That Was Helpful

Alliance Leader Baek Gun-ak and Strategist Jegal Tae were inside the Alliance Leader’s office.
Gyo-ha gasped in surprise the moment he saw them.

“What happened…? No, something must have happened.”

They looked vastly different from before.
They looked as though they had aged ten years since he had last seen them. In particular, Jegal Tae’s once-impressive white hair had become dry and disheveled.
He looked no different from any old man one might encounter around town.

“I believe that is what we should be saying to you.”
“Ah.”

Jegal Tae spoke while looking at Gyo-ha’s arms.
He had a point.
They might have looked worse for wear, but they could not compare to Gyo-ha.
When Gyo-ha smiled awkwardly, Baek Gun-ak raised a hand.
Gyo-ha’s body was drawn toward him.

“Let me examine your arms.”

It was different from Ban-gok flinging Gyo-ha around with her spider threads.
He was gently propelled forward as though wrapped in wind.
Void Manipulation.
It was a supreme art that moved objects with qi.
However, Gyo-ha had never heard of it being used to move a person like this.
Before Gyo-ha could even voice his surprise, he found himself before Baek Gun-ak and had no choice but to hold out his arms.
Blackened arms were revealed when his sleeves were rolled up.

“Hmm.”
Baek Gun-ak let out a low hum.
Jegal Tae’s brow also furrowed beside him.
The condition was more severe than they had expected.
The blackening had spread above his elbows. His skin was already dying, and it might continue spreading upward.
His arms might have to be amputated.

“…Tell me if there is anything you need. You were injured during a mission, so it is only right that we compensate you. I do not know whether that will offer much consolation.”

Gyo-ha’s eyes lit up at Baek Gun-ak’s words.
He didn’t even hear the latter half.
What he truly wanted was to ask Baek Gun-ak for a match. However, Gyo-ha understood his own condition.
Baek Gun-ak was someone he could not defeat even when he was healthy.
He wasn’t an opponent Gyo-ha could face while unable to use either arm.

‘…Should I ask them to find a yokai for me?’

A yokai connected to recovery or regeneration.
However, he soon had to abandon the thought.
Gyo-ha was inevitably more knowledgeable about yokai than they were.
Moreover, he would have to head to Qinghai Province to find the kind of yokai he needed.
The Murim Alliance’s influence no longer reached that region.
There was no need to ask them.
Perhaps noticing Gyo-ha’s hesitation, Jegal Tae added something.

“We can summon physicians if you wish. They may not be Divine Physicians, but we can call upon several renowned doctors.”
“No, it’s all right. It won’t help.”

Jegal Tae let out a troubled hum at Gyo-ha’s answer.
Sensing the heavy atmosphere, Gyo-ha tried to scratch his head, but only his arms twitched.
The pity in their eyes deepened at the sight.
Feeling burdened by their gazes, Gyo-ha spoke.

“I can make that request later, right?”
“You can.”
“Then I’ll be going. Please pass word along to my friends.”
“I will.”

Gyo-ha was about to leave when Baek Gun-ak’s voice stopped him.

“Young Hero Gyo.”
“Yes?”
“An opportunity will come as long as you do not give up.”

Gyo-ha blinked.
He did not understand why Baek Gun-ak had said that.
He had never intended to give up in the first place.
Giving up like this was not even something he had considered. Ban-gok had even kindly told him of a possible solution.
His mind was so occupied with finding a yokai that he failed to understand Baek Gun-ak’s intention.

“Ah, yes.”

Though still puzzled, Gyo-ha nodded.

‘It’s good advice.’

He assumed it was the sort of encouraging remark a friendly elder might offer.

“I ordered them to prepare your reward for this mission, so leave through the west gate. Use it to cover your travel expenses.”

Gyo-ha’s eyes widened.
It was an unexpected consideration.

“Oh, thank you.”

The bandits had provided him with some travel money, but it was not enough to reach Qinghai Province.

‘The Murim Alliance really is kind.’

Gyo-ha was impressed. They weren’t called the guardians of the Orthodox Murim for nothing.
Once Gyo-ha left the office, Alliance Leader Baek Gun-ak sighed.

