Chapter 157

Late at night.

A night when the sky wasn’t especially clear—when clouds were covering the moon and stars.

Under that tangled night sky, the most famous shaman house in Henan—Misa Fairy Hall—had a woman clutching the wall with her head bowed.

“Uuugh—!!”

She kept retching dryly, like she was in pain.

Her back shook as badly as her eyes—pupils trembling like an earthquake—showing just how bad her condition was.

Her name was Misa Fairy.

Right now, she was the most famous shaman in Henan.

And the reason she’d ended up like this... was the god she served.

“Little Lord... Little Lord... please... why...”

In a brittle voice, she stared into empty air and spoke.

There—

[Uuuuh... uuuuhhh—!!]

The Child Deity she served was floating there, covering its face like it was terrified.

[Uuuuhhh—!!!]

The pulses of spirit-qi spilling out of it were directly affecting Misa Fairy, who served it.

They shook her bones, made her muscles seize over and over.

Her body—already marked by a Spirit Descent—was convulsing with the god’s emotions.

“Kgh...!!”

What in the world was going on? The Child Deity’s moods changing was common—nothing strange about that.

But—

‘This is...’

This had never happened before.

Ever since she’d received a Spirit Descent and begun serving the Child Deity, she’d never had it recoil this violently.

Because of it, she’d had to stop the Four Pillars Reading she was doing and close up in a hurry.

‘What the hell is it...?’

How had it come to this?

Searching for the cause, Misa Fairy remembered what had happened during the day.

Because if she had to name a cause, there was only one thing that came to mind.

‘...That bastard.’

The pair who’d come here in the daytime.

A woman wearing a veil, and a young man who wasn’t.

As she recalled them, Misa Fairy ground her teeth.

‘...It was definitely him.’

The reason the Child Deity was this terrified was there.

‘The woman said she was from the Murong Clan...?’

Even among the impressive Five Great Clans, she’d heard she was a person from the Murong Clan.

With the power to cut through a reservation and force her way in, she had to be direct blood—at minimum.

And the other one—

A young man with a strikingly handsome face. The problem was—

‘Blue eyes.’

The young man’s eyes had been dyed blue.

The woman knew exactly what that meant.

‘If it’s blue eyes here...’

An awakener of Moon Eyes. Or—

‘A Blue Moon Sect man.’

The sect of the hero who saved the world—the greatest under heaven across past and present.

There was a high chance he was Blue Moon Sect.

‘...And yet.’

Why had the Child Deity gotten scared of someone like that?

Misa Fairy couldn’t understand it.

From the moment it met that young man, the Child Deity’s condition had become like this.

It wouldn’t listen to her at all—having seizures all day long.

[Uuuuh—!]

“Hh—.”

And the recoil from those fits came only to her.

That was the karma of someone who’d received a god.

Crushed by vicious pain, Misa Fairy couldn’t do anything.

And that was exactly why it was even more baffling.

‘...What is he carrying?’

What the hell was that young man carrying?

The Child Deity saw him and became afraid.

She could tell it was being done to—by something. But—

‘...I couldn’t see it.’

Misa Fairy couldn’t see it.

For something to be invisible even to a shaman who carried a god—

‘...The rank is too high.’

Even among gods, the level gap was in another dimension.

A higher god she wasn’t permitted to look at.

Or—

‘A higher ghost.’

If it wasn’t a god, it was a ghost—and either way, it was something she couldn’t treat lightly, couldn’t even look at.

And yet—

‘Why is a higher god like that...’

...Next to that young man?

‘From the reaction, it looked like the young man couldn’t see it?’

No matter how the Child Deity reacted, the woman and the young man seemed clueless.

Which meant they didn’t have spirit-qi. And further—

‘Even my eyes didn’t see it.’

Even to her eyes, she couldn’t feel spirit-qi from either of them.

Sure, it was possible to hide it even if you had it, but—

‘...That’s ridiculous.’

That was absurd.

‘There’s no way that’s possible.’

It was something decided at birth by the soul.

spirit-qi was different from the energy martial artists used.

