Childhood Friend of the Zenith
chapter-202

༺ I’ll Be Back (2) ༻

For a moment, I thought I was mistaken.

And understandably so, because Wi Seol-Ah shouldn’t be here right now.

“Why are you here?”

This was the most random occurrence to have happened to me recently, surprising me even more than when I got a glimpse of Gu Huibi through the Marble of Celestial Captivation.

Why was Wi Seol-Ah here when she should’ve been asleep at home at this time?

“You…”

“Are you going somewhere?”

“What?”

Just as I was about to ask her a question, she beat me to it.

“Young Master, are you going somewhere?”

Beneath the ebony night sky, Wi Seol-Ah’s swollen eyes bore into mine.

“…Uh.”

I initially considered running away without uttering a word, but those eyes held me captive.

“I was… just planning on going somewhere for a bit.”

“Where?”

“You wouldn’t know even if I told you.”

“…Why is Young Master going to such a place alone, then?”

Wi Seol-Ah’s response left me momentarily speechless.

Her tone carried an uncharacteristic gravity, due to which, I wasn’t able to run my mouth easily like normal.

“Both I and the sisters were worried about you.”

“…”

Oddly, it felt like she was scolding me, even though the Wi Seol-Ah I knew of wouldn’t typically do so.

As I continued to gaze at her, struggling with unfamiliar emotions, she pressed on; her eyes boring into me.

“Young Master, why do you always insist on doing things alone?”

“When have I ever done that?”

“You are doing it right now!”

“It’s because that place is far too dangerous for all of you.”

“Dangerous?”

“Yes. So I can’t do much about- “

“If it’s so dangerous, then why are you going there all alone…?”

Wi Seol-Ah’s persistent arguments kept the conversation from coming to an end.

I briefly considered raising my voice, saying that these two were separate matters.

Drip-

But seeing her tear-stricken face, my words faltered.

The appearance of her crying was far too pitiful.

“I… worked hard. I trained diligently… and I learned how to use a sword.”

Wi Seol-Ah’s tearful words made me furrow my brow.

“…You learned what?”

She learned and trained swordsmanship?

Wi Seol-Ah?

From whom?

‘Is it perhaps the Sword Venerable?’

That was the only possibility I could think of right now.

In my previous life, Wi Seol-Ah had been the Sword Venerable’s successor.

Her swordsmanship, mirroring his, made it pretty obvious.

But the issue lay in the fact that she had taken up the sword in this life as well.

That should not have happened.

It was I, who wanted her to avoid the sword in this life more than anyone else.

I believed that I was given this life for that very purpose.

So she should not ever wield a sword in this life.

“Why are you learning how to use a sword?”

“Because… Because only then, could I protect Young Master.”

“What?”

Wi Seol-Ah’s words struck me with the force of a blunt weapon.

‘Because of me?’

When did things get so twisted?

Far too many unexpected events had blurred the line, making it impossible to pick a specific point.

“What nonsense are you spouting? You’ll protect me?”

It might have been different in my previous life, but now Wi Seol-Ah was a mere servant.

She might possess beauty and physical strength beyond her years, but at the end of the day, she had to remain a servant.

That was my only hope. Because even if she were to live a life of servitude, at the very least, she could live in peace.

I couldn’t keep her as my servant forever, but just for now, that was my wish.

Despite my intentions, Wi Seol-Ah persisted, her voice trembling.

“I… I can do it… I was told that I could.”

“By whom? Your grandfather?”

“…”

Wi Seol-Ah fell silent, unable to respond.

Well, no matter how much I thought about it, the only person who would say such words was the Sword Venerable.

However…

‘Would he really have said those words to her?’

It was something I honestly couldn’t fathom.

As I learned about Wi Seol-Ah’s sword training, the pieces fell into place.

Now it made sense why she disappeared everyday before dinner.

Was that all for her training?

But then… Did she find me here because she went out to train?

