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Chapter 04
“How long will it take?”
“We did request help from a nearby cultivation sect, but… I think it’ll take at least two weeks.”
“I see. Where did the evil spirit appear?”
“Pardon?”
“I’ll go deal with it myself. Then there shouldn’t be any problem.”
“No, no. I heard it isn’t even a particularly strong evil spirit, and we can’t trouble someone as busy as you.”
The fabric shop owner, who clearly knew who Baek Unjin was, hurriedly waved his hands in refusal.
But Baek Unjin was stubborn.
“Waiting would waste even more time.”
“I-Is that so?”
“It’s for the flying robes my beloved disciple will wear. It doesn’t sound like a difficult task, so I’ll settle it quickly.”
The shop owner glanced at Yoo Yeonseo, who was currently looking around at the silks hanging in the shop.
This store had long been one of Baek Unjin’s regular shops, but despite their many years of business together, this was the first time the owner had heard that Baek Unjin had taken in a disciple.
“I understand. If you can safely bring back the Heavenly Rhythm Silk, I’ll make the robes with extra care.”
“Where did the evil spirit appear?”
“At Cheongseok Canyon.”
Cheongseok Canyon was about a day west of Hyeonbaek.
With Baek Unjin’s flying artifact, they could arrive in less than half an hour.
“I’ll return shortly.”
“Master!”
After overhearing their conversation, I looked up at Baek Unjin with sparkling eyes.
“I want to come too.”
“Stay here.”
“Uuugh…”
“……”
“You said it’s not even a dangerous evil spirit, right? I’ll stay quietly beside you, so can’t I come too?”
Since this was my first outing in a long time, I wanted to see as many places as possible.
After I clung to him while pouting, Baek Unjin reluctantly gave in.
“Then promise me you won’t do anything dangerous.”
“Of course.”
Even if I wanted to, there wasn’t much a beginner cultivator like me could actually do anyway.
We boarded the flying artifact once again and arrived at Cheongseok Canyon.
The canyon was extremely deep. Although the weather was clear, faint water mist drifted around the area.
My mouth fell open at the sight of such a landscape I had never seen before.
So this kind of natural scenery could really exist.
Unlike me, who stared around in awe, Baek Unjin’s expression was not very good.
“This is strange.”
“Huh? Come to think of it, I don’t see the merchant group either.”
“That’s not the only problem.”
What was wrong?
Just in case, I tried reading the flow of heavenly energy.
“It feels like something murky is mixed into it…”
What is this?
As I slightly closed my eyes and tried to look deeper into the energy, Baek Unjin placed a hand on my shoulder.
My mind instantly cleared.
“Don’t dig too deeply into it.”
“Ah, okay.”
A cold sweat formed from the strange energy whose identity I couldn’t understand.
After steadying my breathing, I glanced toward Baek Unjin.
“Hm… it seems I’ll need to leave for a moment.”
“Should I come too?”
“……You stay here quietly.”
“Wouldn’t that actually be more dangerous?”
The safest place for me was beside Baek Unjin.
There was no way he didn’t know that.
“That may be true… Tch, it’s just not something I wanted you to see.”
“Huh?”
“Nothing.”
Muttering to himself, Baek Unjin suddenly formed a hand seal.
Water droplets rippled at his fingertips before bursting apart.
Mist spread outward from the exploding droplets, and within the mist, something resembling a tiny cloud appeared.
“I’ll leave this here with you. If anything happens, it’ll notice immediately.”
“Okay!”
The moment he finished speaking, Baek Unjin vanished.
I blankly stared at the little cloud he had left behind.
When I poked it with my finger, the thing trembled as though reacting.
“It’s cute. Like a living cotton candy.”
Should I try eating it?
Maybe it sensed danger from my thoughts, because the little cloud hurriedly backed away.
I was just joking.
Still, I thought he was going to leave behind some incredible treasure, but instead it was just this tiny cloud.
“He really does things that strangely don’t suit him.”
Though I guess that was part of Master’s charm.
Well… except during training.
The canyon deep within the mountains was so quiet that it felt completely devoid of human presence.
