Unlike Tang Sowol, who was rather excited about going on a long trip after a while, Seol Lihyang seemed a bit uneasy about leaving the Tang Clan.

She had been glancing around nervously for a while now before finally asking me,

"Hey, why does the Yongbong Gathering even exist?"

"You’re asking that now?"

"No, I mean, I know the basics. It's for uniting the orthodox Murim, fostering camaraderie among the young generation, and giving them rare opportunities to experience real combat. My master told me all that. But even considering all that, isn’t it a bit too extravagant?"

"Ah, so that's what you’re curious about."

She had a point. The Yongbong Gathering was indeed an event of an astonishingly massive scale.

Not only did martial arts enthusiasts from all over the Central Plains gather, but sects looking for talented disciples, merchants hoping to make a fortune, and even high-ranking elders from prestigious sects who rarely left their seats of power all came together in one place.

"Plus, I heard that the winner is awarded the finest elixir, personally provided by the Five Supreme Clans and the Nine Great Sects on a rotating basis. Even if you don’t win, performing well can earn you access to martial arts manuals or weapons stored by the Murim Alliance."

With so many people present—some even at the Flowering Stage—it was nearly impossible to deceive everyone.

However, it seemed that Seol Lihyang’s concern lay elsewhere.

"After training in martial arts and learning about Murim, one thing has stood out to me... Murim people are really closed off."

"That’s hard to deny."

Even blacksmiths and physicians were reluctant to share their techniques.

But unlike them, martial artists took secrecy to an extreme—training in complete isolation, hidden from all eyes, or hunting down and eliminating anyone who dared to steal their true martial arts.

Given that martial arts were directly tied to survival, it wasn’t completely unreasonable... but it did make Murim a far more closed-off world compared to other fields.

This was exactly what puzzled Seol Lihyang.

"But then, why would they give out rare elixirs and martial arts just because someone did well in a simple competition? That part seems strange to me."

"Ahem. Allow me to explain that, Lady Seol."

Tang Sowol smoothly slid between us, clearing her throat with a knowing smile before continuing.

"In short, the Murim Alliance was established precisely to break away from that closed-off nature."

"Huh? Really?"

"Yes. Nowadays, Murim is relatively peaceful, so it's hard to imagine... but in the past, bloody conflicts—what they called Bloodshed—were quite common."

She was right. I had heard a little about it from Seo Mun-Hwarin before.

Before the Black Lotus Sect was founded, Murim had been in utter chaos.

There was no clear distinction between orthodox and unorthodox sects like there is today, leading to frequent clashes. Whenever someone was killed, their allies would retaliate, leading to even greater bloodshed.

I wasn’t particularly fond of the Black Lotus Sect Master, but even I had to acknowledge his achievements.

"And yet, even in such times, the major sects still feared the overwhelming power of the Murim Alliance."

"So... before the Murim Alliance existed..."

"Back then, even the imperial court had given up on trying to control Murim. That’s when the Non-Intervention Principle was established."

Martial artists, swords in hand, were constantly at each other's throats, and they were too powerful to be easily subdued.

In the end, the reigning emperor at the time could do nothing but acknowledge that conflicts between martial artists were beyond his control and focus instead on ensuring that the bloodshed did not spill over to commoners.

This left the orthodox sects without any external support.

And so, they chose to prioritize greater causes over personal vendettas.

They set aside their grudges to prevent new victims, risked their lives not just for themselves and their families but even for complete strangers, and willingly joined hands with their rivals.

For the first time in the long history of Murim, a group freed from the chains of vengeance was born—a group that moved solely for the greater good.

That was the moment the Murim Alliance was established.

Nowadays, the Alliance feels more like a corrupt organization clinging to outdated traditions... but I still remember how they stood at the forefront when the Heavenly Demon invaded the Central Plains.

Even though the Murim Alliance collapsed, and more than half of the Nine Great Sects and Five Supreme Clans were wiped out, leaving their survivors consumed by revenge...

That didn’t erase the noble ideals they once upheld, nor the resolve they displayed in their final stand.

As I nodded silently to myself, Tang Sowol, looking a little more mature than usual, playfully wagged her finger as she continued.

"That’s why the Murim Alliance constantly needs to prove its strength. The extravagant rewards at the Yongbong Gathering serve exactly that purpose."

"So... it’s a kind of show of force? Like saying, ‘We’re this strong, so don’t mess with us’?"

Seol Lihyang tilted her head, still looking uncertain. Chuckling, Tang Sowol reached out and gently patted her back.

"Correct! You’re catching on quickly, Lady Seol. You’re becoming a proper martial artist now!"

"It’s just that the scale is so huge I didn’t think of it right away. It’s not that impressive... And stop treating me like a kid, Sister Tang. I’m already eighteen. I’m all grown up."

Seol Lihyang grumbled, turning her head slightly as if embarrassed.

Seeing that, Tang Sowol’s smile grew even warmer.

"Well, you see, that stoic fiancé of yours isn’t the type to indulge in this kind of thing. So I’ll just have to shower you with all the affection he won’t give you."

"Wait, what? That’s not—hyaa?!"

