Childhood Friend of the Zenith
Chapter 279: Winter Rain (3)

I already knew that the Sword Queen was staying at an inn.

Perceiving the Taoist Qi filling the building, it seemed like only martial artists from Mount Hua were staying at this inn and I could feel an especially powerful Taoist Qi among them.

“I didn’t expect you to visit me…”

The Sword Queen greeted me with a look of surprise as I followed Yung Pung into a room.

After exchanging a brief greeting, I got straight to the main topic.

I didn’t feel like dragging this out.

“Hmm…”

The Sword Queen had a strange expression after she heard my request.

Then, she spoke with a subtle smile.

“That’s difficult.”

“Difficult you say?”

“It doesn’t feel like you’re asking me to accept her as a disciple… nor are you asking me to teach her”

“Is it a difficult request?”

Thankfully, that didn’t seem to be the case as the Sword Queen shook her head in response.

“I’m just curious.”

The Sword Queen responded as she stared at the rain outside the window.

“I didn’t expect you to use your request in such a manner.”

In exchange for saving her life, the Sword Queen told me that I could request her for a single thing and I was using that request now.

“You aren’t even asking me to solve her Inner Demons, all you want me to do is look at her sword. Do you really think that is enough? And listening to your story, it doesn’t sound that easy.”

I didn’t make any special request to the Sword Queen.

All I did was ask her to observe Gu Yeonseo’s sword.

“Yes, if it isn’t a difficult request, I would really appreciate it if you can do this for me.”

“Hmm…”

Out of all people, I dared to ask the Sword Queen people to observe someone else’s sword.

It was rather disrespectful, and the Sword Queen seemed to be lost in thought as she couldn’t understand my intention behind this request.

“Is it really enough? Instead, you could ask me to resolve that child’s Inner Demons.”

“That would be enough.”

The Sword Queen nodded after a brief moment of silence.

“If you insist, I will do so.”

“…Thank you.”

“This is nothing. Compared to what you did for me, it’s a shame that I’m paying with only this much.”

Judging by the manner the Sword Queen spoke with a smile, it seemed like she thankfully recovered.

When I thought about how much of her body was destroyed, it was possible that she hadn’t recovered her strength completely, but just from the aura I felt from her,I was able to tell that she had regained most of it .

“Is this all you wanted to ask of me?”

“Yes, I’m sorry for visiting you unannounced.”

“No problem. In fact, I’m glad that you came while I’m still here.”

“Are you going somewhere?”

“Hmm… You’ll learn tomorrow, so it’s better if I don’t say anything.”

Tomorrow?

Wouldn’t the Heavenly Dragon Academy be opening tomorrow?

Wondering what she was talking about, I just stared at the Sword Queen, but she continued smiling, having no intention to speak any further.

Then, the Sword Queen brought up a different subject.

“Aren’t you going to ask about your little sister?”

“Looking at your peaceful expression, I’m sure she’s doing well.”

“Hmm…”

As if she wasn’t happy with my response, the Sword Queen’s expression turned a bit sour.

What was she unhappy about?

“You seem very clever at times, but not when it comes to things like this.”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing, it’s not something worth pondering over. And do not worry about your request, I shall see that it is fulfilled before the day ends.”

“Thank you…”

Thankfully, the Sword Queen accepted my request.

Honestly, it would’ve been easiest to ask her to accept Gu Yeonseo as her disciple, but I couldn’t afford to do so.

Gu Ryunghwa was already her disciple and to become the Sword Queen’s disciple, it was required to go to Mount Hua, like in the case of Gu Ryunghwa, and there was no way Gu Yeonseo would go to Mount Hua.

With the aspirations held by Gu Yeonseo, that would be more poisonous for her.

“I’ll be taking my leave now.”

“Alright. I shall see you tomorrow.”

“Huh? Alright.”

I left the room after respectfully lowering my head to the Sword Queen.

I saw that Yung Pung was still waiting for me as I stepped outside.

“Ah, you came out?”

“You are still here?”

Yung Pung’s eyes filled with ambition as I responded to him.

Those eyes, I’d definitely seen them somewhere before.

He had the same eyes whenever he came to me asking for a spar back at Mount Hua.

I sighed helplessly after realizing that this guy was still crazy about training.

I would have played with him a little, but it was difficult at the moment.

Yung Pung clearly looked disappointed on hearing my rejection, but he wasn’t stubborn about it.

“What a shame… I wanted to mix my body with Brother Gu’s since it’s been a while.”

“…Could you not say it in a manner that can be easily misunderstood?”

What did he mean by mixing our bodies, that crazy bastard.

The mere thought of it gave me the chills.

He could have just said ‘Spar’. I didn’t know why he worded it like that when there was a perfectly fine word.

Ugh…

Just imagining it made me feel sick and that made me want to leave quickly.

I had achieved my goal for coming here and the Sword Queen said that she would accept my request, so I left the inn without any hesitation.

Will this be enough?

As I left, I wondered if this would be enough, but I couldn’t think of a better method for Gu Yeonseo.

If this didn’t work, I just had to think of something else.

I still felt a bit uneasy, but I decided to let it pass for now.

It’s a bit of a hassle, since there’s tomorrow as well.

My head was a mess because I already had a bunch of other things on my mind.

The Dishonored Venerable, the Water Dragon, and even the Thunder Fang and Elder Shin.

Going forward, I had to think of how to deal with each of them.

And it was rather hard to think with this stupid brain of mine.

Moreover, the Heavenly Dragon Academy’s exam would be held the next day.

I didn’t know about the type of test they prepared, but whatever it was, I had to take it and there was no room for failure.

It’s not that urgent, but I also have to make time to visit the secret vault.

The secret vault was located inside the Academy’s basement.

I didn’t know its exact location, so I had to keep that in mind as well.

Also...

I have to find that bastard as well.

The secret vault in the basement was only a small part of the reason I came to the Heavenly Dragon Academy.

I had to meet with the giant tree to learn the truth, and for that, I had to go to the Abyss.

It wasn’t like there were only one or two ways to enter the Abyss and it wasn’t that easy to find the gate that led to a specific world, so I needed to find the fastest way there as I couldn’t afford to waste time.

I have to find the bastard who knows the way there.

In my past life, Jang Seoyeon was the one responsible for the calamity that transported all the Young Prodigies who participated in the tournament of Dragons and Phoenixes into the Abyss.

However, Jang Seonyeon wasn’t the one who had the ability to open a gate to the Abyss.

In spite of that, he was able to open the gate to trap the Young Prodigies thanks to the ‘bastard’ next to him.

What was his name again?

The bastard who had the monstrous ability of detecting a spatial weak point and ripping it apart with his hands.

His name was… Zhuge something.

I clicked my tongue as I thought about his name.

Of course it had to be Zhuge.

They were people who only possessed their surname as their clan had been destroyed a long time ago.

I tried asking the Beggar’s Sect for information a few times, but unlike Zhuge Hyuk, it seemed like they struggled to find any information

That bastard was probably living under a fake name.

Would he come this time?

All I knew about him was that he was associated with that incident and I was only able to remember him because he was with Jang Seonyeon at the time.

So I’ll go find him.

I prayed that this part of history didn’t change.

Pitter.

I looked around the streets as I got drenched in rain on my way back.

Was it because the Heavenly Dragon Academy would open shortly?

The streets seemed rowdier than usual.

Judging by the swords on their belt and the condition of their body, they all seemed to be young martial artists.

It seemed like they had all come here to enter the Heavenly Dragon Academy.

Thanks to the increase in visitors, the merchants had smiles on their faces.

It seemed like the Young Prodigies weren’t the only ones waiting for this day.

Tap.

“Ah, sorry.”

Someone accidentally bumped into me and apologized.

Thanks to the number of people gathered, it was common for people to bump into each other.

I hated it when it got this crowded.

I continued to make my way while complaining to the sky.

“Master over there! Have a taste of this!”

“It’s cheap and delicious! The noodles that even shocked the Alliance Leader with its deliciousness!”

I heard the merchants from each building shout as I passed by.

I continued on my way while ignoring each and every one of them.

I wasn’t fond of crowded places, but on the contrary, I liked rowdy streets.

The streets I came across after I first regressed were similar to this.

Because of that, it was memorable.

