Xiaoming woke up earlier than usual and finished his morning practice.
Lately, he had been getting up every morning to practice.
Crack! The sound of his joints cracking as he moved them.
His body seemed to have loosened up to some extent.
As soon as he finished his practice, he checked his physical condition.
The internal injuries from the battle had all healed, and the only problem left was the demonic aura coiled in his dantian.
'At this rate... it should be over soon.'
Fortunately, the purification in his body was proceeding steadily.
Thanks to that, it had significantly decreased.
The amount of demonic aura the Sword Empress had possessed was too much.
The remaining energy after purifying the demonic aura was being absorbed into his dantian, and he could feel that his internal energy had increased compared to before.
'This could be considered a stroke of luck, in a way.'
At this point, it seemed that the period of struggling with weak internal energy had passed to some extent.
While it wouldn't all be absorbed, most of it would likely be stored as power.
So, it was even more puzzling.
'Where did the Sword Empress get this much demonic aura?'
According to the divine physician, she was under a restriction that prevented her from speaking.
Hearing that made him feel even more uneasy.
"Restriction on demonic aura..."
This was almost exactly the same as the traces left by the Heavenly Demon when creating a demon.
The only difference was that the demonic aura was at a level that could be 'endured.'
Because of this, he couldn't be sure if the Sword Empress had indeed met the Heavenly Demon.
If the Heavenly Demon had truly bestowed demonic aura on the Sword Empress, it wouldn't have stopped at this level.
At least, that was the case based on what he knew.
'I need to check the demonic aura the Black Night Palace had.'
The Huashan Sect was likely already moving, but he also wanted to know a bit about the process of capturing the plum blossom swordsmen and extracting their blood.
Something felt off, as if everything was tightly entangled.
"Should I go to the hideout the Huashan Sect's disciples discovered?"
Finding the location might be a problem, but since it had already been discovered and was under the Huashan Sect's management, it shouldn't be difficult.
'I should take a look before returning to the family estate.'
The probability was high that the Huashan Sect had already confirmed and taken the traces of the villains.
Still, going there would provide a reason to reduce any hesitation.
'If the Black Night Palace is truly related to the Demon Sect...'
He had thought it was just a minor faction that would be destroyed by the Martial Alliance a few years later.
But if the facts were this intertwined...
'Something needs to be done.'
He didn't have the power to erase the Black Night Palace with his own hands.
It wasn't a place that could be easily crushed.
'But I can buy a few years.'
Whether that was necessary or not was something he needed to think about.
But he didn't have the time to ponder it.
"In fact, I've already made up my mind."
Since he had decided to do something, he couldn't keep thinking about it indefinitely.
As he entered his room, Weixuea approached with a towel, a pleasant smile on her face.
She must have brought it for him to use while bathing.
He asked, "You woke up early this morning?"
As he spoke, his gaze involuntarily turned to Weixuea's hair.
She had fixed her hair with the decoration he had given her yesterday.
The sensation of her cheek against his yesterday came to mind, and he absentmindedly stroked his own cheek.
Weixuea, who had been watching him, asked, "Young Master, are you in pain?"
"No, I'm fine."
"But why is your face red...?"
"...It's just an illusion."
Weixuea quickly passed by him to bathe and change clothes. Even after washing his face with cold water, a strange heat remained.
'Is it really this much over something so trivial?'
He found it quite ridiculous.
If he couldn't reduce the heat on his face, he even considered using his internal energy to spread the heat throughout his body so it wouldn't be noticeable.
But he decided to give up, as he felt it would lead to a sense of self-loathing.
After tidying his clothes and opening the door, he saw Nangong Bia sitting on the veranda, though it was unclear when she had woken up.
She was actually dozing off while sitting.
He had intended to leave her be if she was sleeping soundly, but she seemed to have woken up.
He quietly observed her and then made a small cough, subtly placing the decoration in her hair.
The problem was that he had never touched a woman's hair before, and his clumsy hands made it even messier.
"...This is a mess, isn't it?"
He had intended to give it to her secretly, but now he had to figure out how to fix it.
