After leaving Mo Yonggun’s quarters, Yeon Hojeong let out a quiet sigh.

Gangryang asked, “Are you all right?”

“What wouldn’t be all right about me?”

“What kind of passionate conversation were you two having in there? Raised voices, something getting smashed—sounded like absolute chaos.”

“You could hear it outside?”

“Clear as day. It was terrifying.”

Yeon Hojeong gave a faint laugh.

“It was nothing much. I just stoked the old fox’s temper a little.”

Gangryang said with a dubious look, “I don’t know what you talked about, but you really do have nerves of steel. Still, he is a Service Lord of the Martial Alliance. Is it all right to make him that furious?”

“Mo Yonggun, as he is right now, can’t move recklessly.”

“Why not?”

“Because all he can see right now is the Martial Alliance Leader’s seat.”

Yeon Hojeong had pushed Mo Yonggun beyond reason for one obvious purpose: to see how he would react.

And Mo Yonggun had been more sensible, and more indifferent, than expected. It was not that he was letting Yeon Hojeong off. It was because he was carefully managing his own image.

He would not do anything conspicuous. At least not in front of Yeon Hojeong or the Service Lords of the Alliance.

This is a filthy thing to do too.

Every time he had clashed with Mo Yonggun until now, he had at least had a reason.

Not this time.

For the past several months, Mo Yonggun had been far too quiet. He had done nothing that might leave a tail to grab.

That was also why the two of them had not met. If anything had happened, either Yeon Hojeong or Mo Yonggun would have been forced to move.

In other words, what Yeon Hojeong had just done was no different from slapping Mo Yonggun across the face in an empty field and running away.

He must be furious beyond measure. But even then, he can’t move rashly. He absolutely can’t do anything conspicuous.

But.

He can never simply ignore the claim that I caught an informant from Ink Dragon Manor. The moment that person is sent to the Brain Prison, he’ll go to insane lengths to kill the informant.

Even then, killing that person would not be easy. If he moved too hastily, every eye fixed on the informant would turn straight to Mo Yonggun.

He would clearly do one of two things: either use someone who could never be linked to him, or approach very carefully.

But what if...

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes deepened.

What if there’s no reaction at all, even after I said informant? How should I understand that?

Yeon Hojeong was certain Mo Yonggun had joined hands with Yangcheon.

But he had no physical proof. In the worst case, this entire matter could be Yeon Hojeong’s misunderstanding.

Yeon Hojeong shook his head.

Don’t waver. A person’s intent always bleeds into their actions. Read that intent, remove every situation that doesn’t make sense one by one, and in the end only one obvious fact remains.

That obvious fact was the truth, and the answer.

He could not blindly believe in a single assumption. But he had to proceed with enough faith in it to use it as a guidepost. Only then would he avoid being shaken by every useless reaction while carrying things forward.

If I wait, the answer will come anyway.

He had deliberately told Mo Yonggun about the attempt to work Venerable Gonggong because he wanted Mo Yonggun to move carefully.

If Mo Yonggun moved carefully, Ink Dragon Manor would eventually make contact. If Yeon Hojeong could read that single moment, he could drag Mo Yonggun down into the abyss.

I can hand this matter over to the strategist now. I need to turn my eyes somewhere else.

Yeon Hojeong looked back toward Mo Yonggun’s quarters.

Of Mo Yonggun’s sponsors, one of the two must belong to the same faction as him.

He would not use both. It was the same sort of issue as Tang Gwan choosing the Divine Maiden of the Western Regions as one of his sponsors.

But he also could not avoid registering a faction member who would help him anyway. He had to mind the eyes of the world.

One of Mo Yonggun’s sponsors must be connected to Ink Dragon Manor.

Of course, he did not yet know who.

Then the first thing to do was shake Mo Yonggun’s faction.

Yeon Hojeong had been deep in thought for some time.

“Brother.”

“Hm?”

Gangryang scratched his head.

“But why did you bring me along? You didn’t even let me inside.”

Yeon Hojeong smiled.

“To make use of you. Mo Yonggun had to sense your energy for my lie to have a higher chance of working.”

“Ah, is that so?”

“Why? Feeling bad because I said I’d broaden your field of vision, then used you like a consumable?”

Gangryang gave a faint laugh.

“What am I, an object? I’m not a child. I’m not upset over something like that.”

