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EP.45 So Sword Peak (5)

How long has it been?

Judging by how I’m still half-asleep, it doesn’t seem like it’s been very long.

“It doesn’t make sense to not eat when you’re supposed to be growing!”

With the piercing sound ringing in my ears, I rubbed my sleepy eyes and sat up.

In front of me sat a plate of dumplings.

…Why are dumplings here?

Is this a dream? Have I eaten so many dumplings that I’m seeing them in my sleep?

“…Dumplings, meat dumplings?”

“Little brother, are you talking in your sleep?”

I caught sight of her red eyes waking me up.

Only then did my foggy brain start to clear up.

The blurry figure in front of me slowly came into focus.

With just one glance, I could tell she had a strong presence and defined features.

I didn’t need to think long to recognize who was in front of me.

“Sister…?”

“Yep, it’s your beautiful and charming sister.”

I didn’t pay much attention to her strange nonsense.

“Why are you here?”

“Is it wrong for me to be here?”

“It is! This is my room!”

“Well, it’s also my room, isn’t it?”

“…What are you talking about? Did you drink?”

I flung the word out habitually, and Gu Huibi flicked my forehead.

I quickly dodged, and she raised an eyebrow at me.

“Hey… are you dodging?”

“No, why do you immediately try to hit me as soon as you see me?”

“What kind of ill-mannered response is that to your sister who brought you food since you’re starving?”

“…Then why didn’t you send a servant instead of coming yourself?”

I didn’t say the follow-up that it was annoying to deal with her.

If I had implied that, I’d probably be set aflame.

Gu Huibi immediately raised her hand again as if to hit me, but then put it down.

Was she losing interest? She slowly handed me the dumpling bowl.

“I brought this for you, so don’t skip dinner.”

“Can dumplings even be something you just bring back…?”

“Talking too much? Want to burn to a crisp with the dumplings?”

Before I could react, I quickly grabbed a dumpling and ate it.

Was it freshly steamed? It was still warm.

“…Thank you.”

I felt a bit reluctant, but ultimately it was true that she brought them for me.

Gu Huibi laughed shortly, seemingly amused by my thanks.

“Thank you, huh? I wonder when the last time was that you said something kind to me.”

Did I really say that?

To be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if something worse slipped out.

By now, I was in a position to resent not only her but the entire Gu Clan.

“Regardless, it’s still a thank you. What’s wrong with saying it?”

“It’s the same mannerless talking, so what happened that made you change this way? Is it because of that Nangong girl?”

At her words, I spat out the dumpling I was eating.

It seems I choked.

“Gah… cough!”

“You must really love it if you’re choking on it.”

I felt her piercing gaze on me.

What kind of nonsense was this all of a sudden?

“Why would you suddenly bring up Nangong? You nearly gave me a heart attack.”

“Is she pretty?”

“…You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Gu Huibi didn’t even seem to be listening.

She was that type who only heard what she wanted.

Is she pretty…?

Objectively speaking, Nangong Bi-ah is quite beautiful.

Very much so.

If you searched the entire Central Plains for someone to rival her looks, you’d need to bring someone like Wi Seol-Ah, who was just looking pitiful a moment ago.

Even in my previous life, the sight of her covered in blood while rampaging through a battlefield was so captivating it stuck with me.

But from my frustrated standpoint now, it all seemed meaningless.

“According to the Thunder Dragon, he said she was pretty.”

“…Do you know him?”

“I’ve only seen him a couple of times, and we didn’t really talk much. There was something off about him, anyway.”

I suppose it’s no surprise that someone with the titles of Dragon and Phoenix would occasionally cross paths in this vast but small world.

What’s strange is that Gu Huibi thought he seemed off.

Did that Nangong fellow actually have some acting skills, or is Gu Huibi just intuitive?

By the time I finished my dumpling, Gu Huibi pulled something out of her pocket.

Seeing what she had, I was at a loss for words.

“…Sister.”

“What?”

“What is that?”

“Can’t you tell just by looking?”

I know; I’m asking just to see how stupid you are, honestly.

What Gu Huibi pulled out was none other than a bottle of baijiu, the white liquor served in inns.

Why on earth is she bringing alcohol into someone else’s room?

Seeing my expression, Gu Huibi chuckled.

