The Poison Whip Enchantress.
The epithet the Central Plains would one day bestow upon Seo-ryeon.
Frankly.
Un-hyeok found this very moment — facing Seo-ryeon — deeply uncomfortable.
CRACK—! BANG—!
He could still hear it vividly.
A woman cracking her whip with a grin splitting her face from ear to ear.
During the War Between Realms, Seo-ryeon had been notorious for turning captured prisoners into her personal slaves.
Male ones only.
She had seized Shaolin's warrior monks and made them lick her feet.
She had forced Hwasan's Plum Blossom Swordsmen to perform sword dances for her amusement.
Even the Iron Blood Poison Lord, Dok Mu-won, had raised both hands in surrender when it came to reining in his sister's madness.
But.
'Now that I see the cause, I understand why both Dok Seo-ryeon and Dok Mu-won turned out that way.'
The root was the death of this body's original owner, Dok Un-hyeok.
Having spent several days among them, Un-hyeok could feel it — the people of the Poison Demon Sect overflowed with affection.
And that meant, conversely, that losing someone they loved would devastate them utterly.
'......This meddling streak of mine.'
Mussing up his own hair, Un-hyeok knelt on one knee before Seo-ryeon.
When their eyes were level, he placed his hands on her shoulders.
"Ryeon, listen. There is no life in this world that should never have been born."
This was not for Seo-ryeon alone.
It was also something the past Un-hyeok was saying to himself.
During his days as the Sichuan Tang Clan's hound.
Un-hyeok had been thrown into impossible missions time and again, surviving one brush with death after another.
Over time, his spirit had worn thin.
'How long do I have to keep doing these insane missions? Is there truly an end?'
'Will I even survive the next one?'
'No — was I ever even allowed to wish for life in the first place?'
Every stray thought always converged on one.
'Maybe I should never have been born at all.'
To hear those very words from the mouth of a child so much younger than himself.
Un-hyeok could not stand by in silence.
"When spring passes, winter comes. And when winter passes, spring returns. All living things know their end will come — and so they prepare for what follows."
Un-hyeok looked into Seo-ryeon's eyes.
Still untouched by a single speck of dust.
The woman who would one day become the Poison Whip Enchantress was, for now, simply a child starved for love.
And Un-hyeok was not so cold-hearted as to push such a child away.
"Ryeon, you are not a child who devoured her mother to be born."
Un-hyeok took Seo-ryeon's hand.
Warmth.
"You are the spring that Mother brought into bloom."
Seo-ryeon's eyes went wide.
She clearly had never imagined hearing such words from Un-hyeok.
Even the servant standing nearby had gone slack-jawed.
"Hey."
When Un-hyeok called out, the servant snapped to attention.
"Y-yes! Young Sect Leader!"
"Go right now and tell every member of the Poison Demon Sect's household. From this moment on, anyone who runs their mouth about Ryeon will be severely punished."
The servant swallowed hard.
Word of the match between Un-hyeok and Ja-pil had already spread through the sect like wildfire.
The servant had heard the stories too.
'They say the Young Sect Leader sent Captain Neung to the infirmary with brutal force, then made the rest of the warriors do punishment drills......'
By now, not a single warrior in the Poison Demon Sect took Un-hyeok lightly.
For an ordinary servant, the terror was that much greater.
"Y-yes, sir! I will make sure everyone is warned, as you've instructed!"
"Good. Then go. We have family matters to discuss."
"Understood!"
The moment Un-hyeok's order dropped, the servant took off running as if his feet were on fire.
Un-hyeok's gaze, so sharp when directed at the servant, softened as he looked at Seo-ryeon.
"Ryeon, did you resent this brother who turned his back on you?"
Why was it?
In the past, Seo-ryeon would have said "no" — anything to win Un-hyeok's favor.
But now she found the courage to speak her truth.
"......Sometimes. Just sometimes, I thought...... Brother was being unfair."
"Only sometimes......"
Un-hyeok stroked Seo-ryeon's head.
"Our Ryeon, how brave of you. Any other child would have resented this brother every single day."
"I could understand where you were coming from, at least......"
"You......"
Right — Dok Seo-ryeon was still within the bounds of a normal person.
Knowing that she would grow into a fearsome woman who would one day represent the Poison Demon Sect.
Un-hyeok was not about to let this opportunity pass.
'It started as meddling, but this works out perfectly. If I raise her right from here on out, she'll be an asset to me.'
And so Un-hyeok put on the warmest smile he could manage and spoke.
"Can you forgive this worthless brother of yours?"
It was surely something she had longed to hear for ages.
Yet Seo-ryeon could not bring herself to accept the apology right away.
But Un-hyeok was not disappointed in the slightest.
He had expected that years of accumulated pain could not be undone by a few words.
"Then how about this, Ryeon? I was planning to take Won to the market streets for the first time in a while."
He had not actually made plans.
But Un-hyeok was certain.
If he proposed it, Mu-won would jump at the chance.
'And it makes a perfect cover story.'
The appointed time to meet So-ye was approaching.
But if he said he was going out in his current condition, Ryeon-hwi would almost certainly refuse.
He would undoubtedly lecture him about a patient having no business wandering around.
However.
'If I say I'm taking Dok Seo-ryeon along, the story changes. Dok Ryeon-hwi is well aware of their relationship. He'll probably be overjoyed and wave us off.'
So the plan was to spend some time with them, then slip away to meet So-ye.
Which was why he needed Seo-ryeon.
"Would you like to come along?"
"M-me too......?"
"Of course. You and Won both. This useless brother hasn't looked after you in so long. I thought we could spend some time together as siblings."
Seo-ryeon's eyes sparkled.
Her first-ever outing with her brother and sister.
The excitement was written all over her face.
'She's almost there.'
