Leaving Black Dragon Castle and heading back to the Central Plains.
“Hehehe…! You scoundrels, halt! How dare you pass this road without paying a toll… cough!”
I kept running into a bunch of thugs and bandits.
“Hahaha! If you leave that girl behind, I might let you go… ugh!”
I was hiding my momentum and dressing normally just in case something happened, but flies kept buzzing around.
This place is Xin Gang.
Although technically it’s part of the Huang Nation… it’s closer to the capital, Nangyang.
With treacherous mountains and barren terrain in between.
Realistically, Xin Gang was practically a lawless zone.
“I understand why the Demon Sect is favored in Xin Gang.”
After Black Cat joyfully beat some thugs, she shook her head.
“Well, that’s true.”
In this Xin Gang, where those skilled in martial arts were all about scamming others, the Demon Sect martial artists strictly followed rules and didn’t mess with those who hadn’t mastered martial arts—truly beings of a different caliber.
In fact, the real reason the Demon Sect became the ruler of Xin Gang is another story…
Now it’s more like unrealistic myth, and we don’t need to mention why the Demon Sect currently reigns supreme in Xin Gang.
“Anyway, we need to get to Gansu to contact Wolbok-dang.”
Right now, we were engaged in a silent contest of wits with Jeong Cheol.
Neither Black Cat nor I had any footing in Xin Gang. On the contrary, Jeong Cheol had likely built quite a few connections here after spending time as a collaborator of the Demon Sect.
However, realistically speaking, even if he had connections in Xin Gang, I doubted he could monitor the entire vast area.
If he had that much power, he wouldn’t even need to venture down to Sacheon to establish a faction; he could just take and control part of Xin Gang.
The quickest route back to Sacheon was directly through Cheonghae.
If Jeong Cheol could exert power in Xin Gang, he’d be keeping an eye on such paths.
If we’re unlucky, we might run into Jeong Cheol right away, so we planned to pass through Shaanxi and join our group.
“Hmm.”
Black Cat seemed displeased by our slow travel, letting out a groan. She’d been acting like that for days, so I pretended not to notice and kept my eyes ahead.
The reason Black Cat was complaining was simple.
The Minor Divine Skill given by Wi Seorye.
She couldn’t train it under the current circumstances.
We were both pretending to be travelers.
Practicing martial arts was out of the question.
And could we even read the Secret Manual of the Minor Divine Skill properly?
No, we couldn’t.
Have you ever seen a traveler reading a book while walking?
When the sun was out, we had to move busily, and only after sunset could we read the manual by a campfire, so Black Cat hadn’t finished it either, naturally giving her something to complain about.
Black Cat was also a martial artist.
Not being able to train the Divine Skill was making her quite irritated.
“Calm down, calm down.”
I touched Black Cat’s shoulders, which were moving far too quickly for a regular person.
“Let’s do this. Since we both can’t get hurt by expanding our movement techniques at night anyway, let’s act like ordinary travelers until daytime, and then take off at night. How does that sound?”
Black Cat’s expression shifted to one of “Oh, right!” upon my suggestion.
“I’m sorry, Senior. I think I’m just getting a bit anxious.”
“No, it’s me who was lacking in consideration. I get your feelings.”
“Senior… you understood my feelings?”
“Of course.”
As I nodded, Black Cat looked at me with shining eyes.
“That promise…”
Black Cat was about to say something, but I interrupted.
“With that Divine Skill, having to just walk slowly while it’s lying in our hands must be incredibly frustrating!”
“…Huh?”
“We’re getting a bit far from Black Dragon Castle, so it’s likely the watchful eyes are fewer! Let’s shake it off tonight!”
Black Cat’s gaze turned slightly cold.
She seemed to think my plan was a bit lacking.
“Should we perhaps hire a cart at the next town? Then we could comfortably read the manual inside…”
“Honestly.”
Even without using the Nine Yin, just her voice alone sent chills down my spine. Upon noticing my surprise, Black Cat rolled her eyes at me scornfully and muttered something.
“Absolutely clueless.”
…What did I do wrong?
I rolled my eyes around but couldn’t find anything noteworthy.
“Ugh, forget it! Just walk faster!”
“Oh, okay…”
“Honestly, Senior! It’s always like this! When it matters, where does that extraordinary intuition disappear to? Are you doing it on purpose?”
“No, what did I…”
“Again! Once more, just like this!”
So, while being subject to Black Cat’s unreasonable scolding, we continued down the road.
*
After escaping Xin Gang, we walked during the day and expanded our movement techniques at night.
Once we entered Shaanxi, we practiced without distinguishing between day and night.
After a hectic two weeks of running.
“Whew…”
We finally arrived at our destination.
Xi’an in Shaanxi.
Great Dragon Inn!
The place we had promised to meet our group.
“Welcome!”
Perhaps because we had barely rested and had been running day and night, I arrived looking all worn out, covered in dust.
The attitude of Jeomsoi who greeted us seemed a bit cranky, but I knew of a magical item that could completely change her attitude.
That was, of course, the silver coin.
“Two rooms and a bath, please.”
“Yes! Great Hero! I’ll prepare warm water that can wash away the fatigue of your long journey in an instant!”
However, we couldn’t wash up immediately.
“Honorable Person!”
