Mo Yonggun did not panic.

“What do you mean by that? Venerable Gonggong?”

Tang Gwan only kept staring at him in silence.

His air was completely different from usual. He had always been sharp and vicious by nature, but right now he looked ready to settle things with life and death.

Daoist Yonghwa cleared his throat.

“Clan Lord Tang. I do not know what this is about, but why not sit down first and speak?”

Deung Cheongyo nodded as well.

“That would be best. And rein in that presence of yours. At this rate, poison qi might end up mixed into the food.”

Tang Gwan laughed coldly.

“If I had come here intending to poison the food, the lot of you would already be dead before you even noticed.”

Deung Cheongyo frowned.

“That is going too far.”

“I have words to exchange with Clan Lord Mo Yong. Third parties have no place in it.”

“Clan Lord Tang!”

At that moment, Mo Yonggun raised a hand.

“Calm yourselves.”

Deung Cheongyo glared at Tang Gwan without a word, while Daoist Yonghwa looked far more relaxed than expected.

Mo Yonggun looked at Tang Gwan and said, “You seemed the sort to dislike gatherings like this, so I did not speak to you separately. I doubt you would feel slighted over something so trivial, but I would rather there be no misunderstanding.”

“I have no interest in this kind of gathering. I’ll ask again. Venerable Gonggong—”

“You asked whether I am targeting Venerable Gonggong?”

“That’s right.”

Mo Yonggun smiled.

“Did I not say before that Venerable Gonggong is not someone who can be touched carelessly? That even with sufficient preparation, there is no certainty of bringing him down.”

“I’ll ask again.”

Tang Gwan’s eyes turned cold.

“Are you targeting Venerable Gonggong?”

Mo Yonggun’s expression stiffened slightly as well.

“Why are you suddenly asking that?”

“I am not asking a question. I am demanding an answer.”

Even for Mo Yonggun, who knew Tang Gwan’s temperament well, this was not something easy to brush aside.

If it were a private exchange between the two of them, that would be one thing. But there were two pairs of eyes watching. And Daoist Yonghwa and Deung Cheongyo were much more calculating and ruthless than they appeared.

This was not a situation where he could afford to show weakness. Mo Yonggun’s voice dropped lower.

“I believe I have shown you more than enough respect. In some ways, more than the two gentlemen sitting here. That is not because I fear you, but because I know your temperament.”

“So your answer?”

“But if you keep coming at me like this, that becomes difficult. I ask that you understand my patience, too, has limits.”

Tang Gwan laughed coldly.

“The more you keep dodging the question, the more it seems you really are targeting Venerable Gonggong.”

“Clan Lord Tang.”

“To be honest, I do not care what you do. You and I never interfered in each other’s affairs. But if you mean to use me not as an ally, but as a piece on the board, then that is a different matter.”

For an instant, Mo Yonggun frowned.

A piece on the board?

Daoist Yonghwa and Deung Cheongyo looked ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) at Mo Yonggun in puzzlement.

“What is this supposed to mean? A piece?”

Mo Yonggun looked steadily at Tang Gwan, then asked as if tossing out the words.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

Tang Gwan pulled a handkerchief from his clothes and threw it onto the ground.

“What is this?”

“What does it look like? A handkerchief.”

“What in the world—”

“There is Pure-Shade Poison on that handkerchief. One of my clan’s secret poisons.”

At once, Daoist Yonghwa and Deung Cheongyo instinctively drew up their internal force.

Mo Yonggun did not. He merely looked at Tang Gwan with clear eyes.

Tang Gwan’s face twisted.

“As expected, your reaction is different. Unlike those two, you didn’t raise your internal force.”

“Clan Lord Tang.”

“You knew the properties of Pure-Shade Poison. Otherwise you could not have stayed that calm.”

That was not the reason.

Mo Yonggun knew Tang Gwan’s temperament. Tang Gwan might appear rash and rough on the surface, but he was still a man who knew how to read the moment.

He was not the sort who would spread poison in a setting like this. That was why Mo Yonggun had not raised his internal force.

