EP.25 Demonic Sword Empress (2)
Demonic Sword Empress (2)
After wrapping up the conversation about Wi Seol-ah at an appropriate point, since it was getting late, we hurriedly prepared some food and finished eating.
I wondered how many days she had starved; it was amazing how food went endlessly into Wi Seol-ah's mouth. Flustered, I asked if she normally ate like that.
The attendants answered as if they were used to it, saying that Wi Seol-ah normally ate like that.
Come to think of it, her continuously stuffing potatoes into her mouth on the first day meant she was originally a big eater.
It wasn't just an increase in appetite, but rather an increase by several people's worth, so I felt like I'd have to buy a lot of this and that at the towns we stopped by along the way.
Moonlight reflects on the valley water.
We set up camp near the valley, but perhaps because of that, the spring wind felt colder than usual.
Around the hour of Zi, the guards slowly began preparing for their night watch.
Attaching Demon-Repelling Talismans around the tents and constantly surveying the surroundings with inner qi to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances was an arduous task.
As I sat looking at the moon, Muyeon approached.
"Young Master, you should head in soon. It's getting cold."
"No matter how cold it gets, I'll be warmer than the guards."
Due to the influence of my cultivation technique, I only felt cool, not cold, even now. I sat blankly in front of the campfire.
Wi Seol-ah received something from the attendants in the tent and came running over playfully. She was carrying a bowl filled with steamed buns.
Steamed buns out of nowhere...?
Steam was rising from them, looking as if they had just been steamed. How on earth did they steam them out here?
"The older sisters told me to share these with the older brothers!"
It turned out to be a late-night snack prepared for the guards.
As Wi Seol-ah handed them out one by one, the guards broke into wide, goofy smiles seeing her.
Wi Seol-ah's appearance was a formidable weapon. In my past life, when she was fully grown, there were guys who lost their focus looking at her face during a sparring match and ended up losing; would it be any different now?
Eventually, after distributing the buns to everyone, Wi Seol-ah slipped into a seat next to me.
"Young Master, I brought you the big ones."
Smiling brightly, Wi Seol-ah handed me two buns.
I took the buns and said.
"Will you be okay not sleeping? You have to wake up early tomorrow."
Since the schedule was set, we had to leave at sunrise tomorrow.
So she needed to sleep from now on to at least be somewhat comfortable.
"You're not sleeping either, Young Master."
"...Well, me aside."
I was fine because I had some inner qi, but since Wi Seol-ah wasn't a martial artist yet, it might be a bit hard for her.
I took a bite of the bun. Soft and moist, steamed buns were truly great.
The cold wind gradually picked up. Muyeon stretched and stood up. I also had to slowly head back into the carriage, so I gently pushed Wi Seol-ah's back.
"Hurry up and go in. If you can't wake up tomorrow, I'll leave you behind."
"Hmph... you're so mean."
"The buns were delicious."
I shoved the remaining bun into my mouth in one bite, went into the carriage, and sought sleep.
******************
"It's annoyingly far."
Time passed, and it had already been four days since we left the manor to go to Sichuan.
What we did during that time was simply repeat riding the carriage during the day and camping at night.
I also practiced my cultivation technique in between, but there was no noticeable growth.
Inner energy didn't just suddenly surge from an out-of-nowhere enlightenment to begin with, so I had to endure it.
"...Going is one thing, but what about coming back?"
It would probably take this long then too. How could I endure that?
Moreover, the road was rough right now, so the carriage couldn't even pick up speed.
Thanks to that, I was looking at the outside scenery until I was sick of it.
"Young Master!"
"Why are you calling me."
"Look over there. There! It's a squirrel!"
Following Wi Seol-ah's words, I looked toward the trees and saw a squirrel gathering and eating acorns.
"So it is, a squirrel..."
"It's cute, right!"
The only thing we did while traveling was occasionally having conversations like this with Wi Seol-ah.
Roughly recalling, she'd say things like yakgwa is tastier than potatoes, or that she tried eating an eagle but it was tougher than expected.
Or that regular pork was tastier than wild boar... Come to think of it, why was it all about food?
Seeing Wi Seol-ah pointing with her hand asking if the squirrel wasn't cute, I got a chill and asked.
Ultimately, I couldn't overcome my curiosity and had to ask.
"Have you ever eaten squirrel by any chance?"