“We have lost a valuable talent.”

Gyo-ha practiced external arts because of the problem with his dantian.
For someone like him, losing both arms was devastating.
His life as a martial artist was effectively over.

“With this, we can no longer ask the Kunlun Sect Leader for help.”

Kunlun’s future had been ruined because of them.
Even in the name of the greater cause, it would be difficult to ask anything more of him.
Jegal Tae nodded and cautiously spoke.

“…That aside, his Yokai Qi seems to have grown stronger than before.”

Previously, it had merely been an unsettling energy. Now, it had reached a level they could no longer ignore.

“Hmm.”

Baek Gun-ak nodded.
They had wanted to question him about that as well, but after seeing his arms, they could not bring themselves to speak.
He might have misunderstood it as an interrogation.

‘…Though that would not be a misunderstanding.’

It would indeed have been an interrogation. However, doing that to someone who had lost both arms would have been too cruel.

“Judging by Young Hero Gyo’s nature, he will not stray down a corrupt path.”

Jegal Tae nodded at Baek Gun-ak’s words.

‘…Should I call that simple-hearted?’

Gyo-ha was not stupid.
Jegal Tae had also heard that Gyo-ha became like a different person when he fought.
He possessed a peculiar personality in many ways.
His own way of thinking was firmly rooted.
People like that did not easily stray onto an evil path.

“Now, let us continue our earlier discussion.”

Jegal Tae’s gaze changed at Baek Gun-ak’s words.
That was right.
They had been discussing strategy before Gyo-ha arrived.
It was time to return to their work.

“The next client may enter.”

A potbellied middle-aged man entered at the woman’s call.
Cloth screens enclosed the space on every side.
Only a lantern dimly illuminated the surroundings.
The middle-aged man frowned at the mysterious yet eerie atmosphere.
More than anything else, however, he was displeased by the person receiving him.

“…I heard you were a renowned diviner (卜者), yet you are nothing more than a young girl.”
“You may leave if that displeases you, Lord Gwak.”

The middle-aged man’s eyebrow twitched at the words of the woman whose face was concealed behind a veil.

“…You wretch. Have you ever seen this official before?”
“How could I have seen a man who serves the most exalted being in the world?”

The expression of the man called Lord Gwak relaxed at her answer.

“You truly are gifted. No one should know that this official left Beijing. Then do you also know why I came?”

Deep suspicion remained in Lord Gwak’s eyes.
Behind the veil, the woman’s brow furrowed slightly.
It was the question she encountered most often, and also the most troublesome.

“Even I do not know everything.”

Lord Gwak snorted, his expression saying that was what he had expected.
However, the woman had not finished.

“However.”

The woman’s gaze shifted behind Lord Gwak.

“It appears to have something to do with the woman following you.”
“…What are you talking about?”

Lord Gwak frowned.
It was the first he had heard of it.

“Your sinister nonsense may have fooled others, but before this official…”
“She looks barely past fifteen. Judging by her appearance, she is a woman of the Miao tribe.”

Lord Gwak fell silent when she said that.
His eyes trembled.
The woman did not stop there and continued examining the space behind him.
Lord Gwak followed her gaze and turned his head, but saw nothing except the swaying cloth.
That made it even more frightening.

“What are you…?”
“She hanged herself. A scarlet silk robe. Was she meant to become your bride?”

Lord Gwak gasped.
His face turned so pale that it was visible even in the dim room.

“That girl has been following me?”

His manner of referring to her had changed, showing just how shaken he was.

“Yes. Have you not been sleeping poorly lately and feeling a weight upon your shoulders? You must also feel chills when you are alone.”
“…I thought it was because I had too many concerns weighing on me.”

The woman was about to speak again but closed her mouth.

“…Is it perhaps because of Her Majesty?”

Lord Gwak stared at her in shock.

“How did you…? No, you truly are gifted.”

There were very few people who could be addressed as Her Majesty.
That was especially true in Beijing.
That alone made Lord Gwak believe that the woman knew everything.
Lord Gwak glanced around the room.

“That eunuch is the problem. He is manipulating Her Majesty the Empress Dowager.”

