Childhood Friend of the Zenith Novel MTL - Chapter 925

Chapter 925

“What in the world is happening so suddenly…!”

Yanked abruptly from his rest, Gubong released an irritated groan, but the hand clenched around his collar did not relent.

He struggled fiercely to break away, but the force restraining him was so absolute he couldn’t budge at all.

“Urgh!”

Before he was even fully conscious, he found himself already transported to another location.

Only then did Gu Yangcheon let him go, sending Gubong stumbling to the ground.

He managed to land somewhat clumsily, though it was far from graceful. Gubong swiftly pushed himself upright, scowling as he fixed a glare on Gu Yangcheon.

“What do you think you’re doing?!”
“Are you awake now?”

In answer to Gubong’s heated demand, Gu Yangcheon merely laughed.

“What is this all about…?”

“I told you, didn’t I? We have some work to do.”
“And what is that supposed to mean?”

Being hauled out first thing in the morning for “work” was completely absurd and impossible to understand.

‘How can a person possibly be…’

…so utterly without shame or courtesy?
Gubong gritted his teeth. His mood was already foul from a dream of times long past.

‘Is this truly the one the Sect Leader waited for all this time?’

Gritting his teeth, Gubong continued to glare at Gu Yangcheon.
He did not wish to accept it.
Least of all, this man.

-You ran away, didn’t you?

The words reverberated inside his skull, tangling around his thoughts.

“If you want to do something, you could at least explain—”

He was struggling to restrain himself and speak with reason when—

“Ah, you talk far too much.”

Once again, Gu Yangcheon interrupted him, his tone dripping with annoyance.

“I assumed you would be the most informed, which is why I’m asking for your assistance. Don’t fret; I received authorization from your precious Sect Leader.”
“Authorization from the Sect Leader?”

Gubong’s eyes went wide at Gu Yangcheon’s statement.

The Sect Leader gave his permission?

“For what…?”
“I requested to borrow you for a while, and he agreed.”
“…”

“Borrow”? As if he were some object?
That word alone made Gubong’s anger flare, but the fact of the Sect Leader’s consent choked off his protest.

The Sect Leader had allowed it.
That single phrase was sufficient to restrict all of Gubong’s actions.

“Hmph.”

Gu Yangcheon looked at him, seemingly entertained, and added,

“Just to be perfectly clear, I didn’t pick you because I’m fond of you or anything.”
“Then why…?”
“You were simply the most suitable candidate.”
“…”

What did that mean? If he didn’t like him, why not select another?
Why make a point of stating that Gubong was the optimal choice?

“So quit sulking and stand up. I don’t have all day, either.”
“What are we actually doing…?”

Gubong shakily rose to his feet, and Gu Yangcheon answered,
“Nothing very complex.”

It truly wasn’t.

“We’re going to crush some nobles. I’m short on details about them.”
“What?”

“You know them, don’t you? Brief me.”

It was hardly «nothing» to Gubong.

“Nobles… What did you say about nobles?”
“I said I need to purge them. I just lack the specifics.”

Oh. So he had heard correctly.

“No…”

But why had he heard correctly?

Gubong stared at Gu Yangcheon, his face a mask of pure incredulity.

“Why would you possibly deal with them so abruptly?”

Fighting to keep his voice steady, Gubong asked. Gu Yangcheon replied,

“Because they’re irritating.”

It was the most unreasonable answer he could have given.

“Aren’t they irritating to you, as well?”
“That isn’t the issue…”

Gubong wanted to explain that this wasn’t a matter of personal annoyance.

As he had observed before, this man was like fire.
A relentless inferno. Merely standing close to him made Gubong feel he might be scorched, too.

“The nobles… The aristocracy…”

Resolved to de-escalate the situation, Gubong attempted to speak, but—

“I thought you, more than anyone, would grasp it.”
“…”

That remark froze him in place.
A comment that seemed offhand yet carried a piercing sting.

Gubong looked at Gu Yangcheon, but the man just smirked and averted his eyes.

