Chapter 395: I Don’t Feel So Good… (2)

After hearing the Poison King’s death threat (?) via Tang Soyeol, I shoved food down my gullet and immediately started moving. I racked my brain for a way to decline the Poison King’s invitation as I walked, but nothing convincing came to mind.

We really are just eating, right?

I prayed that was the case. Most likely it was, but chills still ran down my spine.

Nah, there’s no way he would poison me to death.

Even though I knew he wouldn’t do such a thing, his mastery of assassination arts and his reputation for being obsessed with his daughter made me nervous.

Normally, I wouldn’t worry about such things since he was a Lord of one of the Four Noble Clans, but…

…If I think about the White Heavenly Sword, they aren’t really normal.

I came to learn that not a single Lord from the Four Noble Clans was normal.

I could’ve sworn they weren’t like this in my past life. Was I just not aware of it, or did something change?

I doubt anything has changed.

Even if history had changed due to my actions, it would be strange for this to change. I simply didn’t know that these men were always like this.

I’m sure. If that wasn’t the case, the future of the Central Plains was doom—well, it was always going to be doomed.

“Sigh.”

Everyone I came across was crazy and strange. Still, I couldn’t afford to decline the Poison King’s invitation.

Not only was I already planning on going to the land of Sichuan, ruled by the Tang Clan, but Tang Soyeol had seemed very cheerful when I told her I would go.

Honestly, if I wanted to, I didn’t have to go to Sichuan with her, nor did I have to see the Poison King. He had a different goal for his trip to Sichuan anyway.

He is bringing a prisoner there.

A prisoner locked inside the Murim Alliance’s basement. He was a martial artist of the Unorthodox Faction who had invaded the Heavenly Dragon Academy.

The Black Dragon and his crew played a big role in spreading my name throughout the Central Plains. The Poison King was responsible for bringing them to the Tang Clan.

I frowned.

What a violent method they are using.

They insisted on bringing these prisoners to Sichuan rather than dealing with them in Henan.

There were people in Henan capable of torturing prisoners, but some bastards never let any information leave their mouths. However, the Tang Clan was capable of making even those bastards speak.

The Tang Clan was considered one of the pillars of the Orthodox Faction, mainly due to their responsibility for doing the dirty work. Most people weren’t aware of this because it was kept quiet.

However, I knew.

When the Demonic Cult took over Sichuan in my past life, I headed to the Tang Clan’s basement immediately after killing the Poison Queen with my own hands. I went there following the Heavenly Demon’s orders, and I saw hell there.

Even I, who had experienced many horrible things, described it as hell, which was already bad enough. There was no way that the Lord, the Poison King, wasn’t aware of that place.

With that said, I couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable when it came to him. He may have had the peculiar, innocent look of the Tang Clan, but it only looked like a chilling mask to me, as someone who knew the truth hidden behind their basement.

The Murim Alliance knew the Tang Clan’s secret as well, which was why they requested the Poison King to send the prisoners to Sichuan. Because of this, I was once again reminded that the Alliance wasn’t as clean as they made themselves out to be.

Though it is obvious.

No organization would survive if they were fully clean. I knew that better than anyone, but I still disliked that truth.

Tsk.

Even so, I couldn’t reject the Poison King’s invitation this time. While I had reasons to decline, I had a bigger reason to accept.

Nothing helps me in this damned world.

I had a very important reason to go to Sichuan—the White Demonic Stone, which I needed to perfect my unstable form of the Fusion Realm and reach a higher level.

To get that stone, I needed approval from none other than the Tang Clan. Because of that, I couldn’t afford to reject the Poison King’s invitation. Originally, I was going to ask Tang Soyeol to somehow get me out of this…

But I guess I can’t help it if things turn out this way.

Since I had no other choice, I had to go meet the Poison King. With that thought, I continued to make my way, sighing. I reached my destination, so I had to focus on what was in front of me for now. The Poison King had invited me for dinner, but I had to take care of something in the afternoon first.