‘This late at night?’

That didn’t seem likely.

As my mind raced, Wi Seol-Ah’s voice broke the silence.

“Can you… just not go?”

Her voice carried a profound sadness, tugging at my heartstrings. But even that wouldn’t sway my resolve.

This matter was far too important.

“You said… that it’s dangerous. So can you just not… Ugh.”

Right as I was about to explain my circumstances, Wi Seol-Ah abruptly halted.

She held back her tears, swallowing her words.

What was happening?

As I stared at her in confusion, Wi Seol-Ah spoke again.

“…I understand…”

“Understand what…?”

Was she giving up because she knew that I’d still refuse?

Wi Seol-Ah wiped her tears off.

“If you can’t do that, then could we…”

Suddenly, Wi Seol-Ah flinched, her sentence remaining unfinished.

Her hesitation hung in the air, seemingly trying to speak after coming to a different conclusion.

Yet, she stopped herself, swallowing her words.

As this process repeated a few times, tears formed in her eyes, threatening to spill over like a bowl brimming with water.

Wi Seol-Ah appeared oddly unsettled.

“Then… What is it that I can do…? I’m useless like this!”

Seeing her in such a state pained me. Yet, as I was about to step closer to console her…

“…!”

I felt a number of presences coming from the clan.

They had likely noticed my disappearance.

I couldn’t afford to linger, I would be in a lot of trouble if I were to get caught.

Swiftly, I took something out from my pocket—a crimson accessory gifted to me by the Celestial Plum Blossom, courtesy of the Second Elder.

I forced it onto Wi Seol-Ah’s hand.

“Take this.”

“Young Mas…”

“Sorry, let’s talk after I return, okay? I won’t be long.”

Briefly ruffling her hair, I launched myself forward, leaving Wi Seol-Ah behind.

As I got further away, concern for her gnawed at me, but I couldn’t afford to turn back just because of that.

It felt like Wi Seol-Ah and I had much to talk about,

‘But that can wait for after I return.’

First and foremost, I had to put out the urgent fire.

That was my sole focus.

******************

After Gu Yangcheon left, Wi Seol-Ah found herself alone, wiping away the endless tears that streamed down her cheeks.

Clutching the accessory he had given her, she stared in the direction he had gone to.

Then, a voice spoke to Wi Seol-Ah.

[Child…]

Hearing the voice, she had an expression of anger on her face—something quite rare.

“Why can’t I?!”

Her every syllable dripped with frustration.

[…]

“I can’t ask him to stay, I’m not allowed to follow him either… Then what can I even do?!”

Even at Wi Seol-Ah’s cries of frustration, the owner of the voice remained silent,

Aware of her emotions more intimately than anyone else.

“Big Sis said it yourself… That I could achieve my goal if I worked hard, that I could protect the Young Master. But then why am I not allowed to do anything?”

[There isn’t… anything you could do, as of now.]

“I don’t understand.”

[Didn’t I let you come here and see him, because you wanted to?]

After learning that he was going somewhere in secret, with the help of the voice, Wi Seol-Ah went after Gu Yangcheon.

“Was I the only one who wanted this?”

[…]

Wi Seol-Ah couldn’t understand.

“…Big Sis also wanted this, didn’t you?”

Seeing as how Wi Seol-Ah’s question was only met by silence, her words seemed to have struck home.

[…I]

She tried to say something, anything, but her heavy lips stayed shut.

Wi Seol-Ah continued.

“You are so unfair, Big Sis.”

She felt that the voice was unfair.

“You also like Young Master.”

She really liked him.

Wi Seol-Ah knew that better than anyone.

In some ways, the emotions swirling within the voice were far denser and heavier than Wi Seol-Ah’s own.

“So why do you always choose to hide, Big Sis…?”

It made Wi Seol-Ah even more confused as to why she always stayed silent.

If she liked him that much, shouldn’t she express her feelings toward him?

