"Are you conscious?!"

I feel like I'm dying of thirst...

Water, water...

Perhaps because I had swallowed so much seawater, my voice wouldn't come out properly.

Still, my wishes must have been clear enough, as a cup of water was held out before me.

I gulped down the water someone brought to my lips. I probably spilled about a third of it, but that couldn't be helped since I was lying down.

As my lips and chin became wet with the lukewarm water, my blurry vision gradually began to focus. My mind cleared soon after.

"Ugh..."

My head feels like it's about to split open.

As I blinked several times trying to gather my wits, a youthful voice spoke to me from beside me.

I turned my head slightly—it was difficult to move—to look at the woman who had been nursing me.

Nice chest... No, wait, what caught my eye was her unfamiliar clothing.

It looked like Chinese attire, but before my possession, I didn't know much about traditional Chinese clothing beyond the qipao, so it was hard to glean any useful information.

More importantly, what the woman had said earlier sounded like Chinese.

My head's all jumbled up, probably from nearly dying. With my throbbing headache, I came to a simple conclusion.

For now, I should stay still.

In situations like this, it's best to quietly observe.

"I'll bring you some porridge, so please rest, patient."

The woman smiled sweetly as she wiped my mouth with a towel and changed my pillow.

Thanks to her, I felt less uncomfortable and could leisurely examine the room after she left.

The building had a structure straight out of a martial arts novel, and I could hear shouts coming from somewhere.

Perhaps they were training, as the shouts were quite loud. And... there was a strong smell of the sea.

I stared blankly at the ceiling and sighed.

It seemed I had washed up on a shore somewhere in China.

I had wanted to go far away, but not as far as China.

I didn't even know China existed here in the first place.

Until I woke up here, I thought I had become an extra in a medieval fantasy novel.

How could I have imagined China existed in a world where knights talked about aura and emitted sword energy?

I had assumed it was a fantasy continent somewhat similar to reality.

"...I don't know. I'll figure something out."

As long as it's not a battlefield, anywhere is fine.

Just not a battlefield.

I vigorously activated my happiness circuit as I recalled the days when I showered in the blood of Middle Eastern men daily.

In a way, washing up in China might be fortunate.

I don't know exactly what novel I've been transported into, but a place where I have no connections might be better for me.

The West was currently engaged in bloody battles with Middle Eastern forces. If I went back, I'd just be dragged into war again.

It was better to find my way in China.

Besides, the knightly order I had ties with had been annihilated in my youth, so I had nowhere to return to anyway.

I tried to shake off the gloomy thoughts and closed my eyes. Now that I had assessed the situation somewhat, it was time to examine my internal condition.

First, my mana channels—or ki meridians—were intact.

My muscles had shrunk a bit, but not too badly.

My mana core—or dantian—was completely empty. I must have unconsciously drawn out my aura to protect myself when I fell into the sea.

I should focus on recovering my body first.

And I should lay some groundwork for convenience.

"Patient, it's time to eat~"

With perfect timing, a lively voice entered the room. I turned my head toward the sound of clattering and saw the woman I had met when I first opened my eyes.

"Even if you're going to sleep, you should eat first... Oh, you're a colored-eyed person, so you probably don't understand the language of the Central Plains."

The woman seemed to realize this belatedly, opening her mouth with a blank expression. She set down a tray in front of me and pointed to the porridge with her slender finger. Then she mimicked eating with a spoon.

So she wants me to eat.

I watched her body language and then spoke.

"I... can speak... the language of the Central Plains..."

Ah, my throat hurts. But I needed to say it.

Whether it was a possession perk or something else, I could understand the language of the Central Plains without any problem. It seemed my only possession perk wasn't just that English was universally understood.

It felt so natural that I might accidentally speak it, which would be troublesome, so I needed to lay some groundwork.

I didn't want to hide my ability to speak the language and make things inconvenient. Creating unnecessary suspicion would be the worst move when trying to survive in a new place.

"What?! How can you speak the language of the Central Plains..."

"I had... a friend from the Central Plains... learned from them..."

I offered a plausible excuse and observed her reaction. Fortunately, the woman accepted my explanation without any suspicion.

Well, if I say I learned the language from a Chinese person, how could she doubt that?

There's no other way to learn it anyway.

"I've never seen a colored-eyed person who speaks our language so well!"

The woman clapped her hands, looking at me with wonder.

Her eyes were sparkling—she must be the curious type.

