Chapter 3

Chapter 3

After being formally acknowledged as a disciple by the Lord, Youngho traced his hazy memories and returned to the quarters where he had stayed before.

Feeling uncomfortable, he quickly stripped off his soaked clothes and stepped into the large washbasin the maids had prepared.

As was customary, he lightly dipped his legs in first, but the water was far too cold—unbearably so.

At the chill he felt after so long, he unknowingly frowned, but soon relaxed his expression and began to wash himself.

‘Right…… this was the period when I was at my most depressed.’

After lightly washing up, Youngho put on the clothes the maids handed him and pointed at one of them.

“Everyone out except you.”

At those words, one of the maids who had not been chosen spoke firmly, her face devoid of emotion.

“That won’t be possible.”

“Why?”

“There will be no one to attend to the Fifth Young Master.”

“That’s why I said everyone out except this one. What’s your name?”

The maid Youngho had told to stay blurted out her name without thinking.

“I, I’m called Sopyung (Small Wind).”

“Small Wind? Doesn’t matter. Fine, Sopyung, come over here.”

At Youngho’s words, Sopyung glanced at the other maids, then stepped to his side.

“Good, you’re obedient. You can all leave now. You don’t need to attend to me.”

At his overly concise and brief statement, the maids began to grow flustered.

‘Was the Fifth Young Master’s personality always like this?’

‘I heard he was timid and very conscious of others’ opinions?’

The maid who had spoken firmly to Youngho earlier noticed the others wavering and spoke up once more with emphasis.

“That won’t be possible.”

At the negative response coming yet again, Youngho smiled brightly, as if greatly anticipating the next excuse, and said,

“Why?”

“It is the Third Young Master’s order.”

“Oh? An order, you say?”

“Yes.”

The maid spoke while deliberately directing a full sneer at Youngho, as if to say she had finally put him in his place.

Pretending not to notice her sneer, Youngho continued to speak with a meaningful smile.

“What’s your name?”

“I am called Nanhyang.”

“Alright, Nanhyang, well, you can leave now. Take the rest with you.”

“The Third Young Master instructed that I stay by the Fifth Young Master’s side and look after him without any shortcomings.”

At a glance, Nanhyang appeared polite in her attitude, but the reality was different. What she was really saying to Youngho was this.

‘This is the Third Young Master’s order. How dare the likes of you defy it?’

Upon hearing Nanhyang’s final answer, Youngho’s expression turned cold.

“Hmm…….”

He let out a sly hiss, like a snake. At that sinister sound, the maids shuddered involuntarily.

Youngho’s hiss was laden with many emotions.

Happiness, concern, and hesitation.

But above all else, the most important emotion was killing intent.

An unmistakably clear killing intent was directed at Nanhyang.

Feeling as though a finely honed blade was aimed at her, Nanhyang was thrown into utter confusion.

‘What’s going on? No, why is he suddenly acting like this, unlike usual? Is he really the Fifth Young Master I know?’

The reaction of the normally timid and fragile Fifth Young Master was far too strange. Especially since he had always shown fear and listened well to her words…….

Why? No, how could that timid Fifth Young Master be trying not to follow the Third Young Master’s order?

No, before that, why was he harboring killing intent toward her?

She could not feel a single trace of murderous aura.

And yet, Nanhyang sensed that her body would soon be torn to pieces.

The fear of death made it even harder for her voice to come out.

Think about it. With a blade right before one’s eyes—no, pressed against one’s very neck—how many people would have the nerve to speak?

Nanhyang could only swallow her saliva and do her utmost to avoid meeting Youngho’s eyes.

After pondering briefly, Youngho spoke.

“Alright, then I suppose this is a good chance to sort out the hierarchy.”

Sort out the hierarchy?

‘Is he saying he’ll actually clash with the Third Young Master?’

Just as she was about to say what kind of insane nonsense that was, Youngho called out to Nanhyang.

“Nanhyang, come here.”

