Seo Daeryong was waiting with the Dan Sisters at the safehouse.
Thanks to the continuous treatment here, their injuries were almost completely healed, and now they just waited for news from Geom Mugeuk.
During that time, he spent a lot of time with Dan-ah.
They talked a lot about this and that.
From stories of their pasts to tales about martial arts.
And through it all, Seo Daeryong became certain.
This is the woman!
He had a feeling that if he let Dan-ah go, he would regret it for the rest of his life.
But he couldn't bring himself to confess to her.
She was recovering from her injuries in a Heavenly Demon Divine Sect safehouse; he couldn't make such a confession to someone in that position.
It would be no different from pressuring her with her life on the line.
The problem was, it would be the same even after she was fully healed.
Her counterpart was a Pavilion Lord of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect; how much pressure would that be?
That's why this relationship was so difficult.
Things were so much better when he didn't know her identity and was just reciting poetry for her.
That afternoon, a martial artist from the safehouse delivered a dispatch.
After checking the contents of the dispatch, Seo Daeryong went to find the Dan Sisters with a bright expression.
“A message has come from the Young Cult Master. He has taken care of all of them.”
The Dan sisters were delighted.
The youngest, Dan-yeon, even let out a cheer.
“You are all safe now.”
But soon after, the light in Dan-ah's eyes dimmed.
Because this news meant a farewell to Seo Daeryong.
Silence filled the room.
Honestly, Dan-ah had even considered a life of following Seo Daeryong.
A man who was the Underworld Pavilion Lord, yet read collections of poetry.
A man who honestly spoke of his dark and gloomy past, and who strove to escape from it.
The more she talked to him, the more she realized what a pure person he was.
For some reason, she felt that if it were this man, she could build a life with him and be happy.
No, she wanted to.
But she couldn't leave her sisters.
The three of them had survived until now because they had worked together.
What if she left? Could her sisters survive in this martial world?
She wouldn’t be able to be happy, worrying about her sisters every day.
But she couldn't force her sisters to become demonic practitioners either.
That would be too great a change in their destiny.
“We will be leaving now. Thank you so much for saving us.”
Seo Daeryong was taken aback.
He had secretly hoped that she might go with him to the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect.
It seemed she had already made up her mind to leave.
He hadn’t known their farewell would come so suddenly.
Dan-ah looked at Seo Daeryong with affectionate eyes.
‘I’m sorry, I have to protect my sisters.’
The various conversations they had over the past few days flashed through Seo Daeryong’s mind like a panorama.
He couldn’t let her go like this.
He was sure this was fate.
He had to hold on to her now.
Even if he had to force her, or beg her.
It was at that moment.
The voice of the youngest, Dan-yeon, was heard.
“We'll pack our things, sister.”
Her two sisters immediately began to pack.
They didn't have much, but they started stuffing various things into their leather pouches.
Seeing this, the last ounce of courage he had to hold onto Dan-ah crumbled.
A wave of disappointment washed over him.
He had gotten close to the two younger sisters as well.
No, he had deluded himself into thinking he had.
He had felt so good when the youngest miss called him 'brother-in-law'.
Of course, he knew it was a joke, but he liked it nonetheless.
Perhaps he had been so intoxicated by that joke that he had misjudged the situation.
‘Right, who am I to be with a woman!’
As his heart weakened, the evil spirit instantly whispered in his ear.
—Do you think a wonderful woman like that could ever like you? She was only pretending to like you because you're a Pavilion Lord of the Sect.
Are you a fool? Did you really think reciting one poem would be enough? Look in the bronze mirror! Look at yourself!
Seeing Seo Daeryong’s pained expression broke Dan-ah's heart.
Unable to bear the sight, she left the room first.
“I pray you will achieve great things! I will be cheering for you from afar.”
Dan-ah left the room.
‘Right, who am I to be with a man.’
She would just have to survive in this harsh martial world by helping each other with her sisters, just as they had always done.
They had managed just fine without a man until now.
Just as she was about to leave the safehouse gate.
“Where are you going?”
The person who called her from behind was the youngest, Dan-yeon.
When Dan-ah turned around, Dan-bi and Dan-yeon were standing next to a carriage.
“We have to take this.”
“What?”
Dan-yeon, who had followed her out, spoke to the dazed Seo Daeryong.
“You’ll be taking this carriage to the Divine Sect, right?”
With a bewildered expression, Seo Daeryong nodded, and Dan-yeon made a surprising statement.
