The Beast Palace Lord chuckled and joked that the South Man Beast Palace's secret vault had been robbed once.
In his own way, he was probably trying to lighten the mood with an amusing story. After all, it was a fairly old incident.
But for me, who knew the full truth of the matter, it was enough to make my heart skip a beat.
That was only natural—if anyone had robbed the South Man Beast Palace's storehouse a few years ago, it could only have been Gwiyeong Sin-tu.
And right now, among those still alive, I was the person closest to Gwiyeong Sin-tu.
It wasn't enough to call me his disciple, but I had inherited the true transmission of the Gwiyeongbo.
We weren't family, but I was also the one who had seen off Gwiyeong Sin-tu's… Jang Cheok's final moments.
Surely Not — the Beast Palace Lord wouldn't hold me responsible for Gwiyeong Sin-tu's legacy, but if this fact got out, it would become quite troublesome.
If I kept interacting with the Tang Clan, they'd quickly learn that we had looted(?) Gwiyeong Sin-tu's secret vault.
I'd have to be careful with my words so that no one found out about my deep connection to Gwiyeong Sin-tu.
"Isn't it amusing? You went through the trouble of breaking through the Beast Palace's defenses and infiltrating the secret vault, yet all you stole was a single Heart Protection Armor."
"Th… that's right."
"Of course, it's no ordinary armor — it was made from the hide of a Spirit Beast… but in terms of performance alone, there are plenty of better ones out there."
"It seems the thief had no eye for value."
"That's not quite it either. You see, that Heart Protection Armor carries a rather special story."
No matter how careful I was with my words, there was no way to calm the Beast Palace Lord, who had welcomed a guest for the first time in ages and was brimming with hope that the poison that had gnawed at him for half his life could finally be cured.
"As you know, White Moon Sword Lord, the people of the Beast Palace each live with their own companion and cultivate their martial arts alongside them. They are, quite literally, lifelong companions."
"That is how it appeared to me. There are those in the Central Plains who cherish beasts as well, but I believe this is the first time I have seen people treat them as truly their own flesh and blood, as they do in the Beast Palace."
"You saw correctly. To the people of the Beast Palace, their companion is as precious as themselves—sometimes even more so. Every now and then, there are those who carry their affection a bit too far."
"Too far? What do you mean…"
"Ahem. I mean those who wish for their companion to become family in a slightly different sense."
"…Pardon?"
So that's… that kind of thing?
Was it because I was so taken aback? As I stammered, the Beast Palace Lord nodded as if to reassure me.
"Do not worry. It is not a common occurrence, and even now it is frowned upon within the Beast Palace."
"Yes. But, the reason you suddenly brought this up is surely not…!"
The Beast Palace Lord let out a soft laugh and shook his head at me, my eyes wide open.
"It may seem similar, but it is a slightly different story. The point is that there have been times when a person and a Spirit Beast's hearts connected, but this was originally a forbidden thing."
"Well. It is true that it feels off-putting."
"However, someone from long ago thought this way. If the difference in species is the problem, then why not just become the same species?"
"…Are you perhaps speaking of transformation arts? The kind where a fox from old tales transforms into a person?"
"Ah, it's the opposite. It's a person who became a beast."
"?"
For a moment, I wondered if I had heard correctly, and blinked as I looked around at the others in our party.
Everyone wore the same expression as mine, simply blinking their eyes.
"In the old days, before the Beast Palace was even established, there were far more Spirit Beasts than there are now, and naturally, there were quite a few divine beasts as well. It's said that one of them lent its aid."
"Ohh."
Because they used Natural Qi rather than internal energy, and wielded their energy through their own methods rather than martial arts, there were many cases of them handling peculiar powers.
Among them, it was said, there were even those who possessed the ability to transform a person into a beast.
In the distant past, just as Taoist masters in the Central Plains performed miraculous feats, the divine beasts of the South Man region must have done similar things.
Indeed, the South Man region has an unusually large number of legends about sacred animals passed down through the ages.
