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Shortly after, we rented out an entire nearby inn and played the part of a young man and woman who had joined the escort caravan.
Inside the Unmarried Marker Nine Palace Formation, the man called the Sichuan Rear Fortress Lord formally greeted us.
"It is an honor to meet you, Princess. I am the master of the Sichuan Rear Fortress, called Cheongchangsal."
Cheongchangsal.
Not his real name.
The overall commanders of the Demonic Cult's branch headquarters in each region all harbor a grudge against one particular faction. To steel their resolve to annihilate that faction, they append the character for "kill" (殺) to their names.
"Qingcheng? Or Diancang?"
"Correct. Those stinking Taoist bastards murdered my own elder brother. But... may I ask who this gentleman is?"
"The Sex Demon."
I didn't bother hiding my identity.
"I go by many names, but one of them is 'Ice-Colored Demon.'"
I activated the Ice White Divine Art and the Heavenly Demon Divine Art simultaneously. As my appearance transformed in an instant into the very image of the Ice-Colored Demon, Cheongchangsal recoiled in alarm and bowed his head deeply.
"It is an honor to meet one so revered. Your bravery in infiltrating the heart of the Murim Alliance and abducting Dokgo Yeon—I truly respect it."
"It was nothing."
The first advantage of revealing my identity.
By flaunting that the madman who fought the Murim Alliance Leader and survived stood beside Lee Si-a, I made sure the Sichuan Rear Fortress Lord wouldn't entertain any foolish ideas.
And the second advantage.
Word would reach Ju-ji that I was traveling alone with Lee Si-a, advertising just how close our relationship was.
"As expected of the Little Princess. To have someone this powerful working for you."
And the third advantage.
The Sichuan Rear Fortress Lord wasn't actually on Lee Si-a's side, but since he had to grovel before me here and now, even his words would be forced into a pretense of loyalty to her.
"It's nothing special."
Lee Si-a faced the demonic practitioners with the poised, coldly intelligent bearing of the Little Princess. The woman who'd burned pots in the Heavenly Demon Divine Fire Courtyard at the Cheon Family Estate was gone, replaced by an iron lady, near-superhuman, standing beside me.
"Report. Where is this escort headed? What goods are inside? And why is the Sichuan Rear Fortress Lord personally traveling?"
Faced with that rapid-fire barrage, Cheongchangsal couldn't answer immediately. Since I'd gone to the trouble of displaying the Ice White Divine Art, I scattered frost from my hand to pressure him.
Answer, or I'll freeze you solid.
"We are bound for Shaanxi, to Xi'an. The cargo consists of ordinary escort goods and liquor. The reason I am personally traveling is to present this liquor to the Demonic Sword Consort and escort her back to Sichuan."
"The Demonic Sword Consort? Why?"
"Because she's profitable, ahem. ...Simply by existing, the Demonic Sword Consort generates tremendous economic gain."
So said Cheongchangsal.
Apparently, as the Demonic Sword Consort suppressed Sex Demons in Shaanxi, many bands of the Green Forest had also vanished from the region.
With public order stabilized, the movement of people grew more active, and escort work flourished. The whole of Shaanxi Province was reaping enormous benefits.
"The greatest beneficiary of the Demonic Sword Consort's presence is, of course, the Shaanxi government office, but the Zhongnan Sect is also profiting handsomely. Mount Hua Sect as well."
"Why would orthodox martial artists benefit?"
"As long as they pledge to eliminate Sex Demons, the Demonic Sword Consort, in her capacity as Sword Pavilion Master, agrees to face orthodox martial artists in duels."
That suddenly reminded me of Seon Ju-hee and the Maehwa swordswomen. Lee Si-a caught my glance and nodded.
"You're saying she's not acting as the Demonic Cult's former Sword Demon, but effectively as the Sword Pavilion Master?"
"Yes. That is correct. And since the Demonic Sword Consort's pledged term is nearing its end, we intend to escort her to Sichuan. Lately, Sex Demons have begun running rampant throughout the Sichuan region."
"Is it because the Emei Sect Leader has entered closed-door training?"
"As expected of the Little Princess. With the Lust-Exorcising Abbess in long-term closed-door training, Sex Demons across Sichuan have started rampaging without restraint."
The Emei Sect Leader—the Lust-Exorcising Abbess—had entered closed-door training? And that alone set the Sex Demons wild?
"......Bi-cheon?"
Lee Si-a seemed to sense something off. I opened the gate to resolve her concerns.
"Is one of the Demonic Cult's Ten Demons here?"
"......."
Cheongchangsal gauged my reaction. He looked reluctant to answer even under threat to his life.
