Chapter 1220: Scorched World

Thump.

I paused, looking at the man who had slumped down. I punched him without even thinking.

When he put a knife to my throat, I just couldn’t take it.

“Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

I tried talking to the guy gasping for air. He looked like he was just past twenty.

He was out of his mind, probably from that solid hit.

So, I casually moved closer.

Shhhiiing-!!

“Oof.”

A dagger flew at me sharply.

I twisted my head and dodged.

Fast.

‘Did it only succeed because it was a surprise attack?’

His skill level doesn’t seem low. I could feel he was outstanding for his age.

Dodging the assault, I advanced. Taking a step forward, I raised my hand.

Tuk-!!

I swatted away the hand wielding the dagger. It felt heavy. I realized Qi was infused into it.

“……!”

The trajectory twisted.

The young man’s eyes widened in surprise at this. My hand felt stiff. The impact was quite something.

‘This guy isn’t primarily a dagger user.’

His skill level is what it is, so the hand holding it looked skilled, but I could see openings in his characteristic movements.

Which means…

‘He’s not an assassin.’

Meaning he’s closer to a bodyguard, not an assassin.

Thump-!

I pushed the guy’s knee with my foot. As he tried to charge, I disrupted his stance.

“Kkuhk!?”

He stumbled and fell about halfway. All I need to do is punch his jaw right now.

I clenched my fist tightly and tried to attack his jaw.

“Huh?”

Before my fist could connect with the guy, I saw his face.

Whoosh-!!

“Kkuhk!?”

My fist grazed the guy’s cheek. That’s because I narrowly twisted it away from hitting his jaw.

And then.

Gotcha.

“Ugh!?”

I grabbed the guy’s face and pulled it close.

“……This face…”

What is it…

“Who does he look like?”

He resembled someone I knew well.

Where have I seen this face before? It’s a strangely gentle-looking face. This face…

“Ah.”

It hit me.

“Mu-yeon?”

“……!”

At my words, the young man’s eyes shot open.

“You bastard… How dare you speak my son’s name-!”

“Eh?”

“What’s your identity?!”

The young man moved, enraged. I was stunned for a moment.

“Son…?”

Mu-yeon is this guy’s son? Hearing that, I couldn’t react for a moment.

Srrrring-!!

The sword flew at me. Oops. Just as I hastily tried to turn my body.

“Mu-jin.”

Stop.

At the low voice, the young man froze.

‘Mu-jin?’

Hearing the name, I narrowed my eyes. Because it was someone I knew.

‘It’s him.’

The middle-aged man who was Madam Mi’s bodyguard. His name was definitely Mu-jin.

Which means…

‘…This guy’s son is Mu-yeon?’

That guy’s son was Mu-yeon. That’s information I didn’t know.

“……Young Master.”

“Stop there.”

“But…”

“Do you intend to disobey my command?”

“……”

Mu-jin corrected his stance at those words and took a step back. Meanwhile, his glare towards me was quite fierce.

The person who appeared was a man of age. He was an older middle-aged man, with more than half his hair white.

‘…Ah.’

I knew who this man was.

Naturally, since I’d met him once before.

The man.

Right now, he was likely the person holding the position of the White Flower Guild Leader.

And furthermore…

‘A blood relative of the Gu family.’

He was likely a direct blood relative of the family head.

“Who are you?”

The White Flower Guild Leader asked me.

“……I’m Baek Yangcheon, of the Azure Dragon Brigade.”

“Baek Yangcheon…”

Hearing my name, the Guild Leader narrowed his eyes. He had fewer wrinkles than back then, but it was definitely the same person.

“I see. Are you a disciple of the Sword Saint?”

“……Yes.”

He already knew my information. I wasn’t surprised. Because for someone like the White Flower Guild, that was entirely possible.

However.

“There were also rumors that you originated from the Gu family.”

“……”

I didn’t expect to hear about this now?

‘Who’s been tailing me?’

The amount of information was greater than I expected.

“Judging by appearance alone, one might think so.”

He said it looking at my features. More accurately, he seemed to be looking at my eyes. Because the sharply slanted eyes were the Gu family’s most prominent feature.

“Please forgive the rudeness of my bodyguard. He’s only recently become a bodyguard, so he’s rather sensitive.”

“Ah, it’s alright.”

“Thank you for your understanding. Now, what brings you here?”

“It’s nothing major. I just had some business with the Young Guild Leader. If you’re busy, I’ll come back later.”

Seeing Mi Hyoran’s stern expression, the Guild Leader looked at her too.

“……No. The conversation is over, so feel free to talk.”

Saying that, the Guild Leader turned his back.

“We’ll finish our talk later.”

“……No. Talking later won’t change anything.”

Mi Hyoran’s chilling tone swept through the space.

At her words, the Guild Leader stared intently at her, but that was it.

“Leave.”

“……Yes.”

Mu-jin followed the Guild Leader as he moved, and soon the two passed me and headed outside.

