Yura stared at me with a puzzled look. If I said that the demonic essence hidden in her blood was starting to manifest, it would understandably throw her off balance.
I continued to speak while watching her.
“I heard you fought against Cheolhyeol Toje, so I got curious and did some digging. By the way, the data came from Gaebang and Hao-mun.”
“And what’s its characteristic?”
“Those who lived as righteous or wicked, or even as officials with demonic essence aren’t exactly a first.”
“Huh? Is that really true?”
“Yes. Although it’s rare for people to be born with demonic essence, it’s not impossible.”
I stood up and gathered the records. These were military records I had requested specifically from Cheonilhwa.
The Empire and the Demon Cult have a deep-seated rivalry, so there’s been a ton of research on the Demon Cult within the Empire, and naturally, there was information about those with demonic essence.
I pulled out a letter and handed it over. After Yura read it, her eyes widened in surprise.
“One of the characteristics of those with demonic essence is in their eyes. Especially when using martial arts, that characteristic stands out. Can you channel your energy?”
Yura swallowed hard. As she slowly started to draw forth her energy, Sayoon and Chaeran tilted their heads in confusion.
But the Sword Saint and Hongryeon, along with Chaejin, were different. It must be that as transcendent beings, they really had a keen sense.
“That thing in your eyes… it’s the transformation, isn’t it?”
Chaejin’s words startled Yura. Panicking, she glanced at a mirror and saw a faint, fiery pattern flickering deep within her irises.
“Of course, having transformation alone doesn’t mean there’s demonic essence. The second characteristic of those with demonic essence is their blood. The blood of those with demonic essence doesn’t mix with the blood of others. I investigated with Hao-mun, and it’s said that your blood is segregated from the others.”
Yura swallowed hard and picked up a dagger. She poked her finger, and droplets of blood began to fall.
I also wanted to check, but Sayoon quickly intervened.
“I’ll do it.”
Before I could even utter a word, she jabbed her fingertip with the dagger. When her blood fell and mixed with Yura’s, everyone except me gasped.
The blood…
Was separating naturally.
“Why is this happening?”
“Demonic essence dislikes mixing with other blood, wanting to keep itself distinct. There are several other characteristics, and according to my research, most of them are found in you.”
Yura stayed silent.
The fact that I found this out meant that others could discover it as well.
In other words, if she wasn’t careful, she could be misunderstood as the Demon Cult or a monster prone to rampage at any moment.
So, for Yura, it must be nerve-wracking.
“…Is there no way to erase the demonic essence inside me?”
“How do you feel right now? Are you seeing illusions or hearing voices? Any urges toward blood, death, or destruction?”
“…Just a little…”
Yura nodded.
The fate of those with demonic essence is usually quite similar. They either lose their minds and become fiends or learn martial arts to control their demonic essence.
“I heard there’s a monk who cut off her own dantian to control her innate demonic nature and entered the Amifa.”
“What happened to her…?”
“I heard she committed suicide. Even with the power of the unapproachable, she couldn’t control the demonic nature.”
“……..”
Yura’s complexion turned pale. She fidgeted with her spear and bowed her head toward me.
“Thank you. I know what I need to do now.”
“Are you planning to commit suicide?”
“……”
She nodded. Yura seemed to strongly avoid becoming a rampaging monster, losing herself to demonic nature.
“There is a way to erase the demonic nature. However, it won’t be easy. It seems it wasn’t naturally acquired but rather induced by someone else… where is it?”
“…Gi Won Yuga.”
“I see. In that case, if the current head of Gi Won Yuga dies, the demonic nature will disappear.”
“Is it really that simple?”
“Well, the scholars of the imperial palace researched it. The odds aren’t very high.”
Normally, Yura would have to go through many events, get involved with the imperial palace in the main story, and only after checking the records would she fight the demonic sect.
From the perspective of the royal family or military, it was utterly advantageous. By then, Yura would become a renowned warrior, so it wouldn’t be a bad deal for the royal family either.
“If you find it hard to believe me, I can recommend someone from the royal family. It would be good to take a look at their research records. You’d be able to find out more details there. I can explain, but it requires a lot of relevant knowledge… By any chance, have you read a book called ‘Tales of the Moonlight’? Or a record titled ‘The Relationship Between Demonic Nature and Personality’ from the Imperial Management Records? How about ‘The Totality of Rationality’ written by Gwijin?”
Yura seemed to have never heard of any of the materials I mentioned.
After pondering for a moment, she shook her head.
“I don’t think Shinsan Seonja would lie. Hah… Anyway, thank you.”
“If you’re really struggling, you can somewhat suppress the demonic nature with medicine. Do you know about the blood-absorbing pill?”
“The blood-absorbing pill…?”
“It’s a medicine that can be created by the gods… It’s said to reduce emotions and enhance rationality. Demonic nature incites desires for blood, violence, and destruction, causing one to lose reason. Just suppressing emotions to control those urges could help mitigate the instability caused by the demonic nature.”
In Heavenly Bright Moon, there’s a part of the main story where she helps a merchant and obtains the blood-absorbing pill.
Afterward, she becomes somewhat free from the whispers of the demonic nature, but she hears from the gods that one can’t rely solely on the blood-absorbing pill because it builds up resistance.
Seeing that she doesn’t know about the blood-absorbing pill, it seems she hasn’t done that main story yet.
“Anyway, that’s it. I hope this consultation was helpful.”
“…It was a great help.”
“There’s a saying: ‘Wait and have hope.’ There’s no need to lose hope yet. Don’t act rashly, just wait. A chance will surely come.”
“Ah, and have hope,” they say. “There’s no need to lose hope just yet. Don’t act rashly; wait. The opportunity will surely come.”
