RCFDC CH 06

Chapter 06

At the immediate refusal without even a moment of hesitation, Jinmun, Yang Jahan’s master, frowned deeply.

“No, I mean, for the sake of my reputation…”

“Am I not already respecting your reputation by speaking calmly like this?”

If the one standing in front of Baek Unjin had not been Jinmun, Yang Jahan would not have survived.

Jinmun crossed his arms and let out a deep sigh.

“Your disciple tried to kill my disciple.”

“Couldn’t it have been an accident?”

“Are you joking?”

What Yoo Yeonseo had named “Cloudie” was actually a fragment of Unmong, Baek Unjin’s guardian spirit.

If Unmong had not blocked the attack, Yoo Yeonseo would have died from the very first strike.

That attack had clearly been filled with killing intent.

“Why are you making such a big deal over a mere disciple? Someone like you has plenty of disciples.”

Unlike Baek Unjin, who only had Yoo Yeonseo as his disciple, Jinmun had hundreds.

His method was to make his disciples compete against one another and only pass on his true teachings to the outstanding ones among them.

“I’m sorry, but just as you treasure that disciple, I also have reasons why I cannot give this one up.”

“I see.”

Declaring that he would not back down, Baek Unjin stepped forward.

Baek Unjin was a genius who reached the Nascent Soul Realm at only eighty years old and became an elder of one of the Eight Great Orthodox Sects.

Even for Jinmun, he was not an opponent that could be easily defeated.

The atmosphere turned dangerous.

I hurriedly grabbed the hem of Baek Unjin’s robe as I staggered to my feet.

“Are you planning to kill him?”

“He tried to kill you.”

“That’s true, but…”

I glanced toward Yang Jahan, who still could not raise his head.

It was true that I had almost died, but in the end, I survived.

‘This is difficult.’

Even if he tried to kill me, Yang Jahan was still the protagonist of Chronicles of Heavenly Fate Cultivation.

Story-wise, this was still only the early part of the novel. Having the protagonist die because of me felt wrong.

‘Who knows what would happen if Yang Jahan died at Baek Unjin’s hands!’

There were still countless unresolved disasters and incidents left in Chronicles of Heavenly Fate Cultivation.

Putting aside the fact that Yang Jahan tried to kill me, as the protagonist he still had things he needed to accomplish alive!

After struggling with my thoughts for a long while, I finally spoke.

“Even so, I don’t think killing him is right. I’m safe after all.”

I still didn’t know why Yang Jahan tried to kill me.

But I didn’t think that alone was enough reason for him to die at Baek Unjin’s hands.

More importantly, judging from his master’s reaction, it was obvious Yang Jahan would receive punishment anyway.

As long as he was punished, that was enough for me.

“You should be grateful for your luck.”

Baek Unjin patted my head and stepped aside.

Fortunately, his anger seemed to have calmed somewhat.

“Ahem, I apologize. I’ll make sure this matter is properly settled—”

“Compensate us with a Fate Nameplate.”

“You!”

“Otherwise, we can pretend this incident never happened.”

“I only have two Fate Nameplates myself. Isn’t this a bit excessive?”

“There will be no further compromise.”

Faced with Baek Unjin’s firm attitude, Jinmun groaned.

He looked down at Yang Jahan with obvious dissatisfaction, but it seemed he still couldn’t abandon him, muttering quietly to himself.

‘Well, that makes sense.’

Yang Jahan was the first Void-attributed Heavenly Spiritual Root holder to enter Mugeuk Hyeonmun in fifty years.

Void-type roots were already incredibly rare special spiritual roots, and being born with a Void-type Heavenly Spiritual Root was even rarer.

In the original novel, there were even descriptions of the upper ranks arguing over who would become Yang Jahan’s master.

There was no way Jinmun would give up such a hard-won disciple over something like this.

Whether Baek Unjin demanded the Fate Nameplate because he knew Yang Jahan’s value or not, I couldn’t tell.

“Ghh… fine.”

“Hand it over right now.”

“But in return, let us consider this matter closed.”

Though clearly unwilling, Baek Unjin gave a small nod.

