After Geum Soso died, Geum Hyul, the Yeonwi Left Army, and Cheol Mugi disappeared without a trace.
Despite being able to attack us, they took no action and vanished. Considering Geum Hyul who had tried to kill us until the end, it was an unexpected outcome, but I thought it was probably because the interests of the two groups differed.
Geum Hyul and Cheol Mugi. Although they belonged to the same Murim Alliance, Geum Hyul was the Alliance Leader's man, while Cheol Mugi was from the Black Dao Sect. So their interests probably diverged, and they disappeared without taking action.
Whatever the reason, the long night ended and we were able to safely set foot in Fujian.
Jeok Biwol went to Fujian first and found a place for us to stay. Other non-combat personnel also packed their belongings and simply crossed over to Fujian. Since the Murim Alliance had already attacked, there was no need to hide our identities with unnecessary luggage anymore.
But there was much to deal with. Unable to burn the bodies of the dead, we had to load them onto wagons and move them. They all had to be sent to the Demon Cult to go through the procedures and hold funerals.
Otherwise, we couldn't burn so many corpses. We also couldn't bury them in righteous sect territory. So we had to bring the bodies down.
I turned my head slightly while my whole body felt heavy. I saw Hyuk Dojin who had regained consciousness briefly before losing it again. The dangerous situation had passed, but there was no need to overexert himself.
After staring intently at Hyuk Dojin, I turned my head. There I saw Hyuk Muhyeol sitting in a carriage, holding the dead Geum Soso's hand with his eyes closed.
As if telling of the tragedy of dawn, his condition wasn't very good. Not just injuries, but after going through all sorts of things, he must be exhausted no matter how much of a Cult Leader he was.
"Are you alright, Sowol?"
I turned my head at the voice coming from beside me. I saw Moyong Do speaking with a slightly tired face. Fortunately, he didn't seem to have any major injuries, so I smiled slightly and nodded.
Moyong Do stared blankly at me answering silently, then raised his arm to stroke my head.
I lowered my eyes, feeling his warm and soft hand.
It had been a terrible night. Many people died. It was just because of someone's greed. It wasn't a blind fight between forces dividing righteousness and evil to kill each other. The Murim Alliance and Demon Cult were being manipulated by a single group.
Now I could know who the true enemy was. No, it would be more accurate to say that I knew before, but now I was certain.
The Black Dao Sect, and Lee Jehak. I couldn't know exactly what his identity was. Just what was that person?
The facts known publicly about him were only that Lee Jehak was the disciple of the Black Dao Sect Leader and the bloodline of the Black Demon. But looking at the current situation, it didn't seem that was all.
After pondering and organizing my thoughts, I excused myself to Moyong Do and approached Man Do.
"Vice Cult Leader."
"...Young Madam."
Man Do smiled faintly with a haggard face at my call. Somehow, I thought he seemed to have aged decades overnight. He too seemed to have gone through much mental anguish, no less than the other two.
That was natural, as Geum Soso was a precious niece to him. He would probably want to stop for a moment and think a lot too. But he had to lead the people in place of the two who had collapsed. So he couldn't break down.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. I'm more worried about you, Young Madam. I heard you were severely beaten by the madman and faced death. I should have gone to help directly, but I couldn't do that, so even apologizing with my life wouldn't be enough."
"Man Do doesn't need to apologize. At that time, I instructed you to do so, and Man Do only followed my request. So don't apologize."
"...Hearing you say that makes this old man's heart much easier."
He stared at me blankly with a calm face, then smiled faintly.
"Your eyes have deepened and the energy felt from the outside is more profound. I'm sorry for being late to congratulate you on gaining deep enlightenment."
"There's no time for that. It's okay. And thank you. For saving me then..."
"It was what I should have done, so don't worry about it. But, did you come to this old man because you're curious about something?"
I nodded, erasing my expression at his question getting to the point. After glancing around slightly to send people away, I spoke to him in a quiet voice.
