Childhood Friend of the Zenith – 426



426

”’〈 Episode 427 〉 It’s been a while. (2)

Three days had passed.

Before long they had left the mountains and forests behind and gradually began to see villages populated by people.

At this point a sense of stability began to settle in the hearts of the travelers.

Since the purpose was transportation it was a journey filled with tension always on guard against potential ambushes.

Now that they had reached the area influenced by the Tang Clan there should be no issues with the transport.

Those who had not shown their expressions for a long time now wore faces that were relaxed and relieved.

They even exchanged trivial jokes.

In an effort to conserve their strength they even engaged in duels that they had previously avoided.

Indeed watching fights was entertaining and the thrill of spectating was quite enjoyable.

Every time this happened it was clear that the journey was nearing its end.

However.

Contrary to the comfort everyone else felt.

I was on the contrary burdened with a more complicated state of mind.

Grrr.

I circulated qi through my body.

The qi that had emerged from the qi center flowed through various parts of my body.

‘Tsk.’

I had been monitoring my condition consistently but there was no real progress.

This issue had arisen after I had hatched the demonic beast from the spirit stone.

The qi that had escaped at that time was gradually being restored but the speed was painfully slow.

It wasn’t just me who noticed this; the same was true for the spirit beast.

When my training was hindered I was scolded for what I was doing.

‘Damn it.’

At my age being scolded like this was quite humiliating.

Get notified for updates: https://discord.gg/93rmBjgP6B

The self-loathing was no joke.

Shaa…

Noticing that I was in a bad mood a snake poked its head out from my sleeve and looked at me.

“What are you staring at? Because of you the whole plan has gone awry. What are you going to do about it?”

Shaa…

Whether it understood or not it licked my finger as if to apologize.

Seeing that made me sigh repeatedly.

‘Oh what a mess.’

Here I was venting my anger on a demonic beast and it was quite a sight. After all I had hatched it of my own volition so blaming this creature was rather strange.

I wrapped my forehead which was throbbing and looked out the window.

The carriage was still moving and the scenery was changing without pause.

Watching that made me think about what lay ahead.

It wouldn’t be long before we arrived at the Tang Clan.

Once we did.

‘First I’ll go eat the spirit stone.’

Originally I was supposed to arrive at the Tang Clan unload my belongings and then follow Jang-ryong to see the Wudang Ghost Ship.

After that I was to visit the Paegyeong as well.

The plan was to finish all of this and then go after the spirit stone.

Now however I had to prioritize the spirit stone.

‘My condition is not good.’

The issue lay more with my internal state than with physical problems.

The qi that had been lost was not recovering all at once.

Because of this using Tua Pa Cheon Mu or martial arts had become quite problematic.

‘Ugh….’

Moreover I was unable to manage the instability that arose from the rapidly changing situation.

For now replenishing my energy with the spirit stone was the priority.

Shaa…

The demonic beast kept licking its tongue and looking at me.

“What is it you?”

This snake had nothing else to do but this.

Shaa?

It tilted its head and licked its tongue at me.

Was this its job?

“Honestly this is better.”

It was better than the one who kept whining about being hungry.

Just staring at me was preferable to the old man who kept making noise.

If it had been trying to suck my energy because it was hungry I would have thrown it away immediately.

Join our discord and ping me to update more chapters. Discord: https://discord.gg/93rmBjgP6B

At least this one didn’t drain my energy.

It only occasionally craved the flesh of demonic beasts.

‘What a strange creature.’

It didn’t eat regular food only the meat of demonic beasts.

Normally demonic beasts would eat anything they could get their hands on so I didn’t understand why it was so picky.

‘Should I consider that a good thing?’

If it were eating spirit stones that would be troublesome but if it was just eating meat that was better.

After all when hunting for spirit stones the meat of demonic beasts would naturally come up.

It wasn’t whining about being hungry either.

One day when it was all droopy I wondered what was wrong only to find out it was hungry.

It didn’t ask for food so I didn’t even realize it was hungry.

‘When did I ever raise a demonic beast?’

I had never raised even a regular beast so I was quite clueless about this.

“Did you not have the courage to speak up?”

Shaa…

It seemed to shrink back lowering its head which was quite concerning.

I recalled how it had looked when it was hungry but couldn’t ask for food.

‘…It’s annoying.’

Every time I thought of that irritation surged within me.

It reminded me too much of my past self and that didn’t sit well with me.

“Next time just say something. I’ll feed you while I’m at it.”

Shaa.

It wasn’t that I was looking for it to eat; it was just that I would feed it while I was eating the spirit stone.

I had no intention of raising it.

Nodding my head with that thought it seemed pleased and began to lick its tongue even faster.

Seeing that I waved my arms in disgust.

“Ugh! You’re getting spit all over me!”

As I shouted it jumped back in surprise and retreated into my sleeve.

Is this really a demonic beast? Why is it so timid?

As I wiped the saliva off my hand a voice came from above the carriage.

“Oh! It seems we’re almost there!”

It was the voice of Baekryeon-gyeom who had been lying on top of my carriage.

I didn’t understand why she was lying on the roof instead of in the comfortable carriage but I peeked my head out the window at her voice.

Then in the distance something came into view.

I frowned slightly at the sight.

“Seriously… it’s been a long journey.”

Had it been spring when we first set out?

Now as we were arriving it was already summer.

Was it a coincidence?

I felt like it had also been summer when I came here a few years ago.

What a coincidence that it was the same season.

