Yoran and the returning Lecher both wore unusually serious expressions. On top of that, Yoran looked like she had been crying, which was absurd.
Co to think of it, she's the Lecher's disciple too. And judging by his grim face, it didn’t seem like nagging would work—so I let it go. Honestly, I had a good idea of what kind of conversation had taken place.
Even in the midst of it all, Yoran smiled when she saw Big Bro and .
So I had no choice but to smile with her.
"Why are you smiling?"
"Just because."
"Yoran, co sit beside ."
"Yes, sir."
"The masters are planning to depart at dawn."
"Already?"
"When fighting in rugged mountains, you have to befriend the mountain in advance. If you want to win, you can’t rule out any ans—knowing the terrain, the air, the wind, visibility, the environnt—all of that matters."
"I’ll rember that. But is Mount Hua far from here?"
"It’s quite far, but for us it’s not too far."
"Because of Lightness Skill?"
Smiling, I asked Yoran,
"Right. Among the masters, who has the fastest lightness skill?"
"Third Master."
"That’s . If you had to choose the most important martial art, what would it be?"
"Lightness Skill."
"And to improve your lightness skill?"
"Walk every day. Then run the places you used to walk. Then run them again while weighted. As your internal energy deepens, your body must adapt to the increased strength, so you have to repeat this constantly to get faster."
I nodded as Yoran recited exactly what I had taught her.
“...If you encounter an enemy with no chance of winning?"
"Use Lightness Skill to escape while planning a counterattack. That counterattack doesn’t need to happen right away."
"And if the opponent has deeper internal energy than you?"
"Avoid an internal energy battle. That’s why you must not neglect training with weapons."
Truthfully, there was no need to go deeper right now. There are tis when weapons can’t bridge the gap in internal energy—but that’s not for today’s lesson. Anyway, Yoran rembered everything I had taught her.
She really is a smart disciple.
To be honest, I couldn’t even rember everything I had said to her. That makes a master dumber than my disciple.
So I asked Yoran,
"What did I say is the most important thing?"
Yoran answered,
"You said surviving is more important than winning or losing."
"That’s right."
I nodded aimlessly again.
It felt like I’d taught her everything there is to teach. At the sa ti, it felt like the words I’d taught were now coming back to .
Surviving is more important than winning or losing, most of the ti. But in certain situations, a victory becos more important than life itself.
Our journey to Mount Hua is one of those situations.
With Yoran beside , I continuously expanded my thoughts, preparing for the confrontation with the Cult Leader.
My instincts told ...
This fight would be decided by mindset. I couldn’t explain why—I just always believed that both cause and result originate in the mind.
In a situation like this, martial arts were rely auxiliary.
During my ti in Ilyang County, I frequently examined my own heart in order to defeat the Cult Leader in mindset.
The Lecher was watching the road ahead, and even Big Bro was unusually silent today. Strangely enough, the scenery of Ilyang County looked more beautiful and satisfying than ever before.
"Yoran."
"Yes?"
"The masters are going to hold a strategy eting. You go in first. This will be our farewell."
Yoran stood up from her chair and looked at Big Bro, the Lecher, and .
Her small eyes seed like they were trying to morize our faces. It was kind of amazing.
There are many difficult things in the world, but maintaining a calm and composed expression in front of a young disciple may be one of the hardest.
And yet, looking at my clever disciple, I couldn’t help but smile.
Standing properly, Yoran said,
"First Master, Third Master, Fourth Master. Please return safely."
"Got it."
"We’ll co back safe."
"Go to bed early. Sleeping from the Hour of the Rat to the Hour of the Hare allows for the fastest recovery in cultivation."
As Yoran went inside, the Lecher muttered,
"...Telling a young disciple about recovery, what nonsense. Anyway, what’s the strategy?"
I looked ahead and replied,
"There is none. What strategy?"
"I thought you were always a man with a plan."
"I have a plan. Training."
The Lecher turned to Big Bro and asked,
"Master, is that right?"
"It’s right. Let’s climb Mount Hua and train."
