"How did you come to serve the Mount Hua Sect?"

At some point, Namgoong Mucheon had once asked No Un that question.

Mucheon, who was born into the Namgoong Clan, given the Namgoong name, and naturally raised to bear the responsibilities of the family as its successor, could not comprehend it.

Martial artists who could stake even their lives for a sect to which they shared no blood ties.

Even though the question bordered on rudeness, No Un had let out a gentle laugh and answered.

"Mount Hua is everything to me. In some ways, I dare say it is more precious than my own self."

"How could that be?"

"I do not quite know either. It simply... turned out that way."

Wu wei zi ran. So it was natural non-action, was it?

Was even the act of choosing the sect to which he would devote his life something that simply came to be?

"I truly cannot understand what those so-called Daoist sages say."

"Hahaha. Is there any need to understand? It simply became so, and because of that, I am of Mount Hua."

"...So it has."

It was only as he grew older that Mucheon came to understand those words.

Born a man of Namgoong, and living naturally for Namgoong, Mucheon at some point realized that Namgoong had become his everything.

His purpose, his reason, his life itself.

He did not know when he had come to love his clan so dearly. It had simply turned out that way as he lived.

No Un must have been the same.

That was why Mucheon could understand just how deeply No Un loved Mount Hua.

"Is it not your Mount Hua? The Mount Hua that you love so dearly. Then, should you not save it?"

"..."

"Clear your head. Rather than wasting time in self-reproach, think only of how to recover from this."

Your Mount Hua.

Those words snapped No Un back to his senses.

Once more, he saw the faces of Yu Pyo and Yu Gang—his disciples.

Yu Gang’s face, looking to him alone with anxious eyes, came into view.

Seeing that, his chest turned cold.

Yes. This Mount Hua was his Mount Hua. The house to which he had devoted his life, his past, his very existence.

He was the Sect Leader of Mount Hua.

Before I became Sect Leader, what kind of person was the Sect Leader to me? What kind of figure did I see in them?

That back he so revered, the back he leaned on, came to mind.

It was the back that had borne all the burdens, hardships, and glories of Mount Hua.

Watching that towering back, he too had wanted to become such a presence for Mount Hua and its countless disciples.

If I collapse, Mount Hua will lose its center.

So he had to gather himself. As the Sword Emperor had said, there was no time for self-pity.

“Hu...”

No Un’s expression gradually settled. He was already a composed man, but now, he completely calmed the emotions that had been shaken by the sudden situation.

His expression grew firmer.

“I, the Sect Leader of Mount Hua, ask this of the Lord of the Namgoong Clan.”

No Un offered Mucheon a formal martial salute.

“Please tell us everything you know. And please help Mount Hua.”

Mucheon reached out and lowered the hands he had clasped tightly.

No Un lifted his gaze and looked at him.

“Do not worry. That is why I came.”

“...Thank you.”

“Then, let us find a way forward.”

****

Having returned to the tent, the group began their discussion in earnest.

The signs of hypnosis could no longer be detected in the now-awake Yu Pyo, and upon hearing the explanation, he appeared confused.

With Yu Pyo now awakened, the three members of Mount Hua formally expressed their gratitude to the Namgoong Clan.

“Had it not been for the Namgoong Clan, Mount Hua would have been destroyed without even knowing what had happened. We are deeply grateful for your help.”

At No Un’s words, Yu Pyo and Yu Gang bowed their heads. After a brief greeting, Yu Pyo asked,

“May I ask how you came to know that the disciples were under hypnosis?”

“My granddaughter told me.”

Everyone’s gaze turned to Seolhwa.

Silently listening to the exchange, Seolhwa gave a nod.

“I heard about it at the place I was staying before returning to the Namgoong Clan. I cannot tell you how I came to know.”

It was a somewhat unkind answer, but No Un accepted it.

They were in no position to press for difficult answers while receiving help.

“You have helped us many times. Thank you.”

“It is nothing. I only did what had to be done.”

Had Mount Hua been annihilated, it would have been a significant loss—she had simply prevented that.

“More importantly, as you saw with Yu Pyo’s seal, the hypnosis technique placed upon the Mount Hua disciples is not some simple mesmerism. To fully control the mind of a martial artist requires long-term exposure and repeated incantations.”

“Meaning...”

“It means the one who performed the hypnosis is someone within the Mount Hua Sect.”

No Un’s expression grew grave.

He had suspected as much, having been completely unaware of the hypnosis’s presence.

One trusted so deeply, he had not even thought to doubt them.

“And to overpower someone’s will through sorcery, the user must possess internal energy stronger than the target.”

