The World’s Greatest is Dead

The World’s Greatest is Dead – Chapter 154

When I was young.

It was around the time several years had passed since my reincarnation.

It was a period when I was frantically adapting to the world known as the Central Plains, and I was fed up with the trouble my so-called father and brother were causing.

That day was no different.

It was just an ordinary day. The weather wasn’t unusually hot or cold for the season. It was just a good day.

A day when something bothersome came my way, like any other day.

‘Ah, seriously, I’m busy to death, why are you here again?’

I spoke with as much annoyance as I could muster.

Normally, there would be a barrage of nonsense, such as being grateful for my presence or questioning why I wasn’t thankful. But this time, things were unusually quiet.

I looked, wondering what was up, and the kid spoke.

‘Dad’s not home today.’

I was a bit surprised by that.

I wasn’t used to the word ‘dad’.

She usually used titles like family head or father. This was the first time another term was used today.

‘… So what? What do you want me to do about it? It’s normal for someone like him to be busy. He’s much better than the people in our family.’

Compared to someone who didn’t work and just chased after women, a person busy with work and away from home was a hundred, no, a thousand times better.

I spoke with that intention, but the child’s face didn’t brighten.

‘So, what do you want?’

‘… Today, dad’s not home…’

‘No, seriously, so what do you want me to do about it? Are you asking me to come home and play with you?’

It was half a joke. At most, we were only a few years apart.

There was no strange intention behind my words; I responded according to our age.

‘… Can you?’

‘… What?’

The child’s face suddenly lit up with a bright expression as if she had found hope from my words.

I recalled being quite appalled seeing that.

‘Would I? Why would I play with you in a house where the family head isn’t present? Get out quickly.’

From a position where the engagement was already broken, going to a former fiancée’s house was unthinkable.

Frankly, it was peculiar for this person to keep frequenting our house even after the engagement was called off.

After I spoke with disgust, disappointment washed over the child’s face.

Seeing that, something seemed out of place today.

‘What is it? Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?’

This behavior was different from usual.

Reluctantly, I had to ask. The oddity of the situation left me with no other choice.

And so, I asked.

Drool. Drool.

Suddenly, the child began shedding tears.

It wasn’t sobbing or wailing.

The tears just flowed.

Much like someone trying to hold back but unable to stop the stream.

Tears slowly flowed.

‘Huh, huh? Hey. Why are you crying?’

I approached in a fluster. At that moment, the child threw herself into my arms.

The child’s mumbling came from my now damp arms.

‘Today, today is mom’s death anniversary. Dad… Dad isn’t here.’

‘….’

I sighed upon hearing that.

I wondered if something had happened, but it turned out it was because her father wasn’t there on her mother’s death anniversary.

Hearing that, a bitter smile crossed my face.

Honestly, it was information I didn’t need to know, so it was odd for me to hear it, but…

Always mature and lacking in decency, she ultimately became a child, endlessly so, on her mother’s death anniversary. That peculiarity somehow hurt.

‘Don’t cry. My clothes are getting wet, so stop sniffling and move away a bit.’

My chest was too wet to bear, so I gently pushed her away.

And with that, her messy face came into view.

‘Wow. You’re really ugly…’

A tiny fist jabbed into my solar plexus.

‘… Ugh!’

‘I’m not ugly. Do you think there’s anyone prettier than me?’

Amidst it all, her self-esteem was ridiculously high.

That tiny fist had a sting to it ever since that moment.

‘… Then don’t cry. Your face is the only redeeming feature, and it even vanishes if you cry.’

‘….’

I wiped the snot off her nose with my hand.

‘Ah. Don’t do that sniffling thing. We’re not close enough for me to tolerate that.’

‘Snuur.’

‘…….’

I rubbed off the sticky substance on my hand.

Disgusting.

I wiped it roughly on the child’s clothes.

‘Ew….’

The child looked disgusted seeing that. I was speechless.

‘Hey, why do you dislike it when I’m wiping your stuff?’

‘It’s dirty.’

‘I told you it’s yours.’

‘It’s not mine.’

