Ten Days, The Fifth Day (3) - The Sword Queen's Legacy
The muddy ground was filthy. An unknown stickiness clung to the soles of her feet. In all her time living within the Divine Cult, she had never once stepped on anything like it. By now, one would think someone might at least manage the place, yet no one ever did. This was the symbol and history of the Beggars' Sect, they claimed. That was precisely why she despised it. She felt ashamed of those who spent their lives here as beggars, wallowing in their own weakness. The way they played at hierarchy—one-bag beggar, two-bag beggar—turned her stomach. She had no desire to waste the rest of her days in such a garbage pit. So she had left for the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. A holy land where she no longer needed to remain among the weak and pathetic, where only her true self could exist.
It was ground she had sworn never to tread again, yet here she was. She had no choice. The person she served had commanded it.
At last she reached the appointed place. A shack so thoroughly collapsed it barely held its shape. It was hard to call it a house at all. But all of it was mere camouflage.
"Open."
A secret space unknown even to the Tang Clan, the overlords of Sichuan. The dwelling of the Ark of Sichuan—Hongryeon's lair.
"...It's been a while, sister."
The same red hair. The same red eyes. Even their faces were alike. Seeing someone with that face living in a place like this felt like a reflection of her own past, and nausea rose in her throat.
Hongryeon, with no interest in understanding those feelings, spoke bluntly.
"You said you'd never come back."
"I don't intend to drag this out, either."
"...So what's your business? Contacting me out of nowhere after years—if it's nothing important, I might really kill you."
Inner energy strong enough to approach the Peak Realm swirled around her. It seemed she would invent a reason to fight if none existed. But to Janghwa, who had already stood near a god, it was nothing more than the laughable defiance of a younger sister who didn't understand how high the heavens were.
"Stop talking nonsense and take this."
She held out the bundle she had been entrusted with. Hongryeon accepted it without protest. The wrapping was folded with precise corners, carrying the faint scent of not-quite-dry ink and paper.
"A book?"
Suddenly handing over a book? Sensing something odd, Hongryeon looked up at Janghwa again. But her sister had already turned away.
"The one we serve ordered its delivery. He also said this."
"The Ark of Sichuan should read it and consider carefully. Decide immediately what action to take."
That was the end of it. With no reason or emotion left to linger, Janghwa departed the area in a single leap.
"Hah..."
Meanwhile, Hongryeon, now holding the book, felt as if she might die. As the leader of an information network, there was no way she wouldn't know who her sister Janghwa served. One of the Ten Venerables. The Paecheon Divine Lord. A young monster who wielded a brutally powerful sword with extreme speed. Already counted among the top three in Murim alongside the Heavenly Demon and Bulgwang Daesa.
"This is insane..."
She could guess what was written inside without opening it. A threat demanding cooperation with the Heavenly Demon Cult. What made it even worse was the knowledge that refusal would mean, at minimum, total annihilation.
Though the Sichuan Tang Clan existed, they had never extended their reach into the Beggars' Sect's domain. It was a statement proving the sect's freedom, but simultaneously proof that the Beggars' Sect received no true protection from anyone. That was why her sister Janghwa—already deep into the Peak Realm for years—could slaughter every beggar in the area single-handedly.
"...I suppose I have to read it?"
With trembling hands, she unwrapped the bundle and picked up the topmost book. The strong scent of ink suggested it had been written recently.
She read the first line, her spirit sinking with every character.
The contents of these books must be kept in the strictest secrecy.
Deliver them with all haste to Namgung Hye, strategist of the Wulin Alliance.
She flipped through the pages in a rush. Countless diagrams of human figures. Incomprehensible formulas and sword paths. Detailed explanations of every stance and technique, written as though demonstrating them in person.
This was no threat letter. It was a secret manual. And not just any manual—an advanced supreme art so profound she could barely comprehend it.
"All of them?"
Seven books in total. Six were anonymous secret manuals of incredible depth. Why would the Heavenly Demon Cult send something like this to the Beggars' Sect?
The final book provided the answer.
The author of these seven books is I, the Blue Sky Sword Empress, Namgung Seha. Through a succession of miraculous encounters, I have reached this day and become able to deliver them. The other six volumes contain illustrated records of my clan's martial teachings that have likely been lost to the world. In this final volume, I leave my last will to my beloved younger sister.
— Namgung Seha
Hongryeon did not open the book any further. No—she must not open it. The Blue Sky Sword Empress, whose body had never been found but who was known to be dead, had sent her last will through the hands of the Demonic Cult. The implications were far too enormous for someone of Hongryeon's station—merely the Ark of Sichuan—to bear.
