The Gathering of the Righteous Sects.
This was a meeting convened by the Martial Alliance when an incident occurred that could shake the very foundations of the orthodox sects. The main participants were the Nine Great Schools that supported the Martial Alliance, the Four Great Noble Families that served as its pillars, and several other famous families. In addition, large merchant guilds that funded and activated cities were also involved.
It was an impressive assembly of leaders from the most powerful factions in the martial world, gathering to discuss everything from how to deal with a particular incident to, in extreme cases, even the future of the Martial Alliance itself.
Considering the magnitude of the recent event, I was certain that a Gathering would be held.
If it were to happen, the most likely location would be Hanam. Of course, just because the Gathering was held didn’t mean that everyone was obligated to attend.
‘But would they really not come?’
It was a meeting where the core figures of the orthodox sects gathered to discuss matters. Whatever was discussed, the information alone would be of immense value. Merely being present would be proof of prestige and reputation.
These were people who valued their pride more than their lives. They would definitely attend.
Especially since...
‘Their children's lives are at stake…’
Even if they came just to express their anger, it would be understandable. That much made sense. But what Moyong Hee-ah had just said didn’t.
“…What do you mean by that? Run away?”
Moyong Hee-ah’s father, the head of the Moyong family, was Moyong Tae, known as the White Heavenly Sword Master. He was once a contender for the title of Sword King, having rivaled Namgung Jin in swordsmanship. He was regarded as one of the most exceptional swordsmen of his time, but his skills had diminished somewhat after marrying and fathering Moyong Hee-ah.
Regardless of his current strength, as the head of the Moyong family, it was clear that if the Gathering were held, he would attend.
‘So why run away?’
It didn’t make any sense.
What did Moyong Hee-ah’s father attending have to do with running away?
“Do you think the head of the Moyong family is going to try to kill me or something?”
I asked jokingly, as it seemed like a ridiculous idea.
“Yes.”
“…”
She answered seriously.
What did she just say?
“…What did you say?”
That the White Heavenly Sword Master might try to kill me?
As I furrowed my brows and asked, Moyong Hee-ah hesitated and glanced away, clearly embarrassed.
“…It’s a bit embarrassing to admit…”
She brushed her hand along her arm, as if trying to soothe her discomfort.
“My father… likes me a lot.”
Her face flushed red as she spoke.
How embarrassing could this be?
‘Everyone knows that.’
It wasn’t exactly a secret.
The head of the Moyong family was known for his excessive love for his daughter. In fact, many believed that the reason Moyong Hee-ah's father had fallen behind his peers was because of his obsession with his daughter.
But so what? That didn’t give him any reason to kill me.
“And?”
“Do you think our relationship is… ordinary?”
“Isn’t it? It seems pretty normal to me…”
“Just shut up for a second, okay?”
“…Uh, okay.”
Her sharp tone made me shut my mouth.
Our relationship… well, it wasn’t exactly ordinary.
For years, I had been transferring my inner heat to her to help cure her illness. Her unique constitution caused her body to freeze over, and my heat was able to prevent the cold from taking over.
Ever since I learned that my internal heat could cure her condition, this relationship had continued.
Her body was perpetually freezing, and while she could suppress it with her own Qi, during battles, the cold often surged uncontrollably. That’s when my heat was most needed.
Because of this, she had to stop her martial training every time my heat settled into her body.
This had been going on for years.
It was a serious issue for a martial artist, but Moyong Hee-ah didn’t seem too concerned.
The treatment had been quite effective, too. At first, I had to transfer heat every few days, but over time, the intervals grew longer. Now, about once a month was sufficient.
‘Is that the problem?’
Perhaps her father saw me as some strange guy clinging to his precious daughter, transferring heat and whatnot. It wouldn’t be surprising if he was enraged at the sight.
Still, there was something odd about this.
“Didn’t we get permission to do this in the first place?”
“Huh?”
I mean, didn’t the Moyong family already agree to me providing heat as part of her treatment?
In fact, they had paid me a substantial sum and granted access to trade routes as compensation. A Moyong family elder had even come to visit.
This arrangement had led to the establishment of several Moyong family guilds in the western mountains, revitalizing the area.
Surely, such a deal couldn’t have gone ahead without the head of the Moyong family’s consent.
“…Well…”
Moyong Hee-ah looked down, avoiding eye contact.
What was that reaction?
“Did you… do something?”
“No, I didn’t do anything…”
Her face was a rare sight.
