Ju Na Rin pretended not to notice and quickly glanced at the dead person while holding a sweet in her mouth.

Male. 40s. Righteous faction. Blue-green uniform.

‘Probably a top disciple of the Cheongseong faction.’

The Cheongseong faction belonged to the Nine Major Factions but wasn’t very powerful.

They were more of a Daoist sect than a martial arts school.

Unlike the worldly Hwasan faction, they were a group of people truly studying to become immortals.

‘Only bullying the weak. Tsk, how pathetic. Pathetic.’

Ju Na Rin simply dismissed the long-haired handsome youth with a carefree air as a pathetic person.

It didn’t look good that he had killed someone when it wasn’t even wartime, when he could have just reasoned with them and sent them away, and then dragged the corpse all the way to Mount Sipman.

“Child. Just ahead there’s a building called the administration office. Would you go there for me and ask them to send someone to move this person?”

Ju Na Rin, who already had a bad first impression of the man, spat out the sweet skewer and asked defiantly:

“With just my words?”

“Huh? Ah, no. Not like that. Hmm.”

The man, who seemed to have been planning to ask empty-handed, searched his body for a moment before taking out an expensive-looking folding fan made of sandalwood and handing it over.

“I’ll give you this.”

“Okay.”

It was an excessive item just for delivering a message, but Ju Na Rin had no reason to decline.

Ju Na Rin snatched the fan the man held out with a ‘snap’ and ran towards the administration office.

“Child!”

Perhaps uneasy at her unhesitating attitude, the man called out to Ju Na Rin.

Ju Na Rin spun around.

“What do you plan to say when you get there?”

“I’m gonna tell them to come get the body ’cause you killed a top disciple of the Cheongseong faction.”

The man was struck speechless by Ju Na Rin’s nonchalant reply.

“Right?”

Then, as if a mask had been removed, the man’s lips slowly curved into a smile.

“Yes. That’s right.”

“I’m going.”

Ju Na Rin turned around again with a faint smile.

Got you there, didn’t I? You jerk.

‘How dare a demonic sect bastard try to surprise me.’

Ju Na Rin had completely forgotten that she herself would become a proud demonic sect bastard after today.

“An interesting child has come.”

The man laughed, covering his upturned mouth with his hand.

“Lord Jigukcheonwang?!”

With a scream like a blade, the Sun and Moon Priestess appeared and prostrated herself in surprise.

The man happily extended both arms to welcome the Sun and Moon Priestess and said:

“Ilwol, you’re finally here! I lost a fan because of you.”

What fan?

The Sun and Moon Priestess didn’t understand but didn’t bother to ask.

“I’m sorry. How could you come without even a single swallow?”

“Ah. Aah! So that’s why you weren’t here. My mistake.”

The man called Jigukcheonwang ruffled his already disheveled hair and made a grumbling sound.

It was a cherished fan.

Oh well. I can just make another one.

The Sun and Moon Priestess looked at the corpse lying in a miserable state and asked:

“By the way, who is this person?”

“Don’t you know?”

“How would I know?”

“Right. That’s normal.”

But that little kid recognized him.

Just with one quick glance.

“I’m gonna tell them to come get the body ’cause you killed a top disciple of the Cheongseong faction.”

“But…”

The man leaned against the Ilwol Gate pillar with a relaxed gesture and whispered softly:

“It’s disappointing that you don’t know who I am.”

The Protector of the East.

Jigukcheonwang Gong Son Wu.

It was the moment Ju Na Rin first met the only Protector who did not participate in the Great Demonic Sect War.

By the time Ju Na Rin returned to Ilwol Gate after finishing her errand, both the casually dressed handsome youth and the corpse of the Cheongseong faction’s top disciple had long since vanished.

“I took care of it. Don’t worry about it. It was my responsibility to begin with.”

“Yes.”

The Sun and Moon Priestess spoke casually, but even to Ju Na Rin, it seemed impressive that she had cleanly removed even the bloodstains that had seeped into the dirt floor in such a short time.

‘I can keep the fan, right?’

Ju Na Rin thought as she fiddled with the folding fan she had received as payment.

It seems like I wasn’t really of any help. Should I return it?

‘No! Why should I return it? I did everything I was asked to do! I have the right to keep this!’

When Ju Na Rin made excuses in her mind, it usually meant she felt guilty, but she had to deliberately ignore it because she didn’t want to return the fan.

While Ju Na Rin was battling with her conscience, the Sun and Moon Priestess was carefully examining her.

