Chapter 21: Why Are You Here Again…? (1)

Why Are You Here Again…? (1)

The All-First Gate of Shanxi.

It is a branch family of the Gu Clan, led by Guchangjun, an Elder of the Gu Clan and the Valiant Hero’s paternal uncle.

If the Gu Clan were the guardians of Shanxi, then another name for the All-First Gate was precisely the Gu Clan’s Sword.

This is because the majority of the All-First Gate’s members are affiliated with the Gu Clan’s Sword units.

Of course, there are methods like the Guryong Pavilion, which recruits outsiders to select them for the Sword units, but…

Crack

A sharp sound echoed throughout the entire room. Gujolyeop’s head snapped sideways.

Drip.

Drops of blood trickled down from the corner of Gujolyeop’s mouth.

Immediately after, a chilling rebuke fell upon Gujolyeop.

“You incompetent bastard.”

“….I am sorry.”

“You couldn’t even catch one measly guy like that and made me look bad?”

This accusation was, in a way, unfair to Gujolyeop.

Because he himself couldn’t have known that Gu Yangcheon was hiding such power.

However, faced with Guchangjun’s stern rebuke, Gujolyeop couldn’t say a word.

“You idiot bastard… Distracted by a mere servant, you made a mistake!?”

Slap! Slap!

Guchangjun’s hands made Gujolyeop’s head snap back and forth. Gujolyeop simply endured Guchangjun’s blows silently.

“Why did you do that?”

Faced with the question asking for a reason, Gujolyeop couldn’t easily speak.

However, under Guchangjun’s cold stare, Gujolyeop finally opened his tightly shut mouth.

“It’s true my gaze was momentarily drawn to the servant, but Gu Yangcheon’s skill was genuine. I wasn’t careless.”

Gujolyeop clenched his fists so tightly they trembled.

His pride was wounded.

Having to acknowledge Gu Yangcheon, whom he had always ignored and scorned. But Gujolyeop was sincere about martial prowess.

The movements he had witnessed from Gu Yangcheon were real. It wasn’t mere chance or his own carelessness; it was simply skill.

How many exchanges did we have? Just 3? 4? Ridiculously, that was enough to know.

Gujolyeop’s martial arts skill and physique were superior to Gu Yangcheon’s, but…

Ultimately, he couldn’t win.

Gujolyeop bit his lip hard, trying to hide his trembling.

“Then.”

Guchangjun said.

“Why didn’t you come back with at least one part of you broken?”

“…Grandfather?”

“This is strictly the All-First Gate. Correct your address.”

“I apologize… Gate Master-nim.”

Guchangjun’s voice was terrifyingly cold. Guchangjun examined Gujolyeop’s body and said.

“So clean. Not a single internal or external injury. Not a scratch to be found.”

Only minor scratches remained, the kind you’d expect from sparring.

The external injuries on Gujolyeop’s face caused intense pain, but no wounds remained.

Gujolyeop coughed and gagged for a long time from Gu Yangcheon’s punch that burrowed into his solar plexus, but even that caused no internal injuries.

It meant the force was controlled just enough to release the internal energy technique wrapped around his body.

Yet it still inflicted pain.

‘This is the kind of technique unorthodox practitioners use for torture.’

Guchangjun stroked his long beard, lost in thought.

According to the witness, Elder Lee had intervened the moment Gu Yangcheon was about to do something to Gujolyeop.

‘Guryun… interfering again.’

What could possibly be his issue?

Elder Lee was always like this.

He always tried to capture Gu Yangcheon for training, neglecting his duties as an Elder to focus on making him the Young Master.

Guchangjun didn’t like that.

He didn’t like it. That someone with a humble lineage, whose blood was merely mixed with the Family Head’s, could sit in the position of Family Head.

Nor did he like it that someone with unremarkable talent and temperament could become Family Head.

No, is it just lineage and temperament now?

Tsk

Gujolyeop flinched slightly at the sound of Guchangjun clicking his tongue.

“I don’t like things going astray.”

Gu Yangcheon had conveyed this message through Gujolyeop. ‘If this happens again, I might start wanting to become Family Head.’

‘How dare he.’

Upon hearing the message, Guchangjun had to suppress the anger rising within him.

The reason the Family Head couldn’t recklessly interfere with Guchangjun, despite knowing his ambitions, was because he was the master of the All-First Gate.

