When Kwak Yeon stepped outside the carriage, five burly men on horseback closed in.

—WHINNY!

Before Kwak Yeon, standing in the middle of the main road, the five men hurriedly reined in their horses.

“I don’t know who you are, but what we want is that Jin bitch from Nanjing. If you don’t want to die—”

The man who was threatening Kwak Yeon saw a pale object fly toward his face and went pale with terror.

—WHISH! SPAT!

“Guhhk!”

The man thought he’d been hit by a hidden weapon the young man threw, and that it was all over for him.

But though he felt something soft and sticky on his mouth and face, there wasn’t much pain.

“W-what is this?”

The other men weren’t much different.

—WHIRR! SPAT! SPAT! SPAT! SPAT!

With slight delays, all four of the remaining men clutched their faces.

“Ughhk!”

“Guhk!”

“Kkh!”

Toward the five men, frozen on horseback in shock, Kwak Yeon spoke calmly.

“Considering the trouble you took to ride all the way here, I served each of you one bun. If anyone thinks that is insufficient hospitality, speak up.”

Kwak Yeon lightly kicked a pebble from the roadside.

—SHOOO! KWAANG!

The pebble shot off at ferocious speed, struck a tree trunk beside the road, and shattered into fragments.

—CRRSHK!

The men widened their eyes in horror.

If the young man blocking the road had thrown that pebble instead of a bun, then what was plastered all over their faces would have been their own flesh.

“Now. Which of you will accept my hospitality?”

The men answered at once, all at once.

“I-it’s enough.”

“More than enough.”

Kwak Yeon said,

“If I were not in a hurry to continue on my way, I would not have treated you so poorly. If you come again next time, I will combine it with the hospitality I could not offer today, and serve you properly.”

One of the men spoke hurriedly.

“Ah, Great Hero! How could we dare trouble you? We’re already deeply grateful for today’s hospitality. If you have no further words, we’ll take our leave and return.”

When Kwak Yeon nodded, the men hastily turned their horses and galloped back the way they came.

—THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD!

As Kwak Yeon watched the five riders recede in a cloud of dust, a glint of doubt briefly passed through his eyes.

Men of black-path groups, even when they yielded and withdrew with their mouths, usually carried poison in their eyes.

But those men had been too obedient.

“Well, people come in ten thousand forms. They may simply have been too shocked.”

As Kwak Yeon turned back toward the carriage, his gaze landed on Jin Cheongha inside, looking out through the window.

In that instant, Kwak Yeon felt the Honwonmusang energy surge up inside him.

Resonance!

That resonance clearly originated from Jin Cheongha.

‘Why, all of a sudden...?’

That sort of Honwonmusang resonance rose in response to the other party’s emotions—meaning some emotion had flared within Jin Cheongha.

‘But why does it feel heavy and dark?’

Kwak Yeon realized that the end of Jin Cheongha’s gaze was fixed on the five men.

It wasn’t a hot emotion like killing intent or rage. And of course it wasn’t anxiety or fear.

‘Then it would mean pity or concern... but why would Miss Jin feel that for those men...?’

Kwak Yeon’s gaze met Jin Cheongha’s—and at the same time, the Honwonmusang resonance cut off cleanly.

“...!”

Seeing Jin Cheongha’s figure vanish back into the shade inside the carriage at once, Kwak Yeon understood that Jin Cheongha had avoided his eyes.

—THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD!

The five men riding down the main road veered off into a side path.

“Hyah!”

“Hyah!”

As they spurred their mounts up the slope of the side path, a clearing appeared atop a low rise.

A man in black martial robes stood at the far end of the clearing, his back turned, looking down toward the main road.

—WHINNY!

When the horses halted with snorts, the men spoke from atop their saddles.

“Sir, we’ve returned.”

“.......”

“As you can see for yourself, we did exactly as you ordered and made sure to leave a strong impression. So we would be grateful if you’d give us the silver you promised.”

—WHIRL!

—CLINK! CLINK! CLINK!

Dozens of silver ingots scattered across the ground of the clearing.

“Ah, Sir. You could’ve just given them to us—there was no need to throw them like this—”

At one man’s dissatisfied voice, the black-robed man, still standing with his back turned, said,

“Must I look up at you lot sitting atop your horses and offer them up? If you dislike those silver ingots, then leave.”

“Ah! I didn’t think of that.”

The men scrambled down from their horses and began snatching up the silver.

