Chapter Title: The Returned Prodigal (1)
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"I'm going insane."
Yeon Ho-jeong grumbled from inside the Ancestral Hall.
"You're as merciless as ever."
After the ancestral rites concluded, his father had come to the office and sealed his punishment with a single phrase.
'Spend three days in the Ancestral Hall, reflecting and atoning before our ancestors.'
With that, his father plunged straight into work. He hadn't even met Yeon Ho-jeong's eyes.
That indifference actually felt more reassuring. Time tends to shrink or inflate memories, but his father was exactly as he remembered.
It lent a sense of reality, solidifying his certainty that he had returned to the past.
...Even if being confined for three whole days left much to be desired.
Leaning his head against the wall, a flicker of doubt crossed Yeon Ho-jeong's face once more.
'How is something like this even possible?'
It was the question that had plagued him most during the half-day since being locked in the Ancestral Hall.
He didn't know if there was an afterlife, but one thing was certain: people didn't return to the past upon death. If they did, the world would have long descended into chaos.
In other words, his regression was anything but ordinary.
'I need to figure out why. Unexplained phenomena always breed problems down the line.'
Martial arts were the same. Achievements beyond one's efforts always had a reason, and ignoring it could cost you your life.
That was why he couldn't simply rejoice at returning to the past.
Lost deep in thought for a long while, he finally let out a sigh.
"Damn it, this isn't something pondering's gonna solve."
Not without foundational knowledge to speculate from, at least.
After mulling a bit longer, Yeon Ho-jeong gave up on the worry.
"Anyway, nothing suspicious so far. I'll have to settle for that much for now."
Having returned to the past, his body was naturally that of his younger self.
But the tempered soul within remained that of the Black Emperor Castle Lord, the Black Path Grandmaster, the Black Dark Emperor.
His superhuman instincts assured him: everything was fine. It wasn't a puzzle brooding would unravel, so set it aside for now.
Letting go of the concern lightened his mood considerably.
'A chance to live the life I already lived once... To cast off past regrets and lingering what-ifs.'
His heart pounded.
In his youth, he had made many mistakes. Not true blunders, really, but the desperate flailing of a timid boy ill-suited to his environment.
Regrets aplenty had followed.
If only he'd been calmer, more prudent, braver.
Things might have turned out so differently.
A bitter smile twisted Yeon Ho-jeong's lips when his eyes suddenly flashed.
"Wait, thinking about it... this is no small matter."
It wasn't just doubt about the regression itself.
Yeon Ho-jeong shot to his feet without realizing it.
"How old am I right now?"
At least twenty-six years before his original death. The family was intact and peaceful, after all.
That put him before turning twenty.
'Judging by Ji-pyeong's looks, around fifteen or sixteen. So I'm eighteen or nineteen?'
No matter his martial prowess, this was too far back. Hard to pinpoint exactly from just his father and brother's faces.
Years of charging forward, forgetting the past, had made it distant.
'Then...?'
Judging by the weather, it was autumn now.
That left at most a year and a half—perhaps as little as half a year—before the family's annihilation.
'Damn it all!'
Urgency gripped him. No time for punishments or leisure.
Yeon Ho-jeong hurriedly opened the Ancestral Hall door.
Clunk!
"Huh?!"
Yeon Ho-jeong stared in surprise at the boy standing outside.
Snow-white skin. Tall for his age, but his clear eyes and cute features made him look terribly young.
"Ji-pyeong?"
"Brother? Where are you going?"
"Uh? Well... uh..."
Now that he thought about it, he had nowhere to go even if he wanted to. He'd just reacted instinctively to the ticking clock.
Yeon Ji-pyeong blinked rapidly.
"You can't leave the Ancestral Hall, right? Father gave you three days' punishment."
"...You're right."
"Aigoo! No way. The Flying Eagle Squad's patrolling around here. If they catch you, it's straight to Father—like this."
Yeon Ji-pyeong mimed slicing his own throat. It was fairly menacing, but his innocent expression made Yeon Ho-jeong chuckle.
"What are you doing here anyway?"
"Hehe, there's a shortcut from my quarters through the woods behind the Ancestral Hall. Dug a little hole."
"A hole?"
"Yeah."
"What for...?"
Yeon Ji-pyeong pulled a thick bundle from his robes and proudly thrust it forward.
"Here!"
"...?"
"..."
"What is it?"
Yeon Ji-pyeong scratched his head sheepishly.
"Rice balls."
"Rice balls?"
"Even for punishment, starving you is too much. Three days on water alone? No way."
"What if Father scolds you for it?"
"Pfft, over something like this?"
He absolutely would.
But with rice balls brought all this way, turning him away wasn't an option.
"Come in."
"Yes!"
Beaming happily, Yeon Ji-pyeong slipped inside and unpacked the bundle. Three steaming rice balls emerged.
Yeon Ho-jeong picked one up. It was nearly the size of his face.
"You must be hungry. Eat up. I'll bring more tomorrow."
Yeon Ho-jeong stared silently at the rice ball, then shifted his gaze to Yeon Ji-pyeong.
The boy was grinning ear to ear, clearly delighted. But Yeon Ho-jeong sensed an undercurrent of odd anxiety beneath that smile.
And no one knew its source better than he did.
"Ji-pyeong."
"Yes?"
Yeon Ho-jeong paused.
What to say first? He hesitated.
Facing him like this brought past mistakes into sharp relief. Everyone has regrets, but his greatest centered on his brother.
And this couldn't wait.
