Two days later.

“Hmm.”

Yeon Wi’s eyes sank deep, like a lake.

“So that is what happened?”

“Yes.”

He was managing his expression because he was having tea with his father. Even so, Yeon Wi saw that a layer of frost had settled over his eldest son’s face.

“The Divine Flame Cult’s final intelligence base is near Xuchang. Given that the third was Cheonja Mountain, in an emergency, they must have at least two more places to send information besides Xuchang.”

Contacts who stole and relayed information operated countless bases.

Among those bases, the most important were the first base and the final base. It was safest to leave the regularly used bases as they were, while preparing several locations for the first and final bases.

When information theft was being done properly, it was common to have more than ten bases. In that sense, four could be considered few.

“They must have built them under the assumption that the Martial Alliance side did not know of their existence.”

“Probably. But each base looked flimsy. They were likely built as temporary bases, and as time passes, they will start establishing them properly one by one.”

“Yes, they likely will. More importantly...”

Yeon Wi clicked his tongue.

“You mean to say you caught up to every messenger pigeon in flight?”

“Yes.”

He had swept everything, from Mount Daebyeol where the Martial Alliance stood, through the second base, to the third at Cheonja Mountain, then from Cheonja Mountain to the final base at Xuchang, before returning.

Before even discussing the depth of his internal force or stamina, this was a matter of willpower. Unless one had the extreme will to catch them no matter what, even superb stamina would not be enough.

And on his way back, he had even checked each location again in reverse order.

Yeon Wi knew his son was fierce, but he had not known his tenacity went this far.

Perhaps it is only natural.

His son had said he had lived for decades, then returned to the past for reasons unknown.

Yeon Wi did not doubt that his son’s confession was true.

Regardless of how absurd the story sounded, Yeon Wi did not doubt that his son’s confession was true. And when he thought back to those words, his son’s tenacity was not so difficult to understand.

“You worked hard. Get some sleep today.”

“I’m fine. This much is nothing.”

“You brat. You traveled that far and still have not rested properly, have you?”

Yeon Hojeong smiled bitterly.

“Rather than regret the past at a decisive moment, it’s better to run until the soles of my feet sweat, even if I feel like dying now.”

“......”

“For now, the situation inside the Alliance is quiet. If Venerable Gonggong gives us his answer soon, I think we can move after that.”

“Mm.”

“For the time being, I will focus on this side. Father, please do not take your eyes off the flow of the political struggle.”

The words were a request, but his tone was firmer than ever. When Yeon Hojeong had truly made up his mind, a terrifying driving force radiated from him.

Thinking back, his son had been involving himself in far too many places at once. While checking Mo Yonggun and minding the Evil-Smiting Corps, he had also predicted the Martial Alliance’s future and watched the stirring of the Three Creeds.

It was not something one person could do. Though only barely, his son had held on to all of it until the end.

Yeon Wi’s eyes shone.

“I think I have placed too great a burden on you while concerning myself with people. From now on, it will be different. This father of yours will properly watch the flow of the political struggle, so run without any worries.”

“Thank you.”

“But before that.”

Yeon Wi nodded.

“Unless someone’s head is about to fly this very moment, I still want you to rest today.”

“Father.”

“This is not an order as Clan Lord, nor advice as your father. It is a request.”

“......”

“As you said, it is better to do everything you can while you still can than to regret it at a decisive moment. But as this father sees it, your complexion is far too poor right now.”

It was not merely because he looked tired.

Was it because he was chasing one of the Three Creeds in earnest after so long? Yeon Hojeong was somewhat excited.

Yeon Wi could feel all of it: that excitement and killing intent, worry and anger, resolve and conflict.

“The eldest son I know is a genius who can see one move ahead, two moves ahead, even when he is in a state of extreme excitement. But I do not see that in you right now.”

“......!”

“Rest just for today. While resting, cool your head.”

“...Understood.”

Yeon Hojeong let out a sigh.

“If you put it that way, Father, I will not roam around outside today.”

Yeon Wi rose with a satisfied smile.

“I hear the merchant world south of the Yangtze is shaking quite a bit. A Service Council meeting happens to be scheduled for that matter, so I likely will not be able to return before midnight. I will attend the meeting and check on the Service Lords while I am there, so rest well.”

