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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: cyno
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I spent my childhood wandering the world with my mother.
Though, could it really be called “wandering”?
I’m not sure.
In Henan, we were chased by Shaolin. In Anhui, we were hunted by the Namgung. In Sichuan, the Tang Clan pursued us. “Fleeing” would be a more accurate word.
When I was young, I didn’t understand why we were always running.
Why did my mother have to spend her days evading the entire martial world? I couldn’t make sense of it.
I only realized the truth on a cold winter day, eleven years ago.
I was nine years old.
“Lian.”
My mother and I were warming ourselves by a fire inside a cave.
“Mom? Why are you up?”
Suddenly, she called my name and stood.
As her deep pink hair cascaded down, a chilling premonition crawled over my skin.
“Hong Lian.”
“Y-Yes…?”
“We have guests.”
“Mom… Where are you going…?”
“……”
My mother was a martial artist.
A very, *very* famous one.
They called her *Xuehai Taitai*—the “Blood Sea Matriarch.” Countless warriors had died by her hand.
Because of that, she earned a title that could, in a way, be considered impressive: *Public Enemy of the Martial World.*
“Mom… Don’t go…”
“……Hong Lian.”
“Don’t leave me behind……!”
“Stay here. Don’t come out. As the master of this cave, I must greet our guests.”
Martial artists are strange people.
They converse with swords.
They interact with swords.
They even greet guests with swords.
My mother was one of them.
“Witch! Come out at once!”
*Boom—!*
The roar from outside the cave shook the walls.
*Piiii—*
A sharp ringing pierced my eardrums as my ears stung. I clamped my hands over them.
“…Even with a child present. How ill-mannered of our guests.”
My mother placed a hand on my forehead.
A warm current enveloped me, and the cold and ringing melted away.
Meanwhile, the shouting outside grew fiercer.
“*Xuehai Taitai*! We know you’re in there! Stop hiding and face us! Or do you not realize how easily fire spreads in winter?!”
“You, who spent your life hunting down heroes under the pretense of ‘seeking death’! The ones who will grant your wish have arrived!”
“Come out! We’ll fulfill your lifelong desire!”
Their voices terrified me.
Normally, I wasn’t afraid of visitors.
No one had ever shouted louder or more fiercely than my mother.
But this time… the voices were *different.* They carried a weight I’d never heard before.
So I clung to her.
*Please don’t go. Don’t abandon me.*
“Lian, let go.”
“Mom… Do you *have* to go……?”
“You heard them. I must.”
“N-No…! Don’t go…! I won’t let go……!”
I gripped her skirt desperately.
Her large hand covered mine, gently prying my fingers loose before pushing me away.
As I stumbled back, she stepped out of the cave and spoke.
“Remember. Stay here. No matter what happens—*no sound.*”
“No… I don’t want to…! Don’t go……!”
“My sins, my karma—they end with me. They won’t cling to you.”
“*Sniff*… B-But I don’t want to say goodbye…! *Hic*…! If you leave now… you won’t come back……!”
“Blame me. All of this is my sin, my retribution.”
“*Waaah*…! Don’t go……!”
“*Do not follow.* That is my final request.”
“*Sob*… Y-You’ll come back… right?”
“……Of course.”
With those words, she stepped out into the blizzard.
I collapsed where I stood, tears streaming uncontrollably.
Not long after, the cave began to shake from the thunderous clashes outside.
*BOOM! CRASH! KABOOM—!!!*
The explosions lasted a long time—too many to count.
By the time my tears had dried and I could no longer cry, the noise finally stopped.
“M…Mom?”
I thought it was over.
That, like always, my mother had defeated all her challengers.
So without hesitation, I ran barefoot across the icy stone floor and burst outside.
“……Mom?”
What greeted me… was a scene of carnage.
“Senior Brother! Senior Brother! Open your eyes!”
“Damn it… Just how far had that mad witch’s martial arts reached?!”
“Had the *Divine Sword* not arrived in time, we’d all be dead. *Tch.* Why would heaven grant such power to a demonic heretic?”
“*Primordial Heavenly Venerable, Supreme Resonance*… Had the Divine Sword not come, a bloodbath would have ensued.”
The surroundings were utterly devastated.
Shattered trees, splintered rocks, patches of snow melted and refrozen—and… pools of blood staining the ground.
Dozens of martial artists, swords and sabers at their waists, stood amidst the wreckage.
Here and there, I spotted scattered limbs—hands, feet—but I couldn’t focus on any of them.
Because at the center of it all was my mother.
