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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Cyno
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Swaaa—.
“……!”
“Sword Saint? What’s wrong?”
“Hmm… Did you not feel anything just now?”
“Something happened! Was it an enemy intrusion?”
Chaang—!
Okhwa reined in the horse she was driving and drew her sword.
The straight blade rose powerfully into the air, but it seemed now was not the time for it.
“Put it away. It’s nothing.”
“Are—are you sure? But you just…”
“It must have just been a passing illusion.”
Only after hearing my reassurance did Okhwa sheathe her sword again.
Still, that overwhelming killing intent that seemed to blanket the mountains and rivers…
Whoever it was, they were undoubtedly a master of incredible skill.
But since that killing intent wasn’t directed at us, I managed to calm Okhwa down.
‘Who could it have been?’
There are only a handful in the world capable of emitting such energy.
At most, the Five Greats of the World?
Of course, it’s unlikely that two of the Five Greats would coincidentally be in the same area. Their names aren’t just for show, and the odds of two such figures unintentionally crossing paths are slimmer than a person being struck by lightning seven times.
‘……Don’t tell me.’
The Invincible East… No, it couldn’t be.
It shouldn’t be.
It mustn’t be.
“Sword Saint, where are we supposed to go?”
After sheathing her sword, Okhwa, who had been quietly driving the carriage again, asked me.
Come to think of it, I hadn’t told her our destination.
Given her background as a Taoist, she likely had no experience riding or driving a horse, yet she handled the reins more skillfully than I expected. I must have been distracted by her unexpected competence.
“To the Beggar’s Sect’s main headquarters. Do you know the location?”
“The Beggar’s Sect? And their main headquarters… Do you have business with Chwi-seon?”
Chwi-seon, the nickname of the Beggar’s Sect Leader.
He was one of the Twelve Noble Ones, but he was such a heavy drinker that he even drank during battles.
“There’s some information I need to ask him for.”
“Is that so? Chwi-seon, huh… I’ve never gotten along well with that drunkard. He’s not exactly pleasant company.”
“But when it comes to money, he’s the most reliable. Pay him, and he’ll deliver exactly what you paid for.”
“That may be true, but… he’s an unpredictable man, isn’t he?”
Okhwa seemed quite uneasy about meeting Chwi-seon.
I understood her perspective. Unlike her past self, who believed in “absolute justice,” Chwi-seon held the philosophy of “justice as fleeting as a sip of wine.”
In a way, he stood at an even greater opposite extreme than the Divine Monk.
Because of this, during the days of the Righteous-Blood War, the two would often clash whenever they met.
“Don’t worry too much, Okhwa.”
“Hmm… Did I burden you with unnecessary concern?”
“Not exactly, but didn’t you say with your own mouth that you’ve changed? You should be able to get along with people of different values now.”
“Can I… really do that? I may have spoken boldly, but human hearts aren’t so easily controlled…”
“You have me by your side, don’t you? I’ll help you. Step by step, we’ll fix things. There’s nothing we can’t do.”
Tap, stroke—
“Uh, Sword Saint?”
I reached out through the carriage window and patted Okhwa’s head, causing her to freeze in shock.
“If it bothered you, I’ll apologize.”
At her reaction, I immediately withdrew my hand.
“I just wanted to tell you not to be so anxious. Seeing someone as driven as you looking so disheartened didn’t sit right with me.”
“N-no! Bothered? Not at all! I was just… surprised, that’s all!”
Okhwa’s face turned red as she raised her voice. If something so small made her react like this, well, as long as she was happy.
“And… you know, right? I grew up without anyone by my side since I was little. That’s why I’m not used to this kind of thing… But I can get used to it.”
“……”
That’s right. I’d forgotten—Okhwa lost her parents when she was young.
Unlike me, who was raised in the warm and affluent Namgung family.
Tap, stroke—
“Feel free to expect more. I won’t pull my hand away.”
“……”
Instead of actively petting her, I simply rested my hand there, offering support.
“You must be stiff from driving the carriage all day.”
“I-I’m fine! You know I’m a martial artist—what kind of joke is this?!”
Okhwa turned her head away sharply, her face flushed red.
Did she dislike it? Well, I couldn’t force her. It wasn’t like she owed me anything.
But still…
“……Hmph.”
The corner of Okhwa’s lips, half-hidden behind her shoulder, curled up slightly.
For the first time, the stoic woman who never smiled was laughing.
The brilliant sunlight seeped into her colorless face, warming the scene.
“Haha.”
See? How much better she looks when she smiles.
A hundred times better than spending every day with a frown.
“But Sword Saint, why are we going to the Beggar’s Sect? If it’s information you’re after, wouldn’t the Hao Gate work just as well?”
“Originally, I considered the Hao Gate. I changed my mind along the way.”
“Meaning?”
“Since we have a choice, a righteous sect is preferable, no?”
The Beggar’s Sect upholds justice.
Of course, that’s just their motto—no one knows how they truly are.
But still, they’re better than the Hao Gate, a gathering of third-rate back-alley factions.
