Chapter 17

After finishing the day’s work, Wang Geum-san walked through a long corridor toward the enormous mansion at the center of Wangbu, the Wang family’s village.

Tall watchtowers stood in all eight directions around the mansion.

Beneath them were lodgings for guards who could be dispatched at a moment’s notice.

Though no one was visible, countless vigilant eyes watched from among the gardens, halls, and buildings spread throughout the estate.

Wang Geum-san passed through the heavy security and entered Wang So-so’s room.

“Father! You’re here!”

The room was so cold that it felt as though a piece of the Northern Sea had been brought inside.

Even so, the heat radiating from the child’s body was extraordinary.

It poured from Wang So-so like flames roaring from a furnace piled high with firewood.

‘Poor child.’

Whenever Wang Geum-san approached her, the heat quickly spread through his body until it became almost unbearable.

As though she understood her own condition, Wang So-so moved away from him.

The cold air soon cooled his body again.

“Did you enjoy yourself today?”

“Yes. I embroidered a new pattern.”

Wang So-so smiled as she showed him the embroidery she had been working on.

At the sight of her smile, Wang Geum-san felt the day’s exhaustion melt away.

She was a child who gave him such strength.

Yet his eyes were filled with sorrow whenever he looked at her.

The fever had first appeared when she was around ten years old.

Once it began, it would continue without end, leaving her bedridden and suffering for days at a time.

No matter how many skilled physicians he summoned or how many precious medicinal ingredients he used, the heat never subsided.

Instead, it grew stronger, while Wang So-so became weaker with each passing day.

Wang Geum-san had spent tens of thousands of taels across Jianghu merely to discover the name of her condition.

Only after paying that enormous price had he finally learned the truth.

“How remarkable. Solar qi has manifested in a girl’s body.”

“Can it be cured?”

“How can one cure something that is not inherently wrong?”

“What?”

“The heat emerging from the young lady’s body is innate. Had she been born male, she would undoubtedly have become famous throughout Jianghu.”

“Explain yourself.”

Wang Geum-san had heard of people born with extraordinary constitutions.

“Have you heard of the Solar Body?”

“I have.”

“One who possesses the Solar Body radiates powerful fire energy from the moment it awakens. That is a perfectly natural phenomenon.”

“Then why does she suffer so much in her daily life?”

“Because a woman’s body cannot properly contain the energy of the sun.”

“……Are you saying that energy is attacking her instead?”

“Normally, the Great Yin Body manifests in women, while the Solar Body manifests in men.”

The physician spoke carefully.

“Because that natural order has been reversed, the young lady suffers so greatly.”

“Then how can she be treated? How can she recover?”

The physician became even more hesitant.

“That is……”

“How frustrating! Speak clearly!”

“Because nothing is wrong with her body, there is no treatment.”

“What?!”

“If someone is born with a constitution that allows them to live a long life, would you call that an illness?”

“……”

“A person who lives every day overflowing with vitality cannot be called sick. It is a blessing granted by heaven. If she learned a martial art suited to her constitution and capable of storing that energy, she could easily reach the absolute realm. No one would consider such a body something that needed to be cured.”

“……”

Wang Geum-san’s face twisted with emotions too complicated to describe.

The physician quickly read his expression and continued.

“Gather as many precious treasures that emit cold energy as possible. Keep her room as cold as the middle of winter and have her remain inside it. That should ease much of the pain caused by the rising heat.”

“……If I do that, will she be able to live without further difficulty?”

“……”

When the physician hesitated, Wang Geum-san ground his teeth.

“I hope there is nothing else you have neglected to tell me—nothing that will force me to remember your name later.”

“……The power of the Solar Body grows even stronger after the age of twenty. As her life force begins to weaken, her body will gradually become unable to withstand that power……”

“……”

“If you care for her with the utmost devotion, I believe she may live…… until the age of twenty-five.”

Afterward, Wang Geum-san sought out every renowned physician and herb gatherer he could find.

They all gave him the same answer.

Some even claimed they could cure her, but their misguided treatments only pushed Wang So-so into critical condition.

After that happened several times, Wang Geum-san finally abandoned the hope of treatment.

He decided to be content with spending each precious day beside his daughter.

