“In the world of warriors, defeat often means death. But to say defeat isn’t the end… Are you seeking mercy from me, Hwayeon Shinni?”
The cult leader’s question hung in the air as Hwayeon Shinni responded.
“Do I seem like someone who would stoop so low?” “One can never truly know a person’s heart. People can be as unchanging as the mountains or as fickle as the wind.”
Hwayeon Shinni let out a small, dismissive snort, tossing aside a broken sword and picking up another from the ground. It was the very sword she had first wielded, the one Guangyeomra had clutched in his final moments.
As she assumed the stance of the Great Wisdom Sword, the cult leader approached slowly, swinging his sword with a seemingly casual motion. Yet, the force behind it was enough to cleave mountains.
Hwayeon Shinni didn’t meet force with force. Instead, she wielded her sword like a willow branch, swaying gently to deflect the cult leader’s attack. Their swords intertwined in a dance of steel.
The cult leader knew he couldn’t overpower Hwayeon Shinni in a single strike. He swiftly withdrew his sword, preparing for the next move. The situation grew more precarious than when she had first defended against his attack.
Clang—
Two swords suddenly appeared at Hwayeon Shinni’s sides, narrowly deflecting the cult leader’s blade. Namgung Jinchun and Yoo Jinkwang had arrived at her side.
Namgung Jinchun spoke up. “You’ve been fighting tirelessly. Let’s step back for a moment. We may not be able to defeat the cult leader, but we can at least buy some time.”
Hwayeon Shinni laughed, lowering her hand. “Step back, child.” “No need to refuse.” “When you raised your sword against the demon, I was contemplating stepping down as the head of Amipa. Even your grandfather couldn’t stand beside me, so how do you intend to?”
Though it sounded like teasing, there was a clear intent behind her words. Namgung Jinchun sensed that Hwayeon Shinni had a plan. Unlike him, Yoo Jinkwang was reluctant to retreat, but Namgung Jinchun pulled him back.
The cult leader didn’t rush forward. He watched Hwayeon Shinni with eyes that held a serene light, his demeanor oddly relaxed, his gaze filled with certainty. He was confident that no matter how many times his opponents swung their swords, they wouldn’t reach him.
Hwayeon Shinni addressed the cult leader. “Leader.”
The cult leader had insisted he shouldn’t be called that, so he didn’t respond. But Hwayeon Shinni continued regardless.
“I know you’re the strongest. But what’s more important is that we have countless waves on our side.”
Those who heard Hwayeon Shinni’s words were gripped by a sense of foreboding.
They expected defeat. But defeat wasn’t the end.
There were countless waves on their side. The meaning behind her words was all too clear.
Hwayeon Shinni never believed she could kill the cult leader here from the start.
Instead, she saw potential.
The potential of Tang Mujin to rescue the cult leader’s prisoners. The potential of the three who could ascend to the realm of harmony—Hyun Gong, Namgung Myung, and Jang Ilsang.
Hwayeon Shinni confirmed Tang Mujin’s potential through the cult leader’s reaction. Now, all that remained was the potential of the three who would ascend to the realm of harmony.
She hoped for their potential, but she also knew they wouldn’t immediately fulfill their roles even if they ascended. They needed time to consolidate their enlightenment.
To that end, Hwayeon Shinni intended to buy them time. To give them the opportunity to face the cult leader and open a path for their retreat, that was her plan.
The cult leader understood Hwayeon Shinni’s thoughts and raised an eyebrow.
“All of that depends on whether you can return alive.” “True enough.”
At that moment, Hwayeon Shinni sensed a presence approaching from behind.
The ever-calm Sam Ambo had come to stand beside her. But now, his eyes were filled with turmoil and confusion.
Hwayeon Shinni smiled faintly. “Don’t burden your heart. I’m not doing this for you.”
It might have sounded like empty words meant to comfort a lover, but they weren’t. Hwayeon Shinni wasn’t taking on this role for Sam Ambo.
Rather, as a senior in the martial world, as a wave that surged ahead of the others, as the highest crest of the wave, as a relic of the old era, she took on this difficult role.
Hwayeon Shinni wiped the blood from her sword and looked at her reflection in the blade. Though she had lived well over a hundred years, others saw her as a young girl without a single wrinkle. But beyond that youthful appearance, she saw the aged head of Amipa.
