Right after receiving the Plum Blossom Seal, I headed back to the carriage.

Everything was already prepared, so there was nothing left to do.

“Does that mean we leave now?”

The moment I arrived, Cheon Hyein asked me.

I nodded at that.

“Yes. Let’s go.”

I said it while tucking the Plum Blossom Seal into my breast.

We had been given one more carriage. Along with the original one loaded with food supplies, we had secured a separate carriage for transporting important items.

Inside, we loaded Yoo Cheongil’s legacy and several other things. The Small Moon Unit Leader would personally guard that carriage.

That would be the safest way. Of course, unofficially, the Sword Emperor was also supposed to remain nearby.

“Bang Seongyeon.”

While I was checking the carriage, Do Hyeong approached.

“Your body...”

“My body’s always fine.”

As I answered, I looked around Do Hyeong. The light still circled around him.

“...Fine, huh.”

Do Hyeong looked at me like he didn’t really believe that.

I really was fine, so why was he looking at me like that?

Or was I not fine?

My realm had risen and all the injuries had healed, so I should be fine.

Pat, pat. Do Hyeong thumped my shoulder, then climbed into the carriage. Cheon Eujin followed behind him and lowered his head.

“Why am I...”

From the driver’s seat came a groan.

I looked over. It was Poison Dragon. The bastard was sitting on the driver’s bench with a deeply dissatisfied face.

That was right. We had needed one more driver for the carriage.

So I had put Poison Dragon in charge of it.

“How could this be...”

Why did someone of a prestigious bloodline have to drive a carriage?

He was pouring out his miserable feelings on the matter, but—

“What do you mean, how? You just do what you’re told.”

“...”

At my words, Poison Dragon shut his mouth. If he didn’t like it, he could leave. There was no other option.

Grinding his teeth, Poison Dragon still grabbed the reins. I had made him do it once before, and he had actually been good at it.

CREEEAK

After making sure everyone had boarded the carriage, I looked around. Mount Hua, its leaves already fallen, came into view. Disciples were watching us from all directions.

There were emotions in all those gazes. While I was looking over them one by one—

Poke, poke.

Someone came up and jabbed at my arm. It was Yuyeon.

“Oh, you came.”

“...”

Yuyeon nodded.

She had decided to come with us to Henan this time. Because of the last words Seongheon had left behind. He had said Yuyeon had to be brought along in person to receive the black robe back. She was accompanying us for that reason.

“Get on.”

Get on first. At those words, instead of answering, Yuyeon just stared at me. What was it? Why was she looking at me instead of going?

“What. Do you have something to say?”

At that, she shook her head. Then she just fidgeted awkwardly, wringing her hands.

What was she actually doing?

I stared at her in puzzlement.

Slide.

Out of nowhere, she grabbed my fingertips. What was this?

It wasn’t even like she was fully holding my hand. She had really only caught the tips of my fingers.

Then she shook them a few times.

“...Why are you doing that? Did something get on your hand?”

Was she wiping something off? If she was going to wipe it, why wipe it on my clothes instead of hers?

I looked at her in confusion.

Slide.

She let go of the hand she had been holding.

Then she climbed into the carriage just like that. What was that...? Was I imagining it?

Her face as she went to board the carriage looked like it was smiling.

“What was that?”

Why was she acting like that so creepily? I flicked my fingers a few times.

Anyway, had everyone boarded now? Just as I was thinking that—

...Then.

There was still one important thing left.

What do I do about Strange Demon?

I needed to meet Strange Demon. Should I make time before we left? Or—

Should I just move?

Even if I left like this, wouldn’t Strange Demon take care of it himself? If he needed me, I figured he would show some kind of reaction. If he was someone who could move in and out of Mount Hua that easily, then he would know I was about to leave too.

That’s better.

Rather than wasting more time here, moving first was the right choice. Just as I made that judgment and was about to board the carriage—

“Are you getting on now?”

