They dropped to their knees in one motion, facing me.

Watching the men who introduced themselves as the small moon and offered formal respects, I swallowed a quiet breath.

‘Crazy.’

Bodies set at perfect angles.

The real thing—fighters I’d never even see at the Branch.

Even I could tell every last one of them sat at least around a Unit Commander’s level, and—

By the feel they gave off, likely beyond that.

Overwhelming toughness, edged and restrained.

Each man exuded the keenness of a famed blade.

‘...Fierce.’

Just looking at them made me want to shrink. Cold sweat beaded; I swallowed dry.

Instinct pressed down. My breath was about to hitch when—

[Hah (喝)!]

“...!”

Thunder cracked at my ear and my eyes widened.

My body locked, and my reaction changed. I didn’t flinch or yelp.

My heart and head cooled.

I steadied the tremor in my eyes and parted my lips.

“By ‘small moon’...”

My voice, thankfully, sounded like usual.

“Do you mean the Small Moon Unit?”

“That’s correct.”

The middle-aged man affirmed. I knit my brows.

Small Moon Unit.

The Blue Moon Sect’s elite corps.

Like Mount Hua’s Plum Sword Guard or Wudang’s Taiji Sword Guard—a sect’s top striking force. Which meant every one of them was a master I had no business looking in the eye.

[Masters, my ass.]

As if he’d read my mind, the old man gave a derisive laugh.

[You blind? Is your eye that worthless?]

He kept clucking his tongue as if he truly couldn’t comprehend me.

Naturally, I couldn’t answer or ask him anything.

“We came to escort you after hearing the news. I’m Do Gyeong, Deputy Commander of the Small Moon Unit.”

‘...Do Gyeong.’

Details slid into place.

Blue Wolf Sword Do Gyeong.

A well-known Blue Moon Sect fighter.

‘...Quite a figure I’m meeting.’

The sort you might see once in a lifetime—and lately I’d been bumping into Little Azure Sword and Blue Wolf Sword back-to-back. Strange times.

My heart jumped like a kid’s, but I kept my face flat.

“Escort me? What do you mean?”

I eased my tone up. If I’d raised it because I knew who he was, the pretext held.

Do Gyeong’s expression shifted a hair, then settled.

He was about to speak when—

“Young Master Bang—!”

Someone dropped from the sky to land in front of me.

Cheon Eujin, face tight with urgency.

“You scared me.”

I blinked, and Eujin looked to Do Gyeong.

The look they exchanged was odd.

“...Deputy Commander.”

“Long time, Young Master Cheon.”

There was a bite in the air. My thoughts spun.

Ah. I see.

‘This wasn’t a planned meeting.’

Judging by Eujin’s reaction, he hadn’t expected Blue Moon Sect people to show up.

Which meant either—

‘He didn’t pass word to the Sect.’

Or the people who came were different from who he expected.

One of the two.

‘Either way, from Eujin’s face, he and Do Gyeong aren’t on the best terms.’

That was my read—and sure enough—

“How did you know to come?”

Eujin asked, face full of caution.

“As always, we move by order.”

“Order?”

“A message: the Sword Saint’s successor will arrive shortly—escort him in.”

“...How on earth...”

‘As expected.’

Watching Eujin, my certainty hardened.

‘He didn’t send the right information.’

He likely hadn’t sent word that I’d appeared. More precisely—

‘He didn’t say we’d departed.’

That we were leaving for the Blue Moon Sect together—he hadn’t reported that at all.

To be fair, it had been odd.

‘The Sword Saint’s successor appears, and the Blue Moon Sect assigns no escort.’

Reckless to the point of nonsense.

‘So this was it.’

If Eujin had failed to pass it on, and the Sect moved in a rush before rumors spread—that tracked.

‘Why?’

Why would he do that?

If I had to name a reason, one glaring thing came to mind.

Probably—

‘...the old man’s beloved blade.’

Half-broken and ancient, housed in a wooden case in the carriage.

That seemed like reason enough for Eujin not to report it properly.

“You’ve done well. From here, we’ll guide you in safely.”

“But Young Master Bang, I—”

“The Sect Master is waiting.”

“...!”

At ‘Sect Master,’ Eujin’s body locked.

Seeing that, I stepped forward.

“With such a gracious welcome, I’m at a loss. Then, I’ll be in your care.”

I grinned. The truth of it could be confirmed inside.

Either way, we were going.

“Then please take the carriage we’ve prepared—”

“Ah, I’d rather not. We’ll stick with the one we came in.”

I refused Do Gyeong on the spot.

“I sleep poorly if I change seats.”

“...”

His eye twitched at the ridiculous excuse.