He tried to fix it, but the noise he made must have been too loud, as Nangong Bia rubbed her sleepy eyes and moved her head.
"Umm..."
Her half-closed eyes met his.
Soon, Nangong Bia raised her thin, white hand and waved it gently.
This was her unique way of greeting in the morning.
The decoration in her hair swayed with her movement, clearly visible.
'...Should I say something?'
How should he bring it up?
He didn't want to draw attention to it, but he couldn't just leave it.
As he fumbled for words, Nangong Bia looked at him curiously.
"That...?"
"Hmm?"
He tried to take it out with his hand, but Weixuea noticed and spoke up.
"Hey? Sister, you're doing the same thing as me?"
"The same thing?"
Only then did Nangong Bia seem to notice what had happened and pulled out the decoration with her more delicate hand.
"Huh?"
Telegram's largest novel sharing group...
Download over 100,000 novels...
........
She immediately looked at him.
Her expression was one of confusion.
He looked at Nangong Bia's blank expression and answered in a small voice.
"...I just bought one."
It was the one he had intended to give her yesterday but couldn't bring himself to.
As he spoke, he averted his gaze.
Why was it so hard to meet her eyes?
For the record, it wasn't exactly the same as the one he had given Weixuea.
It was slightly different, but only a little.
At first, he had thought about buying a different kind of decoration, but he didn't know what to get, so he just picked one.
'Why did I even think about giving her something like this?'
If he had just stayed quiet, it might have been fine.
No matter how he thought about it, it seemed like a pointless act.
Nangong Bia looked at the decoration for a moment, then combed her hair and fixed it with the decoration.
Her white neck was naturally revealed, and the smooth line was noticeable.
It was surprising how much the atmosphere changed just by putting up her hair.
Nangong Bia looked up at him and asked, "How... does it look?"
The words almost slipped out, but he managed to hold them back.
It was hard to say 'beautiful.'
Fortunately, Nangong Bia seemed satisfied with this response and smiled slightly.
She seemed to be smiling more often lately.
Just seeing this made him feel that his life was much different from his previous one.
If asked if it was the life he wanted, the direction was a bit different, but it wasn't an uncomfortable life.
It was a comfortable life that he wanted to maintain if possible.
'So, I need to do something more...'
If he did something, things would change.
After hesitating for a long time at the crossroads, the guide that pulled him was... surprisingly, something as trivial as this.
He hid his embarrassment and asked, "I'm going to see the Duhwajeon. Do you want to come?"
Both Nangong Bia and Weixuea nodded in unison.
His original plan was to leave before the Duhwajeon and return to the family estate as soon as possible.
Since Gulinghua had said she would return to the family estate, he decided to wait for her.
Coincidentally, he had some business in Xianxi, so he needed to delay his plans a bit, which might be fortunate.
'The Sword Empress and the divine physician are a problem, though.'
The two people who wanted to return to the family estate with him.
He didn't know why they had made such a decision, but from the family's perspective, it was a good thing.
Of course, the Sword Empress might be an uncomfortable presence.
But the divine physician would likely be welcomed not just by the family but by the entire estate.
'Father...'
He wasn't sure about his father's stance.
He planned to send a letter to the family estate about the changes in the returning personnel and his suspicion that the divine physician was targeting the Black Night Palace.
Since he didn't know the extent of the Sword Empress's recovery, he included a request for additional support to prepare for any potential attacks.
It was partly for show, but he had to send it because of the situation.
Later, around noon.
There was less than an hour left before the Duhwajeon began.
'Remember, the Duhwajeon lasts for two days.'
Thinking about the differences from the Nine Dragons Assembly held by the Gufamily, the main one was that outsiders couldn't participate.
It was a small martial arts competition among the disciples of the sect.
It was a pure celebration of the sect, without any collaboration with merchants or other external entities.
During the Duhwajeon, outsiders were allowed to enter freely and watch.
The problem was that the Huashan Sect was located on a very high mountain.
He wondered if anyone would climb up just to see this...
But human passion was indeed great.
"Wow, it's bustling..."
