—WHIRRRK!

First Kill Sa Gwirang vaulted over the heads of the people who had dropped into crouches in shock at the earth-shaking tremor of the explosion. Then she immediately sprinted into an alley.

After that, she focused every shred of her mind on running.

—FWEEEET! FWEEEET!

—FWEEEET! FWEEEET!

Martial Alliance patrol guards were blowing emergency whistles from every direction, but First Kill Sa Gwirang did not care in the slightest.

Because the one who had let them into Aju County City had also prepared a retreat route.

After a while, when First Kill Sa Gwirang reached the northeast section of Aju County City’s wall, she did not hesitate. She used lightness skill and ran up, stepping on the wall.

—TATATATAT!

Just as promised, on the northwest wall there was only that person, standing far off alone. There were no other guard martial artists.

—WHIRK!

First Kill Sa Gwirang did not even give that person a glance as she leapt down from the wall.

If they had met under normal circumstances, they would have been the kind to trade blades, so it was only natural that First Kill Sa Gwirang ignored that person.

—THUD!

Landing below the wall, First Kill Sa Gwirang straightened the back she had bent deeply to reduce the shock of the plunge.

—THUNK!

In that instant, with a violent impact, Sa Gwirang saw a long object thrusting through from her back and bursting out through her chest.

‘An ink arrow...?’

Seeing a black arrow continue flying onward even after piercing straight through her chest, Sa Gwirang twisted her body around as if flipping it over.

Then, toward that person standing atop the wall holding an iron bow, she released her last breath and asked,

“...Why?”

—It is punishment for the crime of daring to commit assassin work within the Martial Alliance’s territory, so accept it gladly.

Hearing that person’s Sound Transmission, First Kill Sa Gwirang realized they had been disposable pieces for this Aju “release” operation.

—THUD!

When First Kill Sa Gwirang collapsed with a hole in her chest the size of a child’s fist, the figure on the wall vanished as if erased.

*****

Jin Cheongha, her expression worried, spoke to Hu Gae, who was standing like a stone statue in front of the inner room door of the guesthouse’s detached annex.

“Sub-Branch Master, please rest for a bit.”

Hu Gae shook his head.

“Jin sister, I’m fine.”

“You haven’t closed your eyes even once for two days. If you collapse like that—”

“This beggar’s stamina is the best in the Beggar Clan, so don’t worry about that. When I was young, I ran seven days and nights without rest and was still fine.”

It was a line with some exaggeration mixed in, but Hu Gae had confidence in his stamina more than anyone.

“Then at least eat something. No matter how good your stamina is, if you keep your stomach empty for too long, won’t your body be damaged?”

During these two days of standing guard at the inner room door, Hu Gae had only drunk water.

Even that, only in tiny sips—just enough to wet his throat.

Jin Cheongha knew Hu Gae was worried about having to leave his post for bodily needs, so she had not urged him to eat.

But as that time stretched into a second day, she couldn’t help but worry.

“I think I could stand guard for an hour or two. Of course, it won’t be enough to satisfy you, but...”

Jin Cheongha couldn’t say outright that she knew it was because he didn’t trust her, so she spoke in a roundabout way.

In truth, even she thought it herself—she wasn’t in a position to expect trust from Hu Gae.

If one were ambushed while circulating qi and practicing internal arts, there was no defense. You absolutely needed a guard you could trust.

But to the two of them, she was only someone who had traveled with them for a few days at most.

And she was even hiding her true status from Hu Gae.

In that situation, she couldn’t talk about trust. Her face reddened on its own.

“Jin sister.”

When Jin Cheongha lowered her head to hide her reddened face, Hu Gae quietly called her.

“It’s not that I don’t trust Jin sister, so I’m not handing you the guard duty.”

“...?”

“If Jin sister hadn’t warned us of the danger by Sound Transmission then, the two of us wouldn’t be alive.”

Just from the aftermath of that explosion, doors and window frames had been ripped off buildings on the main road, and roof tiles had shattered and fallen—so Hu Gae’s words weren’t wrong.

And later, when they learned the terrifying true nature of the blue flames that came after the blast, it felt even more so.

If not for Kwak Yeon’s action without a moment’s hesitation, the two of them would have turned to a handful of ash together with the hundreds of people packed on the main road.

“While Kwak brother is suffering like that because of it, how could I, as his sworn elder brother, be sitting comfortably?”

“Ah...!”

“In any case, until Kwak brother finishes circulating qi and comes out, I’ll keep this post. So Jin sister, don’t feel sorry, and—”

“Brother, how can you say something like that to make this younger brother feel wronged?”

—CLACK!

The inner room door of the annex opened, and the moment Kwak Yeon stepped out and spoke, Hu Gae jolted in surprise.

“...Kwak brother!”

“Taoist Kwak...!”

Kwak Yeon, toward Jin Cheongha who was looking at him with startled, delighted eyes, gave a respectful clasped-hands bow.

“I only just heard now that Miss Jin tipped us off about that forbidden weapon. I sincerely thank you.”

Jin Cheongha hurriedly waved both hands.

“I only did what was natural, so please withdraw that thanks.”

Kwak Yeon shook his head firmly.

“Even if it was natural, there is no doubt I received help. So please do not refuse—accept my thanks. This Kwak will not forget Miss Jin’s life-saving kindness.”

At Kwak Yeon’s grave words and manner, Jin Cheongha accepted his thanks with a clasped-hands bow.

