I Spent One Night with the Terminally Ill Daughter of the World’s Greatest Warrior

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The front gate of the Mo Yong Family.

It was smashed.

To say it was in a devastating state would be a bit of an understatement.

The area above the gate, where there should have been a roof, was gone in a ‘V’ shape.

As if it had never existed from the start.

As if only that part had simply disappeared.

Or perhaps someone had just suddenly ‘deleted’ the upper section of the gate.

Normally, it wouldn’t have been strange if the entire gate and even the courtyard inside had been obliterated.

Just a moment ago, a burst of sword energy shot into the sky, and it was none other than the Haedong Sword Sect’s deputy, Sword Mistress Geum Jeomri.

“Quiet.”

The Sword Mistress lightly tapped her foot.

“Who are you telling to be quiet right now?”

The man standing opposite the Sword Mistress, Sword Saint Mo Yongcheon, frowned at the sudden words from the Sword Mistress.

“Have you been possessed by a malevolent spirit? If that’s the case, I could forgive the debt by cutting off one of your arms.”

“A malevolent spirit?”

The Sword Mistress shook her head at the Sword Saint’s subtle threat.

“I’m not possessed, Sword Saint. I assure you I’m in a perfectly normal state.”

“Seeing how you’re speaking differently than usual, it seems you either underwent Reversal of Aging or have come down with dementia.”

The Sword Mistress flinched.

The Sword Saint’s blunt remark threw her off balance.

“Do you think it’s sixty years ago right now?”

“Hoh, hoho. What are you talking about, Sword Saint? You weren’t even born sixty years ago.”

“I merely said your current behavior resembles something from the rough, barbaric times sixty years ago. I never said you were from that era.”

“…Are you trying to humiliate me that badly?”

“I don’t think I’m one to listen to a lecture from someone who unleashed sword energy against someone else’s front gate.”

The Sword Saint’s tone was calm, but the blue sword in his hand emitted an irregular light.

This was clear evidence that Sword Saint Mo Yongcheon was clearly furious.

Anyone would lose their cool if about a quarter of their home’s entrance suddenly had a V-shaped hole in it.

Especially if the person who had pointed out they were in their thirties was actually significantly older than their physical years to the extent that the Sword Saint referred to it as dementia.

“Can this be viewed as an attack on the Mo Yong Family?”

“…….”

“It seems you heard the ‘news’ and came here, but is it acceptable for the likes of you to behave this way?”

“…….”

Even if she’s known as the greatest in the world, she ranks much lower in terms of family hierarchy.

The Sword Mistress had emerged two, even three generations ago, while the Sword Saint was active in his time and considered an ‘elder’ and ‘hero’ by today’s younger generation.

Had it not been for the clutter of sword energy and murderous intent, the onlookers would have surely whispered about the Sword Mistress’s behavior and condemned her actions.

Some might have suspected malevolent spirits.
Some would have wondered if she had dementia.
While others might have suspected that she’d heard rumors about the side effects of Extreme Yang Reversal and rushed over in a panic.

There was no way to handle this.

It was a clear fact that the Sword Mistress had unleashed sword energy on the Mo Yong Family’s front gate.

If anyone sought to blame the Mo Yong Family, it was practically a declaration of war with the Haedong Sword Sect—

“C-calm down! Brother!”

Behind Sword Saint Mo Yongcheon, his younger brother, Mo Yongsan, jumped out.

“Didn’t you agree to take the attack from the Sword Mistress just this once? Hahaha!”

“Yong-san. What are you saying—?”

“Ahhh! Hahaha! It must be a battle of powers between the high-level masters! My poor eyes simply couldn’t follow the explosive surge of sword energy as the front gate of the family was destroyed! Hahaha! Isn’t that right, Sword Mistress?”

Mo Yongsan took a defensive stance before the Sword Mistress.

“It feels awkward just standing here like this, why don’t you put down your sword and come inside?”

“Yong-san. You’re really…?”

“Brother.”

Mo Yongsan winked at the Sword Saint, who then narrowed his eyes and stared intently at the Sword Mistress.

“Sword Mistress.”

“…….”

“Now the debt has been cleared.”

The Sword Saint sheathed his sword.

It was as if the act of sheathing the sword was a way to settle past ‘debts.’

