Under the Starlit Night

The groan that slipped from my lips echoed hollowly against the cave walls like a death rattle. The unrelenting pain threatened to shatter my mind, leaving me utterly unable to move my body.

"Damn it... I feel like I'm going to die...! Ugh..."

It had been a full two days since I left Cheonmok Mountain. According to my plan, I should have already crossed the treacherous ridges of Cheonmok Ridge and reached the border of Anhui by now. Instead, I lay sprawled in the damp darkness of some nameless mountain cave, far from anywhere.

Goddamn it... When the hell is this going to end?!

The cold sweat running down my spine felt even icier than the chill rising from the cave floor.

-------------------

The abdominal pain had started not long after leaving Heukpungchae.

At first, it was just a mild cramp in my lower belly—easy enough to ignore. I had been poisoned with paralyzing toxin the previous day, and my encounter with Jeong So-yun had been rather intense. I assumed it was simply a stomachache from that and quickened my pace.

But as time passed, the pain swelled beyond control.

It felt like someone had reached inside me, grabbed my guts, and was twisting them with all their might. On top of that came a backache so severe it felt like my spine would snap in two, making it impossible to take another step.

I tried circulating my inner energy to suppress the pain, but my qi only spun uselessly inside me. Even after sweating buckets and crawling into the nearest visible cave to attempt a full Great Circulation, there was no sign of damage to my meridians or dantian.

It wasn't qi deviation or internal injury. The only strange thing was the cold yin energy gathering deep below my lower dantian, accompanied by an inexplicable, unpleasant pressure.

Huh...? Wait—!

Then something warm and slippery gushed out between my legs.

Suspicious, I reached a trembling hand down. When I pulled it back, my fingertips were stained bright red with blood.

"Ah...!!!"

Only then did I realize.

I had grown so accustomed to this body that I'd momentarily forgotten—but I was unmistakably a woman now. And as a woman, there was one unavoidable monthly torment I had to endure.

Menstruation. Or what they called monthly visitor.

Damn it, of all times...!

In my life as Wi Yeon-seol, I had grown up surrounded by courtesans and, even after establishing the Heavenly Lust Pavilion, kept countless women by my side. I had seen over and over how they grew sensitive and suffered in cold sweats whenever the moon waxed full.

I thought I understood their pain to some degree. But understanding it with my head and experiencing it firsthand were as different as heaven and earth. The realization hit me like a bone-deep truth.

"Argh, ugh... How the hell did they endure something like this...!"

A heavy, mind-numbing pain was grinding away at my lower abdomen. It felt as if someone had taken a rusty iron rake and was scraping the insides of my organs raw—an entirely new kind of agony.

But even more bewildering than the pain was the fact that I had no idea how to deal with this situation.

I'm sure I've seen them folding layers of cotton cloth to pad themselves... at least I think I have...

Unfortunately, that was the extent of my knowledge. And of course, I didn't have anything like cotton cloth on hand.

Damn it. If ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I'd known this would happen, I should have casually asked Yeon-jin, or Baek Mo-ran, or even Jeong So-yun... No, even before that, if I'd just asked one of the countless women I met in my previous life...!

Belated regret washed over me like a tidal wave, but what was done was done. I could only resent my past self for thinking it beneath a man's dignity to inquire about such intimate female matters.

I have to do something, anything...!

Biting my lip, I frantically overturned my pack. I grabbed the cleanest handkerchief and spare undergarments I could find, tore them into strips with shaking hands, and clumsily pressed the fabric against the flow to staunch the bleeding.

But it was nothing more than a temporary measure. The damp, sticky discomfort showed no sign of fading.

"Agh, it hurts so much...!!"

I had spent my entire life traversing battlefields, growing numb to the pain of blades ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠slicing flesh and bones shattering. Yet I had developed no resistance whatsoever to this primal agony that gnawed upward from the deepest, most secret part of my insides.

"Ugh... I guess I have no choice but to wait it out...!"

And so I remained huddled in a corner of the damp, lightless cave like a beast, curled up and suffering for two full days.

