The Woman in the Veil
In the uproar of the tavern, the veiled woman’s gaze remained fixed on the small girl sitting by the window.
Ever since the girl had first stepped into the inn, the woman had been watching her in secret, marveling at that unreal, almost impossible presence.
How could a girl that beautiful roam the treacherous Jianghu alone, without even a single weapon for self-defense?
What if something terrible happened to her?
Her look was a tangle of concern and innocent curiosity as it followed the girl’s every move.
The girl ordered food with complete composure, as if she didn’t care at all about the countless stares raining down on her, and began idly swinging her dainty legs while taking in the tavern.
There were still people staring blankly at her, and others who, after avoiding her eyes, started whispering among themselves—but none of it seemed to catch the girl’s attention.
She calmly swept her eyes over every table without the slightest sign of agitation, then propped her chin in her hand and leaned back.
Was there really no one here who could interest her?
The girl’s expression, once bright with curiosity, had gone cool and distant, losing the glimmer it had just moments before.
What a shame.
The girl suited a smile.
Just as the veiled woman started to move, intending to restore that smile to her face, two thuggish-looking men in the corner who had been leering at the girl with greedy eyes finally did something stupid.
To be fair, the girl had looked at them.
But that had been curiosity, not favor.
Men like that were forever mistaking a beautiful woman’s glance for interest.
They swaggered over to the girl’s table and, brazen as could be, dropped themselves into the seats opposite her.
As the conversation wore on, the girl’s brow slowly furrowed in obvious displeasure.
She was far too precious to be hassled by gutter trash like that.
The veiled woman tightened her hand around the hilt at her waist and stepped forward.
"Get lost."
The girl issued the warning, but the men still didn’t move.
They only kept on grinning and posturing, trying to linger beside her for as long as they could.
When the veiled woman approached them, tension rippled through the martial artists nearby.
A woman in a veil, with a sword at her waist.
If you were naming the people you should be careful around in a tavern, she ranked right alongside the burly old drunk swaying on his feet.
The customers naturally parted to make way for her.
With graceful steps, the woman walked toward the table where the girl sat.
"Excuse me, but that seat is mine. Would you mind moving?"
Her voice was clear and pure, but it seemed to hide a cold blade inside it.
The men turned with startled expressions.
Even though her face was hidden behind a veil, the oppressive aura radiating from her wiped the sly smiles clean off their faces.
One of them tried to defend himself, sounding aggrieved.
"The young lady invited us first."
"I never did."
A frosty denial.
After confirming the girl’s reaction, the veiled woman folded her arms and gave a sharp tilt of her chin in warning.
The men stole a glance at the sword hanging at her waist and got up without another word.
Even to someone who knew nothing about blades, it looked expensive.
They knew there was nothing to gain from offending some wandering martial artist.
Grumbling under their breath, they returned to their original table and never once looked back toward the girl again.
Once the disturbance had settled, the woman finally turned her attention to the girl.
The girl was staring back at her with open interest, as if she found her fascinating.
What a bold child.
There was more pure curiosity and the light of observation in that gaze than gratitude.
The earlier incident had clearly been merely unpleasant, not dangerous.
Maybe the one who had helped the woman wasn’t the girl at all, but the men.
The veiled woman moved naturally to the seat across from the girl, the one the men had just vacated.
"People like that aren’t worth your time."
As soon as she spoke, the girl pouted.
"…But I needed the information."
Information?
So she had been gathering rumors here in the tavern after all.
Only then did the woman understand the girl’s intention.
The thug-like men had been discussing some mysterious Bigeup, and the girl had apparently tolerated their presence in order to hear what they knew.
"What kind of information?"
"Information about the strange secret manual they were talking about."
Bigeup!
The eyes behind the woman’s veil sharpened.
She had come all the way to Yanghwajin in search of exactly that manual.
After days of asking around, she had finally caught a thread of rumor about the so-called “book that devours people,” and had only just been preparing to move when this happened.
Could there really be such a coincidence?
The woman studied the girl again, calm and measured.
Was this mysterious girl someone who might help her on her journey, or someone who would get in her way?
Searching for a secret manual meant the girl was undoubtedly a martial artist.
The woman gauged the child’s build and bearing.
The girl, as if unconcerned by the woman’s scrutiny, kept her sulky expression and watched the men who had left a moment ago.
I can’t feel much internal energy from her.
There was almost none of the presence or inner force one would normally sense from a martial artist.
Only a faint, difficult-to-explain trace of true qi drifted through that otherwise ordinary and delicate aura.
The woman was confused.
There were only two possibilities.
Either the girl was a peerless master with higher attainment than her, skilled enough to conceal her own presence, or she truly was just an ordinary girl who knew nothing about martial arts.
The woman’s caution rose a little more.
Whether she knew it or not, the girl shifted her gaze away from the men and rested her chin on the table, looking back at the woman with that same pouting expression.
Now her curiosity had turned toward the woman instead.
That innocent, guileless look only made the whole matter more impossible for the woman to read.
"You seemed interested in what those men were saying earlier, so I thought I’d ask—do you perhaps know anything about the book that devours people?"
