The battle was over.

All the assassins who had attacked the village targeting Choryeon were dead.

Seolhwa took off her mask and returned to the village, as if she had simply descended late from the mountain.

The wounds she sustained while fighting the Blood Slaughter Fiend were brushed off as injuries from the masked figures in the mountains.

“The masked men were looking for someone called Hyeolwangdok. Have you heard that name before?”

At Seolhwa’s words, Seop Mugwang and Choryeon flinched.

Seop Mugwang’s expression grew darker—he already knew that Hyeolwangdok was Choryeon.

— Is that true?

Choryeon asked through sound transmission.

— It’s true. Your name was on the Kill Registry.

Choryeon’s lips trembled slightly.

Seop Mugwang watched her anxious expression with worried eyes.

“I’ll go see Ryeong now.”

“Alright.”

“I’ve prepared the herbs you asked for, Miss.”

“Thank you.”

Seolhwa left the room and crossed over to the room opposite.

As soon as she stepped inside, faint groans could be heard.

“How are you feeling?”

“I... can endure....”

Seolhwa sat beside Ryeong.

She examined the wound from the hidden weapon.

The blood vessels around the wound were vividly darkened and raised.

‘As I thought, Hyeolhwabun.’

Hyeolhwabun was a poison used by the Blood Demon Cult.

Its toxicity wasn’t particularly lethal, but it acted fast, and if left untreated for too long, it became dangerous.

It was a poison used to incapacitate enemies without killing them, ideal for capturing targets alive.

‘It’s fortunate it’s not a deadly poison.’

Still, the fact that Hyeolhwabun had appeared confirmed the close ties between Kill Veil and the Blood Demon Cult.

However, she still couldn’t confirm whether the master of Kill Veil, the Blood Slaughter Fiend, was one of the Blood Lords.

‘Stronger than I expected. Now I understand your level.’

That was what the Blood Slaughter Fiend had said as he retreated after exchanging barely ten blows.

‘What is he doing?’

‘I told you, I have no intention of fighting you. I’ll retreat here.’

Contrary to expectations, the Blood Slaughter Fiend had given up on Choryeon surprisingly easily and withdrawn.

It seemed he truly had no lingering attachment and only wanted to gauge her martial level as the Granddaughter of the Namgoong Clan.

‘What about the subordinates you sent ahead?’

‘That’s for you to deal with. If they’re capable, they’ll return alive.’

‘Are you abandoning your subordinates?’

‘They’re not precious to me. You might as well kill them. If they bear resentment, that’ll just become another nuisance.’

With those words, the Blood Slaughter Fiend had disappeared.

He left only a parting remark, saying if she needed anything, she could always find Kill Veil.

In the end, he never revealed even a hint of being part of the Blood Demon Cult, and nothing of value was gained from him.

If the hidden weapon wound Ryeong suffered hadn’t been from Hyeolhwabun, the connection between Kill Veil and the Blood Demon Cult might have fallen into obscurity again.

“Lie on your stomach. Bite down on this.”

Ryeong obediently bit down on the herb Seolhwa handed her and turned over.

Seolhwa pressed her palm to Ryeong’s back.

“I’m going to expel the poison now. Breathe slowly.”

Ryeong nodded.

Seolhwa poured her internal energy into Ryeong’s body.

A clear, pure energy flowed into her, circulating slowly through her meridians.

Seolhwa’s internal energy swept through Ryeong’s meridians, driving out the poison.

Dark, sticky droplets began to ooze from Ryeong’s body.

First cycle, second cycle, third cycle...

Through a full twelve cycles, Seolhwa worked to cleanse the poison.

Though she had begun the detoxification at dawn, by the time she opened her eyes, the sky was already dimming.

The crimson glow of sunset filled Choryeon’s room.

“Thank... you....”

Ryeong exhaled heavily, clearly exhausted.

“Rest now.”

Seolhwa gently closed Ryeong’s heavy eyelids and stepped outside.

Across from her, Seop Mugwang sat on the porch.

When he saw her emerge, he asked in a flat, indifferent tone,

“Is it done?”

‘He’s been standing guard.’

It seemed he’d been making sure no one entered the room while she was circulating her internal energy.

“Yes.”

“How is she?”

“She’s alright. I expelled all the poison.”

Seop Mugwang nodded.

“That’s fortunate. At least it wasn’t a deadly toxin.”

“Yes. What about Choryeon?”

“She went to tend to the wounded. She left right after you went inside and hasn’t come back yet. But then again, I’m the only other physician in this mountain village, so naturally she’s busy.”

Fortunately, Choryeon and Seop Mugwang had gathered plenty of medicinal herbs over time, so there was no shortage of supplies needed for treatment.

