Chapter 116 - Why Are You Whispering?

The woman diligently swinging an iron hammer was Yi An. She was working at a small smithy that made farming tools such as hoes and sickles.

Good with her hands, she had quickly learned the trade and was turning out hoes of quite respectable quality.

This was a safe house belonging to the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon. Its safe houses came in several varieties. Some were hidden where no one ever ventured, while others, like this one, were disguised as ordinary establishments in busy places.

Just then, someone entered.

“Have something to eat before you keep working.”

Yi An turned to find the mistress of Thousand Flowers Pavilion carrying a meal.

“Thank you.”

Yi An did most of the smithy work, while the mistress handled their meals. Because Blue Face wore a mask, he stayed out of sight and moved about discreetly.

Noticing the mistress’s attire, Yi An asked, “Are you going somewhere?”

Usually, she dressed like an ordinary village woman, even wearing a kerchief over her hair. Today, however, she had put on makeup and dressed in pretty clothes.

“No. I just dressed up for a change.”

While staying in a safe house, going outside was strictly forbidden.

Yi An could tell that something made today special for her.

“Is it your birthday, by any chance?”

“No. I just had a lovely dream. Now, eat before it gets cold.”

“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

Yi An picked up her chopsticks and began eating.

“Please join me.”

“I had a few bites while cooking, so I’m full. Eat as much as you like.”

“You really seem to have a gift for cooking. This is much better than anything I could buy.”

“Actually, when I first entered this line of work, I worked in the kitchen.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Those were very hard days.”

Yi An could sense that the hardship she had endured working her way up from the bottom had made her successful.

Though the food was delicious, Yi An could not eat much. Worry over Geom Mugeuk had robbed her of her appetite ever since she arrived.

“Did you happen to hear what I told the Second Young Master?”

“Yes. I heard you said I would accomplish great things one day. Why did you say that?”

“I’m a good judge of people.”

“Thank you for thinking so highly of me. But that’s far more praise than I deserve.”

The mistress gazed at Yi An with calm eyes.

“You are someone of great worth, Warrior Yi. So always value yourself.”

Yi An was grateful to her for saying so.

While hiding in the safe house, she had worried terribly about Geom Mugeuk, though she never let it show. Sometimes she worried so much that she could not sleep at night. Whenever that happened, the mistress reassured her that nothing would go wrong.

Her comfort was strangely heartening. Perhaps it was because of the mysterious air about the mistress of Thousand Flowers Pavilion, something difficult to put into words.

Just then, Blue Face, who rarely showed himself, entered.

Surprised, Yi An asked, “What’s happened?”

“Word is that Unorthodox Alliance headquarters has gone on emergency alert.”

“You don’t know the details?”

“No. All we’ve heard is that they’re on alert.”

Yi An struggled to calm her anxiety.

“The Young Master will be all right. The Laughing Demon is protecting him.”

At that moment, a welcome voice came from behind her.

“Why don’t you consider the reverse? I could be the one protecting the Laughing Demon.”

She turned to see Geom Mugeuk and the Wicked Laughing Demon walking in side by side. Both had blood spattered on their clothes, but Geom Mugeuk’s were positively soaked. Alarmed, Yi An rushed over and immediately checked his body.

“Are you all right? Are you hurt?”

Geom Mugeuk sank to the floor, and she examined him. He had sword wounds in several places, but none were fatal.

“I’m badly hurt. I nearly lost all my arms and legs!”

“... They don’t look that bad to me.”

“No, look closely. Check whether all my fingers and toes are still attached.”

Yi An turned and bowed respectfully to the Wicked Laughing Demon.

“Thank you for saving our young master.”

“No! It was the other way around!”

Geom Mugeuk joked noisily while the Wicked Laughing Demon remained composed. That only made it look as though the demon had saved him.

The Wicked Laughing Demon was watching Geom Mugeuk in silence. The mistress could sense a change in him. Just as the mask he wore had changed, so had the look in his eyes as he watched Geom Mugeuk.

She linked her arm through his.

“Dear brother, you aren’t hurt anywhere, are you?”

“No.”

“Then can we return to Thousand Flowers Pavilion now?”

The Wicked Laughing Demon nodded, delighting her.

Just as the mistress had noticed the change in him, Yi An had sensed something too. Perhaps the mistress of Thousand Flowers Pavilion had known that the two men would return today.

