After a storm had raged its course, by the time evening came and we had finished our meal,
I was pressing a hand against Moyong Hui-ah’s back inside the completely empty carriage.
It was time to send heat into Moyong Hui-ah again after quite a while.
Sssssss.
Perhaps it was because I was sending her heat again after so long.
“…Ngh.”
Moyong Hui-ah’s back was twitching faintly.
I remembered her saying before that the sensation was strange.
Only after I had sent all the energy I could did I withdraw my hand.
It was only after the treatment was completely finished that Moyong Hui-ah released the breath she had been holding.
“Haa….”
Listening to her breathing, I spoke.
“A few more times should do it.”
“…I suppose so.”
The chill within Moyong Hui-ah had grown considerably weaker compared to the beginning.
At this rate, it seemed her treatment would be complete within the next six months.
‘When that happens.’
Moyong Hui-ah would be able to begin training once more.
It had already been two years, if one counted the years.
Two years since Moyong Hui-ah had last trained as a martial artist.
Two years was a very long time for a martial artist.
Even when she trained occasionally, it seemed she only did basic physical conditioning.
If she delayed any longer, various problems would arise.
‘Though Moyong Hui-ah herself doesn’t seem to care much.’
She had never appeared particularly interested in martial arts to begin with, but the Moyong Family was undeniably a martial household. Moyong Hui-ah would have to resume her training soon.
Especially if she was to deal with the bloodshed that would come in the future.
Looking at Moyong Hui-ah’s back, I decided to ask about something else first.
“Putting that aside… what’s the story with your aunt?”
“Ah.”
When I asked about the White Lotus Sword, Moyong Hui-ah’s expression twisted slightly.
“She said she was going to be my escort?”
I had been quite shocked when she suddenly came to serve as my escort.
She said she had received permission for it.
But no matter what I heard, it was not something I could easily understand.
At my question, Moyong Hui-ah spoke to me as though she were slightly exhausted.
“I don’t really know either…. My aunt has always been a little strange… no, a little unusual. Even the family head can’t do anything about her.”
“…”
In other words, what Moyong Hui-ah meant was this:
The White Lotus Sword was someone even her own family had given up on.
That was what she was saying.
Good grief….
‘And she even received permission.’
When I asked who had given her such permission, the White Lotus Sword had mentioned Lady Mi.
I was shocked once again.
‘Why is Lady Mi suddenly coming up here?’
It was surprising enough that the White Lotus Sword had a connection to Lady Mi.
But the fact that Lady Mi had authorized her to serve as my escort made the situation strange no matter how I looked at it.
Remembering that, I let out a sigh.
‘What do you mean, escort….’
At this point, I was hardly in a situation that required an escort.
What escort would a martial artist who had reached the Hwagyeong realm need?
Perhaps it would be different if I held a position such as Alliance Leader or family head.
Normally, even martial artists who had merely reached the Peak realm did not travel around with escorts.
But someone who had reached the Hwagyeong realm having an escort—and on top of that, the White Lotus Sword?
With members of the Moyong Family plainly present, I had no idea what kind of absurdity it was for an expert of the Moyong Family to escort me.
Perhaps she noticed my troubled frown.
Moyong Hui-ah carefully spoke to me.
“I’m sorry….”
At her apology, I gave a bitter little laugh.
“Why are you apologizing? You haven’t done anything wrong.”
“Even so….”
Moyong Hui-ah’s face, unusually showing genuine remorse, looked somewhat cute…. No, pathetic.
“…It is a little bothersome. But it’s fine.”
In truth, it was not fine at all, but I figured things would work out somehow.
I did not know what she and Lady Mi had discussed for things to come to this, but perhaps I should look on the bright side of having an influential expert volunteer to act as my escort.
‘No, there’s absolutely nothing good about it.’
I was merely trying to see it in a positive light somehow.
Because—
‘This isn’t a situation where I can afford to worry about something like that.’
There were matters I needed to resolve first, so I had no time to think about the White Lotus Sword for long.
I glanced at the moon floating outside the window. Judging by its position, it was almost time.
As soon as I confirmed that, a voice reached my ears, as though it had been waiting for me.
—It is time. Come.
“…”
Hearing the heavy voice, I rose to my feet. It was a transmission from the Dark King.
Moyong Hui-ah looked at me in puzzlement at my sudden movement.
“Young Master?”
“It’s time for me to go train, so I’ll be leaving first.”
“Ah…. Can’t you stay a little longer?”
