Mount Hua Sect’s night turned loud in an instant.

Yeo Hyeok had burst in out of nowhere, urgently searching for a Therapist.

“Is anyone here!”

His voice, packed with inner power, rang through the entire sect.

It was such a thunderous shout that martial artists poured in from all directions.

“Yeo Hyeok?”

“What’s going on—huh?”

Everyone was still reeling when they spotted what he was carrying, and eyes widened.

“That’s Moon Knight.”

“How is he...?”

“Blood?”

Bang Sungyeon was slung over Yeo Hyeok’s back, unconscious and bleeding.

“Where is the Therapist.”

A pinnacle master had arrived with him.

The Small Moon Unit Leader was scanning the area with the same urgency, demanding an answer.

It wasn’t normal.

A moment later, the Therapists—woken from sleep—came rushing in.

“What happened?”

“...A patient. His back was pierced. The wound isn’t deep, but he was poisoned.”

“Poison... you mean?”

“That’s right. I was told it’s poison from the Immortal-Seizing Herb, but it could be something else. It needs to be confirmed.”

“Immortal-Seizing Herb...!”

The Therapist’s eyes went wide.

“How could anyone even get something that rare...!”

Poison from the Immortal-Seizing Herb wasn’t common. The herb itself was rare to begin with. And to use it as poison, you had to extract it and press it down—

and the amount you got was microscopic.

To collect enough to use on someone, you’d need to gather a great deal over time.

And once you did, the effect was—

“...With Immortal-Seizing Herb, paralysis is a problem, yes—but the bigger problem is that it worsens wounds. Even stopping the bleeding becomes difficult...”

While speaking, the Therapist laid Bang Sungyeon down and checked the injury.

“Ugh.”

The Therapist covered his nose.

The smell coming from the wound was the issue.

“...It is Immortal-Seizing Herb poison.”

He sounded certain, based on the stench alone.

“If it’s confirmed, that’s almost a relief. Where is the antidote?”

If you had the antidote, you could treat and stabilize him. That was what the Small Moon Unit Leader was thinking as he spoke.

But—

“There is no antidote, Leader.”

“What?”

The Therapist’s eyes trembled as he said it.

The Small Moon Unit Leader’s face twisted.

“No antidote—what are you saying!”

“...It’s a rare poison. It’s also an herb that doesn’t grow in Shaanxi. The antidote itself is hard to obtain, and not something you can just find.”

“And you call that an answer?”

GRAB—!

“Ghk!?”

“Leader!!”

The Small Moon Unit Leader seized the Therapist by the collar and hauled him up. Yeo Hyeok flinched.

“If there’s no antidote, then what’s the method? There’s a treatment method, isn’t there?”

“L-Leader... my throat...”

“Calm down...! If you do this, it only makes things worse!”

“...Kh.”

The Small Moon Unit Leader let his arm drop, releasing him.

“...I apologize. I couldn’t hold my temper. Is there a method?”

“...Since it’s poison, without an antidote, treatment is difficult. But it isn’t classified as an extreme poison. There is a method.”

Good news.

The Small Moon Unit Leader’s expression started to ease—

and then the Therapist hesitated.

“However... that method...”

“What is it.”

“The method is extremely complex, and there’s very little recorded about it. So almost no one knows it. And... I’m the same.”

“...Damn it.”

In other words: I can’t do it.

“What kind of absurd answer is that.”

“...I’m sorry.”

“Then we have to get the antidote.”

If there was no one who could perform the method, then the antidote was the only path left.

“Goddamn it.”

The Small Moon Unit Leader cursed—low and vicious.

And then—

“What is all this.”

A gentle voice carried through the crowd.

At that sound, people immediately parted, making a path.

“ Sect Master....”

Yeo Hyeok reacted first.

Mount Hua Sect’s Sect Master—Plum Blossom Single Sword Seongheon—had arrived.

He moved slowly through the gathered martial artists, approaching the Small Moon Unit Leader.

“What is this commotion.”

“...We greet the Sect Master.”

“Mm.”

