Hong Ryun was baffled.
It was bewildering when her always amiable “Master” suddenly became enraged and threw an unexpected punch, but even more so by the fact that the person standing before her was undoubtedly Bin Namgung.
“Wha… What is he doing here?”
Surely, Namgung Bin, who should be at the Namgung estate, inexplicably appeared as a ghost before her. Despite the slight change in his appearance, Hong Ryun couldn’t help but wonder.
“Could he have died in the meantime? Did I hit too hard when I severed his… manhood? It didn’t seem like something that could be fatal from just that…”
Hong Ryun didn’t harbor any particular ill feelings toward Namgung Bin. Sure, he was the main culprit behind the fall of her benefactor, but in the end, her benefactor would have continued to focus solely on one woman if not for Namgung Bin.
He was, in a way, akin to a lifeline offering her an opportunity. Therefore, even when he went against her orders, she settled the matter within reasonable bounds.
If not for that restraint, she would have decisively beheaded him—perhaps even shredded him into pieces and fed him to dogs.
“Hmph… I don’t want my head to ache. I just want to cling to my benefactor’s arms and stay like this forever…”
Hong Ryun frowned, as if the situation caused her a headache.
This was a time she had dearly awaited. A precious time, where she just wanted to stay close to her benefactor as much as possible.
It didn’t matter to her if Namgung Bin was dead or alive. After all, they were no longer related.
Though she was slightly concerned about her benefactor’s rage, she had no intention of stopping him.
Whether he tore Namgung Bin apart or boiled him alive, none of it troubled Hong Ryun’s ethics.
However, after their confusing dialogue continued,
“…Thus, it has come to this. All this was not my doing, but his.”
“…”
“Sir, I know it’s presumptuous, but I beg you, with all due respect.”
“…”
“Please, I implore you! Redeem the wrongful suffering of your humble younger brother! I have no one else to plead with!”
Though it was a hard-to-rely-on, absurd story, strangely it was filled with sincerity.
“…So that’s how it was?”
Even Hong Ryun, burying her face in Byul Rak’s arms and rubbing away, couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt.
After all,
“I didn’t know… I didn’t know…”
“I could not endure the fact that my precious body was being used by such a detestable individual…”
‘You realize that I’ve already castrated you, right?’
Unable to bring herself to reveal the tragic reality aloud, Hong Ryun silently held her tongue.
It was already infuriating enough that he had unjustly become a ghost, but discovering that the stolen body had even lost its most masculine symbol would surely trigger a violent explosion.
A ominous future naturally sketched itself out.
Namgung Bin had talked on and on, without even catching his breath, despite being a spirit who didn’t need to breathe.
“Brother, do you believe me now?”
Do you believe me?
Is this even called a story?
Of course not. Although I would not entirely deny the reincarnation or whatnot, it’s still impossible to accept at face value.
So, let’s summarize Namgung Bin’s words.
He died fourteen years ago. His body was stolen by some random tramp.
Everything done alongside me that seemed coordinated and backed me up solidly—none of that was Namgung Bin, but this “guy.”
However…
This story is somewhat strange.
Namgung Bin always acted the same way. Yes, he did alter slightly depending on my actions, but fundamentally his position and strategy were almost always the same.
This means,
“You’ve lived for fourteen years.”
“Brother, what do you mean?”
“For me… sigh.”
Ten thousand years.
Ten thousand years of living, believing the person at my side was my younger brother, only to learn the truth now.
Ten thousand years of believing it was my younger brother,
only to find out that it was actually some unknown stranger.
“At first encounter… well, fourteen years ago.”
“Brother.”
“At that time, I did not sense any difference from you in that ‘guy.’ Can you explain that?”
“That guy acted as me!”
“How could he know you? Even if he did, how could he act so convincingly as to deceive even one’s own brother?”
“There’s no reason I know for sure, but I can state this with certainty: The person Brother has been observing for the last fourteen years is absolutely not me!”
Who was Namgung Bin to me?
Someone who always supported me.
Physically full but always dedicated to training,
coming up with incredible strategies countless times, turning around otherwise unfavorable situations.
Despite not being a regressive person like me, he had a remarkable ability to discern people—so much so that it was astonishing.
Especially fond of eating, he preferred bland food over ones with strong scents.
He sometimes indulged in a dissolute lifestyle, perhaps taking after his father, but clearly separated his public and private life—he never formed emotional ties with any particular woman.
And.
And…
His martial arts skills were at their peak.
He always wanted to lose weight. He bought countless elixirs to achieve it, though not very successfully.