“Understood. Work hard.”

“Yes.”

With that, Yeon Wi left the quarters.

Yeon Hojeong sighed in frustration.

“Rest, is it?”

He had used Gi Uhui properly for the first time, and at the same time, he had discovered the Divine Flame Cult’s intelligence bases.

And now he had to lead the work of setting up watchtowers using formations around those intelligence bases. Naturally, there was no time to rest.

But.

“Yes. Just today.”

He trusted his father. He trusted his father’s eyes, and he trusted his heart.

That father had said he was different from usual. If his father said so, then it was true. Some gap or carelessness he himself had not noticed must have been visible to his father’s eyes.

Of course, resting for one day did not seem likely to make this urgency vanish, but he intended to calm his mind as much as possible.

Yeon Hojeong lay down on the bed.

He was so excited that the sound of his heartbeat rang like thunder. Yet once he actually lay down, his eyelids grew strangely heavy.

Even so, Yeon Hojeong’s mind was still spinning quickly.

The political struggle is in Father and the Strategist’s hands, the information is with Hu Gae, Mo Yonggun is with Brother, and the Evil-Smiting Corps is with Mookbi. They’re all people I can trust, but people are never perfect. Somewhere, something will creak in the near future.

Yeon Hojeong bit his lip.

One minor problem can collapse an entire organization. That is not common, but in the current situation, where I cannot neglect a single thing, there is no way I can relax.

It had truly been a long time since his head felt as though it might split.

His heart kept turning toward the Three Creeds, but if he focused there, it felt as though a gap would open somewhere else.

It was not that he could not trust people. It was because he knew so well how the world worked.

Of course, there was no guarantee that his involvement would solve the problem. Thinking of it that way, his current worries could be called useless worries.

After turning matters over in his head for quite some time, Yeon Hojeong finally sighed.

“This is not resting.”

He deliberately resolved to empty his mind.

When one tried to forcibly empty the mind, distracting thoughts instead became endless. Even so, Yeon Hojeong focused.

How much time passed like that?

“......”

Yeon Hojeong’s breathing gradually evened out.

He truly must have been tired after all. Yeon Hojeong’s expression as he fell into a deep sleep looked strangely exhausted.

Half a day later.

BANG!

“Jeong!”

The door opened, and Je Gal Ahyeon came in.

She seemed to have had quite a rough time, because the shadows under her eyes were dark as well. Even so, her eyes were sparkling, enough to show that she had achieved something.

“I found it! There happens to be a formation in the clan that is perfect for—huh?”

Je Gal Ahyeon frowned.

“He gives someone work to do, and then he sprawls out and sleeps? What kind of rotten superior is this?”

After huffing and puffing for a while, Je Gal Ahyeon eventually sat down on the chair by the window.

As she looked at Yeon Hojeong with a twisted face, her expression gradually turned blank.

Well.

She knew Yeon Hojeong’s personality. Though he spoke that way, Yeon Hojeong was not the type to hand work to his subordinates and then pull back to laze around himself.

If anything, he must have done even harder work.

Besides, if she had come in making such a loud noise, it would be normal for him to wake up. No, he should have sensed her presence and woken before she even shouted.

The fact that he was still asleep without a care in the world meant Yeon Hojeong’s fatigue was beyond imagination.

Scratching her head, Je Gal Ahyeon took several neatly folded sheets of paper from her robe.

“Tch. I worked hard to find this. Well, it is not extremely urgent.”

The enemy bases would not disappear immediately anyway. As for formations, if the environment was right, they could be built within a few days, so it would be better to let him rest properly while he could.

Enemy.

Je Gal Ahyeon’s expression grew serious.

There is some force targeting the martial world?

This was the first time she had heard such an organization existed.

Of course, she did not blame Yeon Hojeong for only telling her now. If Yeon Hojeong and her father had held back their words until now, there had to be a reason.

If Jeong and Father are that tense, then they definitely aren’t an ordinary enemy.

She was spreading her imagination wide about that “enemy” for a long while.

“Um...”

A cautious voice came from outside the door.

Je Gal Ahyeon blinked.

