Childhood Friend of the Zenith-Novel

༺ There isn’t a Single Normal Person ༻

‘What the hell…?’

I found myself at a loss for words.

Why is that crazy girl standing here?

We were neither in Shanxi nor Shaanxi.

We were literally in the middle of a nameless mountain.

And yet here at this moment, Namgung Bi-ah was standing before me.

“What-”

I was going to ask what she was doing here, but others seemed to have different intentions.

But my thoughts were soon interrupted by a commotion among the people of Mount Hua. Drawing their swords, they converged on Bi-ah, who they saw as a threat to their community. The air was charged with Qi, and I knew I had to act fast.

I didn’t get a moment to come up with a solution

In a desperate attempt to prevent the tragedy, I raised my voice and shouted.

“I-It’s been a while!”

“…?”

As the swords paused midair, their sharp edges glinting menacingly.

“Sister Bi-ah!”

Amidst that, Wi Seol-Ah who was watching ran towards Namgung Bi-ah and hugged her.

Namgung Bi-ah was momentarily taken aback, but she gently started patting Wi Seol-Ah’s head.

Due to her tall height, she was completely able to embrace Wi Seol-Ah in her arms.

“Young Master Gu, you know that woman?”

Shinhyun inquired.

How should I answer this?

Should I just say we are somewhat close?

‘How the hell did she appear out of nowhere anyway…’

I believed that we wouldn’t meet again for a while when we parted ways.

I thought that maybe we would meet once because of the marriage arrangement.

But here I am, meeting her here of all places?

At a nameless mountain that had nothing in it?

‘Did she come looking for me?’

Namgung Bi-ah was deaf when it came to a sense of direction.

She was an extreme case at that.

She’s the type of person to go west when she is told to go east, so it would have to be a pure coincidence for us to meet here.

The likelihood of her finding the correct path while searching for someone was slim.

Because she literally wasn’t capable of doing so.

“Young Master?”

“Oh.”

I forgot to answer Shinhyun’s question because my mind was occupied with thoughts about Namgung Bi-ah.

“She is just an acquaint–”

“Fiancé.”

“…Huh?”

｢What now?｣

Namgung Bi-ah’s sudden interruption made everyone quiet.

“…What did you just say?”

I asked Namgung Bi-ah again, just in case I misheard it the first time.

Namgung Bi-ah tilted her head in confusion, wondering why I was acting this way.

I heard her wrong, right? I must have.

“He’s my fiancé.”

I really didn’t hear wrong.

It seems like I wasn’t the only one in shock, as everyone else became silent as well.

I especially felt the fiery gaze of other men that glared at me.

‘…Stop getting charmed by her beauty for god’s sake.’

Although I said that, even I approved of Namgung Bi-ah’s beauty.

In my past life, I had the privilege of gazing upon Namgung Bi-ah’s exquisite features for a long time, yet never once did I grow tired of her breathtaking beauty.

If it was me from back then, I would have probably drooled if I heard that Namgung Bi-ah was my fiancée.

Despite her dust-laden skin and disheveled hair, and even amidst the tattered and soiled fabric, Namgung Bi-ah’s beauty remained unblemished.

Her two sparkling blue eyes, reminiscent of diamonds, were fixed solely on me. Though she was not smiling now, I could not help but recall the bright smile that Namgung Bi-ah had shown me earlier.

‘So she can smile too, huh.’

I never once saw her smile in my previous life.

I have only ever witnessed her slash and kill her foes with an impassive look, devoid of any discernible emotion.

I hate to admit it.

But she looks beautiful whenever she smiles.

“Sis!”

Wi Seol-Ah who was rubbing her face in Namgung Bi-ah’s bossom for a while, spoke.

“Hmm…?”

“Why did you come here?”

“I came looking for him…”

“Who?”

Namgung Bi-ah gradually pointed towards me.

…She really came here looking for me?

‘How did she?’

She was the type of person to climb a mountain when she was asked to use a boat.

And a person that would travel across a river when she was supposed to climb a mountain.

She didn’t even know the basics of directions… But she came looking for me?

｢You idiot.｣

Elder Shin who stayed quiet, suddenly cursed at me.

‘…What’s making you act up all of sudden?’

｢You really don’t feel anything even after looking at the beautiful girl? If so, rather cutting it off, you probably didn’t have one to begin with.｣

‘Why are you talking smack when I didn’t even do anything?’

