The reception room was a bit narrow for four people. Still, since it was a place for receiving guests, it was well kept—and just as I was about to take a sip of the freshly brewed tea, Seol Ri-hyang suddenly poked me in the side.
"Come on, Cheon Hwi. Do that thing. That thing."
"…"
"Oh, come on. I'm asking you to do it just one more time, okay? Hm?"
Seol Ri-hyang, who had stopped poking and was now gently tickling my side as she whispered. Her voice, full of aegyo unlike her usual self, was a bonus.
I knew this well from my experience before the regression. When Seol Ri-hyang went this far, she would keep pestering me for days until she got what she wanted.
In the end, I shut my eyes tight and opened my mouth.
"…If you don't want to die, drop your weapon."
"Ahahahaha!"
"If you bring me warm tea, I'll spare your life."
"Eheheheh!"
Seol Ri-hyang, clutching her stomach, was laughing like mad. Tang So-wol and Seomun Hwa-rin weren't laughing out loud, but…
Judging by how they turned their heads and covered their mouths with trembling shoulders, they were quietly chuckling.
It was a blissful scene where everyone was smiling. Yet even here, there were two who couldn't laugh.
One was me, the one who had spat out those words.
The other one was the Centipede Sect Leader, who had heard those words.
Like someone recalling an unpleasant memory, the Centipede Sect Leader flinched and barely managed to drink his share of the tea.
Looking at him now, it was beyond not being able to laugh — tears were the only thing not falling; he was nearly on the verge of crying.
I had made that bold move to calm him down, but it seemed the stimulation had been too much.
"Haah."
Letting out a short sigh, I gulped down the tea that had gone lukewarm.
The fragrance lingered in my mouth before disappearing with the swallow. A strangely familiar taste.
"This… you used some rather fine tea leaves."
"D-Did you like it?"
"But you steeped those fine leaves too long. It would be far better to buy modest leaves for guests and brew them properly than to steep precious leaves multiple times."
"Ah…"
The Sect Leader of the Centipede Sect fumbled about in embarrassment. I gave a bitter smile and shook my head at her flustered state.
"I'm not scolding you. It's just that the bland taste of the tea brought back some fond memories—it's been a while."
"Has the Sword Demon ever known poverty?"
"Before I became the Tang Clan's live-in son-in-law, it was simply my daily life."
Strictly speaking, that was before my regression.
At the time, the Iron Blood Faction's support from the Black Alliance had been cut to the bare minimum.
If they wanted to bring out better martial arts from the Black Alliance's Martial Arts Library, they had to give up a comfortable life; if they wanted a warm back and a full stomach, they had to give up martial arts.
For me, blinded by greed for martial arts, and for the Ghost Sound Witch, whose life was in danger if she didn't do something about the Yin Energy building up inside her, the choice was all but made.
And so the Iron Blood Faction's impoverished life began… but the problem was that quite a few people came looking for Seomun Hwa-rin.
After all, she was an absolute master of the Harmony Realm. Even knowing she wasn't actively active, they came hoping they might receive her help.
Guests had to be received, but there were often times when there wasn't enough money for that… and as time went on, just like the current Five Poison Sect, they would brew the same good tea leaves over and over again.
"Perhaps it's because of my memories from before I entered the Tang Clan, but seeing tea that smells so fragrant one moment and then suddenly disappears the next, I can feel the effort put into it. It's a pleasant sight."
"Thank… you?"
The Centipede Sect Leader bowed with a complicated expression. It felt like he couldn't decide whether to be embarrassed that his shallow trick(?) had been seen through, or grateful that it had been understood.
I let out a small snort and examined the flustered Centipede Sect Leader carefully.
His brown hair was cut short at shoulder length. His pupils were also brown, but oddly enough, the shape of his pupils was unusual.
They were slightly elongated, closer to a beast's than a human's.
It was probably the influence of the martial arts he'd learned from the South Man Beast Palace.
His dark skin wasn't from martial arts—it was just a characteristic of people who lived in the South Man region.
Her age… maybe around fifteen. I'd thought she looked young, but up close, she seemed even younger. Her timid impression was a bonus.
I see. Now I understood why she'd starved before the regression and eventually been eaten by the Seven Flower Centipede.
A young lady raised in a noble household had left home with nothing but a centipede, without any proper preparation.
