Do You Happen to Know Dan Mok-gyeong? (1)
"...That's correct."
"I see."
Seo Ryeon gazed at me with open curiosity. It was the look of someone wondering how a foreigner like me had ended up traveling with the Hainan Sword Sect, laced with faint intrigue.
I wish she'd just leave so we could eat already.
I knew she was a fairly important figure in the original novel, but right now nothing mattered more than the meal in front of me. Nothing was sadder than a delicious dish going cold.
"Ah, Lady Seo Ryeon. It's been a while."
"...It has."
Ha-jin smoothly inserted himself into the conversation. The faintly pleased look on his face suggested they were already acquainted. Seo Ryeon turned her somewhat dazed eyes toward him for a moment, then swung them back to me.
"Do you have some business with me?"
"...I was simply curious."
Then couldn't you just go on your way? Hye-ryeong sitting across from me looked like she was about to sulk any second.
"Miss, we don't have much time..."
The escort warrior standing behind her spoke with a troubled expression. It was obvious she had a schedule to keep. This was the perfect excuse to send her off. The guard needed to take his lady to handle official business, and I simply wanted to enjoy my meal in peace.
Our interests aligned, so it was only right to hurry her along.
"It seems your time is limited. Wouldn't it be better if you went ahead and ate?"
"Then I'll see you later."
No, I'd really rather not.
Having dropped that bombshell, Seo Ryeon turned and left.
"...When did you meet her?"
"Remember what I told you on the mountain we crossed before reaching Wuhan?"
"Um... about the stream?"
"That's where I ran into her."
Only then did Hye-ryeong let out a soft "Ah" and nod in understanding. Her face said it all made sense now. Then she gave me a strange look.
What is it now?
"What a coincidence... I wonder why Lady Seo Ryeon was even in a place like that..."
"She told me she was out for a stroll."
Whether it had truly been a casual walk or she'd had some other purpose, I couldn't tell. But since she'd claimed it was just a stroll, I had no reason to pry any deeper. Getting entangled with her would bring far more trouble than benefit anyway.
As one of the Five Flowers or Four Blossoms of the Murim—whichever she was—she was among the most famous beauties in the world. Plenty of people were already keeping their eyes on her.
Even in the original episode where she became involved with the protagonist, the young master from the Moyong Sect had flown into a jealous rage and forced a duel. I wasn't some battle-crazed maniac; I had no desire to invite that kind of trouble.
I already drew enough attention just by being a foreigner. If I got mixed up in that mess, I couldn't even begin to predict how the story would twist from there.
The protagonist belonged to the Wulin Alliance, but I was still an outsider. The situation could become far more annoying for me. Even now, I could feel sharp gazes boring into me from all around.
The Moyong Sect's young master might even be among them... but I could only hope he wasn't. Nothing was more irritating than a hot-blooded youngster making a nuisance of himself.
"...Let's just eat."
To break this awkward atmosphere, I had to brazen it out. The moment I picked up my chopsticks and began eating, the rest of the party reluctantly followed suit.
Annoyingly, I couldn't even tell whether I was tasting the food or just forcing it down.
"...Mister. It's morning."
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The sound of someone tapping on the wall and the voice drifting through it pulled me from sleep. I opened my eyes.
I can't decide whether I should like waking up like this or hate it.
I rose from the bed, neatly folded the bedding into crisp angles, and opened the window. A cool breeze brushed across my face.
The darkness was just beginning to lift; sunrise was moments away.
I dressed, then washed my face with the water I'd set out the night before. The cold splash chased away the last traces of drowsiness.
Time to head into the training room and begin with meditation.
I walked back to the bed, knocked on the wall, and called out.
"I'll be doing some aura circulation. Come get me after half a shichen."
"Okaaay~"
I stepped straight into the training room and began to meditate. It was the natural duty of anyone who trained aura, but I also needed to sort through the tangled thoughts crowding my mind.
While I was at it, I wanted to recover as many of the fragmented memories as possible—the ones with pieces missing.
I closed the training room door and settled into a lotus position.
It's genuinely quiet in here.
At this level, no one would be able to disturb my meditation unless they literally tried to smash the room apart from the outside.
"...Hup."
Let's begin.
I closed my eyes and turned my awareness inward.
The aura that had been quietly waiting inside the mana core—unused for some time—slowly unraveled. Freed from its restraints, it immediately began circulating through my entire body, reveling in its liberty.
