Chapter 259: The Storm Gathers (2)
I was about to run to Myeong-gyeong immediately. But in that instant, I saw Myeong-gyeong’s expression change drastically.
“…Ah.”
Although the cheers were dense, I could hear Myeong-gyeong’s short gasp even through the din.
I traced Myeong-gyeong’s gaze and looked. However, there was no one who looked suspicious in that place.
“Senior Brother.”
I stood in front of the dazed Myeong-gyeong. Myeong-gyeong still didn’t seem to see me.
Only when I waved my palm in front of his face did focus return to Myeong-gyeong’s eyes.
“Ah. Junior Brother.”
“You did well.”
“Yeah. I’m your Senior Brother, after all.”
Myeong-gyeong puffed out his chest proudly.
Other people likely wouldn’t notice, but I am sensitive to changes in others’ expressions.
Right now, Myeong-gyeong was definitely pretending to be ‘his usual self.’
“…”
I looked at Myeong-gyeong in silence.
I felt it anew, but a person encounters truly many moments of choice in their life.
Whether my choice was right or wrong is unknown. Even if it brought a bad outcome, another choice might have brought an even worse outcome.
And usually, as someone who prioritized self-preservation, I tended to choose not to get involved in others’ complicated affairs.
That wouldn’t be a bad choice either. There are various kinds of friends in the world.
A friend who steps forward to help as if it’s their own affair even when it isn’t, and a friend who silently stands by one’s side like a pine tree all year round without asking anything. I preferred the latter. I was originally a person of that disposition.
However, sometimes, a person wants to do something they wouldn’t normally do, just once. A deviation, yes. To me, this was a deviation.
“Why?”
Did I stare too intently? Myeong-gyeong looked slightly awkward.
“Senior Brother.”
“Yeah.”
“Would you like to have a cup of tea with me?”
And I was equally awkward, engaging in interference for the first time.
Since we had to clear the area for the next match, we left the grounds. As we left the training area, the crowd cheered for Myeong-gyeong. It was the proper courtesy for a victor.
As soon as I entered the New Justice Association building, I first took off my human-skin mask. It was incredibly suffocating since my skin couldn’t breathe.
Myeong-gyeong looked around the building. Although the New Justice Association building was also a building of the Wudang Sect, it was an unused Daoist hall, so Myeong-gyeong likely had rarely seen it.
“It has been a while since I came here.”
“You should have come more often.”
“You are busy, Junior Brother.”
For once, mature words came out of Myeong-gyeong’s mouth. Ordinarily, I would have simply smiled and let it pass.
Suddenly, I was seized by fear. The Myeong-gyeong I knew was a young child who purely liked people.
But what if he wasn’t? Although I pride myself on reading people well, I wasn’t perfect.
Even though I knew it was impossible to perfectly understand another person, comically, such a fear arose.
Shortly after we entered the Association Master’s office, Yu Cha-ryeon brought in tea. Seeing how she knew we had entered, her response was remarkably swift.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Ordinarily, Yu Cha-ryeon also adored Myeong-gyeong, but perhaps sensing the strange atmosphere flowing between us, she quietly excused herself.
“So, do you have something to say?”
Myeong-gyeong spoke, finally unable to bear the discomfort. I was equally awkward, as it was my first time approaching someone’s personal affairs.
“Ahem. Well, it’s nothing major.”
“You have an expression that says it’s definitely not nothing major.”
I knew exactly what kind of expression I was making. I was someone who had constantly practiced my expressions in front of a mirror. My expression right now had not broken. This meant an ordinary person would never be able to discern the true intent behind my expression.
“…Can you see that?”
At my question, Myeong-gyeong slightly avoided my gaze. He seemed to think he had made a mistake.
“…Yeah.”
“Well, it’s not like that’s anything wrong.”
“No. Because you probably didn’t know I was this kind of person.”
“This kind of person?”
“I am not a person who only possesses the image you want.”
“I also don’t only possess the image you want, Senior Brother.”
I ran my hand through my hair. I felt that I might be needlessly scratching a sensitive part of a young child, creating trouble.
“I wanted to be the Senior Brother you wanted. But I was caught just now.”
“Caught doing what?”
“That is why you brought me here. I am not a fool either.”
Myeong-gyeong was truly quick-witted. To the point of astonishing me, who had lived as a Great Merchant.
And what was even more astonishing was that he had hidden this side of himself in front of me for years. In front of none other than me. This was not self-infatuation; it was truly an incredible feat.
But that was that, and what needed to be corrected had to be corrected.
“What do you think I am expecting from you, Senior Brother?”
I asked. Myeong-gyeong gathered his hands in front of his thighs and fidgeted.
“You seemed like someone who had lived alone for a long time. As if you had never made a companion with whom you had no barriers.”
“Go on.”
Incredible insight. I truly never dreamed such words would come from Myeong-gyeong.
“So I wondered what it would be like if I became your unconditional supporter. Because you looked like someone who had never received such love.”
“Is that so.”
“To be honest, I was drawn to you because you are of the same kind as me. You hid your expressions remarkably well. And you were never flustered by anything. Even when you shouted as if you were flustered, I could see you were calculating everything.”
“Haha…”
Embarrassed, a laugh escaped me involuntarily. I prided myself on managing my expressions well, but Myeong-gyeong had seen through me from the very start.
I always believed there was always a higher heaven, but I never dreamed it would be Myeong-gyeong.
