In the main story of all the protagonists in Heavenly Bright Moon, there exists an adversary.
Just as Sayoon has the Iron Blood Clan as her nemesis, Yura also had her own nemesis, which was none other than the Demon Cult.
The method to create a Blood Demon Gangshi is to inject them with demonic energy from a young age, allowing that energy to grow and run amok.
During the process of receiving this demonic energy, issues arose within the Demon Cult due to internal conflicts, and Yura seized the opportunity to escape.
Later, she happened to meet her current adoptive parents, who took care of Yura with love.
Despite the demonic energy residing inside her, they believed in her ability to control it and placed their trust in her.
And Yura lived happily, sufficiently repaying their expectations.
The reason she entered the martial world was to completely rid herself of the demonic energy within her.
I sighed as I gazed at Yura, who was looking at me with a blank expression.
In a way, it’s quite a grim setup.
It could have turned more tragically from that point, but she found better adoptive parents than her biological ones and grew up loved even more than a biological daughter.
Yeah. With her meeting her adoptive parents, we could say Yura’s tragedy was over.
But then why only Sayoon…
“I understand.”
Yura replied bluntly and headed toward a corner. Glancing at her as she sat down, Chaejin lightly grabbed my shoulder.
“Why the long face?”
“It’s nothing.”
Thinking again, I couldn’t help but feel that the creators were really a bunch of jerks.
Huh.
Well, I guess it doesn’t matter anymore now.
Sayoon should be happier than any of the protagonists right now.
I, we changed that.
Let’s be satisfied with that.
“By the way, the Withdrawal Divine Spear…”
Chaejin muttered briefly. I knew he was talking about the Withdrawal Divine Spear Yura.
Since defeating the Iron Blood Toad last time, Yura has been diligently training in martial arts.
Wielding a spear like a ghost, she killed many evil monsters and took down wicked people, raising her skills to the point where she even defeated the famous master, Guiyoung Sado Jungcheol.
It was said that Guiyoung Sado Jungcheol’s skill was at a level similar to Chaejin’s when I first met him.
At her age, if she’s that skilled, she might just be among the very best of the late-stage practitioners in the martial world.
“Last time, you accurately assessed Sayoon and Chaeran’s abilities while fighting the Imugi. So who do you think would win?”
“Hm…”
Chaejin thought for a moment and calmly replied.
“Sayoon might be underrated as she hasn’t done much in the martial world lately… but she would win. Chaeran would be neck and neck. However, since Chaeran has Soora too… it might just be a coin toss?”
A sense of pride swelled in my heart.
Wow! Sayoon is getting such appraisal!
I quickly turned to look at Yura, who was sipping her tea, and as our eyes met, she slightly lowered her head.
The conversation continued late into the night.
Eventually, as those waiting for their turn finished and left to wait for the next consultation, Yura spoke up in a flustered manner.
As the members left, promising to come back for the next consultation, Yura looked a bit uncomfortable and said,
“Is it impossible today?”
“Seems like it. But we can have a consultation tomorrow as well, so let’s do that then.”
I looked up at the sky. The moon was quite high; it had already passed midnight.
“If you’re really in a hurry, I can help you now, but if not, how about tomorrow?”
“Umm… The accommodation fee…”
Now that’s surprising. I didn’t expect Yura to be short on cash.
“I can cover a night’s stay for my junior.”
It was Chaejin who extended her hand to the flustered Yura. Yura gasped in surprise and quickly gave a formal greeting.
“Ah, I apologize for not introducing myself sooner. I’m Yura from the Murim Alliance, honored to meet you, Senior Chaejin of the Moonlight Sword.”
“Huh?”
Isn’t Chaejin’s title just Moonlight Sword? Why does “Shin” (God) get attached to it? When I looked at Chaejin, she slightly blushed and avoided eye contact.
“Well, um, I thought that was a bit excessive. Coming from that family, I mean… Hahaha… A, a superhuman wouldn’t just be called Moonlight Sword, right? They keep insisting on addressing me as Murim Alliance’s ‘Shin’… Ugh…”
Chaejin covered her face with her hands. Just like when we were at Cheong-ho, she’s quite sensitive about embellishing her appearance. So, the title ‘Moonlight God’ would naturally be a burden for her. I patted her back.
“It suits you well.”
“Ugh…”
As she groaned, she leaned in a bit closer to me. Then, she cleared her throat softly, noticing Yura’s gaze on us.
“Ahem. Anyway, take some time to rest. Don’t worry about the money.”
“Right. I’ll cover the accommodation fee, so don’t feel burdened.”
“Huh? Why…?”
“Because I owe you. Even if you didn’t do it alone, you were the center of bringing down the Iron Blood Clan, after all.”
“Ah…”
“My ties with the Iron Blood Clan are quite unfortunate. So, it’s my way of giving back.”
“I wasn’t doing it to get anything in return.”
“True, but the fact remains that you helped me. So, stay comfortably for as long as you like.”
I pulled out a thirty nyang bill from my pocket.
“Also, it seems you’re heading to Murim now, so use this to buy what you need.”
“Whaaaat?! This much?!”
“Your spear looks a bit worn out. They sell good spears at the Sword Shop in Seomhwa City. Plus, your armor and weapons don’t look too good either… You should replace them.”
“…Thank you.”
“I should be the one thanking you. Anyway, see you tomorrow.”
I told Jeomsoi to take Yura to her room. As she followed Jeomsoi upstairs, I said to Chaejin,
“Let’s go as well.”