“Sorry, but I’m in a bit of a hurry.”
Leaving Moyong Hui-ah looking disappointed, I exited the carriage and moved quickly.
My destination was the same forest where I had encountered the Dark King last night.
“…Tsk.”
The moment I entered the forest, the same sensation as yesterday swept over me.
My vision darkened, and my senses became disordered in an instant. It was still an irritating sensation.
Some of it was certainly the backlash from reaching the state of selflessness, but judging by this, it was clearly the aftereffect of the Dark King’s martial arts.
It covered my eyes and darkened my senses. Was it a martial art similar to a formation?
‘When I look at it that way, the sensation is similar to Jeokcheon.’
It felt vaguely similar to the Moyong Family’s secret technique that I used.
It was strikingly similar to Jeokcheon, which used heat to dominate a certain area.
The difference was that Jeokcheon’s power aided me, while this martial art was a power that hindered its opponent.
“…Hoo.”
After arriving at my destination, I drew a deep breath.
Until I arrived, I repeatedly wondered whether I should give up.
Or perhaps whether I should just run away.
But in the end, I chose to face it.
‘I have to try, if only out of spite.’
I had to endure it, even if only because I was angry.
What meaning could there be in this kind of training, which kept me from sleeping?
Paejon would not have ordered me to do this for no reason, but I could not help being irritated.
‘Anyone else would not have lasted even a day.’
He was forcing me to experience such vivid deaths over and over again. Had it been anyone else, their mind might have collapsed before a single day had passed.
I could not quite understand why Paejon had chosen such bizarre training.
If I knew that, then why did I continue doing it without voicing any particular complaints?
‘Because there isn’t any other way.’
For the moment, I had to trust him. If I had seen even the slightest possibility—
I had to do everything I could.
Only then might I find even a little more hope.
After thinking that far, I stood still and straightened my posture.
Then I raised my sense of presence as much as I could.
I opened my eyes and spoke.
“Please take care of me.”
No reply came from the Dark King, but with those words,
the second day of the Night of Death began.
******************
Time passed.
When I opened my eyes, the night had passed and morning had already arrived.
Had that much time passed already?
Just as yesterday, I felt my sense of time growing increasingly strange.
“Haa….”
As I lay on the ground and looked up at the sky, I saw the sun slowly rising.
It seemed I had lost consciousness.
How long had I been knocked out?
“…Tsk.”
I did not know that.
But I remembered at least one thing.
Fifteen times.
That was how many times the Dark King had killed me that night.
Considering that he had killed me nine times the day before, the number had increased.
‘What was the problem?’
Was the Dark King angry with me or something?
He had seemed somewhat more vicious than the day before….
‘…And I couldn’t even graze him.’
The important thing was that during those fifteen deaths, I had not even discovered the Dark King, let alone grazed him.
Judging by that, I had to reconsider my thoughts.
‘There is no chance of victory.’
I realized that this was not something I could accomplish in a day or two.
I did not know whether the illusion-like martial art that darkened the surroundings was the problem.
But even setting that aside, the gap between the Dark King and me was far too vast.
It was even more of a problem because the Dark King had not undergone Rejuvenation, unlike Paejon.
‘How the hell am I supposed to do this? Damn old man.’
I could not help resenting Paejon. I did not even know what I was supposed to gain from this.
Even if I understood what Paejon wanted me to understand—
Would I even be able to reach the Dark King?
“Ha.”
I abruptly sat up.
Then I repeatedly opened and closed my fists, only to realize that something felt strange.
‘Refreshing.’
I had stayed up all night and experienced more than a dozen deaths, yet my body felt refreshed, as though I had slept deeply.
Had dying so many times driven me mad?
Perhaps that was why my body felt refreshed instead.
“…That can’t be it.”
I came up with the thought myself, then immediately denied it.
Because I knew.
My mind would not break over something like this.
No matter what happened, my mind would not collapse.
It had surely become that way from the moment I visited the Demon Realm in my previous life.
I looked around.
The Dark King, who must have been somewhere nearby, was nowhere to be seen.
Just as yesterday, he must have disappeared as soon as morning arrived.
Looking at that, the first thought that came to mind was—
“Should I eat first?”
For now, I decided to fill my stomach.
******************
It was now the third day since we had begun heading to Sichuan.
They said we would not depart from the valley where we were staying until the afternoon.
The waiting period felt quite long. Apparently, there was some sort of problem related to the transport.
