Chapter 98. Ilji
***
Drip.
Droplets trickled down the woman's white-jade-like skin. Her slender jade hands kept scooping up bathwater, wetting shoulders and bosom as smooth as if carved by a god. The way the droplets slid and detoured around the raised symbol between her breasts was mesmerizing and did not suit her pure body at all.
Passing the protrusion, the droplet—slightly smaller now—kept flowing down, down along the valley between her breasts. It passed her smooth lower abdomen and finally reached its destination, a small pond.
But.
In that secret place where the droplet seeped in, there was a small pattern hidden—something only the droplet could see. It resembled a faint human shadow…
Before long, the woman finished her bath. The moon that had just risen seemed reluctant and sent down its light to caress her naked body, but it could not stop her as she dressed.
Rustle, rustle.
Soon, most of her beautiful body was hidden by clothes. Of course, that intimate place as well…
Creak.
When she stepped out of the bathroom, a rather tall female warrior in personal guard armor approached. It was her bodyguard, Jang Ga-heun. Normally, the maids should have been waiting for her to finish bathing, but…
She immediately sensed that there was a special message from Jang Ga-heun.
"What is it?"
"Young Lady. Someone from the main headquarters has come."
"…Who came?"
The woman's voice became softer and also lower, so that any ears that might be on the wall could not hear.
"I haven't confirmed yet."
"And the place?"
"It's Ilji."
"Ilji!? Did you say Ilji just now?"
"Yes, Young Lady. And—."
The woman was already quite surprised, but it seemed there was more to say, so Jang Ga-heun continued.
"And?"
"Today, two people whose identities are unknown entered the Martial Alliance."
"Two? Were they people the Martial Alliance Leader personally sent invitations to?"
"One seems to be so, but the other does not."
"Explain."
"One went straight to the Heaven-Connecting Hall and is in a private meeting with the Martial Alliance Leader. The other… appeared together with the Heaven-Splitting Sticky Blade and headed to the Guest Residence Pavilion."
"One is in a private meeting with the Martial Alliance Leader? And the other appeared with the Heaven-Splitting Sticky Blade and headed to the Guest Residence Pavilion?"
"Yes, Young Lady."
Hearing Jang Ga-heun's answer, a strange smile appeared on the woman's face.
"…Clouds have suddenly appeared, and two more variables have been added. Hoho. Good. Very good."
"I was worried that the All-Under-Heaven Youth Martial Arts Tournament might be boring, but it seems it was just my needless worry. This tournament might be unexpectedly fun."
Perhaps very, very fun.
"…When will you go to meet them?"
There was no need to add the words "who" or "whom." It was only a matter of order. She would meet all three anyway.
"I should go greet them now."
"Yes, Young Lady."
The woman left the bathroom and slowly walked toward the Muhwa Gate.
The choice of the word "greet." And the Muhwa Gate.
That alone decided who she would meet first among the three.
***
The man was waiting for the woman in the "Ilji."
With his arms crossed and eyes closed, he was so still that he almost looked dead.
Ilji.
This place had existed for a long time, but very few people knew about it, and even those people were mostly dead. Now, only a few dozen people knew about this secret place, and even fewer were allowed to enter. The fact that the man was here meant that he, too, was one of them.
Was the radius about 100 meters?
The entire inner space of Ilji was alive and wavering, like the twitching scar on the man's cheek. Trees, rocks, earth, sand, and even the sky—everything surrounding him was distorted like a desert mirage. In this mysterious space, the only thing that maintained its form perfectly was him alone.
Wooooong—.
At some point, with a strange sound, a small hole opened in front of the man.
Step.
Through the hole, one small foot stepped into the space. The hole gradually grew larger, and soon the owner of the foot was fully revealed.
Another person who had stepped into this strange space, Ilji.
It was the woman who had left the Muhwa Gate not long ago.
"You're here."
The man's voice was as rough as if he were speaking with a mouthful of sand.
"..."
From that voice, the woman could remember who the man was. His appearance had changed a lot from what she remembered, but that hoarse voice that seemed to scrape at people's hearts was exactly the same.
"Gwangun. So it was you."
Gwangun. That was what the woman called him.
The man, Gwangun, looked at the woman with eyes as rough and unrefined as his voice and said,
"The Weapon Monster has come to the Martial Alliance."
"..."
Gwangun went straight to the point without even a greeting. But the woman did not mind. She knew very well that Gwangun was that kind of person.
More importantly, the fact that the Weapon Monster had appeared at the Martial Alliance was what mattered.
The "Three Sacred Lights incident" that happened when they plotted against the Namgung Family.