“My second sister and I, we want to pledge ourselves to the Divine Sect.”
Not only Seo Daeryong but also Dan-ah was completely shocked.
“Can you accept us?”
Flustered, Seo Daeryong looked back and forth between Dan-ah and her two sisters.
Dan-ah quickly spoke to Seo Daeryong.
“Don’t mind her. My sister is just joking.”
“It’s not a joke, sister.”
“Stop it! Even as a joke, it’s rude to Pavilion Lord Seo.”
Dan-yeon’s expression was serious.
“We’re not joking.”
Then, the second sister, Dan-bi, spoke for the first time.
“It’s not just because of you, sister.”
All eyes turned to Dan-bi.
“Living as wanderers... I'm tired and weary of it now.”
Dan-ah looked at her younger sister.
She was serious.
Dan-ah looked at the youngest.
Her eyes asked if she felt the same, and Dan-yeon answered her question with one of her own.
“Can you accept us?”
Seo Daeryong was so happy he wanted to scream.
He felt so pathetic for having even for a moment felt disappointed in these sisters.
“Youngest miss, I may not look like I have much authority, but the position of Underworld Pavilion Lord is quite high.”
He was being modest by saying 'quite'; the Underworld Pavilion Lord was at the center of power.
Dan-yeon let out a cry of joy.
“Today is our first day as demonic practitioners!”
Dan-bi, who rarely showed emotion, also smiled.
Dan-ah knew.
While it was true they were tired and weary, the decision to become demonic practitioners was because of her.
“Are you really okay? You’ll have to live as demonic practitioners from now on.”
To her calm question, Dan-bi replied.
“We survived from the very bottom as wanderers. Can't we survive as demonic practitioners?”
Dan-yeon also showed her optimistic nature.
“If it gets too hard, the three of us can just run away in the middle of the night! We’re experts at running away, aren’t we?”
She had said it to make them laugh, but tears welled up in Dan-ah's eyes.
How could she not know her sisters’ hearts?
Dan-bi made the decisive remark.
“Too great a sacrifice is a burden on us. What will we do when the time comes for us to leave? For our sake, don’t do it. We can all live well on our own.”
After a moment of thought, Dan-ah lifted her head.
One could tell from her expression.
She had made a decision.
Seo Daeryong looked at her with pleading eyes.
He just hoped she wouldn’t say something like, 'I still can't.'
Dan-ah took a deep breath and then spoke forcefully.
“Pavilion Lord Seo, the Three Dan Sisters will pledge ourselves to the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect!”
In that moment, Seo Daeryong threw his arms up in the air.
He was so happy that no shout came out.
This was not just a moment when the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect gained three new followers.
It was the moment a woman who would accept him as a man had appeared.
And she had done so by pledging herself to the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect.
He, who had never been chosen by a woman in his life.
Such a wonderful woman had accepted his heart.
“I have already told you about myself. Are you still okay with someone like me?”
At that, Dan-ah gave her characteristic meaningful smile and said.
“You probably don’t know everything about me yet. I probably have many hidden bad sides. Are you okay with someone like me?”
Seo Daeryong nodded.
“I am.”
The youngest, who was listening, said.
“You can’t take it back, brother-in-law!”
At the words ‘brother-in-law,’ Seo Daeryong's face flushed red.
“I’ll never take it back, sister-in-law.”
He used all his courage to say the word ‘sister-in-law’ for the first time.
The tips of Seo Daeryong's ears turned red.
Seo Daeryong conveyed his sincere feelings to Dan-ah.
“I will protect you for the rest of my life.”
Dan-ah smiled and said.
“From now on, we must protect each other.”
Seo Daeryong was so happy he could fly.
It truly felt like a dream.
He wanted to meet Geom Mugeuk right away and boast.
He wanted to boast all night in front of Lee Ahn and Jang Ho.
As Dan-ah passed by Seo Daeryong to get into the carriage, she said quietly.
“And I will kill you.”
“Huh?”
Surprised, he turned to see the youngest sister smiling as she said.
“I told you, no take-backs!”
The three women in the carriage smiled as they looked at Seo Daeryong.
Seo Daeryong felt that a new life had begun.
When he first left the sect to meet his Master, he was alone, but now he was returning as a group of four.
As Seo Daeryong climbed into the driver’s seat, he said.
“I won’t take it back, if only for my sister-in-law’s sake.”
