Chapter 2

Chapter 1. Starting from the Beginning (1)

It was dark.

This was the first impression Seohui had after dying.

There was a faint light that allowed her to gauge her surroundings, but overall, it was a dark and damp place.

'This feels somewhat familiar for a path to the underworld.'

A space of about 100 square meters.

Bookshelves at the edges and walls that looked as if they could crumble at any moment.

In the middle of the room, a training ground rose up, taking up about 30 square meters.

What? A training ground?

The moment Seohui saw the hundreds of white stones laid on the ground, her eyes narrowed.

It felt familiar, and upon closer inspection, it turned out to be her own training room located behind the Taihuang Pavilion.

"What is this...?"

Seohui couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation.

But her laughter stopped when she saw the characters floating in front of her.

<Refer to the language.>

[空 : 0, 一 : 1, 二 : 2, 三 : 3, 四 : 4, 五 : 5, 六 : 6, 七 : 7, 八 : 8, 九 : 9]

[增加 : +, 减少 : -, 倍数 : x]

Is this something like Xiangshu (象數學)?

Seohui was speechless as she looked at the characters and the text next to the pictures that suddenly appeared.

"I'm dead, yet..."

Her memory was clear.

She had died from a spear thrust by a righteous sect warrior, whose background and age she didn't know.

But now, she was alive.

Her severed right arm was back, and she was wearing the same clothes as before.

It felt as if she had stayed here for a while before meeting Sima Gui...

"Was it a dream?"

No.

The sensations were too clear to be a dream.

The scene in front of her, the feeling of breathing, and the thoughts in her head.

Compared to the alien feeling of when she was dead, the current sensation was incredibly realistic.

No, it was more than realistic...

It felt like she had come back to life.

* * *

"Are you here?"

A human voice was heard about half an hour later.

Just as Seohui was pondering why and how she was here, she saw a long-haired man walking into the training ground.

"Jichming (赤明)?"

Seohui's eyes narrowed.

The tall, long-haired man exuded an uncomfortable aura that she couldn't miss.

"..."

"..."

A moment of silence.

And then...

Thud!

"Ugh!"

Seohui's body was sent flying, bent in half, by a sudden punch.

"Feels good, doesn't it?"

Jichming, the man, landed where Seohui had been sitting in the blink of an eye.

He cracked his wrist and smiled.

"Call me Captain. Captain of the Feike Group."

"Kuh! Cough!"

Seohui shuddered from the pain in her abdomen.

In the midst of this, the identity of her opponent was firmly etched in her mind.

Jichming (赤明).

Unlike her squad of six, he was the leader of the Black Moon Corps, which numbered over a hundred.

And it was a direct subordinate unit of the Taihuang Pavilion.

"Why? Do you feel wronged because you got hit? Just because you have a few subordinates, you think you deserve special treatment?"

"..."

Seohui's eyes wavered.

It wasn't just because of the pain in her abdomen.

The current situation.

She had definitely experienced this before, according to her memory.

-Feels good, doesn't it?

-Just tried it out. You were looking at me arrogantly.

-Why? Do you feel wronged because you got hit? Just because you have a few subordinates, you think you deserve special treatment?

Two out of three matched, so it wasn't a perfect match with her past memory.

But the start was different this time.

Back then, she had asked, "What's going on?"

'If my memory is correct, the next line should be, "If you don't have the skills, you should learn to bow your head."'

"If you don't have the skills, you should learn to bow your head."

"!"

Seohui's expression twisted.

What was going on here?

Why was the situation unfolding exactly as she remembered?

"..."

Seohui, trying to avoid another hit, got up unsteadily and bowed respectfully.

To avoid getting hit again, there was no other way.

"The Master of the Taihuang Pavilion has summoned you."

'This line is the same too.'

Seohui felt a chill run down her spine.

Everything the man was saying was unfolding exactly as she had 'experienced' in the past.

"Hey, are you listening?"

"I understand."

Seohui bowed hastily at Jichming's shout.

In her past memory, she had been kicked again for responding too slowly.

So she answered quickly this time.

"And."

Just as Seohui was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Jichming called out to her.

He stroked his long hair, which he had grown like a woman, and continued.

"I have a piece of advice for you."

"..."

"You're lucky."

Seohui froze at the strange tone.

Why?

Because it was different from her past memory?

No, that wasn't it.

<Life + 2>

A signal that didn't exist in her past memory.

A phrase whose meaning she couldn't understand.

It was spinning above Jichming's head.

* * *

The organization I belong to is called the Manichaeans.

In the past, it was a place that revered Ahura Mazda, a deity of peace and harmony, not unlike the Buddhas and immortals of the righteous sects, in front of a fire.

Now, it has become a group that operates under the law of the survival of the fittest, where clear interests align.

In other words, as long as you show absolute obedience, nothing special happens.

That's why incidents and accidents are almost non-existent in the main temple.

Of course, exceptions like me aside.

The main temple has a few clear advantages over the righteous sects.

One is the martial arts we call Shen Gong (神功), known as Ma Gong (魔功) to others.

While it takes at least a decade of diligent practice to reach the so-called 'first-class' level in the righteous sects' orthodox martial arts, our martial arts can achieve the same in just three years.

I've heard that quite a few experts reach the peak before they turn thirty, which is a great environment.

However, good things always come with bad.

'Your lifespan shortens.'

Practicing Ma Gong inevitably comes with risks.