After wrestling with it, Yeon Ho-jeong spoke plainly.
"I'm sorry for everything up till now."
It was an abrupt apology. Even he felt caught off guard.
"Huh? Sorry for what?"
"I'm a pathetic wretch. A petty fool who envied his own brother out of worthless pride. I should have cheered your growth, but I couldn't."
Yeon Ho-jeong bowed his head.
"I'm sorry. It won't happen again."
"B-Brother! What's this all of a sudden?"
"I'm not apologizing to be forgiven. Just admitting my wrongs and vowing to do better. That's all."
Before the Yeon family fell.
Yeon Ho-jeong had hated Yeon Ji-pyeong with a venom.
Not without reason. His brother's talent was unprecedented in family history.
Yeon Ho-jeong's own gifts weren't lacking, but paled beside his brother's. What took him five years of blood and sweat, Yeon Ji-pyeong scaled leisurely in under three.
In their brash youth, the brothers had been close—closer than most.
But at fifteen, when talk arose of naming a young family head among them...
That was when Yeon Ho-jeong shut his heart. Jealousy turned to hatred, then outright ignoring his brother's existence.
'What an idiot.'
That damned young family head title—what was it worth?
Only after the family crumbled and kin died did he realize: nothing between family mattered more than petty roles.
And he realized something else.
Deep in his unexamined subconscious, he still loved his father and brother.
A truth grasped far too late. Regrets always come tardily, no matter how swift—and he missed his chance to apologize.
That was the sincerity he'd carried in his heart his entire life.
"No long speeches. Just... I'm sorry. Sorry again. Even if you hate me till your dying day, I won't resent or blame you for it."
"Brother."
Yeon Ji-pyeong's eyes reddened.
He'd mustered courage to bring the rice balls because he'd sensed his brother's gaze during the rites—different from before. Heart racing at the hope of forgiveness, he'd come.
Thank goodness. His brother no longer hated or despised him.
"Ugh... waaah."
Overwhelmed, Yeon Ji-pyeong burst into sobs.
Yeon Ho-jeong felt pity mingled with bewilderment at his brother's tears.
The kid was a good one. This reaction was natural.
But to Yeon Ho-jeong, long the Black Path's overlord, such displays were exceedingly rare.
The weak earn pity? Nonsense.
Trample, kill, exploit the weak to grow strong—that was Black Path survival. Prey, not objects of sympathy.
From that unbridgeable gulf of time and emotion, Yeon Ho-jeong confirmed once more: he had returned to the past.
Moments later, Yeon Ji-pyeong composed himself.
"Sorry. I made a fool of myself in front of you."
"Foolish? I'm the one who's sorry."
"No. It's all my fault—why are you apologizing?"
He knew it wasn't empty words. That made Yeon Ho-jeong even sorrier—and more grateful.
Calmer now, Yeon Ji-pyeong grinned broadly. Brotherhood restored, however it happened—what a mood-lifter.
Yeon Ho-jeong blurted without thinking.
"They say you get hairy buttocks if you cry then laugh."
"Huh?"
"..."
"...?"
Yeon Ho-jeong had no talent for jokes.
Some things weren't worth attempting. Clearing his throat awkwardly, he suddenly hardened his expression.
That shift alone tensed Yeon Ji-pyeong.
"Ji-pyeong."
"Yes?"
"How old are you now?"
Age out of nowhere?
Perplexed but compliant, Yeon Ji-pyeong answered.
"Fifteen."
"So I'm eighteen, then?"
"Uh? Y-Yeah?"
A slight relief washed over him. Not half a year, but a year and some months left.
No room for complacency, though.
"You... how far along are you with the Flying Swallow Heart Method...?"
Then, footsteps echoed outside the Ancestral Hall.
"Second Young Master."
A formal, rigid voice. Yeon Ji-pyeong's face drained of color in an instant.
"I know you're in there. Entering now."
Creeeak.
The door swung open, revealing a sturdy man.
A longsword at his left waist, a heavy朴刀 strapped to his back. Sharp eyes, aura of unyielding discipline radiating from him.
It was Flying Eagle Squad Leader Gang Yun.
"Time to come out."
Gang Yun didn't spare Yeon Ho-jeong a glance.
Yeon Ho-jeong nodded.
"Go on."
"...See you in three days, brother."
"Got it."
Yeon Ji-pyeong rose.
Gang Yun spoke.
"Take all your belongings with you."
"Huh?"
Gang Yun said no more, merely fixing Yeon Ji-pyeong with an unwavering stare.
Yeon Ji-pyeong bit his lip.
"These are rice balls I brought with effort. Doesn't atonement need strength too?"
"I know nothing of that. Only that Yeon family rewards and punishments apply equally, even to blood kin. This is the family head's direct order—it must be carried out."
No room for dissent in that stiff tone.
Yeon Ho-jeong wrapped the rice balls and handed them to Yeon Ji-pyeong, who hung his head.
"I-I'll buy you something tasty in three days."
"Got it."
Gang Yun's eyes flashed.
Everyone in the family knew the brothers' rift. But today felt different.
"Let's go."
"Okay."
Yeon Ji-pyeong's steps dragged, reluctant.
As Gang Yun moved to close the door...
"Squad Leader Gang."
"Something to say?"
"I ordered him to bring the rice balls. Note that in your report."
Gang Yun's eyes gleamed again.
"Understood."
Thud.
The Ancestral Hall door shut.
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled.
"Who knew such rigid stiffness could feel this heartwarming."