Strangely, something metallic was embedded in her chest.
“M-Mom? What… are you doing?”
Kneeling, pierced through, her head hung low.
No life remained in her face, but her eyes were wide open—as if refusing to close even in death.
I screamed for her.
“Mom! *Mom!*”
I ran without thinking.
The snow was far colder than the cave’s warmth, seeping between my toes, but I didn’t care.
I *couldn’t* care.
“……! A child…!”
“*Xuehai Taitai* had a child?!”
“*Primordial Heavenly Venerable*…”
I felt the martial artists’ attention shift to me, but I kept running—straight to my mother.
When I reached her, the icy chill of death radiated from her body.
My mother… was gone.
My gaze naturally drifted to the owner of the sword still lodged in her chest.
To the man who had killed her—my enemy.
“Divine Sword! Step back! The child wasn’t in our intel—she could be dangerous!”
“……”
He was a man.
A man with cold, hollow blue eyes and an eerily expressionless face.
“*Hic.*”
The resentment and grief I’d felt moments ago vanished.
All that remained was fear—*terror*—consuming my mind.
I was scared. I wanted to run.
The man who killed my mother? In the face of this dread, I couldn’t even think of revenge.
“*Aaaah*…!”
I let go of my mother’s body.
I didn’t want to, but I had no choice.
Right now, escaping this man was all that mattered.
*Thud-thud-thud!*
I sprinted across the ice.
To get away from the fear.
To escape the overwhelming terror my child-self couldn’t withstand.
But I didn’t get far.
*Thump!*
“*Eek!*”
“Child of the Great Demon Head. Where do you think you’re going?”
Martial artists blocked my path.
Their eyes burned with killing intent.
They weren’t as terrifying as the blue-eyed man, but in a way, they were *worse.*
They began encircling me.
“Pink hair… So you’re the Demon Head’s trueborn daughter?”
“*Gulp*… P-Please spare me……!”
“Answer me. Are you that vile witch’s flesh and blood?”
They advanced, their oppressive aura suffocating.
I stepped back, only to bump into something behind me.
The blue-eyed man.
“Your mother killed my master.”
“I regret not being the one to strike her down, but at least my master’s spirit can rest now…”
“Since *Xuehai Taitai* took my senior brother, I’ll take her daughter.”
The martial artists raised their weapons, closing in.
I wanted to run, but the man behind me made it impossible.
Even if I got past him, the encirclement would stop me.
“Please spare me…! I’m begging you…!”
In the end, all I could do was plead.
To my mother’s killers, I begged for my life.
“I’ll do anything…! Just don’t kill me…! It’s not hard, right……?!”
“……”
For a moment, my desperate cries gave them pause.
“Forgive me.”
“Blame your mother.”
“If we let you live, how could we face our ancestors?”
Then, weapons raised, they took another step forward.
Now just three paces away.
Bracing for the death I didn’t want, I squeezed my eyes shut—
“Seniors.”
Something touched the top of my head.
The blue-eyed man stepped in front of me, shielding me.
“This child has committed no crime.”
Looking up, I saw his large hand.
Stained with my mother’s blood.
“*Xuehai Taitai* is dead. The cycle of blood ends here.”
“……”
“You, of all people, should understand. Why spill innocent blood?”
His voice was cold.
But even as a child, I understood.
This man… was trying to save me.
“She’s a threat. How can we let her live?”
“This isn’t just about personal vengeance. She’s *Xuehai Taitai’s* child—who’s to say she won’t become another Demon Head?”
“It’s obvious she’ll bring a storm of blood in the future. Divine Sword, why protect her?”
The martial artists refused to back down.
The man pulled me behind him.
“In the name of Namgung Cheolbin, I ask this of you.”
His back was broad.
Broad enough to block out the terrifying figures, if only for a moment.
“……Impossible. The Demon Head’s bloodline must be erased.”
“Though you contributed the most in slaying *Xuehai Taitai*, this is non-negotiable. Surely you understand.”
“This is for righteousness. Who knows what bloodshed that girl will bring?”
Despite their refusal, the blue-eyed man stood firm.
“This is personal.”
“Divine Sword… I never took you for a soft-hearted fool.”
“I’m upholding justice. Is killing an innocent child the ‘righteousness’ of the orthodox martial world?”
“That’s…!”
“Ask yourselves honestly. Do you want to kill her to sever the Demon Head’s line? Or to vent the rage *Xuehai Taitai* left unresolved?”
“Divine Sword…! You go too far……!”
“Think carefully. *Why* am I going too far?”
I understood their anger.