Seongheon’s gaze dropped to Bang Sungyeon, lying there.

And the moment he saw him—

“......”

His eyes narrowed.

“...This is.”

“He was struck by the Strange Demon.”

—!

At those words, the area froze.

“The Strange Demon?”

“The Strange Demon...! You mean that—?”

“Isn’t that the DEMON CULT’s great demonic warrior? How can that name come up? He was known to be dead.”

“In Henan they said the Sword Demon appeared. Don’t tell me the Strange Demon too, then...?”

The murmuring surged like a wave.

The name Strange Demon carried that kind of weight.

“Enough—!”

“...!”

The Sect Master seized the entire crowd with inner power.

Silence fell instantly.

His robe rippled in the pressure.

In the quiet, Seongheon spoke again.

“The Strange Demon. What are you saying.”

“......”

The Small Moon Unit Leader glanced at Bang Sungyeon.

He hadn’t heard the full story.

Then—

“...We were searching for HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE remnants.”

Yeo Hyeok stepped forward.

Every gaze turned to him.

“HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE?”

“Yes, Sect Master. We heard remnants of HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE had appeared in Shaanxi, so Moon Knight and I searched together. During that process, we identified a hideout. We began a suppression operation, and...”

He looked between Bang Sungyeon and the Small Moon Unit Leader, continuing.

“The Strange Demon appeared and ambushed Moon Knight.”

The crowd murmured again.

Quieter than before, but sharp enough that every syllable carried.

“So the Strange Demon truly...”

“And HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE, on top of that... what is this...”

Seongheon asked, eyes on Yeo Hyeok.

“Yeo Hyeok.”

“Yes, Sect Master...”

“You searching for HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE—this is the first I’m hearing of it. Was this your decision alone.”

“...I apologize.”

“How does a Plum Blossom Swordsman act unilaterally, searching alongside Blue Moon Sect members.”

The Sect Master’s expression hardened. A Plum Blossom Swordsman and Mount Hua—moving alone like that made no sense to him.

“That is...”

“Answer.”

“...Because I judged there is a spy within Mount Hua.”

“...!”

The air dropped heavy.

“You...”

“You know it too, Sect Master. The disappearances lately—those aren’t something mere HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE demonic warriors could accomplish on their own.”

Disappearance.

At that word, the Small Moon Unit Leader’s ears pricked.

“Yeo Hyeok. Watch your words.”

“But...”

Yeo Hyeok stopped mid-sentence and bit his lip.

And then—

THUD—!!

Someone forced through the crowd.

Seongheon’s gaze snapped to the figure.

A slender woman shot forward like an arrow, rushing straight to Bang Sungyeon.

“...Yuyeon?”

It was Yuyeon.

Sword Phoenix Yuyeon ran in, frantic, and checked Bang Sungyeon.

“—.”

He was collapsed and bleeding. He’d been unconscious for a long time, and cold sweat was pouring off him.

Seeing him like that—

Yuyeon—

“—.”

Instead of a sound she couldn’t produce, she released a distant, suffocating battle aura.

“...Kh!?”

“Ugh!”

Battle aura from a small frame.

The martial artists flinched, bodies trembling at the pressure.

What—

Even the Small Moon Unit Leader had to narrow his eyes at Yuyeon.

This...

What kind of presence could that body produce?

And—

It’s full of killing intent.

Killing intent woven into the battle aura.

It began to amplify, mixing into something thicker and uglier.

“Uh... ah... gkrrk.”

The Therapist—closer to a normal person than a martial artist—foamed at the mouth and passed out.

The Small Moon Unit Leader went rigid, staring at Yuyeon.

Dense.

A dizzying killing intent no righteous sect ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) person should be able to produce.

Killing intent without a target wasn’t supposed to be this thick—

but what Yuyeon was releasing surpassed any normal measure.

CLACK.

Without realizing it, he gripped his sword.

If he hadn’t restrained himself, he would’ve taken her head.

That was how sharp it felt.

If this continued—

It’ll hurt Bang Sungyeon.

