Bulsamahu Baek Yujin recalled her past life when she was 7 years old.
In her childhood, which she barely remembers now, dragged by her parents due to poverty, she was sold as a slave in an unnamed city, when she suddenly recalled her previous life.
She was originally known as Jo Yeon, a herbalist who lived in the late Han Dynasty. She had ventured deep into the mountains to collect herbs and got lost, eventually discovering the corpse of a young Baek Taek in a cave, whom she roasted and ate for survival.
At that time, it was a choice she had to make to stay alive, but Baek Taek’s flesh and blood ultimately settled into her soul. After a long time, Jo Yeon was reborn as a young Baek Yujin through a cycle of reincarnation.
Originally, Baek Taek was a divine beast said to only appear in times of peace, but ironically, she was now human with Baek Taek’s soul, granting her powers without restriction.
Thus, realizing her uniqueness, Baek Yujin resolved to use her abilities to save the suffering populace under harsh oppression. This was the beginning of the Baekryun Sect.
*
When I heard the name Baek Yujin, my head started spinning.
And rightly so, because Baek Yujin was the protagonist of Cheon Dogma’s debut work “Sun and Moon Goddess.”
Even though a reincarnated person was the main character, the fact that an ancient individual was reincarnated aimed at differentiation from contemporary characters, yet it ended up being a tragic story that got cut off around chapter 100 due to its bleak plot and the limitations of featuring a female protagonist in a martial arts setting that wasn’t even a transformation story.
I had realized this world was strange and had contemplated searching for information about characters from the author’s previous work, but I never expected the protagonist of “Sun and Moon Goddess,” Baek Yujin, would seek me out.
In my hazy memories, Baek Yujin was certainly described as having long black hair, yet the girl before me now had hair as red as blood.
Considering Dokgorin’s case, it seemed her hair color changed due to the martial arts she learned, but since “Sun and Moon Goddess” was never completed, I couldn’t know what martial arts Baek Yujin learned.
“Wasn’t Baek Taek said to have a great sensitivity to distinguish between truth and falsehood?”
Clearly, clumsy lies wouldn’t work here, so it was best to speak the truth.
“You just inferred that I’m not from this world.”
“Right.”
“That inference is correct. I lived much further into the future than this era, died, and ended up here.”
As I said this and placed my right hand on my chest, Baek Yujin let out a soft gasp.
“I suspected you weren’t of this world, but I never imagined you were from the future. What’s different about that time compared to now?”
Instead of answering her immediately, I glanced at the brown-skinned man standing next to her.
He had hair as black as ink contrasting with his white teeth, and he stood still in place like a wooden statue.
Noticing my gaze, Baek Yujin caressed his arm and said, “This guy has been with me since I was a child, and he’s not one to talk much, so it’s fine for me to speak.”
“Then…”
I explained the future to her as she desired.
Skyscrapers soaring into the sky, submarines, airplanes, and cars.
And how humanity had even extended its domain to outer space.
Upon hearing my tales, Baek Yujin exclaimed, “Hahaha! That’s really amusing! Is it possible for humans to achieve that in the future!?”
The brown-skinned man, who had been staring expressionlessly at Baek Yujin’s reaction, finally spoke.
“Do you believe everything that person says, Lady?”
“Is there a reason not to believe? Human technology naturally evolves over time. Just like the technologies unimaginable 300 years ago have become common sense now, perhaps in a few hundred years, it could really happen as this child says.”
Indeed, was it proper to say she sounded like a founder of a religion?
Baek Yujin surprisingly possessed quite an open-minded perspective for someone of this age.
As I watched their conversation with admiration, Baek Yujin asked, “Then let me ask one last thing. Do the people living in the era you came from suffer like the citizens do now?”
Perhaps this was the question she most wanted to ask.
I took a brief pause to gather my thoughts before I replied.
“At least the country I lived in was relatively peaceful. Of course, human greed is endless, and we always repeat the same mistakes, but there are always those who strive to correct those mistakes. Instances of abandoned children starving to death or parents killing their children to survive have drastically decreased compared to this era.”
