In the end, Jang Jeon-sang lost his sword and collapsed. Ji Cheon Wu looked down at him with a cold gaze.
“Ji Cheon Wu, don’t kill him!”
At my words, Ji Cheon Wu nodded and forcefully struck the back of Jang Jeon-sang’s neck.
At that moment…
Swoosh!
Sharp hidden weapons flew out towards Ji Cheon Wu.
Clang!
My body swiftly moved and blocked the hidden weapons raining down on Ji Cheon Wu.
“Indeed, your skills are worthy of caution in our school.”
And then, black-clothed figures appeared.
To be precise, there was a black-clothed man and a scattered martial artist behind him.
‘That person is…?’
[Yes, it seems to be him.]It was the martial artist Nam Gung Lin and I had encountered when facing the Blood-Sucking Twin Demons.
Thump, thump.
My heart raced rapidly.
Every time I saw that martial artist, I felt an inexplicable pain in my chest.
[Get a hold of yourself. You mustn’t forget the conversation we had last time.]Right, I came here to see him. If that man was Blood Slaughter Ghost, then I had to defeat him here today.
“Die.”
At the black-clothed man’s words, Jang Jeon-sang clutched his own throat.
“Ack, ack!”
Jang Jeon-sang collapsed, coughing up blood. Ji Cheon Wu checked Jang Jeon-sang’s pulse.
“He’s dead. There’s no pulse.”
I could guess why Jang Jeon-sang had done such a thing.
‘He was being used under the influence of Solitary.’
Ji Cheon Wu glared at the black-clothed man and asked,
“What trick did you pull?”
The black-clothed man looked at Ji Cheon Wu and smiled unpleasantly.
“You don’t need to know. You’ll all be dead soon anyway.”
Dagger Uncle warned me.
[There’s more than one.]‘More of them?’
[Be careful. They’re strong.]If Dagger Uncle said to be careful, it meant they were considerably powerful martial artists.
Ji Cheon Wu seemed to have noticed it too. Our eyes met.
Swish!
Ji Cheon Wu’s figure instantly disappeared.
Clang!
Soon, Ji Cheon Wu was seen deflecting a hidden weapon that flew out of the darkness. He had blocked the attack aimed at me on my behalf.
‘How reliable.’
Although this was Ji Cheon Wu before he truly became powerful in Heavenly Demon’s Disciple, as expected of the protagonist.
Ji Cheon Wu’s remarkable growth would be of great help when facing the Blood Cult in the future.
‘Just like now.’
Clang!
I also drew my sword.
It was aimed at the black-clothed man who had attacked me. The black-clothed man had an intrigued expression as he looked at me blocking his sword.
“Are you the ones responsible for instigating the Bloody Calamity in Sacheon this time?”
At my question, a smile appeared on the black-clothed man’s face.
“Well, you could say that.”
Killing intent flashed in Ji Cheon Wu’s eyes.
‘The ones who suffered from the Bloody Calamity in Sacheon were martial artists pursuing the Blood Cult.’
It was because there were also martial artists from the Devil Cult mixed in there. If that was truly the case, then this situation was dangerous.
There were many outstanding martial artists there, and as such…
“Nam Gung Lin, was it? This situation is amusing.”
“…?”
“I heard Nam Gung Jin Cheon cherishes you so much. But… it’s strange.”
“What’s strange?”
“Why are you still alive?”
My face stiffened.
I knew what the black-clothed man was implying.
‘The Blood Cult tried to kill me many times.’
It was to provoke my grandfather. They knew what would happen to my grandfather if he lost everything.
“You’re odd. It’s as if you anticipate the movements of our cult. Isn’t that right, Sword Ghost?”
I didn’t respond.
But I felt chills down my spine.
‘They noticed. That I’m hiding my strength.’
Then the Blood Cult must have been keeping an even closer eye on me.
‘To anyone’s eyes, I was a suspicious existence after all.’
I drew my sword.
I felt there was no need for further conversation.
“I’ve made many preparations to face you lot.”
As I said that, a man appeared behind the black-clothed man.
Just by looking at him, I could feel his intense aura.
Ji Cheon Wu shouted upon seeing him.
“One of the Nine Great Evils under Heaven, Venomous Snake Sword!”
One of the Nine Great Evils. With my and Ji Cheon Wu’s current levels, he would be a difficult opponent.
“How cowardly, for such a renowned evil master to appear against junior disciples like us.”
The black-clothed man was confident.
Venomous Snake Sword was a name given to him for his cruel methods. He had killed countless skilled martial artists and committed slaughter to earn that name.
He was a skilled martial artist above our generation and had his name listed, albeit at the bottom, among the Ten Great Evils under Heaven.
If Ji Cheon Wu and I attacked together, we might be able to deal with him somehow, but we would likely suffer serious injuries.
And if the black-clothed man whose skills were unknown joined in, it would become even more troublesome to face them.
“I see you’ve heard of my great reputation well.”
“I know, you’re the type to turn tail and run away in front of those stronger than you.”
That was why he had a long lifespan. I heard my grandfather had once gone to punish him.
