The Sword Saint smiled brightly, seemingly satisfied with my answer.
As I returned to the inn with her, I tilted my head at someone standing there.
“Uh…”
“Long time no see, Shinsan Seonja.”
Oh, please don’t start that.
“Long time no see, Lady Cheonhwa.”
I bowed my head to Cheonryu-Young, the Lady of Cheonhwa Palace. She chuckled slightly at me and exchanged a brief nod with the Sword Saint.
Did they know each other? The Sword Saint nodded back casually, and I asked her.
“But what brings you here at this late hour?”
“I came to deliver a message.”
“Then let’s go inside.”
I led her to my office. As she entered and started looking around, the Sword Saint was giving her a sharp look.
“What brings you all the way here?”
“I’d like to postpone the duel meeting. There’s been a situation.”
Wait, really?
I looked at the Sword Saint in surprise, and she widened her eyes back at me.
I can’t believe the conversation we had on the way to Hongseong is turning out to be true…
“Why is that?”
“Oh, nothing. But what situation are you talking about?”
“Recently, evil monsters have been increasing around Cheonhwa Palace. And those rotten buggers from Nogrim are gathering too.”
“So you think if the core of Cheonhwa Palace is absent during the duel meeting, those scoundrels from Nogrim will seize the opportunity?”
“Exactly.”
So you’re saying we need to clean up the surroundings before getting raided, but that means we can’t stick to the duel meeting schedule?
Before I could say anything, Cheonryu-Young pulled out her bag and placed it on the table. When I opened it, I found ten Cheonhwa Divine Talismans and a sealing talisman inside.
“What’s this?”
“Backtracking a unilateral bet and postponing it is almost like admitting defeat.”
Cheonryu-Young stated firmly, extending the bag toward me. Although her eyes showed some reluctance, it seemed that the pride of Cheonhwa Palace was more important.
“If that’s the case…”
I took the Cheonhwa Divine Talismans and the sealing talisman out of the bag.
From those, I handed her five of the Cheonhwa Divine Talismans.
“I’m not a martial artist, nor am I affiliated with any martial factions, but I still support the righteous side. Especially against the likes of Nogrim, who give headaches to merchants and civilians like me. I think I should lend a hand to those fighting them.”
Cheonryu-Young stared at me, mouth closed. Meeting her gaze, I pointed to the five talismans again.
“Promises must be kept. Cheonhwa Palace proposed the duel meeting, and it was our side that suggested postponing it. If there’s a bet related to this… you could definitely say we lost.”
“Well, it was our side that proposed to postpone the date for the Cheonhwa Palace, so if there’s any bet related to that… it’s definitely a loss for us.”
“That’s right.”
“So you should take this. Don’t pity me or Cheonhwa Palace.”
There’s a saying that if you take away honor and pride from the righteous faction, all that’s left is a corpse.
As such, Cheonryu-Young, the master of Cheonhwa Palace, spoke haughtily, and I presented her with the five Cheonhwa Divine Pills again.
“I’m not just giving these away. I’m investing these five pills in Cheonhwa Palace.”
That’s how the righteous faction operates.
Once they receive, they return what they’ve received, if not more.
Even though we are at odds with Hongseong, Cheonhwa Palace is still one of the prestigious righteous factions. So, I believe these five pills will eventually come back to me.
If they don’t come back…
Well, I’ll just have to think of it as a failed investment.
At my words, Cheonryu-Young seemed momentarily at a loss for words and stared at me before letting out a small sigh.
“I’ve realized how heavy a word can be.”
I almost ended up giving over the Cheonhwa Divine Pills and the sealing talismans from a careless bet.
At least I returned five pills, but even that would be a burden for Cheonryu-Young.
After all, she would feel that she must return it.
After some hesitation, she reclaimed the Cheonhwa Divine Pills. Then, with an improved expression, she forced a smile and looked behind me, tilting her head.
“…Sword Saint. Why are you making that expression?”
Huh? Why?
I turned my head. The Sword Saint standing behind me seemed rather pleased.
“Hehe. Yu Wol is such a person.”
“…No, I mean, why… sigh. Never mind.”
Cheonryu-Young, who was about to say something to the pleased Sword Saint, shook her head. After a small sigh, she spoke calmly.
“I will definitely repay this debt.”
“Do as you wish. By the way, do you intend to stay here today?”
“No. I need to head back right away. Also… outside of the martial arts competition, I want to make a request to Shinsan Seonja.”
“Are you talking about that thing again?”
“Um. Yes.”
I think it’ll take at least a few months to organize the evil monsters and the green forest at Cheonhwa Palace. And by that time, the control over the North should end, and the Iron Blood Woodjey and Dool would come down.
Will I have time left after handling that?
