Flinch.

As Ju Na Rin shut her mouth tight, Dokgo Cheon asked again.

“Last time too?”

“Yes. That was probably the day I visited the Blood King Palace…”

“Ah, I see! But why was I sleeping in the leader’s bedroom?”

Ju Na Rin hastily interrupted Gong Son Wu.

Fortunately, Gong Son Wu didn’t mind Ju Na Rin cutting him off and immediately answered her question.

“A very good question.”

This doesn’t bode well.

As Ju Na Rin’s expression hardened, Gong Son Wu got to the point.

“Have you heard of ‘side sleeping’?”

Side sleeping?

“It means exactly what it says. Side, sleep. It’s a beautiful custom from the northern regions where people share a bed to exchange body heat.”

“…And?”

Ju Na Rin wrinkled her nose at the strange smell of deceit emanating from Gong Son Wu.

This kind of speech. I’ve heard it before.

‘From Uncle Bi Cha.’

Ju Na Rin recalled Bi Cha’s image when he had spouted nonsense to the Sun and Moon Goddess, saying, “Do you know Confucianism?” People who speak so roundabout are rarely honest.

“What do you mean ‘and’? That’s all. You side slept with the leader.”

“I can see that. But there’s no reason, is there?”

Ju Na Rin slammed her small palm on the table.

Gong Son Wu feigned innocence and said with a sly smile,

“Why are you getting so angry? Someone might think the leader harmed you. He took care of a child who collapsed from lack of energy all night, so if anything, you should be grateful.”

“Don’t try to fool me.”

“Aren’t your words too harsh?”

“Not as harsh as your actions!”

As Ju Na Rin glared with fierce eyes, Gong Son Wu subtly averted his gaze.

Of course, it wasn’t because he was overwhelmed by Ju Na Rin’s intimidation score of 1,009, but because he felt guilty.

He couldn’t help but know that the ‘person with harsh actions’ Ju Na Rin mentioned referred to himself.

‘It was harsh.’

How long has Ju Na Rin been manipulated to solve the Cheongseong Faction incident?

Where did the promise to not make her feel wronged go, and now another request was being added without proper compensation as time passed.

“Ahem…”

Gong Son Wu cleared his throat awkwardly and looked at Ju Na Rin’s expression.

It didn’t seem like a situation he could just gloss over.

‘I have no choice.’

Gong Son Wu revealed the card he had prepared to propose at the crucial moment.

“Um, would you feel better if you ate some spirit medicine?”

Spirit medicine!

Ju Na Rin’s ears perked up and her eyes sparkled.

“You’ll give me spirit medicine?”

“Yes. By my authority, without going through the Medical King Palace.”

Spirit medicine. Spirit medicine!

It was a word that made her heart flutter just hearing it.

No. Don’t take it at face value. Even if he gives it, it’ll probably be a tiny amount. Ju Na Rin calmed herself down.

Ju Na Rin intentionally spoke in a slightly grumbling tone.

“H-hmph. Well, I don’t know. What kind of spirit medicine is it?”

“Let’s go to the Eastern Sky Palace first. We’ll have to choose one that suits you from the spirit medicine field.”

“There’s a field where spirit medicine is grown?!”

As Ju Na Rin’s eyes widened like saucers, a smile appeared on Gong Son Wu’s lips.

‘This kid. Is it that good?’

It was quite amusing to see her attitude change as soon as the words ‘spirit medicine’ were mentioned, and it wasn’t unpleasant to see her trying to act clever while clearly rolling thoughts in her head.

“But I have a favor to ask in return.”

Of course.

Ju Na Rin’s enthusiasm deflated a bit, but she shrugged as if it was fine.

It wasn’t like she had done anything grand enough to deserve spirit medicine, so she could accept some conditions.

“What is it?”

“Be the leader’s attendant for a while.”

“Attendant?”

“Yes. A side-sleeping attendant.”

There it was again. Side sleeping.

Ju Na Rin spoke with a deliberately serious expression.

“Doesn’t the Bright Palace have heating?”

“What?”

“I mean, it’s the house where the leader lives. How can it be so cold that he needs a side-sleeping attendant? I know saving is good for living well, but you already have plenty of money…”

“Enough with the jokes.”

“Hehe. Was it obvious?”

Ju Na Rin grinned broadly.

Gong Son Wu clicked his tongue. Ju Na Rin’s response meant she wanted a proper explanation. After all, there was no way Dokgo Cheon would need a side-sleeping attendant in the general sense.

“There’s a saying from a distant land that curiosity killed the cat. Do you still want to know?”

“I’m not a cat, you know.”

Ju Na Rin retorted confidently.

Usually, it’s best not to know the deep circumstances of important people, but Ju Na Rin’s case was different.

‘I need to gather as many clues as possible, even if it means putting myself at risk.’

Gong Son Wu’s gaze briefly touched on Dokgo Cheon before returning to Ju Na Rin.

“Don’t tell anyone else.”

Gong Son Wu told Ju Na Rin only the information that most people who should know already knew, excluding Dokgo Cheon’s personal secrets.

“So I have to sleep in the leader’s arms every night? Because it’s necessary to cure his mental illness?”

“You could say that.”

Ju Na Rin closed her mouth and organized her thoughts.

A demon cult leader suffering from a disease that makes him lose emotions.

And if the only way to improve that condition is to embrace Ju Na Rin, his own daughter…

‘This is foreshadowing.’

Ju Na Rin nodded.

She had almost forgotten, but this world is the setting for the martial arts novel “Scholar Sword God.”

If the identity of Ju Na Rin, the white-haired martial arts genius, is none other than the demon cult leader’s daughter, then of course there would be a literary device prepared to reveal that.