Seo-ryeon's sulking expression had already transformed into that of an innocent child.
***
Meanwhile, at that very moment.
Go Gu's study.
"AAARGH—! A dying sect dares humiliate me like this?!"
CRASH—!
Fragments of what had been expensive porcelain and inkstones scattered through the air.
Go Gu's screams shook the Black Slaughter Sect to its foundations.
"DAMN THEM!!"
Even after his rampage, his fury had not subsided.
The household members outside were paralyzed with fear, trembling and praying.
That their master's rage would somehow pass.
Then.
"My, my."
A young man who bore a resemblance to Go Gu — though far younger — stood at the study door.
"I've heard what happened, but Father must be truly furious."
One of the attendants spoke with a worried expression.
"Young Sect Leader, perhaps you could come back later. If you go in now, even you might come to harm."
But the young man smiled easily and patted the attendant's shoulder.
"It's all right. I have my ways."
"What do you......"
The young man cleared his throat, then called out to Go Gu.
"Father, it's your son Eo-ryeong. May I enter?"
Go Gu froze mid-reach for the next object to throw, stopped by his son's voice.
"......Come in."
"Yes."
The study door opened. The interior was far worse than Eo-ryeong had imagined.
"What a mess...... I'd heard the Poison Demon Sect Leader got the better of you, but did you really have to wreck your own study?"
Go Gu's eye twitched as he glared at Eo-ryeong.
"Did you come here just to say that?"
"Of course not."
Eo-ryeong shrugged.
"I came to deliver good news. Though it seems my timing could be better."
"Good news?"
Eo-ryeong had always been extraordinarily sharp when it came to reading a room.
If he had walked in knowing full well how enraged his father was, it meant he was that confident.
Go Gu righted an overturned chair with his foot, sat down, and asked.
"Let's hear it, then. What news?"
"Have a look at this."
From inside Eo-ryeong's robe emerged a small pouch.
He revealed a powder within — a mineral glowing with a deep, luminous blend of inky black and crimson.
"Do you recognize what this is?"
Go Gu's eyes went wide.
"Th-this is......?"
"A sample taken from Black Spirit Stone Iron."
Just as the Fourth Heavenly Demon, the Cosmos Poison Demon, had forged his weapon from Black Spirit Stone Iron.
In terms of rarity, it was a mineral that stood second to none.
"Where did you get this?"
"Fortune smiled on us. We caught the Underworld Gate smuggling goods from beyond the western frontier. We killed them and took it."
"Excellent!"
"Rest easy. We concealed our identities perfectly. They'll have no idea who carried out the raid."
Satisfied with the thorough cleanup, Go Gu nodded approvingly.
"That's my son. Well done."
Eo-ryeong tucked the pouch of Black Spirit Stone Iron powder back inside his robe.
Go Gu asked.
"How much did you obtain?"
"The smiths say it's enough to forge a single sword."
"Magnificent! The heavens themselves are on our side."
For such a rare ore, the quantity was by no means small.
In an instant, Go Gu's fury melted away.
But unfortunately, one problem remained.
"Father, none of our current smiths have the skill to work with Black Spirit Stone Iron."
A weapon was only as good as the one who forged it.
A blade forged by a legendary master and one forged by a common smith could never be the same.
"There's probably only one craftsman alive who could handle it."
"You mean that eccentric old man."
"Yes. Eccentric he may be, but no one disputes that he's the finest smith in the Cult."
"True......"
Go Gu nodded.
The smith Eo-ryeong spoke of would not lift his hammer for any amount of gold.
Only one thing could move him.
"He only picks up his hammer when given a rare mineral...... Black Spirit Stone Iron should be enough to sway him."
"Exactly. So if we use it to forge a weapon for you, Father......"
But Go Gu cut off Eo-ryeong's suggestion.
"No."
"......Pardon?"
"Son, you're entering the Demon Cultivation Grotto soon. The Black Spirit Stone Iron should be forged into your weapon."
"Not yours, Father?"
"What good would it do an old man like me?"
Even with it, he could never defeat Dok Ryeon-hwi — could never overcome the Poison Demon Sect.
Go Gu knew his own limits all too well.
And so he intended to entrust the next generation — his son — with the task.
"But I do have a request."
Vengeance smoldered in Go Gu's eyes.
"In this Demon Cultivation Grotto, you must not lose to Dok Un-hyeok."
"Dok Un-hyeok? Why would he be in the Demon Cultivation Grotto......?"
"Hard to believe, I know, but the Poison Demon Sect is sending Dok Un-hyeok instead of Dok Mu-won."
"What?!"
Go Eo-ryeong let out a scoff.
"That's absurd. Has the Poison Demon Sect Leader gone mad? He'd have to be out of his mind to......"
"Do not take him lightly."
Go Gu's gaze deepened.
"Neung Ja-pil is no mere wandering swordsman. Defeating him in a live-steel match was not luck — it was skill."
"Then you're saying Dok Un-hyeok has been hiding his true abilities all this time?"
"It's possible. Which is why I'm telling you not to let your guard down."
For his father to go this far with the warning.
Eo-ryeong grew curious.
What kind of man was Dok Un-hyeok, to make his father issue such a caution?
'Maybe I should test the waters myself.'
There were still a hundred days until the Demon Cultivation Grotto.
Scouting his opponent's abilities in secret seemed like a solid plan.
'Know your enemy and know yourself, and you need not fear a hundred battles.'
He would take four reliable warriors and go. Masks would conceal their identities.
'If the chance presents itself, taking one of his arms wouldn't be a bad idea either.'
But unaware of Eo-ryeong's thoughts, Go Gu spoke with utmost gravity.
"Never let your guard down. Understood?"
But of course.
Go Eo-ryeong grinned.
"Leave it to me."