“He has a disciple—So-and-so’s, a child as trusted as a right hand. The last place that child was seen was Shijiazhuang.”

Southern Hebei, Shijiazhuang.

Not a large city, but it sits at a crossroads, so people naturally gathered there to live.

To the south, a rugged range crowded with sheer cliffs made it a suitable place to hide one’s body.

“If the last sighting was in Shijiazhuang, even we won’t find them easily.”

Tang Hojin, well-versed in the terrain, spoke with an awkward look.

Cheon Guiho shook his head as if he already knew.

“I’m not asking you to track them down. I know where So-and-so’s disciple is.”

“If you know, why not go yourself?”

“If I go to that child, what if So-and-so burrows even deeper out of sight?”

Golden Lotus Rain let out a quiet “Ah...,” a low sigh.

Cheon Guiho clasped Yu Gang’s hand.

“Please. Could you meet them, just once?”

“What do you intend to do if you find So-and-so?”

“Even setting the Dog-Beating Staff aside, I want to hear him speak. Why he did something so horrific....”

Cheon Guiho’s face twisted with pain.

“So-and-so was someone I respected and followed. He was the Lord’s old friend as well. Until that day, we were very harmonious.”

His eyes grew moist.

With So-and-so’s betrayal, the Beggar’s Union shook overnight and those he revered were gone; the pain could not but be great.

Still gripping Yu Gang’s hand, Cheon Guiho bowed his head low.

His shoulders were trembling in fine shivers.

At the pitiable sight, Golden Lotus Rain and Tang Hojin also looked on him with sympathy.

“Understood. We’ll go meet them.”

“!”

Cheon Guiho snapped his head up.

Surprise and gratitude flooded his gaze.

“...Truly?”

“Yes. The Martial Alliance also wishes for the Beggar’s Union’s safety; we can’t ignore a request you’ve made, Hugae.”

“J-just a moment...!”

Fearing Yu Gang might change his mind, Cheon Guiho hurriedly scribbled on paper the place where So-and-so’s confidant was.

“It’s the name of a pavilion in Shijiazhuang. There are traces of entry but none of exit, so they’re likely inside. However...”

“?”

“The security is extremely tight, and they accept only those with entry tokens. It won’t be easy to get in.”

From his helpless expression, even the Beggar’s Union had no clever way in.

Yu Gang slowly nodded.

“We’ll handle that part.”

“Thank you. Truly—thank you...! I will not forget this favor!”

Cheon Guiho seized Yu Gang’s hand and shook it vigorously.

Relief and joy filled his smile.

—

Leaving the Beggar’s Union encampment, Yu Gang’s party set out straight for Shijiazhuang.

With no further need to hide their trail, the three decided to travel on horseback.

“Carry it well—make sure it doesn’t miss her.”

Yu Gang stroked Seolmae’s head, then sent it off to Seolhwa.

It was a message slip noting their move to Shijiazhuang.

“Commander.”

In the meantime, Tang Hojin and Golden Lotus Rain, who had gone to borrow horses, returned leading three.

Yu Gang took the reins from Tang Hojin and vaulted into the saddle in one smooth motion.

Following him into the saddle, Golden Lotus Rain spoke with a sigh woven into her voice.

“Still, it’s a shock. An Elder killing the Dragon-Head Lord. Do you think he coveted the seat?”

Riding up behind Golden Lotus Rain, Tang Hojin answered.

“Without the Dog-Beating Staff you can’t ascend to Dragon-Head Lord, but the Staff alone doesn’t make you Lord either. There’s no way a Beggar’s Union Elder didn’t know that.”

“Then maybe he refused to acknowledge Hugae as Dragon-Head Lord—enough to flee with the Dog-Beating Staff!”

“That could be. Commander, what do you think?”

Tang Hojin asked Yu Gang.

Leading his horse in silence at the front, Yu Gang spoke with a look sunk deep in thought.

“That man never once used an honorific for the previous Dragon-Head Lord.”

“Pardon?”

“If you’re Hugae, you’re the previous Dragon-Head Lord’s disciple. Even if not, if you respected him, you’d call him Lord. I mean Cheon Guiho.”

Even without thinking, one naturally uses honorifics for those one truly respects.

All the more so—just think of Ouyang Do—neglecting honorifics for one’s own master is hard to grasp.

“Now that you say it...”

Golden Lotus Rain rubbed her chin, eyes widening.

“He never once said ‘Dragon-Head Lord.’ He only referred to him as ‘the Lord.’”

One could wave it off as nothing, but if you thought it odd, it was odd.

Besides, when he spoke of the Lord’s death, hadn’t Cheon Guiho shown himself still sunk in grief?

“Trust no one.”

“Remember. Trust no one.”

It was Seolhwa’s last remark.

Had she known something?

“...”

Yu Gang tightened his grip, winding the reins into his hand.

Resolve hardened over his features.

“We need to meet that Beggar’s Union Elder first.”

Golden Lotus Rain and Tang Hojin also nodded, faces set with resolve.

