The High Master of the Island Village
In the corner of the cabin below the deck.
Namgung Cheon, who had been lying in the wooden prison, opened his tightly closed eyes.
His worn, tattered clothes and ordinary build made him look like an unremarkable old man—handsome enough in appearance, but nothing more. That was why the pirates had captured and locked him away without suspicion.
“Umm…?”
Namgung Cheon tilted his head in confusion.
He had been dragged here simply because he was bored and wanted to watch the pirates’ antics, yet the atmosphere felt off.
Screams of humans collapsing echoed from above, accompanied by surging killing intent and fear that assaulted his senses.
She said she was taking me to a remote island… Could there be a hidden high master here?
Namgung Cheon precisely sensed that the pirates were dying.
Yet he could not detect any killing intent from whoever was slaughtering them.
I should go check.
Namgung Cheon slowly rose and gripped the wooden frame.
Despite being wood, it was thick and sturdy, boasting durability far beyond iron nails.
Crack!
He crushed it bare-handed.
“Hah…”
Namgung Cheon stepped out of the ruined prison with casual indifference.
Creak… creak.
The sound of footsteps descending the wooden stairs grew closer.
The steps were light, almost silent.
Whether a well-trained assassin with a sturdy build or a light-footed human, it was clear.
Come down quickly. I want to see your face at least once.
Namgung Cheon stood still and waited.
A girl with red hair descended into the cabin, back turned to the sunlight.
Namgung Cheon’s eyes widened at the sight.
He extended his right arm and sharpened his palm strike.
Graceful and soft footsteps.
A beautiful face.
It was a visage that could captivate anyone.
Yet the vivid red hue that stirred bloodlust, the otherworldly aura, and the deeply settled gaze left no doubt.
She was no ordinary child.
She was either a high master who had undergone the reversal of life and death or a being like the two-eyed demon king from the mountains and seas.
“A demon has appeared.”
Namgung Cheon was certain she was not human and took a step forward.
Even from a distance of over thirty steps, one step would bring him close enough.
Namgung Cheon was a sword cultivator skilled in wielding swords, but he could also execute sword techniques bare-handed.
Right now, for example.
What is this…?
The girl extended her hand toward the palm strike releasing a bluish qi.
She remained unfazed even by the sudden ambush.
It was bewildering, yet he understood.
If he had been in Namgung Cheon’s position, he would have guarded himself too.
Still, I must block it.
Whoosh!
The girl’s hand, wrapped in red qi, collided with Namgung Cheon’s palm strike.
Precisely, the girl seized Namgung Cheon’s palm strike.
“You can even use Ganggi?! Or is it something else?!”
Namgung Cheon frowned and shouted.
The opponent did not falter.
It felt like striking a mountain with a fist.
“Truly, you are not the type of evil spirit I imagined.”
The girl sighed and replied.
She looked genuinely understanding yet slightly annoyed, her eyes drooping at the corners.
A pitiful face stirred pity.
“How can you believe that?”
Namgung Cheon asked with a frown.
Despite pushing against a mountain that would not budge, his breathing remained steady.
The release of Gangqi was stable.
Believing in evil spirits was an obvious choice for a human.
One who wavered under temptation could die.
Yet the sincerity in the girl’s voice and expression made his pupils waver.
There was no trace of deception.
“You are not attacking me but merely receiving it like this.”
“You might be trying to find an opening.”
“It is a rather helpless thought… but yes, there is reason to it.”
The girl nodded readily.
Accepting this?
A strange feeling passed over Namgung Cheon’s eyes.
She neither cleverly denied it nor openly grew angry.
“For now, step back. If I push you first, I will assume a combat stance.”
The girl pointed toward the corner of the cabin with a nod.
Namgung Cheon stood there.
Namgung Cheon looked into the girl’s eyes and organized his thoughts.
The situation was disadvantageous for a spar.
Following the girl’s words, stepping back to catch his breath seemed fine.
“Very well, I will release.”
The girl let go of the hand she had grabbed.
In that moment, Namgung Cheon retreated ten steps in an instant and steadied his breathing.
The Gangqi that had been surging from his palm strike dissipated.
The girl had launched an ambush the moment she released her hand.
It was a choice worth trying, but Namgung Cheon had refused.
He was certain he would not be blocked.
This is no ordinary deception.
Sweat ran down Namgung Cheon’s nape.
As a warrior, he had overcome countless hardships, but today was the most tense he had felt in a long time.
“From what I see, you are… a pirate? In any case, it does not seem you are with these lot. Come help clean up the corpses. We must gather them and burn them.”
“What?”
“There is no reason to be hostile, so there is no need to mix in. If you cannot trust me, just rest here.”
The girl sighed and turned her back.
The opponent had shown an opening first.
This was a perfect opportunity, yet he could not move.
It was not fear.
Due to the unexpected attitude, he needed time to think.
She looks like a demon from the outside… I cannot tell. I cannot tell. This is truly bizarre.
Namgung Cheon stood on guard and sighed.
He was confused.
It was difficult to decide whether to resist or retreat here.
Yet over-caution could freeze both body and mind.
Indecision was fatal for a warrior.
Thus, Namgung Cheon boldly stepped onto the deck.
He was tense against ambush, but nothing happened.
Instead, the opponent seemed more relaxed.
“Have you decided?”
The girl glanced at Namgung Cheon and asked.
She was dragging the ankle of a shriveled mummy-like corpse.
It was a bizarre sight.
Approximately ten corpses were piled in the corner.
She had moved busily during the time Namgung Cheon had been pondering.
Only a little remained.
Namgung Cheon’s gaze settled.
He intuitively sensed that the shriveled corpses were the girl’s doing.
Deception.