But at that time, he hid himself and didn’t show up. However, Venomous Snake Sword was as shameless as one would expect from an evil master.
“Hmph, isn’t it the fault of those who couldn’t catch me!”
“You won’t be able to run away this time, will you?”
“Maybe from Nam Gung Jin Cheon, but do I look weak enough to lose to his granddaughter?”
“Well, that’s not quite true. Honestly, the age gap is too big. If it were about 5 years later, it seems you would have easily won.”
At my words, his face contorted.
“That will never happen. You will die here.”
I nodded at his words.
“I’m not sure about dying, but it doesn’t seem like it will be easy for now. I’m not leisurely enough to get injured here, you know? So I’ll call someone suitable to deal with you.”
“What?”
Before he could even utter a word, my body started moving, unlike before.
Clang!
Surprise flashed across the face of the man who blocked my sword. Dagger Uncle, controlling my body, grinned.
‘This uncle is showing off using my body.’
[That’s right, come at me. I’ll make you pay the price for the blood of the innocent people you’ve spilled!]I didn’t impose the martial world’s rules on evil masters.
So, I could use something like cheat keys.
Surprise flashed across the face of Venomous Snake Sword in front of me.
With just one exchange, he could tell. The existence within my body wasn’t at the level of an outstanding junior disciple.
Bewilderment, followed by disbelief and shock.
And then, my sword pierced through Venomous Snake Sword’s shoulder.
[Timeline Separator]The black-clothed man was appalled by the absurd situation. Nam Gung Lin was undoubtedly inordinately strong among junior disciples.
But there was a limit to how strong a person could reasonably be.
Nam Gung Lin’s strength was abnormal.
Generally, there was something called the time one had lived.
‘Although that guy is also monstrously strong.’
Taking that into account, he had brought one of the Ten Great Evils under Heaven. But Nam Gung Lin was toying with the Ten Great Evils as if it were child’s play.
Moreover, even Ji Cheon Wu, whom he was currently facing, was also monstrously strong.
‘It’s impossible, we can’t win against that monster. Nam Gung Lin was an even greater monster than I thought!’
He hadn’t anticipated the existence of a monster to this degree.
‘The Sect Leader told me to dispose of Nam Gung Lin in front of that guy.’
He gritted his teeth.
The man he had brought this time was particularly disobedient.
The Sect Leader seemed to have felt the need to dispose of this fellow.
So, despite knowing Nam Gung Lin was present, he had attacked Baijinwei. Because it would be fine to get rid of both of them.
‘He said if we got rid of Nam Gung Lin, he would listen.’
But far from getting rid of Nam Gung Lin, it seemed he was the one who would suffer.
The black-clothed man felt the need to return to the sect and report. But it wasn’t easy to escape from Ji Cheon Wu who was currently restraining him.
Moreover, Nam Gung Lin had just defeated Venomous Snake Sword. The combined attack of the two would be difficult even for the black-clothed man to withstand.
It was a fight with a determined outcome.
‘He won’t listen to the order to attack Nam Gung Lin.’
He gave a strong order to the man.
“Attack Ji Cheon Wu.”
Even if the man didn’t want to listen to the order to kill, he often readily followed the order to attack.
If the man attacked Ji Cheon Wu, Nam Gung Lin would have no choice but to help him.
‘I’ll have to escape then.’
Following his order, the man started to move.
[Timeline Separator]The Black Slaughter Ghost, who had been obediently waiting for the black-clothed man’s order, began to move.
‘Where are you trying to run to?’
I’m different from my past self.
Of course, the Black Slaughter Ghost must have also become stronger, but not more so than me who could fully utilize Dagger Uncle’s power.
The Black Slaughter Ghost tried to attack Ji Cheon Wu. It seemed he was trying to help the black-clothed man.
Clang!
My sword headed towards the Black Slaughter Ghost, but he didn’t clash swords with me at all.
I realized one fact.
The Black Slaughter Ghost doesn’t attack me.
Ridiculously, every time he met me, he would stop his attack.
And with a very pained expression at that.
[He’s resisting Solitary again this time.]I have to kill him.
Surely, he will eventually be consumed by Solitary. Just as it was described in Heavenly Demon’s Disciple, he will interfere with Ji Cheon Wu’s affairs at every turn.
Many people will die because of that.
But for some reason, I couldn’t attack him.
Even though it was fully possible with my current body.
The wind blew, revealing the man’s face that had been hidden by his long hair.
“Huh…?”
It was a familiar face.
A face I had seen over and over again in my dreams.
A face I couldn’t possibly fail to recognize, no matter how much it had changed or become covered in scars…
He was my father, Nam Gung Hyun.
My body swayed from the shock.
[Mandu!]‘Father wasn’t dead.’
The hypothesis I had dreaded was proven true.
My disappeared father.
The things Dagger Uncle had suffered.
My father’s appearance in my dreams.
My father had been suffering for a long time.
“Father.”
I called out to him.
In the past, when he left me, his voice was very gentle. I had always thought I wanted to hear that voice again.
My voice trembled.
“Please answer me.”
His gaze turned towards me. But there was no response.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