“What magnificent bamboo. It has grown so straight and tall that even its spirit seems impressive.”

“I want to use this pattern to make clothes for you, Father.”

“I am certain they will be splendid.”

“Yes. Please look forward to them.”

At Wang So-so’s perfectly innocent smile, Wang Geum-san’s heart ached once more.

Whenever those feelings became too difficult to bear, he asked his daughter the same question.

“Is there anything you want?”

“I already have beautiful hairpins, norigae, ornaments, mirrors, clothes, and silk.”

“Even so. Are you bored? Should I invite a performance troupe? What about Peking opera?”

“Mm……”

“Tell me anything you desire. Your birthday is approaching, is it not?”

“I want to see the market.”

“What?”

“I want to draw it, but I have never visited a crowded market, so I do not know what it truly looks like.”

“Ah……”

“You do not have to trouble yourself if it worries you.”

A kind child was said to be especially sensitive to a parent’s expression.

Wang So-so quickly noticed the change in her father’s face and covered her disappointment with a smile.

Only then did Wang Geum-san compose himself.

“I had not planned to tell you until the preparations were complete……”

“What is it?”

“I am having a carriage made for you.”

“Pardon?”

“Yes. A carriage that will be comfortable for you to ride in and cold enough for you to remain inside for long periods. Once it is complete, you will be able to go outside whenever you wish.”

“Really? Thank you so much, Father!”

Wang So-so threw herself into his arms.

Once again, scorching heat spread through his body.

After leaving her residence, Wang Geum-san walked back through the corridor.

At that moment, a man dressed in black stealth clothes dropped from the ceiling with a soft thud and fell into step beside him.

“Master, perhaps you should refrain from going outside for the time being.”

“Why do you say that?”

“The threatening letter we received concerns me.”

“You worry about far too many things.”

The letter someone had secretly left behind.

The letter contained an arrogant and absurd declaration that someone intended to target Wang So-so within Wangbu itself.

Wangbu had not yet reached the level of the Nine Sects and One Gang or the Five Great Clans, but its strength was already comparable to that of the leading sects among the One Hundred Eight Peaks.

On top of that, the connections it had built with government officials through its wealth gave Wangbu even greater influence.

Who could possibly break into such a place?

Aside from the Nine Sects and One Gang or the Five Great Clans, it should have been impossible.

“Then may I increase the number of guards?”

“……Do so.”

Wang Geum-san forced down his unease and convinced himself that he was worrying over nothing.

He went to sleep.

But the first report he received the following morning plunged him into despair.

“The young lady appears…… to have been kidnapped!”

“Th-the Murim Alliance! Contact the Murim Alliance immediately!”

“The Branch Chief is already on his way here.”

The warriors who arrived with the Branch Chief thoroughly searched Wang So-so’s room, but they could not find a single trace of the intruder.

“Have the kidnappers contacted you?”

At that moment, Wang Geum-san remembered the threatening letter.

“……A bold bastard. He openly sent a letter announcing that he would kidnap her.”

The Branch Chief’s expression hardened.

“We will begin by searching the surrounding area.”

“You must rescue her quickly.”

“It may sound inappropriate in a situation like this, but please do not worry too much about the young lady’s life. In most kidnappings, the goal is money, so the culprit usually makes contact soon.”

“No! That is not the problem!”

Wang Geum-san shouted desperately.

“So-so has an illness!”

The incident struck the Murim Alliance’s Hefei Branch like a bolt from the blue.

News of the kidnapping quickly spread throughout Hefei.

There had been a man in the Sojeong Squad known as the Traceless Death God.

Of course, we had not known from the beginning that he was the legendary Traceless Death God.

He only revealed his identity after the Great Righteous-Demonic War was well underway, when we found ourselves trapped with no possible means of escape.

Since his internal cultivation and martial arts had never seemed particularly impressive, everyone assumed he was spouting nonsense in the middle of a crisis.

Someone even punched him in the jaw.

Then he demonstrated his movement art, and we nearly fainted.

Although he stood clearly before our eyes, we could not sense the slightest trace of his presence.

Even when he moved or swung his sword, it did not feel as though a human being was moving at all.

At the time, however, we were even more shocked to discover that the Traceless Death God—a legendary figure of the Black Path—had been serving as a low-ranking warrior in the Murim Alliance.

