Kyaaah—!

A sharp scream rang through the rugged mountain air.

Fish that had slipped from the dropped net flailed and slapped against the rocks.

“Ah... Aah...”

Choryeon looked around at the men surrounding her, eyes full of fear.

Imperial Guards. Martial officials sent from the imperial palace.

One of the guards stepped forward.

He looked down at her, shivering and collapsed on the ground, and sneered.

“You managed to run for quite a while, but this ends today. Come quietly. The imperial court will judge your crimes.”

Though he spoke of judgment, there was only one sentence that awaited her upon returning to the palace.

Beheading.

She had assassinated a royal prince. They would never allow her to live.

No—before killing her, they would torture her endlessly, forcing her to confess her reasons for killing the prince.

Even if she told the truth, they would dismiss it as lies and drive her to the brink of death.

If that is how it ends...

Sshhh—

“Urgh!”

Choryeon flung a handful of gravel and sand, mixed with stones, into the guard’s face.

While his attention faltered in the scattered grit, she sprang to her feet and backed away.

All she held in her delicate hand was a stone the size of a fist.

Shing—shing—shing—

The Imperial Guards drew their swords at once.

The guard who had brushed off the sand also pointed his blade toward her.

“His Majesty awaits your head! And you, a traitor, dare...!”

Huff—

He charged at her.

There was no time to throw the stone.

As the sword came bearing down on her in an instant, Choryeon clenched her eyes shut. At that moment—

Clang—!

Someone stepped in front of her and deflected the blade.

A shadow swept across her closed vision, and she opened her eyes.

It was Seop Mugwang.

“Are you all right?”

At his calm question, spoken as he assessed the situation, Choryeon nearly burst into tears.

In the moment she had thought everything was over, realizing that someone still stood to protect her shattered something long sealed within her.

Her family and her entire village had died. She had believed she was utterly alone in this world.

But the back of someone willing to shield her—the shadow that now stood between her and death—was something she had needed for so long.

“Why... did you come...? I told you... to catch a rabbit or something...”

“Do you think I fumble around like you? I already caught one and left it behind.”

“...”

“Who are these bastards?”

Seop ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) Mugwang’s voice sank low.

The mischief had vanished from his face. It was the very same expression she had seen when they first met.

Choryeon could not raise her head.

Whatever the reason, she was a criminal who had killed a prince.

“They’re the Imperial Guards... from the palace. Here to arrest me.”

“Imperial Guards?”

Even as Seop Mugwang furrowed his brow, the guard shouted out.

“That woman is a traitor who assassinated a royal prince and fled! His Majesty the Emperor commands her capture. Stand aside! If you interfere, it shall be deemed defiance of His Majesty’s will, and you too shall not escape death!”

“Is it true...? You killed a prince?”

She had no excuse to offer.

Choryeon nodded.

“Everything... is true.”

Now that he knew what kind of person she was, surely he would stop trying to protect her.

To defy the emperor was to commit treason.

And treason, too, was punishable by death.

“I’ll be fine. Just hand me over to them and—”

“Heh. That’s some nerve you’ve got.”

“...?”

“What kind of person goes around killing princes? And you’re a physician—how does a doctor end up killing people? This is all just nonsense, isn’t it?”

“...”

Though he spoke with a light tone, Seop Mugwang still had not sheathed his sword.

He remained standing in front of her, shielding her from the Imperial Guards.

“You dare defy His Majesty’s orders?!”

Seeing the situation escalate, the guard again threatened Seop Mugwang—but still, Seop Mugwang did not lower his sword.

“...Why?”

Choryeon was crying before she realized it.

“Why are you protecting me...?”

At the tearful question, Seop Mugwang went silent.

After a brief pause, he muttered in a low voice, as if tossing the words away.

“I do not know.”

“Ha...”

It was an impulsive answer, fitting for a man like him.

A breathless, bitter laugh escaped her lips.

Choryeon was a criminal with no martial training.

What was more, she had assassinated a royal prince and thus deserved to be punished—but the emperor, in truth, had little interest in the second prince’s death, as that prince had been a constant source of trouble.

As such, the ones sent to pursue her had only been the lowest-ranking guards within the Imperial Guard: palace soldiers of the minor seventh rank, mere small standards.

When they finally discovered Choryeon, there had been only three of them—and so, the two of them had managed to subdue the guards and narrowly escape.

****

What had he said when she asked again, later?

