Chapter 1109: Scorched World.

“…….”

“…….”

I suddenly went to his quarters and met Namgung Hyung. He seemed like he hadn’t woken up long ago, looking at me with somewhat dazed eyes.

Gradually, his eyes gained focus, and he wrapped his body with his hands.

“……Murder and Annihilation?”

He said that with a slightly frightened expression.

“……No.”

As I said that with a sigh, Namgung Hyung suddenly burst into laughter.

“Ahaha. I was just trying to joke around. Your reaction is quite dull.”

“……Do you want me to?”

“Ah, that’s a bit much.”

His expression of sheer panic was a work of art. He didn’t seem like a bad actor, so that was probably genuine.

“So. Why did you come looking for me?”

“To shut me up.”

“……Didn’t you just say ‘Murder and Annihilation’ wasn’t it?”

“Because killing isn’t the only way to shut someone up.”

“Ah, that’s true.”

He nodded as if convinced.

Then.

“Wait a moment.”

He went to a corner and took something out. It was a small table. Where did that suddenly come from?

He then placed it down with a thud in front of me and took something out of a drawer.

It was two teacups and tea leaves.

Why were those in there?

“I don’t have much to give you. Would you like some tea?”

“They don’t look like they’re in good condition. How old are they?”

No matter how I looked at the tea leaves, they didn’t seem like something one could drink.

“I don’t know.”

“……I won’t drink it.”

“Alright then.”

Hearing my answer, Namgung Hyung shoved the teacups he was holding back into the drawer.

“Never mind the tea, I don’t have anything else, do I?”

“……You don’t really need to entertain me.”

“Still, I heard you should offer something if a guest comes. Oh dear.”

Awkwardly, Namgung Hyung sat down in front of the small table.

“Anyway… so. How are you going to shut me up?”

The way he sat there picking his nose seemed so unfitting for his appearance.

“I didn’t enter the Bigo intentionally.”

“Aww. Come on, we’re both pros here, right?”

Namgung Hyung smirked.

“If you were going to let it slide like that, you shouldn’t have knocked me out.”

“That’s because you charged at me first.”

“I had a reason. You didn’t, right? Are you like an intruder?”

“……If you think about it, aren’t you an intruder too? Sneaking in is the same, isn’t it?”

It’s true we both slipped in sneakily.

“Don’t be like that. I’m still blood of this house.”

Namgung Hyung is a clansman of the Namgung family.

That must be the problem.

“I’ll just get scolded and it’ll be over. Divine Dragon. That’s not the case for you, is it?”

“……No.”

“So tell me. Why did you do it? Did you have some business at my house? Ah. Perhaps.”

Namgung Hyung’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Are you thinking of killing my father?”

“What kind of crazy talk is that?”

I frowned at his chilling words. What kind of outrageous statement is this now?

“Ah, you weren’t?”

“Are you crazy?”

“Why? It’s something that can happen occasionally. It’s unpleasant, but if that’s the case, I might just let it slide.”

“……What are you talking about?”

The words saying he might let it slide if I killed my father, Namgung Jeohui. Those bizarre words almost made me laugh emptily.

Then, Namgung Hyung pointed at the room.

“You can see, can’t you? I’m not treated very well in this household?”

“So. Do you want to kill your father?”

“No, I don’t have beastly thoughts like that. But it might be nice if it were someone else’s doing.”

“Crazy.”

“It would be even better if you burned down the Namgung family entirely.”

“……Are you out of your mind?”

“A little?”

Namgung Hyung’s smile felt somewhat sinister.

“Living here like this, you can’t help but go mad.”

“…….”

An inexplicable silence emanated from the depths. Namgung Hyung was already broken somewhere.

‘So this is how he ended up running off with the Brain Core?’

Looking at his state, it wouldn’t be strange at all.

“So if that’s the case, I might be able to turn a blind eye.”

“I’m sorry, but that won’t happen.”

If I killed Namgung Jeohui, I don’t know how things would turn out.

Besides.

‘Even though possessing the Blood Qi is bothersome.’

I still don’t know anything about it. If possible, I didn’t want to get involved in the Namgung family’s affairs.

Even just thinking of Namgung Bi-ah.

“……Really? That’s a shame.”

Namgung Hyung nodded as if genuinely disappointed, and then.

“If that’s not it, how do you plan to shut me up?”

“…….”

“You don’t really have anything in mind, do you?”

“……Is it really only ‘Murder and Annihilation’?”

“……If you’re talking to yourself, calm down. I can hear everything.”

“I said that for you to hear.”

“Wow.”

Namgung Hyung exclaimed in admiration at my words.

“You’re a lunatic too, aren’t you?”

“…….”

…Saying ‘too’ means he knows he’s not normal, right?

“Dying isn’t necessarily bad, but it feels like a waste… You also have some business here, but it’s not like you’re seeking revenge on the Namgung family, right?”

“……I just had some business.”

“In the Bigo? Someone else?”

“…….”

“If I ask about the circumstances, will you answer?”

“I haven’t prepared any excuses.”

“Ah… so you have no intention of telling me honestly.”

Namgung Hyung looked at me as if I were absurd.

“This is quite… troublesome. If I don’t listen, you really seem like you’ll kill me. Right?”

“……!”

Hearing that, my eyes widened slightly. It was something I was indeed contemplating. I didn’t realize he’d noticed.

“Whoa, was that for real? I was just testing you.”

“I wasn’t thinking that.”

“Don’t make me laugh. With that look in your eyes just now, you could have killed someone.”

What kind of look was that? It was just a look of surprise, really.

“Scary. They called you the Divine Dragon… you’re a weirder guy than I expected. Are you really from a righteous sect?”

“……For now?”

Although I wasn’t the Divine Dragon, I didn’t bother refuting it.

