This guy.

Or should I say, this girl?

Either way, I don't know much about this person.

Jegal Ji-hee.

That was the name I knew for this individual.

A woman from the Jegal family. She had noticeable freckles on her face and had small, slitted eyes that gave her a sharp look.

More important than her appearance, though, was the fact that she bore the surname Jegal.

In the past, the Jegal family was one of the Five Great Families, pillars of the Zhongyuan. But one day, they were exterminated—not by any external enemy, but by the Martial Alliance.

According to the records kept by the Martial Alliance, the reason for the Jegal family’s extermination was due to:

Treason and the prelude to a bloodbath.

If you’re wondering what kind of rebellion and bloodshed the noble Jegal family was supposedly plotting, it becomes clear when you think of the other name people used for them.

“The Descendants of the Blood Demon.”

People called the Jegal family the descendants of the Blood Demon. Although the Blood Demon was said not to have left any descendants, the reason people called the Jegal family his heirs was simple.

Following in the footsteps of the Blood Demon, they were said to have secretly plotted a rebellion based on his path.

It was said that the Martial Alliance, having discovered this, quickly subdued the Jegal family, leading to their downfall.

Following the Blood Demon’s legacy… Honestly, I don’t understand it. How could a renowned righteous family have made such a choice?

Not that I cared to understand it in the first place.

Anyway.

As a result, the true bloodline of the Jegal family, the roots of the clan, were executed by beheading.

Nowadays, most of the people who carry the Jegal name are from branch families that barely survived, and even they mostly live by hiding their surname or have forgotten it entirely.

The only Jegals I know of are Jegal Hyuk and Jegal Ji-hee.

Of course.

If Jegal Hyuk is truly the grandson of Shin-ui (the Divine Doctor), then Shin-ui is likely a Jegal as well.

But that wasn’t a particularly important topic, so I never thought too deeply about it.

What was important was what position she would hold in the future.

Jegal Ji-hee. When she reappeared, she declared to the world that she would clear the Jegal family’s name and restore their lost honor and reputation.

Isn’t that laughable?

The descendant of a family accused of plotting rebellion and bloodshed, now claiming they will restore their honor and reputation.

According to her, the records about the Jegal family using the Blood Demon’s power to plot rebellion were false.

But there was no way the Martial Alliance would acknowledge that.

Acknowledging it would mean they admitted their own mistake. And there was no way those bastards would ever do that.

In truth, even if the Jegal family had done no wrong, just as Jegal Ji-hee claimed, the current Martial Alliance wouldn’t admit it.

They’re that predictable.

In all of this, the one who stood by Jegal Ji-hee was none other than the Meteor Sword, Jang Seon-yeon.

Not that he outright claimed she was telling the truth, but he asked that they at least recognize her abilities and strength.

Jegal Ji-hee had also expressed her willingness to prove her strength and aid the Jegal family’s resurgence.

Whether it was the influence of the Meteor Sword or the upper echelon of the Martial Alliance accepting this, I don’t know.

But the Martial Alliance took her in, and the position they gave her was none other than that of a strategist.

Of course, this doesn’t mean she was particularly good at her job as a strategist. Unfortunately.

At the time, it was the era of bloodshed.

Her opponent, after being appointed as the strategist of the Martial Alliance, was none other than Jegal Hyuk.

The mastermind of the demonic sect and the genius strategist known as the brain of the Heavenly Horse.

There was a famous story of him being surrounded by three peak martial artists. With no chi to his name, he evaded the pursuit of the three peak masters, utilizing the terrain and circumstances, eventually killing all three with his own hands.

It’s a well-known story in Zhongyuan.

Faced with such an opponent, Jegal Ji-hee wasn’t exactly an exceptional strategist.

To take on Jegal Hyuk, it would’ve taken someone on the level of Moyong Hee-a, but Moyong Hee-a was already dead by then, so she wasn’t a viable example.

And though Jegal Ji-hee wasn’t an outstanding strategist, it wasn’t as if her strength was entirely useless.

In the end, she managed to accomplish one significant feat.

The death of Jegal Hyuk.

It was Jegal Ji-hee’s hand that achieved this, and with his death, the direction of the war with the demonic sect began to shift.

“What are you?”

But really, is this person truly Jegal Ji-hee?

If this is the Jegal Ji-hee I’ve been looking for, then…

“Why does she look like this?”

Why does she look like this? No matter how much I look, her appearance isn’t that of a woman.

“Is she cross-dressing?”

I wasn’t sure.

Even though her body was slender, it lacked the curves to convincingly be that of a woman.

“…Could Jegal Ji-hee of the future be cross-dressing as a woman?”

That seemed more likely. Why she’d do something that bizarre, I didn’t know, but the appearance certainly matched.

“The features…”

Freckles and slitted eyes. She looked almost exactly like the Jegal Ji-hee I knew.

Squeeze—

“Kgh…!”

