“Go to Hunan Province.”

Late in the evening, summoned by the Chief Division Lord, Seop Mugwang, Yu Gang froze at his abrupt order.

“...You mean... now, sir?”

“Yes.”

“Why...?”

Tomorrow was the day of the Dragon & Phoenix Gathering.

At last, the day he would be able to see Seolhwa.

The day he had waited for with his neck stretched out, aching for it to come...

“You told me to take command of the Gathering’s patrol.”

“I intended to. But given the allocation, it’s hard for you to attend the Gathering, so kill two birds with one stone. However...”

Knowing nothing of Yu Gang’s heart, Seop Mugwang pressed his throbbing brow as if weary.

“The Flesh Curtain’s movements are strange. We’ve received intelligence that assassins are gathering south of Hunan Province. The other division lords already have assignments, so I need you to go.”

Yu Gang’s mouth parted slightly.

Attendance at the Gathering was determined by allocation, so while the Mounted Pursuit Corps members couldn’t all go, Yu Gang—Ouyang Do’s direct disciple—shouldn’t have been barred.

Instead, the Alliance Lord, Namgoong Mucheon, had arranged for him to fit in naturally as the de facto patrol chief of the Gathering.

And so Yu Gang, like the others, had been waiting with keen anticipation for the Gathering... yet—

“...Understood.”

But as the Mounted Pursuit Chief of the Martial Alliance, it was only natural that Alliance business came first.

Yu Gang quickly gathered up his lingering attachment.

“But why Hunan, specifically...?”

“They say the Sado Union’s base is there.”

“!”

The Sado Union’s base was unknown.

With the Hao Sect entrenched so deeply across the Central Plains, where the base was mattered less.

For talk of the Sado Union’s base to surface now meant the order came from someone who knew where it was.

From the way he spoke, the Chief Division Lord didn’t know Seolhwa was the Sado Union Lord. In that case...

‘Did the Alliance Lord give the order?’

Or... could it be Seolhwa...?

“It seems something is brewing between the Flesh Curtain and the Sado Union. Go learn what it is.”

Yu Gang’s expression stiffened faintly.

If it involved the Sado Union, then this was for Seolhwa’s sake.

To reveal the Sado Union’s base and give this order—this meant it was that important.

“Understood. Anything in particular I should keep in mind?”

“There’s no need to go out of your way to hide that you’re from the Martial Alliance.”

“You mean...”

“Make it clear the Martial Alliance is watching them.”

An implicit warning regarding matters between the Flesh Curtain and the Sado Union—that if anything happened, the Martial Alliance would not sit idle.

The mere presence of the Alliance standing firm would keep the two forces from rampaging easily.

“Feel out the mood for a day or two, then head straight to the Gathering site. You should be able to take part for a few days.”

“Yes, understood.”

Seop Mugwang patted Yu Gang’s shoulder—thunk, thunk.

At that faintly hopeful note, Yu Gang steadied his heart anew.

‘Right. It’s only waiting a few more days.’

If he handled the task entrusted to him, he could return to the Gathering and meet Seolhwa.

Fortunately, Hunan and Hubei weren’t far, so at most it would be four days.

The Gathering would run a full seven days, so even if he was late, there was time to spare.

‘Because it’s Seolhwa’s matter.’

Handle it cleanly and come back.

Then she would surely be all the happier to see him.

He’d make it so he could return as quickly as possible...

“I’ll depart at once.”

****

Martial Alliance, Chief Division Lord’s office.

Flap, flap.

Thin pages flicked rapidly beneath Seop Mugwang’s hand.

Seolhwa, staring dourly at the booklet already half-finished in a blink, knit her brows.

On the day before the Gathering opened, having arrived at the Alliance a day early, she was having the manual she had completed during reflection reviewed.

“Are you actually reading that properly?”

Without lifting his eyes from the booklet, Seop Mugwang kept flipping pages and replied,

“What do you take me for? I’ll have you know I’m a man who’s read a line or two.”

“You, Master?”

“This impudent disciple doesn’t trust her master... And you expect my words to go into those ears of yours?”

“I do trust you.”

Yet Seolhwa’s expression remained sulky.

One hand turned pages; the other propped his chin as his toes wiggled—not a look that inspired confidence.

‘It’s my first manual.’

Couldn’t he read it a bit more seriously?

It wasn’t as if there were few words.

In case he didn’t follow, she’d added detailed explanations.

There was no way one could read that many characters this quickly—he was obviously skimming.

As her eyes narrowed with that reasonable suspicion—

“Well, it’s excellent.”

Seop Mugwang, having at last turned the final page, shut the booklet with a sharp thwap and nodded.

“The content is very good. You’ve explained it so even warriors with shallow knowledge could fully understand.”

At his praise, Seolhwa couldn’t hide the way her spirits lifted inside.

