Chapter 267 The Southern Sea Goddess, Shi Xiu-2

Chapter 267: The Southern Sea Goddess, Shi Xiu-2

Puhwaaah!

Ma Jing’s head fell off, spattering blood.

He, who had been displaying monstrous feats of strength just moments ago, was truly dead.

Then, all those who had watched that surreal scene in stunned silence—the warriors of the Fujian Yong family and my own party—froze for a moment before erupting in cheers a beat later.

“Wooooo!”

“The Demon King is dead!”

“The Holy Maiden has vanquished the Demon King!”

“Waaaaaaaah!”

Amidst the Fujian Yong family warriors cheering as if celebrating a festival, I suddenly looked at the Holy Maiden.

She was staring at Ma Gyeong’s corpse with a strangely bitter look in her eyes.

Her face was so disfigured that her expression was hard to discern, but having trained under Elder Mokrang to read people’s hearts, I could tell clearly.

Her eyes were deeply subdued.

Come to think of it, it was perfectly understandable.

She, the absolute master of the martial world, had killed the Demon King with the help of a lowly junior like me. Wouldn’t the world now forever label her as the Demon King’s lackey?

And now that he was dead, there would be no chance to overturn that judgment.

I approached her, bowed my head, and apologized.

“I have brought shame upon your reputation, Holy Maiden. I am truly sorry.”

Her face contorted.

Her face was already so disfigured that even the slightest distortion made her look like a demonic specter.

That hideous sight left me momentarily flustered.

She seemed far angrier than I had anticipated.

But when she spoke then, I realized it had been my misunderstanding.

The voice that came from her mouth was surprisingly gentle, unlike her face.

“Young Master, you saved my life and the lives of those dear to me. How can you apologize when I am the one who owes you a debt of gratitude? I am someone who knows that people’s lives are far more important than my own honor.”

Judging by her voice, her disfigured face must have been twisted into a smile.

Her face was so disfigured that even her smile looked grotesque.

Only then did I feel a bit relieved, yet at the same time, I couldn’t help but feel pity for her.

Then she opened her mouth again to apologize.

“I’m sorry for startling you. I know how my face looks when I smile, and how people might perceive it, but I guess I’ve gotten used to the people of Yongga and made another mistake.”

I hastily shook my head.

It was clearly me who had been rude by revealing my expression, yet she was apologizing. I couldn’t have felt more embarrassed.

“No, Holy Maiden! Please don’t say that! I…”

But I stopped there, unable to continue for a moment.

Because it was undeniably true that I was startled by her expression.

She must have known it all along, yet I couldn’t bring myself to lie and say I wasn’t surprised at all.

So, after a moment’s hesitation, I immediately continued with another remark.

“Personally, among the martial arts seniors, I’ve always held the Sword Saint and the Holy Maiden in the highest regard! It’s truly an honor to meet you both in person like this!”

At that, her face twisted grotesquely once more before she burst into laughter.

“Ho ho ho ho! Such a handsome junior with outstanding martial arts skills, and such a considerate heart too. You must have made countless women cry by now, right? I can picture it without even seeing it.”

“Yes, yes?”

I was genuinely taken aback for a moment and couldn’t respond.

Suddenly, the faces of several young ladies flashed through my mind, and I couldn’t bring myself to argue back.

Then, finding my flustered expression amusing, the saintess burst into laughter again.

“Ho ho ho ho! Seems I hit the nail on the head. To think you have such an innocent side—if I’d met you when I was young, I might have fallen for you myself.”

She kept laughing like that, and I was at a loss for what to do.

Suddenly, Yongwooshin, the head of the Yong family, approached us.

“I’m glad to see the lady warrior is in good spirits.”

Then the saintess stopped smiling and gazed at Yongwooshin with gentle eyes as she spoke.

“It feels good to meet such a commendable and adorable junior after so long. And… thank you for saving my life, Lord Yong. Thanks to you, I am still alive.”

The saint bowed deeply as she spoke.

