It was only around sunset now that we had returned to Henan.

After leaving the residence where Divine Spear was lying, I walked through the inside of the Alliance for a while.

And after I had been walking like that for a bit—

“Are you finished?”

A soft voice reached me. I turned my head, and someone was standing there.

“...”

That face still was not something I could get used to.

“...Yeah. More or less.”

“You really worked hard.”

That neat, graceful smile was not easy to deal with.

No matter how many times I saw it, I still could not understand how that face belonged to a man.

Strange Demon.

Still dressed as a woman, he appeared and spoke to me.

Just like before, I had not sensed him appearing at all.

“Oh my, you’re sweating.”

He pulled out a cloth from his arms and tried to wipe my forehead. I simply took the cloth from the hand coming toward me.

When I took it and wiped away the sweat, Strange Demon made a disappointed face.

Why are you making a disappointed face?

I ignored it and asked,

“What about the others...?”

“They were all shown to their quarters already.”

“...I see.”

So they had all unpacked by now. Then why are you still here instead of going there?

That was the question in my eyes.

“I have to attend to you, Young Master. I am your servant, after all.”

“...”

With that sweet, lilting voice, he spat out something revolting.

Strange Demon had always been fascinating to look at, but now he was even more so.

No matter what, this is still the Martial Alliance.

Was it really fine for someone from the DEMON CULT to walk around here this openly? His disguise technique might be absurdly good, but even so, could that really be enough?

Or maybe—

Is it because of me?

It might only be possible because he was someone I had brought here.

“...Hoo.”

I let out a sigh.

“Are you very tired?”

“...A little.”

To be honest, I was very tired.

This isn’t easy.

It was the first time I had used medicine. No, that was not right. Calling it medicine did not really fit either.

Does that even count as medicine?

Pulling away energy and clearing it out. I had never seen Qi Wind Scent handled that way.

Seongheon’s knowledge had said the same.

You were supposed to heal the rotting body first, then deal with the energy—not interfere with the energy directly from the start.

The order is reversed.

The method I had used was the complete opposite of that order.

Clear away the energy first, then make it possible to touch the body itself.

Naturally, that should have been the harder method.

The problem is that pulling it off makes no sense.

Directly interfering with another person’s energy and stripping away only the filth? Impossible. It was not something that fit within common sense.

If I got it wrong, I could be dragged into the other person’s energy, and their energy and mine would get tangled together.

If that happened, both of us could die with our acupoints twisted out of order.

And yet I did it as if it were nothing.

I pulled it off.

The reason was simple.

Because I can see it.

How that energy flows.

Where that flowing energy has to go.

How it has to move.

I could see all of it.

This is...

It was not Seongheon’s knowledge.

Moon Immortal Sword’s Path is what showed it to me.

The awakened version of Moon Eyes.

The artificial dual pupils Yoo Cheongil had created.

That was what showed me the path of the energy.

The problem was—

even Yoo Cheongil hadn’t expected that.

Showing the path of energy?

Even Yoo Cheongil had reacted as if he had never seen such a thing before.

Which meant one thing.

It was not a power Moon Eyes had originally possessed.

How did this happen?

Where had the change come from?

If I had to name something unexpected—

it might have been caused by what Seongheon left behind.

The thing he had given me before he passed on.

That might have changed Moon Eyes.

Hadn’t Yoo Cheongil said so himself?

That Seongheon had left behind something useless.

Because of these eyes, the possibility of healing Divine Spear had appeared.

If not for that—

It would have been impossible.

Absolutely impossible.

Clearing away the energy was one problem, but the physical treatment was another.

The demonic energy inside Divine Spear was the real issue.

That...

was something only people like me could touch. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Which was exactly the problem.

If only someone like me can touch it, then in other words...

it means someone like me planted it there.

And the one who fought Divine Spear...

was none other than the one called the master of HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE.

And HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE is tied to the heretics too.

The heretics who had turned the world into a total mess in my previous life. Considering how many people like me had been mixed in among them—

...This won’t be easy.

It meant things on this side were not going to go well either.

“Tch.”

I swallowed a low sound.

Just then—

—Heaven.

Strange Demon spoke to me.

Through voice transmission.

—What is it.

—Do you intend to save the alliance leader?

At that, I narrowed my eyes.

—Should I not save him?

—No. How would I dare add words to Heaven’s will?

—Then why ask?

Why ask whether I would save him or not? At that, Strange Demon kept his eyes ahead as he spoke.

—I only dare say this, but if Divine Spear were to meet death in his current state... in the process of reforming the Martial Alliance, it seems there could be profit for Heaven....

Profit?

At that word, my thoughts began to turn.

Profit from Divine Spear dying.

...Hm.

It was not as if there would be none. If Divine Spear died, they would move to choose a new alliance leader, and in the middle of all that, my reputation—already built up more firmly than most people realized—would let me gain much more.

I could already see how the board would shift.

He was right, in a way.

It would be profitable.

It would not necessarily be a bad thing.

But—

—They are not things I particularly want.

Whether it was profit worth gaining that way, I could not say.

And besides—

—I do not want to gain anything through a method like that.

It left a bad taste in my mouth.

The idea of profiting by letting someone die when I might be able to save him.

It was not about morality or anything noble like that.

I’m afraid of the karma that piles up when I ignore something like that.

The kind that builds up when I could do something, but choose to ignore it.