It’s not like there’s a difference in the quality of information between the two factions anyway.
“Understood. We don’t know how long Wolhwa will hold on, so let’s get there as quickly as possible.”
“I leave it to you.”
“Just leave it to me.”
With bold confidence, Okhwa lightly tapped the horse’s rear.
The carriage jolted with each bump, and I worried the vibrations might affect Jin Ga-young.
Fortunately, her energy flow remained perfectly stable, undisturbed.
*****
Glug, glug, glug—
A clear liquid poured from the bottle into the cup.
Its name was alcohol.
A mysterious substance that could make people happy, make them cry, make them dull, and eventually drive them mad.
“Kukukuku… You came running to No Hwa-ja right after the Seven Flowers Tournament ended? How eager. I didn’t expect you to arrive faster than even our own informants.”
One such cup was handed to a middle-aged man.
The one offering it was a man dressed in tattered, old clothes.
The dust clinging to his body and the few remaining strands of white hair spoke volumes of the years he had lived.
“You left such a hint—how could I delay?”
“Did I now? Well, I suppose it was news that would catch your ear!”
“Just tell me already. Where was the Twin-Life Pill discovered?”
The middle-aged man, Dokjon, leaned forward as he asked the question.
The old man, Chwi-seon, answered with his signature brazen laugh.
“Enter the valley, never return alive.”
“……!”
“You’ve heard of it, haven’t you? The Valley of No Heaven.”
His voice, eerie as a flickering shadow and as sinister as a ghost’s, sent a momentary shiver down Dokjon’s spine.
It wasn’t the voice that unsettled him, though.
One of the Three Great Bizarre Valleys of the Martial World—the Valley of No Heaven.
A cursed ravine where those who entered would never see the light of day again, and even the sky remained unseen within.
The saying “Enter the valley, never return alive” wasn’t for nothing. Even the Blood Demon, who feared nothing during the Righteous-Blood War, had ordered, “Do not enter the Valley of No Heaven without me.”
“Kekekeke, scared? Now that you’re actually going.”
“……”
“Even if you don’t go, pay up for the information. Do you know how many of our disciples I had to sacrifice to get this? I need my investment back.”
“……I’ll go.”
But Dokjon had a reason he had to go.
Even if it meant meeting a meaningless death there.
Even if he never got to see his ambitions realized.
For the sake of obtaining the Twin-Life Pill—a heavenly panacea said to revive the dead.
To be precise, to use that pill to bring his deceased wife back to life.
“I’ll go no matter what. This is the only lead I’ve been waiting for—I can’t let it slip away.”
Dokjon’s answer was resolute.
“Kukuku…… Fine, do as you please. This old man has some drinking to do, so scram already.”
“Aren’t you taking the money?”
“Consider it done. Your determination and love make for good drinking companions, so I’ll waive the fee.”
“Thank you.”
After bowing respectfully to Chwi-seon, who had shown him unexpected kindness, Dokjon left the Beggar’s Sect.
His buoyant steps betrayed his excitement.
Behind him, Chwi-seon’s drunken shout—”Can’t even stay for a drink, you brat?!”—faded into the background, unheard.
He had finally encountered the opportunity he had longed for.
‘Yeon-hee… Just wait a little longer… I’ll bring you back soon!’
Lost in euphoria, as he stepped out of the Beggar’s Sect, his gaze landed on a young girl.
Dang So-baek, the Poison Flower—his only daughter and the strategist of the Martial Alliance.
It was pure coincidence, but she had recently won the Seven Flowers Tournament, making her a source of immense pride for Dokjon.
But her expression was somewhat off.
Though in his elated state, Dokjon couldn’t quite place it.
“So-baek! The time has finally come! The fate I’ve been waiting for is right before us!”
“What?”
“I’ll be able to see your mother again! Just wait a little longer! I’ll make it happen soon!”
“Wait… Dad, what are you talking about?”
“Do you know what news I just heard from Chwi-seon? The Twin-Life Pill exists! And not just anywhere—in the Valley of No Heaven! His information is reliable!”
Now, he could meet her.
The woman he had yearned for all this time.
To see her again, he had even conducted horrific, inhumane experiments.
He had taken hundreds of orphans, melted and combined them, creating grotesque half-human, half-beast abominations.
Of course, all of it had ended in vain.
But now, he wouldn’t have to resort to such methods anymore.
With the Twin-Life Pill—said to grant new life—he could revive his wife.
Dokjon believed this without a doubt.
But then, Dang So-baek screamed at him.
“Dad! Snap out of it!”
“S-So-baek? Since when do you raise your voice at me…”
“I have to, or you won’t listen! Wake up! Do you really think Mom will come back like this?!”
For her, it was nothing but frustration.
Her father—no, the head of their family—was so obsessed with an impossible dream that he’d lost himself in depravity.
“The Twin-Life Pill revives the dead? Maybe! But that’s for people who just died! Mom’s body turned to dust ages ago—how the hell is she supposed to come back after taking it?!”
She had thought nothing of him.
That everything in the world was just an illusion, beautiful but fleeting.
