06.
At the flat refusal, Jin-mun, Yang Ja-han’s master, furrowed his brow.
"No, I mean, for the sake of my reputation..."
"Am I not already conversing with you out of respect for that very reputation?"
If it hadn't been Jin-mun standing in his way, Yang Ja-han would not be alive right now.
Jin-mun crossed his arms and let out a deep sigh.
"Your disciple tried to kill my disciple, Senior."
"Could it not have been an accident?"
"Are you joking?"
What Yoo Yeon-seo had dubbed "Cloud Construct" was actually a fragment of Unmong, Baek Woon-jin’s guardian spirit.
Had Unmong not intervened, Yoo Yeon-seo would have lost his life to that first strike.
That attack had been unmistakably filled with murderous intent.
"Why make such a fuss over a mere disciple? You have hundreds of them."
Unlike Baek Woon-jin, who had only Yoo Yeon-seo, Jin-mun had hundreds of disciples.
He employed a method of pitting his many disciples against one another, bestowing his power only upon those who proved themselves superior.
"I apologize, but just as you cherish that disciple, I have my own reasons for not being able to let this go."
"Is that so?"
Baek Woon-jin took a step forward, signaling he would not back down.
Baek Woon-jin was a genius who had reached the Spirit Refining stage at the tender age of eighty and become an elder of the Eight Great Orthodox Sects.
Even for Jin-mun, he was not an opponent to be taken lightly.
The atmosphere turned hostile.
Staggering to my feet, I hurriedly grabbed the hem of Baek Woon-jin’s robe.
"Are you planning to kill him?"
"He is the one who tried to kill you."
"That may be, but..."
I glanced at Yang Ja-han, who still hadn't dared to lift his head.
It was true that I had nearly died, but in the end, I hadn't.
'This is difficult.'
Even though he tried to kill me, Yang Ja-han was the protagonist of *Chronicles of the Heavenly Mandate*.
In terms of the plot, we were still in the early stages of the novel; it didn't sit right with me for the protagonist to die because of me.
'Who knows what would happen if Yang Ja-han died at Baek Woon-jin’s hands!'
There were still many unresolved events and catastrophes left in *Chronicles of the Heavenly Mandate*.
Regardless of his attempt on my life, as the protagonist, he had things he needed to do while alive!
After agonizing over it for a long while, I spoke with difficulty.
"I don't think you should kill him. I'm safe, after all."
I didn't know why Yang Ja-han had tried to kill me.
But I judged that it didn't necessarily have to be a reason for him to die at Baek Woon-jin’s hands.
Above all, even without going that far, judging by the reaction of Yang Ja-han’s master, it was certain that some other form of punishment would be meted out.
If he were to be punished, that was enough for me.
"Consider yourself lucky."
Baek Woon-jin stroked my hair and turned to the side.
Fortunately, his rage seemed to have subsided somewhat.
"Ahem, my apologies. I shall see to it that this matter is handled properly—"
"Let us settle this with a Soul-Binding Token."
"You!"
"Otherwise, we shall consider this conversation as never having happened."
"I only have two Soul-Binding Tokens myself. Isn't that a bit too much, even for you?"
"There will be no further compromise."
At Baek Woon-jin’s firm stance, Jin-mun groaned in frustration.
He looked down at Yang Ja-han, who had caused the trouble, with a displeased expression, yet he muttered something to himself, seemingly unable to give up on the boy.
'I suppose that makes sense.'
Yang Ja-han was a Dual Spirit Root Possessor of the Void lineage, the first to enter the Infinite Mystery Sect in fifty years.
The Void lineage was a Special Spirit Root, making them rare, and it was even harder to be born with a natural Void-lineage Heavenly Spirit Root.
The original work described how the higher-ups had even argued over who would take Yang Ja-han as a disciple.
Having gone to such lengths to take him in, he wouldn't give up on him over something like this.
I wasn't sure if Baek Woon-jin knew Yang Ja-han’s true value when he made the demand or not.
"Ugh, fine. I agree."
"Give it to me right here and now."
"In exchange, let us agree that this incident never happened."
Baek Woon-jin nodded slightly, indicating he would do so, though he was clearly reluctant.