"Don't worry. The Eldest Prince won't do you any harm. You do know the Flame Demon is in Sichuan, yes? She is no longer the Jilin Flame Demon. She is the Flying Heaven Flame Demon."
"...May I truly trust that?"
"Of course. I stake this man on it."
I wondered why she was betting me, but Lee Si-a's next words shut my mouth.
"This man is my everything. Place your absolute trust in me."
Lee Si-a commanded Cheongchangsal's trust. Cheongchangsal looked back and forth between Lee Si-a and me for a long moment, then knelt on one knee and clasped his fist in salute.
"Sichuan Rear Fortress Lord Cheongchangsal, once Gwak Shin-hwan, pledges loyalty to the Little Princess."
"Gwak Shin-hwan was your former name?"
"Now, Cheongchangsal is my name."
Is the Demonic Cult really this loose? I was curious what past he'd had to change his name so drastically, but since he was a man, I decided to let it go.
"To speak frankly, we wish to escort the Demonic Sword Consort to Sichuan and request her mediation in the situation there. The Demonic Sword Consort alone might... be able to prevent Sichuan's chaos."
"Mediation?"
"Yes. Sichuan is currently plunged into turmoil."
Cheongchangsal's expression could not have been more serious.
"The Thunder Demon has called upon Geomdam and is attempting to annihilate the Tang Clan. ...The Sichuan Tang Clan, where the Flame Demon is residing in seclusion."
"Geomdam?"
Why am I showing up in this?
* * *
Sichuan.
The Tang Clan had a hidden beauty.
The woman who never left her quarters for long periods was said to receive the Tang Clan's utmost care, praised as a beauty that even members of the direct line could not easily approach, let alone the collateral branches.
Those who wished to see Dang Seo-hee would have to break through the Fire Bone Mountain Rain Formation. Dang Seo-hee had voluntarily entered the Fire Bone Mountain Rain Formation and trained, training upon training, without end.
— At last, the Poison Girl Peak emerges within the Sichuan Tang Clan!
People believed without a doubt that she would ascend to the next Six Phoenixes.
There were those who claimed Dang Seo-hee had once been a courtesan known throughout Sichuan, but without exception, they retracted their own words the very next day, their faces looking as if they'd been poisoned.
Dang Seo-hee, alongside the Emei Sect's Jeongjo and Abbess Jeongja, rose like a beacon of hope for the female martial artists of Sichuan.
According to circulating rumors, she had already become a Peak Realm expert. They said even the head of the Sichuan Tang Clan had to yield a move to Dang Seo-hee.
The rumors spread lushly across all of Sichuan.
Just how strong had this woman become, doing nothing but training for over a year without ever showing her face? Amid endless public curiosity about her, a strange movement arose in Sichuan.
— Sex Demons, all of you, gather here.
The Sex Demons who'd been lying low throughout Sichuan received a certain letter, and they were shocked when they saw who had sent it.
— I am Geomdam.
Geomdam scraped together every last Sex Demon in Sichuan.
* * *
A middle-aged martial artist with a grudge against the Sichuan Tang Clan, Dan Sam, passed the ruined shrine of Zhuge Liang and slipped down into the canyon below.
Countless would-be Sex Demons had already gathered there. Dan Sam scanned those who'd concealed their identities with masks or wide-brimmed hats, assessing them.
'All of them are First-Rate experts!'
They couldn't match Dan Sam, a Peak-level expert, but they were renowned fighters across the Sichuan region.
He even spotted some who'd come up from Yunnan. He couldn't contain his curiosity—why had this figure called Geomdam, silent for so long, summoned such powerful fighters?
Step, step.
A woman with bewitching steps revealed herself.
"Oh my."
She appeared in clothing so revealing it was excessive—no, genuinely over the top. White silk plainly traced the elegant lines of her body, and the knee-length skirt clung tightly to her legs as if squeezing them.
With sleeveless attire that even bared her armpits, the woman was lewder than any courtesan of the red-light district.
Men gulped audibly at the obscene outfit, as if a Celestial Maiden descending from the moon had been stained by earthly lust and fallen into depravity.
"Nice to meet you all. I'm Roe Yeon (雷戀), acting on behalf of Geomdam."
Crackle. Lightning sparked from the fan in the woman's hand. The surge of her presence almost made Dan Sam instinctively grip his sword.
Peak Realm. No, possibly beyond!
"The reason I've gathered you all here is nothing other than this: to raid the Sichuan Tang Clan."
"Raid the Tang Clan? Are you in your right mind?"
"Yes. Don't you all bear grudges against the Sichuan Tang Clan? If you sit around doing nothing but cursing them, will the Tang Clan ever fall? You have to take revenge with your own strength."