"There's something I want to ask Man Do."
"Ask comfortably. I'll answer anything I can."
I stared quietly at him with a calm smile, then spoke slowly.
"I heard you saw the Black Demon's death with your own eyes."
"..."
"Is that true?"
As soon as the name Black Demon came out, Man Do's face stiffened. I waited quietly until he reacted, and eventually, Man Do's mouth opened slowly.
"...Where did you hear that?"
I smiled slightly, not needing to answer, and Man Do relaxed his stiff expression and slowly nodded. With a faint smile, Man Do pressed his brow and closed his eyes slightly.
"I'm sorry. Surely, you wouldn't have investigated my background, but I seem to have reacted sensitively without realizing it."
"No. Rather, was my question rude?"
"No. It's just that old memories I had forgotten came back, so I reacted instinctively."
He let out a long breath and looked down at the mountain below. The place where Jeok Biwol had gone ahead could be seen in the distance. We must be almost there.
Man Do also examined the city visible in the distance, then spoke slowly.
"It's a story from about a hundred years ago already. Even though I try to erase it from my memory, the memories of that day were so shocking that they still remain."
"Then..."
"Yes, you asked if I saw the Black Demon's death, and that's correct. I saw it directly and even had a conversation with him."
He pulled the horse's reins to suppress his swaying body. The conversation that had been briefly interrupted continued again.
"Before I was even twenty, I followed my master, who was the bodyguard of the Cult Leader at the time, to deal with the Black Demon. My master told me to never come forward and hide behind."
"What was the Black Demon like when you actually saw him?"
Man Do tilted his head slightly at my question, as if recalling his memories, then answered slowly.
"He was ordinary. Like masters often are, he looked like a common person passing by on the street. He didn't look like a monster who would kill indiscriminately if it was a person. So I was quite surprised at the time. When I was young, I thought the Black Demon would have his whole body soaked in blood and would rush at us swinging his sword as soon as he saw us, but he was surprisingly calm."
Man Do, who had been speaking, burst into small laughter. When I tilted my head, he glanced at me and shook his head.
"Ah, I'm sorry. It's not something to laugh about, but the words the Black Demon said to me that day were so absurd that it's funny even thinking about it now. Um, would you like to guess? What did the Black Demon say as soon as he saw me?"
"Well, did he say something like 'This is no place for a kid, go back'?"
"No. As soon as the Black Demon saw me, he blurted out one thing. He asked if I had eaten dinner. When I said no, he sincerely regretted it and told me to eat anchovy noodles for dinner if I survived. When I asked why, he answered nonchalantly."
Man Do grinned and lowered his voice as if imitating his voice.
"'I ate anchovy noodles for dinner, but it tasted terribly bad. You eat something delicious'... he said."
"What's that about? Did he really say that?"
"He really did. It was so absurd and ridiculous that I thought deeply about what those words meant, but there didn't seem to be any particular meaning. Even now, a hundred years later, I don't know the true meaning of those words. But whatever it was, I was so nervous at the time that I felt confused by those words. Fortunately, though, the Black Demon died at the hands of the Cult Leader, my master, the Murim Alliance Leader and righteous sect masters of the time."
"Was he strong?"
"He was strong. No, it would be correct to call him a monster. Even with two Demonic Realm masters and two Flowering Realm masters rushing at him, he didn't back down. Even the Vice Cult Leader at the time was injured severely enough to suffer serious wounds. Just looking at that, you can see how monstrous the Black Demon was, can't you?"
A monster who didn't back down against four masters who had reached the extreme. It was truly unimaginable.
Man Do looked up at the sky for a moment, as if recalling the memories of that day. I stared at him blankly and quietly asked.
"Did the Black Demon die that day?"
