Childhood Friend of the Zenith – 385



385

It’s an unfamiliar ceiling.

That’s the first thought that crossed my mind as I opened my eyes. Sunlight was streaming in through the window frame.

From the looks of it it felt like it was just past noon.

I immediately sat up. I needed to assess the situation.

However as I tried to rise with my hands on the bed I felt a sharp pain in my head.

“Ugh….”

I had to cover my forehead with my palm due to the throbbing pain.

What is this? Why does it hurt so much?

‘…This is.’

As I scanned the room while still covering my forehead I realized it was a room I had never seen before.

From the state of the room it seemed to be an inn but it was different from the Baekrim Inn where I had been staying.

Only after confirming that did the events just before I lost consciousness come to mind.

The moment when my father’s fist was right in front of me.

Did I get hit and faint?

‘Then how ridiculously embarrassing…?’

After going through all that trouble to perform the Tua Pa Cheong Gong and trying to do it properly.

I ended up getting knocked out with a single punch.

What a disgrace.

And even…

‘Since I lost… does that mean I can’t even ask about my mother’s whereabouts?’

It was a duel to ask about my mother’s whereabouts.

I only needed to succeed with one attack.

In the end I failed. Moreover my father had even set the condition of not using one of his arms.

I couldn’t overcome the gap in our levels and ended up losing.

‘It was only natural to lose.’

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I never thought I could win in the first place but I didn’t expect to lose so pathetically.

It must mean that my father’s skill was higher than I had anticipated.

I staggered as I lifted my upper body.

First I needed to figure out how long I had been unconscious and how the situation had progressed after I fainted.

At that moment.

“Huh?”

As I reached out I felt an unknown sensation.

Someone was lying on one side of the not-so-wide bed.

“…What…?”

I quickly withdrew my hand in surprise. Who is this? Who is lying in my bed?

My mind raced as a chill ran down my spine.

There are only a few people who could sneak into my bed while I was asleep… at most two… no three?

Anyway the most likely candidate among them is…

‘Namgung Bia?’

She used to sneak in often.

It seems she hasn’t done that lately but if she did it would only be her.

With a slight hesitation I pulled back the blanket.

What if Namgung Bia is here?

What would I do? I would just say something to her and then go down to eat together like usual…

“Um…?”

Contrary to what I expected where I thought I would first see her white hair.

What I saw was black hair.

Black hair…? Who has black hair?

“Ugh….”

The groaning voice was somewhat deep.

I could tell right away that it wasn’t a woman’s voice.

Had I just woken up and was hearing things?

While I was looking confused and dazed the other person seemed to sense my presence and sat up.

“Ugh… Is it morning…? Ugh!”

As I confirmed that the person was slowly getting up I instinctively kicked them.

The sudden blow caused them to tumble off the bed.

“Ouch…! You little brat you’re hitting a master!”

The one clutching their stomach and screaming was Jang-ryong Woo-hyuk.

“…What are you doing here?”

Why is that guy here? And why is he shirtless?

His well-built body caught my eye.

How do I feel about it? It’s disgusting. Waking up to see a naked guy is bound to make anyone feel uncomfortable.

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Suppressing my revulsion I decided to speak first.

“Why are you here?”

I’ve become quite nice.

In the past I would have thrown a punch first. But here I am asking questions.

“Why would a person be in bed? I was trying to sleep… Put your hand down. Why are you clenching your fist?”

Of course that didn’t last long. I was still holding back my anger.

Suppressing that feeling I spoke to Woo-hyuk.

“I’m going to count to three.”

“What does that number mean?”

“It means I’ll hold back three times before I hit you. Answer within that count.”

“What kind of vague standard is that? Where does that even come from?”

It was even more absurd that the one who set such a vague standard was him.

Ignoring his reaction I extended one finger.

“One.”

“Wait a minute. Hey why are you being like this? There’s no need to be so violent right?”

“Two.”

“Hey! At least let me have a weapon to defend myself! How petty!”

Woo-hyuk was frantically looking around but there was nothing useful in sight.

“People should resolve things through conversation from the start…!”

“Three. You little brat….”

“I ran away!”

I froze my body halting as I was about to grab Woo-hyuk’s head.

What did he just say?

“…Ran away?”

“I ran away. I ran away… ugh!”

Unable to hold back I slapped Woo-hyuk’s head.

Screaming Woo-hyuk looked at me with an aggrieved expression.

“Why did you hit me when I told you?”

“Sorry but I can’t help but hit you when you say something so ridiculous.”

There’s no such thing as running away. He’s someone who has a separate home and is living in the Wudang Sect.

Moreover knowing Woo-hyuk’s real name made it even more incomprehensible.

“…If you ran away where did you run away to?”

