Hyuk Dojin, who had left in the morning saying he was busy with some matters and hadn’t even been able to have breakfast, still hadn’t returned even past lunchtime.

He usually always dined with me, no matter how busy he was, so I was worried that he was so occupied that he couldn’t even come to the dining table.

When I asked Joo Hwarin, who was preparing the meal, she rolled her eyes as if she didn’t know either. Geum Baekcheon and the other maids and servants attending to me all tilted their heads with expressions indicating they weren’t sure.

Had something happened?

As I was picking at my lunch and worrying about Hyuk Dojin, someone knocked on the door of the room where no guests were expected to visit.

Joo Hwarin glanced at me. As I lightly nodded, Joo Hwarin moved and cautiously opened the door. The next moment, Joo Hwarin hurriedly bowed her head. Not only her, but the other maids near the door also hastily lowered their heads.

Who could it be that they were acting like this?

I rose from my seat, trying to discern who had visited the room. The one who entered as the door fully opened was a neatly dressed young man. He appeared to be in his early to mid-twenties, very tall, with broad shoulders, looking like a warrior to anyone.

As soon as he saw me, he smiled and lightly bowed to me, just like the others who were greeting him. As I looked at him with puzzled eyes, the man softly opened his mouth.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Miss Moyong. Ah! Should I address you as Madam? I called you Miss Moyong because I thought you might still be more familiar with that title.”

I blankly gazed at the man who chattered about himself without being asked.

At that moment, Joo Hwarin scurried over and whispered softly in my ear.

“He is Yoo Doha, the leader of the Blood Flow Thousand Wolves Corps, considered the elite force among the Demon Cult’s military units, and holds the highest rank after the Vice Cult Leader, the Cult Leader, and the Young Cult Leader.”

“…Yoo Doha?”

I had heard that name somewhere before. It sounded very familiar. Where had I heard it? As I furrowed my brow slightly, pondering for a moment, his mouth opened again.

“I am Yoo Doha, the leader of the Blood Flow Thousand Wolves Corps.”

As he smiled amiably, I nodded and was about to respond when a memory suddenly came to mind. Ah, was this man that person?

I couldn’t recall it clearly since I had read it long ago, but there was a man who followed Hyuk Dojin around as his right-hand man.

With powerful strength and the ability to command combat units. On top of that, he had unwavering loyalty towards Hyuk Dojin. That man was Hyuk Dojin’s friend and someone he could entrust his back to.

Despite not belonging to a prominent clan in the Demon Cult, he possessed strength surpassing the cult leaders and always assisted Hyuk Dojin.

I remembered him being described as quite young and kind-looking, making it difficult to see him as someone from the Demon Cult at first glance… Was this man that person?

“My name is Moyong Sowol.”

“Haha, I know. Please lower your speech. How could I possibly receive honorifics from the Young Cult Leader’s wife?”

“Since it’s our first meeting, it’s only right to show respect.”

As I wasn’t certain, I drew a slight line and rolled my eyes. I didn’t know the reason for his visit, but it was clear he held a high position. Would it be rude to simply send away such a person? After a brief contemplation, I glanced at the food piled on the table and casually spoke.

“If you haven’t eaten yet, how about dining together? I think it would be better to talk over a meal rather than standing.”

“Is that so? Then I gladly accept your invitation, Miss.”

He smiled and took a seat on the opposite side. I also sat down and glanced at him.

Geum Baekcheon placed the food he had specially prepared for me on my plate. The man called Yoo Doha scooped some food onto his plate, ate lightly, and gently nodded his head.

“As expected, Geum Baekcheon’s skills are excellent. It seems he has improved even more than before.”

“You flatter me.”

Geum Baekcheon smiled and bowed his head.

“With skills like these, I’d want to kidnap you.”

“Haha, I don’t know where you’d use this bulky body after kidnapping me, but if there’s an opportunity later, I’ll make a separate meal for you, Yoo Doha.”

