It was a question.

What is HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE doing this for?

Why had they come all the way to Shaanxi?

I already knew, to a certain extent, why they’d gone out of their way to infiltrate and assault the Martial Alliance.

If I thought back on it, there were plenty of reasons that could serve as a motive.

The collapse—

Or the fracture—

of the symbol of the orthodox world.

Just imagining the Martial Alliance shaken like that was enough.

If HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE wanted the fracture itself in the orthodox world, there wouldn’t have been a better choice than that.

And really.

No matter how much the Martial Alliance and the Beggars’ Union try to cover their eyes and ears.

That’s like trying to hide the sky with the palm of your hand. Rumors spread no matter what.

Even if they succeeded in redirecting attention by using someone like me—

That’s still only seventy percent.

And that’s me being generous.

Seventy percent success. Thirty percent was breath leaking out no matter how hard you tried to hold it in.

Main Alliance Headquarters. And on top of that, an assault that took place in the middle of a massive festival—the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.

They failed to stop it, and young talents died as a result.

So what, exactly, did the Martial Alliance do about it?

It only made the Martial Alliance’s long-standing incompetence stand out even more.

And the crack that had started forming after Yoo Cheongil’s death only kept widening.

Until people start questioning why Main Alliance Headquarters exists at all, and the unorthodox factions begin sniffing for an opening.

If that wasn’t a fracture, what was?

Just the appearance of the DEMON CULT and HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE was enough to make people tremble, but the words “the Martial Alliance was assaulted” alone changed public perception.

The belief that peace existed because the Martial Alliance existed would shift.

And that—

Leads straight into the movements of the unorthodox factions who’d been waiting for their chance.

A natural flow.

Once a fracture formed, it would rapidly expand.

If HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE wanted that—

It worked.

You could call it a half-success.

So yes—if we were talking motives, the assault in Henan was easy enough to understand.

But—

This part was harder to explain.

Shaanxi.

Why had they laid out a formation in a land this far away?

That had been the question.

And then—

If I take what Yeo Hyeok said and lay it over everything.

The disappearances of the Plum Blossom Swordsmen.

The betrayal of Plum Blossom Single Sword.

Hearing that, I formed a single assumption.

There’s something to gain.

They had something to gain in Shaanxi—specifically, inside Mount Hua Sect.

It was obvious.

They wouldn’t have come this far otherwise.

So what was it?

Occupying Mount Hua Sect?

No. That didn’t feel right. If it were something that simple, Strange Demon wouldn’t have revealed himself that openly.

Which meant—

It isn’t Mount Hua Sect itself.

They wanted something that existed inside.

It could be an object.

Or—

It could be a person.

A person was more likely.

And—

If the disappearances of the Plum Blossom Swordsmen are HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE’s doing...

Then it became even more likely they were after a person.

If they were only after an object, they wouldn’t have done something like that.

Who are they trying to find?

Who, exactly?

Even after planting Plum Blossom Single Sword as a spy, they still couldn’t find the target?

It was possible they’d already found it, sure—

...But I don’t think so.

They hadn’t found it.

At least, not until last night.

Now might be different.

If my assumption was right, the situation had gotten a little more tangled.

They dragged in Plum Blossom Swordsmen—people deeply tied to Mount Hua Sect—and still couldn’t find the one they wanted.

But they were convinced the target was on Mount Hua.

At that point, only one person came to mind.

The Medical Immortal.

Medical Immortal—Plum Blossom Single Sword.

There was a strong chance they were looking for him.

In all of the Central Plains, only a handful of people knew his true identity. Even if they’d suspected Mount Hua, they wouldn’t have been able to confirm it.

The problem was—

...Now they’ll know.

What happened last night.

If they realized Plum Blossom Single Sword had stepped in to save me—

And—

If Strange Demon isn’t an idiot.

Then he would have noticed.

Or at least sensed something was off.

“Tsk.”