“…I will strike you down the moment you do anything suspicious.”

With those words, the Sword Saint turned and walked inside the family.

“Hoo….”

Mo Yongsan let out a sigh as he watched the Sword Saint’s back, then turned to the Sword Mistress with a slightly irritated expression.

“Sword Mistress! Please come into the Mo Yong Family.”

A smile returned to his face as he welcomed her.

“…Um.”

“Whatever happens!!”

Mo Yongsan shouted as he struck a pose.

“Please take good care of my nephew, Seol’s sword!!”

As he shouted, containing his energy, the Sword Mistress momentarily tilted her head in confusion.

– What, what’s this? Does that mean Mo Yongseol is becoming the Sword Mistress’s disciple?

– Is she learning sword techniques not from the Mo Yong Family but from the Haedong Sword Sect? Why?

– I don’t know the reason, but is the Sword Saint testing the Sword Mistress? Other than her family techniques, she’s learning the techniques of a different sect?

The Sword Mistress, feeling perplexed yet somehow yearning, stepped onto the Mo Yong Family’s front gate.

“Um.”

“Sword Mistress.”

Mo Yongsan spoke in a voice so low only she could hear.

“Having offended Mo Yong, we’ll have to make use of you.”

“Make use…?”

If it were any other time, the Sword Mistress would have immediately yelled back.

“…Let’s not do that.”

With her head bowed deeply, the Sword Mistress slowly entered the Mo Yong Family.

* * *

Who is the person that I can relate to best inside the Mo Yong Family?

Mo Yongseol?

Given how our hearts grew closer after that first night, one could say it’s Mo Yongseol.

However, when it comes to matters of the family, I communicate better with someone else than with Mo Yongseol.

“Physician Seok.”

“Yes, Brother Yongsan.”

Mo Yongsan, the deputy head of the Mo Yong Family and Sword Saint Mo Yongcheon’s younger brother—who would be called uncle by Mo Yongseol.

“I’m thinking about using the Sword Mistress to push away all those other women who are after you. What do you think?”

I could easily tell what his intention was as he let out a deep sigh.

“Are you suggesting we use the strongest ‘woman’ in the martial world to manage all the women who seek the Reversal of Aging?”

“Right. While none currently exist, at least for now, we need to consider middle-aged women… Can I be frank? Seol-ya?”

Mo Yongsan asked Mo Yongseol, who was snugly clinging to my side.

“Of course, Uncle. What are you trying to say?”

“To defeat those old hags trying to steal your husband’s essence with the strongest old hag of the Central Plains.”

“…….”

“Was that description a bit too blunt? What I meant was….”

“No. It was so fitting I momentarily lost my words.”

Mo Yongseol nodded, tightly gripping my arm.

“Sword Mistress, how much do you know?”

“That’s something I’ll have to discuss now. Fortunately, she appears to know that she has lost her mind as she’s been patiently waiting below the medical hall.”

“Hmm… Is she that desperate?”

The Reversal of Aging?

“Did she think of Extreme Yang Reversal merely as a ‘youngening elixir,’ or did she come because there’s an urgent reason to undergo the Reversal of Aging?”

“Well, I don’t know either. However, seeing how my brother… the head of the family has brought in the Sword Mistress, it doesn’t seem like it’s just out of a desire to look pretty.”

If the ability to manage the family’s affairs or to coordinate relations with outsiders could be called ‘political power,’ then Mo Yongsan’s political influence was certainly at its peak within the Mo Yong Family.

“According to the rules of the martial world, it’s not a major problem if the Sword Saint beheaded the Sword Mistress. Yet, the reason he pardoned her mistake is that she is… more precisely, Seol, your benefactor in the Mo Yong Family.”

“My benefactor?”

“Yes. When you were very young, and although there are hardly any people in the martial world who know you, Seol saved you from the Sword Mistress.”

Mo Yongsan scratched his head and shut his eyes tightly.

“If your father hadn’t mentioned it, I’d feel uneasy sharing this…”

Was there something hidden behind the secrets?

“Physician Seok.”

“Yes, Brother Yongsan.”

“Do you think your father-in-law would just ignore a dementia-stricken old hag who slashed at the family’s front gate?”

“Hmm.”

Putting it that way, it doesn’t sound right at all.