“That’s great.”

I alternately observed the two of them as they smiled at each other. Seeing him converse amiably with Geum Baekcheon, I wondered if he wasn’t someone to be too wary of.

If it were a situation where I needed to be hostile, Joo Hwarin or Geum Baekcheon would have reacted first, but since they didn’t, I felt it would be alright to lower my guard a bit.

I picked up a round dumpling from the plate in front of me and cut it in half. Dipping it in the soy sauce on the plate, I took a small bite and turned my head, only to catch Yoo Doha’s gaze intently observing me.

Lowering my chopsticks and slightly furrowing my brow, Yoo Doha parted his lips.

“Ah! I apologize. I stared at you too intently.”

“…No, it’s alright. Is it strange to see me eating?”

“It’s not that. I was just curious about the wife whom the Young Cult Leader, who usually doesn’t show much interest in others, cherishes so dearly.”

Cherishes so dearly… That expression still felt unfamiliar and awkward, making me smile slightly.

“I see. But when will you tell me?”

I asked lightly as I lowered my chopsticks.

“The reason for your sudden visit.”

Yoo Doha let out a hearty laugh at my question. Seeing his smile that made one feel good just by looking at it, I also smiled slightly. Yoo Doha stretched his back and leaned against the chair before slowly opening his mouth.

“I heard your health isn’t very good.”

“…”

It wasn’t something I particularly needed to hide. As time passed, more and more people came to know about my weak body.

However, no one had directly brought it up in front of me like this.

So I found it puzzling that this man abruptly mentioned it. As I tilted my head, Yoo Doha gently spoke.

“I heard you’re so weak that you can’t be exposed to sunlight, and even catching a cold is easy if you face the wind. So, I came here at the Young Cult Leader’s request regarding that matter.”

“A request…?”

“Yes.”

He smiled and rose from his seat. Then, he circled the table and approached my side, taking a seat in the chair next to me.

Startled by his sudden action, I tried to retreat, but perhaps due to Yoo Doha’s gentle demeanor, his behavior didn’t feel rude or threatening.

Yoo Doha sat beside me and, with the words ‘Please excuse me for a moment,’ spread his palm and grasped my wrist.

It happened so abruptly that I flinched, and in that moment, Yoo Doha shook his head and gazed intently into my eyes.

The playful eyes that had been smiling amiably were now filled with solemnity. Meeting his gaze that made me flinch, I stopped moving and quietly observed what he was doing. Yoo Doha held my wrist and lowered his eyes intently.

Silence fell upon his sudden action. Joo Hwarin, Geum Baekcheon, and the other maids. Everyone simply watched the current situation.

Within that silence, Yoo Doha’s hand moved in the opposite direction, lightly grasping my other wrist and pressing his thumb against it like before.

How much time had passed? Just as it was starting to feel a bit difficult to remain still, Yoo Doha’s mouth gently opened.

“I heard you learned the Nine Heavens Meridians.”

“A very long time ago… yes.”

Yoo Doha rubbed his chin for a moment before lightly explaining.

“There are remnants of the internal energy you accumulated back then remaining in your body. Even if you train separately, you need to completely remove this part in order to build new internal energy.”

“Remove it?”

“To put it simply, erasing would be the accurate term. Internal cultivation methods start with breathing techniques and are utilized as a part of life, a developed form of breathing methods, so to speak. However, if traces of the Nine Heavens Meridians you learned long ago remain, it will be problematic even if you learn a new internal cultivation method. So it needs to be erased.”

His words made my head feel complicated. He suddenly mentioned internal cultivation methods, and now he was talking about erasing them and learning a new one, which I couldn’t understand.

As I looked at him with a perplexed expression, Yoo Doha met my eyes and tilted his head.

“Perhaps you haven’t heard?”

“About what?”

“About the Young Cult Leader saying he would teach Miss Moyong a new internal cultivation method.”

