After the Holy Maiden left with the white-clad women who had accompanied her, only Heavenly Will Palace Lord Wi Mucheon, the Guardian Palace Lord, and Geom Mugeuk inside the Spacetime Shift Technique remained in the command tent.
Geom Mugeuk could not leave the tent until these people left. There was no way to avoid Wi Mucheon's eyes in particular. With only a few years of internal energy, it was impossible to evade the senses of an expert on his level.
“What is she scheming?”
When Wi Mucheon wondered about the Holy Maiden’s intention to remain here, the Guardian Palace Lord spoke cautiously.
“Is she not trying to persuade Your Excellency to stop the war?”
Wi Mucheon recalled the Holy Maiden’s appearance. Even when she had said she was merely delivering a prophecy, he had not sensed any intention to persuade him.
‘She definitely changed her mind at the end. Why?’
Wi Mucheon walked over to the map. At the end, the Holy Maiden had looked at that map and changed her mind.
The reason was standing right in front of Wi Mucheon.
Wi Mucheon could not see, but he and Geom Mugeuk stood facing each other, gazing at one another. Both carried a Precious Casket upon their persons.
Could that have been why? Wi Mucheon felt a surge of emotion in his heart. Though he was looking at the same map he saw every day, today his heart beat strangely.
Just as he was about to take another step toward the map, the Guardian Palace Lord spoke cautiously from behind.
“I heard earlier. Once you unify the world under heaven….”
He could not bring himself to speak the rest with his own mouth.
He had also heard Wi Mucheon’s whisper about killing and annihilating the Holy Maiden and the Holy Maiden Palace.
“Even if this prophecy is nonsense, you must not do such a thing.”
The Guardian Palace Lord had already resolved to give his life in this war. Since the Precious Casket had awoken, he believed the Heavenly Will was with Wi Mucheon.
But the Guardian Palace was by its very nature not the Heavenly Will Palace, but a place that existed to protect the Heavenly Will Palace.
As the Guardian Palace Lord, he could not stand by and watch a Heavenly Will Palace Lord who would kill the Holy Maiden. For that would also mean the collapse of the Heavenly Will Palace.
“Even for Your Excellency’s own sake, you must not do this.”
Wi Mucheon turned toward him. Despite speaking words that went against his lord’s will, the Guardian Palace Lord’s expression was gentle.
“I understand. I shall not.”
“Thank you for your benevolence.”
“You have staked everything on me. I should grant you at least that much of a request.”
Just then, a report from a subordinate was heard from outside.
“A letter has arrived from the Martial Alliance.”
At the words “a letter from the Martial Alliance,” the two exchanged glances. A letter from the enemy at the end of the war?
A subordinate entered, respectfully handed the letter to Wi Mucheon, and left.
Wi Mucheon’s expression grew grave as he checked the contents.
“What does it say?”
Wi Mucheon raised his head, his eyes shining intensely.
“It is a handwritten letter from Wuhuang Shenjian.”
It was the first letter sent directly by the Martial Alliance Lord, but its contents held a sense of finality.
“He says he can no longer bear to see his subordinates sacrificed, and proposes that he and I settle this match alone on the summit of Baiyang Peak in three days.”
The Guardian Palace Lord was startled. He had never expected the Martial Alliance Lord to propose a one-on-one duel to the death.
“There may be some scheme hidden within. Please refuse!”
The Guardian Palace Lord was firm, but Wi Mucheon slowly shook his head.
“As you know, Wuhuang Shenjian is not one to employ schemes in such matters.”
Both men knew well that Wuhuang Shenjian valued honor above all else.
“If I refuse, the world will regard me as a coward.”
The Guardian Palace Lord also earnestly wished for this war to end even a day sooner.
But strangely, anxiety surged within him. It was not the simple unease of thinking the opponent had challenged him because he was confident of victory, but an instinctive fear rising from the depths of his heart.
That was why the Guardian Palace Lord opposed it strongly, even at the risk of being rude.
“The martial world will remember not cowards and heroes, but only victors and vanquished.”
It would obviously sound like he was saying one should win even if it meant being a coward, but he wanted to stop him somehow.
How could Wi Mucheon not feel uneasy as well? Accepting would mean being led by the opponent’s proposal.
It was then. As if wishing to join the conversation, the Precious Casket in Wi Mucheon’s bosom vibrated.
*Hum.*
Startled by the sudden vibration of the Precious Casket, both men were surprised.
Of all times, the Precious Casket cries out now?
Wi Mucheon took this as the Heavenly Will. Then there was no longer any reason to hesitate. Surely this reaction did not mean he should flee, but that he should fight?
“If this fight were the end, then yes, I could endure a small humiliation. But this fight is the beginning.”
He dreamed of unifying the world under heaven, even eliminating the Evil Path Alliance and the Heavenly Demon Cult. It was a grand enterprise that could never be achieved if he were treated as a coward.
