It had been a very long time.
As soon as I exited the Peach Blossom Line (도화선), I immediately took to the skies with Sword Flight and got a grasp of my location.
Since the Peach Blossom Line exists outside the flow of time and space, its position and era continuously change.
The moment I left the Misty Forest, I realized where I was.
"Ah!"
It was about 10 li (roughly 4 kilometers) away from the forest where I had first entered the Peach Blossom Line.
It could be considered a stroke of luck.
If I had ended up too far away, in a different city or county, finding Sama-yeong and the others would have become much harder.
'If the distance is close, then the time difference might not be that large either.'
I thought that might be the case.
But that hope turned out to be nothing but a vain wish.
In the forest where the Peach Blossom Line had been, there now stood a thatched-roof cottage I had never seen before.
Something that shouldn't be there was now present—and it looked like it had been built quite some time ago. What could that mean?
Time had clearly passed.
I only hoped not too much time.
But then—
"What?"
For a moment, I was speechless.
I had thought that, at most, there might have been an error of a month or two.
But what Asong said next went far beyond my expectations.
"…You're telling me it's been seven months since I disappeared?"
"Young Master, where on earth have you been all this time? I thought something terrible had happened to you. I was so worried."
"Haa…"
"Young Master?"
"Give me a moment."
My mind was more tangled than I expected.
Too much time had passed.
Seven months—just five months short of a full year.
This wasn't just a day or two. In that span, countless things could have happened.
Though I'd been through much and wasn't completely shocked by this reality, I still let out a sigh.
—What now?
It's highly likely that the plans I had been pushing forward had unraveled.
And the things I had intended to do—most of them were probably canceled, regardless of my will.
First, I need to find out what happened during those seven months.
Starting with:
"Asong, where are Lady Sama, Song Jwabaek, Song Uhyeon, and Master Jang Munryang of the Ghost-killing Fist?"
"Wait, Young Master! Why are you leaving me out?"
"...Because you're safe and standing right in front of me."
"..."
Asong awkwardly scratched his head at my words.
"Stop goofing around and tell me what happened."
At my prompting, Asong began recounting the events.
"After you disappeared, we stayed here waiting for over a month. But then..."
The Church Lord's guards and Left Protector Ha Jongil appeared.
"Protector Ha?"
Ha Jongil had been carrying out three tasks on my orders.
If he had come to find us, that meant he had completed most of his missions.
But contrary to what I had expected—
"Protector Ha Jongil said… Oh right! He said the negotiations with Noklim had broken down."
"What?"
That was different from the news I had originally received from the Left Protector.
In the letters we exchanged, Noklim's warlord Gwangsin-gun had appeared to be cooperative.
But now he had broken off negotiations?
"Did he say why they broke down?"
"He said Gwangsin-gun suddenly declared that unless we competed based on martial merit according to Murim law, he would never submit under the Blood Sect."
"Murim law?"
He had seemed amicable in the letters, and now he's invoking martial law?
Something's off.
In any case, it means he refused to come under our command using 'might makes right' as an excuse.
Gwangsin-gun is already widely known for having martial prowess rivaling the Eight Masters.
Even though Protector Ha Jongil is also a top-tier expert, perhaps he wasn't strong enough to win.
"So what happened?"
With me missing, there was no one to make a final decision.
Even if Ha Jongil came to report, he couldn't be given further orders. So the right thing would have been to send him back or keep him waiting.
But—
"Well, Lady Sama and the Song brothers said they didn't know exactly what had happened to you, so they couldn't just declare you missing so hastily…"
Ah…
It must have been to prevent confusion from spreading by declaring my disappearance.
True, being gone for over a month made the situation completely different.
Their judgment might have been the correct one.
"Then what did they instruct the Left Protector to do?"
"They said that without Noklim under our control, the Blood Sect would be at a disadvantage if war broke out with the Murim Alliance. Is that true?"
"...Yes."
That's probably what I said.
It had been long enough that my memory was hazy, but I had indeed said that.
Unifying the unorthodox factions was necessary to balance out the power dynamics.
"Because of that, they said if you had been here, you would have done everything to bring them under our fold. So Lady Sama, the Song brothers, and Master Jang Munryang left for Noklim with the Left Protector."
I see.
They went in my place.
But if that was five months ago, why aren't they back?
"You don't know the outcome?"
"We've been waiting here, but there's been no word at all."
"Not a word…"
Did something go wrong?
If they had defeated Gwangsin-gun in a duel, he would've joined our sect.
But since they haven't returned yet…
"Damn it."
That worries me.
"Then where is Lady Sama? She didn't go with them, right?"
Given Sama-yeong's personality, she would have waited for me until the end.
So why don't I see her now?
Seeing my darkened expression, Asong answered carefully.