‘What are you saying. Is it mine then?’

‘Yeah. Because mine isn’t dirty. So it’s not mine.’

‘… You’re shameless, huh?’

Whether she was bold or shameless.

Perhaps crying a little, she looked like her usual self.

Watching that, I clicked my tongue and turned around.

‘Ah…’

Seeing that, the kid made a sound.

It seemed like she thought that I intended to return as is.

Without turning my back, I spoke.

“Manager, tell the kitchen to prepare one more bowl of rice. We have a guest.”

I said it loudly.

Then, from afar, I heard a response indicating understanding.

“Can’t believe we’re low on rice again… Tsk.”

I spoke while looking back. The child was staring at me with a blank face.

“What are you doing? Come on.”

“Wha…?”

“Now, what’s that hesitation for? You said you didn’t want to be alone today. But I don’t want to go to your house, so you have to come to mine.”

While saying so, I extended my hand.

“If you’re not coming, you can just go.”

“I-I’ll come.”

The child hurriedly reached to grab my hand.

So, I lightly tapped the back of her hand.

Slap!

“Ow?”

“Grab the sleeve, not the hand.”

“… Okay.”

Normally, she would have complained about being hit, but this time she quietly just held onto my sleeve.

I dragged her to the house.

That was the turning point.

Every year on the anniversary of her mother’s death, that nuisance came to my house.

And even though I kicked her out, on that day, I began to take her in without complaint.

Moreover, I realized it later.

That she wasn’t seeking our house.

She was seeking me.

And that the anniversary was, in truth, just her birthday, which she kept silent about, only mentioning her mother’s death.

I realized it years afterward.

* * *

It was the same weather and season as back then.

If there was one difference on the days that repeated for years, it was that I spent the day in Henan instead of our usual house.

“……”

I glanced around consistently. A place bustling with strangers coming and going, without my useless father and brother.

The only familiar constant was the season.

“What are you doing?”

The woman who was with me every time on that particular day asked.

“Aren’t you coming?”

Murong Yungsun, who was walking ahead, looked back and asked.

“…… I am coming.”

I was in the street spread beneath the Blue Moon Sect.

It was, indeed, a wide place that was considered one of the broadest even across the entire Central Plains, possibly because it wasn’t far from the Murim Alliance.

As a result, it was a place where people endlessly came and went.

“What exactly did we come here for?”

I was walking with Murong Yungsun in such a place.

Typically, members of the sect couldn’t leave the Blue Moon Sect without permission.

But the Small Moon Division was different.

The Small Moon Division had relatively free access to going out. If words were left behind, one could come and go freely.

If a long journey was planned, permission was required, but for short outings like this, it wasn’t necessary.

“Why else? We came because there’s business to attend to.”

“That may be true, but…”

I glanced around and then asked her.

“Where’s your escort, and why are you out here like this?”

Usually, there should have been an escort around her.

The escort I’ve seen for nearly a decade was nowhere in sight, and Murong Yungsun was strolling around with just a veil on.

“Even an escort needs a break.”

“What kind of escort takes a break when the person they’re guarding is outside…?”

“What could possibly happen in Henan? And if anything happens, Young master Bang will protect me, right?”

“Not at all. I’ll run away at the first sign of trouble.”

I laughed as I spoke, sensing her strange expectancy, but

“I know you’ll save me first if anything happens.”

“…… What kind of baseless confidence is that?”

“It’s not particularly because it’s me, but you’ll save me anyway. You’re that kind of person, aren’t you?”

“You’ve judged me wrong. I’m not that kind of person.”

Who does she take for a hero?

I’m busy enough just trying to survive myself. Who can I possibly save?

“Ha, well, if you say so.”

“Geez…”

Despite my words, Murong Yungsun didn’t look like she believed me at all.

She just turned around and continued walking.

“So, where exactly are we going?”

I came down to the district because she asked, but

I still hadn’t heard our destination.

“Uhm…”

Hearing that, Murong Yungsun seemed to be pondering something for a moment.

“Oh, right. Young master Bang.”

“Yes?”

