Unblocking sealed meridians was a painful ordeal, yet it did not take long.

Whether it was because the man’s realm was extraordinarily high, or because the condition itself had not been so severe to begin with—she could not tell.

What mattered was that the sealed meridians had been opened, and Yu Gang had regained the internal energy he had lost.

Huuuu...

The pink energy of Mount Hua rose once again from Yu Gang’s body.

She had not expected him to recover his strength this quickly.

Why did he not destroy the danjeon?

As a disciple of Mount Hua, he had insisted on leaving after learning martial arts there.

In such a case, crippling the danjeon so the sect’s martial arts could never again be used would have been only natural.

Why then...?

“What is your relationship with the Heavenly Dragon Sword Emperor?”

Yu Gang lifted his gaze to look at the man.

It had become perfectly clear to him while the man was unblocking his meridians.

The reason he had been unable to sense this man’s energy was simply that the man’s cultivation was at a level far beyond what Yu Gang could even fathom.

“...He is my benefactor.”

“A benefactor?”

The man flicked something through the air and caught it again. Yu Gang instantly recognized the small, palm-sized square object.

It was Namgoong Mucheon’s identity token.

When had he—!

“Please return it!”

As Yu Gang rushed forward to snatch it back, the man raised his hand high and stopped him.

After a few failed attempts, Yu Gang finally gave up and glared at him with a piercing gaze.

“Return it. It is mine.”

“Did you not just say the Heavenly Dragon Sword Emperor is your benefactor? Then how is it that you are the one holding his token? When your words and what I see differ so greatly, what should I believe?”

“That was something I received after I happened to help Miss Namgoong once!”

“Then is it not the opposite? Does that not ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) mean you are his benefactor?”

“I-I would not say it like that...”

“You are truly a strange one.”

The man casually tossed the token back to Yu Gang.

Yu Gang caught it and, treating it like a precious artifact, carefully placed it inside his robes.

Once it was back in his possession, he suddenly realized how rude his earlier behavior had been.

Glancing at the man’s expression, Yu Gang belatedly bowed his head.

“...Though it is late, thank you for your help.”

“Yes. It is late indeed.”

“...May I ask for your name, Elder?”

“I am called Neungjisan. But in the world, they know me as Guhyangdo.”

“Gu...yang...?”

Yu Gang’s eyes shot open wide.

Guhyangdo? Did he just say Guhyangdo?

If that was true, was this not the very blade-wielder once hailed as the Greatest Saber under Heaven?

Guhyangdo’s saber was said to border on the divine, so radiant that those who witnessed it went blind.

It was even said that the energy he wielded shone with such brilliance, none could bear to look directly at his saber techniques.

Even Yu Gang, who had not long since entered Mount Hua, had heard of that famed saber master.

But had it not been said he had already passed away?

Rumors had spread that, having left behind no heirs, seekers scoured the land for the secret manuals containing his techniques.

And yet, neither corpse nor trace of him had ever been found. A martial artist revered as divine.

If Elder Guhyangdo is truly alive... would he not be ranked even above the ten great masters?

Suddenly, Yu Gang recalled how the man had spoken of Namgoong Mucheon—casually, even looking down on him.

That meant he stood above the Namgoong Clan Head at the very least.

His mind snapped to attention, and his body instinctively tensed.

Guhyangdo raised an eyebrow as he looked at Yu Gang.

“Why the sudden humility?”

“It is an honor to stand before such a senior of the martial world... Elder Guhyangdo.”

“Senior, you say. I left the mundane world long ago. No need for such excessive courtesy.”

“Still...”

Yu Gang swallowed dryly.

If the old man before him was truly Guhyangdo...

“Elder!”

Yu Gang suddenly dropped to his knees.

If this was truly Guhyangdo, then this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him.

Guhyangdo’s brow arched further as he looked down at him.

“Please, I beg you to teach me the way of the saber!”

“No.”

“Why...? I have not even told you why I wish to learn.”

“And that is precisely why I said no.”

“...Pardon?”

“If one must give a reason for seeking the way of the saber, then that in itself is reason enough for rejection.”

Guhyangdo pointed a finger at Yu Gang.

“You are a disciple of Mount Hua. A boy who was raised wielding the sword. From the traces of Mount Hua within your meridians, I can guess the ones who sealed them were Mount Hua’s elders. That means you were cast out.”

He had never said it aloud, and yet the man had already seen straight through him.

“You seek to learn the saber only because you are no longer able to wield the sword. Is that not the reason for your ‘situation’?”

He had even seen through Yu Gang’s reason for wishing to learn martial arts from him.

Yu Gang had chosen not to wield the sword—for Mount Hua’s sake.

He had first learned and trained in the sword at Mount Hua, and even if he refrained from using their sword techniques now, the shadow of Mount Hua would still remain in every stroke of his blade.

Martial arts were the embodiment of a martial artist’s life.

