Chapter – 15
“Mother, Father. I wish to see the world together with my younger sibling Dori. Please remain in good health.”
“Tch, why are you acting so solemn, Do-ah? If your brother becomes annoying, just abandon him and travel alone.”
“Okaaay.”
Jusohee, her brows slightly furrowed, gently stroked her daughter’s cheek as she answered obediently.
‘When I sent Ia away, I wasn’t this worried. But now… I’m afraid I might lose another child…’
Objectively speaking, Dori was far stronger than her son, who had only just reached the early stage of Peak Realm.
If Peak Realm meant someone who had just begun to shed their mortal limits, then the Transcendent Peak Realm was someone who surpassed even that—a true superhuman beginning to walk the path of miracles, someone who had crossed a wall.
Because of that, it wasn’t as if her daughter was someone destined to die a meaningless death somewhere.
And yet, why did her chest ache so much, as if a hole had been torn through it? Jusohee felt like she might go mad from the uncontrollable pounding of her heart.
“Ha…”
“Ah— M-Mother!”
In the end, she pulled her daughter, who was about to leave, into an embrace. Unlike herself, who surpassed most men in size and strength, Dori was only slightly taller than an average woman. Holding her now, she felt so small and fragile. Jusohee’s eyes filled with tears.
“How can I send such a small and delicate child into the harsh martial world? Couldn’t you at least wait until you reach the Harmony Realm?”
“Wait a second, Mother.”
Peng, who had been beaten black and blue by Dori for seven days and nights straight, still carrying bruises, protested in disbelief.
“Our younger sibling is NOT fragile! If anything, I should be treating her like an older sister…!”
“Be quiet.”
“Y-Yes, ma’am.”
Instant submission.
The eldest son, who feared his mother, lowered his head while rubbing the back of his neck. His massive build made him look like a moving half-moon bear, and Dori looked at him with renewed curiosity.
“Yes, Do-ah. If you ever face difficulty, do not hesitate even for a moment—go to the nearest government office and show them the Golden Dragon Token. Even if a master of the Harmony Realm were chasing you, they would not dare act recklessly against the authorities. In emergencies, it may become an extra life.”
“Yes!”
“My precious child…”
“Mother? The sun is setting?”
Smack!
Peng trembled after being struck with a folding fan by Jusohee. She gave Dori’s face one last round of affectionate pats and then kissed her here and there.
“…No! I still can’t accept this! I should keep you by my side until you reach the Transformation Realm…!”
“M-Madam!”
Peng Baek, who had been quietly watching because he understood both his wife’s worries and her reluctance to approach grown men, finally stepped in.
“Do-ah will do well. And Ia… well, he’s a bit unreliable. But at least he understands how the world works.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
In the end, Jusohee gave in.
It was less losing and more that she never intended to win.
After all, she herself had once left the suffocating imperial palace behind to choose the martial world. She knew better than anyone that a comfortable home could sometimes become a prison one wished to escape.
‘Yes. To a child, parents should be a home they want to return to—not shackles.’
Jusohee composed herself.
After wiping away her tears, the master who had reached the Profound Realm instantly returned to a flawless expression. She hugged her daughter, who looked strikingly like herself, once more. Then suddenly, she removed the blue wave-patterned robe she always wore.
“Mother?”
“Wear this.”
The wave-patterned robe had long ago been a gift from her master.
It was her last remaining piece and something she treasured dearly—but what wouldn’t a parent give to a departing child?
She couldn’t pass it to her son Peng due to his massive build, but it fit her daughter perfectly. After dressing Dori herself and adjusting the clothes neatly, she said:
“Come back safely, Do-ah.”
Come back safely.
A whisper filled with desperate love.
Dori felt that emotion too.
Just as she was getting used to it, once again came the heartfelt plea of a mother who had already lost a child once.
Dori answered with a bright smile.
“Yes, Mother! I’ll be back!”
It was the brightest smile she had ever shown Jusohee.
And so that day, Dori—the formerly lost young lady of the Peng family—
Wearing Jusohee’s wave-patterned robe, stepped boldly into the martial world together with her older brother, the Young Master Peng.
“Whew! I never expected such lawless bandits to set up camp right in Hebei’s front yard!”
It had already been four days since we set out.
Yet Peng and I still hadn’t even left Hebei.
Because of these damn bandits.
They weren’t even part of the Green Forest Alliance, yet they dared to plunder near the Hebei Peng Clan.
It took one full day to hunt them down and another full day to tie them up and deliver them to the local authorities.
“P-Peng Young Master! And beside you is the Princess…! I mean, the Peng Young Lady?!”
As expected of Hebei’s officials, someone recognized us immediately. Even the county magistrate personally came to greet us and bowed deeply.
So she really was basically royalty.
Some officials even mistook me for Jusohee and called me “Princess,” making me newly appreciate her status.
