The man introduced himself as Hyung Yeonghwa. He looked somewhere short of forty, and for a martial artist he carried a bit of extra weight.

He wore an easy, friendly smile, and he said he belonged to the escort division.

Escort division, huh.

One person immediately came to mind.

Wasn’t that where that bastard was from?

The guy who’d been guarding Cheon Eujin. What was the name—Pungyeong? That bastard had been stuck to Cheon Eujin as part of the escort division.

So either that meant the escort division just attracted that kind of trash... or there was another reason.

What the hell is that?

I checked the thing clinging to Hyung Yeonghwa’s back, and I had to swallow a burst of empty laughter. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

I didn’t stare directly. I kept my face as flat as I could, and only peeked sideways while I traced the flow of energy.

A malicious ghost?

No.

If it were a malicious ghost, the shape would be clearer. That foggy, misted-out look—something like that could pass for a plain wandering spirit.

The problem was—

That thing has an aura this filthy, but the form is that vague?

Whatever it was, the lingering attachment was so thin it was barely there—like only a scrap of belief had survived.

Usually, when an existence was that faint, it felt like that.

And yet it’s carrying energy that dense.

The form was unclear, but the energy was absurdly thick.

I’d never seen anything like it.

What are you?

I voiced the question in my head and casually swept my gaze around the room. I wanted to naturally throw my eyes toward Yoo Cheongil.

My turned head met Yoo Cheongil’s eyes—

[Hm?]

He ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) only tipped his chin at me.

So he doesn’t feel anything.

From the look of it, he couldn’t see that thing.

Which meant—

That isn’t a simple wandering spirit.

It wasn’t a wandering spirit at all.

And, of all things, only I could see it.

Not a spirit, but my Moon Eyes are catching it.

What did that mean?

I didn’t know yet.

“Ah, please, have a seat.”

Hyung Yeonghwa gestured at the chair in front of him. I pulled it out and sat.

“Ahaha. Would you like tea brought in?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Understood. Haha. Don’t be too tense. This isn’t a place for interrogation.”

“......”

That wasn’t why I was tense.

I kept my eyes behind him, and I kept a smile on my face.

“You must be tired after just finishing your match, but I apologize for calling you here.”

“It’s fine. May I ask why you called for me?”

I already knew why. It was obvious. Still, I asked.

“It’s nothing else... I wanted to ask you a few things regarding Namgung Seong.”

Of course. I knew it.

“Me?”

I widened my eyes more than I felt and asked back. I acted surprised, but I kept watching the shape of that energy.

The wavering thing moved something that looked like arms and legs, and it looked like it was hugging Hyung Yeonghwa’s body.

“Ah, yes. Since the Little Sword Saint—”

“Just call me Bang Sungyeon.”

“Then, Young Master Bang. Back when you were active at the Martial Alliance Anhui Branch.”

“Yes.”

A story from months ago came out.

Yeah. It had already been months since then.

“I heard there was some friction with Namgung Seong, the Small Blue Sword, at the time.”

“It wasn’t friction. We just had a match.”

“For it to be ‘just’ a match...”

Rustle.

The letter in front of Hyung Yeonghwa fluttered. He read as if confirming something, then spoke to me again.

“The process and the result are recorded as rather... severe. The record says that immediately after the match ended, you struck Namgung Seong’s vital point.”

“There was an incident.”

The “incident” where I’d gotten so pissed off I’d tried to smash his crotch to pieces. That was why I’d run off to the Blue Moon Sect like I was fleeing—because the Namgung Clan might come after me.

The problem was—

“I don’t see what that has to do with the incident now.”

I asked what connection there was between what Namgung Seong had done now and why I was being questioned here.

I spoke with my face twisted up like I was openly irritated.

Then—

“Ahaha... I’m sorry to have offended you.”

Hyung Yeonghwa hurriedly waved both hands.

“Because of what Namgung Seong has done, we’re currently investigating everything related to him. And among that, this was the incident with the largest impact this year... so we had no choice but to ask you to come in.”

“Then I understand. But right now, it feels like I came here to be interrogated, not to testify. Am I also a suspect?”

“Ahaha! Absolutely not! How could we suspect the successor of the Sword Saint— I had no such intention.”

He spoke in a rush, like he truly meant it.

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Of course! As I said, I’m only asking you a few questions as part of an investigation.”

“Understood.”

I’d poked him to see if he was trying to size me up, but it didn’t seem like that.

Then what is that?

That energy hugging Hyung Yeonghwa still hadn’t changed.

If anything had changed—

Is it looking at me?

It kept bobbing like it was nodding, facing my direction.

I couldn’t see eyes. It was just that the area that seemed like a face was moving like that.

What do you want, and what the hell are you?

I couldn’t tell. If it were a malicious ghost, I would’ve known the moment I saw it.

That energy was... how do I put it—

It does feel like malevolent aura.

But it was different from the vicious filth I’d felt from Baek Cheonin.

A malicious ghost’s aura, and even Baek Cheonin’s aura, had a certain naturalness to it.

Calling malevolent aura “natural” was ridiculous, but if I had to compare—

On the other hand, that thing was—

Artificial.

It felt contrived. Deliberate.

Like someone had clumsily made it and stuck it on.

Why did it feel that way?

I didn’t know. It just did.

No—

I can see it.

It looked that way.

Ssss.

The more I watched the flow of energy, the more my eyes tightened on their own.

