It felt like a dream.

But it was a cruel dream.

Pal-bu's head, which had been smiling before his eyes, shattered into pieces and disappeared without a trace, and white brain matter mixed with blood was sprayed onto Gongsun Seung's face.

Gongsun Seung's mouth opened slightly and his eyes blinked slowly.

Just blankly.

Puff!

The headless body vomited blood.

The gushing blood fell like rain, covering Gongsun Seung's body.

It was too sudden, and he still couldn't comprehend the situation.

Suddenly, he looked at the cup in his hand.

Where alcohol should have been, it was filled with blood.

"Uh..."

His voice couldn't be uttered, as if something had caught in his throat, and his unfocused eyes filled with fear.

Thud.

Pal-bu's corpse, which had spilled so much blood, tilted and crashed to the ground.

"Uh, uaaaah!"

Gongsun Seung, without realizing it, began backing away while still seated.

Fifteen-year-old boy, mathematical genius.

He had experienced the deaths of his grandfather and father in succession, and there were times when uncles had sought his life.

But he had not broken.

He had prided himself on being bolder than anyone, and believed he was born with a strong momentum that didn't lose to seasoned merchants. But death, this kind of death, he had never even imagined.

The moment he saw Pal-bu's death, his mind went blank, and only a frightened fifteen-year-old boy remained.

"Gongsun Seung."

"...!?"

At someone's call, Gongsun Seung's head suddenly turned without his realizing it. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

A black shadow that had somehow appeared behind him laughed.

It was a white smile with teeth bared.

"So it was you after all. That makes sense."

"...!?"

"There's no need to play dumb. Your expression just now wasn't a reaction to my voice, but a reaction to your name."

"W-who?"

"That too need not be asked. From now on, all you need to do is answer my questions."

The shadow revealed itself beneath the moonlight.

Black clothes, cold eyes.

One of Jinkagu's Upper Heavenly Ghosts—Jin Il-hak.

Gongsun Seung suddenly came to his senses and realized.

That he was death itself.

"Ugh!"

What followed was instinct.

A struggle to distance himself from approaching death.

"Tch! Useless."

Ping!

The moment Jin Il-hak's sleeve fluttered slightly, Gongsun Seung, feeling a sharp pain, stopped struggling.

His limbs felt paralyzed, his body stiff.

"Ugh..."

Fear prevented even screams, only moans escaping.

"Let's go now. There's no good in staying long. I have many questions for you. About Cheonyeong, and about that thing Jagu was after."

Jin Il-hak approached the collapsed Gongsun Seung.

A few steps.

Close enough to reach with just an outstretched hand.

Swish!

At the piercing sound that came like a lie, Jin Il-hak, who had momentarily stopped, contorted his face and changed the direction of his outstretched hand toward Gongsun Seung.

Crack!

Something in his hand shattered to pieces.

A tree?

"Damn!"

Jin Il-hak, who hadn't expected them to return so quickly, urgently reached out to capture Gongsun Seung.

But at that moment.

Whoosh!

A sinister energy flew between them.

Jin Il-hak, who was trying to secure Gongsun Seung and escape, struck the energy with internal force.

Clang!

"Ugh!"

But it was clearly different from the tree's impact.

The blunt force that touched his palm made his elbow ache, and from the rebound, he had to step back several paces.

Crash!

The figure that emerged through the forest was releasing a ferocious gaze and continuously extending his hands.

"W-what? Palm Strike from a distance?"

It was a method of delivering internal force through the air to attack enemies behind walls or at a distance.

But at such a distance—about twenty paces—and releasing internal force repeatedly like this? Even the most skilled would suffer considerable strain...

It was unbelievable, but there was no time to hesitate.

Boom!

Jin Il-hak dodged the palm strike and approached Gongsun Seung. The tree behind his head exploded from the incoming palm force.

Boom! Boom!

Each time he moved to dodge, surrounding objects shattered, and occasionally when he blocked the impact, Jin Il-hak grimaced and glared at his opponent.

