An Hu-pyeong stood up from his seat and slowly turned around.
As coolly and leisurely as possible.
"I am the Divine Flower Sect's..."
The moment he looked at Lee Ahn, An Hu-pyeong was at a loss for words.
Her eyes.
The two eyes looking at him from above the veil.
A gaze that could suck in one's soul.
Where in the world could such eyes exist?
They were right here.
Feeling his mind go blank, his heart began to pound fiercely.
A natural resolution born from that pounding heart.
‘I must make this woman mine.’
It was such a loud resolution that even Geom Mugeuk and Lee Ahn, who were facing him, could sense it.
“And who might you be?”
At Lee Ahn's question, An Hu-pyeong finally came to his senses and finished his introduction.
“I am An Hu-pyeong, the Young Lord of the Divine Flower Sect.”
He said it confidently, but the reaction he expected did not come.
Lee Ahn just continued to stare at him blankly.
“I have introduced myself.”
As he was telling her to introduce herself, Lee Ahn spoke softly.
“I think you already knew who I was when you came looking for me.”
“Of course, I did.”
An Hu-pyeong was not afraid at all, even though his opponent was a demonic practitioner.
To him, who had never properly experienced a demonic practitioner, the Demon Sect was a being from a distant world, outside his sheltered life.
"What business do you have with me?"
An Hu-pyeong was having an unfamiliar experience.
No woman had ever been so cold to him after learning of his identity.
‘Is this what a woman of the Demon Sect is like?’
An Hu-pyeong fell for this woman at first sight.
It had been a long time since he'd experienced his heart fluttering like this.
“Please, have a seat for a moment.”
Lee Ahn waited for a telepathic message from Geom Mugeuk, but he said nothing.
It meant she should handle it herself.
-This matter must be related to the Divine Flower Sect, right?
Still, he replied to Lee Ahn's telepathic message.
—It won't just be related; they'll be very deeply involved.
In a fight like this, the side with more information ultimately has the advantage.
-Let's use this man to find out the internal affairs of the Divine Flower Sect.
Lee Ahn sat down across from An Hu-pyeong.
As Geom Mugeuk stood behind Lee Ahn, An Hu-pyeong finally noticed his presence.
Incredibly, he had been looking only at Lee Ahn.
With such feelings, it was impossible for him to like this young, handsome escort.
An Hu-pyeong glared coldly at Geom Mugeuk, but Geom Mugeuk acted as if he hadn't seen it, remaining calm.
Watching that reaction, Sa Chu found the situation familiar.
That composure, where had he felt it before?
A mere escort with such composure...
The moment that thought crossed his mind, Sa Chu flinched in surprise.
That handsome bastard who was wearing a veil!
Sa Chu recalled the Evil Heart Laughing Demon.
That bastard had also shown such a leisurely appearance while standing behind the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress.
Meanwhile, An Hu-pyeong couldn't take his eyes off Lee Ahn.
"I have traveled across the Central Plains and met many members of the Divine Sect, but I believe this is the first time I have seen someone so beautiful."
“Who from our Main Sect have you met?”
Not expecting such a direct question, An Hu-pyeong was inwardly flustered.
Who among the demonic practitioners did he know?
The person he eventually dredged up from hearsay was...
“I have met a Demon Sovereign before.”
This bluff was, in the end, not a lie.
He really had met a Demon Sovereign without knowing it.
One who had even warned him that he would die if he laughed again.
Before the woman sitting in front of him could ask which Demon Sovereign he had met, An Hu-pyeong quickly added.
“Ah, I also briefly met the Demon Army Lord last time. There was a matter our sect needed to cooperate on.”
The only names he had heard from the Demon Sect were Demon Sovereign and Demon Army Lord.
Still, the Demon Army Lord was an easier name to drop than Demon Sovereign.
Lee Ahn smiled faintly.
He misinterpreted this obvious sneer.
'That's right, now that you know I know a Demon Sovereign and the Demon Army Lord, how can you act so arrogant? You see me differently now, don't you?'
An Hu-pyeong even asked this question.
“Have you ever met the Demon Army Lord?”
When Lee Ahn just continued to smile, he spoke with even more excitement.
“You probably haven't. He is a very busy man. Even I only saw him for a very brief moment. Next time you come to Anhui, I've arranged to take him to a nice place, so let's go see him together then.”
An Hu-pyeong put on a ridiculous air of bravado and offered Lee Ahn a drink.
“Here, have a cup of my wine.”
"No, thank you.”
Although Lee Ahn refused, he filled the cup in front of her as he pleased.
“It's always been said that when two people first meet, a drink helps break the ice, wouldn't you agree? Come, let's have a drink.”
“I don't drink wine given by just anyone.”
“Just anyone?”