“It wouldn’t be strange for him to slash up the Sword Mistress, rather than deflect her sword energy, then immediately charge in and behead her.”

This Sword Saint, who is in a near-tensed situation where even the slightest issue could stir him up, has let the Sword Mistress live?

“…You’re not intending to do something to me through the Sword Mistress, are you?”

“If I did, Seol would never see her father again, so that’s not the case. He saved the daughter’s benefactor just once. Of course… that one time is the end of that.”

“I understand. What is it you seek, Brother Yongsan?”

“I’m thinking of using the Sword Mistress as a guard cat.”

“…….”

While a bit straightforward, it doesn’t seem Brother Yongsan is particularly fond of the Sword Mistress either.

“Publicly, I want to present the Sword Mistress as Seol’s swordsmanship instructor.”

“I see. A warning that no woman lesser than her should dare to set foot in the Mo Yong Family?”

“Exactly.”

Anyone who consumes Extreme Yang Reversal can undergo the Reversal of Aging.

If that fact were to spread, not just the Sword Mistress but even Grandma Geum Jeomri, who’s lying on the floor, would rush out seeking Extreme Yang Reversal.

“And one more thing.”

Brother Yongsan cautiously raised a finger.

“To know how far the effects of Extreme Yang Reversal reach… we need to establish our future plans accordingly. In the worst-case scenario, the Mo Yong Family might have to face the entire martial world.”

“……You’re thinking ahead.”

“That’s how it turned out.”

“…Understood.”

As a member of the Mo Yong Family and a former member of the Demon Cult, I had no choice but to make certain compromises.

“Brother Yongsan. But there’s one thing I must make certain of?”

“What is it?”

“If, by any chance…”

After asking for Mo Yongseol’s understanding, I quietly whispered to Brother Yongsan.

If, by any chance, the Sword Mistress were to pursue something only Mo Yongseol could specially attain—a pure white essence filled with Yang Qi?

“…You can’t be serious.”

Brother Yongsan made a clear grimace.

“Even if you’ve lost your mind, there’s a limit. How could a young lad who hasn’t even lived one-third of his life… ugh.”

He seemed to correct himself from one-fourth to one-third.

* * *

Moments later, inside the medical hall examination room.

I welcomed the problematic second patient, the Sword Mistress.

“Physician Seok.”

“Yes.”

“I want to go back to my twenties.”

The Sword Mistress revealed her reason for rampaging.

“And I want to live as an ordinary woman, not a martial artist. Whether that means to declare me dead or to deceive the world as a grandmother.”

“……?”

What is this, crazy talk?

“Um, what does that even mean?”

“When I first entered the martial world, I declared that I wouldn’t shake hands with anyone weaker than myself. And… until I became the Sword Master of the Haedong Sword Sect, no one could ever defeat me.”

“……That…”

“Now, now, you need a specimen, right? It’s not just that only women with bloodlines can undergo this; I want to see if women who haven’t opened their bloodlines can also undergo the Reversal of Aging…!”

“……!!”

Just as the Sword Mistress reached out with both hands to grab me—

Thump!

I felt a sharp pain in my heart, my vision momentarily darkened, and in that fleeting moment, dizziness caused my consciousness to slip away.

“…..?”

“…!!”

I dodged the hands that the Sword Mistress had stretched out, raising both my hands as I stepped back.

‘What is this?’

I’ve never felt such a sensation in my life.

It was that feeling where my body seemed almost alien to me.

“Hu… I understand now. Physician. To be honest.”

The Sword Mistress spoke with her eyes tightly shut.

“I too want to go back to being twenty, to experience love. …A love I’ve never experienced.”

Ah.

Now it makes sense why she referenced herself as a “reversal maiden”—but she insists on the Reversal of Aging.

Reversal.

To regain.

Since I haven’t lost it, I didn’t want it.

“I want to be someone’s woman, not just the Sword Mistress of the martial world.”

What the Sword Mistress truly needed wasn’t the Reversal of Aging at her current matured state but rather the youth of twenty for the innocent love between a young man and a young woman.

“I wish to be the mother of the children I give birth to.”

It’s unfortunate.

But—

My head and my heart are both intensely shouting.

‘What should be shouldn’t be.’

Whoever it is, may you find a good man.