Chapter 524: Side Story 24

Chapter side_24

Zhuge Un quietly looked at Zhuge Yeon.

That is, her packing her bags in the room. When he sent a questioning gaze, not quite understanding, Zhuge Yeon smiled gently and opened her mouth.

“I’m leaving.”

“Where?”

“Where else would I go? Home.”

At the word home, Zhuge Un’s expression changed.

He had been thinking that this Hunan Dan family was his home now. But unlike Namgung Cheon, Zhuge Un hadn’t abandoned his family to come out.

The Zhuge family still needed Zhuge Un and Zhuge Yeon, and they were in a situation where they were constantly being contacted and urged to return.

Zhuge Un swallowed a groan.

“So suddenly?”

“Suddenly? I had been thinking about it for a while. If you aren’t going, Father, at least I should go.”

If things went on like this, Zhuge Un and Zhuge Yeon would be no different from having abandoned their family. Naturally, the Zhuge family’s gaze would turn unfavorable, and that might become a great threat when they eventually returned someday.

“Originally, I had only been looking for an opportunity since Mu-ho returned. But now that Family Head Dan has returned, there probably is no more need to stay.”

“Hmm… Still, there would be much more to learn here…”

“Well, that’s… true, but…”

Zhuge Yeon slung her bundle over her shoulder and looked at Zhuge Un.

She winked one eye toward her father and grinned.

“Because if I stay here, I feel like I’ll die an old maid for the rest of my life. I have to get married, right?”

“…”

“You wouldn’t happen to want to see me become like So-hye, would you?”

“L-Like So-hye…”

“From what I’ve seen, So-hye is going to die of old age for the rest of her life.”

Zhuge Yeon approached and whispered.

It was as if telling no one to hear, but that sound spread faintly and lingered in the room.

At the same time.

“What did you say?”

Namgung So-hye, who had approached at some point, frowned.

She glared at Zhuge Yeon with an absurd expression and gaze, as if she was dumbfounded.

“Oh my? You were here.”

“I came in together with Uncle, so of course I’m here, wouldn’t I be?”

“Heh… I didn’t know.”

“Eek!”

At the words spat out as if joking, Namgung So-hye crumpled her expression.

But soon, she sighed and calmed her mind. She didn’t have the confidence to win in an argument with Zhuge Yeon, and her words didn’t seem entirely wrong either.

‘I won’t really die an old maid, will I?’

Namgung So-hye made a slightly anxious expression.

But no matter how much she thought about it, it didn’t seem to lead to a good conclusion. As she grabbed her hair and slumped down, Zhuge Yeon patted her back.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. From what I can see, Family Head Dan doesn’t seem completely indifferent either. If you diligently chase after him, won’t he accept you before you die?”

“You… you!”

“Hoho, and well… that might not be in the distant future.”

“…”

“Anyway, I’ll be going back, so let’s see each other again. If it gets annoying, I’ll throw everything away and come back.”

“I won’t accept you!”

“Are you already acting like the mistress?”

“Hey!”

Namgung So-hye protested roughly, but Zhuge Yeon didn’t even pretend to listen. What was somewhat regrettable for her, who waved her hand with her back turned, was…

‘I couldn’t say goodbye to So-mi… Does it not matter since I can just come back later?’

Just about that much?

She left the family with somewhat light footsteps.

* * *

Dan Woo-hyun was walking while holding Dan So-mi’s hand after a long time. They left Yueyang and moved for a long while. He couldn’t exactly know how much they had walked, but it seemed to have been a few shijins.

When Dan So-mi, who had been walking for a long time, sat on a rock and lightly tapped her calves as if her legs hurt, Dan Woo-hyun, upon seeing that, carried Dan So-mi on his back and walked and walked again.

“Excuse me… Dad.”

“What is it?”

“I’m a lady now too…”

Dan So-mi blushed as if she was embarrassed.

She didn’t think of Dan Woo-hyun as a man, but there were many gazes. A girl who had now turned fifteen.

She was mature enough that if she were other children, marriage talks would be coming and going, but Dan Woo-hyun was walking down the road carrying her on his back like a young child.

Even though they were walking along a small path with no people, people still occasionally appeared, so she unknowingly lowered her head, feeling uncomfortable with their gazes.

“Haha, are you embarrassed?”

“A… A little…”

Dan Woo-hyun thought of Dan So-mi anew with a different perspective.

She was a child who liked it so much when he gave her piggyback rides like this when she was young. But now she was blushing, saying she was embarrassed, so he felt that this was the flow of time.

She was growing up.

That young child.

“You’ve grown a lot.”

“I hear people call me a lady now too!”

Dan So-mi smiled brightly.

He couldn’t know if the word lady was so good, or if she considered her grown self so commendable. But now she was similar in height to Ju Ji-yak, and was becoming more beautiful day by day, so she was completely different from when she was young.

Whether in Yueyang or Changsha, one wouldn’t be able to find a more beautiful girl than Dan So-mi among her peers.

Even otherwise, there were also many men aiming for her.

Last time, didn’t a rather wealthy man approach her pretending to be a refined young master?

Yeo Eun-wol broke his arm because he tried to hold her hand, though.

“It’s amazing… That young child…”

“You are exactly the same as always, Dad. Even the grandfathers are getting older little by little…”

“Haha, is that so? That feels good in its own way.”

He felt Dan So-mi carefully resting her face against his back. After feeling Dan Woo-hyun’s warmth there for a long time, she soon suddenly lifted her head and spoke.