“Shall we all leave right away?”

“Let’s go on ahead.”

At the Wicked Laughing Demon’s gesture, the mistress looked back. Geom Mugeuk had fallen asleep leaning against Yi An’s back.

Yi An gestured for them to go ahead; she would stay like this a little longer.

The mistress whispered to the Wicked Laughing Demon.

“It’s been a while. Have a drink with some food I’ve made.”

“Sounds good.”

The Wicked Laughing Demon, the mistress, and Blue Face left first.

Yi An sat perfectly still so she would not wake Geom Mugeuk. At last, the tension that had gripped her for so long left her face.

‘Welcome back, Young Master.’

* * *

I dreamed.

In the dream, I was fighting Baek Manggi. It was not a new fight, but a reenactment of our earlier battle.

His sword moves, too fast to see during the fight itself, unfolded in slow motion. My own moves were slow as well.

I felt as though I had become an impartial third party watching the battle, like a spectator standing off to the side.

The moves I thought I had forgotten because they flashed past in an instant came back to me with perfect clarity. Like a Go player reviewing a game, I reviewed the fight. My unconscious mind remembered my battle with Baek Manggi precisely.

I could even control its speed. The moment I wished it would pause, my dream self and Baek Manggi stopped moving.

That let me study the swords’ positions and angles in detail. The fight moved according to my will. I could watch it unfold slowly or stop it altogether.

In this way, I could compare the Sword Emperor’s martial arts with my own. The process gave me insights as profound as the experience of actually fighting him.

In truth, I had experienced something new during the battle too: that final moment when I could see only Baek Manggi and the world went dark.

I understood. These mysterious experiences were changes brought about by my reaching twelfth-level complete mastery of the Heaven-Soaring Sword Art, my internal energy surpassing a certain limit, and the Sovereign of Myriad Evils’ teachings being added to both.

Finally, the moment my sword pierced his heart, I awoke.

My body and mind felt refreshed.

One might think fighting even in my dreams would leave me more tired, but it had not. The dream had come just before I awoke, and apparently I had slept my fill.

“Young Master, you’re awake? You must be hungry.”

“How long did I sleep?”

“Nearly ten watches.”

That meant I had slept for almost an entire day. It had been ages since I slept so soundly. Come to think of it, this was the first time since returning to the past.

My body felt good too. Thanks to the Ghost-Guard Robe and the supreme-grade heavenly silkworm silk, my wounds were not very deep.

‘Thank you, honored elder.’

Had the Blood Heaven Saber Demon not given me the Ghost-Guard Robe, I would certainly have been hurt worse. I unwound the supreme-grade heavenly silkworm silk and wrapped it around the Black Demon Sword’s hilt again.

“It doesn’t feel like I slept that long.”

“You must have been very tired.”

“What about the Wicked Laughing Demon? Did he go to Thousand Flowers Pavilion?”

“Yes. The two of them left ahead of us.”

Finding myself suddenly wanting to see him, I thought there must be truth to the saying that people grow closer through fighting together.

“Oh, we received some news while you were asleep. Bi Sain killed Seok Gwanchu’s grandson.”

I nodded silently. This was the moment that changed not only Bi Sain’s fate but the Unorthodox Alliance’s as well. Originally, Seok Gwanchu’s grandson had become its successor. There was no knowing how this change would affect our future.

“That’s a good thing, right?”

“Probably?”

I flopped back down.

Yi An tugged at the blanket.

“No. Eat before you go back to sleep.”

“Just a little longer.”

“I’ll get your meal ready, so come out as soon as I call.”

I called after her as she left the room.

“Yi An.”

“Yes?”

“It’s good to see you again.”

She broke into a radiant smile.

“You too.”

* * *

Chief Strategist Sima Myeong had come down to the operations command room.

This room in Heaven-Reaching Pavilion was said to be even more secure than Heavenly Demon Hall.

Hundreds of carrier-pigeon messages arrived each day to be analyzed here.

“Still nothing?”

“No, sir.”

The last message to arrive had left Sima Myeong on edge.

He had not been this tense when news came that Seok Gwanchu was behind it all. He trusted Geom Mugeuk and the Wicked Laughing Demon to find their own way through.

