Chapter 43: Sword Phoenix (3)

Of all times, why did Wi Seol-ah have to show up now…

And why is she holding dumplings, of all things.

“Young Master! I brought dumplings!”

Ah, it’s because of me.

Did she overhear me quietly muttering ‘Ah… I want dumplings.’ while riding in the carriage?

If that’s the case, her intentions are commendable, but the timing is terrible.

Because I was in a situation where I had to deal with this fire-breathing wild boar first.

“Young Master…? Why are you acting like that?”

Wi Seol-ah asked me.

Right? I’m curious too. Why am I like this…

As I tried to straighten my knees to get up slightly.

“Brother.”

Gu Huibi’s voice rang out, as if she had been waiting.

Thanks to that, I had no choice but to stop with my knees only halfway straightened.

“What is that?”

Gu Huibi’s clear gaze was fixed on Wi Seol-ah.

I can’t predict what this fiery woman might do.

Gu Huibi took a step towards Wi Seol-ah.

Hoooook!

I immediately circulated my Gu-yeom Hwa-ryun Gong and wrapped my internal energy around my body.

I don’t think Gu Huibi will do anything.

Even looking back at my past life, she was someone who wouldn’t carelessly lay a hand on anyone, no matter what happened.

Still, you never know. That ‘what if’ was very important to me.

Gu Huibi’s eyes wavered.

She looked like she was about to do something. I, to protect Wi Seol-ah first…

“Eugh!”

‘Crazy.’

Too fast.

Gu Huibi’s movements were much faster than I expected.

Gu Huibi, approaching at incredible speed, grabbed Wi Seol-ah’s cheeks.

Wi Seol-ah, with her cheeks grabbed, let out a strange scream, but Gu Huibi, as if possessed, mercilessly ravaged Wi Seol-ah’s soft cheeks.

“…Cheeks look so soft. Are they actually as soft as they look…?”

“Eugh…. Eeeeek! Young Master, help meeee…!”

“…Hmm.”

With the situation unfolding so suddenly, I didn’t really have anything to say. Should I consider this fortunate…?

Should I stop her?

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like Gu Huibi intended to do anything harmful to Wi Seol-ah.

‘…If that is considered harmful, then maybe not.’

Wi Seol-ah’s cheeks stretched and pulled under Gu Huibi’s touch.

I tried to ignore Wi Seol-ah’s mournful screams and moved my body.

Whether she had touched them enough to her satisfaction, Gu Huibi quickly removed her hands from Wi Seol-ah’s cheeks.

“Hey, is she your attendant, Brother?”

“Yes.”

“Wanna give her to me?”

“No.”

Without realizing it, I answered Gu Huibi too sharply.

Gu Huibi showed a slightly surprised expression at my firm reply.

And she lifts the corners of her mouth.

With a face that resembled Father’s, lifting the corners of her mouth like that made her look terrifyingly fierce.

“How curious.”

As Gu Huibi spoke, she had already wrapped herself in internal energy.

It’s hot.

It’s definitely a heat on a different level than Gu Yeonseo or Gu Gyeol-yeop.

The heat brushing against my cheeks made me involuntarily frown.

‘The gap of 5 stars, as expected, is high.’

Gu-yeom Hwa-ryun Gong’s 4th star, which I could reach relatively soon if accompanied by physical training.

At that level, I wouldn’t get beaten up anywhere.

The problem arises when I start training to reach the 5th star after that.

The 5th star is the starting point where one can unleash the true potential of Gu-yeom Hwa-ryun Gong.

It was a point that required training, and much enlightenment.

One would be able to properly wrap their body in red internal energy.

It was a period when the mental cultivation properly permeated the body, causing noticeable changes in the physique.

Gu Huibi was exactly at that point.

The slight reddish tint starting to appear in her hair was evidence of this.

Her eyes turning red was also evidence.

Until now, I had somehow managed by applying techniques unsuited for my level, but it was impossible against Gu Huibi who had truly reached the 5th star.

“Why is it so curious to me that my brother tells me he can’t beat me?”

Gu Huibi’s hair fluttered in the intense heat.

I felt like I would melt from the approaching energy, but circulating my internal energy made it somewhat bearable.

Gu Huibi stared at me intently.

What could she be thinking?

First, I quietly brought Wi Seol-ah to my side.

“This one is not allowed.”

Perhaps my words displeased her, as one of Gu Huibi’s eyebrows twitched.

As Gu Huibi drew out more energy, the pressure intensified.

I didn’t back down either and circulated my internal energy.

