At the Black Cloud Gang Leader’s concerned question, Seolhwa curved her lips faintly.

“Just because they are of the orthodox path does not mean they can indiscriminately suppress or exterminate the dark path.”

The orthodox sects, above all, were bound by legitimacy.

No matter how large a dark faction grew, the orthodox forces might keep it in check—but they would not act without a proper justification.

“Do you know why the orthodox martial world allows the dark path to exist despite knowing about it?”

“Because they need it.”

“Precisely. Because those fleeing from the imperial court and bureaucracy need a place to disappear into.”

Those whose crops had failed, those who could not endure the greed of corrupt officials, those who lost their homes in accidents and became drifters—all of them flowed into the dark path.

The orthodox martial world could not possibly shoulder the burden of countless displaced people.

And so the dark path was necessary.

“In that same sense, there is something vital we must do as we expand our influence.”

“What is that?”

“We must weed out those with cruel hands.”

“And once we identify them...?”

“Kill them.”

“...!”

“It does not matter what methods are used to unite the dark factions. If persuasion works and they willingly cooperate, that is best. But if blood must be shed—then make an example of those kinds of people.”

The Gang Leader swallowed dryly.

Those of the dark path with cruel hands.

He knew exactly what kind of people the Guardian was referring to.

Those who delighted in killing, thirsted for blood, and joined the dark path only to live however they pleased.

The Guardian was telling him to eliminate them.

“Such people will cause problems sooner or later. They may even give the orthodox sects an excuse to come after us. In that case, it is better to nip them in the bud.”

“But... such people are not few in number....”

“There is no need to kill them all. A few examples will suffice. If you come across anyone you think is worth sparing, bring them to me.”

Pull out the rotten grass, gather only the grain-bearing stalks.

The Gang Leader found himself swallowing hard again.

‘She is serious.’

This woman truly intended to unite the dark path.

Had anyone else said it, he would have scoffed and dismissed it as nonsense—but he remembered clearly the power this girl had displayed before.

Power so vast and overwhelming that even the supreme leaders of the Eighteen Water Strongholds and Green Forest would not surpass it.

‘If she possesses such power despite her youthful appearance, then surely...’

The Gang Leader swallowed once more.

These cascading, unimaginable events left him unable to collect himself.

“There is one more thing I need you to do.”

“What now...?”

“I ask that you silence your subordinates.”

“Silence them...?”

Seolhwa nodded.

At that moment, the Gang Leader flinched.

A black aura surged subtly around her.

“The fact that I am from the Namgoong Clan must not leak beyond the walls of the Black Cloud Gang. If anyone spreads that information... I will silence them with death. Make that clear to your people.”

The Gang Leader gave a trembling nod, «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» bowing slightly.

Behind her soft voice and youthful face lay a power that evoked sheer dread.

“Y-yes, I will keep it in mind.”

The chilling aura that had cooled the very air vanished, and Seolhwa smiled faintly.

“I am placing my trust in you, Gang Leader.”

****

“Ugh...”

Stepping out of Seolhwa’s residence, the Gang Leader involuntarily shivered.

Even in hindsight, the overwhelming aura still sent shivers down his spine.

That terrifying pressure that felt as though the slightest mistake would see him devoured—like a predator’s sharp gaze boring into him.

Remembering it, his body trembled once again.

“Huff... haah... huff...”

“I-I’m dying. I’m gonna die...”

“?”

As he descended the stairs from the residence, he found three figures sprawled out at the base.

The one who had been leading their training was nowhere to be seen.

Perhaps that was why the three were grumbling freely.

“Screw this! Why the hell am I going through this crap?! Who told us to come along?! Who?!”

“Come on, hyung, you agreed too! Back then you were grinning ear to ear at the thought of becoming an elder!”

“When did I ever grin?! The Guardian sweet-talked us into it, that’s all...!”

“Tsk, tsk.”

At the sudden clicking of a tongue, Ilryong clapped a hand over his mouth, and the other two froze.

Only when they confirmed that the one who had clicked their tongue was the Gang Leader and not Ryeong or Seolhwa did they finally let out a sigh of relief.

Ilryong heaved a deep sigh and grumbled,

“Why do you walk around without making a sound? Can’t you at least let us know when you’re coming or going? You’re gonna stop someone’s heart, seriously.”

