Morning.
To be precise, barely any time had passed since dawn. Had the sun risen? I did not think it had. No, maybe it was in the middle of rising.
The point was, it was roughly that early.
It was the hour when, if someone woke up, you would ask why the hell they had woken up so early.
A guest came at such an hour.
If someone came this early in the morning, you could not even call them a guest.
An unwelcome visitor.
That would be the perfect way to describe it, but—
How am I supposed to say that?
In this land, in this damned Central Plains, there were very few people who could call the being in front of me an unwelcome visitor.
Maybe there were none at all.
That was the kind of person he was.
“It has been a long time, Family Head...”
I spoke while watching his mood.
At that, the man took a sip of tea, then looked at me.
I flinched.
Even his gaze was cold. I knew that was simply how his face was made, but how should I put this? Meeting his eyes was still difficult.
“What brings you here so early in the morning...?”
The identity of the person who had come to see me was the Family Head of the Mo Yong Family, jokingly called the current ruler of Liaoning.
One of the Five Kings Under Heaven.
The White King, Mo Yong Hyuk.
He was a person who rarely moved from Liaoning unless necessary and almost never showed emotional change.
If he came to see me at a time like this...
It meant something had happened.
And with high probability—
I doubt it’s anything good for me.
I assessed reality.
No matter how I looked at it, the White King coming to see me did not mean anything good.
Because he dislikes the Bang Family.
The Bang Family.
More precisely, he disliked our father.
Father called him a close friend, but no matter how many times I saw them, the White King did not see Father as a friend.
An ill-fated relationship.
That was probably the correct way to view it.
And that Mo Yong Hyuk had come to this Bang Family estate he hated so much?
...I’m scared shitless.
It could not possibly be a minor matter.
So I kept my tension high as I looked at him.
“Young Master Bang.”
“Yes, Family Head.”
“I heard something happened yesterday.”
“Ah... That.”
I smiled awkwardly and said,
“My apologies. It seems there was a slight misunderstanding. For making the Mo Yong Family’s forces move for a pointless matter, I offer my apology—”
“My daughter cried.”
Damn it.
...That wasn’t it?
I had chosen the wrong topic to speak about.
I froze midway through my apology.
There had been something bigger.
...He didn’t come to blame me for using the Mo Yong Family’s forces to find me.
His daughter cried.
The resonance of those words was intense.
“...I am sorry.”
“I did not come to hear an apology.”
The White King remained expressionless.
He merely took another sip of tea.
That made this even more uncomfortable.
It seemed he had something he wanted to say.
Or—
Something he wants me to say.
The latter seemed more likely.
What did he want me to say?
It did not seem like he had come to hear an apology.
...Damn it.
Fighting unorthodox bastards would be easier than this.
I kept smacking my lips.
While I was spinning my thoughts as fast as I could, the White King spoke.
“How is your body?”
“My body...?”
“I heard you fought.”
“Ah, I am fine.”
I was perfectly fine.
I was not injured anywhere significant.
Physically, at least.
Mentally, things had become a little troublesome.
[Wow. That man’s pretty handsome too, isn’t he? Is there any way...?]
Any way for what, you insane woman?
Dohyang.
There had been a problem after I stuffed her soul into the dagger.
She would not stop talking at all hours, making the whole thing extremely noisy.
Even when I told her to shut up, she did not listen.
I should really melt it down in a furnace later or something.
[Eek! D-don’t do that! I haven’t even preserved him yet!]
...Yeah, I really should melt it.
What an insane dagger.
I held back a sigh.
“The Sky-Crushing Palace. I hear they caused trouble in Liaoning.”
“...Ah, yes. That is correct. I was already planning to contact you about that, especially since you sent a letter as well...”
I had not expected him to show up without warning the very next day.
“...So it is fortunate I could meet you like this.”
I said something I did not mean.
“Do you know anything about the Sama Sect...?”
“A little. They are people we have recently been preparing to wipe out.”
“They had established ties with the Sky-Crushing Palace. For now, I dealt with the one who seemed to be their captain... but remnants should remain, so regarding that—”
“We will handle that ourselves.”
“Thank you. Also...”
I took a letter from inside my robes.
This was something I had intended to send to the Mo Yong Family later, but since the White King had come in person, I decided to hand it directly to him.
“I wrote down what little information I have on the Sky-Crushing Palace’s movements, centered around the Sama Sect. At the same time, I included information about the Green Forest.”
“The Green Forest?”
“It seems the Green Forest is also trying to establish ties with the Sky-Crushing Palace.”
“...”
The White King’s eyes widened.
There was only one reason I was handing over information of this scale.
Someone I can trust.
A martial artist I could trust.
Among the very few people I counted on one hand, the White King was one of them.
Separate from how uncomfortable I found him, he was capable and decent.
“...The Green Forest.”
“I do not know the details either, but... the circumstances seem to point that way.”
“I will prepare a separate investigation into this.”
“Yes. It would likely be better for you to move while excluding the Murim Alliance as much as possible.”
“...”
Had he immediately understood the meaning of my words?
A light entered the White King’s eyes.
At the same time, he nodded to me.
“Understood. You have my thanks.”
“Not at all. If anything, I should be thanking you for handling something I cannot.”
“Is that so.”
“...”
“...”
After that, there was no conversation.
Ah, my stomach was turning again.
Why was this really happening?
“...Um.”
