‘If I die anyway, everything becomes meaningless. Rather, this body…’
She, who had carefully considered and voiced her proposal, secretly glanced at Tianhui.
Right now, this was the greatest proposal Danmu Lin could put forward.
‘Unlike the Daoist sects of the other Jiupai Yifang, the Huashan Pai said marriage is possible as long as one doesn’t try to become the Sect Leader…’
Her face flushed slightly.
‘But will he accept me?’
It was the gamble of a lifetime.
His cultivation might be so deep that he had no interest in the opposite sex, and contrary to her expectations, if he desired the position of Sect Leader, it could all be for nothing.
She waited nervously for Tianhui’s answer, and finally, his mouth opened.
“Everything… That’s fine.”
However, contrary to her tension, Tianhui answered casually.
He didn’t have high expectations anyway.
Even if she gave everything, what grand thing could she give?
He only needed to obtain one thing.
The name of the Danmu Clan was a necessary force in case something happened to the Huashan Pai when he wasn’t there.
‘Well, if a daughter asks for help, the clan will come. And I can see their family’s martial arts too.’
Unlike Danmu Lin’s complicated thoughts, what Tianhui wanted was something very simple that she had excluded.
Meanwhile, Danmu Lin, who actually heard a positive answer from Tianhui, had a complicated expression.
‘I was struggling just to survive until tomorrow, and now I might be making a marriage pact…’
At the situation flowing too fast in just a single day, she let out a faint smile.
Then Tianhui spoke.
“Lie down on the floor.”
“Pardon?”
“Didn’t you say you wanted help?”
“Ah, I understand.”
Danmu Lin answered hastily and took off her hat first.
Her hair, mixed with black and white, spilled down from the veil, revealing the young face of a girl who looked to be about fourteen years old.
Her intelligent eyes and high nose bridge were enough for anyone to guess that she would become a beauty once she grew up.
‘Her growth probably stopped.’
However, Tianhui’s impression was calm.
Having seen countless women who tried to seduce him in the Tianma Shenjiao, Danmu Lin’s appearance wasn’t that captivating to him.
A young girl. That was all.
Danmu Lin put her hat down beside her and looked up at Tianhui.
‘To be so indifferent.’
She was surprised by the look in Tianhui’s eyes.
Ever since before, men who had seen her even once always harbored deep goodwill or looked at her with pity.
But what about Tianhui in front of her right now?
Let alone goodwill, there wasn’t even a trace of sympathy.
He had no interest at all, as if looking at a pebble lying at his feet.
Rather, a sense of relief washed over her.
‘If it’s this person.’
Just as her goodwill was deepening.
“Then I will begin.”
Tianhui sat down next to her and slowly raised both hands to his lower dantian.
Huuung—
As he stimulated the Meihua Shengong, a powerful qi flowed out, enveloping him and her.
Tianhui, who had spread his qi sense, stared intently at the lying Danmu Lin.
Perhaps immersed in the internal qi of the Meihua Shengong, she lay still with her eyes closed.
‘She has fallen into the flow.’
The flow of blood vessels felt beneath her skin.
Her body was in a heterogeneous and chaotic state.
Blood vessels thinner than normal people, frozen muscles and bones, and a lower dantian as empty as a hollow cave.
It was visibly abnormal.
No, it was like a corpse that had frozen to death.
The Yin qi that had infiltrated her body seemed to have already spread to her bone marrow.
‘It wouldn’t be strange if she died at any moment.’
Looking over it carefully, he realized for certain.
That she would die soon if left like this.
Having confirmed the seriousness of the situation, Tianhui scanned Danmu Lin in detail.
‘It will take at least a few days to treat this?’
A significant amount of internal qi in her lower dantian was frozen by the cold Yin qi, stabbing the inside of her body like sharp thorns.
‘At this level, the pain must have been quite severe normally.’
As if to prove those words, a spasm began around the eyes of the lying girl.
It was to the point where even breathing wasn’t natural.
Seeing her chest heaving greatly, Tianhui urgently flowed his internal qi inside her.
As the internal qi of the Meihua Shengong, which had seeped into her blood vessels and muscles, flowed smoothly…
Thump!
Danmu Lin’s body bounced up greatly.
The Yin qi that had been devouring her body like a dead mouse convulsed as if wary of the internal qi.
‘Is it a rejection?’
Sensing the Yin qi trying to fight against the internal qi, Tianhui extended his index finger toward that spot.
Kwaaang!
As the tip of his index finger touched her abdomen, the fiercely resisting Yin qi shattered as if its might had been an illusion, and quickly disappeared.
‘If a single blood vessel has this much…’
Tianhui’s eyes deepened.
It was too deep and intense to be the energy contained in a single blood vessel.
Right after, just as he was about to resolve the Yin qi in other places, the Yin qi that seemed to have completely disappeared suddenly started to run wild.
Hwaak!
There wasn’t even time to say anything.
The Yin qi that had infiltrated her body ran rampant as if an avalanche had occurred.
Krrrrk—
The rampaging Yin qi tore her clothes to shreds, spread in all directions, and revealed its violence to Tianhui.
