The Bloody Hand Witch had cut her own fingers. This kind of behavior was enough to make even the crazy man speechless.

And then she said.

I apologize to the elder for this. Giving up on one arm wouldnt be enough, but please consider that I have been serving a very important person.

Ha!

As if that wasnt enough, she was also an important member of the cult. For her to take off two fingers, she had made a great sacrifice.

-That woman looks crazy.

Short Sword said. I didnt even think that she would apologize. Even that ferocious old man couldnt criticize or ridicule her anymore. Seeing how it turned out, this woman played it well.

But

Strange.

-What is strange?

I wondered if her act of cutting off her fingers was a message to Ha Yeon for her actions. Telling her to cut off her fingers as well.

Just looking at her, she had been eyeing her own disciple for a while. And the fact that her disciple should apologize for it, but she only kept staring

?!

-What is it?

No

I looked at Ha Yeon. She let out a shallow sigh and looked at her teacher. And there was a hint of disappointment.

The teacher cut off her own finger. So what would a normal disciple do?

-Run and stop the bleeding. Anything.

As Short Sword said, they would take immediate action. However, Miss Ha Yeon was just watching. It was like she was ranked higher than the Bloody Hand Witch.

I dont think these are things you do in front of a doctor.

The Great Doctor removed a salve from his waist and tried approaching the Bloody Hand Witch.

That man who had been so stingy with his treatment couldnt bear seeing someone hurt in front of his eyes. However, Han Baekha showed that she was fine.

Tatata!

She stopped the bleeding by stopping her blood points. Someone as strong as her could do it perfectly.

You are as merciless as ever, Bloody Hand Witch.

Hae Ack-chun accepted her apology.

Thank you for forgiving me.

She was also one of the most important people in the cult, so ending it here was the right thing. But the Bloody Hand Witch was quite nervous as she failed to notice one thing.

-What didnt she notice?

Miss Ha Yeons true identity.

-Uh? True identity? Do you mean shes someone important?

I wasnt sure, but if my guess was correct, she wasnt a simple disciple.

-What about her is telling you that shes not a disciple? Is she like the daughter of that woman?

No. She is the granddaughter of the cult leader.

-What? That fat one is the granddaughter?

-Huh!

Both my swords were shocked. Right. Even I was too shocked to think about it further.

-Then what about the woman behind the bamboo veil?

-Fake.

They could be a fake.

Such things happened in my previous life. In order to protect a precious person, they would often place a fake decoy.

-Right. It could be a fake.

If one is a descendent of the Blood Cult, then many people will be targeting them.

If her identity was exposed, there would be an uproar. That is why even the truth about her being alive hadnt even spread inside the cult itself.

-Then, who could have even noticed? Who would think that a fat kid like her would be a descendant of the Blood Cults leader?

Right. That was true. It was such an amazing thing.

It wouldnt be easy to gain weight to hide their identity.

lghtnvlubm fr bttr ur rn

Hm?

No. She was planning on losing weight, right? So what kind of fattening diseases does she have?

-That.

-It is a cursed disease for women.

These two could understand women better than I. Rather, being fat was a fatal disease for any warrior.

Ive never heard of or seen a person among the warriors who gained so much weight. Gaining weight made the body turn dull and placed the person at a disadvantage during fights.

-Wonhwi. But isnt it a bit strange?

What is?

-Isnt this the territory of the Blood Cult?

It is.

-Then does she need to hide her identity and place a fake?

Short Sword replied to the words of Iron Sword.

-Yah. If it is like that, one should have pride in being the granddaughter of the cult leader. Would a person come out looking that fat?

-Short Sword. Wouldnt she have tried to make herself look good if it is like you said?

-

Short Sword went silent. Iron Sword had a point. I was able to understand one thing from the conversation.

an internal problem?

I couldnt think of anything other than that. If not, there would be no reason to put up a fake even inside the Six Blood Valley.

And if a blood relation of the cult leader was here, then she or he would be the center of the cult as they will be the next leader. Could there be an enemy within?

I looked at Ha Yeon.

Ah

-What is it?

Ha!

I was wrong. Why did I think that the cult leader had only one child?

-Oh! Right.

If there were two instead of one, then everyone would be careful.

For example, if there was a risk that people would break into factions or sides, hiding the identity of one is understandable.

-Sometimes, you look like a fool, but surprisingly your head is impressive at times

Just praise me properly, dont be mean.

-Humans are hard to understand.

Why?

-If your guess is correct, then this is so odd. To set up a fake just because people might fight with each other.

-I agree with Short Sword.

Right.

There are animals that fight each other as much as humans.

Small families fight, and rulers of large nations fight. There were also cases of hurting others to occupy the throne. As I continued to think, Hae Ack-chun reached out his hand to the Great Doctor and demanded.

Kulkuk. Shouldnt we keep our promises?

It was a call for the plaque. The man smiled and said.

I will give the plaque to your disciple and not to you, Elder.

Tch.

Hae Ack-chun clicked his tongue.

It doesnt matter. There is only one possible request anyway.

I will keep my word. However, since there was a poor discussion, I will look at the disciple

At that time, the Great Doctor who was speaking frowned and changed his mind.

