“You’re lying, right? You’re engaged to the daughter of one of the Four Great Evils?”
Her disbelief was very much expected.
Yong-yong looked at me as if I was absurd and muttered the same thing. I would have had the same reaction if I were in her place.
Actually, my father and grandfather reacted the same way.
Anyways, this was just the start. How should I handle her if she had such a strong reaction right from the start?
“You look quite surprised, but it is true.”
“No, that cannot be.”
“Would you also believe I am being called one of the Eight Great Warriors?”
At this statement, Yong-tong scanned me thoroughly.
“Are you really the brother I know?”
“Can I be someone else?”
“… you know I didn’t mean it that way.”
Yong-yong shook her head, took a deep breath, and then spoke again.
“How did you meet?”
“We met by chance. I just have to say that our relationship began when we crossed paths.”
“No way, even if that is true… the Four Great Evils? No, they’re the Five Great Evils now. Why did you have to meet a daughter from that side? Brother, this isn’t something to smile about.”
The reaction was a bit intense.
Even in Murim, my father and grandfather had a different reactions, despite being leaders in their own group. It seemed that Yong-yong was reacting this way because she had been raised in Ikyang So and because of the Mount Hyeong sect.
-Or maybe it is more because you are her only brother.
That’s also right.
Yong-yong kept talking.
“Think about it, though. Brother is now a member of the Justice Faction. No, you are even called part of the Eight Great Warriors. If it is the Wicked Moon Sword… he is known to be even more villainous than the Evil Faction.”
Well, that’s something that couldn’t be denied. Anyone here would be shocked as I was So Wonwhi to them.
Yong-yong continued to speak, tapped her chest in frustration, and then lowered her voice to a whisper.
“Stay away from her if you can.”
“What?”
“If it’s just the two of you… I don’t know. Brother, do you want to become a target in Murim all your life? If you are her father’s son-in-law, you might end up being treated the same way as him.”
What was this now?
“Yong-yong, I am really happy you are worried about me, but I already met my father-in-law.”
“You did…? Sigh.”
Yong-yong was speechless. Her gaze seemed to suggest I had crossed a river I shouldn’t have.
Short Sword laughed at her reaction.
Don’t laugh. This was serious to Yong-yong, at least.
She might not have cared if this happened to someone else, but she was taking this more seriously since I was her blood relative.
“Brother…”
“Yes.”
“The Ikyang So family, right? Let’s assume that there is no one who doesn’t know about your affiliations… what do we do then?”
“Uh?”
“If rumors appear that suggest that you are the son-in-law to such a person, wouldn’t the many people who have grudges against him try to come and harm either you or us?”
‘… That’s true.’
She wasn’t against my relationship but was rather worried about the future.
“Yong-yong. That…”
“Listen until the end!”
“… yes.”
“Brother, they say you are famous and strong enough to be in the Eight Great Warriors, but what should I do then? If someone who has a grudge against the Wicked Moon Sword targeted me instead of him or brother, how should I deal with that?”
“….”
“Besides, what if they also choose to harm the sect instead of just me? Brother, even if you are meeting them with good feelings, you should have at least thought of the aftermath and this younger sister of yours.”
Yong-yong was worried about the future, and I could understand why.
Wasn’t that also why I hid everything from her until now?
However, she now had some strength, and I no longer hid it from her. This child also needed to know the truth so that she could deal with any situation that might arise.
I grabbed Yong-yong by the shoulder.
“I am telling you this because I can handle them.”
“You can?”
“However, I could not hide this truth forever. I am just telling you for now. I am sorry for this.”
Yong-yong met my eyes, and her eyes were trembling.
She then frowned as she processed my words.
“Truth?”
“… the truth about Sima Young.”
“What more are you hiding?”
Yong-yong asked me with a worried look.
I was already nervous from the start due to her reaction to the reality of my being the son-in-law of the Wicked Moon Sword. Her reaction was different from my father, Jin Song-baek.
I took a deep breath and said,
“Even if I wasn’t his son-in-law, neither you nor the Justice Faction would approve of me.”
“… what does that mean?”