She seemed to be around twenty, and while her voice was light and high-pitched, there was an undeniable masculine quality to it.

“Hey.” “I… I didn’t… mean to…” “What's your name?” “Kh…Kh…”

Maybe I was squeezing too hard. I loosened my grip a little so she could speak.

“Haah…!” “Your name.” “Ji… Ji-seon.” “Full name.”

When I asked for the full name, there was no response. I wasn’t in the mood to wait.

“You’ve got three seconds. If you don’t answer, I’ll break your arm.”

Squeeze—

“Grrk.” “O-One.” “Th…Three seconds?! Fine, I’ll answer!”

As soon as I heard her panicked response, I loosened my grip.

“Speak.” “Cheol… Cheol Ji-seon.”

Cheol, huh?

“That’s a lie.”

From the way she said her name, Ji-seon might have been real, but the surname Cheol was most likely fake.

Of course, it made sense for her to be using an alias.

“What business do you have with me?”

Might as well see what she had to say.

“I… I needed the sash…”

She probably saw me lying there and thought she could steal from me while I was down.

“Hmmm…”

Judging by her energy and movements, she seemed like a second-rate martial artist at best. How did someone like this even pass the exams?

“Is this all a front?”

It was entirely possible she was hiding her true strength. After all, I was doing the same.

Even though I’d been found out…

Damn it.

“Hey.” “Please, just this once, let me go…! I swear I won’t steal while you’re sleeping again…!”

She seemed pretty pathetic.

Could this really be the same Jegal Ji-hee? It might have been an act, but I couldn’t make a hasty move just yet.

“Do you have an older sister?”

I had to consider other possibilities.

“W-What?” “Or a younger sister, perhaps?” “…”

I had to ask.

Her expression changed at my question. Rather than looking like she’d been caught, it was more like she was disgusted.

What was that expression?

“Why… why are you asking that…?” “I…” “I don’t have any!”

Only after hearing that did I let go of her hand.

“Kgh… kh…”

She collapsed to the ground, coughing violently.

I stared at her as I thought.

“That was a lie, too.”

The subtle change in her breathing, the shift in her energy… It was a lie.

I didn’t know if she had a sister or not, and I didn’t care. What mattered was…

“She’s hiding something.”

That was enough for me. If she had secrets, whether she was Jegal Ji-hee or not, she was most likely connected to her in some way.

“Wasn’t the recruitment period supposed to be now?”

She should be joining around the same time as Jang Seon-yeon. The timing should have been right.

Was something off? It could’ve been. I didn’t remember the exact timing.

And with all the changes I’d caused, the ripple effects of my actions might’ve shifted things as well.

“But I still don’t know for sure.”

I looked down at the figure lying on the ground. No matter how I looked, I couldn’t figure out how someone this weak had made it through the third exam.

“Should I turn her into a demon?”

As soon as the thought crossed my mind, my dantian stirred. Almost as if it had been waiting for this moment.

Honestly, that would be the easiest option. But I had to suppress the demonic energy forcefully.

“…Not yet.”

It wasn’t the right time yet. Besides, I was still injured, and trying to corrupt someone in this state would be difficult.

If I pushed it too far, I might be bedridden for days.

So.

What other options do I have?

“There is one.”

A very simple one, at that.

“Hey, friend.” “W-What? Friend…?”

I smiled as kindly as I could and knelt down to meet her eye level. She flinched and trembled as I met her gaze and gave a friendly smile.

This wasn’t my original plan, and I still didn’t know what kind of person she was.

But.

I could find out.

“Shall we become friends?”

I could just keep her close and learn more about her. After all, she’d come to me on her own, a clue practically falling into my lap.

I couldn’t pass that up.

The problem was, the moment I suggested being friends, she burst into tears.

“…Sniff… snff…”

She was trying to suppress her sobs, but once the tears started, they didn’t stop.

‘Why… why is she crying all of a sudden?’

I’d just asked her to be friends.

Why is she crying so pitifully? What a mood killer.

I spoke to the sobbing Cheol Ji-seon.

“Hey, are you crying?” “N-No… Sniff…” “You are crying. You don’t want to be friends with me?” “Yes. No, no, I do! I do want to!” “Good, that’s how it should be. Let’s get along, okay?” “Y-Yes.” “Let’s stay close, alright? You owe me one, after all.” “If… if that’s the case…”

When I reminded her about how she’d tried to steal my sash, the so-called Cheol Ji-seon pulled out the sash from her robes, trembling.

“I-I’ll give you this…” “Hey, friend.”

I grabbed the sash and pushed it back into her arms.

“Friends don’t do things like this. Do I look like someone who’d just take things?” “…”

“Answer.” “N-No, you don’t!”

Her response was prompt and obedient. I nodded, satisfied.

Well.

I felt like I’d just gained a good, loyal friend. Or maybe it was more like taming a pet.

Lucky me. Very lucky.