Chapter 22: Why Are You Here Again…? (2)

Why Are You Here Again…? (2)

“Rest a bit. You’ll die if you keep this up.”

These were the words Mu Yeon heard from Daeju before he first joined the Guard Corps.

Mu Yeon swung his sword day and night, wanting to forget his memories. Cruelly, even doing so, the memories remained in place.

For a warrior, martial arts without a spirit are merely a series of movements.

The sword Mu Yeon swung was the same.

There was nothing contained within the sword.

He just swung it. That’s why, even after swinging it a hundred, a thousand times, Mu Yeon’s martial prowess remained stagnant, just like his memories.

Excluding Gu Jeolyub, the genius born from Gu Seonmun, the Sect Leader’s grandson, Mu Yeon was undoubtedly a prodigy based on talent alone.

Many said that if his talent allowed, he would become the youngest peak martial artist in Gu Seonmun history.

Thinking about it now, it was all insignificant talk.

Was I that excited by the title ‘first-rate martial artist’?

Mu Yeon still doesn’t understand himself.

What did I carry within me to come this far?

What is left for me?

The memory of the Sword Corps members, still screaming ‘Please save me!’, is etched deep within me.

What did I wield my sword for? The Sword Corps is a sword for protecting.

I couldn’t protect them.

Then what am I?

I couldn’t know.

Living like a half-recluse like that, an order came from Daeju.

“We can’t just let a martial artist like you rest right now. This is the only place we can send you to take it easy. Go get some rest.”

The place he was assigned to was none other than the Guard Corps. Although it was said to be an honorable place, guarding the Gu family’s bloodline, Mu Yeon didn’t see it that way.

“Report all actions performed by the Gu family’s bloodline.”

This was the order he received immediately upon being assigned to the Guard Corps.

To whom, and why? Was this truly protecting them?

In Mu Yeon’s eyes, it wasn’t guarding, but surveillance.

But he didn’t voice his doubts. Did I have the right to do so? Mu Yeon wasn’t sure.

Next, Mu Yeon’s charge was decided.

It was the third of the Family Head’s four children, the Family Head’s only son, Gu Yangcheon.

His first impression wasn’t great. Like all Gu family members, his ill-temper stood out, especially from his sharp eyes and pouty lips.

Although they hadn’t exchanged many words, he was not only childish but also downright rude.

‘Please take care of me. Young Master.’

‘Are you the guard?’

‘Yes, my name is Mu Yeon.’

‘Ah, I asked for a girl, and you guys are so damn incompetent.’

‘Yes…?’

‘Don’t talk to me, you’re annoying. Just go stand in that corner and don’t let me see you.’

…It was so bad that the senior Sword Corps member handing over the duty pressed a yakgwa into my hand.

‘What is this?’

‘If he throws a tantrum, just listen with one ear and let it out the other. Give the Young Master one of these, and he might calm down a bit.’

At the time, I expressed my gratitude to the senior Sword Corps member. Hearing that advice, I was able to manage him a little more easily.

Whether it was Daeju’s intention or not, Mu Yeon found himself wanting to return to the Sword Corps thanks to the week spent with Gu Yangcheon.

While it might have been physically easier, mentally, it was a grueling period in a different sense.

Then, one day.

Mu Yeon heard the news that Elder Yi was looking for Gu Yangcheon.

As expected, Gu Yangcheon ran off to the marketplace as soon as he heard the news.

Should I have caught him? Mu Yeon’s deliberation was brief. Mu Yeon feared Gu Yangcheon’s tantrums more than Elder Yi’s scolding.

Dragged to the marketplace like cattle to slaughter, Mu Yeon quietly watched Gu Yangcheon.

There, Gu Yangcheon didn’t really do anything.

He just quietly observed the people.

‘….’

Quietly indifferent.

Sometimes, the boy’s eyes were like that.

What was he thinking? Despite his bratty disposition, Mu Yeon could see emotions occasionally surfacing in Gu Yangcheon.

Mu Yeon knew. Because it was a feeling he himself felt sickeningly often.

That was definitely ‘resignation’.