The Gu Clan were the lords of Shanxi, but the Gu Clan’s Sword was the All-First Gate.

What could a swordsman do without a sword?

The current Family Head is strong. The Valiant Hero, now entering his forties, was at his prime as a martial artist.

However, being a martial artist and being the Family Head, Gucheolun, were different matters.

He would know that too.

Conversely, Guchangjun couldn’t cause major trouble recklessly because he too was a member of the Gu Clan family.

And yet, a brat with nothing but half-blooded lineage dares to issue a warning to him?

“What should I do?”

Guchangjun looked at Gujolyeop.

Even considering he was his grandson and kin, he was a truly talented child.

That was also why people dared to compare him to Geumbong, the foremost late bloomer.

He also resembled Guchangjun’s deceased child so much it reminded him of him.

Therefore, Gu Yangcheon had to remain in an insignificant state.

It would be easier for Guchangjun to achieve his aspirations that way.

Even when he heard that Gu Yangcheon had defeated Guyeonseo, he thought it was partly a fluke. Guyeonseo was indeed a tiger, but even tigers could make mistakes.

However, people’s perceptions changing could become a problem.

Especially at a time like this.

So he resorted to a somewhat unreasonable act.

If Gu Yangcheon accepted Gujolyeop’s spar, it would reveal Gu Yangcheon’s foolishness, which was good. And if he refused, there was another method.

But looking back now, Gu Yangcheon had already become an obstacle.

A very significant one at that.

“Jolyeop-ah.”

“Yes, Gate Master-nim….”

“If a large rock blocks the path you want to take, what should you do?”

“I suppose I would look for another path.”

“That’s wrong. You wouldn’t achieve anything that way. It wouldn’t be the path you wanted, and the destination itself would be different.”

Gujolyeop couldn’t bear to meet Guchangjun’s gaze and lowered his head.

Guchangjun’s eyes were chillingly cold.

“It’s best if it can be removed. If not, you must break it and go.”

Not yet. It was too early. Nothing was prepared.

But.

“If it continues like this, I’ll have no choice but to break it.”

Gujolyeop strained with all his might, trying not to show his body trembling from Guchangjun’s killing intent.

---

“You went too far.”

Elder Lee said to me, after I had washed up following the spar.

“What are you referring to?”

“At the end, what were you trying to do to Jolyeop?”

“I was trying to break one of his arms.”

Moderately, enough that it would heal in about a month.

A martial artist’s body, imbued with internal energy, regenerates quickly. So I judged there would be no problem.

Elder Lee gasped at my words.

“If you had done that, Elder Il would surely have seized upon it.”

“So what? I have no intention of becoming Family Head anyway.”

“Oh my! How can you say such a thing? You are of the Family Head’s bloodline. The only one, at that….”

“Yes, the only son. That’s why I can still set foot in this clan.”

I know that better than anyone.

It was something I felt keenly even in my previous life.

No matter what I did, no matter how I lived, I eventually became the Young Master.

Would this life be any different? I wish it were a bit different.

“That’s why I didn’t do it in the end.”

If it were up to me, I would have gladly given that Gujolyeop brat the title of Young Master and everything else.

From my perspective, knowing what the position of Gu Clan Family Head entailed, it was entirely unwelcome.

Father would never give the position of Family Head to Guhibi or Guyeonseo. I knew that well too.

It wasn’t because I was his son. It was this damned karma.

Elder Il, who knew nothing and intended to give the Family Head position to his grandson, seemed truly laughable.

When I’m the one who wants to escape more than anyone.

But.

‘For now, I still need the clan’s name.’

When will I be able to let it go?

There seemed to be so many things twisted that it was hard to even think about it.

“Young Master! Here are your clothes!”

Wiseurea handed me my outer robe as if she’d been waiting, and I put it on.

As I put on the robe, I suddenly looked at Wiseurea.

‘Come to think of it, when will this one learn swordsmanship?’

The direct disciple of the Sword Saint. She was called that, so she should surely learn swordsmanship from the Sword Saint… .

Wiseurea had been busy all day being dragged around by other servants, learning how to clean and how to cook.

I wondered if it was right to have the future number one under heaven learn housework… .

“Where did Elder Wi go?”

“Grandfather said he was making a bear earlier.”

“A bear…? What bear?”

There are bears around us too.

Elder Lee.