A voice came from beside me. Right beside me.

Instinctively, I turned my gaze.

A woman I had never seen before was standing there, smiling at me.

She had a gentle impression, and she was remarkably beautiful.

“Who are you?”

Who was she? It was really a face I had never seen before.

As I narrowed my eyes and stared, she smiled brightly—brighter than ever.

“I really wanted to see you.”

“...”

Then she said something even harder to understand.

Wanted to see me? What did she mean, wanted to see me?

“Do we know each other?”

As I spoke, I looked her over.

She wasn’t wearing Mount Hua robes. She was dressed in black martial clothes. Simple clothing with no particular features.

Who could it be?

Who was she?

While I was thinking that—

“We do know each other.”

The woman said.

—I revere you more than anyone, Heaven.

“...”

The moment the voice transmission followed, goosebumps ran over my skin.

Because the voice had changed into one I knew.

...Strange Demon?

That woman in front of me—was she Strange Demon?

This woman?

...What is this?

A disguise technique? I had never heard of a disguise technique this perfect. Changing into another sex and still reaching this level of completion?

—If I am to accompany Heaven, I thought this form would be more comfortable for you, so I prepared it.

—Does it please you?

I didn’t know what exactly he meant by asking whether it pleased me, but it was shocking.

It really was Strange Demon. That ominous man was now a woman beautiful beyond measure.

While examining that outward appearance, I glanced toward the carriage.

The Small Moon Unit Leader and the Sword Emperor.

That was where they were.

They still didn’t seem to recognize Strange Demon. Just like before.

Strange Demon...

Could even deceive a martial artist of the Heaven-Beyond-Heaven level.

Whether he was using some trick so they wouldn’t notice his approach, or whether his infiltration skill was just that /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ absurdly refined, it seemed to be possible.

[Th... is... brat.]

Yoo Cheongil’s voice wavered.

Because Strange Demon had appeared.

That too told me the woman really was Strange Demon.

So then.

Strange Demon’s intention now was—

...To stay with me in this form?

He was making clear that he intended to come with me while remaining in the form of a woman.

“...”

I quietly stared at Strange Demon.

Under that gaze, Strange Demon smiled again.

He really was absurdly beautiful. How could a disguise technique be like this? I was genuinely amazed no matter how many times I looked—

“Moon Hero...!”

Yeo Hyeok appeared.

“I thought this was the last chance to say goodbye... hm?”

Yeo Hyeok, who had been speaking, suddenly faltered.

He had seen Strange Demon standing beside me.

Had he noticed something? His reaction sure looked like—

“Wh-who is this beautiful lady?”

Ah, no. So that wasn’t it.

He just fell for him.

I nearly let out a sigh at Yeo Hyeok’s face, burning bright red.

Right... even a Taoist was still a man.

Though in that case, shouldn’t he be falling for a man?

“...How can someone be this beautiful...”

Strange Demon’s face seemed to be enough to skip over that kind of problem.

While Yeo Hyeok was staring at Strange Demon in shock—

“What are you looking at?”

Strange Demon said to Yeo Hyeok with eyes colder than death itself.

“N-no... I... I’m sorry.”

“Hmph.”

He even reacted coyly.

Knowing what was inside, my stomach was turning.

“...Uh.”

Who was I supposed to introduce him as?

I couldn’t hesitate too long, so I answered quickly.

“...A servant.”

“A servant? A servant? Since when—”

“I figured the schedule would be tight, so I hired one. Starting with this trip, this person will be traveling with us.”

“Ah...”

He looked obviously disappointed.

If not a servant, then what? What exactly were you planning, you idiot?

...A servant, huh.

I had made the excuse for now, but I didn’t know how it would turn out.

Could I suddenly bring Strange Demon in as a servant? More than that, would Strange Demon even accept that? Just as that thought crossed my mind—

—To be allowed to serve Heaven... it makes my heart race more than anything.

“...”

