It's paradoxical to call it night, yet it's contradictory to say it isn't. I checked if the moon was up, but I couldn't see anything.
There were no clouds, no sky—nothing that should be there existed.
Where am I?
All the trees around were on fire, and where the halls should have stood, only ashes remained.
My body moved slowly, but it wasn't by my will. I tried to regain control of my body, but it wouldn't listen.
As I took a step, I felt someone grab my ankle. I turned around to see a bloodied man.
He wore white clothes with plum blossom patterns—the uniform of a well-known sect in the Central Plains.
The Huashan Sect (華山派).
Yes, this is Huashan.
The flowers that once bloomed brightly were all burned, their original forms lost, but this prestigious sect had guarded Shaanxi for many centuries.
All that history is now gone.
Only then did I realize.
This is a dream.
A terrible nightmare.
[How could you...!]
The man spoke to me. I could feel the injustice and resentment in his face.
He clung to my ankle with his left hand, the other having been severed.
His eyes, red from burst blood vessels, looked as if they were shedding tears of blood.
[What did we do wrong...!! How could you do this to us!!]
His voice, strained as if his blood vessels were about to burst, echoed around. The bodies of those in the same uniform as the man were scattered everywhere.
From children to the elderly, all had perished, their bodies torn apart as if by beasts.
[Are you really human...? How can you wear a human's face and do such things!]
My body, which had been silent, finally spoke. I couldn't control it.
[The constant sounds have finally stopped.]
[What...?]
[It means that the Plum Blossom Immortal (梅華仙), whom you revered with all your might, has been killed by the Sect Leader.]
[Dog! The Sect Leader was killed by such a wretched demon...!]
[Even though Huashan, which you cherished so much, has been reduced to ashes, you still don't understand.]
Shut up, please... Just shut up.
[You are so pitiful, unworthy of the name of a prestigious sect.]
I slowly bent my knees to be at eye level with the man. I could sense a different emotion in his eyes.
It was clearly fear.
[Look, the disciples you cherished so much have died by my hands, and the senior disciples who cherished you have also died by my hands.]
I caressed the man's cheek with a hand covered in blood. It was the blood of his senior disciples.
Crack.
A cracking sound came from the man's mouth. He must have clenched his teeth so hard that they were breaking.
[The burning of Huashan, your current state—all of this is because you are weak and incompetent. Huashan, you, and the Plum Blossom Immortal.]
[Shut up, demon...! You, who betrayed the righteous sect and stabbed us in the back, have no right to speak!]
I grabbed the man's neck and snapped it without further ado.
The last remaining disciple of Huashan thus met his end.
Splat.
I sensed movement in the pool of blood spread out around me. I knelt and bowed to the source of the movement, not daring to meet his gaze.
The presence he exuded made the space seem distorted.
The Huashan, once as majestic as Mount Tai in Shaanxi, now hid its presence simply by standing there.
Just being near him sent all my senses into a state of alarm.
The Heavenly Demon (天魔).
He called himself that.
[Not bad.]
I couldn't properly recognize the voice.
Was it a man's voice? Or a woman's?
It sounded both deep and thin, like a woman's.
The Heavenly Demon casually threw something in front of me.
It was the head of an old man, as if it had been torn off.
This was none other than the head of the Plum Blossom Immortal, the absolute expert of Huashan.
[You were far from pleasing me, but I did get some shallow enjoyment.]
Even if he wasn't one of the Three Respected Ones of the Central Plains, he was considered on par with them. The calm appearance of the Heavenly Demon, as if there had been no battle, was unsettling.
[It looks like a beast has run rampant.]
He came close to me.
I felt suffocated. I couldn't move at all.
[In this situation, there's no need for me to think of a name for you.]
I want to wake up. I want to escape this dream as quickly as possible. Why are you showing me this?
[You are...]
I heard the Heavenly Demon say something, but I didn't hear the end of it.
“Master...!”
[...From now on.]
“Young Master!”
I opened my eyes at the sound of Weixuela's voice.
******************
I was on my way back to the Gu family estate after the Nine Dragons Assembly.
“Ugh!”
As soon as I woke up from the dream, I urgently stopped the carriage and rushed out.
I couldn't bear the churning in my stomach. I fell to the ground and vomited.
Even though I hadn't eaten anything today, it kept coming out endlessly.