“Want to share a drink, little brother?”

“…Just be honest, have you already been drinking?”

She seemed completely out of her mind…?

Regardless of what I said, Gu Huibi skillfully poured herself a glass and began drinking.

“Are you really going to drink here?”

“No? I’m going to lie down right here and sleep.”

Oh…

That’s the craziest thing I’ve heard in a while.

“Then feel free to sleep here, I’m going to go somewhere else.”

“How cold-hearted! It’s been so long since we’ve spent time together as siblings—wouldn’t it be nice?”

“It’s hardly been long, we’ve never even slept together in the first place.”

Clearly, we weren’t that close of a family.

After spatting that out, I glanced at Gu Huibi.

I was trying to gauge if she was going to hit me again.

But strangely enough, Gu Huibi only smiled at the moon without saying much.

“What’s this…? Have we ever spent the night together?”

I didn’t have that memory throughout my entire past life, and her strange expression had me puzzled.

Gu Huibi, having just swallowed some liquor, chuckled.

“You’re right! We’ve never cooled off together. It’s so heartless of you.”

“When will you leave…?”

“Why are you so eager to send me off?”

“Because this is my room?”

Isn’t it normal to assert my right like that…?

Gu Huibi was half-listening, still pouring herself more liquor.

Drip drip.

At this rate, she seemed to have already emptied the bottle she brought.

A few drops fell silently into her glass.

Gu Huibi, looking disappointed as she withdrew the glass, stood up.

Is she finally leaving?

“Little brother.”

Gu Huibi called my name.

She seemed a bit tipsy from rushing to drink.

‘Tipsy?’

I tilted my head in confusion.

If she reached the fifth rank in the Technique of the Flame Wheel, she should be well beyond the level of a mere martial artist.

There was no way just being drunk would affect her.

She’s definitely purposefully making herself intoxicated.

I had heard that martial artists enjoy alcohol, but had Gu Huibi ever liked drinking?

I don’t recall anything like that.

“Yes?”

At my reply, Gu Huibi beckons me over.

As if the hidden moonlight was illuminating her gesture.

Her hair, tinged with a light red hue due to her inner strength, seemed to glimmer even brighter in the moonlight.

“Isn’t the moon strikingly beautiful? Let’s share a moment under it, shall we?”

“Are you seriously asking me if you drank three bottles and came here?”

Have you lost your mind…?

What does the moon have to do with wanting to spar all of a sudden?

It was such an out-of-the-blue statement that I dropped the dumpling I was holding.

Yet Gu Huibi simply continued to smile.

The sight of her slightly flushed face from the alcohol was not something I wanted to see.

“Little brother.”

“Yes?”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“What are you talking about?”

She asking if I’m fine with not fighting?

I had no inclination to get hit, that’s for sure.

Honestly, I was still quite tired and wanted to sleep a bit longer.

Just a little more sleep, and then I would wake up later…

“Is that okay, to not let go?”

“….!”

I set down the dumpling at Gu Huibi’s sudden remark.

I looked at her with strange eyes.

Her fingertip was pointed towards my lower dantian.

…How did she know?

Despite storing the power I gathered from that giant serpent over the past few days, the energy that I couldn’t properly blend was still present within me.

Energy that couldn’t merge was toxic for a martial artist.

But I couldn’t simply absorb it recklessly and face the potential consequences.

The threat of internal energy backlash was terrifying.

Even the martial artist who had transcended ordinary humans faced great danger from it.

‘But wait, have I been engaging in enough risky behavior to warrant getting internal energy backlash?’

The reason I hadn’t expelled the energy from my body was greed.

I foolishly thought that maybe I could absorb this energy too.

That’s why my body felt fatigue that shouldn’t have existed.

The solution was simple.

All I had to do was expel the energy swirling inside my body.

Whether through training or sparring, it didn’t matter.

I looked at Gu Huibi with an incredulous expression.

“…Are you saying that we should have a sparring match under this moon?”

“It’s not exactly like that; I just wanted to give some discipline to you, my ill-mannered brother.”

“What do you mean by…?”

Suddenly, a strange thought crossed my mind.

There’s no way she’s starting trouble with me for no reason, right?

“Is this trouble you’re looking for because you instigated an argument earlier for no good reason?”

