“Oh, really?”

“That’s right.”

“Thank you. We could easily have ended up missing each other.”

“Not at all. Commander Yeon holds such an important post that we keep track of his movements at all times.”

“Huh. Is it really that important a post?”

“Of course. The Martial Alliance currently has countless combat units and organizations. And among them, the freest are the field-force units of Demon-Sweeping & Evil-Smiting.”

“I see.”

“That means the field-force itself is an independent force, one that is relatively free from direct control by the Alliance. In other words, it’s a unit the Alliance can trust and leave in capable hands. Commander Yeon has earned that level of faith.”

“That’s impressive. I knew he’d made quite a name for himself, but I didn’t realize it was to that extent.”

“This is a bit sudden, and it may be rather rude of me, but may I ask you one question?”

“Hm? Ah, of course.”

“Once this year is over, you’ll be eighteen, correct?”

“That’s right.”

“...”

“What is it?”

“Ah, nothing. In that case, I’ll also send word to the Hubei Branch. I’ve prepared a carriage, so please travel in comfort.”

“Ah, the carriage won’t be necessary. I’ll treat it as movement-arts training and run.”

“Y-you mean that whole distance?”

“Haha. Compared to my brother, I’m nothing. Then I’ll leave the rest in your hands.”

“Yes. I hope we can meet again.”

“I hope so too. Then I’ll be off.”

Watching the young man’s back as he sprinted away into the distance, the Nanchang branch chief of the Beggars’ Union in Jiangxi Province clicked his tongue.

“At eighteen, saying something that absurd... Heavens. The clan lord, the eldest young master too... the next generation of the martial world is going to be led by the Yeon Clan of Green Mountain.”

*****

Two days passed.

“So your external injuries are all healed?”

“They are.”

“But the important thing is your internal injuries, right? The more I think about it, the more idiotic that was. Even if they were old-fashioned, cannons are still cannons, and you actually thought about smashing through them head-on.”

Yeon Hojeong snorted.

“If I hadn’t smashed them one by one, every last one of you would’ve died.”

“I know. That’s why it’s so ridiculous. Bringing in cannons of all things.”

“That’s true... Hm? Hold on. You seem to know a fair bit about cannons.”

Mookbi smirked.

“I may not know much about how the world turns, but I know what I need to know. At Piercing-Sun Valley, they teach broad knowledge about projectile weapons. Hidden weapons excluded.”

“Is that so?”

It felt like learning something new. At the very least, the Mookbi of his previous life, one of the Five Divine Generals, had never told him that.

Mookbi’s eyes sharpened.

“Still, isn’t it strange?”

“What is?”

“No matter how influential a gathering of physicians might be, using cannons is excessive. Weren’t cannons secret weapons that even inside the military could only be deployed with the approval of its highest commander?”

“That’s right.”

“Then that means the Medical God Association can reach even the head of the military...”

Yeon Hojeong nodded.

“Physicians aren’t ignorant of how the world works. They even approached the heads of organizations under the Martial Alliance and told them to abandon an Alliance mission.”

“Mm.”

“You need a lot of nerve to do that. Even if it was arrogance, they were relying on something. They believed they could push the Martial Alliance that far. They were sure that even if a problem arose, they had the power to smooth it over.”

Mookbi’s eyes shook.

“Then does that really mean...?”

“We still don’t know. And this isn’t something we need to handle right now.”

“Hm?”

Yeon Hojeong glanced around the tavern.

“Our mission is to escort the Divine Maiden of the Western Regions. Nothing takes priority over that.”

“...”

“If Hu Gae were standing right beside us, that would be another matter, but in our current situation it won’t be easy to dig into anything. For now, we finish our mission safely first. After that, it’ll be dealt with.”

“And once we complete the mission and report this to the Martial Alliance leadership, then even you, Young Master Yeon, won’t be able to step in and handle it personally so easily, right?”

“That’s right.”

“So that’s what you meant when you said it had left your hands.”

Yeon Hojeong smiled.

“Yes. Exactly.”

As she watched him in silence, Mookbi inwardly shook her head.

That isn’t the reason.

She knew Yeon Hojeong well.

He never forgave people who laid hands on him. Especially people like the Medical God Association, the kind who crossed the line for reasons too absurd for words. Those were the ones he crushed thoroughly.

And yet now Yeon Hojeong was saying this was not something he should deal with himself. That this time, it was right for the Martial Alliance to handle it.

Was that really because he believed there was no need for him to step in personally?

No. It means there’s something even more important. And that something is...

The Divine Maiden of the Western Regions.

Mookbi looked at Yeon Hojeong with troubled eyes and finally spoke.

“Young Master Yeon.”

“I don’t know what you want to say, but unless it’s urgent, can we talk later?”

“Hm? Why? Are you going somewhere?”

“I’m going to see the Divine Maiden of the Western Regions.”

At once, tension filled Mookbi’s face.

“Young Master Yeon.”

“Don’t worry. Nothing’s going to happen.”

“...”

“But there is a need to change this damned uncomfortable atmosphere a little.”

Yeon Hojeong remembered the conversation he’d had with Mo Yong-woo two days earlier.

Still, since we didn’t meet her on a battlefield, I’ll try to learn more about her before I act.

Mo Yong-woo had hesitated to move while defining the Divine Maiden of the Western Regions as an enemy.

Yeon Hojeong understood him. Mo Yong-woo had never lived through a war with the °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° Three Fanatic Creeds, and had never breathed the blood-soaked air of that battlefield.

He understood it with his head, but not with his heart. That was precisely why he could afford to be more cautious.

Looked at the other way around, it meant Yeon Hojeong could never be completely calm in matters involving the Three Fanatic Creeds. He only tried to be.

My brother isn’t wrong, either.