“You didn’t seem like the type to kill someone without reason. And I had heard plenty about how filthy the Second Prince’s reputation was. I’m just surprised it was you who killed him.”

After they had escaped safely, Choryeon had told him everything—every detail of the long story behind why she had killed the Second Prince.

And all he had done after listening to it all was pat her on the head and say, “You’ve been through a lot.”

He had not asked further. He had not accused her of murder driven by revenge.

Perhaps it had begun then.

This feeling of love she had for this man.

Seop Mugwang blinked slowly as he opened his eyes.

His vision blurred; he opened and closed them a few more times, then turned his head and looked at Choryeon.

Choryeon gave him a small, crooked smile.

“You sure slept long. Was there a beautiful woman in your dreams or something?”

Her smile faded faintly as she looked at him—still covered in unhealed wounds.

“It’s been a while, Division Commander.”

****

As the Imoogi had said, the power of the formation slowly faded.

While the formation remained active, Seolhwa had done nothing but repeatedly cultivate using the Imoogi’s inner energy.

Thanks to that, she had grown moderately accustomed to controlling and refining that power.

Though techniques like Qi Grasping Through Void that required moving only energy were still difficult, techniques that involved a medium—like enveloping her sword in internal force or reinforcing her body—had stabilized.

In the meantime, through the Imoogi, she had learned that the Namgoong Clan had returned to the main household.

It was as expected—no one could wait endlessly for someone who refused to return.

[The formation has run its course.]

The formation vanished, and at last, it was time to return.

She had essentially been camping deep in the forest all this time; she longed for a soak in warm water and sleep on a real bed.

No reason to stop by Mount Hua.

Yu Gang was no longer there, and the issue with the hypnosis had been resolved—there was no longer any need for her to go to Mount Hua.

[This way.]

She had been about to head directly for Hwaeum when the Imoogi guided her elsewhere.

As she followed its lead, they came upon a small hut in the forest.

Nestled in a place where no one would pass, the hut looked like a natural part of the woods itself.

Who lives here?

She approached the hut, her gaze filled with suspicion—when the door creaked open and someone stepped out.

The person who emerged locked eyes with her.

Both froze in surprise.

“My Lady!”

“...Ryeong?”

It was Ryeong.

Seolhwa’s silent bodyguard from the Black Dragon Division—Ryeong.

Without even shoes on, Ryeong rushed to her.

“You have returned! I’ve been waiting for you, my lady!”

“Ryeong, why are you here? And what is this hut?”

“While searching Mount Hua for you, I happened upon a reclusive martial artist.”

“A recluse?”

[The one I mentioned before. He’s the one who informed your grandfather of your whereabouts.]

So that was it.

“When I asked him about your location, he brought me here. He said you would return eventually, and told me to wait here.”

“And where is he now?”

“He gave me this hut and left soon after. Said it was time for him to leave Mount Hua. But...”

Ryeong hesitated for a moment, then spoke.

“He seemed... immensely powerful. He had definitely trained in martial arts, but I could not sense even the slightest trace of internal energy.”

Seolhwa flinched.

There was only one person she knew who could conceal their energy so completely.

The Blood Demon.

Could that recluse truly be someone as powerful as the Blood Demon?

Had any martial artist risen to such power in this era?

“But more importantly, my lady—you arrived at the perfect time. I was just about to heat the water. You must be exhausted. Please warm yourself first. I will prepare food.”

Ryeong had been heating water and preparing meals every day, not knowing when Seolhwa might return.

So the ‘guest’ the Imoogi spoke of... was Ryeong.

She had stayed behind in Mount Hua rather than returning with the main household—just for her.

“Thank you, Ryeong.”

At Seolhwa’s smiling words of gratitude, Ryeong’s eyes widened.

Her lady’s smile looked more relaxed than ever before.

It was not forced—it was a natural smile.

My lady... has changed.

The signs of change that had appeared bit by bit had finally accumulated to the point of breaking something open within her.

She was no longer just the cold, emotionless girl Ryeong had once known.

Even then, she had never been only a child—but now...

“What’s wrong?”

Seolhwa looked at Ryeong with worried eyes.

Was it the hardship of waiting for her? She had only said thank you, and yet tears were already welling in Ryeong’s eyes.

“It... it’s nothing.”

Sniffling once, Ryeong quickly returned to her usual brisk self.

“I will prepare the bath. Please, go inside and rest.”

Ryeong ran off toward the small kitchen like she was fleeing.

Soon, smoke rose from the hut’s chimney.

For the first time in so long, warmth and peace returned.