After that, Flying Cloud, Ashen Shadow, and Water Shadow went down the cliff to look for the person involved in the Three Sacred Lights, who might still be alive…
But they failed to find him.
In the end, many clouds and shadows, including those three, focused on tracking the Three Eccentrics. Now, at last, that effort must have borne fruit.
"Where is he?"
The subject was the Weapon Monster. It was easy to guess without asking.
"Who knows? Recently, so many people with unclear identities have entered the Martial Alliance that even I can't tell who is who."
Two more were added today. But the woman did not bother to say that.
"Do you want to die?"
Was saying just one word, "who knows," such a mortal sin? From Gwangun's eyes, pitch-black killing intent burst out.
But even in the face of Gwangun's tyrannical aura that seemed capable of killing an ordinary person with just a glance, the woman laughed instead.
Moreover—
"Hahaha. Right. That's like you, Gwangun."
Her voice changed. The soft and slender voice became thick and masculine—no, it became a man's voice altogether.
In response, an even stronger killing intent poured out from Gwangun's body in streams.
The inside of Ilji seemed to sink and suffocate in an instant.
"My sword does not speak many words. Shadow Shifter."
Shadow Shifter. That was what Gwangun called the woman.
The woman, Shadow Shifter, clenched and unclenched her fist as if her hand were itching, then opened her mouth. She—no, he—originally liked adventure and battle. But only when success was assured. As far as he knew, within the main organization, there were only a few who could defeat that "mad cloud" with the sword. That had been the case even more than ten years ago, so now the gap must be even wider.
"Hoho… haha. I really don't know. As you know, these days people keep flooding into the Martial Alliance almost every day."
It was not a lie. Because of the All-Under-Heaven Youth Martial Arts Tournament, a huge number of people had recently poured into the Martial Alliance. Most of them had been identified, but a very small number still had unclear identities. There were even some who had sneaked into the Martial Alliance without passing through the Muhwa Gate. Whether they were spies planted by the Heavenly Demon Star, or people secretly brought in by the Martial Alliance Leader—there was no way to know… Perhaps… even the "shadows" secretly operated by the Martial Founder might be included…
What was even more interesting was that True Immortal Hyeon-cheon seemed to know a lot about this. And yet he was leaving them alone, so he must be plotting something.
'The Weapon Monster must be one of them too.'
Shadow Shifter truly did not know that the Weapon Monster had entered the Martial Alliance. If he had not heard it from Gwangun, he might not have known about it for a very long time, or might never have been able to find out.
Gwangun stared at Shadow Shifter's eyes for a while longer, then spoke again.
"I'll trust you. But if you're lying…"
"And if I am?"
"I'll kill you."
"Hahaha, hoho. I'm looking forward to it, then."
That, too, was not a lie. Although he did not think he could beat Gwangun, he also felt that he might.
In the Martial World, there is no such thing as absolute supremacy. He did not think he would lose to Gwangun, who had only just taken out that sword that had been rotting within the main organization and brought it into this rough Martial World. The Martial World was not a place where victory could be guaranteed by martial arts alone…
If you can't win, then just make it so that you can, and fight after that. That was why he was looking forward to it—perhaps to a battle with Gwangun.
Shadow Shifter once again let out a strange laugh, neither clearly a woman's nor a man's.
"Hahaha, hoho."
As if no more conversation was needed, Gwangun brushed past Shadow Shifter and walked toward the hole he had opened, and said,
"From now on, I will have control over the Outer Shadows here."
"Do as you like."
Shadow Shifter, who had already returned to the woman's voice, answered with a refreshing smile. In any case, Gwangun had come down on the Martial Founder's orders, so his words were the law here for now. Of course, the real power holder in Zhengzhou was still herself.
Still, there was something she was curious about.
What exactly Gwangun planned to do to catch the Weapon Monster.
"What do you plan to do from now on?"
At Shadow Shifter's words, Gwangun stopped right in front of the hole. Because of the wavering wall, he looked as if he were moving too, but he was clearly standing still.
"I will participate in the tournament."
With those words, Gwangun completely disappeared from Ilji.
"Participate in the tournament? The All-Under-Heaven Youth Martial Arts Tournament?"
Who?
"That Gwangun? In person? Ha… hahahaahahaha! Good. Very good. Hohohohoho!"
Shadow Shifter burst into mad laughter, as if it were the funniest thing in the world.
After that, Shadow Shifter's strange laughter—neither clearly a woman's nor a man's—echoed inside Ilji for a long time. Of course, no one could hear it.
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