Mistaken for a Fairy
ch9

[Wi Hwa-ryeon of the Mount Mao Sect (2)]

Wi Hwa-ryeon, half-embraced in Seo-yeon's arms, was lost in thought.

Judging from the energy that had enveloped her body just now, this woman was undoubtedly a righteous martial artist who had mastered a Taoist or Legalist cultivation technique to its extreme.

Let's put aside her youthful appearance for now.

Whether it was Rebirth or Rejuvenation, it wasn't an unfamiliar story in the Martial World. It was a form that a master of antiquity could certainly achieve.

She had never heard of a sect that commanded a Divine Beast like its own limbs, but how many mysterious sects were there in the vast Martial World whose names weren't even known?

If this woman was from such a hidden master's clan or was its sect leader, she could understand it, yielding a hundred times.

Of course, the moment that fact was revealed, the landscape of the Martial World would be overturned more than a hundred times.

Currently, there were five peerless masters roaming the world.

One in the Heavenly Demon Sect.

One in the Eight Great Clans.

One in the Nine Sects and One Gang.

One in the Unorthodox Alliance.

And lastly, one in the Imperial Family.

If that woman were added to that rank, three peerless masters would reign in the Righteous Faction alone.

It wouldn't be strange if the axis of balance tilted immediately, shaking the world to its very core.

The only fortunate thing was… that the Mount Mao Sect she belonged to was a righteous sect.

She never thought she would be relieved by her ancestor's decision a hundred years ago to betray the Blood Sect and establish themselves in the Righteous Faction.

The possibility that she wasn't a peerless master? She hadn't considered it from the start. If a martial artist who placed the heavens under their will wasn't a peerless master, then who was?

But the real problem was from now on.

'...What should I do now?'

She had somehow preserved her life, but what came after was the problem.

It didn't seem like she would die, but weren't the elders of the Righteous Faction originally prone to displaying their unique 'uprightness' in strange places?

Just look at the Shaolin Temple. Even though the Empress had personally visited, they had stubbornly invoked the rule of forbidding women and hadn't even opened the gate.

The leaders of the Righteous Faction were originally like that. Once they had set their minds, they wouldn't bend.

What about that woman who had such power and yet lived in seclusion?

She wouldn't kill her, but she might nonchalantly imprison her in a jail for several years just for the reason of manipulating corpses.

She could never accept that.

As the Great Maiden of the Mount Mao Sect, she had to obtain an elixir or Inner Core to heal the sect leader and return.

'But how?'

She couldn't see any way out.

Meanwhile, Seo-yeon was also lost in thought.

Mount Mao Sect. It was a sect she remembered. Because they dealt with ghosts, zombies, and sorcery, they were sometimes depicted as an evil sect in some martial arts novels.

'It seems they're a righteous sect here.'

It wasn't that strange. The Martial World was originally known for being fickle.

'How far should I take her?'

Perhaps because her breathing had become calm, she no longer looked like someone being chased. It seemed she had set up some kind of formation or spell to shake off the pursuit.

If so, it was okay to part ways around here.

She had helped her escape and accompanied her until she was stable. She had done her duty as a human.

Seo-yeon patted the White Tiger's back to make it stop for a moment. Between the long-drawn-out fog below the mountain range, a faint presence rapidly approached.

It was an owl with silver feathers. It held a rabbit that was twice the size of its body in its beak.

The owl swallowed the cumbersome prey in one gulp, and then, dragging its heavy body, crawled clumsily onto Seo-yeon's shoulder.

"What's wrong?"

The owl spread one of its wings wide and pointed to Wi Hwa-ryeon and the distant mountain ridge behind them in turn.

It seemed like a meaningless action, but Wi Hwa-ryeon soon understood its meaning.

"...It seems to be my subordinates."

She had clearly told them to run away, but it seemed they hadn't listened.

About to get up, she cautiously looked at Seo-yeon.

"Um, may I get up?"

"Go ahead."

At Seo-yeon's words, Wi Hwa-ryeon carefully raised her upper body. Perhaps embarrassed by the fact that a grown adult had been embraced in someone else's arms, her face was faintly flushed.

