Chapter 653: Back to the Central Plains.

It was just past noon.

Leaving the Jade Chamber, I moved my steps to a particularly secluded space within the palace.

It was a place where a quiet atmosphere was maintained, with a few guards posted.

It was also where the few physicians currently in the Northern Sea gathered.

Passing through there, I arrived at one location, opened the door, and went inside.

Kiiik.

As I grabbed and pulled the old doorknob, a familiar face appeared inside.

Namgung Bi-ah was stuffing something into her mouth, perhaps eating.

She looked at me and spoke.

「…Ahn…nyung…」

“Eat it all first, then talk.”

Her slurred pronunciation was rather amusing.

As Namgung Bi-ah chewed her food with a mumbling sound after hearing my words.

“That’s right, you should swallow everything in your mouth before speaking. It’s basic etiquette taught in noble families, burp. Isn’t that right?”

A middle-aged man subtly interjected from the side.

Looking at him, I frowned and said.

“What’s with burping mid-sentence?”

He had no grounds to discuss etiquette, did he?

“Ho ho. My apologies. Perhaps I haven’t digested properly?”

I sighed, watching the middle-aged man try to brush it off smugly.

His attitude, so unlike his handsome face, still made me feel distant.

The white hair and clear blue eyes, characteristic of the Namgung family and resembling Namgung Bi-ah, were all ingrained in the man.

Namgung Hyung, the Shamanistic Mad Hermit.

The man, now missing an arm, was laughing there.

Looking at him, I asked.

“Are you feeling any better?”

“As you can see, I’m perfectly fine.”

“If we’re going by what I see, you’re not fine at all.”

The Mad Hermit had lost an arm and suffered a penetrating wound, putting him on the brink of death.

He only survived because his cultivation level was high; an ordinary person would have died long ago without question.

‘It’s a miracle he even regained consciousness.’

The physicians at the Ice Palace said he wouldn’t be conscious for at least another month.

The Mad Hermit had woken up with gleaming eyes just two days ago.

It was an astonishingly rapid recovery.

Hilkkeum.

I shifted my gaze to his arm.

As a swordsman, losing an arm would surely cause problems with his martial prowess.

“This is quite tasty today. Would you like to try some, Gongzi?”

“No, I’m good.”

“Then I’ll just eat it myself….”

「…Nyam.」

“…Nephew, what are you doing?”

“I… told you I wasn’t… eating.”

The Mad Hermit seemed unfazed, appearing as eccentric as ever.

‘I don’t know if he’s truly okay or just pretending.’

Since it wasn’t my concern, I quickly averted my gaze. Afterward, I asked Namgung Bi-ah.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine.”

“…”

She answered nonchalantly, so I poked her stomach with my finger.

Then.

“Ugh…!”

Namgung Bi-ah grimaced, letting out a groan, a rare sight.

Seeing that, I let out a deep sigh.

“Fine? What’s fine about that? Are you going to keep lying?”

“…”

Perhaps the poke hurt, as Namgung Bi-ah glared at me resentfully.

But I wasn’t the type to just take that lying down.

“Why aren’t you opening your eyes prettily? What did you do right to glare like that?”

As I said that with a frown, Namgung Bi-ah looked away dejectedly.

She was already incredibly beautiful, making it hard to nag her, but now I’d developed a tolerance and could manage.

“After ignoring my warnings not to go, look at the state you’re in.”

“…”

“What’s so great about this place that you had to come here and get hurt? If you had just stayed put in the Central Plains, this wouldn’t have happened. Does swordplay only get learned when it’s cold? That’s not it.”

“Well…”

“Don’t talk back.”

“…Mm-hmm…”

This time, Namgung Bi-ah seemed to realize her mistake and just listened obediently.

I already had a mountain of things to say.

“And speaking of which-“

“Oh, Gongzi-nim!”

Just as I was about to continue speaking, someone interrupted me and entered.

Tang Soyeol appeared, with Baek Ryeon-geom behind her.

“You’re here?”

“Yeah.”

Tang Soyeol approached with her characteristic bright smile.

And then she sat down beside me nonchalantly.

“Have you eaten?”

“I’ve managed to eat something.”

That was a lie. I hadn’t touched food for about two days.

It was because I’d spent too much time figuring out my newly acquired abilities and heightened cultivation.