"After that, people became beasts, beasts became people, and they were able to truly live together in harmony. Of course, this is merely a story from long ago whose truth cannot be verified… but at the very least, it is certain that the Beast Palace's martial arts are rooted in such tales."
"What do you mean…?"
"The Heart Protection Armor that the thief stole belonged to the first Palace Lord of the Beast Palace. And written on its inner side was the story I just told you."
There were people, and there were wild beasts. There were people who married beasts. Because in ancient times, humans and beasts were all the same kind of existence.
Roughly that sort of inscription was carved there, it was said.
Honestly, even after hearing all of it, it was hard to comprehend… but perhaps it wasn't entirely impossible.
If a person can die and return to the past, then it stands to reason they could also transform into a beast.
However, the conclusion drawn from the story I had just heard was staggering.
"So… you're saying someone stole an item that was the personal relic of the first Beast Palace Lord, and that contains the story believed to be the origin of the Beast Palace."
"You've got it right."
"…You've been robbed of something quite valuable."
"That's how it seems. I don't know about anything else, but in terms of symbolism alone, it's an enormous item."
Gwiyeong Sin-tu, just what on earth…
The Beast Palace Lord spoke with a smile, but a storm of complex emotions raged within his gaze.
That was how precious a treasure it was to the Beast Palace.
…Gwiyeong Sin-tu had fled from the Heavenly Demon and, in the process of fighting off assassins, the thing had been reduced to a tattered rag and tossed away somewhere.
But at this point, one question began to surface.
Gwiyeong Sin-tu was a man of ostentatious personality and ability to match, but… this was by no means for the sake of accumulating wealth—it was for his own satisfaction.
He stole precious things from all over, but he always deliberately chose items that were treated as a nuisance by their owners.
If that was the case, then stealing something that important to the Beast Palace should have gone against Gwiyeong Sin-tu's principles.
As a man who did not easily bend his beliefs, he would have done thorough prior research as well… Surely he hadn't stolen the Heart Protection Armor without knowing it had such circumstances attached to it?
His brief internal deliberation lasted only a moment. Suddenly, the Beast Palace Lord began to laugh out loud.
"Haha! Still, I'd rather say it's a relief that it was stolen."
"Pardon?"
"Didn't I tell you? The current Beast Palace is wary of the union between humans and beasts. In the past, Spirit Beasts outnumbered humans, and there were times when people were protected by divine beasts—that was only possible back then. But what about now?"
"It's hard to even see a single Spirit Beast, let alone a divine beast."
"Exactly. Even here in the South Man region, Spirit Beasts have dwindled with each passing generation, to the point where we're teaching martial arts to ordinary animals to artificially make them resemble Spirit Beasts. And even that—who knows how much longer it will last."
"That's…"
"The Beast Palace must change. That change might come today, or tomorrow, or ten years from now… but at least it must become different from what it is now."
The Beast Palace Lord looked at Maeng Yu-baek and his two sons with eyes blazing so fiercely that one could hardly believe he was an invalid.
I realized it the moment I saw this. Everything he had said so far was merely a stepping stone for what was to come next.
It was a message meant for me, but at the same time, it was also meant for his own children.
"Under our long tradition, the Beast Palace has enjoyed its current prosperity. However, I believe it is now time to create a new tradition. And as it happens, the Beast Palace has gained a good friend in the Sichuan Tang Clan."
Having said that, the Beast Palace Lord smiled warmly and continued.
"I hear that this new friend, made through the introduction of the Centipede Sect Leader, will help cure my long-standing illness. For that reason, I will be staying at the Beast Palace for a while, so make sure there are no discourtesies. …Do you understand, Gyeom?"
Though his lips were smiling, the Beast Palace Lord's eyes were coldly sharp as he addressed his second son… Maeng Gyeom.
It was a warning not to pull any tricks. At the same time, it was also a request for me not to lay a hand on his second son, since he would deal with him himself.
If I could understand the message, how could Maeng Gyeom, the very person it concerned, not? The boy lowered his face, which had turned red and pale by turns.
The moment Maeng Gyeom raised his head again.
