How many times had I walked with Seol Lihyang, warm and soft yet on the verge of biting her tongue from embarrassment, carried on my back?

My stamina was finally starting to run out, and even the internal energy I’d recovered was almost fully spent. I was barely able to drag my feet when, at last, we came upon a village.

It was a fairly large one, and perhaps because the Bloodflame Fist Demon had prioritized tracking us over destruction, there were no burn marks—just the usual signs of meat having been grilled over fire. A perfectly ordinary village.

“Thank goodness. I was honestly thinking of digging a hole and crawling into an underground burrow if I had to.”

“Wow, a soft bed… a warm meal… I’m so glad…”

“What’s wrong? Don’t tell me your condition’s worsened so much you can’t even talk…”

“No, that’s not it.”

“Then why the lackluster reaction?”

“Because I’m still embarrassed, okay?!”

“You managed to pull your pants down and back up all on your own. Even cleaned up neatly. What’s there to be embarrassed about?”

“You watched me, Cheon Hwi!”

“My eyes were closed.”

“Your ears were open!”

“Ears are always open…? It’d be a much bigger problem if they weren’t.”

As I shook my head, Seol Lihyang sank her teeth into the back of my neck.

Of course, in her exhausted state, it was more of a tickle.

“Uugh!”

“Alright, alright. I won’t bring it up again, so quit it. You’re making me damp with spit.”

“It’s not that much!”

Hearing the word “spit,” she quickly released her teeth. She seemed to be coming back to life.

A foreign man walking around in broad daylight carrying a girl on his back—especially one who was biting his neck—must’ve been quite the sight.

The villagers had been sneaking glances at us, pretending not to be curious.

If I hadn’t been openly wearing martial attire with a sword at my waist, someone might’ve already come up to say something.

Suppressing a chuckle, I approached the middle-aged woman closest to me.

She had a stall with cheap trinkets laid out. I handed her a handful of copper coins and asked,

“I’m looking for a place to stay. Could you point me to the nearest inn, and also the best pharmacy here?”

“Eh? O-Of course, young master!”

Indeed, money makes people kind.

Satisfied, I nodded as she explained the way. Fortunately, there was a pharmacy along the path to the inn.

Though it was just a regular town with no top-grade elixirs, I bought every herb that seemed nourishing before heading to the inn.

It was a bit rundown, but thanks to good upkeep, the inside was cleaner than expected.

I rented a decent room, endured some odd looks while borrowing a brazier in the middle of summer, and brought up food that would be easy to eat.

As soon as the door was shut and carefully locked—

“You rented only one room?! Are you planning to do something to me?!”

Her voice carried both a strange sense of hope and intense embarrassment—but she was so weak, it came out more like a squeak.

Without a word, I laid Seol Lihyang on the bed, brought the lit brazier close, sat beside her, scooped up a bite of the food, and held it out.

“Eat.”

“I mean, if you don’t say anything, it’s kind of embarrassing for me…”

She took the spoon with an awkward expression and began to nibble. I was hungry too, so I took the next bite for myself.

And so, one bite for me, one for her—we alternated until the meal was done.

Afterward, I pulled the blanket over her still-feeble body, then climbed in beside her and gently embraced her from behind.

“W-What are you doing?”

“Raising your body temperature.”

“There’s a brazier though?”

“Honestly, it’s making me too hot. This way’s more comfortable. You owe me a bit for carrying you all the way here, so think of it as being my body pillow for now.”

“Body… pillow?”

“You say it like that and it sounds weird. I’m a taken man, you know.”

“Then don’t do things that cause misunderstandings!”

“It’s for your recovery, so it’s fine.”

“What kind of—!”

Seol Lihyang gave a baffled snort, but her pale cheeks were slowly regaining color, as if pleased in spite of herself.

Of course, I knew. This was risky.

But after realizing her feelings—and seeing her so willing to risk her life for me—how could I treat her coldly?

So this was my way of showing gratitude and warmth, without crossing the line.

Stiffened for a completely different reason now, Seol Lihyang was too flustered to argue. I let her reaction pass and pulled out the ointment I’d taken from the Bloodflame Fist Demon’s pouch, applying it to my hand.

Most of me was uninjured, but my hand—burned from gripping the overheated sword—still needed treatment.

I had already applied some earlier while on the move, but I’d wiped it off while eating, so this was a reapplication.

Once I’d carefully finished, I gingerly pulled out the letter from the Bloodflame Fist Demon, making sure not to smudge it.

“Could you open this for me?”

“Huh? Oh, because of the ointment?”

“Yeah. Forgot and applied it before reading. Should’ve waited.”

“I can still move a bit. Just give me a second.”

Taking the letter from me, Seol Lihyang swallowed once and broke the seal.

We read it together over her shoulder—and the contents were shocking.

Seol Lihyang reread it several times in disbelief before asking in a shaken voice,

“Cheon Hwi… is this really true?”

