The Chief Guardian's Puppet
Even though he was a complete novice when it came to martial arts, Seong-il now understood why so many male warriors called the Heavenly Yin Physique a living, supreme-grade elixir.
Just having sex wiped away all the fatigue in his body, restored his stamina, and even boosted his internal energy? If a powerless woman was born with this constitution, the murim world would have been drenched in blood over her. Especially since women with the Heavenly Yin Physique were known to be extraordinarily beautiful.
Seong-il could now guess why the Chief Guardian of the Demon Sect had kept her untouched until she reached adulthood.
If he'd taken her while she was still a child, the ambitious schemers from both the righteous and demonic factions would have tried to steal her the moment they learned her true nature. But if she was the Young Sole Master of the Demon Sect rather than his concubine, the story changed. Even if she was a powerless child, the title alone would rally those loyal to the sect into a protective shield around her. The Chief Guardian must have planned to raise her until he had enough power to safeguard her in the shadows, then devour her completely.
As the hidden truth slowly dawned on him, Seong-il's body shuddered.
Fuck. So if this ever gets discovered, I'm completely screwed. No matter how much the Black Ball is an untransferable item, anything that counts as an item has to have some kind of loophole.
He unconsciously pictured himself captured, tongue ripped out, limbs severed, kept alive only to suffer, while Eun-wol was held beside him and raped by another man. Though it was only the worst-case scenario, the mere thought terrified him. He finally realized the woman beside him was a treasure everyone in the world would covet.
I have to be careful. Extremely careful. I can never let myself get caught. And if I ever reach a point where capture seems inevitable, it might be better to abandon this world entirely.
Once his thoughts were in order, Seong-il rose and woke Eun-wol.
She woke with a flushed face, clearly embarrassed, but she no longer tried to hide her body like before. Instead, she gazed at him with a strange look in her eyes and asked softly.
"Why did you wake me, Young Master?"
Seong-il noticed the faint trace of anticipation in her gaze but pretended not to see it. He simply gave her an order.
"Get dressed. It'll be a headache if the Demon Sect followers come tracking me."
While fumbling into her clothes, Eun-wol asked, "But... if I'm with you, the Demon Sect members won't pose any threat, right?"
Idiot. She still thinks she's the real leader of the Demon Sect.
The true power behind the Demon Sect was the Chief Guardian. She was nothing more than a puppet he'd been raising. Looking at her, Seong-il unconsciously muttered.
"You're incredibly naive."
"...?"
The moment she finished dressing and they stepped out of the cave, a man appeared before them.
"Kuh... Young Sole Master! I've found you... Young Sole Master!!"
It was someone Seong-il recognized. Wasn't this Saekma, the one who had chased him alongside the Young Sole Master yesterday?
He was clearly not in his right mind. Drool spilled continuously from his mouth, and his eyes were completely unfocused in a grotesque manner. Saekma stood before them, then locked eyes on Seong-il and charged with ferocious killing intent.
"Young Sole Master... Enemy! Kill him!!"
"Huk...! Stop him, Eun-wol!"
At Seong-il's command, Eun-wol sprang forward without hesitation and began unleashing merciless strikes. Even as he was brutally beaten, Saekma didn't fight back. He only blocked. After taking a thorough beating, he finally collapsed to his knees in front of Eun-wol and fainted.
"What the hell? I get why he chased after me, but why is he in this state?"
To Seong-il's muttered question, Eun-wol answered.
"It's the aftereffect of the Poison Gu, Young Master."
"Poison Gu...?"
Eun-wol nodded.
"Yes. The Poison Gu is a venomous insect created through the Demon Sect's secret arts. Once injected into the target using the forbidden technique, it circulates through the body, settles in the brain, and takes control."
"...And what happens if they disobey an order?"
"Their brain explodes and they die, Young Master."
Well, since the Black Ball exists, I guess something like Poison Gu isn't that strange.
"Then why did this guy come to us half-mad?"