His voice, devoid of any emotion, only increased Nanhyang’s fear.

Shuddering violently once, she forced her unwilling feet to move and approached Youngho.

“Nanhyang, I haven’t been my master’s disciple for long yet, so there’s a lot I don’t know.”

“Yes. Do you have something you wish to say?”

“I have plenty to say. But there’s one thing I do know for certain. Do you know what that is?”

“I, I don’t know.”

Nanhyang’s voice trembled pitifully as she spoke.

She would not know. She would not know where this sense of dissonance was coming from.

It was the oppressive presence of one who had been the Lord of the Unorthodox Alliance, the supreme figure of the Unorthodox Faction.

Youngho spoke with only one corner of his lips lifted.

“A master’s disciple is just that—a master’s disciple. Even if he’s a senior disciple, I don’t think I necessarily have to obey everything he says, do I? We’re disciples of the same mas.ter. after all.”

“I was merely conveying the Third Young Master’s order.”

“Yeah. I know. I just said I don’t want to hear that order. What’s the problem? Why? Do you think I’m going to do something reckless?”

“No.”

“Right? Then you can leave now.”

“That won’t be possible.”

No sooner had Nanhyang finished speaking than the atmosphere in the room began to turn icy.

Youngho spoke in a voice that dripped with coldness.

“Do you really think it won’t be possible?”

“…….”

“Well, fine. If it’s not possible, there’s nothing to be done.”

What was he thinking? Just moments ago, he had been strongly expressing his refusal.

What on earth was he planning to do by saying that?

Before that thought could even finish forming, Youngho swung his hand toward Nanhyang’s cheek.

Chwaaaak!

The sound of flesh striking flesh rang out precisely, and Nanhyang felt it.

That if she were hit just once more, she would spend the rest of her life spilling food from her mouth when she ate.

“Nanhyang, are you still not going to leave?”

Youngho had struck her jaw rather than her cheek, so after waiting for her brain to return to normal, she spoke.

“You can speak now, right? I waited long enough, so I’ll ask again.”

Youngho’s eyes flashed with a fierce, blade-like glare, as if to say he would kill her if she spouted any more nonsense.

“Are you not leaving?”

At Youngho’s words, brimming with killing intent, Nanhyang swallowed once and spoke.

“ I, I will go.”

“A good choice. From now on, don’t let anyone enter my quarters except Sopyung.”

“…….”

“Aren’t you leaving?”

“No.”

After answering quickly, Nanhyang hunched her shoulders even more and tried to take the others who were standing in the courtyard with her.

At that moment, as if he had just remembered something he had forgotten, Youngho looked at Nanhyang again with a mischievous expression and said,

“Nanhyang, don’t make me say things twice next time. Then you’ll find dirt filling your eyes.”

Understanding the meaning of those words, Nanhyang’s hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

“Y, yes. I understand.”

After driving out all the maids except Sopyung, Youngho finally seemed to relax. He let out a yawn and spoke.

“Sopyung, I need to wet my throat. Bring me some cold water.”

“Y, yes!”

Perhaps recalling the murderous pressure from moments ago, Sopyung immediately went off to fetch water. While she was gone, Youngho organized his thoughts.

‘I don’t know why, but I came back.’

The reason? He did not know.

Did the saying that good things come to good people somehow apply? No—unless it was after the war had begun, he had been arrogant and overbearing, with little sense of morality.

Every battle called for blood, and he forged grudges and resentments. And since resentment far outweighed gratitude among them, he could hardly be called a good person.

He did not know why things had turned out this way, nor whether someone had sent him back to the past, but what he needed to do was clear.

‘Stop the Demonic Cult.’

The current martial world strangely had many powerful figures. Or more precisely, the younger generation of today would become tremendous masters in the future.

Even so, there were not many strong enough to stand against him from when he had been the Lord of the Unorthodox Alliance.

That was precisely why Youngho saw hope.

