She hated how winter stole the warmth from her.
And that was an emotion no one could understand.
Cheon Yeohwa was the Second Princess of the Demonic Celestial Church and the sixth successor of the Lunar Demon Art.
The Lunar Demon Art, one of the Ten Great Demonic Arts of the world, was characterized by its increased energy accumulation efficiency as the yin energy intensified.
For the successor of the Lunar Demon Art to hate winter, the season when yin energy was at its peak… Who would believe it if a pure white arctic fox said it hated snowy places?
Despite such common perceptions, Cheon Yeohwa hated winter.
Those who mastered the Lunar Demon Art gained resistance to the cold due to the intense yin energy, and their bodies became unable to feel warmth.
However, it wasn't that they couldn't feel the cold either. It was just that the cold couldn't negatively affect their bodies; the sensation of being cold and chilly remained.
Some might say:
-Is that supposed to be an advantage? That's absurd.
Even if a biting cold wind swept through on a freezing winter day, one wouldn't freeze to death if they mastered the Lunar Demon Art.
However, in that cold, one couldn't even tell if they were alive. Even if the heart was beating, the whole body was as cold as a corpse.
Even if one wrapped themselves tightly in thick blankets in front of a blazing fire, the desired warmth would never come.
That was why demonic arts were called demonic arts.
Even the few advantages they had couldn't remain advantages.
Of course, there was a time when she was surrounded by cozy warmth and fell asleep comfortably.
She could feel the warmth that no one else could, in the arms of her mother and nanny. When she fell asleep in their arms, even the cold winter wasn't so bad.
But even that small happiness wasn't allowed for her.
-Mother…?
Her mother was caught up in some incident and passed away, and her nanny was murdered by an unidentified assailant.
Cheon Yeohwa, still young, had no clear evidence, but she was certain that the First Prince was responsible for all these atrocities.
From that day on, Cheon Yeohwa lived for revenge.
Using her position as the Second Princess, she aggressively gathered talent and trained in the Lunar Demon Art she resented.
She scattered her snow-white hair as she slaughtered martial artists of the orthodox sects. Hardly a day went by without her rampaging in conflict zones between the orthodox and unorthodox sects, and when the blood on her hands couldn't be washed away and she couldn't count the number of people she had killed.
Cheon Yeohwa inherited her master's title and became the Sixth Lunar Demon Witch.
As a result, her reputation within the church grew day by day, and she became a candidate for successor comparable to the First Prince.
But that was it.
Due to the betrayal of her close aides, her forces collapsed in an instant, and she became a fugitive overnight, poisoned by a potent toxin. To survive, she had no choice but to leave the Ten Great Mountains and head to the distant Central Plains.
After shaking off countless pursuers and wandering aimlessly, half a year had passed.
She walked through a deserted forest.
The sunlight coming through the leaves looked warm, but Cheon Yeohwa couldn't feel anything.
The Heavenly Heart Extreme Yang Poisonous Lotus, which had eroded her dantian, scattered her inner energy and slowly devoured her life.
Her desire for revenge against the First Prince remained, but her attachment to life was fading.
What was she running away for?
Without even a decent answer to that question, she trudged through the forest with lifeless eyes, when a small lake appeared.
It was a clear lake that reflected the clouds in the sky.
'…My appearance is a mess.'
When she lowered her head to drink water, she saw her haggard self. Deep eye shadows, dirt smeared everywhere, and a foul smell coming from her tattered robe.
Even if her mind was exhausted and she had lost the will to live, Cheon Yeohwa was still a woman.
Realizing that there was no one around, she cautiously took off her clothes and dipped her body in the lake.
It was still far from summer, so the water was cold.
An ordinary person would have shivered, but Cheon Yeohwa started bathing without a care. She washed away the dirt from her body and gently rinsed the dust-covered hair.
'What am I even doing?'
She wasn't frantically searching for an antidote to the Heavenly Heart Extreme Yang Poisonous Lotus, and she didn't have a clear destination.
She was just aimlessly moving forward.
Either she would be killed by the pursuers who found her, or she would die in a remote place when her strength ran out.
She felt that was the future assigned to her.
Cheon Yeohwa quietly looked up at the sky.
The clear and beautiful scenery of the sky, unobstructed by trees, was reflected in her eyes.
'Perhaps this is…'
The end of her wretched life…
Snap-
"?!"
Cheon Yeohwa's head quickly turned at the sound of a twig breaking.
"…Hello?"
A man with a dazed face stood there waving his hand.
That was her first meeting with Kang Hyunwoo.
***
So many things happened after she met him.
At first, she thought he was a common lecher, and when she was caught in a bandit's trap while chasing him, she thought he was one of them.
But it didn't take long for her to realize that it was all her misunderstanding.