But to Tang Gwan, that behavior from Mo Yonggun only turned the suspicion blazing inside him into certainty.

“I trusted you because I thought you were not just the sort who played clever little games. I thought you were overly thoughtful not because you were timid, but because you were suspicious and smart.”

Tang Gwan gave a savage smile.

That murderous smile sent a chill down the spines of Daoist Yonghwa and Deung Cheongyo, and even Mo Yonggun felt it.

“But it seems I misjudged you. A man who sees even his own allies as pieces on a board... You can’t work with a man like that. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Mo Yonggun started to open his mouth, then stopped.

“......”

He looked over Daoist Yonghwa and Deung Cheongyo’s expressions.

They were maintaining calm faces with effort, but what lay over them was unmistakable suspicion and unease.

It could not be helped. Neither of them knew what this conversation meant, or why this uproar had broken out.

But they had understood at least one thing: the conflict between these two ran extremely deep. And that the starting point of that conflict had come from Mo Yonggun.

This is bad.

The situation was terrible.

If Tang Gwan had come to him alone, that would have been one thing. But with members of the same faction present, explaining anything was awkward at best.

And Venerable Gonggong...

Mo Yonggun’s eyes shook.

How in the world did this man find out about that?

He had only just begun laying the groundwork to damage opinion around Venerable Gonggong.

The reason he had not told Tang Gwan was simple: Tang Gwan’s reactions were too direct. Mo Yonggun himself could avoid Venerable Gonggong’s notice, but Tang Gwan would be caught without fail.

It was not that he did not trust Tang Gwan. It was that he knew his limits exactly, and made that judgment because of it.

But then how had Tang Gwan learned of it? And what was this handkerchief? And what was this Pure-Shade Poison?

“Clan Lord Tang.”

“......”

“I won’t speak at length.”

Mo Yonggun’s eyes turned cold.

“Who told you about Venerable Gonggong?”

Tang Gwan’s cheek twitched.

“So now you admit it.”

“I asked who told you.”

“Why should I tell you?”

Daoist Yonghwa shouted, “Clan Lord Tang! Watch your words! No matter how angry you are, to speak to a fellow Service Lord like—”

“You two would do well to watch yourselves too. The smile that man shows you is a thoroughly fabricated one. The day is not far off when he will use you as stepping stones while claiming he is laying a trap.”

“What?!”

“Isn’t that so, Clan Lord Mo Yong?”

Mo Yonggun frowned.

“Watch your mouth.”

“And if I don’t? Will you scratch me with that filthy sword of yours?”

Tang Gwan was responding far more sharply than necessary.

Even while anger boiled up in him, Mo Yonggun could not understand it.

This isn’t like him.

Even when family matters were involved, Tang Gwan was not the kind of man to come out this aggressively.

That was not a guess. It was certainty. If Tang Gwan really were the sort to run wild to this extent, Mo Yonggun’s side would have discarded him first.

He did not know what Tang Gwan had heard, or from where, but one thing was certain: Tang Gwan was reacting with excessive sensitivity.

There’s no helping it.

No matter what had happened, Tang Gwan’s heart had already turned away from him.

Once emotions had twisted this far, there was no point in arguing over reasons. At that stage, it was better to salvage each side’s pride and call a halt to it.

Mo Yonggun spoke coldly.

“There seems to be no point in talking further. Leave.”

Tang Gwan let out a scornful snort.

“I was thinking the same thing. From this point on, I will never again have reason to look at your face.”

“Before that, answer me one thing.”

Mo Yonggun’s eyes deepened.

“Yeon Hojeong. Did you meet that bastard?”

Tang Gwan’s mouth curled upward.

“Why? Are you afraid I’ll cut ties with you and go over to him instead?”

...So he had met him.

Damn it.

Yeon Hojeong had clearly done something.

What puzzled him, however, was how Yeon Hojeong had learned that he was targeting Venerable Gonggong.

...No. Yeon Hojeong may have delivered the finishing blow, but he was not the one who set the board. That was a third party.

Je Gal Munho.

