Swallowing hard, I looked into his deep red eyes.
A solid, muscular frame, towering over me with a body that was far larger than my own.
A man with sharply chiseled features, marked by the fierce eyes unique to the Gu family.
This was none other than the current head of the Gu family, and the person I found the hardest to approach—
The Guardian of Shanxi. The Chivalrous Hero, Gu Cheolwoon. My father.
‘Why is Father here?’
I was baffled. Why was he here?
He was supposed to be in Shanxi, so why was he in Sichuan?
‘Could he have come here for a visit…?’
I knew better than that, yet the thought crossed my mind. His appearance was so unexpected and strange that I couldn’t help but consider it.
Father gazed down at me with an unreadable expression. Finding my voice, I finally managed to speak.
“…Um, why are you here?”
“…”
Father frowned slightly at my question, his eyes scanning me intently. His gaze felt heavy.
After examining me for a while, he finally broke the silence.
“I saw the message. I heard something happened in the Tang Clan. Is that true?”
“…!”
My eyes widened at his words. He had received the message, the one about what had happened to me.
‘…It got there that quickly?’
It had only been a few days since I heard from Nahi that the Tang Clan had sent the message. While I understood that they used magical beasts instead of ordinary birds to deliver it, which would make it faster…
If it bore the direct seal of the Tang Clan, then it could only be viewed by the head or my father. Even if the head of the Tang Clan saw it, he would have to inform my father, meaning that my father would ultimately be the one to read it.
But then…
‘So how is Father already here?’
Even if the message reached him quickly, for him to read it and arrive here was another matter entirely.
‘…It means he came from Shanxi to Sichuan in a matter of days.’
Traveling by carriage, that distance would take several months. Did he somehow manage to arrive in just a few days?
What… did he fly here?
‘Even flying would be a problem.’
Based on my experience in my past life, simply taking flight wasn’t an issue.
As long as I had enough internal energy, I could use it to propel myself into the air, but to think of traveling from Shanxi to Sichuan this way…
‘Impossible.’
Even if I recalled my peak abilities, it would have taken me at least seven nights. And that’s if I used up all my energy to run the entire way.
In my current state, it would likely take about fifteen days, even with increased speed due to compressed energy.
But if Father was here, it meant that…
‘He closed that distance and then some, in an incredibly short time.’
Was that even possible? Evidence was right before my eyes, yet I found it hard to believe.
“Did you come here after reading the message?” I asked, half in disbelief.
“…”
When I repeated my question, Father didn’t respond. I watched him closely to see why he was staying silent.
Without warning, his rough hand grabbed my cheek.
“Geh…?”
His hand was so large it could easily grip my face with one hand.
He held me as if grasping a ball, moving me around a bit. I was too taken aback to even resist.
After a moment, as if studying my face like clay, he lowered his already deep voice to ask me a question.
“Who did this to you?”
Ah.
So that’s why he’s acting this way—because of my face.
‘…Right, I’d forgotten.’
I kept forgetting about the state of my face.
Thanks to my fast recovery, I knew it would heal in a few days, so I hadn’t bothered to treat it.
But I never expected to run into Father.
At that moment—
“Third son.”
“Yes…?”
“I asked who did this. Was it someone from the Tang Clan?”
“Uh… no…? It’s nothing important, so please don’t worry…”
“Tell me.”
He squeezed.
“Gah.”
His fingers pressed harder into my cheek.
Father seemed slightly angry for some reason. And with the way he was looking at me, it was clear that he wasn’t going to let me get away with saying I fell down some stairs or something.
So, in the end, I had no choice but to tell him.
“…It was Paejon.”
“…”
Father’s eyebrow twitched at my answer.
So I said it—Paejon did this to me.
As I explained, Father’s grip on my cheek relaxed, and he withdrew his hand.
Watching him, I realized that, as far as he was concerned, he might want to deal with this incident to preserve the dignity of our family.
However, since it was Paejon, I figured Father would let it slide.
After all, Paejon was my teacher with Father’s approval, and a teacher giving his student a bit of a beating for training wouldn’t be something that Father would openly criticize.
I thought so as I watched Father, but he remained silent, deep in thought, before finally speaking.
“I should send a message.”
“Huh…? A message?”
“I will stay for two more days.”
“…What do you mean all of a sudden?”
He turned and began walking away without any further explanation.
He showed up so suddenly, and now he was leaving just as abruptly. Confused, I looked at his back.
“I will return at haesi (notes: Haesi (亥時) corresponds to the time between 9 PM and 11 PM.). Be ready.”
He was telling me he’d be back tonight.
“Ready… for what?”
Trying to understand, I called out to him, hoping for an explanation. Father turned slightly, his crimson eyes meeting mine, making me freeze.
“Prepare to tell me what isn’t in that message.”
“…!”
I drew in a sharp breath.
“What this body of yours is, and what you’ve been doing here. Be ready to explain all of it to me.”
Having said that, Father turned away and walked off.
With a flash—
In an instant, he turned into a spark and vanished before my eyes.
With his departure, the intense heat and slight pressure that had filled the area also faded away.
Only then did I realize—
‘So that was Father’s doing…’
The raised temperature around me and the tense atmosphere—it was all due to him.
Now I also understood why my body had felt so rigid.
‘…He must be angry.’
