The Message (1)
A line from Kim Sowol's poem sprang to mind.
If my face makes you sick and you must leave,
I'll send you away quietly and with grace.
Beautiful azaleas from Yaksan Mountain by the river's edge,
I'll pick them fresh and scatter them along your path.
It felt exactly like our situation right now.
Because as we walked that road, flower petals fluttered down from above like falling from the sky.
Of course, they weren't real plum blossoms. It wasn't even the season for plums to bloom.
These drifting petals were all sword qi and sword gang.
The warriors of the Hwasan Sect were unleashing their arts high above the cliff path we trod.
Petals stripped of lethality and destruction, retaining only mystery and fragrance, scattered on the wind.
Meihua Luo.
The greatest show of respect and farewell the Hwasan Sect could offer.
"Who'd have thought those stiff-necked prigs would pull out Meihua Luo for us. Never seen it before in my life."
Paeng Yu-gun muttered, gazing upward.
It spoke volumes about how vital the plum groves were to Hwasan—and how thoroughly Gwang-yeon had them under his thumb.
"Can I eat these?"
In the midst of it all, Paeng So So stuck out her tongue to taste one. Paeng Yu-gun grabbed the nape of her neck and yanked her back.
"You little fool. Wanna slice your tongue open?"
"I'm curious, though."
"If you wanna toughen that tongue of yours, head to the Tang Clan and beg for some scorpions. Chew a few, and the numb tingle in your mouth hits just right."
"Ooh! Next time I see Dang Si Hyeok, I'll ask him."
I shook my head in disbelief.
Just what kind of talk was that for a grown person?
"Hey, Sword Dragon."
Paeng So So, sensing my stare, sidled over. I thought it was Paeng Yu-gun calling me that again at first.
"What?"
"Seongsu Bong looked pretty hurt."
I turned to see Jin So-cheong's carriage. She'd been peering out the window, sightseeing, but when our eyes met, she quickly bowed her head.
A sullen expression.
"And?"
"And what? Go console her."
"First off."
I replied, utterly baffled.
"I'm older than you. It's fine when Dao King calls me Sword Dragon, but not from you."
"Tch. Trying to slip that by, huh? Whatever, minor details."
"Second, Seongsu Bong and I are nothing to each other. No reason to console her."
"You two sure stuck together an awful lot for 'nothing.'"
"That was just exchanging herbal knowledge."
"Ahh~ So she was the one clinging to you? Bad boy, Sword Dragon."
With that, Paeng So So darted behind Paeng Yu-gun like she was fleeing. Probably scared I'd chew her out for the "Sword Dragon" bit again.
Adults acting like kids. But Paeng Yu-gun just watched with an amused fondness.
[That curse of diminished intellect... See, doesn't it hit harder the lower the starting point?]
'...Maybe so.'
[So, you're just gonna leave Jin So-cheong hanging?]
'Obviously. Whether she pledges loyalty or not, she's still Blood Cult. I'd care if it were Sa Wol, but why bother with Jin So-cheong?'
[Good. That's a relief.]
'Relief about what?'
[Never mind.]
What a letdown.
Anyway.
Looking at Paeng So So like that made it hit home again how different she was from the original Murim Returner.
Paeng So So and the Silver Silk Troupe in Murim Returner were irredeemable villains. Jo Geol, followed by Jin So-cheong, hadn't just broken her mentally—they'd twisted her into a monster.
Setting her own house ablaze was small potatoes; massacring innocent commoners for treasure? Par for the course with the Silver Silk Troupe.
'Even Super Peak experts steered clear.'
Low pure martial attainment, but armed to the teeth with treasures, Paeng So So was depicted as someone who could hold her own against most Super Peak masters.
Truth be told—and conscience confession—Murim Returner's Paeng So So had been my role model.
Subpar skills? No problem—gear up with artifacts and bulldoze through. Isn't that exactly what I'm doing now?
By that logic, the Paeng So So before me wasn't evil, but she sure wasn't strong either.
Peak realm at her age was impressive in normal circumstances, but Sa Wol was younger and already Super Peak.
The Silver Silk Troupe she led had faded into the background too.
'Not that they're useless.'
[More like a big help.]
'Turning gracious all of a sudden?'
[I acknowledge what's true.]
They'd helped plenty early on. Especially handing over the Flame Fire Jade without greed—thanks to that, I'd scored huge with the Divine Cult.
'With the right nurturing, she could shine.'
[But do you need to invest in Paeng So So specifically? You've got the Blood Cult.]
'There's a saying from my world: Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Drop it, and they all shatter.'
[Diversify the risk, huh.]
'Sharp as ever. Exactly.'
The Blood Cult was powerhouse material, sure. But all-in on them, and if they crater? The fallout hits me hardest.
