Shun Jin. An eighteen-year-old girl. She was raised as a royal princess. Living in luxury every day behind a magnificent castle with dozens of servants attending to her needs at all times.
Now she has to live her daily life with a poor crazy man like me.
Bringing that girl with me was actually not part of the plan. I followed the girl because of rumors of a Devil Cult that was still operating even though their cult leader was gone. And the rumor said they were in the Jin kingdom. Seeing two of the king's guards were from that Devil Cult already gave me a clear answer.
The Devil Cult is still alive. And they are planning something.
Well, the Devil Cult is a cult that's not bound to a central leader like an empire. They are like spiders. Even if a spider loses its head, its legs can still move and carry its body. Ah, the spiders I mentioned are special spiders called headless spiders, they live in the caves of the yellow mountains.
In the unorthodox martial arts world, the Devil Cult is a collection of various types of different humans. Such as cruel nobles from a distant kingdom, sea pirates or land bandits, gods and goddesses, fallen angels, heretical sects worshipping demons, hidden orders planning to control the world, assassin groups, and groups of people who lack common sense.
They have a distinctive emblem that signifies they are members of the Devil Cult. Namely, a black goat's face with a red circle around it. They sometimes show themselves, or hide it depending on the situation and mission they are carrying out. But most of them hide the emblem from the public because they know many orthodox or even unorthodox sects themselves hate their cult. Given the recent history they created, of course, normal people would hate them.
The Devil Cult is a symbol of all evil and darkness in this world.
Causing holocaust without reason, pitting kingdoms against each other to create great wars (the three kingdom war on the inner continent currently is their doing as far as I know), kidnapping children and killing parents, creating hidden activities that mislead the human mind and soul, inhumane human experiments (I once saw a monster, not an animal nor a spirit, a monster created from a mixture of human and bear demon. I cannot describe it because of how terrifying and strange the creature was).
Many more crimes of that cursed Devil Cult I haven't mentioned.
That's why Ye Jing and I hunted them down. We had met several branch heads of that heretical cult a few times and successfully beheaded some of them. Until finally we found the whereabouts of that Turd and managed to behead him, the leader of this century's Devil Cult. Before it seems the Devil Cult already has a new leader.
I say this because seeing the war between the Jin kingdom and the Fong kingdom is the result of the Devil Cult's manipulation.
The woman who poisoned Shun Jin's father before King Fong began his invasion was one of the Devil Cult's branch heads. I am very sure about that.
Why? Because she was the woman who once liked me.
***
"Hey. When are you going to teach me how to kill, crazy man?"
It has been three days, we have been wandering in the dense bamboo forest. I led her through the bushes so that some of her servant's clothes were torn.
"Hey. I'm asking you. We've been running from the royal army for three days and you haven't told me where we're going at all."
Shun Jin lifted her dirty robe skirt halfway up her calves. She gave me an annoyed look.
I glanced back. She looked literally like someone who hadn't showered for three days. Her jet-black hair was messy. Her white face was smudged with dust and dirt. The same goes for her clothes. They had almost lost their color.
"Hey, tell me!" Shun Jin walked quickly and intercepted me in front. I stopped one step ahead of her.
"Tell me where we're going! Otherwise, I won't walk with you anymore! Hmph!"
I shook my small head, then walked past her. Ignoring all the expressions she had held for three days.
"Enough! I'm going to break up with you and live my own way!"
Shun Jin stomped hard on the ground, not out of happiness but out of overflowing annoyance.
"We've arrived."
I parted the bushes with my fingers, revealing the natural beauty hidden in the middle of the dense bamboo forest.
There was a cliff with a waterfall that was neither small nor large. Below it, a pond, also neither small nor large, looked clear with a transparent blue color. It made a soothing roaring sound of water. It reflected the sunlight with scattered young green bamboo leaves on its surface. The koi fish swimming in it could be clearly seen in their patterns, shapes, and colors.
Shun Jin's mouth opened wide at the sight of the natural beauty hidden from any human settlement. There was no path leading to this place. Truly a natural gem.
"Why did you bring me here?" Shun Jin asked with a tilted head. Did we walk far into the dense bamboo wilderness just to bathe? So her face said.
I nodded in affirmation. "Wash your clothes and body until clean. I'll go hunting, as usual, you cook your own food. After you're done, I'll start training you."
Shun Jin's eyes widened with enthusiasm. She seemed excited to hear that I would train her.
"You have to promise. You always break your word, you crazy man. Three days ago, after we successfully escaped from the kingdom, you told me you would train me that very day. But in reality, we're here instead. The two of us." She puffed out her cheeks while crossing her arms over her chest.
I turned around, "The basic training of martial arts is self-patience in facing everything, both expected and unexpected. I made you walk for three days with the aim of forging your basic character first, Shun Jin."
Shun Jin made an incredulous face. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously at me.
"Lies. Isn't it because you couldn't remember the road signs, so we got lost in the forest instead?"
Damn, she was right. How could she guess it so accurately?
I turned my face away while coughing softly.
"Ahem. That is something called destiny, maid. I didn't just follow the wrong road signs. I followed the signs of destiny so we could arrive at this beautiful place."
Shun Jin still looked at me in disbelief. She shook her head while letting out a long sigh.
"I can't believe I chose a crazy person like you to be my teacher." Shun Jin made a disappointed face. "Hurry up and leave here. I'm going to bathe soon. If you dare to peek at me bathing... Tonight I won't hesitate to put pebbles in your eyeballs." She looked at me with a threatening gaze. She seemed serious about doing it.
I lifted the demonic sword wrapped in cloth onto my shoulder.
"If you can do it, then do it." After that, I quickly stepped into the bamboo forest to hunt for lunch.
"But this is indeed a beautiful place."
***