We’d been hit by a sudden ambush. The mood turned on a dime.

Yeo Hyeok stared around with eyes sharp as a lantern flame. The Small Moon Unit Leader began to sweep the surroundings, an aura leaking out that you could feel even if you couldn’t quite name it.

I glanced at the collapsed man, then checked the kid who’d been knocked out.

“......Stay alert.”

The Plum Blossom Commander spoke low, and the disciples immediately formed up and laid out a formation perimeter. Fear flickered across the faces of the people who’d been watching.

Everyone realized something was wrong.

Even so, I just kept staring at the man on the ground, my expression frozen cold.

Was I angry? My guts were burning—yet my head was the opposite. Ice-cold.

“Are you alright?”

Yeo Hyeok came up to me.

I nodded.

“Yes. No problem.”

I’d known and responded, so there wasn’t any real damage—

‘......Still pisses me off.’

The situation pissed me off. The part where he used the kid. The part where the bastard was the kid’s father and still did that.

All of it felt disgusting.

I pushed myself up, eyes still on the man.

“......What are you going to do with him?”

I asked the Plum Blossom Commander. He answered with a hardened face.

“We should take him back to Mount Hua Sect first.”

“Understood.”

“I think we should halt the investigation for now.”

“No.”

I shook my head, firm.

“Keep going. Now that we know something’s off, there’s no reason to stop.”

“You know this is dangerous.”

“With two people like you here, what’s dangerous about it?”

“.......”

The Plum Blossom Commander and the Small Moon Unit Leader.

Two absolute masters.

“Right now, I just let my guard down. From here on out, I’ll stay sharp, so you don’t need to worry.”

There was no room to probe or play for time. Yeah—if anything, I needed to keep my head on a swivel.

With that in mind, I started moving.

*****

The county’s atmosphere flipped.

Even with Mount Hua Sect’s Daoists present, word spread that we’d been attacked.

And the peaceful mood shattered in an instant.

“......They attacked the Daoists?”

“Who would dare?”

“I heard the owner of Taewon Martial Hall....”

“Hah! That place....”

Rumors spread fast. Mount Hua Sect’s Daoists were among the most honored figures in Shaanxi. The idea that someone had attacked them was something nobody could swallow.

“Where are we going?”

While everyone whispered behind their hands, I kept walking.

To the Plum Blossom Commander’s question, I answered quietly.

“Where do you think? To the nest.”

“......The nest?”

“Yes. There’s definitely a place they gather in the county. That’s where we’re going.”

“......You’re saying they have a gathering place inside the county?”

“Wouldn’t they?”

Be careful. Keep my tone from getting too sharp. Don’t let the Plum Blossom Commander catch any weird scent off me. I had to be careful—really careful.

—The double agent gave you that information?

Voice transmission.

Even in this mess, the old man was still trying to pry things out of me.

How ridiculous.

I crushed the irritation down and answered.

—Yes. That’s right. He told me there’s # Nоvеlight # a place they gather in the county.

—......Inside the county.

Finding a gathering place wasn’t hard. It was simple.

‘Just find where their aura is packed together.’

HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE aura. Find where it pools and stacks—go there.

As we moved toward the target, I stopped and looked back at the group.

“There are three places we need to check.”

I held up three fingers and explained.

“Horong Weapons Shop in the north. Taewon Martial Hall in the west. And that one—Silver Sea Inn.”

I named the buildings. I watched everyone’s reactions except Yeo Hyeok’s.

Then I continued.

“Plum Blossom Commander, split the teams and investigate Horong Weapons Shop and Taewon Martial Hall. I’ll take Silver Sea Inn.”

“......Silver Sea Inn?”

The moment I said I’d go there, the Plum Blossom Commander’s eyes narrowed just slightly.

Of course.

‘There’s a ridiculous amount of aura clumped up right in front of us.’

The building with the sign Silver Sea Inn.

The aura inside was boiling—packed so thick it was practically bumping into itself.

So telling him to go elsewhere would obviously feel strange.

But—

“Please.”

“......Fine.”

He didn’t have a choice. This was an investigation. Refusing to check a location would be stranger.

“Small Moon Unit Leader, Yeo Hyeok—and....”

I pointed at one of the second disciples.

“Yeo Song, you come with us.”

“......Ah, yes.”

The disciple I called nodded.

After picking the people, I spoke.

“Then I’ll see you later.”

We split the manpower under the excuse of “investigation.”

*****

After sending the Plum Blossom Commander and the others off, I took my people straight to Silver Sea Inn.

CREEAK—!

I opened the door and went in. Noise and chatter swelled from inside.

“Oh my! Welcome!”

Someone who looked like an inn worker approached me with a bright smile.

“The heroes have arrived...! This is Silver Sea Inn!”

Friendly face.

I looked at him and asked.

“I came to ask something.”

“Ah, did you? Not here to eat, then.”

“I’ve got no appetite.”

“Ahh. Then what would you—?”

He asked with a baffled look. I watched him, then glanced past him.

Not a ton of customers, but not a few either.

All of them chatting, laughing—like it was just any normal inn.

At a glance, it looked ordinary.

But—

“Hm.”

“Moon Knight?”

“Something’s weird.”

“What is?”

TAP TAP. I drummed the table by the entrance with my fingers.

“We walked in, and not a single pair of eyes comes our way. That’s weird.”

“Pardon?”