“Right? I think I made it well, too.”

“However.”

However?

“It seems you’ve written a few parts wrong.”

He flipped back—flap, flap.

“Here, this should be the character for ‘together,’ not the one for ‘movement.’ It means move the left and right feet together.”

“Ah...”

Seolhwa leaned in to see the place he indicated.

“You’re right.”

Why had she made that mistake?

“And here, as well.”

Flap, flap—

And after that, flap.

Seop Mugwang pinpointed three errors, exactly.

They were, indeed, the kind of mistakes one would only catch by truly digesting the content.

“...”

Seolhwa stared, dazed, as he closed the booklet.

Seop Mugwang arched a brow.

“You didn’t trust me, did you?”

“I said I did.”

“Then why the eyes?”

“It’s just... unexpected.”

So it hadn’t been empty talk when he said he read a lot.

“You brat. That means you didn’t trust me!”

He flicked her on the forehead—tok.

“Ow.”

Rubbing her stinging forehead, Seolhwa straightened.

“By the way, you said the Mounted Pursuit Chief isn’t in the Alliance right now?”

“Right.”

Seop Mugwang nodded offhandedly.

“He had business in Hunan. The lad looked downright crestfallen. From what I hear, he grew quite close with the fellow participants from the tournament—he’d be disappointed to miss them.”

“I see.”

At the news that Yu Gang had left, a faint shade of disappointment crossed Seolhwa’s face.

Since Seop Mugwang had been watching her blunt emotions since she was small, there was no way he’d miss that subtle change.

‘Hmm...’

His eyes narrowed.

“You’re quite taken with that lad, aren’t you?”

“Out of nowhere...?”

“You’re unsettled.”

“I am...?”

“Yes.”

Bewildered, Seolhwa touched her lips.

‘Unsettled?’

I was unsettled?

Why...?

“You came a day early and now you’re sulking you can’t see him, aren’t you?”

“That’s not why I came early.”

“Then why come a day early? Even going so far as to borrow a room at the Martial Alliance.”

“I wanted to show you my manual...”

“You had chances before.”

“...”

Her brows knit faintly.

Did I?

If she thought about it, there had been days earlier when she could have shown him the manual.

During her reflection, Seop Mugwang had visited several times, and because of Chor Yeon she had often gone home as well.

Then why...

‘Did I want to show it to him?’

Watching her grow confused, Seop Mugwang’s lips curled in a sly grin.

“There aren’t many who can stir a block of wood like you. Moving Heaven’s heart would be easier than moving yours.”

“...”

“And a lad who could move you...”

Tapping his cheek with the hand propping his chin, Seop Mugwang pictured Yu Gang.

“He’s rather interesting, too.”

Leaving Mount Hua to become Ouyang Do’s disciple was interesting enough on its own.

A cheeky disciple and an interesting subordinate—

Thinking of the {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} pair, Seop Mugwang chuckled.

“You impish thing.”

He mussed Seolhwa’s hair.

A little kid who hadn’t known how to cry or laugh had grown up and learned what it was to like someone.

Her awkwardness was endearing and lovely, and he ruffled her hair all the more.

“Stop that. You’re tangling it.”

“Fine, fine.”

The hand that had tousled now patted her hair—tap, tap—rough, but gentler than at any other time.

His laughter flowed pleasantly through the room.

****

The site of the Dragon & Phoenix Gathering was East Lake, south of Wuhan in Hubei, where the Martial Alliance was based.

It lay not far from the Alliance’s headquarters, and, with the beautiful lake as a backdrop, was a fitting place to exchange learning and conversation.

Strategist Jegal Myeong personally oversaw security for the venue, and the combat corps strengthened patrols to a level on par with the tournament.

“Woong, little brother!”

A stentorian voice rang through the grounds.

Just arrived and being shown to his lodging, Woong turned with a bright face.

“Brother Peng. You’re here.”

Approaching with a hearty laugh were the Peng Clan’s burly three siblings—

Peng Hogwang, Peng Chifeng, and Peng Mirang.

“Was the road difficult?”

“What’s difficult about it! I ran here thrilled to see you, little brother! Hahaha!”

“You were excited to see Seolhwa, not Young Lord Woong.”

“W-what!”

While Hogwang and Mirang squabbled with sharp yelps, Woong met Chifeng’s eyes and laughed.

Of the three, the quieter Chifeng asked Woong,

“But did Lady Namgoong not come with you?”

“Ah, my sister set out a day early...”

Just then, Woong’s gaze shifted past the three siblings to a distant spot behind them.

The corners of his lips lifted.

“Speak of the devil—there she is.”

All at once, the party turned to look back.

Just then, having shown her credentials to the combat corps and stepped into the grounds, Seolhwa, caught by the gathering attention, paused and tilted her head.