After parting ways with the Zhongnan Sect.
Once we arrived deep within Hubei Province, this time the Murim Alliance Leader crept up to me, glancing at me cautiously.
"Come now, a man far older than I am, acting so coyly?"
"Ahem! No matter how old I get, born a beggar, I remain a beggar—these things are just not my strong suit."
Was he bothered by how I had parted with the Zhongnan Sect Leader so movingly, handing over a martial art?
His face was full of deliberation, as if he felt he ought to do something that would become a good story himself.
"It seems the broken dog-beating staff has healed well enough now."
"It is the Beggars' Sect's sacred object, but… in the end, it's just an object. Even so, the White Moon Sword Lord's sword broke too, did it not."
"Well. I have reached a state where I no longer need a sword, but the Alliance Leader has not. There is no need to hide your sorrow in front of me."
As I shrugged and flicked my fingertips, drawing out a sword made solely of Aura, the Murim Alliance Leader trembled.
"You… are becoming… more insufferable by the day…"
"But I have earned the right, have I not?"
"…True. That is true."
When I answered with a chuckle, the Murim Alliance Leader let out a hollow laugh but nodded his head.
With a noticeably more relaxed expression, he opened his mouth.
"I figured you'd have guessed as much, but the Murim Alliance will be accompanying you until the next fork in the road."
"The main headquarters of the Murim Alliance is already this close, then."
"I hear you're headed back to your hometown, White Moon Sword Lord. You must have already crossed half the Central Plains by now… Whereabouts is your hometown?"
"It's far. A small village in a remote corner of Zhejiang Province."
"Hoh. I see. If you happen to finish your business back home, would you be willing to stop by the Murim Alliance for a while before you enter the Tang Clan?"
"Is something the matter?"
"It's not that something is the matter. It's precisely because of that that we need the strength of a distinguished figure like the White Moon Sword Lord, who has one foot in both the orthodox and unorthodox worlds."
"Pardon?"
"The Orthodox-Unorthodox Alliance. Honestly, wouldn't it be a shame to disband it like this?"
"…The Imperial Court won't like that very much."
"Now, now. Don't misunderstand me. I didn't mean we should combine our strength like we did against the Heavenly Demon. Rather, it's something I learned while fighting alongside you this time."
"And what is that?"
"The unorthodox sects as this old man remembers them and the unorthodox sects of today are far too different. …The Lord of the Black Alliance has accomplished something great."
"Hoh."
It seems this is the first time I've heard the Murim Alliance Leader praise the Lord of the Black Alliance.
In a way, it's only natural. The unorthodox sects the Murim Alliance Leader remembers are the ones from before the Black Alliance, aren't they?
The orthodox and unorthodox were never clearly divided—they clashed endlessly in the same space, harming innocent people according to their own desires.
They were sword-wielding bandits, the very cause that allowed a group like the Demonic Cult to come into being.
The Murim Alliance Leader—once a righteous hero called Uicheon-singae—was a man who raised his Beggars' Staff against such people, crying out for justice.
But the Lord of the Black Alliance didn't smash their heads like that. Instead, he bent them to his will in his own way.
And by forcibly settling them in Zhejiang Province, he hammered into them the bare minimum of rules needed to coexist with the surrounding common folk.
So in the Murim Alliance Leader's eyes, the Black Alliance must look different from the unorthodox sects he once knew.
He had only known them through hearsay before, but now he'd seen them with his own eyes and even fought back-to-back with them—of course his view would change.
"What do you plan to do from here?"
"First, we need to stop the rising talents from recklessly attacking unorthodox martial artists out of a thirst for fame."
"Hmm…"
"Instead, we should tell them exactly who needs to be swept away."
"How do you mean?"
"Earlier, while sharing a drink with the Lord of the Black Alliance, I heard that the Black Alliance always has missions and rewards, just like how they manage their sword-for-hire members."
"So you intend to apply the same approach in the Murim Alliance."