Tang Sowol didn’t just pat her back this time—she started tickling her mercilessly.

Seol Lihyang twitched and tried to resist as Tang Sowol’s fingers reached her sides, but... she didn’t actually try to escape.

It was proof that their relationship had grown much closer.

Ever since Tang Sowol had once mentioned that Seol Lihyang reminded her of the past, she had started treating her much more kindly.

I had found it strange and once asked her why.

Her answer was... quite something.

"Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer."

Apparently, while she couldn't change how I saw her, she believed that treating Seol Lihyang well would make her feel guilty if anything ever went wrong—and would also allow her to sense any suspicious behavior immediately.

"Hey!"

"Hih! N-not my sides, Sister Tang!"

But watching them now, I couldn't help but think that maybe... she just enjoyed having a little sister.

Maybe it was because she had always been the youngest before.

Ever since Seol Lihyang began receiving regular Blood-Purging Acupuncture from me, she had also started paying more attention to Tang Sowol and treating her better.

When I asked why, she only gave me a vague answer—"Because of you."

I didn't quite understand the reasoning, but since the outcome was that the two of them had grown closer, I supposed that was all that mattered.

Honestly, when I first revealed the truth to Tang Sowol, I had been anxious about how things would turn out.

Though, there were times when their growing closeness felt a bit excessive.

"There might not be many people around, but we're still outside. How about you two exercise some restraint?"

"Gasp! Could it be that Brother Cheon is jealous?"

"I think so too, Sister Tang. Maybe he's secretly upset about what you said earlier about him lacking any charm?"

"When you put it that way, he does seem kind of cute..."

I can hear you, you know. I have no idea why they insist on finding me "cute."

As I let out a long sigh, Tang Sowol and Seol Lihyang exchanged glances before breaking into laughter.

"It's fun precisely because you hate it so much."

"No special reason needed. Your reactions are just too amusing."

The thought of traveling all the way to the Murim Alliance with these two filled me with both excitement and a hint of resignation.

***

By the time we passed Sichuan and were nearing Hubei, Seol Lihyang finally spoke up, looking somewhat surprised.

"We haven't run into any real danger so far, huh? Considering all the things that happened to you and Sister Tang, I figured we'd have had at least one or two life-threatening encounters by now."

"What happened before was the exception, not the norm. This is how it’s supposed to be. If incidents like that happened all the time, how do you think the Central Plains would function?"

"But still, you've both been through so many dangerous situations."

"Which is why Father didn’t let us leave Chengdu for three years."

"Calling it worry might be an understatement... We really were just unlucky."

Tang Sowol nodded in agreement. She was right. But I was more concerned about something else.

The incidents we had faced so far had all stemmed from me trying to change events from before my regression.

Stopping the attack on Tang Sowol, which would have caused her poison qi to spiral out of control, naturally meant fighting off the attackers.

Uncovering the Demonic Cult’s involvement behind the attack led us to them, and dealing with them resulted in stumbling across Seol Lihyang in a pleasure house, where I ended up taking on an entire Hao Clan branch while trying to get her out.

Going to retrieve a precious elixir somehow turned into encountering Jang Cheok, the Ghost Shadow Thief, who was on the verge of death, learning about the Demonic Cult’s recent activities, and eventually fighting off assassins who tracked us down—all before seeking refuge in Wudang Sect.

People worried because I kept getting caught up in trouble every time I stepped outside.

But from my perspective, it felt more like my attempts to change fate were stirring up unintended consequences—like some sort of backlash.

Before Tang Sowol got involved, when I was traveling alone, the worst I had encountered were a few petty disputes.

Maybe there was some inherent cost to altering predetermined events.

Or perhaps it was simply because the Demonic Cult had a hand in so many affairs that disrupting their plans inevitably led to frequent conflicts.

I wasn’t sure which it was.

But what I could confirm was that, since I had stopped trying to interfere with past events, nothing particularly troublesome had happened.

"Well... If you think about it, we have had a few small incidents. Like that drunk martial artist at the inn who picked a fight, only for Sister Tang to quietly knock him out with a sleeping poison. Or those third-rate Green Forest Bandits we handed over to the authorities. And let's not forget how you got scolded for sneaking into my room in the middle of the night just to ask me to freeze a bucket of water."

"That last one was unfair."

For the record, the actual complaint was that I shouldn’t be barging into a young lady’s room at night.

But the only reason we even ran into each other was that she had also gone out to get water because it was too hot.

Still, placing a block of solid ice beside my pillow had helped me sleep much better.

Regardless, our journey through Hubei remained relatively peaceful.

For several days, we continued traveling without issue, gradually approaching Wuhan City.

We decided to stop at a decent inn for the night and were just about to have dinner on the first floor when we overheard a commotion.

"You dare steal from the Golden Flower Merchant Guild?!"

"I-It’s a misunderstanding! I swear, I would never—!"

A large man, stocky enough to appear more imposing than muscular, was angrily shouting at a small, fidgeting woman.

And as I caught sight of the woman's back...

I immediately recognized her.

I hadn’t expected to run into her so soon.