In any case, the movement art that had earned him that title was called the Ghost-Breathing Step.

Using it felt like performing the Ghost-Breathing Great Art while moving.

As long as the practitioner remained out of sight, even someone with exceptionally sharp senses would be unable to detect their presence.

It was thanks to the Ghost-Breathing Step that we had once managed to capture the Guardian Dharma King.

And now, as I followed Wang So-so and the members of the BlueSky Merchant Guild, I was making excellent use of it.

Just as I had expected, the kidnappers traveled from Wangbu to Hefei, then from Hefei toward Chao Lake.

After shaking off the pursuit squad hastily assembled by the Murim Alliance, they fled all the way to Lujiang.

Eventually, they reached the abandoned house deep in the mountains where the headless corpse had once been discovered.

Contrary to my expectations, however, they appeared flustered.

“Something is wrong with this woman.”

“What are you talking about? She was perfectly fine when we brought her out of the estate.”

“Look at her. Her body is burning like fire.”

One of the men touched the bundled figure, then quickly pulled his hand away in shock.

“If she is in this condition, she will be useless as a hostage. Release her Numbing Acupoint.”

“P-please spare me. Please spare me!”

“Hey. Do you have some kind of illness?”

“Please spare me! I want to go home.”

The man struck Wang So-so’s Numbing Acupoint again and shoved her back into the bundle.

“We have to remain here for another day. What are we supposed to do if she stays in that condition?”

“What do you expect us to do? Call a physician? Leave her alone. She should survive for a day.”

The bastards gathered in groups of three or five, lit campfires, caught rabbits, and roasted them.

They behaved so carelessly that no one would have guessed they were kidnappers.

‘That makes things easier for me.’

Using the Ghost-Breathing Step, I slowly approached their camp.

“Hic. Ugh, eating greasy meat without liquor is just…… Huh? Who are—”

I killed the bastard who had gone off to relieve himself first.

“Hey! If you are going to take a shit, go farther away! If you do it around here—”

The second bastard came to complain about the smell.

I killed him as well.

When two presences vanished in quick succession, the more perceptive warriors immediately reached for their swords.

“Someone is here.”

“Draw your weapons!”

“Who are you? Show yourself!”

I released the internal energy and presence I had concealed with the Ghost-Breathing Step.

Then I kicked one of the bastards into the campfire.

“Aaaaagh!”

He scattered burning logs in every direction as he rolled across the ground, desperately trying to extinguish the flames.

My sword ended his life before he succeeded.

With the campfire scattered and fading, darkness slowly swallowed the area.

“Reveal yourself!”

“Great Swallow Sword Formation! Form the sword formation!”

“You crazy bastard! Shut your mouth! If our identities are exposed here—”

While they ran about in confusion, I slipped into their midst and took two more lives.

The men who had been laughing and chatting only moments earlier fell completely silent.

“Wh-who are you?”

“Who are you to slaughter people so recklessly?”

“We are members of the Namgung Clan. There must be some misunderstanding. Let us settle this through conversation.”

Unable to locate me in the darkness, they unleashed the Boundless Firmament Sword Art toward the sound of a stone I had thrown.

Their blades cut through nothing but fallen leaves and several trees.

I stood behind them and spoke.

“I know exactly who you bastards are.”

They spun around.

“You are members of the Namgung Clan’s BlueSky Merchant Guild.”

“Y-you know who we are and still dare to do this? Do you not fear the great Namgung Clan—Kgh!”

One of the three remaining men collapsed.

“If I feared the Namgung Clan, I would never have begun.”

The final two men unleashed the Boundless Firmament Sword Art with all their strength.

I suppressed it with the Sword-Breaking Form.

“Wh-what is this?”

“Impossible!”

Their heads fell and rolled across the ground.

“Traceless Idiot, I never imagined I would owe you so much.”

I honored the Traceless Death God’s contribution using the nickname we had once given him, then approached Wang So-so.

“Our wealthy young lady.”

I opened the bundle.

“It is time to go home.”

The face revealed beneath the cloth was deathly pale.

Her breathing was so weak that it seemed it might stop at any moment.

“P-please save me.”

Wang So-so’s voice sounded as though she were already at death’s door.