Faced with her respectful gratitude, Yongwooshin felt flustered and hastily bowed his head in return.

“Please, don’t say such things… I’m the one who should be apologizing for tarnishing the honor of the Lady Knight.”

The saint shook her head and replied.

“If I had fallen victim to Ma Gyeong back then, Lord Yong… and the lives of others would have been in danger too. The lives of the Lord and the people are far more precious to me than my own honor. So I should be grateful that I was able to protect them.”

The two looked at each other with gentle eyes, each insisting the other deserved more gratitude.

It was a heartwarming sight to behold.

Even I, a stranger, could sense the atmosphere filled with genuine care for one another.

But at the same time, I could sense a cautious attitude, as if they were keeping a certain distance.

It was a peculiar feeling.

After watching the two of them for a moment, I suddenly asked Elder Mokrang.

“Those two… What do you think of them?”

He replied with a puzzled tone.

– Hmm? What are you talking about?

“…Nothing at all.”

I thought to myself, perhaps this kind of question really shouldn’t be asked of Elder Mokrang.

Then he burst out laughing and said.

– Ha ha ha! Just kidding. Those two… they have deep feelings for each other. But for some reason, each feels a sense of guilt toward the other. That’s why they seem to be cautious around each other.

‘Guilt?’

– I can’t say for sure, but guilt? Inferiority? It seems like that kind of feeling.

I suddenly recalled the facts I knew about the two of them.

First off, they started spending time together around six or seven years ago, when the Fujian Yong family was deeply embroiled in battles against the Demon Realm’s forces.

At that time, the forces of the Demon Realm had reached their peak, and the Fujian Yong family, though defeated time and again, never ceased to resist them.

The Holy Maiden had gone to the Fuguan family at that time and started supporting them.

The situation quickly reversed.

Previously, the Fujian Dragon Clan had lost because they couldn’t withstand the Demon Realm’s military might. But once the Holy Maiden neutralized the Demon Realm’s forces, the balance of power between the two factions was instantly overturned.

Unable to decide the outcome at sea, the two factions ultimately entered a prolonged standoff.

Upon hearing this story, Elder Mookrang remarked.

– Six or seven years… That’s ample time for two people to recognize each other’s true selves beyond appearances and develop feelings. Are those two perhaps unmarried?

‘As far as I know, the Saintess never married. She spent her life supporting those in hardship or raising orphans. But Lord Yong is married. I heard he has two sons and one daughter. However, I understand he suffered a great loss long ago and has lived alone for some time now.’

– Hmm, so the head of a major clan like the Yong Clan didn’t take another wife after being widowed? That’s rather unusual.

‘Come to think of it, that makes sense. It wouldn’t have been easy for him to leave the position of head of the Sega family vacant.’

It was common for the heads of martial arts clans to have several wives.

Like my father, they often needed marriage alliances with surrounding factions, and the presence of a matriarch to manage the clan’s internal affairs was crucial.

Therefore, it was highly unusual for the position of matriarch in a major clan like the Fujian Yong family to remain vacant for several years.

– I think the reason might be because of the saint, but haven’t there been any rumors about that until now?

“…Not to my knowledge.”

The position of matriarch in the Yong family has been vacant for years, and the head of the Yong family is known to be close to the Saintess.

Naturally, it was the perfect situation for gossipmongers to spread all sorts of rumors.

But I’ve never once heard any rumors about those two.

And somehow, I felt I could guess why.

‘I suspect it might be due to the Saintess’s appearance. No one would have imagined anyone could harbor romantic feelings for her. Moreover, the Fukengyong Clan has long been renowned for not attempting to expand its power through marriage. They often married within the clan, and the clan heads rarely took more than one wife.’

-Hmm, I suppose the Fukengyong Clan has always been like that. That’s part of what made it so admirable.

It was then.

The Yong family head and the Holy Maiden, who had been gazing at each other longingly from a distance, suddenly snapped back to reality and turned their heads toward me.

Yongwooshin of the Yong Family spoke to me first.