Another carriage, carrying another destiny, was also speeding towards the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect.
Throughout the journey, the Ice Cold Twin Blades, responsible for Han Seol's protection, were tense.
The Central Plains martial world, rampant with all sorts of schemes and conspiracies, was a dangerous place, let alone the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect!
They had tried to persuade her that the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect was the one place she shouldn't go, but Han Seol ultimately didn't listen.
The reason the Ice Cold Twin Blades didn't stop her in the end was because of Geom Mugeuk.
They knew that Geom Mugeuk was a great benefactor to the Northern Sea Ice Palace and had earned the trust of the Ice Palace Master.
-Will she be alright?
-We must protect her well.
The Ice Cold Twin Blades were a married couple.
The husband was Sa Han, and the wife was So Bing.
The name Ice Cold Twin Blades was a title derived from their names.
They were masters who had been active in the Northern Sea martial world as a couple for a long time.
The reason the Master of the Northern Sea Ice Palace trusted them was not only for their skills but also for the fact that they had lived as a loving couple for a very long time.
He believed that a couple who knew how to respect each other could be trusted.
They were returning to the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect as quickly as possible, but Geom Mugeuk always had the carriage stop at places with beautiful scenery to show them to Han Seol.
“It’s magnificent.”
Han Seol exclaimed in admiration as she looked up at the winding cliffs.
It was truly such an overwhelming spectacle.
But he didn't just show her spectacular views like this.
Historical sites in the martial world where famous masters had fought, or places where one could see things not found in the Northern Sea.
“I believe that hearing about something and seeing it with your own eyes are very different. I hope that Miss Han’s trip to the Central Plains will be a journey where she sees many things.”
Han Seol could definitely feel that Geom Mugeuk’s consideration was different.
If she had invited someone to the Northern Sea Ice Palace, she would have hurried to show them the palace.
The Ice Palace is this splendid, this magnificent, this strong.
But Geom Mugeuk was placing more meaning on her first trip to the Central Plains than on her invitation to the Divine Sect.
He sincerely wanted her to see many things before she returned.
“Now, repeat after me! I'm going to see a lot!”
When Han Seol hesitated, Geom Mugeuk said.
“Just thinking it and saying it out loud are also different. Come on, repeat after me.”
At his continued urging, Han Seol finally gave in and said.
“I'm going to see a lot!”
As they traveled, they also made sure to stop at inns or restaurants with skilled chefs.
At such times, he mainly took care of the Ice Cold Twin Blades.
“This dish will be to your liking.”
“You don’t need to worry about us.”
“Please have dishes that suit the tastes of the Young Cult Master and the Young Palace Master.”
To their polite refusals, Geom Mugeuk said this.
“As for us, we are young enough to chew stones.”
Han Seol nodded at Geom Mugeuk’s glance seeking her agreement.
In that moment, she, a picky eater, became a youth who could chew stones.
The dishes Geom Mugeuk served were well-suited to the palates of the Ice Cold Twin Blades.
They tried this, they tried that.
All were things they had never tasted in the Northern Sea.
Thanks to him, their eyes were being opened to the delicacies of the Central Plains.
-Still, a demonic practitioner is a demonic practitioner, let's be careful.
-You're right.
With a kind face like that, one never knows when he might suddenly change.
-Let's be especially careful of poison.
At first, they exchanged such telepathic messages every time, but gradually the frequency decreased, and now they were exchanging telepathic messages wondering what dish would be served today.
And today, a shout of joy came from Geom Mugeuk’s lips.
“We're finally back!”
The carriage had arrived at the Demon Family Village.
“From here on is the Demon Family Village. Shall we walk and take a look around the village?”
She became tense.
There were rumors she had heard about the Demon Family Village since she was young.
In front of the main division of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect, there was a village where demonic practitioners lived, and its name was Demon Family Village.
It was said that no one who entered ever came out with their body intact.
Some had their arms cut off, some came out as madmen, they ate dumplings made of human flesh, they sold cursed Demon Sovereign dolls—it was a place rife with all sorts of terrifying rumors.
People with malicious gazes would be walking the streets, and drunken men would be leaning against walls, sending out gloomy stares.
Of course, with the Young Cult Master by her side, no one would dare to openly pick a fight, right?
-No matter what happens, please endure it as much as possible!
After sending the telepathic message to the Ice Cold Twin Blades, Han Seol followed Geom Mugeuk out of the carriage.