When I glanced at Elder Lee upon hearing about the bear, he seemed to sense something from my gaze, his eyebrows slightly raised.

He immediately averted his gaze.

“He said he’s making eagles, chicks, and bears.”

“…Are you perhaps talking about those wooden sculptures outside?”

“That’s right!”

I had noticed the animal-shaped wooden sculptures appearing outside one by one since some time ago.

The Sword Saint carved those…?

They were carved so well, I even thought they were bought somewhere.

The future number one under heaven is learning housework in my residence, and the old man, who might be the current number one under heaven, is carving sculptures in my residence.

Is this right?

…It doesn’t feel right, no matter how I look at it.

“Grandfather carved them really well!”

I looked at Wiseurea’s face, beaming as she pointed at the horse-shaped sculpture visible in the distance.

Then, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

‘Was she originally this kind of person?’

Her words and actions, typical of a ten-year-old, were quite different from the woman I saw in the future.

I thought it must be because she was still young, but the sense of incongruity was quite peculiar.

The last time I properly encountered Wiseurea in my previous life was the winter of this year.

What was Wiseurea like back then?

Was she the same as now?

‘Why can’t I remember?’

I don’t know. What is this vague memory?

At the very least, she was very different from the Wiseurea of the future.

If a sharp, famous sword were turned into a human, wouldn’t that be her?

A person who felt like you’d be cut just by getting close.

I remembered someone who pushed everyone away with ice-cold eyes.

“Young Master, are you crying?”

Wiseurea’s words startled me, and I rubbed my eyes.

No tears were flowing.

“Crying what? You startled me.”

“No… it looks like you are.”

“I’m not. Go eat some yakgwa.”

I tapped Wiseurea on the head with my fist, and she let out a short scream before running off.

Watching her retreating back, I let out a deep sigh.

Elder Lee, seeing this, chuckled.

“You two are having fun.”

“Does it look like we’re playing?”

“Isn’t it?”

“…If you put it that way, I suppose it does.”

I felt slightly annoyed watching Elder Lee gaze at us fondly, like he was watching his grandchildren’s antics.

“Elder Lee, then will you grant me one favor as promised?”

Elder Lee made a reluctant face at my words.

“…I promised, so I must. What favor are you planning to ask?”

I had only one favor to ask.

I needed to go to Sichuan within a month, and I wanted his help to make that happen.

‘If someone of Elder-level speaks, there must be a way.’

Of course, I’d need to come up with an excuse, but wouldn’t this be the fastest way?

But Elder Lee’s face looked strange upon hearing my request. It was as if he couldn’t understand.

Was it because of the reason I needed to go to Sichuan?

“It’s a bit difficult to explain why I need to go to Sichuan….”

“No, that doesn’t matter….”

“Huh? It doesn’t matter?”

Doesn’t it matter quite a lot? Why isn’t he curious…?

Regardless of my brief shock, Elder Lee continued.

“Hmm… I, Yangcheon, cannot quite understand what you’re saying.”

What followed was even more shocking.

“Why not just run away from home? Why are you looking for a way to do that…?”

“…..”

Suddenly, I could guess how this old man must have lived his youth.

---

Scrape, scrape

A petite old man was carving, holding a log. It was none other than the Sword Saint; carving was his small hobby.

“You’ve arrived? Family Head Gu.”

“Have you been well? Elder Wi.”

And the one who sought out the Sword Saint was none other than the Gu Clan Family Head, Gucheolun.

“Regarding the matter you asked me to handle, I’ve found a small clue from the Beggars’ Sect.”

At Gucheolun’s words, the Sword Saint’s hand stopped. These were words that should have brought joy to the Sword Saint, but…

The Sword Saint looked at Gucheolun’s face and spoke.

“…What is it, Family Head?”

Gucheolun’s expression didn’t seem to indicate a good situation. Gucheolun continued.

“I heard information that the Medical Immortal… is currently in Anhui Province.”

Grind

At Gucheolun’s words, the carving knife the Sword Saint held snapped.

Instantly, surging internal energy erupted from the Sword Saint’s body.

As there was a risk of discovery, Gucheolun quickly wrapped a barrier of internal energy around them.

“In the end….”

The Sword Saint’s voice was trembling severely.

“…Do you really have to go that far, Heavenly Venerable?”

Gucheolun closed his eyes.

The Sword Saint was crying.