Despite being only four years old, the child possessed a striking beauty that caught the eye, yet also exuded a dignity that made one hesitate to touch her casually.

‘Indeed, I can sense an extraordinary aura from her.’

There was a reason why the Sun and Moon Priestess was taking a renewed interest in Ju Na Rin.

The long-haired handsome youth who had given Ju Na Rin the fan.

Jigukcheonwang Gong Son Wu had given the Sun and Moon Priestess some information about Ju Na Rin before he left.

“Ilwol. Do you know where that little one is going to be assigned?”

The Sun and Moon Priestess answered that the child was supposed to become a lay believer, as she had heard from the guide.

Then, with an expression that was hard to tell whether he was disappointed or pleased, Gong Son Wu said that if there was no suitable place for her, it would be fine to send her to Dongcheon Palace where he lived.

‘For Lord Jigukcheonwang to personally say such a thing…’

Having heard such words, the Sun and Moon Priestess felt obligated to send Ju Na Rin to Dongcheon Palace.

Of course, the career path of a new believer was ultimately the guide’s authority. It wasn’t something she should interfere with carelessly.

However, there was a way.

“Come to think of it, I heard you’re becoming a lay believer?”

“Huh?! This is mine!”

Had she been too lost in thought?

Ju Na Rin instinctively clutched the folding fan tightly and blurted out words that made no sense.

“It’s not?”

“Ah, no. It’s not that it’s not…”

“You’re saying it’s not, but it’s not that it’s not? Doesn’t that mean it’s not?”

Ju Na Rin felt somewhat dizzy.

Judging that it would be meaningless to argue over this point by point, Ju Na Rin decided to pretend the previous conversation hadn’t happened and answered the original question.

“Lay believer. That’s right.”

“If you don’t have a place in mind, how about Ilwol Gate?”

The Sun and Moon Priestess said with a gentle smile.

“I quite like you.”

Ju Na Rin had not yet been officially assigned to a position.

Moreover, since she was slated to become a lay believer, there were no real competitors.

If that was the case, sheltering her at Ilwol Gate for a while, avoiding the guide’s eyes, and then sending her to Dongcheon Palace at an appropriate time could be one method.

‘It’s to fulfill Lord Jigukcheonwang’s wish.’

Ju Na Rin, somehow suspicious of the Sun and Moon Priestess’s strangely clingy attitude, took half a step back and looked her up and down.

“I don’t really want to.”

“…”

The Sun and Moon Priestess, forcibly hiding her hardened expression, spoke in a gentle tone.

“Child. You may not know this, but living as a lay believer is not an easy thing. Especially for a young new believer like you.”

“Is that so?”

“For lay believers, nothing is simply given. Even as a child, you have to work to earn ma-hwa-jeon (魔貨錢 / currency used in the demonic sect) to buy clothes to wear and food to eat. How could it be easy for a young child to earn their own living? I don’t want you to experience such hardship.”

The Sun and Moon Priestess earnestly explained the difficulties of living as an orphaned lay believer.

How arduous it was, how sorrowful it was, how miserable it was!

But…

‘So what?’

For Ju Na Rin, who had grown up as an orphan from the start, it wasn’t really a relatable story.

‘Isn’t that just how the world is?’

Wasn’t this the demonic sect? Was I the only one who suffered? Only me…?!

Somehow, Ju Na Rin felt a tingling in her nose and tears welling up in her eyes.

‘Now’s the time.’

Thinking that Ju Na Rin’s heart had wavered, the Sun and Moon Priestess scraped together all the motherly love she could muster and embraced Ju Na Rin tightly.

“Come to Ilwol Gate. Then I will feed you, clothe you, and give you a place to sleep. I will cherish you like my own daughter. And when the time comes…”

I’ll send you off to Dongcheon Palace.

The Sun and Moon Priestess’s eyes flashed sharply.

“Oh? Priestess? What are you doing with Ju Na Rin?”

“Daheung!”

“It’s Dae Heung. Dae Heung.”

Dae Heung, the big, sensible one among the trio of guides, returned from Geomwang Hall pulling a carriage.

‘Tch. Just a little more and it would have worked.’

The Sun and Moon Priestess, hiding her disappointment, naturally stood up as if nothing had happened and said:

“I’ve taken a liking to this child. So why don’t you leave her with Ilwol Gate?”

“What? Ju Na Rin at Ilwol Gate?”

As soon as he heard the Sun and Moon Priestess’s words, Dae Heung immediately looked at Ju Na Rin’s face.