She was young, inexperienced, and her martial level was mediocre at best. On top of that, she was timid… it must have been hard for her to even eat properly.
From the looks of it, even now that she'd established the Centipede Sect, not much had changed in that regard.
Well, of course. A young lady who knew nothing of the world, gathering a bunch of sect members no one else would take in—what could they do but starve together?
I'd been a little worried when I heard she'd founded a sect, but fortunately, with this level of poverty, whatever she planned to do with the Seven Flower Centipede could be settled with Gold Coins.
I smiled in satisfaction and nodded, but only for a moment. Suddenly, Tang So-wol placed her hand on my forearm.
"Young hero Cheon."
"Hm?"
"She stared at me intently, then nodded. What was that supposed to mean? I didn't think it was anything, but just in case…"
Tang So-wol had grown more possessive—or perhaps more anxious—ever since she saw my memories through the gourd.
I could guess what she'd seen, so I understood. But I hadn't expected her to be like this even now.
I let out a hollow laugh and shook my head.
"It's nothing like that, so don't worry. You know me well enough, Tang So-wol. When I meet someone for the first time, I always size up whether I can cut them down or not."
"Eek!"
"She's the Beast Palace Lord's daughter, so I wondered if she might have hidden guards. But no—she's someone I could cut down anytime I wanted. And that centipede pacing outside is the same."
"Hic! P-please, spare me…"
The Centipede Sect Leader, who had been trembling violently, spat out the tea he was drinking.
The guard he had so carefully lowered by bringing up old stories was reset, but… Tang So-wol was more important, so there was nothing to be done about it.
Tang So-wol, who had finally calmed down a little, wore her usual gentle smile.
"Oh my. If that's the reason, then there's nothing to be done. Centipede Sect Leader? There's no need to be so afraid. Our young hero Cheon doesn't cut people down without a reason, you see."
"Then if there's a reason, you'd cut me down as many times as—!"
The Centipede Sect Leader's eyes began to spin wildly as he imagined something. His arms trembled so badly that he spilled nearly half of the tea he had so carefully poured onto the floor.
I shook my head at the pitiful sight and asked.
"Come to think of it, I haven't introduced myself yet. As you probably know, I am Cheon Hwi of the Tang Clan. I'd prefer to be called the White Moon Sword Lord, rather than the Sword Demon or the Blood Flower Sword Demon."
"Yes, yes! White Moon Sword Lord!"
"…"
"…"
"…Centipede Sect Leader. What's your name?"
"Ah! My name?! Of course, I should tell you! I'm Maeng Yu-baek. …But how did you know my father?"
"When you've reached my level, there are ways of knowing everything."
"Of course…!"
I couldn't tell him about the regression, and I couldn't be bothered to come up with a plausible excuse, so I'd just said something vague—yet Maeng Yu-baek believed it with absolute conviction.
How should I put it? He seemed like the kind of person I could deceive as much as I wanted, if I really tried. Hiding a slight sense of awkwardness, I continued.
"The reason we came all the way here is simple. It's because of the Seven Flower Centipede. And we have business with the Beast Palace."
"You mean with Chil-gong and Father?"
"Chil-gong?"
"Oh, that's the name of the Seven Flower Centipede. I gave it to him after I succeeded in taming him!"
"Is that so…"
Perhaps because its name had been called, the chirring sound that had been coming and going from outside the reception room drew a little closer.
It wasn't enough to stick its head into the room, but it seemed to be watching this way.
Well, of course. With the intelligence of a Spirit Beast, it would have a rough grasp of the situation by now.
"Ahem. Anyway, let's get back to the main topic."
"Y-yes, sir!"
I put on the most harmless and gentle smile I could manage toward Maeng Yu-baek, who was tense as a bowstring.
"I want to buy the Seven-Flower Centipede. And I'd like you to arrange a meeting with the Beast Palace Lord. Can you help me with that?"
"…"
Maeng Yu-baek hesitated for a moment, then, after some deliberation, cautiously shook his head.
"I'm sorry. I don't think I can do either."
"It's tough, huh… From where I stand, living like this seems even tougher. Or am I wrong?"
"You're right. I feel sorry toward the other members of the Centipede Sect who took me in, but the future of the Centipede Sect is bleak."
