Before I made contact with Peng Woo-jin and Eon Ga-hye, the two of them—suspicious on their own—had been investigating the Demonic Cult independently. It was then that a single letter arrived for them.
It was a threat: the sender knew about their relationship, and if they didn't want it exposed to their families, they should stop their investigation of the Demonic Cult.
"Ah."
Only then did I understand why the two of them had died before the regression.
Still, this was only speculation. To gain certainty, I slowly opened my mouth.
"This is just a hypothetical question, but—if your families found out about your relationship, what would you do?"
"First, I'd try to persuade my father."
"I feel the same way. …Of course, I doubt it would do any good, and I'd probably end up confined to my room."
Eon Ga-hye's expression darkened slightly. Seeing her face, Peng Woo-jin added in a calm tone.
"It's fine. If that happens, I'll come to get you."
"What?"
"I feel sorry to my father, but fortunately, I have an outstanding younger brother. His martial arts might be slightly below mine, but as a candidate for clan head, he's a proud fellow several steps above me."
"W-wait a moment, Peng Woo-jin. Surely not…?"
"Yes. I'm sorry to my father and the other elders, but if it comes to that, I'm prepared to abandon the Paeng name and leave the clan. …Of course, that's only if you'd be fine with such a man, Ga-hye."
"Of course I'd be fine! Do you think I like you because you're the son of a prestigious family? That's not it at all. Even if you became a mere wanderer, my feelings wouldn't change. When that time comes, I'll leave with you too."
"Ga-hye…!"
"The Paeng Clan…!"
The two of them clasped each other's hands, gazing at one another with sorrowful eyes.
Though I was momentarily taken aback by this sudden display of affection, I had at the same time gained the confirmation I had been hoping for.
Despite the hostile relations between their families, the circumstances of these two falling in love were clearly a heartbreaking matter.
But if asked whether that was a reason to take their own lives together, I would have to tilt my head in doubt.
The Peng Woo-jin and Eon Ga-hye I knew were people of considerable resolve, and indeed, judging from their answer just moments ago, they seemed the type to leave their homes rather than easily despair at reality.
If that was so, then the two of them, before the regression, dying together like the protagonists of a tragedy was…
It might not have been their own will.
They could have been driven into a situation with no other choice, or killed by the Demonic Cult and then staged to look like a suicide.
Personally, I considered the latter possibility more likely.
Eon Ga-hye aside, Peng Woo-jin's temperament would have led him to choose a frontal breakthrough if push came to shove.
"This might be more dangerous than I thought."
"So the young hero Cheon thinks so too? Of course, I understand their sincerity, but when you think about what comes after, it's no small matter."
"Hm?"
"Especially since the Jinzhou Eon Clan, unlike the Hebei Peng Clan, has no one other than young lady Eon to carry on the succession. In fact, that's exactly why a woman like her could become the young head in the first place."
"That's not what I meant."
"They placed her in the position of young head because they believed that even for a woman, carrying the blood of the direct line matters more than the collateral branch—but if she runs off like that, even if she fled to Outer Murim, they'd find a way to track her down… Huh? That's not it?"
Seeing Tang So-wol earnestly worrying about the future of the two of them, I let out a small laugh and continued.
"It's not like I'm saying we'll elope right this instant. I'm just considering the worst-case scenario. There are things you can't give up even if you have to endure what's to come. That goes for me too."
"So the young hero Cheon is saying that if I one day caused trouble and left the Tang Clan to live a life on the run, you'd take me in?"
"You're stating the obvious. Of course—though just the two of us would be a bit difficult… if necessary, I could do it anytime."
"Hmm. Heh. So you're saying I alone wouldn't be enough to satisfy you?"
"…You know full well that's not what I meant."
"Heh heh. I'm just joking. I wouldn't want to see young hero Cheon all gloomy for the whole day, so when the time comes, I'll be sure to drag Hyang-i and Hwa-rin unni along too."
"…"
For a moment, the whispers from the Dragon Phoenix Gathering surface in my mind. She's saying she understands that I still have lingering attachments to Seol Ri-hyang and Seomun Hwa-rin, but why does hearing this kind of talk always make me so restless?
Tang So-wol must have found my appearance—rolling my eyes this way and that—rather amusing, for she curled the corners of her lips into a smirk.
"So? What did you mean when you said it wasn't that kind of story earlier?"
"Ah, I meant that it's not that the two of you would be in danger after running away—it's that both of your lives are in danger right now."
"…Young hero Cheon? Didn't you say you had no intention of harming either of them?"
