Childhood Friend of the Zenith

After Baekryeongeom’s dramatic entrance and the mess she created, I somehow managed to shoo away the onlookers who had been staring at us like we were some kind of spectacle.

I decided to have a private conversation with her, although cleaning up the situation felt impossible.

She had embarrassed me thoroughly, wailing and grabbing onto my pants like that.

Who could have predicted that a woman in her middle age would suddenly throw a tantrum like a child?

Just recalling the event made me cringe.

I prayed that no strange rumors would start spreading, but with someone like Woo-hyuk around—whose mouth could never stay shut—it was only a matter of time before absurd gossip flew across the camp.

That damned idiot.

In my previous life, he’d spread all sorts of wild rumors about Seolbong and me, causing chaos for days.

Seolbong had nearly frozen the poor guy solid out of pure rage, and it was only thanks to the intervention of So Geomseong that he survived.

If Woo-hyuk had been present this time, I’d have to go after him and shut him up before things got out of hand.

But for now, that wasn’t an option.

“Haaah…”A sigh escaped my lips as I tried to make sense of the ridiculous situation in front of me.

What was I supposed to say to fix this?

“…So, uh—”As soon as I began to speak, Baekryeongeom flinched, making me let out another sigh.

“Haaa…”Seeing my sigh, Baekryeongeom must’ve misunderstood, as she gave me a pitiful look and asked hesitantly, “…Should I raise my hands higher?

”Despite her cold and composed exterior, her voice was trembling, and she was kneeling on the ground with her hands raised high, as if she were being punished.

The problem was…“…No, please lower your hands,” I muttered.

The issue wasn’t that I had ordered her to do this—she had done it entirely on her own.

And here she was, this woman who had lived more than twice as long as me, kneeling in front of me, a young man in comparison.

It wasn’t just her age; her reputation and experience in the martial world far surpassed mine.

Yet here she was, showing me this absurd display of submission.

I had no idea how to respond to this.

I looked at her, bewildered, and asked, “Why are you doing this?

”“Should I raise them higher?

” she asked again, looking genuinely concerned.

“No, please, I’m begging you—put your arms down,” I replied, practically pleading.

Finally, she lowered her arms, and I felt a wave of relief wash over me.

What was this woman thinking?

Just the attempt to understand her was giving me a headache.

Suppressing my rising irritation, I tried to keep calm and asked her directly.

“Why are you acting like this?

”“Huh?

”“I’m asking why you’re doing this.

”Nothing about her actions made any sense.

Grabbing my pants, kneeling, and now this?

I couldn’t wrap my head around it.

“I made a mistake, so I have to apologize,” she said, smiling awkwardly.

Her response caught me off guard.

Sure, apologizing when you’re wrong was the right thing to do, but it was rare to hear someone like her—someone powerful—actually say that.

In a world where the strong often made the rules, someone like Baekryeongeom could afford to be arrogant and get away with it.

Yet here she was, apologizing sincerely.

It was… refreshing, I guess?

But still…“…Even so, you don’t have to kneel.

”Having a senior martial artist who was from an older generation kneeling before me was just uncomfortable.

In some weird way, this strategy was working—her behavior was making it harder for me to stay angry.

I was feeling a mix of confusion and frustration when she suddenly asked, “Will you forgive me, then?

”“…What?

”I was left speechless.

Why was she acting like this?

Trying to keep my voice calm, I replied, “Senior, shouldn’t you be apologizing to others, not me?

”The truth was, she hadn’t really wronged me directly.

It wasn’t as if she had fought me, and the slight injury to my arm wasn’t her fault either—it was a consequence of my own intervention.

So, if anyone deserved an apology, it was the young women she had sparred with, not me.

She beamed at me and replied cheerfully, “Oh, I already apologized to them!

”“You did?

”“Of course!

”I frowned, wondering how exactly she had apologized.

“…You didn’t kneel and raise your hands for them too, did you?

”The thought of her doing this ridiculous act for them was unsettling.