“Because I know nothing about you. I don't even know if you're really the Young Lord of the Divine Flower Sect.”
At that, An Hu-pyeong saw an opportunity and spoke.
“Would you like to see our sect's grounds?”
“I was just there today for the preliminaries.”
“Not that place. Don't you want to see the stage where the finals will be held? If you're lucky, you might even have a chance to meet and greet the judge.”
Sa Chu, who was listening, frowned.
He knew the person he was talking about was the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress.
Taking her there just to look good in front of a woman? His master was the kind of person who would do something so ridiculous.
'You can't go there!'
He really never wanted to go to that guest hall again.
“Let's go. I promise you will not regret it, Miss.”
Lee Ahn, who had stood up, hesitated for a moment.
He, who had never allowed a woman to look down on him, was now just waiting for her answer.
“I'll change my clothes and come down.”
After saying that, Lee Ahn went up to the second floor.
An Hu-pyeong smiled with satisfaction.
'Yes! She's hooked!'
Right, how could she refuse when the Young Lord of the Divine Flower Sect was asking her, no matter how aloof she tried to act?
Just then, his eyes met with Geom Mugeuk, who was following Lee Ahn upstairs.
Pretending not to see his fierce glare, Geom Mugeuk also went up to the second floor.
“That bastard next to the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress was like this too. Why are such unpleasant bastards always around?”
If you felt that way, you shouldn't get close!
Sa Chu barely managed to hold back what he wanted to say.
Perhaps because it reminded him of the man who protected the Heavenly Flower Pavilion Mistress, Sa Chu had a bad feeling about the man and woman just now.
“You must be careful. We don't even know what position that woman holds in the Demon Sect.”
“Why? Does she seem like she's hiding some great skill?”
The problem was that he couldn't tell.
In cases like this, it was usually one of two things.
Either her skill was so insignificant that he couldn't sense it, or she was much stronger than him.
But it was unlikely that such a young woman was much stronger than him.
Besides, the young escort standing behind her also seemed to have negligible skills.
So why did he feel so uneasy?
An Hu-pyeong had his reasons for being convinced that Lee Ahn was not a master.
“How could she have great skills with a face like that? If it were you, would you be practicing martial arts with a face like that?”
That wasn't the only reason born from his hope that she wasn't a formidable woman.
“Would a woman of high status participate in a contest like this? Stop with the useless worries and tell the servants to clean my room thoroughly. Tell them to prepare wine and food as well.”
While he was puffed up with a dream that could never come true, Lee Ahn was asking for Geom Mugeuk's opinion.
“It's alright to go, right?”
“Didn't you already decide?”
“I'm just worried it might be the wrong decision. Ah! Making decisions is the hardest thing in the world! From now on, you make the decisions, Young Master. If you tell me to beat them, I'll beat them. If you tell me to kill them and bury them, I'll bury them!”
“Miss, I am but a mere escort.”
“That's my life! Give me back my life!”
Though she was feigning distress, Lee Ahn had in fact already made a firm decision.
She was only joking around because it was Geom Mugeuk.
She knew very well how dangerous this mission was.
This was a conspiracy where an assassin she couldn't detect was trying to kill the Unorthodox Alliance Leader.
It was the incident for which a prophecy had emerged of Geom Mugeuk being stabbed in the chest by the Evil Heart Laughing Demon's dagger.
Lee Ahn placed the white palace gown, one of the two outfits Geom Mugeuk had brought, on the bed.
If she could prevent that from happening, she would be willing to go on stage not just in this gown, but naked.
“Are you really going to change into those clothes and go?”
“If I'm going to do it, I might as well do it right.”
While she changed her clothes, Geom Mugeuk waited in front of the door.
A moment later, the door opened and Lee Ahn came out.
Lee Ahn, dressed in a pure white palace gown, walked out with a shy expression.
It was an outfit one shouldn't wear a sword with, but because she was, it had a unique charm.
Lee Ahn's heart fluttered, wondering how Geom Mugeuk would react.
“That woman lied.”
"What?"
“She said that if your face is pure, wearing pure clothes would be boring and stale? Lee Ahn, you look twice as pure.”
Lee Ahn smiled happily.
Hearing it from Geom Mugeuk alone made her happier than if thousands of people had called her beautiful.
“I'm going to be rich.”
“Huh?”
“At a contest like this, there's bound to be a gambling den taking bets on who will become the Greatest Beauty Under Heaven, right? I'm going to bet my entire fortune on you.”
“What if you lose it all?”
“You'll have to work under me for the rest of your life to pay it back. And pay for the clothes, too.”
“You're the one who lost it, Young Cult Master, so why do I have to pay it back!”
The two of them looked at each other and laughed.
