Meeting the Demon of Manseogo: The Black Flame Dragon (4)
“Ah, ah……”
Seong Moran was at a loss for words after Namgung Seonhwa's bombshell statement, unable to say anything.
“……”
Even Namgung Seonhwa, who had blurted it out so suddenly, clamped her mouth shut, and a heavy silence settled over the room.
In the uncomfortable quiet, Seong Moran's eyes caught sight of Namgung Seonhwa's hand creeping into view. A small, delicate hand trembling uncontrollably. Seeing her look so terrified, as if she'd committed some grave sin, Seong Moran couldn't help but chuckle softly.
“……What, you think I didn't know?”
“……Huh?”
“I knew.”
“Y-you, th-that……”
Namgung Seonhwa's face flushed beet red, as if it might explode any second. Seong Moran found the sight utterly adorable.
“You think I'm that oblivious?”
“……”
She'd known for a long time. Back at the Ma-ryeong Plateau, during the Murim Entrance Exam, the way Namgung Seonhwa occasionally glanced at Jin Sowoon was different from how she looked at other men.
“And! You think I'd back off just because you like Senior Jin?”
“……”
Seong Moran reached out and gripped Namgung Seonhwa's hand tightly.
“You've been like the only little sister I have ever since we met Senior Jin.”
“……Sis.”
“Not saying I'll step aside or anything. I like him too, y'know.”
Seong Moran wiped the tears welling in Namgung Seonhwa's eyes as she spoke.
“So, whatever happens, let's stay good friends. Besides, that guy's so damn busy, he barely has time to look our way anyway, right?”
“Thank you. And…… sorry.”
“For now, let's hurry up and become proper martial artists so we can ease his load a bit.”
“Yeah. We'll get stronger fast and climb higher.”
Seong Moran sighed as she looked into Namgung Seonhwa's flushed, teary eyes.
“Here we are, both of us in this mess no matter where we go. How'd it come to this?”
“Pfft.”
“Now that we're done crying, wanna go shopping? We gotta stun 'em again like at that last banquet when we went out.”
“Sure.”
Seong Moran stood first, and Namgung Seonhwa gathered her things to follow—then paused as something occurred to her.
“Sis, but what if more rivals show up?”
“……Then it's his fault for flirting around so carelessly. Time to make him pay.”
Seong Moran clenched her fist, looking utterly unforgiving.
#
“Hm?”
A sudden chill ran down my spine. I scanned the surroundings and extended my senses.
The moment I did, the Sword Demon noticed and gave me a weird look.
“What're you doing?”
“Nothing. Just felt something off, so I checked. False alarm.”
“Tsk tsk. How much karma have you racked up……”
I was dumbfounded watching him shake his head and click his tongue.
“Not as much as you, Sword Demon.”
“What?!”
His stories were beyond imagination. He'd once snuck into Shaolin Temple to challenge the abbot to a duel after claiming he'd perfected his swordsmanship. Even after becoming a public enemy of the Murim Alliance and falling to the Black Path, he'd stormed into the Black Killing Room and dueled the entire group to the death.
“Everything I did had its own justification!”
What justification lets you ambush the Shaolin abbot in his quarters?
“Don't you ever think your 'justifications' might be the problem?”
“You little shit—keep pushing it just 'cause I go easy on you!”
The Sword Demon chucked the paper he was reading at me, and I snatched it mid-air.
It had been ten straight days of me recklessly challenging him to spars. Things had gotten friendly enough that he no longer ditched me when I passed out mid-fight. I'd wake up in his shack, chat a bit, then head home. That was the routine lately.
Of course, if I pushed for two spars a day, I'd black out till the next morning for some reason. He must've set one per day as his limit. I was dancing right on that line.
“Why the hell are you reading this useless drivel anyway?”
“None of your business.”
“Looking for a treasure map or manual? There isn't any here.”
I could say that confidently—I'd memorized every book in Manseogo that was coming up. None of the materials mentioned treasure maps or manuals.
“That's not what I'm after.”
“Oh? So you are looking for something specific?”
“……”
The Sword Demon ignored me and kept reading his paper with unbreakable focus, like it was some ancient supreme manual. Did the guy who wrote that trash know the Sword Demon was poring over it like his life depended on it?
“Tell me what it is, and I'll help look. In return, be my martial arts master.”
He'd seen through the true nature of Ten Thousand Swords of Heaven and Earth in a single clash. That meant his skills were way beyond what I'd guessed. The Tae-eul Divine Scripture evolves into freer forms as your realm advances. It's so advanced that you'll eventually have to create your own techniques—which is why I needed guidance from someone with experience inventing unique arts.
I couldn't dream of finding a better martial master than this foul-tempered Black Path wanderer right in front of me.
“……Tch. Didn't I tell you? You don't need sword energy.”
“I know, but according to you, using sword energy with Ten Thousand Swords would make it even more insane, right?”
“……”
“Plus, I'd love to learn from all the experience you've built up.”
“You wanna be my disciple?”
“I'm a Tae-eul Gate disciple, so no. Just my martial arts master.”
The Sword Demon stared at me like I was insane.
“Just how strong do you wanna get?”
A tricky question. In both my past and present lives, I'd always hungered to grow stronger—but I'd never quantified it.
I couldn't explain in exact power levels, but one answer came to mind right away.
“Hm…… Strong enough to protect my people, no matter what enemy shows up?”
“You think becoming the world's best is that easy?”
“I don't wanna be the world's best.”
“Same difference. If you wanna protect the ones you love, spend time with them instead of obsessing over martial arts.”
The Sword Demon's face softened into deep reminiscence, as if someone dear had come to mind.
“But what if a truly terrifying enemy appears?”
