Childhood Friend of the Zenith
chapter-253

Chirp- chirp-.

I heard birds chirping.

I wasn’t too bothered by the noise, but the light seeping through the window crack stung my eyes so much that I had no choice but to get up.

“…Oh.”

I stopped rubbing my eye mid-way and uttered a sound.

It was because I found myself in my room, not in the usual tent I saw at the frontlines.

“…I got confused for a second.”

Even though this is a room that I should be most familiar with.

Maybe it's because I've grown accustomed to sleeping outside.

I really wasn’t used to sleeping in a comfortable bed anymore.

How long was I asleep for?

I fell asleep with the intent to relax fully and get rid of all my fatigue, and judging by how refreshed I felt, it seemed like I was successful.

I stood up.

Was it because of my movement? I started to feel someone approaching my room shortly after.

When the person arrived right in front of the door, they spoke carefully.

-Young Master, have you slept well?

“Yeah, I just woke up.”

- I will prepare you a face wash. Should I prepare a meal as well?

“A light one, please. I’ll eat a full meal after I finish training.”

- Understood.

Just by hearing her voice, I knew it was Hongwa.

She worked hard in the frontlines as an ordinary person who wasn’t a martial artist and she probably overworked herself even after arriving, yet here she was, working early in the morning. It was truly admirable.

Should I give her a raise?

I wasn’t sure about this part since the clan handled it, but they would probably raise her salary soon without my intervention. If not, I could always bring it up later.

After lightly washing my face, I headed straight to the training ground.

I had to wash again after training, so I just gave my face a brief rinse.

I took a full day off, so I had to start training again.

“…Tsk.”

On my way there, I clicked my tongue due to the presence I felt.

If there was one thing that bothered me,

That man, he’s super stubborn.

He seemed to be one of Lady Mi’s martial artists.

I couldn’t really make out his age since he was far away and had a mask on.

But he looked like a middle-aged man.

He also didn’t look like a professional in ambushing.

Judging by how he seemed a bit poor in this regard despite his level, he didn’t seem to be an assassin or anything of that sort.

He had the similar sharp aura as them, but rather than an assassin, his vibe was more akin to a well-trained swordsman.

I couldn’t really tell all that much, which meant that he’s at a very high level.

But even so, he should do a proper job.

It’s rather bothersome.

I told him to ease off a little as yesterday he was way too noticeable, but the man seemed like he was going to continue without listening.

Though I’ll let him be for now since I don’t feel any ill intent.

But I still couldn’t do anything about him getting on my nerves.

When I arrived at the training ground while ignoring him, I noticed that the area was already filled with heat.

Since this was a training ground permitted only to the blood relatives which meant that it was one of the daughters.

…But isn’t this too much?

The heat was way too intense.

There was only one person that popped up in my mind who was capable of producing this much heat.

If I had to choose one, it would have had to be Gu Huibi, but even that was hard to say.

When I opened the door to check the origin of heat,

“Oh.”

“Ah?”

“Judging by how I didn’t see you around, it seems like you just woke up.”

It was Gu Ryoon, who had now become the First Elder, his giant muscles swelling explosively.

I put on a speechless expression after seeing this absurd situation, and asked him.

“…Why are you here?”

“Can you not tell by looking? I’m training.”

“Yeah, but why are you doing that here?”

The First Elder was technically allowed to use this training ground since it was permitted to the blood relatives, but I’m sure he had a place of his own considering he was an Elder.

Which was why I asked why he was training here.

To my question, the First Elder smiled awkwardly.

“I came here looking for you, but this old man ended up doing this… hehe, I guess I’m still young, because seeing a training ground like this makes me want to move around.”

“You should’ve come to my house if you were looking for me, so why were you here…?”

“You little? How dare you tell me to go to you when this old man has aged this much.”

“You just said you were still young. Did you for… “

As soon as I argued back, the First Elder’s fist flew towards me.

Swish!

I quickly tilted my head to dodge him, but the First Elder’s thick and heavy arm quickly turned direction and struck my head downwards.

Smack!

“Ough…!”

Holy shit.

Such a sound should not come from an ordinary bonk.

I even started to feel dizzy for an instant along with great pain.

“It seems like you still talk rudely despite getting older.”

“Ugh, seriously…!”

When I struggled while wrapping my head around with my hands, the First Elder shook his hand off and laughed.

It seemed as if he was reminded of something funny.

But that smile of his seemed too bright and scared me.

“…Why are you laughing like that?”

“This is fate.”

“Huh? What fate?”

Why are you saying such a scary thing?

“How about you spar with this old man for the first time in a while?”