“Come to think of it, I’ve been talking about other things while my benefactor stood right beside me. Young Master Seonwoo, our Yong family owes you a great debt this time. Neither the Six Harmonies Sword Technique of the Hyeongsan Sect nor that Demon Mirror could have been resolved without you. I am truly grateful.”

With that, the Dragon Clan Chief bowed deeply and clasped his fists in respect.

He, the head of the Fujian Dragon Clan—a colossal clan—and one of the most formidable masters among the Thirty-Six Clans of the World, bowed his head without hesitation to me, his junior, despite the immense debt he owed.

He was truly a man of remarkable simplicity and broad-mindedness.

I bowed my head to him once more in admiration and offered my gratitude.

“Benefactor? That’s absurd. Strictly speaking, I believe I should be the one apologizing to both of you. I dared to use the Holy Maiden and the Dragon Clan for my own selfish purposes. It was fortunate that it worked out well and benefited the Dragon Clan, but if it had gone wrong, wouldn’t both of you have been put in danger? I sincerely apologize.”

Upon hearing my words, the Dragon Clan leader and the Holy Maiden exchanged glances and smiled faintly.

And this time, the Holy Maiden spoke.

“Not only are your martial arts and wisdom exceptional, but your heart is so humble as well. Truly, you are a blessing to the martial world. Knowing this Confucius brings me more joy than slaying the Demon King. Might we see each other often henceforth? I dearly hope for more opportunities to be with Confucius.”

Then, Yong Wushin, the Dragon Clan Chief, also smiled warmly and said.

I too agree with the Holy Lady’s opinion. I risked my life to eliminate the two villains of the South Sea for Lord Inparang, with whom I had no prior connection—where exactly was there any personal motive? If such self-interest existed, I wish he would have used our Dragon Clan a few times, no, dozens of times over. Call upon us anytime. I’ll run to the ends of the earth for you.

I’ll run to the ends of the earth.

It was the kind of boast that would sound hollow coming from anyone else.

But coming from the Dragon Clan Lord’s mouth, it felt sincere.

Listening to their words, I couldn’t help but smile warmly from the heart.

The laughter had two meanings.

First, on an emotional level, I was overjoyed to have formed a bond with such people.

The martial world is said to be full of romance and adventure, but in reality, what truly abounds is tyranny and ambition. The place I knew was one where betrayal and cunning schemes ran rampant to achieve those ends.

Yet, even in such a martial world, true heroes like them still existed, and I had formed a good relationship with them.

My heart felt warm.

Suddenly, I thought of the late Sword Saint.

‘Master Sword Saint…’

And another reason for the laughter was that by placing them in debt, he had gained a formidable ally.

The purpose of this journey was to obtain the True Spirit Festival of the Sword Spirit Elder, and also to secure power for Brother Snow Wind.

And regardless of whether those two matters went well or not, once this journey ended, we would inevitably wage all-out war against the Blood Sect.

Likely, we would also face the Martial Alliance as enemies.

However, through this incident, both Shi Xiu, the Sea Goddess of the South Sea and one of the Three Great Saints of the World, and the head of the Fu Jian family—a symbol of the Alliance itself—had offered to assist me.

Of course, that didn’t necessarily mean they were ready to fight the Blood Sect just yet, but after hearing about the Blood Sect and the Martial Alliance, it seemed unlikely they would turn a blind eye to the matter.

I slowly opened my mouth.

“Actually, I had something important to tell you both. I was originally a member of the Flying Dragon Corps on the front lines, fighting against the Blood Sect. But…”

I began to slowly unfold the story of the Frontline for them.

At first, the two listened with puzzled expressions, but their faces grew increasingly serious.

I explained the events of the past slowly and in great detail.

As I spoke, they listened intently, sometimes fuming with anger, sometimes gasping in amazement. When I finished, the saint sighed first and spoke.

“Truthfully, the reason I didn’t go to the front lines was because I didn’t particularly care for that man, Murong Jian, the leader of the Martial Alliance. I turned away because I feared my presence there would only bolster the standing of that untrustworthy man. But… in truth, what I turned away from wasn’t him, but the lives of countless warriors on the front lines. I cannot help but feel ashamed.”