"Lady Sama stayed with me until three months ago. That room over there was hers. But one day, she returned from a nearby town and suddenly said her father had suffered a serious injury…"
"Father-in-law?"
That startled me.
Who is her father?
One of the Five Great Evildoers and a supreme master who ranked among the top five in all of the Central Plains.
The last time I saw him, he was strong enough to battle even the Evil Minded Elder.
Hearing that he was injured was hard to believe.
"Did she say who did it?"
"She said she didn't know. But apparently his internal organs and bone marrow were filled with chilling cold energy. She said he's receiving treatment at some temple from a high-level expert from Lianggang called Ouyang… something."
"His organs and marrow were filled with cold energy?"
Someone flashed across my mind.
—Could it be her?
Among the orthodox and unorthodox sects in the current Murim, none are known for martial arts using cold energy.
However, the now-vanished Northern Sea Ice Palace, a hidden sect, was renowned for cold energy techniques.
And Seol Baek was from that very sect.
'No way…'
During the Murim persecution, she entered the fold of the Supreme Lord—now known as the Emperor.
Could it be that she too had remained under his command for hundreds of years?
I couldn't be sure, but the current Emperor had many aged masters with prolonged lifespans under his command.
So it wasn't an impossibility.
—Then could the Emperor have targeted my father-in-law?
If it was Seol Baek, then maybe.
But still, I couldn't conclude anything based solely on what Asong said.
Anyway, if what he said was true, my father-in-law was now at some temple trying to expel the cold energy.
Ouyang… what was it?
Ouyang… I've heard that name before...
'Ouyang Jingeon!?'
I was suddenly startled and asked Asong:
"...Did she say the temple was Shaolin?"
Asong clapped her hands together and answered,
"That's right! He definitely said it was Shaolin Temple."
Ha!
Shaolin Temple?
– Isn't that one of the Nine Great Orthodox Sects?
Yes.
It's considered the origin of the martial arts world in Zhongyuan and a symbol of the orthodox path.
– But wait, your father-in-law is called a villain. How is he receiving treatment there? Wouldn't the orthodox sects kill him on sight?
No.
It's different.
Though Shaolin is the symbol of the orthodox path, they do not interfere in martial affairs.
– What do you mean?
Unlike other sects, Shaolin considers martial disputes to be worldly matters and is famous for abstaining from involvement.
They've remained faithful to their Buddhist role rather than acting as a martial sect.
Despite producing many powerful martial artists, they've never involved themselves in martial alliances.
I've heard they only step into worldly affairs when it's for the sake of the people.
– So your father-in-law is safe?
I don't know.
Whether he's safe or not...
– Huh?
I said this earlier.
Shaolin only acts for the people's well-being.
If they judge someone to be harmful to the people, they act.
And my father-in-law is known as a slaughterer who killed countless people in the martial world.
By Shaolin's standards, he'd be considered a threat.
– So what does Shaolin do with such people?
I heard that unless it's a truly dire situation, Shaolin forbids killing.
Instead, they imprison those deemed harmful in a place called the Cave of Repentance (悔禁洞) and attempt to reform them through Buddhist scripture.
– So your father-in-law is being treated and imprisoned in Shaolin?
Shaolin's Yijinjing and Guiyang Scripture are considered the pinnacle of traditional healing.
Especially the Yijinjing is known to cure severe internal injuries, and the Guiyang Scripture, which refines the body's internal energy, is said to expel cold energy.
The "Guiyang-something" that Asong mentioned is likely the Guiyang Scripture.
Since Shaolin doesn't neglect life, even if my father-in-law is a villain, they wouldn't ignore his injuries.
– But imprisoning him while treating him is like giving medicine and poison at the same time, no?
…From our perspective, yes.
But from Shaolin's perspective, they're just fulfilling their duty.
Saving a life and imprisoning a wrongdoer.
– So Sama-yeong might still not have returned because she's trying to save her father.
That's probably it.
He's her only family.
She wouldn't abandon her father.
She may have ended up imprisoned alongside him while trying to rescue him.
– Then we know what we must do now.
We must rescue Sama-yeong and her father-in-law.
---
Henan Province, Dengfeng City, Songshan.
There lies the Shaolin Temple, known as the root of orthodox martial arts.
Though it is said to be the origin of all martial arts, the inside of Shaolin Temple isn't much different from other temples.
There are gates, bell towers, drum towers, main halls, and the Grand Buddha Hall.
Inside the temple, ancient scriptures made from bamboo slips and paper fill the space, proudly showing their history. There are also murals and the Thousand Buddha Wall.
These areas are accessible to civilians who visit Shaolin.
But the true face of Shaolin lies in its restricted areas: the Yijinjing Hall, where the 108 martial arts techniques are stored, and the Thirty-Six Caves, each with unique purposes. Only Shaolin monks can enter.
