Chapter: 12
Chapter 2. What No One Ever Taught
Click—
The door opened, and Yeonwoo stepped outside with a huge yawn, stretching his arms and legs before rubbing his sleepy eyes.
Then—
“Huh? Mister Warrior!”
Yeonwoo pointed at the man standing in the courtyard with a surprised expression.
He was a middle-aged martial artist with a large diagonal scar running from above his left eye to below the right side of his lips.
With his fierce appearance and intimidating aura, the man was one of the guards sent by the Gwan Clan—the family that had purchased Yeonwoo.
The warrior’s eyes swept over Yeonwoo.
After confirming the child without much interest, he turned around and said,
“Come with me. The Clan Head wishes to see you.”
“Okay!”
Yeonwoo slipped on his shoes and hurried after the warrior.
High above the house they had just left—
Watching Yeonwoo innocently following without a trace of suspicion, Unhyeon pressed a hand to his aching forehead.
“I have much to teach him.”
Beside him, the Shadow Demon Lord chuckled.
“I know, right? The kid’s too kind for his own good.”
Unhyeon turned to him.
“You’re certain, then? That man truly is a warrior of the Gwan Clan?”
A short while earlier, Unhyeon had sensed someone approaching the residence and had immediately reached for his sword.
The one who stopped him was the Shadow Demon Lord.
He had been the one to tell him that the approaching martial artist belonged to the Gwan Clan.
“You saw it yourself. Yeonwoo happily followed him.”
“What can such a young child know? Perhaps he simply went because he was told to.”
“Hah… Grandpa, you really don’t understand children.”
That kid was far more discerning than people gave him credit for.
The Shadow Demon Lord still remembered the first day he met Yeonwoo.
The intense caution the child had shown toward him.
If he had approached with even the slightest ill intent, the boy would never have allowed him anywhere near.
‘Though I still don’t know how he senses bad intentions.’
That alone made him different from ordinary children.
“He’s really not that naïve—”
“Then why aren’t you leaving?”
The Shadow Demon Lord’s casually waving hand froze.
He pointed behind Yeonwoo’s house.
“I live over there.”
Unhyeon narrowed his eyes and looked in the direction he indicated.
“…?!”
His brows knitted together.
Not far behind the house stood another small house.
A tiny one-room dwelling.
One he was certain hadn’t existed until yesterday.
“Don’t tell me…”
Did you build it? Already?
“I had my subordinates do it.”
“What?!”
Seeing the shameless pride on the man’s face, Unhyeon shouted,
“That’s not what I asked! Why are you staying here?!”
Why are you settling down here?!
You even built a house?!
“Oh, because there are more than one or two people after Yeonwoo.”
“…!”
More than one or two?
“I said I’d take care of the assassins, didn’t I? So I caught them and questioned them… politely.”
He had interrogated both the assassin who first attacked the house and those they encountered while coming down the mountain.
Politely.
Leaving them alive.
“But the interesting thing is, their stories didn’t quite match. No matter how I looked at it, they seemed to be working under different people.”
“Then…”
“That’s right. The Gwan Clan doesn’t have just one enemy.”
Unhyeon’s expression turned grim.
If the Gwan Clan had multiple enemies…
Then the number of people targeting Yeonwoo could be far greater than they had expected.
“So I figured I’d keep an eye on things.”
“I see.”
If that was the reason, there was no need to stop him from staying nearby.
More importantly—
Thud.
“You’re planning to follow him?”
The Shadow Demon Lord grabbed Unhyeon’s arm just as he was about to dash off.
Frowning, Unhyeon replied,
“If there are that many people after Yeonwoo, then he’s in danger even now. We should hurry.”
“That’s true…”
The Shadow Demon Lord tapped his cheek thoughtfully.
“But are you sure it’s okay for people to see you looking like that?”
“…?”
“Our sect has remained sealed away for many years, but that doesn’t mean we’ve completely ignored news from the Central Plains.”
In other words…
Someone might recognize Unhyeon, the Emperor Sword.
After all, he was one of the greatest martial artists in the Central Plains and a famous figure.
As Unhyeon muttered, “That’s true…” with an awkward expression, the Shadow Demon Lord grinned and pulled something from inside his robes.
It was a half-mask identical to his own.
Only this one was pitch black.
“Want to borrow it?”
With a frown, Unhyeon stared at the black half-mask dangling from the Shadow Demon Lord’s hand.
“You useless idiots!”
Crash!
The sharp sound of something shattering broke the silence inside the dark room.
The masked men standing in formation exchanged tense glances.
“Is killing one little brat really that difficult?! You couldn’t even handle something so simple, and now we’re suffering this humiliation?”
The man’s breathing grew ragged with rage.