“Dojin? Not at all. I haven’t heard anything.”

“Is that so? Then it’s fortunate that you’ve heard it now.”

He gently released my hand that he had been holding tightly and stepped back a little. Dumbfounded by his words, I stared blankly at him as Yoo Doha leisurely opened his mouth.

“The Young Cult Leader instructed me to teach Miss Moyong a new internal cultivation method.”

“Why so suddenly…”

“Because a pure cultivation method purifies the body and helps maintain balance.”

Balance? As I tilted my head, his explanation continued.

“Just as life has a way of living and each season has its own air and fragrance, internal cultivation methods also have different potentials embedded within each type. The Nine Heavens Meridians is undoubtedly an excellent internal cultivation method, but its depth is shallow, and even if you learn it, the efficiency compared to the time invested is low. And it lacks purity as well.”

He paused his explanation for a moment, glanced around, and raised his hand, snapping his fingers. Following his gesture, everyone in the room except Joo Hwarin left.

As the room, which had been filled with people, emptied, Yoo Doha spoke softly.

“Do you know about the Three Realms?”

“Heaven, Earth, and Man… Is that what you’re referring to?”

“That’s right. Long ago, far away in the eastern land called Balhae, an internal cultivation method was developed that combined these Three Realms into one and accepted purity. It’s a cultivation method that purely accepts the purity of nature.”

He rubbed his cheek, looking a bit embarrassed, and made an awkward expression.

“Originally, it was called the Three Realms Cultivation Method, a grandiose internal cultivation method, but I modified it slightly and called it the Primordial Origin. Well, both are still grandiose, but I called it that because ‘The Primordial Origin’ sounded a bit more impressive than ‘Heaven, Earth, and Man’. Hmm, well, the name isn’t important.”

Yoo Doha smiled sheepishly and directly met my gaze.

“What’s important is that I will teach this to Miss Moyong.”

“To me…?”

“Yes. The Young Cult Leader has mastered all the cultivation methods and internal energies of the Demon Cult, so he can’t separately learn an internal cultivation method based on purity. But I have trained based on these and layered the Demon Cult’s martial arts on top. Purity takes on different characteristics and properties depending on what it is covered with. If I teach this to Miss Moyong, even if it doesn’t develop into martial arts, it will help maintain balance.”

Also. He smiled and leaned back in his chair, resting against it.

“It can also balance the disrupted harmony of yin and yang. That means it can help Miss Moyong regain her health.”

“…Health.”

“Yes. That’s why I want to teach you. However, internal cultivation methods are very tedious and boring. It’s not like external cultivation where you train and visibly see your body becoming stronger. It’s all about sitting still and meditating. Progress is so slow that it’s hardly noticeable, and especially since you’ve learned a different internal cultivation method before, it might take even longer. But if you master this, you can regain the balance of your body.”

Balance of the body. Health.

Just when I’m about to give up, someone keeps holding onto me. Hyuk Dojin didn’t give up on me and tried to find a way, no matter what. And his will pulled me out of the swamp of powerlessness.

Quietly meeting Yoo Doha’s eyes that were looking at me with a serious gaze, I sighed.

“How about…”

“I’ll learn it.”

I briefly opened my mouth and lightly rubbed my neck.

“Dojin recommended it himself, thinking of me. I know his intentions behind recommending it, so it feels a bit wrong to abruptly refuse.”

“You made the right decision.”

He smiled and took out a book from his bosom, handing it to me. I received the book he offered and quickly flipped through it.

Even a rough scan showed that the contents were quite extensive, taking time to flip through.

“The foundation of internal cultivation methods is understanding. Of course, I will teach and assist you with many things, but no matter how much I pave the way for you, if you don’t understand it, it’s of no use. So…”

He pointed to the book and smiled brightly.

“You have to memorize all of that.”

“…”

Suddenly, regret washed over me.