I seized control of it at once, preventing any leakage through the skin, then repeatedly drove it into my muscles and drew it back out.
After all, for any martial artist, the body itself was what mattered most. Aura was merely an addition. No matter how exceptional the practitioner, one could not swing a sword without muscle.
It wasn't impossible to wield a blade with aura alone, but what meaning was there in empty swings without substance?
The muscles that absorbed the aura repeatedly swelled and contracted. The mana core replenished whatever had been spent.
The mana core itself possessed properties similar to a muscle. By repeating the cycle of emptying and refilling, it gradually grew larger.
Like completing one full set during physical training, I finished a round of meditation and drew the aura back into the mana core. Steam rose from my body where the heat of the aura had passed through.
"...Huu."
I exhaled and moved into the next cycle.
Time to think things through.
The first thing I needed to do was find the protagonist of the original novel—Dan Mok-gyeong.
The timing wasn't precise, but judging from the early sections of the story, she should have either already joined the patrol unit or be arriving soon to take the entrance exam for the alliance.
Unlike other divisions, the patrol unit conducted entrance tests on a rolling basis, making it difficult to pinpoint the exact moment. The best course was to head to the patrol unit and search for her there.
If the timing was right, I would be able to see her.
Actually, seeking her out might not be wise.
If word spread that I was looking for the protagonist, unwanted attention might fall on her as well.
Since I had already twisted the original story, there was no telling how her path might change. Still, at this stage, it was better for her to remain inconspicuous.
In the original timeline, she only began to distinguish herself roughly half a year after entering the patrol unit. Letting her quietly build experience for now would benefit me as well.
Assuming, of course, that the protagonist truly existed.
...That's the biggest problem.
What if Dan Mok-gyeong didn't exist at all?
Could I still stop the Demonic Cult?
To face that Heavenly Demon, I would need to reach the pinnacle of the Transformation Realm.
Even among absolute masters, few had ever attained that level. Was it even possible?
The protagonist had displayed insane growth—rising from second-class to super-first-class in just a year and a half through monstrous talent and fortuitous encounters. I possessed talent, but not to that ridiculous degree.
Even with such talent, the original ending had been mutual destruction with the Heavenly Demon. Could I truly succeed where she had only managed a draw?
The road ahead looks dark.
Still, having chosen to settle in this land, I had no other options.
Kill, or be killed.
If I failed to slay the Heavenly Demon, the Central Plains would be reduced to ash anyway. Returning to the West at this point was nearly impossible.
It would be far better to kill the Heavenly Demon somehow, drive the Demonic Cult out of the Central Plains, and live comfortably here.
I'd escaped one battlefield only to find myself on another.
What a truly wonderful world.
Even so... I had to try.
I slowly recalled the major events from the original story.
First came the martial tournament and the Dragon Phoenix Gathering where the young rising stars assembled. Then the appearance of the demonic practitioners. The rampaging Yangtze River pirates and the Green Forest bandits. The hidden secrets tied to the Five Great Families, encounters with the previous-generation experts of the Nine Great Schools...
...And the death of the Wulin Alliance Leader.
I wouldn't have a moment to breathe.
I concluded my meditation and opened my eyes.
I had devoted enough time to gathering aura. Now it was time to accomplish my first objective.
I walked back to the bed, knocked on the wall, and called out.
"Hye-ryeong. Let's go eat."
"..."
Is she training?
I left the room and checked her door. It was shut tight, as solid and unyielding as an iron fortress that permitted no intrusion.
I could go ahead without her, but then she'd sulk, wouldn't she?
She had a childish side and tended to pout easily.
With that thought, I leaned against the wall beside her door and looked out.
The open-centered architecture allowed the light of the rising sun to gradually paint the floor in bright colors.
"...Huu."
Creak—
"Mister? Were you waiting for me?"
"We need to eat. There's somewhere I want to stop by afterward."
"Somewhere to go?"
Hye-ryeong tilted her head and looked up at me. Her twin pigtails swayed to one side with the motion.
"After we eat, I was thinking of visiting the patrol unit."
"Why the patrol unit?"
"...Preliminary research. If we're going to join the Wulin Alliance, it wouldn't hurt to learn which division might suit us best."
"Then I'm coming too!"
As if she wouldn't have followed even if I hadn't told her.
I nodded at Hye-ryeong's words.