– H, how…!
– I’m sorry. It’s just that I never expected you to return like this. Th… Um… Er…
– Ah, it can’t be… All I have focused on was you, but if you are already married…
Shi-lang looked at me with an expression as though she was about to shed tears. However, there was nothing I could do for her anymore.
Perhaps she should have given me some kind of hint, but Shi-lang had been too hasty, driven by an overwhelming desire to become a woman, losing sight of everything else.
– I’m sorry.
– …
– Let’s just remain friends. This is for the best.
– …Friends?
– That’s the best I can offer.
– Well, if I can stay by your side even as just a friend…
– Hmm?
Fortunately or unfortunately, Shi-lang readily accepted. And from that point on, she saw me as merely a “friend.”
Until the end of my long journey through reincarnation, she never once tried to cross the line with me. We remained friends.
But it wasn’t just a simple friendship.
It wasn’t the kind of friendship formed purely on rational terms.
– You… how, how is your martial arts skill…?
– Hmm? Why do you ask?
– How can you… become a supreme martial artist at the age of twenty-two?
Shi-lang possessed a martial talent far superior to anyone I had ever seen.
Not just excellent; it was the best martial talent under heaven.
The Divine Martial Constitution (Tian Wu Zhi Ti).
A gift from the heavens.
It was the source that allowed Shi-lang to perfectly grasp the Supreme Flower Scripture to its utmost level before she even reached adulthood.
Without a doubt, I had never seen anyone as talented as Shi-lang. Jade Flower? Heavenly Flower? How could they compare to a monster among monsters who reached the level of mastery at a young age and the Flower Realm after reaching adulthood?
Of course, there are cases like Namgung Su-a, where talent manifests suddenly, but even then, none could compare to Shi-lang. Except for the heavenly horse, a being beyond standards, which was said to have been celebrated by deities at birth for its descent.
Naturally, someone like me, a common and dull talent, couldn’t compare. Consequently, in the early stages, Shi-lang had more skills and achievements than I did.
– Cheol-bin, I want to be of help to you.
– Hmm? Help?
– I’ve definitely come to understand that you’re something extraordinary. And you have a goal.
– …
– Let me serve you. I shall be your sword, the sharpest and most renowned sword in all the land.
And indeed, an assistant was exactly what I desperately needed.
Like her word, Shi-lang became my flawless sword.
She chose not to reveal herself to the world because she didn’t want recognition. She was living solely for me.
By the time Shi-lang surpassed adulthood, she had already attained the Flower Realm. If it had been known, it would have undoubtedly been the achievement of the foremost martial talent in the martial world, but Shi-lang wished only to be my sword.
Given her mastery of this realm, I could trust her with the truth about my reincarnation. In fact, several times in the early stages, I had confided in her whenever she advanced to the Flower Realm.
However, I stopped doing so when I realized the intensity of her obsession.
– …What?
– It might be hard to believe, but everything I’ve said is true. There’s none other than you.
– No, no, that’s not the point…
Although Shi-lang had set aside her romantic affection, she could not abandon her human attachment. Looking at how much she even altered her own identity for me, it was clear her devotion stemmed from deep affection for me as a person.
– Uh, what should we do? How can I let you endure such hardships…
– Shi-lang? Shi-lang?
– Wait a moment! I’ll quickly come up with a solution! Somehow, no matter what, I’ll save you, so please wait!
– No… it’s not me; it’s the world that needs saving…
Shi-lang would attempt anything to uncover the truth of my reincarnation. Despite knowing it wouldn’t work, the problem was that she kept destroying herself in the process.
I knew how tormenting it was to relentlessly cling to something unattainable.
Ultimately, even as a fellow Flower Realm master, I could only confide in the divine monk. I had to keep the secret from Shi-lang.
Fortunately, such actions didn’t cause any major issues.
Shi-lang was an entity that placed unconditional faith in my words. No matter what orders I gave, she would carry them out without hesitation.
Be it assassination, espionage, entrapment, disruption, or ambush.
Having a Flower Realm master as a secret weapon was indeed a reliable asset.
As my personal assassin, Shi-lang effortlessly took care of tasks that would’ve otherwise fallen solely to me. In fact, she arguably deserved the title of the second-greatest contributor in the War of the Righteous Blood.
– Ye… Don’t call me Defeat the East that way!
– Kyah… Didn’t I tell you not to call me that?
– It’s amusing. The last person you killed called you that before dying.
– Hmm, I might need to change my martial arts style.
The relationship between me and her, one of a hitman and client, friends and friends, changed this time after defeating the Heavenly Horse and all tribulations had ended.
– Cheol-bin, I’m sorry.
– Shi-lang?
– I thought I had let go, but… it seems I can’t.
– What’s wrong? Is something the matter?
– Whenever I see your children or your wife, my insides twist painfully. I won’t be able to stay by your side much longer.
– Shi-lang? What are you talking about? We’ve just barely found peace. What are you saying…
– Anyway, you won’t give your heart to me, will you? I won’t appear before you again. Don’t come before me either…
Leaving those words behind, Shi-lang disappeared like the wind. My long-time friend vanished so suddenly.
Just as she had promised not to return, she completely disappeared from the world.
