Chapter 4-1

The Qilian Mountains. A forbidden zone where killing was prohibited. Because of the great tragedy that had occurred there two hundred years ago, most martial artists were reluctant even to set foot on the mountain, fearing that they would be cursed by the Vengeful Ghosts of those who had died there. And a young man dressed in black martial robes was slowly walking down the mountain. The tall, handsome youth, just under six chi (approximately 180 cm), had snow-white skin and appeared to be of mixed Semu and Han Chinese descent. His glossy black hair carried a brownish hue, while faint traces of blue shimmered in his eyes. At his waist, parallel to the ground, hung a Black Saber of a shape rarely seen in the Central Plains, resembling the sabers of Dongying. It was five chi long, with the hilt alone measuring a full one chi (30 cm). However, as though it had never been completed, it merely possessed the shape of a saber. Its edge had not been sharpened, and the hilt and blade were joined seamlessly, making it look as though it had been fashioned from a single long piece of iron. Naturally, since it had no edge, it also had no sheath.

‘What should I do now?’

After Jin Yuha and Dan Yeryeong departed, Bai Shixuan remained at the house for three days. Searching through the house, he found many of Jin Yuha’s clothes, Dan Yeryeong’s belongings, and various pieces of jewelry. His greatest discovery, however, was a single painting depicting the two of them together. The only things Bai Shixuan took from the house were Jin Yuha’s martial robes, the painting, and the saber and sword Jin Yuha and Dan Yeryeong had left him. Dan Yeryeong had told him before leaving that he could use everything as he pleased, but Bai Shixuan still felt that touching their belongings carelessly would be disrespectful, so he left everything else behind. Besides, he still had the money he had saved together with Xuelan. They had originally saved it to buy a house and land, but since he did not want to recklessly spend what Jin Yuha and Dan Yeryeong had left behind, he brought only that money with him.

‘It was right not to make graves for them, wasn’t it?’

He had not built graves because he believed they had departed rather than died. He wondered whether that might be disrespectful as their son, but he decided not to make graves because he believed the two of them had not died, but had Ascended.

‘Ah, first I need to decide what I’m going to do.’

There were two things Bai Shixuan had to accomplish. One was to go find Xuelan. The other was to follow Dan Yeryeong’s request, transform the Blood Cult back into the Sun-Moon Divine Cult, and become its Cult Leader.

‘Should I go find Xuelan?’

It had been far too long since he had seen Xuelan. He missed her. Even if he went to the Blood Cult alone right now, there was no way he could immediately transform it back into the Sun-Moon Divine Cult. Moreover, even if he had the ability to do so, he might not be able to concentrate properly while constantly thinking about Xuelan. If that was the case, it seemed better to meet Xuelan first.

‘Yes. I’ll go see Xuelan.’

But how was he supposed to find her? He did not know where Xuelan had gone. However, if he returned to the Flower Fragrance Pavilion, he should be able to find out. If they refused to tell him, then although he would feel somewhat sorry toward Xuelan and Choryeong, he would turn the Flower Fragrance Pavilion upside down if that was what it took to learn the truth.

‘Let’s move.’

Bai Shixuan’s movements gradually became faster. The energy dormant throughout his entire body began moving vigorously, making his body lighter. Now that he had decided on his destination, he moved quickly. He had no desire to travel slowly. Wanting to see Xuelan even one day sooner, he began using the Heavenly Demon’s Sovereign Steps.

Although he traveled using the Heavenly Demon’s Sovereign Steps, Bai Shixuan ultimately failed to leave Gansu that day. In the end, he entered a nearby village and immediately began looking for an inn.

‘Should I stay here?’

There were quite a few inns, but Bai Shixuan found one that was neither shabby nor extravagant, merely plain and modest, and opened the door to enter.

“Welcome.”

“I’ll stay one night. And I want a meal.”

“Yes. This way, please.”

When the waiter hurried over, Bai Shixuan spoke to him. The waiter frowned briefly at Bai Shixuan’s blunt, informal manner of speaking, but after noticing the saber at his waist, he smiled and began guiding him inside.

“What would you like?”

“Plain noodles and dumplings.”

“Yes, sir.”

Once Bai Shixuan placed his order, the waiter immediately headed toward the kitchen. After he disappeared, Bai Shixuan looked around the inn. He had expected it to be a fairly quiet and modest place, but there were more customers than he had anticipated. As he looked around, one young man caught his attention. The youth appeared to be around Bai Shixuan’s age and wore elegant white robes, giving off an extremely mysterious air. He was clearly male, yet his face was as beautiful as a woman’s.

‘A woman disguised as a man? Or does he simply look like that?’

Jin Yuha had also been a man with somewhat feminine features. However, Jin Yuha gave off a stronger impression of being ordinary than beautiful, while this young man had a distinctly beautiful appearance.

‘He’s an expert. So this is what it feels like to sense another person’s qi…….’

He had been told that a master could easily sense the energy of someone weaker than himself. But Jin Yuha and Dan Yeryeong had always remained vastly beyond Bai Shixuan no matter how much stronger he became, so he had never been able to experience it himself. Now, however, he could clearly feel it. As Bai Shixuan marveled at sensing another person’s qi for the first time, the waiter approached him.

“Here is your order.”

When the waiter served the food, Bai Shixuan immediately began eating the plain noodles. Plain noodles were more or less the same everywhere, but perhaps because he had spent so long eating Dan Yeryeong’s excellent cooking, they did not taste particularly good to him.

‘Someone’s watching me?’

While chewing a dumpling, Bai Shixuan sensed someone’s gaze and lifted his head. His eyes met those of the person he had noticed earlier—the one he could not tell was a man or a woman disguised as one. The moment their eyes met, the youth flinched as though startled and immediately turned his head away.

‘Hmm. Why was he looking at me?’

Could he have been trying to gauge Bai Shixuan’s strength? That was impossible. Jin Yuha had said that once the Heavenly Demon Divine Art reached the fifth stage, its demonic qi gradually became contained within the body, and once it reached the seventh stage, even a master far stronger than the practitioner would be unable to tell that the person had learned martial arts at all. So could someone weaker than Bai Shixuan possibly have sensed his strength and stared at him because of it? He thought it impossible.

The persistent gaze bothered him, but Bai Shixuan deliberately ignored it and continued eating. After slowly finishing his meal, he stood and called for the waiter.

“Waiter.”

“Yes!”

As Bai Shixuan rose and called him, the waiting attendant quickly approached. Bai Shixuan handed him payment for both the meal and the room.

“I’ll show you to your room.”

Bai Shixuan nodded, and the waiter immediately began heading upstairs to the second floor. As Bai Shixuan started walking, the eyes of the young man who had been stealing glances at him followed his movements. Bai Shixuan frowned at the gaze he could feel from below.

‘How annoying.’

It had only been one day since he came down from the mountain. And in just that single day, his mood had already soured. He did not know why the person kept glancing at him like that, but it was far from pleasant. Bai Shixuan sighed and entered the room the waiter had shown him.