Wi Hwa-ryeon hurriedly straightened her disheveled clothes and then raised her head.

After taking a deep breath for a moment, she looked straight at Seo-yeon without avoiding her eyes.

"The Mount Mao Sect's leader is suffering from a serious illness. To treat the illness, we need an elixir that harmonizes the Yin and Yang energies."

The White Tiger tilted its head slightly. Its large, deep golden eyes were looking at Wi Hwa-ryeon as if to see through her.

"..."

Wi Hwa-ryeon hesitated for a moment, but soon raised her head again. The spirit of the Great Maiden was reflected in her eyes.

"I understand that you're suspicious. However, the Mount Mao Sect may deal with Yin energy and evil, but it's different from an evil sect. Raising jiangshi is not to harm the living, but for resolving the grudges of the dead and guiding them to Celestial Aura."

The White Tiger let out a light breath. Somehow, it had eyes that seemed to know this would happen.

Wi Hwa-ryeon bowed deeply.

"If the sect leader dies, the bound spirits will run wild and a sea of blood will open up in all of Gangso."

She quietly took a breath and continued her last words.

"To prevent that situation… we must bring back the White Spiritual Creature's Inner Core."

The Inner Core of a White Spiritual Creature. There was no way she wouldn't know what she was talking about.

A moment of silence flowed.

It was Seo-yeon who broke the silence.

"That would be difficult."

The White Tiger wasn't like a pet. Rather, it was closer to a mountain god who had been leisurely wandering the Martial World and had come to form a relationship on its own.

She wasn't even its owner, so how could she tell it to hand over its Inner Core?

Above all, the Inner Core was the essence of the Spiritual Creature itself.

As someone who knew the importance of the Inner Core, she couldn't give it away even if she was worried about the White Tiger.

Even if Wi Hwa-ryeon held a knife to her neck, it was the same. From the moment she decided to save her, she had already prepared for this level of risk. That's why she had to say what she had to say.

"It seems better for both of us to part ways here."

"..."

Wi Hwa-ryeon, who had been pushed off the White Tiger's back, stood blankly for a long time.

Then, finally, she barely calmed her lips and quietly opened her mouth.

Thud—

"I… I will serve you like a servant for the rest of my life. If you tell me to crawl, I will crawl, and if you tell me to die, I will gladly die. So please…"

Wi Hwa-ryeon knelt down on both knees and slammed her forehead on the ground. She had cleanly abandoned even the last bit of pride she had maintained as the Great Maiden of the Mount Mao Sect.

Seo-yeon sighed inwardly. Namgung Seolhwa was like that, and so was this woman. For some reason, the righteous sects of this world were a hundred times more stubborn than what she had seen in martial arts novels.

Seo-yeon stroked the White Tiger's fur with a heavy face.

The White Tiger.

It gazed at its owner's gaze. The owner didn't say anything. It just gazed.

The worry contained within pressed down on the White Tiger's shoulders.

* * * * *

"Great Maiden! Are you hurt anywhere!"

The urgent voices of her subordinates echoed through the mountain.

Wi Hwa-ryeon stared at the ground without moving, and then slowly raised her body. A deep sorrow was cast on her face.

It had already been more than four hours since she had been waiting in a prostrate position, hoping that Seo-yeon would return.

The Mount Mao Sect was a matrilineal sect. The sect leader was her mother.

What child could remain indifferent in the face of their mother's death?

"...Let's go back."

Knowing her feelings, the subordinates couldn't say anything and closed their mouths.

It was right after that that they heard a subtle sound that broke the silence.

Wi Hwa-ryeon raised her eyes with a glimmer of hope.

But all that came out of the bushes was a single rabbit. It didn't take long for her faint expectations to collapse. Her eyes quickly froze again.

It was at that moment.

A black shadow that tore through the darkness fell sharply from the sky. The thing, which had no presence, snatched the rabbit's neck in an instant.

"An owl?"

-This old one has a name, Yuheon.

The echo spread beyond the atmosphere. The voice was clear, but because the echo spread in all directions, it was impossible to gauge its origin. The mystery of Six Harmonies Sound Transmission, which concealed its form with sound. It was an art only allowed to masters among masters.

