Three days later.

“All right, let’s rest here for today.”

The group, which had set out yesterday evening, had now reached the Yangtze.

While they were unpacking and taking a break, Gi Uhui approached Mookbi.

“Um...”

“Yes?”

“What should I call you?”

Mookbi blinked.

“M-me?”

“Yes.”

“Ah, I’m Mookbi, a Vice Commander in the Evil-Smiting Corps.”

“Then I’ll call you Vice Commander Mookbi.”

“Ah, all right.”

“It’s just... Vice Commander Mookbi. Your internal injuries still haven’t fully settled yet, have they?”

“There’s a little left, but...”

“It’s not a little.”

“Hm?”

Gi Uhui spoke with a somewhat stiff expression.

“Vice Commander Mookbi, you possess astonishing martial skill. From what I can tell, you seem to be training in two Inner Qi heart methods at once. Am I right?”

Surprise crossed Mookbi’s face.

“That’s right. How did you know?”

“I’ve treated thousands of patients over more than ten years. A great many of them were martial artists. I can tell most things at a glance.”

“Ah!”

Mookbi looked at her again with fresh admiration.

Gi Uhui shook her head.

“That’s not the issue right now. Judging from the way external qi occasionally leaks out from you, it looks like you used a good medicine to calm what was happening inside. Outwardly you seem to have recovered, but the burden on your heart has probably grown quite severe.”

“Wh-what?!”

“May I take your pulse?”

Without thinking, Mookbi looked at Yeon Hojeong.

Without even turning his head, he merely nodded.

“Ah, all right. Here...”

Gi Uhui took Mookbi’s pulse, then soon let out a sigh.

“As I thought.”

“Is it bad?”

“Isn’t the foundation of your martial art based on movement cultivation?”

“It-is.”

“You must have trained brutally from childhood. But that’s precisely the problem. That unimaginable training has improved your muscle density to an astonishing degree, and your cardiopulmonary capacity has surpassed that of an ordinary human, but the issue is that your heart has become overdeveloped compared to your other organs.”

“Hhk!”

“Still, the fortunate thing is that your other Inner Qi heart method is keeping your five viscera and six bowels in a rough balance. If not for that heart method, your life might not have been in danger, but you would have suffered badly for years.”

Mookbi’s eyes wavered.

The other Inner Qi heart method Gi Uhui meant was the Hongcheon Qi Yeon Hojeong had taught her. It was not one of the few greatest heart methods in the martial world, but when it came to building a foundation and controlling Inner Qi, few could match Hongcheon Qi.

And now she was hearing that Hongcheon Qi was the very thing keeping her internal organs in balance. It was truly a blessing beyond words.

“This is something that often happens to people who continuously abuse their bodies from a young age to improve physical performance. The heart is also an organ made of large muscle, so when the cardiac muscle becomes overdeveloped, it creates serious problems.”

“I see...”

“When one cultivates Inner Qi, the five viscera and six bowels naturally balance themselves out, so it’s very rare to see something like this among masters of the internal path. But since your heart method is focused on movement cultivation, that balance seems not to have formed properly.”

“It’s not a major problem, is it?”

Gi Uhui smiled.

It was the smile of a physician reassuring a patient. Just from that smile alone, she truly seemed like a physician by nature.

“Of course not. As I said, your quantity of Inner Qi is so remarkable that even if things had continued this way, your life probably would not have been in danger. And the other Inner Qi heart method helped too. But this time, perhaps because you were in a hurry, it seems you treated your internal injuries too hastily.”

Gi Uhui took out a case of needles from her robes.

“I’ll give you acupuncture for a little while. For about one shichen, your body may feel heavy or your senses may grow dull, but after that it should begin correcting itself.”

“Ah... thank you.”

“It’s nothing. You already did me a great kindness just by bringing me here safely.”

And so Mookbi received treatment from Gi Uhui.

Watching the two of them, Mo Yong-woo asked Yeon Hojeong,

“What happened?”

“What do you mean?”

“I heard you had a talk with Physician Gi. Didn’t you say you would explain it properly later? But looking at this now, it seems she’s turned to our side.”

Yeon Hojeong shook his head.

“Not yet.”

“Hm?”

“She asked for a few days to think.”

Mo Yong-woo’s gaze deepened.

“And you accepted?”

“I did.”

Mo Yong-woo looked at Yeon Hojeong in silence, then smiled.

“You held back well.”

Yeon Hojeong snorted.

“I didn’t spare her anything. It’s just like you said, brother. She seems to have her own circumstances. If I went by what I really felt, I’d smash her skull in right now, but there’s no need for that yet.”

“Yes. Which is why I said you held back well.”

“She has to decide by today anyway. I told her I’d wait until midnight.”

Mo Yong-woo nodded.

“I ask for no more than that. Nor should I.”

“Hmph.”

“This may be a little embarrassing to say, but you excel in every respect, Brother Yeon. Still, if you become just a little more cautious, I feel you could fly even higher than you already do.”

“...”

“I hope that going forward, you become the kind of man who can endure when it matters.”

Yeon Hojeong gave a crooked grin.

“Thanks. It’s not much of a repayment, but I’ll give you a present too.”

Mo Yong-woo smiled.

“You mean you want to tell me not to hesitate when the decisive moment comes?”

“...You can read my mind now too?”

“I’ve heard that from you so many times it’s carved into me. But yes. You’re right. One must not hesitate at the critical moment.”

“As long as you know.”

“And...”

Mo Yong-woo’s eyes deepened.

“This isn’t really the right time to say it, but now that I think of it, it isn’t the sort of thing that needs a special atmosphere either.”