“It must be. It’s too detailed to be fake. No one from the Demonic Cult would’ve expected the Bloodflame Fist Demon to die so meaninglessly after escaping even Kunlun Sect’s Thousand-Net Heaven Trap.”

“What is the Demonic Cult thinking, planning something like this…?”

She instinctively recoiled, her shoulders trembling.

Anyone with a sane mind would react the same after reading it.

The letter outlined two main plots:

First, how to kill Peng Woojin and Yeon Ga-hye, and use their deaths to drive a wedge between the Peng and Yeon Clans.

Second, a plan involving the distribution of High Blood Pills throughout Hebei Province.

I already knew of the first plan—its results had played out before my regression, and the scheme’s outline was visible in this life as well.

The plan in the letter was even crueler than I remembered.

In my previous life, Peng Woojin and Yeon Ga-hye had committed joint suicide. Their deaths deepened the grudge between their clans, but at least ended immediate conflict.

But that was their best choice—made only after realizing they couldn’t escape the Demonic Cult’s scheme.

The original plan? The Bloodflame Fist Demon would kidnap both, subdue Peng Woojin’s mind using drugs and sorcery, and then command him to brutally kill Yeon Ga-hye.

Afterward, Peng Woojin would be taken to the Demonic Cult and made to disappear, while the scene would be staged—traces of Peng Clan’s swordsmanship and signs of arson, but no intact body.

That would’ve been more than enough to drive Yeon Ga-hye’s father into a frenzy.

Even righteous clans would stop at nothing if pushed that far.

Had the plan worked, one of the two clans would’ve surely been annihilated.

In my previous life, Peng Woojin and Yeon Ga-hye likely chose to die together to prevent that outcome.

The Demonic Cult, unfamiliar with their martial techniques, couldn’t forge every detail of a faked scene.

No wonder the mere thought of it left me feeling heavy.

“And the second part… what do we do about that?”

“What else? We inform the clan heads of Peng and Eon, report it to the Murim Alliance, and do everything we can to prevent any deaths.”

The second plan involved spreading a mid-grade elixir, High Blood Pills, across Hebei.

At a glance, it looked like a generous act—but of course, the Demonic Cult wasn’t doing it out of kindness.

Their real goal? To use the people who consumed the pills as ingredients for another elixir.

It sounded absurd, but the logic behind it was horrifyingly sound.

High Blood Pills were made from animal blood, various herbs, and the result was called Poison-induced Core—a monstrous embodiment of poison and curse.

These pills offered murky internal energy and carried the risk of deviation, but were otherwise considered relatively safe. Two clans had even been fighting over the rights to monopolize them.

But here’s the truth: whoever took in the Poison-induced Core’s core would eventually become another Poison-induced Core.

A Poison-induced Core is created by locking multiple poisons together and letting them fight—only the survivor remains, infused with dark power.

Depending on the poison and the environment, the resulting Poison-induced Core takes on different natures—ones that control minds, inflict pain, or override bodily autonomy.

Among these, the most basic type is one where the toxin multiplies the host’s venom exponentially.

Martial artists who consume High Blood Pills become like those Poison-induced Core—when they fight, the victor gains a massive boost in internal energy.

Not earned through righteous means, so it leads to deviation. But that doesn’t matter.

Because they’re not people anymore—they’re ingredients.

And the pill they become?

We already knew its name.

It was the same one the Ghost Shadow Thief had seen in the Demonic Cult—an elixir made from human beings.

Blood Vitality Pill.

The high-quality Blood Vitality Pills made this way would, of course, be reserved for the Heavenly Demon.

Now I finally understood the overwhelming demonic energy I’d seen in my previous life.

Back then, Peng and Yeon hadn’t gone to war, so the Poison-induced Core didn’t mature.

But this time, the Demonic Cult could just lead its poisoned followers into Hebei to attack.

These are fanatics—if it meant vengeance, they’d gladly die for it.

No wonder so few survived from Peng and Yeon in my previous life.

They were all fattened up like Poison-induced Core, then squeezed dry to make the Blood Vitality Pill.

“The only fortunate thing is… we figured this out in time.”

With such a monstrous plan in motion, the Murim Alliance wouldn’t just raise their guard—they’d take real action.

I let out a breath of relief and put the letter away.

“We’ve done all we can for now. Once we regroup with the others, we’ll share what we’ve learned. For now, we rest and recover.”

“Mm. Let’s focus on recovery.”

Seol Lihyang gave a small, resolute nod.

She tossed and turned a little, but before long, both of us—exhausted—drifted into sleep.

***

The next morning.

The door—supposedly locked—burst halfway open, and a familiar voice jolted me awake.

“Cheon Sohyeop! You’re saf— huh?”

“Wait! Let me explain! I can explain everything!”

So please… take your hand out of your sleeve first.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep