Childhood Friend of the Zenith
Chapter 269: Winter Is Coming (3)

Time passed, and the day of the engagement finally arrived.

Although it was just a few days, they felt long and tedious since I couldn’t train at all.

All I did was occasionally walk with Namgung Bi-ah and have brief conversations with Lady Mi during her visits.

Like, we were having a tea party, but what was I supposed to do when she didn’t say a single word?

The discomfort was so intense that I thought I was going to die.

I did have fun messing with the Pissing Dragon, though.

The more I thought about Namgung Cheonjun, the funnier he seemed.

The power he gained through Blood Qi enhancement of his body and martial arts.

In my case, my flame turned blue, but that wasn’t the case for him.

Naturally, I had to smack his head because he even forgot about those things.

The power gained through Demonic Qi was visibly noticeable.

His Lightning Qi glowed violet, and he felt that it was more destructive.

This made Namgung Cheonjun seem half crazy.

It almost seemed as if he was intoxicated with Demonic Qi.

He seemed desperate to use that power.

Crazy fucker.

To be fair, he accepted Blood Qi happily, so it made sense that he was desperate to use Demonic Qi which brought noticeable changes to his power.

However, I was staggered by how a blood relative of a noble clan in Orthodox Sect was being charmed by such power.

Of course, the bastard wasn’t right in his mind to begin with, considering how he had a nasty desire for his sister.

Even so, such behavior was almost frightening.

One of the days, he begged me to use the power while grabbing my pants, so I told him to screw off for the day and not come back, and he actually listened.

…I should’ve just killed him.

Sigh.

I really should’ve just gotten rid of him.

Perhaps I should get rid of him instead of waiting to see what happens to him?

Every time I saw his face, that thought crossed my mind.

I learned what I wanted to learn, so I didn’t feel the need to keep him alive.

Sigh.

The bastard’s desire for honor was blatantly noticeable.

That was the problem with the blood relatives of noble clans.

What would they even gain by achieving that much?

No.

They can’t reach it because that is all they desire.

To prove this, the ones thriving at the top right now are all maniacs obsessed with martial arts.

Clack.

I heard a clear sound of a teacup being raised.

I had to set aside my thoughts about Namgung Cheonjun for now.

How frustrating.

I had to endure my current situation, after all.

My current situation was more important than Demonic Qi or Namgung Cheonjun.

“I, the Lord of Namgung Clan, am very happy about our engagement with Gu Clan.”

I gazed after hearing the voice.

It wasn’t Namgung Jin, who was speaking, or my father, who was listening, but instead the girl in front of me.

They put in a lot of effort, huh.

The beautified Namgung Bi-ah was still as beautiful as ever.

Her gaze was fixed at me from beginning till the end, which didn’t feel real.

I’m really doing it.

Our engagement.

The fact that I was going to be engaged with her felt surreal.

I knew that the future events of this life are bound to change, but this was the biggest change that I was currently experiencing..

I wonder how you feel about it.

I still thought about the lady who lingered behind Namgung Bi-ah.

She looked just like Namgung Bi-ah, but she couldn’t live the same life as her.

I wondered what the girl who died for me would’ve said if she saw this.

I was a little bit curious about it.

Namgung Bi-ah was looking at me with subtle eyes.

She had the same expression as usual.

Well, maybe she looked a bit different.

Honestly, I couldn’t tell.

Whichever it was, this whole thing felt surreal.

What kind of emotion is this?

What was I feeling in my heart right now?

It likely wasn’t excitement or hope.

This may have been an engagement, but that’s all it was.

I won’t marry her.

I had way too many things to take care of from now on.

Then, will I do it after I’m finished with everything?

I asked myself.

I’m not sure.

I couldn’t answer.

It was way too early for such peaceful thoughts, and I needed to know my place.

I just hope that the future is a little different.

For the rest of my life to be different than before, and for the life in front of me to be more peaceful than the past.

That was all I wanted.

“Stop staring at me like that; it makes me feel uncomfortable.”

“…”

Hearing my words, Namgung Bi-ah smiled.

The engagement ended peacefully.

It was quieter than the banquet party.

The Lords agreed upon the engagement and Namgung Bi-ah and I held each other’s hands.

With this, our engagement was fulfilled.

The engagement ended far too peacefully, despite my long avoidance and excessive worrying. This moment allowed me to put aside my conflicted thoughts for a while.

In addition,

-Young Master!

A certain person’s face came to mind, making this a difficult time.

******************The engagement ceremony didn’t take that long.

Its purpose was just to show that it happened.

Gu Clan arrived in Namgung Clan and went through with the engagement.

All that remained was to report it.

Trade and business matters between the clans fell to the Lords, so I decided not to concern myself with them.