“Please put me down now. I can walk too.”

“Are you okay?”

“Of course! I’m very energetic!”

Then she lightly came down from Dan Woo-hyun’s back.

Not even a sound of stepping on the ground could be heard, which also meant that her lightness art and body movements had reached a considerable level.

“It seems you haven’t been neglecting your training.”

“Of course. Whose martial arts is it. Shouldn’t I properly learn it?”

Dan So-mi smiled brightly and stuck close to Dan Woo-hyun’s side. She learned many things from the people in the manor, including lightness art.

Not only Namgung Cheon, but also Sa Do-hak, Bi Cheon-ung, and even Jeok Mu-seong. Since it was clear that they were people who would be called a tremendous fortunate encounter even if one learned the martial arts of just one of them, no one in the world would believe this.

However, there was something Dan So-mi was practicing even harder than the martial arts of those four people, and that was Dan Woo-hyun’s martial arts.

Not the Thousand Days Harmony Art created similarly by someone, but an absolute martial art that no matter who it was, couldn’t be learned unless chosen.

Especially since the one who created it was none other than Dan Woo-hyun, Dan So-mi was resolving to definitely master this to the extreme.

“That’s a relief, I thought you would hate it.”

“Because I thought I should know how to protect my own body. Moreover, you haven’t forgotten, right?”

“Forgotten what?”

“I said I would protect you from now on, Dad. So I have to become stronger than you.”

“Hahaha.”

Dan Woo-hyun burst into laughter for a long time.

It was something she said in her childhood.

Thinking that she remembered it and was putting it into practice made him laugh for no reason.

“Don’t laugh. It’s true!”

“Okay, I’ll look forward to it. I’ll have to work hard so I won’t lose to you.”

“…Don’t go any further from there and stay standing. It’s hard to go catch you.”

Dan So-mi looked at Dan Woo-hyun with a sharp expression. The further he went, the more she couldn’t catch up. Even if Dan So-mi’s talent was good, she knew she couldn’t be like Dan Woo-hyun, and because that level difference was already enormous, she couldn’t even catch him easily.

“Alright… I’ll do that.”

“That’s enough of that talk! Now! We’ve arrived.”

At that time, Dan So-mi took three or four steps forward and spun around in a circle. It was an open plain in all directions, so he wondered what could be in a place like this.

If there was anything, would it just be countless flowers?

The scent of flowers wafted in on the wind enough to pierce his nose.

“This place is…?”

“The place where I was reborn for the second time.”

Saying such words, Dan So-mi closed her eyes for a moment. She caught her breath while recalling that time. At the same time she slowly opened her eyes, she took out the incense she had brought when leaving the house and started burning it in one spot.

Dan Woo-hyun quietly watched that entire situation.

“This is… the place where Sister Mi-ho is sleeping.”

“…”

“I know she did it to save me. But I wanted Sister Mi-ho to live longer.”

Dan So-mi burned incense and observed a moment of silence.

Tears slightly gathered in her eyes as she recalled Mi-ho’s face.

She wished it hadn’t happened. She thought it was okay for her to die, but she wanted the people who were there to live. However, in the end, Dan So-mi got to live due to Mi-ho’s sacrifice, and she, whom she liked so much, disappeared without a trace.

“But right now, I’m extremely thankful. Because if it hadn’t been for Sister Mi-ho… So-mi wouldn’t have been able to meet Dad ever again.”

“I see…”

“So I thought I absolutely had to come at least once… Since Sister must have liked you a lot too, Dad… That’s why I made up my mind to bring you along.”

Dan Woo-hyun looked at the place where the incense was stuck.

He slowly received the incense Dan So-mi handed to him, lit it, and stuck it in the ground. Thinking of Mi-ho’s face that disappeared without a trace, he unknowingly couldn’t help but feel bitter.

-What kind of human is this?

-Do you really hate me?

-When I become a nine-tailed fox, I’ll kill you!

He recalled that time when they first met.

A fierce child.

Mi-ho, who had none of her current maturity and lived only for herself. She undoubtedly would have died if she hadn’t met Dan Woo-hyun, but that too could be called fate.

‘Is this how you repaid that debt?’

He swallowed his words inside.

Because Mi-ho’s actions were impossible as an owner of a spiritual creature, Dan Woo-hyun also couldn’t help but be surprised upon hearing that story.

Even Cheon Mu-jin or Nam Ju-ryeon.

One by one they had left for Dan Woo-hyun, and Mi-ho too, unable to escape the shadow of Dan Woo-hyun, had laid down her own life for him.

‘I am a sinner.’

Dan Woo-hyun closed his eyes tightly while having such thoughts.

At the same time, a whooshing wind blew in.

A warm spring breeze gently brushed past Dan Woo-hyun.

It was even as soft as a person’s warmth.

Dan Woo-hyun, who had his eyes closed, opened them wide, unconsciously looking elsewhere.

“What’s wrong?”

“No… It’s nothing.”

And then he smirked.

Like a person who had lightheartedly shaken off something.

Or a pleasant smile formed like someone who had realized something. Was it because of that wind? Or was it because he shook off everything completely by honoring her at the place where Mi-ho died?

At that suddenly changed feeling, Dan So-mi unconsciously tilted her head.

“Then shall we go back now? Our fishing match isn’t over yet.”

“Haha, I’m going to win this time.”

“Hehe, are you looking down on So-mi? I’m the luckiest girl in the world.”

Dan So-mi smiled brightly and grabbed Dan Woo-hyun’s hand.

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