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Chapter 570: To Hanam.

The cold, falling snow.

I remember the young man holding a woman resembling snow on the increasingly white ground piled up beneath him.

He was exhaling calmly over the blood scattered here and there.

It was a memory of the old man watching him.

[Child.]

The old man called to the young man.

The young man slowly lifted his head in response.

His red hair swayed as his eyes became visible.

A dark, deep red.

So red that it resembled the blood soaking the ground.

The old man couldn’t help but feel a chill at the sight of those eyes.

However, hiding that feeling, he muttered.

[Isn’t this enough…?]

Words mixed with earnestness.

[Let’s stop now…]

[…What is…]

The young man interrupted the old man’s words.

[What exactly has happened…?]

As he spoke, the young man clenched his hand holding the woman tighter.

[Nothing has happened.]

[Child.]

Flame Burst-!

[…!]

Just as the old man was about to take a step forward.

A fierce flame shot toward him.

But, the flame didn’t reach the old man.

Someone had grabbed him and pulled him back.

[Do you want to die? Get your head straight!]

[…Huangbo Clan Leader.]

The man was the clan leader of the Huangbo Clan, a great power in the realm.

Drawing out Woo Bongchwigae, he shouted at the young man with the red hair.

[Shin Ryong…! You reckless brat! How could you hide such power…!]

His booming voice, yet, the young man didn’t react at all.

He simply remained silent.

With a cold gaze, he surveyed his surroundings.

From the young man emanated an intense heat that didn’t fit the winter season.

In contrast, his gaze was chillingly cold.

[Truly laughable.]

[What?]

The Huangbo Clan Leader furrowed his brows at the young man’s remark.

[What did you just say…?]

[Gathering here just to take one woman. It’s truly laughable.]

There was no emotion in his voice at all.

That in itself was sharper than a blade.

[Can you really call yourselves righteous after this?]

[You brat…!!]

The Huangbo Clan Leader’s face twisted at the young man’s words.

[You know very well she’s not just any woman!]

His thick finger pointed at someone.

The tip of his finger was aimed at the woman the young man was holding.

[It’s understandable to be mesmerized by her beauty. But protecting that monster…!]

[Monster?]

[…!]

Chills ran down the Huangbo Clan Leader’s spine.

At the same time, he took a step back.

When he realized he was being pushed back by the young man’s fierce spirit.

Veins bulged on his neck.

[This… Damn brat….]

His pride was wounded.

To think he was momentarily intimidated by such a bloodied figure.

Just then, as the Huangbo Clan Leader was about to unleash his Qi—

Woo Bongchwigae blocked him.

[That’s enough.]

[Woo Bongchwigae!]

[You were the one who told me to get my head straight, yet here you are, acting like this.]

[Crack.]

The Huangbo Clan Leader gritted his teeth at Woo Bongchwigae’s warning.

He was barely holding back his emotions.

Seeing this, Woo Bongchwigae looked back at the young man.

[Are you really not going to let go of that hand?]

Letting go of the woman in his arms could end this brutal situation and bring back peace for everyone here, even for the young man.

But his answer was the same as before.

[I had no such choice from the beginning.]

[Child….]

[The meaning of ‘righteousness’ is said to be ‘justice and cooperation.’]

Despite his weary demeanor, the young man’s voice was firm.

It had always been so, and still was.

[Though I do not know what it truly is, I cannot comprehend ‘righteousness’.]

The young man’s declaration that he didn’t even know what this righteousness was, even in a righteous faction, elicited no reaction from Woo Bongchwigae.

He simply.

[But.]

Waited quietly for the young man to continue.

[Even if I do not know the meaning of the faction, protecting what must be protected is my justice and cooperation. That will be my principle.]

The winds mixed with the lingering traces of winter began to blow stronger.

Yet, before it touched the young man, it melted and vanished.

[If I cannot even protect the woman in my arms, then losing my beliefs would be akin to death.]

The air began to distort.

The blazing heat felt so intense that it could be seen.

[If you wish to take away my beliefs, go ahead and try.]

Amidst a sea of soldiers.

Surrounded by many with ample renown spread across the Central Plains.

It would not be strange for someone barely in his thirties to feel fear.

Nor would it be unusual for him to give up in exhaustion.

Yet, the young man chose none of those paths.

[For I will not lose anything.]

He chose to face the world.

Such memories are still vivid to the old man.

Perhaps it was a profound shock that made it so clear.

‘What a reckless child he was.’

Those who remember those events are few.

Of those present that day, most are no longer alive, and among those that do survive, most have forgotten.

[Please try to forget these matters.]

At the end of that brutal brawl, the blood-soaked young man declared so.

Woo Bongchwigae was one of the very few to remember.

And it left a debt towards the young man for him.

What debt? It was simple.

‘No one died.’

Even with the binding placed during the pact.

Everyone present managed to keep their lives.

Even if the Sword Sovereign intervened on the young man’s side later on.

That would still remain an unchanging truth.

Moreover, the young man fulfilled his own words, taking responsibility for his actions.

In accordance with the pact, he diligently carried out his duties.

As the contract neared its end, he returned to his clan and took on the role of the clan leader.

He concealed his existence.

Afterward, he never stepped into the Central Plains again.

The young man grew into middle age.

And before long, the world forgot his name.

How such a well-known name could fade so easily?

It was what he had wanted all along, and because Woo Bongchwigae kept things under control.