As if Tang So-wol's words had reached them, Peng Woo-jin and Eon Ga-hye, who had been gazing at each other with desperate eyes, flinched and turned to glare at us.
"Why would it come to that? Even if I had harbored ill intentions and kidnapped the two of you, a hostage is worth more alive than dead."
"As expected of someone with experience…"
Tang So-wol let out an admiring remark, while Peng Woo-jin and Eon Ga-hye's expressions twisted subtly.
I felt like I was becoming too terrible a person, so I hurriedly added more words.
"What I meant by danger is that the Demonic Cult might be targeting the two of you."
"Targeting us? What do you mean by that? At most, they'd just inform our families. Surely they wouldn't come after my neck—I'm the eldest son of the Paeng Clan."
I shrugged toward Peng Woo-jin, who was asking with a puzzled look.
"They've already tried to kill the Tang Clan's precious jewel. Do you think they'd treat the Paeng Clan any differently?"
"Huh?"
"Ah, surely not?"
Peng Woo-jin and Eon Ga-hye stared at Tang So-wol with wide eyes.
Receiving their gazes, Tang So-wol erased her playful demeanor and nodded with a serious expression.
"It's true. Of course, it's not as if they came to cut off my head themselves. They merely gathered those with grudges against the Tang Clan and incited them to be sent to my position."
"The Demonic Cult's goal itself hasn't changed from then to now. The end of the Central Plains' martial world. They wish for the death of every martial artist. However, their methods seem to have changed quite a bit."
In the past, the Demonic Cult was a group of vengeful spirits driven by rage.
It wasn't just empty words when the Paeng Clan's elders said the Demonic Cult was nothing but poison. Because that was the truth.
But much has changed since the Heavenly Demon took the seat of Cult Leader.
Instead of being driven by rage and rushing to the Central Plains to draw blood the moment they achieved some measure of success.
Now they methodically pin their crimes on others and stir up conflict within the Central Plains. That much is clear.
I never knew this before my regression, but this time, a series of coincidences led me to the truth.
"I've been thinking about why the Demonic Cult would want Tang So-wol dead. The simplest reason is that the Demonic Cult, having recently absorbed Assassin Valley, wants to strengthen their bond by landing a heavy blow on the Tang Clan, who are Assassin Valley's sworn enemies…"
"W-wait. You're saying Assassin Valley has come under the Demonic Cult's wing? Not merely taking their commissions?"
"Ah, so you hadn't heard that far. No matter. Don't go spreading this around. This is what that informant who brought the Demonic Cult's spiritual medicine confirmed with his own eyes before he was chased out of Assassin Valley."
"Vicious bastards, finding each other so well."
I let out a small laugh at the sight of Peng Woo-jin shaking his head.
"You're getting ahead of yourself. What I said earlier about the assassination order on Tang So-wol was just a simple way of looking at it. If that were truly the goal, wouldn't it be far more reliable to send Assassin Valley's own killers? My betrothed back then wasn't particularly outstanding in martial prowess."
"…At the age of twenty, being a fully matured first-rate is quite impressive, you know?"
"It's a matter of real combat, not realm. She couldn't even beat me when I was still second-rate."
"That was an exception!"
Tang So-wol puffed out her cheeks, her pride clearly wounded. I pressed her cheek to let the air out and continued.
"At any rate, they did put forward an expert who had just reached the Peak Realm, but in the end, the reason they sent mere rabble from the Unorthodox Sects to go after Tang So-wol is simple. They weren't trying to kill her—they were trying to provoke a conflict between the Tang Clan and the Unorthodox Sects."
"Huh? Is that so, young hero Cheon?"
"That's what I think. Suppose I hadn't been there. Tang So-wol, if you had died at the Hundred-Kill Blade Master's hands, or been driven to the brink of death and barely escaped back to the Tang Clan with grave wounds—what would have happened then?"
"…Well, Father would have been furious."
"Fury wouldn't be the end of it. I guarantee your father-in-law would have carved the reason the Poison King is called the Poison King into the Central Plains martial world."
In fact, in the previous life, Tang Jincheon had rampaged through the Unorthodox Sects, turning everyone even remotely connected to the attack on Tang So-wol into a handful of poison ashes.
That incident had driven the relationship between the Unorthodox Sects—more precisely, the Black Alliance—and the Tang Clan to its absolute worst.
Because among those who died in the process were executives of the Black Alliance.
It was a moment when the Tang Clan's enemies, already numerous, multiplied several times over. Naturally, most of the Tang Clan's strength was spent dealing with that.