Dragon Clan Leader Yong Woo-shin also sighed deeply and said.

I thought we were fighting the greatest scourge of the martial world by battling Ma Jing. But now I see he was nothing but a mere pawn. We were chasing a minor evil while letting the true great evil slip away.

After that, the two of them promised in unison that on the day the fight against the Blood Sect began, they would drop everything and rush to help.

And that was undoubtedly the greatest outcome they could achieve from this matter.

***

After the story concluded, the Holy Maiden and the martial artists of the Fu Jian Yong Clan had to return to the Yong Clan immediately.

They planned to attack Daenamdo and wipe out his forces before his men scattered now that Ma Gyeong was gone.

Before leaving, they asked me if there was anything they could do for me.

After a moment’s thought, I asked the Saintess if she could clear away the debris from the collapsed gorge.

It was to find Jin Tae-do’s body, the White Tiger Sword, and other items buried within.

Originally, I had been so daunted by the task that I had considered abandoning Jin Taedo’s body.

But Elder Mokrang advised me with conviction.

– Ask the saint. For a warrior of her caliber, clearing up such debris shouldn’t be too difficult.

That’s why I asked her, just in case, and she readily nodded her head.

“Understood. Come to think of it, we’ll need his body to convince the Haenam faction. I should have taken care of it before speaking up. My apologies. Even as I grow older, my thoughts remain so short-sighted. I wonder when I’ll ever become a proper person. That someone like me is called a saint is truly absurd.”

Then she made this proposal to me.

“I will stay by Confucius’ side until we meet the people of the Haenam faction. Even if it’s just for appearances, might my presence help ease their anger a little?”

I was once again struck by her thoughtfulness.

She had offered to stay behind in case she needed to reveal to the Haenam faction that I was not Inparang.

To prevent their anger from becoming excessive, if it came to that.

I bowed my head deeply, expressing my sincere gratitude to her.

Thank you. Though you say it isn’t so, I believe no title suits you better than “Saint.” I am truly grateful for your consideration, even in such small matters. But there is no need for you to stay for my sake. If they are angry, I believe it is also my duty to appease that anger.

After briefly looking at me following my polite refusal, the Saintess twisted her face into a hideous grimace once more.

Though I still wasn’t fully accustomed to it, I could now clearly recognize that expression as a smile.

She opened her mouth.

“I’m raising several children.”

I was well aware of that fact.

It was a well-known story that the saint gathered orphans she had a connection with and raised them.

“…I’ve heard that too. Though I understood it wasn’t just a few.”

As far as I knew, it was at least several dozen.

Then the saint, her face contorted again in a grimace, retorted.

“It’s a bit more than that, isn’t it? But when you have time, would you mind spending some time with those children? I think seeing an older brother they can look up to would have a good influence on them.”

“Ah!”

She meant that she thought I could be a good role model for the children.

I felt embarrassed to receive such excessive praise from the revered heroine.

I gave an awkward smile and replied.

“The most admirable person in the world is right here, isn’t she? But if I can be of any help, I’d be happy to stop by.”

The saint seemed satisfied with my answer and went to clear away the debris.

And everyone who witnessed how she cleared the debris, myself included, couldn’t help but be astonished.

All she did to clear them was walk near the debris and wave her arms around.

Then something astonishing happened.

The debris around her began to fly away as if caught in a whirlwind.

Whether it was a small pebble or a large boulder, it made no difference.

She began slowly traversing the canyon back and forth, scattering debris around her as she went.

As the debris that had filled the canyon flew away, her figure gradually descended further down the canyon.

At first, I just stared blankly at the sight, but soon I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“Ha, my goodness…”

It was utterly mind-boggling.

I had been confident that I could now hold my own against the Thirty-Six Heavenly Stars, but the heavens above the heavens were still so high…

I had seen Seo Il’s Void-Seizing Sword technique before, but the Holy Maiden seemed to be on an entirely different level.