“Run together. To somewhere they can't reach.”
His voice carried a weight of regret.
“Most importantly, spend time together.”
Like me, he clearly regretted his past deeply.
“……Is that why you're rummaging through Manseogo? To find that precious person?”
His face hardened instantly.
“……How'd you know?”
“Just a shot in the dark. Haha.”
His face crumpled like paper.
“……That three-inch tongue of yours could rob any Black Path thug blind.”
“You won't tell me?”
“……”
The Sword Demon turned away and resumed reading his pointless paper.
He's looking for someone.
I began sifting through the mental library in my head.
The room in Manseogo stocked with useless books. It was a jumble of stuff that had no business being there, like erotic novels or tall tales.
I pulled out one in particular. A book written like a diary by some woman. No name, no affiliation—just honest accounts of her academy days, a trip to a city during break, the man she met, the events that unfolded, and the feelings she had along the way.
In my past life, I'd skimmed it as some romance novel…… But rereading it now, the man in the story matched the guy in front of me in so many ways.
I flipped through it mentally—and my eyes shot open.
“You have a daughter?”
“……!”
The Sword Demon's eyes widened in shock.
“……How the hell……”
“……”
He was known to have no family, not even close friends. Sure, he'd crossed paths with a few masters, but he was practically an island in the sea.
Too upright to mingle with Black Path folks, too infamous for White Path ties. I could guess why he'd never started a family even in old age.
Too much karma piled up—he feared he couldn't protect them while he was away.
“How did you know?!”
“……Well, truth is, I remember every book in Manseogo. Once I see it, I never forget. That's my curse.”
“……”
“Hm…… You met her in Hangzhou, right?”
His mouth fell open.
“Your hearts connected, and you grew close.”
“……”
“Whoa…… Didn't expect you to have a kid, Sword Demon.”
“Where's that book?”
“You'd have a hard time finding it. It was hidden so no one would.”
“Give it to me. I need to check it now.”
He was already stepping barefoot on the bare floor, ready to bolt.
“Ah…… Can't do that.”
“Bring me the book, and I'll teach you sword energy. Hell, I'll even show you how to evolve Ten Thousand Swords!”
Exactly what I'd hoped for from him. But I shook my head.
“Still can't.”
“……What? You want more from me?”
He was losing his cool from excitement. A glimpse of how desperately he'd searched for his daughter all these years.
But even if our interests aligned, I couldn't ignore the woman's intentions in hiding the book.
“No. It's about people, right? And if she hid it so carefully from her lover, she might not want you finding her. No matter how urgent I am, I can't just hand over info tied to someone's life.”
The latter half revealed where she'd settle after leaving her group. No date, but a huge clue for anyone searching.
I couldn't give that away unchecked.
“……What if I offered you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?”
In my past life, scum who valued things over lives made my existence hell and pathetic. I had zero desire to become like them.
“Even if you handed me the world, no.”
The Sword Demon bowed his head in silence for a long time. He glanced at his filthy socks, then plopped back on the bench. His complex eyes bored into me.
“You're…… way beyond what I expected.”
I couldn't parse his words. But one thing was clear: right now, he wasn't controlling his emotions.
“Does it say where she is?”
“No. That's why it'll be even harder to find.”
“The author was probably Seop Sojeong.”
“Seop Sojeong?”
Seop wasn't rare, but in Murim, it screamed Baekhwa Palace.
“Yeah, the Seop Sojeong of Baekhwa Palace you're thinking of.”
“Whoa……”
Baekhwa Palace was a women-led sect like Emei, one of the 108 Peaks' true elites.
“What, can't believe a bastard like me got with a daughter of such a prestigious house?”
“……I didn't say bastard. Just that Sword Demon and Baekhwa Palace don't mix.”
“We knew that too. That's why we parted back then.”
Seop Sojeong was vital to Baekhwa Palace, and he harbored massive grudges against his clan and the entire White Path. Their irreconcilable positions cooled even their burning love.
“But ten years later, I got sudden word.”
That there was a daughter between them. He was stunned at first. Why not tell him sooner? Why reveal it now?
The Sword Demon laughed like a madman.
“She told me if I wanted to find them, search Manseogo for their traces.”
“……”
“Thought it was a ridiculous prank. Hard to believe I even had a daughter. But…… here I am.”
I was stunned inside but kept it hidden. That explained why his endless dueling spree had stopped.
The Sword Demon pulled a carefully folded letter from his bosom. Cherished, but so old it was ragged as a rag.
If you wish to find us, come to Manseogo.
Search for our traces there.
“This is it.”
“How old is it?”
“About five years.”
“……”
I unfolded the letter, imagining the Sword Demon's five years of enduring humiliations from academy students.
Faded, but the handwriting was legible. Just as he said: go to Manseogo if you want to find them.
I refolded it carefully and handed it back.
“W-well? Does it match?”
“What do you plan to do once you find that book?”
“……Huh?”
He looked like I'd smacked the back of his head.
“It clearly says where she'll settle. What then, after you meet them?”
“I don't know.”
His face filled with longing as he spoke.
“I just…… wanna see them.”
“Who?”
“……Seop Sojeong and my daughter……”
Those who've glimpsed the pinnacle of martial arts are called transcendents. By that measure, the Sword Demon surely was one.
Yet here he trembled like the frail twig he'd held days ago. As if my next words held his entire life's fate.
“W-well? Does it match?”
This was the Sword Demon not as a transcendent, but as a father.
I smiled.
“You've been through hell. Yeah. It matches.”
“Ah……”
Suddenly, tears like chicken droppings streamed down his face.
I couldn't fathom their weight. I simply stepped away to give him space as his heavy time passed.