I’m curious about a few things though.

The atmosphere in the past few days and the reason for the engagement delay piqued my curiosity.

I was pretty curious about those things, but I didn’t hear anything about it.

Father might have heard, but he didn’t react much because,

He understood the condition.

There must have been a valid reason for this, which is why Father accepted it without reacting.

I just hope that I’m not involved in anything pointless.

I was already occupied with my own problems, so I couldn’t afford to be involved with matters between the two clans.

Of course, I believed that my father took care of it on his own.

For now, I must focus on this.

I looked around with a sour expression.

Was it correct to say that this was a storage with a ton of things stored inside?

I’d say so, as that was its exact purpose.

This place was the storage room that held the Namgung Clan’s treasures.

I was able to come here because I asked Namgung Jin.

I did make the request, but unlike how I expected that he would deny my request, Namgung Jin let me in easily.

To be fair, I did help him gain enlightenment, and I told him that I’d only look at them and not take them.

Of course, I had to wear a shackle that prevented me from stealing, but I had no intention of stealing anyway.

It’s not just one or two treasures I have dangling on my body… I have enough, so I’ll pass on adding more.

I looked around the storage and examined each treasure.

Most seem to be swords.

As if proving itself to be a clan of swords, most treasures were shaped like swords..

However, their shapes seemed a bit strange to be used as weapons.

They really just seemed to be decorations to be put on display.

The storage was filled with things that I didn’t understand why they were considered treasures.

To be fair, it was obvious I didn’t understand if I thought about the whole existence of treasures.

Treasures weren’t created by anyone.

To put it more accurately, it was impossible to know how they were made.

Where it came from, who made it— an object that is incomprehensible.

That’s what most treasures were like.

Most of the treasures inside Namgung Clan felt that way too.

They were just managing it because they had possession of it for generations.

The only treasure of Namgung Clan that was both considered a treasure and used as a weapon, was the Thunder Fang.

Though I didn’t know if there were more.

As far as I knew, that was the case.

Along with that thought, I looked around.

I don’t feel anything peculiar.

Considering that these were the treasures of Namgung Clan, I felt Lightning Qi from them, but I didn’t see any differences.

…As expected, it’s not here then?

There was only one reason for me to go through such hassle and come all the way here.

It was because of the story I heard from the Light of Might back in Shaolin.

-Go find Myung.

He told me that the Thunderous Sword Namgung Myung was also inside a treasure, and I came here just in case that one of the treasures inside Namgung Clan happened to have him.

But as I expected,

He didn’t seem to be here.

Even if the Thunderous Sword was here, I couldn’t do anything about it if I couldn’t identify it.

But considering how the Light of Might told me to look for him, wouldn’t he show a reaction if he saw me?

Just like Cheolyoung, I believed Namgung Myung would also react.

If he’s not here… then…

It was highly likely that Namgung Myung was inside the treasure, the Thunder Fang that was somewhere outside of the clan.

Considering how he used that treasure all his life, it wasn’t strange for his soul to be inside the Thunder Fang.

I expected this as well.

I just hoped to find an easier path.

“Unfortunate.”

With Elder Shin asleep right now, I tried to do as much as possible myself, but my circumstances didn’t help.

In the end, it meant I had to go all the way to Wudang Mountain to find Namgung Myung.

Moreover, the Thunder Fang was in possession of the Monster of Wudang right now, which meant not only did I have to go to Wudang, but I also had to go find him as well.

“Can I catch a break?”

It felt like the world was telling me to work tirelessly if I wanted any semblance of a peaceful life.

How annoying.

I began to walk angrily.

There was nothing left for me to do here, so I had to leave.

Then.

-…cheol.

I turned towards the voice I heard.

A chill ran down my back instinctively.

-Shincheol.

Far away, behind the piled-up treasures, a voice emanated from a wall with something written on it.

“…No way.”

I walked towards the voice.

On the wall, it was written, ‘The Greatest Sword of South Heaven,’ with a paper filled with words hanging beside it.

As I stared at it, dumbfounded,

-Shincheol…

To confirm I hadn’t misheard, I heard the voice again.

It was a cold, deep voice of a man.

Is it… really the Thunderous Sword?

Was Namgung Myung’s soul contained in this shabby writing when I thought he’d be inside a treasure?

“…Are you… the Thunderous Sword?”

I asked hesitantly, but no response came.

After a bit of silence,

“Hey…”

-Shincheol… no, it might be Il-Cheon.

“Hello?”

The voice then began to speak.

“Hey, hello!”

-How long has it been… I wonder, but nothing matters anymore.

I shouted, but the voice only continued to speak for itself.

It seemed the voice couldn’t hear me.

