I was well aware of how much of a topic of conversation my sparring tour had become in Zhejiang Province, and what rumors were circulating about it.
But I didn't pay it much mind. After all, wasn't this whole affair something I had planned together with the Lord of the Black Alliance?
Knowing the full story and knowing it was nothing but idle gossip, the Lord of the Black Alliance wouldn't react much.
I thought that would naturally make people lose interest and the rumors would die down, but…
"Th-the White Moon Sword Lord has returned to fight a life-and-death duel with the Twin Halberd Spear King over the position of Lord of the Black Alliance!"
"This is insane."
I never imagined it would be exaggerated to this extent.
I was so dumbfounded that I chased down the guy who had shouted that and grabbed him.
Realizing he had misspoken, he tried to hide among the crowd, but… he couldn't fool my senses that easily.
The moment I grabbed his shoulder, he squeezed his eyes shut as if bracing himself for something.
Looking closer, he wasn't just an ordinary citizen—he was wearing the uniform of the Black Alliance.
"I-I'm sorry. I was just so startled that I—"
"Forget it. If you're part of the Black Alliance, you should know full well that the Lord of the Black Alliance and I hold no grudge against each other. So why spread such baseless rumors knowing that?"
"Huh? That was a baseless rumor?"
"…"
"Oh my! I'm just a low-ranking member, so I truly didn't know, Great Hero! I only repeated what everyone else was saying—I thought it was true!"
The man shook his head vigorously, sending me a pitiful look. I released his shoulder and let out a deep sigh.
I sharpened my senses and probed his presence, but he didn't seem to be lying. If he'd managed to deceive me this completely, he'd have to be an assassin at least one rank below the Slaughter King.
But no matter how many times I looked, he appeared to be nothing more than a simple Second-Rate Martial Artist, so that couldn't be the case.
"Hah. Fine. It doesn't seem like you had any ill intent, so I'll forgive you this once. In return, tell me in detail what this rumor of yours is all about."
"Th-thank you! I'll remember this favor for generations and repay it with unwavering gratitude…"
"Your tongue runs long. I asked you to explain the rumor first."
"…Yes, sir!"
As I withdrew my aura, the chattering fellow seemed to relax, then sucked in another breath. After a moment, he spoke.
"First, there was the rumor about the Great Hero's journey through the Path of Tyranny."
"It was a sparring match, so why does everyone call it the Path of Tyranny… Anyway, what was the rumor?"
"At first, it wasn't anything strange. Just that you'd been asked by the Alliance Lord to teach a lesson to some absolute master who wouldn't listen."
"That's about right."
"But then, the One-Blade Asura—your first opponent in that sparring, not the Path of Tyranny—made some remarks afterward, and well…"
"I've heard of that. Something about how he lost to me, not the Black Alliance, and came under my command."
"Ah, yes. Is that all?"
"Surely there's more?"
"Yes. He said that losing to someone who would one day become the number one of the Unorthodox Sects was nothing to be ashamed of—in fact, the sooner he attached himself to you, the better."
"His mental victory skills are truly first-rate."
"And well… the current number one of the Unorthodox Sects is the Lord of the Black Alliance, isn't it?"
"Ah."
It was from this point that the rumors began to twist.
Not wanting to give anyone time to prepare, he had swept through the other Harmony Realm martial artists like a storm, and before the rumors could fully spread, other news kept arriving—so people, not knowing what was what, began spreading whichever version seemed most interesting.
As a result, some truly horrifying rumors got mixed in…
"What do you mean, I supposedly plucked every flower at the Silver Flower Pavilion, defeated even the Lust Demon, and now rule Hangzhou from the shadows?"
"Is that not right? I heard you visited the Silver Flower Pavilion with your betrothed, and even some gloomy-looking man."
"That's true, but nothing happened. We just had a conversation and left."
"What? You only talked, yet the Silver Flower Pavilion, which had never once closed its doors, shut down for seven days and nights? Everyone said it was because the Great Hero was so extraordinary and didn't discriminate between men and women, so I assumed it was something like that…"
"…"
My mind went hazy. I couldn't even begin to grasp where I should start untangling these rumors.