No sooner had he spoken than Jin-mun pulled an old token from his storage artifact and tossed it over.
The token traced an arc through the air and landed snugly in Baek Woon-jin’s hand.
"Master."
A Soul-Binding Token was a Dharma artifact that, if possessed, would automatically activate in the face of mortal danger to twist one's fate.
Because it could avert minor mishaps or even save one's life, it was considered a top-tier Dharma artifact.
Yang Ja-han, who knew the value of the Soul-Binding Token, bowed his head low.
"Enough. Let us discuss the details once we return."
"...Yes."
He turned back and glanced at me.
The situation was resolved, but his gaze toward me remained unchanged.
'Hmph! Blegh!'
I stuck my tongue out at Yang Ja-han.
What kind of protagonist is so insufferable?
How annoying.
Yang Ja-han and Jin-mun rode their flying swords and vanished in an instant.
Once the two were gone, the tension drained out of me.
Baek Woon-jin caught me as I swayed.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes, I just felt a bit dizzy."
Baek Woon-jin leaned down and placed his hand on my forehead.
A blue light seeped from his fingertips and covered my entire body.
The wounds where the light touched began to heal rapidly.
The bodies of cultivators are different from those of ordinary people.
A high-level cultivator could easily heal severed limbs using Body Refining techniques.
However, unlike the Body Refining techniques used to heal oneself, there were not many cultivators capable of using healing arts on others.
'The Azure Feather Sect’s cultivation techniques are naturally gifted in that regard, too.'
Baek Woon-jin was quite skilled when it came to healing arts.
I suspected that might have been the very reason I was able to survive.
"How about now?"
"I think I'm fine!"
As I smiled at my healed wounds, Baek Woon-jin stroked my hair.
Before I could say anything, he lowered his body and scooped me up, cradling my back with his other arm.
Perhaps because of the height difference, I felt my body suddenly lift into the air.
I blinked, cradled in Baek Woon-jin’s arms.
"Just because your wounds are healed doesn't mean you aren't exhausted, so get some rest."
Baek Woon-jin’s embrace was warm and comforting.
On the way back, Baek Woon-jin recovered the bodies of the merchants and notified other merchants in a nearby village of their location, while also retrieving all the Heavenly Silk they had been transporting.
As if being considerate of me, he did not use a Flying Dharma Artifact on the way back, but flew quietly using sword-flight.
Cradled in his arms, I asked him something I was curious about.
"By the way, what happened to the merchants?"
"I thought they were vengeful spirits, but it seems they were attacked by an Evil Spirit."
There had been cultivators guarding the merchant caravan, but they were apparently not skilled enough to deal with an Evil Spirit.
In my heart, I prayed that the deceased would find their way to a good place.
"Ah, Cloud Construct!"
I hurriedly pulled the forgotten Cloud Construct from my robes.
What if it had died?!
The creature, which had been riddled with holes, had returned to its original state, perfectly fine.
"Oh? It's healed?"
As if it understood me, the creature nuzzled against my cheek.
"Since it has no physical form to begin with, it wasn't such a severe injury."
A guardian spirit, he said, would dissipate but not easily die unless its master’s spiritual power was exhausted.
"That's a relief. It would be nice if I had a guardian spirit like that, too... *yawn*."
As I began to nod off in my sleepiness, Baek Woon-jin chuckled and replied.
"If it is meant to be, you shall have one, so do not worry too much."
"Yes..."
Answering him, I fell into a deep sleep, practically collapsing in his arms.
***
The owner of the fabric shop expressed his condolences at the news that the merchants transporting the Heavenly Silk had been killed in an attack by an Evil Spirit.
"I will make sure to craft your disciple’s Spirit Wing Garment as quickly as possible."
"Thank you."
Baek Woon-jin called out to me as I was looking at the silks.
I, who had been in the corner, scurried over to Baek Woon-jin.
"Choose a silk you like from among these, and then try infusing it with your spiritual power."
"Yes!"
I picked up a silk that caught my eye and channeled my spiritual power into it.
To my surprise, the color of the silk, which had been gray, began to change.
After I stopped infusing it with power, I slowly checked the color of the silk in my hand.
"Oh, this? It has been a long time since I have seen this color."
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