Chapter 43

EP.43 Sword Phoenix (3)

Sword Phoenix (3)

Why did Wixia have to appear at this moment…?

And why is she holding a bun?

“Young Master! I brought a bun!”

Ah, it’s for me.

Did she hear me mutter ‘I want to eat a bun’ quietly while riding in the carriage?

If that’s the case, it’s admirable, but the situation wasn’t good.

I had to deal with this fire-breathing wild boar first.

“Young Master…? Why are you like this?”

Wixia asked me.

Indeed, I’m curious too. Why am I like this…

I tried to get up, but only managed to bend my knees a little.

“Brother.”

Guxibei’s voice rang out as if she had been waiting for it.

Thanks to that, I could only bend my knees halfway and stop.

“What’s that?”

Guxibei’s clear gaze was fixed on Wixia.

I can’t predict what this fiery woman will do.

Guxibei took a step toward Wixia.

Whoosh!

I immediately circulated the Flame Phoenix Wheel Technique to wrap my body in qi.

I don’t think Guxibei will do anything.

Even in her previous life, she was someone who wouldn’t act rashly no matter what happened.

Still, you never know. I found that ‘what if’ very important.

Guxibei’s pupils wavered.

She looks like she’s about to do something. I must protect Wixia first...

“Eek!”

‘Crazy.’

She’s too fast.

Guxibei’s movements were much faster than I expected.

She approached at an incredible speed and grabbed Wixia’s cheeks.

Wixia let out a strange scream, but Guxibei, as if possessed, ruthlessly mauled Wixia’s soft cheeks.

“...I didn’t know your cheeks could be so soft. And they’re actually as soft as they look…?”

“Eek… Eek! Young Master, help eek…!”

“...Hmm.”

I had no words to say about the sudden situation. Should I be relieved…?

Should I intervene?

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like Guxibei was trying to do anything terrible to Wixia.

‘...If this is terrible, then it is indeed terrible.’

Wixia’s cheeks were stretched by Guxibei’s hands.

I ignored Wixia’s pitiful screams and moved my body.

After feeling satisfied, Guxibei quickly let go of Wixia’s cheeks.

“Hey, is this your younger brother’s attendant?”

“Yes.”

“Can you give her to me?”

“No.”

I answered too sharply without realizing it.

Guxibei’s expression showed a bit of surprise at my firm answer.

Then she smiled.

With a face that resembles her father, her smile looked terrifying.

“Interesting.”

Guxibei, who was already circulating qi, spoke.

It was hot.

Definitely a different level of heat compared to Guxian or Guzhelye.

The heat brushing against my cheeks made me frown.

‘The gap at the 5th level is indeed high.’

With physical training, I can reach the 4th level of the Flame Phoenix Wheel Technique in a short time.

At that level, I won’t be beaten up everywhere.

The problem arises when I start training to reach the 5th level.

The 5th level is the starting point where the true value of the Flame Phoenix Wheel Technique can be demonstrated.

It’s a level that requires a lot of enlightenment.

It’s when you can properly wrap your body in red qi.

It’s when the mental technique fully integrates into your body, causing noticeable changes in your physique.

Guxibei was at that exact point.

Her hair was starting to turn red, and her eyes were tinged with red.

She had been barely managing by applying techniques that didn’t match her level, but it was too much for her now that she had reached the 5th level.

“Why do I find it so interesting that my younger brother refuses me?”

Guxibei’s hair fluttered in the intense heat.

The pressure from her approach felt like it would melt me, but I could endure it by circulating my qi.

Guxibei stared at me.

What is she thinking?

I quietly moved Wixia to the side.

“This one is not available.”

Guxibei’s eyebrow twitched, seemingly displeased with my answer.

The pressure from Guxibei’s qi became more intense as she released more of it.

I countered by circulating my qi.

What’s strange is that I can push back more easily than expected.

‘...Is it more like gently letting it pass rather than pushing back?’

How can this be?

The Gu family’s mental technique is violent and destructive.

Yet, what I’m doing now is neither breaking nor blocking the qi, but simply letting it flow.

It’s similar to the martial arts of a Taoist priest.

Guxibei’s eyes showed interest, as if she noticed something.

The heat that had been enveloping the surroundings suddenly turned cold.

Guxibei had withdrawn her qi back into her body.

“...Did Elder Li do this?”

Guxibei pointed at me and asked.

Pointing at a person like that is too much.

Elder Li shrugged in response to Guxibei’s question.

“I did nothing.”

“...But you changed so much in just a few months?”

Guxibei’s gaze, filled with interest, made me feel uneasy.

After all, reaching the 3rd level of the mental technique in less than a year is impressive.

‘...I didn’t expect to become like this either.’

The original goal was to reach the 3rd level by the end of the year.

Thanks to the trip to Sichuan, I could advance by half a year.

Guxibei snorted and said to me.

“The head of the family is looking for you, so go quickly.”

“...Is the matter finished?”

Did you really just come to growl? You’re not a fighting rooster or something... Is that it?

“I originally wanted to teach you a bit since we hadn’t seen each other in a while, but the mood is gone.”

Guxibei waved her hand, signaling me to go quickly.

Thinking about it, this is my residence. I felt like challenging her, but I knew I’d really be in trouble if I did, so I quietly moved my feet.

“Ah, brother.”

I turned around at Guxibei’s call.

Guxibei, meeting my gaze, threw something.

I caught it and saw it was a small sachet.

“It’s a travel gift.”

“What is this?”

“Wear it nicely on your waist, or I’ll punish you.”

I opened the sachet Guxibei threw and found a yellow bead inside.

What is this? A magic stone…?