The woman caught her breath at Lord Gwak’s words.
It was a small reaction, but it could not escape the notice of a man who lived within the imperial palace.
Suspicion returned to Lord Gwak’s eyes.

“Why did you react like that?”
“Forgive me. I was overcome by the resentment of the woman behind you.”

Lord Gwak’s expression relaxed at her answer.
However, she had already aroused his suspicion and could not ask him any further questions.
The woman spoke again.

“Affairs of state are important, but you must attend to your own well-being first.”
“My well-being?”
“Yes. If this is left unresolved, your life will be in danger.”

Lord Gwak stroked his beard.

“Then what must I do?”
“You must resolve the woman’s resentment.”

A scarlet silk robe.
It was made of silk, but it had no decorations.
He was no ordinary commoner, but a high official in Beijing, so such an undecorated robe did not suit his status.
There was only one explanation.
It meant he had intended to take her as a concubine rather than as his lawful wife.

“…Can you not write me a talisman?”

That was ordinarily the role of a diviner.
They foretold fortune and misfortune and wrote talismans.
However, the woman shook her head.

“A talisman could hold her back to some extent, but it would not resolve the underlying problem. You must compensate her family and honor her spirit at her memorial tablet every year.”
“…Would it not be enough to hold one of those memorial rites?”

Discomfort appeared on Lord Gwak’s face.
She had merely been intended as a concubine. They had never even lived together, and if she had killed herself during the wedding, he would not have established a memorial tablet for her.
Establishing her memorial tablet within the family meant formally accepting her as a member of the household.
They would not do that for a mere concubine. His family would also resist the idea strongly.
However, the woman firmly shook her head.

“She is not the only problem. Many other vengeful spirits are clinging to you as well.”

Displeasure appeared on Lord Gwak’s face.
Seeing that, the woman hurriedly continued.

“It is unavoidable when one holds a high position. Since you handle affairs of state, you must have earned many people’s resentment. Individually, those spirits would not pose a serious problem, but if they continue accumulating, they will eventually become a great calamity.”
“…Is this what the Buddhists call karma?”

Lord Gwak nodded.
Officials of the present age were required to study both Taoist and Buddhist scriptures.
It would have been stranger if he had not known the term.

“Yes. Fortunately, they are currently connected to her.”
“…Why is that fortunate?”
“If you properly console her spirit, she will take all the others with her. She may even become a ward against misfortune.”

Lord Gwak’s expression changed.
That changed the situation.

“I see. I shall do as you say.”

The woman clicked her tongue inwardly as she watched him.
Just how much resentment had he accumulated to accept her explanation so readily?
However, she did not reveal her thoughts.

“Then what should be done about Her Majesty the Empress Dowager? That fellow’s loyalty is formidable.”
“…Her Majesty the Empress Dowager’s affections run deeper than most.”

It was another way of saying that she was intensely jealous and suspicious.

“Therefore, if other women were placed near the man Her Majesty favors…”
“She would become suspicious.”

As that suspicion deepened, the man would either distance himself voluntarily or be cast aside.

“But if that happens, her attention will turn back to His Majesty.”

That would not be good.

“…Then the only option is for an imperial grandchild to be born as soon as possible.”

They would shift the focus of her attention elsewhere. Lord Gwak nodded at the plausible suggestion.
In truth, it was an option he had already considered.
One among many possibilities.
Even so, hearing it from her had been helpful.

“That was helpful.”

Lord Gwak took a pouch from his robes.

“I was told that you had already paid the divination fee.”
“This is separate. I received valuable advice, so I should pay an appropriate price. I would purchase a talisman if you wrote one, but it appears you have no intention of doing so.”

Lord Gwak took two lumps of gold from the pouch and placed them down.

“…Have you considered relocating to Beijing?”

It meant he had taken a liking to her abilities. The woman shook her head.

“There are too many people with powerful auras there, making it difficult to read the secrets of Heaven.”
“That is unfortunate.”

With those words, Lord Gwak departed.
Only then did the woman sigh. When she removed the veil covering her face, a beautiful face was revealed.
The diviner was none other than Ah-ryeong, who had worked as a courtesan in Anhui Province.