Childhood Friend of the Zenith
chapter-224

Moyong Hi-ah barged into my room uninvited.

I didn't know whether it was because of her presence, but my small room felt a bit colder.

“I'll be excusing myself.”

“Yeah, you are very much excusing yourself.”

“…”

Wasn't she practically begging me to curse at her?

I knew Moyong Hi-ah was a cold and annoying person, but she didn't seem this shameless in my past life.

How did she become like this?

Or perhaps, she was always like this?

That was certainly possible, but whatever the case, this was a very uncomfortable situation.

“You may speak.”

“I heard the news that the Moyong Clan made a deal with our clan.”

“Yes, that's right.”

During our conversation, I observed Moyong Hi-ah's appearance.

I couldn't see any of the usual things I associated with her:

The scent, the dense makeup, the accessories.

She looked different from her usual decorated self. I was looking at Moyong Hi-ah's natural face.

She looks similar to when she was in the Abyss.

She wasn't in a situation where she could adorn herself.

And she was in a situation where she had to survive today for tomorrow.

Personally, I preferred her current look.

[You say you don't like her, yet you observed her face.]

I looked because it was right in front of me.

[…To be fair, how could you not look when she is that beautiful.]

Elder Shin mumbled in a very low voice, but it echoed in my mind, so I couldn't miss it.

Elder Shin.

[What is it.]

Did you perhaps not forget?

[…Hmm?]

You know, the really pretty girl from the Moyong Clan…

[Ha.]

Elder Shin reacted condescendingly to my question.

[So much time has passed, yet you still think I didn't forget such a trivial thing? Brat, you are quite obsessed with romance.]

…I see. If that's the case, it's fine.

After hearing Elder Shin's response, I nodded to his words.

I also decided to pretend that I didn't hear his voice shaking crazily.

If I pressed him further, I knew he would sulk and not talk to me for days.

How could a Taoist be so narrow-minded?

[Hmm? Did you say something?]

I said nothing.

[Is that so? That's weird… I could have sworn you talked shit about me.]

He had quite the sharp ears…

“I want to ask you a question first.”

“You may ask. I am listening.”

“…Why are you doing this?”

“Pardon?”

It was a question I had to ask.

“I understood that the Moyong Clan was building their business in Shanxi and helping them financially.”

“Yes.”

“But to me, it seems like an absurd deal…”

“Yes. Our clan offered quite a bit. Perhaps this is not enough?”

There was no way it wasn't.

Gu Clan never cared much for money, nor did they have the greed to earn more, but that didn't mean they rejected it.

It's not a clan that did things for rewards.

Other clans received donations in exchange for protecting citizens from demons.

The Moyong Clan and the Tang Clan used their businesses to build more finance, but the Gu Clan didn't do that.

They took responsibility for Shanxi's safety, but they didn't receive any major donations for it.

Of course, they received some because they had relationships with the upper class…

But I guess not enough for the clan to have a luxurious status.

To be more precise, it would be more accurate to say that we didn't get much despite being called a noble clan.

“That's not it, but I wanted to hear why your clan is going through all that loss just to buy some heat.”

“Oh.”

She looked as if she forgot to explain it to me.

Unlike Moyong Hi-ah's usual cold and alluring expression, she tried to make a cute face because she made a mistake.

What the hell is she doing?

But I knew that even that was an act.

Moyong Hi-ah was a girl who knew her strength too well.

She knew that changing her look just a little could be extremely helpful.

“Hmm…”

But because I still looked at her the same way despite seeing her like that,Moyong Hi-ah returned to her usual expression.

“As expected, it doesn't work on you.”

Tsk.

I felt more relieved after seeing her click her tongue in disappointment.

That personality of hers doesn't change as I expected.

The only difference was that her gaze seemed a little different from the one she gave me in the past.

“You are quite fascinating the more I look at you. Do you perhaps have a problem?”

“Problem…?”

“…You know, like… maybe you have a problem with your masculinity…”

“What are you saying?”

“But judging by the way you treat the Poison Phoenix and the Sword Dancer, that doesn't seem to be it…”

What's not it.

What's not it, you bastard.

After staring at Moyong Hi-ah, I asked with a sigh.

“Let's end the jokes there.”

