Jin Sa-wol and Simbeop paused for a moment, their right palms facing each other. As their internal energy collided, the air in the room fluctuated.

Jin Sa-wol did not believe in words. He had to confirm it with his own eyes, not with words.

Whoosh!

Jin Sa-wol, with his empty left hand, took out a dagger and stabbed at Simbeop's neck.

Simbeop smiled and closed his eyes, and Jin Sa-wol's dagger stopped at Simbeop's neck.

Swish!

As Jin Sa-wol withdrew his hand and retreated, Simbeop opened his eyes again.

"Why did you stop?"

"Because you didn't show any desire to live."

At Jin Sa-wol's answer, Simbeop cast a disappointed look.

"You say something disappointing to an old man who is waiting for his day to die. People, no, all living things struggle to live."

"Then why are you trying to die?"

"Because for me, death is the way to live again."

"Reincarnation, or something like that?"

"That's right. Death is not the end, but another beginning."

At the monk-like answer, Jin Sa-wol felt he had made a wrong turn.

When Jin Sa-wol faced Simbeop's right palm, he had sent his internal energy into Simbeop's palm. It was the Penetrating Force.

But he only felt like he was hitting a solid wall. Simbeop did not move at all, and he could not feel any repulsive force. It was a strange thing.

'They say it's a diamond, but it's a stone.'

Seeing Jin Sa-wol, who had put the dagger in his bosom, Simbeop bowed his head once.

"Since you've come, sit down."

"Do I have to sit?"

"Of course you have to sit. Are you thinking of leaving right away in front of a dying old man?"

"Can't I just go?"

"You can't. I can't send a guest away without offering a cup of tea. Heh heh!"

Although Simbeop was smiling lightly while stroking his beard, he was ready to attack Jin Sa-wol at any moment.

Jin Sa-wol had planned to leave as soon as his business was finished. But his feet did not move easily, as if he were caught in a spider's web.

Simbeop beckoned as if he were sulking.

"My neck hurts."

Jin Sa-wol had no choice but to sit in front of him.

Simbeop, as if he had been waiting, poured Jin Sa-wol a cup of cold tea. But when he handed him the teacup, the tea water was heated up.

It was a simple Samadhi True Fire.

Jin Sa-wol took a sip of the tea.

Simbeop's voice swirled in the room.

"I first entered Shaolin when I was seven. At that time, my master, while shaving my hair, said that my head shape was very pretty. He said that since I looked smart, I should not just build muscles but devote myself to Buddhism and attain enlightenment. So I asked him what I should attain, and my master said to attain Buddhism. So I have been striving to attain Buddhism until now, but I can't understand it at all. As I devoted myself to practicing martial arts, only my muscles grew. So what is a better way to build muscles? I started to think about that. I distanced myself from Buddhism..."

Simbeop's story continued endlessly. It was a story about his life in Shaolin, which had started when he was seven, and about martial arts.

But he couldn't understand it at all.

Jin Sa-wol tried to understand what he was trying to say, but all the stories ended with muscles.

"The Wudang and Huashan guys are only focused on internal energy. So they are weak. They are just like dried anchovies. Martial arts should originally have a balance between external and internal arts, but the problem with the guys these days is that they ignore external arts too much. When the internal and external arts become one, that perfect body is no exaggeration to say that it is the devotion of a Buddha."

Jin Sa-wol, as if he were in a state of unconsciousness, recalled Yeon-il's muscular body and nodded.

'He was Yeon-il's master.'

Simbeop stroked his beard and continued.

"A weak body makes the mind sick. But a perfect body makes the mind stronger than a diamond. I want to introduce you to the martial monks of the Eight Great Guardian Courtyards who have perfect bodies. If you see their bodies, you will also feel a sense of favorability. Your head shape is very pretty. But the hardness of your body seems to be lacking. It is fate that we met like this, so I want to teach you a perfect body. What do you think? Do you want to become an indestructible body?"