As if possessing an ego, the Yin qi, which froze its surroundings as it approached, transformed into a spear and shot toward Tianhui’s nape.
Tianhui’s eyes turned cold.
‘Aiming for me?’
He found it unpleasant that mere Yin qi dared to aim for him.
He immediately loaded his internal force into his index finger.
Then, he slowly thrust it toward the violently incoming spear of Yin qi.
Clang!
Then it suddenly shattered like glass, and the remaining Yin qi scattered in all directions.
‘Where are you going?’
Tianhui immediately pulled the Yin qi.
‘It’s mine now.’
The corner of Tianhui’s mouth lifted.
The Yin qi possessed by the Taiyin Jizhi Ti was so pure and powerful that it couldn’t be compared to any spiritual medicine.
If he absorbed all of this.
His mouth watered.
‘Hehe, good.’
He immediately operated the Meihua Shengong and pulled all the surrounding Yin qi toward him.
A moment later, Tianhui ended his qi circulation with a satisfied smile.
‘It accumulated a lot.’
While contentedly observing the internal qi accumulated in his lower dantian…
“Ah! Was the treatment successful?”
Belatedly recalling what he had been doing, he turned his gaze.
Danmu Lin was lying down just the same.
But she was quite different from before.
The clothes she had been wearing were torn to shreds and scattered, revealing her naked body.
However, Tianhui’s eyes looking at her pale naked body were indifferent.
He had already seen enough of women’s naked bodies, and his cultivation wasn’t so low that he would be bewitched by mere female charm.
“Hmm.”
He calmly scanned her up and down and nodded.
“It went well.”
Her face, which had suffered slight spasms, was incredibly peaceful, and her irregular breathing had naturally stabilized at some point.
As if she was fast asleep.
At that moment, her eyelids moved.
“Ugh…”
Groaning, she sat up.
Awakening, she had a flustered expression as she touched her whole body and muttered.
“Ah, it doesn’t hurt.”
He approached her and spoke.
“You’re awake.”
“Shaoxia?”
As she got up, the outer coat covering her clothes fell off, and she stiffened.
“Eek!”
Letting out a short scream, she hastily turned her body and hurriedly pulled the front of the coat together, lest he might see.
Tianhui looked at her pathetically.
‘Making such a fuss over just that.’
He couldn’t understand it.
It was because his sense of ethics was a bit different from others.
He looked at her, who had turned beet-red with shame, and spoke indifferently.
“Then I’ll be going first.”
* * *
Twenty days later, the carriage passed through Hubei Province and arrived in Wuhan.
“Haha. Thank you for coming all the way to Wuhan.”
“Not at all.”
Danmu Jingang said while waving his hands.
Through their journey together, the two had become noticeably closer, and now conversed affectionately.
“You saved Lin’s life, so how could we go somewhere else midway?”
Danmu Jingang glanced forward.
A smile hung on his lips as he saw Danmu Lin sitting side by side with Tianhui.
Originally, he and Danmu Lin sat side by side, but from the next day, it was different.
‘Haha, I didn’t expect she’d want to sit together.’
At Danmu Lin’s secret request, he sat with Xiandao, and Danmu Lin subtly sat next to Tianhui.
When Danmu Lin first sat next to Tianhui, she was nervous, but after twenty days passed, it became as natural as it was now.
He was delighted to see Danmu Lin and Tianhui, whose distance had narrowed significantly.
‘Umm. They suit each other well.’
Where did his initial evaluation of Tianhui go? He marked Tianhui as Danmu Lin’s partner and nodded his head.
‘Even if he’s a Daoist of the Huashan Pai, as long as he doesn’t become the Sect Leader or inherit the Dao Mai, he should be able to marry.’
Thinking of the relatively free marriage rules of the Huashan Pai, unlike the other Jiupai Yifang, he smiled satisfactorily.
Judging by the fact that Tianhui drank alcohol and ate meat on the day they first met, he was someone tainted by the secular world.
It didn’t seem like such a person would become the Sect Leader or inherit the strict precepts of the Dao Mai.
“It’s a quick sword wielded like this.”
Danmu Lin extended her index and middle fingers in front of her eyes, creating a peculiar flow.
A hand gesture dropping from above.
However, the martial principles contained in that simple gesture were quite deep and profound.
“It’s a sword technique that cuts off the muscle meridians and flesh and bones.”
As Tianhui immediately grasped the martial principles contained within, Danmu Lin smiled softly.
“That’s right. The Yasha Shouhun Jian is a sword technique that drives the opponent into a corner by cutting off their muscle meridians and flesh and bones, rendering them unable to move…”
Tianhui looked at Danmu Lin, who was explaining with great enthusiasm.
‘Her personality has changed a lot.’
And it wasn’t just her personality.
Her death-like expression had also changed.
“It’s a sword technique made famous by an assassin who once ran amok in the murim.”
“The oral incantation?”
“The incantation is…”
Danmu Lin recited the incantation.
