Mistress Heuk Lan (흑란, Heukran), known also as "The Architect of Death" (죽음의 설계사, "jug-eum-ui seolgyesa"), is the leader of a band of "fixers" called the Bewitching Flowers.[1] She prefers to be called an 'artist' rather than a 'fixer'.[1]
Appearance & Personality[]
Heuk Lan appears as a pretty young woman with hazel coloured eyes, full lips, an ample bosom and black hair that is set in a very extravagant style that includes curls either side of her face, 'bows' on top and long ponytails sprouting in different directions. She wears the black garments typical of the Bewitching Flowers, with hers revealing more of her midriff, and a dull pink cape around her shoulders.
She is a very proud person and does not take humiliation well. She also appears to be forgetful and easily misplaces the blame on other people, a trait which her band has noticed and takes heed of. In addition, Heuk Lan possesses a stalker-like personality.
Image Gallery[]
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Plot[]
Intro Arc[]
Her band of fixers are hired to take care of Nue Dong "The Brutal Sword" by the Gold Dragon Guild. Heuk Lan prepared a highly elaborate fake bridge trap but got confused when someone rushed past without setting it off. Testing to see if the trap had been set properly, she stepped out on to it, only for the bridge to fall.
Later Heuk Lan prepared another trap in a forest and, after brushing off the idea that a gosu had evaded her trap earlier, the person rushed by again, once more without setting it off. She furiously called him back, watching him pass the trap without it going off and then threw a rock on it to test it out, causing it to go off. Heuk Lan then asked him what his connection to Nue Dong was only for Nue Dong to arrive and proceed to attack. She then watched as the tubby gosu nonchalantly defeated Nue Dong before running off. With him gone, Heuk Lan asked her girls what she should do now, having become infatuated with Gang.
She was later seen spying on Gang Ryong and getting angry that he had 'flirted' with her.
Mak Sapyeong[]
Having been spying on Gang Ryong's movements fervently, he caught her following him to Granny Wang's home and chased after her without her realising. Being interrogated by Gang, she played dumb until her subordinates arrived, revealing that the mysterious masked group that had ravaged the Baekma Valley had set upon the tavern-on-the-fork.
Revived Heavenly Destruction Sect[]
At the tavern-at-the-fork, Heuk Lan and her girls sat down for a bite to eat.[2] Later, Heuk Lan brought Gang Ryong back to their headquarters when he fell unconscious after his titanic battle against Ze Wungang and Nameless, and comically nursed him back to health.[3] After Gang regained consciousness, the Bewitching Flowers watched him leave and Heuk Lan proclaimed that she will follow him.
Sometime later, one of Heuk Lan's girls informed her that Gang Ryong was once again on the move and heading for the Sky Gorge Mountain. During the battle between Hyeol Bi and Gang Ryong, her scout revealed that Gang was gravely injured and she rushed to his aid. Heuk Lan tried to bring Gang Ryong (who is unconscious and encapsulated by the River Dragon Armour) to safety and was chased by the infuriated Hyeol Bi. Heuk Lan then ran into Gha Woobok. After questioning the young lady, Woobok examined Gang and declared that the latter is still alive. Then with the arrival of Hyeol Bi, Woobok told Heuk Lan to escape with Gang while he faced off against the Martial Eminence himself. However, she spaced out and stayed nearby with Gang, resulting in her receiving a injury from the battle. Eventually, she brought Gang's body to a secure location.
Meanwhile, Hyeol Bi overpowered Gha Woobok and mercilessly finished him off. Then Hwang Zu and Gwak Sojong arrived with a message from Hwan Sa, urging Hyeol Bi to make haste to their headquarters. Before leaving, Hyeol Bi tasked the two slayers with retrieving Gang Ryong along with the River Dragon Armour. Heuk Lan then returned with her girls and secured Woobok's corpse. Seeing the state Woobok was in, she angrily told the two slayers to follow her. With the two slayers hot on her pursuit, Heuk Lan dodged the attacks Gwak Sojong threw at her and ran off while her subordinates transfered Gha Woobok's corpse and Gang Ryong to their rendezvous point. Sojong and Hwang Zu continued to chase after Heuk Lan only to fall right into her trap. Gwak Sojong and Hwang Zu fell into the pit trap but were able to demolish the spikes, saving themselves from being skewered. Looking down into the pit and seeing that her opponents survived, Heuk Lan ran off and the two enraged slayers chased after her. During the pursuit, Hwang Zu and Sojong got caught in Heuk Lan's Five Elements Death Ward. In the illusory space, their surroundings transformed into the bottom of a ravine and then a massive surge of water flooded in, submerging them. Elsewhere, Heuk Lan looked down upon her illusion's area of effect while her subordinates happily cheer at their rendezvous point.
However, the two slayers broke out of Heuk Lan's Five Elements Death Ward, incapacitating her with an avalanche of rubble. The two slayers confronted her and mentioned that they were familiar with breaking out of barriers (most notably the Palace of Conception) having done so many times during their training. Then the girls from the Bewitching Flowers arrive to fend off the slayers and bring Heuk Lan to safety but Gwak Sojong and Hwang Zu easily caught up to them. Sojong prepared to finish the girls off but halted when he and Hwang Zu noticed the River Dragon Armour. Inside the armour, Gang started to show signs of life and eventually emerged from it. Heuk Lan started yelling that her grandfather will avenge her prompting Sojong to swing his blade at her. However, Gang Ryong stopped the blade before casually backhanding Sojong's head off his body. Gang then killed Hwang Zu, and Heuk Lan stared at him as he left.
After the events at the Sky Gorge Mountain, Heuk Lan and her girls spied on Gang Ryong and Song Yerin, as Gha Woobok happily reunited with his children. When they wondered how Woobok was alive, Gang turned in their direction and bowed to them.
Loose Ends[]
Five years later, Gang Ryong delivered dumplings to them. Making his way to an area inside the forest, Gang Ryong called out to his clients. At that, the girls from the Bewitching Flowers dropped their camouflage and retrieved the food. Heuk Lan then gave Gang one of the baskets of dumplings, noting that she ordered it specifically for him. Salivating, Gang mentioned that he loved her for doing that for him and upon hearing those words, Heuk Lan fainted.
Powers & Abilities[]
Heuk Lan is an extremely proficient 'fixer' being able to create nigh undetectable, highly sensitive traps that are fatal once triggered.[1] Her 'contraptions' are called "works of art" by her girls and rely on mechanisms that respond to even the tiniest changes in weight.[1] After her encounter with Gang Ryong, she developed a new trap for martial artists that were even able catch the slayers Hwang Zu and Gwak Sojong.[4] Lan is also surprisingly quick and agile, being able to swiftly move through trees.[5]
Spell User: Heuk Lan is said to be an such a talented individual that even Hwan Sa tried to sought her out (most likely for her talent with spells). However, she is skilled enough to evade him for a very long time. She is capable of setting up a barrier that causes a person to walk around in circles, preventing others from finding her base and from leaving the vicinity.[6]
In addition, she is capable of creating a powerful ward to trap and kill her opponents:[4]
Quotes[]
- "The Gold Dragon Guild was it...? You're my next target! I'll make you weep tears of blood and beg for my forgiveness...!"[1]
- "This is why you should always keep men hungry... and their backs cold..."[1]
- "And how dare you call someone you just met 'darling', huh? Do I look that easy to you?"[5]
Alternate Translations[]
- Ran (LINE)
Notes & Trivia[]
- She has an unknown grandfather.[7]