"I cannot accept this!"
The boy glared with wide eyes and shot up from his seat.
Surely he couldn't fail to understand his own situation?
Everyone present—even the eldest son, who had shown Maeng Gyeom some warmth—wore expressions of shock.
But Maeng Gyeom's madness didn't end there.
He abruptly pointed a finger straight at me and Tang So-wol.
"Lord of the Centipede Sect! Look at the people Maeng Yu-baek has brought with him!"
Ascending to the Harmony Realm. No, even back when she was still at the Transcendent Peak, no one had ever behaved this way toward her. At this point, it was almost admirable in its audacity.
I could understand Maeng Yu-baek surviving and even dragging our group here to corner us, but I never expected him to go this far.
"These are people of the Sichuan Tang Clan! And isn't the Poison Demon of the Heavenly Poison Sect also from the Tang Clan? You said you'd cure the Palace Lord's poison? Of course you can! After all, it was your own kin who did this!"
"How dare you…!"
Tang So-wol's expression turned icy cold at the implication that the Poison Demon and the Sichuan Tang Clan were in cahoots.
Having lost her mother to the Poison Demon in childhood and having been kidnapped herself, nearly dying—it must have been unbearable for her to listen to such words.
The moment Tang So-wol's fingertips twitched, green poison energy began to ripple around her.
Tang So-wol had already reached full mastery of the Transcendent Peak. There was no chance of poison energy leaking out by accident… but if even a sliver were to escape, I could roughly imagine what would happen.
I can guarantee that bastard Maeng Gyeom would melt away in the blink of an eye, reduced to a handful of poison ashes.
The eldest had at least reached the Transcendent Peak given his age, but the second, Maeng Gyeom, looked to be at most at the tail end of the Peak Realm, facing a wall.
There was no need to even involve Tang So-wol. Even Seol Ri-hyang, the weakest among us, could subdue him in three or four exchanges.
Though she had weakened, there was another person who knew this well. The Beast Palace Lord, startled, tried to say something to Tang So-wol.
Probably to apologize on their behalf and calm her down. But I was a step faster.
"Tang So-wol. Calm yourself."
"Young hero Cheon?!"
"Honestly, aren't you curious?"
"Just how far do you intend to take this rudeness?"
"No. I'm asking how many lives you have left."
"So you've already decided to kill me once?!"
It was Tang So-wol who was more startled by this. At her reaction, I curled the corners of my mouth into a grin and shot killing intent toward Maeng Gyeom.
Now that I knew the Beast Palace people were sensitive to my killing intent, I adjusted it appropriately. Just enough that he wouldn't pass out.
Clack! Clack! Clack!
In an instant, the fellow's face turned pale as he ground his teeth and began to tremble. …But then again, he was of the Beast Palace Lord's bloodline, after all.
Even under pressure that made it hard to breathe, Maeng Gyeom managed to force out words, piece by piece.
"L-Look here! This is the one who wiped out the Heavenly Poison Sect in a single morning. If he takes a disliking to you, what guarantee is there that he won't do the same to the Beast Palace?"
"How amusing. And you were so certain you wouldn't die in this very spot?"
"P-Palace Lord, please! How can you entrust yourself to someone like this…?!"
The Beast Palace Lord fixed Maeng Gyeom with a gaze devoid of even the slightest warmth. But Maeng Gyeom's words were not yet finished.
"Whatever punishment you deem fit, I will accept it gladly…! However, I beg you, Palace Lord—please receive treatment from the physician I have brought!"
"…Worthless fool. How am I supposed to trust a man who crawls out like this? Are you trying to kill this father of yours now, instead of Yu Baek?"
"No!"
Maeng Gyeom, who had shouted as if wringing out the last of his energy, gasped for breath and continued speaking.
"The physician I brought… is a demonic physician…!"
At those words, the pressure bearing down on Maeng Gyeom abruptly lessened. I also eased my killing intent a little, deciding to hear the rest of what he had to say.
And rightly so.
"You're in luck."
If a man marked for death was bringing another marked for death, what reason was there to stop him?