‘Damn... Damn!’
My body was shaking. Why did I have such a dream all of a sudden?
It was something I had pretended to forget. If I could, I would have torn out the memory.
I felt a hand on my back. I turned around and grabbed it.
It was Weixuela's hand, trembling.
Weixuela looked at me with wide, frightened eyes. The way her pupils were shaking reminded me of the fear the man in the dream had shown me.
What does my face look like right now?
I could guess without seeing it. It must be a mess.
I couldn't control my expression.
I slowly released the grip on her hand. Weixuela hid her frightened expression and calmly patted my back again.
Wuyan, who was guarding the carriage, also rushed over.
“Young Master! Are you alright...? Should I get a doctor...!”
“I'm fine, calm down... How can we find a doctor here?”
We were still in the mountains on the way back to the estate. There was no way to find a doctor nearby.
I took deep breaths, but I couldn't calm down easily.
The memory of the day the Huashan Sect was destroyed by the Demon Sect.
The day the Nine Great Sects, which were supposed to last for generations, fell in just one day.
I didn't want to remember, but to be reduced to this state just by a dream...
‘...It never happened, it won't happen again.’
This is something I repeat hundreds of times a day. Whether I'm walking, eating, or even breathing.
“...Damn.”
Humans are said to be creatures of forgetfulness.
Why can't I forget my sins, even after dying once?
When I couldn't calm down, I finally used my inner energy to force myself to relax.
It wasn't an efficient action, but I had to leave quickly.
As I circulated the Nine Flames Wheel Technique, my body warmed up.
I didn't have much inner energy to begin with, and using it to calm my trembling body made me feel even more drained.
It was an indescribable feeling.
“Really, what a fucking feeling...”
I thought I had calmed down a bit and tried to stand up. Weixuela tried to help me, but I pushed her away, insisting I was fine.
Why did I have such a dream?
Was it because of the anxiety that even if I returned to the past, it would end up the same way?
‘Don't think about it, it's just a nightmare.’
After vomiting, I felt a bit more clear-headed.
I could deal with the tangled feeling in my stomach by practicing my technique or resting a bit more.
Just then, something caught my attention through my heightened senses.
A bad feeling, as if something was poking my spine, made me laugh bitterly.
‘What bad luck.’
Why would I have such a bad dream and then have something happen?
I turned around and approached Wuyan, who was anxiously fidgeting.
“Wuyan.”
“Yes, Young Master...! Should we look for a doctor after all?”
“Stop talking nonsense and check the status of the Demon Line Talisman.”
Wuyan, sensing the coldness in my voice, quickly took out a talisman from his pocket.
The Demon Line Talisman, developed by the Wu Dang Sect, would signal when a demonic portal appeared nearby if inner energy was infused into it.
The talisman he took out showed no signs and was in perfect condition.
Wuyan sighed in relief.
“Phew... Young Master, I was startled when you said that so seriously. Fortunately, nothing...”
As Wuyan continued speaking, the talisman suddenly glowed red and burned away instantly.
Without hesitation, Wuyan shouted to the guards around us.
“Demonic portal detected! Everyone, prepare for battle!”
As soon as Wuyan shouted, the guards around us drew their swords. The tense atmosphere added to the already chaotic situation.
Of all times, this had to happen on the way back. The fact that the talisman burned so quickly meant the demonic portal was very close.
If it had been a bit farther, we could have escaped.
It was my fault for stopping the carriage in the middle of the road.
Wuyan urgently grabbed my shoulder.
“Young Master, it's dangerous. You need to get back in the carriage.”
I immediately pushed Weixuela and the other servants into the carriage at Wuyan's words.
Then I closed the door and stood next to Wuyan.
“Young Master, you should get in too. It's really dangerous...”
Under normal circumstances, I would have stayed in the carriage and waited for it to pass, but since this was my fault, I couldn't do that.
If I hadn't caused any trouble, it would be different, but in this life, I decided to clean up my own mess.
Only then could I prevent the same thing from happening again.
“Young...!”
“Wuyan, I'll listen to your nagging later. Focus on what's in front of you. They're coming.”
As I warned, Wuyan fixed his gaze forward, and the air distorted as if waiting for it.
The air, which had been distorting and emitting a green light, soon opened a gap, creating a space.
“Green...”
