“How long will it take?”
“I’ve already sent a request to a nearby cultivation sect, but... even at the fastest, I think it’ll take at least two weeks.”
“I see. Where did the evil spirit appear?”
“Hm?”
“I’ll go deal with it myself. That should solve the problem.”
“Oh, no. From what I heard, it isn’t a particularly powerful evil spirit. I couldn’t possibly trouble someone as busy as you.”
The owner of the fabric shop, who knew exactly who Baek Unjin was, hurriedly waved his hands in refusal.
But Baek Unjin was stubborn.
“Waiting would waste far more time.”
“I-Is that so?”
“It’s for the feather robe my beloved disciple will wear. It doesn’t sound like a difficult task, so I’ll settle it quickly.”
The shopkeeper glanced toward Yoo Yeonseo, who was busy admiring the bolts of silk hanging throughout the store.
This shop had been one of Baek Unjin’s regular establishments for many years. They had done business together for a long time, yet this was the first time he had ever heard that the man had taken a disciple.
“I understand. If you can safely retrieve the Cheonyul Silk, I’ll make sure the robe is crafted with the utmost care.”
“Where exactly did the evil spirit appear?”
“At Cheongseok Gorge.”
Cheongseok Gorge lay about a day’s journey west of Hyeonbaek.
Using Baek Unjin’s flying artifact, however, it would take less than half an hour to reach.
“I’ll be back shortly.”
“Master!”
Having overheard their conversation, I rushed over with sparkling eyes.
“I want to come too.”
“Stay here.”
“Ugh...”
“...”
“They said it’s not even a dangerous evil spirit, right? I’ll stay quietly by your side. Can’t you take me with you?”
Since this was a rare chance to go out, I wanted to see as much of the world as possible.
After I pouted and clung to him shamelessly, Baek Unjin finally relented.
“Then promise me you won’t do anything reckless.”
“Of course!”
Even if I wanted to, there wasn’t much a beginner cultivator like me could actually do.
We boarded the flying artifact once more and arrived at Cheongseok Gorge.
The canyon was astonishingly deep. The sky was clear, yet a faint mist lingered around the area.
My mouth fell open at the sight.
A place like this could actually exist?
Unlike me, who stood there entranced by the unfamiliar landscape, Baek Unjin’s expression darkened.
“Something is strange.”
“Hm? Now that you mention it, I don’t see the merchant caravan.”
“That’s not the only thing.”
What was wrong?
Just in case, I tried reading the flow of heavenly fate.
“There’s... something murky mixed in.”
What is this?
As I closed my eyes and attempted to probe deeper, a hand suddenly landed on my shoulder.
I snapped back to my senses.
“Don’t delve too deeply.”
“Ah, yes.”
A cold sweat trickled down my back.
After steadying my breathing, I glanced at him.
“Hm. It seems I’ll need to investigate personally.”
“Should I come with you?”
“...You stay here quietly.”
“Wouldn’t that be more dangerous?”
The safest place for me was right next to Baek Unjin.
There was no way he didn’t know that.
“That may be true, but... tch. There’s someone I’d rather not let you see.”
“Huh?”
“Never mind.”
Muttering to himself, Baek Unjin suddenly formed a hand seal.
A droplet of water shimmered at his fingertips before bursting apart.
The scattered droplets transformed into mist, and from within it emerged something resembling a tiny cloud.
“I’ll leave this here. If anything happens, I’ll know immediately.”
“Okay!”
The moment he finished speaking, his figure vanished.
I stared blankly at the little cloud he had left behind.
When I poked it with my finger, it trembled as if reacting.
“It’s kind of cute. Like a living cotton candy.”
Should I try eating it?
As though it had read my thoughts, the little cloud immediately retreated, apparently sensing a threat to its life.
It was just a joke.
Honestly.
Still, I’d expected him to leave behind some incredible artifact.
Instead, it was this tiny cloud.
“He really does things that don’t suit him sometimes.”
Though, that was part of my master’s charm.
Well... except when it came to training.
The gorge was buried deep within the mountains.
It was so quiet that not a trace of human presence could be felt.
