Episode 10
Just as Yeonhwa was feeling confused, her mom’s voice continued in the dream.
—
“Master, I once told you I was never afraid of anything.”
“Yes, you did.”
“That was before I saw this child smile. The moment I saw her smile, my heart dropped. Maybe… if she had never known happiness, she would’ve just grown up as a weapon for the Demonic Cult, only looking forward… But I, this disciple, let her know what happiness is…”
—
Tears filled the air between their heavy words.
Weapon for the Demonic Cult? What does that mean?
Yeonhwa felt lost.
The Demonic Cult—known to live in the Ten Thousand Mountain Range—was a feared religious group.
They called themselves the Heavenly Demon Sect and practiced dark martial arts.
Among the Sapa (Evil Faction), some thieves stole from others, but the Demonic Cult was on another level. Pure evil.
Even when Yeonhwa was young, there was a huge fuss as officials and martial clans tried to find cult members hiding among ordinary people.
The whole martial world hated them.
Even the wandering Sapa warriors looked down on the Demonic Cult.
But now, Yeonhwa might be connected to them?
And being called a “weapon” made her feel sick.
—
“…Did I do something wrong?”
“You did nothing wrong.”
“Then why… why am I so scared?”
“You’re afraid of the future this child will have to face without you.”
“Master…”
“You gave her life. You raised her to smile happily. That’s something to be proud of.”
—
Then the Grand Matriarch looked directly at Yeonhwa.
She pulled back her black veil and stared at Yeonhwa with clear eyes.
—
“This child will face the future. Because she has the strength to do it.”
—
Yeonhwa felt like she was falling into those eyes.
They were a light she had never seen before.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Huff!”
Yeonhwa woke up with a gasp.
Where am I?
She had woken up from the dream.
She pinched her cheek—yep, it hurt.
Her chubby cheek stretched painfully.
“Ow. So I’m awake for real now.”
She frowned and let go of her cheek.
She glanced around and saw her broken necklace on a small table beside the bed. It looked like Sama Yun had saved it when he rescued her.
She vaguely remembered her master calling her something right before she passed out—but it wasn’t clear now.
More importantly…
She still couldn’t believe it.
The Grand Matriarch was her mom’s teacher?
Does that mean… my mom also learned martial arts?
And all the other things she heard in the dream were even more confusing.
She wished it had been a random dream. But it was way too real.
What’s going on?
Her mom was connected to the Sapa? And now the Demonic Cult, too?
And she wasn’t even her mom’s real daughter?
Yeonhwa was overwhelmed.
…I need to ask Master for help. If he’s part of the Sapa, maybe he knows the Grand Matriarch.
The Grand Matriarch was someone far too important for Yeonhwa to meet directly.
But she felt like that woman held the truth.
There’s so much I don’t know about Mom.
The Demonic Cult, the martial world, the Sapa… and her mother.
She couldn’t predict anything yet—but one thing was clear:
If she found the Grand Matriarch, she might learn the truth about where she came from.
Who her mother was. And what the dream meant.
Yeonhwa was determined.
I need to get stronger.
Losing her family had hurt deeply. Seeing her mother’s face again in the dream reminded her of that pain.
If I had been stronger… could I have protected her?
It was a useless thought, but she couldn’t let go of it.
Even now, I have to get stronger. To protect my family.
All she had left were the siblings her mom had left behind.
Even though the Grand Matriarch said she’d take care of them, Yeonhwa knew she couldn’t rely on others forever.
If something happened to her siblings, it would break her.
So she had to get stronger. For them.
Maybe Master can bring them here?
Sama Yun was someone powerful in the Sapa. He paid her twice the normal amount just to teach her martial arts.
Even the man called “Gunsa,” who followed him, looked like an elite servant—he probably held a high position too.
Yeonhwa started to regret not asking about all this sooner.
Come to think of it… what exactly does Master do in the Sapa? Is he part of the Black Gate?
Just then, the door opened and someone came in.
“Young lady! You’re awake! Are you feeling okay?”
It was a servant girl bringing a bowl of washing water.
She wore a fine red robe and looked about ten years older than Yeonhwa—more of a woman than a girl.
“Oh no, this isn’t the time! I need to get the doctor!”
She dropped the bowl carelessly and looked panicked.
Yeonhwa stared blankly.
“W-who are you…?”
“I’m Yeji. I’ve been assigned to serve you, young lady. Wait—this isn’t the time for this! I’ll call someone right away.
Will you be okay alone for a moment?”
“…Did you just call me ‘young lady’?”
“Yes. You’re Yeonhwa, the disciple of Lord Ryeon, and the Great Heiress of the Black Gate.”
What?
She wasn’t just some noble lady—she was the Black Gate’s heiress?
“Everyone! Lady Yeonhwa is awake! Get the doctor!”
“The disciple of Lord Ryeon? I’ll get one right away!”
And Lord Ryeon… was Master Sama Yun?
Yeonhwa passed out again on the spot.
✦ ✦ ✦
“…Is the treatment not working? The maid said she woke up earlier.”
The man glaring at the doctor with a murderous look was none other than the Lord of the Sapa and Master of the Black Gate.
They called him:
The Tyrant King.
The Strongest of the Sapa.
And the Strongest in the world.
Sama Yun.
And right now, he was intimidating an old man who could barely see tomorrow.
But the old doctor wasn’t afraid.
“…You brat. Talking like that to me, the one they call the Demon Doctor, Hwang Jo-ryang.”
“If you’re the Demon Doctor, then I’m the strongest in the world. Quit talking and check her pulse again, old man.”
“…Fine.”
The doctor, Hwang Jo-ryang, sighed and focused on Yeonhwa again.
Things didn’t look good.
He sighed quietly, thinking Sama Yun wouldn’t notice.
“What’s with the sigh? You wanna die today?”
“….”
Sama Yun did notice.
Hwang focused again on Yeonhwa’s pulse.
Her energy was slowly returning to normal.
But just barely.
“Lord Ryeon.”
“What?”
“Where did you find this child? Be honest. Her blood pathways are completely ruined because of demonic energy. It’s a miracle she even woke up earlier.”
“…What?”
Sama Yun’s eyes widened. He looked furious.
“She won’t live long at this rate. She may never wake up again. You should prepare yourself—”
“You’re insane.”
Sama Yun grabbed the old doctor by the collar with one hand.
His soldier, Ju Oh-yoon, quickly jumped in.
“Wait, Lord! Please calm down!”
“This old man—! I let you live, and now you think you can talk like that—”
“I swear on my title, Demon Doctor Hwang Jo-ryang, this girl—urk!”
“Lord! Please, don’t kill him!”
Thanks to Ju Oh-yoon and the others, they barely stopped Sama Yun from killing the doctor.
Hwang Jo-ryang coughed, adjusted his clothes, and finally said:
“…But there is one way.”
“Speak. Before I kill you.”
“It’s called Beolmo Saesu.”
Beolmo Saesu—a technique where someone forces energy into another’s body, pushing out impurities and cleansing their blood flow.
With clean blood flow, martial arts training becomes easier.
But this technique requires extremely high skill—it’s hard to do even for top masters.
“A master like you could easily do this for her. But…”
Hwang Jo-ryang paused, hesitating.
“How are you doing? You still haven’t recovered from fighting the Heavenly Demon, have you?”