He rescued her and even provided her with a warm place to sleep and food. It was the first act of kindness she had received in a long time, but she couldn't easily let her guard down.
Aside from the pursuers, there were countless martial artists who approached her with ulterior motives.
But he was different somehow.
He occasionally looked at her chest, but she didn't feel the slimy disgust typical of lechers.
Moreover, it was hard to see him as an assassin sent by the First Prince. He had several chances to kill her, but he didn't try to harm her.
She became increasingly confused.
Why is he being so kind to me?
Was it because he was a martial artist of the orthodox sect?
That couldn't be; there were many orthodox sect guys among the martial artists who were after her body. In the first place, he wasn't even a martial artist.
She was suspicious when he suggested accompanying her to the nearest city, but she was convinced when she saw his clueless face.
She walked through the forest with him.
Just having someone by her side, who had been alone until now, gave her a strange feeling she couldn't identify.
And she started talking more too.
She wasn't usually this talkative.
Suddenly, her instincts sounded an alarm.
They were shouting at her not to get involved with him anymore.
-…I can't explain the details, but if you travel with me, you'll be in danger too. If you're heading towards Xi'an, I'll tell you the direction, so how about we part ways here…?
He was a rare good person.
She didn't want him to get caught up in the conflicts of the Demonic Celestial Church.
-Although it was a meeting caused by misunderstanding, I owe you a lot in a short time. No more…
Like a mute who had eaten honey, the rest of the words just wouldn't come out.
What would happen after she left him?
She would once again wander aimlessly wherever her feet took her.
What was at the end of that?
Suddenly, she became scared.
She thought she had lost all attachment to life, but it seemed that wasn't the case.
-Sorry, but that's not going to work. I'm really bad with directions, so even if you tell me the way, I'll get lost before long and die from a fall?
She had to put her hands behind her back to hide her trembling hands.
His nonchalant appearance was so grateful.
For a moment, she felt a warmth near her heart.
She hadn't felt that way since her mother and nanny had left her.
-…Thank you.
The sincerity, without a hint of falsehood, came out in the form of words, but a discomfort remained in her heart.
If she thought of him, if she wanted to repay him for what she had received, she had to let him go.
No, she had to force him away.
The First Prince was a venomous man.
He wouldn't give up the pursuit until he had her head.
With her dantian gradually deteriorating due to the poison, there was no way she could protect him from the pursuers.
-Name.
But the selfish her couldn't do that after all.
-You haven't even introduced yourself yet.
He said his name was Kang Hyunwoo.
Hyun meaning to appear, and Woo meaning to help; did he appear before her because she was a woman in need of help?
Without realizing it, a faint smile spread across her lips.
After that, with his help, she was able to live like a human for the first time in a long time. A warm bed and delicious food gave her dying body a little bit of vitality.
But that was all.
-Haah, haah, haah…
-Cheon Yeohwa!
The poison of the Heavenly Heart Extreme Yang Poisonous Lotus began to rampage inside her body again.
She knew, because her body had overcome countless crises until now.
That she wouldn't make it through tonight.
In the pain of her dantian tearing apart and her heart about to explode, Cheon Yeohwa could smile.
When she died, he would be able to leave this place without any regrets, and then his life wouldn't be threatened by the Demonic Celestial Church's pursuers.
She was sorry that she couldn't repay the benefactor who had given her hope in the last moments of her life, but that was the kind of woman she was.
Even though she could only say harsh words and treated her subordinates harshly, they risked their lives to help her escape.
All they wanted was just one thing.
To survive, but the incompetent master couldn't even fulfill their last wish.
-…?
She had definitely thought so and closed her eyes.
But in fact, she was alive, and the poison of the Heavenly Heart Extreme Yang Poisonous Lotus had lost its momentum.
Without even having time to think about what was going on, the image of Kang Hyunwoo left in her memory made her face as hot as it could explode.
For that moment, even the side effects of the Lunar Demon Art didn't work.
It was warm even when she was in the arms of her mother and nanny, but this was a different kind of warmth.
It was hard to even look at his sleeping face properly, and every time she saw his lips moving slightly in his sleep, her heart ached.
She quietly snuggled into Kang Hyunwoo's arms.
He was joking in his sleep about her buttock, but she didn't feel any resistance.
Rather, she wanted him to touch her even more.
However, when the name of another woman came out of his mouth, anger surged, and she almost froze everything.
Now she had no choice but to admit it.
He was a kind and attractive man. It was inevitable that women would flock to him.
Even the Lord was married five times, and his concubines were about twice as many.
The difference in power was not even worth discussing, but in terms of pure charm, he was cooler than the Lord.
It was the moment when a new goal was created in her blank life.
She had no experience with men, but she was able to successfully hold him in her arms and have a relationship.
Of course, she ended up fainting because he was more powerful than she had imagined, but she could say that she was happier than ever.
