Sichuan—there was something my father once told me about it.

Not so much casual talk as a warning.

“Son.”

“Yes.”

“If you ever end up going to Sichuan, you must act with constant care.”

For a man who usually spent his days grinning and thinking about women, the serious look was rare.

“Why?”

“Because Sichuan is an extremely dangerous place.”

“Come on. What part of this land isn’t dangerous?”

It’s a world where men with blades are piled like mountains, and people get cut down at the slightest thing.

In a world this screwed, what place isn’t dangerous?

Thinking that, I swallowed a bite of dried-out side dish.

“Sichuan is a place you must be especially careful with, even among places like that.”

Watching me on a day like that, my father kept on warning me.

It’s not like I was going to Sichuan anyway. I’d only asked what kind of place it was—why react like this?

Only then did I lend him an ear, just for a moment, like focusing.

“From old times it was also a gathering ground for the Black Path. The Alliance cleaned it up in years past and it’s been relatively stabilized... but the habits of the past still remain.”

I’d heard something like that. A Black Path group—Flying Heaven Sect or whatever—had put down roots in Sichuan and ran it like their turf.

Then one day the Martial Alliance stepped in, fought a hard campaign, and finally drove them out of Sichuan.

“There are things time does not erase. Bad things, especially.”

“You’re saying that kind of thing remains in Sichuan?”

“Exactly. Especially since, after Flying Heaven vanished, the clans that swelled under the Righteous Path were themselves nothing if not dangerous.”

“If you mean clans... could it be.”

“The Tang Clan of Sichuan.”

The Tang Clan (Sichuan).

A clan seated in Sichuan that wielded a powerful influence.

Their known specialty was working iron with exceptional skill.

In truth, they had a trait more famous—and more dangerous—than that.

—The Tang Clan deals in poison and hidden weapons.

Behind the saying “the finest blades in the Central Plains are made by the Tang Clan” lay another:

Every poison in the Central Plains exists in the Tang Clan.

Beware their goodwill.

Examine any food they serve with care.

Be on guard against the words and hands that approach with a smile.

I didn’t really understand why he saw a Righteous Path clan as that dangerous.

Even so, the Tang Clan did look like a somewhat dangerous place, even to me.

“It won’t ever happen, but if you do come face-to-face with someone of the Tang Clan, you’ll need to keep your wits sharpened.”

“Where would I even meet someone from the Tang Clan? I’m stuck in this backwater every day.”

“Hey now, what harm is there in worrying ahead of time? Your father’s looking out for you like this and still...”

“Sure. It’ll really never happen, but if I do meet the Tang Clan, I’ll be careful. If I ever see them at all.”

Going to Sichuan was laughable enough—meeting the Tang Clan on top of that? Absurd.

Back then I laughed, certain it would never happen.

“...And here we are.”

I had to frown at the massive gate before me.

The Tang Clan of Sichuan.

That was the inscription mounted over the gate.

****

One of the Five Great Clans.

The clan called the Overlord of Sichuan.

“...Never thought I’d actually end up here.”

I’d expected to live and die with no ties to them.

I’d never imagined I’d come here on my own two feet.

While I stood staring at the main gate, Cheon Eujin came up beside me and spoke.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes. More or less.”

Honestly, I wasn’t. I’d lost count of how many days we’d spent in the carriage.

No matter how superbly Chu Dong drove, there were limits.

And we’d had an unsettling incident on the way, which made us hurry all the more.

I looked down at my hand.

“...”

The slight tremor and the heaviness in my gut were still there.

I knew this wasn’t just the aftereffects of a grueling journey.

I clenched a fist and forced myself to ignore it.

The whole trip I’d had to come buried under fatigue.

“And even that by itself is this hard.”

With a sour face, I looked at Cheon Eujin and Do Hyeong.

“Are those two not tired...?”

All through the journey they forced their training.

They kept swinging their swords even if it meant cutting sleep.

Which means, at best, you sleep less than four hours a night.

“And they did it without missing a single day.”

Truly, if that isn’t madness, what is.

“...What is it?”

“Nothing. Just that you’re out of your— no, impressive.”

“Pardon?”

“Anyway, do we just keep waiting like this?”

I spoke while looking ahead. It felt like we’d been waiting a while since arriving, but no one had come.

Was our message late? That didn’t seem right.

“Are they trying to play a contest of presence?”

With my eyes slightly narrowed, I looked up at the Tang Clan’s gate.

If they start with something like this, it’s going to be exhausting.

“Should I just bang on the door?”

I was about to raise my hand and thump away when—

Screee—!

As if they’d been waiting, the door opened.

From within the slowly opening gate, several people came out to greet us.

“Apologies for making you wait.”

The man at the head spoke. He looked just past thirty.

“I greet the honored guests of the Blue Moon Sect.”

Oh.

I admired him inwardly.

Because I thought I knew who he was.

Slightly upturned eyes. Skin pale for a man.

Just under seven feet in height, with a slender frame.

A cool, faintly chilly cast to the features...

“A single mole by the ear.”

I got that far and the name surfaced.

“I am of the Tang Clan—”

“I greet the Young Clan Head.”

“...!”

At my words, the man paused.

“You’re the Young Clan Head Tang Jun, are you not?”

I smiled as I spoke, and he nodded with a strange look.

“...I am. Tang Jun, the current Young Clan Head of the Tang Clan.”

Tang Jun.

Known by the epithet Poison Tiger, the Young Clan Head of the Tang Clan.

They said he was a considerable powerhouse, famous since youth.

His features were distinctive enough to make him easy to remember.

