Ilryong, Imoe, and Sambong had kept their heads down ever since Seolhwa had left for Mount Hua.

After the Heavenly Martial Assembly, the Namgoong Clan began thoroughly rooting out all martial artists with ties to the dark path, exposing their crimes and either punishing them or expelling them from the clan.

Because the three had drawn attention during the assembly, they believed they would be cast out at any moment.

However—

‘The young lady personally requested that your punishment be postponed, so we are holding off for now. Do not cause trouble and stay quiet. She will call for you soon enough.’

And then she just left for Mount Hua like that.

Thanks to helping Namgoong Seolhwa, they had not only saved their lives but also received enough money. They had even considered fleeing while she was away from the clan, but it was impossible.

‘Do you not remember that brat planted Gu Poison in our bodies? If we run off on our own, that is it for us—game over, done!’

‘Ah, right.’

Because of that, they had remained in the clan. And when the clan members who had left for Mount Hua returned, they had been relieved not to be summoned.

“It has been a while. Have you been well?”

The three flinched, slowly raised their heads, and exchanged wary glances.

Sambong cautiously gauged Seolhwa’s expression before asking.

“What is the reason you summoned us...?”

“What else? You owe me your lives. I saved you, did I not?”

Did I not go out of my way to ensure you would not be caught up in the clan’s purge?

“Well, that was only because...! Ah, because you, Young Lady, turned the Heavenly Martial Assembly upside down with our help....”

“That is that, and this is this. As I recall, that matter was properly settled.”

“...!”

Indeed.

In exchange for following Seolhwa’s orders, the three had received bars of gold worth several times a Namgoong warrior’s annual salary.

The debt had been paid. The fact that Seolhwa protected them from the clan’s purge was a separate matter.

“B-but still....”

Had they known things would turn out this way, they would not have followed her orders to begin with....

‘If we say that out loud, she will kill us... right?’

Sambong glanced sideways at Seolhwa.

Her body was that of a child, yet something about her kept drawing them in. She was anything but ordinary.

‘Her martial arts are strong too....’

No, more importantly, their lives were held in her hands.

If she says jump, they jump. Damn it.

“Then... what do you want us to do this time?”

“I have a proposal for you.”

“A proposal...?”

So it was not an order?

“You can either return to the clan and keep living quietly, or you can follow me—and return to the life of the dark path.”

“What? The dark path?”

Sambong’s eyes widened, and he exchanged confused looks with the other two.

Ilryong and Imoe also wore baffled expressions.

“There is something that needs to be done on the dark path from now on. But I have no one I can trust to handle it. I think it would be good if you three helped me.”

“...”

“If you do well, I may even secure you elder positions in a dark faction commanding hundreds.”

“!!”

The three of them widened their eyes.

An elder position in a dark faction commanding hundreds!

That meant they could each have hundreds of subordinates under them!

And to return to the dark path—a place that felt more like home than the suffocating orthodox clans?

As long as they obeyed this girl—

“I’ll do it!”

“We will do it!”

“...!”

All three nodded at once.

Why would they refuse?

Watching them nod enthusiastically, Seolhwa curled the corner of her lips.

****

As soon as she returned to the Black Cloud Gang, Seolhwa fulfilled her promise and asked the Black Cloud Gang Leader to create positions for Ilryong, Imoe, and Sambong.

Simply by being known as Seolhwa’s subordinates, it was not difficult for them to be appointed as elders in the Black Cloud Gang.

However, there was one thing the three had overlooked.

Sshk—sshk—sshk—

“Huff... haaah....”

“....”

“Pant, pant... oh gods, I am dying....”

Each of them had a stone of varying size tied around their waists as they ran laps around the Black Cloud Gang’s martial training grounds.

While general training of the Black Cloud Gang members was handled by squad leaders, these three were being trained directly by Ryeong because they were elders.

“Hey, why are we—elders of the Black Cloud Gang—being worked like dogs by some brat?”

“I do not know, damn it! She is not even part of the gang, and neither is Ryeong!”

“True enough... But the way the Gang Leader bows his head to Ryeong, maybe she outranks him.”

That girl is said to be Ryeong’s guardian.

“Damn it, were we tricked?”

“What are you chattering about?”

“Gyaaah!”

The three of them shrieked and jumped. Ryeong, who had definitely been watching from the platform, was now behind them.