“I’ll accept it because I can’t reject Taoist Kwak’s goodwill outright. But I absolutely refuse for you to force a burden onto yourself.”

It meant she would never accept him forcing himself to repay a debt of gratitude.

Hu Gae watched the two of them bow to each other with a pleased expression.

‘They really are a well-matched pair.’

When an awkward silence flowed between the two after the bows ended, Hu Gae, trying to change the mood, hurriedly asked Kwak Yeon,

“Kwak brother, what did this elder brother do wrong that you said you felt wronged?”

At Hu Gae’s question, Kwak Yeon formed a light smile at the corner of his mouth and asked back,

“Didn’t you speak as if I were some dying sick man, when I’m perfectly fine? Saying I was suffering like I was dying.”

“That was because I was worried about you—”

As he tried to turn the words aside, Hu Gae suddenly barked,

“Hey! Honestly, your condition back then was a corpse. Blood was pouring from your eyes, your nose, and both your ears, and you vomited a whole bowl of blood from your mouth!”

“It’s true that I was temporarily struggling then. But I didn’t suffer any special internal injury, did I?”

“Well, yes, but...”

Hu Gae had no choice but to nod at Kwak Yeon’s question.

At the time, Kwak Yeon had looked like it wouldn’t have been strange for his breath to stop at any moment.

Hu Gae had run to support him and tried to immediately pour his own inner power true qi into him by transmitting power through the body, but Kwak Yeon had stubbornly refused.

“Brother, I’m fine, so conserve your qi. And for me right now, another person’s inner power true qi is more harmful than extreme poison.”

Back then, Hu Gae saw that Kwak Yeon’s breathing was even, and that a clear, bright light was flashing in his eyes, and realized he was in the Bright-Clear State.

Originally, the Bright-Clear State meant emptying oneself completely—a level of meditative absorption.

In martial learning, it referred to a state where the lower dantian became temporarily empty right before ascending to the next stage.

Hu Gae had only heard there were cases like that.

The Bright-Clear State was something you could only hope for after becoming a master at or above the Transformation Realm, and he had learned that even those masters needed heaven’s luck to fall into it.

Realizing Kwak Yeon had gained the fateful opportunity of the Bright-Clear State, Hu Gae immediately carried him and found a guesthouse.

Then he rented the entire annex and put him into an inner room sealed on all sides.

It was because he knew the next few days were extremely important for Kwak Yeon in the Bright-Clear State.

Normally, you would have to enter a sealed training retreat in a place like a hidden cave no one could approach, but because the surrounding situation didn’t allow it, he had improvised like that.

Instead, Hu Gae planted himself in front of the inner room door and volunteered as the guard for the sealed retreat training.

To Jin Cheongha, it had looked like Hu Gae was standing guard while Kwak Yeon circulated qi and practiced internal arts because he had suffered internal injuries.

Seeing Hu Gae nod with a troubled expression at his question, Kwak Yeon smiled and said,

“Brother, don’t keep that in mind anymore. Honestly, I only said it because you seemed overly anxious.”

It was a reproach: why would you skip meals and not sleep while guarding someone perfectly fine, only to make me feel sorry?

How could Hu Gae not know that deeper meaning?

“Hey, the world—nobody knows what’s one inch ahead. So—”

It was the moment Hu Gae, his chest feeling clogged, grumbled—

Kwak Yeon bowed deeply at the waist.

“...?”

Hu Gae, dumbfounded, asked,

“What kind of bow is that all of a sudden?”

“Thinking back, this younger brother has never properly offered you formal bowing rites. It’s late, but I will offer the rites of a sworn younger brother.”

“...!”

If it were Hu Gae as usual, he would have called it pointless formality and turned away.

Kwak Yeon bowed deeply again.

“I swear before heaven and earth that the bond of sworn brotherhood will be as long as heaven and as enduring as earth.”

“As long as heaven and as enduring as earth” was a maxim from the Dao De Jing—a vow that it would not change until the sky dried up and the earth wore away.

Kwak Yeon folded at the waist a third time and said,

“Brother... thank you.”

This time, Kwak Yeon could not easily straighten his bent back.

“You—are you crazy?!”

That shout of his sworn elder brother, screamed until his throat burst, was still ringing in his ears.

For a martial artist, inner power true qi was life itself—yet his sworn elder brother had tried to transmit it to him without a speck of hesitation.

At that blazing heart, all the Honwonmusang qi throughout Kwak Yeon’s body had resonated.

And his sworn elder brother had even refused to drink more than a mouthful of water because he didn’t want to leave the sealed retreat room he was guarding.

“H-Hehm.”

Hu Gae looked up at the ceiling for no reason, cleared his throat, and said,

“Then younger brother will receive this elder brother’s return bow.”

When Kwak Yeon barely straightened, Hu Gae bent at the waist once and returned the bow.

“I’ll become a sworn elder brother who is not lacking to you.”

Watching the two men exchange the rites of sworn brotherhood, Jin Cheongha’s chest burned hot.

It was an emotion she couldn’t put into words.

Even so, there was one fact she could understand.

That she was watching, right now, the scene of the hottest and most unshakable sworn brothers of their age.

‘If it’s these people... could I trust them?’

That thought suddenly rose, but Jin Cheongha immediately shook her head.

Her father’s voice—telling her to trust no one—came to mind.

“Kwak brother, by the way, what results did you get from the sealed retreat training?”

Thanks to Hu Gae’s question, Jin Cheongha was able to slip out of her turmoil at once.

She had been wondering about Taoist Kwak’s condition too.