And that happiness reached its peak when she woke up from sleep, lifting her heavy eyelids in the dazzling morning sunlight.
As if she was in her mother's arms, the warmth that wrapped her whole body made her unconsciously snuggle deeper into his arms.
-It's cold…
It was a happiness that made her lie without changing her expression, even though her body couldn't feel the cold due to the Lunar Demon Art.
Was she allowed to be this happy? Just as she was thinking that.
-…Hmm?
She smelled another woman in his arms.
It was strange.
She had clearly mixed her body with him all night, so it didn't make sense that she would smell another woman.
-Hyunwoo, I smell another woman on you.
-…
-I think we need to talk… What do you think?
The result was more than she could imagine.
The ability to travel to other worlds, of course, she was a little angry when she heard that he had a relationship with another woman because of that ability, but she had no intention of resenting him.
In the first place, it was as natural as flowing water for a good man to embrace many women.
Rather, with his ability, he could embrace any woman he wanted. But there are still less than 10 people?
When she heard that story, she could see her lips trembling.
Moreover, she even felt grateful to him for choosing her among so many women.
However, as time went by, happiness turned into anxiety and impatience.
They train together, sweat together, and walk together in the city. They eat delicious food and drink alcohol in a not-so-fancy but human-smelling inn, and at first glance, they are trivial, but they can spend happy moments with their beloved lover.
Perhaps it was the life she had always longed for.
When the orthodox sect called White Blossom Sect flirted with her without knowing their place, he didn't hesitate.
Her heart pounded as if it would explode at the sight of him hammering me down as his woman.
However, was that really enough?
Even if the poison of the Heavenly Heart Extreme Yang Poisonous Lotus had lost its momentum and was dormant, and even if the crisis that had been around for a while was okay thanks to the neutralizing agent he gave her, it would soon wake up again and eat away at her body.
Wearing the clothes he gave her and walking down the crowded streets with people, following his touch, she could feel it even more clearly.
That this was a future that was not yet allowed to her.
The First Prince's demonic hands would become more and more cruel day by day. Even if her physical condition returned to her prime, there would surely be hardships and adversities that she could not withstand.
In the end, it would lead to her and Hyunwoo, and even that, to destruction.
In that case.
-…Hyunwoo, let's break up here.
-What?
***
"The atmosphere in the lodgings changed completely due to Cheon Yeohwa's shocking remarks."
"…Why on earth?"
"…If you're with me, you'll be unhappy too."
"When I took a step forward, Cheon Yeohwa also took a step back."
"You don't know. How cruel and persistent the First Prince is."
"I'm fine with that level-"
"No!"
"Cheon Yeohwa's voice rose."
"The eyes looking at me were trembling slightly."
"I'm sorry for lying to you so far, but I'm the Second Princess of the Demonic Celestial Church."
"It was something I already knew."
"And the person who is trying to kill me is the First Prince, who is closest to the successor to the next Lord."
"…"
"You may be okay right now because the level of the pursuers is not very high. But what if an elder who was scouted by him comes? What will you do then…? They are the kind of people who will chase you even if you run away to the edge of the Central Plains…!"
"A voice filled with tears echoes throughout the room."
"Looking at Cheon Yeohwa, who was pitifully trembling, my heart ached."
"…If it is revealed that you are involved with me, you will also die. So please…"
"Cheon Yeohwa, who was screaming as if begging, finally broke down. She sat down on the floor and let her long hair hang down, begging me."
"…Okay, I'll leave."
"I pulled out Gilennium, which was attached to my waist, and threw it on the floor. The sword, which rolled away with a loud noise, stopped in front of Cheon Yeohwa."
"Instead, kill me and go."
"…There's no way that's possible…"
"In the end, Cheon Yeohwa shed tears."
"The marble floor was stained with pearl-like tears falling steadily."
"After watching the scene quietly, I slowly approached and hugged Cheon Yeohwa."
"Yeohwa, do you know what?"
"…What are you talking about?"
"It took less than a month for me to become this strong."
"Of course, if you include the time I spent in another world, it's been more than a month. However, that was not the case for each world."
"I believe without a doubt that I am getting stronger faster than anyone else throughout the past and future."
"Until then, I was just an ordinary person. I had only touched a kitchen knife a few times, and I was probably weaker than the people walking around outside right now?"
"…That's a lie."
"Don't you believe me?"
"I gently stroked Cheon Yeohwa's cheeks, who was bowing her head. Only then did Cheon Yeohwa lift her head."
"Her eyes were red and her eyes were filled with tears."
"What about a month from now, six months from now, and a year from now?"
"…"
"No one in the world will be able to kill you. And I won't die either."
"Even if it means spending decades in another world and returning."
"So, are you going to tell me to break up again?"
"Cheon Yeohwa slowly shook her head."