“Who is it? Oh? Is that you, Jipyeong?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Come in, come in.”

Yeon Jipyeong carefully opened the door and entered the room.

Je Gal Ahyeon smiled and waved.

“We’ve both been so busy that we hardly see each other.”

“That’s true. Have you been well, Sister?”

“Of course. Wow, seeing you again, Jipyeong really is so kind. I wish my foul-mouthed little brother would look at you and learn a thing or two.”

“Cough.”

“By the way, Jeong is asleep. Did you come because you had business with him?”

“Ah, yes. But he is sleeping.”

“So he is. I came because I had business with him too, but he was completely dead to the world.”

“......”

“......”

“...Ahem! Are you waiting here?”

“Hm? Oh, of course. If I come back later and he wakes up and starts wandering somewhere again, it’ll be a headache trying to find him.”

“I-I see.”

It was truly strange to sit beside someone who was sleeping and wait.

Je Gal Ahyeon beckoned with her hand.

“Why don’t you come sit too? Since it’s come to this, keep me company.”

“Yes? Pardon?”

Yeon Jipyeong was flustered. No matter what, chatting beside his sleeping older brother did not seem quite right.

“There is a platform outside. Would it not be better to talk there?”

Je Gal Ahyeon wagged her finger left and right.

“I shouted from the diaphragm, and he still kept sleeping. That means he’s really deep asleep. Look. Even though you came in, not a single breath has changed.”

“T-That is true, but...”

“Oh, don’t be like that. Come sit here.”

With no other choice, Yeon Jipyeong sat across from her.

Je Gal Ahyeon smiled and said, “By the way, I didn’t notice when I saw you a while ago, but you’ve improved tremendously, haven’t you? If we fought seriously, I might lose too.”

“How could that be?”

“No. You don’t seem to feel it yourself, but your presence is almost...”

The two of them talked more comfortably than expected, laughing as they went. Of course, Yeon Jipyeong occasionally glanced at Yeon Hojeong and lowered his voice.

Like that, half a shichen flew by.

Perhaps because it was winter in the mountains, the sun set quickly. Before they knew it, the scenery outside the window was gradually being dyed a deep orange.

Je Gal Ahyeon laughed brightly and said, “It’s been a long time since I met such a pleasant conversation partner. I feel like all the fatigue I built up until now has flown away.”

Yeon Jipyeong smiled solemnly.

“If talking with me eased your fatigue, then I am glad as well.”

“You’ve really become an adult. Somehow, you seem more mature than your brother.”

“Cough! N-No! Absolutely not.”

“What do you mean, no? That is how I feel.”

“Cough, cough!”

“Did you catch a cold?”

“...No.”

Je Gal Ahyeon giggled.

“Come visit our ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) quarters from time to time. I’ll serve you some good tea.”

“I will visit often from now on, Sister.”

As Je Gal Ahyeon smiled in satisfaction, she suddenly looked at the sunset light shining in through the window.

“It’s red. It looks like there’s a fire somewhere.”

“It does.”

“Ugh, I hate fire.”

“Why?”

“Don’t you remember when we first met? The heart method I learned is a divine art based on Wood energy, so that damned pervert almost overpowered me by force.”

“Ah!”

“Ever since then, just looking at fire makes me sick of it. They say I just need to cultivate my divine art until Fire energy can’t overcome me, but who knows when I’ll ever reach major completion?”

“Your perception is so outstanding, Sister, that faster than anyone...”

That was when it happened.

“That’s it.”

The two of them were startled and looked at the bed.

At some point, Yeon Hojeong had woken up and was rubbing his chin.

“The ones sensitive to Fire energy are Wood energy and Water energy... Yes. That is true. It would be the same before Divine Flame as well.”

“Gah! When did you wake up?”

Yeon Hojeong smiled brightly and grabbed her arm.

“Let’s go. I had a good idea.”

She had no chance to ask where.

PAAAAANG!

The two of them immediately launched themselves out the window, becoming distant dots in an instant.

Yeon Jipyeong could hear Je Gal Ahyeon’s voice rapidly fading into the distance.

“Hey, you damned bastard! Not once, but twice—get your hand off— I’m going to kill you...!”