Chapter 93

“You’re more skilled than you seem?”

Yeon Ga-heun smiled as she lightly fanned herself.

Unlike her refined gestures, her tone was plainly dripping with contempt.

I might look like this, but I’m the Heavenly Demon’s disciple. Just how much is she looking down on me?

“I haven’t even shown a tenth of what I can do yet.”

“I’m not particularly looking forward to seeing the remaining nine tenths. I heard that among the Heavenly Demon’s disciples, only up to the third is actually usable.”

“Where did you hear that kind of garbage rumor?”

“They say the ones below that are just there to fill out the numbers. Seeing how you’re getting worked up, you look closer to the ‘filler’ side than the ‘usable’ side.”

“Looks like Splendid Palace is clueless about our internal situation. You have no idea how well I’ve been doing lately.”

“Aren’t you ashamed to say that out of your own mouth?”

“Not at all.”

Even while trading pointless banter with Yeon Ga-heun, my head was spinning nonstop.

It was to come up with a way to break through this crisis.

No matter what pit you’re thrown into, there’s always a way out.

This time would be the same.

“You seem to have high self-esteem. I wonder how long you’ll be able to keep that up.”

“Until the end.”

Sreung, I drew my cold-iron dagger.

I pointed the tip at Yeon Ga-heun and spoke.

“If you want to take my Master, you’ll have to risk your life too. Because I’m not handing him over.”

“It brings tears to my eyes. The Heavenly Demon truly has such a commendable disciple. These days, disciples like that are rare.”

What was that reaction?

Just from her tone, it sounded like sarcasm, but I read the emotion that flickered in Yeon Ga-heun’s eyes.

Bitterness.

‘Was she actually sincere?’

For an instant, it felt like my mind lit up.

A memory I’d brushed aside earlier surfaced again.

In that memory, there might be a hole I could slip through.

I smiled faintly and asked.

“How did you reach the conclusion that disciples like me are rare? I guess you’re not that kind of disciple.”

“What do you mean?”

Yeon Ga-heun’s fanning stopped.

The relaxed atmosphere she’d maintained the whole time turned sharp in an instant.

‘Looks like I hit the mark.’

At some point, Ten-Thousand-Stories Scholar had said.

That the relationship between Yeon Ga-heun and her master, the Splendid Palace Lord, had ended in catastrophe.

They had to still be in the middle of a serious conflict even now.

I had to use that to my advantage.

This was only a seasoning concept, so I still needed a strong, decisive blow, though.

“Treat that person with the respect fitting his position.”

Yeon Ga-heun said, her expression noticeably colder.

The momentum of the four women standing before me changed abruptly.

With the Heavenly Demon at the center, the battle resumed.

I’d even drawn my cold-iron dagger with confidence, but absurdly, I couldn’t even swing it properly.

Because suddenly, they formed perfect coordination, like gears turning.

Because of that, my limbs started to tangle more and more.

“Master, you don’t have any advice?”

“No.”

The Heavenly Demon was still unhurried.

Isn’t he even afraid?

If I go down, the next step is him getting kidnapped.

Pa-pa-pat!

The women and I kept exchanging attacks.

But the longer it went on, the more something felt strange.

‘Their coordination is too perfect.’

All the Splendid Palace warriors had their eyes covered.

How could they coordinate this well?

Were they sharing senses?

‘Wait. Sharing?’

From that moment, I focused all my senses and watched the Splendid Palace warriors closely.

Something I hadn’t seen a moment ago came into view.

There were moments when their mouths puckered ever so slightly.

‘Are they exchanging voice transmission?’

No.

The lip movement was too minimal for voice transmission.

Then… sound?

In Murim, there were countless martial arts and special skills.

Some skills could exchange simple communication with sound waves instead of speech, and this seemed to be that kind of case.

With special sound waves only they could perceive, they were exchanging each other’s positions, attack signals, and the like.

The reason those blindfolded women could move with such flawless precision.

There was no other way to explain it.

Now, there was one problem left.

How to break it.

I couldn’t hear their sound waves, so a precise response was impossible.

‘No. It doesn’t have to be precise.’

I found a very simple method to break it.

I rounded my lips and loaded it with internal energy, then whistled with full force.

Hwi-ik!

A shrill sound that felt like it would tear eardrums filled the mountainside.

Sound blocks sound.

If I couldn’t hear it, I just had to make it so they couldn’t hear it either.

Hwi-ik! Hwi-ik!

Every time the women exchanged signals, I did the same thing.

Then their perfect coordination began to slip, little by little.

Before long, one of them made a mistake.

She moved one beat faster than the others and was momentarily isolated outside their formation.

I didn’t miss that opening.

I slipped in close and slashed her arm with the cold-iron dagger.

Another woman filled the spot of the one retreating with blood running down.

But their coordination was already broken.

Once one collapsed, the rest was easy.

In an instant, I neutralized three more.

I’d won against four Splendid Palace warriors.

“How did you see through it?”

