"......"

Isipguho (29th)  groggily sat up. The sunlight streaming through the window felt piercing.

She shifted slightly. Her whole body ached, leaving her wondering if she should just lie back down—but eventually, she rose slowly.

It was early morning.

Dew clung to the tips of the leaves. After a quick wash, Isipguho ran into a young servant boy bustling around.

They had now exchanged names. Late as it was, she learned his name was Joil.

"Y-you can’t move around yet, honored one!"

"I’m hungry."

"I’ll bring the food to your room! Please go back! You’re still recovering!"

She didn’t mind the gentle hands pushing her back. But after the young servant left, she quietly stepped out of the room again.

A light stroll. The sunlight itself felt delightful. And the slightly cool breeze—how refreshing.

Her body, confined indoors for too long, seemed to wake up again. She absentmindedly reached for a sword with her uninjured arm, then bitterly smiled.

A habit.

Well, what could she do?

Perhaps the foolishness was contagious.

When she returned, the young servant had brought her food and was anxiously pacing. The moment she opened the door, a storm of scolding struck her.

"Y-you must rest! The physician specifically said so!"

"A short walk doesn’t hurt. But is there only porridge?"

She wanted meat. Not raw meat, grilled meat.

The young servant firmly shook his head.

"The physician said no meat for now. Only grains and porridge."

"...Ugh."

After finishing her simple meal, she wiped her body down with a warm towel. The wounds still stung, but at least she wasn’t completely immobile.

The physician who visited marveled.

"The Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique is truly strange. The recovery is rapid. Was it designed this way from the start, or is it just a secondary effect... However, your meridians are still unstable. Avoid touching a sword for the time being. If you push it, you might fall into qi deviation."

"I’ll be careful."

"Good, you’re easy to reason with. It’s the same medicine you’ve always taken. Take it at the hour of the hare, as usual."

She stopped the physician just as he was about to leave.

"How’s ‘that side’ doing?"

"Hm... I wouldn’t know. Another physician is handling it."

After the physician left, Isipguho once again got up.

Food was regularly brought to her. Someone was always there to care for her.

An unexpected paradise. But that didn’t mean her heart was at ease.

She wanted to see Samsipho’s condition. Even now, ten days later, he still couldn’t get out of bed.

"You can’t go in, lady."

But every time she tried, she was stopped. The expressions of those who exited his room were always dark.

They said his condition was improving, but she couldn’t believe it. The last time she saw him, he was close to death.

His battered body. Not a single unscathed spot, his skin cold to the touch.

For an eternity, he had held the Soul-Severing Sword, his breathing weak and shallow, his eyelids unmoving.

Could that... even be called alive?

Guk Jinmyeong, who visited her, spoke.

"Lady, he will survive. My master said his life has been preserved. The treatment is progressing well."

"...It’s not enough to just survive."

She remembered how happy he looked whenever he wielded a sword.

To Isipguho, Samsipho and his sword were like inseparable brothers.

Just clinging to life wasn’t enough.

Who knew what would happen if they separated him from his sword?

She wanted to help him somehow...

"...You think of him as more than just a comrade."

"W-what?! What nonsense are you saying?! He’s just a comrade to me!"

"Is that so? Then that’s good to hear."

Guk Jinmyeong smiled.

"I’ll ask my master if there’s another way to help. Even though we were manipulated, it doesn’t change the fact that we were at fault. I apologize again, lady."

"It’s fine. Something like this happening within our sect is hardly new. Guk Jinmyeong."

"You can call me by my name, lady. Or rather, I’d appreciate it if you did."

"That’s not happening. Isn’t it strange for us to be close? Let’s keep our distance."

"......"

The night of the eleventh day—when Isipguho anxiously watched over Samsipho’s room as usual—

Suddenly, at dawn, people rushed into his room.

"W-what’s happening?!"

"He has awakened!"

"......!"

Without a second thought, Isipguho ran.

...

"...Quiet...! Everyone... step back..."

A voice reached me. I moved my fingertips.

Something was wrong with my body. It wouldn’t listen. My vision blurred with indistinct shapes.

My ears rang. I opened my mouth, but no sound came out.

There was no pain.

—Cheongeop had stopped.

"...Can you...hear...try to...speak..."

Someone was speaking. But the light in front of me blinded me, and I couldn’t see.

Where was I?

I was sure I had been with the Soul-Severing Sword...

"…Kugh?!"

Suddenly, sensation returned. Cheongeop let out a faint scream.

My fingertips began to move. Something coursed through me. My veins, my insides—it was a relentless, freezing cold that seemed enough to drive me mad.

My body convulsed. At the same time, something surged from within my mouth.

"Uweeeek!!!"

Blood.

Rotten blood poured out, streaming down from my lips.

"Ahhh...!"

"What... an answer...!"

"Step... back!"

Voices still came to me in disjointed fragments. Hands pressed down on my body, but I reached around blindly.

Where was I? What was I doing here?

Who were these people? What were they trying to do to me?

"Move... away...!"

I shook them off. For a moment, I felt someone stumble backward, their hands slipping from my body.

I staggered as I stood up, leaning against the wall to steady myself.

My vision remained blurred. I still couldn’t see clearly.

I had to fight.

I had to win. It wasn’t too late.

Move my hands. Reach out.

Struggle... until the very end!

"Stop."

My outstretched fist was blocked.