When the guards that stood in front of the gate saw me, they moved aside. They seemed to have gotten a message beforehand. I lightly bowed and made my way inside, gazing at the guards’ chests as I walked in.

They wore white outfits embroidered with wind waves—members of the Kunlun Sect. There was only one Sect in the Central Plains with that mark, after all. I felt similar Qi from every direction when I walked inside. It was the Tao Qi of the Kunlun Sect.

I continued to walk as I felt their Qi. I only had one reason for visiting this place filled with Taoists—to see the old man behind the door in front of me.

Slide.

When I carefully opened the door and entered, the old man who was on his bed welcomed me.

“You came.”

It was an old man with white hair and wrinkles on his face. Wherever it went, he seemed to have lost one of his hands. Still, the old man waved at me with his other hand. It was the Qinghai Sword.

I carefully sat down and accepted the tea and snacks offered by the Taoist.

“Have you been well?”

“Yes. You must’ve been busy, so I’m sorry for calling you here.”

“It’s no problem at all.”

How long has it been since we last met?

It was probably around a month. I had run into him a couple of times after the incident, but this was the first time the Qinghai Sword had officially called me.

The Qinghai Sword spoke to me with a smile.

“I heard that there isn’t a place that doesn’t know your name anymore. Is that right?”

“…That might… be an exaggeration.”

I may have said that, but he wasn’t wrong. I even heard that kids in Henan’s streets made a play called The Lesser King of Hell, too.

I would’ve given them a few bonks on their heads if I had seen them, but I unfortunately never ran into them. They wouldn’t have seen the light of day anymore if they had seen me.

Whether he knew how I felt or not, the Qinghai Sword smiled.

“You did a big thing, so it’s not bad for something like that to happen.”

“…Thank you.”

It may be a positive thing overall, but I felt bothered because I knew that the Alliance had spread this information about me on purpose.

I hid my feelings and asked the Qinghai Sword a question.

“How have you been feeling recently?”

“I’ve been feeling better than ever.”

“I see.”

The Qinghai Sword spoke as if nothing was wrong, but I wasn’t able to believe him at all. Not only was he missing a hand, but judging by how he had spent his days bound to a bed after that day, it seemed like he had suffered a severe injury.

…Moreover, the situation isn’t good right now either.

The Heavenly Dragon Academy may have belonged to the Murim Alliance, but the Kunlun Sect was responsible for managing it this year.

Because of that, they were partly responsible for the damage that was caused by the Black Dragon’s ambush. Jang Cheon stepped down from his position as the Leader of the Alliance.

And I also heard that the Qinghai Sword is stepping down from his Head position as well.

It wasn’t confirmed, though. It was simply a rumor. Moreover, the Kunlun Sect had taken a firm stance after the incident.

They organized a small funeral for those who had died, sent information on all the martial artists involved, and made sure to keep the dead bodies undecomposed using their Qi until someone from each clan and Sect came.

I personally thought they took enough responsibility by doing these things, but it seemed like others didn’t think the same way.

The Kunlun Sect had been called incompetent, a Sect left with a false leader. Many rumors insulting the Kunlun Sect had been spreading.

But were the rumors about the Qinghai Sword and the Kunlun Sect true?

I’m not sure.

I, at least, didn’t think so. I didn’t know what others thought about the situation, though.

After my thoughts, I asked the Qinghai Sword another question.

“Sect Leader.”

“Yes?”

“What’s the reason you called me here?”

I was curious.

After hearing my question, the Qinghai Sword took a sip of his tea. It seemed like he needed some time to think, so I didn’t rush him.

After a moment of silence, the Qinghai Sword opened his mouth.

“First, I called you here because… I wanted to thank you.”

“…That’s… but you already thanked me before.”

The Qinghai Sword had already thanked me after waking up. He thanked me for saving the other children. I hated hearing it back then, and it wasn’t any different now.

“Gratitude is something you can continue to show.”

“I’m fine, so there’s no need for you to—“

“Moreover, I don’t think I could only thank you with words.”