What’s strange is that at this level of pressure, I should be crushed and unable to breathe, yet I’m pushing it back more easily than expected.

‘…Rather than pushing it back, it feels more like gently diverting it?’

How could this be?

The Gu family’s mental cultivation is violent and destructive.

But what I’m doing now isn’t breaking or blocking the energy, it’s merely letting it flow past.

This was akin to a shaman’s martial arts.

It seemed I wasn’t the only one noticing this, as Gu Huibi’s eyes held a unique glint.

Soon, the heat that had been encroaching on the surroundings cooled down.

This was because Gu Huibi retracted her internal energy back into her body.

“…Did Elder Lee-nim do this?”

Gu Huibi asked, pointing at me with her hand.

Calling me ‘this’ is too much.

Elder Lee-nim simply shrugged in response to Gu Huibi’s question.

“This old man did nothing.”

“…But you’re saying he changed this much in just a few months?”

Gu Huibi looking at me with intrigued eyes was incredibly burdensome.

Well, reaching the 3rd star in mental cultivation in less than a year was certainly surprising.

‘…I didn’t know I would become like this either.’

If the initial goal was to reach the 3rd star by the end of this year.

It meant that by going to Sichuan and back, I could have accelerated it by at least half a year.

Gu Huibi let out a snort, saying ‘Hmph,’ and then spoke to me.

“The Family Head-nim is looking for you, so hurry up and go.”

“…Is that all?”

Did she really just come to growl at me? Is she some kind of fighting cock… or not?

“Originally, I intended to give you some education since it’s been a while, but my interest has completely waned.”

Gu Huibi waved her hands back and forth, urging me to leave quickly.

Come to think of it, this is my residence? I thought about resisting since I didn’t like it, but I felt like I’d really be screwed if I resisted that crazy wild boar, so I just obediently moved my feet.

“Ah, Brother.”

I turned around at Gu Huibi’s call.

Gu Huibi, meeting my gaze, threw something at me with a ‘swish.’

Catching what was flying towards me, I saw it was a small fortune pouch.

“It’s a travel gift.”

“What is this?”

“Wear it nicely on your waist; otherwise, I’ll punish you.”

Opening the fortune pouch Gu Huibi threw, I found a yellow bead inside.

What is this? A magic stone…?

It doesn’t seem like a magic stone.

I didn’t feel anything particular from the bead.

As I looked at the fortune pouch back and forth, Gu Huibi said.

“I just bought this from a peddler who was selling it as an amulet, so don’t complain and just wear it properly.”

In other words, she had bought junk.

Gu Huibi told me, seeing my displeased expression, that she would punish me again if I didn’t.

…I stealthily attached it to my waist.

It probably wasn’t meant with ill intent.

I knew well that Gu Huibi wasn’t that kind of person.

“Ah, and if you happen to lose it, I’ll fold you in half, so know that.”

“…”

…Or maybe not?

---

Immediately after Gu Yangcheon left for the Family Head’s chambers while being pressured.

Gu Huibi brought up the topic again to Elder Lee-nim, who remained.

“Is it really not something Elder Lee-nim did?”

“This old man says it wasn’t!”

Elder Lee-nim is not someone who lies easily.

The Elder Lee-nim I had seen was that kind of man.

Gu Huibi tended to believe anything Elder Lee-nim said wasn’t him.

However.

“Even last winter, the last time I saw him, he was barely at the 1st star.”

The 1st star, an achievement one could gain just by initiating Gu-yeom Hwa-ryun Gong. Gu Yangcheon remained at precisely that level.

Even after years had passed since initiating the bloodline martial arts.

It was the same even when Gu Huibi herself was leaving for a long-term mission.

Far from emitting heat through his mental cultivation, his very movements were crude.

Compared to Yeonseo, who was born a year apart, it was like night and day.

But now?

‘How did he reach such a level already.’

I started feeling something was strange from the moment I heard he had defeated Yeonseo.

At first, I thought it was just a coincidence.

Yeonseo must have been unwell that day.

I thought that coincidence upon coincidence must have led to a miracle.

However, I heard that Gu Yeonseo, despite knowing I had returned, had gone into seclusion and refused to come out.

This meant something must have happened.

Roughly estimating, Gu Yangcheon was now at the 3rd star; although it didn’t seem like the 4th star, it was practically a state of near-mastery.

This meant the 4th star was not far off.

Although she herself had reached the 3rd star at Gu Yangcheon’s age and wasn’t far from the 4th, this was a matter of growth speed.

