Chapter 1191: Scorched World.

“What kind of crazy talk is that?”

Namgung Jin looks at me with utter contempt and says.

Hearing that, I look him straight in the eye and say.

“Didn’t you hear me? I asked if you could accompany me to Doyun’s family estate.”

“Do I look like I couldn’t hear you and am asking again?”

“Or what? I heard you perfectly fine, so why are you asking?”

Grind-

Namgung Jin grits his teeth tightly. His discomfort was palpable.

“I have not the slightest intention of going anywhere with you. Get lost.”

“Hey now.”

To his cold words, I gesture and say.

“Don’t be like that. What’s wrong with helping out a junior? It would be nice if we went together.”

“Bullshit.”

Namgung Jin contorts his face sharply.

“At the very least, you shouldn’t be able to say such things to me right now?”

“Why would that be?”

“You don’t remember, do you? You saw me embracing my fiancée. How can you be so shameless?”

That was true. Namgung Jin had indeed seen me with Hyeon Soyoung, unintentionally.

Normally, it would be perfectly fine for that guy to try and tear me to shreds.

“Why worry about something like that?”

“What…?”

Unfortunately, I’m not exactly the type of person to let things slide.

“Besides, you don’t like your fiancée and prefer another woman, don’t you?”

“…….”

I didn’t hold back and told him. Hearing my words, Namgung Jin’s expression stiffened.

“You even went and tattled to your love rival about it. Aren’t you embarrassed?”

“Who tattled-!”

Namgung Jin flares up and jumps to his feet. Seeing that, I chuckled.

“So, you didn’t tell anyone?”

“…I didn’t tell anyone.”

“Oh, really? Did the Vice-Master realize it on his own and mention it?”

“I have no reason to explain myself to you.”

“I suppose so. Well, it doesn’t matter. And, just so there’s no misunderstanding. I’m not particularly interested in Miss Hyeon. What happened back then wasn’t intentional either.”

“That wasn’t intentional?”

“Yes. If you can’t believe me, there’s nothing I can do, but it really wasn’t.”

“…….”

Namgung Jin narrows his eyes. I really don’t like the look in those eyes. What’s this?

As we were exchanging such intense gazes.

“…Right. So it was like that after all?”

Namgung Jin accepts it much more easily than I expected. What’s with this guy?

“What? You’re accepting it faster than I thought?”

“I thought it was strange from the start anyway.”

“Huh?”

“Miss Hyeon wouldn’t possibly pay attention to you when someone like me is by her side. So it was a misunderstanding after all? What a waste of thought.”

“…What?”

“Let’s go. Where are we going again?”

“Hey.”

Namgung Jin walks past me. He goes straight up to Doyun and asks about the schedule.

As soon as he saw me, he looked dumbfounded, but Namgung Jin didn’t look at me.

“Laughing…?”

Doyun was secretly laughing, but when he met my eyes, he hid his expression.

What the…?

Although things worked out, I felt quite bad.

---

After receiving the head of the family’s permission, I came outside with the group.

I’d been out before, but it felt like I was coming out quite often.

Although the purpose was a bit different this time.

“This way.”

Doyun moved as if he frequented this area. Since he’s from Shanxi, it wasn’t strange…

‘It’s a county close to the Gu Family.’

This was a county close to the Gu Family. More specifically, a place that could be considered managed by the Gu Family.

Being able to move around such a place so easily meant he knew the area well…

‘This means the Dogga sect is older in Shanxi than I thought.’

No matter how I thought about it, I had never heard of a Shanxi Dogga before.

‘What could it be?’

The moment I heard Doyun’s objective.

From the point he mentioned the Divine Dragon of the Gu Family as his objective, I had looked into the Shanxi Dogga a bit, but…

‘…There wasn’t much information?’

There wasn’t much readily available information. It was just a family sect existing in Shanxi. A minor family, positioned ambiguously to make it into the ranks of renowned families.

Furthermore.

‘A place I don’t know.’

Not only in this era, but even in the place I lived, it was not well-known. Meaning I had never heard of it.

It’s truly strange.

‘How could I not know about it, if it’s a family from Shanxi?’

While I might not know about other places, I knew most of the families in Shanxi, yet I didn’t know about Dogga. That’s the strange part.

‘Hmm.’

If I had another question at the same time.

‘I don’t know if Father or the Gu Family people know about it or not.’

The reactions regarding the person named Doyun.

Father seemed to be looking at him strangely too…

‘It seems like there’s something going on.’

I thought, watching Doyun walk ahead.

‘Strange guy.’

He really is a strange guy. Hiding his cultivation level, and that unknown objective of his.

I was already thinking of looking into it while I was in Shanxi, so this worked out well.

‘But somehow.’

We keep heading towards deserted places.

As we kept moving, the number of people gradually decreased. Did streets like this even exist?

‘…There were alleys like this too?’