Despite the Huashan Sect's reputation and location, it wasn't a particularly large sect.
Yet, the central area was packed with people.
Considering that most of the people were ordinary civilians without internal energy, climbing up must have been quite an effort.
Especially since they had to start climbing early in the morning to arrive at this time.
Seeing this, he could understand a bit of the status and affection the people of Huayin County had for the Huashan Sect.
The Huashan Sect seemed to have anticipated the influx of outsiders and had prepared various seating arrangements.
While it wasn't as sophisticated as the Nine Dragons Assembly, which collaborated with merchants, the atmosphere seemed better.
He could faintly hear the chatter of the gathered people.
"Will the Sword Dragon participate this time?"
It was a conversation about Lingfeng.
"Last year, he didn't show up... I wonder if he'll come this year."
"Actually, he wasn't the Sword Dragon back then. Who won last year? It was someone with the name 'Ying'..."
"Of course, it was Ying. The third-generation disciples' names all start with 'Ying'."
"Probably 'Yingcheng' as a title."
"Oh, right, Yingcheng! That's the feeling... Who are you?"
The person who interjected was wearing a Huashan Sect robe with a plum blossom pattern.
The man who had been talking loudly seemed to shrink a bit.
He asked cautiously, "Are you from the Huashan Sect?"
"Yes, I'm Lingfeng."
'...What is he doing here?'
Lingfeng had surprisingly interjected.
Why wasn't he preparing for the Duhwajeon...?
"Yingfeng... Ying...! Is it possible that the Sword Dragon...?"
The man was startled and tried to tell the person next to him, but then his eyes met Lingfeng's and mine.
"Ah! Young Master Gu!"
He immediately stood up and approached. As Lingfeng moved, people's gazes followed.
They must have noticed the conversation.
The people looking at Lingfeng had bright, excited eyes.
After all, it wasn't easy to see a representative of the young generation of Central Plains.
The Five Dragons and Three Peaks were names of figures who would lead the new generation.
'...I've been treating Lingfeng a bit roughly lately.'
His personality, which was fun to tease, had played a part, but he had been a bit too harsh.
Seeing this, he was reminded anew of Lingfeng's prominent position.
Lingfeng greeted Nangong Bia and Weixuea as he approached.
I asked, "Is the Master not participating in the Duhwajeon?"
"No, not today. Today is the day for the third-generation disciples to compete."
"But why... Oh."
He remembered that Lingfeng had said he would compete among the third-generation disciples last time.
"Is Young Master Gu on your way to see Gulinghua?"
Lingfeng's question made me hesitate.
It was true that he had come to see Gulinghua, but it felt strange to say he had come to see his younger sister.
"Not really... I mean, yes, but since it's just a competition among the third-generation disciples, there's no need for me to come."
Nangong Bia and Weixuea didn't know, but he had only planned to see what he needed to see and leave.
"Ah, if that's the case, you can wait."
"Really?"
"Gulinghua is competing today."
Lingfeng's words were hard to understand.
"Master, didn't you say today was for the third-generation disciples...?"
"Um... Yes, but..."
He seemed to be hesitating to say something.
"Ah."
Lingfeng clapped his hands as if he had found a solution.
"Since there's still time, would you like to come with me?"
Lingfeng moved, and I followed without saying much.
We moved to the back of a building.
Seeing that most of the people were wearing robes, it seemed to be a waiting area for the disciples.
'Is this where the third-generation disciples are gathered?'
Even at a glance, it seemed to be composed of people slightly older or younger than Lingfeng.
Some were in their late teens, and some were still in their early teens.
Anyway, ...
"Master Lingfeng..."
"Yes, what is it?"
"Why are they doing that over there?"
I pointed to a group of muscular figures, among whom I recognized some faces.
They were the first-generation disciples who had traveled with us to Xianxi.
They were hiding behind a pillar and peeking out.
Could these big guys really be hiding?
Gulinghua's hiding methods seemed to be similar, but could it be that the Huashan Sect didn't teach stealth techniques...?
Lingfeng seemed a bit flustered by my reaction and said, "They're probably doing this because of Gulinghua."