Her voice was calm, as if she had resigned herself to something. Maeng Yu-baek's gaze then grew distant, as if looking at something beyond this place.
"It seems you already know… but my father couldn't accept Chil-gong, and in the end, my stubbornness got me cast out of the Beast Palace."
"Well, the Beast Palace never got along with the Five Poison Sect or the Heavenly Poison Sect, so it couldn't be helped."
"Yes. It was my choice, so I have no regrets. It truly was unavoidable. …And the same goes for the other members of the Centipede Sect."
"Hm?"
"The Heavenly Poison Sect often committed atrocities even against the innocent people around them. They'd take everything they had, shove them into nests of dangerous venomous insects, use them as test subjects for new poisons, or simply beat them for no reason and even kill them if they felt like it—so it was only natural."
"Even among the Unorthodox Sects, it's rare to find a place as vicious as that."
"That's right. It truly was vicious. That's why those who personally witnessed the Sword Demon… the White Moon Sword Lord exterminate the Heavenly Poison Sect fear him, but those who only heard of it by rumor feel grateful."
Having said that much, Maeng Yu-baek slowly raised his head and looked straight at me. It was the first time our eyes had met.
"The Heavenly Poison Sect was a place like that. …But not every member of the sect was a vicious person."
"There must have been those who were dragged in by force, or who had no choice but to join."
"You knew?"
"It's a bit more extreme than usual, but it's something you see often in the Unorthodox Sects' martial world."
"I see… As you said, there are people who joined the Heavenly Poison Sect because they had no other choice. People who harmed others because they were forced to, who wounded themselves because they were forced to, and who, after the Heavenly Poison Sect was destroyed, wander the ruined grounds because no one else would take them in."
"…"
"It seems the White Moon Sword Lord knows a great deal about me… But do you know this as well? The moment I first met Chilgong, I was about to die at the hands of an assassin sent by my older brother."
"What?"
"As the Beast Palace's power grew, Chilgong's territory had begun to overlap with theirs. He must have known. That he would soon be pushed out by the Beast Palace, losing his life or being driven away."
"That is like…"
"Yes. Chilgong proved his worth by helping me, who appeared to be of noble birth, and even abandoned the pride he had carried for several hundred years to subordinate himself to me. He had to survive, so there was no other choice."
"At this point, it seems the Beast Palace Lord's decision to cast you out was not simply because he disliked you."
"That must be it. He never said it directly, but… Father gave me a choice. Either continue living dangerously, caught up in the succession disputes until I die, or lay down all my authority and leave the house alive."
Memories from before the regression generally let you know things that would otherwise be unknowable… but in the end, they were nothing more than rumors heard by ear.
In other words, I could only grasp what was outwardly visible.
I see. So behind the commotion with the Seven-Fire Centipede, there had been such complicated circumstances.
As I nodded inwardly, Maeng Yu-baek slowly curled the corners of his mouth.
It was a sorrowful smile.
"There's no helping it. The Centipede Sect is a place where people who were pushed around by that very phrase—'there's no helping it'—until they had nowhere left to retreat gathered together. But if we sell out our own families here for the same reason… then just how far are we supposed to be pushed back?"
Something flickered within Maeng Yu-baek's unfocused eyes.
A small spark kindled within the emptiness. People had given that spark a name: resolve.
Maeng Yu-baek. Young in age and only first-rate in martial level, but at this very moment, she was unmistakably a sect leader bearing the weight of an entire sect.
"This place is our final destination. I have no intention of retreating any further under the excuse that there's no helping it, nor do I wish to spend the rest of my life regretting a compromise."
Having said that, Maeng Yu-baek bowed her head politely.
"So I'm sorry. I don't think I can entertain whatever business the White Moon Sword Lord has with me."
"…"
Looking down at Maeng Yu-baek's small crown, he opened his mouth.
"Very well. Then how much would it cost to just buy the Seven Flower Centipede poison?"
"Ah! For that, it's ten silver taels per type! But if you buy all seven types, I can give them to you for sixty taels as a discount!"
It was a shift in attitude so fast it left one dumbfounded.
"Hehe. With sixty taels, I can eat two meals a day for quite a while!"
"Is that so…"
Feeding the sect members was, after all, the duty of a sect leader…
He felt a little sorry for her.