[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-childhood-friend-of-the-zenith":3,"chapter-childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-25":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Childhood Friend of the Zenith",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1239951,1667,"Chapter 24: The Demon Sword (1)","childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-25",25,"\u003Cp>༺ The Demon Sword (1) ༻\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Early in the morning, while Gu Yangcheon was preparing for his trip to Sichuan alongside a few of his servants, Wi Seol-Ah was doing housework with the other servants.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had started to have a little bit of fun with her chores as she got more and more used to the housework.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although she had started getting compliments from the other servants due to the care that she put into her cleaning, which contrasted greatly with her clumsy personality,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was still terrible at cooking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘…Se-Seol-Ah, you can’t hold the knife like that!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Hurry up and stop her! She’s gonna cut her hands at this rate!!!’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>– Smack!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Oh my god, she chopped the chopping board!!!’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘The fire! We have to turn the fire off first!! Bring me water, water!!!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Nooooo!!! The potatoes turned blaaaack!!!’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Wi Seol-Ah, who was always complimented by the servants, had been forced to stand against a wall while holding both her hands up as a punishment, a well-known story to those who hadn’t been present that day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After that event, the servants were ordered to ensure that Wi Seol-Ah never cooked again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although Wi Seol-Ah had been sad for some time because of what happened, her mood had brightened up when the servants said that they would teach her when she grew older.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Seol-Ah, can you bring me the laundry?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yeah!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today was supposed to be no different than any other day; the laundry was the first task that needed to be done.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Wi Seol-Ah carried the laundry outside, she saw a carriage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Interestingly, it was the same carriage as the one she’d gotten on when she went to the Nine Dragons Ceremony.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Huh…?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However As she continued walking she noticed that there were a number of carriages behind the first one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This either meant that there would be a number of passengers going for the trip, or that the trip itself would be a long one… or both.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wi Seol-Ah hopped over to a nearby servant and asked,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hongwa, what is that carriage for?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hm? Oh, the Young Master is going to Sichuan.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ehh? Young Master is leaving?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, so the Second Elder hurriedly prepared some carriages.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this point, a few other servants who overhead the conversation chipped in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You didn’t know about this, Seol-Ah? I wonder why no one told the direct servant under the Young Master…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Probably because Seol-Ah is too young and still has lots to learn. They’ll be gone for a month too, so maybe that plays a part?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah… that makes sense.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A-A mo-month…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A month…? An entire month?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wi Seol-Ah’s eyes quaked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Young Master would be gone for an entire month…?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then again, that was normal… right?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wi Seol-Ah couldn’t understand why her heart felt so frustrated at what she’d just heard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“W-When are they leaving?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They said the Young Master will leave after he wakes up, so they’ll probably be leaving soon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The servant was right, as it was currently around the time that Gu Yangcheon usually woke up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wi Seol-Ah, upon hearing her words, stood with a stunned stillness reminiscent of someone who’d just received a devastating piece of information.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The servant who’d been speaking to Wi Seol-Ah, upon noticing her reaction, caressed the young girl’s hair in an effort to comfort her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She then spoke,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Seol-Ah, after we finish the laundry, do you want to follow me and help me move food from the storage to the carriage?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Yeah.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Want a yakgwa?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yeah!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After they ran through and finished with the laundry, Wi Seol-Ah and the servants started to stock the carriage with food.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is this enough? It is a long trip after all.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Won’t they stop occasionally and buy more food anyways?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Uh… I’m not sure if the Young Master will be fine for a month.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey, don’t you think the Young Master’s personality changed a little after Seol-Ah came here?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s true; when I accidentally bumped into his shoulder while cleaning, he asked me if I was alright.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It was an actual bump? You just didn’t brush past him? And he didn’t slap you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I know right! I feel so comfortable while working these days… Is it right for me to feel this comfortable?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the servants gossiped and worked among themselves, the carriage eventually ended up filled with a sufficient amount of food.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wi Seol-Ah then asked the servant named Hongwa a question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Will this carriage go with the Young Master?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes. Now we just need to prepare their cloth-“\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hongwa! The Second Elder is here!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah, I’m coming! Let’s go, Seol-Ah.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The servant ran quickly to answer the call, and Wi Seol-Ah was just about to start running after her when-\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>｢Wait.｣\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, a sudden voice stopped her and then she turned around towards the carriage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She glanced around, looking for the owner of the voice, but no one was around her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wh-Who is it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no response.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wondering to herself about whether it could have come from the carriage, Wi Seol-Ah crammed herself inside, and–\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides the carriage being filled with food, there was nothing else inside of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was only enough space for a person to hide in, but even that space was empty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Confused but done with her search of the carriage’s insides, she was about to leave when she felt someone push her inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ahh!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With nothing to use to hold herself back, Wi Seol-Ah fell helplessly into the carriage and, after a small ‘oww,’ struggled to her knees inside the cramped carriage space.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She quickly turned around after regaining her balance, only to see some carrots and nothing else – there were no signs of the person who’d pushed her into the carriage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fear gripping her heart due to the absurd set of occurrences that had happened to her in barely one minute, Wi Seol-Ah started clambering to get out of the carriage, but then-\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So, when do I set out?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Young Master?!’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While within the carriage, she heard the voices of Gu Yangcheon and the Second Elder, and remembered that the Young Master would be leaving for a month today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She then suddenly had the thought that if she stayed quiet, she would be able to go to Sichuan alongside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She was confident in her hide-and-seek skills.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even her grandpa, who was good at the game, often struggled to find her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Sh-Should I just stay here?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She wanted to, but she felt that it would be ultimately a bad idea and shook her head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was scary to go somewhere without telling her grandpa.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And it was equally scary to think about spending a month in a place she knew nothing about, particularly without her grandpa next to her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘If I wait patiently, then the Young Master will eventually come back.