When I closed my eyes, all I could hear was the occasional whisper of the wind, the rustling of animals in the underbrush, and the scent of leaves and mist filling the air.
“It’s oddly comforting.”
Despite being somewhere completely unfamiliar, simply being surrounded by nature made me feel at ease.
How much time passed?
Eventually...
“I’m bored.”
The master who claimed he’d return quickly still hadn’t come back even after an hour.
Seriously, cultivators and their sense of time.
Even I couldn’t sit still forever.
“As long as I don’t go far, it should be fine.”
Besides, I still had Cloudie.
After some deliberation, I began exploring the area around the gorge.
Strange flowers and unfamiliar plants grew everywhere.
Occasionally, I spotted small animals darting through the brush.
“A rabbit!”
Excited by the sight of something that actually looked like a rabbit, I instinctively chased after it.
The moment I stepped into the bushes where it had disappeared, the flow of heavenly fate twisted.
“Huh?”
Realizing something was wrong, I hurriedly looked around.
Then a thick stench of blood assaulted my nose.
Instinctively, I moved deeper in.
“A corpse?”
Several bodies lay scattered before me.
The blood hadn’t even dried yet.
They couldn’t have been dead for very long.
After approaching and examining them, I realized they were merchants from the caravan transporting the Cheonyul Silk.
Why are the merchants here?
Rustle.
“Who’s there?!”
Already tense from discovering the corpses, I reacted instantly to the faint sound.
My hand flew to my sword.
Taking a steady breath, I slowly drew the blade and pointed it toward the source of the noise.
The swirling mist parted.
A figure emerged from beyond the bushes.
The instant I saw his face, my grip on the sword loosened.
“You...”
“Y-Yang Jahan?”
He had grown taller since I last saw him and wore the orange-tinted disciple robes of the Mugeuk Hyeonmun.
But there was no mistaking him.
It was Yang Jahan.
There was no way Yoo Yeonseo could forget the face engraved in her memories.
‘Right. Around this time, Yang Jahan would have just become a disciple of Mugeuk Hyeonmun.’
There was nothing strange about him belonging to that sect.
The problem was meeting him here, in a place I had never expected.
Yang Jahan seemed just as shocked.
“Yoo Yeonseo?”
“...”
“How... how are you alive?”
He took a step forward.
Yang Jahan and Yoo Yeonseo had been childhood friends since their days in Honghwa Sect.
But that was—
‘Before I transmigrated into this body.’
To me, Yang Jahan wasn’t really a childhood friend.
At best, he was an awkward stranger.
Especially because I knew he was the protagonist of Chronicles of the Heavenly Fate Immortal.
“Haha... well...”
I still wasn’t officially a disciple of Cheongwoo Immortal Sect.
So Yang Jahan had no idea I was currently Baek Unjin’s temporary disciple.
I didn’t expect that secret to remain hidden forever.
Still, I wasn’t eager to reveal it yet.
Scratching my cheek awkwardly, I avoided his gaze.
“I just... got lucky, I guess.”
“I see.”
He lowered his eyes.
“I was worried.”
“Huh?”
“Really. I was worried that... you might have died.”
Yang Jahan stepped closer.
His eyes gradually reddened.
‘Oh, right.’
In the original story, Yoo Yeonseo’s death had been one of the events that hardened Yang Jahan into a ruthless cultivator.
Of course he’d react like this after discovering she was alive.
He suddenly closed the distance and wrapped me in a tight embrace.
“Yeonseo. I missed you.”
“Ah... right.”
I understood the sentiment, but this felt a little excessive.
Or maybe just awkward.
I decided I should push him away.
Just as I began to move—
Thrust.
“Huh...?”
Something sharp pierced my body.
Yang Jahan twisted his hand.
Blood immediately poured from the wound.
For a moment, my mind went blank.
Then, acting on instinct, I swung my sword with all my strength.
Yang Jahan leaped backward.
At the same time, I staggered away, clutching my abdomen before collapsing to one knee.
Drip.
Drip.
Bright red blood spilled from the gaping wound.
