Chapter 244
“Is it finally starting…?”
The Green Forest had always been a headache, both in the past and present. Before my regression, they remained a problem right up until the moment the central Murim was shattered.
When the Heavenly Demon began his onslaught and threw the central plains into chaos, the Green Forest took the opportunity to get bolder, pillaging areas they would normally never dare touch.
They robbed not only the remaining prestigious sects of the Orthodox Alliance but even the imperial household from time to time.
They plundered so thoroughly that people joked their wealth, if converted entirely into gold, could buy a small country.
How could the Orthodox Alliance possibly endure, being squeezed from the front by the Heavenly Demon and from the rear by the Green Forest?
Eventually, the Orthodox Alliance, which had seemed to be holding on at first, collapsed, and the frontlines rapidly retreated.
When half of the central plains were swallowed up in the blink of an eye, the atmosphere began to shift.
The Orthodox Alliance began prioritizing survival over righteousness, and foreign Murim factions like the Potala Palace or the Southern Savage Beast Palace started to stretch out their hands.
When even the Green Forest’s Grand Chief, who had once rampaged without fear of heaven, got cold feet, he took most of their wealth and fled overseas alone. “It wasn’t just chaos—it was pure bedlam.”
Naturally, the Green Forest bandits left behind were thrown into disarray. Not only had most of the fortune they’d so diligently amassed disappeared, but they were also surrounded by enemies seeking revenge.
Even if they reached out now, the Orthodox Alliance wouldn’t accept them. And as for the Demonic Cult? That wasn’t even a conversation worth having.
They were a group formed by those who had been wronged by martial artists. Would the Murim’s most notorious thugs be forgiven just because they bowed their heads?
Even the Flowering Stage martial artists of the Black Lotus Sect who had once ruled their own territories were all slaughtered by the Heavenly Demon. There was no way those who went around the Murim, robbing everyone from martial artists to civilians, would survive.
Thus, the Green Forest naturally dispersed.
Some, like their Grand Chief, fled far from the central plains. Others, true to their mountain-raider nature, disappeared into remote, uninhabited valleys.
Still others disguised themselves as wanderers, joined the Orthodox Alliance to enjoy the benefits, then fled when things turned unfavorable.
That was the typical path for those whose faces and martial arts weren’t widely known, but most of them were exposed before long.
Those who were caught were either killed or sent to the deadliest frontlines.
There was one thing they all had in common—they all met the Black Lotus Sect Master during interrogation at least once.
The Black Lotus Sect Master would dig out the locations of their mountain strongholds, which were mostly meaningless by then. But if one happened to be linked to her childhood in any way… she usually killed them during interrogation.
Otherwise, they were sent to the most dangerous places. If they survived, they would be fully pardoned.
“There wasn’t much difference, though.”
Almost none of them survived long enough for their crimes to be forgiven.
Even those lucky or capable enough to survive eventually succumbed to the relentless assaults of the Demonic Cult.
That was simply the nature of that era. Death was a given; the only question was how one would die.
At best, they could hope to fall into a slightly less hellish pit than those who died without a pardon.
Anyway, there was a reason I brought up all this old history after mentioning to Tang Jincheon that I’d be going to subjugate the Green Forest.
The reason the Green Forest couldn’t be fully eradicated lay in their decentralized, cell-like structure, their hidden mountain strongholds scattered everywhere, and their tendency to flee the moment things turned bad.
But in my previous life, I was practically a confidant of the Black Lotus Sect Master. I hadn’t seen her entire interrogation process, but I’d watched enough of it.
Naturally, I came to learn the approximate locations of many of their mountain strongholds.
Of course, to the Green Forest, a mountain stronghold was a disposable asset that could be abandoned and rebuilt at any time.
That’s why the veteran Green Forest bandits had gone through countless strongholds—building and discarding them over and over—and thus knew the locations of just as many.
Back then, those were meaningless, long-abandoned places. But now that I’ve returned to the past, they’re no longer meaningless. I may not remember all of them, but even focusing on the ones I do recall should yield results.
With those calculations finished, I brought up the Green Forest subjugation to Tang Jincheon. And now, it was time to speak to someone who would be accompanying me.
“Seol Lihyang. Want to come with me for a bit?”
“Hmm? I’m kind of busy today… but we’ll be back before sunset, right? Then it’s fine.”
“I think it’ll take about a month or two.”
“…?”
Seol Lihyang tilted her head, as if she couldn’t quite process what she’d just heard. A beat later, her eyes widened and she abruptly absorbed the lump of ice she’d been playing with in her palm, standing up straight.
It must not have been real ice, but a mass of cold energy formed through her internal energy.
“Wait, wait! Do you even know what you're saying right now?! Did you get permission from Sister Tang?!”
“Of course. She agreed without hesitation.”
“Eh? Even so… Ah, is that it? It’s been a few days since I returned to the Tang Family. Maybe something happened behind my back during that time? Mm, mm. I think I get it now.”
“Obviously. The Green Forest are enemies not just of Murim but of the imperial court as well. Saying you’re going to subjugate them would naturally earn you support.”
She narrowed her eyes like axes and glared at me. Axes, not rabbits.
Unlike Tang Sowol, who’s scarier when she smiles silently, or Seo Mun-Hwarin, who looks like an adorable small animal no matter how much she frowns, Seol Lihyang looks genuinely sharp when she scowls—sometimes enough to remind me of her past life as the Demonic Sound Ice Witch.
A faint-hearted person would probably flinch just from looking at her.
