“It is not a large quantity, but it will be enough to check all of Mount Hua’s disciples. I have prepared it under the Martial Hall Head’s supervision.”

Namgoong Mugang, who had rushed to Mount Hua with the remaining warriors of the Namgoong Clan after receiving a carrier pigeon from Namgoong Mucheon, immediately assisted Choryeon in preparing the poison sample upon arrival.

He had brought medical hall members from the clan, sourced necessary ingredients without delay, and followed Choryeon’s instructions precisely in the process of producing the poison sample.

That support from the clan had certainly helped, but the real reason they had been able to complete it so quickly was because Choryeon had thrown herself entirely into analyzing the poison, without rest, night or day.

Though she tried not to show it outwardly, the unusually serious demeanor—free of her usual teasing—told Seolhwa just how anxious she was.

“You said you would divide it into sets, right? For now, the poison has been portioned according to our group’s headcount. Its small volume should make it easy to conceal.”

Choryeon seemed eager to resolve the Mount Hua matter as soon as possible.

It appeared she believed that only by finishing things here could she then go to assist Seop Mugwang.

Seolhwa looked down at the corpse.

“...”

She understood Choryeon’s impatience.

She, too, was worried—worried that Seop Mugwang might give up on himself entirely.

But that did not mean they could overlook the smallest details.

The Blood Cult were precisely the kind of people who exploited such gaps.

“Just a moment.”

Seolhwa flipped the corpse’s right hand so the palm faced upward.

When she fully spread the fingers, a wound became visible—something that had been hidden by the blackened skin.

Then, she slightly lifted the corpse’s lip, revealing the teeth to everyone.

“The wound on the palm is evidence that he had been clenching something tightly. And if you look closely at the surface of the teeth, it is worn down. Also...”

She raised the corpse’s arm, examining it in various places before pointing to a specific spot.

“There is a fractured bone here. This is something we often see when someone’s body hardens from Go Hyeoldok and someone tries to forcibly alter their posture afterward. Do you understand what that means?”

Choryeon’s face turned crimson with embarrassment.

Blinded by her rush to resolve the situation quickly, she had overlooked something any medical professional should have caught.

Seolhwa turned to Namgoong Mucheon and No Un.

“This child was indeed an infiltrator—but he did not take the poison himself. It is more likely that he was forced to take it under threat.”

Then she gestured to the extracted molar.

“The poison usually stored in an infiltrator’s molar is one that kills instantly—not something like Go Hyeoldok, which brings slow, drawn-out death.”

In other words, someone had removed the poison hidden in his molar, then made him bite down and swallow Go Hyeoldok using the same tooth.

To make it look as though Myeong had chosen death of his own will.

‘And then they made sure he was holding a peony.’

Only those close to the Blood Demon within Hwaoru would know that Ilhwa—One Flower—referred to a peony.

This meant that at least one of the Blood Lords, or possibly someone from the Twelve Moons, was involved.

Now the situation finally made sense.

The reason Seolhwa had never heard the name “Myeong” in ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) her past life was because he had died before the massacre at Mount Hua.

The reason was unknown.

Perhaps his identity had been discovered, or he had refused to fulfill his role as an infiltrator—or he had simply failed to carry it out properly.

‘The use of Go Hyeoldok suggests it was a punishment.’

That poison was more akin to a “sentence” than an escape method.

But the difference this time was that he had died immediately after she arrived at Mount Hua.

In other words, his death had been used as a message directed at her.

A warning that said: “You may have rampaged freely in Namgoong territory, but Mount Hua will not be the same.”

‘How ridiculous.’

Seolhwa scoffed at them.

She was furious at those who had committed murder so brazenly, just to make a point.

Those arrogant enough to believe they held everything in the palm of their hand.

‘This time, without fail...’

Things will not go according to your plans.

Seolhwa raised her gaze to Namgoong Mucheon. Then to No Un.

“Tomorrow night, we will carry out the operation.”

Preparations were complete.

It was time to destroy the dam they had so painstakingly built.

No Un reacted in alarm and hastily objected.

“Did you not just say this child had been murdered?”

“Yes.”

“And even so, you wish to scatter the children across the mountain? What if whoever killed this child targets the others as well?”

At No Un’s words, Seolhwa realized something else.

‘A child of Mount Hua died within Mount Hua.’

So long as the killer remained unidentified, Mount Hua would surely restrict the disciples’ movements.

‘They will need all the disciples gathered in one place to hypnotize them at once.’

That meant this death was one of the Blood Cult’s preparatory steps to destroy Mount Hua.