"Ah... that's because the Poison Gu exists in two forms: the mother worm and the child worm. The mother worm is given to the one who will dominate, while the child worm is injected into the one to be dominated. The mother worm causes no harm to its host and remains quiet, but if the child worm moves too far from the mother worm, it tortures its host until they're destroyed. It seems he was away from me, the owner of the mother worm, for too long."
So it's the murim version of the Black Ball.
Now that he understood the situation, Seong-il nodded.
"Then this guy is someone you can control perfectly?"
"Of course, Young Master. If I ordered that trash to kill himself, he would immediately sever his own heart veins and die on the spot."
Seong-il asked, puzzled by her wording.
"Trash...? Wasn't he your subordinate?"
She looked at him as if he'd said something ridiculous.
"Not at all. This worm is a shameless piece of trash that goes around raping women. A few years ago, while I was traveling the world, I caught him trying to control a helpless woman with sorcery so he could violate her. I stopped him and turned him into my slave."
"I see."
With his curiosity satisfied, Seong-il began asking Han Eun-wol about the martial arts matter that truly interested him.
"Eun-wol. After we mixed our bodies this time, I definitely confirmed that you possess the Heavenly Yin Physique. But you said that sharing a bed with someone who has it increases internal energy. So why do I only feel like my fatigue and stamina have recovered? I don't sense any new 'internal energy' forming."
Eun-wol answered as though his question confused her.
"Huh...? The Heavenly Yin Physique doesn't create internal energy simply by being taken. I believe the effect is amplified if you practice an internal cultivation method after the act of intercourse."
Ugh. So we're right back where we started.
Seong-il sighed and said to her, "Look. I don't know any martial arts. What do you think of this technique my master gave me?"
He handed her the secret manual Cheongmyeong Jin'in had given him.
"Ah... Are you really giving something this precious to me so casually...?"
"Well, since you can't betray me anyway, it doesn't matter."
Her face turned bright red as she protested.
"J-just because we mixed our bodies a little doesn't mean you've become my master, Young Master..."
Realizing she had completely misunderstood, Seong-il explained about the Black Ball.
"What nonsense are you talking about? You know this orb, right?"
When she saw the Black Ball, her expression turned guarded and she nodded.
"This isn't an ordinary object. It's a divine artifact of the Demon God."
"D-Demon God?"
Seong-il nodded and continued feeding her the fabricated story.
"This item is bound to my soul through a contract with the Demon God. Only I can wield it, and it cannot be transferred to another. Furthermore, anyone captured by this item will feel unimaginable pain if they disobey my commands. And if I die, the captured individual—you—will die as well."
Eun-wol looked utterly shocked.
"Th-that's a lie..."
"If you think it's a lie, why don't you test it? You'll find out whether it's true or false when I die, won't you?"
With those words, Seong-il dismissed the Black Ball. As it vanished in a mysterious flash of light before her eyes, she stared at him in complete disbelief.
"See? Is something like that normally possible?"
"..."
Watching her remain silent, Seong-il continued.
"In truth, I am someone who has broken the taboo of reading the heavens' secrets."
"?!"
When she looked at him as if he'd just spouted complete nonsense, Seong-il sighed inwardly.
She was so innocent and clumsy during sex, but she's surprisingly suspicious at times like this. I wonder if she'll buy it...
He slightly twisted the plot of Pokso Muhyopjeon to his advantage and explained it to her. His story, which spanned the past, present, and future, left her visibly astonished. She listened carefully, though she continued to show signs of doubt. Still, the fact that someone who appeared to be her age knew secret histories of the Demon Sect that even she didn't know—and especially when he revealed the Chief Guardian's true identity and his goal of resurrecting the Blood God—she seemed deeply shaken.
After a long silence, Eun-wol finally spoke.
"It's... quite an interesting tale, Young Master. But I cannot believe your words."
"No. I believe they are credible."
An unexpected voice cut in from beside them.
Saekma...? When did that bastard wake up?
Saekma struggled to his feet and addressed them.