Tang Jun looked curious how I’d recognized him, but, fitting for a man bearing the post of Young Clan Head, he mastered his expression at once.

Then—

“I am Do Hyeong of the Blue Moon Sect.”

Do Hyeong stepped forward first and offered greetings to Tang Jun. He was the responsible lead for this itinerary.

“A pleasure.”

Returning the courtesy, Tang Jun’s gaze shifted this way.

“I am Cheon Eujin of the Blue Moon Sect.”

Cheon Eujin met his eyes and bowed. That meant I had no choice, either.

“I am Bang Sungyeon of the Blue Moon Sect.”

“...”

I gave my name and Tang Jun’s gaze settled on me.

There was one meaning in that look.

—So it’s you.

He only looked at me for a heartbeat.

But the clear intent inside it couldn’t be missed.

“Well then.”

I kept my face with effort and smiled.

It seemed the Tang Clan already knew my name.

“The rumor spread farther than I thought.”

The Sword Saint’s successor has appeared.

That line had been trickling out from Anhui onward.

The Blue Moon Sect might have tried to stop it, but I knew from the start it was something you couldn’t stop.

“Because I made a spectacular mess.”

Dozens had watched me beat the Little Azure Sword of the Namgung Clan.

Did all those witnesses keep their mouths shut? They had no reason to, so of course not.

From the Martial Alliance’s perspective there was no reason to block it either, and the rumor spread in every direction.

“And since I even heard whispers of it in the county seat, that says it all.”

In a few villages we passed before coming, I heard talk about me.

Of course, even aside from that—

“They probably looked into me a long time ago...”

Given the Tang Clan’s conditions to the Blue Moon Sect, “came to hear” wasn’t right—“sought out” was.

The Sword Saint’s successor will personally bring Full Moon.

That was the condition.

“Please come with me.”

Do Hyeong let his gaze drift off and spoke with formal care.

When he turned his back, the servants fell into step with measured angles.

“Hm.”

I followed them into the Tang Clan.

As I stepped forward, I thought:

“It smells like iron.”

That was my first impression of the Tang Clan.

****

The interior was vast.

As the foremost clan of Sichuan and one of the Five Great Clans, “Tang Clan” being called such was no empty boast; the scale and vistas were immense.

Even parts you’d only glimpse in passing were clearly curated and refined.

Pillars standing along the way.

Ponds laid out beside side paths, and so on.

You could feel at a glance how much care had gone into the grounds.

“Luxurious.”

Compared to the Blue Moon Sect, this side felt more polished.

I walked on, taking it all in like sightseeing.

After a short walk—

“This way.”

Tang Jun stopped at a certain set of quarters and spoke to the servants.

“You there.”

At Tang Jun’s # Nоvеlight # word the servants approached to take our luggage.

We didn’t have much, so I handed mine over without concern.

Except for the wooden case I was carrying.

Tang Jun’s eyes rested on what I held. He knew what it was.

“...Let’s go.”

His tone quieted from a moment before.

“The Clan Head is waiting.”

At those words, tension welled up.

“So it’s come.”

Given the reason we’d come, I’d expected this, naturally.

“To see the Clan Head of a Great Clan...”

Not just anyone—the Clan Head of one of the Five Great Clans.

Seeing him was a considerable matter for me.

And on the very first day, at that.

Creak.

Tang Jun entered the quarters first. The servants did not move.

Are we to follow?

I went in after him at an unhurried pace.

A long, wide corridor.

Curiously, unlike earlier, the smell of iron dropped away and a floral fragrance spread, faint and even.

Somehow it was pleasantly fragrant.

It felt not bad, and I savored it as I followed Tang Jun.

After a bit of walking, a door appeared ahead.

“Clan Head. It is Tang Jun. I have brought our guests.”

At his steady report, sounds of someone inside came at once.

—Enter.

Permission given, Tang Jun took the door in hand and slid it open.

Rrrk.

As the closed door opened, a man sat at a low table within.

“Welcome.”

A well-dressed middle-aged man. The kind of face that made you think: give Tang Jun a few more years and he’ll look like this.

Sharper eyes than Tang Jun’s, and a stockier build.

We bowed at once.

“We greet the Clan Head of the Tang Clan.”

No sooner had the three of us offered courtesy than I heard him rise to his feet.

“You’ve suffered much to come so far. I am Tang Gyeongak, Clan Head of the Tang Clan.”

I trembled.

That man hardly needed to introduce himself.

Poison King Tang Gyeongak.

One of the Five Kings Under Heaven, counted among the present Central Plains’ greats.

A master who had risen to a fearsome height handling poison and hidden weapons.

“It is truly an honor to see the young lights of the Blue Moon Sect. Please, raise your heads.”

Tang Gyeongak spoke with a smile tucked at the corners of his mouth. I forced myself to raise my head, but—

“...Mm.”

I couldn’t quite meet his gaze.

Because I quailed at seeing Tang Gyeongak? That too was true. Who dares meet a King Under Heaven lightly?

But—

“...This is insane.”

That wasn’t the only problem.

“Young friends, all of you are handsome. The Blue Moon Sect’s future is very bright.”

He swept his eyes over the three of us as he spoke.

“So let me ask.”

In that instant—

Another voice overlapped his, not his own, speaking at the same time:

Who are you.

Listening to his words, I focused on his back.

No need to search. The culprit was there.

“Who is Elder Yoo’s successor?”

Who the fuck is that bastard’s disciple?

“...”

Clinging to Tang Gyeongak’s back was a presence nothing short of murderous.

The moment I saw it, the realization hit me like a ghost.

“...What a life.”

This, too, wasn’t going to go smoothly.