Chapter 27: Demon Sword Empress (4)

Demon Sword Empress (4)

It had been two more days since the uncomfortable, yet somehow companionable, journey with Namgung Bi-ah.

We would reach the planned village very soon, in just a little more time.

And after getting ourselves sorted, we’d head towards the Tang family.

I had a feeling we’d arrive much more safely than our planned trip to Sichuan.

Aside from the day I encountered Namgung Bi-ah, we’d run into demonic beasts a few times, but none posed any real threat.

In a way, it was a trip to Sichuan that could have taken nearly ten days.

However, it only meant that the duration was long and boring; nothing problematic had occurred.

“Hoo…”

However, in another sense, one major problem had indeed arisen.

Faced with a sight that could only elicit sighs, I kept running my hands down my face.

“Unni, look at that! It’s a Siberian flying squirrel!”

“…Mm.”

“Unni, have you ever eaten a Siberian flying squirrel?”

“Yes… Yes? Ah, no.”

Wi Seol-ah, who had somehow gotten out of the carriage, was sticking close to Namgung Bi-ah, who was slowly following behind, chattering away.

It was mostly Wi Seol-ah initiating the conversation and Namgung Bi-ah giving short replies, yet Namgung Bi-ah didn’t seem displeased, matching Wi Seol-ah’s pace as they walked.

Wi Seol-ah would tug at Namgung Bi-ah’s collar whenever she tried to stray off the path with her vacant expression.

“…Why on earth are those two so friendly?”

I had repeatedly told her not to approach outsiders, but Wi Seol-ah kept approaching Namgung Bi-ah, calling her pitiful. What exactly was pitiful about her?

Should I have yelled at her at least once?

“Tsk.”

It seemed like nothing was going right.

I truly never imagined I’d see those two sticking together so amicably.

“Mu-yeon.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

“How… tired are you? Why does your face look like that?”

“Ah, no. I’m fine.”

…Fine? His face was dark and haggard, looking like he was about to drop dead from exhaustion.

The reason Mu-yeon looked like he was dying of exhaustion was none other than Namgung Bi-ah.

On the first day, when Namgung Bi-ah had camped far away, she suddenly approached Mu-yeon and requested a sparring match.

Mu-yeon refused without a moment’s hesitation.

‘I am the Young Master’s escort. To focus on my duties, I cannot exert my strength elsewhere at this time. I apologize.’

Namgung Bi-ah nodded at the polite refusal, but she continued to watch Mu-yeon with eyes that seemed to have developed an obsession.

Specifically, she wasn’t watching Mu-yeon, but Mu-yeon’s sword.

Eventually, worn down by her gaze until near dawn, Mu-yeon looked quite exhausted, perhaps having lost some sleep.

It wasn’t like Mu-yeon, a top-tier martial artist, would be this way just from losing a little sleep. Was it mentally taxing?

‘That crazy woman already had that personality back then.’

A lunatic who would draw her sword without regard for anything upon meeting any swordsman interesting enough to pique her standards.

How else could it be that the thing she did most in her past life was searching for traces of the Sword Emperor and Sword Saint?

She didn’t seem to just draw her sword recklessly now, but judging by her early signs, she was still just as crazy in my eyes.

Right now, she seemed a bit less fixated with Wi Seol-ah chattering beside her like a sparrow, but just moments ago, I could see her looking towards Mu-yeon’s sword.

…Actually, I wondered if Wi Seol-ah had attached herself knowing that.

‘No way.’

What could Wi Seol-ah possibly know?

It wasn’t possible. Since having them stick together didn’t seem immediately harmful, I decided to stay quiet.

We’d part ways once we reached the village anyway. And we just needed to avoid getting entangled.

Thinking that, I closed my eyes for a moment. I intended to catch a quick nap.

Was it because we’d been camping and training repeatedly for days? I fell asleep quickly.

How much time passed like that?

Mu-yeon’s voice came from outside.

“Young Master, I can see our destination.”

Finally, after seven weeks and seven nights since leaving Shanxi, we had arrived at the village.

*

I stretched my stiff body and got out of the carriage.

From here, we could reach the Tang family in about a day, so we needed to rest to recover from the journey.

If it were up to me, I felt it would be better to just pass through, arrive, and then rest.

However, members of the Tang family would likely come out to greet us upon arrival, so we needed to maintain proper decorum.

Honestly, the formalities of prestigious families are incredibly bothersome.

“I wonder if there will be any rooms available.”

