Childhood Friend of the Zenith – 380 (Part 2)



380 (Part 2)

Gu Cheol-un nodded at Mo Yong-tae’s words.

Confirming this Mo Yong-tae let out a weary sigh and disappeared.

When the distance widened and Mo Yong-tae’s presence could no longer be felt.

Hoo-woong—

Gu Yang-cheon sensed an unknown aura surrounding him.

It was undoubtedly the aura created by Gu Cheol-un.

“…”

Gu Yang-cheon had to alternate his gaze between the aura and Gu Cheol-un wearing a vague expression.

After scratching the back of his head for a moment Gu Yang-cheon finally asked.

“Clan Head.”

“Yeah.”

“Why did you do that?”

A question filled with curiosity.

Just as Gu Cheol-un was about to speak Gu Yang-cheon added.

“You were already watching everything weren’t you?”

At Gu Yang-cheon’s words Gu Cheol-un’s eyes widened slightly.

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

Father had been watching from the very beginning.

I am certain of that.

“Why did you feel the need to oppress the Moyong Clan Head?”

The conversation I had with the Moyong Clan Head the duel that began with a request for a lesson.

Father must have been watching everything from the start.

As evidence Father spoke to me with a somewhat surprised expression.

“How did you know?”

It meant that I was right.

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And the reason I was so certain despite not sensing anything was simple.

“I thought you would do that Clan Head.”

“…”

“At least you wouldn’t be someone to be late or forget a promise.”

I intended to talk about my father and mother.

Since we had agreed to meet here after finishing our meal I never thought he would come late.

And that expectation turned out to be correct.

“So I’m curious. Why did you do that?”

In the meantime why did Father intervene so late?

If he wanted to he could have intervened at any time.

The nonchalance he had just shown would have been sufficient.

‘Just how strong is he?’

Even now having reached the realm of Huagyeong I still couldn’t grasp how strong my father was.

What I could be sure of was that he was overwhelmingly stronger than Baekcheon Gyeom-ju just now.

It was something I could understand through my past life.

However I hadn’t seen my father demonstrate his strength directly very often.

This was only the second time in this life.

The presence he showed in Heukya Palace.

And the presence he just displayed now.

I had only seen it twice but that alone was enough for me to be certain.

My father is strong.

Strong beyond what I could even imagine.

“…I’m curious about why you came late and oppressed Baekcheon Gyeom-ju.”

As I asked Father’s hair began to return to its original color.

The heat that had lingered in the air was also being drawn back.

Just as I could finally catch my breath Father spoke to me.

“It was something that had to be done.”

“Something that had to be done?”

“Yeah.”

What does that mean?

“Originally I had no intention of intervening.”

“Then why…?”

“Because he intended to genuinely aim his sword at you.”

“…!”

“Is there a need for a reason beyond that?”

Because Mo Yong-tae had genuinely intended to fight me.

If it had just been a matter of teaching me a lesson I would have let it go.

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But it meant he had crossed a line which is why Father intervened.

“…Are you saying he really intended to kill me?”

I remembered the heat that had gathered in Father’s hand.

If he had covered Baekcheon Gyeom-ju’s face with it a truly terrifying incident would have occurred.

But fortunately Father shook his head slightly and denied it in response to my question.

“I was just taking care of the justification. Even if you hadn’t stopped him I would have chosen a similar method.”

“…”

It meant that he either showed signs of anger and dismissed the previous incident or that he had gathered various justifications to make the Moyong Clan take a submissive stance.

Did that mean he calculated this while acting?

Thinking that far I found my father somewhat frightening.

“…I understand but were you really okay with that?”

“What do you mean?”

“I thought you must have hidden your strength. I’m asking if it was alright to show it to the Moyong Clan Head like this.”

If he had been hiding his strength until now there must have been a reason.

I wondered if it was really okay to reveal his true power so casually.

Then Father spoke as if he found it puzzling.

“Third.”

“Yes.”

“It seems you are misunderstanding something.”

“Excuse me?”

Father looked at me with his characteristic sharp gaze.

He swept my hair back with his large hand and said.

“The Clan Head has never hidden himself not even once.”

“…!”

I swallowed hard at Father’s words.

He had never hidden himself from the beginning?

“He simply had no need to reveal it.”

“But the rumors…”

“Do you think what others say is that important?”

“That’s not it.”

“The Clan Head thinks the same. This incident was just something I had to use where it was needed. It has no greater meaning.”

This was something I hadn’t known.

Father had never hidden his strength in the first place.

He neither denied nor confirmed the rumors that spread widely in the Central Plains.

The fact that he hadn’t used his strength because there was no need to was a significant shock to me.

‘…This is unexpected.’

This was truly a fact I hadn’t known.

Considering my father’s personality it was entirely plausible.

But I never thought it would be true.

As I felt a sense of emptiness wash over me.

“Third.”

Father called me.

“Yes Clan Head.”

“You’ve crossed the wall.”

“…”

I swallowed hard at his sudden words.

Father was specifically pointing out that I had crossed the realm of Huagyeong.

“…That’s right.”

“When did you cross the wall?”

“A little over two months ago.”

“I see.”

Gu Cheol-un nodded at my words.

There was no further reaction.

It was surprising that my son had reached the realm of Huagyeong before turning twenty yet that was all the reaction he had.

What a consistent person he is…

“You’ve worked hard. Well done.”

“Yes. Thank you… huh?”

I widened my eyes at Father’s words and looked at him.

When I looked back at Father he wasn’t looking at me.

It was as if his gaze was oddly misaligned.

“Clan Head…?”

“You said you wanted to ask me something.”

“Oh yes.”

I wanted to ask where he was looking but Father abruptly shifted the conversation back to the main point.

It seemed to mean not to ask.

Only then did I swallow dryly.

I recalled the reason why I was here alone with my father.

Right there was a main point.

I had to ask the question I wanted to ask my father.

“Clan Head.”

At my call Father turned his gaze back to me.

I opened my mouth as I faced his red eyes.

“I heard that my mother is alive.”

“…”

At my question Father’s shoulder moved slightly.

Observing that reaction I continued.

“…Do you know where my mother is Clan Head?”

“…”

In response to my cautious question Father looked at me and fell into a long silence.

Was he pondering how I knew? Why I was suddenly asking this?

As I thought that I was also considering how to respond when Father finally spoke.

“Yeah.”

“…!”

“I know.”

At Father’s answer my heart began to race rapidly.