-Whoever you are, go find the Thunder Fa- no, go find me. I…

As the voice spoke, it suddenly stopped midway, and I couldn’t hear it anymore.

It felt like only his voice was contained inside.

Regardless of whether that was actually possible,

“Go find the Thunder Fang?”

I pondered the words that Namgung Myung most likely left me with.

If the voice was right, it meant that Namgung Myung was really contained inside the Thunder Fang.

“Also…”

[It might be Il-Cheon.]

I was concerned about that phrase as well.

Cheolyoung also seemed to have expected that Elder Shin would still be living in this world.

But Il-Cheon…

‘The Iron Fist, Yeon Il-Cheon…’

He was the hero who fought against the Blood Demon, and the Zenith of his time.

According to Cheolyoung, he was a martial artist who also traveled through time like me.

What about him though…?

Why did Namgung Myung mention his name?

It bothered me strangely.

******************A man entered the darkened room.

“Young Lady, a letter has arrived.”

Inside the Moyong Clan building in Anhui, lights were still on despite the night, and Moyong Hi-ah was reading a letter in her room.

“Did it come from the Namgung Clan?”

“Yes.”

“Give me a summary.”

Despite speaking to the man, Moyong Hi-ah’s gaze remained on the letter in her hands.

“…It seems the engagement has been dealt with.”

In response, Moyong Hi-ah paused for a second and looked at the man.

“They didn’t say anything about it?”

“Yes.”

“They must’ve run into serious trouble. For them to not take advantage of this.”

The engagement between her and the Lightning Dragon wasn’t official yet, but it would soon become official if they proceeded. It was the Moyong Clan pushing for this to happen.

But now that the Moyong Clan had backed out, it was expected that the Namgung Clan would have something to say about it,

‘But they are letting this pass so easily.’

It was unexpected for Moyong Hi-ah.

“Anyway, I’m glad it worked out well.”

“Yes.”

“Prepare for our departure; we are heading to the center tomorrow.”

“Yes, understood.”

After Moyong Hi-ah was done talking, she let out a sigh in her mind.

Their engagement should’ve ended by now, and thinking about that made her feel satisfied inside.

It doesn’t matter.

Even so, she calmed herself as she expected this to happen.

…There is plenty of time.

The old Moyong Hi-ah wouldn’t have thought this way.

For her to say she had plenty of time was quite uncharacteristic.

She had once believed she didn’t have much time left, but that changed after she met him.

Gently, the letter inside Moyong Hi-ah’s hand escaped and slowly landed onto the floor.

“…It’s not over just because they’re engaged, you know?”

“Young Lady?”

“It’s nothing.”

Brushing her hair aside, Moyong Hi-ah picked up the letter once more.

She will be able to see him tomorrow.

That much was enough for Moyong Hi-ah right now.

“Father didn’t say anything at all?”

“The Lord didn’t really… Ah, he said that he wanted to meet the True Dragon if possible.”

“You are dismissed. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”

“Understood.”

Moyong Hi-ah gave a firm response to the man’s words.

She didn’t know what would happen if her father, who valued her life more than his own, met Gu Yangcheon.

It was obvious that he was holding himself back just because Gu Yangcheon’s heat somehow was able to save her life as a miracle.

…I cannot let such a thing happen.

She didn’t know what would happen to Gu Yangcheon if her father chased him especially when he already had a fiancée.

“Young Lady.”

“You may speak.”

“Then, what should we do about these guys we captured?”

“Ah.”

Upon hearing the man, Moyong Hi-ah turned her head, as if she had forgotten.

Moyong Hi-ah’s goal of coming to Anhui.

It was because the silk business they were working with had kept the money for themselves.

It was easy to confirm this and find them.

They were so incompetent that it made it easy for them to be found.

After stretching lightly,

“Kill them. Don’t leave a single one alive.”

Moyong Hi-ah gave a cold response calmly.

“Understood.”

After hearing her response, the man turned around and left the room, and Moyong Hi-ah was finally able to stretch her sore body after being left alone.

It felt like her body became much heavier due to how she couldn’t train because of how her condition had to be cured.

In reality, Moyong Hi-ah was already able to train, but she wasn’t doing it on purpose.

…He’ll find out if I did it.

If he found out her body was gradually getting better, it would mean they would see each other less.

She couldn’t afford to let that happen, so she planned to use him for a few more years.

To Moyong Hi-ah, it was more important for her to get closer to him as a woman than getting better as a martial artist.

“Then, now…”

After stretching, Moyong Hi-ah picked up another letter.

In that letter, it contained information that the Moyong Clan wrote to Moyong Hi-ah and also contained information on why the current Namgung Clan was facing troubles.

-The Heavenly Venerable’s whereabouts are unknown.

After reading the short line, Moyong Hi-ah’s eyes widened.

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