The Lecher looked at and muttered as if complaining,
"...Lately you haven’t even been doing breathing exercises. You’re not even training with your sword. What are you even doing?"
I looked back at the Lecher.
"If all you do is obsess over getting stronger, you’re no different from the Cult Leader. We’ve already confird the gap between us. Trying to catch up through the sa ans could take years. While we’re still in Ilyang County, let’s live like normal people. Once we start up Mount Hua, think of yourself as a training monkey. Until then, live like a human. That’s what makes us different from the Cult Leader."
Just as I finished speaking, two carriages slowly approached from the front.
"......."
It had to be those sa black carriages I’d seen before.
There was no way the Cult Leader had returned.
As I kept watching curiously, the two carriages stopped in front of the Zaha Inn. After a mont, one person got off and bowed to us.
When the man raised his head—
I was surprised to see an unexpected figure.
"Sambok."
It was Sambok, the guard of the Third Young Master.
"It’s been a while."
"What are you doing here?"
"I’ve prepared two carriages to escort you to Mount Hua. Since Mount Hua is vast and we don’t know where you’ll choose to stay, I’ll return after confirming the location. Then, on an appropriate day, the Cult Leader will depart as well."
I nodded.
"Thorough."
That ant we couldn’t head for Lotus Peak, where White-Faced Scholar, Mistress of Flowery Harmony, Lady Iron Fan, and Mistress of Fragrant Valley would be. I had planned to reunite with them there, but traveling with people from the Demonic Cult would only reveal their location.
"How is the Third Young Master?"
Sambok stared at blankly.
"He’s alive."
"Hm?"
"After being struck by you the other day..."
"I hit him?"
"Yes."
I rembered fighting the Butcher, but not hitting the Third Young Master. Fortunately, Sambok helped refresh my mory.
"He's lost several teeth and has difficulty eating. He also suffered from energy deviation due to the emotional shock of defeat, but he’s slowly recovering now."
"How did you end up as our guide?"
"I received word that the Cult Master praised ... and ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) sohow, I got this assignnt."
Looking around at us, Sambok asked,
"When would you like to depart? There’s no rush."
"Let’s leave at dawn."
"Understood."
In the short ti I hadn’t seen him, Sambok looked like he’d aged ten years, which surprised .
"Co rest with us."
"Yes, sir."
Sambok told the coachn,
"You rest as well."
Then he approached us and bowed to Big Bro again.
"...Have you been well?"
Big Bro nodded and asked the question I had been wondering.
"Have you had a rough ti? Your aura feels different."
"Yes, sir."
"Tell us about it."
"Our family head has gone missing, so the clan was in chaos."
When I heard “family head,” I told him the cause of the disappearance.
"If the family head was Hwan Guija, he died trying to ambush ."
"I actually knew. But since we couldn’t report it that way, we listed him as missing. The next head is the Third Young Master, who is bedridden. We made an official report to the cult, declared our withdrawal from the succession dispute, and negotiated to align the entire faction under the outer sect. That’s the summary."
If the Third Young Master’s maternal clan was absorbed into the outer sect, it was close to demotion.
Only then did I realize why Sambok had beco so gaunt.
"Did you handle all that yourself? The reporting, the negotiations?"
"Yes. I thought bowing quickly was the only way to survive, so I moved fast. This is my first official assignnt, so the clan has finally begun to feel relieved. The Third Young Master also said it was a good outco."
It was a very matter-of-fact story, but I was quietly impressed.
Apparently, Sambok had single-handedly saved his entire clan. As soon as Big Bro grasped the situation, he told him,
"You’ve worked hard."
"Yes, sir."
After hesitating a mont, Sambok asked ,
"Clan Leader."
"Yeah?"
"Why did you challenge the Cult Leader?"
"Is he soone I shouldn’t challenge?"
"Yes."
"I disagree. He’s probably been bored, with no challengers."
"Hmm. On the way to Mount Hua, please keep thinking of how you might survive. Running far away is also an option."
"Why are you worrying about ?"
