‘We told you not to go. Because we could not identify who they were. It was your subordinates who ignored the warning and went! So do not come here to take out your anger on us—go take a look for yourself.’

‘Every four days, this is where they come.’

Rustle.

Dry leaves crumbled beneath his foot. Seop Mugwang, who had been staring at the broken leaf pieces beneath him, turned his gaze toward the old building.

Deep within the forest—an old structure on the verge of collapse.

No, it was more like a manor.

‘They actually managed to build something like this here.’

It was not incomprehensible.

He, too, had once lived hidden deep in the woods, away from people’s eyes.

The problem was that no one had come here for four days straight, yet now there was light inside.

And a presence could be felt.

No—could it be called a presence?

A chilling feeling swept over him, raising goosebumps.

His instincts screamed at him to stop.

That he must not enter that building.

But at the same time, he was certain.

‘My men are in there.’

This was a trap.

Whatever was inside was definitely waiting for him to arrive.

“Those filthy beggar bastards...”

Where the trap had begun did not matter.

If he had to name a starting point, it would have been back when he was still at the clan.

“You think the Thunder and Wind Divine Lord is going to back down?”

Seop Mugwang gave a faint chuckle as he gripped the hilt of his sword.

In an instant, his indigo energy crackled and surged around his body.

“Scum who treat human life as cheaper than insects... Let us see what kind of gift you have prepared for me.”

Seop Mugwang began walking.

Toward the decaying structure that exuded a sinister aura just by standing.

****

The plan was as follows.

‘Release the poison powder and bind the hands and feet of the disciples who develop boils.’

Ordinarily, it would take time for boils to appear, but Choryeon had added an accelerant to the poison so symptoms would manifest immediately.

The poison’s effects had been verified by observing No Un’s condition.

Lifting the hypnosis came next.

There had not been enough time to determine a full method of undoing the hypnosis, so for now, releasing it one by one was the only viable path.

The reason for binding those under hypnosis was to prepare for possible activation.

‘The Blood Cult is bound to learn what we are trying to do.’

The infiltrators who had not yet been identified would do everything they could to inform their allies.

Thus came the second promise.

‘Have them read the word “Blood Cult.”’

Those who could not read it—or tried to flee—would be considered infiltrators and neutralized.

That was the core of the current operation.

Tap—tatap.

But Seolhwa could not agree with one part of that plan.

‘I found him.’

Her eyes locked onto a group of first-generation disciples sprinting through the terrain with body movement techniques.

Her gaze fixed on a single individual among them.

Tatak—!

Focused on their destination, they failed to notice Seolhwa approaching from behind.

Partly because her concealment skills—honed from a life as an assassin—were exceptional.

Tatap—tak—

Seolhwa quietly closed in on her target.

He was one of the infiltrators who had revealed killing intent during her previous sparring match.

“?”

Only when she crept up directly behind him did he sense her presence and turn around. And then—shwack—!

“!”

The man’s world tilted. With a single stroke, his head and body were separated.

He died without even realizing that he had been killed.

“Who goes there!”

The Mount Hua disciples and Namgoong warriors assigned to the same group quickly surrounded Seolhwa.

She looked down at the corpse with an indifferent expression and pulled down her mask.

“L-Lady...?!”

“What? Did he say ‘Lady’? Then—is she from the Namgoong Clan...?!”

Shwaa—

Seolhwa scattered poison powder into the air.

The Namgoong warriors and Seolhwa had already taken the antidote in advance, so they were unaffected.

For a moment, only coughing was heard from within the white smoke.

“Uaaagh!”

“Wh-What is this...?!”

Screams erupted from several directions.

Among the remaining four disciples of Mount Hua, boils appeared on three. Only one remained unaffected.

The disciple without boils was visibly shaken at the sight of his fellow disciples.

Seolhwa approached him and opened a piece of paper in front of his eyes.

“Wh-What...”

“Read it. The word written there.”

His eyes shifted quickly, scanning the letters clearly written on the page.

His pupils shook visibly.

His lips moved, but no sound came out.

“Read it.”

Seolhwa held the paper right up to his face.

But he never read the word aloud.

“L-Lady Namgoong. W-Why are you... making me...”

Shwack—

Blood splattered, and the man’s body collapsed to his knees and fell.

Once again, his life ended with a single stroke.

“L-Lady...!”

The Black Dragon Division members in charge of this unit hurried over in a panic.

“There was no order to kill the infiltrators...!”

Blood had splashed across her face as she turned toward them.

Childlike in appearance, but bloodied.

The contradictory image left the Black Dragon Division speechless.

