Chapter 203
Chapter 203
************************-
Translator: uly
Chapter: 203
Chapter Title: Sisters' Lingering Shadows
************************-
"...Still like that?"
"Yes."
Sua relayed Lord Ryeong-ryeong's situation. Seol-ran fell deep into thought.
"...Her condition hasn't improved at all, has it. Well, she was in pretty deep."
"......."
"I get it. Same feelings here. Can't really blame the guy. I feel like dropping my sword any second myself. I figured two years would be enough to get better... but nope. It's because he's no ordinary guy. One of those rare ones... special in every way. Total idiot and bonehead too... whatever."
Seol-ran let out a smirk. She quietly gazed down at the sword propped up at an angle against the wall.
"...But that doesn't mean I can set my sword aside. If I drop it and start wandering, there'll be no one left to settle his score. Anyway... I can't just leave Lord Ryeong-ryeong like that. She's past being a mere acquaintance now-she's a close friend."
Seol-ran rose to her feet.
"Let's have dinner together, Sua. No reason not to. I'll check with the Third Demon and snag a day pass. She'll approve, I'm sure. But before that... you don't need to see a physician separately?"
"Ryeong-ryeong sister turned it down. Refused to even go to one."
"No way... she hasn't fallen into qi deviation, has she?"
Sua hesitated before speaking carefully.
"...I think it might be the early signs. She's gotten sharper than before. Her qi itself feels that way. Like it's about to burst any moment. That's why I'm even more worried. But... it could just be my imagination."
"Whatever it is, she needs some attention. Got it. I'll keep it in mind."
Seol-ran stroked Sua's head.
"Taking care of the one who should be looking after you... you've grown up, Sua."
"...Aw, what. Hehe."
"You tell the others too?"
"No. But Dan-hwa sister will come. She's worried about Ryeong-ryeong sister."
"What about Baek Mae?"
The tallest peak.
The hardest person to approach now.
Sua fidgeted with her hands.
"...Not sure. Baek Mae sister... she's in worse shape than I thought."
"She'll be fine. She still knows how to tell things apart."
"...Yes."
"Wanna cross swords before you go, since you're here?"
Seol-ran revealed her fighting spirit. Sua shook her head.
"I have to go see Baek Mae sister. And to do that... I need to see Myo Ye-rin sister first."
"Baek Mae's master? A member of the Four Blood Corps? Why her?"
"Myo Ye-rin sister can gauge it."
Sua swept her arm through the air.
"...Whether Baek Mae sister is in a state to meet or not."
...
The Four Blood Corps.
A group of super-elites handling the Demonic Cult's public security, where each member's prowess far surpasses the norm.
They each oversaw specific cities. Luckily, the area with Myo Ye-rin and Baek Mae was nearby, so Sua arrived before nightfall.
A towering pavilion under Four Blood Corps management. Even late at night, people moved about busily.
The Four Blood Corps handled security directly, so their duties piled up endlessly. That's why they had countless assistants attached to them.
Sua had seen it a few times before, but the nighttime clamor still felt unfamiliar. The passing folk all had dark circles under their eyes, which made her a little worried.
Heard they pull overtime like it's just another meal...
The assistant roles came with hefty perks, but it looked like a job that'd wreck your body first.
Sua quietly stepped toward the inner area. She bowed her head to the warrior standing guard amid the crowd.
"Hello."
"Who... oh? Little Sua?"
Thanks to the guards being familiar faces, she got in without issue.
Myo Ye-rin was at the deepest part inside. True to her Four Blood Corps status, she handled a mountain of tasks and was often the one running around on foot.
She seemed stuck with her backlog too. Her hair was a tangled mess from irritably scratching at it.
Even as she slowly raised her head, exhaustion clung to her face. Her slightly furrowed brows were pretty, but the fierceness hit harder.
She looked sensitive as could be.
But Sua paid it no mind.
"Who... oh? Sua?"
"Sister."
She dashed over dododo-style and slipped into a light hug.
Myo Ye-rin smiled.
"You cute little thing. Yeah, it's sister. Aigo, look at this tiny one. Your face is all roughed up. You eating properly?"
"Yes. What about you, sister?"
"Sister feels like she'll starve to death~. One incense stick from now, she's toast."
Sua rummaged and pulled out some food. Knowing Myo Ye-rin skipped meals, she'd prepared ahead-and all her favorites, no less.
"It's a bit cold now, but... let's eat together, sister."
"...To think that playboy sired a daughter like you... I just can't believe it. Alright. Who cares about work? A cute little sister's visit is way more important."
"Dad's not a playboy. He only had eyes for me."
"That's a problem in its own right."