Just thinking about having to deal with that later made me sick.

—So if I can do it, I «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» will.

—I see. Then may all go according to your will.

After that, Strange Demon said nothing more.

Hm.

I glanced at him from the corner of my eye.

The strategist of the DEMON CULT. The man who had once played a contest of schemes against Cheonrijinan.

If he was saying this to me, maybe there really was meaningful profit in it.

But—

not yet.

I still could not trust him completely.

I still did not know whether the feelings he showed toward me were genuine.

Anyway...

I looked up at the moon and thought,

First, I save the man.

For now, I needed to deal with what was right in front of me.

*****

Half a day.

Exactly that much time passed before I returned to Divine Spear’s residence.

The inside looked the same as before, but strangely, there was no longer that oppressive sense of discomfort.

“Strategist.”

“What is it?”

“Did you clear the others out of the area?”

“...Yes.”

So that was why it did not feel as oppressive. It seemed he had dismissed all the guards who had been here before.

“Would it not be better to have fewer eyes watching?”

“Is that really alright?”

I was not sure it was wise to reduce Divine Spear’s guards this much.

“If you speak in terms of probability, no. But it is a gamble that must be taken.”

Surprisingly, the word gamble had just come out of Cheonrijinan’s mouth.

“So you’re betting on me?”

Was this remarkable old man really saying he was gambling on me?

I found it strange enough to ask, but—

“I will not waste time with idle talk. Are your preparations complete?”

Cheonrijinan cut me off firmly. He really was a rigid old man.

“Mm.”

I looked at Divine Spear. The same energy as before could no longer be felt, but a faint trace was still there.

Even after I had cleared away everything on the outside, that much had already risen back up.

Which meant, in the end—

there is no point unless I remove the root.

If I did not deal with the problem inside him, nothing would truly change.

“Where is what you prepared?”

“Over there.”

Cheonrijinan pointed with his hand. A box.

Divine Spear’s energy seemed to dull it slightly, but I could still sense a sacred aura of the Way from that box.

“...How in the world did you obtain that?”

Cheonrijinan seemed to know what the divine pill was, because he turned and asked me.

“I just happened to receive a gift.”

Even as I answered, I sorted it out inwardly.

He doesn’t know Moon Immortal Sword asked for it.

Which meant it had been a unilateral move, something Cheonrijinan had never agreed to.

What exactly did that old man see this time?

How had he even thought to obtain something like that?

That was somewhat strange, but—

...For now, I’ll need it.

Whatever the reason, it would help. Moon Immortal Sword could not possibly have prepared it with this exact situation in mind, but that divine pill would play a major role.

“Then I’ll begin. Are you going to stay here the whole time?”

“Yes. Does it bother you?”

“No. I only said it because I think this will take a while.”

I calmly went over and sat beside Divine Spear.

I bent down and took the same position as before.

Carefully, I placed my hand on his chest.

“Hoo—”

I let out a breath and drew up my energy.

BZZZZT—!!

Moon Immortal Sword’s Path rose before me, and lines appeared.

Following them, I circulated Blue Moon Heart Art.

My energy slowly wrapped around his body.

The blue energy cleared away the small amount of Qi Wind Scent that had gathered again, and the blocked paths opened.

Maybe because I had already cleaned so much of it away in advance, I reached the destination quickly.

...Demonic energy.

The source of the demonic energy.

Looking at the filthy mass lodged somewhere between his dantian and his heart, I slowly applied force.

...Ah, I didn’t do much of this even in my previous life.

I had sent plenty of things on and exorcised plenty too, but I had never done this kind of cleaning before.

A ritual would make this easier.

But I had no ability to perform one. Grandmother had firmly forbidden me from learning such things, so I never had.

Which meant—

this was absolutely not medicine at all.

Here I go.

I slowly focused on the demonic energy and exerted force.

SHHHH—!!

My energy stretched out and wrapped around the demonic energy.

Not internal energy, but spiritual energy.

And in that moment—

WHOOOOSH—!!!

My mind was sucked inward as if being dragged in, flowing straight into that place.

*****

“...”

I opened my eyes. An unfamiliar space filled my vision.

The body that had been sitting was now standing, and what should have been a room had somehow become a place I had never seen before.

Good. I made it in.

Seeing that, I nodded.

The entry had succeeded.

...Now then.

This place felt similar to a spirit-dream.

It was the inside of the demonic energy.

The inside of the demonic energy lodged within Divine Spear.

So where would it be?

Where was the thing I had to clean out?

I turned my head to search for it. I would not need to search long.

It had to be nearby already.

And while I was heading forward, looking for it—

[What a curious place.]

“...!”

The moment I heard the voice, I nearly shouted out loud.

“...Old man?”

[Why are you so startled?]

“How did you get in here?”

[Hm? I simply opened my eyes and found myself here.]

“...Hah.”

This was someone else’s spiritual space. I had entered by deliberately invading it, but—

What is with this old man?

What was Yoo Cheongil doing here? How did this man get in?

Did he get pulled in along with me when I entered? Was that even possible...?

I stared at him with suspicion.

“...What exactly did you do—”

[Ah, wait.]

Yoo Cheongil reacted.

[Come to think of it, this place is...]

Did he recognize something?

I was just about to ask—

“YOO CHEONGIL—!!!”

A huge voice rang out from far away.

A voice full of fury.