Mu-hwi and Seon-ju walked side by side.

The distance between them was neither too close to suggest familiarity nor too far to imply they were strangers. It was an ambiguous space, somewhere in between.

“Looks like there was a battle here too,” Seon-ju observed.

“I heard the fighting was pretty intense down the mountain as well,” Mu-hwi replied.

The village of Sangju bore signs of recent chaos. As they walked, they passed by crumbling walls and buildings with gaping holes, remnants of the skirmishes that had spilled over from the battles at the base of the mountain.

The conflict between the Ga-hwa and Muk-yu sects and the Pae-wang Fortress’s forces had reached even this far.

“Thankfully, the elite forces of Pae-wang Fortress didn’t show up this time,” Seon-ju said, recalling what she’d heard from others.

Mu-hwi nodded. “The Pae-wang Seven weren’t here. They’re probably busy elsewhere.”

Pae-wang Fortress was a formidable force, unmatched in scale by most in the martial world. Among its many units, the elite were known as the Pae-wang Seven.

Mu-hwi remembered the trouble they had caused him in the past and scanned the surroundings cautiously. The village was in disarray, with disciples from Hwasan and Jongnam helping with repairs, while the villagers went about their lives as best they could.

Seon-ju nudged Mu-hwi’s arm lightly. “Mu-hwi, do you see any place selling sweets around here?”

“Sweets? Is that what you’re after?”

When Mu-hwi turned to look at her, Seon-ju quickly diverted her gaze. “Oh, look at that beautiful jade belt over there. Isn’t it lovely?”

Mu-hwi gave her a silent, skeptical look, and Seon-ju sighed, giving in. “If I had just said I wanted to buy sweets, you wouldn’t have come along. You’d just sit there, lost in thought.”

Mu-hwi turned away, unable to argue with her logic. “Why do you want sweets, anyway?”

“The atmosphere at the lodge isn’t great. The younger disciples are feeling down, so I thought I’d cheer them up with something sweet. Kids love sweets, don’t they?”

Mu-hwi nodded, understanding her reasoning.

As they browsed the stalls, Seon-ju’s eyes lit up when she spotted a vendor selling sweets. She tugged on Mu-hwi’s sleeve, leading him toward the stall.

“Thank you so much!” The elderly vendor beamed as Seon-ju bought twenty sweets at once. He wrapped them up and handed over two extra, smiling warmly. “For such a lovely couple, I’ll give you two more.”

“Wow, thank you, sir!” Seon-ju accepted the sweets with a bright smile and immediately offered one to Mu-hwi, who took it with a resigned smile.

“Ah, it’s sweet,” Seon-ju hummed happily, savoring the sugary treat. Each bite seemed to lift her spirits.

Mu-hwi watched her, amused. “You just wanted sweets for yourself, didn’t you?”

“No, I didn’t,” Seon-ju replied, glancing at Mu-hwi as he bit into his own sweet.

“Mu-hwi, we’ve fought back-to-back. You don’t have to be so formal with me. You can speak more casually.”

“Alright, if you say so,” Mu-hwi agreed, dropping the formal tone without hesitation.

Seon-ju laughed, popping the last sweet into her mouth. “Then I’ll call you Mu-hwi oppa.”

“Oppa?” Mu-hwi was taken aback, but Seon-ju crossed her arms confidently.

“You’ve dropped the formalities, so why can’t I use a more familiar title?”

Mu-hwi watched the sweet on its stick sway in her hand and nodded. “I suppose that’s fair.”

Though he felt like he’d been outmaneuvered by Seon-ju’s playful logic, Mu-hwi decided to let it slide.

“Are you heading back to Hwasan now, Mu-hwi oppa?”

Mu-hwi nodded. He had disciples to train, martial arts to develop, and a mischievous monkey to track down. His to-do list was endless.

“Yes, and you?”

“I’m planning to travel once Seon-mi’s injuries heal. Maybe take down one of the Six Dragons while I’m at it.”

“The Six Dragons, huh…”

The Six Dragons were known to be martial artists who had surpassed the typical level of their peers, but Seon-ju was no ordinary martial artist either.

