“P-Please, spare my life!”
“What is this supposed to be…?”
Letting out a hollow laugh, I slowly examined the woman prostrated at my feet.
Long brown hair trailed down her back to her waist. Whether she simply didn’t manage it or didn’t care to, it was hopelessly messy.
At least, perhaps because she had undergone Transformation/Rebirth, it wasn’t greasy—dry and clean, if nothing else.
And her clothes? They seemed to be made of fine fabric, yet whether from neglect or age, they looked shabby. It was hard to believe this was the appearance of a Flowering Stage martial artist who, if she wished, could purchase garments worth the price of an entire house.
Naturally, I had to doubt it. Was this woman groveling so pathetically truly the Illusory Illusion Witch?
“Raise your head first.”
“Y-Yes…?”
She cautiously lifted her head. She seemed too frightened to properly meet my eyes, but her face was one I recognized well.
It was her. The Illusory Illusion Witch—someone I had only ever seen from afar before my regression.
Just in case, I checked again with the Heavenly Insight Eye and gauged the aura flowing from her. Nothing changed.
“H-Hik! Your eyes…?”
Ah. When our gazes met through the Heavenly Insight Eye, she shrank back even further. Perhaps she sensed that something was different.
In any case, no matter how I looked at her, she was undoubtedly the Illusory Illusion Witch. I let out a long sigh.
“This is absurd. I haven’t even drawn my sword yet.”
“P-People can talk with words instead of swords…”
“That’s for me to decide, not you.”
“...”
“…I was joking. I have many things I want to ask, but let’s start with this.”
“What is it?”
“When welcoming guests, don’t you at least offer them tea?”
“Ah! Right now! I’ll prepare it at once!”
She sprang to her feet and gestured for us to sit before hurrying to the back, where clattering sounds soon followed.
In the meantime, I looked around the hut.
It was cramped to begin with, but now cluttered with all sorts of junk, leaving barely any room to step. Dust had piled up, and there was a faint musty smell, as if it hadn’t been cleaned in quite some time.
However, there was one peculiar thing.
Despite the shabby interior, a desk set apart in one corner and the books stacked upon it were meticulously organized.
It gave the impression that she spent all day poring over those books and did nothing else.
There was much I wanted to say about the scene, but I held back.
After all, if she was going to approach this as a host, then I had little choice but to act as a guest.
As I shook my head slightly, Tang Sowol, seated beside me, whispered,
“Your expression is strange, Brother Cheon. Are you disappointed there won’t be a fight?”
“What do you take me for? It’s not that.”
“Then what are you thinking about?”
“Nothing much. I’m simply curious what her purpose is—why someone of her caliber is holed up in a place like this.”
The Illusory Illusion Witch was the most skilled individual in the Central Plains when it came to evil methods and formations.
Even if the current martial world rejected such arts, that didn’t diminish the value of the foremost master in that field.
She might not be the strongest absolute master, but she more than qualified as the most specialized among them.
There would be no shortage of people who needed her.
“I doubt she secluded herself simply because she dislikes crowded places.”
“Really? Since she… well… surrendered to you, perhaps she’s just soft-hearted?”
“I can’t deny that possibility, but she’s not as meek as you’re imagining.”
Even a Flowering Stage martial artist couldn’t change their innate disposition. They merely gained better restraint and hid it well.
In that sense, the Illusory Illusion Witch was certainly timid… but not to the point of being pitiful.
“Well, we can just ask her directly.”
There was no need to speculate when the person herself was right here.
“H-Here is the tea.”
“Thank you.”
She carefully handed out cups to each of us, reading our expressions the whole time.
Twin-Ghost Killing Sword, who had been trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible, seemed flustered as he accepted his cup with both hands.
Well. She was only this submissive because of me.
Tang Sowol was my fiancée, so that was one thing—but for Twin-Ghost Killing Sword, this must have been quite a burden.
If she were an average unorthodox martial artist…
After being seen in such a humiliating state, she would likely seek him out later to silence him.
Though that was only if she were average.
The reason she had been included in this martial tour list despite living in semi-seclusion and not opposing the Black Lotus Sect was simple.
She had placed her name on the roster and then done absolutely nothing.
Unless Twin-Ghost Killing Sword made a grave mistake, she likely wouldn’t target him.
Of course, that didn’t mean she was someone to be underestimated.
No matter what, she was classified among the Unorthodox.
She rarely acted, but when she did, her methods were quite cruel.
I had thought the surest way to move her would be to hold her survival hostage…
But after seeing certain traces left in this hut, I began to reconsider.
Perhaps she was hiding here for another reason altogether.
After taking a sip of tea and organizing my thoughts, I spoke.
“I’ll ask this first. Why did you immediately prostrate yourself when I haven’t done anything yet?”
“Well… if you do anything, White Moon Sword Lord, my life will hang in the balance.”
“I don’t kill people that easily.”
“Really? But I heard that the Golden Ghost Wolf King and all his vagabonds were wiped out, and even their house was burned down to erase every trace…”
“One-Saber Asura and the Brahma Heavenly Lust Demon are still alive.”