“Hmm.”

Hearing my answer, Tang Soyeol stared at me intently.

Her gaze was rather burdensome, so I tried to subtly avoid it.

“You haven’t eaten, have you?”

“…”

I was caught immediately.

Her intuition is just too quick.

“…I don’t really have an appetite.”

“Hmm…”

She wore an expression of clear displeasure.

Tang Soyeol stared at me for a while longer, then tilted her head.

“Gongzi-nim.”

“Yeah?”

“Is something wrong?”

She asked an unexpected question.

At her words, my eyes widened slightly, and I looked at Tang Soyeol.

Then I let out a small, resigned laugh.

‘I’ve been found out.’

How did she know?

I had just had an incident with Woo Hyuk, and wasn’t feeling great, but Tang Soyeol seemed to have noticed immediately.

And it wasn’t just Tang Soyeol.

‘…Tsk.’

Unbeknownst to me, Namgung Bi-ah’s gaze was also fixed on me.

She seemed to have noticed long ago.

“It’s nothing…”

I tried to brush it off as usual, but I could see the subtle change in both their expressions.

Seeing that, I paused for a moment and changed my words.

“…Something happened. But it’s fine. I resolved it.”

“…”

“…”

Saying it this way seemed better than claiming nothing happened, and only then did Namgung Bi-ah and Tang Soyeol’s eyes slightly relax.

Confirming this, I let out a sigh of relief inwardly.

“Really, don’t worry. It’s nothing major.”

Tang Soyeol nodded at my follow-up words.

“Still, you need to eat.”

“…I’ll eat something.”

After giving a vague reply like that.

Deopseok-!

“…?”

I grabbed Namgung Bi-ah’s wrist.

She looked at me as if asking what I was doing.

Ignoring her, I circulated my energy.

Seueueu-!

“Eut?”

As my energy suddenly surged into her, Namgung Bi-ah flinched.

Knowing that, I continued circulating my energy.

The heat penetrated Namgung Bi-ah’s body, completing one cycle.

By the time I recalled it, it returned carrying a considerable amount of miasma.

I separated only the miasma from the energy that returned to my body and sent it to my hand.

Afterward.

Hwareureuk-!!

I ignited a flame at my fingertips and burned away the miasma.

A faint stench was noticeable, but fortunately, it seemed I had separated it well.

After dusting off my hands, I looked at Namgung Bi-ah and said.

“Your energy seems fine overall. I’ve removed the remaining miasma, so you should be able to move around tomorrow without major issues… What’s wrong?”

As I was trying to explain, everyone else in the room was staring at me.

What? What are those stares?

An inexplicable silence passed for a moment.

“What… did you just do?”

Baek Ryeon-geom asked me with surprised eyes.

“What did I do?”

“What you just did. What was it?”

“Huh? I just extracted the miasma and burned it.”

She looked uncomfortable, so I checked just in case, and sure enough, some miasma had seeped into Namgung Bi-ah’s body.

It seemed like a side effect of her energy aiding regeneration, so I just extracted and burned it.

This wasn’t done using the Demonic Path Absorption Technique or any other demonic artifact.

‘I just separated it with heat and burned it. Why the reaction?’

It shouldn’t have been that difficult. It was a strange reaction.

“…You separate miasma? And burn it?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

“Huh?”

I frowned at Baek Ryeon-geom’s repeated question.

“How? You just separate it, don’t you?”

“Miasma is infused within the energy, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is.”

Miasma is subtly hidden within the energy flowing through the acupoints.

If left alone, it would disappear naturally, but it was quite troublesome if left untreated, so it was good to separate and eliminate it like this.

However, Baek Ryeon-geom and Namgung Hyung’s reactions to this action were unusual.

What is it? Did I do something strange?

“You didn’t extract the miasma yourself, but sent your energy into someone else’s body and brought out only the miasma?”

“Yes.”

“How can you possibly do something like that…?”

“No, if you keep asking ‘how’…”

Isn’t it just a matter of sending energy, extracting only the miasma from the flow of energy, and bringing it back?

Of course, since energy flows constantly like water, extracting only the miasma from it wasn’t exactly easy.

“It’s not that difficult, is it?”

“…What? It’s not difficult?”

“Huh?”