Suppressing the sigh that threatened to escape from my frustration, I continued.
"Then what about the Golden Wolf King? What the hell is this nonsense about me hiring assassins to kill all the wanderers enjoying a banquet, defeating the wounded Golden Wolf King, stealing his entire fortune, and burning his house down?"
"They, they said traces of corpses that looked like assassins and wanderers were found in the burned remains of the estate. It seems they were saying that since the White Moon Sword Lord, the Great Hero, was alone and at most three people, you must have hired assassins to match the numbers of the Golden Wolf King who had brought along the wanderers…"
"I'm going crazy."
"Ah! Of course I didn't believe it! The assassins were only there to keep the wanderers from interfering, and it's clear you fought the Golden Wolf King in single combat!"
"No. I took down half the wanderers and the Golden Wolf King by myself. The moment my companions took down the other half of the wanderers and let their guard down, thinking it was over, the Slaughter King's successor and his assassins appeared, and we took them down together. As you know, ever since I defeated the Slaughter King, I've had a karmic debt with those Assassin Valley bastards."
"Ah… So that's how it was? Everyone was saying that there was no way the Golden Wolf King would hire expensive assassins when he could get cheap wanderers, so surely you must have been the one who hired them."
"That's a misunderstanding. I've also made an enemy of Assassin Valley, and the Tang Clan isn't on good terms with them either—why would I have any reason to borrow the strength of assassins?"
"Haha! That's right. Then the story about you stealing the Golden Wolf King's entire fortune and burning down his estate must all be distorted rumors as well."
"…"
"It's all distorted rumors… right?"
"That part is true."
"Gasp!"
"Don't worry. I put it all to good use."
The guy who had been relieved just moments ago that I wasn't such a dangerous person stiffened up again. Then he asked.
"Surely the story about you torturing the proud Illusion Witch to the brink of death and forcing her to submit is…"
"That's a lie."
"Phew…"
"I subdued her before the fight and only struck her once."
"…Why would you attack someone who had already surrendered?"
"Well, I had to find out whether she was worth keeping, didn't I?"
The man was sweating cold bullets, avoiding my gaze. And of all places, his eyes kept drifting toward the Illusion Witch.
She had cowered before me, but now she was acting tough toward someone who clearly looked weaker than her.
She straightened her back and fixed her opponent with a haughty stare. A chilling yet somehow awe-inspiring aura emanated from her, and the Second-Rate martial artist of the Black Alliance immediately lowered his eyes.
Setting aside her level, anyone who had survived the Unorthodox Sects' underworld had to be quite skilled in movement.
I looked at the Illusion Witch with a fresh expression. This time, when our eyes met, she was the one to lower her gaze.
I alternated my gaze between the martial artist of the Black Alliance and the Illusion Witch, then opened my mouth.
"You've heard everything you needed to hear. That's enough."
"S-Surely not!"
"Yes. Now…"
"Now that we've outlived our usefulness, you're going to cut us down! H-Haven't we done everything you asked!"
"A familiar reaction. This is why Unorthodox Sects scum are the way they are. I said you can leave now."
"You mean… to the afterlife?"
"I'm talking about your home."
"…"
"…"
"Of course, if you want, I could send you to the afterlife instead."
"Thank you. And I won't run my mouth carelessly from now on."
The guy immediately bowed his head and ran off at full speed to escape. In the middle of it, he hesitated for a moment, then ducked into a side alley.
Since I'd lived at the Black Alliance's main headquarters for quite a long time before my regression, I knew that what lay beyond was a spiderweb of intricate alleyways.
Still, if he was a Martial Artist of the Black Alliance, he'd be living somewhere a bit better than that, so that was probably his desperate attempt to shake me off his trail.
I hadn't planned on doing anything to him in the first place, so I just silently wished him a rough time and turned around.
Since I'd found out what I needed to know, I was thinking of rejoining my companions.
"Hm?"
The street, which had been bustling just moments ago, had somehow gone quiet.