“Yes!”
The next morning, Chaejin and I started practicing Taiji Quan together.
“Phew. Should we take a break?”
“Let’s do that.”
Chaejin wasn’t sticking to me as she used to during training.
It wasn’t as subtly clingy as before.
She simply trained me kindly.
But after the training was over, she would cling to me like this. I stroked her head. Nowadays, she seemed to have a taste for me petting her; whenever I rested, she’d come over and nudge her head for more pets.
There was no particular reason to refuse, nor did I want to, so I petted her as she wished.
Every time I stroked her head, her face, or gently caressed her chin, Chaerin would let out pleasant little sighs and snuggle up closer to me.
While I was sitting in the backyard petting Chaerin, I saw Yura heading out. Just as she mentioned yesterday, it looked like she was going to get new gear.
Yura probably came to find me to find a way to remove the demonic energy in her blood.
The pure desire for destruction. The uncontrollable craving for slaughter.
To completely eliminate those, she had started her journey in the Murim.
So it was only natural for her to come to me, the Shinsan Seonja, in search of answers.
Hmm…
How should I say this?
I know the method, but it’s not that easy…
“What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing at all.”
“It doesn’t seem like nothing. Your petting has become a bit… complicated.”
Pouting her lips, she shot me a sidelong glance. Then she brought her hand over and held mine tightly, rubbing her face against it in a cute manner.
“Just focus on me when we’re together.”
“Haha, got it.”
It was around that time, when I was petting her until she was satisfied.
“Hello!”
It was Hongryeon, Sayoon, and Chaeran.
When did Chaeran arrive again?
“I came earlier. I bumped into Hongryeon unni and Sayoon on the way, and we came together. By the way, is it okay to stay here for a bit? The Moonlight members will be coming tomorrow…”
She was all flustered about finding a place to set up the Moonjeong branch in Seomhwa Castle. When Hongryeon saw that and let out a little laugh.
“Huh?”
“Yeah?”
“Um…”
I was confronted by a girl walking towards the inn.
Hongryeon looked curious, Sayoon tilted her head, and Chaeran was astonished.
And the girl facing them, Yura, also looked surprised.
“I didn’t expect to meet you like this. Nakilseonggeom Hongryeon-nim. Banshake Yura greets you, senior.”
“Nakilseonggeom? What’s that?”
“A new title. Cool, right?”
“It’s grand indeed. Did you request it from the Murim Alliance?”
“Hehe, yes. But… I didn’t expect to meet Cheolhoesincheong here. Nice to meet you. I guess introductions aren’t necessary?”
“Yes, senior. And…”
Yura bowed toward Sayoon and Chaeran.
“Though it’s a bit embarrassing, I’m Yura from the Murim Alliance battle department, known as Cheolhoesincheong. Nice to meet you.”
“I’m embarrassed, but I’m Yura from the Murim Alliance, known by the nickname ‘Chulhoeshinchang.’ Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Sayoon from Hongseong.”
“I’m Chaeran from Moonjeong. By the way, I never expected to meet the strongest among the rising stars around here, ‘Chulhoeshinchang’!”
The three of us exchanged sharp glances. It must be the instinct of warriors encountering someone of similar strength.
As the atmosphere grew slightly heavy, I clapped my hands lightly.
“If you want to spar, let’s head to the training ground later. But before that, Hongryeon, that’s one thing, Sayoon… Why are you down here so early in the morning?”
“Oh. I have a sparring session with Senior Sister today. But I heard Mister is here to escort me.”
“Oh? Then you should stay here for the day.”
“Hehe. Got it, Mister.”
“…Mister?”
Yura looked at Sayoon in surprise, while Sayoon shrugged her shoulders slightly.
Well, my relationship with Sayoon isn’t something that can be seen simply.
“Ahem. I see. I had heard that Shinsan Seonja has a good relationship with Hongseong… But when will that be possible?”
“It can be done right now. What are you curious about?”
“I would like to have a private consultation…”
Yura glanced around cautiously. It seemed she felt intimidated with Hongryeon, Chaejin, and Chaeran looking at her.
“I don’t think they will carelessly spill others’ secrets. And depending on the content of the consultation, advice on martial arts may be needed, so how about we do it together? I guarantee confidentiality.”
Yura pondered for a long time before nodding her head.
Eventually, we headed to the office,
Yura hesitated for a while again before finally opening her mouth.
“This is about my friend…”
Generally, when someone starts like that, eight out of ten times it’s their own story.
I chuckled while looking at her.
“Excuse me, but why are you laughing…”
“Yura, you need to learn how to lie better. With that…”
I tapped the desk.
“How can you hide the demonic nature in your blood properly?”
“Yikes!!”
I shook my head at her wide-eyed stare.
“Of course, I’m not planning to reveal it to the world. Like I said, I owe you a great debt. Furthermore, ‘Chulhoeshinchang,’ if you wish to cast off that demonic nature yourself… I have no reason to stop or hinder you. It’s not like you’re bent on slaughtering or anything.”
She stared blankly at me, then nodded slightly, and I calmly continued.
“I bet you’re curious how I spotted your demonic nature.”
Tensed up, Yura glanced back and forth between me, Hongryeon, Chaejin, Sayoon, and Chaeran, then cautiously nodded.
“People with demonic nature have certain characteristics. If you had waited even a little longer, others would have probably noticed it too.”
Like in her main story, during events where others start to suspect her.
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