– Do Hyeon! In strategic games like Go or Chess, the most important thing is to understand your opponent’s intentions and read their moves!
Thud, thud!
In my mind, the game board spread out as I imagined Seolhwa sitting in front of me, smiling brightly as she placed her white Go stone, different from my black one.
– The same goes for writing. We have to use the bait we strategically place like the corners of the Go board to predict the next move!
Seolhwa was skillful at presenting me with riddles like this, showing me how to realize things on my own.
She’d say there’s no right answer in writing, but there are definitely wrong ones.
– There are four important corners on the Go board, marked by black circles. Now, if this is a piece of writing, what could it be compared to?
‘Each of them is material, setting, story, and plot.’
– Correct! The first corner is the material—it’s the most critical element. You can say that nearly half of the story is decided from here.
Material is the driving force behind a story. Like an engine in a car, it creates the ‘anticipation’ that leads the writing to its conclusion.
– The second… the left upper corner can be compared to the setting. It doesn’t stand out originally, but when the story loses its fun, that’s when it becomes problematic.
The setting creates plausibility and narrative, giving three-dimensionality to the characters. It also allows readers to relate more to the story.
– If the setting and narrative are perfect, then just following the movement of the characters’ trajectories should be enough to write the story.
Characters live and breathe, so they sometimes act outside the established story or can’t continue the narrative in the latter parts.
– The third and fourth are the story and the plot. We write to outline each important episode, and we write the plot to create the bridge that connects the stories.
Seolhwa especially liked to think backward to fill the gaps between the stories.
– So, what did you find from the hints I gave you?
Seolhwa seemed to be propping her chin up with both hands, gazing at me.
‘Right.’
To defeat the self-proclaimed reader, the outer god Shub-Niggurath, I needed to utilize the differences between the reader and the writer.
If I didn’t write, I’d never know. By reverse-engineering the viewpoint differences between the writer and the reader, I could pierce through their weaknesses.
‘I’ll use settings or bait hidden in the text that the reader never expects.’
My target was the Dragon’s Gathering, where all the characters of every piece gather.
There, I could possibly find the final lifeline, the Everlasting Extreme Blood Treasure, to treat my Severed Pulse Condition, and I was certain I’d meet Seolhwa and the other protagonists.
“Master, with that elixir, can’t we heal your chronic illness?”
As I headed back to the center of the Central Martial World for the Dragon’s Gathering, it seemed Bi Wol had been worried about my condition since she reacted so sensitively at just the mention of the elixir.
“That alone might not be enough. It’s a massive lump of Yang energy that could burn my body if consumed without special measures.”
I sighed softly as I spoke.
No matter how amazing that elixir was, I didn’t feel like the torment in my body would just poof and disappear.
“My current condition feels more than just the common Severed Pulse Condition; it seems related to the outer god.”
That’s the outer god often depicted in popular culture. Just looking at or describing it can drive you mad; it’s the existence known from the Cthulhu mythos.
Even Azazel Blackheart, who was connected with the Great Old Ones, nearly lost her power and fell into madness, so I’d have to use every possible means to defeat it.
“…Young lady, I shall burn this body for the sake of my master’s well-being and win this fight!”
Bi Wol’s eyes burned with the fighting spirit like no other time before. She clenched her fists, declaring her determination.
“……”
Bi Wol was like a daughter created by Seolhwa and me. I endlessly mulled over those words as I leaned back.
My heart wavered when I originally thought she had died, but then again, who knows?
*
When Bing Yeon returned to his sect, the Ice Dragon Blossom Heart, many people welcomed him.
“It’s Bing Yeon…!”
“Bing Yeon! How long has it been since you’ve returned!”
Children who were missing limbs, used canes due to blindness, or had their faces covered in burn scars followed behind him like they were trailing their parents.
They were all children who had been ostracized in some way. They had either been used as test subjects by the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect to create warriors or had lost their parents due to unfortunate accidents or attacks.
“Bi Wol unnie!”
“But who are those sisters next to you…?”
Most of them had formed bonds with Bi Wol. In the original work, they all perished, but in this world, Bing Yeon saved them at the cost of his own life.
If they were ordinary people, they might have shown sympathy or discomfort at the sight of their pitiful and grotesque appearances, but Bing Yeon didn’t react that way.
“They’re your new family. Greet each other!”
He instead smiled as he shared sweet treats he brought from the Western Region with the children.
“You gathered new disciples from the Western Region.”
“I see, the Dragon’s Gathering is coming soon.”
Bi Wol linked her arm with Bing Yeon, showcasing her presence. After defeating the Demon Lord, she no longer hesitated to show her affection in front of others.
And then,
“Greetings! I am Verdandi, the Hero from the western continent!”
Someone bowed slightly with a voice laced with admiration as they watched Bing Yeon, while another nodded stiffly with a smirk on their face.
“…Hello. I am Azazel, the Saint of Charity.”
Thus, Verdandi and Azazel awkwardly exchanged greetings with Bing Yeon’s disciples.
“Wow…! Your hair is golden!”
“That sister has a weird black thing stuck to her back! It’s wriggling!”