‘Hmm. A killing sword? Maybe because it’s a clan, it’s different from Daoist martial arts.’
As Tianhui fell into thought like that…
Swoosh—
Danmu Lin secretly moved her eyes and glanced at Tianhui’s side profile.
A sharp nose bridge and sparkling eyes.
Usually indifferent, he was showing such interest in martial arts.
Happy with his reaction, she showed and explained the martial arts she knew.
‘Since he will be my husband, I should build goodwill for the marriage pact…’
Just as she, thinking of the future, was about to blush with shame…
Neigh!
The carriage rattled and stopped.
Then, the coachman pulled back the curtain dividing the coachman’s seat and the inside of the carriage and said,
“We have arrived.”
“Already?”
Danmu Lin said sullenly.
She, who had been excitedly talking just a moment ago, glanced at Danmu Jingang.
“You can’t.”
Danmu Jingang said firmly.
The place they had arrived at now was nothing short of enemy territory—the front yard of the Wulin Meng.
If it became known here that they were the Danmu Clan, they could be put in danger.
Danmu Lin said with a bitter expression.
“…It’s a shame.”
Tianhui made eye contact with Danmu Lin, who was speaking while looking at him, and nodded.
“It is a shame.”
“Right?”
Instantly, Danmu Lin’s expression brightened.
Thinking that Tianhui also felt the same way she did about parting, her heart fluttered and she felt good for some reason.
However, Tianhui’s regret was quite different from hers.
‘Tsk. It’s a shame since she seemed to know a lot of other martial arts too. And I couldn’t take all the Yin qi remaining in her body either. Well, it can’t be helped.’
As Danmu Jingang looked delightedly at the two, Xiandao performed a bow and recited a Daoist title.
“Amitabha. Where there is a meeting, there is also a parting. It is enough to promise the next meeting.”
“Hahaha, you are right.”
Danmu Jingang also slowly clasped his hands and paid his respects politely.
“I look forward to our reunion in the future.”
Danmu Lin also bowed her head afterwards.
“I will wait too. And at that time…”
She stared intently at Tianhui.
“I will definitely repay your kindness.”
“You’d better.”
Tianhui spoke as if saying “obviously,” and Danmu Jingang clasped his hands together.
“If anything happens, find me through the Xiawu Men.”
“Xiawu Men? Where is that?”
“Haha. Xiawu Men is…”
Just as Danmu Jingang was about to answer.
“There is no time.”
The coachman urged.
“You will find out later.”
Danmu Jingang said hastily, and Xiandao and Tianhui hurriedly got off the carriage.
Neigh—
The carriage immediately departed again.
Danmu Jingang felt the inside of the carriage, from which the two had left, felt awkward and empty.
After staring blankly for a moment, he shook his head vigorously and came to his senses.
“The Huashan Shenjian and Tianhui… They are truly the Jiupai Yifang—no, the Huashan Pai, for a reason.”
Danmu Jingang harbored goodwill toward the two, but on the other hand, worry came first.
An absolute master and a divine prodigy who appeared in the Huashan Pai.
The appearance of not just one, but two figures succeeding the lineage was an issue that would cause a storm in the current murim.
“We must continue our ties with the Huashan Pai.”
“Yes. We will.”
As Danmu Lin answered immediately, Danmu Jingang chuckled.
“Did the Shaoxia catch your fancy?”
Danmu Lin nodded slightly while her cheeks flushed red.
Was it because he saved her life, or because his attitude toward her was different from others?
She expressed her goodwill toward Tianhui.
Danmu Jingang opened his mouth as he saw her unable to take her eyes off the window.
“Parting is regrettable, but let’s postpone your reunion with them to a later date. For now, we must meet the Shenyi.”
Danmu Jingang, recalling the original purpose of their journey, spoke to Danmu Lin.
Before Tianhui left, he had said that although her condition improved, she still needed treatment.
‘He said that receiving treatment from a nearby physician and recovering her vitality would be enough, but…’
Danmu Jingang did not do so.
He judged that meeting the Shenyi would be better anyway.
“…I understand.”
Danmu Lin, who let Danmu Jingang’s words go in one ear and out the other, gave a half-hearted answer and stared sharply with her eyes at Tianhui’s back, which was gradually fading away outside the window.
Originally, she was cheerful and bright.
But the events of the past two years had left her exhausted and disillusioned with the world.
‘Just a few days ago, my world was a darkness with no light in sight.’
She hadn’t told Danmu Jingang, but her condition was at its worst.
Her internal qi was already out of her control, to the point where it was difficult to even walk properly.
She was barely holding on with her mental strength, but that too had reached its limit.
It wasn’t once or twice that she considered ending her own life.
But light found its way into the darkness.
A light of destiny named Tianhui.
Recalling Tianhui with a dangerously persistent gaze, she slowly parted her blood-red lips.
“…I will definitely come find you.”
At that moment, Tianhui, who was heading toward the Wulin Meng, stopped in his tracks.
‘What was that?’
He suddenly felt a chill run down his back, but it vanished in an instant.
Tilting his head, he frowned.
‘Is someone watching me?’