Chapter 25: Demon Sword Empress (2)

After wrapping up the talk regarding Wi Seol-ah appropriately, since it was getting late, I quickly whipped up something to eat and finished the meal.

Had she starved for days? It was amazing how food kept going into Wi Seol-ah’s mouth non-stop. Flustered, I asked if she normally ate like that.

The attendants, looking familiar with it, replied that Wi Seol-ah normally ate like that.

Come to think of it, the way she kept gobbling down potatoes on the first day probably meant she was always a big eater.

It wasn’t just that her appetite had grown; it was on a level that suggested several people’s worth had joined her stomach. I figured I’d need to stock up on various things at stops along the way.

Moonlight reflected on the valley stream.

We’d set up camp near the valley, but perhaps because of that, the spring breeze felt colder than usual.

As it neared the hour of Zi, the guards slowly began preparing for their watch duty.

They attached detection charms around the tents one by one, and it was an arduous task to constantly scan the surroundings using their inner energy, preparing for any unforeseen situation.

As I sat gazing at the moon, Mu Yeon approached.

“Young Master, you should head inside soon. It’s getting cold.”

“No matter how cold it gets, I’ll probably be warmer than the guards.”

Thanks to the effects of my cultivation method, I only felt refreshed, not cold. I sat there blankly in front of the campfire.

Wi Seol-ah got something from the attendants in the tent and came running over, bouncing. She was carrying a bowl of dumplings.

Dumplings, all of a sudden…?

They were steaming hot, looking freshly steamed. How on earth did she steam them here?

“The older sisters said to share these with you guys!”

Apparently, it was a late-night snack prepared for the guards.

As Wi Seol-ah handed them out one by one, the guards wore goofy smiles.

Wi Seol-ah’s looks were a formidable weapon. Back in my previous life, when she was fully grown, some guys lost sparring matches against her simply because they were mesmerized by her face. Would it be any different now?

Soon after, having handed out dumplings to everyone, Wi Seol-ah casually sat down beside me.

“I brought the big one for you, Young Master.”

Smiling brightly, Wi Seol-ah handed me two dumplings.

I took the dumplings and said.

“Shouldn’t you get some sleep? You have to wake up early tomorrow.”

Our schedule required us to depart as soon as the sun rose tomorrow.

So, getting some sleep now would at least make things more comfortable.

“You’re not sleeping either, Young Master.”

“…Well, me…”

I’m fine since I have a bit of a challenge going on, but it might be tough for Wi Seol-ah, as she isn’t a martial artist yet.

I took a bite of the dumpling. It was fluffy and moist – dumplings really were amazing.

The cold wind began to pick up. Mu Yeon stood up, stretching. Since I also needed to head into the carriage soon, I gave Wi Seol-ah a gentle nudge on the back.

“Get inside quickly, or I’ll leave you behind if you can’t wake up tomorrow.”

“Hmph… That’s mean.”

“The dumplings were delicious.”

I popped the remaining dumplings into my mouth and went inside the carriage to get some sleep.

******************

“This is ridiculously far.”

Time passed, and it had already been four days since we left the Sa family to head to Sichuan.

All we did during that time was ride in the carriage by day and camp by night, over and over.

I squeezed in some cultivation practice whenever I could, but it wasn’t exactly significant growth.

Inner energy wasn’t something that just shot up overnight with a sudden epiphany; it was something you had to endure the slow grind for.

“…Never mind getting there; how will I manage the return trip?”

“It’ll probably take just as long then. How will I possibly endure that?”

What’s worse, the road was so rough that the carriage couldn’t even pick up speed.

Thanks to that, I’d seen enough of the outside scenery to last a lifetime.

“Young Master!”

“What is it?”

“Look over there! See! It’s a squirrel!”

Following Wi Seol-ah’s words, I looked towards the trees and saw a squirrel gathering and eating acorns.

“Yeah, it’s a squirrel…”

“Isn’t it cute!”

The only things I did on the way were the occasional conversations with Wi Seol-ah, like this.

Roughly recalling our chats, she mentioned Yakgwa were tastier than potatoes, and that she’d tried eating eagle, finding it tougher than expected.

And that regular pork tasted better than wild boar. Come to think of it, why were all our conversations about food?

As I looked at Wi Seol-ah pointing at the squirrel, asking “Isn’t it cute?”, I felt a sudden chill and had to ask.