I asked her a question to gather information.

"Where... is this place?"

"This is the pride of Hainan Island, the Hainan Sword Sect!"

Her voice overflowed with pride for the Hainan Sword Sect. Her pride in her sect seemed as large as the chest bouncing before my eyes.

So Hainan Sword Sect means Hainan Sect... right?

Murim?

What is this? What kind of world is this? The West uses Arts (martial arts), and this side has Murim too?

Did I possess someone in a fusion fantasy?

"And you can speak comfortably with me! You look older than me... Oh, you can call me Hye-ryeong!"

Hye-ryeong...

Something about that name bothers me.

It was a name that somehow lingered in my memory, but the memory was too hazy.

I figured it would become clearer as I gathered more information.

Having reached that conclusion, I began asking about things I was curious about.

How I was brought here, whether anyone else was found, what kind of sect the Hainan Sword Sect was.

The last question was more like a desperate attempt to figure out which work I had been transported into.

"I found you collapsed on the beach! I didn't see anyone else, and the Hainan Sword Sect is a prestigious sect on Hainan Island that specializes in sword arts! It's even part of the Nine Great Sects and One Union!"

Hye-ryeong's bundle of pride wobbled as she personally demonstrated the majesty of the Hainan Sword Sect.

"Ah! Have you heard of the Nine Great Sects and One Union? The Nine Great Sects and One Union are..."

She's quite talkative.

Well, I don't mind if she chatters away.

I gathered the information Hye-ryeong was spilling in her pleasant voice and organized what I learned about Murim.

The Nine Great Sects and One Union consisted of Hainan, Shaolin, Huashan, Wudang, Kongtong, Zhongnan, Emei, Qingcheng, Kunlun, and the Beggars' Union, as per the cliché. She mentioned Hainan first, probably due to her pride in her sect.

One only mentions their own sect last when they need to humble themselves.

"Ah! You should eat first! I'm sorry!"

"It's fine, don't bow your head."

It's uncomfortable.

"I'll tell you the rest after you finish eating!"

There's more?

At this rate, I might even learn how many spoons the Hainan Sword Sect has.

"Open wide. Ah~"

I started eating the porridge Hye-ryeong was feeding me.

Although I couldn't taste anything, probably because it was bland patient food, at least something was going into my mouth. With that mindset, I emptied the bowl, and Hye-ryeong smiled as she set down the bowl and spoon.

"Does it suit your taste?"

"It was delicious."

"Come on, you don't have to lie. It's just boiled rice, it can't be tasty."

She's quite honest.

Of course, honesty is one thing, but for the sake of image management, I couldn't say anything rude, so I spoke again.

"It's the first meal after nearly dying, how could it not be delicious?"

"When you put it that way, I guess you're right!"

Hye-ryeong hit her palm with her fist with a 'tap' as if she hadn't thought of that.

"So please tell them to increase the portion next time. It's far too little for this body."

As someone selected as a seed, my body was quite large, so naturally, I required more food. Hye-ryeong nodded as if she understood and said:

"I'll tell the chef! But I'm curious about something..."

"What are you curious about?"

"How did you end up drifting in the sea?"

Hye-ryeong's eyes sparkled as if someone had shoved a light into them. She's even more talkative than I imagined. At this rate, we'll just be talking endlessly—

"Hye-ryeong! Where are you!"

"Ah... my master is looking for me! I'll see you at dinner time!"

Hye-ryeong left with a regretful expression, taking the tray with her in hurried steps. I stared blankly at the ceiling, relieved that I could finally rest.

Do I have to keep living like this until my body recovers?

Constantly entertaining Hye-ryeong's chatter?

As someone who could count on one hand the number of conversations I'd had with women since my possession, I rubbed my forehead with a slightly dizzy premonition.

No, still, being alive is something to be grateful for...

"Master! It's Im Hye-ryeong! Im Hye-ryeong! The youngest disciple of Im Ha-bong, the proud Sect Leader of the Hainan Sword Sect! Such threats are..."

Im Hye-ryeong?

Im Ha-bong?

Sect Leader?

"Hye-ryeong... you must survive."

The hazy memory gradually becomes clearer.

"...Shit."

I'm screwed.

Now I understand why my memory was hazy.

Her personality is the complete opposite, so I was confused.

This is before the heroine turns evil.

I realized with a headache that I had been rescued by a sect that was going to be annihilated.