“Is training too easy for you?”

“...!”

The three instinctively stepped back.

Cracking her knuckles, she slowly approached, and a chilling aura seemed to rise from her body like creeping shadow.

“If you were given elder positions in the Black Cloud Gang with such pitiful martial arts, should you not at least try to be worthy of the title? How do you expect to be of use to the Guardian at this rate?”

“H-hold on, Guardian, it is just that we—”

“If the day ever comes that your wretched bodies drag the Guardian down—”

The rising aura suddenly flared like a blaze.

“Then you will die by my hand.”

“Hiiik...!”

“Start running, now!!”

The three of them scrambled to run laps again.

Ryeong watched them with a stern gaze.

“Hoho. The ones the Guardian brought back are certainly spirited.”

Seolhwa, who had just taken a sip of hot tea, set her cup down and looked out the window at Ryeong and the trio.

Assigning their martial arts training to Ryeong had been a wise decision.

Even from here, she could feel Ryeong’s fiery resolve to rehabilitate those three.

With a faint smile, Seolhwa turned to the Black Cloud Gang Leader and asked,

“Have you prepared what I requested?”

“Ah, yes. I found a location that meets your specifications and have made the preparations. And this...”

The Gang Leader moved Seolhwa’s and his own teacups aside and unrolled a scroll onto the table.

It was a map of the surrounding region.

On the map were black dots, white dots, and double-line dots drawn in clusters.

“I have marked the local dark factions’ martial strength as you instructed. White dots, then double-line dots, then black dots—in ascending order of power.”

Seolhwa pointed to the nearest white dot.

“What is the martial strength of this white dot?”

“They have fewer than ten members. It is a newly formed group.”

“What about the double-line dots?”

“Roughly fifty members. They are fairly stable groups with established operations. As you can see, they are the most common.”

Indeed, there were more double-line dots on the map than either white or black dots.

“As the Guardian knows, this area borders the influence of Mount «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» Hua and Shaolin. Most groups deliberately stay modest in size to avoid drawing unnecessary attention.”

“What about the Black Cloud Gang?”

“We, uh... well... somehow ended up like this...”

The Gang Leader scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

Though he said “somehow,” Seolhwa knew very well how the Black Cloud Gang had grown so quickly.

‘It is because the Gang Leader is that competent.’

Even this map proved it.

He had prepared this neat, detailed overview in the short time she had been away at the Namgoong estate.

‘A capable talent indeed.’

“Can the Black Cloud Gang handle a double-line faction on its own?”

The Gang Leader blinked.

Could they handle one?

Was she asking if they could win in a direct conflict?

“Yes. We should be able to defeat a group of around fifty.”

Seolhwa nodded and lifted the map.

“What about the black dots?”

“Those would be more difficult. None in this region are larger than us, but they are still sizable. We would bleed a lot to win against them.”

“In that case, I will go with you to handle those.”

“You will go? ...Do you mean you intend to face them yourself?”

You are going to fight them? The dark factions of the region?

Why?

“I told you already.”

Seolhwa held the map in one hand and shifted her gaze to him.

“I intend to do something big.”

With a sharp tap, she placed the map back on the table.

The Gang Leader’s eyes naturally followed it.

Seolhwa’s finger slid slowly from one end of the map to the other.

“I will absorb every faction in this region.”

“...Excuse me...?”

It was not that he had not understood.

The Gang Leader’s voice trembled slightly.

“A-absorb, you say... You do not mean to... eradicate all the dark factions in this region... do you?”

Was this the true aim of the Namgoong clan’s young lady?

To use him to wipe out every last remnant of the dark path?

“Eradicate them? Hardly.”

Seolhwa let out a faint laugh and continued.

“Quite the opposite. I intend to unite their power. Like the Eighteen Strongholds of the Yangtze or the Green Forest.”

“!”

The Gang Leader’s mouth dropped open.

The Eighteen Water Strongholds were a coalition of river pirates, and the Green Forest was a union of mountain bandits.

Thieves and bandits who had banded together into powerful forces the government could not easily touch.

‘She wants to unify the dark path like that?’

An outrageous thought—so much so he could not help but gape.

If the dark factions, which outnumbered the Green Forest or the river pirates, could be gathered into one, the scale would be enormous.

“B-but would the orthodox sects simply stand by?”

If the dark path united, the righteous factions would surely not just watch...