“Hm?”

“The matter of the Martial ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) Alliance Leader.”

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes flashed.

Mo Yong-woo continued calmly.

“Ever since you told me who they are, I’ve been thinking about it alone. About whether I truly have the right to become Martial Alliance Leader.”

“You do.”

“Haha. Thank you for saying so.”

Mo Yong-woo looked at Yeon Hojeong with clear eyes.

“But even now, the position of Martial Alliance Leader feels unbearably heavy to me. And I still think I lack the ability for it.”

Yeon Hojeong shook his head.

“If that’s all you mean, then fine. You can keep thinking that for now. It can’t be helped yet.”

“You mean you intend to keep persuading this older brother of yours?”

“I told you before, didn’t I? I’m going to make it happen.”

“Even if I say I don’t want it?”

“...”

“Even if I say I will never sit in the seat of Martial Alliance Leader?”

“...Yes.”

“Why? You’re the sort of man who respects another person’s free will.”

Yeon Hojeong smiled.

There was something bitter about it, and at the same time something cold, and that smile made Mo Yong-woo’s chest ache.

“If it’s not you, brother, I think the Central Plains will go up in flames.”

“...”

“Even when an absolute threat is approaching, a person’s free will should still be respected. But... exceptions do exist.”

Mo Yong-woo sighed.

“I’ve wondered for a long time. What exactly do you see in me that makes you try so hard to place me in the seat of Martial Alliance Leader?”

“The man.”

“...?”

“Mo Yong-woo, the man himself.”

“Brother Yeon.”

Yeon Hojeong shook his head.

“We’re on a mission. Let’s stop here for now. We’ll finish this conversation after we return to the Alliance.”

“...Very well. Let’s do that.”

Yeon Hojeong turned his head.

Gangryang was standing there with a blank expression. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

“Hey, you little bastard. Why are you just standing there staring into space?”

“Ahem! What else am I supposed to do? One side is getting treatment, the other is having a serious conversation, and I’ve got nothing to do.”

“You little shit, not even knowing how precious time is. You should be squeezing even that sliver of time to swing your sword or something, and instead you’re just standing there idle? This won’t do.”

“Ghk! Training again?!”

“Don’t worry. I won’t draw blood.”

Yeon Hojeong took Gangryang and headed straight into the nearby forest.

Watching the two disappear into the distance, Mo Yong-woo let out a sigh.

Brother Yeon. Sometimes, your blind faith in me can be a burden.

Mo Yong-woo genuinely liked Yeon Hojeong.

It was not because Yeon Hojeong was exceptional, nor because of any particular turning point. In the first place, the one who had proposed that they become sworn brothers without even knowing him well had been Mo Yong-woo himself.

One might say the process and the result had been reversed. But Mo Yong-woo thought something like that was meaningless. Whatever the path had been, Yeon Hojeong was his one and only sworn younger brother.

And yet, sometimes, it weighed on him.

No—more honestly, sometimes it hurt.

There was definitely something Yeon Hojeong had not told him. And even now, he still had not said it.

Mo Yong-woo knew it was not because Yeon Hojeong distrusted him. Even so, whenever Yeon pushed ahead with something that was hard for him to understand, it stung.

Mo Yong-woo looked up at the sky.

The sunset sky, red against the cold night air, was achingly beautiful.

“...Even so, I’ll wait. Even if the day ever comes when you betray me, I will never betray you.”

That night, at midnight—

“Mookbi?”

“She’s fine. As long as she pays a little attention from now on, it won’t take long for the balance of her five viscera and six bowels to settle completely.”

“That’s a relief.”

SPLASH!

The Yangtze was broad.

From the sky, perhaps its width could never compare to the sea, but from the ground, the Yangtze was vast enough to call the ocean to mind.

And at night, beneath a sky full of stars, even more so.

“So.”

Thud.

Yeon Hojeong set Mad Dragon upright against the ground and spoke in a calm voice.

“Have you made your decision?”

Gi Uhui smiled and nodded.

“Yes. I’ve made my decision.”

Whatever that decision was, her expression alone made it look as though something inside her had finally cleared. At the very least, she did not seem to regret her choice.

Yeon Hojeong looked at her in silence.

Gi Uhui closed her eyes.

“I have hated the way my organization behaves since I was a child. And I always knew they were wrong. That they should not be like that.”

“...”

“But then, just as now, my heart has remained the same. You may call it indecisive, but as for the Cult, I—”

That was when it happened.

“Shh.”

“...?”

“Quiet.”

“What?”

Yeon Hojeong swept his surroundings with sharp eyes.

And he was not the only one.

Shhhk. Shhhk.

Mo Yong-woo, who had been leaning against a tree with his eyes closed, moved a hand toward his Demon-Sweeping Greatsword. Mookbi, who had been sitting and regulating her circulation and breathing, was already brushing a hand over the quiver at her waist.

Gangryang was the same. He still lacked their razor-edge senses, but he was beginning, little by little, to read the air of a battlefield.

Yeon Hojeong spoke calmly.

“Gi Uhui.”

It was the first time he had called her by her full name without title.

And Gi Uhui did not even notice.

“Y-yes?”

“I hope you learn something from this fight.”

In that instant, Yeon Hojeong grabbed her by the collar and hurled her straight at Gangryang.

“Ahk!”

Gangryang caught her, and Yeon Hojeong shouted,

“Do not let them take her!”

At that moment—

BOOOOM! PUH-PUH-POONG!

Hundreds of black-clad figures burst up through the surface of the Yangtze and charged straight at the group.