“That’s because they pledged themselves to you, aren’t they?”
“Tsk. Similar enough. Still, you have more than martial arts—you have evil methods. You could have tried fighting and surrendered afterward.”
“They’re not evil methods…”
“Hm??”
“A-Ah, it’s nothing! As you said, if I used them, I could certainly escape for a while.”
“Could, but?”
“Well… I’ve been living here, puffing out my chest a little in this hamlet village. If I run at the first sign of trouble, it ruins my image.”
“And if I fail to escape and get caught, I’d have to grovel in front of the villagers. I have some social standing to maintain.”
Fair enough.
If defeat was inevitable, surrender before being beaten. And if possible, summon them to your own home to preserve face.
“This is easier than I expected. Then do you know why I’ve been conducting this martial tour?”
“A path of tyranny, wasn’t it— Ah, n-nothing! Yes. A martial tour. Of course.”
She tilted her head, then hastily nodded. After a brief hesitation, she continued.
“First of all, you’re not turning to the Unorthodox to swallow the Black Lotus Sect as rumors suggest. There’s no need for that, and even if becoming the next Sect Lord were your goal, there are more efficient methods.”
“You’ve got that right. I have no interest in the Black Lotus Sect.”
“But that doesn’t mean you have no interest in power. Judging from your actions so far and your close ties with the Murim Alliance…”
Gone was her earlier timidity. She now looked at me with serious eyes.
“You intend to act as a bridge, uniting the Murim Alliance and the Black Lotus Sect into one.”
“Oh.”
That caught me slightly off guard. No one had discerned the existence of the Orthodox and Unorthodox Alliance unless I told them first.
“After uniting the martial world, you’ll claim that you’re the only one capable of encompassing both Orthodox and Unorthodox factions, becoming the next Alliance Leader and Sect Lord simultaneously.
“...?”
This was not where I expected this to go.
“And after unifying the martial world, you’ll wage war against the Imperial Court and seize the jade throne of the next generation yourself—!”
“You lunatic.”
Smack!
One light punch, and she fell silent.
“Watch your mouth. Treason is not something to joke about.”
“I thought it was a possibility…”
“A possibility existing doesn’t mean it must be pursued. More importantly, I have another purpose.”
“What? If not treason, what other intention could there be in manipulating the Tang Clan—soon to be the greatest family—from behind the scenes, seizing the Orthodox through influence and ruling the Unorthodox through strength to unify the martial world?”
When she put it like that, it sounded disturbingly plausible.
“That’s not it. It’s because of the Demonic Cult.”
I briefly explained the current situation of the Demonic Cult. She shook her head in disbelief.
“That’s impossible.”
“Impossible or not, I saw it with my own eyes.”
“But…”
“Here. This is the King of Assassins’ ear—the only part that remained unaffected by the Expulsion Art despite being clearly different in form.”
Given her expertise in such arts, I assumed she would recognize some trace.
Her reaction was more intense than expected.
“H-Hik! Put that disgusting thing away!”
My apologies. Suddenly pulling out an ear would indeed be grotesque.
“N-No, that’s not what I meant…”
Wriggling backward slightly, she glared at the ear in my hand.
“I meant you shouldn’t expose yourself too much to dangerous arts like the Soul-Transference Grand Art.”
“…”
Soul-Transference Grand Art. The technique mentioned in the letter found on the second King of Assassins—presumably the method used to revive him.
I hadn’t expected her to recognize it at a glance.
“Do you know something about it?”
“Of course. I once researched it myself… But it’s better not to get involved.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s an art that can never be completed.”
“Insufficient research? Or did you hit a dead end?”
“No. I mean it literally.”
She swallowed and continued in a low voice.
“The Soul-Transference Grand Art goes beyond evil methods—it touches the realm of Daoist arts. And the current world does not permit Daoist arts.”
“Explain.”
“Do you know that in ancient times, far more spiritual creatures roamed the Central Plains?”
“I do. I’ve heard that creatures rivaling Flowering Stage masters were occasionally seen, and one task of martial artists was to subdue rampaging spirits.”
“You know quite a lot for such an old tale…”
I had heard it from someone truly ancient—Seo Mun-Hwarin.
“Then do you know where those spiritual creatures went?”
“I don’t know where, but I know why they became rare. Natural qi has been thinning.”
That was why the Ice Palace had desperately sought a successor.
The immense qi consumed by the Azure Cold Serpent and its offspring was part of it… but fundamentally, the frigid natural qi of the North Sea had been rapidly diminishing.
Their conflict had begun as a struggle for survival over dwindling energy and homeland.
She blinked at me, surprised.
“You know more than I expected. But there’s something to add.”
“What?”
“Natural qi isn’t decreasing simply because there are more martial artists, or because humans are cultivating lands rich in nature. That’s part of it, but there’s a greater reason.”
She lowered her voice as if sharing a secret.
“It’s because the heavens no longer watch over us.”
“Ah.”
—The heavens no longer look upon us, yet their gifts and their shackles remain.
Suddenly, I recalled the words the Heavenly Demon had once left me with.