“I'm not joking, though…”

“…How about you explain to me why you are buying my heat.”

I had to stop this pointless conversation and get to the main topic.

After all, I would only get angrier as the conversation with Moyong Hi-ah continued.

When I brought up the main topic, Moyong Hi-ah put on a serious expression for a moment, and fixed her posture.

She knelt on the floor and politely clasped her hands to show respect.

After seeing that, I also fixed my posture.

“As I said earlier, I need Young Master Gu's heat.”

“Yeah, but why.”

“If you must hear the reason, you have to accept a Shackle for it.”

“Shackle?”

I wondered what kind of a reason it was that required me to have a Shackle put on me.

But if it was what I thought it was, then it would likely be related to the condition that Moyong Hi-ah had.

“For reference, the Lord of Gu Clan didn't hear the reason.”

“…So, he sold out his son without even hearing the reason?”

“…”

Judging by her silence, it seemed like that really happened.

My father, maybe he was more of a materialistic person than I thought?

After thinking for a bit, I spoke to Moyong Hi-ah.

“Then I won't hear the rea-“

“I actually have a condition.”

“Hey, why do you keep interrupting me if you aren't going to listen to the end?”

“…It's a condition where Ice Qi builds up if I don't manage it with my Qi.”

I had no intention of hearing it from her since I already knew, but she said it all with her own mouth.

Was she crazy?

I frowned because I was forced to hear something that I didn't want to hear.

Because of it, Moyong Hi-ah's eyes slightly widened.

“You… aren't very surprised by this?”

“You said it all without my consent, so why should I be surprised by it?”

“Not necessarily… but that's not the usual reaction I get.”

Honestly, I felt that I messed up a little as I responded to her.

I should have pretended to be at least a little surprised, but despite hearing that she had a condition directly from her, I failed to react properly.

I was carried away by the flow.

I didn't know if it was because I was talking to a completely incompatible person or the memory of my past life.

I had to use my Qi to calm down my stomach that felt a bit sick.

“…So, you're telling me that's the reason why you need my heat?”

“Yes.”

“But why me when I'm not the only one who can provide heat?”

I learned that Moyong Hi-ah's condition didn't improve just by putting heat next to her.

If that was possible, then she wouldn't have suffered all her life.

And it's not like I'm the only one in the world who can use Fire Arts.

There was Gu Huibi, not to mention Father.

Gu Ryunghwa belonged to Mount Hua, and Gu Yeonseo was an exception since she still couldn't summon heat yet.

Moreover, if it came to Fire Arts, the Gu Clan was the representative place for it, but the Gu Clan wasn't the only one that used the art.

Considering that some of the Hundred Masters of the World used Fire Arts,I wondered why Moyong Hi-ah chose me out of all the options.

Perhaps, it's because I look easy?

No way.

She wasn't a person who chose her partner for such a reason.

Then what is it?

I thought that maybe only my heat affected Moyong Hi-ah's condition.

But that's unlikely…

I knew that wasn't the case just by thinking of what happened on 'that day' in my past life.

Our bodies were hugging each other tightly…

But unlike my hot body, Moyong Hi-ah's body was ice cold.

I kept wondering with such thoughts, yet Moyong Hi-ah's response was firm.

“It has to be your heat.”

“…”

“I felt last time that it would work if it's Young Master Gu's heat.”

I saw a white finger that cautiously reached out towards me.

The hand that slowly approached me, touched my hand.

But it felt like she was careful, as if she couldn't hold my hand.

“…Please.”

It was sudden, but I felt like I knew what she was saying please for.

I didn't say much, but using our contact, I sent a little bit of heat to her.

Flinch.

I felt Moyong Hi-ah's body slightly shaking when she received my heat.

I thought to myself after seeing her reaction.

…Really?

Is there really an effect?

Why?

Just why?

I couldn't understand no matter how much I thought about it.

What's different from Moyong Hi-ah back then and Moyong Hi-ah now?

Is it because she's a bit younger?

It was possible that it was a condition that worsened as time passed, but that probably wasn't the case.

Maybe… it's because of the change in the Destructive Flame Arts?

If I thought about the thing I had now that I didn't in my past life, that was the only thing.

