IJWEP 01

Chapter 1…..

Blood dripped, drop by drop, down a pale jawline. The body hung limp, unable to even lift a finger.

“Master, you mustn’t lose consciousness! Please… please, just hold on a little longer.”

At the desperate voice wrung with sorrow, Man Yu-gang slowly lifted his head.

“Rang-ah…”

Every time he tried to speak, the sword piercing through his abdomen sank deeper, sending waves of excruciating pain.

It hurts…

If left as it was, that blade would certainly drain the last of his strength. Then the power of Man Yu-gang would fall into the wrong hands.

Thinking sluggishly but clearly, he didn’t hesitate—he pulled the sword out of his abdomen.

“Ah, no! Master, no…!”

Cheon-rang’s voice trembled with horror. His face turned deathly white at the sight of the blood gushing out. He pressed his hands against the wound, but the fountain of crimson from Yu-gang’s body showed no sign of stopping.

Clinging desperately to his fading consciousness, Yu-gang locked eyes with his disciple.

“Cheon-rang…”

“D-don’t speak, please. You must conserve your strength. Just… just hold on…”

“…Never… cough! …never fall… for the… Demon Cult’s… schemes…”

Each ragged breath quivered like a thread about to snap.

But Cheon-rang shook his head violently.

“You promised! You promised that when this war was over, we would leave together! So why…!”

Even as enemies swarmed from all sides, his only gaze, his only focus, was on his dying master.

He had to send him away.

If Cheon-rang didn’t escape now, he would surely be gravely injured.

Yu-gang tried to push him away, but his disciple gritted his teeth, lifting him up with trembling arms.

No matter what he did, Yu-gang knew he would die here.

Even if not for the multiple blades that had torn through his body, his fate as the character Man Yu-gang was sealed.

“Once we leave Mount Cheon, we’ll go straight to Sichuan. We’ll stay there for a while… then leave the Central Plains altogether.”

Cheon-rang said this as he steadied his master and took a step forward. But with that single step, Yu-gang’s knees buckled. If not for his disciple’s support, he would have collapsed right there.

“We’ll buy all the things Master likes too…”

Strange.

Cheon-rang should have been right beside him, speaking as he supported him. But his voice sounded as though it came from underwater, muffled and distant.

…So it’s almost over.

At the realization of his end, Yu-gang recalled the memory he had always kept in mind.

If I remember correctly… someone targeted Rang-ah here…

Forcing strength into his failing eyes, he caught sight of a black-clad man creeping up behind his disciple.

“…Rang-ah.”

“Yes, Master? I’m listening.”

Even at the faintest whisper, Cheon-rang reacted instantly.

Yu-gang gripped his disciple’s collar, looked into his eyes, and smiled faintly.

“Be… happy.”

With the last of his strength, he shoved Cheon-rang aside. The next instant, the assassin’s blade slashed through Yu-gang’s body.

“Master!!”

Hearing the scream that tore from his disciple’s throat, Yu-gang managed a weak smile.

Dying wasn’t exactly pleasant, but knowing it was the end brought a strange peace.

His heavy eyelids finally closed.

At last…

It was over.

Now he could return home.

As that thought crossed his mind, his vision sank into complete darkness.

Drip, drop.

Cold water dripped onto his face.

Yu-gang frowned at the unwelcome sensation and shifted his body.

…I’m so tired.

His vision was still blurred, his mind hazy as if he remained half-asleep.

Just as he was about to slip back into slumber, his brows twitched. …Wait. Hadn’t he forgotten something important?

He slowly opened his eyes, staring blankly ahead.

…Didn’t I die?

So how was he still breathing?

On the battlefield, every step had torn his body apart. The coppery taste of blood had filled his mouth, and Cheon-rang’s desperate cries still rang in his ears.

“…How am I alive?”

He bolted upright, patting his body frantically.

The spot where the sword had pierced him was unmarked. The long slash that had run from his left shoulder to his right hip was gone.

That wasn’t the only strange thing.

“…Did I ever own clothes like this?”

He stared at the green long robe he was wearing. Then he noticed the jade tablet tied at his waist.

Etched into it was the character Tang (唐).

As he gazed at it in shock, the blood drained from his face.

He had experienced something eerily similar over a decade ago—when he had first possessed Man Yu-gang.

“Th-that’s impossible.”

Muttering in disbelief, he staggered to his feet and looked around. Spotting a pool of water inside the cave, he rushed to it and peered at his reflection.

Through long, flowing strands of hair, he saw porcelain-white skin. Green eyes glimmered brightly, even in the dim cave light. A slender nose bridge, thin lips—features too delicate, almost beautiful, for a man.

A face completely different from the sturdy, sharp features of Man Yu-gang. He had never met this person before.

But one thing was certain.

“…Why am I possessed again?”

And this time, in a nameless extra who didn’t even appear in a single line of the novel.

Yu-gang sat cross-legged, clutching his pounding head.

If only he knew who the original owner of this body was. For now, all he could tell was that he belonged to the Sichuan Tang Clan.

“What were those poison freaks up to in the novel again…?”

…He couldn’t remember.

It had been over ten years since he read Advent of the Heavenly Demon. There was no way he could recall a background character.

A long time ago, he had read that BL martial arts novel.

It was about Cheon-rang, the protagonist, who endured endless trials and eventually found happiness. At least, that was what Yu-gang remembered.

The problem was, by the time he quit reading, there hadn’t been the slightest hint of happiness—so he didn’t even know if it ended happily or tragically.

The story began with the death of Cheon-rang’s master, Man Yu-gang.

Unable to save him, Cheon-rang left for the Central Plains, determined to avenge him against the Demon Cult. The twist was that his master himself had been from the Demon Cult, and so Cheon-rang was branded a demon wherever he went.

Wandering in despair, he eventually met a man—Song Jeok-rim, the main love interest.

Through him, Cheon-rang finally learned how to live with happiness.

But.

…That man dies too.

The novel was far more tragic than expected. Every person who grew close to Cheon-rang ended up dead. Even readers began complaining: [Is this even BL? Where did the “L” go?] before abandoning it altogether.

I was one of them too…

So why was he the only one being forced to suffer like this?

“What more do they want me to do here…?”

He let out a weary sigh, clutching his aching head.

He had thought that if he played the perfect master, followed the story faithfully, and died where he was supposed to, everything would be resolved. That his role would end, and he could finally wake up back home.

But no. Instead of release, he had now possessed an extra without even a name.

Why?

“Wasn’t following the original the right answer?”

Was this punishment for sticking too closely to the script?

“Surely they don’t mean for me to just stand by and watch Rang-ah suffer…”

If that was really the case, then to hell with the original story. He’d tear it all apart. No one was allowed to harm his one and only disciple.

Then a thought struck him.

“…Wait. Couldn’t I do that?”

After all, Cheon-rang’s future was nothing but misery. At least, up to the part he remembered.

He had only followed the plot because he thought that was the way to free himself. But if even that didn’t work, then what was the point?

“In that case…”

Baek Seon clenched his fist.