Someone gently pulled me into their embrace.

"Kid."

The voice tickled my ears.

"Do you want to die? Do you really want me to bury you? Hm? Settle down already. Do you know how many nights I’ve been awake because of you?"

"...?"

"The fight is over, so just stay still. Damn it. Getting tangled in all this trouble..."

I blinked.

From my body, which had vomited up the rotten blood, Cheongeop slowly began to move. The chilling cold that settled into my bones remained, but sensation was returning.

And the voice was becoming clearer.

"If it weren’t for me, you’d be dead back there. Got that? I’m practically your savior right now. So be grateful. All this—you owe me."

My wandering focus sharpened. I confirmed again that someone was holding me.

Purple hair. Her face, far more disheveled than the last memory I had of her, showed a bone-deep exhaustion.

I strained to recall.

The words she had spoken.

"...The Sahyeoldae...?"

"Yes. The Sahyeoldae, kid."

She pinched the tip of my nose.

"I’m your senior, so far above you it’s not even funny. So behave, got it? One more mess, and I’ll throw you out."

"......."

As color returned to the world around me, I realized I was inside a building.

She let me go. I staggered back, retreating a step.

The room was full of people. For a moment, I caught glimpses of Samaak and Isipguho.

Everyone was watching me, so I asked:

"...Did we win?"

"...You little bastard."

Samaak laughed.

"Yeah. We won. Thanks to you."

At that single word, the tension drained from my body. I slumped down against the wall, letting out a deep sigh.

Cheongeop wailed. Amid its cries, I felt the pain return, coiling around my body once again.

But I welcomed it.

It was as if the pain was telling me—I could still hold my sword.

...

I heard the story. The tangled events, which had seemed difficult to unravel, were all resolved with the arrival of Myo Yerin from the Sahyeoldae.

"Cheonakmun is currently under investigation. The false rumors they spread, their intentional obstruction of the Sama family, and their alliance with the deceased Chueuigyeong to devour the Sama family—all of it has been revealed. The situation is under the Sahyeoldae’s control now, so the Soul-Severing Sword and his disciple, Guk Jinmyeong, are both here. They’ve been confined in an isolated building, though it’s mostly for show."

Samaak shrugged his shoulders.

"The name Sahyeoldae carries weight. The moment they arrived, everything turned upside down."

"How did you summon them?"

"Money. I used the Sama family’s annual budget. It was no different from gambling, but fortunately, they arrived just in time. It was also thanks to the records that she brought. I thought it was worth trying, so the Sahyeoldae came in person. It paid off to send carrier pigeons in every direction. We scoured every branch near this village."

"Would you stop calling her ‘she’ so casually?"

Isipguho’s condition looked peculiar. One eye was covered with a bandage, and her left arm, set in a splint, dangled as she moved.

"Isipguho. That injury..."

"It’s a wound of glory. Did you know? I defeated Guk Jinmyeong. The Soul-Severing Sword’s disciple—I shattered him completely in a head-on fight! How’s that? You see me differently now, don’t you?"

"They say that when the Sahyeoldae found you, you were crawling on the ground."

"Could you shut up? Anyway, no need to worry about the injuries. I heard they’ll all heal perfectly."

Everything in the Sama family was back on track. But despite that, my body felt strange.

Cheongeop had shrunk back again. There was also a strange energy mixed into my dantian.

Ice fragments.

Was this because I had consumed the frost pill left behind by Bingbaekseol?

I tried to circulate my internal energy, but it wouldn’t flow properly. It felt like my meridians had frozen over, leaving me chilled.

Could it be...

Had my body broken down?

When I approached Myo Yerin of the Sahyeoldae, she scoffed.

"Don’t talk nonsense. Do you know how hard I worked to keep you from breaking down?"

"So I’m fine?"

"Just keep cycling the Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique regularly. At least until the Daejoo arrives."

"By Daejoo, you mean..."

"The Cheonhyeol Inma. I’m talking about your superior. After I reported what happened, he said he’d come here personally. You must be really precious to him. Can you imagine Cheonhyeol Inma running around for a single person? Who in the sect would believe that? Anyway, I’m busy. I stayed up all night because of you, and now I have work to do. Don’t come looking for me—just stay in your room quietly."

Ilma arrived seven days after I regained consciousness. The moment she entered the estate, she raised her hand—

And smacked me on the back of the head.

"You damn brat! You never listen to anyone, do you?!"

I rubbed the back of my head, stinging from the blow.

I thought she might offer even a little praise for holding my ground against the Soul-Severing Sword.

But no. She just scolded me outright.

"...I only worked hard. That’s my only crime."

"There you go again! Look at those puffed-up cheeks! Do you even know what situation you’re in?!"

"By the heavens... Is this really Ilma? S-someone? Doesn’t anyone have paper? I need to get her autograph...!"

Ilma pushed aside the starry-eyed Isipguho and grabbed me by the collar.

"Myo Yerin. Keep all outsiders out. Don’t let anyone into the room I’m in."

"What are you going to do?"

"I’m going to check him over and fix him. How many times did I tell you not to eat that? And you still ate it?!"

Ilma growled.

"When this is over, you’ll wish you were dead."

"...Then what’s the point of fixing me?"

I muttered sullenly and got smacked on the head again.

Isipguho, sensing the tension, quietly slipped the paper back into her sleeve.

"Samsipho really knows how to earn a beating."

"......"