My mind spun fast.

If the person they were after really was the Medical Immortal—

Why?

My first guess was that something had gone wrong with the Heaven-Breaking Palace Lord’s body. There was a strong chance the fight with Divine Spear caused damage.

But the timing doesn’t fit.

The timing of setting up the formation and moving things into place didn’t match the timing of that battle, so I ruled it out.

Which left—

They need the Medical Immortal now, as he is.

HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE needed a physician on the Medical Immortal’s level.

That meant someone important was injured.

And—

Someone valuable enough to justify it exists.

There was only one conclusion.

They needed the Medical Immortal.

And they’re the kind of bastards who’ll do anything to get him.

And on top of that—

I’m inside that dangerous pit.

Still—

If there’s something they don’t know—

I narrowed my eyes.

I understood that they needed the Medical Immortal, but even if they went looking, there was one enormous problem.

They won’t know.

That problem was—

...They don’t know the Medical Immortal doesn’t have much time left.

That Seongheon was going to die soon.

*****

After finishing my rush of thoughts, I moved with Yeo Hyeok.

The investigation mattered, but right now I needed to see the Sect Master again.

“This disciple, Yeo Hyeok, has come to pay respects. I’m here with Bang Sungyeon of the Blue Moon Sect. May we enter?”

We went to the massive building at the heart of Mount Hua Sect, together.

The Small Moon Unit Leader was also behind me at this point.

CREEEEAK—!

The door opened the moment permission was granted, and the interior came into view.

WHOOOAAAAAA—!

A crisp flower scent spread unmistakably. Inside, I could see Seongheon—and other old men as well.

Elders.

Mount Hua’s elders.

“Come in.”

Seongheon spoke from the seat of honor, and the elders’ gazes followed his words and landed on me.

The Plum Blossom Commander isn’t here.

A few seats were empty—those were probably for the elders who weren’t present.

“I apologize for making someone injured come all this way.”

“It’s fine. You don’t need to worry about it.”

“You may both sit in the seats in front.”

“Thank you.”

I pulled a chair out and sat with the Small Moon Unit Leader.

“The reason I called you is simple.”

Seongheon spoke to me with a faint smile.

“I wish to hear about the investigation you conducted without Mount Hua Sect’s permission, and also about your friction with Strange Demon.”

“......”

So it was here.

I made that kind of face.

“Is it true that the Blue Moon Sect ordered an investigation into Mount Hua Sect?”

I steadied my breath at Seongheon’s question.

“More precisely, it was the Martial Alliance’s order.”

“...The Martial Alliance?”

The elders murmured. I took them in at a glance—watching their reactions, and—

Their aura.

I examined the auras lingering behind their backs.

“How can you say the Martial Alliance ordered an investigation into Mount Hua Sect?”

One of the elders asked.

“It wasn’t that Mount Hua Sect itself had a problem... As you’ve likely heard, it was because of HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE.”

It wasn’t an investigation into Mount Hua Sect.

It was an investigation into HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE in Shaanxi.

That was what I meant.

Whether they’d accept it or not was another matter.

“HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE... Those bastards who caused trouble in Henan.”

“You’re saying those bastards set up a formation in Shaanxi too?”

“...No way.”

A certain incident surfaced in their minds. Something that had happened recently—

The missing-person case.

The reason Plum Blossom Swordsmen had vanished. They were linking that to HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE.

I didn’t act like I knew. If I did, it would immediately expose that Yeo Hyeok had told me.

“Yes. I heard information that HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE had entered Shaanxi with intent to stir something up, so I came to investigate. And regarding that...” I continued, “I believe the Sect Master received a letter from the strategist separately.”

“That’s correct.”

Seongheon acknowledged it.

I didn’t know what, exactly, Jegal Jin had sent him, but it couldn’t be resolved with “we’re bringing Yuyeon” as an excuse.

Just looking at the manpower made that obvious.