In truth, it was worth betting everything.
He still had three shots left, after all.
Putting on the red palace gown, taking off the veil, and on top of that, putting on makeup.
“Thanks to a certain someone, I'm dreaming big.”
“I didn't make you beautiful, I just returned you to how you originally were.”
As she walked down the stairs, Lee Ahn briefly imagined a scene.
Herself, traveling through a peaceful Martial World with Geom Mugeuk.
A peaceful martial world with no hidden forces, no conspiracies.
Laughing, chatting, and talking nonsense.
She wanted to walk hand in hand, talking about the past.
'Right, to do that, I have to turn these events into things of the past.
A past that I can talk about with a smile.'
Seeing her in the white palace gown, An Hu-pyeong stared at Lee Ahn with his mouth agape.
As they left the inn and walked, An Hu-pyeong was in high spirits.
Walking side by side with such a beauty made him feel like he owned the world.
As they walked, Lee Ahn asked.
“But there's something I'm curious about.”
“Please, speak.”
“Why did the Divine Flower Sect host this contest?”
“Why, to discover beauties like you, Miss, and to raise our sect's reputation.”
Lee Ahn stopped walking, stared at him, and said.
“Besides that reason, I'm curious about the real reason. You know the real reason, don't you?”
Asked like that, he couldn't say he didn't know.
But he couldn't tell her.
Because he didn't know the reason either.
“I'm curious about that real reason.”
Listening, Geom Mugeuk thought Lee Ahn was doing a great job.
Because impatience was already visible on An Hu-pyeong's face.
The desire to find out somehow and tell her, as if boasting.
The place they arrived at was the stage where the finals would be held.
“This is the stage where the finals will be held.”
The stage was complete, and behind the seats for the honored guests, there was space for a large crowd to watch.
As they were all looking around.
An Hu-pyeong, who had been looking at Lee Ahn, suddenly shouted.
“I will make you the Greatest Beauty Under Heaven!”
Lee Ahn looked at him.
She had to control her expression to keep from laughing.
It was because Geom Mugeuk had sent this telepathic message.
—Thirty thousand nyang, settled!
Sa Chu, who was listening, was dumbfounded.
When had he even seen her? Besides, he hadn't even seen her face without the veil.
For someone who lusted after women so much, he should have been able to judge more coolly.
Then again, he was still too young for that.
Yes, this was An Hu-pyeong, alright.
Lee Ahn looked at him and asked.
“Can you take responsibility for those words?”
An Hu-pyeong answered with utmost confidence.
“I am a man who always keeps his promises.”
*
There was someone watching them.
The person standing on the roof with his arms crossed was none other than the Divine Flower Sect Master, An Cheong-gwang.
Just as his brow furrowed at his son's ridiculous promise.
Ssshhk.
A sound of skin splitting, a sound that should never have been heard from his own neck, reached his ears.
Drip.
Something hot trickled down his neck.
When An Cheong-gwang touched his neck, his hand came away with blood.
Only then did he see the dagger held in the hand wrapped around his neck.
The hand holding the dagger was fine and fair.
Normally, he should have died, spewing blood from his neck.
The wound was shallow.
It was not a cut meant to kill.
Just then, a woman's voice came from behind.
“You can't even kill your own child. It's not easy, is it?”
The person who revealed herself from behind was Cha Iran.
The one who had slit An Cheong-gwang's neck with a dagger was her.
“Shall I kill him for you?”
An Cheong-gwang looked at her with an indifferent gaze.
Despite his fiery temper, he let the prank of slitting his throat slide.
“You should just keep your promise properly.”
Cha Iran laughed and replied.
“Such a father and son, so fond of promises.”
An Cheong-gwang's gaze returned to his son.
“From the beginning, wasn't there no mention of the Demon Sect getting involved in this?”
“Unexpected things always happen. Did you ever think you'd do something like this?”
Right, even he himself hadn't known.
That he would face such a life.
But perhaps he had vaguely thought that a day like this would come eventually.
Considering it took him only half a quarter-hour to make the decision that would change his entire life.
It took a little longer than deciding what to eat.
“Who is that Demon Sect woman?”
“Blood doesn't lie.”
Knowing she meant he was like his son, An Cheong-gwang's expression hardened coldly.
“Is being told you're like your son such a reason to be angry? I meant that your question was wrong.”
An Cheong-gwang soon realized what she was trying to say.
He was certainly different from his son.
“Who is that man?”
At the proper question, Cha Iran looked at Geom Mugeuk and spoke.
“Someone you cannot handle. Someone whose true identity even the Unorthodox Alliance, which you've served loyally your entire life, won't tell you.”
She smiled brightly and added.
“Did you think a Demon wouldn't show up when you're holding hands with evil spirits?”