As Simbeop's story ended, Jin Sa-wol, without realizing it, was about to nod his head like an instinct, but he opened his eyes wide.

"I'll pass."

"You have deep cultivation. Tsk!"

Simbeop clicked his tongue and stroked his beard with a very disappointed expression.

"There was no one who did not fall for my rhetoric."

Simbeop, who had looked like he was about to die, showed a child-like appearance.

Simbeop took a great interest in Jin Sa-wol. It was because he had appeared in his room, which was in the deepest part of Shaolin.

If he was an assassin, he was the best in the world, and even if he was not an assassin, he was a martial artist superior to the heads of the Eight Great Guardian Courtyards.

"Esoteric Sect?"

At Simbeop's sharp question, Jin Sa-wol did not deny it.

"That's right."

"Esoteric Sect, but you're young, so are you the children that Alliance Leader Jo took? Or the Ice Palace?"

"Demonic Cult."

"So you're the child that Dokgo Shin-wi took."

Simbeop muttered and recalled the events that had happened in the Esoteric Sect in the past.

Originally, Simbeop had intended to bring one of the children that Jo Han-yu had taken. But the children had refused, saying they didn't want to have their heads shaved.

There was such an incident.

"Time flies."

Simbeop smiled as he looked at the grown-up Jin Sa-wol.

"Dokgo Shin-wi?"

"He's dead."

Although Jin Sa-wol's short answer seemed heartless, Simbeop let out a long sigh as if he knew well that it was not so, and then opened his mouth again.

"Was I twenty-five? Or twenty-six? Where was it? Was it Mount Wangwu? I went there to rest for a moment in a hermitage and met Dokgo Shin-wi, who was like a dry firewood. At that time, he was full of vigor and confident in his martial arts. So I gave him a little lesson. Hehehe! After that, he didn't come out to the martial world. I wanted to meet him often..."

"I'll get up."

"Are you leaving already? The night is still long, and there are many things to talk about."

Simbeop showed a face full of disappointment. Jin Sa-wol, concerned that Simbeop's words would get longer, stood up with force.

In fact, it felt like his ears were about to bleed.

Swoosh!

As Jin Sa-wol's figure disappeared, Simbeop showed a disappointed expression and then closed his eyes.

A long period of silence dominated him again.

* * *

A misfortune that has once come does not leave easily. And there are also cases where one chooses that misfortune for oneself.

I chose misfortune.

Dokgo Hye was sitting with Dokgo Hyeon, who had come to visit after a long time.

"Congratulations on becoming the Wind Blood Pavilion Master."

"Thank you."

Although he answered with thanks, Dokgo Hyeon's expression was not good. He had a look full of worry.

If he had become the Wind Blood Pavilion Master, it was normal to be happy, but Dokgo Hyeon was not. It was because of Cheon Yu-myeong.

Dokgo Hye, who had read Dokgo Hyeon's expression, asked.

"Is something worrying you?"

"I met the Cult Leader once before. But I have a brief memory loss in the middle. It feels like I was possessed. When I came to my senses, he was smiling comfortably."

"You seem to have been nervous, unlike your usual self."

"Maybe so. Did you feel anything strange when you faced the Cult Leader?"

"No."

At the firm answer, Dokgo Hyeon nodded. He thought he was nervous because there had been many difficult things recently.

Seeing Dokgo Hye drinking tea, this time Dokgo Hyeon asked.

"You came down to the Cheon family estate. Is something wrong?"

"I'm trying to be close to the main headquarters. I can't waste my time in the Cheon family, where no one comes and goes. If I'm here, I can see my brother sometimes, and there will also be occasional guests."

"There are many who want to look good to the Cheon family. You'll be busy from now on."

"Those who want to look good to the Cheon family will meet Lord Cheon, not me. I'm satisfied if I can just open my mouth like this sometimes."

Dokgo Hye's voice was dry, and her eyes were indifferently sunken. It looked as if that were her true self.

But Dokgo Hyeon remembered the bright and cheerful Dokgo Hye.