“We’ll find them quickly.”

In situations like this, finding lodging was always inconvenient.

Not only were there many of us, but this was also an area where the name of our martial clan held no sway.

Wi Seol-ah, who had been looking around, seemed to spot something and tugged insistently at the collar of the blankly staring Namgung Bi-ah behind her.

“Unni! Look there, they’re wearing the same clothes as you!”

“…Ah.”

Following Wi Seol-ah’s words, not only Namgung Bi-ah but also my gaze turned towards where Wi Seol-ah was pointing.

Unlike Namgung Bi-ah’s martial attire, dusty and worn from her rough solo travels, these were neat, blue martial uniforms, with ‘Namgung’ inscribed along the hem.

These were the people of the foremost prestigious family, representing the leading clans of the orthodox sects, the masters of Anhui.

They were undoubtedly martial artists from the Namgung clan.

Just as we had spotted them, the people from the Namgung clan seemed to have noticed us too, their faces showing surprise.

Suddenly, someone from among them rushed towards Namgung Bi-ah.

“Noonim…?!”

It was a boy who looked about my age.

Excluding her vacant personality, Namgung Bi-ah had a cold appearance that prevented people from approaching carelessly.

This boy looked exactly how she might have looked if she were male.

Namgung Bi-ah gave a slight wave as she looked at the boy.

“Hello… Cheonjun-a.”

“Noonim, where on earth did you disappear to?! Do you know how much the clan members searched for you?”

“I’m sorry… I got lost.”

At Namgung Bi-ah’s words, Namgung Cheonjun clasped his forehead with his hand.

“That’s why I suggested we tie you up with a rope, didn’t I?”

…A rope?

Tying up a person with a rope, like some dog…?

‘Given her level of directionally challenged, it seems plausible…’

Namgung Bi-ah replied.

“…That’s a bit embarrassing. Even so.”

“Yes, and that’s why you disappeared less than a day after we set off? You’re the one who told us not to worry, saying you wouldn’t get lost this time.”

“…Sorry.”

At Namgung Cheonjun’s cold words, Namgung Bi-ah tucked her tail between her legs.

Only then did he seem to notice us, who had been watching blankly, and Namgung Cheonjun quickly offered a formal greeting.

“I am Namgung Cheonjun of the Namgung clan.”

As expected, this boy was the Thunder Sword (雷劍).

He was the boy who would later be called one of the Five Swords of the Martial World, a swordsman representing the orthodox sects. Then, perhaps around this time…

“I am Gu Yeol-yeop of the Gu family… Perhaps you are Thunder Dragon…”

Come to think of it, I had told Namgung Bi-ah something, so I quickly changed my name.

At my question, Namgung Cheonjun’s face flushed slightly. It was irritating to see such a handsome guy blush.

“…I am humbly called that, perhaps undeservedly.”

Although he spoke shyly, his tone carried pride and confidence.

Five Dragons, Three Phoenixes (五龍三鳳).

In the Central Plains, the eight most outstanding figures among the current younger generation were called that.

Among them was Gu Huibi, the Sword Phoenix, my eldest sister.

Thunder Dragon Namgung Cheonjun, he was two years older than me, wasn’t he?

I couldn’t recall precisely, but it was likely so.

I felt a strange gaze and glanced sideways.

Wi Seol-ah was staring at me, narrowing her eyes like a flounder.

I suspected it might be because I had used a different name.

“…?”

Seeing the numerous question marks seemingly floating above her head, I subtly signaled her to be quiet.

She seemed to have some sense, as she appeared to shut her mouth for the time being.

Namgung Cheonjun asked me.

“Oh my, so you are a martial artist from the Gu family. If you don’t mind my asking, could you tell me how you came to be accompanying my Noonim?”

That woman suddenly appeared, driving demonic beasts, and then claimed she was lost and followed us relentlessly.

“We merely accompanied her briefly when she happened to get lost.”

I couldn’t say that, so I had to phrase it indirectly.

This time, Namgung Bi-ah glared at me, narrowing her eyes like a flounder.

Since she ate dumplings earlier today, it would be nice if she’d just shut her mouth too.

However, lacking that kind of awareness, Namgung Bi-ah eventually opened her mouth.

“That’s not true… I didn’t say we were accompanying…”

“Well then, Miss Namgung, it has been pleasant thus far. Be careful not to get lost next time.”

Of course, I had no intention of letting her finish speaking.

Watching this, Namgung Cheonjun said with a slight smile.

