Myung Song extended his hand.

“Ah, yes. I am….”

Hearing him, I extended my hand as well.

It seemed like a simple handshake.

Since I had business here too, it wouldn’t hurt to foster good relations.

I noticed he seemed to be wearing something on his hand.

It wasn’t something to worry about, so I casually grasped Myung Song’s hand.

At that moment.

“Gu Yang….”

Chiiiiiiik—!!

“…Kkuhk!?”

Feeling immense pain, I pulled my hand away.

I looked at my palm in shock; my skin was sizzling and bubbling.

“…What the hell?”

What is this situation? Unable to comprehend the event, I looked back at Myung Song.

“…Huh…?”

Actually, Myung Song looked even more surprised.

No, rather than surprised…

“…Dragon…?”

It was more accurate to say his eyes held fear and resentment.

That wasn’t all.

“What? Dragon?”

“A dragon!? What does that mean…!”

The people inside the blacksmith shop immediately looked at me upon hearing Myung Song’s words.

Every single one of them.

“Hmm….”

Seeing that, I thought:

It felt like things had gone to shit right from the start.