“You mean among the elders or the senior figures.”

Even the Sect Leader, No Un, had fallen victim to hypnosis, so it had to be someone of even higher cultivation—his senior brothers or the older generation.

“And it would have to be someone with frequent contact with the disciples, so most likely...”

“...Among the elders... the chances are high.”

Because they were the ones he trusted most, the despair was even greater.

One by one, the faces of his senior brothers flashed through No Un’s mind.

The more clearly their images surfaced, the more he could not believe it.

“We have walked together for an entire cycle of sixty years. I cannot even fathom who among them... or why they would commit such an act.”

“If we are lucky, perhaps... it is not them.”

"I wish that were true... but I know well how unlikely that is."

If the hypnosis had been cast even on himself, it had to be someone who knew him well.

It was bitter—but he could no longer remain trapped in that bitterness.

No Un raised his gaze, now firm. Determination glimmered in his eyes.

"I will take responsibility."

"Take responsibility?"

"You said traces of hypnosis may still linger within me. Then I will drink the poison again. That will cause the boils to reappear on my body."

Namgoong Mucheon furrowed his brow.

"And what does that achieve?"

"You said it yourself, Sword Emperor. That the hypnotized disciples of Mount Hua must be scattered."

"I did say that."

"Then I will show myself before them all."

He would reveal the condition he had hidden for two years before everyone’s eyes.

"Please say that the medicinal herb needed to cure my illness exists in Mount Hua."

"Ah."

Only then did everyone present understand No Un’s intent.

A herb that could cure the illness of Mount Hua’s Sect Leader.

If such a herb were said to be in Mount Hua, would the disciples not scatter far and wide, searching with desperate eyes?

"If they disperse in that way, it will become easier to find and isolate the ones under hypnosis."

Breaking the hypnosis was a different problem altogether—but first, they had to prevent them from ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ turning on each other.

Namgoong Mucheon stroked his chin and nodded.

"Certainly... not a bad plan."

If they spread into the mountains and split into sectors, even if the spies from the Blood Demon Cult realized it late, responding would not be easy.

However—

"...Will you be all right?"

If that method were used, No Un’s sacrifice as Sect Leader would be unavoidable.

He had only just escaped the pain—and had been so relieved. Now he would willingly throw himself back into it?

A gentle smile spread across No Un’s face.

"Am I not the Sect Leader of Mount Hua?"

If it was something that could save Mount Hua, then there was nothing he could not do.

"I am simply grateful that I still have the chance to devote everything to the house I serve."

Not a stagnant, rotting pool of water—but a stream still flowing fresh and strong.

So long as that flow might pass on a clearer influence to his disciples—

"Boils, of all things. I can endure far more than that."

Watching him laugh softly, a bitter smile crept onto Namgoong Mucheon’s lips.

****

Yunnan Province, Kunming

"That is Hwaoru."

Seop Mugwang stood atop a high hill, gazing down at the lake in Kunming below.

In the middle of the midnight lake, a lavish pleasure pavilion towered, its grandeur lit up by lights strung along five branching causeways leading to it.

So that brat was the little pavilion master of a place like that?

He had thought it would be a minor establishment—after all, they said they made a thirteen-year-old its master.

"Disgustingly extravagant."

That extravagance hid filth and cruelty beneath its surface.

And within that place...

"Should we not visit the Yunnan branch of the Beggars’ Union first?"

The White Dragon Division Chief asked Seop Mugwang.

Staring down at Hwaoru, Seop Mugwang turned toward him and shook his head.

"The Beggars’ Union cannot be trusted."

His subordinates had certainly made contact with the union multiple times—sharing what information they had about Hwaoru.

And yet, despite having monitored Hwaoru longer than the Bipung Division, the Beggars’ Union had provided no useful intel—nor even warned them when the Bipung Division was walking into danger.

So much for being allies of the orthodox sects.

"Still, I suppose we must meet with them."

If they were hiding something, he had to find out what.

"I will go to the Beggars’ Union alone."

"But, Division Commander... it is dangerous to go alone..."

"You have a different task."

"A task?"

Was it not his job to investigate Hwaoru and rescue the remaining Bipung members?

Seop Mugwang looked at the White Dragon Division Chief and let out a brief snort of laughter.

"Take a trip to Shaanxi. I forgot something I need to retrieve from the Clan Head."

"Is it something urgent?"

Seop Mugwang nodded.

"Yes. Without it, we cannot wipe out those bastards."

Once more, his gaze returned to Hwaoru.

Through the wide-open windows of the pleasure pavilion, the sounds of indulgence and revelry seemed to drift up to where he stood, carried on the night air.