The man’s face went blank.

“No, seriously. People like us walk in, and eyes should pour over us. Even a stone statue would look. How is it that nobody’s looking at us? Doesn’t that strike you as strange?”

It was an obviously noticeable group. An old man built like a boulder. Plum Blossom Swordsmen. A Mount Hua disciple. And a handsome young man that practically glowed.

A group like this walks in and nobody even glances?

That was weird.

Way too weird.

“Ahaha....... This inn is just... always like this, sir....”

“Yeah?”

I let out a small snort.

“Then it’s even weirder.”

“Pardon...?”

“If it’s an inn, gossip should spread faster here than anywhere.”

TAP... TAP... TAP.

I stopped drumming.

“You obviously heard that the Plum Blossom Swordsmen were ambushed. And even after we walk in, it’s still like this? Come on.”

Was that even possible?

“No way.”

I didn’t buy it.

And only after I said it—

The noisy room went dead silent in one instant.

The smile vanished from the man’s face.

A faint, sour hostility seeped through the previously cheerful inn.

SWISH.

Yeo Hyeok’s hand slid naturally onto his sword.

I met the man’s eyes and spoke.

“......Looks like.”

I’d known, but still—

“I found it.”

This was the place I’d been looking for.

Then—

“This—!”

The man spat killing intent and yanked a dagger from his sleeve.

He tried to launch it at me.

But—

SHK—!

A sharp sound, and the man’s neck flew.

A blue flash swallowed him.

I hadn’t even registered a sword being drawn, but the Small Moon Unit Leader had already finished the job.

Before the body could even fully collapse—

“What do you want to do?”

The Small Moon Unit Leader asked me.

“It’d be nice to take them alive... but I don’t think we need to force it.”

THUD.

The corpse hit the floor.

SSRRNG—!

I drew the Divine Sword too.

CRUNCH—!!

Everyone in the inn surged to their feet.

Killing intent swept the room. So we were doing this.

“Anyone you want kept alive?”

The Small Moon Unit Leader asked again.

I scanned the room.

“Kill them all.”

At least in this room—no.

The moment I said it—

“Yeah? Good.”

The Small Moon Unit Leader said a single word.

HOOOOOO—!!

A bright aura filled the room.

Light spread through the space—and then the stench of blood hit my nose.

DRIP—!

“......Wow.”

I couldn’t help it. In a blink, everyone who’d rushed us was down.

When did he cut them? I hadn’t even properly seen him move.

‘This...’

So this was an absolute master?

I was reminded of it the hard way.

Then—

KRAK—!!

A sound came from upstairs—something breaking.

[They’re running.]

At Yoo Cheongil’s words, I understood that it was the sound of someone fleeing.

“Teacher.”

“Why are you— ...What is it?”

“Catch two. Just two.”

“......Fine.”

The moment I said it, the Small Moon Unit Leader vanished.

“Moon Knight....”

Yeo Hyeok called me, eyes trembling as he stared at the butchered bodies.

“Mm....”

I tightened my grip on the Divine Sword. I didn’t answer.

Blood-slick floor.

And on top of it—something shimmering.

I watched the writhing presence.

Kyaaaaa—!

Guuoooaaahhh—!!!

I frowned.

‘This...’

Souls were pouring out of the corpses.

The problem was—

‘Are they all malicious ghosts?’

It felt like rot was rising off them.

That ugly, foul shape—exactly like malicious ghosts. A soul slipping free and turning into a malicious ghost wasn’t unheard of.

But—

‘How can every single one be a malicious ghost?’

Not one passed on peacefully—every one of them coming out as a malicious ghost was bizarre.

And the even stranger part—

Kyaaaaa—!

N-noooo—!!!

The moment they emerged, they screamed—then started fading away.

‘What?’

Passing on? No.

This was—

‘This feels like exorcism.’

Not “moving on,” but being purged—erased.

A disappearance different from the concept of passing on unfolded right in front of me.

A malicious ghost forming and then vanishing immediately.

I’d never seen anything like it.

“Moon Knight?”

Since I was just standing there among the bodies, Yeo Hyeok called me again.

“Ah, sorry. My head’s a mess for a second.”

“No. If you saw something like this, anyone would—”

Yeo Hyeok started to comfort me about the gruesome sight—

CLUNK.

A sudden presence.

Yeo Hyeok snapped his gaze sideways.

Someone appeared.

“Ghk!”

A man who’d been hiding lunged at us, sword raised.

Yeo Hyeok moved fast to intercept—

SSRRNG—!

But I was faster.

SLASH—!

“Ghk!?”

My sword carved across his chest, and he screamed.

Someone the Small Moon Unit Leader missed? No.

‘I told him to leave this one.’

I’d known someone was tucked away in the corner, so I’d told the Small Moon Unit Leader to ignore that one.

I’d left him on purpose.

“Kuuhh....”

The man collapsed with the fresh wound.

I walked up.

SLASH—!

“AAAGH!”

I took the ankle—cut deep, severing nerves so he couldn’t run.

Before the scream even finished—

GRAB—!

“Ugh!”

I clamped my hand over his face. My hand wasn’t big enough to cover it all—

didn’t matter.

“I’ve got a question.”

And I really, really hoped—

“You’re going to answer.”

While you’re still alive.

I didn’t recommend meeting me after you died.

Not right now.

I was so pissed off I didn’t think I could control myself, no matter what I did.