While the men were absorbed in picking up the ingots scattered across the clearing, the black-robed man drew his sword and turned around.

With eyes sharply slitted, the black-robed man—Kang Su, the Ghost Night Castle’s Chief Protector—began walking across the clearing.

—SHRK!

SHAAAK!

A man’s neck was severed, and a fountain of blood sprayed out.

“Huh?”

“Th-this...”

Only then did the men come to their senses and reach for their weapons, but the Black-Yin Demon God swept past like a streak of light and cut them down.

“Guhhk!”

“Kkh!”

“Kkrrrk!”

The last remaining man couldn’t even think of resisting that earth-shaking speed—his body locked solid.

“S-Sir...”

Trembling, the man asked Kang Su as Kang Su approached.

“...Isn’t this different from the contract? We did exactly what you told us, so why—?”

“This is separate from that contract. And I also gave you silver according to the contract.”

“But...”

“You mean you don’t know why you must die?”

“...Th-that’s also true.”

“Even for the sin of daring to spit vile abuse at the Young Castle Lord, you deserve death.”

To call that a death-worthy sin—he felt truly wronged.

“We only did it so we wouldn’t draw suspicion, never as our true— Guhk!”

Kang Su pulled his sword from the man’s heart as he said,

“Even if it was not your intent, the act itself is a death-worthy sin.”

—THUD.

As the man’s body toppled to the ground with the light of life extinguished, four figures entered the clearing.

“Chief Protector, why these men...? Did not the Young Castle Lord command that we must not take lives?”

Kang Su glared at the Young Castle Lord’s four Guardian Escorts and asked,

“Who am I?”

“You are the Chief Protector.”

“And what is the Chief Protector’s duty?”

“To protect the Young Castle Lord’s safety in any circumstance.”

“Then why do you ask? Do you not know how light the mouths of these back-alley scum are?”

“But if the Young Castle Lord learns you defied the command—”

“That is why I did not borrow your hands.”

“...!”

“This sin of defiance, I bear. And the price of blood we must pay going forward as well.”

The Guardian Escorts’ eyes widened.

“Chief Protector—what do you mean, the price of blood we must pay going forward?”

“When we fled Ghost Night Castle, how many were we?”

“Twenty.”

“And now, including me, only five remain.”

“That is so.”

“Does it not strike you as strange, how we came to this?”

“.......”

“The Chief Protector Corps was formed from Ghost Night Castle’s finest Guardian Escorts. We moved with such caution—yet men who tailed us never ceased. Does that make sense?”

“Chief Protector... are you suspecting us?”

“I do not suspect you.”

Kang Su shook his head and continued in a mournful voice.

“Because then I would become too miserable.”

“.......”

“You have served at the Young Castle Lord’s side as Guardian Escorts with unwavering loyalty. And now the Young Castle Lord has left your side and taken a road filled with danger alone. In this situation, you know what you must do to protect the Young Castle Lord.”

At the Chief Protector’s words, the Guardian Escorts’ faces hardened.

“As Chief Protector, I believe in your loyalty.”

Now the Guardian Escorts understood why the Chief Protector still held the sword and did not sheath it.

“I also will not betray your faith.”

In a situation this extreme, guarding the secret was directly tied to the Young Castle Lord’s safety. And amid that, the Chief Protector was certain there was a traitor among them.

—CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Without hesitation, the Guardian Escorts drew their swords.

“Chief Protector, we will be waiting in hell.”

—THUNK!

One Guardian Escort plunged the sword into his own neck. Then, in succession, two more Guardian Escorts plunged swords into their own necks.

Three Guardian Escorts collapsed, but one remained standing, sword in hand.

“So it was you after all.”

Kang Su’s eyes turned icy.

“You were the one who spoke of the Young Castle Lord’s command and mourned the deaths of back-alley human trash—because if they died, the pretext you planned to use for your spying would vanish.”

“Chief Protector, the tide has already fully turned. The Young Castle Lord alone—what can the Young Castle Lord do, especially with a woman’s body? Even now, if you only change your heart— Kkh!”

Kang Su brought the sword down and split the Guardian Escort’s body cleanly in half.

“Watch that filthy mouth.”

Kang Su’s expression, even as he spat the curse, was grievously pained.

Before the bodies of the three Guardian Escorts, Kang Su lowered his head.

“My life has another use, so I cannot follow you at once. Wait only a little longer for me.”