“Forget I said anything.”
“About the nobles—”

Did he know something about him?
Gubong’s voice shook slightly as he tried to ask, but—

“Who’s causing a disturbance outside my home at this hour?”

A new voice cut into their conversation.

Gubong’s eyes widened in recognition.

“Elder?”

It was the turtle. Only then did Gubong realize where they were.
The place Gu Yangcheon had dragged him to was the Elder’s teahouse.

The turtle elder, his long eyebrows quivering slightly, observed them with a vexed expression.

“Do you have any idea what time it is? Waking an old man at the break of dawn…”

Clearly aggravated, the turtle elder muttered complaints.

“If you intend to fight, take it elsewhere.”

He waved his staff dismissively, as if shooing them away.
Seeing this, Gu Yangcheon moved forward and said,

“We aren’t fighting. I have some business with you, Elder—”
“I have no business with you.”

The turtle elder cut him off decisively and turned to go back inside. But—

Thud!

“…What?”

The door, about to shut, was caught by Gu Yangcheon. The turtle elder exhaled in disbelief.

Caught?

“You… How did you…?”
“About that thing you did the other day. Can you do it again?”
“What?”
“You know, the ears and the tail.”

At Gu Yangcheon’s words, the turtle elder looked him over.
Now that he considered it, the enhancements he’d applied were entirely gone.

“…What? Where did they go?”

The elder was visibly astonished.
It had only been a day. They should have lasted at least three days, yet they had already vanished?

“Oh, that,” Gu Yangcheon said with an uncomfortable laugh.

“I was tinkering with them last night… and I accidentally removed them.”
“You what?”

Removed? What did he mean by “removed”?

The turtle elder, thoroughly perplexed, asked again.

“You’re claiming they came off?”

He had cautioned that extreme force could break the enchantment, but for it to happen so quickly was unheard of.

It defied logic.

The enhancements were not meant to be dissolved easily.
They were a form of curse.

It wasn’t something that could simply be shrugged off.
And yet he had undone it?

When the turtle, completely baffled, demanded an explanation, Gu Yangcheon clicked his tongue awkwardly and replied,

“Well… I thought it would be helpful to understand the mechanism, so I fiddled with it a little… and it just came loose. Hahaha…”
“…”

The turtle stared at Gu Yangcheon as if he were a madman.

It just «came loose»? His curse?

Impossible.

“That’s not possible. It isn’t the sort of thing that unravels just because you tamper with it.”
“Exactly! It shouldn’t have come off, but it did. So I was hoping you might be willing to reapply it for me…”
“…What?”

What kind of nonsense was this?
The turtle had a great deal he wished to say, but he stopped short.

Only now did something occur to him.

‘Right… How can anyone even measure that monster?’

What exactly was standing before him?

It was something beyond his own comprehension.
As he had informed the Sect Leader, it was balanced on a knife’s edge.
If that edge shifted even a little, it would spill over.

An unstoppable catastrophe.

The fact that it was being contained at all was a mystery.
By all logic, it should have been impossible. But if he had to find a reason…

‘The nature of his soul.’

A soul that shone more brilliantly than any other.
A vessel so luminous and immense it could negate the laws of nature.

Gu Yangcheon might not have been aware of it himself, but the turtle understood it better than anyone.

‘It’s a pity.’

That’s why it felt like such a profound waste.

‘If only he had been born in my world.’

If that monster had entered the world in the turtle’s own realm, and not some other…
Perhaps there could have been hope.

The thought flickered through his mind, but—

“…The Sect Leader’s request concluded yesterday. Leave.”

It was a futile fantasy. The turtle shook his head and pushed the door to close it.

But—

“…”
“…”

The door refused to move. No matter how much strength he applied, it stayed open.

Finally, the turtle shouted at Gu Yangcheon.

“Unhand the door this instant!”
“If I let go, you won’t help. Please, just do this for me. It didn’t seem very difficult yesterday.”
“You wretched brat!”

The turtle’s face flushed red with fury.
Gu Yangcheon reminded him of another—a resemblance so striking it was chilling.