But I know better. That’s just her face when she’s waiting for an explanation.
“Didn’t I mention it before? That this operation with the Black Lotus Sect to subjugate the Green Forest is just a stepping stone to ultimately bringing together the Orthodox Alliance.”
“You did…?”
“To make that happen, we need to succeed spectacularly with this cooperation. Something that looks like it could never be done before—but was achieved through unity.”
“Like, say… wiping out the Green Forest?”
“Exactly.”
Now Seol Lihyang could understand me without needing every step spelled out. I nodded in pride, but she replied with an incredulous tone.
“I mean, the Green Forest isn’t some backyard weed. Can you really just uproot them like that?”
“A valid point. That’s what most people would think. And they’d be right, in general. But.”
“But?”
“Has a Flowering Stage martial artist ever personally moved to take down a group of bandits?”
“…Huh?”
“Those thugs flee the moment they sense someone stronger than them nearby. So typically, the people sent to handle them are no more than Peak Stage martial artists.”
“Well, that’s true…”
“But I can detect them before they even sense me. And even if I’m late, I can chase and catch them with ease.”
“I mean, sure…?"
“Do you get it now? What’s impossible for others is possible for me.”
I couldn’t reveal the source of my certainty due to the mental restrictions. So I tried to mask it with confidence.
But Seol Lihyang’s expression twisted strangely.
“…What’s with that look?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. I just realized again that while you’re great in many ways, you can be really annoying sometimes.”
I stayed quiet, and only then did Seol Lihyang let out a giggle and continue.
“Anyway, I get what you're saying. The sudden schedule is a bit annoying, but honestly, my ‘busy plans’ are just martial arts training. And if I go with you, I’ll get more than enough combat experience.”
“Exactly. That was one of my motives for calling you.”
“Thought so. What about Sister Tang or Seo Mun? Are they coming too?”
“No. Tang Sowol is staying in the Tang Family for a while to train directly under her father. But Seo Mun-Hwarin will be joining us.”
“Yeah, makes sense. It’s about time for Sister Tang, anyway.”
Tang Sowol, who had absorbed the Poison King's venom and accumulated a toxic energy nearing the Flowering Stage, had now adapted to it and mastered its control. It was time to move on to the next stage.
Not that she was aiming for Flowering Stage just yet—this was about her achievements in poison arts.
Didn’t she say she wanted to create a poison capable of scattering demonic energy and affecting the Heavenly Demon?
That meant a poison that not only dispersed demonic qi but also eroded the Heavenly Demon’s willpower, which enveloped massive space with qi formed from demonic energy.
In practical terms, it was impossible with just poison.
It was only possible after Tang Sowol, in my previous life, perfected her Extreme Poison and became known as the Empress of Poison.
Still, no matter how grand the goal, you always begin with the first step.
Tang Sowol was preparing to take that step now.
“So, this time it’s you, me, and Seo Mun-Hwarin?”
“What are you saying? The three of us will be at the core, but we won’t be the only ones.”
“…Don’t tell me…”
Seol Lihyang widened her eyes and shouted in a half-panicked voice.
“Do you have another hidden woman you’re bringing along while Sister Tang’s away?!”
“…How do you even arrive at that conclusion? No. We’re bringing along talented but inexperienced Tang warriors and some people from the Black Lotus Sect who’ve grown close to you.”
“…Even them?”
Seol Lihyang muttered and fell into thought, then sighed and spoke.
“I really don’t know what you’re trying to do.”
“It’s nothing special. I just want to make a loud, but decisive, example out of this Green Forest subjugation. To show that the Orthodox and Unorthodox can achieve more together than separately.”
“Even if that works, the backlash worries me. Things are better than before, but the Unorthodox still has issues. I’m afraid you’ll be condemned for working with them, especially since you just got the proper title ‘White Moon Sword Lord’.”
She had a point. While conflicts had eased since the Black Lotus Sect’s formation, and even some unorthodox groups had begun establishing rules and territories, the stigma remained.
Especially among the older generation, those who had clashed with the Unorthodox Murim and still held real power.
But so what?
“I don’t listen to anyone weaker than me.”
“Wow. This may be the Tang Family, but that felt just like the Black Lotus Sect.”
Eyes sparkling, Seol Lihyang asked in a playful tone:
“Hey, hey. What about Sister Tang?”
“…Tang Sowol is an exception.”
“What about me?”
“You’re not. You’re coming with us to hunt Green Forest, so go get changed. I already had your gear packed.”
“Heh, is that so?”
Grinning slyly, Seol Lihyang began untying the sash of her martial robe.
“Wait, what are you doing—”
“You said I had to change, right? Since I’m weaker than you, I’d better listen. I’ll change quickly, so keep those eyes open and watch how fast I am.”
A rush of wild images flooded my mind. After much mental deliberation, I chose the only rational option—I bolted out of the room.
Srrrk.
The sound of cloth sliding. She really had untied it. From behind me came the mocking snort.
“Hmph. Coward.”
It’s not that I’m a coward—Seol Lihyang’s just too fearless.
***
It didn’t take long to prove I was right.
Watching the backs of the bandits as they fled in panic, Seol Lihyang shouted in disbelief.
“Seriously?! They ran just because I took one down?!”
“You said it looked doable and smashed through their front gate, then turned their leader into an ice cube just because he stood out. Why wouldn’t they run?”
“That was the leader?!”
Seol Lihyang gave an awkward smile as she stood before the lump of ice.