Of course she wasn’t literally royalty—but receiving treatment like this from officials was another matter entirely. It really felt like an ancient Chinese class system in action.
“Ah! Recently the bandits have caused great concern for merchants and commoners alike. We are deeply grateful that the Young Master and Young Lady resolved this so wisely. Would you perhaps honor my residence by staying the night to recover your strength…?”
But honestly…
Hmm.
How should I put it?
This is long.
While I quickly got bored, Peng seemed used to this and handled the magistrate smoothly.
“We appreciate the thought, but we still have far to travel, so we must decline! We’ll leave the remaining matters to the authorities.”
“Of course!”
It was an impressively smooth refusal.
Anyway.
Gold bars were added to our already heavy money pouch. It was an absurd sum compared to the money I once earned suffering for half a month eating dry rations in the mountains.
“Brother, you’re good at making excuses. Even though we don’t actually have a destination.”
I said this while increasing my movement speed using lightness martial arts.
If I were alone I’d be much faster, but I was moving at about half speed to match Peng. Despite his giant build, he moved silently and looked confused.
“Huh? That wasn’t an excuse! Mother told us to deliver greetings to the Tang Clan. We should hurry. Even if we rush, it’ll take about a month to reach Sichuan.”
“What?”
That was news to me.
“You didn’t know?”
“How would I know if nobody told me?!”
“I assumed Mother told you too…”
Peng groaned.
“But why the Tang Clan?”
“Hm? I guess you wouldn’t know! Our maternal grandmother, the Empress Dowager, was originally from a branch family of the Tang Clan.”
That was completely new information.
As I stood there shocked, Peng continued:
“The Tang Clan has many branches, so we’re not especially close. But they seem eager to maintain good relations with us, so they often send letters. We also visit them from time to time.”
This setting is ridiculous.
The imperial family, the Peng Clan, Hainan Sect’s Supreme Elder… and even the Sichuan Tang Clan?
How many layers of secret backgrounds and lucky encounters were stacked into this birth story?
The theory that Jusohee was the default mother of all player characters was starting to seem very convincing.
…Wait.
Doesn’t the protagonist’s mother die?
I had spent about ten million won on the game, enough to post nonsense like “Is this combat power decent?” on community boards.
Among those, I suddenly remembered a day when story posts were blowing up:
[Story] What? Mom dies?
[Story] Mom noooooㅠㅠㅠ
[Story] Are you insane why kill her
[Story] Give my mom back give my mom back give my mom back
“…Huh?”
A chill suddenly ran down my spine.
The problem was—I had no way to confirm it.
I should have read the story…!
Memories of spamming the skip button flashed before me. Seeing me act strangely, Peng looked worried.
“Younger sibling, what’s wrong?”
“Brother! If someone reaches the Profound Realm… they usually don’t die easily, right?”
The moment I asked, I realized it was a dumb question. There were only about ten Profound Realm masters in the Central Plains—unless two fought to the death, obviously they wouldn’t die easily.
“Unless their lifespan ends, that’s generally true! I heard that masters like Mother surpass normal human lifespans. That’s my goal too. Mother really is amazing.”
As expected, he answered casually.
…I can’t exactly explain why I’m asking.
While worrying silently, I suddenly formed a hypothesis.
Ah. Maybe it’s the Heavenly Demon side?
If you play the Demonic Cult route, you get the chance to become the Heavenly Demon’s adopted child.
A stepmother is still a mother—maybe the one who dies is the Heavenly Demon?
That seems more likely.
In fantasy, demon kings always die eventually. Surely the Heavenly Demon would too.
People probably just got emotional because the character design was amazing. I myself had only pressed the adoption option because of the artwork.
“Ah~ now I get it.”
I muttered in relief. Peng looked confused.
But before he could ask what I understood, we spotted a small village after crossing several mountains.
“Brother! Let’s stay there tonight!”
“Oh! Sounds good.”
With our full purse, finding food and lodging for a night would be easy.
We landed lightly and stopped at the quiet village entrance, asking a man passing by. He looked about mid-forties and wore simple hemp clothing.
“Excuse me, do you have a room where my sibling and I could stay the night? It’s getting dark and traveling the mountains is difficult. If a room is impossible, even just a meal would be appreciated. We will of course compensate you.”
“Heh, you must be martial artists.”
Despite Peng’s booming voice, the man showed no fear. Instead, he smiled warmly.
“It would be cruel to turn travelers away at night in the mountains. My child has already left home, and my wife and I live quietly now. There’s no need for payment. Just keep us company with some conversation.”
“Oh! Thank you!”
Peng smiled brightly, touched by the countryside hospitality.
…Wait?
But I felt something strange and sniffed the air.
The smell of wild animals and wood masked it…
Isn’t this… the smell of blood?