Controlling it at will and hiding it was impossible.

No—more accurately, it wasn’t “impossible,” it was—

‘...Not unless you’re like the Gentleman.’

A belief that their level couldn’t possibly be that high.

Because the only one who could control spirit-qi at will was the one she served.

“Khk.”

She coughed into her fist and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

No blood came out, but her insides were being shaken—she wasn’t normal.

Her hands, swollen and puffy, were a problem too.

‘...Those vile bastards.’

The moment she’d tried to spit words to drive the young man out because of the Child Deity’s panic—

The woman beside him had turned into something truly like a malicious ghost and lunged at her.

It was murderous beyond murderous.

That chilling tone had nearly made Misa Fairy’s courage collapse for the first time in a long while.

‘...What do I do about this?’

Thanks to that, she’d had to close the doors.

And until the Child Deity returned to normal, she wouldn’t be able to work.

If this continued, it would cause problems.

‘It throws the plan off.’

It would throw off what she had to do here.

Misa Fairy, dragging her fogged-over body, staggered to the desk.

She had to send word.

Especially about that young man.

‘...There’s something there.’

Something high-ranked—something even she couldn’t see.

Whether it was a ghost or a god, she didn’t know, but—

Something vast was clinging to that young man.

And also—

‘If the young man doesn’t know about it...’

Then the Gentleman would judge it a good opportunity.

With trembling fingertips, Misa Fairy wrote her message.

And the very first line read—

—To the great Bow Fiend.

*****

It was probably morning by then.

I rubbed my tired eyes and pushed myself up.

It was the point where dawn had fully crossed into morning.

By then, I’d washed up, changed clothes, and stepped outside.

When I woke up, the bed next to mine was already empty.

Meaning Do Hyeong had gone off to train ages ago.

‘...Seriously, he’s fast.’

How does he move like that without missing a single day?

I tried it too, but I’d never once woken up earlier than Do Hyeong.

I clicked my tongue, disappointed—

Then walked out into the morning wind.

That’s when I heard a commotion near the Blue Moon Sect entrance.

I flicked my gaze over, and a carriage was being prepared to depart.

It was massive and high-class. And the flag attached above made it obvious who owned it.

‘A Murong Clan carriage.’

Murong—one of the Five Great Clans.

Their carriage was getting ready to leave.

And who would be riding it was obvious.

I stared at it with a blank expression.

[You’re not going to go?]

Yoo Cheongil spoke to me.

“To there?”

I asked like, what are you talking about, and Yoo Cheongil answered with a flat face.

[Didn’t the little girl say she was leaving?]

“She did. She’s probably leaving now.”

[And you don’t need to go see her off?]

“...Mm.”

I scratched my cheek and looked at the carriage. Murong Yeongsun wasn’t anywhere nearby.

She was probably already inside.

“It’s fine.”

I decided not to go.

“We already said goodbye yesterday.”

If I was going to do it, yesterday was enough. There was no need today.

[Yeah?]

“Yes.”

[Hmm....]

Yoo Cheongil looked like he didn’t buy it, but I didn’t care.

‘There’s no point in seeing her more.’

What would seeing her off do? We did everything yesterday—so it didn’t matter now.

‘And I said it.’

Murong Yeongsun said she’d leave early in the morning, and I told her I wouldn’t come see her off. She nodded like she expected that.

So that was that.

Then—

[Then why are you standing out here watching, like you care?]

Yoo Cheongil said it, and I frowned.

“What do you mean, ‘like I care’? I just woke up early and came out.”

[Sure you did.]

“...No, I’m serious.”

I just happened to wake up in the morning, but Yoo Cheongil smirked and looked at me.

This old bastard...?

It pissed me off. I didn’t know what he thought he knew, but it was annoying as hell.

Still, nothing changed. I watched the carriage, then tried to move.

There was no point standing here.

I didn’t agree with Yoo Cheongil, but I did wonder what the hell I was even doing.

‘Let’s just go train.’

It was morning training time. Any later and I’d be wasting it.

I stepped forward with that thought—

CREEEAK.

