Chapter 938: Do you know who my mom is?

The mansion located inside Yawoolseong.

It was a place where a giant white flag fluttered grandly, marking its territory.

Possessing considerable military power and several commercial districts, its influence was not insignificant.

It was one of the four families directly bestowed honor by the General.

It was also the place where the head of the White family resided.

They were nobles who gained their status with the General’s permission.

Among them, the White family was particularly known for valuing pure blood, which, in other words, meant their hierarchy was strictly established.

Pure blood is law.

That was the part the White family held in high regard.

This was a place where one could not dare to lift their head unless they were of pure blood.

Within such a space.

Thump.

Someone walks down the hallway.

It was a man dressed in neat clothes, with his long hair tied back tightly.

Despite being tied back, the hair was so long it swept the floor as he passed.

However, conversely, the man’s build was not very large.

Not only his frame but also his body lines were rather slender for a man.

There was no sense of intimidation about him whatsoever.

He was the typical sort of person who looked like they’d fly away if you just nudged them.

“…Hngh…”

“Hngh… ugh…”

Everyone inside the mansion had their heads bowed low.

Because they couldn’t dare to meet his eyes.

But.

“Hmph-hmmm~.”

As if paying no mind to their attitudes, he just kept walking, humming a tune.

And at a very leisurely pace, no less.

Every time he walked, the people there looked even deeper at the floor.

They knew.

This was the only way not to provoke the master’s displeasure.

The man, who had been walking slowly like that for quite some time.

“You there.”

He suddenly stopped walking and spoke.

It was a low yet soft voice.

“The door. Aren’t you going to open it?”

“…!”

Hearing the man’s words, the person sitting nearby jolted upright.

And began to grab the doorknob of the large door in front and open it.

Screeeech-!!

The tightly shut door opened.

Seeing this, the man patted the shoulder of the person who opened the door.

Pat, pat.

“Thanks.”

“Ah, no… No, sir.”

At the person’s reaction, the man chuckled and went inside.

Inside, there was a large bed placed, and upon it lay a man so large that his feet extended beyond the bed.

It was Baekwol, the head of the White family.

He lay there, unconscious and quiet as a mouse, and beside him sat a young man with hair the same color as Baekwol’s.

The young man frowned at the suddenly opened door and looked back.

“What the-! Who the hell…!!”

Just as he was about to raise his voice, he saw the man who appeared and widened his eyes.

“Long time no see.”

Seeing the young man like that, the man smiled brightly and waved his hand.

Seeing that, the young man immediately jumped up and prostrated himself flat on the floor.

“Ah, General… General-nim, I greet you.”

“Yes, have you been well?”

The prostrated young man. A blood relative of the Baekwol family. The man, passing Baek Sang, pulled up an empty chair and sat down with a thump.

Like the people outside, the young man couldn’t move an inch while prostrated.

He even had to be careful about the breath he exhaled.

Drip drip drip-.

“I came to see your face because something came up. It seems the situation is unfolding interestingly.”

“…Well…”

“Ah, you don’t need to explain if you don’t want to.”

“…”

“Child. Would you lift your head?”

At the man’s words, Baek Sang slowly raised his gaze.

Their gazes met.

Baek Sang, whose gaze met the man’s, froze stiff.

His body broke out in goosebumps at the vertically slit pupils and the shining crimson eyes.

The man was a being who could devastate the surroundings with a single gesture.

Baek Sang swallowed dryly, constantly reminding himself of that fact.

“My master has entrusted me with matters, so I don’t have much time to spare for you lot. Would you perhaps feel slighted?”

“Ah, no, sir. How could I possibly dare…!”

“I’m relieved you think so.”

The man swept his hand over his chest as if relieved.

“I was worried anyway, but for something like this to happen while I was gone… It’s incredibly upsetting.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Ah, I didn’t mean for you to apologize. I’m not that eccentric a personality, am I?”

“Y-Yes, sir.”

He couldn’t bring himself to agree.

If he had agreed, who knew what might happen to the mansion he was currently in.

“Right, speaking of which.”