There was nothing bad about caution. And even in Yeon Hojeong’s eyes, the Divine Maiden of the Western Regions did not seem innately evil.

Of course, just as he had told Mo Yong-woo, whether one of those Three Fanatic Creeds bastards was good or evil meant nothing to him.

Yeon Hojeong drew in a long breath.

“It’s not my style to sour the mood for no reason either. I’ll meet her first, then decide.”

At that moment, Mookbi smacked him across the back.

WHACK!

“Ghk!”

Yeon Hojeong nearly rolled across the floor.

It was such a vicious blow that tears almost sprang to his eyes. He twisted his face and snarled.

“What the hell was that for, you brat?!”

“Loosen your shoulders.”

“What?”

Mookbi grinned and waved a hand.

“No matter what kind of person she is, you can just act like yourself, Young Master Yeon. The way you always have.”

“...”

“So don’t put pressure on yourself in a way that doesn’t suit you. If you’re going to do something, then go do it cleanly.”

Yeon Hojeong stared at her for a moment, then rubbed his back.

“When I’m done talking, your back’s going to be on fire too.”

“Go train your movement arts some more.”

“I’ve got Blood-Wing Sweeping Heaven.”

“And I’ve got a bow.”

“You think I can’t dodge?”

“Sounds like you think I can’t hit.”

“...You’re dead.”

“Haah.”

Gi Uhui let out a low sigh.

The Medical God Association...

She had been lying on the bed for a long time, staring up at the ceiling.

She was exhausted to the bone, but perhaps because her thoughts were such a tangle, sleep would not come.

She remembered Hidden Shadow One’s words.

“And infiltrating the Martial Alliance is not something the Saintess ought to be doing either. Even so, the reason you are suffering this hardship, Saintess, is because of original sin.”

It was true.

She had sin.

But it was not a sin she had committed of her own free will.

It was a sin she had carried from birth. Half the blood running through her veins, from their point of view, was stained with a lowliness that could never be tolerated.

“Lowly...”

Sadness came over Gi Uhui’s face.

“What in the world decides what is noble and what is base? If the bloodline belongs to the rich, is it noble, and if it belongs to the poor, is it base? If the skin is a different color, is it base, and if it is the same color, is it noble?”

Gi Uhui truly could not understand.

That was why, from childhood, she had buried herself in medicine. People said blood was different, and she had taken those words literally. What began as a childish impulse to understand that difference had led her to study the structure of the human body itself.

But as time passed, as she grew skilled in medicine and experienced the world, she realized something.

There was no nobility or baseness in this world.

There were only people who divided others that way.

But—

“...No matter how much I cry out, they’ll never even try to understand.”

Tears welled in Gi Uhui’s eyes.

Maybe this was not the time to dwell on such thoughts.

Whether she had ever truly had a choice or not, what mattered now was the fact that she was going to the Martial Alliance. And there, she would have to do what they wanted of her.

Lamenting that others did not understand her convictions, or the values she believed in, would not change reality.

A physician who heals people’s bodies, and I have to become the lackey of an organization and skulk around as a spy.

Gi Uhui let out a bitter sigh.

I never had the right to condemn the Medical God Association. I’m no different from them at all.

Just then—

“I am Yeon Hojeong, Commander of the Evil-Smiting Corps.”

Gi Uhui jolted upright in alarm.

“May I come in?”

“P-pardon?!”

“...”

“...Ah, yes. P-please come in.”

“Understood.”

Creeeak.

The door opened, and Yeon Hojeong stepped inside.

Gi Uhui’s eyes shook. The moment he entered, she felt the atmosphere in the room change completely.

Flustered, she remained sitting there in a stiff, awkward posture.

This is strange.

She knew there was no reason for her to be like this, and yet she could not make her tension go away.

Why am I like this?

Whenever she faced Yeon Hojeong—or even just heard his voice—her heart pounded.

Was it because she felt a man’s attraction toward him? No. That was not it.

In Yeon Hojeong’s eyes and voice, Gi Uhui felt a heavy pressure. In a sense, that pressure was tinged with a hostility deeper than that of the Cult’s protectors.

Yeon Hojeong shook his head.

“Divine Physician Gi, you are under my protection. There is no need for you to be so tense.”

“Yes...”

“May I sit?”

“Yes! P-please.”

The two of them sat facing each other across the table.

Yeon Hojeong quietly folded his arms and stared straight at her. Unable to bear that gaze, Gi Uhui kept her head lowered and sat rigidly in place.

A suffocating silence followed.

Yeon Hojeong was the first to break it.

“You’re nervous.”

“Pardon?!”

“There’s really no need for you to be this tense, yet you are. To a strange degree.”

“Ah! Th-that’s...”

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes deepened.

Just as he was about to speak again—

“Is your body... all right?”

“...?”

“Y-your external injuries seem to have healed, but your internal injuries still look serious.”

Why was that?

At Gi Uhui’s words, Yeon Hojeong felt all the wind go out of him.

“Well, I’m fine. My insides sting a bit, but I’m used to injuries like this.”

In an instant, Gi Uhui’s eyes flashed. The light in them was so sharp that even Yeon Hojeong was startled.

“No! If you leave internal injuries alone like that, your organs can suffer severe damage later—!!”

“...”

“...th-they can.”

Startled by the fact that she had suddenly raised her voice, Gi Uhui ducked her head again. Her pale skin had already turned bright red.

Yeon Hojeong frowned.

What is wrong with this woman?

He stared at Gi Uhui for a moment, then let out something like a sigh.

“Damn it. That really takes the wind out of me.”

“Eek! D-did I do something terribly wrong?!”

“What exactly are you trying to do here?”

“...Pardon?”

“You came here to play spy, didn’t you?”

Gi Uhui practically foamed at the mouth.