Recalling that made me chuckle.

Back then my body had barely been at a third-rate level but in just a few years I had reached the realm of the spirit and the Central Plains had changed significantly.

It was a refreshing feeling to say the least.

‘But that’s not it.’

I was merely feeling the passage of time.

Leaning back in my seat I took a deep breath.

Finally after months of travel.

I had arrived at the county where the Sichuan Tang Clan was located.

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

I remembered when I came to Sichuan to find the notes of the Golden River Song.

It was a time filled with various incidents so it was strange that I couldn’t recall everything.

I also remembered discovering Wi Seol-ah who had been hiding in the carriage when we set out.

That was when I first met Namgung Bi-ah in this life.

How surprised I had been to see Namgung Bi-ah’s face.

I had been shocked internally wondering why that crazy woman was here.

In a way wasn’t that when many things began to change?

It was also when my relationship with Wi Seol-ah began to change in earnest.

And it was when my relationship with Namgung Bi-ah shifted in a completely different direction.

The flow that had been changing little by little began to change significantly.

That time was indeed when I first set foot on Sichuan soil.

Creeeak.

A massive door opened.

It looked to be at least twice the size of a regular righteous door. Compared to the clan’s door it was quite large.

The door to my house was so small that even my father or Elder had to bow their heads to enter.

As the door opened a multitude of people lined up inside.

“Congratulations on Clan Head’s return.”

– Congratulations!

As soon as the Poison King appeared cheers erupted all at once.

…Wow.

Watching the servants all come out clapping and cheering I couldn’t help but think…

‘What a ridiculous sight is this?’

That was all I could think.

What was the point of all the busy people coming out to do this?

Seeing the reactions of the Poison King and Tang So-yeol it seemed like a natural thing.

Is this really normal…?

‘Is it because my father always kept things modest that I’m not used to this?’

Seeing that neither Moyong Hee-ah nor Namgung Bi-ah had any particular change in expression it seemed that most other clans welcomed their leaders like this.

Creeeak.

As I walked I heard a strange sound.

It was the sound of Tang Deok clenching his fist violently.

Confirming that I immediately sent a telepathic message.

– Relax.

Hearing my command Tang Deok trembled and loosened his hands.

Since this was the lair of our enemies such a reaction was natural but it had nothing to do with me.

It was just a matter of avoiding trouble so I had to give clear orders.

‘If I had known this would happen I should have told them to wait outside.’

But now that I was here what could I do?

Turning my gaze away from Tang Deok I looked straight ahead and saw several elderly men with white hair facing the Poison King.

‘They must be the Elders.’

They seemed to be the Elders of the Tang Clan.

“Congratulations on Clan Head’s return.”

As the Elders greeted him the Poison King lightly nodded his head.

From that I could discern one thing.

‘The Poison King seems to have considerable power.’

It was clear that the position of Clan Head held significant weight.

If the power of the Elder Council in a clan was strong the attitude of the Elder or Clan Head would not be like that.

For example the Namgung Clan had a relatively strong Elder influence.

‘To be precise it’s the power of the Heavenly Lord that’s strong.’

The absolute being is not the Clan Head.

The most powerful clan was the Namgung Clan where the issues arising from that were most pronounced.

‘Since it’s the Tang Clan the process might be somewhat lighter…’

While it wasn’t a place like the Moyong Clan which had a purely commercial influence.

The Tang Clan was not far behind.

A clan of iron.

The Tang Clan was the one that supplied the highest quality iron goods throughout the Central Plains.

Because of this the influence the Tang Clan wielded was known to be not just about strength.

Putting those thoughts aside for now.

‘I want to get inside quickly.’

First I wanted to unload my things and rest a bit.

I was mentally and physically exhausted so I needed to take it easy on the day of arrival.

As I wondered when this welcome ceremony would end.

“Damn this is long. When will it end?”

At someone’s remark the group behind me jumped in surprise and looked over.

There was someone who voiced exactly what I was thinking.

Did they really just say that? I was impressed by their audacity.

It was Baekryeon-gyeom.

‘That woman is definitely insane.’

To say that in this atmosphere was something I couldn’t even do no matter how bold I was.

“I’m starving to death. Ugh…”

“Aunt please…”

As Baekryeon-gyeom sighed repeatedly I saw Moyong Hee-ah beside her her ears flushed red as she tried to dissuade her.

To be honest it felt a bit refreshing.

While Moyong Hee-ah was busy trying to stop Baekryeon-gyeom I looked at the Poison King.

It seemed like the conversation was nearing its end.

At that moment one of the Elders added a word causing the Poison King’s shoulders to flinch.

It seemed an important discussion had taken place.

Swoosh.

As the Poison King raised one hand the cheers that had been erupting around us quieted down in an instant.

If it could have ended like that it should have been done much earlier.

As I glared at him the Poison King turned his head toward me and spoke.

“It must have been a long journey and you’ve worked hard.”

The atmosphere of his welcome with his hands clasped behind his back felt somewhat heavy.

“I have prepared rooms for the guests in advance so please rest well today and how about we meet again when the sun sets for a banquet?”

A banquet.

It wasn’t something I was particularly interested in.

If he was saying it so formally it probably meant I shouldn’t skip it.

Unlike the grand welcome ceremony the conclusion felt somewhat anticlimactic.

The Poison King sought our understanding and then disappeared somewhere with the Elders.

The remaining group followed the servants’ guidance to their assigned quarters.”’