Yeon Ga-heun asked in a slightly subdued voice.

I answered in a tone like it was nothing.

“I told you earlier. I’ve been doing well lately.”

“So it wasn’t bragging. The four girls you just took down were, despite their appearances, fairly high-level.”

“No matter how high-level they are, they don’t stand a chance against the Heavenly Demon’s disciple. Right, Master?”

“It’s still too early to say that.”

At the cold reply, I shrugged.

“Anyway, masters are always cold to their disciples. Isn’t that right?”

“……It seems this young lady underestimated you, so as an apology, I’ll show you my sincerity.”

Ignoring me, Yeon Ga-heun lightly tilted her chin.

Eight palace warriors stepped forward.

“They’re not as good as the girls you faced just now, but they won’t disappoint you. There are plenty more girls behind them, so even if they don’t meet your expectations, don’t feel too slighted—”

Chwareuk, Yeon Ga-heun opened her fan and smiled.

“I hope you protect the Heavenly Demon well.”

It was the kind of situation that made my brow knit on its own.

I take down four, eight step up. If I take down eight, sixteen will come out next.

But right now, I was very calm.

I’d found a crack to wedge into with Yeon Ga-heun, and in the middle of fighting, I’d realized a fundamental solution.

‘The Heavenly Demon is the key.’

Yeon Ga-heun knew that after absorbing the Heart-Demon Qi, the Heavenly Demon would weaken.

She’d observed our actions as we smashed the Heretical Alliance branch, so there was no way she didn’t know our party was just the two of us.

But then, did she really need to come swarming like that?

If Splendid Palace went around like that all the time, they wouldn’t be called a mysterious faction anymore. They’d be on everyone’s gossip the moment there was an opening.

‘And Yeon Ga-heun.’

Even though she’d said “Heavenly Demon” multiple times, she hadn’t looked at him even once.

It was as if she feared him.

It made sense.

Even if its claws were gone, a tiger was still a tiger.

What they wanted was the Heavenly Demon, and what they feared most was also the Heavenly Demon.

I had to strike right there.

“Master. I’m going to have to use you.”

“……”

“Don’t look at me like that. Read the room and cooperate. Then we’ll be able to return to the Demon Cult safely.”

Question filled the Heavenly Demon’s eyes.

He looked curious about what I was going to do.

Ignoring the eight approaching me, I spoke to Yeon Ga-heun.

“You know those records you mentioned. The ones about Heart-Demon Qi and all that. They seem a bit lacking.”

“What kind of out-of-nowhere nonsense are you talking about?”

“Didn’t it say this? What horrific thing happens if the Heart-Demon Qi goes berserk.”

“Stop.”

The women’s steps stopped.

Overt contempt gathered in Yeon Ga-heun’s eyes.

“Are you trying to find a breakthrough with talk instead of martial arts? It won’t work, so why don’t you give up?”

“I am trying to find a breakthrough with talk, but it’s not going to be useless. Because I’m trying to save the Lesser Palace Lord’s life.”

“My life? Ohoho. You have a talent for making people laugh. That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard lately.”

“You don’t seem to understand the situation. You said if one person monopolizes the Heart-Demon Qi, a great catastrophe happens, right? That’s only half right.”

“Only half?”

I didn’t answer and let a short pause hang.

Then Yeon Ga-heun and the Heavenly Demon looked at me at the same time, like they were telling me to say the next part.

I understood Yeon Ga-heun’s reaction, but why was the Heavenly Demon curious?

“Have you thought about why Master is weakening? It’s because he’s going all-out to suppress the Heart-Demon Qi’s rampage. What happens if he fails to suppress it? A demon god that Splendid Palace fears will be born.”

“There may be a problem with the Heavenly Demon’s safety, but a demon god? That’s going too far.”

“Fine. Maybe not a demon god. But at the very least, until all the Heart-Demon Qi evaporates, he’ll destroy everything he can see. Including you, Lesser Palace Lord.”

“……”

Yeon Ga-heun didn’t reply.

Her head had to be a mess. She had to figure out what I really meant.

Using that opening, I whispered softly to the Heavenly Demon.

“Master, what are you doing?”

“……?”

“At times like this, you have to release Demonic Qi once. I told you to cooperate and read the room.”

“……”

“Come on. Stronger.”

The Heavenly Demon shook his head.

I could feel the regret of ‘how did I end up taking a disciple like this.’

But he’d already decided to leave this situation to me.

The Heavenly Demon released explosive Demonic Qi.

Suo-o-

Demonic Qi so intense that even I, who was used to the Heavenly Demon, had to flinch.

“Huk.”

“Kuh.”

The Splendid Palace warriors who’d looked like mechanical dolls collapsed in a heap.

Even the warriors carrying Yeon Ga-heun’s palanquin either dropped to their knees or fell.

As the palanquin dropped, Yeon Ga-heun lightly rose and drifted down.

It was a simple movement, but you could immediately tell it was high-level movement art.