He usually fought using his fists.
And occasionally flicked his tongue.
…Flicked his tongue?
“Brother! Please recall the me from fourteen years ago!”
“…!”
“Even with perfect acting, there could be some small differences in tiny habits! Habits that didn’t exist until fourteen years ago, or suddenly started! Or habits that disappeared! Let’s compare them! Then you’ll believe my words!”
The moment Bin Namgung started flicking his tongue,
When exactly…?
I advised him to stop, since it might look bad to others, but he never did. It was no different in any cycle.
So, I just let him be, but
When did this habit start?
Now, the memories of the first cycle are hazy, almost forgotten.
But I searched through the memories before the regressive cycle began.
It was quite painful to ransack my memory, but eventually, I retrieved those old memories.
“Didn’t exist…”
“Hm? Brother, why the surprise? Didn’t exist?”
“I mean, it didn’t.”
“If that guy and I had not a single difference at all, wouldn’t that be strange? It sure makes this story harder to unravel…”
“No, not exactly…”
There’s no memory of Namgung Bin ever flicking his tongue. Nowhere.
Although he had this habit from then on.
“Really, he wasn’t my brother…”
“Will you believe me now?”
“…”
“How about this? Let’s both descend to the underworld. I’ll show you the Book of Life and Death.”
“…No, it’s fine.”
The soul in front of me is truly my younger brother.
Not just likely but undeniably so. This is my younger brother.
This gut feeling supports my certainty. Without clear evidence, as I previously mentioned, my gut feelings are usually quite accurate.
“If so…”
“Brother?”
“Who is this person, then?”
“…”
Who is this person who lived with me for ten thousand years?
If this is not my younger brother, Namgung Bin, then who is this person who has been pretending to be my younger brother all these years?
I’m confused.
This person, who has lived with me for barely over twenty years, is actually my real younger brother.
And that person who lived with me for over ten thousand years, it turns out, was a fake.
My head is in chaos.
…
Namgung Bin flicked his tongue habitually, as usual.
He was carefully inspecting a letter that had just come from the Guardian Lord.
His face was submerged in deep thought.
‘What plan should I devise…’
The letter from the Guardian Lord announced that there would be a trial for the Sword Sage.
Their intention was to judge the guilt or innocence of his crimes.
Just as we are unable to provide evidence of the Sword Sage’s crime at this moment.
‘Damn… there’s no way to resurrect the dead witnesses…’
Namgung Bin’s head was spinning. The current problem at hand was as much difficult as the amount of thought he could put into it.
It would have been easier to just kill them. We faked their deaths to silence some fake witnesses who might have turned, but here we are, a year after expelling the Sword Sage from the Namgung house, and we’re in this situation.
This was a truly troublesome situation.
‘Ah, but new witnesses can always be made. As long as they are not famous, their identities can be vague—they won’t cause major problems.’
Even amidst such dark circumstances, he tried to look for a way out.
‘Shit, where should the money come from? I’ve spent all the budgets on the Black Dragon Gang and the Dark Heaven Gang issues recently…’
There’s a significant difference in the times compared when we had money overflowing, but our current situation is much different.
Within all the plan and the expected course of events, I’ve thought of a solution to our immediate funds problem, which will come soon.
The problem is, another variable has popped up.
‘Iron Tiger Wanderer, if only that fellow returns, it will be resolved. If he brings funds from the Lord of the Alliance, all problems are solved.’
In the past, he was sent to get funds from the Lord of the Alliance.
He hasn’t returned yet. Calculating the timeline, he should have returned yesterday or the day before, but it seems he’s delayed.
Still, the loyalty of Iron Tiger Wanderer would not change, so he will return some day.
All I need to do is patiently wait for that day.
Lucky, unlucky?
Whether it was the Supreme Lord answering Namgung Bin’s prayers or not, Iron Tiger Wanderer soon returned to the Namgung estate.
The only problem, however, was the way he came back.
KWAAAAAAAAAM!
Blasting through the walls of the Namgung estate, he returned in a battered and bruised condition.
“Keuugh! Mi, my lord! Forgive me!”
“Damn! What the hell is this commotion?”
The dust swirled around as Namgung Bin frowned and waved his hand.
Through the swirling dust, Iron Tiger Wanderer exclaimed as he slammed his forehead against the ground.
“My lord… I… I have not heeded your orders…!”
“Wh… What?”
“That… I failed to gather the funds as you ordered…!”
Namgung Bin’s expression darkened with each word Iron Tiger Wanderer spoke.