Only after watching the two disappear did I approach Mi Hyoran.

“Did I come here pointlessly?”

“No… You came at a good time. I happened to need someone.”

It sounded like she needed a reason more than a person.

Mi Hyoran then sighed softly and looked at me, asking.

“Looks like you’ve been well.”

“Yes. I had a decent time.”

“Really? That’s a relief.”

Her expression didn’t seem particularly relieved, though. It’s fine. Because I knew she was always like this.

“It seemed like you were having a rather unusual conversation. May I ask about it?”

“You don’t have to answer, right?”

“Yes, you can do as you please regarding that.”

I had no intention of forcing her to talk if she didn’t want to. Because usually, hearing uncomfortable topics tended to lead to troublesome situations.

So, when I said I wouldn’t listen, Mi Hyoran looked at me with curious eyes.

“You know…”

“Yes?”

“Are you really a descendant of the Gu family?”

“……”

I swallowed nervously. Just like what the Guild Leader had said, Mi Hyoran must have heard something too.

“…Do I have to answer?”

“You don’t have to, it’s fine. But I’ll just imagine it myself.”

Wouldn’t ‘imagining’ just be guessing?

“Why are you asking that?”

Why bring up the Gu family out of the blue? When I asked that, Mi Hyoran let out a small laugh.

‘She’s laughing?’

Since coming to this world, this felt like the first time I’d seen Mi Hyoran laugh.

“It’s nothing much. I never thought about it before, but you seem to resemble someone.”

“Resemble? Me?”

“Yes.”

“Who?”

“The Azure Dragon Brigade Leader.”

“……”

My father came up. Hearing that, I narrowed my eyes.

‘I’ve never heard that before.’

Although I am his child, I had hardly ever heard such things since birth. Things like ‘You don’t resemble your father,’ or ‘A tiger cub is worse than a dog.’ I’d heard things like that.

“Suddenly…? Resemble what? My face?”

“That’s quite the nerve, isn’t it?”

“……”

If not, then not, what is that supposed to mean? I was really hurt.

“Not the face. It’s the attitude, seeming uninterested in other people’s affairs. That’s why I wondered if you might be brothers.”

“No.”

“Are you really not brothers?”

“Yes. I swear on everything I have, we are not.”

Since we weren’t actual brothers, I wasn’t lying.

“Hmm… I see.”

Mi Hyoran nodded, her eyes looking suspicious. She didn’t look convinced at all.

“Anyway. It wasn’t anything major for me either. It was just…”

Mi Hyoran said, her eyes narrowing sharply.

“They asked if I had any intention of getting engaged to the Namgung family.”

“……Yes?”

I froze. It was something I’d heard before. Although the context was completely different.

“An engagement…?”

“That’s right. Hmph.”

Her face was filled with irritation.

“What on earth has that woman been doing.”

There was no need to ask who ‘that woman’ referred to.

‘…It’s about Hyeon So-yeong.’

It seemed obvious it was about Hyeon So-yeong.

“If she had just done things properly, she would have been fine. What on earth did she do…”

“What are you talking about…?”

“You should know.”

“Me?”

“The fact that an engagement with the Namgung family came up… means there’s a problem on their end.”

Grind.

Mi Hyoran clenched her fist tightly. The pressure was so intense you could hear it.

“What have you been doing? The story is different now, isn’t it?”

‘Story?’

The words I subtly heard made me furrow my brow. What story could it possibly mean?

“Haa… Ah, forget it. I don’t even want to think about it. I wasn’t going to do it anyway.”

“You’re not going to do it?”

“Would I do it, then?”

“……”

She gave me a look like, ‘Why are you asking the obvious?’ Right. Even I thought it was a strange question. Madam Mi looked at Namgung Jin with almost disdain. Especially since I knew she clearly liked my father, it was natural she wouldn’t want to do it.

‘Hmm…’

Something felt strangely complicated.

‘The fact that the Guild Leader came and brought this up…’

Means something unusual happened on the Namgung family’s side.

Or maybe…

‘Did Namgung Jin do something?’

It was possible.

‘Tsk.’

My head is spinning. What should I do? Just as I was thinking that.

“……Enough. Young Master Baek’s business is inside, so go on in.”

Mi Hyoran told me.

“Business?”

“Isn’t that why you came? Or not?”

I didn’t ask who it was again. Mi Hyoran seemed to already know my purpose.

“…Ah, yes. That’s right.”

“Go on in.”

“Yes.”

After getting permission, I carefully took a step forward. And so, I headed towards the quarters ahead.

Just then.

Creak-!!

“Whoa!”

“……!”

Someone burst out from inside and hugged me.

It was Mother.

“Ahaha! Surpri-…”

My mother, who had been smiling brightly at me, suddenly froze.

“Huh?”

She reacted afterward.

“Something’s changed?”

“……”

Along with those words, her crimson eyes lit up. Very clearly.