They hadn't always been this close. But as run-ins with the First Demon grew frequent, they somehow ended up like this.
She doted on Sua.
And Sua liked her right back.
"Here, a bite for Sua. A bite for me."
She fed bites that got munched yum-yum. Myo Ye-rin let out a sigh of delight.
"Wanna just be my daughter?"
"Then you'd have to marry Dad."
"Hmm... more roadblocks than I figured. Eh, I'll think about it."
Myo Ye-rin was soft. And loved her jokes.
Relaxed and kind, the type who could toss in a casual word even when everyone else got dead serious.
The meal was delicious and fun. Sua clung to Myo Ye-rin as she wiped her mouth.
"Sister."
"Alright, Sua. You here to see sister, or you got some other angle?"
"Part of it was wanting to see you."
"Smooth talker. But I sense something else. What's up?"
"...Is Baek Mae sister okay?"
"Hmm. Tough question. Let me see..."
She opened the window. Sniffed at a spot a little ways off.
"Seems okay... maybe not..."
"You can tell by the smell?"
"Less smell, more qi fluctuations. Whatever, she's my disciple. I know how wild her qi flow gets when it's rough. It's gotten nastier lately-even I can pick it up from here."
Myo Ye-rin closed the window.
"Got piled-up work, so can't tag along. But looks like no worries today. It's a relatively tame day for her... and she's gotten stronger in the meantime. Total monster."
"Hehe."
"If it feels off, just turn right around. Got it? That kid who used to know front from back so cleanly... now shoving herself into the mud like this..."
Myo Ye-rin clicked her tongue.
"Amazing she hasn't tumbled into heart devil qi deviation. Really."
...
Sua slowly passed through the forest path. A spot somewhat removed from the city.
The raging qi currents were growing fiercer. The artificial winds had gone overboard, making it feel like standing in a storm's heart.
The qi flow itself was a blade.
Even from afar, she could sense someone swinging a sword.
"......"
One wrong step, and it'd slice her.
Sua advanced inward with care.
Black Peony had grown obsessed with knowledge. She started poring through every scrap of worldly wisdom, hunting for any way to save him.
Seol-ran had vowed revenge. She built her martial prowess while studying on the side, seeking a path to topple Reverse Heaven.
Lord Ryeong-ryeong was lost. She'd cast everything aside and wandered like she'd drop dead tomorrow.
So what of Baek Mae?
What was Baek Mae's state?
In a way, she was the most shattered of them all. She'd been close, always ticking along, and would've bolted at even a glimpse of him.
That's why...
When he died, she turned into a sword ghost.
She swung her blade day and night, no regard for time. No eating, no rest-she piled on strength in a haze.
Unclear if it was revenge against Reverse Heaven. Just a life of moving her body. Sometimes she'd get swept in her own qi currents without distinguishing friend from foe, nearly slicing allies.
She'd halted midway by a hair, luckily. Otherwise, no one could've blocked her sword.
An extreme swiftblade. A form even Sua couldn't chase lightly.
---Gooooong...
The twisted qi flow let out a bizarre wail. Then in an instant, whoosh-it vanished, and the churning earth settled.
The surroundings were all flattened. Anything there had been shredded, all life uprooted and flung beyond the zone long ago.
The wind died in a breath. The sword gale that'd seemed ready to flay skin quieted too.
One rock remained. Carved by her own hand, it seemed, and someone sat atop it. The figure gazing up at the moonlight was filthy, clothes caked in mud and dust like she hadn't bathed in ages.
But the face tilted to the moon brimmed with an eerie beauty.
Like a sculpture. Or a single masterpiece painting. Baek Mae was beautiful. And that beauty was laced with pathos.
Loneliness.
And sorrow.
Streaming from her...
Self-loathing.
Myo Ye-rin had said it. She hated herself.
Hated that helpless self from back then so much she'd want to rip it apart and kill it.
Sua dimly understood the feeling. She'd been helpless too, after all.
But Baek Mae's was extreme. She panted as if she couldn't bear even a moment without swinging her sword.
So this quiet instant was incredibly rare. And it was...
Her way of making an effort to welcome Sua.
"...Sua?"
"I, uh, sister... just wanted to see you..."
"......."
Baek Mae said nothing more after that. Before, they'd bicker and chat like peers their age, but now that was impossible.
Her body was here, but her soul felt distant. Sua sat carefully beside her. Baek Mae's eyes, turned her way, sank endlessly deep.
She tried to smile, but her lips stayed rigid, unable to curve right. So she gave up and just asked.
"You doing well?"
Even the question came out cold.
Like gazing at a frozen person.
"......."
Sua gave a small nod.