Among these caves is one called the Cave of Repentance (悔禁洞).
From inside the cave, the sound of chanting echoed outside.
"Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, practicing deep Prajna Paramita, saw clearly that the five skandhas are all empty, thus overcoming all suffering and calamity…"
The chanting overflowed with spiritual energy.
In front of the Cave of Repentance, a stunningly beautiful woman bit her lip.
It was none other than Sama-yeong.
Father…
She lingered at the entrance because her father, the "Moon Demon Sword" Sama-chak, was inside.
Three months ago, she heard shocking news:
Shaolin had imprisoned her father inside the Cave of Repentance.
She couldn't believe it at first.
Could one of the top five martial artists really be imprisoned at Shaolin?
But it was true.
Sama-chak had entered Shaolin himself, gravely injured.
And the rumors were accurate.
She had only seen her father's face once since coming here.
– Grit!
Sama-yeong ground her teeth and glared at the elderly, white-bearded monk guarding the cave.
He was the Warden of the Cave, the one in charge here.
The Warden spoke as he looked at her.
"Amitabha. Lady Bodhisattva, please leave now."
"…How can I peacefully leave when my father is imprisoned here, monk?"
The Warden joined his hands and replied,
"I've told you daily. The more you obsess, the more you interfere with the reformation of layman Sama."
"Ahh!"
It was always like this.
Once she confirmed her father's imprisonment, she had tried everything to save him.
At first, she tried force—but Shaolin's martial prowess was beyond any regular orthodox sect.
Even the monk in front of her, the Cave Warden, was a top-level master and a candidate to become the next abbot. She couldn't handle him with her current skill.
So she tried disguises, infiltrated the temple, drugged the monks' food—but every plan failed.
If only I could remove the Golden Restriction Needles from his body.
Sama-chak's seven vital meridians were sealed with the Golden Restriction Needles.
If his inner force wasn't sealed, how could someone of his caliber remain captured?
"Please leave now, Lady Bodhisattva. If you persist, I will have to take disciplinary action. Amitabha."
Sama-yeong glared with a flushed face, then suddenly turned around.
As if leaving, she took a few steps—then exploded into action, launching herself toward the Warden like a bolt of lightning.
"Amitabha."
The Warden sighed and adopted a defensive stance.
It was the Dragon Claw Technique, one of the Shaolin 108 martial arts.
As Sama-yeong launched her palm strike, he blocked it with calm technique.
– Papapapapak!
As the Warden blocked her strikes, a gleam appeared in his eyes.
Over the last three months, she had attacked him countless times.
He had always fended her off—but she continued to improve.
She's gotten better again.
Even though he restrained his strength, she was now handling techniques from Dragon Claw with ease.
If this continued, she might break through into the realm of true masters.
So this is the power of blood.
Indeed, she was the daughter of Sama-chak.
But now, he couldn't indulge her any longer.
He had received a command from the abbot:
> "If Sama-chak's daughter continues to cause trouble, seal her meridians and imprison her in the Cave of Delusions for 100 days."
"Lady Bodhisattva, forgive this humble monk."
The Warden switched from claw technique to fist technique.
It was the Hundred Steps Divine Fist, one of Shaolin's famed thirty-six superior arts.
– Wham!
He punched forward.
With a roar and blast of air, a fist shockwave shot toward her.
"Ch!"
Sama-yeong flipped backward to dodge it.
"Well done. But!"
The essence of the Hundred Steps Divine Fist had only just begun.
The Warden stepped forward and unleashed a flurry of punches, creating numerous fist shadows that surrounded Sama-yeong.
If only I had my sword…
Caught in the barrage, Sama-yeong grimaced.
Weapons weren't allowed inside Shaolin, so she had to rely solely on the Moonlight Blossom Palm, taught by her father.
I have to hold out.
She clenched her teeth.
She planned to take a hit to land one.
Luckily, Shaolin monks never aim to kill.
She launched herself straight into the barrage.
"I knew you'd do that."
"Ah!"
The Warden flowed like water, stepping behind her and reaching out to grab her wrist with a binding technique.
– Twitch!
In that instant, the Warden flinched and jumped back in shock.
Sama-yeong, narrowly escaping, looked confused.
Why did he suddenly retreat?
Then it happened.
– Thud!
Something struck the ground between them from the sky.
When Sama-yeong saw it, her eyes welled up.
"Blood Demon Sword!"
Hearing her voice, the Warden recoiled in shock.
"Blood Demon Sword?! What are you talking about, tha—"
But he couldn't finish his sentence.
He felt a terrifying presence behind him.
If he moved even slightly, he felt his entire body would be severed.
The Warden swallowed and asked,
"...Who are you?"
"Her future husband."