The Sword Queen Shatters the Gate
Moyong Manor’s main gate. It was smashed.
Or at least, that was the vague impression.
The space above the gate’s roof—where the roof should have been—was simply gone, carved out in a perfect V shape. As if it had never existed in the first place. As if only that section had vanished. Or like someone had casually hit delete on just the upper part of the gate.
Under normal circumstances, the entire gate—not to mention the courtyard beyond—would have been obliterated without a trace.
The sword qi that had just shot into the sky belonged to none other than the leader of Haedong Geomgak, the Sword Queen Geomhu.
"Quiet."
The Sword Queen stamped her foot lightly.
"Who exactly are you telling to be quiet?"
Moyong Cheon, the Sword Saint, scowled at her sudden words as they faced off.
"Has the heart demon taken hold? If that's the case, I might forgive it in exchange for one of your arms."
"Heart demon."
The Sword Queen shook her head at the Sword Saint's veiled threat.
"It's not a heart demon, Sword Saint. I'm in a perfectly normal state right now."
"Your manner of speaking is different from usual, so it seems you haven't achieved rejuvenation through return to youth but have instead fallen to dementia."
A twitch.
The Sword Queen's posture faltered at his blunt words.
"Sword Queen. Do you think this is sixty years ago?"
"Ho, hoho. What are you saying, Sword Saint? You weren't even born sixty years ago."
"I said your current antics would only be acceptable in the rough, barbaric era of sixty years ago. I never claimed you were a person from sixty years ago."
"......Are you so eager to insult this old woman?"
"Those words don't suit someone who unleashed sword qi on another family's main gate."
The Sword Saint's voice was calm, but the blue sword in his hand flickered with irregular light. Clear proof that Moyong Cheon was genuinely furious. Anyone would curse if a perfect V-shaped hole suddenly appeared in the top quarter of their front gate. Especially if the culprit was a woman who looked mid-thirties but whose actual age marched alongside her reputation—one the Sword Saint had openly called demented.
"Can this be seen as an attack on Moyong Manor?"
"......."
"It seems you've heard the 'news' and come rushing here, but is this how the Sword Queen should act?"
"......."
Even as the world's greatest, in terms of seniority, the Sword Saint ranked far below. The Sword Queen had been active two or three generations ago—no, three generations. The Sword Saint was a contemporary hero, revered by the current younger generation as the 'father's generation.' If not for the swirling sword qi and killing intent, the onlookers would have whispered criticisms of the Sword Queen's bizarre behavior, blaming it outright.
Some would suspect a heart demon.
Others, dementia.
And some might even whisper rumors of side effects from the Extreme Yang Pill, suggesting her frantic rush stemmed from desperation upon hearing them.
Cover-up was impossible. The Sword Queen had undeniably bombarded Moyong Manor's gate with sword qi. If Moyong Manor pressed the issue, it would essentially mean war with Haedong Geomgak—
"P-Please calm down, brother!"
Moyong San burst out from behind Sword Saint Moyong Cheon.
"Didn't we agree to block one of the Sword Queen's attacks? Ha, haha!"
"San. What are you—"
"Hahaha!! It was a clash between Hyeongyeong experts, so this foolish little brother couldn't follow with his eyes! All I saw was that explosion of sword qi shattering the manor's gate! Haha! Isn't that right, Sword Queen?"
Moyong San cupped his fists toward the Sword Queen in formal greeting.
"It's awkward to keep standing here like this, so please sheath your sword and come inside!"
"San. You right now...."
"Brother."
Moyong San shot him a meaningful glance, and the Sword Saint narrowed his eyes, glaring intently at the Sword Queen.
"Sword Queen."
"......."
"Consider the debt paid with this."
The Sword Saint sheathed his sword, the act itself symbolizing the settling of some past obligation.
"......The moment you try anything suspicious, I'll cut you down."
With that, he turned and strode into the manor.
"Whew...."
Moyong San watched his brother's back, letting out a deep sigh of relief before shooting the Sword Queen an irritated grimace.
"Welcome to Moyong Manor, Sword Queen."
Then, switching to a smiling face, he greeted her.
"......That."
"By all means!!"
Moyong San cupped his fists again and bellowed loudly.
"Please take good care of our niece Seol's swordsmanship!!"
Infusing his voice with inner energy, his shout made the Sword Queen tilt her head in confusion.
Wait, what? Was Moyong Seol becoming the Sword Queen's disciple?
Learning the sword of Haedong Geomgak instead of Moyong Manor's?
Why?
Whatever the reason, had the Sword Saint tested her against the Sword Queen to approve his daughter learning arts from outside the family—another sect's techniques, no less?
Realizing her blunder amid the confusion, the Sword Queen—her face a mix of regret, bewilderment, and desperate longing—stepped through Moyong Manor's main gate.
"That."
"Sword Queen."
Moyong San spoke low enough for only her to hear.
"Since you've offended Moyong, we must use the Sword Queen in return."
"Use...."
Normally, she would have snapped back in outrage.
"......Very well."
But the Sword Queen bowed her head deeply and slowly entered Moyong Manor.
Who in Moyong Manor gets along best with me?
Moyong Seol? Ever since our first night, our hearts had grown close in a flash, so she qualifies.
But when it comes to 'family matters,' I mesh better with someone else.
"Physician Seok."
"Yes, Deputy Patriarch."
Moyong San—Moyong Manor's deputy head and Moyong Cheon's brother. To Moyong Seol, her uncle.