“That is exactly what they want.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Seolhwa laid out her reasoning for them.

The scheme behind Hwaoru’s plan, the intention embedded in Myeong’s death.

All of it was just conjecture—but she had not spent her previous life as the Blood Cult’s heir doing nothing.

“To use the corpse as bait to keep the disciples gathered inside Mount Hua... it makes sense.”

Namgoong Mucheon nodded in agreement.

But No Un still looked unsettled.

“Then is it not all the more dangerous to send them off into the mountains? What if they are picked off again and used as a warning...”

“Sect Leader.”

“....”

“I am sorry, but there is no solution that saves everyone.”

No Un’s eyes, visible between the uneven swellings on his face, wavered.

“Either everyone dies, or some survive. Our goal is to save as many as we can.”

This time, it was going to be dangerous.

There was no way to predict how the Blood Cult would move. And just as No Un feared, weaker children might be targeted in an ambush.

But unless the hypnosis technique was eliminated—even at the cost of such casualties—everyone would die.

There was no option in which all could be saved this time.

“Hiding within Mount Hua does not mean they are safe. After all, whoever killed this child is most likely still inside Mount Hua.”

Even a second-generation disciple of Mount Hua could kill a child who had not even learned martial arts.

So the person who had driven Myeong to his death was more likely someone from within Mount Hua than from the outside.

Even if not the killer, there were plenty of infiltrators still hiding within Mount Hua.

“As long as they are watching us, the longer we delay, the greater the disadvantage is ours.”

Seolhwa turned to look at No Un.

Her gaze asked, What will you do?

No Un could not meet her eyes directly.

As Sect Leader—one tasked with protecting all the children of Mount Hua—there was no answer he could give now that would be honorable.

“At dawn tomorrow, I will appear before the disciples.”

****

Late that night, Seolhwa returned to the guest quarters with Namgoong Mucheon.

As she walked, holding his hand, a cold shiver crawled through her body.

Her skin tingled, her nerves stood on edge.

In her past life, the last time she had felt this way had been the night before the war against the Namgoong Clan.

She had spent so many years yearning only for the destruction of Namgoong, and even though she had not known how to feel emotions back then, the sensation of that day had remained vivid.

Now she understood what that feeling was.

Fear. Anxiety.

And anticipation.

Perhaps because she believed that tomorrow would become a major turning point in the Blood Cult’s fate.

She could not stop the surge of tremors that kept crawling up her spine.

“There is someone here.”

Namgoong Mucheon stopped walking.

At the same time, Seolhwa also sensed someone’s presence near the entrance to the guest quarters.

Just below the steps, curled within the shadows, someone was crouching.

“It is that boy.”

Namgoong Mucheon recognized him.

After taking a few steps closer, Seolhwa recognized him as well.

“Little Head Disciple.”

The crouched figure lifted his head.

It was Yu Gang.

“There is much to do, so I shall go on ahead.”

“Yes, Grandfather.”

Namgoong Mucheon decided to visit Namgoong Mugang in person rather than send another carrier pigeon.

Before executing the plan, he wished to discuss movements and force deployment directly.

He walked toward the stairs.

As he passed Yu Gang, he gave the boy’s shoulder a firm pat, then continued up the steps and entered the guest house.

Seolhwa approached Yu Gang.

Because his head was bowed low, she could not clearly see his face.

“Sorry for coming so late.”

He opened his mouth with an apology.

It did not seem that he was crying.

“You... I thought you might know. I just... wanted to understand properly.”

While they had been examining the body in the Medicine Pavilion, word of Myeong’s death had spread among Mount Hua’s disciples.

“Why he was an infiltrator... why he had to die... I cannot understand it. I know it’s rude to come this late, but I just...”

“You.”

“....”

“You needed a family, didn’t you?”

Yu Gang slowly lifted his head.

He was not grieving.

“You thought of Mount Hua—and your martial brothers—as family, didn’t you?”

He was angry.

Just like that man had been in her past life.

...

Seolhwa looked down at Yu Gang’s clenched fists, shaking faintly.

At first, because he laughed and cried easily, she had thought he was someone who was used to emotions.

She had thought he was someone who expressed his feelings freely.

But now, she understood.

This man is like me.

He does not know emotions. Or family. Or love. Or joy.

All the basics—he lacks them.

Unlike herself, who struggled to even recognize her own emotions, he was someone skilled at hiding and fabricating his.

A person made entirely of absence. Just like her.

And if one only stayed near him long enough, it became easy to tell—

He was someone who fumbled through everything.

Looking at him, Seolhwa spoke.

“That child... did not betray Mount Hua.”