｢Just kill yourself at this point.｣

I lightly ignored Elder Shin’s words.

What’s with this old man all of sudden…

I went towards Namgung Bi-ah and asked.

“Lady Namgung, you really came here looking for me?”

“Yes…”

“Why?”

“I wanted to see you.”

…What?

What did she just-

｢I hope you get blown to death.｣

‘Please… Just stay qui-’

｢For fucks sake… Why don’t any ghosts take this guy’s life-, Oh, I’m a ghost too.｣

I became bewildered because of Namgung Bi-ah’s words.

Is she even thinking straight?

What is she saying all of sudden after appearing out of nowhere?

“What are you talking ab-”

“Young Master.”

Wi Seol-Ah approached me.

As a result of rubbing her face against Namgung Bi-ah’s soiled garments, she had inadvertently acquired some dusty marks on her face.

“What.”

“What’s a fiancé?”

“Huh…?”

I was at a loss for words because of her sudden question.

What’s a fiancé she asks?

Huh, what is a fiancé…?

Judging from her eyes, It looks like she really doesn’t know.

How should I answer this?

“A fiancé is…”

I would feel guilty if I lied to her.

While I was struggling to come up with the best answer, a figure emerged from the tall blades of grass.

“…Ugh, my back.”

It was none other than Yung Pung who was sent flying away.

After patting his back, Yung Pung looked at what was going on.

“…Uh, may I ask what’s going on?”

Yung Pung who was looking around noticed Namgung Bi-ah and gasped.

When Namgung Bi-ah’s icy face turned towards Yung Pung, He collapsed on the ground.

When I looked at Yung Pung wondering what was up with him, he looked to be in a weird state.

“…Huh?”

Flushed cheeks and ears accompanied the wild trembling of his eyes, I felt like I had seen such a face before…

‘Oh!’

I remember now.

It was the same face Gu Jeolyub made when he first saw Wi Seol-Ah back then.

Wait… Does that mean?

While I was looking at Yung Pung, other people of Mount Hua rushed towards Yung Pung who collapsed on the ground.

“Yung Pung! Wake up! Why is he like this all of sudden?”

“Did he fall headfirst when he was sent flying?”

“You’re telling me he’s unconscious because he fell headfirst when this guy used to be fine even after getting smacked in the head by a metal bar?”

“He must be feeling weak right now. Should we catch a chicken for him?”

While I was hearing some absurd solutions, I heard Elder Shin speak.

｢He’s done. He won’t be able to overcome that.｣

‘Pardon?’

｢Look at that guy’s eyes, he already let himself go. Furthermore, he probably has higher standards now that he laid his eyes upon such a beauty.｣

What a poor guy… indeed he is.

Those were Elder Shin’s last words.

I spoke amidst this bizarre situation.

“…So what about the duel?”

No one responded to my subtle whisper.

…For fuck’s sake.

* * * *

Soon it turned dark.

Each day seems so short, yet why does Shaanxi still feel so far away?

I couldn’t answer.

I briefly washed myself at the valley.

Although I was not particularly fond of being drenched, the summer heat demanded it, and with the aid of my Qi, it took me little time to dry off.

I noticed a bunch of men grouped up together while I was making my way back to the camp.

I first thought it was the people from Mount Hua, but some of Gu Clan’s members were also mixed in the group.

What are they doing?

I was wondering what they were all looking at. And as it turned out, they were all looking at Namgung Bi-ah.

｢Crazy…｣

“For god’s sake…!”

Elder Shin spoke out of nowhere when he was quiet the whole time.

｢For god’s sake indeed…｣

‘What are you saying all of sudden?’

｢You idiot, you really don’t feel anything after seeing that?｣

I wondered what he was talking about, but I already knew the answer.

Namgung Bi-ah was talking to Wi Seol-Ah while sitting in front of the campfire.

After cleansing herself thoroughly, she donned fresh and tidy attire.

She didn’t have any spare clothes, so we gave her our servant’s spare clothing, but did that attire always look like that?

It looked way more luxurious compared to when the servants wore it.

She looked beautiful even in her dirty attire, so her neat appearance now made her shine even more than before.

Plus, she was sitting next to Wi Seol-Ah which made it look like I was staring at a painting.

So it was understandable why all of these guys were acting like that.

‘…It kind of feels wholesome’

It definitely didn’t look the best.

“…Senior, this is the first time I’ve seen such a beautiful person. Are all other girls like this in other regions?”