Just as I was about to tell him not to thank me anymore, the Qinghai Sword took something out of his pocket and handed it over to me.

“This is?”

It was a round, gold object. It was the size of a coin, but I wasn’t sure what it was.

When I stared at it, wondering, the Qinghai Sword started to explain.

“I heard you are planning on going to Sichuan in a few days. Is that right?”

“Huh? Ah, yes, that’s right.”

Where did he even hear that information?

I didn’t know why, but it felt like everyone knew I was going to Sichuan.

“This is… my way of showing gratitude. I prepared it after hearing you are going to Sichuan, so please accept it.”

Does that mean this object was going to be useful for me in Sichuan?

I suppose I could take it if that was the case, but I didn’t think I did anything to deserve this.

“I can’t take this, Sect Leader.”

I didn’t deserve any rewards from him. A ton of people had died due to me changing history, and all I did was kill a few bastards of the Unorthodox Faction out of anger.

The people that were saved thanks to me doing that? Everyone should’ve lived. If anything, those who died shouldn’t have in the first place.

With that said, did I deserve to be rewarded at all? I didn’t think so.

Because of my response, the room became silent for a moment. After staring into my eyes, the Qinghai Sword spoke, brushing his beard with his hand.

“It seems like your mind is filled with guilt for a reason I don’t know of.”

“…”

“What is it that’s making you shrink this much?”

The Qinghai Sword asked, but I wasn’t able to answer. I wasn’t able to tell anyone about this.

After realizing I wasn’t going to give any answer, the Qinghai Sword calmly spoke again after a small breath.

“I don’t know what that reason is, but at least accept it as a gift if you aren’t going to accept it as a reward.”

“…Gift, you say.”

“Do you remember when I said I was fond of you in the past?”

“Yes.”

That’s what he had said to me when I first met the Qinghai Sword in the Heavenly Dragon Academy.

“Take that as a reason for me giving this gift to you.”

“But—“

“Are you going to embarrass this old man even more?”

“…”

The Qinghai Sword spoke with a slight frown. Because of that, I silently accepted the gold pass and put it into my pocket.

It seemed like the Qinghai Sword was satisfied because he smiled.

“Keep that until you reach Sichuan, and use it there.”

“What do you mean by use it there…?”

The Qinghai Sword then told me a location.

“…!”

I couldn’t help but open my eyes wide in shock. It was understandable because the location he told me was the same location as where the White Demonic Stone was located.

How, though?

Just as I stared at the Qinghai Sword, wondering why he had suddenly mentioned this location, the old man spoke to me with a strange expression.

“I hope that this helps you in your path a little.”

“…”

I bit my lips after seeing the Qinghai Sword’s honest kindness, faintly in his eyes.

After seeing my expression, the Qinghai Sword continued to speak with a smile.

“I hope that you achieve peace. Not for others, but for yourself.”

Peace, huh? I didn’t know what he meant by that, as it was still too early for me to grasp that word.

“…Thank you.”

Despite that, I thanked the Qinghai Sword and showed respect. I wasn’t confident enough to ask him what he meant by his words.

The Qinghai Sword then patted my head, satisfied. Many thoughts passed through my mind.

Peace, huh…

It was still far from now, but I also hoped that I would reach that place one day. The place called peace.

Dinner time came, and I had to frown when I was reminded of the Qinghai Sword’s words from earlier.

Peace my ass.

I once again realized that the word wasn’t suited for me at all. The dishes served on the table looked ever so delicious, but I didn’t take a single bite out of anything. I wasn’t in a situation where I could comfortably eat, after all.

The middle-aged man who gazed at me with a teacup in his hand, the ruler of the Tang Clan, the Poison King, spoke to me.

“I’ll ask again, Master Gu.”

It thankfully seemed like there wasn’t any poison in the food, but the man’s gaze made my throat feel dry.

As I was barely able to endure this atmosphere, the Poison King spoke to me.

“Do you have no intention of taking my daughter, Soyeol?”

I then realized. This seat was way more difficult than I had expected it to be.