“…First time in a while? I’ve never sparred with you, Elder.”

“You did it from time to time when you were young.”

“That’s not a spar! That was just one-sided bullying.”

I remember the way the First Elder used to teach me through sparring because of how I didn’t listen to him back then.

Thanks to that, I ran away whenever the First Elder approached me for training.

“It’ll be nice to build some memories.”

“I told you that I won’t be…!”

“Then how about I beat you up one-sidedly?”

“…”

Oh, my word.

Wasn’t he pretty much saying that he wanted to beat me up?

“…Elder, you know this is abuse, right?”

“Abuse? Don’t say such a terrifying thing. This is just a lesson filled with love.”

He seemed to be serious.

I looked behind me wondering if there was any way out of this,

…But could I even run away?

The First Elder’s gaze, indicating he wouldn't let me get away, made me feel rather uncomfortable.

There is only one escape route.

There was only one door behind me. I’m fucked.

Maybe I should just break through a wall?

Yeah, I’ll just do that.

I was about to charge my inner Qi to break through the wall near me, but the First Elder spoke with a lamenting voice.

“…Yangcheon, you really are impressive.”

“Huh? For what?”

“Others try anything to get teachings from the experienced, yet the first thing you think about is running away.”

I’m caught.

Haha, fuck me.

When was I caught?

My act and expression were perfect.

“How could I not tell when your face is basically telling me so?”

Huh? Did I just speak my inner thoughts out loud or something?

“…Elder, do you also know how to read minds?”

Did he gain a new ability after aging more?

I even had a thought like this.

“Forget it. I wanted to see how much my grandson had grown since it’s been a long time, tsk tsk.”

“As you can see, I grew up nicely by myself.”

“But you are still very small though…?”

“Do you not consider the possibility that you are the one who’s too big…?”

This was the biggest mystery that existed in the Gu Clan for me.

In a clan where the majority had relatively small builds, how did Father or the First Elder have such physiques?

I was really curious about that.

Even if I compared him to those Hwangbo bastards… he doesn’t lose no matter what.

Lose my ass, the First Elder seemed even bigger than them.

If I especially thought about the First Elder’s age, him maintaining his physique was unbelievable.

Moreover, considering how he got a huge injury last time, it was understandable for him to get weaker.

After the First Elder snorted loudly, he picked up the outfit he threw near him, wore it, and left with loud footsteps.

It seemed like he really just came to see me.

“Oh, right.”

“Huh?”

Right as I was about to breathe a sigh of relief after surviving him, the First Elder walked back towards me.

“I had something to give you.”

“…Why?”

My expressions rotted instantly whenever I heard the First Elder say such a thing.

What was he going to give me this time?

I looked at the object the First Elder was giving me with an unpleasant expression since complicated problems pops up every time I received his things,

“…?”

But the thing the First Elder gave to me was none other than a letter.

“Take it.”

“What are these?”

“These are letters for you.”

“…Through you, Elder?”

“Yes, I originally was going to give these to you yesterday, but I’m a little late.”

Oh, was this what he was trying to say to me yesterday?

Letters that went through the First Elder rather than the clan huh.

I didn’t know what it was about, so I put the letters inside my pocket for now.

But the First Elder’s eyes staring at me changed in a strange way which bothered me a little.

“Oh, I also heard that you met with Lady Mi.”

“…Oh, well yeah.”

It was obvious for me to see her since she returned to the clan.

“How was it?”

“How was what?”

The First Elder asked me how it was.

However, I didn’t understand what the First Elder meant by his question.

What did he mean by how it was?

“I’m asking how it felt for you to see Lady Mi for the first time in a while.”

“Should I have felt something special from it? It was just a simple meeting.”

If I had to describe my feelings, I did feel uncomfortable and pressure from meeting her, but I couldn’t afford to tell this to the First Elder.

In my past life, I probably still resented her around this time.

I hated her for leaving the clan as if she was waiting to do so as soon as my mother disappeared.

I also resented her for returning to the clan as soon as I became the Young Lord.

I used my anger to protect myself from the situation that I felt afraid of, and that was just an embarrassing memory looking at it now.

I didn’t have to go that far.

But I realized that too late.

“…I see, alright. Take care.”

After hearing my response, the First Elder tapped my shoulder with his thick hands and disappeared.

He seemed like he wanted to say something more, but forced himself to stop.

I wonder what it is.

The First Elder definitely looked at me as if he was disappointed about something.

There was no way that I couldn’t notice considering he looked at me that way in my past life.

That gaze of his was also the most painful gaze for me as well.

All of those who died for me had the same gaze.

Those memories still haunted me from time to time, which was why I was trying my best to not let the same things repeat in this life.