Gu Yangcheon possessed eyes that seemed to have given up on everything.

In a position where he was half-certain to become the head of a prestigious bloodline, what had the boy given up?

Mu Yeon couldn’t understand why that boy was covered in thorns.

More accurately, he didn’t want to delve into it. Because he didn’t have the capacity for it himself.

Then, it was a fleeting moment.

The air surrounding Gu Yangcheon changed.

How should I put it? Mu Yeon unconsciously placed his hand on his sword hilt. Even when active in the Sword Corps, Mu Yeon was often told he had good intuition.

Mu Yeon quickly spread his senses to check his surroundings, but he felt no killing intent.

‘What is it?’

What on earth was this sticky, eerie feeling? The chilling sensation made goosebumps rise on his back.

That cold sensation didn’t last long.

“Wanna eat pota-to?”

Though his face wasn’t clearly visible, a child who seemed to be Gu Yangcheon’s age appeared, holding a basket full of potatoes.

Instantly, the aura surrounding them vanished. Could that child be the source of this aura?

It was unlikely, but one could never be sure. Mu Yeon approached Gu Yangcheon, ready to draw his sword at any moment.

“Young Master…?”

Surprisingly, Gu Yangcheon was eating the potato the child offered. Gu Yangcheon, who was always picky and often overturned the dinner table… anyway, the picky Gu Yangcheon eating a potato!

Looking at the child, there was a bigger issue. The clothes he wore were ragged and in poor condition. Mu Yeon didn’t know when Gu Yangcheon, who treated clothes as disposable after one wear, would throw a fit seeing this.

The child needed to be sent away quickly.

“How dare you right now….”

“Got any yakgwa?”

“Yes?”

“I asked if you have yakgwa.”

The plan failed. It was because Gu Yangcheon interrupted. But why ask for yakgwa out of the blue? Mu Yeon couldn’t bring himself to say, ‘You ate them all on the way here earlier.’ Rummaging through his pockets, thankfully, one yakgwa remained. A bodyguard carrying yakgwa… Is this why I learned martial arts?… It was a moment of slight existential doubt.

Gu Yangcheon took the yakgwa Mu Yeon offered. Mu Yeon thought he’d use the yakgwa to cleanse his palate after the potato, but…

“Want to eat this?”

He offered it to the child in front of him.

‘..What is this?’

Mu Yeon naturally expected him to eat the yakgwa, curse, and insult the child. That was the Gu Yangcheon Mu Yeon had seen so far. Something had changed, but what? He even apologized, saying he wished he had more to give. Mu Yeon found the current situation hard to comprehend.

‘I need to check where the sun rises tomorrow.’

I felt like I needed to check if it was rising in the west, east, or south.

Shortly after, the child, who happily accepted the yakgwa, disappeared with an old man who then appeared. What was strange was that the same girl and old man Mu Yeon had met in the marketplace were working at Gu Yangcheon’s residence shortly thereafter.

That day was definitely the turning point. Gu Yangcheon’s change.

Gu Yangcheon started training. It wasn’t just that he was training, but he was reportedly doing physical training at quite a high intensity. Mu Yeon himself had witnessed it several times.

His attitude towards the servants changed. Not that he treated them well. He became completely indifferent. Whether they worked hard or made mistakes, he paid no attention. The servants rejoiced, calling it heaven compared to before.

Countless things had changed.

‘Has he really changed…?’

Mu Yeon remembered the look Gu Yangcheon sometimes held in his eyes. That gaze kept bothering him. He seemed to be living while hiding something. Even though he thought, ‘What could a mere child in his mid-teens be hiding?’

‘Perhaps he hasn’t changed, but revealed something instead.’

For what? Mu Yeon couldn’t know that much.

The day Mu Yeon went out to the marketplace again with Gu Yangcheon. Gu Yangcheon sought out Hao Mun, which operated quietly deep within an alley. How could the scion of a righteous sect be involved with an unorthodox one? Moreover, how did he even know the location? It was all a series of incomprehensible events. What’s more, Gu Yangcheon mentioned the Hao Mun Leader. Mu Yeon was so startled he almost failed to draw his sword in time. The swords of the Hao Mun disciples were faster than expected. Gu Yangcheon didn’t even blink while watching the barrage of sword strikes.