“Understood.”

He let it pass without a peep.

“We’ll escort you.”

“Yes. Good.”

Do Gyeong moved. I reached out and tapped Cheon Eujin’s shoulder.

He stirred from his stiffness.

His face—strangely resentful. Seeing that, the old man spoke to me.

[Once again—keep your head.]

As if he’d already forgotten the mess he caused, he warned me. I smiled.

Part scoff, part smile.

‘He said foxes, right?’

Whether he meant the Small Moon Unit or the Blue Moon Sect, I didn’t care.

Didn’t matter.

‘I’ve been chewed to the bone already.’

Fox, wolf, lion—I’d been bitten by them all. Especially by foxes, I’d been led around plenty.

And after getting bitten enough, you learn to hunt.

‘Maybe that’s why?’

Honestly—

I wasn’t scared at all.

****

We returned to the carriage and took the Small Moon Unit’s escort.

Just as expected—arriving took the ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) extra day.

Henan.

We reached the prefecture that housed the Blue Moon Sect, alongside the Martial Alliance headquarters.

‘Wow.’

So many people. First thought on sight. Anhui was populous, but this was on another level.

Of course—the Alliance headquarters was here.

‘I’d been a bit removed from the center.’

Even in Anhui, I’d been out back.

We’d set up away from the Namgung Clan, farther from the county seat, so it made sense.

‘Still, it’s something.’

I’d seen scenes like this back home in Liaoning, but it still felt strange.

The problem—

“That’s the Small Moon Unit.”

“Who are they escorting...?”

—was that with the Unit escorting our carriage, every eye turned.

‘Everyone’s staring.’

Every passerby tracked the carriage I rode.

Reason was obvious: the Small Moon Unit.

They were the Sect’s elite. In Henan, the Blue Moon Sect’s standing wouldn’t be low.

‘Even so—this much?’

The sparkling looks brimmed with longing. A look I’d never once gotten in the Anhui Branch.

‘Not that I’m jealous.’

I drew back from the window and closed it. More people meant more souls drifting.

‘Which means I have to memorize them again.’

In Anhui, I’d memorized the souls along my usual routes so I wouldn’t jump when I met them.

‘...When am I going to map all this again?’

The thought of starting over made my head ache.

I rubbed my brow; across from me, the guy there didn’t look much different.

‘Anyone would think the world had ended.’

Cheon Eujin, sitting in silence.

His face had been pitch-dark.

Since last night, he’d worn the same look.

Whether worry or anger, I couldn’t read a clear answer from him—and regardless, I had plenty to think about on my end.

‘I’ve lined up most of it.’

But who knew.

All I could do was hope what I’d prepared would work.

I was wishing that hard when—

“We’ve arrived.”

Came a voice from outside. The words I’d been waiting for.

Only then did I notice—the murmuring had faded; the bustle was gone.

I eased the door open. The first thing I saw was a colossal gate.

‘Wow.’

How was a gate that big? Ridiculous size.

The plaque above bore a single character—Blue (靑)—etched deep.

Hard to mistake where this was.

‘We actually made it.’

The Blue Moon Sect. The most influential great sect in the Central Plains today. Its entrance.

I stepped down slowly, feeling the difference—

Thump—! Thump-thump—!

The Small Moon Unit fighters who’d escorted us dropped to their knees again, just as when they first met me.

I wasn’t rattled. This was the start of what I’d already expected.

[Ho.]

The old man smiled like he’d spotted something.

I followed his gaze past the gate.

Someone was walking toward me from far off.

Thump—

“...!”

The moment I saw him, my heart jumped on its own.

Like when I first met Do Gyeong—only several times more intense.

Thump— Thump—

My heartbeat grew louder. My eyes felt strangely hot. Fever?

I hid the sweat pooling in my palms by angling them out of view.

I kept still—just waited for him to reach me.

A breath later—

[Heh-heh-heh.]

With the old man’s chuckle, the man stopped before me.

Lean-cut features. If Cheon Eujin aged up, he’d look like this.

The sword at his hip, the tall frame, the dense muscle—an impressive build.

A weighty presence I couldn’t quite name—and yet what seized my eyes was—

‘...His eyes.’

The man’s eyes were blue.

Which meant he’d opened Moon Eyes—and hinted, however faintly, at who he was here.

Not that anyone needed the hint.

In today’s Central Plains, there were few who wouldn’t recognize the man before me.

His epithet: Moonlit Sword.

A master ranked among the top twenty under heaven.

Cheon Eujin’s father—whose face had gone sheet-white behind me.

And at the same time—

[So that stubborn brat turned into this.]

—the man who led the Blue Moon Sect today: the Sect Master.