Thus, time flowed significantly until it led to this moment.

“Hoho….”

Woo Bongchwigae stepped out of his residence with a shallow smile.

“He resembles him quite a lot.”

The conversation shared had been rather amusing.

The child was eerily similar to the youth from his memories.

While he felt a tinge of regret about the resemblance, resemblance is still resemblance.

Being the son, it was only natural.

Of course.

“I don’t think the daughter resembles him much, though.”

The young girl, said to be a disciple of the Sword Demoness, apparently bears little resemblance.

If there is a resemblance at all.

‘On the mother’s side.’

The woman who had cradled her then.

Surely, she would resemble that child.

Suuuu.

Woo Bongchwigae patted his belly with his hand.

He felt a large lock hanging in his lower dantian.

It was due to the golden binding he had placed on himself as he remained within the room.

‘Hmm.’

Maybe he had been too much, but Woo Bongchwigae didn’t concern himself with it.

After all, he had little time left to spare, so he had nothing to save or spare about.

He simply felt amused.

‘The appearance was a spitting image, and they seem to have excellent talent as well. But they possess some cunning that wasn’t there before.’

Unlike his father, who would crush whatever stood in his way without hesitation.

It seemed the child had learned to navigate around obstacles instead of smashing through them.

Hoho.

‘It’s scary to think about.’

Even without overwhelming talent, how much scarier would they be if they possessed cunning too?

Thinking this, Woo Bongchwigae chuckled to himself.

He recalled the child’s expression, which had reacted to his words.

While evading, they had still shown their sharp point without hesitation.

A sharp point that could pierce at any moment.

Remembering that made Woo Bongchwigae smile.

‘Though I don’t know what that child is hiding.’

He hoped this incident would make them more vigilant.

That was Woo Bongchwigae’s wish.

‘But it seems too late now.’

There would be no further concealing that child’s story.

No matter how hard Woo Bongchwigae tried, it surpassed the size he could hide.

Especially.

‘With the unknown matters mixed in…’

With the mission delegated by the clan leader overlapping with this one, Woo Bongchwigae found himself lacking private time.

Though he had been hiding Gu Yangcheong’s existence at the clan leader’s request.

He felt that going any further would be tricky.

Thus, Woo Bongchwigae decided to give Gu Yangcheong a warning.

To have a sense of alertness.

To act cautiously and remain sensitive to the situation.

Along with that.

‘They called him the Heavenly Demon, didn’t they?’

The suspicious figure that attacked the Wudang.

Recalling that, Woo Bongcwigae looked back.

The place where Gu Yangcheong was expected to be.

He gazed at that spot for a moment before shaking his head.

‘No way.’

Considering how Gu Yangcheong had wronged something through the dawn.

For a fleeting moment, he thought the child might be connected to the Heavenly Demon.

But Woo Bongchwigae immediately dismissed the notion.

Didn’t the Sword Demoness say?

That the Heavenly Demon had surely reached transcendency.

‘And the physique doesn’t match either.’

They had said he was nearly seven feet tall.

Though the situation was progressing oddly, Woo Bongcwigae concluded that Gu Yangcheong had no connection to him.

If there were any ties.

‘It would probably reveal itself during the process of discovery. Hoho….’

In the course of uncovering the truth, it would naturally come to light. Woo Bongchwigae was aware of Beggar Clan’s information networks.

Thus, he could only hope.

That this incident and that child are unrelated.

Right after Woo Bongchwigae left.

I had to stand there for a moment, stunned with a blank expression.

In my hand was a snack Woo Bongchwigae had given me.

“…Hmm.”

I carefully set it down on the table as I stared at it.

“What was that?”

What could it be?

Woo Bongchwigae, who had been interrogating me intensely, simply handed me the snack at the end and disappeared.

I had expected him to say something more, yet he truly vanished just like that.

What could he possibly have wanted?

I couldn’t figure it out.

“…Should I consider this a pass? This?”

Not at all.

It wasn’t that I had passed.

Rather, it was more like.

‘He let it slide.’

I figured Woo Bongchwigae had simply let it slide.

Or maybe.

‘A warning?’

That could be possible.

He might be saying he knows you’ve done something, so mind your manners.

That could be his intent.

And if that’s not the case either.

‘What in the world…?’

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t grasp Woo Bongchwigae’s intentions.

Did he really let it slide because he was indebted to my father?

‘If he showed it to me with the binding placed on him, that might be plausible.’

This was a moment where I had to remain alert.

Of all people, it was the clan leader of the Beggar Clan.

What was important here was that I had gained his recognition.

With this, it could become somewhat difficult for me to act.

‘He doesn’t seem to have noticed anything else.’

It’s fortunate that he doesn’t seem to know I’m the one who attacked the Wudang.

‘…Though I can’t be too sure about that either.’

There’s always a chance he could be aware and simply pretending not to know.

I had to prepare beforehand.

‘I’ll put the demon energy in carefully.’

Though it was done subtly and in small amounts to avoid detection, I can still make use of it.

As for the rest.

‘I’ll need to get those guys moving.’

I had to employ people much more specialized in this area than me.

My head was starting to hurt as things became increasingly complicated.

But using my brain wasn’t something I had originally been a part of.

‘He must also be around.’

With that thought, I rose from my spot.

After all, pondering longer served no purpose.

“…Huh.”

For now, I had to move quickly.

 

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