“They say Blood Demon’s qi took root in the body of O Blood Lord who struck Mount Hua. What Blood Demon was aiming for was Elder Ouyang Do’s disciple....”

“They say Nomon attacked Mount Hua again. I heard that this time he tried to completely bring Mount Hua down. Because of that, the one who used to be his disciple....”

“Didn’t they say all the Demon-Slaying Corps members were wiped out? Because of that, even the Commander of the Demon-Slaying Corps....”

“Great Blood Cult has taken yet another bright young martial artist....”

Huff- Huff- Huff-

KWAANG-!

When the door was flung open, everyone gathered in the Namgoong Clan Lord’s hall turned toward it at once.

Namgoong Mucheon, Sama Cheon, Strategist Zhuge, and then Namgoong Cheongun, Cheonghae, even Seop Mugwang.

“Seolhwa.”

Cheongun hurried toward Seolhwa with a startled face.

Having run without rest, Seolhwa’s breathing was rough. She steadied her breath and slowly looked around at the people standing in the room.

Those whose eyes met hers averted their gazes without realizing it.

“What... happened...?”

Although Seolhwa asked again, they still only avoided her eyes. No one easily opened their mouth.

“I asked you what happened...?”

It was because they all knew Yu Gang was someone precious to Seolhwa.

The first to bring the news had been the Haomun lord.

By the time she had sent Southern Wilds Beast Palace back and stopped by Sado Union’s main base, the situation was already over.

At the final moment, Blood Demon dwelling in Nomon’s body had attacked Yu Gang, and Blood Demon’s qi had poured over him.

Fortunately, Mount Hua had been protected, but because of that, Yu Gang, Commander of the Demon-Slaying Corps under Martial Alliance, had yet to regain consciousness.

When she heard the news, Seolhwa had come straight to Namgoong Clan.

On the way back, Seolhwa heard rumors about him dozens of times over.

The Great Blood Cult’s atrocities—trying to crush Mount Hua after Kunlun—were more than enough to drown the whole martial world in fear.

“It seems they were aiming for Yu Gang from the start and using Nomon.”

Namgoong Mucheon, seated on the upper seat, lowered the hand that had been propping up his chin and opened his mouth.

Seolhwa looked at him.

“If Nomon—no, O Blood Lord—had annihilated Mount Hua, that in itself would have been a gain. But Nomon did not attack Mount Hua.”

Namgoong Mucheon carefully explained the events of that day to Seolhwa.

How Nomon had approached the training caves aiming for Ouyang Do before striking Mount Hua, and how Yu Gang had stood alone to block him.

The battle with Mount Hua’s martial artists, and Blood Demon who had taken hold of Nomon’s body.

Up to the point where Blood Demon’s qi in the end poured over Yu Gang.

“O Blood Lord could have killed Yu Gang, but he did not. I do not know what he intended to do with that child and Mount Hua....”

Namgoong Mucheon let out a low breath.

“In the end, he yielded his body to Blood Demon. If I were to speculate, it seems Blood Demon moved personally because Nomon was not rampaging the way he wanted.”

KWAJIK-

A small crack formed in the doorframe Seolhwa was gripping.

Even when she heard the news from the Haomun lord, even when she heard the story again and again on her way back home—

Seolhwa had not believed it.

No, she could not believe it.

That Blood Demon had targeted him.

‘It’s... because of me.’

Because she liked Yu Gang.

Because, knowing Yu Gang was someone precious to her, they had deliberately targeted him.

Otherwise, how could she explain why they had doggedly gone after Yu Gang and not some other Mount Hua martial artist?

“Where... is he now...?”

Namgoong Mucheon nodded slightly toward Cheongun.

“I will take you.”

Cheongun took his daughter’s hand and led her.

Drawn by his hand, Seolhwa headed toward the room at the back of the Clan Lord’s hall.

The closer they came to the room, the thicker the medicinal fragrance that drifted out.

Because that seemed to be telling her what state Yu Gang was in, Seolhwa forced herself to swallow down the hot lump rising in her throat.

CLACK.

“...Young Lady.”

Seolhwa lifted her gaze and looked at the person standing in front of her.

It was Chor Yeon, who had returned to the clan with Seop Mugwang from Martial Alliance.

Calling out to Seolhwa in mingled gladness and surprise, Chor Yeon, like the others before, unconsciously avoided Seolhwa’s gaze.

She hesitated with a face that said she had much to say, but in the end, without managing to say anything, she stepped aside to make way for Seolhwa.

“Please go in. The Immortal Physician is inside.”

Seolhwa looked back at Cheongun.

He also stepped back a pace as if telling her to go in, and nodded.

Unease flickered across Seolhwa’s face.

Leaving the two behind, Seolhwa carefully opened the door to the room.

SSSSSLIDE—

The moment she opened the door, the medicinal fragrance that had filled the corridor washed over her even more thickly.

“....”

The inside of the room was dark and still.

She could sense someone’s presence, but it was very quiet and faint.

It felt like the presence of someone existing somewhere unreachable, with a vast space lying between them.