‘I was wondering how to prove the father-daughter relationship, and this is perfect.’

It was just the right material to appear.

“I know it’s sudden.”

Gong Son Wu said.

“You must feel frustrated. It will be uncomfortable too. But this is really important. Even if it’s just for a while…”

“I’ll do it.”

“You’ll do it?”

“Yes. I’ll be the side-sleeping attendant.”

Color rose to Gong Son Wu’s face at that moment.

“But in return.”

Ju Na Rin curled her thumb and index finger into a circle and then made a eating motion towards her mouth.

“Hehe. Please take good care of me.”

“…”

He was going to give it. He was planning to pay generously with gratitude.

But seeing that frivolous hand gesture and lecherous smile, why did even giving a spirit pill as small as a fingernail seem too much?

‘What a rascal.’

Gong Son Wu glared at Ju Na Rin with a slightly sulky attitude.

It was truly puzzling why she was so annoying when there was clearly nothing wrong with what she said.

“Gong Son Wu, you bastard!”

Blood Demon Yang Ga Ho swept through the hall with her qi-infused palm force.

Like leaves caught in a whirlwind, the furnishings of the Blood Demon Palace swirled in the air for a moment before crashing down with a rumble.

Standing in the center of the Blood Demon Palace, which had turned into a haunted house in an instant, the Blood Demon still seemed unsatisfied.

“Please calm down, Blood Demon. At this rate, all the precious objects will be ruined.”

“If they can be ruined by something like this, how can they be called precious objects!”

“That

The Blood Demon naturally chose the cold tea to drink and carelessly tossed the teacup.

The attendants, with practiced movements, quickly caught the empty teacup before it could touch the ground.

‘It’s like giving wings to a tiger cub.’

Even without Gong Son Wu’s protection, that child Ju Na Rin’s potential was extraordinary.

If she couldn’t be brought into the Blood King Palace, it would be more reassuring to have her quietly assassinated without anyone knowing.

‘A side-sleeping attendant, you say?’

Just an attendant.

Some might see it that way, but not in the Blood Demon’s eyes.

Even among attendants, the value of what one sees and hears varies immensely depending on whom they serve.

‘When even planting my own people in the Bright Palace isn’t enough, to think they’ve set their sights on the Eastern Sky Palace of all places.’

Crunch.

The claw rings on the Blood Demon’s fingertips made a sinister sound as if grinding teeth. The frightened attendants in the Blood Demon Palace squeezed their eyes shut.

“…Find a way to catch her tail. Understood?”

“Pardon?”

“I said, investigate that young one’s background!”

“Y-yes, Your Eminence!”

The attendants quickly fled from the Blood Demon’s presence as if escaping from pouring rain. At this point, nothing the Blood Demon might do would surprise them.

As the Blood Demon closed her eyes and pressed her temples as if having a headache, she noticed one attendant still standing before her.

“Why haven’t you left?”

“I have something to report, Your Eminence.”

The Blood Demon frowned, both displeased and puzzled.

Any attendant with sense would avoid their master when their mood was disturbed, no matter how urgent the matter.

In such cases, it was one of two things.

‘Either it’s so urgent it must be delivered despite the circumstances… or they’re confident they can change their master’s mood.’

Tap tap.

The Blood Demon’s claw rings tapped the wooden armrest of her chair.

“If it’s an interesting tale, I’ll reward you. But if it’s trivial, I’ll punish you. Do you still wish to speak?”

“How could I say two different things with one mouth to the esteemed Demon Ancestor?”

The Blood Demon tilted her head back as if to say ‘go ahead’.

The attendant then looked around to see if anyone was watching, quickly approached the Blood Demon, and took out an object wrapped in plain cloth from inside her clothes.

“It belongs to Ju Na Rin.”

The Blood Demon’s eyes gleamed as she examined the wrapped object.

“You sly thing. You knew you’d be rewarded.”

“I’m honored.”

The Blood Demon’s bright red lips curved up like a crescent moon.

Ju Na Rin always struggled with a lack of inner energy.

Of course, her inner energy level of over 2 gaps was an enormous amount that ordinary people couldn’t even dream of.

But for Ju Na Rin, what was 2 gaps?

It was barely enough to make her lick her lips, wondering if there was any more to scrape from the bottom of her lower dantian after using it all up.

Why was her inner energy so lacking?

It was because she was at war.

When demonic cultivators who had mastered demonic arts came flooding in, if Ju Na Rin faltered, hell would break loose behind her.

Just when she thought she had barely killed them all, her body in tatters, another group of demonic cultivators would appear in the distance, swarming towards her, and she would inevitably think:

‘Ah! If only I had 1 more gap of inner energy!’

And here was something that could resolve Ju Na Rin’s regrets.

Right here.

In the backyard of the Eastern Sky Palace.

“Simba-ta-a-a-a!”

On this side, human-shaped snow ginseng.

On that side, nine-leaf branch grass (an spirit herb with nine leaves on a single branch).

Spirit medicines that others might not see once in a lifetime were being ‘cultivated’ here as abundantly and naturally as potatoes in a potato field or strawberries in a strawberry patch.

‘Ha. These bastards.’

In the righteous martial arts world, spirit medicines were treasured and sparingly given to the most promising disciples, with all sorts of fanfare and a heavy sense of responsibility thrown in as a bonus.

But these people were just mass-producing spirit medicines. Mass-producing them!

“Are you that pleased?”

“Yes!”

Ju Na Rin’s mouth split into a wide grin.

This scene that would make the Blood Plum Blossom Ju Na Rin faint if she saw it was enough to make the demon cult Ju Na Rin flip with joy.