The only food I had was the wall-breaking pills I'd brought, which I chewed and swallowed. The burning thirst was barely quenched by water from the lake in front of the cave. The thought that the peerless Beautiful Face Heavenly Killer Wi Yeon-seol, one of the Seven Evils of the Murim, could be brought so low by nothing more than a woman's monthly visitor—writhing and groaning helplessly—was a humiliation I feared anyone discovering.

But the pain was simply too brutal to worry about pride right now.

-------------------------------------

After two hellish days, on the night of the third.

"F-finally... I think I can live again...!"

The bleeding had finally stopped, and the pain that had been carving up my organs had mostly subsided, leaving only a heavy, lingering ache.

"Ughhh..."

I pushed myself up, feeling every joint creak like rusted hinges. My limbs, stiff from being curled up for two days straight, screamed in protest.

-Whiiiish

I staggered ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out of the cave on legs as stiff as a corpse's. The crisp winter night air rushed deep into my lungs. Only then did the lake come into view, its surface glittering like silver scales under the pure white moonlight.

I was too busy suffering to notice, but this is actually quite a beautiful place...?

The moment I saw the starlight sparkling on the rippling water, only one thought dominated my mind.

I want to wash.

The cold sweat I'd shed for two days, the fishy smell of blood, and the sticky, dried secretions clinging between my legs. I wanted to erase every last trace of that unbearable stench and filth!

-Splash!!

Without even thinking to remove my clothes, I threw myself without hesitation into the middle of the cold lake.

"Krrgh!"

The winter lake's biting cold wrapped around my entire body like a blade against my skin. It was the kind of freezing chill that would stop an ordinary person's heart, but to me—with my cultivation approaching the pinnacle of the extreme—it felt refreshingly invigorating, snapping my mind awake.

The heat rising from my dantian mixed with the cold, creating a sensation far more refreshing than I'd expected. A satisfied smile rose to my face.

This is nice...

The cold currents washed away the bloody stench, the sticky cold sweat, and even the emotional grime that had clung to me for the past two days.

My previously clouded mind cleared in an instant.

-Splash, splash

Using the pouring starlight as my blanket, I leisurely cut through the water. Each time I swung my arms, the Milky Way of the night sky shattered and fell across the lake's surface. Above me, constellations rained down; below me, crystal-clear water. It was truly like playing among the immortals.

Bathing in an icy lake on a silent, star-filled night has its own charm.

I swam freely like a fish in water for quite some time, thoroughly enjoying myself, until I finally turned toward the shore—

-Kwaaaaaang—!!

A sudden earth-shaking roar rang in my ears, and at the same time, a massive pillar of water shot into the sky from the center of the lake.

"Wha—what?! What the hell?!"

The once peaceful surface churned violently, and an unexpected wave slapped me hard across the face. From the base of a sheer cliff, something was rapidly sinking into the center of the spreading ripples.

A person?

Too light to be a rock, too distinct in shape to be a beast. For someone to fall from such a dangerous cliff in the dead of night—it was clearly no ordinary situation, whether suicide or murder.

What should I do?

I briefly considered ignoring it and turning away, since getting involved would only bring trouble. But then curiosity suddenly struck me.

What if it's a beauty?

Saving a beautiful woman who'd fallen into the water and receiving her gratitude. It was a rather cliché scenario, but one that could certainly happen, right?

-Splash

With nothing to lose, I didn't hesitate. I sliced through the water, flexing my waist flexibly as I dove into the darkness. Beneath the pitch-black surface, a faint human silhouette was sinking like a millstone.

-Grab!

I cut through the current and seized the hem of the sinking person's clothes. The heavy weight transmitted through my fingertips. Instead of soft flesh, I felt the sensation of muscles hardened like stone through rigorous training.

Goddamn it, it's a guy.

Yet just as I was considering kicking him away and returning to shore, the fabric wrapped around my hand felt strangely smooth.

This... Isn't this ice silkworm thread?!

Clothing worth at least several hundred silver taels, if not more. Even with money, it was something only the direct descendants of powerful clans could afford to wear.

...I should pull him out for now. Judging by the clothes, he seems to be a young master from quite a prestigious family. I can probably wring a hefty reward out of him for saving his life. If not, I can always sell the clothes separately.

Gripping his collar tightly, I kicked hard and shot up toward the surface.

-Splash!

"Pwahhh!"