And for him, that life as a swordsman could not be separated from Mount Hua.

Thus, he had made the choice to learn a weapon other than the sword.

“You do not wish to learn the saber. You merely do not care what you learn, as long as it is not the sword. Am I wrong?”

He could not respond.

And silence was as good as admission.

Guhyangdo’s expression turned cold.

“Do you take the saber lightly?”

His voice lowered with deadly calm, and the fury behind it was unmistakable.

He was right.

If the sword was precious to him, then the saber was precious to another.

“I was short-sighted. Thank you for enlightening this foolish junior of his error, Elder.”

Yu Gang sincerely reflected. He bowed his head to Guhyangdo in apology.

He had been too consumed by his own circumstances and had forgotten what truly mattered.

A martial artist must never let pride blind them into belittling another’s martial path.

As Guhyangdo looked down for a moment at Yu Gang’s sincere repentance, he stood and began to walk away.

He said not a single word about where he was going.

Staring blankly at the retreating figure of that venerable master, Yu Gang hurriedly gathered his belongings and chased after him.

****

Drip, drip...

As the soaked cloth was wrung out, lukewarm water trickled down.

Choryeon gently wiped Seop Mugwang’s arm with the dampened fabric.

The slip of paper Seolhwa had handed her contained the location of a black path faction called the Black Cloud Gang.

It was a name she had never heard before, and the bitter memories she carried of the black path made her hesitate—but even so, Choryeon had gone straight there.

To her surprise, the Black Cloud Gang had greeted her as if they had been expecting her.

And not long after, he arrived.

In a wretched, broken state—carried in the hands of the gang members.

That was not all.

The corpses of the ten Bipung Division members who had never returned were with them as well.

In the end, she brought them back.

Choryeon had recovered the corpses and sent them to a nearby branch house of the Namgoong Clan.

Their bodies would eventually be returned to the main household.

She had also begun treating Seop Mugwang.

The minor wounds were too many to count.

There was even a grave injury severe enough to cover the old sabre scar on his back.

But more than anything, his meridians were in an extremely unstable state.

It was a condition reminiscent of the poison that blocked the meridians she had seen back at Mount Hua.

It was a miracle he had returned alive.

Really, take care of yourself, old man.

Choryeon treated Seop Mugwang’s wounds one by one.

Each time she washed, disinfected, and stitched a wound, tears welled up in her eyes. She kept wiping them away, sniffling, but continued her work calmly.

As a result, his life had been saved, though he had yet to regain consciousness.

Wiping Seop Mugwang’s body with a damp cloth, Choryeon muttered to herself again today.

“So what, you think being tough is everything? You come back from the brink of death so many times, you really must think you’re immortal.”

Why does this man never take care of himself?

Why does he never value his own life?

It had been the same back then.

The day Seop Mugwang and Choryeon, caught up in an unexpected joint escape, had finally been discovered by the Imperial Guard.

****

“Wow—how can a human body be this durable? Are you even human? You're not some kind of monster, are you?”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

“I’m not joking, I swear! Did I never mention it? I used to be an imperial physician, you know! In all my life, I’ve never seen someone recover as fast as you do!”

Seop Mugwang responded only with a short laugh as he dressed himself, moving his body this way and that.

Indeed, he felt no discomfort whatsoever.

“Come on, just be honest. What’s your secret? What do you eat? How do you live?”

As questions poured out, Seop Mugwang chuckled and roughly tousled Choryeon’s hair.

“Did you not just brag about your own skills? With a good physician like you, of course the wounds heal quickly.”

“...”

The more his body recovered, the more Seop Mugwang would smile like this from time to time.

At first, he had seemed curt, withdrawn, and unsociable—yet unexpectedly, he turned out to be a man with a sly streak.

“Hmph!”

Every time he acted differently than she had expected, Choryeon was a little taken aback.

“Well, I am kind of talented. I might even become a divine healer one day, you know?”

“Is that so.”

Seop Mugwang chuckled again.

This time, the sarcasm was clear, and Choryeon’s eyebrows drew low.

“Oh, forget it. This is what I get for being nice. People are always like this—begging you to save them when they’re about to die, then pretending they don’t know you once they’re saved.”

“I do not recall ever begging you to save me. Nor have I pretended to forget. How many times have I thanked you already?”

“It’s just a way of speaking!”

Choryeon stood up, brushing off her clothes.

“There might be fish caught in the trap, so I’m going down to the stream. You’re not in pain anymore, right? Then you can at least catch a rabbit or something to earn your meal.”

Seop Mugwang shrugged his shoulders.

Leaving him behind, Choryeon exited the cave.

Rustle.

On the path toward the stream, she heard the brush shifting.

Choryeon came to a halt and stared intently in the direction of the sound for a long moment.

Was it the wind?

Nothing appeared.

“...It might be time to move camp.”

She pressed a hand to her chest to calm herself, then began walking again.