Perhaps shocked by my answer, Baek Ryeon-geom’s eyes widened immensely.

Seeing his expression, unable to comprehend, I uttered my final words.

“Is it difficult for you, Seonbae-nim?”

“…”

“Why would that be difficult… Isn’t it really not that hard?”

I don’t know why they’re acting like it’s such a big deal.

“Huh… oh… ah.”

Hearing my response, Baek Ryeon-geom seemed to glitch like a broken machine.

Behind him, Namgung Hyung, forgetting his handsome face, stared at me with a look like a kicked dog.

Seriously, why are they acting like this?

Feeling increasingly frustrated, I abruptly stood up.

Tang Soyeol gave me a look of disappointment, but she had to tend to Namgung Bi-ah, so she wouldn’t be coming with me.

“First, I’ll be taking my leave. Rest well, and as I mentioned before, I’ll be returning to the Central Plains tomorrow.”

As I spoke, I looked at Baek Ryeon-geom and Namgung Hyung.

“Are you coming with us?”

I didn’t bother asking for their consent.

I only needed to bring Namgung Bi-ah and Tang Soyeol, along with that future Sword Demon fellow and the crazy Pacifying King.

Baek Ryeon-geom and the Mad Hermit seemed to have separate matters here, so I stated it as if it didn’t matter if they didn’t come.

“I should go with you. Staying here in this state seems pointless…”

The Mad Hermit glanced at Baek Ryeon-geom and continued.

“Isn’t that the same for you too, Noona?”

“…”

At the Mad Hermit’s words, Baek Ryeon-geom wore a somewhat bitter expression.

She seemed to have her reasons, but.

This also had nothing to do with me, nor did I particularly care.

“Well then, if you’re returning, please arrive by noon tomorrow.”

“Noon… That would be cutting it a bit close. Wouldn’t it be better to leave at dawn?”

“Dawn? Ah.”

I wondered what he meant, but then I realized Baek Ryeon-geom and Namgung Hyung probably didn’t know how I arrived.

“It’s fine. I’ll be flying anyway.”

“I see. Flying… Huh? Flying?”

“Then, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Without further explanation, I turned my back and walked away.

They’d find out tomorrow anyway, so explaining was too much trouble.

‘The number of people might be an issue, but it should be fine.’

In the past, five would have been the limit and quite risky.

But seeing Ddol-ddol-i’s size now and my energy, it didn’t seem like a major problem.

Kiiik. Kung-!

I closed the door and walked away.

Afterward, I glanced up at the sky for a moment.

The cold wave had passed, leaving a chill, but the sky was clear and bright.

Watching the drifting clouds, I nodded.

‘Time to head back, perhaps.’

There were tasks piling up back there.

For that reason alone, it was time to quickly return to the Central Plains.

---

Baekhwa Merchant Guild, Hanam Branch.

Inside a room located on the upper floor of the guildhall.

Within it, a beauty was frowning at the never-ending stack of documents.

Black hair and flawless, snow-white skin.

The woman with deep beauty and her characteristic cool gaze was, as always, frowning.

It was because there was simply too much work piled up.

If people saw the current situation, they would likely pick this woman as the busiest person in Hanam, even over the Alliance Leader.

That’s how overwhelming the woman’s workload was.

In such a situation, the woman, no.

The Branch Manager of the Baekhwa Merchant Guild’s Hanam Branch.

Snow Phoenix Moyong Hi-ah had to click her tongue inwardly as she looked at the person before her.

She couldn’t show it outwardly.

The other party was an important figure, and more importantly, it was quite a daunting matter.

Moyong Hi-ah carefully managed her expression and greeted the woman before her respectfully.

“It’s been a while.”

At her greeting, the woman in front of her smirked.

It was a fierce smile that reminded one of someone.

“Nice to meet you, Snow Phoenix. How many years has it been?”

Her unique black hair swayed with the casual greeting.

“Well… I believe it’s been about three years.”

“Your face still looks drained. Are they not feeding you well? I know the owner here well enough, they wouldn’t neglect you…”

“I’m eating well, so you don’t need to worry about me. So… why have you come to see me?”

Her cold gaze turned towards the woman.

“Sword Phoenix.”

At Moyong Hi-ah’s words, Gu Huibi, the eldest daughter of the Gu family and Sword Phoenix, smiled slightly.

