"SOL IS MY ONE AND ONLY FATHER!!"
Woo-Seong’s voice roared out reluctantly.
The Irregular Dharma Pavilion disciples, who were already staring at Sol and Cian for their lack of red robes, looked at their Young Master, completely taken aback.
"Y-Young Master, w-what are you saying?"
Woo-Seong’s face blushed a deep red, but he glared at this disciple and growled.
"Bastard, you heard nothing just now, you hear ? If you tell anyone, I’ll kill you."
That disciple’s face went pale, and he nodded before turning to run away, but Sol suddenly chopped Woo-Seong on the back of his head and said.
"Hey, is that any way to talk to your fellow disciples?"
Woo-Seong gritted his teeth, but he stopped the disciple and forced a smile while saying.
"I apologize for my words, but act like you were never here, okay?"
The disciple’s legs almost gave out when he saw Woo-Seong’s smile.
Was that even considered a smile?
"Y-Young Master? I don’t see a Young Master here."
The disciple said as he turned and hurried off.
The other disciples in the surroundings all turned and dashed off as well.
"Let’s go, lead us to your brother’s courtyard."
"What?"
Woo-Seong spun around and glared at Sol.
"Why do you want to go to my brother’s courtyard?"
Sol imdiately chopped Woo-Seong in the middle of his forehead.
Woo-Seong swore he heard a crack. He clutched his head with his free hand and released a groan.
Sol displayed a scolding expression as he said.
"How dare you glare at your father like that?"
Woo-Song understood the assignnt, and he forced an apologetic expression onto his face as he said.
"Fa-Father, this son apologizes."
Sol suddenly smiled and patted Woo-Seong’s head.
"That’s okay, son, as long as you understand your mistake."
Woo-Seong smiled as Sol patted his head, but internally, he was so frustrated that he was on the verge of coughing up blood from holding it in.
Gion was off to the side, watching Sol pretend to play Father to Woo-Seong with a weird expression on his face.
’Is this so power play I don’t know about?’
"Now, son, lead us to your brother’s courtyard."
Woo-Seong clenched his fist.
"You... Don’t go too far with this act of yours; leave my brother you killed out of it."
Woo-Seong didn’t give Sol ti to respond as he swiftly turned and began dragging Sol toward Geon-Soo’s courtyard.
The two were led by Woo-Seong in silence. Sol didn’t force him to call him father at this point.
After walking for a bit, fewer and fewer disciples were seen in the surroundings.
They soon entered a slightly dense forest that had a trail.
Sol looked around a bit confused.
The three eventually approached a rather ordinary courtyard at the end of the trail.
"Is this really where your brother stayed?"
"Why ask when you already know?"
Sol frowned.
"I said I didn’t kill your brother. Why are you so adamant in thinking I did?"
"Why?"
Woo-Seong glared at Sol before he flipped over his hand, and a small box appeared in his palm.
"Because I found the spy you tasked to watch my brother."
Woo-Seong shoved the box into Sol’s chest before turning around and continuing walking towards the courtyard.
Sol looked down at the small box while being dragged and realized it was the one that he had left notes inside of for that youth to find in the library.
"You might have created an alibi that you were heading to the Hundred Plants and Herbs dinsion, but you could have easily gotten soone to kill my brother. When this is over, you better believe I’m going to make you pay for what you did."
Sol went silent for a mont, with Gion looking at him, second-guessing his innocence.
Finally, Sol said.
"I was only observing his movents in the Academy because he wanted to kill . I didn’t kill him."
Sol placed the small box into his storage ring.
Woo-Seong snorted at his words; obviously, he didn’t believe Sol.
"So you wholeheartedly believe I killed your brother, that you faked a record of Teleporting to your Irregular Dharma Pavilion Mountain?’
They finally reached the gate of the courtyard, and Woo-Seong paused to scowl at Sol’s words.
"What are you talking about? I did no such thing."
"You didn’t?"
Gion asked with a bit of surprise.
"Huh? Why would I do sothing like that?"
Sol and Gion looked at Woo-Seong’s expression, and they could sense he was telling the truth. They then turned to each other, with Gion saying.
"It could be the killer."
Sol nodded.