“Have you perhaps eaten squirrels too?”

At my question, Wi Seol-ah gave me a strange look.

“Young Master… Even so, I couldn’t possibly eat a squirrel.”

She looked at me as if asking, “Is Young Master perhaps an idiot?”, which made me feel incredibly indignant.

You ate eagles, so why couldn’t you eat squirrels?

Feeling a bit annoyed, I snatched a Yakgwa she was about to pop into her mouth and ate it myself.

“Wha… Whaaat!”

Wi Seol-ah stared, her eyes widening in disbelief.

She stood there spacing out with her mouth agape, her face gradually morphing into one of comical shock.

Her face looked as if she’d just heard the world was ending tomorrow.

Seeing her face fall like that was quite satisfying.

“H-how could you…”

“You need to stop eating so many Yakgwa. Look at your face; it’s gotten all round.”

“It’s not round!”

“Ask someone else. See if they don’t agree.”

“Honghwa unni! Have I gotten round!?”

Honghwa, an attendant sitting opposite us who had been listening to our conversation while chuckling, stiffened upon hearing Wi Seol-ah’s question.

Then, she slowly turned her head away from Wi Seol-ah.

She couldn’t bring herself to answer and had fled.

Seeing that, Wi Seol-ah’s expression shifted from shock to resignation.

“I… am round…”

“Yep, you’re round.”

Stunned by my finishing blow, Wi Seol-ah leaned her face against the wall and clamped her mouth shut.

To be fair, Wi Seol-ah’s face hadn’t actually puffed up like a steamed bun.

She’d just gained a little weight since I first met her.

‘But hey, she did gain weight, didn’t she?’

Wi Seol-ah’s reduced chatter gave me a moment of quiet.

Gazing out at the scenery, I suddenly thought about what lay ahead.

‘I really hope things go smoothly.’

Visiting the Sichuan Tang Sect was just an excuse around the ninth month, so I accepted that. But I had to consider Geumcheon Yeonga and Gyecheon Gate.

How much time could I afford to spend searching for Vigo?

If I had to guess, maybe three days at most? Time was far tighter than I’d anticipated. All I knew was the region where it was found and its general surroundings.

If I couldn’t find Vigo at all, I was half-considering just scattering it to the Kaebang.

Otherwise, I at least needed to find a way to keep it out of the hands of Gyecheon Gate or other unorthodox sects, particularly those who turned into demonic fiends.

And if I did find Vigo? Well, I’d deal with that when the time came.

‘The food supplies on the baggage cart were starting to run low.’

This was because the road was rougher than expected, and it had rained on the second day, leaving us still some distance from our initial destination.

…It couldn’t possibly be because Wi Seol-ah was eating so much. Probably not…

I poked my head out of the carriage and asked Mu Yeon.

“Mu Yeon, how long until the road gets better?”

“The coachman said that at this pace, we’ll need about another hour.”

“We’d probably be faster just walking.”

Part of me wanted to ditch everything and just run, but my body would probably give out before half an hour, plus there were the gifts I needed to take to the Tang Sect.

“Haha…”

Mu Yeon, who had been smiling awkwardly, suddenly adopted a sharp expression.

Wondering what was up, I asked Mu Yeon.

“What is it?”

“Halt.”

There was no reply.

His voice was strained. In an instant, the group halted.

Sensing something amiss from Mu Yeon’s demeanor, I also raised my inner energy.

My senses detected a strange presence. Upon feeling it, I couldn’t help but smirk.

It was the aura of monsters.

“No wonder I thought things felt too peaceful these past few days.”

“There aren’t many of them. I’ll handle it quickly, so you can rest.”

It was basically telling me to stay put, not come out and make a scene like last time.

I also figured it was best to just sit this one out, as I didn’t know what might happen if I grabbed a magic stone again, like last time.

Fortunately, it wasn’t from the Demon Gate.

Strictly speaking, they were the dregs left over after the Demon Gate had closed.

The approaching presence was swift. Was it targeting us? Something felt off about that.

Swoosh.

A strange sound came from the bushes.

Mu Yeon and the guards had already drawn their swords, ready to strike the moment anything charged.

Soon after, something burst through the bushes and charged.

-ROOOAR!

Before I could even identify it, Mu Yeon’s sword sliced through the creature.

Slice, Thud!

