Rumors were a familiar thing to me.
Whether they were about me or about others, they had always been a constant presence around me.
This had not changed much before or after my regression.
But this one felt a bit unfair.
"They say I took Tang So-wol and defected to the Unorthodox Sects, and now I'm trying to swallow up the Black Alliance? I can't even begin to guess how such a rumor started."
"Uh… I think I might know, young hero Cheon."
"What is it? Surely it's not Haomun's desperate struggle after being half-absorbed by the Black Alliance? Or perhaps the Demonic Cult's scheming?"
"No. It's karma."
"…?"
For a moment, I couldn't understand what I had just heard and tilted my head in confusion.
"I admit my previous actions were plenty open to misunderstanding, but I thought I had moved carefully this time, since this trip to Zhejiang for the sparring match was done under the banner of the Black Alliance's authority."
"Ah, but that's only how you see it, young hero Cheon. I'd wager even the Lord of the Black Alliance isn't expecting this matter to end without a hitch."
"What?"
I was certain I'd said I would handle it perfectly…
"Was I really that lacking in trust?"
"In a sense, I'd say the problem is that I trust you too much."
Tang So-wol let out a bitter smile and wiggled her fingers in the air at nothing in particular as she continued.
"Young hero Cheon is my betrothed, and as such, I've watched you handle all sorts of matters up close, so I can roughly guess what circumstances you were in and what line of reasoning led you to your current conclusion… but other people aren't like that, are they?"
"Hoo. I suppose setting fire to the manor was a bit much. But it was necessary."
"I think you did well in that regard, too. You made sure the unrelated people were properly evacuated, and above all, isn't it fitting of the Tang Clan?"
Favor twice over. Desire tenfold.
Tang So-wol giggled as she muttered those words. Her voice was playful, but her eyes were cold—there seemed to be a fair amount of sincerity mixed in.
I don't particularly care what rumors spread about me, but I was worried that others might suffer because of it… but judging by the looks of it, the Tang Clan will be fine. I let out a snort and shrugged my shoulders.
"Well, to be honest, I was just surprised. At this point, I don't really care what rumors spread. There's only one sparring opponent left, so even if our information leaks, it shouldn't cause any problems."
"Hehe. It's certainly hard to imagine the young hero Cheon being swayed by rumors."
"Still, it'll be a bit troublesome when I return to the Black Alliance."
It's true that the Lord of the Black Alliance thinks well of me, and depending on the circumstances, he may have even considered making me his Successor.
But that doesn't mean he's the type to tolerate challenges.
The Lord of the Black Alliance is infinitely generous to his subordinates and friends, but infinitely resolute against his enemies.
As I let out a deep sigh, the Twin Ghost Sword, who had been silent all this time, muttered with a strange expression.
"Judging by the fact that the Alliance Lord entrusted you with this matter, he must think highly of you—I doubt he'd truly make an issue of it…"
"What did you say?"
"Ah, nothing at all. I was just saying I might have some idea of what's behind this rumor!"
"Oh. What is it? Go on, tell me."
"Keep in mind this is only a guess, so don't take it too seriously. …Do you remember the One-Blade Asura, the first one you struck down?"
"Of course. Thinking back on it now, he was the one with the least lingering grudges—he reacted exactly as I'd expected, so I rather liked him."
"I suspect that One-Blade Asura might be the root cause of this rumor."
"Huh?"
"The White Moon Sword Lord may not be aware of this, Great Hero… but in life, one sometimes loses to another."
"I don't know what you take me for, but I've lost to others in my life too."
"Eh? Is that so?"
"Yes. Before I reached the Harmony Realm, I often tasted defeat at the hands of Senior Seomun Hwa-rin and my father-in-law."
"Ah, I see…"
The Twin Ghost Sword momentarily wore a sour expression, but quickly composed himself and continued.
"In any case, the experience of defeat comes to everyone. But the higher one climbs, the more bitterly that defeat stings, wouldn't you agree? Sometimes to the point where a bit of mental victory is necessary."
"Mental victory? Wait, surely not…"
"Yes. After One-Blade Asura suffered an undeniable, overwhelming defeat at the front of a junior far younger than himself, he's been singing the praises of the White Moon Sword Lord as a Great Hero, insisting that he wasn't beaten by just anyone, but by someone truly remarkable. That's what I learned while I was gathering information on the Illusion Witch."
"So that's why it felt so unsettling."
The image of him insisting, whether the Black Alliance had its own intentions or not, that he had been defeated by me rather than by the Lord of the Black Alliance, came to mind, and a sigh escaped me on its own.
As Twin Ghost Sword had said, I hadn't yet received proper information so I couldn't be certain, but… if One-Blade Asura had been zealously singing my praises to protect his own reputation, combined with his recent actions, it would be more than enough for rumors like this to spread.
"I'll keep that in mind for now."
If that were the case, the Lord of the Black Alliance, who had recently reorganized his intelligence network, would soon learn the truth as well. After subjugating the Illusion Witch and returning, the odds of things ending amicably were high.
"For now, let's set that aside… Tell me about the Illusion Witch."
"Yes."
Twin Ghost Sword, who had gathered and organized information from the nearby Black Alliance branches since early morning, took a single breath to steady himself.
"We've succeeded in pinpointing the Illusion Witch's location. Of course, we're still keeping watch on her even at this very moment."
"That's a relief."
As her alias suggests, the Illusion Witch is someone skilled in sorcery—illusions in particular.
If she were truly determined to hide, she wouldn't be easy to find.
For my part, whether through my Heavenly Eye or my Qi Sense, I'd be able to detect the Illusion Witch's sorcery if she were nearby.
I'd noticed even the Slaughter King's concealment, so why would sorcery or a formation be any different?