It happened during the day when Gu Huibi unleashed her heat and threatened me.

I had to forcefully draw out my energy just to endure it.

At my words, Gu Huibi flinched for a moment but quickly regained her composure.

“Hey, little brother, are you a bit too self-centered? Why would I go through that hassle?”

“Are you really not?”

“Your words are getting longer? Should I burn your hair off to make you shut your mouth?”

Burning my hair off? What kind of cruel thing is that to say?

Suddenly, in Gu Huibi’s hand, there was a wooden sword.

When did she even bring that?

Could it be that she came for this purpose from the start?

“Seeing you after several months, do you think I’ve become weaker? You haven’t grown taller at all but only bulked up in strength.”

Gu Huibi mocked me with a playful smile, but it didn’t hit home.

It had been a few months for her, but for me, it had been several years since our last encounter, and that was true now too.

Swallowing the last dumpling, I stood up and walked toward Gu Huibi.

She looked surprised by my actions.

Why was she making that face when she called me over?

“…Oh, little brother, you’re not running away this time?”

“You wouldn’t actually want to hit me, would you? There’s no need to be foolish.”

I brushed past Gu Huibi. My destination was the training grounds.

I slightly turned my head to address Gu Huibi.

“If we fight here, the whole building will be ruined.”

“Worried about a building when you’re the one who’ll fall after one hit?”

She laughed while saying that.

Ignoring her, I slowly set my pace toward the training grounds.

Under normal circumstances, I would’ve argued back, but no matter how terrible my life had been, I wouldn’t utter harsh words toward someone who had died for me.

What do blood ties mean?

In the past, I thought they were meaningless.

That goes for my father and even for my other sisters as well.

It was merely a coincidence that we shared the same father.

Not to mention, we weren’t even born from the same mother.

Seeing as my own mother was different, it stood to reason.

That was the relationship between Gu Huibi and me.

And even that connection wasn’t very strong.

The most talented sword master in the history of the Gu Clan.

And the least impressive lesser clan leader in the history of the Gu Clan.

The stark contrast was suffocating.

I can’t place all of my sins here, but I can at least say this was part of the twisted reason.

Inferiority complex can be so terrifying, selfish, and ugly.

Seeing Gu Huibi back then, I thought of her as a monstrous woman trying to kill me.

Why is she so eager to devour me?

Back then, I thought it was because I easily snatched the position of lesser clan leader from her hands.

It’s revolting.

What made me think that Gu Huibi coveted this position?

Perhaps she was just crawling into a purgatory of her own making.

In the silent training grounds, Gu Huibi and I stood face to face.

Her wooden sword was pointed toward me.

Despite being dark, the training ground posed no problem for the Gu Clan’s bloodline.

Flame Burst!

Slowly, a red energy surrounded Gu Huibi’s body.

This was the understanding obtained from fully reaching the fifth rank of the Technique of the Flame Wheel.

The energy is not just consumed nor simply exhaled.

It was an integration of the primal methods and inner strength that transformed into a new form.

It resembled a blazing flame.

Though the night was dark, the martial artists of the Gu Clan possessed their own light, so they were not afraid.

These were the words left by the ancestors of the Gu Clan.

As if proving those words, the fire engulfing Gu Huibi reached her wooden sword.

The energy was so strong and abundant that it lit up the otherwise dark training ground.

My naive eyes slowly captured that figure of Gu Huibi clearly.

Her appearance was not much different from her past life.

With her growth spurt completed, her physical body was not aging quickly.

Thus, her appearance reminded me of the bitter past I had to confront.

One arm was crushed and unable to function.

While I looked into her dying eyes, I pondered.

Did it rain that day?

It was probably not good weather.

“Little brother.”

[Little brother.]

Gu Huibi’s voice echoed in my memory.

Was I tired or something?

I probably wasn’t.

It’s because that moment I still couldn’t forget lingered on.

As time flows and flows, one day when I die and finally meet Gu Huibi again,

There was one thing I wanted to ask her.

The words she said while smiling as she was fading.

I wanted to ask why she said those things to me.

Why did she go that far for me?

Though I might never hear the answer now.

“Won’t you come?”

[Always, be happy.]

All I wanted was to ask.

“No, I’m coming.”

I took a step toward Gu Huibi.

 

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