The familiar voice and honorifics sounded from the second floor of the inn. I looked up, and there was Yeo Il-ye smiling down at us, leaning against the railing.
“You’ve arrived! I’m so glad you’re safe!”
Next to the delighted Yeo Il-ye were two young martial artists.
Of course, they were Tang Do-yeon and Tang So-yeol.
“You’ve come, my disciple.”
“You’ve improved quite a bit.”
We finally reunited with our group.
*
First, we changed our dirty clothes and cleaned off the layers of dust before facing our companions.
“It seems like you’ve had quite a few achievements.”
Yeo Il-ye inspected me and said.
“It seems Miss Yeo Il-ye has also achieved much.”
I remarked, following the movement of Yeo Il-ye’s twin swords with my eyes. Despite carrying two swords, it seemed natural for her—she must have been practicing dual sword techniques for a while.
“Yeah, it’s been a long time.”
Even though nine months had passed, the martial ability and jaded gaze of Tang So-yeol hadn’t changed at all as he smiled faintly.
Well, it’s to be expected since he’s a master anyway.
The changes in Tang So-yeol couldn’t be known until I saw the items he created.
“Haha, I can no longer measure your prayer. Truly amazing.”
Tang Do-yeon had also progressed. However, unlike Yeo Il-ye and I, it felt more like a steady improvement through regular training.
“The Young Hero Hyeok Gi-rin might take a bit longer to join us.”
Well, as a princess, she wouldn’t be able to dash out of the palace the moment she received a summons.
“Thank you all for responding to my call.”
I sincerely thanked the three of them.
People are usually different when entering and exiting a restroom.
Even though it was a long nine months, they responded immediately to my summons.
“Hoho, no need for such remarks.”
“I worried unnecessarily. My disciple.”
The three of them laughed as if I had said something foolish.
“Looking at the way you came in, it seems you rushed quite a bit. You must be hungry, so why not have a meal first?”
“That’s good.”
Jeomsoi soon brought out the food.
After eating preservation foods just to get by daily, seeing a proper meal made my stomach rumble.
Watching the extravagant dishes and my companions’ faces eased away all the built-up tension.
The strengthened Yeo Il-ye and Tang Do-yeon.
Tang So-yeol also showed a confident demeanor, which made it seem like he had prepared quite a bit during our time apart.
Given that for the past two weeks I had been on edge due to Jeong Cheol’s pursuit, just reuniting with my companions felt reassuring.
Not only was the situation reassuring, but seeing the progress in my comrades also put my mind at ease.
Black Cat seemed to feel similarly as she cheerfully raised her cup.
“Cheers!”
“Cheers!”
In the atmosphere where we could drink to our hearts’ content, we clinked our glasses and began talking animatedly with the group.
“So, what happened over there?”
Judging it was inappropriate to say “Demon Sect” in public, Tang So-yeol referred to it simply as “over there” instead.
“Well, a lot happened.”
“Black Cat, why don’t you tell them?”
“Yes, I’m curious too.”
Black Cat, who had been shoveling food into her mouth, set her chopsticks down with a thud.
“Ah! Seriously! A ton of things happened!”
Yeo Il-ye chuckled and comforted Black Cat.
“Hoho, it seems you’ve had quite the ordeal. We’re curious about what it was.”
“Sigh, where should I even start…”
Black Cat began to recount everything that happened at the Demon Sect. The Heavenly Demon Library was just a storage room, the Heavenly Demon was the Master of the Sect, and Wi Seoryeon became the deputy master as she told various tales.
“Whoa, so you were being monitored by the deputy master at every turn, huh?”
“That’s bold!”
I too was hearing for the first time that Black Cat and Wi Seoryeon had been monitoring my movements together.
I roughly knew Black Cat’s circumstances, but of course, I couldn’t know as much as she did.
Thus, I listened intently to her stories.
“And so, I totally froze that sneaky guy’s legs.”
“Sounds like you had quite the thrilling time.”
“Well, all that said, even if they weren’t actual members, the atmosphere was surprisingly tolerant towards martial artists.”
Perhaps due to loyalty to the Heavenly Demon, Black Cat refrained from mentioning the core information about the Demon Sect and shared how she and I managed during our time there.
Her tales ended with encountering the Heavenly Demon who extracted the Brain Crystal.
As everyone was engrossed in the story, swallowing their saliva when the Supreme Being of the Demon Sect, the Heavenly Demon, made an appearance—
“Hahahahahahaha!!”
A loud burst of laughter suddenly rang out. Turning to the entrance, I saw a martial artist standing there, grinning broadly.
I immediately recognized his affiliation.
The white plum blossom embroidered on his chest.
The emblem only a Warrior of the Moyong Clan could wear was inscribed on his robe.
The problem was that this Warrior of the Moyong Clan was looking at us and laughing.
When I turned to my group, I saw that Tang So-yeol, Yeo Il-ye, and Tang Do-yeon were all making faces like they had bitten into a bug.
“Hahahaha! Seeing all these flowers gathered together makes me, Moyong, laugh endlessly!”
I could instantly understand why my companions wore such faces as I watched the Warrior of the Moyong Clan puffing out his chest, pretending to laugh heartily.
“May I also join this moment?”
During our delightful conversation with the group, suddenly, the atmosphere-destroyer barged in.
