Childhood Friend of the Zenith -
Chapter 355: The Dark King (5)
The Gathering of the Orthodox Faction.
This was a meeting of the Orthodox Faction’s key figures, called only when a major event threatened the core of the Murim Alliance.
The Ten Sect Alliance, the Four Noble Clans, and other prominent noble families, along with large groups of mercenaries who helped revive cities, all gathered in one place for this discussion.
At the very least, they would discuss how to handle this incident. It could even lead to a debate on the future existence of the Murim Alliance itself.
This incident was significant enough to warrant such a meeting, so I felt certain it would take place.
Then, it was obvious that important figures would gather in Henan.
I wasn’t entirely certain the meeting would be in Henan, but that was my best guess.
Of course, they weren’t obligated to attend simply because the meeting was convened.
But will they really not come?
This was a rare opportunity for the key figures of the Orthodox Faction to gather and exchange thoughts.
The meeting would be significant regardless of the topics discussed, and simply being present would be a mark of honor and status.
They cared about their pride more than their own lives, so I was certain that they were going to come.
Moreover,
This incident had put their children in danger*…*
They would come, even if only to express their outrage. That part I understood, but what Moyong Hi-ah said next left me puzzled.
“…What do you mean? Run away?”
Moyong Hi-ah’s father Moyong Tae, was the lord of the Moyong Clan and was known as the White Heavenly Sword.
He used to be a master martial artist who fought for the title of Sword King against Namgung Jin.
He was renowned as an exceptionally skilled martial artist and swordsman, though he had started to decline after his marriage and the birth of Moyong Hi-ah.
Regardless of his current strength, he would surely attend the meeting as the lord of the Moyong Clan.
So she’s telling me to run away because of him*?*
I didn’t understand.
What does Moyong Hi-ah’s father have to do with me running away?
“What, did the Lord of the Moyong Clan say he was going to kill me or something?”
It sounded so strange that I replied with a joke.
But then,
“Yes.”
“…”
She responded.
What did she just say?
“…W-What?”
The White Heavenly Sword might come kill me?
I frowned and questioned her, but Moyong Hi-ah looked away as she spoke.
“…It’s a bit embarrassing, but…”
Her hand brushed over her forearm, a gesture that made her embarrassment clear.
“My father…he’s a little too fond of me.”
Moyong Hi-ah began to speak, her ears tinged with red.
Just how embarrassing was this for her?
I was already aware of this.
It was so widely known that it didn’t even surprise me.
The Lord of the Moyong Clan was famous for his intense love for his daughter.
The decline in his abilities, along with the Moyong Clan’s reduced influence among the Four Noble Clans, was, in part, due to Moyong Hi-ah.
“And?”
That might be true, but it wasn’t enough reason for him to hate me.
“My relationship with Master Gu… it’s not exactly ordinary, you know?”
“Is it not ordinary? I thought it was perfectly- “
“Just shut up and listen.”
“…Oh, right.”
I had to shut my mouth after hearing her sharp voice.
Our relationship, huh?
To be honest, it wasn’t exactly ordinary.
I transferred my heat to her from time to time.
It was necessary to help treat her critical condition.
Ever since I discovered that my heat could alleviate her condition, we’d kept up this arrangement for several years.
Her condition involved Ice Qi slowly freezing her body.
She could barely suppress her Ice Qi on her own, but every time she used Qi for martial arts, the Ice Qi surged out uncontrollably.
As a result, Moyong Hi-ah halted her martial arts training, at least while I was treating her with my heat.
This had been ongoing for a few years.
It was a serious issue for a martial artist, but Moyong Hi-ah didn’t seem too concerned, and her condition was genuinely improving over time.
The treatments had become less frequent; now I only needed to transfer my heat once a month, showing that it was indeed working.
Oh, maybe that’s the problem?
Some strange bastard has been injecting heat into his precious daughter, so I guess it wasn’t the strangest for the father to get mad.
However,
“Wait, didn’t you get approval for that though?”
“Huh?”
I asked Moyong Hi-ah if she’d received her clan’s approval for the deal we made years ago.
In truth, my clan had gained considerable wealth and benefited greatly from the arrangement.
One of Moyong Clan’s elders had visited us once, and since then, their businesses had established a strong presence on Shanxi’s streets, drawing more people.
Surely, something like this couldn’t have happened without the Moyong Clan Lord’s approval.
