The martial world has several traditions passed down since ancient times.
For instance, a grown adult shouldn't meddle in the games of rising talents; someone who is stronger than you, even if young in actual age, is a Great Hero; and the Sichuan Tang Clan's poisons and hidden weapons are superb arts, but Assassin Valley's poisons and hidden weapons are cowardly tricks.
These traditions are nowhere written down, but… they are a kind of unwritten rule established by atmosphere, by the alarm bells of survival instinct, and by various political reasons.
It wasn't for nothing that Seomun Hwa-rin was pointed at with fingers before my regression. It was because someone whose age and realm were both unfathomable had barged into the Dragon Phoenix Gathering, a playground for rising talents.
Having ties with Seomun Hwa-rin, and being someone fundamentally full of complaints, I had looked unfavorably upon such unwritten rules.
But having experienced it firsthand, I found myself instinctively seeking out that long-standing tradition.
"To think you'd resort to sorcery…!"
I never thought the day would come when I'd say such things myself.
Well, sorcery, as people commonly call it, comes in two kinds.
Real sorcery and fake sorcery.
And most of it is fake sorcery. Orthodox martial artists—especially model martial artists like myself—take great pride in the martial arts they've built up through their own sect.
So when a technique too profound for them to understand unfolds before their eyes, they cry out to deny their own inadequacy.
"Sorcery!" they shout.
I heard that accusation often before my regression, too. Back then, I wasn't part of the Tang Clan but a wanderer or a member of the Black Alliance, so no matter what I did, they'd raise a fuss about sorcery this and sorcery that.
All I ever did was borrow the essence of martial arts I'd trained my whole life and cut off the flow of my opponent's techniques by pressuring them with killing intent.
In the end, the sorcery they accused me of was fake sorcery born from their inability to admit the difference in skill.
However, true sorcery does exist.
Even among the Unorthodox Sects, only a rare few practice it, and in the case of Demonic Cultists, three or four out of ten can wield genuine sorcery.
True sorcery isn't simply a realm beyond one's understanding—it truly suppresses a person's mind and produces all sorts of bizarre effects.
Take Seophonsul, for example. It's a sorcery that destroys the opponent's reason and turns them into a puppet, and the Black Alliance often used it for interrogation.
There's also the Illusory Demon Eye, frequently used by the Demonic Cult. This sorcery plants hallucinations and auditory deceptions in the mind of anyone who meets its gaze, clouding their judgment.
In a broad sense, Godok could also be considered a type of sorcery.
As such, there are many kinds of sorcery, but they all share one common trait: every single one is a power that acts upon the mind.
While mental discipline is important, sorcery is fundamentally the opposite of martial arts, which begin with training the physical body.
That was the reason I called my current situation sorcery.
"Hah."
In the distance, the Iron Blood Faction came into view. And the Ghost Sound Witch, who seemed not to have noticed me yet, was pacing near the entrance.
A familiar sight. At the same time, a sight I would never see again.
"I'm going to go mad."
Before the regression, I heard this from someone in the Orthodox-Unorthodox Alliance. Sorcery, they said, was a corruption of the nearly-extinct Daoist arts and Vajrayana techniques, twisted into something far easier to use.
And the Blood Buddha, though he had lost his sanity, was so versed in Vajrayana methods that he could steal another's body and be reborn again and again.
He must have prepared horrors beyond my imagination to shatter my mind.
But pain and anger. And despair. They were old friends who had always walked in step with me.
No matter what came, I wouldn't go down so easily.
I would endure and endure, and when the opening finally revealed itself, I would cut it open and escape this longing, fleeting illusion.
Having steeled my resolve once more, I strode forward. And then.
"What's this? You were later than I expected, so I thought you'd come back missing a limb or two, but you're perfectly fine, Blood Wolf. You're going to rest well today, right? Just so you know, if you say you're going to train all night, I'll kill you."
"???"
Contrary to my expectation that she'd greet me with a torrent of bitter resentment, Seol Ri-hyang welcomed me rather warmly.
For the record, saying she thought I'd come back missing a limb meant she'd been deeply worried, and saying she'd kill me meant she wanted me to stop worrying her—so yes, she was being warm toward me.
Unable to grasp the situation for a moment, I took another careful look at the person before me.
Her face was far more mature than the Seol Ri-hyang of now. Her black hair hung even longer, and within her equally dark eyes, a swirl of suppressed emotions churned.
Her complexion was pale enough to be concerning, yet in contrast, the shadows beneath her eyes were quite deep.
The overflowing Yin Energy of her Pure Yin Constitution, influenced by the Erotic Arts, began to emanate a more direct Seductive Aura.
Somehow precarious and haggard. And yet, the goodwill she directed toward me was conveyed purely.
The person before me was the Ghost Sound Witch.
The Ghost Sound Witch who, clutching a single snow pear tightly in my arms, had closed her eyes.
The moment that thought crossed my mind, I found myself pulling Seol Ri-hyang into my arms. Tightly, so I would never let her go again.
Squeeze.
"W-What is it all of a sudden?! Did something really happen, Blood Wolf? Should I call the Clan Head? Or go to the Medical Pavilion?"
"…Just a moment. Stay like this for a moment. That's enough."
"O-Oh, okay. If you're fine with it, Blood Wolf."
Her voice was flustered and awkward. But soon, her hand, which had been wandering without a place to go, cautiously patted my back.
Just like the old days, when she would somehow know I was feeling down and cornered by a wall, and would come to share her warmth with me.
I had been prepared. But this wasn't the kind of resolve I had prepared for.
The sensation of skin against skin. The fragrance that filled my nostrils. And a body that, apart from one particular area, was gaunt from the uncontrolled Yin Energy — along with a body temperature that was cool, even cold.