“Then that’s a relief.”
Baek Yujin nodded with a relieved expression and, in a calm voice, began to speak.
“The reason I first founded the Baekryun Sect was because I wanted to save the masses suffering under the tyranny of rulers. However, as time passed, I started feeling doubt about this endeavor. Ultimately, this world is structured so that the good will inevitably die first. Even with the divine powers I possess, I still failed to change this world. But hearing that the future might indeed move towards a better direction gives me solace.”
“…….”
“In fact, I’ve come to you because I have one request.”
“What is it?”
When I cautiously asked, Baek Yujin stared directly into my eyes and said,
“I want you to kill me.”
*
“I want you to kill me.”
“…Huh?”
What on earth does she mean by that out of the blue?
She wants me to kill her?
I wondered if I misheard and asked again, but Baek Yujin calmly repeated,
“You heard me correctly. I want you to kill me.”
“No, asking someone to kill you right off the bat is…”
I glanced at the guy with the white teeth next to me as if to question my sanity, but he didn’t even blink.
“If you want to die, can’t you just do it yourself? Is there a reason you need to borrow my hand?”
“Why do you think my title is Bulsamahu?”
“…Because you lived a long time?”
“It’s because I am immortal.”
Baek Yujin stated that with a calm face.
I asked in return, “…Regardless of whether it’s true or not, if you’re immortal, wouldn’t I be unable to kill you?”
“No, you can. Because you’re the reverse heavenly son, you’re outside this world’s fate.”
“Reverse heavenly son?”
I frowned at the appearance of yet another unique term I’ve never heard before, and Baek Yujin immediately explained.
“Literally, a person who directly defies the will of heaven. Human fate is predetermined by the Celestial Emperor from the moment of birth, but despite being marked as dead in the death list, you walk around healthy, making you a paradoxical being of neither dead nor alive.”
So, I’m basically like Schrödinger’s cat right now?
The sudden appearance of quantum physics sent my head spinning, but Baek Yujin remained unfazed and continued.
“That’s why only you can kill me. So I hope you can cooperate with this matter.”
I listened to Baek Yujin’s words and then asked, “If I help you, what do I get in return?”
Baek Yujin replied expressionlessly, “I will grant you any wish. There’s nothing impossible for me in this land as the saintess.”
“Can you help with revenge?”
“…Revenge?”
“Yes. More precisely, it’s my lover’s revenge.”
As I said this, I watched Baek Yujin’s expression closely.
“Well then, go ahead and explain your situation.”
Fortunately, it seemed I had piqued her interest, and I summarized everything that had happened so far.
“So, your enemy is someone associated with the royal family, and that power seems formidable, so you want to borrow our sect’s strength?”
“Yes. That’s correct.”
I waited for Baek Yujin’s response like a graduate student awaiting feedback on my thesis from my professor.
Given the massive scale of what I was asking, it wouldn’t have been odd for her to refuse.
So while I was considering an alternative request in case of a rejection, she accepted my proposal readily.
“Sure. The Ming Dynasty royal family already owes me a debt.”
“…Huh?”
“What? That expression? Did you think I would refuse your offer?”
“Ah, yes. To be honest.”
I nodded with a dazed expression, and Baek Yujin laughed joyfully.
“Even though it may look like this, I actually don’t have good feelings about the Ming Dynasty royal family. Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming, was originally a devotee of our Baekryun Sect. After I helped him with his noble intentions to create a better world, he double-crossed me after establishing the Ming. Let’s treat this as an opportunity for renewed revenge.”
How many people in the world could speak so lightly about turning the imperial family of a nation into an enemy?
As I stared at Baek Yujin in awe, she then introduced the man standing next to her as if she recalled something.
“From now on, since we are in the same boat, I’ll give you a little hint, ally. This guy standing next to me like a clump of wood is none other than the heavenly demon, Cheonma Nguyen Tai Khan, one of the ten greatest masters in the world.”
“What? Are you kidding me?”
I was momentarily dumbfounded upon hearing his unexpected identity.