“Deception? Ah, you mean turning the corpses into this state? What a ridiculous joke.”
“What?”
“In the end, it is the same whether you cut the throat or stab the heart. Is cutting the neck clean? Stabbing the heart? Crushing the internals with my internal energy technique—is that righteous?”
The girl flicked the dragging corpse and asked.
The corpse sliding on the deck landed precisely beside the pile.
“You are trying to argue sophistry. Even taking a life, there must be a line that must not be crossed. Crossing that line makes one a demonic cultivator.”
“Umm… demonic cultivator.”
The girl crossed her arms and looked at Namgung Cheon.
He understood the sincerity in her words.
“You seem to think that the opposite of righteousness is demonic cultivation. Or perhaps evil path.”
“It seems you wish to say otherwise.”
“Indeed. The opposite of righteousness is the outer path.”
“Outer path?”
Namgung Cheon’s brows furrowed.
This was a new perspective.
“That is correct. Upon hearing you discuss righteousness, I understand your inclination, but among the orthodox sects commonly called righteous path, is there no demonic cultivator as you speak of?”
There are those who uphold righteousness even among demonic cultivators.
There are those who violate righteousness even among orthodox sects.
Thus, the girl concluded that the opposite of righteousness was the outer path.
In literal terms, outside the path.
The act of committing acts that stray from human morality.
“There are.”
Namgung Cheon muttered with a sigh.
He did not want to say such things before a demon, but he could not deny it.
Having seen it with his own eyes countless times.
After a moment of silence, the girl gathered the corpses she had killed.
All were pirates’ corpses.
The girl placed her hand on the gathered corpses.
Surprisingly, the corpses burned and turned to ash, vanishing.
A legendary technique that incinerates objects with internal energy without trace.
Sammae Jinha, which even great enlightenment and internal energy could not achieve.
Whoa… So she can use Sammae Jinha as well?
Sammae Jinha was astonishing, but there was no trace of deception in her internal energy.
Nor did she feel purity.
She was something beyond right, evil, and demonic—pure nothingness.
“Tsk tsk! In the end, I had to handle it all alone. A human pursuing righteousness has no heart at all.”
The girl sighed and shook her head.
It was troublesome, but she had to bring someone to sail the ship back to the island.
Since all the pirates who could sail were dead.
“I will bring people who can handle the ship to my island. If you wish to go, you may go.”
The girl leaped down toward the ship.
More efficient to step on water than air.
“Whoa…!”
Namgung Cheon’s eyes widened at the sight.
The light footwork the girl had unleashed was astonishing.
Light footwork meant training the body to move lightly and swiftly.
It was highly specialized.
The light footwork the girl displayed was at an extreme level.
Turning people into mummies and reaching the pinnacle of light footwork.
Extremely dangerous.
It was on the level of a full-scale extermination operation.
Yet he hesitated.
Because she had not attempted to seduce him, and calling her deceptive felt too straightforward.
Instead, she had distanced herself, saying it was troublesome.
Namgung Cheon turned his back on the girl disappearing into the distance.
He would watch for now, but he planned to gather the weapons the pirates had owned.
Yet…
“Oh no! This is the first time I’ve sailed such a big ship. I wonder if I can handle it properly. If the teacher’s chest and rear were touched, I might feel a bit stronger…”
“Absurd. You would need to have a bosom and rear as plump as a young girl’s before you could touch this old body.”
“Oh my, how rude. But does the teacher have a plump bosom and rear? Did you see it yourself?”
“I have not seen it. But if not, how else could she have become a ruinous beauty?”
“That is true. It would be fine if only the face were pretty, but…”
“What I am saying is that there must be lewd charm for a ruinous beauty to be complete. If only the face is pretty, it is just a decoration.”
The sight of several small boats and the men casually exchanging crude banter with the girl.
“In any case, you all steer the ship to the island dock. This ship is now ours.”
“Thanks to the teacher, the vicious pirates have become our benefactors.”
“We gave the ship and the stolen goods, but take only about thirty percent of the goods as compensation. The rest, find the owners. Or donate it, or use it for a fund.”
“Yes. These thieves were quite big this time.”
And consideration for the victims.
The casualness with which the men treated the girl was too confusing.
Could it be…?
A doubt flashed through Namgung Cheon’s mind.
“Wait a moment.”
“Yes? Ah, yes. What is the matter?”
Namgung Cheon called one of the men over and pulled him aside.
Did you not know about the girl’s deception?
The man frowned and sighed.
It was unpleasant to hear ill talk about the benefactor, but he seemed to understand.
“I understand what you mean, but the teacher is not the type of person the old man thinks. If the villagers hear, they will frown, so please refrain.”
The man said only that and went toward the sail.
He had to steer.
Teacher? That is not a title one would attach to a person one truly respects.
Namgung Cheon stood frozen.
The peaceful atmosphere was too bizarre without himself.
“Ready! We are departing!”
One man shouted vigorously and steered the ship.
The ship that had been stopped for a moment began to move slowly yet smoothly.
Was I wrong?
Was I seeing things?
Namgung Cheon’s mind was in turmoil as the girl approached.
“You still seem confused. Think carefully, doubt sufficiently, and judge. If you are uneasy about going to a demon’s lair, you may flee now.”
The girl read Namgung Cheon’s mind precisely.
She did not try to persuade him after reading it.
She simply waited quietly as things flowed.
She would wait until a conclusion was reached.
Impatience leads to falling.
“Hah…”
Namgung Cheon leaned against the ship and sighed.
Logically, fleeing was right, yet he could not feel the sense of crisis.
The momentum was gone.
Let us go.
Whether it was a demon’s lair or not.
He had decided not to flee but to confirm.