Je Gal Munho, who could catch rumors moving through the Alliance like a ghost, had clearly finished his investigation first. And then he must have met Yeon Hojeong and discussed this matter with him.

Yeon Hojeong was not only brilliant, but exceptionally quick to act. The moment he heard it from Je Gal Munho, he had likely moved at once.

What Mo Yonggun had not expected was that, instead of coming directly to test him as usual, Yeon Hojeong would strike Tang Gwan first.

Mo Yonggun sighed inwardly.

I let my guard down.

He had backing more solid than anyone else.

He had turned an extreme crisis into a tremendous opportunity and, in the end, joined hands with the strongest man in the Dark Path. He had told himself to stay alert, but that massive backing had made him careless without his even noticing.

If that had not happened, I would have moved more carefully even in dealing with Venerable Gonggong. I knew Je Gal Munho was on high alert. I knew Yeon Hojeong’s attacks were extraordinarily unconventional.

A faint smile touched Mo Yonggun’s lips.

It isn’t that my opponent did well. I did poorly.

It was a stupid mistake. Not like him.

Because of it, he had lost one useful piece. A painful blunder.

I gained Yangcheon’s backing and lost Tang Gwan as a piece... Still, profit is profit.

The important thing was that there had been no need to lose him at all.

In that moment, Mo Yonggun’s face turned ice-cold.

“If you mean to break the alliance, then it cannot be helped. Just do not regret it later.”

Tang Gwan let out a short laugh and turned away.

He gave no answer. That was enough to sever every remaining tie with Mo Yonggun.

As he watched Tang Gwan’s back, Mo Yonggun sent voice transmission without anyone noticing.

[Whatever happened, tell me once your emotions settle. I will come to you personally and hear the full story.]

Tang Gwan halted for the briefest moment as he opened the door.

But that was all. He slammed it shut with a bang and walked out.

Daoist Yonghwa hurriedly asked, “What in the world is going on here?”

“It is nothing.”

Mo Yonggun gave a bitter smile.

“This merely served as a reminder that, for the time being, I ought to remain quiet and build strength.”

“...?”

“As for our plans, let us cancel them for now.”

Mo Yonggun closed his eyes.

...I need to recover my composure first.

*****

Je Gal Munho looked at Yeon Hojeong with admiration on his face.

“I truly thought there was nothing left you could do to surprise me. But I was wrong. I take my hat off to your scheme.”

Yeon Hojeong shook his head.

“It was nothing more than sowing discord. It does not even deserve to be called a strategy. Just a petty trick.”

“Even sowing discord cannot be used to maximum effect unless one understands the target well. Truly remarkable.”

Yeon Hojeong smiled without a word.

Je Gal Munho tilted his head.

“But did you know it would turn out like this?”

“What do you mean?”

“Clan Lord Tang cutting ties with Mo Yonggun is, in a sense, the best possible outcome. It turned out well in the end, yes, but if Clan Lord Tang’s trust in Mo Yonggun had been deeper, this could just as easily have made them even tighter.”

“That’s true.”

“There is no way you failed to see that. So then, did you expect the two of them to split?”

“How could I? I’m not a god.”

“Hm? Then?”

Yeon Hojeong smiled.

“Mo Yonggun’s move this time was rather clumsy. An uncharacteristic mistake.”

“That’s true.”

“But now that he knows someone noticed it through Tang Gwan, he will definitely become cautious. He’ll lie low for a while.”

“Wouldn’t that make him even more dangerous?”

“It would. And there is something his caution will let us see as well.”

“Hm?”

His connection to Yangcheon.

If Yangcheon sent even the slightest signal to a Mo Yonggun who had suddenly gone quiet, that alone would be enough to deal him a fatal blow.

“But it seems Clan Lord Tang had a great deal built up inside him as well.”

Yeon Hojeong looked out the window.

“Perhaps, deep down, Clan Lord Tang had never been all that pleased with Mo Yonggun to begin with. Then again, with that much pride, it could not have been easy for him to stay in the background forever.”

“Hah!”

“In any case, we won the opening exchange after returning. He’ll keep his head down for a while, so don’t worry too much.”