Childhood Friend of the Zenith – 535 (Part 1)



535 (Part 1)

“…Is it really about bringing down the family name?”

“Haha.”

Though I spoke sincerely the Poison King found something amusing and burst into laughter.

“Even if you step down from a position of honor the family won’t collapse.”

“This is a land filled with people who live and die for honor.”

“That’s true. I was one of them.”

Martial artists were originally like that.

Many of them sought to gain strength for the sake of honor.

There were also those whose life’s dream was to earn a name for themselves.

That’s why they lived and died by their aliases.

I don’t see that as a bad thing.

What does it matter to me how others live their lives?

It just meant that there were quite a few people like that.

In such a place why bother?

“Do you have a reason to abandon your honor?”

Is there a reason the Poison King should do so?

I wouldn’t know even if I listened to him.

“Mr. Gu.”

“Yes.”

“Do you know how to correct a decayed old tree?”

I looked into his eyes.

My mouth twitched.

I had nothing to say when I met the Poison King’s gaze.

He had already made his choice.

“To uproot it and plant new seeds.”

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“…So you mean to completely tear it out and start over?”

“Though it sounds like that it wouldn’t be the roots would it? Haha.”

If it were said that the Tang Clan conducted human experiments and even resorted to kidnapping for that purpose.

Not only the roots but also the four great families could be marked as unorthodox sects not orthodox sects.

After all the Tang Clan originally came from unorthodox sects so it would be easier.

Even knowing all that he still wanted to proceed?

Why on earth?

“It’s embarrassing.”

“…Embarrassing?”

“I can’t stand the embarrassment. Mr. Gu. I’m sorry for the children but this is something that must be done.”

Was it because I lacked a conscience or had my feelings already dried up?

I didn’t know.

I couldn’t accept his conviction.

At that moment.

“Thank you.”

The Poison King suddenly expressed his gratitude to me.

I widened my eyes upon hearing that.

“…What do you mean all of a sudden?”

Why was he thanking me out of the blue?

“I know that your anger is because of my daughter.”

“…!”

The Poison King’s words made my heart sink.

It was because I realized a fact I hadn’t known.

Was that the reason I felt suffocated by his words?

I had a vague understanding of what would happen to Dang So-yeol when the Tang Clan fell.

‘So that’s why I was so irritated.’

It seemed that this was the reason.

It was a fact I hadn’t known myself.

“I’m sorry for my son and daughter. My choice is this.”

“…Tang Clan Head.”

“I will likely be embarrassed a lot in the future but I think this way will make it a bit less embarrassing. I have not abandoned my honor. Rather this is how I protect my honor.”

So don’t say anything more.

The Poison King was telling me that.

So I kept my mouth shut.

I had no words I could confidently say to him.

It had always been like this.

Those who possess firm convictions and walk paths they need not take tend to silence others.

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As I slightly averted my gaze.

The Poison King calmly spoke to me.

“I’m sorry to ask but please take good care of my daughter Mr. Gu.”

What kind of request was that?

Did he mean to save her when the Tang Clan fell?

I didn’t know if it meant something else.

But the only answer I could give at that moment was one.

“…Don’t worry.”

I didn’t know about anything else but this was sincere.

Hearing my response the Poison King smiled and nodded at me.

“Good. That’s all I needed.”

The Poison King subtly dropped the honorifics with me.

I didn’t make any comments about it.

On the contrary I felt that his tone suggested he had finally acknowledged me.

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

I stepped out from the Poison King’s residence and moved forward.

I couldn’t hold back a man who had a schedule ahead of him so it was time for me to do my part.

‘I should start scheduling my own plans soon.’

I had organized the major events but I hadn’t decided what to do first in the immediate future.

‘First I need to return home.’

I would return to Gu.

That was the first thing I had to do.

‘…As much as I want to go somewhere else I have to go home first.’

Including the cave in Guangdong where the hidden everlasting iron was stacked.

It was time to consume the miraculous encounters I had organized one by one.

‘But it’s too much to do that right now.’

There were many things I had to take care of before consuming the miraculous encounters.

There was also the promise with the divine.

And the jewels I needed to use for Nahy.

Regardless of that the most important thing here was.

‘I need strength.’

I needed time to train seriously.

That was what I needed most at this moment.

‘…I’m still lacking.’

I had reached the realm of the heavens and gained the increased strength of becoming a dragon.

Yet it was still insufficient.

To face the Heavenly Demon and the Blood Demon I lacked the power to create righteous strength.

I couldn’t even react to the movements of the Dark King let alone reach those who had risen high.

Moreover.

‘I need to reach the formation.’

Along with training in the Two Heavenly Martial Arts I also needed to reach the formation of the Nine Flame Transformation.

Only then would my father tell me about my mother.

I needed time to build strength.

And the situation in which I could do that was.

“…Probably there’s no time like now.”

This was the most opportune moment.

In just a few more years incidents would occur one after another.

Even excluding the events I had twisted.

I needed to build strength to handle the major events that would arise in the future.

‘Now even gaining through miraculous encounters has its limits.’

My qi was overflowing more than enough.

My body was in such a well-formed state that what I ultimately needed to do was train myself.

Yes let’s do it.

It’s time to do what needs to be done.

If I had to return to the family for a while anyway it was time to build strength.

As I planned this and returned to my place.

“Hmm?”

I saw my father who hadn’t been around all night standing in the yard.

And with him was….

‘Is that Wi Seol-ah?’

She was holding my clothes in her hands but I wondered what she was doing.

What’s going on…?

As I entered both of their gazes turned toward me.

“Ah Young Master.”

“What are you doing?”

“…Well….”

Wi Seol-ah hid the clothes she was holding behind her back and hesitated to continue speaking.

“…I was just doing some laundry…”

“Laundry…? What? Don’t tell me that’s it?”

“Yes….”

She pointed to the clothes confirming that it was indeed mine.

She had been washing my clothes?

“…Why?”

Why are you washing my clothes?

As I asked with that intention Wi Seol-ah’s face gradually turned red.

Her skin was so fair that it stood out remarkably.

“I-I just remembered after a long time… I did it without thinking.”

She said awkwardly with a shy smile and I couldn’t help but furrow my brows.

Are you saying you washed it without realizing it just because you saw the clothes? What kind of nonsensical instinct is that?

But as I searched for the cause my stomach felt particularly bitter.

‘…This seems to be my fault somehow.’

Was it because I had brought Wi Seol-ah as my attendant?

It seemed I had left behind some strange behavior.

‘…Now that I think about it it seems like there have been many times when my clothes were washed recently.’

Whether I returned from training or went out my room was cleaned.

I had felt a pleasant scent for some reason.

“You… Did you secretly clean while I wasn’t around?”

“…!”

Seeing her flinch and turn red at my question I wondered if it was the Tang Clan’s attendant who had done it. But it turned out it was Wi Seol-ah.

“Why did you do that?”

“…I just had some free time…”

“If you’re going to do it at least say something. It’s not like you’re a fairy or something.”

The important thing is why do it secretly?

I said this in disbelief and Wi Seol-ah lowered her head.

“I’m sorry…”

It might be a problem that she came in secretly.

But at least from my perspective I didn’t think it was something she needed to apologize for.

“There’s nothing to apologize for. That’s something I should say. Just… if you do something nice let me know. Then I can thank you.”