The Vice-Captain of the Poison Blood Squad searched the corpse and retrieved two Mapokdan pills that had yet to be used.
They had come from the Slaughter Ghost I had killed in a single strike—not an ordinary assassin. It seemed they were treated as something quite valuable.
Aside from that, he also retrieved a black-painted Flying Dagger and an incense burner filled with poison. Unfortunately, there was no order letter or map marking the location of a branch office.
I checked the items handed over by the Vice-Captain once, then distributed them appropriately between my chest pocket and travel bag. That way, even if I lost one side, it wouldn't be a total loss.
"This should be enough."
In truth, this alone made it hard to claim they were assassins of Assassin Valley. But then again, those bastards never carried anything that could be used as evidence against them in the first place.
Even so, the reason Assassin Valley's infamy ran so deep was simple—their martial arts were exceptional for assassins.
Martial arts, by nature, are something that develops and improves through long generations of research and refinement. That is why the strength of an old, prestigious sect runs so deep…
But assassins? The moment they get a little stronger, they're thrown straight into missions and die off one by one. Structurally speaking, it's a group that can never grow strong in martial arts.
Which is precisely why Assassin Valley, having accomplished the impossible, earned the fear and infamy of the martial world.
I let out a light sigh and checked the state of my body. There were minor cuts and scrapes, but no major external wounds. However, my meridians, still not fully matured, had taken internal damage from the harsher, rougher energy of the Crazy Wolf Life-Stealing Art.
My internal energy circulation itself was fine, but it would be hard to draw out my full power for a while.
"Tang So-wol, are you alright?"
"Yes. I'm a bit tired from using too much internal energy, but it's nothing serious."
"The vice-captain said he didn't suffer any significant injuries either. That's a relief. Then, the elder…"
"Aside from missing a leg, you're perfectly fine."
"…I never had it to begin with."
"Meaning there was never much about you that was fine in the first place. Still, it's better than before. Eating something gave me a bit of strength."
Gwiyeong Sin-tu chuckled and handed back the empty pouch. It hadn't held much dried meat, but for someone who'd been starving for a while, it must have been a satisfying meal.
I let out a dry laugh at his exaggerated pose, flexing his arm muscles, and continued.
"We plan to head to the Zhongnan Sect as we are now and request their aid. What will you do, elder? Will you head to the Murim Alliance as planned?"
"Why ask that now? Of course I'll go with you. Besides, you're the one carrying all the evidence—what would I do going to the Murim Alliance alone?"
Thinking about it, the North Sea Ice Palace's mental cultivation method that Gwiyeong Sin-tu had handed over when he sensed his own death, and the spiritual medicine made from ground-up humans, were still in my possession.
"I will return it to you."
"No need. Keep it with you, just in case. From the look of things, it seems safer in your hands than in this old man's."
Gwiyeong Sin-tu shook his head as he said this. He looked rather relieved.
"…Understood. Then I'll hold on to it."
"Take good care of it."
So he meant for me to deliver it to the Murim Alliance in his stead if anything went wrong. I was about to take out the secret manual and the wooden box, but paused and gave them a light pat instead.
Then I looked over the rest of the group and spoke.
"Then it's decided—we head to the Zhongnan Sect. Vice-captain, I'm sorry you haven't had a proper rest, but could you guide us right away?"
"That is my duty."
The Vice-Captain of the Poison Blood Squad answered briefly, bowing her head.
We began retracing the path we had taken to follow her. This time, I erased our tracks as Gwiyeong Sin-tu had advised.
***
Three days of running with only minimal rest. The mountain that had seemed so far away was now close at hand, and long lines of common folk could be seen from time to time.
Fortunately, there had been no further attacks on the way here.
"Young hero Cheon, I think we can afford to catch our breath now."
"Right. From here on, it's practically the Zhongnan Sect's front yard, so we should be fine."
"Haaaaah…"
The moment I nodded, Tang So-wol let out a deep sigh. The force of it seemed like she was trying to expel every last breath of air from her lungs, and it was quite loud.
At that, the gazes of the people passing by briefly turned toward us, but soon they shook their heads with looks of pity and hurried on their way.
Tang So-wol caught those looks and blinked her eyes… but honestly, it was understandable. We were in a pretty shabby state right now.
We had been using Lightness Skill nonstop without getting any proper rest—when would we have had time to wash up?
All of us looked filthy, and one of us even had a bad leg. To anyone watching, it must have looked like we had come all the way to Mount Zhongnan clutching at straws in desperate circumstances.