How could he do that? Suddenly, Mu Yeon recalled something Daeju used to mention whenever he drank.

‘The Gu family is not as bright a place as you think. Don’t look too deeply into anything.’

Recalling this, Mu Yeon’s thoughts became complicated.

After escaping Hao Mun, Gu Yangcheon bought a lot of yakgwa as if nothing had happened. And he even used Mu Yeon’s money… Mu Yeon still hasn’t gotten that money back.

After returning to the clan, Gu Yangcheon asked that this matter be kept secret as it concerned the bloodline. Mu Yeon agreed to do so. However, afterward, he still had to report it.

Returning to the Guard Corps and writing the report, Mu Yeon couldn’t understand why he hesitated. He just needed to write it down. That was his job. Why couldn’t he write this? If he had to find an answer, it was ultimately his gut feeling. His intuition judged that it was better not to write this down.

Why on earth? What was the problem causing this? His thoughts remained tangled.

In the end, unable to make up his mind, Mu Yeon only wrote that he had gone to Hao Mun, but couldn’t write about the Hao Mun Leader.

It’s a frustrating night. Not understanding oneself was truly suffocating.

Suddenly, Mu Yeon felt the urge to swing his sword. So he went outside and grabbed his sword. How many months has it been? The subtle thing was that the feeling was different from when he swung it to forget.

What am I?

Who is Gu Yangcheon?

What is the Gu family?

As he poured these unanswerable questions into his sword, the sword itself seemed to answer. That day, Mu Yeon achieved a breakthrough in martial arts for the first time in months. He was so happy about it, like a child, that he excitedly chattered away to the old man sweeping Gu Yangcheon’s residence. His mind, which had felt foggy and heavy, felt somewhat cleared.

“…I think I can go back now.”

With this, he felt he could return to the Sword Corps. This, in a way, was thanks to Gu Yangcheon. Mu Yeon was grateful to Gu Yangcheon for not asking, even though he vaguely knew what Mu Yeon was harboring. Therefore, Mu Yeon felt he couldn’t speak of or pry into what Gu Yangcheon might be harboring.

Why he wore the mask of a degenerate and now cast it aside. Mu Yeon decided not to dare speculate about the Gu family’s secrets that Gu Yangcheon possessed.

Just as he was about to submit the application to return to the Sword Corps.

“…Sichuan?”

He was told to go to Sichuan.

….Why me?

---

“You mean the Tang Weapon Exhibition?”

A day had passed since Elder Yi uttered the ridiculous method of ‘running away from home’. When Mu Yeon questioned how ‘running away’ made any sense, Elder Yi made a slightly disappointed face and left, saying he’d look for a solution. And the solution he brought back was attending the Tang Weapon Exhibition.

“We receive an invitation every year, but it wasn’t really worth attending.”

The Tang Weapon Exhibition was an event where the Tang Gate invited various families. Fitting for a family of iron, it was an exhibition showcasing weapons and tools crafted by artisans from the Tang Gate.

“Is that happening now…?”

Once… In a past life, under the name of the Young Family Head, I had attended exactly once. I remembered the magnificent weapons displayed in rows.

“It’ll be held in fifteen days, so if we leave now, we’ll arrive just in time.”

Considering the distance and time, it was cutting it close. Could I find Geumcheon Yeon’ga in Sichuan within that short window?

“But how did you get permission?”

The reason I attended back then was essentially to make an appearance for the Tang Gate, now that I had become the Young Family Head. It was surprising that permission was granted for a bloodline member to be absent for nearly a month. This wasn’t something easily possible for the Gu family. Even back then, it was only possible because I had become the Young Family Head.

Elder Yi chuckles heartily.

“I just agreed to fulfill one request from the Family Head.”

“You went that far?”