More than half the people had disappeared, and those who remained would try to cautiously edge away, only to give up the moment my gaze landed on them and press themselves stiffly against both sides of the street.
Anyone could see they wanted nothing to do with me. Even the Lord of the Black Alliance rarely commanded this kind of reaction when he went out.
Twin Ghost Sword, well aware of this, stared at me in alarm, so I spoke quickly, as if making an excuse.
"I'm heading straight to the Alliance Lord."
"Hup!"
"That way, we can decide how to deal with this rumor that's grown needlessly large."
I said it loudly enough for everyone around to hear, but it had little effect.
Honestly. Where in the world is there someone as merciful and fair-minded as me, only to be treated like this?
I was grumbling inwardly at the injustice when Tang So-wol approached and naturally linked her arm through mine, pressing close.
"Hehe. Knowing that I'm the only one here who truly knows the real young hero Cheon—somehow that makes me feel rather pleased."
"You're right about that."
"The Illusion Witch doesn't seem to realize yet that young hero Cheon isn't really such a dangerous person, either."
"…Why does the Illusion Witch suddenly come up?"
"Who knows? Why would she come up?"
Tang So-wol smiled with soft, knowing eyes and a voice full of meaning. But the feeling of her arm against mine told me otherwise—with every word she spoke, she flinched, and sometimes even trembled.
I wanted to tease her by halfheartedly defending the Illusion Witch, but…
"Hey! Get away from me! It's not like young hero Cheon ordered you to cling to him."
"I haven't even done anything yet…"
The way she fiercely kept the Illusion Witch in check—who had only been looking at me—was adorable in its own way, so I decided to let it slide.
After that, we arrived at the main headquarters of the Black Alliance, having experienced the strange phenomenon of crowds parting to make way for us wherever we went.
The Lord of the Black Alliance, whom we met after climbing straight to the top, seemed more at ease than I had expected.
So much so that a hint of sarcasm slipped out before I could stop myself.
"I've had a headache from all the rumors about that bastard, but the Lord of the Black Alliance and the strategist seem to be having a wonderful time."
"Ho ho. It's just that you interrupted a couple's happy moment. Make some noise when you approach."
The Lord of the Black Alliance, lying on Sama Yuryeon's thigh and accepting snacks from her, shook his head.
I see. So this was how everyone else felt when they watched me and the other women carry Seol Ri-hyang around in our arms all day during the summer.
It was truly grating to the eyes.
Of course, that was that, and I still had work to do.
I opened my mouth toward the Lord of the Black Alliance, who rose slowly but still didn't stray from Sama Yuryeon's side.
"We've achieved the purpose of the sparring match for now."
"You heard it from the Twin Ghost Sword, then. I take it everyone except the Golden Wolf King has agreed to cooperate?"
"Yes, well. There's also a bit I'd like to discuss regarding the Slaughter King, but… upon returning, I found there was a more pressing matter to resolve first."
"I can roughly guess. You mean that rumor about you aiming to surpass the level of the next Alliance Lord and outright swallow up the Black Alliance by ousting me."
"So you already knew."
"Of course I knew. My ears aren't so deaf that I'd miss the chatter going on in my own front yard."
The Lord of the Black Alliance chuckled, scooped up a handful of the remaining snacks, stuffed them into his mouth, chewed a few times, and swallowed it all down.
It was just a bit of snacking, yet he made it look needlessly grand.
"Of course I've prepared a way to resolve it. It's just that I couldn't do it alone, so I was waiting for you to return."
"So that's how it was. Tell me what the plan is."
"Hmm, hmm. Right, right."
The Lord of the Black Alliance gulped down a mouthful of steaming tea to quench his thirst, then looked at me with a sly grin in his eyes.
"You. How about a public sparring match with me while we're at it?"
"…"
After a moment of deliberation, I opened my mouth.
"Have you lost your mind? Craving sweets is one thing, but drinking hot tea without even letting it cool—your condition seems far from good."
"…Hey, isn't that going too far?"
The Lord of the Black Alliance looked a little deflated.
After all, he had only been trying to show concern.