Chapter 129: Master of the West. (2)

One of the Three Venerables of the World, called the sky and absolute ruler to countless martial artists of the Central Plains.

The Master of the West, Paejon Bi Ju.

The reason he came to be called Paejon (Defeated Venerable) is none other than this.

Because, like his sobriquet, he is a person who experienced hundreds of defeats.

Many people say.

Paejon is lucky.

He himself admitted it.

That he was lucky.

Not only did he preserve his life despite experiencing so many defeats, but his limbs remained intact.

Later, when his achievements were considered and he came to be called Paejon (Defeated Venerable).

Paejon wished to be called Paejon (Defeated Venerable).

Because he is here as the culmination of countless defeats.

Meaning that he would not lose that mindset.

Eventually, his sobriquet changed according to his wish, but his strength, enough for him to ascend to the Three Venerables, did not change.

He was a strong individual who possessed a record of single-handedly annihilating large groups of unorthodox sects, excluding the Sword Venerable.

The story of how he erased an entire mountain from the map in his fight against the Sky Venerable was a very famous tale.

‘…But why?’

The reason I am surprised is not only that Paejon wrote me a letter of recommendation, but also… that he, just like the Sword Venerable, had hidden his tracks for several years and his whereabouts were unknown.

In fact, even in my previous life, he was someone who would not have appeared if not for the emergence of the Heavenly Demon.

Why is Elder Lee holding a letter of recommendation from such a person?

“Elder-nim, where did you obtain that?”

“Where did I obtain it? I received it directly.”

“From Paejon…?”

“Yes.”

I couldn’t help but be surprised about this matter.

Although I don’t know the reason why the Sword Venerable lived hiding his tracks in the past…

I knew the reason why Paejon had to do so.

It was a reason he couldn’t help but have, and I thought he would currently be minimizing contact with others.

“How on earth do you know each other?”

“Is it strange for martial artists to know each other?”

It’s not strange; Elder Lee was active under the sobriquet Yeom-agwon for a time.

“No… even so, that Paejon…”

I tried to speak but shut my mouth tightly. The fact that I know this is also a strange thing.

After a moment of silence, I changed the subject.

“How am I supposed to use this?”

“How else would you use a letter of recommendation? It’s meant to be shown.”

“…A letter of recommendation from Paejon.”

Not just any other thing, but a letter of recommendation from the half-missing Paejon, suddenly held by an unknown blood relative of the Gu family, going to the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering?

Oh… my goodness.

“What are you worrying about? Since you’ve decided to cause trouble, I’ve given you something very good.”

“Yes… In that regard, you have indeed given me something very good.”

It will certainly attract the attention of many people. I will have to think about how to use this.

“Thank you.”

Regardless, since you are giving it thinking of me, I was simply grateful. I put the letter of recommendation in my pocket for now.

While stroking Wi Seol-ah’s hair standing beside me, I thought.

How to make use of this.

---

It was the time when the sun had just risen.

Namgung Bi-ah’s eyes opened.

At the same time, she slowly sat up.

“Mmm…”

Mornings are early. For Namgung Bi-ah, who sleeps a lot, it was a very early time, but she made an effort to sit up.

Because she knew it was hopeless to fall back asleep, no matter what.

She shifted her gaze towards the window.

On the windowsill, the white oil flowers she brought last time were receiving sunlight.

Considering they were brought as fresh flowers, their lifespan seemed quite long; they still looked lively.

At the same time, she tidied the bedding.

Normally, it was a task that should have been left to a servant, but…

Namgung Bi-ah tried to tidy it herself.

It was because the origin of the pillows, etc., which she had hugged and sniffed all night, was the issue.

‘…There’s no particular scent anymore.’

What Namgung Bi-ah was currently using was the bedding brought from Gu Yangcheon’s room.

It’s harder when what you have disappears. As soon as she put a little distance between herself and Gu Yangcheon, the stench that was felt again plummeted Namgung Bi-ah’s quality of life to the bottom.

Even without that, she was regretting it repeatedly.

She wondered why she had distanced herself.

‘…I’m embarrassed.’

After acquiring knowledge about the new world from Tang Soyeol, Namgung Bi-ah, for some reason, became embarrassed to see Gu Yangcheon’s face.

His breath coming close, and the look in his eyes.

From fingertips to lips.

Every moment was embarrassing.

It’s funny.

That she thought having slept holding his hand would result in a child.

And yet, she who had changed her mind, thinking wouldn’t it be okay to have a child?

She had resolved to escape the stench by advancing her cultivation level as a sword cultivator, but as soon as another breakthrough appeared, she changed her mind so easily.