But when Baek Manggi’s name arrived, Heaven-Reaching Pavilion went on emergency alert. If Baek Manggi truly had taken action, even Geom Mugeuk’s and the Wicked Laughing Demon’s survival could not be assured.

Yet the cult leader had issued no orders. Given their opponent, immediately dispatching nearby masters to support them would have been impractical. But he could still have sent an urgent message ordering Geom Mugeuk and the Wicked Laughing Demon to abandon everything and return. Geom Ujin had not done so.

Sima Myeong thought the decision was characteristic of the cult leader, yet also knew it was one he could never have made himself.

‘Does he trust them that much?’

The chief strategist rarely came down here to wait personally for a message, so the strategists working in the room were also tense.

Those who managed this place were authorized to handle Heaven-Reaching Pavilion’s most closely guarded secrets. They were also the people Sima Myeong trusted most.

Then the awaited message arrived. After checking its contents, a strategist reported in a delighted voice.

“Seok Gwanchu and Baek Manggi are both dead.”

Sima Myeong was relieved, but inwardly astonished by his subordinate’s report.

“And our two men?”

“The Second Young Master and the Wicked Laughing Demon are both safe.”

Sima Myeong let out a sigh of relief and dropped into his seat. With the tension gone, he leaned back and closed his eyes for a moment.

‘Those two killed Baek Manggi and Seok Gwanchu? Surely not.’

The Thirteen Wolves of the Unorthodox Path and Bi Sain had been acting alongside them, so there must have been another factor. Perhaps a new master had intervened on the Unorthodox Alliance’s side. In time, he would learn the details of what had happened.

Meanwhile, the strategist who had delivered the news compiled the message into a report and brought it over. It was intended for the Heavenly Demon.

Accepting it, Sima Myeong asked him, “What do you make of this?”

“I don’t know how Baek Manggi died, but one thing is certain. Lately, news involving the Second Young Master never fails to astonish me.”

Sima Myeong nodded in agreement and rose.

But as he left the operations room, he thought that today, at least, the cult leader was even more astonishing. He had acted as though he had foreseen this outcome.

* * *

A few days after arriving at the safe house, I went around the market buying various supplies. There was so much to buy that I purchased a cart to carry it all.

First, I stopped at a physician’s clinic and bought several new needle cases. Then I visited an apothecary and purchased large quantities of various medicinal herbs. Some were rare and expensive; others were commonly used.

After gathering the herbs, I bought a wooden tub large enough to fit three or four people.

I bought new bedding and clothes, as well as enough food and liquor to last a while. Then I bought a large bronze mirror that could reflect a person’s entire body.

Yi An was startled when she saw everything I had brought back from the market.

“What is all this?”

“Take a guess.”

“None of these things have anything to do with each other!”

Looking at the mound of herbs, she asked apprehensively, “You haven’t suffered an internal injury, have you?”

“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to worry you. I think I need to see the Demon Physician right away.”

Yi An examined the cart again.

“You’re not hurt. But why did you buy so many herbs?”

Then she picked something up from the cart.

“What’s this? Oh!”

She put it back where it had been, crouched beside the cart, and whispered.

“This is women’s underwear!”

“That’s right.”

I crouched down like her.

“Why did you buy underwear?”

“Because I need it. But why are you suddenly whispering? Has an enemy appeared?”

“Well... because something even more surprising than a treasure map came out of your cart.”

“My back hurts. Can we stand up now?”

“There are other clothes too! They’re so pretty!”

Among them was a beautiful court-style gown made of fine silk.

“Whose are these? They’re for a very slim woman.”

“There’s someone I’m giving them to.”

“If you’re giving her underwear, you must be very close.”

“We are.”

“There’s no way I wouldn’t know someone that close to you. But it can’t be the mistress of Thousand Flowers Pavilion. Oh! Was there a courtesan there who caught your eye?”

“Would you like me to show you who it is?”

“Really?”

“Of course. Let’s go.”

Together, Yi An and I pulled the cart to a modest estate far from the village.

“Does she live here?”

“You could say that.”

But when we entered, the estate was empty.

“There’s nobody here. It doesn’t look like anyone lives here.”

“Someone will now. I rented it for a few days.”

“Why?”

I spoke to her as she stood there puzzled. The words that left my lips would change her life, and they were the words she most wanted to hear.

“Because I intend to perform the Bodily Toxin Purification Procedure on you here.”