She scrawled the single character for "urgent" on a piece of paper, rose to her feet, and began moving with frantic purpose. Stuffing the books back into their wrapping, she broke into a dead run toward the Wulin Alliance.
After crossing several mountains, a thought occurred to her.
"Wait... wasn't this sent by the Paecheon Divine Lord?"
No matter how she pondered it, she couldn't unravel the truth. She soon resumed her sprint.
...
Janghwa was considered fairly strong even within the Cult. She had been all but confirmed as one of the next generation's Seventy-Two Apostles, so she naturally carried that pride. As such, she could dismiss her younger sister's threats as pathetic.
Yet she was trembling. Before the overwhelming martial might of the person seated before her.
"Janghwa. Maid assigned to the Vice Leader's palace. Your cultivation has reached the Peak Realm—upper tier, at that. Not bad for someone not yet thirty. If you continue to experience the world, you will surely attain even greater heights."
"Th-thank you!"
The voice sounded languid. Yet within it coiled an indescribable dignity and terror.
"Well then—"
The owner of that voice was the one the world commonly called the Heavenly Demon. The absolute ruler of the Heavenly Demon Cult's one hundred thousand followers, about whom almost nothing was known. Her master, the Paecheon Divine Lord, was exceptional, but even his greatness could not compare.
"—Speak truthfully. Where did you go this night, and what did you do?"
A razor-sharp killing intent slowly constricted her throat. Her breathing grew ragged. Her entire body shook from the inside out. Clinging desperately to the thought that she did not want to die like this, she forced her mouth open through the pain.
"The Vice Leader sent me on an errand to Sichuan."
"Sichuan. And what did you do there?"
"...I delivered an item to the Beggars' Sect. With my limited understanding, I believe they were books."
"Books to the Beggars' Sect?"
The Heavenly Demon's short repetition was not a question seeking an answer, so Janghwa kept her lips sealed. Soon he spoke again.
"Did you smell blood on the Vice Leader?"
"I did not."
Janghwa answered after carefully retracing her memory. She had sensed explosive fury from the one she served, but no scent of blood.
"I see."
With that brief reply, the Heavenly Demon fell silent. Naturally, Janghwa dared neither speak nor move. Only the occasional sound of his humming filled the space as silence swallowed the hall.
"You may leave quietly."
After a long while, the Heavenly Demon's dismissal finally came. Janghwa bowed deeply and fled the chamber as though escaping for her life.
The Heavenly Demon glanced briefly at her flustered retreating figure, then turned his gaze away.
"Books in Sichuan..."
What sort of books would the Vice Leader possibly need to send to the Beggars' Sect of all places?
"They must belong to the Blue Sky Sword Empress."
It had to be the Namgung Clan's martial knowledge. The Heavenly Demon clicked his tongue without realizing it. The sound came from pity. There was no way the tightly bound Blue Sky Sword Empress could write letters and send books. Moreover, the previous report—now confirmed as false—had claimed she had become a complete cripple in merely five days. He had never truly believed it; the very idea was laughable.
None of this could have been accomplished by a single prisoner. There was a powerful backer behind it all. And there was no need to speak his name.
"Vice Leader... I always held such high expectations for you."
In the Heavenly Demon's eyes, the Vice Leader had been a rare breed among the Cult's martial artists. A true practitioner who, rather than flaunting his fanatical obsession with power, devoted himself entirely to training without distraction. He had always exceeded expectations. The Heavenly Demon had placed great hope in him precisely because he could sense an unshakable faith directed toward himself.
"Lately the disappointment has grown large. The entertainment is beginning to fade as well."
But from some point onward, the Vice Leader had begun to change. His doubt toward the Cult's doctrines had become plainly visible. He still trained diligently, yet not with the same madness as before. He no longer stepped forward in major battles, having half-withdrawn from the front lines. At the same time, the Heavenly Demon could sense emotions akin to regret.
That was not entertaining to him.
"The Namgung Clan's martial arts are not particularly impressive, so I shall overlook this matter with generosity."
The Heavenly Demon slowly removed his mask. As he did, moonlight poured in through the open entrance of Manmajeon, illuminating his face. It was a white so pure that "pale" felt insufficient. His golden eyes, which accentuated that pallor, glistened in a way that sent chills down the spine.
"However, if you continue to cause such incidents, even I will not be able to sit idly by."
The moonlight behind him cast his shadow long across the floor. The shadow gradually swelled, taking on a bizarre shape. Human heads, arms, legs—everything was fully formed. Yet their unnatural positions and the fact that there were hundreds of them made it clear they could not belong to a single person.
"Truly... a young man should conduct himself with more care, shouldn't he?"
The god who had cherished his Vice Leader watched as his shadow swelled once more, then let out a spine-chilling laugh as he slowly closed the doors of the grand hall.