Ghost Hand No Gwanyeong.

It was him.

One step would have been enough to reach Gongsun Seung.

His mistake was feeling relieved that he had secured him.

When he killed the martial artist who was with him, he should have immediately carried Gongsun Seung away to safety.

Fortunately, he was still much closer.

Judging that a direct confrontation with No Gwanyeong would be difficult, Jin Il-hak threw hidden weapons with both hands.

Whoosh!

Dozens of hidden weapons flew toward No Gwanyeong, and Jin Il-hak closed the distance he had retreated.

He would dodge.

But his approach would slow, and in that gap, he could escape.

That's what he thought.

But.

Puff-puff-puff!

No Gwanyeong didn't dodge. He received the flying hidden weapons with his entire body and charged forward.

"This, this crazy bastard!"

It was an action he hadn't anticipated, and Jin Il-hak's face contorted.

"You fool!"

In an instant, No Gwanyeong's palm extended with powerful force.

Whoosh!

It wasn't time to face him directly.

Jin Il-hak, judging that Gongsun Seung came first, crouched to avoid the incoming palm force and reached toward Gongsun Seung.

But the presence of the palm force he thought would pass over his head disappeared without a trace, and something massive surged toward Jin Il-hak's crouching chest.

In that instant, the name of No Gwanyeong's unique technique flashed through Jin Il-hak's mind.

The Invisible Hand—Ghost Hand.

"Damn..."

Jin Il-hak urgently crossed both hands.

Crack!

"Ugh!"

Despite hastily surrounding himself with internal force for protection, the impact felt like breaking bones, spreading through his arms to his entire body, and with a groan, Jin Il-hak's body was pushed back several steps.

"Grgh."

When Jin Il-hak barely regained his balance, grimacing at the lingering pain.

"Huff, huff."

No Gwanyeong stood before the immobilized Gongsun Seung, breathing heavily.

"Gongsun Family Head, are you alright?"

"...E-Elder?"

"Are you hurt?"

At his question while keeping his gaze fixed on Jin Il-hak, Gongsun Seung hurried to speak.

"E-Elder. I'm wounded."

"I'm fine. As long as Gongsun Family Head is safe, that's enough. Hide for now. I'll handle this."

Though he said so, No Gwanyeong's condition wasn't good.

Blood trickling from the corners of his mouth like threads.

It was from the repeated Palm Strikes from a distance he had launched to keep Jin Il-hak away.

No matter how great one's martial prowess, it was an excessive use, and it had caused damage to his meridians.

Moreover, he had to protect Gongsun Seung, so hadn't he taken the hidden weapons Jin Il-hak threw head-on? Blood from the wounds made by the hidden weapons was spreading, and his clothes were becoming soaked.

"Damn! Pfft! This cursed old man."

Jin Il-hak, having controlled the internal force stirred up by the Ghost Hand's palm, spat out the blood pooled in his mouth and approached.

"How foolish to interfere. You don't have many days left, yet you seem not to value your life."

"Shut up! There is a code that martial artists must uphold! To target one who knows no martial arts! Even as an assassin, do you have no pride as a martial artist?"

"Pride? For a heterodox faction to speak of such things. Have you ever seen a bad person looking for such things?"

At Jin Il-hak's mocking manner, the corners of No Gwanyeong's eyes twitched slightly.

"So you'll try to stop me?"

"..."

"You know your body isn't in normal condition, don't you?"

"Hmm."

No Gwanyeong grimaced.

As Jin Il-hak said, his condition wasn't good.

The internal injuries from excessive force use were problematic, but the critical issue was the hidden weapons.

Poison.

Already his vision was becoming blurry and dizziness was beginning.

The only reason he could still stand was because he had realized the hidden weapons were poisoned and had cut off his meridian circulation.

Already cold sweat was flowing.

The poison's force was stronger than expected, and despite being blocked, it was gradually spreading.

