Chapter 12
Wei Yeonji didn’t refuse and followed Lee Geumhwa’s lead.
The woman seemed around her uncles’ age—composed, elegant, her gestures and manner far more dignified than those of the men Wei Yeonji knew.
“When my husband passed away last year, I took over the merchant guild and opened trade with Cheonseon. I’m surprised I’ve never heard of someone as skilled as Lady Seoryeon.”
Wei Yeonji hadn’t heard of Lee Geumhwa either. The Sun-Moon Sect carried out plenty of outside operations, but they seldom interacted directly with merchants.
“I was just one of many nameless warriors. The sect has countless fighters.”
“A nameless warrior of your level? It only reminds me again how mighty the Celestial Mountains must be.”
The Sun-Moon Divine Sect numbered nearly a hundred thousand believers. Even though the number of martial artists was much smaller, it still reached nearly ten thousand—with about a thousand classified as true masters. As a single power, it stood unmatched in the martial world.
“You flatter me.”
Wei Yeonji gave an awkward smile. Lee Geumhwa gestured ahead.
“Ah, there we are. Please rest today; tomorrow we’ll go to the magistrate’s office together.”
“Yes, thank you.”
The inn Lee Geumhwa pointed out stood out even among those of Qinghai Province. The outside was luxurious, and inside it was downright breathtaking.
Most merchant guilds stayed in plain lodgings to save expenses, but this inn alone revealed how wealthy the Geumhwa Guild must be.
“I’ll tell the innkeeper in advance. You may use the room on the third floor.”
Wei Yeonji handed her a silver coin.
“This is for my share of the lodging.”
“There’s no need for that.”
Wei Yeonji shook her head.
“No, you’ve already helped me so much. I can’t accept a stay in such a place for free.”
“Then I’ll not refuse.”
Lee Geumhwa smiled gently.
Inside her room, Wei Yeonji let out a low whistle. There was even a private bath! She had stayed at many inns during missions to Qinghai, but never one like this.
Looking down at her black combat attire—the one she usually wore for comfort—she saw it had become dirty and worn on the journey.
Tomorrow, when she received a new identity tag, she’d have to get new training clothes as well.
She had worn this one for years. As a child, her father and uncles had dressed her in colorful silks, but ever since learning martial arts, she had insisted on black.
—Your cute face is hidden in all that black!
—Yeonji, you should wear bright, cheerful colors…
Her father’s and uncles’ voices came back to her.
Remembering how they used to braid her hair and try to wrap her in long silk robes made her shudder. Ugh, I wasn’t a doll!
Wei Yeonji folded the worn uniform neatly and went into the bath. After the long, dusty journey, she felt grimy all over.
Even amid all the chaos, she had kept the Sun-Moon Divine Art manual safe. She had been too busy escaping Xinjiang to study it, but now she finally could.
The reality of having left the sect for good was sinking in.
She was truly on her own now.
She had always been grateful to her father and uncles. Their affection could be overbearing, but they were family who would gladly risk their lives for her.
She had run away because she wanted to be the rightful heir of the Sun-Moon Sect—and because she longed for strength—but their faces still lingered in her mind.
The more she thought of them, the more she reminded herself of her goal. Neither the orthodox factions of the Central Plains nor even her own sect saw her as her father’s successor.
—A woman cannot master the Sun-Moon Divine Art.
That old saying had branded her merely as a “sacred maiden,” never a “successor to the Heavenly Demon.”
Her father had been the one to give her hope.
—There just hasn’t been a woman who tried. It doesn’t mean a woman can’t. Of course, the thought of my daughter learning such a dreadful martial art pains my heart… but I’ll consider it.
Soaking in the hot water, Wei Yeonji recalled that moment vividly—her father, Wei Yeongang, the man hailed as the greatest martial artist of past, present, and future alike, had said that a woman could learn the Sun-Moon Divine Art.
If he believed so, why should she care about rumors?
After relaxing for a long while, she returned to the room.
To her surprise, a freshly folded black uniform lay beside her old one, with a letter written in elegant script:
You seemed in need of clothes, so I bought some from a nearby fabric shop.
Lee Geumhwa must have sent it through the innkeeper. Keen-eyed woman. A meal had also been neatly laid out on the table.
After a rare, leisurely dinner, Wei Yeonji finally sat down and opened the Sun-Moon Divine Art manual.
Her father’s handwriting overflowed with vigor. One of the guilds had even sold samples of his calligraphy to the Central Plains; the buyers had no idea it was the hand of the Heavenly Demon himself.
Astonishingly, one of those scrolls had ended up with the Mount Hua Sect, one of the Nine Great Schools, and rumor said it still hung in the sect leader’s chamber.
Fools,
her father had laughed then—delighted beyond measure that the calligraphy of the very demon they despised was displayed proudly in a righteous sect’s hall.
Smiling faintly at the memory, Wei Yeonji turned to the first page of the manual.
The sun shines upon all things; the moon embraces them.
At last—the art she had longed to learn. Her gaze deepened.
I can do this.
From that first line, she was absorbed.
By the time she finished reading the entire manual, dawn light was spilling through the window.
She blinked slowly.
The Sun-Moon Divine Art was not something one could master in a few days.
She had originally planned to train for three years, but after reading the manual, she realized even five would barely suffice.
Five years—at the very least.
It was not a martial art one could learn simply by memorizing formulas or receiving instruction.
It required endless insight.
The Sun-Moon Divine Art was designed to harmonize with all other martial disciplines. That was why there existed no separate manuals for sword, blade, or fist techniques—the art itself encompassed them all.
Wei Yeonji looked down at the manual, awe in her eyes.
The past generations of Heavenly Demons had each taken many disciples, but through all the ages, only those of their bloodline—her father, her grandfather, and his father before him—had truly completed the art.
Now, it was her turn.
Drawing a slow breath, Wei Yeonji began circulating her energy, savoring the opening verse.
She had deciphered only a fraction of the first half, but that was enough for now.
Then—
“Is Lady Seoryeon here?”
Lee Geumhwa’s voice came from outside.
Wei Yeonji immediately stopped her meditation, rose, and opened the door.
Seeing the man beside Lee Geumhwa, she let out a short laugh.
“Lady!”
Il-oh beamed brightly at her.