"That ans he’s left behind a trace of himself in the Administrative Mountain. We should go there after we’ve checked out this courtyard."
Sol then stepped forward to push open the three-ter-tall gate.
However, Woo-Seong’s body jerked back, causing him to stop.
Sol tugged on his hand and said.
"You’re coming in, too. I want to ask you questions about who was allowed to enter your brother’s courtyard."
"I-I’m not going in."
Hearing Woo-Seong’s trembling voice, Sol turned to see that his face had turned slightly pale. He also felt Woo-Seong’s hand shaking as he held it.
Woo-Seong saw Sol looking at him, and he turned his head to the side.
Sol thought for a mont before he suddenly turned and began dragging Woo-Seong towards the gate.
"You-What are you doing?! I said I’m not entering with you!"
Woo-Seong dug his foot into the ground and tried to pry Sol’s grip off his hand, but his fingers were firmly wrapped around his palm.
Sol reached the gate and placed a hand on it to push it open.
"N-No, stop. Please, don’t make go in there."
"Sol, we can question him after we look inside the courtyard."
Gion stepped forward when he saw this.
Sol paused and turned to look at Woo-Seong, who had a fearful and pleading look in his eyes. He suddenly smiled and said.
"The heart is a tricky thing, isn’t it? It overwhelms your logical thinking and makes you go off into the deep end. But if you allow it to fully take control over you, your emotions will beco so strong that it will not only impair your logical thinking, but your physical body as well."
Sol paused here and then looked at Woo-Seong with a serious expression.
"Didn’t you say the philosophy of your Sect is balance? If you don’t overco this knot in your heart, then you might never be able to cultivate the sa again."
"I..."
Before Woo-Seong could say anything, Sol pushed the gate open.
Woo-Seong’s heart imdiately began to speed up the closer he got to entering through the gates. He felt nauseous as if he could throw up at any mont. His legs felt weak as if they were telling him he should stop walking, but Sol forcefully pulled him inside the courtyard.
Woo-Seong squeezed his eyes shut, and his grip instinctively tightened around Sol’s hand. He felt himself being led by Sol while his eyes remained closed. But he didn’t have to see to know where Sol was going.
Suddenly, Sol stopped and said.
"Open your eyes."
Woo-Seong hesitated, but eventually, he cracked them open.
They were inside a room that was around thirty ters wide. There was a table and desk off to the side, along with a bed inside the room. There were paintings on the walls as well as a door that led to an open courtyard outside.
All in all, the room had a comfortable, hoy feeling.
However, when Woo-Seong saw it, his eyes glazed over. His weak legs finally gave out, and he dropped to his knees.
"Ugk..."
Woo-Seong bit back his emotions and clutched his chest. He felt like his heart was slowly drowning, and this was his desperate attempt to keep it afloat. He didn’t want to be in here.
Sol had to hold him up as he almost fell forward.
"Ughk..."
Sol turned away from Woo-Seong and said.
"We’re inside, so no one’s watching."
Gion, who was by the door, turned his head to the side.
Sol’s words entered Woo-Seong’s ears, and it felt like a dam had been broken.
"WAAAAHHHH!!!"
Woo-Seong’s wail pierced the walls of the rooms, but by the ti it reached the outside, it faded away.
"*Hiccup*... No one wanted him, neither that whore from the Ei Sect nor Father. At first, I asked Father to allow him to stay in the Sect on a whim; I didn’t care for him. I thought it was annoying how he would always follow around and try to copy everything I did. And I made sure he knew. But he was so persistent, until one day, I started looking behind every ti I went out. I found myself scolding him every ti he followed and picked up a sword he couldn’t carry. I started to like his annoying voice so much that it felt weird when I went a day without hearing it. I started to like hearing him call Big Brother. I... I started to love him. And I swore that I’d protect him since no one else would... But..."
Woo-Seong clutched his chest, and tears continuously stread down his face as he croaked out.
"...But he’ll never know that. Not once had I told him, and now I’ll never get to tell him. I... I just want my brother back... *Sob*"
Sol listened to Woo-Seong’s cries as he stared at the outside courtyard. anwhile, Gion’s face was scrunched up into a hard-to-read expression.
It was obvious the two were reminiscing on mories they did not wish to reminisce on.
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