“…About that.”
Moyong Hi-ah looked down at my words.
What was that reaction?
“You… did you do something?”
“It’s not that I did anything.”
It was unusual to see such an expression from her.
It had to be rare, as Moyong Hi-ah was never one to make excuses.
She preferred finding alternative solutions over making excuses and avoided actions that required her to justify herself.
“…Hey, Master Gu.”
Given all this, her current expression was incredibly unusual.
I haven’t seen it even once in my past life.
“Speak.”
“I believe that humans make mistakes in their life.”
She wasn’t wrong, but hearing such words didn’t suit Moyong Hi-ah at all.
I replied after hearing her.
“Someone once told me: You should prepare carefully to avoid mistakes entirely. And if that’s not possible, you shouldn’t even start.”
“Who said that? How could they be so narrow-minded and arrogant… Were they educated at all? Humans are bound to make mistakes… Maybe they have no sympathy? How terrifying.”
“…”
Seeing her frown, I couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
By the way, that’s what the Snow Phoenix of my past life said to me.
She’d told me this after I’d made a mistake while hunting demons.
“So, what exactly did you do?”
What could she have done to make the White Heavenly Demon despise me this much?
After hesitating and opening her mouth a few times, Moyong Hi-ah finally spoke.
“You might not know, but we gave the Gu Clan more than we initially agreed…”
“Hmm?”
“For instance, placing our businesses on Shanxi’s streets was a bit forced, though it eventually succeeded.”
To be fair, Shanxi’s streets weren’t very active before, though I wasn’t sure what they’d been like in the past.
Honestly, establishing businesses in Shanxi was more disadvantageous for the Moyong Clan when they could have chosen Anhui or Henan instead.
When I saw that happen, I just believed that her treatment was that important.
But was there something I wasn’t aware of?
“It’s probably because of something I said.”
“Hmm?”
“Father… No, my Lord really despised the idea of me depending on another man.”
“Well, that’s understa- “
“He said he couldn’t allow a man with a fiancée to do such a thing to me, so I had no choice.”
Hmm?
Wait, what?
“So I told him that, yes, Master Gu has a fiancée, but I’m his true love… and that he plans to break off his engagement and propose to me instead.”
Eh?
“Because of that, I told him not to worry and suggested the idea of him treating you like a son-in-law.”
“…Wait, you, what, huh?”
“He seemed fine with it and gave in to my stubbornness. Isn’t that fortunate? Everything turned out well.”
Moyong Hi-ah still avoided my gaze as she spoke, as if she knew she was spewing nonsense.
So, essentially, the White Heavenly Sword saw me as a man engaged to the Namgung Clan who intended to break off that engagement because my true love was Moyong Hi-ah.
“Why did it… become that way?”
Just hearing it gave me a headache.
How did things end up this way?
“It’s like I said earlier.”
When I asked her, rendered speechless, Moyong Hi-ah replied with this.
“People make mistakes in their lives… don’t they?”
Does she really think that’s a good answer?
I didn’t respond, just stared at her face.
Moyong Hi-ah kept her gaze down, aware that I was staring at her.
The awkward silence continued.
The sharp-witted Moyong Hi-ah likely already knew what she needed to say by now.
But her pride was stopping her from saying it.
After a few moments, unable to bear the silence any longer, Moyong Hi-ah finally spoke.
“…I’m sorry.”
I nodded at her words.
Every so often, Moyong Hi-ah needed to set aside her pride.
She had probably said all those things just to lead up to this apology.
I wasn’t certain, but I felt that the Moyong Hi-ah I knew would do that.
So…
From the White Heavenly Sword’s perspective, I wasn’t truly his son-in-law as he believed.
My engagement with Namgung Bi-ah still remained the same.
And on top of that, I had Wi Seol-Ah, Tang Soyeol, and even his own daughter around me.
In his eyes, I probably looked like a bastard taking advantage of her condition to be close to her.
Woah…
It’s understandable if he wants to kill me…
Though I couldn’t fully empathize, having no children of my own, it was at least understandable that he felt this way toward me.
For him, cutting me to pieces and burning me might still not be enough.
…Not good.
I’m really screwed, huh?
Now I understood why Moyong Hi-ah wanted to run.
The problem was that we couldn’t run.
Actually, maybe it would have been better for the White Heavenly Sword if we had run.