I felt I could instantly understand why the Demon Sword was ranked as the lowest among the Fifteen Absolute Masters.

After staring blankly at that sight for a moment, I suddenly snapped back to my senses and looked at the Dragon Clan Lord, Yongwooshin.

He too was watching the spectacle, completely transfixed.

Though I couldn’t be certain if he was watching the spectacle or her, the Saintess, herself.

I approached him and spoke.

“Lord Yongga, might we have a moment to speak?”

“Hm? Ah, Young Master Seonwoo. Of course, that’s fine.”

He seemed a bit disappointed that he couldn’t keep watching the Holy Maiden’s shrine, but soon broke into a bright smile and followed me to a secluded spot.

He asked me with a puzzled look.

“What did you need to discuss that brought us to such a secluded spot?”

I looked at him for a moment before bringing up the matter.

“Now that the Demon Realm has vanished, the Holy Maiden no longer needs to stay at the Dragon House, right?”

“Huh?! Ah, well about that…”

His face instantly turned pale upon hearing my words.

It seemed he hadn’t considered that possibility at all.

I pressed him further.

“Perhaps it wouldn’t matter if you left immediately. After all, isn’t it true that the Holy Maiden doesn’t necessarily need to go to conquer Daenamdo, which has no demonic forces?”

He answered with a flustered expression.

“W-well, I suppose you’re right.”

“I see. Then may I take the Holy Maiden away immediately?”

He couldn’t answer my question right away.

But after a moment’s hesitation, he finally sighed and nodded heavily.

“If the saint has decided to go, then surely that’s how it should be?”

At his answer, I let out a deep sigh.

Then I asked again.

“Do you truly, sincerely want me to do that?”

Only then did he seem to sense the intent behind my question.

He asked me, his voice tinged with slight confusion and caution.

“…What do you mean?”

I looked at him with a serious gaze and said.

“Someone once said only the brave can win the fair maiden. To Lord Yong, is the Holy Maiden a beauty?”

At my question, he was completely flustered and stood there with his mouth agape for a moment.

I asked him again.

“Or is it because she wasn’t beautiful enough that you never found the courage until now?”

“Wh-what! She is…”

He opened and closed his mouth several times but ultimately couldn’t answer.

He probably tried to deny what I said but couldn’t bring himself to speak.

This might actually have been excessive meddling.

No matter how broad-minded he was, it probably wasn’t appropriate for a junior like me, especially one he’d only just met, to say such a thing.

But even knowing that, I brought this up precisely because of memories from my past life.

In my past life, those two never came together, even until my death.

Nor did either of them marry someone else.

Their feelings for each other seemed so deep that even I, merely observing briefly from the sidelines, could easily sense it—no confirmation needed from Elder Mokrang.

Yet, it was said that even after nearly ten years had passed, those two still hadn’t come together.

And from what I observed, I couldn’t help but think the reason was that distance created by their excessive consideration for each other.

I’m no expert on relationships myself, but their cautious attitude was frustrating enough to make even someone like me feel stifled.

That’s why I felt compelled to step in, even though it wasn’t my place.

“I don’t quite understand why Lord Yongga hesitates. But I think I understand perfectly well why the Saintess hesitates. She merely smiled and apologized to me. It must mean she carries deep emotional scars about her appearance. So she wouldn’t even dare to entertain thoughts of expressing affection for Lord Yongga.”

At that, Lord Yongga looked at me with a startled expression and asked.

“The Holy Maiden… harbors affection for me?! Is that true?! No, even if it were true, how on earth would you know that?”

I sighed deeply and replied.

“Ah, they say love is something impossible to hide, yet only the lovers themselves remain unaware. How could I possibly have known Lord Yonggaju harbored feelings for the Saintess?”

He stared blankly, unable to continue.

And my story, too, had to end there.

Because the Holy Maiden had cleared away all the debris from the gorge.

I decided to stop there.

After all, if it still couldn’t be fulfilled even after I’d told them this much, then that must be the fate of those two.