Neither Gu Yeonseo nor even herself had such a growth rate.

But that child, in just a few months…

“Isn’t it surprising?”

It was Elder Lee-nim’s question.

“How could I not be surprised?”

“This old man is also surprised. I didn’t know this child’s potential was this outstanding.”

When delivering the news of Gu Yangcheon’s engagement, Elder Lee-nim had to put effort into hiding his inner surprise.

‘The energy contained within has become too immense.’

What on earth happened in Sichuan to make him change like this?

Even his recent appearance was surprising enough, but his energy had become extraordinary, as if he had gobbled down some hidden elixir.

The amount of internal energy had certainly increased, but not astronomically.

Since he had little internal energy to begin with, it only appeared relatively large.

However, setting aside the quantity, the quality of his internal energy was distinctly different.

I could feel it immediately from Gu Yangcheon’s energy, which had diverted the heat Gu Huibi was emitting.

‘What on earth could have happened.’

If it were up to me, I’d want to follow him to Sichuan regardless of being an elder or whatever, but there were too many tasks entrusted to me.

His engagement with Namgung, for instance.

And matters related to loyalty.

“I feel uneasy, like I’ve missed something important.”

“And, this child…”

Gu Huibi looked for Wi Seol-ah, who was beside her.

“Where did she go?”

She was right beside me just a moment ago?

“Why do you ask?”

“No, the attendant who was just here.”

“She’s only been working as an attendant for a few months. She doesn’t know much about the world, so don’t pay too much mind to her.”

“Yes… but somehow.”

I wasn’t the type to particularly care how an attendant behaved in the first place.

It was just that Gu Huibi felt Wi Seol-ah was somehow strange.

I felt a strange sensation I couldn’t explain, so I kept her close and touched her a lot, but I couldn’t find anything unusual.

“Is it a misjudgment…?”

It was strange.

For months, I had rolled around on the front lines with monsters, wielding my sword.

Thanks to that, my senses are still sharp.

But I didn’t even notice the attendant beside me disappearing, and I felt a strange sensation from the attendant?

‘…Perhaps my senses are too sharp, leading me to misjudge.’

It might be because I always endured by thinking about possible situations, causing me to place great significance on small matters.

Conversely, Elder Lee-nim, who was watching, couldn’t help but be surprised once more.

‘To feel that….’

With Gu Huibi’s current martial prowess, she wouldn’t be able to grasp Wi Seol-ah’s strangeness yet.

In such a situation, Gu Huibi’s heightened senses had managed to detect it, albeit very faintly.

“What bizarre talent you both have, you and Yangcheon.”

“What did you say?”

“It’s nothing. But Huibi, you’re quite zealous, seeking out Yangcheon right after arriving.”

“It’s not something you should be saying to Elder Lee-nim, but…”

Gu Huibi scratches her cheek, looking embarrassed.

It was a point where almost everyone in the clan had turned their backs on Gu Yangcheon.

The Family Head-nim, Ho-hyeop, didn’t pay proper attention from the start, and the second sister, Gu Yeonseo, had already turned her back.

The youngest…

‘That matter later.’

The only ones in the clan who sought out Gu Yangcheon to fix him and scold him were Gu Huibi and Elder Lee-nim.

“Wouldn’t it be better if you were a little gentler?”

“He’s not a child who listens when spoken to kindly. You know that well.”

“…Hmm.”

Although he seemed a bit different lately, this was something Elder Lee-nim couldn’t easily refute.

It only seemed a bit calmer; Gu Yangcheon’s characteristic swagger hadn’t disappeared.

Gu Huibi’s actions definitely felt excessive.

Elder Lee-nim coughed a few times and continued speaking.

“Even so, wasn’t it too unreasonable to pick a fight over your brother’s engagement and scold him out of the blue?”

“….”

“Of course, Huibi, from your perspective, it was an act…”

“….”

“…Huibi?”

“Yes, yes! Of course, it was all an act.”

Gu Huibi’s eyes trembled slightly as she answered with a smile.

Elder Lee-nim, seeing that, thought it was due to fatigue.

Surely, she wouldn’t have genuinely come to scold him upon hearing about his engagement.

She wouldn’t be that narrow-minded.

‘Surely, it wouldn’t be….’

Elder Lee-nim tried to ignore the inexplicably trembling Gu Huibi.

---

And at that moment, in the Family Head’s chambers.

“I heard you broke Lei Long’s arm.”

“No, I didn’t break it, just slightly crushed it…”

Gu Yangcheon was currently feeling utterly screwed.