Normally, one wouldn’t check a young child’s reaction in this situation, but for Dae Heung, who had been catering to Ju Na Rin’s moods for the past half year, it was a natural response.

“I don’ wanna.”

“She says she doesn’t want to.”

“…”

The Sun and Moon Priestess felt a bit annoyed.

“A child’s judgment is immature and shallow. Isn’t that why guides decide their placement on their behalf?”

“That’s not necessarily the case. It’s also the role of a guide to try to accommodate individual wishes if they exist.”

The Sun and Moon Priestess wanted to retort, ‘That’s not what I’m talking about right now!’ but she held back.

Assigning new believers to suitable positions is the exclusive right of the guides.

Even the Sun and Moon Priestess is not allowed to arbitrarily divert a child, no matter who she is.

‘It would be easier if she said she wanted to come on her own.’

The Sun and Moon Priestess smiled on her face as if she were a kind and good person, and spoke softly.

“But isn’t that child supposed to be a lay believer? It doesn’t seem like a very clear career aspiration.”

“That’s true.”

Dae Heung thought for a moment.

It was true that becoming a future priestess at Ilwol Gate was a much better condition than being a lay believer.

But that was only a comparison assuming Ju Na Rin would always remain a lay believer.

Dae Heung saw much greater potential in Ju Na Rin.

‘If she starts as a lay believer, she can become anything, but if she’s assigned to Ilwol Gate, she can only be a gatekeeper, right?’

To dare to belittle the noble duty of guarding the entrance to Mount Sipman as merely being a gatekeeper.

If the Sun and Moon Priestess had heard this, she would have been shocked, but it wasn’t entirely wrong.

The position of Sun and Moon Priestess had good treatment and high rank, but to be honest, it was a sinecure.

“Still, I’m afraid it won’t work. I’m sorry, Priestess.”

“What, no, what?”

“Ju Na Rin. I’ve brought the carriage, so get in quickly. We need to arrive at Elder Seven’s estate before sunset.”

“Okay.”

Ju Na Rin ran to the carriage, leaving Dae Heung and the Sun and Moon Priestess behind.

“Are you really going to be like this?”

As soon as Ju Na Rin disappeared, demonic energy swirled in the Sun and Moon Priestess’s eyes.

No matter how much it’s the guide’s right to decide the placement of new believers, they can’t do anything about the resentment that comes with exercising that right.

‘She must have really taken a liking to Ju Na Rin. Well, she is a child with great potential.’

Dae Heung, unaware of the Sun and Moon Priestess’s true intentions, felt somewhat proud and became generous.

“Ahem. If the Priestess really wants Ju Na Rin, there is a way.”

“What is it?”

“It’s simple. You can buy Ju Na Rin’s time at Ilwol Gate. If she can earn living expenses by working occasionally, she might welcome it. You can leisurely persuade her while she’s working.”

The Sun and Moon Priestess fell into thought for a moment.

‘Pay to use her?’

Originally, she didn’t need Ju Na Rin.

She just wanted to keep her temporarily to send to Gong Son Wu.

The Sun and Moon Priestess had no obligation to secure Ju Na Rin’s situation by spending money. However…

“What will you do?”

A child that a Protector showed interest in.

That fact alone was indeed appealing to the Sun and Moon Priestess.

‘Right. If worst comes to worst, I can ask for payment when sending her to Dongcheon Palace.’

The Sun and Moon Priestess recalled the folding fan that Gong Son Wu had given to Ju Na Rin.

A sandalwood fan with flat ribs decorated with intricate patterns of holes.

A luxury item made more for enjoying the subtle fragrance carried on the gentle breeze rather than for its original function of creating wind.

While Gong Son Wu isn’t particularly stingy, if he values the child enough to readily give such an item, he might pay whatever price is asked.

“Let’s do it.”

Yes. This is an investment.

The Sun and Moon Priestess changed her mind.

Not just to fulfill Jiguk Heaven’s wish, but an action for her own benefit.

Thinking like this, the money didn’t feel so wasteful.

“Would five coins be enough for a day’s wages?”

“Come on. You should give at least two taels. Don’t you have to cover the carriage fare too?”

As soon as the Sun and Moon Priestess’s expression changed, Dae Heung spoke.

“And if you want to change that child’s mind, I think it would help to give her ample wages.”

“Let’s make it two taels.”

“Please include a down payment as well.”

“…”

It’s money I’ll get back anyway.

She knew this, but she couldn’t help feeling her blood boil.