It wasn’t often that I saw her making excuses.
Normally, Moyong Hee-ah would find another solution rather than make excuses. And she rarely put herself in a position where excuses were necessary in the first place.
“…You know, Young Master…”
That expression was something I’d never seen in my previous life.
“Go on.”
“Everyone makes mistakes sometimes, don’t they?”
A fair statement, but one that seemed oddly out of place coming from her. I asked her in response.
“Didn’t someone once say, ‘If you prepare properly, there’s no need for mistakes. And if you can’t manage that, don’t cause trouble in the first place?’”
“Who would say something so arrogant and selfish? They must have had a strange upbringing. People make mistakes—it’s called being human. Scary.”
“…”
I sighed internally as she frowned at me.
For the record, that quote was something Seolbong had said to me in my previous life.
She had said it after I made a mistake during a hunt.
“So, what mistake did you make?”
What had she done to make the White Heavenly Sword Master want to kill me?
Moyong Hee-ah hesitated for a moment before finally speaking.
“You may not know this, but the deal with the Gu family ended up being… a bit more than originally intended.”
“What?”
“For example, setting up a guild in the western mountains was practically forced. It eventually worked out, but…”
Come to think of it, the western mountains weren’t exactly bustling. The neighboring Anhui and Hanam provinces were far more active. The idea of establishing a guild in the western mountains seemed like a loss for the Moyong family.
I had thought it was because the treatment was that important to them, but was it more complicated?
“I think it was something I said that caused the problem.”
“What?”
“My father… the head of the family… he really doesn’t like the idea of me entrusting my body to an outsider. Especially someone who’s already engaged.”
“Well, that makes sense…”
“So I told him that even though you’re engaged, your heart actually belongs to me, and you plan to break off the engagement and marry me instead.”
Wha…?
“And I suggested that since you’re going to be his son-in-law soon, why not treat you like one in advance?”
“…What did you just say?”
“It seemed to calm him down. Thankfully, everything worked out in the end.”
Moyong Hee-ah still wasn’t looking me in the eye as she said this. She must have realized just how ridiculous it all sounded.
So, according to her story…
The White Heavenly Sword Master believed I was engaged to Namgung Bi-ah but had secretly fallen for Moyong Hee-ah and was planning to break off the engagement to marry her.
“…How did it get to that point?”
Just hearing it gave me a headache.
How had things escalated to this?
“Well, like I said…”
When I pressed her for answers, Moyong Hee-ah responded.
“People make mistakes sometimes, right?”
Was she really saying that with a straight face?
I stared at her, speechless.
Noticing my gaze, Moyong Hee-ah kept her head lowered.
An uncomfortable silence lingered.
Given her intelligence, she must have known what she needed to say at that moment. But her pride was holding her back.
Several more seconds passed.
Finally, unable to bear the awkward silence, Moyong Hee-ah spoke up.
“…I’m sorry.”
Hearing her apology, I nodded slightly.
Though she had tried to maintain her pride, once she let it slip, Moyong Hee-ah was quicker to admit her faults than I had expected. She probably had been building up to that apology from the beginning.
I couldn’t be sure, but based on my experience with her, that seemed to be the case.
‘The situation…’
From the White Heavenly Sword Master’s perspective, I wasn’t what he had thought.
I was still engaged to the Namgung family.
And I had been involved with Wi Seol-ah, Tang So-ryeol, and even his own daughter, Moyong Hee-ah.
To make matters worse, I was regularly transferring heat to his daughter. It must have looked like I was touching her body under the pretense of treatment.
Oh…
‘Yeah, I can see why he’d want to kill me.’
I didn’t have children myself, so I couldn’t fully empathize, but I could imagine that from the White Heavenly Sword Master’s perspective, he’d want me dead.
He’d probably want to chop me into pieces and burn me to ashes.
‘…This isn’t good.’
Really not good.
Now I understood why Moyong Hee-ah had suggested running away.
But the problem was, we couldn’t run.
Or maybe running would be better for the White Heavenly Sword Master? It might look like we were eloping, and that could calm him down.
Wait a minute…
I turned to Moyong Hee-ah, my thoughts racing.
Noticing my gaze, Moyong Hee-ah flinched slightly.
It seemed she had figured out what I was thinking.
“…You…”
“Oh, it’s so hot. Don’t you think it’s hot today, Young Master?”
Even though it was spring, with traces of winter still in the air, and Moyong Hee-ah had a body that naturally emitted cold, she was suddenly claiming it was hot.
