I couldn't react immediately to what the doctor was saying. Even though it was a fact I was already aware of, when I actually heard the confirmation directly, I didn't know how to respond. With a blank face, I looked at the doctor and slowly spoke with stuttering words.
"Is, is it really true? That I'm pregnant..."
"Yes, it's true. If this old man hasn't gone senile, it's certain. We'll need to check more precisely, but just from the outside, it seems to be a little over or under two months. Have you had any recent issues with not being able to eat food or becoming very sleepy?"
"No... I haven't had anything like that."
"Then those symptoms will probably appear soon. There's some individual variation, but these are common phenomena that appear in many people, so you don't need to think of it too fearfully. Put your mind at ease and rest. The child in your womb is healthy now, but if the mother struggles and becomes exhausted, it can be fatal for the child."
He smiled and stood up. I stood up following him. The doctor spoke quietly while packing his belongings.
"I'll send word to prepare medicine and meals to supplement your nutrition. This old man has been up all night and is tired, so I need to rest too. Ah, and the Young Cult Leader will wake up either this evening or tomorrow morning. He's inherently strong, so there won't be any problems. If anything happens, please call for me again."
He smiled brightly and withdrew from the room. I stared blankly in the direction he disappeared, then turned to look at Hyuk Dojin and sat in the chair in front of him.
I stared at his face with closed eyes as if sleeping, then took his hand. I closed my eyes while resting my cheek on the back of his hand.
"A child..."
It was the moment when what I had vaguely guessed became reality. I had doubted whether I could really have and give birth to a child, but now it didn't matter anymore.
If it was a child of mine and Hyuk Dojin's, I wanted to give birth to it. Could I be a good mother?
Somehow my heart felt ticklish. It was a strange feeling. As the fact that I could become someone's mother approached reality, numerous memories and emotions became entangled.
Perhaps it's natural that thoughts of the two people I called mother came back to mind again.
Very old memories came to life again. I slowly closed my eyes while recalling those memories.
* * *
Geum Hyul, who was still not in perfect condition, was heading towards Anhui with his teeth clenched tightly.
He was groaning from the severe external injuries felt all over his body and the internal injuries that made him feel as if his insides were twisting, while at the same time unable to overcome the fact that he had been defeated.
'I lost half of the Yeonwi Left Army. Yet I couldn't kill the Young Cult Leader, the Vice Cult Leader, or even the Young Madam.'
It was a result that was more than serious, it was desperate. Geum Hyul had always stood at the forefront and produced the best results.
He was the sword trusted and entrusted by the Murim Alliance Leader, and he was a man specialized in command and combat to the extent that he could boast that no one in the righteous sects could match him.
He couldn't easily accept the fact that he had been defeated.
How many years had it been since his last defeat? Except for that day 20 years ago when Hyuk Muhyeol, who had just ascended to the Demon Cult Leader position, had wiped out 20% of the Yeonwi Left Army with a small number of people and defeated the Murim Alliance Leader, he had never knelt down even once.
Yet, to suffer such a miserable defeat like this?
Geum Hyul turned his head while gritting his teeth and swallowing his anger. Beside him, he saw Cheol Mugi following him with a leisurely face.
'If this person had helped, the mission could have been successful.'
Cheol Mugi's appearance was exquisite. The Cult Leader had suffered internal injuries from fighting the madman, and the Young Madam who had just reached the Flowering Realm was also severely injured and unable to fully exert her power.
Needless to say about Hyuk Dojin, and although the Vice Cult Leader was relatively fine, his stamina consumption was extreme, so it was questionable whether he could face Cheol Mugi.
If he had stepped forward and subdued them, they could have wiped out the Demon Cult's leadership with the remaining forces. Then it would have been only a matter of time before the Demon Cult fell into their hands.
Yet, this man suddenly left his position. Because Cheol Mugi disappeared without taking any action, Geum Hyul, judging that their forces were inferior, had no choice but to retreat. As Geum Hyul's consciousness touched on the events of dawn, anger welled up again.
"Why are you glaring like that, hm?"
Cheol Mugi, receiving Geum Hyul's gaze filled with anger, calmly tilted his head. Under his gaze looking down obliquely, Geum Hyul narrowed his eyes and spoke quietly.
"Why did you do it?"
"Do what?"
"Why did you let them live? With your skills, you could have killed them all!"
"Haha, I'm grateful that you think highly of me, but even for me, killing all four of them would be too much."
"How can you say that...!"
"What's impossible about it? It wasn't just the Demonic Realm masters that were the problem, but how many supreme masters were supporting them? The leader of the Blood Flow Thousand Wolves Corps and that assassin-like person emitting strange energy. Not to mention Moyong Do, who is called the leader among the successors of the righteous sects. It was impossible to kill all four of them while dealing with them too."
"But you could have killed at least one."
"Then I would have died too."
"Wouldn't that have been an honorable thing?"