Because this seemed more likely to work right now.

“I don’t want to die… but I can’t just let it slide either. What should I do about this?”

If I don’t shut up, he might kill me. Even facing such a situation, he remained calm.

The more I saw of Namgung Hyung’s younger days, the stranger a person he seemed.

‘Did he perhaps become normal after getting old?’

That old man was strange too, but not to this extent.

“Ah, right.”

Namgung Hyung suddenly said, as if recalling something.

“Do me a favor.”

“A favor?”

Suddenly? I looked at Namgung Hyung with confusion, and he wiped the smile off his face as he looked at me.

“Yeah, a favor.”

“What kind of favor?”

“It’s nothing major. Ah, when are you leaving?”

“……Hmm. About seven days?”

“That’s reasonable. Then, you know.”

Namgung Hyung moved closer.

“If something comes up that I need to ask of you during that time. Please grant it.”

“I’ll have to hear what it is first to know?”

“It probably won’t be anything major. And if you don’t want to, you don’t have to grant it. How about that?”

“…….”

It looked like it would just become a hassle.

No matter how I thought about it, it seemed better to force him to shut up rather than getting involved. Although using Mind Control or restrictions in this era felt a bit awkward, wouldn’t this be better than causing further anomalies with unreasonable actions?

Even as I thought that.

‘Just endure it three times.’

Tsk.

I thought of someone who would later become that man’s disciple.

That was the problem.

‘Damn it.’

He’s no help at all.

“Alright.”

“Oh! Really?”

“I’ll try my best. Will that make you shut up?”

“Of course.”

“And we won’t place any restrictions on each other?”

“Don’t men operate on trust?”

“……Let’s do that then.”

I stood up.

I didn’t know how this conversation had reached this point.

Is it because I have no affection for the Namgung family?

Or perhaps.

‘Because I know the person Namgung Hyung is.’

Is that why this deal is possible?

It was utterly strange. But ultimately, it was agreed upon.

Just as I was about to leave Namgung Hyung and head out the door.

“Ah. And one more thing.”

“Hm?”

I said, turning back to Namgung Hyung.

“Just in case you’re mistaken, I’m not the Divine Dragon.”

“What?”

“Just saying.”

“Huh? Wait-!”

Ignoring Namgung Hyung’s attempt to grab me, I threw myself forward.

I ignored him and launched myself into the air. My vision changed in an instant.

‘Ah, right.’

As I launched myself, I suddenly remembered something I’d forgotten.

‘……I should have asked what that escape hole was.’

Why was there an escape hole beneath Namgung Hyung’s quarters that led to the Bigo?

I wanted to ask about it, but I couldn’t.

‘Sssip.’

Should I go back? I considered it, but decided against it.

Because it wasn’t something I needed to worry about.

In the first place.

‘If the remnant thoughts of Namgung Myung that I was looking for aren’t in the Bigo.’

There’s no particular business with the Namgung family. Now, it’s back to Do-yun and Father.

And Mother were the only ones I needed to focus on.

Just as I was flying back towards my quarters.

KABOOM-!

“Hm?”

A rough sound brushed against my ears.

KABOOM-! Chareureureuk! KABOOM!

It was a repetition of the sound of chains moving and loud explosions.

I turned my eyes in the direction of the sound.

The location was a training room inside the family compound.

“…….”

KABOOM-! KABOOM-!

Was the loud noise the issue?

Without realizing it, my feet moved towards the direction the sound was coming from.

As I slowly approached.

“Hup!”

Chareureureuk–!!

There was a beautiful woman continuously swinging a flail with chains attached.

KWADEUK-!

Unlike her graceful movements, the result was violent.

The flail smashed through the head of a wooden dummy shaped like a human.

‘Hyun So-yeon.’

The woman who was said to be the daughter of the Seonho Trading Company and Namgung Jin’s fiancée.

Furthermore.

‘The one who would become Namgung Bi-ah’s mother.’

Anyone could see she was the person who would later give birth to Namgung Bi-ah.

I had heard she was from a trading company.

‘Why is she doing that?’

Why was such a person swinging a flail in the training room?

It was the same when I first met her.

Just like when I first encountered Namgung Bi-ah in this life. Hyun So-yeon appeared while chasing monsters.

I recalled that time.

Her body was well-trained for someone from a trading clan.

Her level was that of a first-rate martial artist, and her weapon…

‘A flail……’

Not a sword or a spear, but a flail.

It was a weapon that didn’t match her appearance at all, yet she swung it nonchalantly.

“Hweup!”

Hwiririrk-! Chareureureuk KABOOM-!

The flail spun through the air, consecutively smashing the wooden boards.

The precision of her attacks was quite sharp.

‘It means she didn’t train carelessly.’

It’s proof that she wasn’t just swinging it around.

It also meant she was serious about martial arts.

“Hmm.”

I stared intently at such a woman.

From her focused face, I sensed someone.

Charyeureuk.

The clinking sound of the chains gradually became mistaken for the sound of a sword.

Seureureung-! Swish-!

The woman who surrendered herself to the moonlight and continuously swung her sword. Namgung Bi-ah overlapped in my vision.

“…….”

Because of that, my gaze was captivated.

Endlessly.

Even though it was just the motions of training, I found myself watching endlessly again when.

“Pretty.”

A voice came from beside me.

Hearing that, I chuckled.

“Indeed.”

She’s lovely.

It felt like those words represented my own thoughts, so I agreed,…….

“……?”

Wait.

“What the?”

Why could I hear the voice next to me?

I quickly turned my head.

Someone was standing next to me.

“Oh? Hello?”

As our eyes met, the woman smiled and waved at me.

“…….”

A woman with crimson eyes and white hair that faintly held a crimson hue, whose presence was barely perceptible.

It was my mother.