The silver owl, which had placed the rabbit in front of Wi Hwa-ryeon, opened its mouth again.

-Roast it. If possible, sprinkle plenty of salt on it. You don't have to take out the insides.

"…?"

-Didn't you say you would serve my master like a servant for the rest of your life? If it was a lie, I'll leave now.

Only then did Wi Hwa-ryeon realize that the owl in front of her was the one who had sent out the Six Harmonies Sound Transmission.

It was the very owl that had been sitting on Seo-yeon's shoulder. She had never dreamed that it would be such a spiritually wondrous being.

"...It's not a lie."

Having grasped the situation, Wi Hwa-ryeon quietly composed herself and gathered energy at her fingertips. The energy fluctuated in an instant, and a small flame bloomed in front of her. As the rabbit skewered on a branch began to cook, Yuheon smacked its lips.

-The smell is good. Very good. Eating it raw is good, but eating it like this sometimes is quite a delicacy.

"More than that, what brings you here…"

-Don't try to test this old one. If it wasn't for my master's orders, I wouldn't have come here like this.

Wi Hwa-ryeon closed her mouth. She realized that the owl in front of her, though small in size, was no less than a Divine Beast.

-That damn bastard. Just because he's a mountain god? He dumped his work on me like this after I tricked him once. I'll get back at him someday.

A mumble followed, whether it was to himself or to be heard on purpose. Wi Hwa-ryeon listened without showing any expression.

Yuheon soon shook his head and muttered.

-That's enough. It'll take a long time to cook. It just ruined my mood.

Yuheon muttered like that and then scratched the air with his claws. The space split as if torn, and a bead containing light appeared from within.

-It's the Grand Yin Yang Essence Pill. It's not as good as that mountain god's Inner Core, but it will be enough to remove the evil energy that has taken over your sect leader.

"Th, thank you-"

-I haven't said I'll give it to you yet. Listen to the rest.

Yuheon continued, half-unfolding the Grand Yin Yang Essence Pill held in his claws.

-No matter how much my master pitied your situation, this old one is not so easy to deal with. I must receive what I deserve. Let me ask you one thing. Have you mastered the Concealing Heavenly Evasion Technique?

Concealing Heavenly Evasion Technique. It was a shapeshifting technique that concealed one's form and changed one's appearance, and it was one of the high-level techniques.

Wi Hwa-ryeon had, of course, mastered it.

"I know it."

-My master is weak to children. To serve that person, you must take on a form that looks at least ten years younger than you do now.

It meant that if she went and begged in the form of a child, they would take her in out of pity.

-Your tone of voice… hmm. There's no need to fix it. Ten years would be an appropriate period to serve. What will you do?

Wi Hwa-ryeon was silent. What Yuheon was asking for was clear. To pay for the Grand Yin Yang Essence Pill with ten years of servitude.

There was no reason to refuse.

"I will do it."

-Good. Now the Grand Yin Yang Essence Pill is yours.

Yuheon said that and handed over the Grand Yin Yang Essence Pill. The Inner Core, where Yin and Yang energies coexisted, was gently placed on Wi Hwa-ryeon's two hands.

Wi Hwa-ryeon let out a long sigh of relief, held the Inner Core in her hand, and then quietly held it out to her subordinate.

The subordinates, who had inadvertently received the Inner Core, swallowed their breaths.

"…Great Maiden?"

"I will not return. Tell the sect leader… that you will deliver it in my stead."

"Gr, Great Maiden! What are you saying? You can't do that!"

"Then? Is there another way?"

A heavy silence filled the air. No one could open their mouths.

If Wi Hwa-ryeon stayed, the sect leader would live, and if she didn't stay, the entire Mount Mao Sect would be torn to shreds by the Unorthodox Alliance.

Wi Hwa-ryeon raised her head. There was no more wavering in her black jade-like eyes.

Seeing such Wi Hwa-ryeon, Yuheon nodded in satisfaction.

-It would be okay to have one snaggletooth. Change into shabby clothes too. From now on, you are a field farmer's child who has lost her parents and survived alone. Let's make your age ten years younger. That looks better.

"……."

Anyway, she didn't waver.