“I am sorry if you thought of me as innocent, spoiled, and pure. I am originally this kind of person.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for, Senior Brother. But it is indeed surprising. I also thought I read people well, but you completely avoided my eyes.”
“That is also one of my abilities. I know how to easily slip out of someone’s guard.”
“Is that so.”
Certainly, I hadn’t lived while managing my expressions so thoroughly in front of Myeong-gyeong.
And rather than my carelessness, it was largely due to the strategy of Myeong-gyeong, who had approached me first, knowing my deficiency in unconditional love. It was a remarkable design upon second thought.
“You don’t need to feel so self-conscious, Junior Brother. I’ve lived that kind of life since I was born.”
“That kind of life?”
“I am sorry, but speaking of that would be a violation of the rules.”
Myeong-gyeong stood up. I looked up at Myeong-gyeong.
Indeed, his face was calm, not the innocent Myeong-gyeong I knew.
“I am sorry once again. It can’t be helped even if you lose affection for me like this. Still, if you had been just a little less quick-witted, it would have been better…”
Myeong-gyeong tried to leave the office. I knew intuitively. The moment Myeong-gyeong left this room, our relationship would be difficult to return to how it was before.
“Senior Brother. I am sorry, but I am far more quick-witted than you think.”
“What?”
Myeong-gyeong turned around. I stood up abruptly and bowed.
“What are you suddenly doing?”
“Since it is the moment a humble subject meets royalty, I must naturally show the appropriate etiquette.”
“…!”
In that instant, the calm expression on Myeong-gyeong’s face shattered completely.
I slightly raised my bowed head and looked at Myeong-gyeong’s face. It was an absolute insolence that should never be committed against royalty, but I simply did it.
And Myeong-gyeong’s face was telling me that my guess was correct.
“How, how…”
Myeong-gyeong stammered. In truth, I had been almost certain, but having it revealed as the correct answer felt astonishing in itself.
The moment I noticed Myeong-gyeong’s identity was at the arena. When Myeong-gyeong’s expression crumbled, I immediately looked at the place he was staring at. There was no one there.
However, that didn’t mean the residual scent of qi had vanished. And I possessed the blood of the Heavenly Demon, which conflicted with the martial arts of the Imperial Palace.
Just sensing that residual scent made me feel nauseous, meaning a formidable expert from the Imperial Palace had visited Myeong-gyeong. What did that royal expert tell Myeong-gyeong via voice transmission, to the point that I missed their movements?
Whatever they said, it was certain that Myeong-gyeong was connected to the Imperial family.
“You didn’t expect me to figure even this out, did you?”
“…”
“You aren’t the only one with good eyes, Senior Brother.”
I shrugged. To be precise, I had sensed it through qi perception rather than eyes.
“Fine. I’ll admit it.”
Myeong-gyeong nodded. Fortunately, he didn’t try to deny it.
“My name is Ju Yu-gyeong. I am royalty. The current Emperor is my eldest brother.”
I desperately managed my expressions. Even so, I hadn’t known this. I had thought he was a distant relative of the Imperial family, like Prince Xian, but to think he was the Emperor’s brother. If so, shouldn’t he at least be a princely king?
“Hmm. I see.”
“Yeah. How did you know?”
“That is a trade secret.”
Myeong-gyeong laughed.
“This is why I liked you, Junior Brother. You never lost yourself in front of anyone.”
“Why is it in the past tense? Have you lost affection for me now?”
“You must have lost affection for me.”
“Why do you think so?”
“The Imperial Palace and you aren’t on good terms. You wouldn’t look favorably upon someone from the Imperial Palace.”
“Right now, are you a person of the Imperial Palace, Senior Brother? Or a person of Wudang?”
“I am a person of Wudang, of course.”
“Then that’s all that matters.”
Hearing his background, it made sense why Myeong-gyeong managed his expressions better than me and was so quick-witted.
Indeed, it was understandable for the child of the late Emperor. Of course, he could have grown up like a scoundrel, but his presence here in Wudang meant something had gone awry.
“But how old is the current Emperor for him to be your brother?”
“Don’t you know that asking about the Emperor’s personal information is punishable by decapitation?”
“Is that so.”
I feigned ignorance. Myeong-gyeong chuckled and said:
“He is about thirty years older than me.”
“I see.”
Seriously, those Emperors keep spawning children until they die. Of course, saying this aloud would indeed result in decapitation.
“So, why did the Imperial Palace person come to see you?”
“Even you don’t know that, Junior Brother.”
“I am not a god.”
“True.”
Myeong-gyeong smiled bitterly.
“But I truly cannot tell you this.”
“Is that so? Even if I swear to keep it a secret for the rest of my life?”
“It’s not that I don’t trust you. I am not telling you for your own sake.”
“Even if I am willing to bear all the consequences?”
I was slightly surprised. Was I planning to repeat my past death? The one who had died after holding excessive secrets was none other than me.
Yet I was about to make the same mistake once more. To be precise, I was speaking while overcoming the fear of death.
“Whatever circumstances you may have, Senior Brother, I will understand them, and even if I suffer harm as a result, I must hear it.”
“No.”
Myeong-gyeong was firm. He seemed absolutely unwilling to yield on this. I asked once more.
“Really?”
“Let’s stop here.”
It was not Myeong-gyeong who interrupted my words. I unleashed a sword strike toward the ceiling. As the ceiling collapsed, a splintered pillar fell and slammed into the center of the room.
And the person who dropped into the room was also a familiar face to me.
Slithering snake-like eyes and a bent back.
A Grand Eunuch of the Eastern Depot was staring down at me.