Namgung Bi-ah was more embarrassed by herself than by others.

She recalled her father kneeling in the middle of the night.

Her father, who was so indifferent and hateful, still looked the same even when faced after several days.

Her mother, who suffered from illness due to indifference and left alone, did not resent her father until the moment she closed her eyes.

How could she have done that?

If that is the love people talk about, isn’t it truly a terrifying thing?

Namgung Bi-ah, left alone in the world, fell into the stench, but she endured nonetheless.

-Please live happily, my daughter.

Namgung Bi-ah did not forget the words her mother left behind. Because she wished for her happiness, she tried to endure until she could be happy.

Although she didn’t know when it would come, Namgung Bi-ah endured hell-like times alone, and…

now, reaching the present, she had reached the thought that perhaps that time was for this purpose.

Namgung Bi-ah remembers the sight of her father, who was frightening and heavy the other day, kneeling in front of the boy.

How could that be?

Seeing her father’s broken appearance, what should Namgung Bi-ah have thought?

Relief? If it were that, it felt heavy.

Fear? If it were that, it wasn’t suffocating either.

Human emotions are so difficult.

Namgung Bi-ah was slowly learning this.

Coming out of the annex, she walked along the path as if taking a short walk.

“…I’m sleepy.”

Due to barely sleeping, the sleepiness remained.

During her past life, she had become somewhat accustomed to falling asleep amidst the stench, but…

…enjoying just a few months of peace had changed her like this.

Namgung Bi-ah liked wandering somewhere.

It was something she could know only after the stench disappeared.

That she liked wandering somewhere more than she thought.

As she walked along the path like that, there is a direction where the stench is less.

This meant he was there if you went that way.

“…!\”

Namgung Bi-ah discovered herself trying to go that way on her own accord.

“Not yet…”

She made an effort to turn her steps back.

There was something left to do before going.

The place Namgung Bi-ah headed to was the training ground.

It was not for swinging a sword.

-Swish, swish-swish, swish-swish!

The sharp sound coming from inside the training ground was the sound of Namgung Jin swinging his sword.

Lately, Namgung Jin had been intensely training all of a sudden.

I think I saw him training a few times even in the clan’s estate, but him being this focused is quite strange.

“What is it?”

As Namgung Bi-ah approached nearby, Namgung Jin, sensing her presence, asked.

His cold gaze was still the same.

“…I have something I want to ask.”

“…You asking me?”

At Namgung Bi-ah’s question, Namgung Jin wore a surprised expression.

It’s because Namgung Bi-ah deliberately initiating conversation is countable on one’s fingers.

“If you’re asking about future schedules, do as you please…”

“Father, did you love Mother?”

Namgung Jin, who was about to answer preemptively, shut his mouth tightly at his daughter’s question.

And then, with slightly widened eyes, he looked at Namgung Bi-ah.

“You suddenly ask something trivial.”

“Didn’t you love her?”

What could it mean? Namgung Jin could not grasp his daughter’s intention.

At Namgung Bi-ah’s question, a woman’s face surfaced.

She was a woman who resembled Namgung Bi-ah now.

She was the second daughter of the largest merchant guild in Anhui Province, and…

…for a merchant’s daughter, she was a woman of gentle disposition.

She was a beautiful person, and a very fine lady, but…

…there was no room in Namgung Jin’s heart for her to enter.

That’s why, after more than ten years, he couldn’t answer his daughter’s question.

It wasn’t a tender relationship.

He had never been affectionate as a husband.

Namgung Jin, who was busy solidifying his position as head of the family, recalled her, and what remained was only a small sense of guilt.

Namgung Jin did not take concubines.

It wasn’t like guilt about his dead wife, but rather…

…there was no such need, and an efficient situation didn’t arise.

Just about that much.

For Namgung Jin, the remaining feeling was just about that much.

“…”

Depending on the situation, silence can also be the biggest answer.

For Namgung Bi-ah, it was like this now.

“…I will… excuse myself first.”

Although she didn’t hear an answer, Namgung Bi-ah showed respect to Namgung Jin and turned her steps away.

She could understand all the answers from her father’s expression, breathing, and the look in his eyes when she saw her.

How many years has it been since she felt like crying like this?

Why did she ask like this now, when she couldn’t ask before out of fear of the answer she would hear?

She knows.

Because a futile hope arose.

Because she held what she thought she had let go of in her heart once again.

“…I’m tired…”

She feels tired unconsciously.

She used to hate this feeling.

Losing the purpose she had from the start of wanting to train her sword, she moves her feet.