The woman tested her.
Her tone was blunt, but not outright hostile.
The girl answered in a completely calm voice, leaving the woman’s wariness looking foolish.
"I only heard it was an interesting story. You seem to know something yourself, though."
It didn’t add up.
The girl had clearly just admitted to letting the men sit with her in order to get information out of them.
That answer only deepened the woman’s suspicion.
Yet the girl still looked entirely unbothered.
Had she failed to notice her own contradiction?
Or did she know and simply not care?
There were plenty of lunatics in the martial world, so it wouldn’t have been strange if she simply changed her story and forgot what she’d just said.
"Sir, your food is ready!"
Fortunately, the atmosphere eased when the server came out carrying the meal.
As the steaming feast was laid out on the table, the girl’s face instantly brightened as she looked at the food.
A radiant smile spread across her lips.
The veiled woman, seeing the girl eat as though she herself were no longer worth a second glance, struggled to settle her complicated feelings.
I don’t know.
Should she cooperate with the girl?
Or warn her to stay away from the manual?
By the time the woman’s deliberation had dragged on for quite a while, the girl—who had been tearing into a chicken leg with her tiny hands—looked back at her.
And then, as though she were offering up something deeply regrettable.
With the expression of someone dying to say no, she made a suggestion.
"…Do you want some?"
Who did she think she was, feeding a beggar?
The woman was taken aback by the unexpected offer.
Looking at the girl’s huge, glistening eyes, she answered, "
…Gladly."
She was the sort who never turned down free food.
***
After finishing the meal, I patted my stomach.
Food from the mortal world tasted so good it nearly brought tears to my eyes.
Sure, I’d shared some of it with the tidy-looking beggar in front of me, but I had ordered too much anyway, so that hardly mattered.
The face hidden behind the woman’s veil had looked pretty good when I caught a glimpse of it while eating.
She was probably some mysterious female master straight out of a martial arts cliché, or the daughter of some wealthy household who had to conceal her identity.
In Jianghu, favors and grudges were like shackles, so it never hurt to get them fastened early.
Besides, it wasn’t even my money.
"Thank you for the meal."
The woman wiped her mouth and offered her thanks.
She must have thought that sharing food meant we’d grown closer, because her tone had become noticeably lighter.
Easy.
One meal date with a pretty girl, and even a mysterious woman is conquered.
I shrugged and took a sip of the warm tea the server had brought to rinse my mouth, letting out a breath.
The tavern was still packed.
The sight of a veiled woman and a Transcendence-level beauty eating together must have drawn a ridiculous amount of attention, practically like a mukbang.
With everyone staring, the smug little body of the pretty girl inside me tried to swallow up my common sense.
Hold it in. Just until I finish dealing with the woman in front of me.
The silence was broken by the woman sitting across from me.
"If you don’t mind my asking, could I inquire why you’re searching for that secret manual?"
Her voice had softened considerably.
So she did have some decency.
It seemed the meal had been worth it.
Of course, the eyes I could just barely make out beyond the veil were still sharp and keen.
"Why are you asking?"
"If our purposes are the same, then depending on your answer, we might cooperate."
So this woman had also heard the same rumors.
Did I really need an ally?
Still, the rumors I’d heard from those men suggested something nasty was lying in wait, so having at least one other person around might not be the worst idea.
If it comes to it, I’ll use her as a shield and run.
I made up my mind.
For now, talking wouldn’t hurt.
But how was I supposed to answer?
I obviously couldn’t say, “Those books are mine, and I’m trying to recover them because I’m embarrassed.”
After thinking it over for a moment, I made up a plausible story and answered her.
"I heard that if you gather those books, some secret unknown to the world will be revealed."
"A secret?"
The woman flinched at my words.
Looking surprised, she leaned forward and asked again, "Ho-how do you know that?"
Well, because I just made it up.
Quietly mocking her innocence for believing such nonsense so easily, I answered smoothly.
"I found out by chance. Through another book."
"Another book!"
Apparently she was more gullible than I’d expected, because the woman reacted strongly to my words, straightening at once and failing to hide her excitement.
Huh? Was this okay?
Was she a book freak or something?
I hadn’t expected that reaction.
Maybe mentioning another book had been a mistake.
I’d been a little too pleased that my lie had landed so well.
Perhaps I should’ve been more careful.
She didn’t seem like a bad person, but this might not be the sort of thing to brush off lightly.
As I sipped my tea, she thought for a while before nodding and whispering to me.
"Have you perhaps heard of the Black Wings?"
"The Black Wings?"
What the hell was that?
Some kind of secret organization, like the Hao Clan or the Hall of Assassins?
I frowned and bit my lower lip without realizing it, irritated by the cringe-inducing name.
For some reason, the woman took my reaction as satisfaction.
"I see. Then I’ll tell you too. The truth is… I have one as well."
And with that, she reached into her robes and pulled out a worn bundle of papers.
On the cover of the book, the words Amheuktacheongeom were written in bold, elegant calligraphy.
"No wonder it caught my eye at first glance. You were a fellow traveler on the path of darkness."
Damn it. What the hell is she talking about?