The man casually got up and examined Baekwol’s condition.

“Hmm?”

The man, examining Baekwol, tilted his head curiously.

“How many days has it been since the child became like this?”

“…It hasn’t been four days yet.”

“Four days?”

Hearing this, the man’s eyes widened.

Four days. It might be a short time, but for the Wolya tribe, it was a time carrying various meanings.

“Four days have passed, and he’s still in this state.”

Baekwol’s physical condition was still not good.

As he was of pure blood even among the Wolya tribe, his regenerative power should be outstanding.

The fact that external wounds still remained, and also…

His internal condition also appeared to be not very good.

“Ughhmmm.”

He wondered if the severe wounds were causing the slow recovery, but then the man, staring intently, tilted his head with a strange look.

‘It just feels slowed down?’

Regeneration itself seems sluggish.

Seeing things that should have healed long ago still remaining unhealed, it seems something is wrong.

“Hmm.”

The man, looking at Baekwol from side to side, nodded as if realizing something and got up.

“Looks like there’s a catfish in the water.”

Whether they held a grudge against Baekwol specifically.

Or had some other motive, he didn’t know.

But he knew well that someone was muddying the waters.

And what’s more.

“…How dare they.”

In the Yawool where he himself bestowed blessings.

Grrr.

Sharp claws protruded from the man’s fingertips.

Seeing that, Baek Sang trembled violently.

As if paying no mind to Baek Sang’s reaction, the man muttered.

“Who could it be?”

Who could that person be? While pondering this, the man suddenly recalled something.

‘Could it be another General?’

He wondered if it was one of the other Generals coveting his position.

Such a thought crossed his mind.

The man recalled a few individuals in his mind.

‘Duryeong, could it be that ignorant fool?’

It wouldn’t be him.

Although that guy didn’t get along well with him.

He was the type who wouldn’t leave his territory unless ordered by the master.

He didn’t even care about his own country, ruling it carelessly.

Then.

‘Could it be Yarang?’

That bitch, just thinking about her was irritating. The man thought of the woman with brown hair and ground his teeth.

Someone without a divine tree, not even in a proper position, yet acting as a General riding on the master’s favor.

The man really disliked that situation.

However.

‘Still, it’s not her.’

He concluded that it probably wasn’t Yarang either.

If that’s the case… only one person remained.

‘Could it be that unlucky bastard?’

That damn guy with the disgusting wings.

Could that guy be the mastermind behind this?

‘It’s possible.’

He’s the type you never know what he’s thinking.

If he orchestrated this, it’s entirely possible.

“Hmmmm.”

The man couldn’t easily reach a conclusion.

He knew that guy was recently acting on the master’s orders, doing something.

If it wasn’t any of the three Generals, was he perhaps acting autonomously?

“Child. Did you say that guy was Wolya?”

“Ah, ah… Yes. That’s correct. He definitely had ears and a tail.”

“And?”

Baek Sang answered the question asking for any other information.

“Cheonma.”

“Cheonma?”

“I heard him say he was Cheonma.”

“…Hmm.”

Cheonma?

The man touched his chin, thinking about it back and forth.

“…Cheonma…”

No matter how much he thought about it, it was a name he’d never heard before.

“As for other information… I haven’t been able to grasp it yet.”

Baek Sang added, glancing nervously at the man.

“Really? Alright.”

The man turned towards the door, as if having no further lingering thoughts.

It was bothersome that the one who received his blessing was in that state, but now was not the time to worry about such things.

‘Whitey is dealt with.’

Since the one who was harmed is done for.

‘Should I visit Bluey for now?’

Let’s go see the others who weren’t harmed.

Thinking thus, the man stepped out.

‘Who could it be.’

As the man stepped out like that, he was slowly licking his lips.

Was it anticipation or interest?

Or perhaps, anger?

A vortex of complex emotions.

And within them, the greatest was…

‘Food was scarce enough as it is, so this is good.’

Hunger.

---

Around the time the sunset began.

I was leaving the Shin Noyage and moving my feet.

I walked down a street lined with blooming plum trees.