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After telling herself those words, she prepared to get up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>｢Wait.｣\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wi Seol-Ah slipped and collapsed after getting surprised by another sudden voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the same voice from before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Who-Who is it??’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no response again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She felt like she had heard the voice before, but she couldn’t figure out whose voice it was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go! This old man has already done everything. All you have to do is set off!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What kind of set-off is this…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>– Neiggghh!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hieee!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During the short time that Wi Seol-Ah had been distracted by the voice, the carriage set off following the sound of the horse’s neighing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wi Seol-Ah, feeling the carriage getting further and farther away from the clan, started panicking as she didn’t know what to do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘W-What do I do? What do I do?!’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The panicking Wi Seol-Ah then felt the sensation of someone patting her head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was an extremely familiar sensation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wi Seol-Ah strangely felt like she was falling asleep to the sensation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She heard a slight voice as her heavy eyelids began to force themselves shut.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>｢Sorry, but take care.｣\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Wi Seol-Ah woke up, she was met with carrots in front of her and found that it was already nighttime.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So,”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Yangcheon asked Wi Seol-Ah after listening to her excuses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You were possessed by a ghost, which is why you got on the carriage, and it’s not your fault, you say, huh?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes! That’s right!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What about the carrot in your mouth then.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…I was hungry, and there were only carrots.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sigh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wi Seol-Ah quietly avoided making eye contact after hearing me sigh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, after I had heard all that she had to say, I slowly formed a fist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Yeah?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you really think that anything that you’ve just said makes any sense?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sharp bonk aimed at Wi Seol-Ah’s head followed by Gu Yangcheon’s rage-filled shout.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Owww!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>* * * *\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What could I do in this situation?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was a troublemaker in front of me, squatting on the floor while holding her head in pain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What can I do about this child?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How did she even manage to get into the carriage?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We’d set off in a hurry, so how was this possible?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I wasn’t exactly sure how powerful one of those people acknowledged as the world’s strongest was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I knew that they could easily erase a clan without breaking a sweat if they really tried.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t know exactly what the Sword Emperor was thinking, but at his level, shouldn’t he have been able to see every corner of the entire clan?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So… does that mean he knew about Wi Seol-Ah going into the carriage?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It hurts…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s supposed to hurt.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was partly at fault for leaving without saying anything to her, but it had all happened too quickly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had no idea that the Second Elder would cram me into the carriage and see us off so suddenly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why did you follow us, seriously?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I wasn’t trying to follow… The ghost really-“\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing me about to bonk her head once again as she started to recount her ghost story, Wi Seol-Ah immediately ducked and covered her head while murmuring her apology.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m sorry…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I sighed at her pitiful appearance and then lowered my fist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘What should I do? Do I need to send her back?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I couldn’t send the carriage back. To be honest, I was already short on time and couldn’t afford to waste any more of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Can I send her away with an escort…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they walked back, then they would arrive in a few days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But, the fact that it would take a few days made it hard for me to actually stomach the thought of sending them back on foot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I felt like sending them back that way would lead to me having more than a few sleepless nights.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wi Seol-Ah, on noticing my conflicted face, grabbed my clothes and spoke,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“C-Can I not come with you…? I can work hard! I promise that I’ll work really hard! So, please bring me with you, Young Master…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As her words came to an end, Wi Seol-Ah gradually lowered her head, tears starting to well up at the corners of her eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We are going to be away for a while, your grandfather will be worried.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Grandpa said I can do anything as long as I listen to you and work hard!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Well, the problem is that you’re not listening to me right now…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’ll also be troublesome to the other servants if they have to take care of y-“\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as I was about to finish my sentence, I glanced at the servants, and what I saw caused my words to die in my throat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Go, Seol-Ah! Beg harder!’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Thank God… at least Seol-Ah will be here with us!’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was basically what their eyes and body language were saying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, I’m the bad guy here, huh? Is that it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I massaged my temples because of the headache I could feel creeping up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why do I always have to deal with these sorts of problems? Is my luck actually that shitty?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So, why did you really follow me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wi Seol-Ah hesitated a little but eventually answered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I feel uneasy without you as if my heart aches… So could you please bring me with you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tears in Wi Seol-Ah’s eyes seemed a lot more evident at this point, like she would actually start to cry at any moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My heart felt a little ticklish after hearing Wi Seol-Ah’s words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But besides that, I wondered why Wi Seol-Ah was feeling that way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I guess you could say that I had given her a lot of yakgwa in this life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But, I had also worked hard to ensure that I wasn’t in her sights for any longer than I needed to be.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So why? I didn’t know the answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It definitely wasn’t love though.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then again, even if it was love, it was most probably just a childish crush.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I told myself that it would be different as time went on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No, it needed to be different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wi Seol-Ah held me while making a face eerily similar to that of a cat that had just lost its home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I could see that she was about to cry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But even so, I had to send her back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How could I bring her without knowing what would happen in Sichuan? It was too risky, no matter how much I thought about it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had to find a way to send her away, whether it would be by sending her away along with two escorts, or by calling some people from the clan to bring her back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I couldn’t let my actions always be affected by Wi Seol-Ah. After all, this wasn’t the reason why I returned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I spoke to her with a decisive voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Just know that I’ll send you back if you cause any trouble.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…Fucking moron.\u003C\u002Fp>",2302,"2026-06-05T15:09:39.031Z",1,"novelbin.me","019dd48ed33d831b4cbf5b7f43f023805bf26393da5dff934124728ed777ce5a","childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-26","childhood-friend-of-the-zenith-chapter-24",974,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fchildhood-friend-of-the-zenith-cover.jpg"]