Walking to the far end of the clearing, Kang Su gazed down at the carriage now distant on the main road and murmured softly,

“Young Castle Lord. I beg forgiveness for defying a command as high as heaven. This subordinate—at this moment, this is the only way left to protect you, so there was no other path.”

*****

—CLATTER! CLATTER!

Inside the carriage, only the monotonous sound of the wheels running along the main road rang out.

‘Hah. This is something.’

Chwi Dugae felt as though he might suffocate to death.

Ever since Kwak Yeon fed the black-path rabble buns and sent them back, silence had hung over the carriage without end.

Kwak Yeon had always been taciturn, and he also tended to be shy around strangers, so Chwi Dugae could accept that.

But even Jin Cheongha kept the mouth tightly shut.

‘They say “He who stays near ink becomes black”... did the Dark Cavern Taoist’s aura rub off on this girl?’

Chwi Dugae tried to open his mouth several times, but stopped—because Jin Cheongha’s expression was strangely dark.

It truly made no sense.

Thanks to Kwak Yeon, they no longer had to worry about pursuit by a black-path group, so Jin Cheongha should have been brighter than before—yet it was the exact opposite.

“Guests, we’ll soon reach Seochang County, and we’ll have to lodge here for today. Night is falling, and it would be too much to push to the next village.”

Chwi Dugae could not have been happier to hear Old Master Gu’s voice.

“If Old Master Gu, who knows the road well, says so, then we must. Take us to the best guesthouse tavern in Seojeong County.”

“Understood.”

Chwi Dugae planned to gorge himself properly to make up for the buns stolen earlier.

‘Heh heh heh! I got a hefty donation from Nanchang’s Society Leader Bae, so my travel money is plentiful, and with all the chaos I haven’t been able to enjoy any luxuries—now I’ll finally indulge properly. Hm...?’

While Chwi Dugae smiled to himself in satisfaction, he noticed Jin Cheongha looking at him with troubled eyes, so he said,

“Sister Jin, if you’re worried about travel money, don’t fret at all. Our brother Kwak is a lay Taoist, but he’s quite wealthy.”

Jin Cheongha spoke with a troubled expression.

“Even so, I don’t think it’s right to burden you like this.”

“Hey now—if we’re traveling together, what burden is there? If you draw lines that cleanly, both sides only become uncomfortable, so just let it be. Besides, who knows? We might end up owing you a burden someday.”

After making that showy remark, Chwi Dugae snapped his head toward Kwak Yeon.

“Brother Kwak thinks so too, right?”

“I think so as well.”

Kwak Yeon nodded at Chwi Dugae, then said to Jin Cheongha,

“Lodging is part of travel, so please don’t feel burdened, Miss Jin.”

At that, Jin Cheongha gave a courteous bow.

“Taoist Kwak, thank you for your consideration.”

When Chwi Dugae stared blankly, Jin Cheongha quickly bowed to Chwi Dugae as well.

“And I thank you even more, Sub-Branch Master.”

“What do you mean, ‘even more’...?”

Chwi Dugae felt oddly as if he were receiving bows he didn’t deserve, but in any case he was pleased that the two had finally begun speaking again.

The party rented a detached annex at the finest guesthouse tavern in Seojeong County.

Old Master Gu said he needed to service the carriage and let the horses rest comfortably at a stable, so he drove the carriage away to the Seojeong County livery where coachmen lodged during journeys.

“Yaaawn!”

Chwi Dugae stretched out long and spoke.

“Brother Kwak, to digest a little, I’ll go pay a visit to the local Beggar Clan Branch.”

They had just finished the evening meal the inn errand boy brought to the annex.

“I’ll also learn the news of the rivers and lakes that we haven’t heard.”

“Go carefully.”

Chwi Dugae was surprised that Kwak Yeon answered without hesitation.

Kwak Yeon had been so cautious that Chwi Dugae had even gone alone to rent this detached annex in the first place.

Chwi Dugae assumed it was because darkness had fallen outside, so there was less reason to worry about drawing attention, and he said,

“Right. While I’m gone, you two can drink a cup of tea or something.”

When Chwi Dugae left in a flash after saying that, the annex soon sank into awkward silence.

“.......”

“.......”

Jin Cheongha spoke first.

“Taoist Kwak—how did you two meet?”

“.......”

“I’m sorry for asking something unnecessary. The way you two call each other brothers seemed unusual, so I blurted it out. Then, please rest.”

Jin Cheongha was pulling the chair back to rise—

“Stop it. Young Castle Lord.” 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

The body of Jin Cheongha, halfway risen, froze in place.