As Tang So-wol belatedly realized this and let out a hollow laugh, Gwiyeong Sin-tu, who had been ignoring the stares around us all along, looked up at the stairs leading to the Zhongnan Sect with a nostalgic expression.
"It's been a long time since I've been here too."
"Surely you didn't also swipe something from the Zhongnan Sect, Elder?"
As Tang So-wol asked with a look of disbelief, Gwiyeong Sin-tu shrugged his shoulders proudly.
"I borrowed the scabbard of the Flowing Cloud Sword from the Sect Leader's room."
"…"
"It's a fine sword, so its scabbard is fine too. Heh heh."
Tang So-wol's mouth hung open in shock. I was probably wearing a similar expression.
The Flowing Cloud Sword is the symbol of the Zhongnan Sect. It's a relic so old that the Flowing Cloud Sword Technique, which only the Sect Leader and their successor may learn, was named after it.
The fact that he stole the scabbard of that Flowing Cloud Sword meant that, had he wanted to, he could have taken the sword itself.
I couldn't help but admire him. So this was the level one had to reach to earn an alias like Sin-tu.
At the same time, I couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if Gwiyeong Sin-tu hadn't had his rule about never stealing a life, or anything as precious as a life.
Perhaps he would have become a figure whose name went down in martial arts history, rather than a master known only to those in the know.
If he had decided to pass on his martial arts to someone, the alias Sin-tu might have become a symbol like the Sword King or the Poison King.
But Gwiyeong Sin-tu chose neither.
Before the regression, he would have drawn his last breath in a cave without anyone knowing, and in that cave, only the torn martial arts manuals and spiritual medicines of the North Sea Ice Palace remained.
I didn't know why he tore the manuals apart, but I guessed it was to prevent his true martial arts from being passed on.
After all, a master facing death tends to become generous with teachings they were once stingy with.
Wanting what one has built up over the years not to vanish into nothing is a kind of instinct.
Most people want to leave a mark on the world, and if possible, have it endure for a long time.
That is how clans are born and sects are founded.
But Gwiyeong Sin-tu refused this. He takes pride in his thievery, yet firmly shakes his head, saying it is not a good thing.
I never asked why, but I imagine there is some story behind it.
Honestly, I am a little covetous of Gwiyeong Sin-tu's footwork. I already have the footwork the Iron Blood Faction Leader created for me, one made to fit the Crazy Wolf Life-Stealing Art perfectly… but.
That does not mean there is no room for improvement.
Above all, even though the two footworks were created for entirely different purposes, they share one common mystery.
If I do this right…
"Leaving your fiancée behind, why are you staring at this old man's face so disgustingly?"
"It's nothing."
"Hmph, how dull."
The thoughts that were about to continue were cut off by Gwiyeong Sin-tu's voice.
Gwiyeong Sin-tu laughed emptily, but his gaze was as resolute as if drawing a line. As if he had known what I was thinking and blocked it in advance.
I gave a bitter smile and opened my mouth.
"There aren't many people who still remember you, Elder, but just in case, you should stay quiet at the Zhongnan Sect."
"Don't worry. I don't make a habit of robbing the same place twice."
It was absurd, but for that very reason, it was a trustworthy reason. As I climbed the stairs toward the Zhongnan Sect, I brought up what I had been pondering.
"Come to think of it, about the martial art you promised me the other day."
"Ah, you mean the one where you spare this old man's life and I give you any martial art you want from my tomb. I remember."
At Gwiyeong Sin-tu's calm nod, Tang So-wol's eyes went wide as she asked.
"What? You made such a promise in the middle of a fight, young hero Cheon?"
"Since I was risking my life anyway, I figured I might as well get something out of it."
"But that's…"
Tang So-wol's lips moved as if she had a lot to say, picking and choosing her words. Seeing her like that, Gwiyeong Sin-tu shook his head and cut in.
"It's fine. A sense of justice is worthy of respect, but for me right now, it's a burden. I don't have much time left to live—if I owe a favor now, when would I ever repay it?"
"I didn't do it expecting anything in return. Besides, we were in danger ourselves at the time."
"But still, it's thanks to you two that I'm alive right now. If you hadn't been there, I'd have either starved to death in that cave or died fighting that assassin."
Gwiyeong Sin-tu chuckled as he spoke of his own death, then turned back to face them.
