The Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress arrived at the Divine Flower Sect.
Chief Steward Jo, having heard the news, came out to greet her.
“Welcome. You must be tired from your long journey.”
“Thank you for the invitation.”
Chief Steward Jo’s gaze turned to the Evil Heart Laughing Demon and the Faceless Ones standing behind her.
The gauze mask with a single flower painted on it caught his eye.
'Since the tournament is hosted by the Unorthodox Faction, she brought many guards.'
But it was pointless.
How strong could martial artists who guard a courtesan house be? If anything, such a large number would only get on An Hu-pyeong’s nerves.
Chief Steward Jo guided her to the great hall.
As the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress took her seat, the Evil Heart Laughing Demon stood directly behind her, and the Faceless Ones fanned out to his left and right.
Normally, they would be scattered about, squatting in the corners of the room, perching on window sills, or sitting on tree branches outside to peer in.
But today, they acted like well-trained martial artists.
The Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress glanced behind her.
She could see the gauze mask of the Evil Heart Laughing Demon standing right behind her.
She was grateful to him, not just because he was protecting her.
He wasn’t the type of person to be standing here, and the fact that he was, made her even more grateful.
Her gaze returned to the front.
Yes, with him behind her, who could she possibly fear facing?
Chief Steward Jo served her tea and spoke carefully.
“I should show you to your quarters right away, but there is someone who wishes to see you, Mistress.”
“May I ask who that person is?”
“He will be here shortly. Please wait while you have a cup of tea.”
Chief Steward Jo bowed politely and went outside.
“I have a bad feeling about this.”
To make a guest who had traveled so far wait like this before they even had a chance to unpack was certainly a breach of etiquette.
It meant either the matter was very urgent, or the other party was a rude person.
In this case, it was both.
A moment later, An Hu-pyeong, a man who wouldn’t be outdone in rudeness, walked in.
He was in a hurry.
The fact that his father had changed the judge to the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress had gotten on his nerves.
He was worried that his father, in his old age, had fallen for some shrewd enchantress from a courtesan house.
Having frequented courtesan houses, An Hu-pyeong knew better than anyone how well courtesans could handle men.
He wondered if his father, who had built a legacy in the Unorthodox Faction and possessed such high martial arts, would fall for something so trivial.
But it was often the strongest who fell the hardest.
Because those women knew how to dig into the space between a person's vanity and loneliness at the top, like ghosts.
The moment he saw the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress, An Hu-pyeong was certain.
'My feeling was right.'
She was beautiful, yet possessed an elegance.
He felt a grace that was unbecoming of a courtesan house mistress.
It seemed plausible that his father could have fallen for this woman.
The martial artists escorting An Hu-pyeong followed him inside.
They stood behind him with threatening glares.
Without even greeting the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress, An Hu-pyeong first gestured dismissively at the Evil Heart Laughing Demon and the Faceless Ones, ordering them to leave.
This first action revealed what kind of person he was.
An Hu-pyeong was a man who wielded the power he possessed to his heart's content.
He was not one to grow up minding what others thought, and he had lived a life where if he told someone to leave, they left.
Until now.
But the opposing martial artists didn’t budge.
An Hu-pyeong’s gaze naturally turned to the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress.
Before he could say anything, she asked first.
“Who might you be?”
He looked down at her for a moment.
“An Hu-pyeong, the Young Lord of the Divine Flower Sect.”
At that, the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress rose from her seat and cupped her fists politely.
“You are a person of high status. I am Yeo-jeong, the one who leads the Heavenly Flower Pavilion. Thank you for the invitation.”
“I didn’t invite you, so there’s no need to thank me.”
He then looked back at the Evil Heart Laughing Demon and the Faceless Ones standing behind her.
Now that you know who I am, you should leave! He stared at them with such a look, but they still did not move.
Before the atmosphere could turn hostile, the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress quickly intervened.
“I am a timid person, so I have ordered them not to leave my side under any circumstances. So please, Young Lord, try to understand.”
“If a situation unfolds where you should be afraid, do you think you’ll be safe just because they are here?”
“I would at least find some comfort in my heart.”
“You refuse to send them out until the end?”
“Please understand the heart of this timid woman experiencing the Unorthodox Path for the first time.”
An Hu-pyeong snorted, then looked back at his subordinates.
“Get them all out.”
There was a reason An Hu-pyeong was being so forceful.