She was even more Seol Ri-hyang than the Seol Ri-hyang in my faded memories.
Why was I being shown this illusion? How had she managed to draw out memories that were protected by a seal in the first place? And was the Blood Buddha seeing this scene right now, too?
Thoughts of every kind rose and vanished in my mind like bubbles on water.
But no matter how large a bubble might be, it still forms on the surface of the water — and beneath all of this lay a deep longing.
An emotion I had never confessed to anyone, that I couldn't even be certain was a real memory, that I had simply let rot alone inside me — it came back to life and took on substance.
It was only after a long time had passed that I was able to pull myself away from Seol Ri-hyang's embrace.
"Heheh. Missed my embrace that much? Well, I suppose it makes sense. No matter how sword-crazed you are, Blood Wolf, you couldn't possibly stay unaffected after coming on to me this hard."
"…"
After we parted from the embrace, Seol Ri-hyang, her shoulders raised to their fullest, wore a sly smile.
She must have been holding back a lot all this time. Thinking back to the man I was when I was called Blood Wolf, I could understand why.
Back then, I was literally obsessed with the sword and exhausted by the tangled web of grudges and debts across the Central Plains.
And it wasn't until Seol Ri-hyang was on the verge of death that I learned to face my own feelings directly — so it must have been unbearably frustrating for her.
That aside, the smug look on her face was still as insufferable as ever.
"Fine. As you say, Ghost Sound Witch, it seems I'll need to rest for a while today — which means I won't have time to sit around peeling fruit with you either."
"…What?"
"I was thinking of buying a pear or two on the way here today, but it's a good thing I didn't."
"Blood Wolf, what do you—! No, wait right there. I'll go buy them myself!"
"Eat them all yourself. I've lost my appetite."
"Eek! Eeek…!"
Seol Ri-hyang stomped her feet at the declaration that there would be no nighttime activities for a while.
Well, of course. At the time, Seol Ri-hyang couldn't control her Yin Energy and was in the middle of neutralizing part of it with my help.
Thanks to that, I could put out the immediate fire, but a few unexpected problems had also arisen.
The immediate fire was put out, but perhaps due to the lingering excess of Yin Energy, Seol Ri-hyang's desires had grown slightly stronger. A mild dependence was a bonus.
I deliberately ignored Seol Ri-hyang, who was fidgeting like a puppy whose treat had been snatched away, and walked deeper into the Iron Blood Faction.
The layout was familiar. But the finer details of the interior differed from my memories.
First, there were many servants coming and going. And I spotted a few familiar faces. They were Tang Clan servants, just wearing different clothes.
Unlike my memories, where the spaces I used regularly were the only ones maintained, while the rest often cracked and crumbled from neglect.
Wherever I looked, the buildings were kept clean and tidy.
No wind whistled through the walls, and the firewood that used to be scattered carelessly on the ground was now neatly stacked in the storage shed.
It was pleasant to see, but it also felt slightly out of place.
It seemed I hadn't perfectly recreated the scene from my memories after all.
How many times had I walked, cataloging every single thing I saw in my mind?
Before I knew it, Seol Ri-hyang, who had been whining beside me, was now slumped over with a gloomy expression, and I had arrived at the Alliance Leader's office.
Gulp.
I swallowed dryly and grasped the door handle. If I opened this door, there was a high probability Seomun Hwa-rin would be inside.
Just like Seol Ri-hyang, it wouldn't be the current Seomun Hwa-rin, but the Seomun Hwa-rin from before the regression, who had been the Iron Blood Faction Leader.
What flashed through my mind in that instant was Seomun Hwa-rin's final moments, etched into my mind's eye.
The ground, dyed white with snow. A single camellia flower falling onto it. Soon, red petals spread across the white earth.
Perhaps it was because this place recreated the Iron Blood Faction exactly, with only slight differences. I steadied my reeling mind and opened the door. And there—
"Ohoho. Stop that, Poison Lady. This is my office, not your playground."
"Could it be that the great Iron Blood Faction Leader is frightened for no reason? But there's truly no need to worry. I chose it with great care, so it will suit you perfectly. I'm certain the Sword Demon will have no choice but to look again."
"I-Is that so? But still, this is a bit…"
White hair that hung all the way to her hips. A small frame overall. A face and mannerisms too cute for her age.
She was slightly taller than now, and though she was less swayed by her rejuvenated body, she still managed to maintain a somewhat solemn expression.
The one beyond the door was undoubtedly Seomun Hwa-rin.
However, she was not alone.
Likewise, her hair was pure white. But instead of simply letting it hang loose, she had pinned it neatly with a hairpin.
Her long bangs covered half of her face.
The one eye that was revealed was tinged a deep green, as if symbolizing a lofty realm.
The green martial robe she wore was clean, but slightly worn.
As if she had treasured and cared for the one remaining set of clothes she had.
Poison Lady Tang So-wol.
The woman who had poisoned me under the full moon, and who had left behind only a broken promise before her heart was pierced by the Heavenly Demon's hand.
She was not alone in the office—Tang So-wol was there as well.
I didn't see Seomun Hwa-rin hurriedly hiding her blatantly seductive clothes behind her back, wondering where she'd gotten them.
Instead, I saw the two of them—people who should never meet, who could not possibly exist at the same time—waiting for me amicably in one place, and I understood.
The meaning of this illusion the Blood Buddha was showing me. And how those bewitched by the sorcery had so easily lost their bodies.
"Paradise… is it."
The Blood Buddha didn't break his opponent's will by reflecting painful memories.
He slowly melted it away with the sweetest fantasies.
That was why no one could resist.
Jingle-
It seemed as though the clear sound of a bell was ringing from somewhere.