Huff— Huff—

A Daoist gasped raggedly, glancing over his shoulder again and again.

He was cut and bruised all over, breath tearing in his chest, yet he didn’t stop, as if something were on his heels.

Tak—

“!”

While looking back, his foot caught on something and he went down.

Because of that, he tumbled and rolled a long way down the steep mountainside.

Boom—

“Urgh....”

He only stopped when he slammed into a thick tree. Forgetting the pain, he jerked his head up and searched his surroundings.

Nothing. Not even the presence of animals disturbed the endless hush.

“...”

After a wary pause to steady his breathing, the Daoist rose and started down the mountain again.

Rustle— Crackle!

A dark night.

A man’s harsh breaths bled into the forest’s stillness as he tore through the brush. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

****

“Here. Water.”

A cool leather canteen brushed her cheek.

Catching her breath, Seolhwa turned to look at Yu Gang as he offered it.

After leaving Hebei in the guise of the Shadowless Demon God, Seolhwa had removed the mask and returned to being Namgoong Seolhwa.

They were headed to the Martial Alliance. It was better to travel with the two of them at her side as Seolhwa, not the Shadowless Demon God.

“I drew it from a brook nearby. I gave it to the monk first, so drink while it’s still cold.”

“...Thanks.”

Seolhwa took the canteen and drank.

Just as Yu Gang said, the water was cool and sweet.

Lowering the canteen, she wiped the trickle from her chin and slanted a look at Yu Gang.

“When Yu Gang was little? He mostly ran errands for courtesans. If you loiter near the pleasure quarters the ladies call you in, send you on errands, and pay in food or coin. Maybe because his face was easy on the eyes, he got picked a lot.”

“Not every drifter is a beggar. Some, like Yu Gang, run errands or pull rickshaws. Sure, there were those who lived by picking pockets.”

That was Chunpal’s answer when she’d asked—in the Shadowless Demon God’s guise—about Yu Gang’s childhood on a sudden curiosity.

“He has that straight-laced look, doesn’t he? Heh. Maybe that’s why, men and women, old and young, a lot of folks saw him as naïve. So he got into a lot of fights, and I’d say he got doted on plenty too.”

But Yu Gang had known everything from a young age.

He always pulped anyone who came at him, and in front of the courtesans he played dumb and took the work.

That was how he’d lived until he entered Mount Hua, Chunpal had said.

He’d likely answered without holding back only because she’d asked as the Shadowless Demon God.

If she’d asked as Namgoong Seolhwa, he would have left a lot out.

At the very least, anything to do with courtesans.

“So that’s why....”

Was that why he’d looked far too natural, all dressed up and dancing at Greenscale Pavilion?

Why the pleasure-house culture sat so easily on him?

The way he smiled with his eyes, the way he moved his hands.

All those glib, teasing little acts....

Seolhwa’s eyes narrowed as she watched Yu Gang.

Right then, Yu Gang glanced back at her, cut off his humming, and cocked an eyebrow.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Like what?”

“Like you’re looking at something creepy.”

“It’s not that.”

Seolhwa turned away and drank in big gulps.

She lowered the canteen and, as she was wiping at her lips again, Yu Gang held out his hand.

She passed the leather canteen back to him.

He gave it a shake to gauge how much remained, then, without ceremony, put his mouth to the very opening she’d drunk from and took a pull.

Shock colored Seolhwa’s face as she watched him.

Yu Gang stroked his jaw and cocked his brow again.

“What?”

“...You....”

Seolhwa knit her brows.

“You’re acting strange today. Are you sick?”

As Yu Gang reached to brush back a lock of her fallen hair, ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) Seolhwa reflexively drew away when his face came close.

Shock colored Yu Gang’s expression in turn.

“...I just thought it looked uncomfortable, falling in your face....”

“...I’ll handle it.”

Seolhwa slapped his hand away—tak—and turned her back.

Yu Gang stared at his hand, slapped away so coldly, a hurt look in his eyes, but Seolhwa had already turned fully and missed it.

Then, a short distance off, she caught sight of the Imoogi coiled atop a rock, tail tapping—tak, tak.

Its mouth seemed curved in a pleased little smile, and Seolhwa’s brow creased.

Rustle.

“Ah, Master.”

Seolhwa and Yu Gang rose at the same time.

Resting a bit off to the side, Gong Cheon walked over to the rock where they’d been sitting.

“I would ask about the matter of the Wudang Sect.”

“Please, sit here.”

Yu Gang briskly brushed off the spot where he’d been sitting and gave up the seat.

Gong Cheon thanked him with a kindly smile, sat, and asked Seolhwa:

“Is ‘that one’ involved in this?”

By “that one,” he meant the Blood Demon.

Having crossed hands with the Blood Demon, Gong Cheon knew his strength and the danger he posed; it would be the part that troubled him most.