“I realized after watching you, Mu-hwi oppa. I need to experience more of the martial world rather than staying cooped up in Jongnam.”

Mu-hwi nodded, understanding her resolve. “You’ll do well, even without a master.”

Seon-ju’s swordsmanship was already nearing perfection. Gaining experience by facing various martial artists was the right path for her.

“After I take down a couple of the Six Dragons, I’ll challenge you again, Mu-hwi oppa,” Seon-ju declared, pointing a sweet stick at him like a sword. Mu-hwi chuckled at her boldness.

“Well, give it your best shot. Beating the Six Dragons won’t be enough to take me down.”

“Ugh, that smug look of yours is so annoying. If only you weren’t stronger than me…”

Seon-ju pretended to draw a sword, then laughed and continued walking. “I’ve got a clear goal now.”

“A goal?”

“To become strong enough to give you a good scolding, Mu-hwi oppa.”

Mu-hwi laughed at her audacity. “Scold me? No one’s ever managed that.”

As Mu-hwi grinned, Seon-ju joined in, their laughter bridging the gap that had once separated them.

‘Bringing her along was the right choice,’ Seon-ju thought, feeling a sense of satisfaction as she playfully flicked the string of her sword.

***

It was over twenty days after the Six Harmonies Sword Conference before Mu-hwi could return to Hwasan.

Though it was only a two-day journey, Baek-yu was concerned about the worsening condition of the injured disciples during the trip.

Since there was no urgent need to rush back to Hwasan, they stayed at the lodge until the disciples had sufficiently recovered.

Baek-yu could have returned earlier, but he chose to stay with the disciples until they were ready to head back to Hwasan together.

“Chomp, chomp!”

“Doesn’t the food taste better now?”

Mu-sang and Mu-ho, who had been the most severely injured, were now happily devouring meat in front of Mu-hwi, their recovery evident.

“It’s the same as always—dry and bland,” Mu-hwi remarked, sharing a meal with his disciples for the first time in a while. Mu-hwa looked up from his chopsticks.

“Senior Brother, I heard from a merchant today that you’ve earned a new nickname.”

The other disciples perked up, encouraging Mu-hwa to share more.

“Ooh, Senior Brother has a nickname?”

“What is it?”

“They’re calling you the Sword Demon of Hwasan!”

It was rare for a Hwasan disciple to earn the title of Sword Demon, but the disciples nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, it suits him.”

“Senior Brother is like a ghost with a sword.”

The attack on Pae-wang Fortress during the Six Harmonies Sword Conference had already spread throughout the martial world, and the tale of two young martial artists defeating the fortress’s forces was a hot topic.

Mu-hwi’s reputation was once again spreading across the martial world.

Rumors of a Hwasan disciple defeating the Pae-wang Fortress’s elite were dismissed as exaggerated, but the nickname stuck.

‘The Sword Demon again, huh?’

Mu-hwi found the nickname familiar and didn’t mind it. He had no intention of being limited by it in this life.

“Every time Senior Brother goes out into the martial world, he comes back with a new nickname.”

“Mu-sang, tell us how Senior Brother fought.”

“I don’t know. Those Pae-wang guys came at us like mad dogs. I didn’t have time to watch. I thought I was done for when I got stabbed in the side.”

Mu-sang’s playful recounting made the other disciples laugh.

“Mu-sang and Mu-ho were both seriously injured, but they’re healthy now, so there’s no need to worry,” Mu-jin said, and the other disciples nodded in agreement.

Those who hadn’t attended the Six Harmonies Sword Conference were shocked by the news of the attack on the mountain.

“We were really lucky,” Mu-sang said, patting Mu-san on the shoulder. Mu-hwi smiled faintly.

“Luck shines brightest when skill supports it. Your survival and victory at the conference are thanks to the martial arts you’ve honed every day.”

“Senior Brother is right,” Mu-cheol agreed, and the other disciples nodded.

“Now that you know the value of your daily blood and sweat, I can push you even harder, right?”

The warm atmosphere was abruptly chilled by Mu-hwi’s teasing remark.