“Choryeon must be having a hard time too.”

“Probably.”

Seop Mugwang gave a halfhearted nod as he looked toward the setting sun in the distance.

Seolhwa sat on the porch outside Choryeon’s room.

A brief silence passed.

“When are you going back to the Namgoong Clan?”

“Tomorrow.”

“You made it sound like you’d stay longer.”

“There are still injured people, and word’s going to reach the clan soon. I should return before Grandfather worries.”

Besides, the Namgoong Clan gathering was coming up, so it was time to prepare to leave.

“Tomorrow, huh...”

Just as he was about to ask her to return together, Seop Mugwang suddenly smiled slyly at her.

“Guess you’ll be pressed for time to get ready.”

Seolhwa’s expression brightened in an instant.

“You’re coming with me?”

“Yeah.”

A smile bloomed on her face, impossible to hide.

“Is it that good to hear?”

“Yes.”

“I had half a mind to live hidden in the mountains forever, but clearly no one’s going to leave me alone, so what can I do?”

Seop Mugwang clicked his tongue and scratched his chin, sounding regretful.

“There’s no guarantee something like today won’t happen again. If it does... there’s nothing I can do....”

His expression turned slightly bitter.

He was blaming himself for being powerless to stop the assassins from killing people right in front of him.

“I saw you fight, Daejoo-nim.”

“?”

“In the forest.”

The forest?

Frowning as if unsure what she meant, his posture straightened in surprise.

“What, you mean with the tiger? You’re talking about the tiger, right?”

Seolhwa nodded.

“That spirit beast the size of a house. Watching you refuse to give up even till the end... I thought you were incredible.”

“If you were watching, you could’ve helped! You saw me getting pummeled, didn’t you?!”

“I didn’t think it was a fight I could step into. Because the only thing you were fighting wasn’t just the spirit beast.”

Seop Mugwang had fought himself.

He had reignited the spirit of a martial artist he had long buried and reminded himself of the freedom of martial arts.

He fought against his own weakness—and won.

Watching Seop Mugwang fight without internal energy had taught Seolhwa something profound.

The soul of a warrior.

An unbreakable spirit.

“You know something?”

Seolhwa stood from the porch.

She crossed the yard and stood before Seop Mugwang.

“You’re the one who taught me the joy of the sword. You’re the one who led me to walk my own path. You’re the one who awakened my spirit.”

“...”

“With all the precious lessons you’ve given me... how could I not acknowledge you as my Master?”

Seop Mugwang’s gaze trembled slightly.

His lips parted as if to say something, but in the end, no words came out.

“Whether you’ve lost your internal energy, whether you say you’re not my Master, none of that matters.”

Seolhwa brought her hands together.

“I respect you, Master.”

Their eyes met.

Seop Mugwang, who had been averting his gaze, finally straightened his posture and looked Seolhwa in the eye.

Under his gaze, Seolhwa began to move slowly.

Each motion of bringing her hands together and kneeling down conveyed reverence and awe toward him.

The solemnity of the bow was so sincere that it felt as if time itself had slowed.

Seop Mugwang watched her, more serious than ever.

She pressed her forehead to her stacked hands, prostrating fully.

The deep crimson light of the sunset bathed her figure.

When had that little girl grown so much?

The little girl who once giggled at the smell of tanghulu in his arms.

The child who looked him in the eye, trembling with fear but still bold.

What if... what if he hadn’t recognized her that night?

No—thinking back, it wasn’t him who recognized her.

It was she who reached out to him first.

‘What a bold kid.’

Guess he couldn’t call her a kid anymore.

She had grown so spectacularly, after all.

Seolhwa slowly rose to her feet.

The clarity in her eyes as she faced Seop Mugwang had never been brighter.

It was a bow she should’ve given him four years ago.

She had carried that regret in her heart all this time—how ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) precious this moment must be for her.

“No take-backs now.”

A laugh burst from her lips before she could help it.

Chuckling softly, Seop Mugwang nodded in agreement.

“You’d better be ready. Even if you meet some incredible master, your position as my disciple is mine. Don’t expect me to step aside.”

“There’s no Master greater than you for me.”

In pure martial strength, the Blood Demon far surpassed Seop Mugwang, but she had never considered him her Master.

“You sure learned to talk well while I wasn’t looking. Even know how to flatter me now.”

“I don’t know how to do that. I’m being honest.”

“Sometimes I wonder if you pretend not to know things when you actually do.”

That’s not true.

Seolhwa clamped her mouth shut.

Seop Mugwang gave her a sidelong glance for a moment—

Then both of them burst into laughter at the same time.

A laughter filled with unshakable trust, stronger than ever.