A woman who ran a large courtesan house like the Heavenly Flower Pavilion must have considerable nerve; he intended to crush her spirit from the very beginning.
He wanted to see that composed face twist in anxiety when the swords protecting her were gone.
The man who stepped forward from behind was Sa Chu, the leader of the martial artists An Hu-pyeong kept with him.
As the one responsible for the safety of the Divine Flower Sect’s successor, he was naturally a man of outstanding martial skill.
He, who had been walking toward the Evil Heart Laughing Demon, stopped in his tracks.
He couldn’t get any closer and stopped about ten paces away.
Sa Chu stared alternately at the Evil Heart Laughing Demon and the Faceless Ones.
'What are these bastards?'
From the moment he entered and saw them, he had a strange feeling.
He had met all sorts of rough and fierce men in the Unorthodox Faction, but these were the first to give him such a feeling.
They weren’t rough, yet they weren’t easy to deal with.
It was too lucid to be madness, yet too bizarre to be considered sane.
How could he know? That he was facing the most peculiar individuals among the demonic practitioners led by the Eight Demon Sovereigns.
Especially that one who caught his eye! Standing in the center, he must be the leader.
He was just silently looking at him, but…
It was unsettling.
Yes, that was the perfect way to describe it.
He felt he shouldn't treat them carelessly, yet he didn't get the sense that they were true masters.
He thought they probably wouldn't be much in a fight, but he didn't want to fight them.
As if reading his mind, a slight smile appeared in the other man's eyes.
'He's smiling?'
Smiling in this situation? Normally, he would have already pierced the heart and lopped off the head.
But he didn’t feel like it.
The person who broke the tense standoff was An Hu-pyeong.
“What is it? Is he an opponent you need to be tense about?”
An Hu-pyeong looked at the Evil Heart Laughing Demon with a newfound interest.
Of course, even if he was a master who made Sa Chu tense, there was no reason for him to be afraid.
No one would dare harm him.
He had been born wearing the powerful protective armor of being the Young Lord of the Divine Flower Sect.
“I’m the so-called Young Lord of the Divine Flower Sect, but have I been keeping a swordsman weaker than the one a courtesan house mistress brings along all this time?”
Sa Chu’s eyes twitched, but he did not draw his sword.
Just then, the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress gently soothed An Hu-pyeong.
“I’ve been so preoccupied with selling wine that I am ignorant of the ways of the martial world. So please, Young Lord, forgive me generously.”
An Hu-pyeong then asked with a cold gaze.
“What is your relationship with my father?”
The Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress already knew why he was acting this way.
During her journey here, she had learned a fair amount about the Divine Flower Sect through the Heavenly Flower Pavilion's information network in the region.
It was information that even the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion or the Silver Moon Branch would find hard to obtain.
After all, only she would know what kind of things this very An Hu-pyeong had said while drunk at the Heavenly Flower Pavilion.
“I have never met the Lord.”
An Hu-pyeong snorted.
And yet he called you to such an important event? When you've never even met?
He naturally assumed the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress was lying.
This was why he tried to assert his dominance.
These lowly things would only spew lies when spoken to.
Just then, Chief Steward Jo’s voice came from outside.
“The Lord is looking for the Young Lord.”
His father was stopping him? He thought his suspicion was spot on.
An Hu-pyeong turned and walked toward the door.
“What are you glaring at like an idiot when you can’t even kill him? Let’s go.”
Sa Chu turned away from the Evil Heart Laughing Demon.
In that short time, countless thoughts had raced through his mind, but his final conclusion was this:
'It’s a relief we didn’t fight.'
People who knew him would never believe it, but he really felt that way.
Whether he knew his feelings or not, An Hu-pyeong spoke to the Evil Heart Laughing Demon from the doorway.
“You’re on my list. If you’re still smiling next time I see you, you’ll die by my hand.”
After giving the cold warning, An Hu-pyeong left the room.
To lighten the stiffened atmosphere, the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress said with a smile.
“What will you do if you can’t smile anymore? I think you might have to change your title.”
At her joke, not only the Evil Heart Laughing Demon but also the Faceless Ones standing beside him laughed silently.
The laughter An Hu-pyeong truly needed to worry about was the laughter of these Faceless Ones.
The moment he insulted the Evil Heart Laughing Demon, the protective armor of being the Young Lord of the Divine Flower Sect became nothing more than a scrap of cloth.
Because these Faceless Ones were the type to start hacking away without a care for such things.