He wanted to see that appearance, but he couldn't, so he was disappointed.

Her husband was dead, and her child was also dead. Could there be a greater misfortune for her?

He wanted to share her misfortune.

"If you have any difficulties, call me anytime."

"Yes. And call a friend for me."

"Which friend?"

"Seo Mun-ryeon."

"Alright."

Dokgo Hyeon, who had recalled the Hwayeong Pavilion Master, Seo Mun-ryeon, answered and then said as if he had remembered something.

"There is a rumor that the Cult Leader is taking a concubine. It seems to be because of the Cheon family's succession issue. Cheon Woo-hyeon also seems to be getting married soon. I'm worried that your position will become narrow if the Cult Leader takes a concubine."

At Dokgo Hyeon's words, Dokgo Hye smiled for the first time in a long time.

"The Cheon family's succession does not exist."

At her low voice, Dokgo Hyeon was startled and looked around. Fortunately, there was no one.

"You have to be careful with your words."

At Dokgo Hyeon's request, Dokgo Hye drank her tea with an indifferent face.

When night came, Seo Mun-ryeon entered Dokgo Hye's tea room, dragging her red skirt.

"It's unexpected that you wanted to see me."

"Because there's no one else to see."

"It's sad not to have friends. You pitiful bitch."

"You don't have any either."

At Dokgo Hye's words, Seo Mun-ryeon frowned.

"I just came because you said you were a friend."

As the maids approached, placed tea and refreshments, and went out, a silence swirled in the room.

Seo Mun-ryeon, who had drunk her tea, asked with a curious face.

"Why did you want to see me? You didn't call me just to chat idly, did you?"

"I heard that Cheon Woo-hyeon is getting married. Is that true?"

"That's right. Baekri Sageum of the Baekri family."

"It's the first time I've heard that name."

"The daughter born to Baekri Sang's third wife. She's twenty this year. She's Baekri Hong's half-sister."

At Seo Mun-ryeon's explanation, Dokgo Hye nodded slightly. Seo Mun-ryeon looked around and lowered her voice.

"My coming here today is an official matter. Everyone in the Hwayeong Pavilion knows. So it must have reached the Cult Leader's ears."

"I know."

"And one more thing."

"Tell me."

"There is a story that the former Cult Leader's death was not due to old age, but poison. Someone saw the record left by the dead Chung Pavilion Lord..."

"He must be dead."

Since the result was obvious, Dokgo Hye was not even surprised.

Seo Mun-ryeon smiled and then closed her mouth. She could tell just by looking at Dokgo Hye's expression that there was no need to mention it anymore.

"What about my father-in-law's concubine?"

As she called him 'father-in-law' instead of 'Cult Leader', Seo Mun-ryeon had to answer. Dokgo Hye was the mistress of the Cheon family estate and the Cult Leader's cherished daughter-in-law.

"Baekri Hong was mentioned, and we have Sister Ok. Lastly, there is Yeon Hwa-jeong."

Baekri Hong was a woman of the same age as Dokgo Hye and Seo Mun-ryeon, whom they knew well. Seo Mun-ok was the master of the Flower Pavilion, and Yeon Hwa-jeong was a master with high martial arts.

"All three are young."

Dokgo Hye muttered and drank her tea.

* * *

On the main road to Luoyang, a man and a woman wearing bamboo hats were walking. They were Jin Sa-wol and Son Ae-hwa.

Jin Sa-wol stopped walking when he saw Luoyang in the distance.

"What is the reason you are following me, knowing that I am going to the Demonic Cult?"

"Because I want to be with you."

Son Ae-hwa answered, taking off her bamboo hat. It was a question that didn't even need to be thought about.

Jin Sa-wol, as if he had accepted it, walked again.

Son Ae-hwa chased after Jin Sa-wol and asked.

"By the way, why are we going into Luoyang?"

"Mun-hyeok."

The only person Son Ae-hwa knew with the name Mun-hyeok was the Hao Faction Master.

(End of Chapter)