Wuyan whispered.
Green, blue, red, white—the colors indicating the levels of demonic portals. Fortunately, green meant the lowest level of danger.
-Grumble...
The low growl of a beast.
What emerged from the demonic portal was a giant wild dog. More accurately, a demonic creature with the appearance of a wild dog.
It had a strange appearance with a horn in the middle of its forehead.
“Just my luck, a bit of a troublesome one.”
The Green-Horned Dog (綠角犬).
A demonic creature with swift movements and fangs that could crush rocks. It was also a creature that the Wu Lin Alliance once tried to tame.
Of course, it failed.
‘There are about ten of them.’
The number of demonic creatures emerging from the portal was neither more nor less than average.
Demonic creatures have no intelligence, meaning they don't hesitate.
The Green-Horned Dogs immediately charged at us upon spotting us.
Wuyan also leaped at them. His sword, avoiding their claws, cut off one of their horns with a single strike.
The sword energy swirling around Wuyan's sword proved he was a first-class warrior.
The Green-Horned Dog, with its horn cut off, fell to the ground. The horns were their weak point.
The other guards also engaged the demonic creatures.
While they were hunting the demonic creatures around the carriage, I quietly picked up some dirt from the ground.
-Grumble...
Taking advantage of Wuyan's distraction, one of the creatures approached me.
It was drooling, as if it had spotted its prey. I looked weaker and more vulnerable than the others.
A perfect target for them.
-Howl!
The Green-Horned Dog howled and charged at me. I increased the circulation of the Nine Flames Wheel Technique in my body, feeling a sudden heat.
Thanks to this, my body moved faster than usual, and I narrowly avoided the creature's claws.
I immediately turned around and threw the dirt I was holding at the creature.
-Howl!
The creature, with its vision blocked, thrashed around, threatening the air.
Despite its large size, it was still threatening even if it couldn't see.
I picked up a rock from the ground and threw it near the creature. The thud caught its attention.
I channeled the Nine Flames Wheel Technique into my arm.
‘Hesitation means death.’
Taking advantage of its distraction, I leaped and thrust my arm into the creature's side.
-Squish!
The Green-Horned Dog's weak point was its horn, but there was another common weak point for demonic creatures.
The magic stone (魔石) inside their bodies.
For creatures without hearts, the magic stone was their heart.
Since I wasn't a swordsman and my current body couldn't break the horn, I thrust my reinforced arm into the creature's body and pulled out the magic stone.
Despite the resistance, my inner energy-empowered arm easily found and grabbed the magic stone.
-Splat!
As my hand pulled out, blue blood, a sign of a demonic creature, spurted out.
-Gasp...!
The Green-Horned Dog fell like when its horn was cut off.
Holding the magic stone, I turned around to see another Green-Horned Dog charging at me.
-Howl!
“Ah, this is a bit...!”
I tried to redirect the Nine Flames Wheel Technique from my arm to my whole body, but there wasn't enough time.
Just as the sharp teeth were about to sink into me, a flash of light sliced through the creature's horn. It was Wuyan's sword.
“Young Master! Are you...”
Wuyan, seeing the Green-Horned Dog with a hole in its side, fell silent.
“Thanks, I almost died showing off.”
“Yes... It's fortunate.”
I could feel a strange look from him, the same one I felt on the first day of my reincarnation.
What kind of look is it, exactly...?
The time it took to hunt all the demonic creatures was surprisingly short.
Since they were guarding the direct line, they weren't troubled by the lowest-level demonic portal.
Demonic portals were common in the world of escort services.
In a world where demonic portals were familiar, this was just a stroke of bad luck.
After killing all the demonic creatures, the portal disappeared from the air, but the corpses remained.
“So, the next step is to send a message to the Gu family...”
I stopped talking to Wuyan.
My palm felt a tingling sensation.
A familiar energy from my past life. I couldn't be mistaken.
“Young Master, why are you...?”
I looked at the hand holding the magic stone.
The green color of the magic stone gradually faded and turned transparent.
At the same time, I felt a small but steady accumulation of inner energy in my body.
My lips trembled. I had experienced this phenomenon countless times in my past life.
A martial technique that extracts the power of the magic stone and absorbs it into the body.
“Damn, what the hell is this...!”
This was definitely the Heavenly Demon's martial technique.