As the dispute continued, Gubong finally moved to intervene.

“Master Gu! What are you doing to the elder?!”
“What does it look like? Should I just drop it? I can’t do that.”
“Where could you possibly need to go at this hour?”
“Where do you think? Back to where we were yesterday. They’ll all be there.”
“…You can’t seriously mean you wish to return to Yawol Palace?”

Gubong’s question caused Gu Yangcheon to frown.

“Why do you think I’m going to all this trouble? Do I look like I’m doing this for amusement?”
“…”

If only it were for amusement, Gubong thought to himself.

Gu Yangcheon silenced Gubong with a look before turning back to the turtle.

“The Sect Leader approved this. Could you please assist me?”

At this, the turtle’s expression grew dark.

“The Sect Leader approved it?”
“Yes, he instructed me to retrieve what I require. Said you would help.”

What kind of absurdity was this?

“Preposterous. The request ended yesterday. The Sect Leader would not have forgotten that.”

He was genuinely displeased.
There were boundaries meant to be honored. The Sect Leader wouldn’t cross that line, so what was this?

The turtle gripped his staff, preparing to rebuke Gu Yangcheon, but—

“Oh, he also mentioned that if you helped, he’d extend the plum tea agreement by one month.”
“This time, for three days again?”
“Yes? Oh, yes.”

At the sudden shift in the turtle’s demeanor, Gu Yangcheon stared at him, bewildered.

The pressure against the door vanished completely.
What was so significant about plum tea?

It was just a decent tea, nothing remarkable.
If he’d known, he would have led with the tea from the beginning.

The turtle lifted his staff and muttered.

“You don’t require it for the girl this time?”

He was referring to Cheonma.
Gu Yangcheon nodded in confirmation.

“Yes, I’m not bringing her.”

After all the teasing she’d subjected him to yesterday, he had no plan to take her along.
Besides, she hadn’t been present since morning, so leaving her behind seemed wisest.

“Hmm.”

The turtle nodded and waved his staff.

In that moment—

Thump!

A peculiar sensation brushed against Gu Yangcheon’s heart.
He concentrated on it.

It did not spread through his body.
Instead, it coiled around his heart, lingering there.

It felt alien.
Unpleasant, yet tolerable.

As he focused—

Saaaaa—!
Beast-like ears and a tail once again emerged from his body.

Unlike before, when they appeared unnoticed, this time he could feel it distinctly.

Squish.

Touching his ears, he felt the same soft fur as before.

Squish, squish.

Amused, he played with them for a moment.
Seeing this, the turtle swung his staff irritably.

“It’s done. The warnings are identical to last time. Now leave and don’t return—”

The turtle halted mid-sentence.

Fwoosh!

The ears and tail Gu Yangcheon had just acquired dissolved into smoke and vanished instantly.

“What—!”

The turtle’s eyes widened in shock.

Had he erred and miscast the enchantment?
No.

‘He dispelled it.’

Gu Yangcheon had just nullified the curse on the spot.

Now he understood that Gu Yangcheon’s prior claim of undoing it wasn’t a lie.
But to dissolve something he had just gone to the trouble of applying?

“You… What have you done…?”

The turtle began to speak accusingly, but—

“Oh, I’ve got it now. So that’s the trick.”

Gu Yangcheon clapped his hands as if he’d had a revelation.

Clap!

And with that, his ears and tail reappeared.
This time, it was not the turtle’s doing.

“…You… you…”

The turtle stammered, his composure shattered.
Meanwhile, Gu Yangcheon looked uncharacteristically pleased, his face alight with excitement.

“Now I understand. Oh, I knew if I tried it once more, I’d get it. Perfect timing.”
“Wait—”
“Now that I’ve learned it, I won’t need to return. Thanks for your help. Let’s go.”

Gu Yangcheon stepped back from the door and approached Gubong, looking thoroughly satisfied.

“…”

The turtle could only watch in stunned silence.
His name was Sul, the fallen king of sorcery.