“It’s because of the truth behind my birth. No, the truth behind our mother.”
“Mother?”
Yong-yong suddenly showed more interest at the mention of our mother. While I wasn’t any different, this child only knew of mother from the servants.
Since we spent a childhood without being able to love our mother, the two of us had a feeling of inferiority due to this lack of familiarity.
“W-what about mother? What do you know about her?”
I looked around to detect any potential foreign qi. We were inside a remote valley in the village, and there were no people around. It should also be fine since I had blocked the sound, but…
“Before that, follow me.”
“What?”
I took Yong-yong and headed elsewhere. There was an empty, abandoned house nearby.
I took her there because I could sense no human presence, but my younger sister didn’t understand why.
“Why did we come all the way here just to talk about it?”
It was because the topic was something we needed to be careful about.
I silenced the sound further and said,
“I have a lot to tell you, and I think you will continue to be surprised.”
“Why do you keep making me anxious?”
“I told you. It is because I think you will be quite surprised.”
Yong-yong grew impatient at my words and said,
“How frustrating. Stop stalling and tell me.”
“Everything?”
“Yes. Tell me all of it one by one. If you hide anything, I can make you spill it.”
She must be quite frustrated, so I thought it would be better to just speak.
“… can you handle it?”
“Tell me everything, and I will understand. Don’t try to tell me slowly like you’re peeling off a shell.”
“I understand. In that case, that’s fine.”
-Are you fine with that?
Yong-yong’s words held some truth.
If I speak about it slowly, my words will only become longer, and so will her surprise. I think it would be better to reveal the whole truth in one go.
“Then I will tell you everything.”
Hearing this, Yong-yong took a long breath and then exhaled.
She then spoke with determination.
“Honestly, I wonder if there’s anything more surprising than being the son-in-law of the Wicked Moon Sword. However, it’s still better than telling me things one by one.”
“Fine.”
If she could handle it, then so be it. I started as soon as I caught my breath.
“Our mother wasn’t a servant to the family but was instead a descendant of the Flying Crane sect, which was driven out of the Dual Martial Troops. They were banished because they were the direct descendants of the Blood Demon. At the time, mother was the only survivor of the bloodline. While she was one of the two survivors of the sect, she hid her identity and remarried into the Ikyang So family. Since we were both born from mother, the two of us have inherited the blood of the Blood Demon.”
“…!!’
Hearing this was enough to make her face go stiff and her eyes shake. It would be stranger if she wasn’t surprised.
“B-Blood Demon? J-just how…”
“That’s just the start. We’re not done yet.”
“What?”
“After I was kicked out of the house as a child, I was kidnapped by the Blood Sect and forced to become a trainee there…”
As the words continued to come out, Yong-yong’s mouth opened wider as each new truth came up.
She seemed to be having difficulty processing it even as I tried to summarize the story.
“…and that was how I was chosen by the Blood Demon Sword, overcame the civil war inside the Blood Sect, and became the Blood Demon.”
At the same time, I closed my left eye and opened my upper dantian.
I then let the Blood Demon Flame loose.
‘…!!’
“Y-your hair is red.”
Yong-yong could not help but fall silent at the sudden change in my appearance, and she kept blinking her eyes in disbelief.
“B-Blood Demon!”
Showing it off once was a lot more effective than telling her a hundred times.
“…Haa.”
She let out a quick breath as if she had forgotten to breathe.
The expression on her face was complicated as she struggled to find words to speak. Yong-yong then mumbled.
“B… brother is the Blood Demon… then? Ha… now, wait… then what is with the rumor about brother…. defeating the Blood Demon?”
Yong-yong was confused as she struggled to understand.
“That isn’t… I will show you.”
In response, I released some qi and slowly showed her the Wind Shadow Steps.
Yong-yong’s expression changed again as two images of me appeared from the technique.
“To avoid suspicion, I did this and moved… Yong-yong, you alright?
“Haaa… haaa…”
Cold sweat was running down her face. I think she had gone beyond surprise and into shock.
While father and grandfather had been surprised at this, they had spent years in the outside world and managed to accept it without much difficulty.
