“Hah—!”

Namgoong Mucheon let out a baffled sigh, his face showing disbelief.

Cheongun and Seop Mugwang also turned to stare at the Chief Steward in shock.

Seop Mugwang tugged one corner of his lips in mischief and asked playfully,

“Don’t tell me... you’re sulking?”

“Sulking? Am I a child? Of course not!”

“You’re sulking.”

“I said I’m not...!”

“Ha-ha!”

The hearty laugh rang out, and the three turned toward Mucheon with startled eyes.

He was laughing — freely, genuinely.

“...Clan Head?”

When had he last laughed so comfortably?

Since taking the Clan Head’s seat, he had always carried a grave, solemn expression. The sight of him laughing now left the three unsettled.

“Forgive me. It reminded me of my youth.”

Still chuckling, he brushed the corner of his eye and said to Namgoong Mun,

“How could it be a misunderstanding to say I cherish you? If not you, then who else would I treasure?”

Namgoong Mun faltered for a moment.

Knowing how childish he had looked, he couldn’t bring himself to meet Mucheon’s gaze as he asked in return,

“Yet... you never told me anything. Was it not that you didn’t trust me?”

“It wasn’t distrust. I wished to protect you.”

“...Protect... me?”

“We did not know who the spy within the clan was, nor could we be certain the scheme would remain hidden.”

There had been chances it might be exposed when he swallowed the medicine, or when they transported his body.

“In such a case, the spy, or the enemy seeking me, might target those who knew of the scheme first.”

If they had questioned before he recovered, they might have tried to force out his location.

Of course, if the enemy discovered the truth, they might have withdrawn. But the slightest chance of danger could not be disregarded.

As it turned out, «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» Mucheon’s breakthrough to Heaven Beyond Heaven allowed him to subdue the First Moon Medallion effortlessly. But without that opportunity, had he faced more than two masters at Flowering, the outcome might have been entirely different.

“So, if such a situation came, I thought it safer for you not to know. Do you think I would exclude you out of coldness?”

“....”

The Chief Steward pressed his lips tightly shut.

Truth be told, he hadn’t thought Mucheon hid it from him out of mistrust.

He had only felt... left out.

Even the Lord of the Black Dragon Unit, even the young lady had known, and yet he alone had been kept in the dark.

‘Clan Head....’

Such feelings of grievance were not meant to be revealed.

He had just opened his mouth to apologize when—

“In other words, you were too weak, so he couldn’t tell you—wasn’t that it?”

Seop Mugwang’s chuckle and teasing words froze Namgoong Mun stiff.

“Had you trained harder in martial arts, you could’ve at least guarded your own body. Then surely—”

“Shut that mouth! That mouth of yours, shut it for once!!”

Namgoong Mun snapped, shouting as he leapt to his feet.

Seop Mugwang’s eyes widened; he had never seen the Chief Steward lose his composure like that.

“Your Flying Phoenix Sword will be the end of you — because of that mouth! Do you hear me?!”

With a sharp snort, Namgoong Mun stormed out of the Clan Head’s residence.

The heavy stomping footsteps echoed away until they vanished outside.

Seop Mugwang blinked at the open doorway, eyes still round in astonishment.

Cheongun burst into laughter, and Mucheon shook his head, smiling.

At that moment—

“What happened here?”

Seolhwa appeared at the open door, wearing a puzzled look.

She bowed politely to the three elders inside, then closed the door behind her.

“It looked like the Chief Steward was truly upset. Did you quarrel?”

Seop Mugwang’s eyebrows twitched.

“Why are you looking at me when you ask that?”

“Because among those here, the only one who could have angered the Chief Steward is my master.”

“I did not...!”

Seolhwa blinked.

Those clear, bright eyes fixed on him made Seop Mugwang whip his head away.

“It wasn’t me! I only spoke what was fair, and that old man threw a fit!”

“Is that so.”

So it was her master’s fault after all.

Well, she had expected as much.

Leaving her master grumbling about sparks flying unfairly his way, Seolhwa stepped toward Namgoong Mucheon.

“I heard you called for me, Grandfather.”

“Yes.”

Mucheon gazed at her intently.

“?”

The corners of his lips curved gently.

“Shall we take a walk?”

“Yes.”

The two left the Clan Head’s residence and headed into the garden.

Though she had wandered here often since her return, this was her first time stepping into the garden since coming back after four years away.