"Foolish old man. Just to save one brat... hehehehe. But you know, don't you? That neither you nor that brat can escape."

"...You bastard."

His teeth ground.

He couldn't deny Jin Il-hak's words.

He saw that despite his protection, Gongsun Seung wasn't moving, and he understood.

The acupoint was suppressed.

He couldn't release it.

Because if he took his eyes off even for a moment, he would receive Jin Il-hak's attack.

But now, that person was being leisurely.

Because he had seen his condition.

And for some reason, that person wasn't leaving. He wasn't unaware that a discovered assassin should flee.

But why?

No Gwanyeong examined Jin Il-hak with narrowed eyes.

Occasionally, his gaze directed toward... Gongsun Seung?

Since earlier, that person had been trying to take Gongsun Seung.

But even now that his identity was exposed, he hadn't abandoned his obsession. That meant what he was targeting wasn't just information about the Family Head.

He had to endure.

And somehow, he had to draw that person's attention and buy time.

"Hehehehe. You... to boast about merely planting poisoned hidden weapons in my body. How pathetic."

"What?"

"Do you know who I am? I am Ghost Hand No Gwanyeong."

"..."

"Though I'm poisoned, I can move at least once. Knowing that, isn't it why you can't approach so easily?"

"This cursed old man."

"Try if you dare. I won't go to the underworld alone."

At No Gwanyeong's words, Jin Il-hak gritted his teeth and glared but said nothing.

"It's amusing. The moment you use your internal force, the poison will spread throughout your body, making recovery impossible. You're prepared to die? What is the Tang Family that you would go this far?"

Though Jin Il-hak circled left and right looking for an opportunity, unable to approach easily, No Gwanyeong let out a soft laugh.

"I don't know why I had such thoughts, but the Tang Family is my refuge in my twilight years."

"..."

"I've wandered here and there my whole life without pushing myself, but now I wish. For my memorial tablet to be hung in the Tang Family. I am an elder of the Tang Family. So I must stake my life on a future more valuable than my death."

"You're mad. Old age has made you senile."

Jin Il-hak sneered, but No Gwanyeong's eyes already held a resolve that transcended death.

If it were Cheonyeong, he could cultivate martial artists of No Gwanyeong's caliber anytime. Perhaps even someone greater than himself might feel Cheonyeong's charm and join him.

But Gongsun Seung was different.

He was an essential existence for the Tang Family's development.

Even with a hundred martial artists, how could they replace him?

"Fine, I concede. You're too strong for me to handle. You must have a mutual destruction move or two. But what if I don't attack?"

"...What?"

"Won't the poison spread if you block? Ghost Hand, you're now poisoned with Burial Poison. You're holding it back with internal force now, but you won't last long. Isn't that so? So regardless of whether you block or not, Gongsun Seung will be mine. If you surrender Gongsun Seung now and focus on expelling the poison, you might survive. What say you?"

As No Gwanyeong refused to budge, Jin Il-hak changed his words to tempt him. But No Gwanyeong firmly rejected his proposal with a sneer.

"You seem anxious. Your tongue has grown long."

"What?"

"You know. The Tang Family's martial artists will arrive soon."

"You bastard..."

"Though I will die, you too will never obtain what you desire."

"..."

"What use is fleeing now? You've already killed a Tang Family member. Do you know what that means? The Tang Family never forgets resentment. Your life now belongs to the Tang Family."

"I, this..."

As No Gwanyeong's words continued, Jin Il-hak's face alternated between red and blue.

Gongsun Seung.

He absolutely had to secure him.

Information about Cheonyeong could be gathered later, but another reason prevented him from abandoning him.

Then, distant commotion rushes in.

The noise from the fight with the Ghost Hand must have caused the Tang Family's martial artists to stop their search and return.

"Even if I die. I have done my part. By restraining you alone."

No Gwanyeong smiled brightly.

It was a hollow smile, as if he had humbly accepted death.

The Tang Family's Departure from the World