“Let’s hurry.”

With a sharp “Hyah!” the three mounts surged to speed and thundered toward Shijiazhuang.

****

Before sunrise, in the gray of early dawn.

Seolhwa looked at the items laid before her.

A human-skin mask sized for an adult man, sumptuous clothing of expensive make, and a slip of paper no larger than a palm.

On the paper was written a name: “Greenscale Pavilion.”

“It’s the largest pavilion in Shijiazhuang, Hebei.”

Seeing her gaze slide to the paper, the Hao Sect Lord spoke.

“Unusually, they keep a separate private hall for honored guests. On the first day of each year, they tally the previous year’s spending and issue entry tokens only to those who spent the most.”

Banquets in the private hall are held once a month.

The very best food, music, and entertainers the pavilion can muster greet the honored guests, and the splendor of those banquets has spread beyond Hebei.

“Among those who come and go to that banquet, there’s a merchant-lord rumored to be hiding So-and-so.”

“How do we obtain an entry token?”

The Hao Sect Lord drew an entry token from her sleeve and set it before Seolhwa.

“It’s already prepared.”

Her lips curved in a soft arc.

“After all, I am the Hao Sect Lord.”

A woman who had the pavilions across the Central Plains in her hand.

And the one to whom that woman had pledged loyalty was none other than Seolhwa.

Seolhwa smiled back, took the token, and slipped it into her sleeve.

“Reassuring.”

“I’m glad I can be of help.”

“Whom do I need to find?”

“That as well is prepared. I spoke with the Pavilion Lord and made an appointment—everything will be ready when you arrive.”

Seolhwa nodded, donned the Sado Union Lord’s mask, and rose.

“Leaving at once?”

“Yes. Please don’t spread word that I’ve gone to Shijiazhuang.”

“I receive the command.”

The Hao Sect Lord dipped her head, and Seolhwa pressed a blood channel to alter her voice, then shrugged on a long coat.

When she opened the door and stepped out, Ryeong at the fore and the Sado Union’s Guardian Patrols were waiting for her.

Dawn mist lay thick over the front courtyard.

[Namgoong Seolhwa.]

Right then, the returning Imoogi slipped into Seolhwa’s sleeve.

[The woman is still in Shanxi.]

Mo-wol hadn’t gone far.

No doubt the Blood Sect’s strings were watching her movements from somewhere.

Moving at the earliest hour, while all slept, was for that very reason.

— We move.

Seolhwa’s voice reached Ryeong and the Guardian Patrols by voice transmission.

Tak—

Her black silhouette vanished in an instant.

Tatak— Tak— Tadat—

A dozen-odd shadows followed, their traces swallowed by the mist.

****

Hundreds of lanterns hung aloft, and the strains of music spilled all the way past the front gate.

Seolhwa lifted her gaze, following the sky lanterns children had launched, floating up as if they’d never know a ceiling to the sky.

The streets of Shijiazhuang brimmed with life as if a festival were underway.

Each time the private-hall banquet opened—once a month—the Greenscale Pavilion’s way of honoring its precious guests was to make even the streets come alive like this.

“They hand out sky lanterns and food for free to draw people together.”

If the ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) streets are lively, the forecourt of the pavilion too will be charged with giddy air.

People would remember this time as joyful and vibrant—that was precisely the Greenscale Pavilion’s tactic for drawing in patrons.

“This way, please.”

At the sight of the token, an attendant led Seolhwa’s party.

Per token, up to two companions might join the banquet, with two bodyguards.

In that number, Seolhwa, Ryeong, and two Guardian Patrols entered the Greenscale Pavilion’s private hall.

“Please be seated.”

The wine table had already been laid.

Even the dishes set as a default were so varied they filled the table.

Their seats were in a tucked-away corner of the second story of the gallery.

A place where eyes did not reach, so they could come and go at ease.

Thanks to the Hao Sect Lord’s advance word.

Pouring tea into the cups, the attendant spoke.

“The dance and song will begin shortly. If, while you watch, there’s an entertainer who catches your eye, simply mention it to me.”

If a guest liked someone onstage, the attendant would go and bring her over—that was the form.

Once the glasses were filled, the attendant slipped back behind the table, quiet as a shadow, and soon the music changed as a troupe of long-sleeved entertainers swept in.

In time with the music, the entertainers let their color-dyed hems flutter and danced.

It seemed a fitting way to signal the start—beautiful and lavish.

Watching the dancers, the Greenscale Pavilion’s guests also began to grow busy.

They beckoned attendants and gestured toward the performers onstage, and when the brief dance ended, several entertainers were summoned to tables.

“So that’s how it works.”

It was quite a different operation from Hwaoru, which leaned more on gambling and patent-medicine sales than on staged performances—interesting in its own right.

Presently the music changed again, and a second troupe spilled out in a rush.

This time they were men, faces lower halves veiled, a blade in each hand—an intriguing twist.

Seolhwa watched the line file in with a cool gaze. But—

“...?”

Her brows drew together for a beat.

Shock swam into her eyes.