Childhood Friend of the Zenith – 488 (Part 1)



488 (Part 1)

”’Chapter 489 – Do You Need It?

A messenger from the Gu family arrived.

I swallowed hard at Nahyi’s words.

‘What should I do…?’

Cold sweat began to flow.

This was the part I hadn’t anticipated at all.

In a way the Poison King’s response was the most normal thing he could do as the Clan Head of the Tang Clan.

A member of the Tang Clan who had come as a guest was harmed within his own family.

It was only natural for him to relay this information back to his clan immediately.

‘He’s really doing this.’

Most people would be busy hiding such incidents when they occur.

The mere fact that the two families harbor ill feelings towards each other was a problem and furthermore it could jeopardize the position of the Tang Clan.

It was expected that such matters would be handled quietly.

Yet the Poison King was openly addressing it which left me feeling flustered.

‘Is he really the kind of person to uphold this?’

I thought he wouldn’t be.

Honestly I still think he isn’t.

I understand that the Poison King is a much more composed individual than I expected but that doesn’t mean he is an untainted Clan Head.

What that implies is.

‘Does he have some ulterior motive?’

I still don’t know.

And I hoped as much as possible that this wouldn’t become a problem.

‘… It should be fine.’

He must have included the news that the victim was fine despite being poisoned. That would be the case.

Moreover.

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‘If my father sees this it shouldn’t lead to any major issues.’

It had to be that way.

It would be troublesome if it did.

There had already been too many incidents since my return and if this one piled on top who knows what could happen.

So… I desperately wished for nothing to go wrong but….

I would soon realize that there was no god in this world to heed such prayers just a few days later.

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

In Sichuan there are several counties but the most representative streets ultimately depend on how close they are to the Tang Clan.

Even if it’s not directly the Tang Clan it could be the Pa family which is considered a prominent family in Sichuan.

There are many famous families and sects surrounding the area.

In a world where the Ma Gyeong Moon reigns being close to a representative family brings significant advantages.

By providing them with sponsorship one can fall under their protection.

Especially since the Tang Clan manages commerce as well as the Moyong Clan.

The counties of Sichuan were as vast and well-managed as Henan which has a stronghold.

“Hyung-nim!”

Just as I arrived in the county a large man greeted me as soon as I stepped onto the street.

It was Pa Woo-cheol whom I hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Long time no see.”

“Hahaha! Have you been well?”

With a fierce face Pa Woo-cheol beamed and tried to pull me into a hug.

I slightly shifted my body and tossed Cheol Ji-seon who was next to me aside.

“Ugh!? Wait…!”

Caught off guard by the sudden throw Cheol Ji-seon ended up in Pa Woo-cheol’s embrace.

Sorry but I’m not into being hugged by a guy.

The funny thing was that Pa Woo-cheol didn’t seem to care and just held Cheol Ji-seon.

“Ji-seon Hyung-nim have you been well too?”

“Ah…! Wait… wait a minute…!”

Cheol Ji-seon screamed as if he was in distress but it seemed Pa Woo-cheol couldn’t hear him.

“Is it… okay to leave him like that?”

Woo-hyuk who had returned after wandering around for two days commented on the situation.

“Let him be; he looks happy.”

“He looks happy…?”

Cheol Ji-seon was on the verge of fainting under Pa Woo-cheol’s pressure.

But I thought that was a form of happiness too.

Or not.

As I sniffled Woo-hyuk looked at me with a strange expression.

Feeling his gaze I asked.

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“What?”

“Are you okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“You said you were poisoned.”

“Oh.”

How did he know?

I chuckled at Woo-hyuk’s words wondering how he had heard that.

“I’m just a bit hungry.”

“You’re saying you ate more poison because you were hungry?”

“It was tasty.”

“…”

Woo-hyuk looked at me as if I were crazy.

To be honest it wasn’t bad at all.

‘Ah this isn’t good.’

I recalled how Dang So-yeol would often say it was delicious whenever he handed me poison.

I wondered if I had developed a tolerance for it.

For now I should pretend I didn’t know.

“Did you talk well with Gwae-seon?”

“Um….”

I asked if he had a good conversation with Gwae-seon but Woo-hyuk seemed to hesitate slightly.

“Why?”

“Nothing nothing happened.”

He had a look that clearly suggested something had happened yet he claimed nothing did.

I wanted to pry but I decided against it.

“But you know.”

“Um?”

“That guy who said he would leave after meeting the master why is he still here?”

“…”

At my words Woo-hyuk flinched.

Did he think I would forget? Not a chance.

Upon hearing my words Woo-hyuk immediately moved ahead and started whistling.

“Ah… I’m hungry; what should I eat? Should I have some meat?”

He was at it again with his nonsense.

In the midst of it all this guy who was supposed to be a Daoist was thinking about eating meat again….

I let out a slight sigh at his ridiculous attitude and followed along.

I didn’t intend to chase him away but it was infuriating to see him act like that.

As I was about to walk away pretending not to notice.

“Oh right the master said to bring you back one more time.”

“Yeah?”

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

Gwae-seon asked him to bring me back?

I recalled how Namgung Myung had chased me away last time raising questions in my mind.

‘It can’t be something Namgung Myung said…. So did Gwae-seon call me for some righteous reason?’

I had no way of knowing why Gwae-seon wanted me back.

But it didn’t matter.

‘Anyway I was planning to go back soon. This is a good excuse.’

I had intended to visit in the near future anyway.

So it was actually a good thing that they called me first.

“When should I go?”

“… They didn’t say. Considering our master’s personality I think it would be fine to go around the seventh night.”

“… How leisurely.”

“Ha ha!”

I wondered where that sly personality came from but seeing Gwae-seon I began to understand a bit.

As I watched Woo-hyuk’s smile a question that had been on my mind for a long time came to me.

“By the way how did you become that person’s disciple?”

The lazy genius of the Mu-dang Jang-ryong Woo-hyuk how did he end up as Gwae-seon’s disciple?

I had been curious about that.

“… Hmm.”

Upon hearing my question Woo-hyuk seemed to ponder for a moment before smiling slightly and answering.

“It’s not that special…. Just.”

His smiling expression seemed refreshing yet somewhat nostalgic.

“Let’s try to get along being abandoned humans…. Something like that.”

“What are you talking about?”

This guy was speaking in a way that made no sense. It seemed he had no intention of explaining so I just walked ahead.

Leaving Woo-hyuk behind I headed towards the area where the women were gathered.

I flinched.

As I approached I noticed someone flinch.

It was Dang So-yeol.

She had also promised to come to the county so Dang So-yeol was part of the group.”’