Seolhwa closed the door and took a step into that stillness.

In that instant—

SSSSSSSSS....

A soft orange light bloomed one by one, then soon bathed the room in a gentle glow.

The medicinal fragrance that had been wafting in grew even thicker, and the presence that had been so faint and distant came nearer.

‘...A formation...?’

Seolhwa looked around as she walked toward the inner part of the room, where she could feel the presence.

She saw the Immortal Physician standing beside the bed.

“You are late.”

“....”

Standing by the Immortal Physician’s side, Seolhwa looked down at Yu Gang lying on the bed.

The shallow, even breaths he let out over and over made him look like someone in a deep sleep.

But in stark contrast to that peaceful breathing, his chest, his nape, and more than half of the right side of his face were covered in dark violet-black blotches.

It was Blood Demon’s qi, the very thing everyone had spoken of.

“Do not worry. The connection with the owner of this qi has been cut, so its owner will not be able to wield this child.”

“...Is it a suggestion?”

“I cannot be certain. It could be a suggestion, it could be a curse, it could be both.”

It was natural not to know.

The Blood Arts were martial arts devised by Blood Demon, who had lived for hundreds of years, and they were close to a kind of miracle that those who had not lived that long could not understand.

In truth, asking what exactly it was was an unnecessary question.

“However, the one from the Demonic side told me this. That as long as he stayed within the formation, he would be able to slip free of Blood Demon’s hand. I too am constantly checking that part, so do not worry.”

The formation in the room existed to sever the link between Blood Demon and the qi eating into Yu Gang.

So that Yu Gang would not be wielded by Blood Demon as Nomon had been.

“However, that is the best we can do. There is no way to stop this qi from spreading.”

The Immortal Physician slightly lifted the blanket covering Yu Gang.

At that moment, Seolhwa unknowingly swallowed dryly.

The state of Yu Gang’s body, which had been hidden beneath the blanket, was even more severe.

His chest, which appeared to be the point where the qi had first begun to spread, was stained a deep, charred black that went beyond dark violet, as if it were rotting away.

“With the method the Demonic martial artist taught me, I am only slowing the worsening. There is nothing else I can do. I have spent a long life as a physician, healing countless patients across the world, but it is the first time I have been so powerless.”

In a voice uncharacteristically lacking in confidence, the Immortal Physician laid bare her helplessness as a doctor.

Even when she had examined Seolhwa, who had lost her memories, she had not been this powerless.

Back then, at least she had known of herbs that could cure the affliction. Now, she could not even know the cause that was killing the patient in front of her, let alone a treatment.

“I am doing my utmost to find a way, but to be honest, I cannot....”

The Immortal Physician suddenly stopped speaking.

Her head turned toward Seolhwa, who stood beside her.

“....”

The Immortal Physician could not see.

So she carefully raised her hand and groped along Seolhwa’s face.

Soon, something moist touched the Immortal Physician’s fingertips as they traced along the corner of Seolhwa’s eye.

She was crying.

“Please... I beg you....”

Seolhwa grabbed the Immortal Physician’s wrist with both hands as it cupped her cheek.

The Immortal Physician could not see her, but Seolhwa was facing the Immortal Physician head-on.

“This man, ending up like this... it’s because of me.”

Because she had kept °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° Yu Gang in her heart.

Because she had held him in her heart as someone precious.

That was why he had been targeted by Blood Demon. It had to be so.

“He must not... die like this. There are still too many things I haven’t said... If it ends like this....”

Seolhwa rested her forehead against the Immortal Physician’s hand.

The hands holding on to the Immortal Physician trembled, ever so slightly.

He had said he would wait for her his whole life.

That, for her who did not know what it meant to be in love, he would wait until she realized that feeling.

He had said it was fine even if the heart she eventually awakened was not the same love.

That even so, he would remain by her side for the rest of his life.

‘And after saying that....’

She had still not answered.

She had still not properly told him what this feeling she had whenever she saw Yu Gang was.

No, in truth, there had been a moment when she could have spoken.

She had realized whether the feeling she held toward Yu Gang was love or not even before she went to the Demonic side.

‘I won’t stop you. I’ll try my best to help with what you’re trying to do. But... don’t tell me not to jump in. Let me at least do that much.’

‘I don’t want you to be hurt even a little.’

‘Be careful.’

His voice surfaced in fragments inside Seolhwa’s head.

Come to think of it, he had always worried about her.

That she might be hurt, that she might suffer, that she might perhaps die.

Even as he constantly worried about such things, even knowing that the path she was taking was dangerous—

He had always cheered her on.

Without trying to stop her, he had done everything he could to be a strength to Seolhwa.

‘How was he able to do that.’

Just the thought of a precious person getting hurt made her feel like she was going to go mad with anxiety.

Just having him lying here like this made her chest feel as if it were being torn apart.

Knowing that he was hurling himself into dangers where he brushed up against death, how had he been able not to step in front of her and block her way?

Only then did Seolhwa call to mind the figure of Yu Gang, who had always remained by her side.

His gaze, which had always been turned toward her no matter where she was.