“I shall accept this challenge.”
Wi Mucheon began writing a reply then and there in his own hand. It contained his acceptance of the proposal.
“Send this to Wuhuang Shenjian.”
Having seen the Precious Casket’s vibration, the Guardian Palace Lord could no longer stop him.
“I shall obey your command, Your Excellency.”
The Guardian Palace Lord took the letter and left.
Geom Mugeuk watched the entire process.
He knew the outcome of this fight. As the Holy Maiden had prophesied, Wi Mucheon would die at the hands of Wuhuang Shenjian.
But because no record of that final battle remained, later generations did not know how he had died.
‘So that battle takes place in three days.’
Left alone, Wi Mucheon took out the Precious Casket from his bosom.
From the appearance he had observed until now and the eyes with which Wi Mucheon now gazed at the Precious Casket, Geom Mugeuk could tell.
‘He has not yet obtained the power contained within the Precious Casket.’
If he had obtained that power, Wi Mucheon would have been the one to send the first letter.
That was how he knew. Why Wi Mucheon had been so angry at the Holy Maiden.
It was because, in a corner of his heart, he harbored the thought that the prophecy might be true.
Various questions arose in Geom Mugeuk’s mind as well.
Was that Precious Casket an empty one?
If energy dwelt within it, what bead’s power resided in that Precious Casket? If it did, why did it not grant that power to Wi Mucheon? And why had it vibrated just now?
Geom Mugeuk took out the Precious Casket he carried in his own bosom.
He looked down at the Precious Casket, which was smiling brightly as always.
‘Just what kind of incident did you cause here three hundred years ago?’
* * *
Geom Mugeuk exited the command tent.
He had come out without missing the moment when Wi Mucheon briefly left his seat.
He wanted to go straight to the Holy Maiden, but he could not.
Around the tent where the Holy Maiden stayed, white-clad women stood guard like an iron wall, and countless warriors of the Heavenly Will Palace had gathered hoping to catch even a single glimpse of her face.
To the people of the Heavenly Will Palace, she was truly a sacred existence.
It seemed he would have to visit quietly at dawn.
Geom Mugeuk immediately crossed back over to the Martial Alliance camp.
The large Precious Casket that had been underground in the Huanglong Wuguan had absorbed him and sent him to the Martial Alliance camp first. There had to be a reason it started here.
“You survived!”
Squad leader Jeongdae and the squad members welcomed Geom Mugeuk gladly. They were the ones who would have all lost their lives in the battle against enemies encountered during reconnaissance, had it not been for Geom Mugeuk.
“I tried to catch the one who fled, but I lost him in the end.”
“You came back alive, that’s all that matters.”
It was then. A cold voice came from behind.
“What do you mean, that’s all that matters?”
The one who entered the tent with a fierce air was Jo Ung. When they had asked Wuhuang Shenjian, the Martial Alliance Lord, if there was a way to win, Jo Ung had stepped forward and shouted in anger, asking who dared to speak so rashly.
In the end, it had also been Jo Ung who sent out the night reconnaissance.
“You cut down three enemies?”
He had already heard the reports of those who had returned from the earlier reconnaissance.
His expression could not have been good. He had sent them out to suffer, yet they had returned having merited accomplishments instead.
“I was lucky.”
“You cannot cut down three enemies at once with luck alone. So what happened to the one who fled?”
“I lost him.”
“You chased after him and are only now returning?”
“Yes.”
Jo Ung was trying to find fault somehow.
“What became of your family?”
“I was raised an orphan.”
Father, forgive me. I cannot even pretend to be from the Gansu Western Blade Sect here.
“Then from whom did you learn martial arts?”
“I treated a heavily wounded expert by chance and learned a thing or two from him.”
Doubt flickered across Jo Ung’s face. This thorn in his side was saying only things that could not be verified.
Just then, Jeongdae, who was beside him, stepped forward.
“If not for this friend, we would all be dead.”
The other squad members also stepped forward and added a word each.
“It is unprecedented in recent times for a reconnaissance squad to cut down three enemies.”
“The newcomer has accomplished a great feat.”
In the end, Jo Ung glared at Geom Mugeuk with a displeased face, then spun around sharply and left.
Rather, it was Geom Mugeuk who grew suspicious.
At first he had thought Jo Ung was just the kind of narrow-minded person one could find anywhere, but seeing him come all the way here, something was definitely strange.
‘Why is he going this far?’
And that question was answered around midnight.
Two people were meeting in the deep woods where no one was around.
One was a masked figure, and the other was Jo Ung, who had come looking for Geom Mugeuk earlier.
“Baiyang Peak, three days from now.”
It was the moment when information known only to the leadership was delivered to the masked man.
Geom Mugeuk watched that sight from between the bushes in the darkness. He had been keeping an eye on Jo Ung and had tailed him when he secretly went out at night.