Because you use the essence of life to grow rapidly, it takes a toll on your lifespan.

For example, while the righteous sects' top experts can live to a hundred, it's difficult for those in the Manichaeans to live past sixty, even at the peak.

Of course, at the level of Chao Ma (超魔) or Ji Ma (極魔), which would be equivalent to the Rujing (入境) or Huajing (化境) levels in the righteous sects, the story is different.

* * *

"Feike Group Captain Seohui requests an audience."

Seohui stood in front of the Taihuang Pavilion, clearing her thoughts.

Everything that had happened to her still felt strange and uncomfortable.

Perhaps because the most painful part of her past was repeating itself.

She couldn't easily accept the current situation.

"Come in."

Just as the old man's voice was heard, Seohui cautiously stepped into the Master of the Taihuang Pavilion's office.

As she entered, the first thing that greeted her was the smoky scent of incense.

Next, she saw the screens lined up on the walls of the 30-square-meter room.

'The Four Gentlemen (四君子).'

Plum (梅), Orchid (蘭), Chrysanthemum (菊), and Bamboo (竹), symbols of noble gentlemen.

It was always a surprising sight to see these in the main temple, where the Master of the Taihuang Pavilion was known for his dirty deeds.

"Have you arrived?"

Seohui's gaze shifted to the front.

Sima Gui, the Master of the Taihuang Pavilion, sat behind a desk, and an old man with a large, fat body was beside him.

'As expected, Dang Chao, the Master of the Wutian Pavilion, is also here.'

The scene in front of Seohui was exactly as she remembered from the past.

Back then, the two of them were also chatting in the room.

The Hongma Yuan (紅魔院) is one of the core branches of the Manichaeans.

There are five pavilions (閣) that support this institution, including the Taihuang Pavilion and the Wutian Pavilion (吳天閣).

And the head of the Wutian Pavilion is the old man, Dang Chao.

'A snake-eyed one and a sly one.'

Regardless of their positions, Seohui called them by her own names and bowed to them.

Creak.

"Feike Group Captain. I have come at the Master of the Taihuang Pavilion's request."

Seohui glanced around.

As she remembered, Sima Gui had a thin, unimpressive appearance.

His flat face and prominent cheekbones gave off an unlucky vibe.

"A little while ago, I mentioned that this young man is Seohui."

"Hmm, is that so?"

Sima Gui began, and Dang Chao looked at Seohui with a strange expression.

After slowly scanning her, he rubbed his round chin and said,

"According to what you said, he must be a very skilled person. Just from the way he nods his head, it seems so."

Thud.

The moment he said that, Seohui quickly slammed her head to the ground.

"Please forgive my rudeness. The Master of the Taihuang Pavilion instructed me to perform a simple bow when entering the office..."

"Hehehe. Master of the Wutian Pavilion, don't be so harsh."

Just as Seohui was about to respond, Sima Gui quickly cut in.

Though he was smiling, it soon became clear that it wasn't a friendly gesture.

"By scolding me like that, aren't you putting me in an awkward position in front of the Master of the Wutian Pavilion? I don't know what to do."

"Hehehe. How can that be the Master of the Taihuang Pavilion's fault? It's the fault of an arrogant subordinate."

"That's all due to my shortcomings. Hehehe."

'Even though I'm going through this for the second time, it still feels terrible.'

Perhaps because the situation was unfolding as she remembered, Seohui felt no fear, only annoyance.

The Master of the Taihuang Pavilion had clearly instructed her to perform a simple bow four days ago when she visited.

But now, he was subtly changing his words to insult her.

'I have to go along with it for now.'

Seohui still lacked a sense of reality.

But she followed her memory because she was waiting for the words that would soon come from the Master of the Taihuang Pavilion.

"Hem. By the way."

As Sima Gui changed the topic, Seohui's eyes sparkled.

"Do you have any interest in becoming a scribe in the Tianniguan (天日官)?"

"Tianniguan, you mean..."

"I specially paid attention to your desire to practice Ma Gong."

The Tianniguan is a library attached to the five pavilions.

It doesn't compare to the Qihong Beikao (七洪備考) in the main temple, but it still houses tens of thousands of secret texts.

'This was the first bait he threw.'

"It's an honor, Master of the Taihuang Pavilion."

But Seohui didn't reveal her true feelings.

Whether it was a dream or reality, she had to act as she did in the past for the situation to unfold as she remembered.

"So, in return for this great honor, I have a task for you."

Sima Gui naturally changed the topic and moved his right hand.

Seohui's eyes widened at the sight.

Now that he had thrown the bait, it was time for his true intentions to come out.

According to her memory, he would bring up the topic of the Huashan Sect to deal with her.

"I have something to say... Huh!"

Just as Seohui was about to speak first,

She widened her eyes and trailed off, as if she had seen something.

"..."

"Hmm?"

The two old men looked puzzled.

But Seohui didn't see them at all.

The characters were already etched in her mind.

As if a book had been opened, the characters covered her vision.

<Choose based on the following text.>

▶ [I will follow any mission.]

And upon seeing this, Seohui finally realized what was happening to her.

She had died once before.

This situation was not a lucid dream but a very real reality.

▶ [I want a different mission.]

And as she moved her gaze,

▷ [I will follow any mission.]

▷ [I want a different mission.]

▶ [I will cut off my right arm.]

The text in front of her moved with her gaze.