"No. The fact that there are missions and proper rewards means the Black Alliance has a way to immediately identify those who cross the lines they've set. The Murim Alliance will only borrow that information network and those standards."
"…Ah. You mean like when the Black Alliance, the Tang Clan, and the Namgung Clan joined forces to subjugate the Green Forest?"
"That's exactly it. Those who truly step beyond the bounds of human decency and bring harm to others will no longer be able to find a foothold anywhere in the orthodox or unorthodox worlds. …We must prevent another Demonic Cult from rising, mustn't we?"
It's a good idea. Of course, I can't say what the distant future will hold… but at the very least, the Murim Alliance and the Black Alliance of this generation should be able to live as neighbors without any major friction.
"Understood. I'll pay a visit to the Murim Alliance. We can discuss the details then."
"Thank you. …This is just an old man's worry, but I have to ask."
"What is it?"
"You're not saying there's something beyond the Heavenly Demon, are you?"
"…"
Whether it was because he had seen the Heavenly Demon's might with his own eyes and been shaken, the Murim Alliance Leader looked at me with eyes full of unease.
The Spirit Beast's rampage was stopped by the Heavenly Demon, and the Heavenly Demon who sought to reach the heavens through the Karmic Sin of Killing was stopped by us, so there is nothing more to worry about.
At least, that's what I know.
But it wouldn't be any fun to just say that plainly. I pretended to ponder it seriously for a moment, then curled the corners of my mouth into a grin.
"Hmm. As long as I don't go mad and run wild one day, wouldn't that be fine?"
"…"
"I'm joking."
"A joke… right?"
"Yes. Why would I ever go mad and run wild? …At most, I might suddenly get the urge to unify the murim."
"…"
"That was a joke as well."
"…Please, only make jokes I can laugh at."
The Murim Alliance Leader let out a sigh that seemed to rise from the depths of his chest, then assumed a proper posture and offered a fist-and-palm salute.
"I've rambled on too long. Thanks to you, I was able to uphold the greater cause. As the Murim Alliance Leader, I offer you my respects."
"I only did what needed to be done."
I returned the greeting with a fist-and-palm salute of my own.
"…"
"…"
I lifted my head and stared blankly at the Murim Alliance Leader, who stared right back at me.
In the awkward silence, the Murim Alliance Leader shook his head.
"What do you mean, only what needed to be done…? Be honest with me."
"Be grateful for every moment you draw breath."
"Damn you, you rascal!"
The Murim Alliance Leader pretended to lose his temper, but a chuckle escaped him all the same.
And so the Murim Alliance departed with their procession.
The moment we crossed Hubei Province and arrived in Anhui Province.
As if he had been waiting for this, Namgung Dowi strode up to me.
Then, with one arm still wrapped in bandages, he spoke with confidence.
"Let's have one final sparring bout."
"I refuse."
"What… hmph, just one round."
"I don't take orders from those weaker than me."
"Kugh!"
There was no trace of humiliation in his reaction—only pure regret over his own shortcomings. That was the Namgung Clan way, if anything.
"…I was joking. Please relax your expression. It's just that the Sword King's arm hasn't healed yet, so I'm refraining from sparring."
"Really?"
"Yes. The Namgung Clan is on the way back anyway, so I'll pay a visit. Until then, please take proper care of your injured body."
"That's good to hear… They called you the number one sword under heaven, didn't they? If you don't mind, could you show it to my son as well?"
"You mean Brother Namgung? There's no reason I can't. Look as much as you want, and take as much as you can carry."
Unlike the Zhongnan Sect's sword, which had been fundamentally different from mine from the roots up, the Namgung Clan's sword shared the same roots but branched out in different directions.
This was slightly different from the Zhongnan Sect, where I had bestowed my martial arts one-sidedly.
The Namgung Clan would take something from my sword, and in doing so, they would continue to develop their own sword techniques.
And I, too, would surely gain something by observing the Namgung Clan's sword techniques.