If I closed my eyes, all I could hear was the occasional sound of wind, the rustling of animals, and the scent of leaves and damp mist filling the air.
“It’s strangely calming.”
Even though it was an unfamiliar place, simply being surrounded by nature made me feel surprisingly safe.
How much time had passed like that?
Gradually…
“This is getting boring.”
Baek Unjin, who said he would return quickly, still hadn’t come back even after an hour.
Seriously, cultivators and their sense of time!
Even I couldn’t just sit still doing nothing for an entire hour.
“It should be fine as long as I don’t go too far.”
And I had the cloud too.
After some thought, I started wandering around the canyon nearby.
Strange flowers and plants I had never seen before grew throughout the canyon, and occasionally I spotted small animals here and there.
“A rabbit!”
I unconsciously chased after something that looked exactly like a rabbit.
The moment I stepped into the bushes where it disappeared, the flow of heavenly energy twisted strangely.
“Huh?”
Realizing something was wrong, I quickly looked around.
A strong smell of blood stabbed at my nose, and instinctively, I moved deeper inside.
“Corpses?”
Several bodies lay there.
Judging from the fact that the blood hadn’t dried yet, they couldn’t have been dead for long.
As I cautiously approached and examined them, I realized they were merchants from the caravan transporting the Heavenly Rhythm Silk.
Why are the merchants’ corpses here?
Rustle.
“Who’s there?!”
Maybe because I was already tense from seeing the bodies, I reacted instantly to the faint sound I normally wouldn’t have noticed and placed my hand on my sword.
Steadying my breathing, I slowly drew the sword and pointed its tip toward the direction of the sound.
The swirling mist cleared away, and someone emerged from beyond the bushes.
The moment I saw his face, the strength drained from the hand gripping my sword.
“You…”
“Y-Yang Jahan?”
He had grown taller since the last time I saw him, and he wore the muddy orange flying robes of Mugeuk Hyeonmun, but there was no doubt it was Yang Jahan.
There was no way Yoo Yeonseo could forget the face engraved into her memories.
‘R-Right. Around this time, Yang Jahan should’ve just become a disciple of Mugeuk Hyeonmun.’
It wasn’t strange for him to be one of their disciples.
The problem was unexpectedly running into Yang Jahan here of all places.
Yang Jahan also looked shocked to see me.
“Yoo Yeonseo?”
“……”
“H-How are you alive?”
Yang Jahan took a step forward.
Yang Jahan and Yoo Yeonseo had been childhood friends ever since their days in the Honghwa Sect.
But that was—
‘The story before I transmigrated into this body.’
They had known each other before I took over this body, but to the current me, Yang Jahan was less a childhood friend and more an uncomfortable stranger.
Especially because I knew Yang Jahan was the protagonist of Chronicles of Heavenly Fate Cultivation.
“Well… haha.”
I still wasn’t an official disciple of the Cheongwoo Immortal Sect yet.
Because of that, Yang Jahan didn’t know I had become Baek Unjin’s temporary disciple.
I didn’t think I could keep it secret forever, but I didn’t particularly want to reveal it right now either.
I scratched my cheek awkwardly and avoided his gaze.
“It just kind of… happened. I got lucky.”
“I see. I was worried.”
“Huh?”
“I really was. I was worried you had died.”
Yang Jahan walked closer to me.
I could see his eyes gradually turning red.
‘Ah, right. Yang Jahan became such a ruthless cultivator because of Yoo Yeonseo’s death.’
From that perspective, maybe his reaction made sense after discovering that his childhood friend was actually alive.
Yang Jahan quickened his steps and suddenly pulled me tightly into his arms.
“Yeonseo. I missed you.”
“Ah, yeah.”
I understood how he felt, but this was a bit much. Or maybe just awkward.
First, I should push Yang Jahan away—
That was what I thought the moment it happened.
Stab.
“Huh?”
I felt something sharp pierce into my body.
Yang Jahan twisted his hand, and blood began pouring out through the wound.
Instinctively, I swung the sword I was holding with all my strength.
Yang Jahan stepped back, while I staggered backward as well, clutching my stomach before collapsing onto one knee.
Drip.
Bright red blood flowed out from the torn wound.