To my relief, she waved her hands dismissively.

“No, no.

I didn’t kneel.

”Well, thank god for that.

For a moment, I had thought she’d gone completely insane.

“I just begged for forgiveness with both hands!

”“…”Great.

Of course, who would say no to someone literally begging them for forgiveness?

Unable to hold back my disbelief, I rubbed my forehead.

Was this really the best way to handle things?

I wasn’t sure anymore.

“Oh, and I warned that Tang Lord not to interfere.

I told him I’d take him out if he did.

”She even talked to the Tang Clan Lord?

I couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh at that.

‘Take him out?

’The phrasing was… well, aggressive, to say the least.

I highly doubted the Tang Lord had used such crude language, but I got the gist.

He probably warned her not to cause any more trouble.

With someone of her caliber running loose, the entire mission could be jeopardized if she acted out again.

Honestly, I had to admire the Tang Lord’s patience.

‘If it were me, I’d have kicked her off the mission.

’No matter how skilled a warrior is, if they’re uncontrollable and prone to causing problems, they’re more of a liability than an asset.

The Tang Lord’s daughter had been caught up in that sparring match, yet he still let her off with just a warning.

As I mulled this over, I asked Baekryeongeom again, “Why are you doing all of this?

”It was the question I’d been dying to ask from the beginning.

She smiled awkwardly, as she had done before, and started to speak.

“Well, I made a mistake, so—”“This goes beyond a simple mistake.

”There was more to this than just guilt.

“Is there something you want from me?

” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

Her expression shifted slightly.

It was subtle, but there was something she wasn’t telling me.

‘What is it?

’ I wondered.

I couldn’t figure out what her motive was, but the fact that she wasn’t being upfront about it was making me uncomfortable.

“If you want something, just tell me,” I added.

“You said… I shouldn’t stop being your bodyguard,” she murmured.

“Excuse me?

”Bodyguard?

Oh, right—earlier, I had told her she didn’t need to be my bodyguard if she was going to act this way.

Was that really why she was doing all of this?

‘Is she really doing this because I told her to stop?

’The whole point of that remark was to make things easier for both of us.

I didn’t want her around, and I figured she wouldn’t mind leaving.

But instead, she had come here to beg me to let her stay on as my bodyguard.

‘Why?

’I couldn’t understand her reasoning.

She had taken on the role at Mi Horan’s request, but I had given her an easy out.

Why was she so intent on staying?

I stared at her, confused, as she spoke again.

“I’m really sorry.

Can I keep being your bodyguard?

” she pleaded.

“…”“I’ll behave—I won’t cause any more problems.

I just got carried away earlier because it was the first time in a while I’d had such a fun sparring match, that’s all!

”“Baekryeongeom.

”“Yes?

”“Why are you so fixated on being my bodyguard?

”“Well… because Lady Mi asked me to…”Her evasive answer didn’t sit well with me.

She clearly had some other reason but wasn’t willing to share it.

‘So, she’s hiding her true intentions.

’Should I just let this go, or should I dig deeper?

Having someone with a hidden agenda by my side didn’t feel right.

As I thought this over, an idea came to mind.

“Alright.

You can stay.

”Baekryeongeom’s face lit up in an instant, as if I had just granted her the greatest gift.

Is this really something to be that happy about?

“But, there’s one condition.

”I wasn’t going to let this slide without setting some ground rules.

Her expression shifted as she sensed my seriousness.

“A condition?

”“Yes.

”My first condition was simple.

“Please don’t act on your own without my permission.

”“…”This was to prevent any more incidents like what had happened earlier.

Partly, I hoped that setting this boundary would make her reconsider, but also, I genuinely didn’t want her causing more chaos without my consent.

Being a bodyguard meant following my lead, after all.

The second condition was a bit more personal.

“And one more thing—I have a favor to ask.

”“A favor?

”“Yes.

”She narrowed her eyes at me.

It was clear she wasn’t expecting me to ask for something in return.