"Because your words changed my thinking. And that change saved the Third Young Master and our clan. So yes, I have reason to worry."
"No need to. By the way, does the cult know roughly who’s going up Mount Hua?"
Sambok nodded.
"Sowhat. I picked up a bit."
"List them."
"First, the missing family head was originally supposed to go. We listed him as dead or missing. Which ans his maternal relatives’ top experts are participating. I heard Second Young Master was killed by the forr Left Division Head. The forr Right Division Head is joining as well. Do you know the common thread?"
"No idea."
"The Cult Leader is summoning those he wouldn’t care about even if they died. It’s a borrowed-knife tactic. People who were in hiding, on the sidelines, or waiting for opportunity—they’re being dragged in."
This was absurd...
The Cult Leader had effectively assigned us to take out his internal trash. And yet, being the kind of man who wouldn’t blink if the cleaners died made it even more absurd.
I looked at Big Bro.
"Did you expect this?"
"It’s so obvious, there’s no need to call it a prediction. The Cult Leader doesn’t see us as weak. He probably doesn’t have many elites left to bring, so it’s only natural he’s dragging along recluses and fence-sitters. Which ans, apart from the Cult Leader, the strongest participant is already decided."
"Who is it?"
Sambok answered.
"The man called Ilmajo (First Demon Ancestor), forrly ranked number one—Eldest Grand Duke. He’s the maternal uncle of the Grand Duke. He was respected for not seeking power, but now that’s probably why he’s fallen out of favor."
I scoffed.
"So he accepted my challenge only to assign a janitor’s job? Fine. I’ll clean house. See you at dawn."
"Yes, sir."
I got up first and went into the inn. If not tonight, we’d be sleeping in the carriage or camping out until we reached Mount Hua. Tonight was the only night I’d get a comfortable bed, so the wisest choice was to sleep without distraction.
***
At dawn, we departed Ilyang County as if fleeing.
We hadn’t committed any cris, but for a young disciple, the absence of her master might as well be one.
We traveled silently along the dawn road in our carriages.
Sambok rode in the sa carriage as , while Big Bro and the Lecher rode in the other.
Leaving Ilyang County gave a strange mix of feelings, and I didn’t feel like speaking. I leaned my head against the carriage wall and closed my eyes. I hadn’t gotten to see Moyong Baek or Cha Seongtae, but it couldn’t be helped. If any link remained, the Demonic Cult might exploit it. So not seeing them was ultimately better for them.
While I had my eyes closed, I heard Sambok speak.
"...Shall we eat while camping, or find a regular inn?"
"I like inns."
There was a mont of silence before Sambok asked,
"Why?"
"The food is different everywhere, and I like people-watching. I want to try unfamiliar dishes too. Stop at every inn on the way to Mount Hua. The mood of the food will gradually change as we go. Just think of it as a gourt trip. I’ll cover all the food costs, even for the coachn, so don’t worry."
Sambok didn’t respond, so I said nothing more either. I was slightly sleepy, but I couldn’t fully fall asleep—Sambok could still betray us.
After a long silent stretch of travel...
Sambok’s voice ca again.
"...Clan Leader, are you asleep?"
"..."
"If you’d rather flee, I’ll escort you. The Western Plains would be good. The Great Desert wouldn’t be bad either. Since the Cult Leader ordered it, no one in the cult will touch Ilyang County."
I opened my eyes and studied Sambok’s expression.
"Are you serious?"
"Yes, sir."
"What about the Third Young Master?"
"Unless he causes a serious incident, everyone there will survive now."
"You must know my personality by now—why are you making such an absurd offer?"
Sambok said,
"Because there’s no chance of winning against the Cult Leader. It’s not too late to train in a desolate place and challenge him later."
"Aren’t you part of the cult?"
"I am."
"Then why are you worrying about us?"
"Good question. You spared before, so I’m responding now not as a cultist, but as a person."
I nodded.
"I’ll take the sentint. But we’re going to Mount Hua."
Sambok looked out the window, then replied with a complicated expression.
"Understood."
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