"We plan to use the Sword Queen to shove aside all those other women gunning for you. What do you think?"
I instantly grasped the intent behind his heavy sigh.
"Using the strongest woman in murim to keep the women craving rejuvenation through return to youth in check?"
"Exactly. No such cases yet, but at least for now, middle-aged women... eh, can I be blunt? Seol?"
Moyong San asked Moyong Seol, who was plastered to my side.
"Of course, Uncle. What are you getting at?"
"The hags eyeing your husband's essence will be reined in by the strongest hag in the Central Plains."
"......."
"Ah, was that too crude? I mean...."
"No. It was so apt I lost my words for a moment."
Moyong Seol nodded firmly, gripping my arm tight.
"How much does the Sword Queen know?"
"We'll find out as we talk. Fortunately, she seems aware her eyes went a bit funny, so she's waiting quietly under the medical hall."
"Hmm.... Is it that desperate?"
Rejuvenation through return to youth?
"Did she come thinking the Extreme Yang Pill is just some 'youth-restoring elixir,' or is there some urgent reason she must revert?"
"No idea. But since the patriarch—my brother—let her in, it doesn't seem like mere vanity."
Managing internal affairs or mediating external relations is called 'political acumen,' and Moyong San's was undoubtedly the pinnacle in Moyong Manor.
"By murim custom, the Sword Saint could have beheaded her without issue. Yet he overlooked her mistake once because the Sword Queen is Moyong Manor's—precisely Seol's—benefactor."
"My benefactor?"
"Yes. It was when you were very young, and few in murim know, but the Sword Queen once saved your life."
Moyong San scratched his head, squeezing his eyes shut.
"If your father hasn't told you, it's awkward for me to...."
Some hidden backstory?
"Physician Seok."
"Yes, Deputy Patriarch."
"Does your master seem like the type to let a demented mad hag who slashed at the manor gate walk free as some 'great elder' of murim?"
"Hm."
Thinking about it, that didn't add up.
"He could have deflected her sword qi skyward—or better, sliced right through it, charged in, and taken her head. It wouldn't have been odd at all."
And the Sword Saint, in a situation where any issue set his nerves on edge, had spared her?
"......He's not planning to use the Sword Queen against me, is he?"
"Seol would never speak to her father again if he did. No, he spared her once because she's his daughter's benefactor. Of course... that's it, just once."
"Understood. What exactly are you aiming for, Deputy Patriarch?"
"To turn the Sword Queen into our guard cat."
"......."
A blunt expression, but Moyong San clearly hadn't let her in out of fondness.
"We'll present her publicly as Seol's swordsmanship master."
"Got it. A warning: any woman inferior to the Sword Queen shouldn't even dream of setting foot in Moyong Manor."
"Exactly."
Anyone could achieve rejuvenation through return to youth with the Extreme Yang Pill. If word spread, even old Gold Tablet Ritual Grandmother—bedridden somewhere—would come charging for it.
"And one more thing."
Moyong San cautiously raised a finger.
"......We need to know how far the Extreme Yang Pill's effects reach to plan countermeasures. In the worst case, Moyong Manor might face all of murim."
"......You see far ahead."
"We have to."
"......Understood."
Having become part of Moyong Manor—and with my Evil Sect assassin roots—I had no choice but some compromise.
"Deputy Patriarch. In exchange, promise me one thing clearly."
"What?"
"If."
After getting Moyong Seol's nod, I whispered to Moyong San.
If the Sword Queen wasn't after the Extreme Yang Pill, but something else only Moyong Seol uniquely offered—something white, brimming with yang energy?
"......No way."
Moyong San grimaced openly.
"Even deranged, there's a limit. Targeting a young man who's barely lived a third of her life... urk."
I almost corrected him to a quarter.
A moment later, in the medical hall's consultation room. I received my second problem patient: the Sword Queen.
"Physician Seok."
"Yes."
"......I want to go back to twenty."
She revealed the reason for her outburst.
"And live as an ordinary woman, not a murim warrior. Declare the Sword Queen dead, or pass me off as a granddaughter to fool the world."
"......?"
What madness was this?
"Wh-what? What on earth?"
"When I first entered murim, I declared I'd never hold hands with anyone weaker than me. And... until I became Haedong Geomgak's leader, no one ever beat me."
"......That."
"Don't you need a test subject too? Whether it only works on women whose meridians are opened, or even those whose... you know, meridians are still sealed...!"
"......!!"
"Physician—no, Physician Sir!"
The moment the Sword Queen reached for me with both hands.
Throb!
A stabbing pain in my heart blackened my vision briefly; in that split second, dizziness flung my consciousness away.
".....?"
"...!!"
I had dodged her outstretched hands, retreating with both arms raised.
What was that?
This sensation was entirely new. For an instant, my body hadn't felt like my body.
"Hoo... I understand, Physician. Let me be frank."
The Sword Queen squeezed her eyes shut.
"I want to go back to twenty and fall in love. ...A love I've never known."
Ah.
That explained why, in the report, I'd called her a rejuvenated virgin, yet she insisted on rejuvenation through return to youth.
Patient. Recovered. She hadn't lost it, so she hadn't desired it.
"Not as murim's Sword Queen, but as some man's woman."
What she needed wasn't the thirty-something rejuvenation she'd already achieved herself, but the fresh youth of twenty for the love of young man and woman.
"And to be the mother of children from my own womb."
Regrettable.
But.
My head and heart screamed fiercely.
Some things are just not allowed.
Whoever it was for, I hoped she found a good man.