The next day, the Sect Leader of Mount Hua returned straight to Mount Hua.

He said it would take seven days for the boils to fully return to their previous severity and that he would spend that time alone to gather his thoughts.

In the meantime, Choryeon began analyzing and preparing the poison compound. The current quantity was far too insufficient to test all of Mount Hua’s disciples for hypnosis.

A formal letter was finally sent to Mount Hua to notify them of the Namgoong Clan’s visit.

It was made to appear as if they were only now departing from Anhui, so that by the time the Sect Leader’s boils worsened, they would be arriving at Mount Hua.

Namgoong Mucheon gave orders to the Black Dragon Division.

"While the poison is being prepared, you are to build rapport with Mount Hua’s first-generation disciples. When they are scattered, you will be responsible for them."

The Black Dragon Division’s martial level was likely on par with Mount Hua’s first-generation disciples.

Once the disciples dispersed to search for herbs, Namgoong Mucheon would handle the elders, while the Black Dragon Division had to oversee the first-generation disciples—and even the second-generation disciples as needed.

If only we had more reinforcements.

To prepare for any unforeseen situation, he sent the fastest messenger hawk to the main household, instructing Namgoong Mugang to bring all forces, leaving behind only the minimum required to protect the estate.

Having the Bipung Division or the White Dragon Division would have been ideal, but given the current constraints, this was the best available plan.

"Prepare thoroughly and coordinate well."

"Yes, sir!"

The Black Dragon Division responded in unison.

Namgoong Mucheon left the training to the Black Dragon Division Chief and turned away.

I wonder if Seolhwa has returned.

She had insisted on buying necessary items for the Head of the Medical Hall herself.

In exchange for taking a guard with her, she had been allowed to visit the nearby village.

Given the possibility that someone might recognize a member of the Namgoong Clan, neither he nor the Black Dragon Division could move openly.

Namgoong Mucheon looked up at the distant sky.

Precious people came to mind.

...The Blood Demon Cult...

Those suffering and endangered by the Blood Demon Cult’s manipulation, his clan, Seolhwa—and every time they came to mind, he was reminded of one thing:

I must grow stronger.

His current strength was not enough.

The Namgoong Clan’s prestige was rising daily, but after dealing with the Suro Stronghold and meeting Mount Hua’s Sect Leader in succession, he understood.

The Blood Demon Cult’s influence is dangerous enough to shake the entire martial world.

The main household had already shed much blood to erase traces of them.

The Suro Stronghold, Mount Hua, and likely other factions as well—all must have been infiltrated by the Blood Demon Cult without even realizing it.

To protect this Central Plains, his clan, and those he loved from such a perilous enemy—

A greater strength is needed.

Strength greater than even Namgoong.

****

Tap—tap-tap—

After buying the necessary materials in the village and finishing her errands, Seolhwa was on her way back to the residence.

"Young Lady."

Ryeong, who was following behind her, pointed toward a part of the forest.

Ryeong had accompanied her as a bodyguard from the main household, though during her movements with Namgoong Mucheon, she had fulfilled her duties as a Black Dragon Division member. She had now returned to Seolhwa’s side.

"Is that not a Mount Hua sub-sect disciple?"

At her words, Seolhwa stopped her steps atop a high tree branch.

Yu Gang?

Roughly two ri (about 800 meters) from the residence, Yu Gang sat alone in full lotus position atop a large boulder.

Meditating?

Since the Sect Leader’s visit, Yu Gang had noticeably become more withdrawn.

Perhaps the crisis that befell his sect had shocked him—she had not seen him smile since.

Now that she thought of it, she had not really checked in on him since they left Mount Hua.

Every time they crossed paths by chance, he had looked pleased to see her, but given the situation, they only exchanged brief glances.

He seemed disappointed, but Yu Gang never tried to stop her.

Hmm...

Still, he had always been so cheerful.

Perhaps because someone usually so bright had grown ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) so subdued—it stuck in her mind oddly.

Maybe I should go talk to him for a bit.

But... was it necessary?

Strictly speaking, Yu Gang was just fifteen years old.

A good mood one day, melancholic the next—it was normal for someone that age.

"!"

While she debated, watching Yu Gang from above, their eyes suddenly met—he was craning his neck upward, clearly having noticed her for some time.

Startled, Seolhwa’s foot slipped.

"!"

Her foot, which had been resting on a branch, slid off.

"Young Lady...!"

Ryeong instinctively grabbed her arm.

"I am fine."

Seolhwa had instinctively gripped the tree with her other hand and foot, so she had not lost her balance completely.

Even so, once she regained her posture and looked back down, Yu Gang had already jumped to his feet and was staring up at her with wide eyes.

Was he planning to catch her if she fell?

