The return of the granddaughter of the Namgoong family

It had been eight years since Namgoong had searched for his child.

She had been raised by Blood Demon since she was five, and now she was thirteen.

For reasons she couldn’t understand, it seemed she had returned to the past at the age of thirteen.

‘A regression after death.’

Could it be the result of a great law someone achieved? Or perhaps a curse?

The possibilities of the great law achieved in the Blood Sect were endless, so it might not be entirely impossible.

Blood Demon had been researching immortality tirelessly, so one of his attempts could have succeeded.

Although she didn’t know why she had returned, one thing was clear:

‘Regardless of the reason, the important thing is that I’ve returned to the past.’

Returning to her room, Ilhwa packed her things.

Actually, there wasn’t much to pack. All she had was a sword and a small pouch containing a few coins.

As she gathered her belongings, she hesitated for a moment.

At this time, Blood Demon was running a tavern called Huāo Lóu (火烏樓) in Yunnan.

On the surface, it appeared to be an inn and tavern, but in reality, it was a stronghold for the Blood Sect, silently building its power in preparation to swallow the Central Plains.

‘I can’t go back to Huāo Lóu.’

Now that she knew she was from the Namgoong family, she couldn’t repeat the foolish mistake of destroying her own family.

That left Namgoong.

Ilhwa looked down at her small hands.

She still couldn’t believe it.

She, of all people, was from Namgoong.

In her previous life, she had lived only to bring down the Namgoong family.

‘I was… from Namgoong.’

She clenched her hands tightly.

‘Five years.’

In five years, the Blood Sect, hidden in the shadows, would emerge under the name of the Great Blood Sect and cause the Blood Sect Rebellion.

There were only five years left.

‘I don’t want to be played with by Blood Demon any longer.’

Now that she had returned to the past, she couldn’t repeat the same life. So…

‘I’ll go back.’

She would go back and gain power.

She would grow the strength of Namgoong, prevent her family from being destroyed as it had in her previous life, and stop Blood Demon’s grand scheme to dominate the Central Plains.

If her memories from her past life were anything to go by, nothing was impossible.

Five years might be short, but it was enough time to prepare.

So…

“I’m going back.”

Back to Namgoong.

Back to the hometown she had destroyed with her own hands.

***

Having made up her mind to return, Ilhwa wanted to head to Namgoong immediately, but there was one problem.

Ilhwa channeled the internal energy flowing through her body.

The dark red, murky energy swirled from her dantian.

The state she had been in just before her death was at the pinnacle.

‘Right now… it’s only the peak stage.’

No, perhaps it was actually fortunate that it was still just the peak.

The martial arts of the Blood Sect were based on blood.

Rather than building up step by step, most of their techniques involved draining the blood or vital energy from others, absorbing it, and using it as their own.

As a result, practitioners experienced rapid and explosive growth, but their internal energy became muddled, and the side effects were severe.

The problem was that if she returned to Namgoong with this internal energy, she might be killed before she was even accepted as a member of the family.

‘Cheonryong Geomhwang (Heavenly Dragon Sword King) Namgoong Mucheon.’

Ilhwa’s grandfather and the head of the Namgoong family, Namgoong Mucheon.

He was one of the ten greatest martial artists in the martial world and had a notorious hatred for the dark sects.

He particularly despised those who practiced sinister techniques, and there were rumors that he would kill anyone he found using such energy without hesitation.

Thus, before going back to Namgoong, the first thing she had to do was purge the corrupt blood energy that Blood Demon had forced into her body.

“Thousands of people have already visited Namgoong. They say they even approach anyone with a mark like a spot on their neck.”

“I even heard someone brought their child. Maybe they plan to sell their own child for money?”

“No way, Namgoong isn’t that foolish… Do they really not recognize their own children?”

As Ilhwa stepped out of the inn, the streets were bustling with chatter about Namgoong’s lost child.

The protagonist of the talk, Ilhwa, paused in front of a stall.

“Hey, are you buying or not? If not, get out of the way! Other customers have been waiting for a while!”

Ilhwa lifted her gaze to look at the stall owner. Just by staring at him, a chill filled his eyes, and the stall owner instinctively shrank back, stepping back.

“What… why are you looking at me like that?”

“Is this good?” Ilhwa asked, pointing to the food.

The stall owner’s gaze followed to the front of the stall, where various fruit skewers of Tanghulu were lined up.

“…Have you never tried it before? Didn’t your mother ever buy you some?”

“I don’t have a mother.”

“…!”

The stall owner’s face quickly drained of color.

Seeing his stiffened expression, Ilhwa tilted her head in confusion.

Crunch Crunch

‘This is a strange person.’

After asking about both the mother and father, the stall owner handed her a Tanghulu.

He tried to take money but didn’t accept it, even patting her head gently while trying not to cry.

Ilhwa was puzzled by his actions, especially since, even though she had returned to the body of a child, she hadn’t fully lost her emotions.

‘Is it because I’ve lived for so long without feeling emotions?’

She couldn’t recall what emotions were, what they felt like, or what sensations they involved.

Because of that, there were many times she had difficulty understanding the behavior of others, but it didn’t leave her feeling regretful.

‘Emotions only get in the way of judgment.’

There was no need to return to what she had lost.

Ilhwa continued to chew the Tanghulu she had gotten for free, her gaze wandering around.

‘Is this Raknam?’

Ilhwa had opened her eyes in Raknam, located in the southeastern part of Huayun District.

It was the region where the famous Huoshan Sect was located.

Ilhwa had only visited Raknam once when she was young.

‘It was when Huoshan and Shaolin secretly traded goods.’

The trade between Huoshan and Shaolin had been conducted in complete secrecy. Because it was so secretive, the items exchanged were incredibly valuable.

One of those precious items was the Great Return Pill (Daehwan Dan), a legendary elixir that was highly sought after in the martial world.

When Blood Demon heard that the pill would be leaving the Shaolin Temple, he had sent a group from the Black Cloud Sect (Heukunbang), a dark sect, to steal it.

‘He threatened to capture all the members of Black Cloud Sect and dismember them if they didn’t bring the pill.’

Huāo Lóu, known for its notorious reputation among dark sects, forced the Black Cloud Sect to follow Blood Demon’s orders.

Ilhwa’s task was to deliver the stolen item to her master.

“Hm…”