It doesn’t seem to be a magic stone.

I couldn’t feel anything special from the bead.

Guxibei said to me, who was examining the sachet.

“I just bought it from a peddler who said it was a talisman, so don’t complain and wear it nicely.”

That means she bought some junk.

Guxibei said she would punish me again if I didn’t.

...I quietly attached it to my waist.

It probably doesn’t have any bad intentions.

I know Guxibei isn’t that kind of person.

“Ah, if you lose it, I’ll cut you in half, so remember that.”

“...”

...Is that it?

******************

Right after Guxian left for the head of the family’s residence, feeling oppressed.

Guxibei spoke to the remaining Elder Li again.

“Did Elder Li really not do anything?”

“I didn’t.”

Elder Li doesn’t lie easily.

The Elder Li I knew was a man like that.

I could believe most of what Elder Li said.

However.

“The last time I saw him, last winter, he was only at the 1st level.”

The 1st level is an achievement that can be obtained just by entering the Flame Phoenix Wheel Technique. Guxian was at that level.

Even after several years of practicing the family martial arts, he remained at that level.

This was the same even when I left for a long-term mission.

He couldn’t even emit heat with the mental technique, and his movements were extremely crude.

Compared to Lianxue, who was the same age, there was a huge difference.

But now?

‘How did he reach such a level so quickly?’

I found it strange when I heard that he had defeated Lianxue.

At first, I thought it might have been a coincidence.

Lianxue must have been in poor condition that day.

I thought it was a miracle that coincidences piled up.

However, I heard that Lianxue, upon hearing that I had returned, entered seclusion and hasn’t come out.

This clearly indicated that something had happened.

At a glance, Guxian is now at the 3rd level, and although he hasn’t reached the 4th level, he is almost at the mature stage.

This means he’s not far from the 4th level.

I also reached the 3rd level at Guxian’s age and didn’t take long to reach the 4th level, but this is a matter of growth rate.

Neither Lianxue nor I had such a growth rate.

But this child reached it in just a few months…

“Isn’t it surprising?”

Elder Li asked.

“How can I not be surprised?”

“I am also surprised. I didn’t expect this child to have such potential.”

When I told Guxian about the engagement, I had to hide my surprise.

‘The aura he has is too powerful.’

What happened in Sichuan to change him so much?

Even his recent appearance is surprising, and his aura is different, as if he had consumed some hidden elixir.

His internal energy has clearly increased, but not by a huge amount.

It just seems more because he originally had less internal energy.

However, the quality of his internal energy is clearly different.

I could feel it from the way Guxian deflected the heat Guxibei emitted.

‘What exactly happened?’

I wanted to go to Sichuan and follow him, but I had too many responsibilities.

The engagement with Nangong and matters related to the divine will.

“Something important seems to have been overlooked, and it feels uncomfortable.”

“And, this child….”

Guxibei looked for Wixia, who was nearby.

“Where did she go?”

She was clearly just beside me.

“Why do you ask?”

“No, the attendant who was just here.”

“She’s a new attendant who has only been here for a few months. She doesn’t know much about the world, so don’t worry about it.”

“Yes… but something.”

I’m not the type to care much about how attendants behave.

But Guxibei felt something was off about Wixia.

There was a strange sensation that couldn’t be described, so she kept Wixia close and felt her, but couldn’t find anything unusual.

“Am I imagining things…?”

It was strange.

She had been swinging a sword and fighting monsters on the front lines for months.

Her senses were still sharp.

But she didn’t notice the attendant disappearing, and she felt a strange sensation from the attendant?

‘...Maybe I’m too sensitive and imagining things.’

Maybe because she always thought about possible situations, she was giving too much meaning to small things.

On the contrary, Elder Li, who saw this, couldn’t help but be surprised again.

‘To feel that…’

With her current martial arts, Guxibei wouldn’t be able to understand Wixia’s strangeness.

But in that situation, Guxibei’s heightened senses managed to catch it, albeit faintly.

“An extraordinary talent, both you and Yangchuan.”

“What did you say?”

“Nothing. But Xibei, you’re really intense, coming here and immediately looking for Yangchuan.”

“I don’t have anything to say to Elder Li, but...”

Guxibei scratched her cheek, looking embarrassed.

At this point, almost everyone in the family had turned their backs on Guxian.

The head of the family, Haoxie, didn’t really care, and his second sister, Lianxue, had already turned her back on him.

The youngest….

‘That’s for later.’

The only ones in the family who tried to correct and discipline Guxian were Guxibei and Elder Li.

“Wouldn’t it be better to be a bit nicer?”

“He won’t listen if I’m nice. You know that.”

“...Hmm.”

It seems different now, but this is a point that Elder Li can’t easily refute.

He’s just a bit quieter, but Guxian’s characteristic cheekiness hasn’t disappeared.

Guxibei’s actions definitely felt a bit excessive.

Elder Li cleared his throat a few times and continued.

“No matter what, isn’t it too much to pick on your brother’s engagement and immediately scold him?”

“...”

“Of course, Xibei, from your perspective, it was an act….”

“...”

“...Xibei?”

“Yes, yes! Of course, it was all an act.”

Guxibei’s eyes trembled as she smiled.

Elder Li thought she was just tired.

Surely she didn’t come to scold her brother for his engagement.

She’s not that petty.

‘Surely, it’s not…’

Elder Li tried to ignore the uneasy Guxibei.

******************

And at that moment, in the head of the family’s residence.

“I heard you dislocated the arm of the Thunder Dragon.”

“No, I didn’t dislocate it, just broke it a bit….”

Guxian was feeling thoroughly screwed.