For now, I had to say something.
The moment I opened my mouth with that thought—
“My predecessor wishes to see you, Young Master Bang.”
“...Pardon?”
The White King spoke first.
Hearing that, my face furrowed on its own.
His predecessor?
If he meant his predecessor—
“Do you mean the Starry Heaven Sword...?”
The Starry Heaven Sword, Mo Yong Baek.
The former Family Head of the Mo Yong Family, and the person who had pushed for the engagement between me and Mo Yong Yeongsun.
I had heard he was now retired and spending his time quietly in Liaoning.
And more than that—
I’ve never even met him.
All I knew was that he had been Grandfather’s close friend. Aside from that, I had no information.
I had thought he was not someone I needed to know about.
And now, suddenly, he wants to see me?
Why would that old man be looking for me?
Doubt sprouted in my mind.
“It seems my daughter did something.”
“...What would Yeongsun—no, Lady Mo Yong have done?”
“Who knows.”
The White King shook his head.
His tone said he did not know, but no matter how I looked at him, that was not true.
That man knew something.
He was simply pretending not to.
I could see that, but I could not bring myself to say it aloud.
This was not an atmosphere where I could act like I knew.
“I will send a carriage shortly before noon.”
“Ah, do I not get an opinion in this...?”
“First, I have obtained permission from Young Master Bang’s family. Do you intend to refuse?”
“...”
What I wanted was time to think, but this did not seem like a situation where I could refuse.
For one thing, the Family Head of the Mo Yong Family had personally come.
And—
What does he mean, she cried?
Mo Yong Yeongsun bothered me too.
“No... If I am only going to show my face...”
“Understood.”
As if the main business was over, the White King rose.
Along with that, he took something from inside his robes and handed it to me.
“A gift.”
“All of a sudden...?”
What kind of gift was this out of nowhere?
When I looked at the item, it was a spirit pill.
“What is this...?”
“It is a White Lotus Pill.”
“Holy shit.”
The curse slipped out before I could stop it.
A White Lotus Pill was a spirit pill ranked among the higher tiers.
Of course, it was not at the level of things like the Purple Firmament Pill or Lesser Restoration Pill, but with just one of these, one could accumulate a considerable amount of inner qi.
At the very least, it was definitely something money could not buy.
“Why are you giving this to me...?”
Why the hell was he suddenly giving this to me?
When I asked in confusion—
“The official reason is that you punished evildoers in Liaoning on behalf of the Mo Yong Family.”
The White King turned slightly away and added,
“The truth is that my daughter insisted I give it to you while pretending it was not at her request.”
“...”
Wasn’t that the kind of thing he should not say to me?
That thought passed through my mind the instant I heard him, but—
“Additionally, consider it the frustration of a poor excuse for a father. However cold a father may be, I am not so twisted as to ignore my daughter’s tears.”
“...”
The White King finished speaking and walked to the door.
Then he closed it behind him and left.
Left alone, I stared at the White Lotus Pill.
“...Ugh.”
A hollow laugh came out.
It felt like I had been hit once.
I couldn’t even refuse.
Before I could say I would not accept it, he had shut my mouth and left.
He really was an impressive person.
To think he could silence me like that.
“Haha...”
I wrapped the White Lotus Pill in cloth and tucked it into my robes.
“...Right.”
I swept my hair back.
It seemed I had to get ready.
*****
Around the time afternoon approached, the White King sent the carriage as promised.
It was a neat and splendid carriage.
The sight made it immediately clear that it belonged to the Mo Yong Family.
“It is an honor to meet you, Young Master Bang. I will escort you safely.”
A polite driver completely different from our Poison Dragon.
He did not seem like an ordinary carriage driver either.
How should I put it? He felt properly trained.
At the sight, I greeted him a little awkwardly.
“Ah, yes. I will be in your care.”
Then I opened the door.
There was a familiar face inside.
“...”
“...”
It was Yeongsun.
Our eyes met.
Mo Yong Yeongsun avoided my gaze and looked out the window.
She did not seem to have any intention of greeting me.
“Have you been well?”
I carefully tried speaking to her, but she remained silent.
Was it all right for me to get in?
While I was wondering that—
“...Get in.”
Mo Yong Yeongsun spoke in a cold voice.
Hearing that, I sat across from her.
“We will depart.”
NEIGH—!
The carriage began to move.
Inside the carriage departing from the Bang Family estate, right as I was thinking we were really leaving, Mo Yong Yeongsun spoke to me.
“I’ll say this in advance. I didn’t do anything.”
“...Hm?”
She did not do anything?
“I did not say anything to Father, nor did I even let Grandfather notice anything.”
The White King had said Mo Yong Yeongsun had done something.
Was that not the case?
“...Then why?”
Why was I being dragged there?
When I asked because I did not understand, Mo Yong Yeongsun shook her head.
“I don’t know. Why Grandfather called you... At the very least, I wanted to tell you that I am not the reason.”
Mo Yong Yeongsun continued speaking while still looking out the window.
“And since you have decided to go, I will give you one warning.”
“A warning?”
“...My grandfather is a somewhat unusual person. He cherishes me excessively, so please do not be too surprised.”
“...”
Even Mo Yong Yeongsun, of all people, was warning me to be careful.
...That makes me even more nervous.
What kind of person was he, for her to say that?
A level of unease I could count on one hand this year began to rise inside me.