At my question, Wi Seol-ah looked at me with a strange expression.
"Young Master... no matter what, you can't eat squirrel."
She stared at me with an expression that said, 'Young Master, are you perhaps an idiot?', which made me feel very unjustly treated.
She said she ate an eagle, so why couldn't she eat a squirrel?
Feeling a bit annoyed, when Wi Seol-ah tried to pick up a yakgwa to eat, I snatched it and ate it.
"Huh... Huhhh!"
Seeing that, Wi Seol-ah's eyes widened.
She stared blankly with her mouth open, then her face changed amusingly as if she was increasingly shocked.
It was a face like she heard the world was ending tomorrow.
Seeing her make a world-ending expression relieved some of my frustration.
"Ho-How could this be..."
"You need to stop eating so much yakgwa. Look at your face, it's gotten round."
"It's not round!"
"Ask the others. See if it isn't."
"Sister Hongwa! Did I get round!?"
An attendant named Hongwa, who was sitting across from us listening to our chatter and smiling, stiffened at Wi Seol-ah's words.
And slowly turned her head away from Wi Seol-ah.
She couldn't bear to answer and fled.
Seeing that, Wi Seol-ah's expression changed from shock to resignation.
"I am... round..."
"Yeah, you're round."
Struck by my finishing blow, Wi Seol-ah lost her spirit and leaned her face against the wall, shutting her mouth tight.
Honestly, Wi Seol-ah's face hadn't puffed up like a steamed bun.
She had just gained a little weight compared to when I first saw her.
'But still, she did gain weight, right?'
Thanks to Wi Seol-ah talking less, I was able to spend some quiet time for a while.
Suddenly, while looking at the scenery outside, I recalled what was going to happen in the future.
'Things had better go well.'
Visiting the Sichuan Tang Clan was just a nominal excuse, so let it be. I had to think about the Geumcheon Yeon Family and Gyecheon Gate.
How much time could I spend finding the secret library?
Estimating, 3 days at most? Time was much tighter than I thought. The only information I knew was the region where it was discovered and the surrounding environment.
If I ultimately couldn't find the secret library, I was half-thinking of just leaking it to the Beggar's Sect.
If not that, I had to find a way to prevent it from falling into the hands of Gyecheon Gate, other Evil Sect bastards, or especially those who degenerate into Demonic Practitioners.
What if I do find the secret library? I'd have to think about that when the time came.
'The food ingredients loaded in the luggage carriage were also slowly running out.'
This was because the road was rougher than expected, and because it rained on the second day, leaving some distance until the primarily targeted location.
...It probably wasn't because Wi Seol-ah was eating incredibly much. Probably...
I stuck my head out of the carriage and asked Muyeon.
"Muyeon, how long do you think it will take for the road to get better?"
"According to the coachman, at this rate, it seems we have to go for another shichen."
"Walking would really be faster."
I felt like it would be better to just abandon everything and run, but I was concerned about my physical body that would probably tire after running for less than half a shichen, and the gifts I had to bring to the Tang Clan.
"Haha..."
Muyeon, who was smiling awkwardly, suddenly wore a sharp expression.
Wondering what was going on, I asked Muyeon.
"What's wrong?"
"Halt."
There was no answer.
A stiff voice. The party instantly stopped on the road.
I also felt something strange in Muyeon's atmosphere and pulled up my inner qi.
A subtle presence was caught by my five senses. Feeling that, I let out a smirk without realizing it.
It was none other than the presence of demonic beasts.
"I thought it was strangely peaceful for days."
"There are not many of them. We will handle them quickly, so please rest."
It was a remark telling me to stay put and not come out and show off like last time.
I also thought I'd just sit this time, as holding the demonic stone needlessly might cause something to happen like last time.
Fortunately, it wasn't a Demonic Abyss Gate.
Strictly speaking, they were the leftovers after a Demonic Abyss Gate closed.
The approaching presence was swift. Were they targeting us? But that felt a bit strange.
Rustle rustle.
A strange sound came from the bushes.
Muyeon and the guards had already drawn their swords. So they could slash immediately whenever something rushed in.
Soon after, something burst through the bushes and charged.
-Kuwaaang!
Before we could even identify it, Muyeon's sword sliced through the creature.
Slash, thud!
Perhaps killed instantly by Muyeon's sword, the creature fell to the ground with a dull thud. It was a demonic beast in the shape of a bear.