“Namgung Clan is in Anhui… Wasn’t Shinmeel also from Anhui?”

“So it’s just her that’s beautiful then.”

“…Hey, I’ll make sure I’ll tell Shinmeel what you just said.”

“Huh? W-Wait, Senior, Senior!?”

What are they even doing?

“Young <aster!”

Wi Seol-Ah who found me waved her hand while smiling brightly.

Namgung Bi-ah was already looking at me ever since I started checking those guys out.

Ugh, I was just about to go sleep…

I started walking towards them as I felt like I had to go there.

“What are you doing?”

“I was talking to her about something.”

“About what?”

“About frogs!”

“…Frogs?”

I regretted asking.

It was probably something along the lines of frogs being tasty or not.

“While we were walking through the valley, we saw a frog and it had a really pretty color!”

“Oh… It was about colors.”

…Sorry.

I obviously expected that it would be about eating, that’s why I should never just assume.

Namgung Bi-ah who was next to Wi Seol-Ah handed me something without saying anything. It was a dumpling.

“What is it?”

I asked after first taking the dumpling.

“Dumpling…”

“What about the fish you are grilling along with it…?”

“I heard that you like them.”

“…I mean, thank you.”

Wait, where did she even get this dumpling?

It has been tens of days since we left the clan, but how are there still dumplings?

I first took a bite.

Thankfully, it didn’t seem to be rotten.

I was thankful for the dumpling, but I had to ask Namgung Bi-ah something.

“Lady Namgung.”

“Hmm…?”

“What are you planning to do now?”

“Huh…?”

“We are going to Mount Hua. It will be a while till we return to our clan after our visit to Mount Hua. It’s honestly astounding you found me, but why did you even come here anyways?”

“I wanted to see yo-”

“…Stop with that.”

｢You little brat, I hope you are burned alive.｣

I ignored Elder Shin’s violent comments.

Namgung Bi-ah kept staring at me blankly.

What is she staring at me for?

After a moment, Namgung Bi-ah suddenly nodded her head.

And I couldn’t help but feel confused upon hearing her words.

“Come along.”

“Come along, what?”

She really has to stop speaking in short sentences.

It was a bad habit of her’s to only spit out what she had in her mind.

At this point, it was faster for me to guess what she meant by her sentences rather than me asking her again.

“Until we reach Mount Hua?”

“No.”

“…Then up until what point-”

“Ever.”

“Pardon?”

“Forever.”

“…And who gave you that permission?”

What the hell is she on about?

I became mindless because of Namgung Bi-ah’s sudden words.

Come along with..Who? Me? Forever?

…Why would I even allow that?

“Why would you come along with me?”

“Because you’re my fiancé.”

“What the hell are you talking about.”

Does she think that the word fiancé holds that much power?

I was already getting a headache because of that matter, but for the problem to directly come at me only made it worse.

｢You should try to be grateful when you are handed something like this for free, rather than trying to refuse it. Do you think you deserve such beauty with that face of yours?｣

‘Why are you comparing our appearances all of a sudden? And also, what’s wrong with my face! I’m not that bad-’

｢You talk a lot for someone who looks like a mantis.｣

‘Mantis…’

For fuck’s sake, I really need an exorcist.

“Did you at least let the clan know?”

“…”

“…Lady Namgung?”

“…I did.”

She didn’t.

She definitely didn’t tell them she was leaving.

Her brief silence was blatantly telling me that.

A direct descendant of a Noble Clan ran away from her home.

What kind of troublemaker are you…?

‘Do you think you are Peng Woojin or something!?’

“You said you came here looking for me, right?”

“Yes.”

“Why? You have some business with me?”

｢You really asked that? Are you really that dense?｣

Why is this old man so mad anyways…?

I felt like I was going to get a headache because he kept shouting in my head so much.

Namgung Bi-ah turned silent for a moment because of my question.

Even so, her eyes never left me.

What was she thinking about so much?

“I…”

When she was about to speak,

“Young Master Gu!”

She couldn’t finish.

It was because of Yung Pung who came here shouting his lungs out.

“The duel we couldn’t finish before… Let’s do it now!”

The bright happy face he had before was gone and he for some reason sounded desperate.

In a negative way at that.

“What’s up with this guy now…?”

That guy isn’t normal either.

…I just want to go home already.

Footnotes:

• 1TL note: A group of people talking to each other with no context