Of course, detecting her presence is one thing—whether I can break through it is another matter entirely.
In any case, I'm confident I'd notice her, but that's only possible because I'm me.
It's only natural that most people wouldn't be able to perceive the Illusion Witch when she's deliberately hiding, and even if they were lucky enough to locate her, they'd have a high chance of losing their memories or being manipulated.
That being the case, if the Illusion Witch were to deliberately try to flee from me, things would become very troublesome.
After all, it would mean tracking an opponent that only I alone can perceive across this vast Central Plains.
Yet she's not hiding, and despite how widely our reputation has spread, she hasn't fled—she's staying put in her own base of operations…
"It seems she's at least willing to meet with us."
"That does appear to be the case."
"Good. It makes sense that at least one person would be friendly."
The Illusion Witch has a strong attachment to life. That's why I'd planned to actively exploit that fact…
Perhaps I don't need to be too forceful after all. It's a bit anticlimactic, but fortunate nonetheless.
"Now for the last one. Let's wrap this up quickly."
"Yes!"
***
Surprisingly, the Illusion Witch had chosen not to settle in a large city, but in a remote mountain.
Whether large or small, whether deeply integrated into its surroundings or not, a Harmony Realm martial artist was bound to command their own faction.
Even if they didn't seek to build one themselves, people would flock to follow such martial power.
Money, authority, strength. It was only natural that one would acquire all of these and settle in a place comfortable to live.
But the Illusion Witch showed the exact opposite behavior.
She sought out places where people were scarce and settled down there.
"Of course, there are those who retreat to remote places to pursue a higher realm and devote themselves to training. Those are mostly Taoists, so it wouldn't apply to the Illusion Witch."
"Isn't that too hasty a judgment, young hero Cheon? The Illusion Witch might also have secluded herself for the sake of training."
"No. If that were the reason, she would have cut ties with the mundane world entirely. She goes beyond places with few people—she seeks out lands untouched by human footsteps, where Natural Qi is abundant instead."
According to the Black Alliance's report that the Twin Ghost Sword had brought back, the Illusion Witch had been settled in a small slash-and-burn village in the mountains for several years now.
It's the method that skilled martial artists usually choose when completely severing ties with the mundane world is inconvenient, but living among people is equally uncomfortable.
Most choose slash-and-burn villages. In some cases, they volunteer as protectors for mountain bandits or river pirates.
Because they're people who don't receive protection from any proper sect or government forces, they tend to listen well.
In fact, Seomun Hwa-rin herself had said that after finishing her revenge and reaching Enlightenment, she lived in a mountain valley guarding a single slash-and-burn village until she achieved Rejuvenation.
The Illusion Witch was probably a similar case.
Come to think of it, even before the regression, there hadn't been many rumors about the Illusion Witch.
Before the Demonic Cult invaded, aside from handling a few urgent matters at the Black Alliance's request, she had no external activities to speak of.
After the war with the Demonic Cult, she did distinguish herself on the battlefield… but most of it wasn't her attacking first—she was simply showing her strength against the Demonic Cultists who had come charging in.
Well. That didn't last long either, since she got her neck sliced off trying to attach herself to the Heavenly Demon.
As for what her true purpose was and what kind of person she really was—I don't know much about that either. I only know that she placed tremendous importance on survival.
How long had I been climbing the dense mountain path, organizing the information from my previous life in my head, along with what I'd recently learned about the Illusion Witch?
"Young hero White Moon Sword Lord, I believe we've arrived."
"So it seems."
What spread out before us was a village far too large to be called a slash-and-burn settlement.
Unlike the typical slash-and-burn village of at most thirty or so people, this one held close to a hundred.
Though a hint of fatigue and gloom showed on their faces, they were all plump and well-fed, as if they'd been eating properly.
"…This village seems far too well-off for a slash-and-burn settlement, young hero Cheon."
"Well, isn't this a slash-and-burn village protected by a Harmony Realm martial artist? The government troops probably know of this place's existence as well. They simply don't touch it because they don't want to pick a fight with the Illusion Witch over a few coins of tax money that would come out of here."
"So you're saying that without taxes or landlords taking their share, everything goes straight into their own bellies."
"Mostly, yes. They do set aside the best things for the Illusion Witch, but even so, it's generous pay for running a few errands."
"Hehe. Still, seeing people living ordinary lives rather than fully armed vagabonds puts my mind at ease. What do you plan to do now?"
"It seems they've been waiting for us all this time, so I suppose we should offer a proper greeting first."
Just as he said that and they stood at the entrance of the slash-and-burn village—
Suddenly, the village seemed to recede into the distance, and their vision began to fill with fog.
"…"
"…"
It wasn't that I had let my guard down, yet I had been caught without even sensing the slightest sign beforehand.
No, that couldn't be.
No matter how formidable the Illusion Witch was, she couldn't possibly surpass the Slaughter King's stealth arts.
If that was the case, the answer was simple. We were already caught in the Illusion Witch's sorcery. A sorcery so subtle that we couldn't even feel a sense of wrongness.
…She's more skilled than I thought.
I furrowed my brow and drew my sword. Then I activated the Heavenly Eye to trace the flow of energy composing the fog, ready to cut it down if necessary. But—
Wooong—
The fog parted with an urgent air, creating a single path.
A path leading deeper into the mountains, away from Hwajeon Village.
"It seems we're being called, doesn't it?"
"Yes. That's how I see it as well."
Tang So-wol and I exchanged a glance, then let out a small laugh and walked along the path created by the absence of fog.
After walking for a long while, we arrived at a small hut. As I opened the door and stepped inside, there—
"P-please, just spare my life!"
The Illusion Witch was there, prostrating herself flat on the floor in the Oche Tuji posture, begging for her life.
"…"
I haven't even done anything yet.