To the young Wi Seol-Ah, her actions seemed foolish.

[How fascinating…]

“What is?”

[To think I could’ve become like you, if my circumstances were just a little different…]

The subtle differences in their lives, right from the very beginning, slowly shaped Wi Seol-Ah into who she was today.

In the eyes of the past Wi Seol-Ah, her current self appeared entirely different.

She no longer hesitated to speak her mind and was a lot more honest and unafraid of expressing her emotions.

It seemed that even if she directed those feelings toward Gu Yangcheon, she was certain he wouldn’t hate her or push her away.

This transformation was only possible due to Gu Yangcheon.

Yet, despite her envy of the present Wi Seol-Ah…

She felt sorry.

Not letting Wi Seol-Ah speak her mind…

Hoping that she wouldn’t reveal her emotions…

And even the farewell—these were all choices she had made.

All of these left her unable to say anything to her younger self.

“…”

Wi Seol-Ah, who had been venting her frustrations, fell silent.

She didn’t need to hear anything else; their shared emotions told Wi Seol-Ah everything she needed to know about the feelings her older self held.

Clutching the accessory Gu Yangcheon had given her, she wiped away her tears.

Her thoughts lingered on the boy she couldn’t stop.

“…Young Master.”

She reminisced the memory of Gu Yangcheon ruffling her hair, prompting Wi Seol-Ah to touch her own hair, the place where the imprint of his hand remained.

Her older self’s words were still difficult for her to understand and it was painful for her to see Gu Yangcheon always getting hurt, but…

“I miss you…”

All she wanted right now was to see the one who had left her.

That was the sole wish of the Young Wi Seol-Ah.

******************

In the northern reaches of the battlefront stood a blue mountain adorned in towering dead trees and rugged rocks.

A once vibrant place covered in lush, elegant greenery.

However…

That emerald glow had now faded, its former allure now gone, leaving behind a desolate landscape of charred trees and blackened corpses.

At the heart of that giant mountain, which had but a few traces left, raged an inferno. The heat was blistering, threatening to consume anyone who dared to gaze upon it.

Flames danced alongside the scorching air, spiraling upward like a colossal whirlpool.

Their voracious hunger spared nothing, violently devouring their surroundings without hesitation.

All of a sudden, the flames that had burned the mountain vanished, as if they had never existed in the first place.

Simultaneously, the towering inferno that was ravaging its surroundings, ceased as well.

The flames disappeared as swiftly as they had appeared, leaving behind a gaping crater.

In the center, stood a fierce man—a figure whose mere gesture had obliterated everything in its path.

Dozens of corpses lay strewn around the crater, their bodies burnt, scorched, reduced to ashen remnants.

Facing that man’s absolute might, they could do nothing but accept their inevitable demise.

All of them were martial artists of the Black Palace, and this place, once a branch of the Black Palace…

Now bore no trace of its former existence.

After all, everything had turned to ashes with just his single gesture.

“…”

As the man observed the corpses surrounding him, he slowly turned his head and looked behind.

There, someone who hadn’t been present before, knelt before the man.

The messenger, still respectfully kneeling, carefully handed a letter to the man and spoke.

“My Lord, a letter from the Second Elder has arrived.”

The man, Gu Cheolun, wasted no time in opening the letter.

The letter contained only a few words written in the Second Elder’s rough handwriting, but they were enough to make Gu Cheolun’s eyebrow twitch, even if for an instant.

For within that letter, lay something that he had long desired.

Having read the letter, Gu Cheolun issued an order without hesitation.

“Captain of the First Swordsmen.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

“Prepare the army.”

His once emotionless eyes had now turned crimson.

The pressure he exuded overpowered everything in its vicinity.

Even the colossal mountain cowered before him.

Gu Cheolun spoke as he began walking.

“We are going to the Misty Mountains.”

Declaring as such, Gu Cheolun disappeared, along with his flames.

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