Seolhwa gathered her thoughts for a moment and answered calmly.

“You could say yes, and you could say no. Hwaoru is involved.”

“I see.”

As if he’d expected as much, Gong Cheon dipped his head slightly.

“Do you know, in concrete terms, how they are involved?”

“...Yes. In broad strokes.”

Seolhwa drew something from her robe and held it out for the two to see.

****

“Alliance Lord!”

Azure Dragon Division Lord Il Jirang burst into the command tent, voice urgent.

Namgoong Mucheon, who’d been conferring with Jegal Myeong on tactics for dealing with the Wudang Sect, looked his way.

“What is it?”

“A Daoist has come down from Mount Wudang.”

At present, the Wudang Sect had holed up at the summit of Mount Wudang, their main stronghold, facing off against the Martial Alliance.

While the Alliance had declared war and advanced, Wudang turned their mountain home into a fortress in preparation.

Try to ascend, and great boulders came rolling down over soldiers’ heads; fire arrows fell like rain.

It was obvious that time favored the Alliance—Wudang couldn’t provision if they dragged things out—yet the sect kept to their stronghold without so much as showing their heads.

And in the midst of that, a single Daoist came down the mountain.

“What condition is he in?”

“Exhausted and a bit injured, but he appears otherwise unharmed.”

“Bring him at once.”

“Yes.”

Before long, Il Jirang led the Daoist in.

He looked as though he’d rolled down the mountain—clothes torn here and there, cuts and bruises all over.

The tattered garments were the robes worn by Wudang’s first-seated disciples.

Just as Namgoong Mucheon opened his mouth to ask what had happened,

the Daoist dropped to his knees and prostrated himself on the ground.

“S-spare me...! I’ll tell you—tell you everything! Please, just protect this poor Daoist...!”

Namgoong Mucheon exchanged a brief glance with Jegal Myeong.

When Jegal Myeong nodded to Il Jirang, Il Jirang stepped out of the tent.

At once, Namgoong Mucheon’s Qi Screen enclosed the command tent.

“I have no thought of punishing you. So raise your head and speak clearly. From what do you wish me to protect you?”

Shaking, the Daoist pushed himself upright.

But he didn’t dare lift his head; his voice trembled.

“W-Wudang Sect... protect me from my own sect.... Wudang is not in its right mind.... E-everyone... is mad for pellets....”

“Pellets...?”

Jegal Myeong fetched a chair and helped the Daoist into it.

“Sit and speak slowly. I’ll have warm tea brought. Are you hungry?”

“I-I’m all right.”

Jegal Myeong seated him, then immediately placed a cup of tea in his hands.

With the warmth in his grip, the Daoist calmed a little; the tremors eased.

“Now, tell us. What in the world is happening inside the Wudang Sect?”

****

Gong Cheon and Yu Gang looked at what lay on Seolhwa’s palm.

Pellets the size of a pinky nail, wrapped in paper.

Yu Gang wrinkled his face and pinched his nose.

“It smells strange.”

“I sense a peculiar energy. Are they elixirs?”

“Both yes and no.”

Seolhwa picked up one of the pellets and continued.

“Expanding Blood Pellet. In Hwaoru, that’s what they call it.”

“Hwaoru, meaning....”

“Yes. Where that one sits as lord. If you take this pellet, your Blood Channels widen and the circulation of Blood Qi eases.”

“Then it is an elixir.”

Seolhwa shook her head.

“The problem is the ingredients used to make it. You said the smell was strange, right?”

Yu Gang nodded.

“This is a bit gross to say but... it smells like rot. Like an animal carcass going off.”

“Exactly.”

Seolhwa wrapped the Expanding Blood Pellet back in paper.

“To make this pellet, you need human blood—blood from a master who has reached at least the upper tiers, ideally beyond.”

“!”

“What? Blood?!”

“Of course, what I just showed you likely contains the blood of first- or second-rate warriors. Blood from top masters isn’t easy to come by. And in Hwaoru they call such substitutes Substitute Blood Pellets.”

Seolhwa went on to explain the side effects.

At first, because the flow of energy grew noticeably smoother, people mistook it for a true elixir, but the more they took, the more they craved blood and power, beyond restraint.

“With Substitute Blood Pellets—made without a master’s blood—the side effects are even stronger.”

In a shorter span, they drove you mad with hunger for blood and strength.

And the only way to suppress that unbearable urge was to tamp down the rampaging Blood Qi with yet another Substitute Blood Pellet.

“The Wudang Sect is currently wracked by the side effects of these Substitute Blood Pellets.”

To avoid exposing it, they showed themselves in no external dealings and lived solely on Mount Wudang.

“Addiction.”

Seeing Gong Cheon’s face grow grave, Seolhwa nodded.

“Yes. Most likely so severe it cannot be reversed.”