The woman diligently hammering away with a sledgehammer was none other than Ian. She was working in a small smithy that made farming tools like hoes and sickles.
Gifted with her hands, she had quickly learned the work and was now turning out hoes of quite decent quality with practiced ease.
This was one of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s safe houses. There were various kinds of safe houses: some hidden away where no human foot ever reached, and others like this one, disguised as ordinary places in areas where many people came and went.
Just then, someone entered.
“Eat before you keep working.”
When Ian turned, she saw that the Mistress of Cheonhwaru had brought her a meal.
“Thank you.”
The smithy work was mainly handled by Ian, while meals were the Mistress of Cheonhwaru’s responsibility. Cheongmyeon wore a mask, so he did not show himself and moved about in secret.
Looking at the Mistress of Cheonhwaru’s attire, Ian asked,
“Are you going somewhere?”
Normally, the Mistress of Cheonhwaru dressed like an ordinary married woman and even wore a headscarf. But today she had put on makeup and was dressed in beautiful clothes.
“No, I just wore them for a change of mood.”
As long as they were in a safe house, the rule was that going out was absolutely forbidden.
Ian could tell. Today was some special day for her.
“Is today your birthday, by any chance?”
“No. I just had a good dream. Now, eat before it gets cold.”
“Yes, thank you for the meal.”
Ian began using her chopsticks.
“Please eat with me.”
“I picked at a few bites while cooking, so I’m full. Eat plenty.”
“I really think you were born with a talent for cooking. It tastes much better than anything bought outside.”
“Actually, when I first began this work, I worked in the kitchen.”
“Ah, I see.”
“I suffered quite a lot back then.”
Ian could sense it. The experience of struggling from the very bottom was what had made this woman successful.
The food was delicious, but Ian could not eat much. Ever since coming here, she had had no appetite at all because she was worried about Geom Mugeuk.
“Did you hear what I said to the Second Young Master?”
“Yes. I heard you told him I was someone destined to do great things. Why did you say that?”
“I have a good eye for people.”
“Thank you for thinking so highly of me. But that praise is far more than I deserve.”
Gazing at Ian with calm eyes, the Mistress of Cheonhwaru said,
“You are a precious person, Warrior Ian. So always hold yourself precious.”
Ian was grateful to her for saying that.
While hiding in the safe house, Ian had not shown it outwardly, but she had been very worried about Geom Mugeuk. There were nights when she worried so much she could not sleep. Each time, the Mistress of Cheonhwaru comforted her, telling her nothing would happen.
Her comfort strangely gave strength. Perhaps it was because of the mysterious aura around the woman called the Mistress of Cheonhwaru, something difficult to explain in words.
Just then, Cheongmyeon, who rarely showed himself, entered.
Ian asked in surprise,
“What happened?”
“They say an emergency has been declared at the Evil Dao Alliance headquarters.”
“You don’t know the details?”
“No. Only the news that an emergency was declared has come in.”
Struggling to calm her anxious heart, Ian said,
“The Young Master will be all right. Lord Soma is protecting him.”
It was then. A welcome voice came from behind her.
“Why don’t you ever think of the opposite? I might be protecting Lord Soma.”
When she turned, Geom Mugeuk and Geugak Soma were walking in side by side. Blood was spattered across both their clothes, and Geom Mugeuk’s clothes in particular were soaked with it. Startled, Ian ran over and examined Geom Mugeuk’s body first.
“Are you all right? Are you hurt?”
Geom Mugeuk sank down onto the floor, and Ian checked his body. He had sword wounds here and there, but he had avoided any fatal injury.
“I’m badly hurt. My arms and legs were almost cut off!”
“…It doesn’t seem that bad.”
“No, look carefully. Check whether all my fingers and toes are still attached.”
Ian turned her head and bowed respectfully to Geugak Soma.
“Thank you for saving our Young Master.”
“I told you, that’s not it! It was the opposite!”
Geom Mugeuk joked, while Geugak Soma remained composed. Naturally, it looked as though Geugak Soma had saved Geom Mugeuk.
Geugak Soma was silently gazing at Geom Mugeuk. The Mistress of Cheonhwaru could feel the change in him. Just as the mask he wore had changed, the look in his eyes when he looked at Geom Mugeuk had changed as well.
She linked arms with Geugak Soma and asked,
“Brother, you aren’t hurt anywhere, are you?”
“No.”
“Then may we return to Cheonhwaru now?”
Geugak Soma nodded, and the Mistress of Cheonhwaru rejoiced.