Exhaling roughly, I cut through the water and climbed ashore, then tossed the guy I'd been carrying at my side onto the pebbly lakeshore like a sack of rice.

-Thud, crash.

"Tsk, he's ridiculously heavy."

I irritably swept back the wet hair clinging to my cheek and examined the condition of the 'money bag' I'd fished out.

"...Huh?"

Up close, his appearance was truly a mess. His entire body had been mercilessly shredded by sharp sword energy, leaving no uninjured spot. The wounds visible through his torn clothes gaped hideously. Even worse was his complexion. His face was deathly pale with not a drop of blood, and dark blue veins were crawling up his neck.

Death toxin? Or cold poison? The symptoms could also point to paralyzing toxin.

It was clearly a severe case of poisoning, and the wounds looked fatal with no hope of treatment. I clicked my tongue and was about to turn away when the moonlight illuminated his facial features, catching my eye.

This guy... looks familiar?

The face revealed beneath the starlight was disturbingly familiar. Even deathly pale and looking like a corpse, his exceptionally handsome features stood out. That straight nose, the lines finer than a woman's, and that distinctive hairstyle elegantly tied and swept back.

"Ah!!?!"

The moment the fragments of memory clicked into place, I gasped and stumbled backward.

"Isn't this the young master of the Moyong clan?! What the hell is this bastard doing here?"

The man who would one day command the martial world as the future leader of the Murim Alliance.

The righteous faction's greatest expert, praised as the Sword Saint, and the greatest sword under heaven. In the early stages of the Righteous-Demonic War—before the female swordsmen of the Sword Pavilion had even joined the fray—he had severed the heads of more demonic faction warriors than anyone, turning rivers red as the Grim Reaper of the Black Path.

Back when this guy was still a greenhorn, I'd once slashed his arrogant face with my sword out of sheer annoyance because I couldn't stand that noble mug of his.

That's right. Moyong Seong-hwi. Our connection is quite deep, and not in a good way.

On a snowy mountainside in the North Sea, he had stood at the forefront of the subjugation force alongside the Sword Empress Yeon-jin, surrounding me. With eyes colder than frost, those blue eyes of his had glared at me as he leveled his sword.

"Hah. Really. Should I laugh or cry?"

An involuntary chuckle escaped me. Just what was the future leader of the Murim Alliance—the precious body destined to become the greatest sword under heaven—doing here, dying from poison in the lake of some nameless mountain valley?

"Kuh, hack! Cough, cough!"

At that moment, his eyelashes fluttered, and his eyes snapped open. He coughed violently, spitting out water.

His unfocused eyes wandered through the air for a moment before slowly turning toward me as I looked down at him with the starlight at my back.

"...!"

His pupils glazed over dreamily. Against his deathly pale cheeks caused by the poison, an unbelievable faint blush ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠began to spread.

"...Celestial maiden?"

"What?"

Like someone entranced, he moved his lips dazedly, then his head suddenly dropped as he fainted again.

"You crazy bastard..."

In the North Sea he'd glared at me like he wanted to devour me alive, yet in the end, he too was just another man who fell for a woman's pretty shell. Where had that sharp, murderous intent that had driven me to my death in my previous life gone? Now he was blushing at a woman's beauty. I let out a sigh, feeling a strange sense of emptiness.

"Hm...?"

But when I clicked my tongue and reached out to remove his clothes, a strangely familiar sensation stopped me. I examined his skin more closely. On his neck, revealed by the moonlight—those dark veins crawling across his pale skin carried a sinister energy.

"This is...!"

It was the same deadly poison I'd suffered in the Heukpungchae prison not long ago. The same energy as the paralyzing toxin used by that black-robed stranger with the strange blood-red eyes.

Could he have been attacked by them too?

To think that mysterious group wasn't just targeting Heukpungchae but even the direct heir of the Moyong clan. Or perhaps their base was somewhere nearby. Questions multiplied, but I wouldn't find answers here.

"Sigh... What rotten luck."

Pushing aside my complicated feelings, I roughly grabbed him by the collar.

Let's move him first and think later. They might come down here looking for his corpse.

If no body remained, they'd probably assume he'd simply drowned in the lake.

-Drag, drag, drag

With my teeth clenched and grunting with effort, I dragged the unexpectedly heavy burden into the dark cave.