Chapter 67
Sow was especially surprised by the scene before him.
“Without a doubt… she is the Golden Priestess. There’s no room for doubt anymore.”
When he first heard about the Golden Priestess from the Demonic Sect, he had honestly scoffed.
Rumors about a woman with incredible healing abilities were nothing more than fanciful stories, the kind that thrived in chaotic times.
Perhaps they were the fleeting dreams of the weak, who longed for salvation from an absolute being.
Or maybe she was just a fantastical figure conjured by storytellers who loved tales of heroes.
But after every elixir, every spiritual method, had failed to cure his madness, he grasped at the Golden Priestess like a last lifeline.
Even though he was almost certain that Baek-Sam was the Golden Priestess, he still doubted her existence.
That was why he tried to confirm her healing abilities using Namgoongjin.
He had deliberately put her in a situation where she had no choice but to use her powers.
And now, facing the scene before him, all of Sow’s doubts vanished entirely.
The Golden Priestess was neither a fantasy nor a fake.
She seemed to be a person capable of curing every illness, perhaps even resurrecting the dead.
Sow’s dull, sunken eyes could not leave the wondrous golden aura surrounding her.
The spiritual energy filling the room was astonishing.
It was stronger than any elixir he had ever consumed.
Eventually, Sow’s gaze fell upon her, radiating golden light.
“…Beautiful.”
Unconsciously, he thought this.
Surrounded by a strange golden glow, soaked in sweat and tears, she truly was beautiful.
She shone brighter than any jewel.
There could be nothing in the world more beautiful than her.
“I want her.”
Not the world, not dominion—he wanted a person.
A sparkle appeared in the eyes of Sow, who had seemed almost dead.
An eternity seemed to pass.
When he finally realized it, the brilliant golden light had disappeared.
“Sam-ah!”
Sow’s dazed mind was awakened by Jegal Haesu’s shout.
Baek-Sam’s body wavered, as if she had spent all her energy healing Namgoongjin.
Sow quickly grabbed her shoulders before Jegal Haesu could react. Looking down, Baek-Sam seemed to be unconscious, eyes closed.
When he gently held her, his heart tingled, as if a fine brush were tickling it.
And in that delightful sensation, he realized something.
The warmth that had been touching him was suddenly gone.
When he lowered his gaze, he saw her reduced in size in an instant.
“……”
Sow wrapped the tiny, bride-like Mannyeon Seolsam in his hands as if by instinct.
Immediately, a sharp voice rang out.
“Release our Sam.”
Jegal Haesu had opened her fan and was trying to threaten him.
It was laughable. She could be reduced to a bloody mess with a single gesture from him.
Still, Sow did not threaten Jegal Haesu; he simply laid Baek-Sam gently on the bed.
“Is that enough?”
“…Ah? Th-thank you.”
Jegal Haesu seemed stunned that he had obeyed her request without resistance.
Sow sat beneath the bed where she lay, closing his eyes.
“Don’t speak.”
He had obeyed Jegal Haesu purely because of Baek-Sam.
“I don’t want to be with you anymore. I dislike you.”
That statement had been etched deeply in his mind, preventing him from treating Jegal Haesu recklessly.
Any rash act could make him a sworn enemy of Baek-Sam.
…He didn’t want to incur her hatred.
Was he really so captivated by her golden aura?
Sow thought it had been the right decision to bring her without leaving Namgoongjin to die.
Not only had he confirmed that Baek-Sam was truly the Golden Priestess, but he had also witnessed a miraculous sight he had never seen in his life.
Everything about it was highly satisfying.
Now, when she returned to being human, he would make it so she had no choice but to heal him.
“To do that, I must go to the Jegal household.”
A satisfied smile spread across his lips.
It seemed he was waiting for Baek-Sam to wake, but Sow unintentionally dozed off lightly.
In his dream, the blazing Cheongseongpa appeared.
The manor they had tended together, the modest yet charming pavilion, the sworn brothers, the servants… all were engulfed in flames.
The hellish inferno consuming the Cheongseongpa showed no signs of extinguishing.
Sow stood in the midst of the blaze.
Before his eyes were the specters of Sibi, whom he cherished, and his own past self, a virtuous Daoist.
“Master! No!”
Sibi’s heart was pierced by the attack of a vicious old fiend.
Tears seemed to fall from his own eyes as he held Sibi close.
Soon, he and the fiend disappeared, yet Cheongseongpa, now a graveyard, still burned fiercely.
Sow could not tear his eyes away from Sibi, who seemed already dead.
Blood surrounded Sibi.
There was no chance of revival.
Sow stroked Sibi’s pale face. Even in a dream, the blood on her cheek felt hot.
The familiar face of Sibi, often seen in the marketplace, haunted him. He whispered her name in his heart.
At that moment, a grotesque, voice-inducing frown echoed in his ears.
“Kill… kill everyone. And place the world beneath your feet.”
Was he suffering from madness even in a dream now?
Sow held Sibi’s lifeless body tightly. How could he kill a child already dead?
Yet, the voice continued to taunt him.
“Kill even those you cherished.”
“Kill those who have already passed.”
“Only seek death and enforce it. Then the world will worship you.”
Stop. Please, stop.
Sow writhed in agony.
Madness threatened to engulf him again.
He could not afford to be defeated and become a demon devoid of reason. He refused to be.
Then, he felt a warm energy.
Like salvation, it bathed him gently, embracing him.
The demonic voice that had pierced his eardrums vanished, leaving him at peace.
What was the source of this warmth?
Sow slowly opened his eyes to discover its owner.
Through his dim vision, he saw a pair of shining eyes.
Like stars in the night sky, they sparkled, contrasting with his blurred gaze.
Then, the voice of their owner reached him.
“…Are you alright, So-Hyup?”
Strangely, it sounded like the voice of Sibi from his dream.
Sow did not answer. Instead, he gently embraced the person before him.
Even knowing it was not Sibi, he wanted to hold her.
Before being captured by the Demonic Sect to learn the Heavenly Demon martial arts, before losing so much of his human emotion, in the days when he yearned for the past daily, Sow had longed for Sibi above all others.
Perhaps because the remnants of the dream still lingered, his longing for Sibi surged like waves.
It was a longing that would soon fade, but…
“So… So-Hyup?”
Her bewildered voice reached him.
“Just a moment. Just a moment.”
Until this fleeting longing, like smoke, dissipated.
