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Chapter 279: Winter Rain (2)

Drip… drip…

Raindrops are flowing outside the window.

Just a few days ago, the sky was bright.

Now it’s filled with dark clouds, hiding the sun.

The cold air that should be crisp feels somewhat damp.

It just doesn’t feel like winter.

Drip—thud!

I quietly watched the rain pouring outside.

It wasn’t thick rain; it was closer to a shower.

But if it rains like this for several days, can we really call it a shower?

Thinking about this made me chuckle.

“What rain in winter?”

As I spoke, I could see my breath coming out.

Rain on a day like this? What on earth is happening?

Clack!

After staring at the persistent drizzle for a while, I stretched out my hand to close the window.

Feeling gloomy enough, I couldn’t stand to keep looking at this damn weather.

Closing the window and loosening my stiff body allowed me to finally take a breath.

Ah…

The reason I feel particularly tired is definitely not because of training over the past few days.

With so little space to train, I hadn’t really worked hard.

In recent days, I’ve mainly focused on mental training to reach the Transformation Realm.

Yet, the reason I’m feeling this exhausted is none other than the Nangong siblings staying at the same inn.

‘…Tch.’

Thinking of the brother, the guy naturally gives me a headache.

“Maybe I should just call him Pejon. This idiot.”

Just recalling him gives me a throb in my head.

The last time I encountered Pejon Bi-ju and Bi Yi-jin at the inn, he came up to me and said right away:

– “I’ve heard a lot about you from my master.”

‘…What the hell.’

This implied that Bi Yi-jin was implicitly telling me he was a disciple of Pejon.

The problem is…

It wasn’t Pejon who was Bi Yi-jin’s master.

It was him himself.

“Knowing he can’t just reveal himself, he brings it up like this.”

No way can I say, “I’m Pejon. Are you trying to impersonate my disciple?”

There’s no way to respond like that,

So, it seems he’s trying to say it this way.

No matter how you slice it, it’s not good news for me.

After all, running into Pejon means something all the same.

The only thing I’m left wondering is…

“What exactly does he want from me?”

It feels like Pejon is desiring something from me.

I honestly have no idea.

I’ve never properly spoken with him.

In my previous life, he almost killed me, so it’s odd that I would know much about him.

“Hmm…

For now, he’s only watching me from a distance.

Not making much of a move, I suppose.

And…

“My younger sister.”

Beside Pejon, there is someone claiming to be his younger sister.

Was her name Bi Bi?

She seems to be the youngest bloodline of the Bi Clan.

Since Pejon rejuvenated himself using the Rejuvenation Technique,

If Bi Bi is not the same, the likelihood of them being siblings is practically zero.

Still, she must be his granddaughter, if not even great-granddaughter.

But this woman named Bi Bi seems to firmly believe Pejon is her brother.

If it’s not an act, then it’s true.

“Is that why she can call herself the son of the Gu Clan’s leader?”

After all, Pejon Bi-ju is also of the Bi Clan.

It wouldn’t be strange to belong to the Bi Clan.

But for that to be possible, it also means the current head of the Bi Clan is aware of Pejon’s situation.

Hiding his weakened body,

He must be in an optimal state to regain strength.

“No matter what, playing the part of a master in the background is something else.”

What’s a grown man doing playing around like kids?

Isn’t that embarrassing? If it were me, I’d be so humiliated that I’d bite my tongue and die…

Sigh…

Lost in thought, I wiped the back of my hand across my forehead.

I realized I was in no position to criticize anyone.

Tch, tch.

I have no idea what he wants from me.

Or what he’s planning for me.

But whatever it is, when that master tries to involve me, I’ll have only one thing to say.

‘…I might just have to sell Elder Lee out.’

…

….

!

I’d be fine selling out whoever.

After all, these things happened because of his pushing onto me, so it should be fine.

If things get rough, I can always bolt.

Surely, they won’t come after my clan, right?

If they do come after me…

I’ll figure something out.

“Sigh.”

I let out a deep breath and glanced to the side.

As I moved my hand slightly, the silky strands of white hair brushed my fingertips, feeling like a soft silk fabric.

It’s well past noon, yet…

It seems Nangong Bi-ah is still swimming in her dreamland.

“How much longer can she sleep?”

It’s a pretty loud voice,

Yet, the sleeping Nangong Bi-ah doesn’t stir in the slightest.

By the way, this is my room.

Nangong Bi-ah’s room is next door, and she’s still in bed, having overslept.

Watching her with a dumbfounded look, I roughly patted her head and lifted myself up.

No matter how much I call out to her, unless she wakes up on her own, it’s useless.

I’ve learned this lesson well over time.

In such cases, letting her sleep is the best option.

Leaving Nangong Bi-ah behind, I stepped out of the room.

“Ah! Prince!”

The first person I met as I stepped outside was Tang Soyeol.

Having just washed up, her hair glistens with moisture.