No matter how much one trained in virtue, some fury couldn’t be contained.
The bloodline of the one who killed their loved ones—right in front of them.
Of *course* they wanted me dead.
Even though I’d done nothing wrong. Even though I’d never harmed them.
“Divine Sword, this won’t end well.”
“Do you truly believe you can stop dozens of heroes alone? Even as the rising ‘Divine Sword,’ some things are beyond you.”
“We’re only seeking ‘righteous vengeance.’”
Their bloodlust, blinded by revenge, now pressed against the man shielding me.
He didn’t seem weak, but he couldn’t fight them all.
*‘Mom died because of me.’*
I didn’t want this kind man to die for me too.
“M-Mister……!”
I timidly tugged his sleeve. He looked down at me.
“Just… do as they say……”
For a child, it took immense resolve to say those words.
“I’m… going to die here anyway……”
A surrender—but his answer was refusal.
“If I abandon you here, where else could the martial world’s righteousness be found?”
Words my mother, as a heretic, would never have heard—words of true heroism.
And then… action to match.
*Thud.*
As the furious crowd advanced, the blue-eyed man knelt.
The words that left his lips next froze them in place.
“Heroes of the martial world.”
For some reason, in that moment, his lowered back seemed broader than anything in the world.
“I appeal to your chivalry and righteousness.”
His voice, infused with internal energy, resonated deeply.
“Spare this innocent, pitiful child.”
“……”
Snow piled on his head and shoulders as he knelt, making him seem all the more unshakable.
“*Cough*, *cough*.”
“*Sigh*… *Primordial Heavenly Venerable*…”
After his plea, no one moved to harm me.
Not because they were persuaded.
But because their consciences *ached.*
The blue-eyed man—Namgung Cheolbin, the “Divine Sword”—had lost his father to my mother, *Xuehai Taitai.*
Yet here he was, shielding the bloodline of his father’s killer in the name of justice.
How could they strike me down without shame?
The martial artists, perhaps embarrassed by their own actions, dispersed.
Though he had killed my mother, this man had saved me. When I tried to thank him, he left me a martial manual before vanishing.
A nameless manual, its contents scribbled haphazardly in a palm-sized notebook—but I treasured it like a priceless artifact, honing its techniques relentlessly.
Three years ago, I crushed the Skull Sect’s leader and earned the title *”Slaughter Saint.”*
***
Lost in childhood memories, Hong Lian returned to the room to check on Namgung Soso, who had been resting on the bed.
There, she found the brown-haired, blue-eyed girl awake, blinking dazedly at her.
Her piercing gaze was eerily similar to a certain man’s from the past.
“You’re awake! My dear sister-in-law!”
“……Huh?”
At the sudden term, Namgung Soso’s eyes widened.
“*Heh*, why the blank stare? Are you hungry? I replenished your vitality quite a bit.”
Hong Lian smirked, pointing at Namgung Soso’s lower abdomen.
Still disoriented, Namgung Soso followed her finger—then jolted in shock upon sensing her *dantian.*
“Wh-What?! Why is my life force…?!”
Depleted innate qi cannot be restored.
That was an absolute, unchangeable truth across all ages.
Her exhausted innate qi remained empty.
But in its place sat an unfamiliar energy—far more vibrant and potent than what had been there before.
“How does it feel? To hold my life force in your hands?”
“Wh-Who *are* you…? No, wait—what do you mean ‘sister-in-law’?! My eldest brother doesn’t have a lover… Don’t tell me you’re involved with that pig Namgung Bin?!”
“*Ugh!* Don’t say such disgusting things! How dare you associate me with that swine?! Should I rip the life force back out of you?!”
“N-No, sorry! But wait—how *are* you related to my eldest brother…?”
Namgung Soso’s expression twisted with dawning horror. Hong Lian answered with a sly grin.
“*Hmph*, do I need a reason to tell *you*, dear sister-in-law?”
“……!”
The only possible conclusion sent a jolt of pain through Namgung Soso’s skull.
“Wh-Why do women always…?!”
The moment she regained consciousness, she clutched her head and fainted again.
“*Tsk tsk*, how adorable.”
Hong Lian tucked the blanket around Namgung Soso’s bandaged body, then gazed out the window at the crescent moon.
Its faint glow reminded her of Namgung Cheolbin’s distant aura.
*‘I’ll be there soon.’*
She flashed a mischievous smile at the moon.
*‘Just wait a little longer.’*
After weathering countless battles, her smile was far different from eleven years ago.
*‘The one who saved my life—my greatest enemy.’*
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