The realizations he had gained were great enough to be called unparalleled under heaven, so if he were to pioneer a new realm based on them—

‘Still, honestly, I don’t think I can defeat the Heavenly Demon.’

The Heavenly Demon had withstood the joint assault of the Murim Alliance Leader and himself as the Lord of the Unorthodox Alliance. No, “withstood” was not the right word.

‘Overwhelmed—yes, we were overwhelmed.’

Even with the help of others, all they had managed was to barely lodge a single greatsword into his leg.

‘Thinking about it again, he really was a monster.’

He had no idea what realm one had to reach to obtain that level of martial might.

‘At the very least, it wasn’t heretical arts.’

The Heavenly Demon’s attacks were filled with profound mysteries of ascension that he could not fully comprehend, leaving him only with fleeting feelings of near understanding.

‘It’s difficult. Too difficult.’

The top priority was to stop the Demonic Cult’s stirrings.

That was originally the task of the Orthodox Sect.

Even now, the Unorthodox Faction was keeping watch over the Demonic Cult, but it was still insufficient to escape the shackles of being Unorthodox.

To ordinary people, the Unorthodox Faction were beasts—that was the common perception.

No matter how much they showed that they were stopping the Demonic Cult, the label of Unorthodox alone was enough for people to despise them entirely.

He had no idea what he should do.

‘Namgung Cheon, would you have been any different?’

The one who, despite holding the position of Murim Alliance Leader, had spoken with him candidly after casting aside all pretenses.

Unlike himself, Namgung Cheon possessed an exceptional sense of justice and an upright conviction. If that man had returned to the past like him, he would surely have decided clearly what needed to be done.

Youngho felt that he could vaguely guess what Namgung Cheon would do.

“……Save the common people, I suppose?”

After meeting Namgung Cheon, he had changed to such an extent that it would not be an exaggeration to say he had become a completely different person.

If Namgung Cheon had been a hypocritical member of the Orthodox Sect, his own viciousness would only have grown stronger.

He would have concluded that the Orthodox Sect were absolutely not to be trusted.

But Namgung Cheon was someone who truly walked the path of the righteous, always following the greater cause, without considering his own gain or loss.

In the end, it was precisely because of that disposition that he had risen to the position of Murim Alliance Leader, and had even changed someone like Youngho, who was mad for blood and had earned the epithet Sword Demon.

What needed to be done was roughly decided.

First, he would follow the path of Namgung Cheon, who had treated him as a friend without prejudice.

Even knowing how foolish that might be.

Even if he were mocked and criticized by those of the same Unorthodox Faction.

And even if his own life were to become unimaginably dangerous.

Youngho decided to walk that path.

‘But even if we walk the same path, everyone walks differently, right?’

Some walked pigeon-toed, some walked with heavy, broken steps, and others walked with proper posture.

Youngho decided to walk the path Namgung Cheon had aimed for, but in his own way.

‘Didn’t Monk Malko call it “all rivers return to the source”?’

What he had to do from now on was…….

“I’ll have to train like hell.”

To stand against the Heavenly Demon, and to stop the Demonic Cult, Youngho resolved to undergo training even more brutal than before.

Sopyung soon returned carrying the water. When she saw the fierce light in Youngho’s eyes, she flinched unconsciously, but then spoke in a neat voice.

“Young Master, I’ve brought the water.”

“Oh? Ah, thanks. I completely forgot for a moment.”

After drinking the water he had been handed, Youngho looked at Sopyung, who seemed to have something to say, with a puzzled expression.

“Why are you just standing there?”

“Young Master, may I ask you something I’m curious about?”

“What is it? Go on.”

“Why did you choose a newcomer like me instead of leaving the more experienced maids……?”

Having seen Youngho mercilessly strike Nanhyang, who ranked high among the maids, Sopyung asked her question as carefully as possible, trying not to offend him.

Seeing Sopyung’s cautious demeanor, Youngho let out a small chuckle and said,

“It’s simple. That’s because…….”