The men gradually began falling under Roe Yeon's spell.
"Geomdam has been sharpening his blade to strike the Sichuan Tang Clan. To punish the Tang Clan for disturbing Sichuan's peace and stealing his treasure, he has been watching them. And he has made his decision."
Slash!
With a single gesture from Roe Yeon, the signboard reading "Sichuan Tang Clan" split into dozens of pieces. The board was charred black, as if struck by lightning.
"But it's impossible alone. That's why we need your help."
"What is impossible for Geomdam alone?"
"Extermination!"
At Roe Yeon's words, the martial artists swallowed hard.
"We'll kill every last member of the Tang Clan. In the process... Dang Seo-hee? Violating the Tang Clan beauties is fair game. Rape and kill them. Whether it's the Tang Clan head or anyone else, go ahead and defile them all you want. What matters is..."
Roe Yeon drew a line across her throat with her hand.
"Killing every single Tang Clan bloodline without leaving even one alive. That's what matters."
"So we can violate them before killing them?"
"Yes. As long as some idiot doesn't try to kidnap Dang Seo-hee just because she's pretty, you can violate them to your heart's content. The same goes for the other girls, not just Dang Seo-hee."
At Roe Yeon's words, every warrior grinned greasily.
Geomdam himself—no one less—was offering his help. Even the woman standing before them was a Peak Realm expert; if everyone gathered here struck the Tang Clan at once, there was no way they'd lose.
"I'll inform you of the plan on the day of the raid. If anyone thinks of betraying us and tipping them off, I'll kill that person first—but go ahead and tell. The more that happens... the more the Tang Clan's warriors will gather at their estate, so we won't have to hunt them down one by one."
At Roe Yeon's voice, laced with killing intent, the warriors nodded heavily. Dan Sam felt chills at the fact that nearly a hundred martial artists had just decided to raid the Tang Clan—of all places.
The Tang Clan were people who'd certainly earned plenty of grudges.
Even in Dan Sam's case, he'd lost his elder brother to a venomous snake that escaped due to the Tang Clan's negligence.
"Those who want out can leave on their own. But don't even think about meddling in the middle of a killing calamity launched against the Tang Clan. Understood? Shifty little bastards like that... I'll kill myself."
Dan Sam's hands and feet trembled at Roe Yeon's intimidation. The woman, heavy with killing intent, was unmistakably beyond the Peak Realm.
It was possible.
They could take revenge on the Sichuan Tang Clan!
"Just leave it to us. I will give everything I have."
Under Geomdam's summons, the forces seeking to raid the Sichuan Tang Clan began gathering one by one.
* * *
"Foolish people."
Roe Yeon—no, the Thunder Demon—scoffed at the men who'd departed, trusting in her own power and the name of Geomdam.
Geomdam? It was a false name. The Thunder Demon had deliberately borrowed the name of Sichuan's strongest martial artist to prop up her own authority.
Geomdam did hold a grudge against the Tang Clan. Whether it was the kind of grudge to annihilate an entire clan, even the Thunder Demon herself didn't know.
It didn't matter, since Geomdam didn't even exist, and the Thunder Demon herself had no intention of fighting directly anyway.
"Thankfully, the Eldest Prince accepted it readily."
To draw out the Flame Demon, the Thunder Demon had appropriately adapted the No Demon's plan from the Hwangbo Clan raid. You could say she'd taken the skeleton and added flesh tailored to the Sichuan situation.
It was a plan—a bit more systematic and a bit more vicious—designed to confirm how the 'Flame Demon Dang Seo-hee' would respond.
"Heh-heh, shall I just sit back and wait at my leisure?"
"Not a chance, you crazy bitch."
Step, step.
A middle-aged woman with a face worn by exhaustion faced the Thunder Demon, smoking a long pipe. She wore an outfit that revealed her voluptuous chest, and the garment was covered in patterns like a spider's web.
"A wench who's not even fit to retire and warm the back room as an old woman dares to covet the Sichuan Tang Clan?"
"Ho-ho, how insolent. You dare spout such words at me?"
The Thunder Demon spread her fan and covered her mouth.
"A hag who couldn't even achieve Return to Youth, just growing old."
"Why you...!"
The middle-aged woman hurled a long needle at the Thunder Demon like lightning. The Thunder Demon sneered at her and waved her fan lazily.
"Past or present, you're no match for me."
The Thunder Demon pulled a small orb from her bosom. The tiny sealed orb was an unused Soul-Bewitching Incense, the same kind distributed to the Sex Demons during the Hwangbo Clan raid.
"Join me in destroying the Sichuan Tang Clan too, Former Poison Demon."
Crackle!
A powerful surge of lightning filled the canyon.