At the entrance to the garden, Mucheon suddenly stopped and extended his hand toward her.

“?”

“Will you take my hand?”

She looked up at him in surprise.

Though she had grown taller over the past four years, Mucheon was still towering; she had to raise her eyes to him.

“Doesn’t it remind you of your childhood?”

“....”

She looked down at the hand he held out.

It was the first time she had really seen it closely since returning to life.

Large, hard hands.

Hands she faintly remembered clinging to with both of hers as a child.

With a trembling heart, Seolhwa placed her hand atop his.

The large, calloused hand was still warm.

“Come. Let’s go.”

Hand in hand, they strolled through the garden.

Past evergreen trees, down a stone path lined with flowers and ornaments.

When they reached the pond beneath drooping willows, Seolhwa could not hide her astonishment.

“The flowers....”

The flowerbed that had once been filled with red poppies.

The flowerbed she herself had burned to ash.

“It’s been changed... to hydrangeas?”

The garden was now filled with clusters of blue hydrangeas.

‘In my last life, it was never changed....’

Even long after Mucheon’s death, the garden had remained full of poppies.

“Poppies were your grandmother’s favorite.”

“....”

“I thought filling the garden with her flowers was my way of remembering her.”

To honor the wife he had failed to protect, by keeping her beloved flowers ever in sight.

“But after experiencing the end of life myself, I understood. Remembering her through flowers was only my own attachment.”

For a moment, Seolhwa wondered how her grandmother had passed.

But Mucheon’s expression was too lonely for her to ask.

“If someone kept what I loved close forever, I think it would frighten me.”

Mucheon laughed softly.

“So I changed them. Look — isn’t it splendid?”

“It’s beautiful.”

The color called to mind the vast, clear sky.

As though the heavens themselves had been captured in blossoms.

“It suits you well, Grandfather.”

“I think so too.”

Both of them laughed together.

The breeze stirred the willows, whispering back to their laughter.

“You said you met Elder Ouyang Do.”

“Yes.”

“I met him once as well. When you vanished from Mount Hua, he came to tell me you were safe.”

“I know. He told me himself.”

“There was something he said then.”

“....”

“Heaven Beyond Heaven.”

“There is always another sky above the sky. Do not forget that.”

“I thought those words meant only the realm beyond Flowering. But now that I stand here, I see the truth.”

Seolhwa’s lips parted slightly.

Surely not.

“The realm beyond Heaven Beyond Heaven truly exists.”

“...Life-and-Death Realm.”

The state where the heavenly gate opens fully, and one becomes one with nature, no longer bound to the dantian.

Where the self and the natural world are indistinguishable.

A state where, it is said, a single thought could cleave a distant mountain peak.

But beyond hearsay, nothing was certain. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

No one had ever reached it.

“I intend to pursue that realm.”

A vow, a declaration: his goal was to transcend Heaven Beyond Heaven and attain the Life-and-Death Realm.

“So you too must strive. The reason I tell you this is to remind you how long the road ahead still is.”

With his free hand, Mucheon rubbed Seolhwa’s head.

It was the smile of a grandfather who truly wished for her to one day catch up to him.

“And now, I can see.”

His gaze shifted toward her head.

“Thank you for guarding our Seolhwa.”

The words were not meant for her.

They were directed to the Imoogi dwelling in her body.

Just as Ouyang Do and Gong Cheon had recognized its power immediately, Mucheon had as well.

Though she had told him of the Imoogi four years ago, this was the first time he had truly discerned its nature. It must have startled him.

“In the past, my sight was too shallow to recognize a divine guardian.”

As if it understood, the black snake slid from her nape and coiled around her shoulder.

Mucheon bowed his head deeply to the Imoogi.

“At last, I can give you proper thanks.”

The Imoogi hissed proudly.

[It is enough that you know.]

“If ever you require anything, say the word.”

[Swee—]

“I’ve been taking care of that, Grandfather.”

Don’t you dare try to beg for sweets again.

[Swee—]

“She won’t lack for them.”

I promised to feed you plenty, not to let you hoard.

Mucheon nodded approvingly, eyes warm with pride.

“Good. I knew you would.”

A precious guardian — treat it well.

At his repeated request, Seolhwa answered without hesitation.

On her shoulder, the Imoogi let out a sharp, indignant screech.