The moment the agreement was reached, Jinmun took out an old nameplate from his storage pouch and tossed it over.

The nameplate flew in an arc and landed neatly in Baek Unjin’s hand.

“Master.”

A Fate Nameplate was a magical treasure that automatically activated during a life-threatening crisis and twisted fate itself.

That twist of fate could be something minor, or it could even save a person’s life, which was why Fate Nameplates were considered among the highest-grade treasures.

Knowing the value of such an item, Yang Jahan lowered his head deeply.

“That’s enough. We’ll discuss the details after we return.”

“……Yes.”

Yang Jahan turned his head and glanced at me.

Even though the situation had been resolved, the look in his eyes toward me remained unchanged.

‘Hmph! Bleeh.’

I stuck my tongue out at Yang Jahan.

What kind of protagonist is this unpleasant?

Seriously annoying.

Yang Jahan and Jinmun mounted their flying swords and vanished instantly.

Once they disappeared, all the tension finally drained out of me.

Baek Unjin quickly caught me as I swayed.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes. I’m just a little dizzy.”

Baek Unjin lowered himself and placed a hand against my forehead.

Blue light flowed from his fingertips and covered my entire body.

The wounds touched by the light healed rapidly.

Cultivators’ bodies were completely different from ordinary people’s.

High-level cultivators could regenerate even severed limbs with healing techniques.

However, unlike self-healing cultivation methods, there were not many cultivators capable of using healing arts on others.

‘And the cultivation arts of the Cheongwoo Immortal Sect are naturally suited for healing.’

Baek Unjin was especially skilled in healing arts.

That was probably one of the reasons I had survived in the first place.

“How about now?”

“I think I’m okay now!”

When I smiled while looking at my healed wound, Baek Unjin patted my head.

Before I could even say anything, he lowered himself and lifted me up with one arm around my back.

Because of the height difference, it suddenly felt like my body floated upward.

I blinked while being held in Baek Unjin’s arms.

“Just because your wounds healed doesn’t mean you aren’t exhausted, so rest for a while.”

Baek Unjin’s embrace was warm and comforting.

On the way back, Baek Unjin collected the merchants’ corpses and informed nearby merchants in the village of their location. He also recovered all the Heavenly Rhythm Silk they had been transporting.

As if considering my condition, he did not use the flying artifact on the return trip. Instead, he quietly flew using sword flight.

Held in his arms, I asked the question that had been bothering me.

“But what happened to the merchants?”

“I thought it was only wandering spirits at first, but it seems they were attacked by ghost souls.”

The merchant group had cultivators acting as guards, but apparently they were too weak to deal with ghost souls.

Silently, I prayed that the dead would find peace.

“Ah, Cloudie!”

I hurriedly pulled Cloudie out from inside my clothes after suddenly remembering.

What if it died?!

The creature that had once had a huge hole through its body was now completely restored.

“Huh? It healed?”

As though it understood my words, the little cloud rubbed itself against my cheek.

“It never had a physical body to begin with, so that level of injury wasn’t serious.”

Guardian spirits could disappear temporarily if their master’s spiritual power ran out, but they did not die easily.

“That’s a relief. I wish I had a guardian spirit too… mmm.”

As I started nodding off sleepily, Baek Unjin chuckled softly and answered.

“If fate allows it, you’ll eventually gain one, so don’t worry too much about it.”

“Okaaay…”

After mumbling that, I practically collapsed asleep in his arms.

***

The fabric shop owner expressed condolences after hearing that the merchants transporting the Heavenly Rhythm Silk had died from a ghost soul attack.

“I’ll make your disciple’s flying robes as quickly as possible.”

“Thank you.”

Baek Unjin called out to me while I was looking through the silks.

I hurried over from the corner of the shop.

“Choose whichever silk you like among these, then pour spiritual power into it.”

“Yes!”

I picked up a silk fabric I liked and infused it with spiritual power.

As if by magic, the gray-colored cloth began changing colors.

After stopping the flow of spiritual power, I slowly checked the color of the silk in my hand.

“Oh? This is… a color I haven’t seen in quite a while.”