“Is this perhaps a place I shouldn’t have come?”

“Not at all. As the Guild Leader’s child, you are welcome anytime. This was merely a simple question.”

Moyong Hi-ah put down the documents she was holding and asked Gu Huibi.

“Why you came to me, instead of the Guild Leader-nim. That’s what I was curious about.”

“Ah, that’s because… my mother was unavailable today… so I came to Snow Phoenix, the Branch Manager…”

“According to my information, you came straight to me as soon as you arrived at the guildhall?”

“…Your information is fast?”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

Moyong Hi-ah also offered a slight professional smile and continued.

“Moreover, I heard you didn’t even ask about the Guild Leader-nim… If you knew she was unavailable in that situation, it would be logical to assume you came to see me from the start, wouldn’t it?”

Her words effectively cornered the other person, leaving no room to escape.

Hearing that, Gu Huibi’s eyebrow twitched slightly.

“Still so sharp. Annoyingly so.”

“Should I take that as another compliment?”

“You’re taking it positively. Though it was an insult.”

“Yes, I’m choosing to overlook it, so please don’t mind too much.”

“Haha.”

“Ho ho.”

A cold breeze swept through the room.

As the atmosphere froze layer by layer, Moyong Hi-ah brought the conversation back to the point.

“What brings you here to me?”

Actually, asking this question wasn’t ideal.

Recalling what Gu Huibi had done to Moyong Hi-ah in the past, she felt like running away or cursing her out immediately, but.

Moyong Hi-ah had to endure it.

‘Of all people.’

The person before her was her sister-in-law (?).

She had often heard that sister-in-law relationships in any family were notoriously bad, so she could factor this in.

Furthermore.

‘If she sought me out specifically, it must be something important, and I’m a little curious.’

It wasn’t just anyone; it was Sword Phoenix.

She was someone called arrogant and insolent, yet her talent overshadowed all evaluations.

For such a person to seek her out was quite novel.

‘…Come to think of it, she’s quite similar.’

Could it be a unique family trait?

Moyong Hi-ah recalled the eldest son of that family and couldn’t help but smile.

“What’s with that expression?”

“Huh? What expression?”

“I thought you were looking at someone else. You can make expressions like that too?”

“…Ahem.”

Called out on her expression, Moyong Hi-ah hastily composed her face.

It was a slip-up.

Fortunately, Gu Huibi didn’t seem too bothered by Moyong Hi-ah’s reaction.

Perhaps her own urgent matters overshadowed everything else.

“…Anyway, I came because I have a favor to ask.”

“A favor?”

At Gu Huibi’s words, Moyong Hi-ah’s brow furrowed.

She was taken aback.

She hadn’t expected Sword Phoenix to say something like that.

Especially not to her.

‘A favor?’

Why would she come specifically to me, instead of her own mother, the Baekhwa Guild Leader?

Thinking about it, Moyong Hi-ah’s mind raced.

“What kind of favor is it?”

Even so, her mouth didn’t stop moving.

She couldn’t let on that she was thinking.

“Will you grant it?”

“First, let me hear it. If it’s something I can grant… I can consider it.”

“…Hmm.”

At Moyong Hi-ah’s words, Gu Huibi seemed to ponder for a moment, touching her lips.

Despite her foul temper, she inherited her mother’s deep beauty, making that gesture seem somewhat cute.

Even a ferocious beast looks cute when it’s still.

After hesitating for a long time, Gu Huibi finally spoke to Moyong Hi-ah.

“That… job… I’d like you to give me a job…”

“…What?”

At Gu Huibi’s words, Moyong Hi-ah asked again, thinking she misheard.

“…A job?”

Did I really mishear?

What was the great Sword Phoenix saying to me right now?

Seeing Moyong Hi-ah’s expression, Gu Huibi quickly waved her hand and added an explanation.

“Ah, I’m not asking for a job for myself…”

Fortunately, it seemed Gu Huibi didn’t need the job herself.

However.

“Then who is it for?”

“Well… my sibling seems to need a job…”

“…?”

At Gu Huibi’s subsequent words, Moyong Hi-ah was engulfed in greater confusion.

And no wonder.

‘Sibling?’

Which young lady is she referring to?

That was the question for Moyong Hi-ah.