“Put your fist down and then I’ll tell you. Where would I run away to? Of course I left the sect.”

He didn’t even mention his own family.

Well it made sense since Woo-hyuk hated that place.

“What do you mean by that? Are you saying you’re going to leave the Wudang Sect?”

“Are you crazy? What about my qi center? I’m just running away for a bit; I’ll return someday….”

I don’t know about other places but usually if a martial artist belonging to a main sect wants to break away from their affiliation they would either take back all the martial arts and qi they accumulated there.

In severe cases they might even close their qi center.

After hearing that I asked Woo-hyuk in a voice mixed with a sigh.

“What do you mean by suddenly running away?”

“…”

“One….”

“…You really are impatient.”

“Just hurry up and tell me.”

Seeing my annoyed tone Woo-hyuk licked his lips without saying anything.

He seemed to want to say something but under normal circumstances I wouldn’t have pressed him.

“Two.”

Now I had to ask out of irritation.

As I slowly began to gather qi in my hand Woo-hyuk flinched and replied.

“It’s a protest.”

“A protest?”

“Uh… a protest.”

“A protest against whom?”

I was taken aback by the sudden mention of a protest.

Running away is a protest?

Despite my repeated questions Woo-hyuk only wore a sheepish expression. I knew that once he made that face he would never open his mouth.

If it got to that point it was a part I couldn’t hit no matter how hard I tried.

Tsk. I clicked my tongue inwardly and asked something else.

“That’s all fine. Running away and protesting are all good but why are you here?”

I could let personal matters slide but what mattered to me was why Woo-hyuk was here right now.

Woo-hyuk smiled brightly as if he had been waiting for this question.

A smile from a good-looking guy always made me feel uneasy.

“Oh that. Because I ran away I lost my place to stay.”

“Oh is that so?”

“I’m not going to run away for just a day or two.”

Woo-hyuk said with a grin.

“So while I’m running away I was thinking of staying at your place… Just kidding! Just kidding! Turn off the lights! The house is going to burn down!”

As I smiled and ignited flames on my body Woo-hyuk hurriedly waved his hands to stop me.

“Right? It was a joke right? Thank goodness. If I had messed up I would have burned you alive here.”

“That’s a harsh way to put it….”

Woo-hyuk groaned at my reaction struggling. Did this guy really plan to be a parasite at my house?

Seeing my sour expression Woo-hyuk chuckled.

“Don’t worry it was half a joke. I do have a place to stay.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Aren’t you going to ask where it is? I’m a bit hurt.”

“I’ll know without asking.”

At my nonchalant reply Woo-hyuk looked a bit surprised.

“Isn’t it amazing to see this? Were we close since we were kids?”

“Are you starting to talk nonsense again?”

“No I’m just curious how you know me so well. Most people don’t.”

“Just hurry up and say it. Don’t beat around the bush.”

At my firmness Woo-hyuk scrunched his nose as if he was displeased.

“I heard you’re going to Sichuan.”

This time I had to feign surprise at Woo-hyuk’s words.

“How do you know that?”

“Uh? Cheol Mister told me.”

Woo-hyuk casually mentioned the source.

And it just had to be Cheol Ji-seon.

‘…Just wait until I see you.’

Our Ji-seon has a big mouth huh? I’m going to die…

While I was simmering with anger Woo-hyuk continued speaking.

“By the way our master is over there. Let’s go there together. I was thinking of staying there.”

Hearing Woo-hyuk’s words I was filled with questions.

A master?

‘Does this guy have a separate master?’

I thought we were all learning from the older generation like Yeongpung.

Is there a separate relationship like with Gu Ryeonghwa and Geomhu?

This was the first I was hearing about it.

Woo-hyuk’s master huh?

But is he really in Sichuan?

“He’s someone who often travels around and this time he just happens to be in Sichuan.”

“Did you have a separate master?”

“Of course. I didn’t learn anything major but… Ah you might know him? He’s somewhat famous.”

“Who is it?”

Is he really that famous? Then it would be strange not to know that this guy has a master.

Curious I asked and Woo-hyuk sat up as he answered.

“Gyudo.”

I had to tilt my head at Woo-hyuk’s words.

It sounded like a name but it was one I had never heard before.

For someone who was said to be famous I was starting to feel like I didn’t know much.

Just as I was thinking that Woo-hyuk added.

“As an alias.”

He revealed the rest and my eyes widened in shock.

“Wudang Gwaeseon.”

“…!”

“That person is my master.”

He was indeed a famous person in many ways.

Wudang Gwaeseon Gyudo.

One of the representative masters of the Wudang Sect.

And one of the most embarrassing Taoists to look up to.

Moreover he was a treasure of the Namgung Clan.

He was also the owner of the treasured sword Thunder Fang which the future Sword Master used.