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

After the First Elder left, I lightly finished my training.

Because of how I repeatedly hunted demons for a while, getting a real training like this made me feel refreshed.

I briefly wiped my sweat off with my clothes, asked Hongwa to prepare me a face wash again, then I briefly ate after washing myself.

After filling my stomach, I had a sudden thought.

Where did they go?

I was concerned that the girls weren’t around.

For some reason, Namgung Bi-ah didn’t show up once today even though she was used to coming to me randomly, and not only did I not see Moyong Hi-ah due to being busy or something, but Gu Huibi also wasn’t around even though she would come and drag me away for training around this time.

What gives?

I wasn’t saying some bullshit of me feeling lonely or whatever.

I simply just felt uneasy since they weren’t anywhere to be seen.

“What the hell seriously, it’s making me concerned.”

Because of how the usual faces weren’t around, I began to feel nervous while wondering if they were causing trouble somewhere.

“Sigh…”

Because this meant that I was used to being with others by this point.

It was objectively a positive thing, but a part of me didn’t fully agree.

It might’ve been the right direction if I wanted to change my life this time around, but if I thought about how I said I would carry all the burden myself, I couldn’t really say that this was all that positive.

More people to protect, also meant more work for me.

Despite having this thought, I subconsciously smirked out loud.

Who am I to even think about such a thing?

It was almost as if I was trying to become a hero when I was just a loser, which made me laugh.

It was just one day of me not eating with them, so I shouldn’t feel nervous.

And all I have to do is just go see them if I feel nervous about it.

It was that easy.

It was as simple as going to them if they didn’t come to me.

With that thought, I started moving my steps right away.

All I had left was just go visit my father and hear my future plans.

There was still the Hao Clan to talk about, but I planned to bring it up after observing the situation.

My steps became a little faster.

My destination was none other than the place Moyong Hi-ah was residing in.

I originally planned to go visit Namgung Bi-ah, but Moyong Hi-ah was closer and I had to go to her tomorrow to give her heat anyways which was my reasoning for going to her.

I’ll visit Namgung Bi-ah after seeing Moyong Hi-ah.

What the.

In the middle of my walk, I noticed that the presence which was following me suddenly disappeared.

Did he give up and leave?

I thought about looking for him wondering if he hid his presence more, but I decided not to.

If I can’t feel his presence, then it’s better for me.

When I arrived in the place where those from Moyong Clan was residing in,

“Huh?”

“Oh.”

I saw a familiar person.

They weren’t from Moyong Clan and it wasn’t someone that I knew, but it was a person that I knew in presence rather than face.

“…Ah.”

The man avoided my eyes after also noticing this, but he probably already knew that I knew who he was.

“Why are you here?”

I asked him first to break the awkward silence.

It was the middle-aged man who shadowed after me.

The man likely knew that I knew who he was as well, so he probably had no excuse.

Though I’m not going to listen to his excuses even if he had them.

When I stared at him unpleasantly, the man slightly lowered his head to me.

“…Sorry for causing you trouble.”

“Yes.”

He did cause me trouble, since he chased after me.

That’s that,

But why is this person standing in front of the entrance?

That was my question.

I wondered why Lady Mi’s person was guarding the entrance here.

The man stayed silent for a moment after hearing my question.

It seemed like he was being spoken to telepathically.

Huh. Look at this.

Was something happening inside?

Moyong Hi-ah must surely be in there, and I didn’t think that Lady Mi would do something reckless, but I had to make sure.

Because of that thought,

Crack.

I stretched my body and charged up my inner Qi to my middle Dantian.

Right as I was about to throw my fist to the man with my enhanced body,

“…Inside.”

I stopped my movement after hearing the man’s voice.

“I will lead you inside, Young Master.”

“…This suddenly?”

“The Leader ordered me to lead you inside.”

“Lea… Excuse me?”

As soon as the man said that word, I was reminded of a person.

There was only one person that would be called a ‘Leader’ here.

The problem however, was why she was in Moyong Clan’s place.

I followed the man inside.

It was strange how I was being led by someone that wasn’t from Moyong Clan, in a place that Moyong Clan resided in.

Slide.

The door to where Moyong Hi-ah likely was slid open, and I gasped after seeing the person who was

inside.

It was because I was right about my guess.

Inside the room, there was Moyong Hi-ah who for some reason had a stiffer expression than usual,

Sip.

And Lady Mi who was sipping her tea with a calm expression.

Lady Mi’s peculiar cold gaze aimed my way,

“Good to see you.”

And after seeing Lady Mi speak to me calmly, I accidentally made a dumbfounded expression.