Streets like this were full of life, and that made me feel like calamity hasn’t struck the world yet.

The sight made me feel like I was given a second chance.

Because of that, a slight feeling of discomfort was nothing.

I walked past the merchants working hard to sell their products even on a rainy day like this as I had to return to my inn.

Then...

“Try a yakgwa!”

A sudden voice made me halt.

Yakgwa huh.

It had been a while ever since I heard that word.

That made sense.

I hadn’t bought a single piece of yakgwa ever since Wi Seol-Ah left because it reminded me of her smile whenever I gave her yakgwa.

Having piqued my interest, I broke through the crowd and headed towards the merchant.

An old man with wrinkles greeted me with a smile.

“Ah, do you want to try one?”

“I’ll take two.”

Seeing the money, the old man smiled and gave me the yakgwas, and I left after buying just two of them as I didn’t want to buy too many.

“Thank you, Master!”

It felt like the manner in which the old man spoke to me changed, but I didn’t care too much.

I put a yakgwa in my mouth.

The texture felt the same and the taste was the same as well, but for some reason, it felt less sweet.

Is it because the girl who ate it happily isn’t here right now?

If that was the reason…

How pointless.

It was pointless of me to feel that way just because I was missing someone.

I asked nobody in particular while thinking about her cheerful face.

I wonder how she’s doing.

I also wondered if she was eating well, or if she was sick.

Also…

Was it really okay for me to not visit her at all?

I wanted to ask her all those questions.

It was obvious that I wasn’t going to receive any answers, but I asked them anyway.

Pitter.

My questions were washed away by the shower and melted without being carried by the wind.

“…”

Just like how a stream of breath scatters immediately.

Putting the leftover yakgwa in my mouth, I once more began making my way through the falling rain.

I couldn’t waste more time being sentimental as I was already busy enough.

And if I took any longer, the people at the inn would start looking for me.

As I was about to move without regret…

[Grr…]

The beast inside suddenly cried.

“Weren’t you asleep?”As it had been keeping quiet for a while, I thought that it was hibernating due to the winter, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

[Grr… Grrr…]

The bastard continued to growl as if it was disturbed from a deep slumber.

It almost sounded like it was complaining.

“Are you hungry or something? I already fed you a ton on our way here.”I fed the bastard the Demons I hunted on our way to Henan, so why was it complaining?

[Grr…]

The beast that continued to growl in dissatisfaction, but it didn’t seem like it was growling at me.

It almost felt like it was barking at something else.

“What’s the matter with– “

As I was about to pacify the beast…

“Huh?”

I felt a presence.

After feeling the familiar presence, I quickly moved my stiff neck and looked at a certain place.

My eyes were directed at the roof of a building.

When I looked at the top of a tall building, I saw someone with their face completely covered.

They would have looked suspicious to anyone, but that wasn’t the important part.

The important thing was that the lady was only staring at me from a distance.

…Why?

I wasn’t asking the reason she was staring at me.

I was asking why she was here.

Even though her face was covered, I was certain that it was a lady because her presence felt especially familiar.

Just why?

I wasn’t able to feel her presence after regression at first.

She had completely concealed her presence, as if erasing her very existence, but for some reason, was very clear now.

It was just like the girl I knew from my past life.

“…You.”

When I spoke with a flustered tone, the girl flinched on realizing that I had discovered her, so jumped down from the rooftop and disappeared into the crowd.

“…”

Because she had jumped into a crowded location, it was difficult to identify her presence.

Mixing her presence with others confused my senses.

After seeing her do such a thing, there was only one thing I could do.

“She’s causing a hassle after appearing for the first time in a while.”

Slam.

“Agh! What the–!”

“Ugh…!”

The people around me flinched in shock and began to falter as I sent out a wave of Qi.

It seemed like she thought she could run away from me, but despite knowing my personality, she made a mistake.

She planned to blend in with the crowd and hide herself from my sight, but unlike last time when I lost her due to my incompetence, I had no intention of repeating the same thing again. No matter what it took.

It was possible that I might have mistaken her for someone else or perhaps she didn’t want to see me.

However, if it was really her, unfortunately, I had no intention letting her escape this time; whether she liked it or not.

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