Even if he was her father, she had no intention of interfering with the life he chose.
Live or die, everyone dies eventually—she wanted to let him live as he wished.
But… the Valley of No Heaven?
A place so infamous it was said those who entered never returned?
Was he really going to chase this absurd dream into that hellhole?
“You—your tone right now…! Have I spoiled you too much…?!”
“Who cares about tone right now?! Just face reality! Stop chasing after a dead woman!”
“……!”
A place where even souls could lose their way, unable to reach the afterlife and turn into vengeful spirits.
No matter how detached she was, as a daughter, she couldn’t just watch her father walk into such a place.
No matter how little she cared for the world, even if reading the heavens’ will was her only hobby in life.
In the end, she was still his daughter.
“Don’t say that! Who said she was dead?! Yeon-hee… Yeon-hee is still waiting for me to bring her back!”
“That’s just a delusion from your dreams! Mom’s long since moved on to the afterlife! Damn it, I had a bad feeling ever since those human experiments, but the Valley of No Heaven? How far gone are you to seriously consider this?!”
“……”
Dang So-baek poured out her earnest pleas.
She desperately wanted her father, who had gone mad over her mother, to change his mind.
But—
“So… So-baek.”
Dokjon was, quite literally, a madman.
Ever since his wife was killed by the Blood Cult, he had lived solely for the purpose of reviving her.
Even when the Sa Cheon Dang Family became infamous among martial artists, he charged forward without hesitation, fixated on that single goal.
Now, that goal was within reach.
He couldn’t give up.
“Black magic, experiments—nothing worked. The Twin-Life Pill is the only answer now. With it… I can bring Yeon-hee back!”
“Tch…! You stupid, stubborn, idiotic—!”
Dokjon tightly gripped Dang So-baek’s arms.
His eyes, meeting hers directly, burned with madness and desperation.
“I’ll go even if it kills me…! The Twin-Life Pill in the Valley of No Heaven is my last chance…!!”
At that moment, Dang So-baek realized something.
No matter what she said, Dokjon would never change.
“You…! You don’t even have the ability to come back alive from that place…!”
She felt both pity and anger.
This foolish man before her, charging toward death just to revive his wife.
Dang So-baek liked stories of pure love, but this twisted devotion was too much.
“If even the Twin-Life Pill is impossible… I’ll die anyway. If the boundary of life keeps us apart, then I’ll reunite with her in death.”
“Shut up! Are you talking about suicide? Killing yourself? What kind of idiot does that?!”
“I’ve been tired of living for a long time. Don’t stop me.”
“Suicide is one of the gravest sins in the afterlife! Do you even realize that? You won’t reunite with Mom—you’ll just fall into hell!”
“Then don’t stop me. Whether I die in the Valley of No Heaven or obtain the Twin-Life Pill, I’ll choose one of the two.”
“You don’t even know what that valley is like…!”
Naturally, there was no chance Dokjon would return alive from the Valley of No Heaven.
At least, not in Dang So-baek’s eyes.
“……Fine.”
So she said it.
An impulsive choice, unlike her.
But she couldn’t bear the thought of regretting it later.
And though she’d never admit it, the idea of her father dying left her feeling strangely unsettled.
“I’ll go. You’d never get the pill anyway. If there’s even a sliver of a chance, it’s better if I go.”
Dokjon immediately protested.
What father would willingly send his daughter into a place like that?
But in a battle of words, no one could outmatch Dang So-baek.
“Seriously, you want to bring Mom back, right? Think logically. Who knows more about sorcery—me or you?”
“T-that’s…! But no! Absolutely not! I won’t allow it!”
“Does that make sense? In every skill except martial arts, I surpass you—everyone knows that. And you’re saying you’ll go instead of me? Don’t you want Mom back?”
“Be reasonable! Do you really think you can survive the Valley of No Heaven? Can you really get the Twin-Life Pill for Mom?”
“Guh…!”
“If you’ve got nothing to say, then just do as I say. I’ll handle it.”
Dang So-baek turned away with a huff.
She didn’t regret her impulsive decision—she couldn’t bear to watch her father die—but she wasn’t entirely satisfied either.
‘Damn it, I haven’t even finished reading the heavens’ will yet…! The most crucial part—the life-and-death battle between the Sword Saint and the Blood Demon—was just starting…!’
It was a shame, but there was no helping it.
And she couldn’t say for sure she would die. It wasn’t arrogance, but if anyone could retrieve the Twin-Life Pill, it might just be her.
……That’s how it had to be.
Her life was already borrowed time—extended through a deal with a grim reaper. It was only right to use it meaningfully.
With that thought, Dang So-baek left a final remark for Dokjon, who stood there dumbfounded.
“Stop those human experiments while I’m gone. As a favor. You were given a second chance at life—use it meaningfully. Leave Mom to me.”
Leaving behind words that sounded more like an order, she steeled herself and walked away.
For some reason, the part she had saved for tonight—the bloody duel between the Sword Saint and the Blood Demon—lingered in her mind more than anything else.
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