Seolhwa wiped the blood from her face roughly with her sleeve and said to the soldiers,

“Carry out the rest of your duties.”

“Y-Yes... Ma’am...”

“Explain the situation to them properly and bind them to a sturdy tree. One person should stay to guard this location. The rest of you—go assist the others.”

The Black Dragon Division members could not respond, only staring blankly at her.

Leaving them behind, Seolhwa immediately turned away.

Tap—tatap—

She crossed the uneven, rocky mountain at speed, pulling her mask back up as she moved.

‘That’s one down.’

Of the three infiltrators who had revealed their killing intent during the sparring match—

She had planned to deal with them first.

****

“We would also like to go out and search for the herb.”

The elders who had remained in the main hall spoke to Namgoong Mucheon.

Though all the disciples had been sent out, they had not received further instructions, so they stepped forward of their own accord.

However, Namgoong Mucheon did not permit it.

“There is something I need to do with you all. Follow me.”

Exchanging puzzled looks, the elders followed behind Namgoong Mucheon.

He led them to the grand sparring ground inside Mount Hua.

“Clan Head Namgoong, why are we here...?”

“It would be too complicated to explain. I will show you. Who will step forward first?”

“...Surely, you are not proposing we spar right now?”

“Precisely why I said I would show you. Since you brought it up—why do you not go first? Come up here.”

Namgoong Mucheon was already standing atop the dueling platform.

The elder he pointed to was Elder Noh Seon.

He looked around at the other elders before lightly leaping onto the platform. His long beard swayed in the breeze.

“What exactly are you trying to do?”

“Just stay still for a moment. I am trying to save you.”

Save him?

As that question formed in his mind, Namgoong Mucheon’s hand was already on top of his head.

“!”

He tried to dodge, but his body would not move at all.

‘What strength...!’

In that instant, Namgoong Mucheon’s internal energy flowed in through Baihui Point.

By the time he realized it, darkness had already descended over Noh Seon’s vision.

****

Shwaa—!

‘Two.’

Seolhwa scattered the poison powder once more after killing another infiltrator.

This time, boils erupted on all four of the disciples present.

After confirming the instructions again with the Namgoong warriors, Seolhwa immediately moved on to her third target.

‘While they are still not too scattered is the best chance.’

Though the ultimate goal was to disperse them, if they spread too far, it would become difficult to locate groups in this vast mountain.

In preparation for that possibility, they had agreed on signals in advance—but now was the optimal time to strike, while the infiltrators she had already identified were still within predictable range.

‘If they go too far, we agreed to use bird calls...’

At that moment, the cry of a cuckoo rang out from somewhere.

Seolhwa stopped in the middle of the forest.

Thump, thump-thump.

Her heart began to pound rapidly.

Her ears dulled, and she could feel heat rising in her body.

‘Cuckoos do not usually cry at night.’

Unless they were unmated or of an unusual species.

Cuckoos ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) were not nocturnal birds.

And yet here, in Mount Hua, they only ever cried at night.

As though choosing the moment when all others were asleep.

The night the Namgoong Clan first arrived at Mount Hua, and—

‘The night the child named Myeong died.’

Thump. Thump-thump.

‘It is the Blood Cult’s... signal.’

The cry of the cuckoo.

Tap—tatat—!

Seolhwa turned and began sprinting in the direction the sound had come from.

Straight toward the cuckoo’s call.

‘What is it now?’

What kind of signal are they sending?

Even within the Blood Cult, not everyone understood every signal.

This was a signal used exclusively among those hiding in Mount Hua. Even Seolhwa could not interpret it.

Tadat—tat!

‘Damn it, damn it...!’

She should have realized it from the beginning!

She had anticipated that the infiltrators in Mount Hua might use their own methods of communication, and yet she had failed to recognize anything strange.

‘That was my mistake.’

A clear and undeniable oversight.

Which meant she had to correct it—now.

It was then.

Piiii—!

A sharp whistle rang through the forest.

From the same direction as the cuckoo’s call.

No—

Piiii— piiii—

Piiii— piiii— piiii—

Answering from every direction, the sounds echoed, filling all of Mount Hua.

The shrill, piercing sound tore through the mind.

Piiiiii— shwaa—!

Following the closest whistle, Seolhwa struck down the person blowing it with a single stroke.

Breathing heavily, she looked past the collapsing corpse.

Ching—! Chae-ching!

“Uaaagh! Wh-What’s going on?! Please stop...! Gahk!”

“Block them! Strike the nape!!”

The disciples of Mount Hua and the Namgoong warriors were tangled in combat.

It had been expected to some extent, but the whistle from just now was indeed—

The signal to trigger the hypnosis.