I hadn’t even properly fed power into my Moon Eyes, but it happened anyway.

That’s a bad sign.

It was a bad sign. A really bad sign. No matter how friendly that smile looked.

That single presence made everything feel warped.

“Then... may I ask a bit more?”

Hyung Yeonghwa resumed, and—

“Yes.”

I decided to focus on the questioning for now.

*****

“Thank you for your cooperation. Please return safely.”

“It was nothing. Thank you for your hard work as well, Investigator.”

The questioning ended, and I stepped outside. Had it taken about half a shichen?

Like I said, the content was about Namgung Seong.

How we met. What we talked about.

How we ended up fighting. What happened afterward.

What Namgung Seong was like when I saw him.

I explained as much as I could.

Of course—

I left a few things out.

I cut out anything that might come back to bite me, and only spoke about Namgung Seong.

They’d already investigated everything anyway.

This was just to see how well my words matched what they already had.

Ssss.

Things felt like they were starting to tangle up in a weird way.

Why had everything suddenly turned like this?

What the hell is going on?

What was happening? And why had Namgung Seong suddenly gone that fucking insane?

I can’t make sense of it.

Every single thing happening was strange.

And—

It’s ominous.

It felt ominous as hell. Like that presence stuck to Hyung Yeonghwa’s back.

Not a malicious ghost, not even a wandering spirit...

If it was neither, why couldn’t Yoo Cheongil see it?

My divine sense seems to catch it.

Then Yoo Cheongil should’ve been able to see it too.

Something was off.

Just then—

“Where do you plan to go now?”

The moment I stepped out of the Martial Alliance, the Small Moon Unit Leader was already close, asking.

When did Teacher show up again?

“...Ah. I don’t have anything scheduled, so I’ll go back to the inn.”

Tomorrow was the semifinal.

The day had already arrived. And since the semifinal and final were held on the same day, tomorrow was basically the last day of the martial tournament.

If I wanted to make it through, I needed to manage fatigue today.

“Understood.”

Teacher only nodded, without much reaction. I was about to start walking toward the inn too, when—

CLACK

Something at my waist bothered me.

Right. That’s right.

I was carrying an extra sword at my belt. The Divine Sword, wrapped in cloth.

I’d been told to keep it on me just in case, so I’d brought it—but having two swords was more cumbersome than I expected.

Nothing even happened. Do I really have to keep lugging this around?

The thought had barely passed when—

[If possible, start today and keep it on you at all times.]

Yoo Cheongil spoke immediately.

Hmph.

I didn’t get it, but it was only annoying—nothing else—so I’d keep carrying it.

With that decided, I headed into the county, returning to the inn.

“Look, it’s the Little Sword Saint.”

A voice rose from nearby.

“The Little Sword Saint...? Oh my god, it really is.”

“Handsome, just like they said.”

“Wow... the Little Sword Saint...”

“......”

It was like everyone recognized me at once.

Damn it.

I scratched the back of my head awkwardly. Maybe because I’d gone out to fight several times already, there were way more eyes that recognized me now.

Should’ve worn a face cover.

My face already stood out.

Setting aside the fact I took after my father and had a decent face, the real problem was my eyes—Moon Eyes.

That probably made me even easier to recognize.

“I loved your match!”

“You were incredible!”

“Ah— y-yes. Thank you...”

I answered while speeding up.

Once one person recognized me, it felt like the whole county started recognizing me.

This wasn’t good. I needed to get into the inn fast.

With that in mind, I hurried—

“You were amazing!”

“Handsome as hell!”

“Ah, yes, yes. Thank you... tha— huh?”

While I was answering as I passed—

A group was approaching from ahead.

...Huh?

I stiffened slightly when I saw them. At a glance, it just looked like a cluster of people walking together.

But—

That...

Something was visible on them.

That’s the same thing from earlier.

The lump of energy that had been stuck to Hyung Yeonghwa.

That artificial, malevolent bundle—one by one, it clung to each person as they came toward me.

My eyes widened.

Why is that—

Why was it stuck to them?

And the moment I widened my eyes in shock—

[Pull your gaze back.]

Yoo Cheongil’s voice dropped like a weight.

The instant I heard it, I shifted my line of sight away.

And I acted as naturally as I could.

“Thank you.”

I repeated the greeting I’d been giving and walked on, passing the group.

I went by like nothing happened.

Only after I’d put some distance between us—

“Huuu...”

I let out a quiet breath.

Cold sweat had already dampened my back from a tension I couldn’t explain.

What was that?

Who the hell were those people? Why were they wrapped in the same energy Hyung Yeonghwa had?

How were they walking around Henan’s county carrying that kind of ominous filth?

I couldn’t make sense of it, my eyes rolling—

[Those guys just now.]

Yoo Cheongil moved closer and spoke.

[They’re HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE.]

“......!”

My eyes blew wide.

What?

HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE?

The ones I’d run into in Sichuan?

My head snapped back. They were already out of sight.

But the problem was—

Then that energy...

That wicked energy all those HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE bastards carried.

If everyone carrying that aura was HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE—

Then what Hyung Yeonghwa had...

The fact that Hyung Yeonghwa—the so-called alliance investigator—had that same aura.

My focus sharpened on that point.

No way.

A cold thought slid through my mind.

That faint shape, that subtle energy—

...Anyone carrying that aura is HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE?

It felt like an aura that marked them.

And if that was true... then Hyung Yeonghwa—