Knowing them better than anyone, the Evil Heart Laughing Demon said only one thing to them.
“Don’t laugh.”
To them, laughter meant one thing!
So those words also meant this:
Don’t kill without permission.
After leaving the great hall, An Hu-pyeong glared coldly at Sa Chu.
“What was that about?”
“He was no ordinary man.”
“Right, he must be. Then you are an ordinary man. Have you been deceiving me all this time, pretending to be extraordinary?”
Sa Chu did not make excuses and lowered his head deeply.
An Hu-pyeong didn't insult him further.
He knew very well how strong Sa Chu was.
The Mistress must have brought a formidable master.
Yes, if she wanted to take a place within the Divine Flower Sect, she would have to make that kind of investment.
“Call for Master Yong.”
Sa Chu flinched in surprise at the name of the man who was like an all-purpose problem solver.
“The Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress is here as a guest for this tournament.”
“Who said anything about killing her?”
“If Master Yong gets involved, things will escalate. And…”
“What? What do you want to say? That even Master Yong can't beat him?”
“No, sir.”
Sa Chu fell silent.
A thought that it might be true crossed his mind, but then another thought followed.
What if Master Yong actually came and fought the man, and it turned out that despite the strange atmosphere, his skills were nothing special? Either outcome would be a problem.
So it was right not to call him.
An Hu-pyeong spoke as he strode away.
“If it's something even Master Yong can't solve, then something is happening behind my back, isn't it? Call him immediately.”
*
Geom Mugeuk and Lee Ahn also arrived at the Divine Flower Sect.
Applications for the tournament were being accepted at the Grand Martial Arts Arena, and a great many people were there.
There were many women, and many who had come with those women.
When Lee Ahn entered, people's gazes naturally turned to her.
Her beauty, which her gauze mask could not hide, drew their eyes.
“The line is over there.”
Since so many people had gathered, applications were being taken in over ten lines.
“Look at this.”
Lee Ahn, who was about to go to the line, spotted a poster about the tournament on the wall.
“Ah, the prize for becoming the Greatest Beauty Under Heaven isn't fifty thousand nyang, it's thirty thousand nyang. As an additional prize, they're giving the opportunity to attend a banquet with the Unorthodox Alliance Leader.”
Geom Mugeuk thought of the Unorthodox Alliance Leader.
Come to think of it, it had been quite a while since he had last seen him.
Who knew he would miss those small eyes.
“You're disappointed it's not fifty thousand nyang, aren't you?”
Lee Ahn flinched and played innocent.
“Of course not!”
“Feels like you lost twenty thousand nyang, doesn't it? Be honest.”
“Well, it is a little disappointing. For a tournament that covers the entire Central Plains.”
Geom Mugeuk laughed out loud, and Lee Ahn laughed along with him.
Lee Ahn was happy during this time she spent with Geom Mugeuk.
Even now, she could feel the gazes of those around her, but she focused only on Geom Mugeuk.
Because she didn't know when they would be able to laugh and talk like this again.
“Alright, look around and if you find anyone prettier than me, kill them for me.”
At Lee Ahn’s whisper, Geom Mugeuk looked around.
“Then a Public Enemy of the Martial World would be born, wouldn't they?”
“Your friend is the Demon Slaying Branch Master, so what's there to worry about!”
Geom Mugeuk also enjoyed this time with her.
There was a comfort that only Lee Ahn could provide.
And Geom Mugeuk knew well that this consideration came from her intelligence.
“Let's go and get in that line over there.”
The two of them stood in what seemed to be the shortest of the ten or so lines.
It was at that very moment.
From afar, gasps of ‘Oh!’ erupted one after another.
Naturally, the gazes of everyone there turned in that direction.
The crowd parted, and through the gap, a woman was walking toward them.
The woman, dressed in a palace gown that revealed her figure, drew everyone's attention.
She was beautiful.
The magnificent clothes she wore were overshadowed by her appearance, so no one paid them any mind.
There were many beauties here, but her beauty overwhelmed them all.
The only person who could match that beauty was Lee Ahn.
If Lee Ahn was a beauty of pure white, this woman’s beauty was a resplendent one.
If Lee Ahn’s beauty was intelligent and pure, hers was sensual.
As everyone held their breath, the woman walked to where Geom Mugeuk and Lee Ahn were lined up.
Standing before the two, the woman smiled bewitchingly and said.
“This line seems to be the shortest.”