Apparently, this side was nothing I needed to worry about.

*****

Unlike my worries, dealing with Strange Demon wasn’t all that difficult.

Maybe because I said I had hired him, people didn’t seem especially suspicious.

Or maybe not.

Rather than because of what I said—

“My name is Pi Yeonso, from the Gyeryong Merchant Company. It is an honor to be employed.”

What mattered more was probably that Strange Demon had prepared his alias and background far too perfectly.

This lunatic.

It felt like he had already predicted I would call him a servant.

Or else—

He had prepared multiple possibilities so he could accept whatever I said.

If that was true, then he really was a terrifying person.

Tch.

A servant guild.

Wasn’t the Gyeryong Merchant Company one of those places focused on hiring people out as servants?

It really did exist.

When I said I had hired one for the journey ahead, people nodded.

Even if they hadn’t accepted it, I had been planning to push through anyway.

Why were they all accepting it so easily?

Just as that question came to mind, Cheon Hyein spoke to me.

“You were going to do whatever you wanted anyway. As usual.”

“...”

That hit where it hurt.

Her words tasted especially bitter at the end.

So she meant I was going to do whatever I pleased anyway. I couldn’t deny it. There was too much I had already done.

Anyway.

That was how Strange Demon came in under the name Pi Yeonso.

And time passed.

But then—

Why is he so good at this?

Strange Demon was far better at the work than I had expected.

It was almost like he was omnitalented. Cooking, ingredient management, all kinds of things—he handled everything. And he did it with near-perfect efficiency, without a single wasted motion.

He was so clean and polished, it felt like he had spent his whole life doing servant work and all sorts of other jobs.

Just his presence alone changed the quality of the journey.

It got to the point that even Cheon Hyein, that prickly woman, praised him as someone impressive.

Of course, that reaction would probably change somewhat if she learned that inside was a man dozens of years old, only young on the outside.

If there was one problem, though...

[...No... is...]

Was it that talking with Yoo Cheongil had become difficult?

Maybe because Strange Demon was there, my conversations with Yoo Cheongil kept getting cut off.

I could only speak with him if I put a certain distance between us.

I needed to find some kind of solution to that.

Though, on the other hand, not having to hear that noisy old man’s constant chatter might have been a benefit in its own way.

[Ptch... this... bast—.]

I didn’t have to hear as many of those curses, either.

And with Strange Demon joining us, a good deal of time passed. By the time the season itself had started to change—

“...We’re here.”

We had returned to Henan.

And, among all places there, to the Martial Alliance—the place we had originally departed from.

*****

After arriving at the Alliance, I didn’t even get the chance to properly unpack.

The moment word spread that I had arrived, people came for me.

“We will escort you.”

They called it an escort, but it was closer to dragging me along by force.

The destination was, naturally, Cheonrijinan’s quarters.

“So, you’re back.”

“...Have you been well in the meantime?”

Cheonrijinan stared right at me after I spoke.

“Do I look well?”

“No.”

He didn’t.

Anyone could see his face was steeped in exhaustion.

“It seems things have been difficult.”

“It was ordinary enough. If anything, it looks like you’ve been the one doing far too much.”

“...It just turned out that way.”

I shrugged.

Neither of us bothered with especially deep greetings.

We weren’t the kind of people who needed that.

“All right.”

Leaving the letters behind him, Cheonrijinan asked me,

“Did you bring back a way to save Divine Spear?”

“...”

Had I brought back a method, even with Seongheon—the Medical Immortal—dead?

At that question, I was silent for a moment before I spoke.

“Yes.”

“...”

Cheonrijinan’s eyebrow twitched.

There was a method.

With Seongheon dead, that hope should have vanished.

But surprisingly, there was exactly one thing left.

Even this wasn’t certainty.

Still, it was the only method worth calling one.

“I’ll fix him myself.”

“...What?”

The moment he heard that, Cheonrijinan’s expression twisted.