Geom Mugeuk could understand why Jo Ung had been so sensitive. Because he was a traitor himself, he suspected everything around him. Could someone have come to investigate him? Could someone else be another traitor?
But there was a fact more surprising than his being a traitor.
Geom Mugeuk sensed a familiar energy from the masked man’s aura. The aura the masked man revealed was demonic energy.
‘A demon!’
Surprisingly, Jo Ung was passing information to the Heavenly Demon Cult. Now Geom Mugeuk could understand why this final battle had not been recorded in detail in the history of the Martial Alliance.
‘The Heavenly Demon Cult was involved in this battle!’
* * *
Late at night, the Holy Maiden sat in the tent.
Because the Heavenly Will Palace Lord had not shown her any special consideration, the tent provided to her was an ordinary one used by martial artists.
But simply by her presence, a sacred aura permeated the narrow, worn space.
Huaxian, the chief of the white-clad women who had accompanied the Holy Maiden to assist her, spoke to her.
“Once dawn breaks, let us return to the palace, Palace Lord.”
Huaxian was worried about the Holy Maiden.
The current Holy Maiden was born with the most sacred aura of all Holy Maidens in history, and every prophecy she had made was accurate.
Yet the Heavenly Will Palace Lord had placed her before him and even offered her wine—truly a rude attitude.
In other words, it meant he intended to deny this prophecy.
If a fight with the Martial Alliance were to break out in this situation, the Holy Maiden could be in danger. The Heavenly Will Palace Lord might not save her.
The white-clad women who had come with her had learned martial arts, but fundamentally, the Holy Maiden Palace was not a place that valued martial arts; it was a place for governing the mind and accepting the will of heaven.
They were not people who could wound the orthodox faction’s experts and leave leisurely in the first place.
“There is someone I must meet before I return.”
“Who might that be?”
“A guest will arrive before dawn breaks.”
At those words, Huaxian was inwardly surprised. Who could she want to meet on this battlefield?
“If anyone comes at dawn, ask nothing and let them inside. And ensure no one else enters.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Before dawn broke, just as she had said, someone came to that place.
The one who entered with a calm face, as if he had made an appointment, was Geom Mugeuk.
The women guarding the entrance let him in without asking who he was. In other words, it meant the Holy Maiden had been waiting for him.
‘So she really did see me inside the Spacetime Shift Technique.’
The Holy Maiden felt different from when he had seen her in the command tent earlier.
The Holy Maiden asked first. Her voice was endlessly enchanting, yet carried an air of dignity.
“Who are you?”
She had seen him inside the Spacetime Shift Technique, but did she not know that he was someone who had crossed over three hundred years? Or was she asking despite knowing everything?
It was no easy task to discern anything from this mysterious woman with covered eyes.
“I am Geomyeon. Not the ‘yeon’ of fate, but the ‘yeon’ of smoke. One who will disappear like smoke forever once this meeting ends.”
Truly, he would be lost to this world forever. Since he had begun introducing himself with those words, never had they suited him so well.
“Why have you come here?”
She asked again. Geom Mugeuk answered carefully, thinking that his fate might change depending on his answer.
“I did not come because I wanted to.”
If his opponent was not one to seize upon it as a weakness, then as always, the truth held the greatest power.
“Fate has led me here. I myself do not know why, or for what purpose I came.”
Geom Mugeuk gazed at the Holy Maiden and asked politely.
“So please tell me. Why have I come?”
He did not say where he had come from, and she did not ask.
Geom Mugeuk could sense it. Though she covered her eyes, she was looking at him. Not because the cloth covering her eyes could see outside.
She was looking at him with the eyes of her heart.
How much time had passed?
Amazing words flowed from her.
“This time, not one but two prophecies were delivered.”
It was unexpected, so Geom Mugeuk was startled.
“The prophecy was to deliver these words to the one standing in the center of the battlefield, in the darkness.”
Standing in the darkness?
The narrow Spacetime Shift Technique he had created had been dark because of his insufficient internal energy. If she had truly seen him, he would have been standing in darkness.
The second prophecy, which she had not delivered to Wi Mucheon, was conveyed.
“The darkness shall lead you to the Heavenly Will.”
Geom Mugeuk muttered her words once more.
The darkness? What did it mean? Did it mean night literally? Or did it refer to some being?
As if she were merely there to deliver the prophecy, the Holy Maiden said nothing more.
Sensing the silent order to see him out, Geom Mugeuk bid farewell to the Holy Maiden.
“I sincerely thank you for delivering the prophecy.”
As he was politely bowing and about to leave, the Holy Maiden spoke from behind him.
“To me, it feels like the ‘yeon’ of fate, not the ‘yeon’ of smoke.”
Geom Mugeuk turned toward her with an expression asking what she meant.
“It means there is no need to thank me.”
Beneath the white cloth covering her eyes, an unknowable faint smile formed.
“Because you have already repaid it all.”