Hmm. I will check the disciples condition when the sun comes up.

His words changed.

I looked at Miss Ha Yeon. Did she do something? Why did his words change?

h ltt nd mt ulr nvl t lghtnvlubm

She seemed to be conscious of me and sent a message.

[I will hand over the plaque, so do not worry.]

I wasnt worried about it since I would get it.

When I found out who she was, I felt mentally burdened. Should I just pretend like I didnt know?

The next day, I headed to the main hall. I wanted to go with Hae Ack-chun, but the Great Doctor told me he would take care of me, so the old man didnt come.

As for me, it was more comfortable to go alone than with the old man. As I went closer, I grabbed my head.

-Can you still hear me?

Short Sword asked anxiously. This was happening because of my condition.

It was the same as yesterday, but the voices were getting louder.

-

Whispers, various sounds from everywhere around, the more conscious I became of them, the louder it got.

The sound is getting louder.

It wasnt like this yesterday. There were so many whispers.

Most were from the warriors in the valley using their swords or the disciples brought by the Bloody Hand Witch who were using their weapons to train.

-Wonhwi, dont be too conscious of it.

Iron Sword advised me.

It is too loud to do that.

-Do you consciously listen to what other people are saying?

That no.

-It is similar. Did you say the voices are like echoes in your head?

Yes.

-You should be more conscious of it as this is something known. Try to not do that.

It was easy to say, but how do I not think about the ringing sound in my head?

-How about trying to cultivate the innate qi?

That should be the last resort.

As Iron Sword said, I decided to not cultivate but instead channel the innate qi to my head, and, miraculously, the headache that had bothered me gradually disappeared.

My headache stopped.

I could still hear the sounds. But I wouldnt hear as much if I didnt care about it. Its more like a passing sound that could be ignored now.

-But Wonhwi, you are right.

-There are many swords inside the main hall. Roughly 12 no 13 uh what?

-One sword is suffering.

-You can hear it too?

They were reacting strangely. Unlike how they were normally, they were showing interest in this.

I was curious as I could hear its voice and tried to focus on the sword.

- suffering I dont want to die

In an instant, I felt a chill run through my body. The sound of a dying person.

I didnt know why such sounds were being made, but it sounded like it was in pain.

I didnt have time to wait as the Great Doctor would be waiting for me.

So I hurried to the entrance and saw the guards looking inside.

What is it?

Is something happening inside?

As I approached, the guard who stood there bowed his head and greeted me. Well, everyone knew whose disciple I was.

I passed through the gate and went in.

Uh?

But when I went inside, something unexpected happened.

The front of the main hall was guarded by the disciples of Bloody Hand Witch, and in front of them were 12 men in bamboo hats, all with swords.

-Something doesnt seem right.

lghtnvlubm fr th bt nvl rdng rn

As the short sword said, the atmosphere seemed strange. I could hear the swords of the bamboo hat men speaking.

-I want to see blood now.

-I want you to pick it up sooner than replace it later.

Each of the swords words could be heard, all of them eager to fight.

It seemed like I had arrived at a bad situation. The place where everything was happening was in front of the Great Doctors building.

Bang!

Someone came out of it by opening the door. It was a person in a bamboo hat with hair long enough to reach the waist and a thin woman-like body.

-I want to die

Its this sword. The sword on this persons waist was in agony. I didnt know why.

You are lucky.

The woman in the bamboo hat came out and walked down the stairs.

Others also walked out through the door. After the woman came out, Han Baekha and three of her disciples were also there. Han Baekhas expression was darker than usual.

Lets go!

Yes!

At the womans words, the people guarding outside replied right away.

She and her group moved toward where I was standing.

To be precise, she was in the lead.

Eik.

I felt like I was caught for walking in front of them and tried to move out of their way. I then bowed my head, trying to avoid eye contact.

Step!

They kept walking. They were definitely passing by, but,

How did a trainee get into the main hall?

This was bad!

She stopped when she saw my outfit. After all, trainees cannot enter this place until their training period is over.

Entering the main hall was something that only happened when one was a true warrior.

I didnt know who she was, but I felt like I had to reveal I was the old mans disciple.

I

It was then.

Even the trainees are slow.

No, give me time to answer then!

Shh!

Something suddenly appeared in front of me with the sound of wind splitting. The moment I lifted my head to see, I saw a hand pass over my head.

?!

Was she planning to kill me?

Confused, I crossed my arms and, at that moment, felt a massive shock on my wrist.

Pang!

Huk!

My body was pushed back. What power!

Despite having 30 years worth of innate qi, and despite the confidence I gained, I felt my five organs burn once again.

Can a trainee withstand this?

She lifted the bamboo hat a little. I could see her red eyes in the dark shadow under the hat.

Those eyes were filled with killing intent.

What the hell is with that woman?

The woman in the bamboo hat tried to approach me with an expression that showed her interest in me.

Her white hands were ready to use the sword on her waist as I heard the cry of Miss Ha Yeon.

Enough! He isnt a trainee but a disciple of Elder Hae Ack-chun!

The elders disciple?

h ltt nd mt ulr nvl t lghtnvlubm

Hearing that, the red-eyed womans lips curled into a smile.

This was my first time seeing such a smile.