It might even look like a romantic escape, so maybe even he would…
“…?”
I quickly glanced at Moyong Hi-ah as the thought crossed my mind.
Moyong Hi-ah flinched under my gaze.
Judging by her reaction, it seemed she knew what I was thinking.
“…You.”
“Oh, it’s hot. It’s really hot today, right Master Gu?”
It was spring, with a lingering winter breeze, yet Moyong Hi-ah, who had Ice Qi, was feeling hot.
How convincing.
“Ha.”
I let out a laugh at the sight.
I was grateful things were like this. If my relationship with her were the same as in my past life, she’d just be yelling at me.
I glanced up at the sky.
Whether it’s the White Heavenly Sword or the Orthodox Faction’s gathering… I have to handle this first.
The black barrier that surrounded everything.
I needed to break through it before I could do anything else.
But I had no idea how to tackle it.
I thought I damaged it in my Demonic Human form.
I managed to crack it slightly with Red Heaven while in my Demonic Human form, but it instantly restored itself, making it a real pain.
There must be another way to deal with this.
It seemed impossible with sheer martial arts, so I had to find a different method.
The Black Dragon was imprisoned somewhere as far as I knew, so maybe I need to visit him?
“…Gu.”
If it’s still active even after he was subdued, I doubt I can get rid of it just by tortu-
“Master Gu…!”
“Huh?”
Lost in thought, I suddenly felt Moyong Hi-ah grab my shoulder and shake me.
“What’s wrong?”
“Look, over there.”
I looked in the direction Moyong Hi-ah was pointing, curious about what she’d noticed.
And then,
“…What the?”
Crack, craaaack-!
I saw something begin to shift in the black barrier where I was looking.
The speed was completely different from when I’d tried breaking it.
It was much faster.
I realized what was happening moments later.
The barrier was disappearing.
******************
A shadowed area lay behind the Heavenly Dragon Academy. The darkness there, untouched by any light, felt unsettling.
It wasn’t a basement, nor was it inside a building.
Its nature was identical to the black barrier that had once shrouded the sky over the Heavenly Dragon Academy.
-Guhhhh.
In that shadowed space, a figure groaned, barely clinging to consciousness.
It was the old man known as the Black Dragon.
“Guh… Guuhhh…”
His monstrous form was gone, and he was back in his original body.
However, he wasn’t able to move freely.
His legs and arms were unbound, yet he seemed restrained.
The one who had been observing him stepped forward and knelt in front of him.
As they drew closer, the Black Dragon began to grind his teeth.
“You… bastard…”
“I will start asking.”
Ignoring the Black Dragon’s thick aura of killing intent, the man continued with his questions, unfazed.
“Who is behind all this?”
“You… bastard!! Dark Kiiiing!”
His voice, thick with killing intent, was dense and powerful.
It was brimming with emotion, but the man, the Dark King, found it only tiresome.
He had heard so many voices in his life that none amused him anymore.
With cold, emotionless eyes, the Dark King stared at the Black Dragon.
“I already know the answer, but I’m asking to confirm. I hope you’ll answer.”
“…How dare you betray me… Have you forgotten our deal…!”
The Dark King tilted his head at the Black Dragon’s words.
Deal, huh?
“I thought you’d never betray your clients. Do you think Shackle is a joke…!”
In response, the Dark King pulled up his sleeve.
There, the Shackle’s symbol was marked on his skin, with the surrounding flesh beginning to rot.
A foul stench wafted from it.
The Dark King must have felt immense pain from the Shackle, yet he didn’t utter a single groan.
“I never betray my clients, you say…”
It was one of the reasons why the Night Reapers were so famous.
They never failed a mission and were known to never betray a client.
“How foolish…”
The Dark King wasn’t fond of such a rumor.
“They simply don’t know because the clients were killed. Your head must be full of pretty fantasies, huh.”
“…What…?”
“Besides, I never intended to help you in the first place.”
Slash.
Thud.
The Dark King sliced off his own arm with a single finger, letting the arm bearing the Shackle’s symbol fall to the ground.
“You bastard…”
“It seems you’re struggling to answer, so I’ll ask something else.”
With a calm expression, unaffected by his missing arm, the Dark King continued his questioning.
“Is it true the Heavenly Abyss is behind you?”
The Black Dragon ground his teeth at the Dark King’s quiet question.
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