She laughed softly. “I am one who has grown too old, who missed the time to leave and step back.”
Hwayeon Shinni recalled the past. When Taepyeong Satae succeeded her as the head of Amipa, he had come to her with a question.
Hwayeon Shinni had answered with dignity.
Years later, when Hyangbaek Satae, the new head, came to her, he was astonished by her youthful appearance and asked the same question.
Hwayeon Shinni gave the same answer.
Both Taepyeong Satae and Hyangbaek Satae accepted her explanation and left. It wasn’t a lie. She did pity the unfortunate.
But there was a more important reason for Hwayeon Shinni.
Resentment.
She felt her life was unfair.
As a child, she had suffered hunger as a descendant of outlaws. Later, she joined Amipa, living a life of restraint as a nun, which was no more satisfying than her previous life.
As time passed and she grew old, she felt her life was unfair.
There must be more interesting things in the world, more beautiful things. She didn’t want to end her life with only hunger and the scenery of Amipa in her heart.
So, the head of Amipa, Hwayeon Shinni, recklessly left Amipa and achieved eternal youth through her martial arts.
She didn’t think she left Amipa for a grand cause. It was more like a belated escape.
And every escape has an end. Those who leave home eventually return, and those who abandon duty eventually face it again.
Hwayeon Shinni believed that time was now.
“My time has long passed, and I have no regrets left. It’s time for the leading wave to fall for the next wave.”
With those words, Hwayeon Shinni’s demeanor changed completely. It was the moment she drew her final resolve, the moment she stepped onto a path of no return, the moment she showed she was completely satisfied with her life, with no lingering regrets.
Most people might fear the inevitable death, but Hwayeon Shinni felt liberated.
At long last, she felt the weight of the years that had been pressing down on her. At the same time, she realized the weight of her unfulfilled desires.
She looked back.
Namgung Myung, Hyun Gong, Jang Ilsang, and the younger generation watching her.
Hwayeon Shinni spoke to them.
“You don’t understand a woman’s heart. A woman always wants to show her most beautiful side to the man she admires.”
In her most beautiful moment, Hwayeon Shinni gently pulled Sam Ambo close and brushed her lips against his. Then she said, “Go. Unlike me, your role isn’t over yet.”
She pushed Sam Ambo away with force. At the same time, she charged forward, sword in hand, rushing toward the cult leader with fierce determination.
Moments ago, Hwayeon Shinni had seemed somewhat restrained, but now she was transforming into a woman on the brink of a storm.
Sam Ambo almost instinctively followed her, but fortunately or unfortunately, someone stopped him.
“We must move now!”
Namgung Myung urged, quickly pulling Sam Ambo along.
Sam Ambo’s body stiffened, but his eyes could still move.
Apsabul desperately turned his eyes, looking back. Until the very last moment when Hwayeon, the priestess, disappeared from view, he captured every detail of her retreating figure. From her twenties to her thirties, and now in her middle age, Hwayeon had entered the twilight of her years… Sam-anbul took in all of it. Tears welled up in his eyes.
Finally, the crowd dispersed, leaving only the cult leader and Hwayeon in the center of the scene. Yet, it was far from silent. The cult leader, abandoning his previous calm demeanor, raged like a demon, relentlessly pursuing Hwayeon.
Clang, clang—
The sharp clash of metal echoed loudly, their fierce battle filling the streets of the central district with flashes of light. Even amidst the chaos, Hwayeon noticed the people who had been hiding in the district quietly slipping away.
She took in their faces, committing them to memory. She embraced the streets of the central district in her heart, recalling the countless connections she had made there, the faces of the Hao Moon disciples.
‘I met so many people.’
She then remembered those she had encountered at the Tang family estate: Tang Mujin, Namgung Myung, Hyun Gong, Jang Il-nam, Dan Seol-young, Muk Wan-ah…
‘I played to my heart’s content.’
Next, she thought of Sam-anbul.
‘I loved without reservation, so I have no regrets.’
Now an elegant old woman, Hwayeon, facing death, swung her sword and murmured softly.
“People think the life of a wave is only in its fierce rise and towering crest, but its life is also in the moment it crashes into white foam.”