“I have a question for you. Do you believe in fate, by any chance?”

“…… Huh?”

Fate?

It was an unexpected question.

***

After being dragged along, I finally arrived at my destination. Staring blankly at the place, I turned to Murong Yungsun and spoke.

“Is this what we came for, all because of ‘fate’ and such?”

“Doesn’t it look interesting?”

I looked up at Murong Yungsun’s words and stared at the large sign. The sign made of wood read,

Fortune House.

As I glanced at the entrance, the sight of the long line of people began to remind me of a conversation I had with Do Hyung and Chun Uijin in the past.

Unexpectedly, a person that Do Hyung, who believed in ghosts, had mentioned to me came to mind.

‘Once we return to the main sect, let’s meet the Fortune Teller.’

Upon saying this, Chun Uijin responded.

‘Ah, I know. Isn’t she the shaman who recently became famous in Henan?’

A shaman famous in Henan.

It was this Fortune Teller we were talking about.

‘… Could this really be the place?’

This was the location where Murong Yungsun seemed to be seeking the shaman, known as Fortune Teller.

‘Damn.’

I never imagined I would actually come here, after all.

That made sense.

‘She’s a fraud.’

Do Hyung, who claimed to have seen Fortune Teller, had heard her say something.

‘She said he lacks spiritual aura, so no ghosts stick to him. That’s why he doesn’t experience sleep paralysis.’

Upon hearing this, I identified her as a fraud immediately.

‘No spiritual aura, really.’

Around Do Hyung, a Guardian Spirit was always present.

Guardian Spirits of the mountain god level aren’t something common.

‘Of course, I don’t know what that Guardian Spirit intends to do…’

A Guardian Spirit that never came to Do Hyung’s aid even when things went south.

Perhaps it didn’t perceive any danger, or maybe it wasn’t truly a Guardian Spirit.

‘If she had spiritual sight, she would know Do Hyung had a Guardian Spirit with him.’

Yet this Fortune Teller shaman claimed not to have seen it.

‘A fraud, indeed.’

I was convinced that she was a fraud.

Thus, I never expected to end up here.

“Are we really going inside?”

“Yes, we are.”

Being dragged here by Murong Yungsun’s hand was beyond my expectations.

“After all the pleading, even threatening, just to bring me here?”

“This place is quite well-known.”

“What’s so great about it, anyway? You believe in ghosts with such a cold face?”

“Why?”

Murong Yungsun frowned at my words.

“Ghosts are real. You should know that.”

“…”

I narrowed my eyes, hearing that.

“How would I know? I don’t believe in those things.”

“…”

Murong Yungsun silently stared at me, and I maintained eye contact without avoiding her gaze.

After a few moments passed,

“Fine. But at least watch with me here. This portion seems like something I can’t let go of.”

I wondered about what she was so eager to witness, but regardless of that.

“Through that long line?”

The line was excessively long. Without a doubt, it couldn’t be completed in just an hour or two.

It felt overwhelmingly unmanageable.

“Ah, don’t worry about that.”

Murong Yungsun immediately addressed my concern.

“I’ve made a reservation.”

“What…?”

A reservation, really?

“In advance, at a shaman’s place?”

Is that even possible?

“Yes. I asked Mujung to book it under the Murong family’s name.”

“…?”

I briefly ran my hand through my hair hearing that.

I felt a pang of sympathy for Mujung-ajussi, who must have run this errand to reserve at a shaman’s for the lady.

‘He deserves a break…’

So, it made sense why he wasn’t around today – it was probably a well-deserved break.

Moreover,

‘What strength it takes to make a reservation through that line.’

Once more, I was reminded of the Murong family’s tremendous influence.

“Let’s go.”

Murong Yungsun grabbed my sleeve and pulled me along, as I hesitated.

I was being dragged inside.

This was the first time in my life I was encountering a shaman.

Though I thought it was all fake, I wasn’t particularly bothered.

Little did I know what peculiar events I was about to face in that room.

“Be gone, you evil spirit!!”

“… What?”

I realized that I was about to experience something truly bizarre.