Considering her status and pride, I figured this would be enough to make her back down.

But, surprisingly, her reaction was the opposite of what I expected.

“Is that all?

”“…What?

”Baekryeongeom smiled brightly.

“If that’s what it takes, then sure!

I’ll do it.

Can I stay on as your bodyguard now?

”I was left speechless.

Did she even hear what I said?

I had thought my conditions were harsh enough to drive her away, yet here she was, accepting them happily.

“…Did you actually understand the conditions I just laid out?

”“Of course!

You want me to ask for permission before doing anything and help you with a favor, right?

”“Then why…”Why was she so happy about it?

Seeing my confusion, Baekryeongeom tilted her head and smiled.

“You don’t believe me?

”“…”I nodded, unable to hide my doubt.

This was too bizarre to believe.

Noticing my skepticism, Baekryeongeom’s eyes sparkled with mischief.

Suddenly, she clapped her hands together, as if she’d just thought of something brilliant.

“If you don’t believe me, should I swear a binding oath?

”“…Excuse me?

”Was she seriously suggesting a binding martial oath?

That’s not something you offer lightly!

Before I could react, she continued, “That way, you’ll trust me, right?

Here, should I swear on my stomach or my chest?

I’ll show you right now!

”“No!

No binding oaths!

And definitely don’t start stripping!

What are you doing?!

”I quickly stopped her from exposing herself, shaking my head in disbelief.

This woman was more insane than I had ever imagined.

I should have realized it from the start—Baekryeongeom wasn’t just eccentric; she was completely crazy.

******************As the days passed, about a month had gone by since we began our journey to Sichuan.

The route we were taking had been difficult, which caused some delays in our expected arrival.

I wasn't particularly concerned about it.

The delays were mainly due to unforeseen incidents, and I had been using that time for training, so it wasn’t a problem for me.

However, in terms of training, the circumstances were anything but ideal—quite the opposite, in fact.

Traveling by carriage left me physically exhausted, and at night, I was repeatedly dying under the Shadow King's training.

During the day, I engaged in physical training, while Patriarch Pajeon had me go through intense drills.

It was a brutal routine that left me in a constant state of fatigue.

Even Wi Seol-ah had noticed my condition and, out of concern, had tried to convince me to rest.

Ironically, seeing her worry only made me push myself harder.

Maybe it was the sparring session with Baekryeongeom that triggered all this.

Wi Seol-ah and Namgung Bi-ah had been training regularly and pushing themselves harder lately.

Knowing that they were as committed to their training as I was made it impossible for me to rest.

It was strange.

‘They're working themselves to the bone just to make me take a break...

’I had been pushing myself so hard because I wanted to ensure they wouldn’t face the hardships of our previous lives.

But in doing so, I had somehow ended up dragging them into the same kind of suffering.

‘What kind of mess is this...?

’Was I a bad influence on them?

Martial artists pushing themselves to their limits wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, was it?

Either way, things were getting stranger and stranger.

One day, as we neared the Sichuan region, while I was taking a break after getting thoroughly beaten in training, Patriarch Pajeon suddenly spoke to me.

"Kid.

""Huff...

huff...

Yes?

"Sweating and struggling to catch my breath, I looked up at Pajeon.

He seemed like he had heard something interesting, and was about to share it with me.

“That bat said something.

”When Pajeon mentioned "the bat," he was referring to the Shadow King.

Calling the King of Assassins a bat… This old man was clearly not in his right mind.

Pajeon noticed the look on my face and frowned.

"Judging by that expression, I see you’re cursing me in your head again.

""...

No, of course not.

"He was annoyingly perceptive.

Even though Pajeon clearly didn’t believe me, he didn’t push it further, seemingly more focused on what he had to say.

“Anyway, the bat said there are some strange people nearby.

”“Strange people?

”“Yeah.

He thinks they’re bandits.

Bandits in this day and age...

Tsk, tsk.

”“...!

”At the mention of bandits, my eyes widened in shock.

Bandits?