The stench emanating from the world remains the same.

Although flowers bloom, they are ugly, and birds chirp beautifully, but it’s like screams.

This current life is hell.

Namgung Bi-ah’s life has always been like that.

As she moved her steps, the stench faded.

The tears rising to the back of her throat were swallowed back on their own.

Because Namgung Bi-ah knew where she was heading on her own, she tried to hide her expression.

Because she didn’t want to make this kind of face in front of him.

She walked for a long time with slow steps.

As expected, she felt warmth from further away.

Is it because of the cold weather? It feels unusually warm.

Although he harbored flames, to Namgung Bi-ah, it was just complete warmth.

As she neared his residence, someone walked quickly towards Namgung Bi-ah.

“Hello, Miss!”

She thought it might be Wi Seol-ah, but it was a different woman, just wearing the same servant’s uniform.

Who is it?

“Thank you for last time…!”

“Ah…”

Only then did she remember.

It was the woman who had made a sad face when Namgung Bi-ah had pilfered the bedding.

Namgung Bi-ah apologized to the servant shortly after and gave double the price of the bedding.

She remembered being rather flustered because, although she hadn’t said anything specific, the servant kept bowing her head, saying she would keep quiet on her own.

“…Hello.”

Namgung Bi-ah gave a slight nod.

It was her own way of greeting.

Then the servant was flustered.

Is it such a surprising thing that a blood relative of the Namgung family extended a greeting?

She had already erased such a futile thought from her mind.

“Did you come to see the Young Master?”

Namgung Bi-ah nodded.

“Ah, the Young Master will be training right now; he always trains at this time.”

The servant informed her of the location with a happy expression, but Namgung Bi-ah already knew where he was.

After parting ways with the servant like that, she moved slowly.

One step, and then two steps.

As she took the third step, the stench that had been closing in from all sides disappeared instantly.

‘It’s… much wider than before.’

When they first met, the stench could be felt even if they were just a little apart, but…

…now, it was okay even if a certain distance separated them.

What could be the difference?

Does it change as he gets stronger and stronger?

Thinking that way, this was hope.

Because if her own cultivation level increased, it was possible the stench might disappear.

Smelling the scent she had barely regained, Namgung Bi-ah headed towards where he was.

The closer she got, the stronger the heat became.

Has it become stronger than before?

Drip.

Thinking that, her walking steps stopped.

It was because the heat that was bursting forth, piercing through the training ground, stopped.

Immediately, the door opened, and Gu Yangcheon, drenched in sweat, appeared.

As if he expected Namgung Bi-ah to be outside the door, there was no sign of surprise even when their eyes met.

“What the, why did you come here since morning… Why is your expression like that?”

Gu Yangcheon asked with a surprised expression.

It was always like this.

He would casually notice small changes in expression, which others barely noticed.

And that attention felt somehow special to Namgung Bi-ah.

“Did you not get any sleep?”

At his question, she nodded slightly.

Why did you come here? Don’t come near me.

The boy, who used to push her away with such harsh words, didn’t show that side now.

“Then you should just sleep more; why did you come here since morning?”

Still a bit blunt, but…

…Namgung Bi-ah was okay with it anyway.

The gaze her father gave to her mother, and…

…the gaze he gives me were clearly different.

Because she knew that better than anyone, Namgung Bi-ah unknowingly smiled slightly.

“…Because I wanted to see you.”

“Huh…?”

“…Just, I wanted to see you…”

Without mixing anything, she conveyed her pure heart.

She just wanted to see him.

“…”

Gu Yangcheon stiffened as if turned to stone and chose silence.

It resembled the silence Namgung Jin showed just before, but…

…Namgung Bi-ah could feel that that stillness wasn’t everything.

After a moment of silence, Gu Yangcheon opened his mouth.

“…Food.”

“Huh…?”

“…Did you eat?”

“No.”

“Then let’s just eat.”

Saying that, he walked past Namgung Bi-ah.

Namgung Bi-ah unknowingly let out a soft laugh.

“Why are you laughing?”

Gu Yangcheon retorted as if displeased, but Namgung Bi-ah just laughed as if it was nothing.

“…How bland.”

She didn’t hear any words.

Yet it felt like she had already heard the answer.

Compared to Gu Yangcheon’s blunt expression, her reddened ears were visible.

He walked a few steps ahead, then subtly slowed his pace, and his back, waiting for her, came into view.

That was enough.

Now, even with that, it is enough.

Feeling her stuffy heart instantly calm down, Namgung Bi-ah followed Gu Yangcheon.