How believable.
“Hah.”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
In this situation, at least it was better than the relationship we had in my previous life, where she would constantly mess with me.
As that thought crossed my mind, I looked up at the sky.
‘Whether it’s the White Heavenly Sword Master or the Gathering of the Righteous Sects… I need to deal with that first.’
The black barrier that surrounded the area. I needed to break it if I was to move forward.
But I had no idea how to dispel it.
‘When I activated Demon Transformation, it seemed to do some damage.’
Using the Red Sky technique after reaching the Fire Boundary, along with the martial arts I used during the Demon Transformation, had left some marks on it.
But the barrier quickly regenerated, making it a difficult opponent.
‘There must be another way.’
It seemed that brute force wasn’t the answer. I needed to find a method to undo it.
Perhaps I should locate the Black Dragon Sword, who was likely imprisoned somewhere, and see if I could get answers from him?
“…Young Master.”
‘But if the barrier is still intact even after the Black Dragon Sword was subdued, torture might not…’
“Young Master…!”
“Huh?”
As I was lost in thought, Moyong Hee-ah grabbed my shoulder and shook me.
“What is it?”
“Look, over there.”
I followed her outstretched finger to see what she was pointing at.
“…What?”
Craack!
There, I saw something unusual happening to the black barrier.
The speed at which it was changing was much faster than when I had attacked it.
It didn’t take long to figure out what was happening.
The barrier was being erased.
******************
A dark space behind the Sinryong Hall.
The dim area, untouched by even a single beam of light, felt overwhelmingly unnatural.
It wasn’t underground.
Nor was it inside any building.
The black barrier that had enveloped the sky around the Sinryong Hall was of the same nature as the one surrounding this place.
"Kkueeoo..." Inside that space, a figure barely holding on to consciousness let out a pained groan.
It was the old man known as the Black Dragon Sword.
“Haa... haa...”
The monstrous appearance he had taken on with writhing tentacles was gone, and he had reverted to his original, frail human form.
Yet, despite having his limbs freed, his body didn’t move with ease.
His hands and feet were unbound, but the Black Dragon Sword looked as if he were bound by invisible chains, struggling against an unseen force.
Before him, a figure who had been silently watching approached and knelt down.
Upon recognizing the figure, the Black Dragon Sword clenched his teeth, letting out a furious growl.
“You... you bastard...”
“I’ll ask you.”
Despite the Black Dragon Sword’s murderous intent, the man—no, the Amwang—was entirely unfazed as he posed his question.
“Who is behind you?”
“You... you bastard! Amwang!!”
The old man’s voice, thick with killing intent, resounded with great intensity. It was filled with overwhelming emotion.
Yet for the Amwang, it was a voice devoid of meaning, one he had heard far too many times before. It held no significance to him anymore.
His deep, cold eyes, devoid of any feeling, regarded the Black Dragon Sword with indifference.
“I already know the answer, but I ask for confirmation. I would appreciate a response.”
“…You’ve betrayed me... forgotten our deal, have you?”
At the Black Dragon Sword’s sneering response, the Amwang tilted his head slightly in curiosity.
A deal?
“You claimed you would never betray your client, but did you find the restrictions laughable?”
The Amwang raised his sleeve, revealing a mark on his arm—the symbol of the restriction.
From that mark, the skin was slowly rotting away, emitting a vile stench. The rot was undoubtedly a result of the restriction, and the pain must have been unbearable.
Yet, the Amwang showed no signs of discomfort.
“To say that you never betray your client…”
This was one of the reasons the Cheorya Assassination Corps was so feared.
Once they accepted a request, they never failed. Nor did they ever betray their client. It was an unwritten rule.
“Such a foolish statement…”
The Amwang had never liked that phrase.
“It’s simply because I kill everyone involved that no such stories ever spread. Your mind must be a field of flowers to believe otherwise.”
“…What did you just say?”
“And from the beginning, I had no intention of listening to you.”
Sshhk.
Thud.
As the Amwang spoke, he casually ran his fingers across his own arm, slicing it open.
The arm, marked with the restriction’s seal, was severed and fell to the ground with a thud.
“You…”
“It seems you’re struggling to answer, so let me ask you something else.”
Unfazed by the fact that he had just cut off his own arm, the Amwang maintained the same indifferent expression as before and asked the Black Dragon Sword another question.
“Is it true that the one behind you is the master of Taechun?”
At that quiet question, the Black Dragon Sword gritted his teeth even harder.