But maybe because she wasn’t used to Demonic Qi, her face went pale.

“Good. Well done, Master.”

I brushed off the sharp look the Heavenly Demon sent me and fixed my gaze on Yeon Ga-heun.

A pale face, a trembling body, eyes filled with shock.

A satisfying reaction. The refined, leisurely air the Lesser Palace Lord had completely vanished.

“You saw it, right? He’s in a state where he could go berserk at any time.”

I took one step toward Yeon Ga-heun.

She instinctively stepped back.

“And you’re still going to forcefully take him?”

One more step.

Yeon Ga-heun’s back hit the palanquin. She had nowhere left to retreat.

“Master would rather die than be someone who gets humiliated. He’ll deliberately make it go berserk.”

I stopped and stared straight into Yeon Ga-heun’s eyes.

“Then it’s all over. You, the palace warriors, all of you.”

“……!”

In other words, leave nicely while you still could.

Yeon Ga-heun’s shoulders trembled faintly.

But she couldn’t say a word.

Even knowing she had to leave, she couldn’t decide easily.

Looking at the now-silent Yeon Ga-heun, I let out a sigh like she was pathetic.

“Haa. Hey, Lesser Palace Lord. You came without even anticipating this? Did the Palace Lord send you? To bring Master back alive?”

For a moment, Yeon Ga-heun’s pupils shook.

“It’s only following a decision… for Murim’s… safety.”

“So the Palace Lord did send you. Interesting. Since when did Splendid Palace worry about Murim’s safety.”

“Splendid Palace kept silent for so long not because we had no interest in Murim……. It was because we feared that intervening rashly would bring an even greater chaos.”

“This is exactly that situation. A situation that brings greater chaos, no, catastrophe. Do you know what I truly don’t understand?”

“Must this young lady even fathom what’s inside your heart?”

A response bristling with edges.

It was going the way I intended.

“Someone like the Splendid Palace Lord couldn’t possibly not know the danger of Heart-Demon Qi. Then why didn’t she give you any warning at all?”

“That is—”

“Isn’t it because it’s fine if you succeed, and it’s fine if you fail?”

The Splendid Palace Lord likely had a reason to want the Heavenly Demon.

She might be trying to reabsorb Heart-Demon Qi that had been refined to some degree by passing through the Heavenly Demon’s body through a grand art, or she might be trying to bind the Heavenly Demon with a special ritual implement and use him however she wanted.

But I could promise she hadn’t placed big hopes on the Lesser Palace Lord.

Because Ten-Thousand-Stories Scholar said the Splendid Palace Lord was a crafty person who always hid a sinister scheme inside any plan.

“What do you know to speak so carelessly?”

Yeon Ga-heun’s face hardened coldly.

Kk-kk, the fan that had been gently fluttering screamed and cracked in her grip.

‘I know enough.’

The incident in my past life related to Yeon Ga-heun was so intense it wouldn’t leave my mind.

Years later, I’d heard the Palace Lord ruined the Lesser Palace Lord’s dantian, then nailed her limbs in the middle of a courtyard under the blazing sun and dried her to death.

Horrifically, they said Yeon Ga-heun stayed conscious for fifteen days.

I smiled and said.

“Some things, you can infer the whole just by looking at a fragment. What’s certain is this. Your master, the Splendid Palace Lord, drove the Lesser Palace Lord into a dead end.”

“……!”

Yeon Ga-heun was visibly shaken.

She could have snorted that it was absurd, but she couldn’t bring herself to.

If she could kill her disciple that brutally, their conflict wasn’t something that started yesterday.

Of course, even now, the conflict had to still be in full swing.

If not, Yeon Ga-heun wouldn’t have shown that bitter smile earlier.

“Honestly, don’t you feel it too? That you’ve fallen out of the Palace Lord’s favor?”

Even if you pretend otherwise. Even if you want to deny it.

Deep inside, you feel it.

That’s why Yeon Ga-heun was wavering so visibly.

“You want to believe it isn’t true, but maybe the Palace Lord wants to dispose of the Lesser Palace Lord without any burden.”

I didn’t know the reason.

Maybe the Lesser Palace Lord’s supporters had grown large enough to threaten the Palace Lord, or maybe their temperaments were different and they clashed over everything.

But the Palace Lord killed the Lesser Palace Lord in the future, and even now, she wanted to kill her.

That much was certain.

“No bright future is waiting for you. Don’t die staking your life on something pointless. Before it’s too late, it’d be better to secure your own way to live.”

A whisper that would make even a devil back off.

On top of that, she’d just tasted the Heavenly Demon’s Demonic Qi. Her mind had to be reeling.

‘What choice will she make?’

If she was foolish, she’d stubbornly insist on taking the Heavenly Demon to the end. If she had even a bit of wisdom, she’d try to leave.

At last, Yeon Ga-heun painfully parted her bloodless lips.

What came out of her mouth was a little different from what I expected.

“What…… should I do?”