'Handy ruin coming up, too.'
[Where?]
'The Great Desert.'
The spot known in my world as the Gobi Desert held a decent relic site.
After Shaolin, before paths diverged, plant the seeds now—by the time I looped back from Blood Cult, I might have the goods.
Time to lay some groundwork on the road.
A few days passed like that.
The journey from Shaanxi to Shaolin was utterly uneventful.
It had to be.
The Blood Cult were lunatics, but even they wouldn't dare stir trouble on the Hwasan-Shaolin route. No one that deranged existed.
Not even roadside bandits, common as stray dogs in this world.
Just as I felt a twinge of disappointment at the lack of action—
Something injected tension into my lax schedule.
"A mark."
The moment we entered the last village before Song Mountain—Shaolin territory—Sa Wol reported to me.
She held a small scrap of wood. To anyone else, it'd look like rotten trash from the ground, but she'd spotted it.
A mark could only mean one thing. Divine Cult signal.
I hadn't noticed a thing, but nodded as if it were obvious.
"Rendezvous time and place?"
"Ox hour initial, thirty li from here."
Thirty li—about twelve kilometers. Safe distance even from Paeng Yu-gun.
Ox hour start: around 1 a.m. Midnight perfect for stealth.
How the hell did they know we'd pass here? And leave a mark?
Anyway, come midnight, I took off on Mu-geuk-i with Sa Wol and Tak Horak.
With +2 Reinforced Pa Cheon extending my senses, no tails in sight.
We reached the rendezvous.
A few figures by a campfire.
"Hide your presences."
"Understood."
Sa Wol and Tak Horak went stealth. I dismounted Mu-geuk-i and approached on foot.
Baggage strewn around the fire, several large wagons—they looked every bit the escorts camping mid-haul.
I approached with deliberate noise.
[They can't hide anyway.]
'Yeah, your body's fault.'
[Tch.]
The escorts jumped up at my presence.
"Who goes there?"
Youngish, lightly wary faces—textbook ordinary escorts.
[Mark etched in the dirt by the fire. Divine Cult sigil.]
Triple verification. Even if a rando wandered up, no suspicion.
"We're from Yongrin Escort Agency. What brings you out in the dead of night?"
They'd seen my face, yet still probing. Thorough? Or posturing?
[Not posturing. Standard procedure. Someone's in the wagon.]
'Who?'
[You'll see.]
Pa Cheon's tone suggested no threat.
I approached the escorts.
"Heavenly Demon's Domination."
They dropped to their knees in unison.
"Ten Thousand Demons Hail Eternal Fortune."
Been ages since I heard the code phrase.
"Red Dragon Corps greets the Sado Family Head."
Red Dragon Corps—that clicked who was in the wagon.
"Come out."
The figure who emerged.
"It's been too long, Sado Family Head."
Hyeok Mun, head of the Red Dragon Revolution Family.
'A family head just wandering around like this?'
[You're a family head too, technically.]
'Oh. Right.'
So unexpected, I blanked for a second.
"How have you been?"
Hyeok Mun greeted me warmly.
I nodded calmly.
"Didn't expect you personally, Hyeok Family Head."
"Out on major rivers-and-lakes business. As a Divine Cult member, how could I not contribute?"
Bullshit, of course.
Red Dragon Revolution called themselves Cult, but they might as well be Red Dragon Cult—they bowed to nothing else.
Without the founding Heavenly Demon's Red Dragon ties, they'd never have joined.
But Hyeok Mun saw me as sharing a body with Red Dragon's incarnation, so this was loyalty proof, coming himself.
"No sense standing. Let's talk in the wagon."
The subtle summons was clear.
I nodded and boarded.
Hyeok Mun handed me a pouch the size of a forearm.
"What's this?"
I played dumb. As if the Sado Family Head forgot, and Red Dragon's incarnation pulled the strings.
Hyeok Mun nodded, like just as I thought.
"Can't remember, can you? It's the item you requested, Sado Family Head."
"Me?"
"Take it."
I accepted the pouch.
Inside: Red Dragon bone, as expected.
To replenish Red Thunder Qi, burned up using Thunder Shadow Sword.
Told them incarnation maintenance needed lots—they brought not finger-sized scraps, but a full forearm chunk.
Made sense; Red Dragon bones were sacred to them. Family Head escort fitting.
I feigned confusion, then touched it.
"Urgh!"
My body shuddered; I bowed my head.
When I lifted it, my eyes brimmed with Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
"You have come, my servant."
"Ooooh! We behold the great Red Dragon's incarnation!"
Hyeok Mun knelt instantly in the wagon.
[...Having fun, are we?]
Hey, it works.
This was peak Delusion Wuxia.