“Hyung, how can you call the Gang Leader ‘you’? Show some respect, would you?”

Though they had been given elder positions through Seolhwa’s introduction, the three were now official members of the Black Cloud Gang.

Sambong quickly got to his feet and saluted with a clasped fist.

“Greetings to the Gang Leader.”

The Gang Leader clicked his tongue again as he looked at them.

“You still do not understand what kind of person the Guardian is, do you?”

Ilryong and Sambong exchanged a glance.

“You mean... that she is the young lady of the Namgoong Clan?”

“Watch your mouth! Do you not understand that uttering that title aloud could cost you your head?!”

Sambong hastily clutched at his neck.

They had been strictly warned by Seolhwa before coming to the Black Cloud Gang.

Do not speak of her as the Namgoong Clan’s young lady. Call her Guardian, nothing else.

But the Gang Leader already knew her identity, and all he had done was answer a question about her, right?

Was that not what he meant?

“Th-then what is it we do not understand...?”

The Gang Leader glanced around before leaning in slightly.

“The Guardian is an ancient master in the guise of youth.”

“!”

“...An ancient...!”

“Shh!”

“Eep!”

“You three... have never seen the Guardian unleash her true power, have you?”

Now that he mentioned it, it was true.

None of them had seen Seolhwa actually draw upon her inner energy in combat.

“Tsk, tsk... That is why you sit around, grumbling and calling her names. Why she bothers with people she barely knows like you three is beyond me.”

Clicking his tongue once more at the trio’s stunned expressions, the Gang Leader turned to go.

“You had better do your best while the Guardian still chooses to look after you. Oh, and—if you cannot even sense someone approaching, you should be training harder—got it?”

He waved them off and walked away.

The three men sat there blinking blankly until the sound of his cheerful humming faded into the distance.

****

Rustle, rustle.

Ryeong frowned as she pushed through the underbrush, scanning her surroundings.

“Are we certain this is the place? What if those dark path bastards lied just to get rid of us?”

“No chance of that.”

Seolhwa also parted the foliage as she surveyed the area. Then her gaze settled on a branch unnaturally snapped in one direction.

“Let us try this way.”

Taking the lead, she cleared a path forward.

After some time, the sound of rushing water reached their ears—shaaah.

Following it deeper into the forest, they finally arrived at their destination.

“Oh, it really is here.”

“Told you.”

They stood at the edge of a modest lake formed naturally beneath a cascading waterfall.

But the real destination lay behind the waterfall.

Chaaak—! Chaak—!

Passing through the crashing water, the two emerged into another space.

A large cave hidden behind the waterfall.

‘So this place really existed.’

In her previous life, she had vaguely heard stories of a spacious cave concealed behind a waterfall along the border of Shaanxi and Henan.

And who had told her that story?

‘Sixth Blood Lord, Jeok Gwaesu.’

There was a tale—one that could not be told without the tears of his subordinates—explaining how the man who commanded the Eighteen Strongholds of the Yangtze had come to know of this remote cave.

It began when the Fifth Blood Lord, No Mun, one day appeared wielding a sword forged from meteoric iron.

Upon seeing the blade, the Sixth Blood Lord had threatened his subordinates, saying he would kill them if they did not procure such iron—and so, they set out aimlessly in search.

While wandering the Shaanxi region where No Mun had once lived, those subordinates somehow managed to find a single fist-sized chunk of meteoric iron.

‘That place was here.’

And then the Sixth Blood Lord had shamelessly bragged as if he had found it himself.

But the story did not end there.

Instead of handing over the meteoric iron, his subordinates fled with it.

Enraged, the Sixth Blood Lord hunted them down—until he captured them, tied them to stones, and tossed them alive into the Yangtze River. A tragic tale.

‘And now, even that Sixth Blood Lord is no more.’

In this life, those subordinates were likely living on, unaware of their past.

Which meant: this cave, and the meteoric iron within, belonged to Seolhwa now.

‘But before retrieving the iron—’

“Ryeong. Stand guard here. I will go further inside.”

“Understood, Guardian.”

Leaving Ryeong at the entrance, Seolhwa moved deeper into the cave and seated herself in a suitable spot.

Roooooar...

The sound of falling water echoed rhythmically throughout the space.

Seolhwa set down what she had brought.

A box of elixirs—and a single book.