Perhaps I should think of it as them being that thorough.
Even those accompanying the transport party were not allowed to approach anyone except the Tang Clan’s members.
They could guard the area around it, but they could not get too close.
‘They did seem quite on edge.’
Rather than the atmosphere of ordinary transportation, the Tang Clan’s members were brimming with a sharp, dangerous air.
Were they focusing more because it was a request from the Alliance?
Of course, I did not bother asking about it. There was no need to, and since it was the Tang Clan’s domain, it would be strange for an outsider like me to intrude.
I continued walking, glancing at the Tang Clan’s martial artists.
‘Where are the others?’
I was looking for the rest of our group.
I could eat alone if necessary, but if possible, I preferred eating together.
Perhaps it was because so many things had happened lately that even seeing their faces during mealtimes felt worthwhile.
‘Is that really such a trivial reason?’
I could not quite understand myself for looking for them over something so minor.
But no other reason came to mind.
I simply did not want to admit it.
‘I don’t want to admit the simple reason that I’m looking for them because I miss them.’
‘Tsk.’
I clicked my tongue inwardly and continued looking around.
Usually, by this point, Wi Seol-ah would pop out from somewhere and greet me as though she had been waiting.
But neither Wi Seol-ah nor Dang Sohyeol was anywhere to be seen.
‘What’s going on?’
Namgung Bia could have been sleeping in my carriage or gone for a walk somewhere.
But the two women who would usually drift toward me even when I was doing nothing were nowhere to be seen, and my brows furrowed slightly.
I wondered whether something had happened.
That was not all.
‘Somehow….’
The number of people staying in the camp seemed relatively low.
Not only were the Pae Family’s members absent, but even the Bi Family’s people, whom I saw from time to time, were nowhere to be found.
It felt as though they had gathered somewhere.
At this point, I decided I should spread out my sense of presence.
‘Ah… what a bother.’
Having just endured such a brutal experience, I wanted to let my internal energy rest for a little while if possible.
But with a hint of irritation, I spread my sense of presence as widely as I could.
Immediately, I sensed the presence of many people a short distance away.
But something about it was strange.
“…What is this?”
It was not merely their presence.
A fierce battle intent was also being caught by my senses.
The moment I felt it, I leaped forward.
Had a fight broken out?
That alone would have been one thing.
But I could faintly sense lightning energy mixed into the air. It was unmistakably Namgung Bia’s energy.
Crack-.
A sound came from my body.
Following my instincts, my body was changing into a combat stance of its own accord.
As the distance rapidly narrowed, I gradually saw a group of people gathered in the distance.
I launched myself toward them.
Boom-!
I landed as though driving myself straight into the ground, without bothering to use a breakfall.
Thud-thud-thud-! Dust scattered in every direction and smoke obscured my vision, so I swept it away with a gust of wind.
When I looked toward the direction where the battle intent was boiling and surveyed the situation—
“…What the hell?”
At the center of the people surrounding the area as spectators—
Clang-!
Along with the sound of blades colliding,
several flashes of light arrived at once.
Within them, different types of internal energy scraped against one another as though fighting over territory.
There was Namgung Bia’s lightning energy.
There was also Wi Seol-ah’s sword energy.
And I could even sense Dang Sohyeol’s poison energy subtly forcing its way between them.
At first, I wondered what on earth the three of them were doing.
Were they sparring?
They could certainly spar if they wanted, but what puzzled me was—
Those three energies were not targeting one another. They were moving while aiming at something else.
Then—
Wi Seol-ah’s sword shot forward, aimed at someone.
The golden energy gathered at the sword’s tip was exceptionally vivid.
Had Wi Seol-ah grown stronger even during this time?
The sword energy that shot forward in a graceful curve seemed highly refined.
However—
Grk-! Clang-!
“…!”
An attack from someone’s sword shook her assault, and Wi Seol-ah was sent flying.
Just as Wi Seol-ah was about to roll across the ground, unable to withstand the recoil, Namgung Bia appeared and helped her land safely.
“What is that…?”
I could only stare in disbelief.
It was surprising enough that Wi Seol-ah, Namgung Bia, and Dang Sohyeol were combining their attacks.
But I had just identified the person calmly moving about while receiving their combined assault.
The woman met Namgung Bia’s peculiar gaze and smiled brightly.
“You three are better than I expected. Big Sis might even be a little happy.”
The identity of the person withstanding their combined attack was none other than—
The White Lotus Sword, Moyong Bi-yeon.