My eyes naturally narrowed. Back when I was going through my turbulent teenage years, I had explored every shady alley imaginable.

This felt like a place I’d never been before.

“…What a filthy neighborhood. Don’t they clean this place up?”

Meanwhile, the pampered young master was moving along, pinching his nose.

“Tsk… I don’t know how such a shabby neighborhood exists.”

Snap.

Annoyed by something, I looked at the guy and said.

“You can find alleys like this if you look around Anhui too. You just don’t know because you haven’t visited such places, Senior.”

“…Why are you getting angry? You’re not even from Shanxi.”

“It’s because your way of speaking is annoying. Why are you so rude? That’s why you can’t even pick up girls you like.”

“What? Why are we suddenly talking about that-!”

“We’ve arrived.”

Just as Namgung Jin was about to retort, Doyun spoke to us.

Following his words, my gaze moved forward, ignoring Namgung Jin.

‘…Huh?’

My brow furrowed immediately.

“…That place?”

I couldn’t believe it, so I asked Doyun again.

“Yeah. It’s a bit shabby, isn’t it?”

“…No, it’s not that…”

I tried to change the subject, but honestly, he was right.

It wasn’t just ‘a bit’.

‘…It’s really shabby. Isn’t that a ruin?’

A dilapidated house. Something that was barely even a house stood there. Crumbling walls and quarters on the verge of collapse from age.

Even the weeds and the withered ground were visible. Should this be called a house? No, could it even be called a family estate?

‘…A family estate?’

There was something there that couldn’t even be called a family lineage. I thought calling it a house was a stretch.

However, I couldn’t bring myself to say it in front of someone’s home, so I tried to change the subject.

“What’s with that collapsing ruin of a house?”

“…….”

Namgung Jin said it outright, looking at the door of the Dogga. I thought he was crazy. Did he really say that to their face?

“This is a house? No way. People don’t usually call this a house…”

“Senior, please shut up.”

“…Why?”

“Why? What do you mean why? Don’t you know the real reason?”

What should I do? I practically educated myself in terms of upbringing, but is this guy the same?

As far as I know, both sets of parents are alive. Why did he turn out to be such a crazy guy?

“…Senior Namgung.”

“What.”

“Were you perhaps hit often when you were young?”

“…What do you mean?”

“No, it’s just that you seem like you might have hit your head pretty hard.”

“If I had been injured, would I have this handsome face?”

“…Can’t you just shut your mouth before I smash it?”

As I clenched my fist and spoke, Namgung Jin finally shut his mouth.

Wow. Even someone born into a decent family can ruin their social skills this badly. Ah, well, it wasn’t exactly a decent house.

Anyway.

“Ahahaha…”

Doyun laughs awkwardly at Namgung Jin’s words.

“It looks a bit rough, doesn’t it?”

“It’s more than a bit…”

“Hey, I told you to shut up!”

Wham.

“Kgh…!”

I punched him in the side. Namgung Jin gasped for breath. Even without the bet, I had the physical ability to do this much.

“You fucking talk way too much.”

“Guh… This bastard…”

“Should I just rip your tongue out? Would that make you quiet?”

I held back a lot. I don’t know why he keeps provoking me.

“Just stay still, I said.”

“Ughhhhh…”

“If you can’t stay still, should I make you stay still? Like, just…”

“B-Brother Baek… S-Stop…”

I was about to stomp on him when Doyun came over and stopped me. This is why people’s mouths are a problem. They need to know that running their mouths carelessly can get them screwed.

“Oof… Seriously.”

Ignoring Namgung Jin, who was still groaning, I spoke to Doyun.

“Ignore his words. This guy wasn’t human to begin with. I don’t really care anyway.”

Ruined house or whatever. I’ve lived in worse places before. I wasn’t the type to be flustered by something like this.

‘I was just surprised comparing it to Doyun’s condition.’

Doyun is one of the most remarkable figures among the late-stage cultivators I’ve seen since arriving in this world.

I was just surprised that the family estate that produced someone of that level looked like this.

“This… bastard ambushed me…”

Namgung Jin, barely regaining his senses, sits up. I was worried about what nonsense he’d spout next.

Should I just hit him on the back of the neck and knock him out? What glory would I gain by bringing this guy along? I regretted it.

‘Yeah, let’s just beat him unconscious.’

I need to lay him back down before he fully wakes up. Thinking that, I moved my hand again when…

“Hohoho.”

I heard laughter from somewhere.

“Looks like we have guests.”

Creak.

The worn-out door opened, and someone came out.

“Ah, Father.”

Seeing Doyun call him Father, it seemed he was the head of the Shanxi Dogga family.

Just as I was about to quickly show my respect upon seeing him.

“Ah, excuse me. I am… Huh?”

I froze when I saw the head of the family’s face.

“Huh?”

Because it was a face I knew.