I always secretly thought Elder Yi looked like a bear, but comparing the size in person, it really was similar to Elder Yi.
Nokjuung (Green-Stalk Bear).
Like the Nokgakgyeon (Green-Antler Hound), it was a guy that popped out of the lowest grade Demonic Abyss Gate.
"This guy..."
Muyeon frowned as he looked at the creature.
"Besides the cut I made, there are other wounds."
"Hmm?"
Checking at Muyeon's words, there were indeed other sword wounds besides the one Muyeon inflicted.
Then were the heterogenous movements felt with my inner qi them fleeing from someone?
Demonic beasts from a human?
That was an absurd story.
Beasts whose only instinct was to slaughter something...? Moreover, the presences of the demonic beasts I felt were disappearing one by one.
I could feel a different presence from behind killing them off one by one.
Fast. It was gradually coming towards us.
Muyeon was momentarily flustered by the unexpected situation, but immediately took a stance with the guards to face the enemy.
The gradually approaching human presence burst through the bushes without hesitation.
-Kuaaaaaang!
What jumped out was a Nokjuung, like before, but...
Slash!
Sword qi flying right after sliced through the Nokjuung's head.
Thump!
Blue blood flowed from the fallen Nokjuung.
Muyeon didn't care about the dead demonic beast and was only looking beyond the bushes.
Soon, Muyeon asked.
"Who are you. Reveal your identity!"
At Muyeon's shout, someone quickly appeared from the bushes.
It was a person holding a sword. I wanted to properly confirm, but their face was tightly wrapped in a cloak, so it wasn't clearly visible.
The only thing I could tell was that she was a woman based on her physique.
She approached us with light steps.
As she approached, my eyes were increasingly drawn to the clothes she was wearing.
Perhaps from traveling for a long time, the blue martial uniform was covered in leaves here and there and dusty.
The woman slowly sheathed her sword and approached with calm steps, but Muyeon still had his sword drawn, aiming at her.
When she got close enough, the woman took off her cloak and revealed her face.
Seeing the woman's revealed face, one of the guards gasped.
By her age, she didn't seem to have reached twenty, but she looked older than me.
White-blue hair, porcelain-white skin resembling it, a high nose bridge, and lips that seemed to hold vitality.
Putting this together, it declared that she was undoubtedly one of the top beauties in the world.
Looking at Muyeon slowly, she opened her mouth.
"I'm sorry. I came traveling alone, so I couldn't handle them properly."
"Alone...? Are you saying you were handling these guys alone, young lady?"
"I usually have bad luck. Of all things, a Demonic Abyss Gate popped up right in front of me this time too. I caught them, but a few escaped."
"Demonic beasts... escaped...?"
"Maybe it's because of my family's martial arts... they keep doing this."
While Muyeon was conversing with her.
I also couldn't help but be shocked seeing her face.
It wasn't because of her beautiful appearance.
Small white letters written on the lower hem of the blue martial uniform caught my eye.
Namgung.
"Crazy..."
Seeing that, I unconsciously spat out a curse.
In the Central Plains, those who could walk around with that character written on their martial uniform could be counted on one hand.
Let alone a woman with that appearance, there would be only one.
'Why on earth is that crazy bitch here?'
Cold sweat ran down, so I slowly wiped it away.
I knew her well.
In this life, we might be strangers, but in my past life, it was different.
She was the person I wanted to get involved with less than anyone else I've met in this life.
'Can one's luck really be this bad?'
I tried hard to calm my pounding heart. This was not a beautiful word like excitement.
Fear, this was purely fear.
The woman spoke to Muyeon in a blunt voice.
"My name is Namgung Bi-a. Are you perhaps heading to Sichuan?"
Hearing her name, I squeezed my eyes shut. As expected, it was her.
I couldn't help but hold my breath again at her following words.
"If so, could I perhaps go together with you? I will compensate you."
"No, fuck... absolutely not!"
I kicked open the carriage door and shouted.
Then, I met eyes with her.
Her seemingly emotionless eyes were exactly the same as in my past life. Because of that, it was even more chilling.
Demonic Sword Empress, Namgung Bi-a.
The woman who, in my past life, went mad for the sword and became a Demonic Practitioner, and not satisfied with just that, personally destroyed her own clan, was right there.