"My apologies. My mind returned the moment the Young Sole Master subdued me, but the Poison Gu's rampage prevented me from controlling my body. I did not intentionally eavesdrop on your conversation."
He offered the excuse and continued in his sly, deferential tone.
"Young Sole Master. Even if my opinion displeases you, please endure it for a moment while this subordinate offers his thoughts, ya know?"
He trembled visibly as he looked at her, clearly terrified.
He must have gotten beaten senseless every time he said something that annoyed her.
Seong-il answered on her behalf.
"Go on."
When Saekma glanced at the Young Sole Master for permission, she bit her lip and nodded.
"After the Young Sole Master took this one in as a subordinate three years ago..."
"Hmph. Subordinate? You mean slave."
When she cut him off, Seong-il spoke to her in an irritated tone.
"Be quiet. I'm listening to the story. Don't interrupt."
She flinched and immediately closed her mouth.
At Seong-il's nod, Saekma continued.
"Anyway, after being taken in, this subordinate made every effort to survive, ya know... Especially trying to read the Young Sole Master's intentions. I worked very hard at that."
More like reading the room so he wouldn't get his ass beaten.
"After serving faithfully for about a year, I began to notice something strange, ya know."
"...What did you notice?"
The Young Sole Master interjected, but this time Seong-il stayed silent. He was curious as well.
"The Young Sole Master's martial talent was undeniably heavenly, and the spirit and authority you displayed were truly impressive. However, while serving closely by your side, this subordinate clearly sensed something was wrong."
Saekma paused to catch his breath before continuing.
"Young Sole Master. Excluding this subordinate, have you ever personally chosen any member of your personal guard based on your own judgment?"
"Such trivial matters are for the Chief Guardian to handle. That's why."
Saekma shook his head.
"Young Sole Master. No leader of any faction seats people they did not choose in their personal guard. And that's not all. You have never handled any matter without first discussing it with the Chief Guardian."
"S-so what about it?"
With cold eyes, Saekma looked at her.
"You are passive, Young Sole Master. Extremely and thoroughly so. No leader of a faction relies so completely on one individual. You seemed... exactly like a puppet controlled by the Chief Guardian."
"Wh-what did you say?"
Shocked, the Young Sole Master glared at him with fury.
"This subordinate also found it strange. How could someone with such outstanding talent and legitimate bloodline behave that way? But after hearing the Young Master's words earlier, I finally understood."
"Understood what?"
Seong-il asked, unable to contain his curiosity.
"It is brainwashing through the Blood Soul Great Method."
A sinister sorcery of the Blood Sect that uses blood and voice to erode the target's will over time, turning them into an obedient puppet. Most effective on children whose egos are still weak.
"What?!"
Furious at the implication that she was a brainwashed puppet, the Young Sole Master radiated killing intent toward Saekma.
"Enough. Continue your explanation," Seong-il ordered, restraining her.
"The Blood Sect was notorious for its sinister arts even before its fall. They felt less like a martial sect and more like a cult worshiping a dark god, ya know. Among their many forbidden techniques, the most infamous was the Blood Soul Great Method."
"What exactly does this sorcery do...?"
"It uses blood and voice. The target is made to drink the caster's blood and has the voice imprinted upon them. Once the voice is imprinted, it slowly crushes the target's ego and brainwashes them into a perfect puppet. It's especially effective on young children whose sense of self is still weak."
Seong-il asked the question that had occurred to him while listening.
"How do you know all this?"
Saekma smiled faintly.
"Because twenty years ago, during the Great Blood Calamity, it became widely known as the Blood Sect Leader's exclusive secret technique. The Blood Sect Leader kidnapped children and used the Blood Soul Great Method to turn them into fanatical devotees."
"Before the evidence of their sorcery came to light, the murim world believed those fanatics' disregard for their own lives was simply due to religious doctrine and loyalty. However, experts like Grandmaster Won-gang, renowned for breaking such arts, revealed that they had been brainwashed. The righteous factions investigated, discovered the child kidnappings, and declared war on the Blood Sect. It's a very famous story."