Seolhwa looked at the person seated across from her.

Mo-wol.

Owner of the Fourth Moon Medallion among the Blood Demon’s twelve, Mo-wol.

Quick to calculate, uncanny at reading a situation, and the most insidiously adept at exploiting stratagems that strike at an enemy’s blind spot.

She was the woman who served, in practice, as the Blood Sect’s plotter.

Of course it was Mo-wol.

From the moment the report came that Hwaoru had sought out the Sado Union, she had expected Mo-wol would come.

And this was likely Mo-wol acting on her own.

In the previous life, Mo-wol did as she pleased and died by the Blood Demon’s hand.

It was before the Blood Sect surged.

Claiming to act for the Blood Demon, she planted a spy in the escort caravan led by Namgoong Cheongun to kill him.

They dosed Cheongun’s tea with a sleeping poison and moved to kill him once he drifted off, but that day, Cheongun happened to spill his own cup and never drank.

Having not taken the sleeping poison, Cheongun sensed the spy’s presence, and the spy died on the spot.

When that reached the Sect’s ears, the Blood Demon summoned Mo-wol.

And killed her.

He drew out every last thread of her Energy of Blood.

Even then, Mo-wol was a major pillar of influence inside Hwaoru.

She oversaw Hwaoru’s overall operations.

Back then, the Blood Demon’s choice to kill a woman like that had seemed incomprehensible.

Now I understand perfectly.

Mo-wol had touched what must not be touched.

And in this life, she didn’t die because I altered the past?

She had no desire to spare a conniver like this.

Lucky her.

“It’s an honor to meet the Sado Union Lord I’ve so long heard about.”

Mo-wol’s violet lips curved.

Watching those lips part to show teeth that were oddly, unnaturally white, Seolhwa picked up the overturned cup.

“Thank you for making time for us despite how busy you must be. I am Hwaoru’s chief—”

Tak—

The sound of the flipped cup being set down cut Mo-wol off.

“So you do know you dragged a busy person out.”

“...”

“Did you think I permitted this meeting because I wanted to know who you are? Drop the useless chatter and speak to the point.”

Mo-wol’s lips held a deeper smile.

She too righted her overturned cup and continued.

“A month ago, I heard the Sado Union Lord met our Hwaoru Lord.”

Ouyang Do and Gong Cheon had struck Hwaoru’s headquarters first.

There had been a commotion; that much would # Nоvеlight # be known. And if, upon his return, the Blood Demon had raised the matter of the Sado Union, it would not be strange for Hwaoru to know.

“You granted this audience because you recognized Hwaoru is more than a mere pleasure-house.”

“...”

“So, I will be blunt.”

Mo-wol slid the set dishes aside, drew something from her breast, and placed it at the center of the table.

A pouch of silk.

When she opened it, five pellets wrapped in white paper lay within.

Seolhwa recognized them at once.

Mad Blood Pellets.

You could know them by that distinctive stench alone—the smell of rotting corpses.

An elixir of the Blood Sect, specialized for amplifying Energy of Blood and widening the blood channels to drive explosive circulation.

Because it necessarily required the fresh blood of a near-Transcendent master as an ingredient, even within the Blood Sect only a few could be made. A rare elixir.

“...What is this supposed to be?”

Seolhwa asked as if she did not know.

“An elixir called the Mad Blood Pellet. I have long heard of the Union Lord’s martial prowess, but warriors by nature seek greater power. This will be of use to you.”

Seolhwa looked at the Mad Blood Pellets.

Mo-wol’s words were true.

Made for those who had learned blood arts, but because its basic effect was to widen the blood channels, it was also a precious elixir for martial artists.

However—

Why do you think it’s called the Mad Blood Pellet.

It is an elixir made with human flesh and blood.

How could a person eat the same species and keep their sanity.

The name meant: a pellet that turns a person, step by step, into a mad thing that seeks only blood and strength.

“You’re telling me to take this?”

Seolhwa let out a short laugh.

“How am I to trust it isn’t poison.” 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

“The Sado Union Lord has quite a number of followers, does she not?”

“You’d have me feed it to my subordinates first?”

“If you prefer, we can provide the takers from our side.”

Truly deranged, and solidly so.

Because the Mad Blood Pellet was not, strictly speaking, a poison, she could be so brazen; yet in another sense one could indeed call it a poison.

There’s no way she doesn’t know the side effects.

To thrust something this dangerous at the Sado Union Lord and call it a gift.

“What do you want.”

“There is someone we must find.”

“You want me to find a person?”

“Is not the Sado Union the finest intelligence power in the Central Plains? I beg the loan of your strength.”

“Whom are you trying to find.”

“The details after we gain the Union Lord’s trust.”

She was saying she would give time to verify the pellet’s effects.

After seeing the effect, if Seolhwa trusted her and took interest in Hwaoru, they could join hands.