"So? What martial art do you want? If it were up to me, I'd take you to the tomb and let you pick for yourselves… but then the location and structure would be exposed. Tell me what martial art you need, and I'll bring it to you later."
"Before that, I have a question. Where does Glacier True Energy stand among the martial arts of the North Sea Ice Palace?"
"Ah, so you need Yin-Cold Energy Cultivation? Honestly, I wouldn't recommend it. It's an advanced martial art, so the North Sea Ice Palace keeps it in high regard, but it's something of a white elephant."
"A white elephant, you say?"
"Yes. Glacier True Energy is the oldest martial art among the North Sea Ice Palace's techniques. In other words, it's also the least forgiving one."
By nature, humans live in harmony between Yin and Yang.
When they say men carry denser Yang energy and women carry denser Yin energy, it's ultimately a statement built on that very harmony.
If that harmony is broken, the body cannot help but deteriorate.
"But Glacier True Energy pays no mind to this. It's a martial art focused solely on channeling pure Yin-Cold True Energy."
Unless you're in a place as cold as the North Sea, you can't properly cultivate it, and even if you somehow manage to learn it, the more internal energy you accumulate, the worse your body becomes.
"They say that once you master it, you can build internal energy purer than anyone else's—but unless you're born with a special constitution like the Nine Yin Severed Meridians, you'll start wasting away once you reach the first-rate level."
"Pure Yin energy?"
"A special constitution…?"
Tang So-wol and I looked at each other with puzzled expressions.
Whether he knew this or not, Gwiyeong Sin-tu continued his explanation.
"Moreover, Glacier True Energy is a martial art that uses this pure Yin-Cold True Energy itself as a weapon. If you think of it as something close to Force Qi Skill, it'll be easier to understand. Since it's a martial art that handles a large amount of already-dangerous Yin-Cold True Energy, the number of people who can learn it is bound to be limited."
That was why, in the North Sea Ice Palace, Glacier True Energy was a symbol of long tradition—but because it was a martial art that was both powerful and extremely difficult to master, it was slowly fading into obscurity.
"To make matters worse, a few generations ago, the Ice Palace Lord created the Ice White Divine Skill, a peerless Yin-Cold Energy Cultivation, and Glacier True Energy was completely forgotten—leaving it as a martial art with nothing but symbolic value."
Once the Ice White Divine Skill became the Ice Palace Lord's secret art, even that symbolism lost its luster, and now it's treated like a chicken rib—useless to keep, a waste to discard.
However, this was a non-issue if Seol Ri-hyang was the one learning it. I couldn't say how pure Glacier True Energy was, but I doubted a Pure Yin Constitution would be outmatched by it.
There was, however, a separate point of concern.
"The North Sea Ice Palace might make trouble if they find out she's learned Glacier True Energy."
"It's unlikely that an expert capable of recognizing Glacier True Energy would come all the way down to the Central Plains, and even if we were discovered, it wouldn't be a major problem. …The North Sea Ice Palace has been in slow decline."
"Decline, you say?"
"They've spent a long time cultivating a martial art that selectively feeds only on Yin-Cold True Energy in one place. As vast as the natural world's energy may be, it's about time for it to run dry."
"Hoh."
"Of course, they seem to be preparing their own countermeasures, but I doubt they'll succeed. Regardless, given the situation, even if they found someone who had stolen and learned their martial art, they'd more likely invite them into the palace as a member than try to harm them."
That made sense. In a martial family where passing down martial arts to the next generation was paramount, having that art on the verge of extinction was a crisis. They wouldn't be in a position to be picky.
If so, it would be fine for Seol Ri-hyang to learn it as well.
"It's not like I broke into the secret vault and stole the Glacier True Energy for no reason, setting aside other martial arts. If what you want is Yin-Cold Energy Cultivation, then rather…"
"Glacier True Energy seems better."
"No, what have you been listening to me say all this time? A Yin-Cold Energy Cultivation with no worries about future complications is far better than Glacier True Energy. From Hainan Province…"
"I'll take the Glacier True Energy."
At her firm refusal, repeated twice, Gwiyeong Sin-tu eventually gave up on persuading her and let out a sigh.
"Tch. I explained it to you properly, so don't come complaining to me later if problems arise. Understood?"
"Don't worry."
Even after the conversation ended, I half-listened to Gwiyeong Sin-tu's grumbling voice as I continued climbing the stairs.
The Zhongnan Sect's signboard was drawing closer.
***
"Go catch that thief right now!"
"Ah."
I hadn't expected to be recognized so quickly.