Seeing his awkward pose, arms stretched toward her direction, Seolhwa could not help but laugh.

Yu Gang flinched and dropped his arms in embarrassment.

"I am going to talk with the sub-sect disciple for a moment."

"Yes, Young Lady."

With a light leap, Seolhwa landed next to Yu Gang.

In truth, even if she had fallen, she would not have been hurt.

Perhaps realizing that now, Yu Gang awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

"What were you doing here?"

"Ah, just... training?"

"What kind of training?"

"I was just trying to calm my mind. Lately, my thoughts have been a bit unsettled."

She did not need to ask the reason why.

Of all people, she perhaps understood best just how deeply Yu Gang loved his Mount Hua senior brothers.

Watching him so utterly dejected, Seolhwa let out a long sigh and sat down heavily on the boulder.

Yu Gang crouched beside her.

"If there is something you are curious about, you can ask."

“...Huh?”

"If you are curious. You have a lot of questions, do you not? You can ask what you have not been able to before. Thanks to you, I was able to meet the Sect Leader safely."

Yu Gang hesitated for a moment.

In truth, there were many things he was curious about.

But in such dire circumstances, he had feared being a burden, or seen as a nuisance, and so had not asked a single thing.

Even now, he still hesitated—but curiosity ultimately outweighed concern.

"Why do you think someone used hypnosis on the Mount Hua disciples? It’s to destroy Mount Hua, right...?"

"Yes."

"Is it true... that the one behind the hypnosis might be one of the elders?"

"Most likely. That is where the greatest likelihood lies."

So it really was as he feared.

Perhaps he had still been clinging to baseless hope—Yu Gang accepted it without resistance.

"But why? Why would someone go so far as to use hypnosis just to destroy Mount Hua?"

"Because they need an army."

“...What?”

In her previous life, the Mount Hua Sect had been wiped out in a single day.

But when the site of Mount Hua’s massacre was eventually discovered, though there were signs of fierce combat and blood everywhere, not a single corpse was found.

Where had they all gone—those who had seemingly vanished into thin air?

They had been made to dance in the palm of the Fifth Blood Lord.

Unlike the Twelve Moons, the Blood Lords each had their own power base.

Just as the late Sixth Blood Lord had used the Suro Stronghold as his base of operations, the Fifth Blood Lord’s forces were made up of Mount Hua swordmasters—turned into the Soulless Ones (失魂人), the jiangshi.

Those who had been hypnotized, and even those slain by them, were all turned into jiangshi.

The Fifth Blood Lord had built his army using the undead disciples of Mount Hua.

"If we do not stop it, your senior brothers will be condemned to exist as tools—neither alive nor dead. They will kill innocents using the swordsmanship they learned at Mount Hua, and commit atrocities with the inner energy they cultivated there."

They would become mere puppets—animated corpses, dancing at the whim of the Fifth Blood Lord.

"That is why we must stop this. Desperately."

For Mount Hua.

For the Central Plains martial world.

For the young swordsmen who stood to be defiled.

And—for you.

"...."

Seolhwa’s words seemed to strike hard. Yu Gang stared blankly at her, stunned.

After a long silence, his lips finally moved.

"Why... Mount Hua?"

His eyes quivered with unease.

"Why Mount Hua, of all sects?"

Why did it have to be his own sect?

Why did it have to be his senior brothers? Why?

"I do not mean to say I wish it were another sect. I just..."

"I know."

"...."

"I know how you feel."

Because in her previous life, he had been a man who loved Mount Hua more than anyone.

So deeply that, even in death, he had charged into the battlefield alone, just to retrieve the corpses of his senior brothers—turned puppets—so they could be returned to Mount Hua.

Though he had claimed it was for Mount Hua’s honor, for the pride of its final sword, Seolhwa had seen the real reason.

She had witnessed his final moments.

‘If I can ask one thing before I die...’

She had granted his request only out of a passing curiosity.

What was it that drove a man to throw himself into hell for the name of Mount Hua?

If he was truly Mount Hua’s final sword, should he not have lived—to carry on its legacy? Why plunge into war?

In the end, he was defeated by Seolhwa’s sword, and on his knees, he had begged her.

‘Let me die... let me die at Mount Hua. Let me gather my brothers... one last time.’

With a dying body, the man had carried a wooden frame on his back.

He had gently stacked onto it the corpses of his senior brothers—motionless and silent now that the sorcery had broken.

The weight of so many must have been crushing—but he said nothing as he climbed the rugged mountain path.

Seolhwa followed ten steps behind him.

She simply wanted to see. What his final moments were. What he had fought so hard to protect.

That evening, the crimson sunset blazed like a fire.

The two of them climbed Mount Hua in silence.