The fist pressed against the desk trembled violently.
One of the masked men stepped forward.
“Perhaps Gwan Yun discovered your intentions, my lord.”
“What did you say?!”
The man glared fiercely at him.
The masked man bowed briefly before continuing.
“The old man accompanying the child was far stronger than expected. Could he not be a guard secretly assigned by Gwan Yun?”
“A guard…?”
An old man who had suddenly appeared beside the child.
At first they had assumed he was just an ordinary beggar.
His appearance was shabby, and all he seemed to do was trail after the boy.
But…
What if he had actually been a bodyguard placed there from the very beginning after seeing through their assassination plot?
What if his appearance as a beggar had merely been a disguise?
“Gwan Yun… that sly old fox…”
“Leave it to me.”
The man turned toward the masked subordinate.
The masked man bowed even deeper.
“If you entrust it to me, I will personally deliver the child’s head to you, my lord.”
Knock, knock.
“Clan Head, I’ve brought the child.”
A voice soon answered from inside.
“Send him in.”
Creak—
The door opened, and the scarred warrior gently pushed Yeonwoo forward.
“Go inside.”
Yeonwoo glanced up at the warrior before walking into the room.
The door closed behind him.
At the desk positioned at the far end of the room sat Gwan Yun, the head of the Gwan Clan, waiting upright.
“Come in. It’s been a while.”
“Yeah.”
Yeonwoo naturally climbed into the chair opposite him.
Since the chair was rather tall, he had to struggle a little to climb up, but he managed without falling.
Gwan Yun watched the child plop into the seat.
Because the desk was so high, only the bridge of Yeonwoo’s nose was visible.
The child’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“What about the thing you promised me?”
Gwan Yun let out a quiet sigh.
Then he reached beneath the desk and placed something on top of it.
It was a small tray filled with dried sweet fruits.
“…!”
Yeonwoo immediately grabbed a large handful.
Watching the child happily chew the dried fruit with his tiny mouth, Gwan Yun lowered his brows.
“When did I ever promise you this?”
“You said you’d give me anything I wanted.”
“I did. So I offered to send dried fruit to your residence, but you refused.”
“It tastes better when I eat it in your room.”
Saying that, he popped another piece into his mouth.
Gwan Yun sighed once more.
“Very well. Has anything unusual happened?”
“Unusual?”
Yeonwoo thought for a moment.
Then he shook his head.
“Nope.”
“And you still have no desire to learn martial arts?”
“Nope.”
“Have you at least read the book I gave you?”
Yeonwoo shook his head again.
Bitterness flickered across Gwan Yun’s face.
He had merely bought a starving beggar child from the streets.
The child had said that as long as he could fill his stomach, he didn’t care if he died.
So Gwan Yun had taken him in.
He had given the boy’s mother enough money.
He had fed the child three meals a day and provided whatever snacks he wanted.
But…
Paying generously didn’t mean he wanted the child to die.
Quite the opposite.
Since Yeonwoo wasn’t actually part of the Gwan Clan, Gwan Yun had believed the boy would have a better chance of surviving.
Whether entering the Marryong Hall under the Gwan Clan’s name or not…
Surely those people knew he was nothing more than a street beggar.
Still…
He had hoped the child would at least learn the basics of martial arts before leaving.
‘To think he’d refuse to learn…’
He had refused to train at the clan’s training grounds.
He had even refused when Gwan Yun offered to send instructors directly to his home.
He simply said that eating delicious food until the day he died was enough.
As though he already knew he was destined to die.
As though death meant nothing to him.
The child stubbornly rejected martial arts.
Gwan Yun let out another quiet sigh.
“What kind of person is that man?”
“…?”
“The old man who’s been living with you.”
He had said he would teach the child martial arts.
So when the boy requested that his meals be reduced, Gwan Yun had reluctantly agreed despite his doubts.
“He’s… a good person.”
As soon as he said it, Gwan Yun felt oddly embarrassed.
After all…
Perhaps he himself was the worst person in the child’s life.
“…Is he truly a good person?”
“Yeah.”
Yeonwoo nodded without the slightest hesitation.
“Grandpa’s a good person. He was a good person from the very beginning.”
“Do you even know who he is?”
“Ah! Now that I think about it, I never asked Grandpa’s name! I only told him mine!”
Watching the child puff up in unfair indignation, Gwan Yun felt thoroughly confused.
…How could he call an old man whose name he didn’t even know a good person?
“Are you really certain he’s a good man?”
“Yep! I only pick up good things!”
Pick up?
“When you fed me and gave me a place to sleep, you were kind of annoying.”
Fed you? Gave you a place to sleep?
“But now Grandpa runs around with me, so I like him.”
“…”