It seemed that Father was, indeed, angry.
For him to show it so visibly… he must be quite furious.
‘And… he found out everything.’
The body I’d concealed with Qi Distortion, and the fact that I was doing something with the Tang Clan… Father had figured it all out.
I thought about what he’d said.
The meaning was simple. Yes, he wanted me to explain the situation, but the hidden message was clear.
—Tonight, I’ll come back to reprimand you, so be ready for it.
That’s certainly what he meant.
‘Hmm…’
I nodded to myself, acknowledging the truth.
‘I’m screwed.’
No matter how I looked at it, this was going to be bad.
Maybe I should run for it? That might actually be the better option.
"[Running away from being scolded by your father? How disgraceful,]" Shin Noya chimed in, sounding almost amused.
From my perspective, though, nothing could be scarier.
‘Noya, you should try being my father’s son. Let’s see if you don’t get scared.’
How in the world did he get here so quickly?
"[It’s really not that strange,]" Noya replied.
‘This isn’t strange…?’
To cross a distance that would take months by carriage in just a few days, and that’s not strange?
Seeing my skeptical expression, Noya continued in a low voice.
"[It was common in our time. Even that guy Jemoon, despite his weaker body, could cover that distance in about seven nights.]"
‘…’
Covering the distance from Sichuan to Shanxi in just seven nights? Noya sometimes talked about his era, but every time I heard it, I found it hard to believe.
They called it the Age of Despair—an era only a few years after the appearance of the Magyeong Gate, during the Blood Demon War when the Blood Demon appeared.
People referred to that time as an age of despair.
"[Yes, I understand that it’s hard to believe.]"
Perhaps he sensed my disbelief, as Noya’s voice took on a hint of bitterness.
‘No… it’s not that I don’t believe you.’
"[It’s natural not to believe it, in a world like this. Or maybe, in a world designed to be like this.]"
‘What?’
There was a strange undertone to his words, which left me confused.
A world designed to be like this? What did that mean?
It didn’t sound like he was merely boasting about the past; the atmosphere felt oddly serious.
What was this feeling? Was this the cause of the faint hesitation I’d sensed from Noya recently?
As I pondered, Noya continued.
"[It’s something I’ve thought about often.]"
Finally, Noya spoke.
"[Why are the warriors of this era weaker than those of mine? It always puzzled me.]"
‘Weaker?’
"[Yes. The successors of this generation possess power far greater than that of my time.]"
This was known as the Generation of Falling Stars—the term for those who were born in this era, full of countless geniuses. They called it the Generation of Hope.
But—
"[Yet, the peak of the current warriors seems pitifully low.]"
A warrior’s prime didn’t refer to the physically fit ones in their early thirties.
Those who began martial arts before the age of ten, entering the zenith past their forties, embodied a warrior’s prime.
If someone had talent, they’d reach first-class status, allowing their enlightenment to seep into their body. Those who surpassed the pinnacle of skill would start to manifest Qi naturally.
‘You think their level is low?’
I found Noya’s claim hard to believe.
After all, the masters I’d encountered were certainly powerful. Not only the Hermit I met just recently but also the Three Elders.
Thinking of them, I reflected on Noya’s words.
"[It’s low.]"
Even then, Noya spoke decisively.
"[I’m not talking about the stages of martial arts. It’s more that the strength they gain from their progress seems pitifully weak in comparison.]"
‘…Weak?’
"[Yes. Even those called Kings or the honored ‘Jons’ appear pitifully weak compared to their titles.]"
Noya’s voice was tinged with an unmistakable sadness.
"[At first, I thought it was a coincidence. Perhaps they’d lost sight of the essence of martial arts and the fierceness that came with it. But isn’t it strange? It’s not just one or two people—rather, it’s the entire quality of warriors that’s fallen.]"
As Noya spoke slowly, I felt a chill creeping up my spine.
I swallowed dryly, a feeling of nausea rising in me.
Coming from the era of Noya, to the current era of peace. The reason why Noya felt that the quality of warriors had declined across the board. And why he seemed so melancholic as he spoke.
I was beginning to connect the dots, but I brushed it aside. If my suspicions were right, it would lead to more problems than I could handle.
So I hoped that Noya would tell me it wasn’t true.
With a sense of unease, I called out to him.
‘Noya, are you saying…?’
"[Young one.]"
‘Yes.’
"[Do you remember what Ilcheon said back in Bigo?]"
‘…In Bigo?’
By Bigo, he meant the time I encountered the Black Dragon Hall.
‘The words of Yeon Ilcheon when he tried to kill me?’
Yeon Ilcheon had branded me as a disaster and attempted to kill me. I tried to recall his words, and Noya supplied the answer.
"[The world doesn’t make the same mistake twice.]"
Yes.
Yeon Ilcheon had indeed said that.
That he was sifting through worlds, searching for the correct answer, just as the Blood Demon had.
‘What…?’
Suddenly, Noya’s words triggered a disturbing thought.
An unsettling, dreadful realization.
‘Noya, you don’t mean…?’
Eyes wide, I looked to Noya, desperately hoping it wasn’t true.
"[Jemoon told me.]"
But—
"[After we sealed the Blood Demon… the world’s first act was…]"
As always—
"[To curse the ‘humans’ of this world.]"
Nothing in my life had ever gone the way I wanted.