*
I came just in case, but I really didn’t expect such a detailed response.
Yura sat in the inn, unable to hide her unease as she sighed.
“Are you okay?”
“Ah. Yes.”
Approaching her were none other than Sayoon and Chaeran.
“You’re the shining star of Hongseong, who recently defeated Myojae, the Dokanryong senior. Nice to meet you.”
“Hahaha… shining star, huh? It’s not that big of a deal.”
“And you are… Chaeran, the female hero of Moonjeong. I didn’t expect to meet you like this.”
Yura’s polite greeting made both of them awkwardly smile.
Then silence descended again.
‘What should I talk about?’
Sayoon racked her brain. Yura’s expression had looked so bad after talking to that Mister earlier.
Worried, she had followed Yura out, but now that they were face to face, she had no clue what to say.
After a long moment of pondering, Sayoon forced a smile and said awkwardly, “Oh, nice weather today, right?”
“Ah. Yes.”
Once again, silence. Sayoon quickly glanced at the sociable Chaeran, who ordered tea from Jeomsoi and then asked.
“But how did you plan to fight the Iron Blood Clan? They must have been very strong.”
“Well, originally, I was going to fight the Demon Sect, but ended up fighting them instead…”
“Oh.”
So, she hadn’t really meant to fight the Iron Blood Clan. It just happened that way, and she won.
“And it wasn’t just me fighting alone. I had help from Shinjusa and others in the Murim Alliance…”
“I see…”
After a few tries at conversation from Chaeran and Sayoon, silence fell again.
Strangely, they couldn’t seem to keep a dialogue with Yura.
The reason was simple.
Yura had trained herself to suppress her emotions for a long time to avoid the effects of her demonic nature. This had become habitual, so she hardly reacted to most things.
As a result, both were at a loss, and Yura couldn’t hide her awkwardness either.
If they were familiar faces, they could just laugh it off, but they weren’t, so a stilted atmosphere was inevitable.
It would have been nice if they had a common topic to keep the conversation flowing.
‘Help me! Mister!’
‘Father…! Mother…! Butler Yoon…! What should I do…?!’
‘Should I suggest we drink? My father said drinking together helps in times like this…’
While the three beautiful girls hesitated, looking at each other,
“Well, that Mister is amazing, right?”
“Are you referring to Shinsan Seonja? Yes. He’s quite… amazing.”
She had heard the stories. It was clear that Shinsan Seonja Yu Wol had extraordinary knowledge.
But she didn’t expect it to be to this extent.
“To say that such a person owes me… I guess he had a pretty bad relationship with the Iron Blood Clan.”
“Hahaha… Yes! Actually, the Mister and the Iron Blood Clan have a really bad connection.”
“Found a common topic.”
“Not to mention Sayoon, but Chaeran is also Yu Wol’s brother-in-law and the benefactor who allowed her to gain Sooradoo. She’s received a lot of help.”
“Just recently, Yura also received great help from Yu Wol.”
“Weren’t you almost killed by the Iron Blood Clan the last time?”
“Yeah. I can’t even describe how shocked I was back then.”
“No way. That actually happened?”
“Yes. The Iron Blood Clan was targeting the innkeeper. Fortunately, nothing serious happened…”
“Oh, I see… But it seems that Sister Sayoon is pretty close to Shinsan Seonja. If she’s calling you mister… ”
“Heh, hehe.”
Looks like they’re close. That one comment brought Sayoon quite a bit of joy.
“Ah. How about we grab a drink while we talk? If you’re curious about the innkeeper, I can share some info. There’s really tasty drinks here.”
“How about a drink if you like alcohol?”
“Hahaha… I think a beverage is better.”
Anyways, if Yu Wol believes she owes a debt to Yura, then she feels like she’s in the same boat.
Especially since Yura faced the Iron Blood Clan.
So they ordered drinks and snacks, continuing the conversation.
Even after finishing up the talk about Yu Wol, they didn’t stop chatting. As they discussed, they began to find common topics, and naturally, Sayoon and Chaeran became somewhat familiar with Yura.
Since Yura often traveled to Murim, she had quite a lot of knowledge.
“Traveling to Murim, huh…”
“Does Sister Sayoon not do that?”
“I really should go at some point…”
“There are many places worth visiting, so I’ll let you know.”
“Thank you!”
“Of course, not all places are safe. But for someone like Sister Sayoon, it shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Speaking of places to visit, I just remembered. This place is a must-visit for the latest legendary gatherings, isn’t it?”
At Chaeran’s comment, Yura nodded slightly. Recently, Seonghwa Fortress has become famous among young martial artists.
Hongseong, and the place where Shinsan Seonja is staying.
Especially if there’s a hot spring in such a massive inn, it would be even more enticing.
“Moreover, if things go well, you might also get to meet the Sword Saint and the Moonlight Divine Sect and the Falling Sun Sword sisters.”
“With three transcendent beings, everyone must be looking forward to that, right?”
As Sayoon said that with a grin…
“Huh? That person…”
Chaeran tilted her head, looking at someone entering the inn.
It was Namgoong Cheon, the Thunderbolt Sword King.
Not fitting the title of a transcendent, when he sat down, Yu Wol came downstairs shortly after.
“Have you made your choice?”
The three held their breath and watched him, and Namgoong Cheon said in a tired tone.
“How much is the membership here?”
Wait a minute.
Is Namgoong Cheon seriously staying here?
Yu Wol smiled and handed him a card, which Namgoong Cheon took and headed for the hot spring.
The three exchanged looks, and Chaeran said, somewhat reluctantly,
“Now it’s four of us.”
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