“Thank you for looking after my Noonim… Are you perhaps attending the Tang family’s martial arts gathering?”

“Ah, yes… well.”

When I confirmed, Namgung Bi-ah flinched.

Was it because I had said I wasn’t going to Sichuan? But what could I do? She didn’t want me there.

“Then have you secured lodging? We don’t have anything to offer as thanks right now, but we have plenty of rooms at the lodging we’ve secured. Coincidentally, we are also heading to the Tang family for the martial arts gathering, so please join us.”

It seemed they had rented out an entire building. Namgung Cheonjun invited me with a good-natured smile.

‘…No, first and foremost, I don’t want to get involved with that crazy woman.’

I had no intention of accepting. Having come this far, I didn’t want any further entanglement.

I had my own objectives, and I needed to cut ties with Namgung Bi-ah here. Lodging could surely be found if I looked.

Just then, Mu-yeon approached me, seemingly having found lodging. I immediately conveyed my refusal to Namgung Cheonjun.

“Thank you for the offer, but we were planning to find other lodging…”

“Young Master… they say there are no vacant rooms nearby. Should we take the carriage and search the valleys again…?”

“…I was going to, but since you’ve kindly offered, I can’t refuse. We’ll be indebted to you. Young Hero Namgung.”

…..Fuck my life.

*

I briefly considered whether it would have been better to just sleep in the carriage if we couldn’t find lodging.

However, the accompanying servants were an issue for another night of camping.

To be honest, that was half an excuse; the real reason was that I too was getting a bit tired of camping.

As soon as Namgung Cheonjun showed us to the lodging, he grabbed Namgung Bi-ah and disappeared somewhere.

The contrast between Namgung Cheonjun’s furious face and Namgung Bi-ah’s terrified expression, anticipating the scolding she’d receive, made her look even more pitiful.

But since it was Namgung Bi-ah’s karma, I quickly stopped caring.

What was slightly puzzling, however, was their relationship.

From a glance, they seemed like a perfectly fine sibling relationship.

I couldn’t help but question this, recalling the Demon Sword Queen from my past life.

The Demon Sword Queen’s first act as a demonic entity was none other than leading hundreds of demonic beings to erase the Namgung clan from the map.

She began to build her notorious reputation as a demonic entity by slaughtering the clan head, elders, and even the servants.

What was this current appearance of hers?

I had never really had a proper conversation with Namgung Bi-ah in my past life.

It was the same with the other demonic entities.

Each of us became demonic entities for our own goals and desires, crawling under the Heavenly Demon, devoid of any camaraderie.

Because of that, I knew nothing of Namgung Bi-ah’s background. Nor was I particularly curious.

Since I was rather tired, I got up to rest in my room.

I had to go upstairs, so I headed for the stairs, only to see Namgung Bi-ah descending from where she had gone up earlier.

“…Ah.”

Namgung Bi-ah, whose eyes met mine, cautiously offered a greeting. Her action caught me completely off guard.

What was this sudden…? Putting my surprise aside, Namgung Bi-ah spoke.

“Thank you for guiding me this far. Young Hero Gu.”

“…Though you were the one who unilaterally followed us.”

“Thank you. I hope we meet again.”

No, we won’t.

Having received quite the earful of scolding, Namgung Bi-ah, looking more dejected than usual, brushed past me.

As I turned to go back upstairs, Namgung Cheonjun was looking at me.

Feeling grateful for him securing lodging, I intended to offer my thanks once more.

“Ah, Young Hero Namgung…”

However, Namgung Cheonjun seemed not to hear me, brushing past and bumping my shoulder.

Bump!

Then, a voice came from one step below on the stairs.

“…Know your place.”

Namgung Cheonjun’s voice was different from the warm tone it had earlier. It was much colder now.

“I was willing to overlook it once, but you clearly don’t know your place. How dare you, someone like you, speak to my Noonim.”

I could even feel a faint killing intent in his eyes as we met.

“I’ll let it slide this one time, but if I see anything like this again, I’ll cut your throat right then and there.”

Saying that, Namgung Cheonjun went up the stairs, chasing after Namgung Bi-ah.

Seeing that, rather than feeling angry, I nodded.

It was actually a relief.

‘…As expected, they were all damn lunatics.’

I thought maybe he was a bit normal, but throughout my past life, I had never encountered a sane person among those with the surname Namgung.

It seemed that guy was no different.

It was the moment my resolve solidified: I absolutely must not get involved with those lunatics.