Once the Small Moon Unit Leader is involved, the conversation’s already over.

A person of that weight didn’t just “tag along” for no reason.

“And they entrusted that to you?”

An elder who looked particularly strict pressed me.

That was Elder Seongcheong, if I remembered right—

“Yes. That’s right, Elder Seongcheong.”

“......”

His eyes widened when I named his title.

“...How could they entrust that to someone like—”

An inexperienced young man. That’s what he’d been about to say, but he swallowed it.

Moon Knight.

The weight of that epithet helped.

My outside might look young. The inside wasn’t much different, but—

Hero of Henan.

The one who killed Sword Demon.

The epithet Moon Knight that came with those deeds let me break through a lot of obstacles.

This situation was exactly that.

“I apologize for not speaking to you beforehand. It was necessary for the investigation.”

“May I ask why?”

Why I investigated without Mount Hua Sect’s cooperation.

There was only one answer I could give.

“Because of the risk of spies.”

“...!”

“What did you just—!”

The elders flared.

“The nerve—spies? Do you even know where you are?!”

“Sect Master. Are you truly going to sit there after hearing that?”

The moment I mentioned the possibility of spies within Mount Hua Sect, they erupted.

The fortunate part was that Seongheon, even in the middle of that, only looked at me with clear eyes.

“Do you have grounds for that judgment?”

“I do, but more importantly—”

I met Seongheon’s eyes, just as clearly.

“I believe you, and the elders here as well, have already been aware of it.”

There was no way they didn’t know.

Claiming they didn’t know until things reached this point?

That was ridiculous.

Even if someone is stupid, there are limits.

This was too obvious for that.

They pretended not to know.

That had to be it.

“Hm.”

Seongheon let out a low breath.

The elders looked similarly speechless.

I took their reactions in and continued.

“Normally, I would have finished the investigation and then reported. But... Strange Demon’s appearance was beyond my expectations.”

“......”

At the word Strange Demon, everyone stiffened.

“He was a bigger monster than I anticipated. With # Nоvеlight # him involved, I don’t believe I can proceed without Mount Hua Sect’s help.”

“...Mount Hua Sect’s help?”

I’d moved on my own, and now I was asking for help. Their reactions weren’t good.

But what choice did I have?

“The enemy’s reach has already extended deeper. From what I’ve investigated, there are not a few spies inside Mount Hua Sect. Perhaps—”

I looked around.

“Perhaps there could even be one in this room.”

“That bastard—!”

“How dare you spew such—!”

The elders flared again.

The funny part was that the elders who flared weren’t the spies.

The ones sitting there with those solemn faces.

Those old men who were hiding anxiety—or maybe just clinging to silence.

Those were the spies.

“Enough.”

Seongheon spoke softly.

“Sect Master...!”

“Senior Brother, how could you...!”

“Sit down. The story isn’t over yet.”

“......”

It carried weight. Even without internal power surging, his presence was heavy.

Absurdly so, for someone carrying something that serious in his body.

“Bang Gongja—no. Moon Knight.”

“Yes, Sect Master.”

“What do you want?”

“...Are you saying you will help with the investigation?”

“I cannot give you an answer yet. I do not know whether I can trust you. So.”

Seongheon mixed a quiet breath into his words.

“I want you to state clearly what you intend to do.”

So he could choose.

At that, I narrowed my eyes.

Good.

This was exactly what I wanted.

I hadn’t expected the elders to be here.

But—

Even better.

Their eyes would serve as proof. As confirmation.

When beasts glare at you, ready to tear you apart, do you know what has the highest chance of keeping you alive?

I looked at the ones who weren’t even hiding how uncomfortable they were, and I said:

“I want to resume the investigation in cooperation with the Plum Blossom Commander.”

“...!”

I didn’t run.

I stepped into enemy territory.

Acting like prey that could be swallowed at any moment—

That was the best method I had right now.