Tang Soyeol seems to catch my gaze and flashes a bright smile while tidying her hair.

“I just finished training…!”

She throws in a quick explanation.

That caught me off guard.

“It’s raining outside; you trained in this?”

“Eh? Ah… yes. I have to work hard!”

Her slightly smiling face has a strangely mature air to it.

‘Didn’t expect that.’

Being a martial artist, it was only natural for Tang Soyeol to train, but I certainly didn’t expect her to be this diligent.

Moreover, considering her breaths are still rough, she must have really exerted herself during practice.

‘Now that I think about it, she seems close to reaching a critical moment.’

At the edge of the first rank.

That’s about where she stands at the moment.

In fact, there are monsters like Sword Dragon and Nangong Bi-ah around her age who are exceeding the first rank.

For her level, it’s more than enough to be called a genius.

Many others usually reach the first rank around their thirties.

Perhaps Tang Soyeol knows she’s close to that threshold and is pushing herself even harder.

Seeing her work hard makes me feel a sense of pride for having brought up Gu Jeolyub from the brink in the first rank to what he is now.

‘I need to keep rolling her steadily.’

It seems there’s now a justified reason to continue nurturing Gu Jeolyub.

“I just remembered, Prince.”

“Yeah?”

“Do you know where Bi-ah is?”

Thud…

I had to hide my surprise at Tang Soyeol’s question.

“Why are you asking…?”

“Ah, I was wondering if we could train together…. but I can’t find her. I thought maybe you would know…”

“ ”

If it’s Nangong Bi-ah, I could easily say she’s sleeping in my room, but that would lead to misunderstandings.

Ultimately, I had to spit out a lie.

“Maybe she’s sleeping somewhere else.”

She is indeed sleeping.

In my room.

“Yeah, right? She does love to sleep a lot…”

“…Uh, yeah.”

“Also Prince, Bi So-juh was thinking if we could all have a meal together… what do you think?”

“Sorry, but I probably won’t feel like eating then.”

“Ah, I didn’t even mention what time…”

“I have a bit of an upset stomach.”

“Ah, understood…”

Seeing Tang Soyeol’s glum expression at my refusal did bother me, but there was no helping it.

If I ate there, I’d truly feel like throwing up.

I had received such offers several times over the past few days, but I’ve been dodging them like mad.

Despite Tang Soyeol pouting her lips and putting on a face that showed she was quite displeased, that wouldn’t change my answer.

Tang Soyeol probably knows this, hence she chose not to press further.

“I’ll remember that…”

“Your pronunciation is a bit off, isn’t it?”

“No, it’s not! And lastly, Prince…”

“What else is there?”

What could she possibly have more to say?

“It’s nothing much… but, Gu So-hyeob has been training really hard.”

“Hmm?”

I gave her a puzzled look at the random mention of a name.

Why is she suddenly bringing up Gu Yeonseo?

“Is she?”

Did she perhaps talk with Gu Yeonseo?

Why is she bringing her up all of a sudden?

Ignoring my bewilderment, Tang Soyeol continued.

“Yeah. She was already training when I got there, and she kept at it until I was done.”

“Ugh…”

This was news I hadn’t really paid attention to.

Maybe it’s because I didn’t go out to train.

So I frowned slightly at Tang Soyeol, feeling curious about why she even brought this up.

It was odd because I sensed a hint of sympathy in her eyes as she spoke about it.

“Sorry for overstepping.”

Tang Soyeol immediately bowed her head upon realizing her words.

Her words seemed to support my assumption of her hidden intention.

If she felt the need to point this out, then there must be something wrong.

Typically, if anyone else were acting like this, I’d spit a curse under my breath and ignore it.

But Gu Yeonseo evoked a sense of guilt in me.

Hearing what Gu Ryoon said to me and having slapped me, right?

‘That was justified.’

I don’t regret that.

Who told her to get me riled up?

From my perspective, that was without a doubt a thing that deserved a beating.

Of course, I could’ve held back, but what’s done is done.

Nevertheless…

The image of her remains clear in my mind.

– I hate you.

Holding the frigid body of Gu Hui-bi, she aimed her sword at me, and that has stuck in my mind like glue.

“Tch.”

I turned on my heel to leave the meadow.

Though Gu Yeonseo’s evil spirit is intense, it’s not something I can solve.

Fortunately…

Right now, the perfect person to deal with that evil spirit is here on this land.

Walking briskly, I set my sights in a direction that wasn’t toward the inn but a bit further away.

“Ah…? Gu So-hyeob?”

Entering the inn as I caught a presence,

I found Yeongpung and others eating, all looking at me with surprised expressions.

“Yeongpung!”

“What brings you here…? Ah! Could it be you want to train together with me…?”

Yeongpung excitedly began to speak, but I cut him off.

“Where’s the Sword Demoness?”

Upon hearing my question, Yeongpung’s expression quickly faded to disappointment.

 

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