Whether it died instantly from Mu Yeon’s thrust, the creature fell to the ground with a dull thud. It was a bear-shaped monster.

I always thought Elder Lee looked like a bear, but comparing their sizes directly, this monster was remarkably similar.

Nokjuung (Green Tree Bear).

Like the Nokgakgyeon, it was a creature that emerged from the lowest tier of the Demon Gate.

“This thing…”

Mu Yeon frowned as he looked at the creature.

“Besides the wound I inflicted, there’s another one.”

“Hmm?”

Upon checking, as Mu Yeon said, there was another sword wound besides the one Mu Yeon had inflicted.

So, were those strange movements I sensed with my inner energy attempts by the creatures to escape from someone?

Monsters fleeing from humans?

That was absurd.

Creatures whose instincts were solely focused on killing…? Even worse, the monster presences I’d sensed were disappearing one by one.

I sensed something else back there, killing them one by one.

Fast. It was gradually approaching us.

Mu Yeon was momentarily flustered by the unexpected turn of events, but quickly took a defensive stance with the guards.

The approaching presence, without hesitation, burst through the bushes.

-ROOOOAR!

It was another Nokjuung, just like before, but-

Swish!

A streak of sword energy flew after it, slicing through the Nokjuung’s head.

CRASH!

Blue blood spilled from the fallen Nokjuung.

Mu Yeon paid no mind to the slain monster, his gaze fixed solely on the area beyond the bushes.

Soon after, Mu Yeon called out.

“Who goes there? State your identity!”

In response to Mu Yeon’s shout, someone soon emerged from the bushes.

It was someone holding a sword. I wanted a better look, but they were wrapped tightly in a cloak, obscuring their face.

All I could tell from their build was that they were a woman.

She approached us with light, graceful steps.

As she drew closer, my attention was increasingly drawn to her clothes.

Whether she’d been traveling long, leaves clung to her blue martial uniform here and there, coated in dust.

The woman slowly sheathed her sword and approached calmly, but Mu Yeon still kept his blade drawn, aimed at her.

When she seemed close enough, the woman removed her cloak, revealing her face.

Upon seeing the woman’s revealed face, one of the guards inhaled sharply.

She looked to be in her early twenties, perhaps a bit older than me.

Her white-blue hair, matching pure white skin, a sharp nose, and lips that seemed full of life-

All these combined suggested she was undoubtedly one of the world’s most beautiful women.

She slowly looked at Mu Yeon and spoke.

“My apologies. I was traveling alone, so I couldn’t quite handle it properly.”

“Alone…? You were handling these creatures by yourself, young lady?”

“I tend to have bad luck. Unfortunately, this time a Demon Gate creature appeared right in front of me. I caught most of them, but a few managed to escape.”

“Monsters… escaping…?”

“Maybe it’s because of my family’s martial arts… they tend to do this.”

While Mu Yeon was conversing with her.

I, too, couldn’t help but be startled when I saw her face.

It wasn’t because of her beauty.

Small white letters written on the hem of her blue martial uniform caught my eye.

Namgung.

“Fuck…”

Seeing that, I couldn’t help but curse.

In the Central Plains, only a handful of people could walk around displaying those characters on their martial uniforms.

And if that woman had such an appearance, there could only be one person.

‘What the hell is that crazy bitch doing here?’

Cold sweat trickled down, and I slowly wiped it away.

I knew her well.

We were likely strangers in this life, but in my previous one, it was different.

She was someone I wanted to avoid more than anyone else I’d met in this life.

‘Could my luck possibly be this bad?’

I tried to calm my racing heart.

This wasn’t the flutter of excitement.

It was pure fear.

The woman said bluntly to Mu Yeon.

“My name is Namgung Bi-ah. Are you perhaps heading to Sichuan?”

Hearing her name, I squeezed my eyes shut.

Of course. It was just as I feared.

I could only hold my breath again at her next words.

“In that case, would it be alright if I joined you? I’ll compensate you, of course.”

“No, fuck that… Absolutely not!”

I kicked open the carriage door and yelled.

Then, my eyes met hers.

Her emotionless eyes were just like they were in my previous life. That made it even more chilling.

Demon Sword Queen Namgung Bi-ah.

In my previous life, she’d become obsessed with the sword, turned into a demon, and personally destroyed her own clan. And that woman was here.