And until then, she would reveal nothing more of Hwaoru.

“When you finish your verification, send for me. I will be waiting here.”

Mo-wol’s words held certainty that she would be summoned again before long.

Mo-wol bowed to Seolhwa and rose first.

Their meeting place was a great multi-storied tavern.

Mo-wol did not go far and remained there.

She had planted herself in the heart of enemy ground.

Fwhooo—

On the pavilion opposite the room where Mo-wol lodged.

Fingering the pouch holding the Mad Blood Pellets, Seolhwa looked down at the tightly closed window.

Mo-wol. She’s not a woman to take lightly after all.

So she would have contrived the unilateral scheme to kill Namgoong Cheongun.

She had fallen to her own ruse, but still.

Hoo—

Seolhwa’s figure vanished from the pavilion in an instant, leaving no trace.

The Sado Union Lord called Mo-wol back the next afternoon.

****

Sabak-sabak.

Summoned by the Sado Union Lord, Mo-wol climbed to the highest tier of the pavilion.

Seeing the Sado Union Lord seated there, tilting a cup as she looked down over the city, Mo-wol wore a deep smile.

Was this not even sooner than expected?

So much the better; the gift had pleased her that much.

Mo-wol approached at an unhurried pace and bowed to the Sado Union Lord.

Just moments before, the place the Lord had been looking at was the very room Mo-wol occupied.

Realizing that, a faint tension moved across Mo-wol’s face.

“Will you drink.”

“I’m fine.”

Mo-wol watched the Sado Union Lord pour without once glancing her way.

She had not been told to sit; she could hardly presume to sit.

“I found your gift quite to my liking.”

Mo-wol’s smile deepened.

“So I’d like to hear who it is you people are looking for.”

As if she had been waiting for that, Mo-wol drew out a paper wrapped in silk and set it on the table.

*****

Hebei Province, Tianjin.

Three figures, bamboo hats pulled low, stepped into the streets of Tianjin.

Under a secret commission from the Martial Alliance to investigate the death of the Beggar’s Union Dragon-Head Lord, Yu Gang, Golden Lotus Rain, and Tang Hojin had come.

Upon arrival, the three first sought out the busiest roadside inn.

Where people gather, rumors gather.

And where rumors gather, there are always open ears.

“One steamer of dumplings, three bowls of thin noodles—yes? I’ll have them right out!”

“Hey.”

As the serving boy turned to go with their order, Golden Lotus Rain caught him.

She took off her bamboo hat and offered a harmless smile.

“I heard the Beggar’s Union Dragon-Head Lord died a short while back. Is that true?”

“It is, but...”

The serving boy’s eyes sharpened with caution as he looked over the trio.

Golden Lotus Rain hurriedly waved her hand.

“Ah, we just happened to hear the rumor in passing and asked out of curiosity. We’re traders running goods to and from beyond the Central Plains, so we’re not up on Central Plains news.”

At that, the serving boy’s eyes lit up.

“Beyond the Central Plains?”

Outside the Central Plains.

To those who might never set foot beyond the Central Plains in their lifetime, it was a world of curiosity and longing.

Rumor had it there were deserts frozen solid and forests of damp, dripping thickets; for those who had never gone, curiosity could only swell.

At Golden Lotus Rain’s chin-jut, Tang Hojin drew something small and flat from his breast.

A coin stamped with a camel.

“This is currency used outside the Central Plains. Ever seen one?”

Golden Lotus Rain showed the coin to the serving boy.

His eyes shone as he shook his head.

“This is my first time, sir. What’s the picture here?”

“An animal they ride outside the Central Plains.”

“That’s a horse? With a back all bumpy like that—can you even get on it?”

“You sit between the humps. Strong enough you don’t even need a freight cart.”

“That strong?”

The serving boy turned the coin over and over with sparkling eyes, fingers lingering.

Golden Lotus Rain spoke generously.

“Keep it.”

“Eh? Y-you’re giving this to me?”

“Meeting like this is a thread of fate. If you ever find yourself beyond the Central Plains, spend it.”

“O-one...”

“At least worth a hundred iron coins.”

At “a hundred iron coins,” the serving boy’s mouth fell open.

He swallowed—gulp.

Then, after a furtive glance around, he tucked the coin into his breast and edged closer to the table.

“About the rumor you asked about just now, sirs.”

The three leaned in around him.

Lowering his voice, the serving boy spoke while watching the room.

“The word is—it was murder.”

The three traded looks.

“Murder...?”

At Golden Lotus Rain’s echo, the serving boy nodded.

“Yes.”

“Who would dare murder the Beggar’s Union Dragon-Head Lord?”

“There’s someone under suspicion.”

Moistening his dry lips, the serving boy whispered even lower.

“A Beggar’s Union elder—so-and-so.”