What kind of request could have possibly made things resolve this easily? Honestly, I thought he’d just put me on a carriage going somewhere for a simple tour. Well, it’s better than running away… Or wait, is this running away? The fact that I had the same thought as Elder Yi sent a shiver down my spine.

‘No matter what, I’m still… better than that bear-like old man….’

Yeah! Of course.

“Since I promised, what choice do I have? And Yangcheon-ah.”

“Yes.”

“I don’t know the reason why you wish to set foot in Sichuan, but you are undeniably a member of the Gu family’s bloodline. Always keep that thought in mind and maintain proper conduct.”

“….”

In simpler terms, it meant ‘don’t cause trouble’. I wore a displeased expression at Elder Yi’s words. If anyone else had said it, it would have been a truly cool and proud statement, but… Coming from Elder Yi, who told me not to cause trouble, it just sounded unrealistic.

“What’s with that expression? If I’m not careful, I might feel like giving you a knuckle-rap.”

“…It was so cool, I couldn’t help it.”

In any case, this turned out well. Even if I couldn’t find the records of Geumcheon Yeon’ga upon arriving in Sichuan. If that happened, I wanted to find another way so that at least Gyecheonmun wouldn’t obtain it.

“So, when do we depart?”

“Depart when? We leave now.”

“Did I hear that wrong…?”

What is this guy saying right now? I haven’t prepared anything, how can we leave right away… “I had the servants pack your belongings, but we can leave now.”

He’s unnecessarily prepared…

“What happened to my opinion?”

“Since you wanted to go, I prepared it quickly.”

“Isn’t ‘quickly’ a bit too fast…?”

“How much time does it take to travel back and forth? Isn’t it better to go quickly?”

It made sense, but something felt off. Mu Yeon is visible approaching from a distance. Mu Yeon had a blank expression, as if his soul had left his body. Why is that guy acting like that again?

Without time to assess the situation, I was pushed, nudged by Elder Yi, towards the carriage. The personnel included Mu Yeon, a few guards, and two servants. Wi Seol-ah wasn’t among them. I was worried she might be here since she’s my personal attendant, but thankfully not.

‘But do I have to leave without saying goodbye? She’ll probably be upset.’

I’ll be gone for almost a month. Of course, leaving her behind would be easier on my mind, but it seems there won’t be time for proper goodbyes.

“Wait, can we really leave like this? At least I should tell the Steward…”

“Hmph! I’ve taken care of everything, boy. Now, let’s go!”

He practically shoved me in, pressed down firmly, and the door closed.

“What kind of departure is this…!”

I couldn’t finish my sentence. It was because the coachman started moving immediately. The carriage truly left the clan grounds and moved.

---

After the carriage departed, Elder Yi released his arms clasped behind his back. Then, turning around, he walked towards Gu Yangcheon’s residence.

“Now, let’s talk. Senior.”

In Gu Yangcheon’s residence, where there was no one, Sword Master had taken a seat. The Sword Master, who always wore a benevolent smile, now had only coldness in his eyes.

“Talk about what?”

“About the reason why the Family Head insisted on making such a request to me.”

Elder Yi sat opposite the Sword Master. The massive Elder Yi and the petite Sword Master were contrasted. In a way, it was a size difference that Elder Yi could easily overwhelm, but Elder Yi knew. One shouldn’t judge by appearances. Within that small body lies the heavens. Sword Master (劍尊), unlike his title, was someone who had already reached a realm where he no longer needed a sword.

“The reason you’re turning the Central Plains upside down searching for the Divine Doctor. I’m curious about that.”

The Sword Master looked directly at Elder Yi and said nothing. Seeing that, Elder Yi sighed. Because he knew the Sword Master wouldn’t answer.

“Then I’ll ask something else.”

Perhaps feeling thirsty, Elder Yi took a sip of tea. After slowly swallowing the tea, he opened his mouth.

“Senior’s granddaughter, what on earth is that child?”

The Sword Master’s cold gaze turned towards Elder Yi.

“That child.”

Elder Yi met the Sword Master’s eyes.

“Is she even human?”

At Elder Yi’s words, the Sword Master’s senses erupted, filling the room like a raging storm.