The children reacted in wonder upon seeing people whose hair color differed from their eye color for the first time. Azazel could only purse her lips at their pure expressions.
“Truly a saintly figure! Our master is!”
“I don’t think I look that much like a good person.”
Verdandi exclaimed loudly at the sight, and Azazel shot an untrusting glance at Bing Yeon.
Luckily, at that moment, Bing Yeon was inside a building resting his exhausted body, and Bi Wol was hiding with him, so they couldn’t hear this conversation.
“Why do you think that way?!”
“The backstory’s too bad! Isn’t it regarded as taboo in the East for a master and disciple to become involved with each other?”
If Bi Wol had heard such words, she would have knocked Azazel out with a single strike.
The principle of “the master and disciple are one” means that the merits of the lord, master, and parents are the same.
In the East, there was a deep cultural belief that one should treat them with the same attitude when addressing them.
To the extent that, in the Central Martial World, the term “deceiving the master and destroying the ancestors” evidenced that deceiving or insulting the master of one’s sect is considered a grievous crime.
“A master with a future of touching their disciple.”
“Well, it is strange not to have any rumors about such a face concerning women!”
Bing Yeon didn’t pretend to ignore Bi Wol’s feelings for no reason.
If it became rumored that the master and disciple had developed feelings for each other, they could be stoned in the streets, and the sect he had established could crumble to pieces.
“Are you continually worried about that future you saw, Azazel?”
“Yes, of course.”
Azazel swallowed her ongoing anxiety. She had moments where witnessing her foresight was life-threatening.
“Well, if you’re no longer a disciple, then what’s the problem?”
Verdandi chimed in, her mind whirring for a solution. In fact, it was possible to terminate a master-disciple relationship to marry.
Sometimes, it seemed like Verdandi had an ingenuity born from innocence, resembling her creator, Yoo Seolhwa.
“Don’t trust the future too much! How can you just believe in what’s visible without any evidence?!”
Verdandi had once almost killed her own mother just because she trusted a divine revelation, so she didn’t want Azazel to judge Bing Yeon based solely on what the future showed.
Honestly, after becoming an adult, wouldn’t it be fine even if some future led to an encounter with Bing Yeon wearing a blindfold?
“…Then, what should I believe in?”
Looking at Verdandi’s bright smile, Azazel frowned. Their personalities were seemingly mismatched as if it were a human characteristic.
It wasn’t even a matter of good and evil.
“God, the man I loved from afar, and my family abandoned me. The wounds inflicted by humans still sting—what should I believe in?”
With an open heart, Azazel spoke of her experiences. That was also the reason she couldn’t trust Bing Yeon all at once.
However, in stark contrast…
“You should believe in your master!”
Verdandi puffed her chest out, recalling Bing Yeon, who had saved them with her prophetic abilities.
Normally, even if someone knew the future, they would only act for their own benefit.
Even though it’s a world of the story they created themselves, there’s no need to save others to take responsibility.
In fact, they could have lived a lavish life, knowing it all.
Bing Yeon was already reaching the end of her lifespan. No one would blame her even if she lived only for herself.
“Because our master is an incredible person!”
Having vaguely sensed that fact, Verdandi smiled, envisioning the events to come.
“You sure have a way of putting me at ease.”
Beside her, Azazel sighed.
*
“From now on, I’ll expose your weaknesses.”
I stood before my disciples with a small jar of liquor. The liquor inside was Jukyeopcheong, a quintessential drink often found in mass-produced martial arts novels.
Considering the distillation process, it was a drink that couldn’t be cheap, so I had brought it at a considerable cost.
“…Why did you bring Jukyeopcheong?”
“To show you the extreme of flow. Bi Wol.”
What I was about to demonstrate to these girls was Drunken Fist.
Originally created for movies, but in my story, it was mainly used by an open-minded archmage.
Since the possibility that Seolhwa was still alive had arisen, I couldn’t endure without drinking.
“Bi Wol, in your case, your moves will just be read easily. Hide your killing intent, and make it unpredictable.”
I pointed out their weaknesses one by one as I spoke.
Bi Wol was inexperienced at hiding her killing intent and was too devoted to principles, leading her to lose in sparring.
“Verdandi, your movements are too big. You have too many unnecessary actions when using a sword.”
Although Verdandi didn’t originally set forth any prominent weaknesses, there were still gaps I could exploit to restrain her.
“Azazel, you seem to lack actual combat experience and hesitate to attack vital points of a person.”
I gave Azazel my last piece of advice before bringing the jar closer to my mouth. The hot sensation slid down my throat as a gentle buzz began to circulate through my body.
“I have song and dance in mind, as the moon dances, shadows sway.”
As I recited the verse, the meaning was that as I sang, the moon lingers, and as I danced, the shadows swirl chaotically.
I recited a line from my favorite poem, “Quiet Night Thoughts” by Li Bai, written while sipping alone under the moonlight.
“Now, come at me! If you can seize this jar of liquor, then you win!”
“…Master?”
Bi Wol gulped again as she witnessed my stumbling steps and vacant eyes.
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