“Senior Brother… Do you really have to say that now? You’re going to ruin my appetite.”

Mu-hwa’s complaint was met with nods from the other disciples. Among them, Mu-jin, Mu-cheol, and Mu-ryun, who were relatively high-ranking, always deferred to Mu-hwi. Now, only the youngest, Mu-hwa, dared to speak up, making him the sole hope to curb Mu-hwi’s excesses.

“Is that so?”

Mu-hwi feigned ignorance and stood up, his hands full of something. The curious disciples couldn’t help but ask.

“Senior Brother, what are you planning to do with those?”

“Monkey bait,” Mu-hwi replied with a smirk as he left the dining hall.

Climbing up to Nak-an Peak, Mu-hwi poured a generous amount of liquor over Hyeon-jo’s grave and settled down nearby. As he chewed on some sweets, he washed away the cloying sweetness with a swig of liquor.

“I always thought these were just for kids, but they make a decent snack.”

As Mu-hwi emptied two bottles, his half-closed eyes slowly opened, revealing a sharp glint. A gentle breeze seemed to rise from the cliff below, and soon, a dark figure appeared, eyeing both the sweets and Mu-hwi.

“Chirp…”

The creature, an amhu, hesitated, its fur bristling as one of the sweets disappeared. It sniffed the treat curiously before popping it into its mouth.

“Chirp-chirp!”

Apparently pleased with the sweet taste, the amhu’s red eyes sparkled as it bounced in place.

‘Success,’ Mu-hwi thought, tossing another sweet its way. “Hey, monkey. Let’s be friends.”

The amhu tilted its head, seemingly understanding, but then snorted dismissively.

“Just as I thought,” Mu-hwi muttered, reaching for an unopened bottle of liquor.

“Chirp?”

As the bottle’s aroma wafted through the air, the amhu’s nose twitched, and it quickly devoured the remaining sweets.

“This should suit your taste.”

Osmanthus wine, made from the flowers of the sweet osmanthus tree, was infused with fruits like apples and peaches, giving it a fresh, sweet flavor. Mu-hwi tossed the bottle to the amhu, which caught it and eagerly drank.

“Chirp!”

The amhu let out a long, satisfied cry and approached Mu-hwi without hesitation. It placed another bottle of osmanthus wine on the cloth where the sweets had been, bundling them up for easy carrying.

Mu-hwi watched, fascinated by the amhu’s human-like behavior.

“Chirp!”

With the bundle in hand, the amhu gestured for Mu-hwi to follow.

“You want me to come with you?”

The amhu nodded and leaped fearlessly toward the cliff. Mu-hwi rushed to the edge, watching as the amhu deftly navigated the rocks and branches jutting from the cliff face.

“Unbelievable.”

The amhu’s agility was unmatched, even by the most skilled martial artists. In no time, it was nearly at the bottom, a mere speck in the distance.

Narrowing his eyes, Mu-hwi loosened his ankles and crouched low.

“I can’t let a monkey outdo me.”

With that, Mu-hwi leaped off the cliff.

***

“Master.”

The man addressed as Master was a young man, seemingly in his late twenties, with a large sword strapped to his back. The blade was chipped and worn, not in the best condition.

As he looked up, the middle-aged man continued.

“A sword demon has appeared in Shaanxi.”

The young man’s eyes gleamed with interest.

“What do you mean?”

“They say the new prodigy of the Mount Hua Sect is called the Sword Demon of Mount Hua.”

“Sword Demon… of Mount Hua…”

After a moment’s thought, the young man stood abruptly.

“Even if Mount Hua is friendly, I can’t let them take my master’s title.”

“Are we heading to Shaanxi, then? It’s quite a distance from Hunan.”

The young man, Dokgo Yul, nodded vigorously as he gathered his sword.

“We’ve finished our current mission. Let’s take our time and enjoy a break.”

“Understood.”

At the middle-aged man’s signal, the warriors gathered around Dokgo Yul.

“Sword Demon of Mount Hua… Let’s see what you’re made of.”

Dokgo Yul, the disciple of the Sword Demon Dokgo Heon, set off for Mount Hua.