"He died. I confirmed even cutting off his final neck. His heart was taken out and taken by the Murim Alliance, and his severed head was taken by the Demon Cult. Do you know this? At the very bottom of the Daeheongjeon, which is called the Demon Cult's treasure storehouse, the Black Demon's head is still preserved without rotting. As if he had died just yesterday."
It was a somewhat terrifying story. A head that hasn't rotted even after more than 100 years. And what kind of hobby is it to keep that head?
Man Do pulled the corners of his mouth at my change of expression and looked ahead again.
"In the thousands of years of history of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, there has never been a single instance of a Cult Leader being killed by an outsider. But the Black Demon killed the Cult Leader. They say they kept the head as a lesson to prevent such a thing from happening again."
"Is it really still there?"
"Well, actually, I've only heard about it and haven't seen it directly. The lowest level of Daeheongjeon is the most secretive place that even the Cult Leader can't enter. Even if you sneak in, you won't be able to steal it, surrounded by all sorts of devices and guards. I've tried to check a few times myself, but was refused."
Man Do continued speaking slowly, then slightly raised his chin resting on his hand.
"But at that time, a strange rumor circulated. The reason they cut off the Black Demon's head and kept it was that they tried to burn his head, but it wouldn't burn, and they couldn't inflict any damage with any attack, so they ended up burying it in the deepest place... they said. At the time, I was too low in rank and too young to confirm if it was true. By the time my curiosity about the Black Demon disappeared, all the people involved with the Black Demon had already passed away, so there was no one to ask."
"There are records left, aren't there?"
"The records are written exactly the same as what I know. So, I don't know if that rumor is true or false. To know, you'd have to open that door and check directly."
Man Do opened his eyes that had been tightly closed and smiled faintly.
"But there's no particular reason to do that. What's important about the head of a person who's been dead for over 100 years? What's important now is that we're alive and have arrived at a place to rest."
I raised my head to the city that had approached right in front of us. Man Do smiled faintly and spoke lightly.
"Forget it. That person died more than a hundred years ago."
After the conversation with him ended, we entered the city and headed to the lodgings secured by Jeok Biwol. The people who were out in front of the lodgings helped move the luggage and also discreetly placed the bodies in the back garden. They also carefully moved the bodies into coffins they had obtained from somewhere.
Hyuk Muhyeol personally placed Geum Soso, whom he held in his arms, in an ordinary coffin and placed flowers on top. Then he closed his eyes and knelt in front of her coffin.
After quietly looking at his back, I turned my head and looked up. When I returned to my room, Hyuk Dojin, who had been moved there in advance, was receiving treatment from a doctor.
I quietly looked at his face, which was still unconscious, then wiped the wound on his forehead with a cloth soaked in water. After erasing other minor wounds, I sighed and sat in a chair. The doctor glanced at me and spoke quietly.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
"Let me take your pulse once."
"I'm fine, so Dojin first..."
"I've already done everything I can for the Young Cult Leader. Now we just have to wait for him to regain consciousness. But if the Young Madam's condition worsens when the Young Cult Leader wakes up, he'll be sad, so I'll check your pulse in advance."
After refusing his recommendation, I finally gave in to his persuasion and stretched out my arm. The doctor smiled and took my wrist, quietly taking my pulse. I slightly lowered my eyes, feeling good at the wind flowing in during the quiet moment. Somehow I felt drowsy.
The doctor's fingertips checking my body condition seemed to bring on fatigue.
I should finish quickly and sleep.
"..."
"What's wrong? Is something not good? You're making a serious expression. Am I sick somewhere?"
"...No, it's not that you're sick somewhere..."
The doctor narrowed his brows and rolled his eyes, then looked up at me and carefully asked.
"I'm sorry, but do you remember when you last had your period recently?"
"...No. But it's been quite a while since I had it."
"Is that so? Then it seems certain."
Certain? As I opened my eyes wide, the doctor nodded with a refreshing smile.
"You're pregnant. There's a child sleeping in your womb, Young Madam. And in a very healthy state at that."