“Huh?”

[Hmm?]

Something popped out from inside the carriage.

The window opened, and what extended out was a pale white hand.

I wondered why the hell it was sticking out like that—

FWOOP. FWOOP.

The hand turned the back outward and gave a small wave in my direction.

It was obviously a goodbye.

And who it was aimed at didn’t need explaining.

[Hahahaha.]

Yoo Cheongil laughed loudly when he saw.

[Sharp, isn’t she.]

“...”

I clicked my tongue quietly.

“...Seriously.”

I said I wouldn’t come in the morning.

Did she expect I’d be watching?

Ridiculous.

“She’s really scary. Seriously scary.”

I didn’t know how she managed to look scarier every time I saw her.

With a sigh, I finally headed toward the training hall.

I didn’t watch the Murong Yeongsun carriage leave.

No need. And I was obviously going to see her again soon anyway.

‘...Because there’s the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.’

I’d never attended even once in my life, but—

With her family and position, Murong Yeongsun would attend no matter what.

And she knew that too, so she could leave without clinging.

[Hey, kid.]

Yoo Cheongil spoke as I walked.

“Yes.”

[Drop the corner of your mouth. It’s ugly.]

“...”

I immediately checked my lips with my hand. But it wasn’t like they were turned up.

[It’s a joke. Heh-heh-heh! And you actually checked!]

“...”

Fuck.

[Hahahahahaha—!!!]

I twisted my face at the nonstop laughter.

It really was a disgusting way to start the morning.

*****

I arrived at the training grounds.

I looked around. Where I came was sharply different from the place I usually trained.

It was dank and damp.

As I frowned at the unpleasant atmosphere—

[No matter how many times I come here, I hate the sight of it.]

Yoo Cheongil clicked his tongue too, like he felt the same.

Right. Like I said, this place was different from the normal training grounds.

Even the name wasn’t “training grounds.”

Moon Ridge Hall.

Where I was standing now.

And this place was—

‘A seclusion chamber.’

A space built inside Blue Moon Sect for seclusion.

“Tsk.”

I scratched my nose and smacked my lips.

“...Should I not?”

The moment I saw it, regret rose up.

Why I was here was obvious.

“...I feel like I said I’d do this for no reason.”

Why would I come to a seclusion chamber?

To go into seclusion.

I asked Moon-Thread Sword to let me use a seclusion chamber.

And Moon-Thread Sword told me to go ahead like it was nothing.

The justification was enough.

‘I want to train for the upcoming Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.’

That was the justification.

With Divine Spear calling me out directly, and me being in the position of representing Blue Moon Sect—

Moon-Thread Sword didn’t find it strange and granted permission easily.

“Ah...”

But do I really have to do this?

“...You’re telling me I have to shut myself in there for a whole month?”

[What. You scared?]

“If I say I’m scared, can I not do it? I’m fucking terrified.”

[Then do it while [N O V E L I G H T] you’re terrified.]

“Goddamn it.”

I sighed. With only two months left until the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering—

Considering the distance to the Martial Alliance, the empty time was a month and about half again.

And in that gap, Yoo Cheongil suggested it.

Go into seclusion for about a month.

‘Seclusion.’

A name martial artists were familiar with, and afraid of.

They said it was something you had to do if you wanted to get strong.

‘Never thought I’d be doing it.’

I accepted the suggestion.

The reason wasn’t anything special.

‘Because this old bastard suggested it.’

He didn’t order me—he asked if I wanted to try it.

That difference mattered.

‘If he ordered it, it’d probably be too brutal—so he suggested it.’

So if he suggested it even though it would be that hard—

‘It means I’ll get a lot out of it.’

It meant if I endured it, I could pull out something big.

And—

‘...With what’s ahead, I probably need to do it at least once.’

With the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering right in front of me.

And with me stuck in the position of having to attend—

‘...It’d be good for me.’

Better than doing nothing and wasting a month.

“Hoo.”

I touched the Divine Sword hanging at my waist.

“Let’s go.”

I steadied myself and stepped toward Moon Ridge Hall.