The slowly setting sun, half-lit by the falling leaves, was creating beautiful colors.

The refreshingly swaying wind deepened the atmosphere, but…

“What is this.”

None of that caught my eye at all.

What’s important to me right now is none other than…

“…Is it really that strange?”

The name I painstakingly created for my new power.

It was the part where it received criticism for being strange.

“No, it’s not…?”

No matter how I think about it, I don’t understand.

“Isn’t it cool?”

Wouldn’t Cheonma Singong be a cool name?

It was one of the coolest names I’ve ever created, easily countable on one hand.

Compared to names like Guhyeomhwaryugong or Tuapacheonmu, something intuitive like this is much better.

Cheonma Singong. How intuitive is that? It means a divine technique used by a Cheonma.

“Seeing a name like that, what did they say?”

Did they call it tacky? Or maybe vulgar?

Whatever it was, the meaning was similar.

“They don’t know anything.”

What would an old man know? He’s probably someone who doesn’t understand sophistication.

They told me to state the name, and as soon as they heard it, they reacted like that. What is that supposed to mean?

The way they looked down on me and ignored me.

It was truly absurd.

“Just you wait, I’ll never tell you again.”

I’ll only tell it to those who appreciate it.

The world just doesn’t know me yet.

I decided to just think of it that way.

As I was walking, rolling my eyes as if changing my gaze.

‘…Hmm.’

I suddenly frowned.

Inside. More precisely, it was because I felt pain in my heart.

‘Is it still lingering?’

I felt it this morning too, but the backlash was still lingering in my body.

My energy isn’t moving properly.

My acupoints were swollen, preventing smooth circulation, and the energy spreading from my heart wasn’t fluid.

Noyage said gruffly.

-Rest for at least seven days and nights. You’re in a state where you’ll easily end up crippled if you act rashly.

He spat out those rather harsh words as if it were nothing.

However, even though his words were like dog crap, the fact that I was actually in a dangerous state was true.

I had given it a name, but ultimately, it was power I couldn’t use.

‘It’s still a long way from being usable.’

Intertwining heart-energy with heart-energy to create friction.

Through that, I can obtain explosive power, but…

It was far too insufficient to handle the backlash on my body.

I knew how tough my body was in the first place.

That even such a body couldn’t handle it…

‘Means it’s a state where I can’t use it in the first place.’

Power that can only be used by force is meaningless right now.

Because I knew that better than anyone. For now, I only found meaning in the success itself.

‘If I want to use it… I need to temper it quite a bit.’

I need to find a better way.

Also.

This was also the path I was taking to achieve that.

After walking for a short while, I reached my destination.

It was a place I had visited yesterday as well.

“…You’ve come again?”

As I approached the door, the owner appeared out of nowhere and greeted me.

It was Turtle.

I smiled brightly at him and said.

“Have you been well?”

“Of course. Didn’t I just see you yesterday?”

“That feels like ages ago.”

“…”

Turtle made a strange expression, perhaps holding back a sigh.

“Hey, we already finished talking yesterday, so don’t be so grumpy about it, okay?”

“…Tsk.”

Mentioning yesterday’s conversation, Turtle clicked his tongue and turned his back.

The moment Turtle, who had come outside, went back through the open door.

Whoosh-!

“…Oh.”

Suddenly, the view I was seeing was reversed.

I hadn’t moved, yet somehow I was inside the teahouse.

Not only was I sitting in a chair, but Turtle was even pouring me tea across from me.

Drip drip.

As I watched the teacup slowly fill.

“So.”

Turtle asked me.

“What is it that you’re so curious about, coming to see me again before even a day has passed?”

Turtle asked, full of questions.

“Ah.”

Curious, you ask.

If you were to count them, there were countless things.

Since I knew almost nothing about sorcery, if I were to ask about it, it would easily exceed hundreds of questions, but…

“Since you mention it, I will ask for now, but…”

First of all.

The thing I most wanted to ask him was none other than this.

“By any chance, do you know a method to turn back time or travel to the past or future?”

“…”

At my words, Turtle’s expression crumpled.

At the same time, the teahouse shook violently.