However, it didn’t seem like Yong-yong could adapt as quickly due to her younger age.
“Yong-yong. If it is difficult, we can talk about the rest later.”
“The rest?”
Yong-yong’s eyes opened wide as if they were about to pop out.
“What more is there?”
“I think it will be better for you to calm down first.”
“Haa… no.no. Tell me now.”
“Will you be fine?”
“Haa… I am fine!”
Her eyes had a stubborn glint as she forced me to continue.
“Mother’s father, our grandfather, is alive.”
“M-maternal grandfather is alive?”
Yong-yong seemed surprised that someone so close to our bloodline was still alive. This was a different reaction from her utter surprise earlier.
“That’s right. Right now, he’s being taken care of by my father, who is not So Ik-heon of the Ikyang So family, in the Dual Martial Troops.”
“Your real father…? Who is that?”
I judged that she could probably process this info, so I told her carefully.
“He is Jin Song-baek, the 8th generation head of the Wind Shadow Eight Order.”
“… Invincible Wind God?”
“That’s right, the very same.”
“Mother’s former husband, no, brother’s real father, is one of the Eight Great Warriors?”
“Yes.”
I replied calmly, and she looked at me with trembling eyes. It felt like she was trying to keep a grip on this world.
She stared at me and mumbled.
“…my brother’s father-in-law is one of the Five Great Evils, and his real father is… one of the Eight Great Warriors… My brother is also in both the Five Great Evils and Eight Great Warriors?”
… hmm.
This was certainly something that no one could even dream of. It would be impossible for any sane person to process this normally.
“A lie… I am dreaming right now. Where in the world could such nonsense even be said?”
Here, it was spoken right here.
As I thought I should have told her the truth piece by piece. It seemed like this was all too much for her.
“I… I have the blood of Blood Demon… what nonsense is this…”
She kept denying the reality that she could not accept.
It seemed unbelievable to her that she had inherited the blood of the Blood Demon. In response, I took off my sheath and took out Blood Demon Sword.
Yong-yong looked at the sword with a puzzled look as I told her,
“Do you want to touch the Blood Demon Sword?”
“That is insane… huhuhu.”
Thud!
“Yong-yong! Yong-yong!”
Her eyes rolled up as she passed out. This was the first time I saw someone faint in surprise.
The shock must have been too great for her.
-If you told her about the Immortal Sword, she might have stopped breathing.
…not telling her about that would be the best.
I treated Yong-yong, who had fainted, with qi. Certainly, the impact of that much shock on her body and mind could not be ignored.
She even had internal injuries. The truth must have been quite shocking for her.
It wasn’t until late evening that I observed her again and noted that her injuries seemed to have healed. Since she hadn’t woken up by then, I was about to take her to her guest house, but I ran into Eon Young-in, who had been waiting for her.
-What if she wakes up and still can’t accept it? She was brought up as a Justice Faction member, after all.
It would be difficult if that was the case, but we wouldn’t know until she woke up. Perhaps she just needed time to clear her mind.
In the meantime, I arrived at where my party was staying. I entered our reserved rooms and was met by something that surprised me.
“Ah…”
Sima Young sat on a chair beside a table while polishing her sword. However, unlike her usual look, she had removed her mask and didn’t dress like a man.
Instead, she wore fancy silk clothing, accessories, and even make-up. She had dressed at her best, and her beauty would mesmerize any man.
As soon as she saw me, she stood up and said,
“Are you going to meet her at her lodgings?”
“…”
So that was what she was doing.
I thought she just wanted to relax, but…
-She definitely wants to be accepted by your sister.
That’s right. That was also why she had dressed up so nicely.
“How do I look?”
Sima Young turned around while holding the hem of her skirt. It was like witnessing a dancing fairy.
“So beautiful.”
“Then enough. Let us go!”
Sima Young walked up next to me and crossed her arms with mine. What was this now?
“Uh… um… it might be difficult since Yong-yong had fainted from all the surprise.”
‘…?!’
Sima Young’s expression became grim as she realized that all her effort had been for naught.