"Honor?"
Cheol Mugi raised his eyebrows at Geum Hyul's words. He slowly dissolved the friendly smile he had been wearing. Geum Hyul nodded.
"Yes, honor. Don't you know how honorable it would be to kill the Demon Cult Leader Hyuk Muhyeol with your own hands? You would become the second person to kill a Cult Leader who has never been assassinated since the Black Demon. Did you hesitate with an immortal name right in front of you?"
"Hmm... Hearing your words makes me a bit regretful. If I killed that monster of a Cult Leader with my own hands, I would certainly be treated as a hero and looked up to here and there. I might even have a chance at becoming the next Murim Alliance Leader."
He chuckled as he spoke, but then shook his head.
"But, I'm not interested."
"..."
"Things like that honor or immortal name hold no interest for me. Even if I got the position of next Murim Alliance Leader, it would just be a headache, so why would I want to obtain such a thing? I'm about to give up my current elder position, so there's no reason to take on such a burden."
"How can you say that?"
Geum Hyul asked back with an incredulous face. Cheol Mugi pulled the corners of his mouth at his reaction.
"Yeah, I'm saying it."
"...Elder."
"And the reason I came here wasn't to kill them. I received a different mission."
"A different mission?"
To Geum Hyul who was making a puzzled expression, Cheol Mugi smiled faintly and then immediately stretched out his arm. In an instant, his fist imbued with tremendous inner power accurately struck Geum Hyul's heart.
"Kugh...!"
His fist that had struck Geum Hyul's heart with a smiling face didn't stop there and uppercut his chin. This time, without even a death cry, Cheol Mugi lightly kicked Geum Hyul's body that was floating in the air.
Although the action was light, the inner power contained in it was enough to burst Geum Hyul's insides and more.
Geum Hyul, who had been hit in vital points three times in a state of Moving Shadow, flew away and crashed into a tree.
Unable to even scream, he vomited blood and slid down. Cheol Mugi, who had been staring blankly at him, walked over leisurely. He looked down intently at Geum Hyul who was glaring at him while trembling, then bent his knees to meet his gaze and grinned.
"I received two missions. One was to stop you if you stupidly tried to kill the Young Cult Leader's wife. And the other was to kill you, Geum Hyul, if I got the chance. Just these two."
"Why..."
"As you know, lately, the Murim Alliance Leader doesn't listen too well. The old man who used to just follow orders exactly in the past has gotten older, and now that people around him praise him as the Sword Saint or whatever, he thinks that position is his own and is slowly climbing up."
Geum Hyul's pupils became cloudy. Knowing his condition that had already reached death, Cheol Mugi chuckled and continued speaking.
"It was the same at Huai River and this time too. He ignored all the tasks we ordered, and that person is not at all pleased that he was scheming something strange by bringing the Young Madam's corpse. So, we're removing the Alliance Leader's limbs one by one at this opportunity. First, the Yeonwi Left Army, called the Alliance Leader's personal guard, especially the vanguard commander Geum Hyul. You were a thorn in our side, but who knew such a good opportunity to kill you would come."
Cheol Mugi chuckled. Geum Hyul showed no reaction to his mockery. No, he couldn't show any. His breath slowed.
"But it's a bit regretful, you know. I wanted to fight seriously with you, a renowned master in the Murim Alliance, but it seems that opportunity has been lost. But what can we do? If it's that person's order, we must follow. Isn't that what a true subordinate does?"
He lightly patted Geum Hyul's shoulder. The trembling of his body gradually stopped, and then his eyes closed. It was too shabby and insignificant an end for the death of the Murim Alliance Leader's sword and one of the few Flowering Realm masters.
Cheol Mugi stared intently at Geum Hyul, then stood up.
"What happened to the Zhuge Clan side?"
A man who looked like a shadow appeared behind him. He bowed his head to Cheol Mugi.
"Currently, five people are chasing after him."
"Don't let him escape and capture him. And have you located Namgoong Seolbyeok's whereabouts?"
"His whereabouts are still unknown."
"Incompetent fools! Find those two bastards and bring them immediately. We need their necks to cut off all the Alliance Leader's head and limbs. Hurry!"
"I obey!"
The man standing behind him disappeared, and silence returned. Cheol Mugi rolled his eyes while organizing his complex thoughts. After staring intently at Geum Hyul who had become a corpse, he stretched out his hand. He drew out the sword hanging at his waist.
It was a considerable treasure sword mixed with Celestial Steel. For Cheol Mugi who handled greatswords, such a weapon didn't even count as a weapon, but it was still too valuable to leave here.
He took even the scabbard and fully packed the weapon, then recovered all other usable items. There was even an identity tag that could confirm Geum Hyul's identity, but he threw that nearby where it could be easily seen.
After gathering everything worth taking from Geum Hyul, Cheol Mugi turned around. Only Geum Hyul's coldly dead corpse remained behind his back.