If she had revealed herself in the martial world, the Five Great Supremes would have become the Six Great Supremes, but disinterested in fame, she left without a trace.
Later, through investigations, I found out where Shi-lang lived, but I only went to the vicinity before turning back. I didn’t want to disrupt the peace she had finally achieved.
…Though at this point, it’s a rather pathetic excuse.
*
“What is your relationship with that girl?”
Shi-lang casually asked. Byul Rak responded with a soft voice.
“Master, she is my master.”
“Master? Capable enough to serve her, are you? Is she an imperial guard or a princess?”
“No, she is the head of the Taewon Jin Clan, a martial arts house.”
“…? What nonsense is this? Cheol-bin, you’re serving someone like that?”
Shi-lang looked at Byul Rak with a puzzled gaze. Byul Rak merely chuckled.
“Why does your voice sound so odd?”
Ever since something had bothered her, Shi-lang frowned and asked.
“Voice? Oh… It’s nothing. It’s just a little injured.”
“Not a little. Did you swallow hot coals or something?”
“Coals? No, I swallowed a stone.”
“…You’ve been doing incomprehensible things ever since I’ve known you.”
Saying that, Shi-lang stood up and walked to a cabinet, pulling out a vial containing a mysterious powder.
“Wait a moment.”
“What is that?”
“It’s tea. Good for the throat.”
Ting!
Shi-lang flicked her fingers lightly. A spark of fire danced at her fingertips.
Already a kettle filled with water, under the method of the Three Pure Realms Flame, began to bubble and boil.
“Drink this.”
After a short while, Shi-lang handed a cup of tea to Byul Rak. Watching from the side, Jade Flower became even more confused.
“Sa… Is that the Three Pure Realms Fire? So you really are at the Flower Realm level, but who exactly are you? If you’re a master of the Flower Realm, there’s no way you wouldn’t be known.”
Hiss…
Receiving the warm steaming cup, Byul Rak drank it all at once. The hot tea flowed down his throat.
“Still, is your throat feeling better?”
“Hmm.”
“Tsk.”
Shi-lang clicked her tongue irritably at Byul Rak’s unchanging voice. She was unsettled seeing him so changed since their separation, especially given his now silver hair.
“Did you intend to become another Yu Rang? Why did you damage such a good voice…?”
“It was a matter of circumstance.”
“How come someone with the prettiest wife and a lumpy daughter has worries?”
“…”
“…Something happened, didn’t it? Your expression is too dark.”
“Enough. I don’t want to divulge unnecessary things to you who has severed all ties with the world.”
Briefly holding a bitter smile, Byul Rak then shook off the gloom and changed the topic.
Feeling already apologetic enough for having come without invitation, he didn’t wish to cause unnecessary trouble.
“The child… I asked you to look after.”
“Yes, if not for you, why else?”
Jin Gayoung handed the sleeping Jin Gayoung over to Shi-lang.
She slept peacefully. The steady rhythm of her breathing echoed throughout the room.
“Huh… Cheol-bin, you know, it’s quite inconvenient to see you act like this honestly.”
“I know.”
“I came here to forget you. And yet, when you ask me like this… what am I supposed to be?”
“Sorry. But, there is no one I trust enough or strong enough to leave my master with, other than you.”
“…! No one but…?”
“It’s turned out this way.”
Hearing those words, Shi-lang’s mind became tangled like a ball of yarn. Why was Byul Rak behaving like a loner? He had always preferred not to associate with others even during the war, but Byul Rak’s current demeanor was slightly different this time.
It was as though, unlike before where he avoided people, now the people were avoiding him.
The complexity of her emotions wasn’t limited to this.
‘I am the only friend…’
Shi-lang had desired to be Byul Rak’s lover. The only one. It took her eight years to truly understand that it was impossible.
But now, hearing Byul Rak call her his “only” friend…
“Km, km…”
It strangely felt good, despite knowing full well that their relationship was strictly confined to ‘friends,’ and to this stubborn romantic love, it meant little beyond that.
The fact that she was the only one for Byul Rak stirred her heart despite trying hard to compose her feelings over the last three years.
“Disgraceful.”
Shi-lang glanced at Jin Gayoung. She had a pretty face, not at all inferior to her own perfected beauty cultivated through the Supreme Flower Scripture.
“If you say so, I cannot refuse.”
Of course, she wasn’t much concerned whether this pure-hearted man saw this girl as a woman.
“For how long will you have me take care of her?”
“Three months. I’ll come back within that time.”
“About a hundred days… Quite a long time or rather short for that matter.”
“I will certainly pay you well. I entrust this to you until I return.”
Seeing Shi-lang nod, Byul Rak slowly rose from his seat. Jade Flower also stood up unsteadily.
“Well then….”
Concluding with a bow, Byul Rak then gracefully left the cabin with Jade Flower. They watched him go, and Shi-lang aimlessly looked around the room after returning.
The last three years had been the same every day. Catching medicinal herbs and mountain animals in the wilderness was how she survived.
Certainly, that was how her life had been.
“…”
“Hoooop—Whoosh—”
And now there sat a young girl along with a substantial pile of money on the bed.
Though the girl was sound asleep and the cabin wouldn’t become bustling, still,
“For now, there will be a bit of the scent of people around…”