If the Heavenly Demon's power was an ability to absorb another being's energy, then it might be possible that I could absorb Ice Qi as well, but judging by how it reacted to my heat, it was more likely that it was due to my Destructive Flame Arts.

Similar to how it cleanses Demonic Qi, maybe it pushes away Ice Qi?

If I thought about the changes in my Destructive Flame Arts in this life, I remembered that I could burn Demonic Qi to cleanse it, and turn it into normal Qi.

Since that didn't happen in my past life, this was the only thing I could think of.

“…Hngh…”

“Oh.”

I withdrew my hand after hearing a groaning sound.

I was forgetting what was happening now because of all the thoughts in my head.

I quickly raised my head to observe Moyong Hi-ah.

“Are you ok-“

But judging by her lowering her head and curling her body, it seemed like she wasn't okay at all.

“L… Look… at it.”

Moyong Hi-ah, who was struggling for a while, spoke with a very faint voice.

But I couldn't hear it because of how quiet it was.

It looked like she was trying to hide her shaky voice, but it didn't seem like she could do it easily.

“It's… It's you…”

“Huh?”

After saying some words that I couldn't understand, Moyong Hi-ah suddenly stood up and fixed her uniform.

“…I'll be leaving for today.”

“This suddenly?”

“Yes… I think it would be too hard for me if we continued.”

What's hard?

Moyong Hi-ah walking in a slightly unsteady way bothered me a bit.

But I stopped her since there was one thing I had to ask.

“What about the Shackle?”

“Huh…?”

“You told me that I needed to receive a Shackle if I heard about your condition.”

It was rather annoying, but at this point, I had to get one.

A Shackle from a noble clan was possible to break away from, so it didn't matter much anyway.

I would just get it and break away from it.

After hearing my question, Moyong Hi-ah showed an expression that made her look like she was saying 'Oh, I did say that', and slightly smiled.

“That's a lie.”

“What?”

“Normally a Shackle is necessary… but I had no intention of doing that to Young Master Gu.”

“What's the reason for that?”

When I asked her why she made that decision, Moyong Hi-ah responded after thinking for a bit.

“I felt that I could do that for a very trustworthy person like you… is a response that you wouldn't believe, right?”

“…”

When our eyes met, Moyong Hi-ah suddenly turned her head and covered her mouth.

It was obvious that she was about to burst out laughing.

“…Sorry. Your face looked quite shocking.”

Quite shocking.

It sounded like an insult for some reason, which made me rather annoyed.

But in the midst of all this, I couldn't help but wonder if this heat really helped Moyong Hi-ah.

Because I could still feel Ice Qi from Moyong Hi-ah.

“Would this really be effe-“

“Young Master.”

“Huh?”

“Thank you. I'll be taking my leave for today.”

This was definitely a good sign, but our conversation was in a state where it hadn't really ended properly yet.

“…I too would like to continue our friendly conversation,”

“It wasn't really friendly.”

“But I don't know what would happen to me if I stayed longer.”

What did she mean by what would happen to her?

Moyong Hi-ah's gaze pointed in a certain direction after she spoke.

When I looked in the same direction as her…

“…”

I saw three pairs of eyes peeking this way with their heads poking from the corner.

It seemed weirder since all of their eyes had different colors.

“What are you guys doing over there?”

I asked with an incredulous tone, but the eyes still continued to stare at me, and no response came back.

How did they find out about this?

I felt chills on my back because of it.

“I'll be leaving first. Young Master Gu, thank you very much for today.”

It seemed like I wasn't the only one who felt the chills, seeing as how Moyong Hi-ah escaped my room with faster steps than usual.

Moyong Hi-ah, who was leaving the room, glanced at the three girls and spoke in my direction.

“It was a good time. I'll be asking again the next night we meet.”

“What?”

After leaving me with very misleading words, she disappeared with light steps.

“Wait… At least explain properly!”

I immediately tried to stop Moyong Hi-ah after instinctively realizing that I was in trouble.

Grasp.

But a hand stopped me first. Then the voice came.

“Explain.”

I gulped nervously after hearing Namgung Bi-ah's serious voice.

Not only did Namgung Bi-ah's expression seem more emotionless than it already was, but there were also two squirrels hiding behind Namgung Bi-ah.

Haha.

I don't think I will be sleeping comfortably tonight.