Just as she had sensed the change in Geugak Soma, Ian was sensing one thing as well. Perhaps the Mistress of Cheonhwaru had known that the two of them would return today.
“Will you all be leaving right away?”
“We’ll go first.”
At Geugak Soma’s gesture with his chin, the Mistress of Cheonhwaru looked back and saw that Geom Mugeuk had fallen asleep while leaning against Ian’s back.
Ian gestured for them to go ahead, saying she would stay like this for a while.
The Mistress of Cheonhwaru whispered to Geugak Soma,
“Have a drink with food I made, for the first time in a while.”
“Sounds good.”
Geugak Soma, the Mistress of Cheonhwaru, and Cheongmyeon left first.
Ian sat still so that Geom Mugeuk would not wake. Only then did the expression on Ian’s face, which had been tense for so long, finally relax.
‘You came back safely, Young Master.’
* * *
I had a dream.
In the dream, I was fighting Baek Manggi. It was not a new fight, but a reenactment of the fight from before.
Baek Manggi’s sword techniques, which had been too fast to see while fighting, unfolded like a slow painting. My own techniques were moving slowly as well.
I felt as though I had become a third party, objectively watching that fight. As if I were a spectator looking on from the side.
The techniques I had thought I had forgotten because they had flashed past in an instant came back to me with precision. Like go players replaying a match, I replayed the fight. My subconscious had remembered the battle with Baek Manggi exactly.
I could even control the speed of the fight. The moment I thought I wanted it to stop here for a moment, Baek Manggi and I in the dream stopped moving.
Thanks to that, I was able to examine the position and angle of the swords in detail. The fight moved according to my will. I could watch it move slowly, or I could stop it.
In that way, I was able to compare how the Sword Emperor’s martial arts differed from mine. This process gave me an enlightenment as great as the experience of fighting him directly.
In truth, there had been a new experience even during the fight itself. That final moment when I fought Baek Manggi, when only he was visible and the world went dark.
I could tell. These mysterious occurrences were changes brought about because the Flying Heaven Sword Art had reached great completion of the twelfth stage, my internal energy had surpassed a certain limit, and on top of that, the teachings of Mansa Jongju had been added.
The moment my sword pierced his heart for the last time, I woke from sleep.
My body and mind felt refreshed.
One might think fighting even in a dream would make me more tired, but that was not the case. It had been a dream just before waking, and it seemed I had slept to my heart’s content.
“Young Master, you’re awake? You must be hungry.”
“How long did I sleep?”
“Almost ten shichen.”
That meant I had slept nearly a full day. It had been a truly long time since I had slept so deeply. Come to think of it, this was the first time since my return that I had slept this well.
My physical condition was good too. Thanks to the Ghost Tiger Garment and the highest-grade Heavenly Silkworm Thread, the wounds I had suffered were not very deep.
‘Thank you, Elder.’
If the Blood Heaven Blade Demon had not given me the Ghost Tiger Garment, I would certainly have been hurt far worse. I unwound the highest-grade Heavenly Silkworm Thread and wrapped it back around the hilt of the Black Demon Sword.
“It doesn’t feel like I slept that long.”
“You must have been very tired.”
“What about Geugak Soma? Did he go to Cheonhwaru?”
“Yes, the two of them left first.”
Seeing how the thought suddenly occurred to me that I wanted to see Geugak Soma, it seemed true after all that people grew close by fighting together.
“Oh, right. New news came in while you were asleep. Bi Sain killed Seok Gwanchu’s grandson.”
I nodded silently. It was the moment Bi Sain’s fate had changed, along with the fate of the Evil Dao Alliance. Originally, the position of heir to the Evil Dao Alliance had been taken by Seok Gwanchu’s grandson. How this change would affect our future, I could not know.
“This is a good thing, right?”
“Probably?”
I flopped back down.
Ian pulled at the blanket.
“No. Eat first, then sleep.”
“Just a little longer.”
“I’ll prepare the meal, so come out as soon as I call you.”
I called Ian as she was leaving the room.
“Ian.”
“Yes?”
“It’s good to see you again.”
Ian smiled brightly.
“Me too.”
* * *
Chief Strategist Sama Myeong had come down to the operations command room.
The place known to be even safer than the Heavenly Demon Hall was this operations command room of Tongcheongak.
Hundreds of dispatches flew in each day and were analyzed here.
“Still nothing?”
“No.”
Because of the last dispatch that had flown in, Sama Myeong was tense.
Even when the news had arrived that Seok Gwanchu was behind it, he had not been this tense.
That was because he believed that Geom Mugeuk and Geugak Soma would manage on their own.