After thinking for a moment, I nodded.
“Let’s discuss that when the time comes.”
“You’re not giving a firm answer.”
“I’m too scared to make any decisions, especially when it involves the demonic cult…”
I said it lightly, but Cheonryu-Young scoffed. Standing up, she calmly stated,
“If you’re that frightened, let me give you a piece of information. I heard that the Seven Star Dagger was sent to the Murim Alliance.”
“Oh. Right.”
I had entrusted it to a Doje to have the Murim Alliance choose a owner for it. By now, the owner should have been decided, right?
“Strangely enough, there are rumors circulating that you passed it on.”
“Strange rumors?”
“Indeed. One of them is… this.”
Cheonryu-Young looked at me seriously.
“They say that Shinsan Seonja Yu Wol knows the secret of the Muyeong Martial Arts and thus casually gave it up…”
“What does that even mean?”
When I looked at her, Cheonryu-Young shrugged her shoulders.
“They say that if someone has the extraordinary knowledge to be called a Shinsan Seonja, they would surely know about the secret of the Muyeong Martial Arts…”
“That’s ridiculous.”
In the Murim, there are always all kinds of rumors, but I never anticipated they’d come up with something like this about me.
The Sword Saint behind me shook his head, and Cheonryu-Young seemed to do the same with her shrug.
“Usually, such rumors come and go, but this one is spreading like wildfire.”
So, someone is deliberately inflating and spreading these rumors.
“Perhaps, some sects victimized by the Muyeong Martial Arts might come looking for the truth. Or better yet, it’d be preferable if they do.”
At least, I wouldn’t have to worry about being pressured by the righteous sects.
The problem lies with the unorthodox sects.
Even though Hongseong protects me, there might still be forces among them that would try to kidnap me to extract information.
“So, be careful. Try not to wander around alone.”
Cheonryu-Young glanced at the Sword Saint behind me before leaving. Once she was out, the Sword Saint gently grabbed me from behind.
“Did you hear that?”
“Yes.”
“I guess you need to stick even closer to me from now on.”
“Hahaha…”
A few days passed. Hongryeon and Chaejin completely recovered and returned to the inn, and the Sword Saint conveyed Cheonryu-Young’s words.
“From the Murim Alliance? How peculiar.”
“But to be honest, I thought you’d know something about it…”
At Chaejin’s words, Hongryeon nodded slightly. Instead of answering, I just laughed.
I nodded. Instead of answering, I merely chuckled.
“If I say it’s not me, what can I do if you insist on believing it?”
“Well… then it seems we can say that the forces targeting you have increased.”
“I can’t deny that.”
Anyway, I had a rough idea of why this was happening and who was behind the rumor, so it wasn’t something I needed to worry about too much.
Just as I casually mentioned this, a cheerful voice came from the entrance of the inn.
“Oh! How have you been?”
It was Hano.
Why was this gentleman who should be in Yangwisong here? When I looked over, he glanced around and said, as if feeling a bit let down,
“Geez. Yu Seonsaeng, if you knew about Muyeong Matou, you could’ve told me…”
“Do you really believe such nonsense?”
“Just kidding. Oh, and I heard you’ve been working with the post office lately?”
Since a little while ago, they’d been sharing strategies for dealing with evil monsters through the post office. They’d send those tips to the sects in regions with dangerous monsters.
Sects, merchants, and government offices troubled with the newly relocated monsters seemed quite pleased with those letters.
“You’ve been doing that?”
“Haha. Yes.”
“Anyway, that’s not the important part. What matters is that right now, Shinsan Seonja’s name is rising in the martial world due to that business, and in the process, rumors are spreading that Shinsan Seonja knows about the secrets of Muyeong Matou.”
He seemed to have a rough idea about the rumors circulating in the martial world.
“So, the rumors are being spread intentionally. It’s as if someone is saying, ‘If you kidnap Shinsan Seonja Yu Wol, not only can you monopolize the methods to deal with evil monsters, but you’ll also gain the secrets of Muyeong Matou.'”
At Hano’s words, Hongryeon, Chaejin, and the Sword Saint’s expressions stiffened.
“Even if you hadn’t sent the Seven Star Dagger through the Doje, you would have found another excuse to do something similar.”
“Who? Why would anyone do something like this?”
“Well, it isn’t hard to guess.”
The three exchanged glances and revealed their teeth in a grimace.
“…Iron Blood Clan?”
“But why are they targeting you?”
It’s probably because I’m the one who could easily capture those monsters.
If I were to be part of the Iron Blood Clan, I’d target myself first.
But I guess they chose this method since directly attacking would be a burden.
Still, that didn’t change what I had to do.
If the risk was going to stop at this level, they wouldn’t have bothered starting in the first place.
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