What did he just say?

Pal Duyeok’s words leave me stunned. For a moment I forget the spilling killing intent and the situation—my head goes numb.

He snorts as he looks at me.

“Ah, right. You wouldn’t know, would you?”

“......What did you say?”

“What do you mean, what did I say. It’s about that great Sword Saint’s end.”

“.......”

“They say the monster died of an old illness, don’t they? Do you really believe that?”

“.......”

No— I heard it myself. The old monster told me directly; how could I not know?

Only.

‘This shouldn’t be said here.’

That’s the problem.

The fact that this man mentioned that incident is one thing.

More than that—

“......What did you say?”

“What did you just say?”

They were the ones who would pretend not to know even if I did.

Kuuuuuu—!!

Something forces its way through Pal Duyeok’s killing intent.

It’s fighting spirit.

The fighting spirit poured out by Cheon Eujin and Do Hyeong.

It’s piercing through Pal Duyeok’s killing intent.

“Hoh.”

Pal Duyeok turns his eyes to them with interest.

“Not bad momentum.”

His smile looks vicious.

While he looks at those two I lift my gaze and stare into the air.

At Yoo Cheongil.

He floats in the sky, watching us quietly.

I wonder what he’ll do when he hears someone claim they dealt with him.

He shows no reaction. He simply watches.

To be precise—

‘He’s looking at me.’

He ignores Pal Duyeok and looks only at me.

I frown at that attitude.

‘That old man.’

How can he show that reaction after hearing about his own death?

I can’t make sense of it. Well, I never could really.

There’s one thing I can say now.

‘Did that old man know about this situation?’

From his reaction it’s impossible not to think he had it in mind.

If so—

‘Why?’

I have to think why he knew and yet didn’t tell me.

‘Why.’

What was the reason? Why did Yoo Cheongil choose that option? I rack my brain to figure it out.

I have to find out.

‘Where did it start going wrong?’

If something happened, where did it begin?

‘Recall it.’

Yoo Cheongil stopped me earlier when I tried to tell the Poison King after sensing something off from the mechanism engineer and the formation master.

So he must have expected this from that moment.

Then.

‘What those bastards intended to do to the Poison King, and besides that—’

He would have expected those men to barge in like this, too.

Then why, knowing that, did he leave the Poison King to end up like that?

‘Did he want me dead?’

Maybe. That old demon might have wanted that. It’s possible.

‘No. More likely—’

Rather than wanting me dead, there must be some other reason.

Yoo Cheongil does not want me dead.

If he wished me dead he wouldn’t have used this method.

Besides, judging from everything up to now, Yoo Cheongil has helped me get things. Even when he created a crisis, the end of that crisis always left me with something.

Would this be different?

No. It won’t be different.

So.

‘What does he want me to gain?’

What is he watching this mess for—what does he intend for me to obtain?

I grind my thoughts.

What are these men, and through them what end is Yoo Cheongil angling for?

I think and think faster.

‘Notes. Intruders. Traitors. The Poison King’s situation. What they’re aiming for.’

And.

‘What Yoo Cheongil wants to accomplish using that.’

I string the words together with fine threads.

I weave and weave until the long list reaches its end.

Not long after, I reach a conclusion.

“......Ha......!”

I exhale a shaky breath at the thought that comes to me.

At once I glare at Yoo Cheongil as if accusing him.

‘No way.’

I half hope I’m wrong, but it seems right to me.

Our eyes meet.

He tilts the corner of his mouth.

[You’ve caught on.]

I narrow my eyes at Yoo Cheongil’s voice.

Then.

[No. You didn’t really catch on.]

He amends his words.

[You already knew this. Maybe you knew the moment you saw it.]

“.......”

His voice cuts like a blade into me as he speaks with a smile.

[Don’t pretend to be surprised. You couldn’t not have known.]

His words seep out and settle densely around us like mist.

[When I told you not to speak earlier. Didn’t you vaguely notice then?]

He refers to when the Tang people were about to pull something. Didn’t I notice back then?

I want to say.

‘How could I have known.’

But my mouth won’t open.

It’s not that I can’t talk back to Yoo Cheongil.

‘......He’s sharp.’

Because the old bastard is half right, damn him.

True enough, when the prelude to the incident came, I had some expectation.

Only.

‘I just didn’t think it would be this.’

I thought it unlikely.

No matter how crazy that man is, I didn’t think he’d go that far.

‘I underestimated him.’

I judged him wrong.

‘He’s been mad for a long time, clearly.’

I’d severely underestimated him.

‘Huh.’

I let out a breath—a mix of calming myself and cooling the heat in my head.

Just as I finally compose myself—

“Dare you insult anyone now—!”

“Let me ask first.”