I still stood on that endless path of the sword.
"I'll be waiting."
"Yes."
With those brief words, the Namgung Clan withdrew from the procession.
With the Namgung Clan being the last to leave, the Paeng Clan and the Imperial Army also departed from the procession, leaving practically only the Unorthodox Sects in the Orthodox-Unorthodox Alliance.
Even that came to an end not long after crossing Anhui and arriving in Zhejiang Province.
Was it because he had returned to his own territory? Or was it because he would soon be able to meet Sama Yuryeon, whom he had left behind at the Black Alliance?
Looking thoroughly pleased, the Lord of the Black Alliance draped his arm over my shoulder.
"My son."
"Since I'm the stronger one, if we're being technical, wouldn't that make me the father?"
"…You rotten brat."
The Lord of the Black Alliance twisted his face in disgust and withdrew the arm that had been around my shoulder.
Now this was more like the Lord of the Black Alliance I knew. Just a moment ago, he'd been so worked up that it was starting to get a little uncomfortable.
The grumbling Alliance Lord gave my shoulder a light pat, as if to say this was his version of an arm around the shoulder.
"Take care of yourself, and come find me if anything comes up. Even if nothing comes up, just drop by for a visit. Yuryeon would like that too."
"Yeah, sure."
"Oh, and while I'm at it, I'd like you to be the godfather of the child that's about to be born."
"…What?"
I tilted my head, wondering if I'd heard him right, and the Lord of the Black Alliance let out a low chuckle with that rough face of his.
"I received a letter from the village we passed through last time. It says Yuryeon is with child."
"Heh."
"Hahaha! Since I might die this time, it was worth pushing myself to the limit before leaving!"
No, I didn't really want to know that much.
As I let what I'd just heard go in one ear and out the other, the Lord of the Black Alliance clapped me on the shoulder hard enough to make a thudding sound.
"It's all thanks to you!"
"I wouldn't say that."
From what I'd heard before, the Tang Clan's medicine combined with the Heavenly Demon's treatment had managed to achieve some degree of recovery.
Some of what had been completely dead had started to come back to life. It just meant that the odds of conception were low, but at least a possibility had emerged.
Even so, the Lord of the Black Alliance was so delighted that he bragged about it to me at every opportunity, and I was starting to get a little tired of it… Still, I never imagined an actual child would come of it.
Just as I was about to offer my sincere congratulations, the information I hadn't wanted to hear moments ago suddenly surfaced in my mind.
"Ah."
This… it wasn't just a lucky hit against low odds.
He'd been grinding away at it until it worked, hadn't he?
Just how much had he been at it…?
I couldn't have been the only one thinking that. As always, the moment my gaze met the Illusion Witch's, who had been watching me from a short distance away—
She smiled a sinister smile and pointed at herself.
Then, with one hand, I tried to form a circle by touching my index finger and thumb together, and with the other, I extended my index finger to bring it inside—but.
I was subdued by Tang So-wol, who had approached without my noticing, and dragged away.
There, Seol Ri-hyang and Seomun Hwa-rin stood at odd angles, surrounding the Illusion Witch.
I'm going to lose my mind.
As I clutched my head, the Lord of the Black Alliance spoke again, his voice still tinged with amusement.
"Come find me anytime."
"Yes. Once the child is born, I'll come pay my respects."
With those words, I parted ways with the Lord of the Black Alliance.
It was the happiest I had ever seen her, both before my regression and now.
***
After the Black Alliance departed. Not long after, I arrived at the edge of Zhejiang Province.
The long processions, the embarrassing cheers that had followed me wherever I went, even the people who recognized me—all of them were gone.
I arrived at a quiet rural village feeling as though everything that had clung to me had fallen away.
A peaceful scene, as if the village cared nothing for whatever rumors were spreading, or how great a battle had taken place in far-off Xinjiang Province.
Hwayang Village.
This was my hometown.