"If the Demonic Cult's goal is to divide the Central Plains…"
They would kill Peng Woo-jin and Eon Ga-hye, who were getting closer and closer to the truth of the Demonic Cult, and then make it look like the two had taken their own lives.
Making it appear as though they had fought each other to mutual destruction would be difficult, since traces of martial arts would have to be left behind, but making it look like a quiet suicide could be done in any number of ways.
As a result, the conflict between the Paeng and Eon Clans would subside for a time, but the emotional wound between them would run far deeper than before. The Demonic Cult slipping off the list of suspects would be a bonus.
For now they were snapping at each other, but if a common enemy appeared, they were the kind of relationship that could join forces under the name of the Orthodox Sects regardless.
After losing their successors, they could not do so. Thanks to that, the Paeng and Eon Clans were destroyed one after another at the Heavenly Demon's hands.
Of course, I could not say any of this out loud.
The deaths of the two were something that had happened in the future. Even framing it as a guess was impossible, and the seal began to activate.
My body stiffened, my heart feeling as though it were being squeezed. Tang So-wol, having noticed that my condition was unusual, gently stroked my back.
"Are you alright, young hero Cheon?"
"…Don't worry. I just got lost in thought for a moment and my words trailed off."
I gave up on continuing my sentence and, finally free of the seal's grip, nodded. Tang So-wol smiled gently at me.
"No matter how I look at it, it's someone else's business, yet you were so concerned. You were seeing our own situation reflected in young hero Peng and young lady Eon, weren't you?"
"I can't exactly deny that."
I did feel a kinship with them, since both of them were suffering greatly because of the Demonic Cult.
Beyond that, I also hoped to hinder the Demonic Cult's plans and improve the relationship between the Paeng Clan and the Eon Clan, so that we could fight the Heavenly Demon together if it came down to it.
I shrugged once and continued speaking.
"Well, that's about all I have to say. To sum it up, the two of them could be more dangerous than we think. And if possible, I'd like to help them and land a blow on the Demonic Cult in return."
"Ahem. Your intentions are appreciated."
"Yes. Though I still have plenty of complaints about your methods."
Peng Woo-jin and Eon Ga-hye coughed awkwardly, wearing somewhat strained expressions. And Tang So-wol—
"Ahem."
Whatever she was so proud of, she had her hands on her hips and was blowing air through her nose.
The sudden warmth in the atmosphere felt awkward, so I quietly averted my gaze.
"Well. It's true that it's a concern, but I can't think of what we should actually do about it."
I understood that Peng Woo-jin and Eon Ga-hye might die at the hands of the Demonic Cult.
But then, why had they scattered mid-low grade elixirs all over Hebei Province in the first place, when those very elixirs were the root cause of this whole affair?
If their goal was simply to pit the two against each other, wasn't the elixir too excessive a means? After all, one side was bound to grow significantly stronger from it.
The Demonic Cult might lack in martial arts, but when it came to seals and Godok, they were unmatched anywhere else. Perhaps they were trying to use the scattered elixirs for something?
If that was the case, how was I supposed to stop it this time?
One unanswerable question after another trailed along, each one tugging at the next.
Then, mid-thought, Tang So-wol's eyes went wide, as if a good idea had just struck her.
"Ah! Young hero Cheon! What you truly want is to expose the Demonic Cult's schemes more clearly and crush them once and for all, isn't that right?"
"In short, yes. It's too dangerous to charge in blindly, and I don't even know where to begin investigating."
"There's a way to solve all of that at once."
My ears perked up at those words. Curious, I leaned in to listen.
"As I said a moment ago, instead of going home, why don't we take Hyang-i and Sister Hwa-rin with us to Hebei Province, together with the two of you?"
"What?"
"No matter what happens, with Sister Hwa-rin being an absolute master of the Harmony Realm, something will work out, won't it? And Hyang-i gets to gain real combat experience, which is a plus."
"…!"
"You don't need to worry much about the direction of the investigation either. After all, that direction is what struck the core of the matter—it must be why they sent threatening letters to young hero Paeng and young lady Eon. If we just keep doing what we've been doing, things will work out somehow."
"Everything you say makes sense, but I doubt my father-in-law will give his permission."
He's already worried sick about us getting caught up in incidents every time we go out. Of course he'd never allow it.
But Tang So-wol, upon hearing my story, tilted her head as if she couldn't understand what I was saying.
"Hmm? Why would we need permission? Didn't you just say it yourself, like I mentioned earlier?"
Then she broke into a wide smile and continued.
"Let's just quietly run away!"
"…"
What kind of insane nonsense is that?
"Do it right now."