Cheon Eujin, furious, is about to speak to Pal Duyeok, but I cut him off. Then I say,

“You’re saying, sir, that Pacheon Palace is connected to the Sword Saint’s death?”

“Yeah, you’ve got a quick mind—”

Pal Duyeok’s speaking vein closes.

At that moment.

Fuuuuuuu—!!!

An enormous pressure erupts from Pal Duyeok.

It’s far worse, harsher than what I felt earlier.

The air chokes and my shoulders tremble. If I relax my tension my mind will slip away. Feeling that, I force myself to hold on.

“......What is it?”

The killing intent is like a starving beast.

“You. What are you?”

If I let my guard down he’ll bare his fangs and bite my throat off.

“I don’t recall those words ever passing my lips.”

A mention of Pacheon Palace.

Pal Duyeok’s mood shifts sharply upon hearing it.

I stare into his eyes. Just looking at them makes my bones chill.

Is this the killing intent of a true master? It’s incomparable to the Mountain Ghost’s outpouring.

But.

‘......So far.’

I can endure it. Maybe because my level has risen to first-rate. For now it’s bearable.

So I endure the energy and say to Pal Duyeok.

“We met men on the road to the Tang clan. They called themselves Pacheon Palace.”

“......Ha?”

He gives a bitter laugh at my words.

“Nonsense. They wouldn’t say that.”

His tone is close to certainty.

Is it my mistake? I heard not that they could have said it, but that they couldn’t possibly say it.

“Well, I still heard it.”

It wasn’t a lie.

I heard it from a dead man.

When I mention that, Pal Duyeok falls silent for a moment, then—

“......Right. It was you lot.”

He growls the words.

So they apparently knew what we had done.

“And? How does that relate to your prediction?”

“What relation would it have?”

It has everything to do with it.

“Men acting to find something near Sichuan. Plus the infiltrators hiding in the Tang house and the current situation. There are far too many threads to reach a conclusion.”

“Ha, rubbish. Even if so, there’s nowhere you can be certain.”

He’s right. It’s speculation; nothing reaches certainty.

That’s why—

“So I tried to bait you. And you, sir, gave me the right answer.”

“......!”

When my speculation produced no answer I called it out openly—and he answered as if by ghostly instinct.

“......You bastard......”

Pal Duyeok’s brow veins stand out at my reply.

“......You dared test me?”

“You did. I thought you were too heavy to budge, but you moved when I tried.”

Kriggk.

The energy intensifies. One corner of my eye twitches from the pressure.

“Your tongue’s a fine trick.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

“......Shall I pluck that tongue out so you shut it?”

Pal Duyeok smiles wickedly and reaches out. Watching him, I say, 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

“Since you’ve already said something, shall I say one more thing?”

His hand stops. His eyes brim with heat, but in them is a look that says, go on and try.

So I speak.

“You didn’t come here to find me.”

They didn’t come for me—the heir of the Sword Saint.

On the surface they act like I’m their objective, but I know that isn’t so.

“You came to search for something else here. Your actions are incidental to that. Aren’t they?”

“.......”

“Then [N O V E L I G H T] what? What on earth are you trying to find? What does the Tang clan want?”

Step.

I push through the killing intent and take another step toward Pal Duyeok.

I want to run. His aura makes me feel like running.

But I don’t run. I need to confirm something from him.

I look into his eyes and say,

“Shall I guess that too?”

The moment I spit the words—

Kkrrrr—!!! KRAAAA—!!!

A gust blasts through.

Pal Duyeok swings his arm and strikes out fiercely.

I’m swept; my body reels.

What was that? What did he just do?

‘What in a human’s body...’

It’s an unnatural force for a human.

I glance around to check.

As if to prove the impact wasn’t an illusion.

Rough marks remain on the ground.

Seeing that—

“......The kid has no fear.”

Pal Duyeok’s voice sounds somewhat distant.

The Pal Duyeok that stood before me is now a bit further away.

He holds a spear I didn’t notice him pick up.

“Your antics are cute enough to let slide. But really...how far will you go?”

He smiles savagely and tells me,

“Let’s watch.”

“.......”

When he finishes, the armed men around us move as if waiting for that cue.

Their number is, as I counted earlier, far from small. Seeing them draw swords—

“Gah!”

“.......”

Cheon Eujin and Do Hyeong draw and step in front of me.

Tang Yeran also stands with them.

I can see her small shoulders trembling.

Why are they all blocking me...?

I glance at the group, a little taken aback.

The two men I can accept, but why Tang Yeran?

Seeing her stand in front like that startles me.

I look back toward the front.

Enemies drawing swords and approaching.

Beyond them, Pal Duyeok watches.

The killing intent from before is gone; his expression is one of displeasure as he looks at me.

Seeing that, I become certain of another thing.

‘That man.’

Pal Duyeok—

‘Can’t kill me.’

He seems unable to touch me.