But the moment Baek Manggi’s name came in, an emergency was declared in Tongcheongak. If Baek Manggi had truly moved, then even the lives of Geom Mugeuk and Geugak Soma could not be guaranteed.
And yet the Cult Leader had given no order. Considering who the opponent was, it would be unreasonable to immediately dispatch experts nearby to support them, but he could have sent an urgent message telling Geom Mugeuk and Geugak Soma to stop everything and return. But Geom Ujin had not done so.
Sama Myeong thought it was indeed like the Cult Leader, yet at the same time thought that if it had been him, he could never have made such a decision.
‘Does he trust them that much?’
Since it was rare for the Chief Strategist to come down here and personally wait for a dispatch, the strategists working here were also extremely tense.
The strategists who managed this place were people with authority to handle Tongcheongak’s highest secrets. They were also the people Sama Myeong trusted most.
Just then, the dispatch they had been waiting for arrived. The strategist who checked its contents reported in a pleased tone.
“Both Seok Gwanchu and Baek Manggi are dead.”
At his subordinate’s report, Sama Myeong felt relieved, but inwardly he was greatly shocked.
“And our two?”
“They say the Second Young Master and Geugak Soma are both safe.”
Sama Myeong let out a sigh of relief and collapsed into his seat. With the tension leaving him, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a moment.
‘The two of them killed Baek Manggi and Seok Gwanchu? That can’t be.’
Since the Thirteen Wolves of the Evil Dao and Bi Sain had moved together, there must have been other variables. A new expert from the Evil Dao Alliance’s side might have stepped forward as well. Once time passed, he would learn the details of what had happened.
In the meantime, the strategist who had made the report organized the dispatch and brought it as a written report. It was the report to be sent to the Heavenly Demon.
Receiving the report, Sama Myeong asked him,
“What do you think of this matter?”
“I don’t know how Baek Manggi died, but one thing is certain. Recently, news related to the Second Young Master always startles me.”
Sama Myeong nodded as if in agreement and rose from his seat.
But thinking that, at least for today, the Cult Leader—who seemed almost to have predicted this outcome—was even more astonishing, Sama Myeong left the operations room.
* * *
A few days after arriving at the safe house, I went around the marketplace and bought various items. There were many things to buy, so I bought a cart and loaded them onto it.
First, I stopped by a physician’s office and bought several new needle cases. Then I went to an apothecary and purchased a large quantity of various medicinal herbs. Some were precious and expensive, while others were commonly used.
After gathering the medicinal herbs, I bought a tub. It was a large wooden tub big enough for three or four people to stand inside.
I bought new blankets and clothes, as well as enough food and alcohol to last a while. After that, I even bought a large bronze mirror that could reflect the whole body.
When Ian saw the things I had brought back from the market, she was startled.
“What is all this?”
“Try guessing.”
“They have no connection to each other at all.”
Looking at the herbs piled high, she asked me with a worried expression,
“You didn’t suffer internal injuries, did you?”
“I didn’t tell you because I thought you’d worry. I think I need to hurry and see the Divine Physician.”
Ian examined the cart again.
“You’re not hurt. But why did you buy so many medicinal herbs?”
Then she picked something up from the cart.
“What is this? Gasp!”
She put what she had picked up back where it belonged, crouched beside the cart, and whispered,
“These are women’s undergarments!”
“That’s right.”
I crouched down just like her.
“Why did you buy undergarments?”
“Because I need them. But why are you suddenly whispering? Did an enemy appear?”
“Well… because something even more shocking than a treasure map came out of the cart.”
“My back hurts. Can’t we stand up now?”
“There are other clothes too! They’re so pretty!”
There was also a beautiful palace dress made of high-quality silk.
“Who are they for? They’re for a very slender woman.”
“There’s someone I’m going to give them to.”
“If you’re giving undergarments as a gift, she must be someone extremely close to you.”
“She is close.”
“There’s no way I wouldn’t know someone that close to you. But it can’t be the Mistress of Cheonhwaru. Ah! Did you perhaps find a courtesan you liked among the women of Cheonhwaru?”
“Want me to show you who it is?”
“Really?”
“Of course. Let’s go.”
Together with Ian, I pulled the cart to a modest manor located far from the village.
“Is the person living here?”
“You could say that.”
But when we entered, the manor was empty.
“There’s no one here. It doesn’t seem like anyone lives here.”
“There will be now. I rented it for a few days.”
“Why?”
To her, who looked puzzled, I spoke. The words that would change her life, the words she most wanted to hear, flowed from my mouth.
“Because I intend to perform the Divine Poison Purification Art on you here.”