Childhood Friend of the Zenith – 553 (Part 2)



553 (Part 2)

“This is actually referring to Seong-yul who is carrying my luggage.

Upon hearing my name Ji-cheol’s eyes widen slightly. Just as I wonder why he is reacting that way a voice comes from behind.

– If it’s Gu Yang-cheon… is it that Gu Yang-cheon? Next to him is the Black Dragon?

– The Black Dragon huh? As the rumors say he’s quite a handsome young man.

– Is that the So Yeom-ra next to him?

– They say his eyes are like a demon’s and it seems the rumors were true…

It seems that not only the Black Dragon but also my name has made it clear who I am.

‘Who was that last guy who spoke?’

I was baffled by how the rumors had spread.

‘I was trying to keep a low profile on purpose yet there are still remnants of it.’

I suppressed the rising irritation.

I could feel Ji-cheol’s peculiar gaze examining me from the front.

I narrowed my eyes sensing that gaze.

‘What is it?’

I thought he might be looking at me out of curiosity.

But somehow there was a hint of annoyance in his gaze.

Of course it was just a fleeting moment.

Ji-cheol quickly averted his gaze but I didn’t miss it.

‘Look at this guy.’

As I quietly chuckled Ji-cheol spoke to me.

“You are the famous So Yeom-ra. I’ve heard stories about you. They say you are an outstanding prodigy.”

The word “prodigy” resonated strongly.

“I heard you came here for some business. I hope you can rest well.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

As I said this with a smile Ji-cheol nodded slightly.

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“First of all you must be tired from your long journey so I was thinking of taking you to a comfortable place. How does that sound?”

“I would appreciate that.”

With the greetings seemingly concluded.

I thought we were heading to the Wudang Sect as planned.

“Follow me.”

Thus the place we moved to following Ji-cheol was.

Surprisingly it was not the Wudang Sect.

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

After walking about half a step behind Ji-cheol.

We entered a building.

It was a somewhat upscale inn.

The interior was quiet perhaps because the building was empty and it seemed to be well-maintained.

However I had to wear a somewhat puzzled expression as I entered.

‘What is this?’

I had expected to be guided to the Wudang Sect but instead it was an inn.

Glancing sideways I noticed that Yeong-pung’s expression was not particularly good either.

It was understandable.

‘I came all this way for business and now I can’t even enter the sect and have been brought to an inn.’

They were pretending to treat us as guests to some extent but this was clearly a dismissive act.

Yeong-pung and Gu Ryeong-hwa must have known that which is why they wore such expressions.

As a somewhat sour expression settled in the air.

Ji-cheol sitting at the table opened his mouth.

“First of all I apologize.”

It started with an apology.

“Normally it would be appropriate to take you to the main hall. However the main hall is currently in a tumultuous situation so we had no choice but to bring you here.”

Ji-cheol seemed to realize that the situation was wrong and began to explain.

“Is it about the incident?”

Yeong-pung asked furrowing his brow which was rare for him and Ji-cheol continued.

“Yes. Currently it is difficult to bring in outsiders recklessly so I hope the guests can understand.”

“…What does that mean?”

“Once the simple verification process is completed we will leave the inn and head to the Wudang Sect so I ask for your cooperation.”

Yeong-pung’s expression was quite bewildered.

It was indeed unexpected so it was understandable for him to react that way.

Seeing that I also tilted my head in confusion.

A verification process.

‘Did something happen at the Wudang Sect?’

From the way they were acting it seemed something was indeed going on.

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Aside from that the current situation didn’t seem very good.

‘They said the atmosphere was tense but it seems they didn’t come out just to greet us.’

They had said they would make a grand entrance.

‘Are they trying to assert dominance or something?’

It was unsettling from the very first meeting.

Ji-cheol had deliberately delayed introducing himself.

Since Yeong-pung was a junior it would have been appropriate for him to take the lead.

However at a point where it was clear we had all come from different places trying to receive a greeting without any introduction was.

‘That’s what they’re trying to establish first.’

It clearly meant he was trying to assert his position as the superior from the start.

That was why he had restrained Yeong-pung earlier.

‘It could just be a misunderstanding.’

But seeing how things were going it didn’t seem like that was the case.

‘Just from the way they were talking.’

Just listening to Ji-cheol’s words to Yeong-pung made it clear.

It seemed like he was being polite yet.

There was definitely a condescending attitude in his words.

He acted without prior explanation.

And he was clearly forcing us to understand.

Moreover he was half-threatening us by saying that if we cooperated we would be allowed to go to the Wudang Sect properly.

To me it felt like he was deliberately trying to make things difficult.

The problem was.

“…What do you mean by cooperation?”

Yeong-pung was unable to respond properly to this.

‘Tsk….’

It was only natural for Yeong-pung being a newcomer to the Central Plains to be so naive.

But from my perspective it was just frustrating.

‘This won’t do.’

Seeing Yeong-pung like that I let out a slight sigh.

I was curious about how Yeong-pung would handle it so I was going to observe a bit.

But it seemed that if I left it like this things would only get worse.

‘I didn’t want to get involved.’

I had tried to let things slide.

But it seemed that wouldn’t work.

As Yeong-pung asked Ji-cheol a question with a somewhat uneasy expression.

Ji-cheol slightly raised the corners of his mouth and continued speaking.

“First the members of the volcano…”

“Before that I have something I want to ask.”

As I interrupted Ji-cheol’s face frowned.

It seemed he didn’t like being interrupted in the middle of a conversation.

Without relaxing his expression Ji-cheol looked at me.

His eyes clearly showed annoyance at my interruption.

“…You’re asking me?”

His question was filled with discomfort.

“I’ve been curious since earlier. I thought I should ask.”

“What is it?”

Seeing Ji-cheol’s face I smiled brightly and said.

“Are you perhaps from an unorthodox sect?”

“…?”

Ji-cheol looked stunned as if he couldn’t believe what he had just heard.

He had a look that suggested he thought he misheard.

“…What are you saying…?”

“No it’s just that the way you handle things is exactly like those kinds of people so I asked.”

“What?”

“The way you speak makes people feel uncomfortable just like those folks. If I’m wrong I apologize. I guess I was mistaken. Haha!”

I gestured while laughing but soon after.

Ji-cheol’s expression began to twist into a menacing grimace as he processed my words.

Just as he seemed about to rise and shout.

“Pfft…”

A short laugh from somewhere suddenly chilled the atmosphere.

Everyone’s attention turned toward the direction of the laughter.

There stood Gu Ryeong-hwa covering her mouth with a look of surprise.

“…Ah I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to…”

Gu Ryeong-hwa awkwardly stammered but.

It was already too late to recover from the situation.