He was unconscious. With killing intent and battle aura at this level, his meridians could be damaged.

No matter the reason, it had to be stopped.

The Small Moon Unit Leader was about to act—

when—

“Yuyeon.”

Tap.

Seongheon stepped in and patted Yuyeon’s shoulder.

WUUUUUNG—!!!

WHAAAAAA—!!!

A fresh, clean energy spread from Seongheon’s arm.

In the dead of night, the scent of flowers bloomed through the air.

“Calm down.”

A pure, orthodox energy that warmed both body and mind.

Under that energy, the killing intent scattered, and the battle aura quieted.

“......”

Yuyeon’s presence settled.

Then Yuyeon grabbed Seongheon’s arm.

“...Uh...”

A small sound escaped her.

“Ah...”

Not quite words.

Something closer to raw expression.

The instant sound came from her, Seongheon’s beard trembled.

“...Yuyeon...?”

“...Ah....”

Yuyeon looked at Seongheon and spoke with her eyes.

“......”

Seongheon read what was in them, and his brow hardened.

Worry carved deeper lines.

In the end, Seongheon let out a quiet breath.

“...Huuu...”

“......”

Yuyeon didn’t blink.

She just stared up at him, unmoving.

A brief moment passed—

“...Alright.”

Seongheon stroked Yuyeon’s head as he spoke.

“I understand your feelings. So don’t look at me like that—so pitiful.”

“......”

Seongheon lifted a finger and made a small motion.

Bang Sungyeon’s body rose into the air.

“...Sect Master?”

“I will handle this child myself. Give me some time.”

“What do you mean? We were told the antidote must be administered quickly. No one knows the treatment method, so we should be leaving immediately to obtain an antidote—”

“Who said that.”

“...Pardon?”

Seongheon smiled bitterly.

“That no one knows the method. Who said it.”

“...Sect Master?”

“As for the Strange Demon, I will hear of it after this is done.”

Seongheon passed the Small Moon Unit Leader, taking Bang Sungyeon with him.

“Not from you, Leader. From the child who will wake.”

“......”

The Small Moon Unit Leader couldn’t say a word.

Seongheon’s seriousness pinned him in place.

“Until daybreak, let no one in.”

Seongheon issued the order to Yeo Hyeok.

“...Y-yes.”

Yeo Hyeok bowed his head.

*****

After Seongheon took Bang Sungyeon inside—

“...Senior Sister. Please stand up.”

“......”

Yeo Hyeok approached the woman who had slumped down and spoke to her.

Still, Yuyeon didn’t answer.

Of course she couldn’t speak—so silence was normal.

But this wasn’t just silence.

There was no reaction at all.

Yeo Hyeok called again—

“Senior Sis—”

He stopped mid-word.

A chill ran through him.

The expression on Yuyeon’s face.

No expression.

A face holding no emotion at all—except for a single line of tears running down.

Beautiful on the surface.

But the alien atmosphere made Yeo Hyeok hesitate.

The killing intent she’d just released was the same.

“...Senior Sister.”

He forced himself to endure it and called her again.

“......”

Only then did Yuyeon return to her usual blank, absent look and turn toward him.

“...Please stand. The floor is cold.”

“......”

Yeo Hyeok offered a hand.

Yuyeon didn’t take it.

She pushed herself up on her own.

Then she wiped her tears with her sleeve.

And without moving anywhere, she stared at the residence the Sect Master had entered.

“Senior Sister?”

Yeo Hyeok called again.

Yuyeon only shook her head once or twice.

The meaning was simple.

She wasn’t leaving.

She was staying here.

“......”

Yeo Hyeok scratched the back of his head.

Then he stood beside her.

He was staying too.

The Small Moon Unit Leader would be the same.

As the three of them began waiting outside the residence—

“...Ha.”

From far away.

Someone who had hidden his presence let out a low breath on the roof.

“...Always.”

An old man in white martial clothing embroidered with plum blossoms.

“...You keep getting in my way.”

The Plum Blossom Commander spoke in a voice that burned cold.