“Then?”

“I was just curious.”

“About what?”

“Using someone else to remove a political enemy. In other words, it’s close to killing with another person’s blade.”

“Right? Though the monster in question isn’t easy to kill, so that complicates things.”

“If that was your aim, why didn’t you use me properly?”

“Hm?”

Yeon Hojeong blinked.

At the oddly innocent look ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) on his face, so unlike him, Gangryang ended up laughing despite himself.

“What do you mean, use you properly?”

“I’m a swordsman from the Dark Path, aren’t I?”

“You are.”

“If your goal was to let him sense my energy, then it’s safe to assume Clan Lord Mo Yong also learned where I came from, yes?”

“Yeah. I spilled everything.”

“Then that rumor will soon spread through the entire leadership.”

“It may spread not just through the leadership, but all the way to the outer district. So what are you trying to say?”

“Whether I actually know the details or not, people will assume that the heir of the Ghost-Iron Sword Gate has a fair grasp of the Dark Path martial world.”

“And?”

“You could say you intend to send me to Ink Dragon Manor as a spy. On the pretext of checking whether anyone there has joined hands with someone inside the Martial Alliance.”

“...!”

Yeon Hojeong’s face hardened.

A spy...

He had not even thought of that method.

Gangryang smacked his lips.

“Of course, I know. You don’t trust me enough for that. To be honest, even I don’t know whether I could actually do proper spy work. I’m not naturally good at deceiving people.”

“...”

“But the important thing isn’t actually sending me. It’s making the leadership recognize the ‘belief’ that you could send me to find out, isn’t it? And while doing so, you could keep an eye on Mo Yonggun’s movements too.”

Surprise appeared on Yeon Hojeong’s face.

“How did you even think of that?”

Gangryang shook his head.

“You called Clan Lord Mo Yong an old fox, didn’t you? Old foxes are monsters. If a pack of wolves surrounds the den, they don’t come out.”

“...”

“If you want him to come out of his den, you have to make him think the outside is safer than the inside.”

“You little bastard. You’re a genius.”

“Whoa.”

Yeon Hojeong stared at Gangryang with open admiration.

“So you know how to use your head too?”

“Heh.”

“But we can’t do that.”

“...Why not?”

Gangryang had thought he had finally earned his keep, but Yeon Hojeong was saying he would not accept the proposal. Confusion spread over his face. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Yeon Hojeong smiled and shook his head.

“That method is definitely tempting, considering the headaches we’ll be dealing with from now on. It might even be the easiest and most certain way to test Mo Yonggun in the current situation.”

“Exactly. So—”

“But it puts you in danger.”

“What?”

“There’s another, safer method. I have no intention of sending one of my people into a death ground when I don’t have to.”

Gangryang’s face stiffened.

“Brother. I don’t know what you think of me, but I’m also someone who stakes his life on a single blade.”

“I know. I know that, but there’s nothing more ridiculous than risking your life for something that doesn’t require it.”

“...”

“Of course, if your martial arts and judgment were no worse than mine, I might at least consider it. I still wouldn’t use that method, though.”

“Why? Simply because I’m close to you?”

“That’s part of it. But it’s also because that’s the line I’ve drawn.”

“A line?”

Yeon Hojeong gave a bitter smile.

Since meeting Yeon Hojeong, Gangryang had never seen him look so painfully bitter.

“From what you’ve seen, do you think the political struggles I’ve waged until now were fair fights?”

“...”

“Most of what I’ve done has been trickery—deceiving my opponents, stabbing at their weaknesses, making even the truth look like a lie.”

“Brother.”

“When you keep doing things like that, everyone ends up thinking this at least once.”

Yeon Hojeong looked up at the sky.

Just how many layers of the abyss will I fall through?

Gangryang’s eyes tightened.

“You are removing political enemies for the Martial Alliance, for the world. There’s no need to set a limit on—”

“And after I remove those enemies? Do you think the stale stench will vanish cleanly just because I wash the mud and blood from my hands in a cleaner world?”

“...”

“I don’t know what you think, but if I can, I want to remove my enemies without making my people bleed. If I start using even my own people just because a method is easy, then one day I’ll become a real monster I can’t control.”

“...”

“It’s a home I barely managed to return to. I don’t want to disappoint the people precious to me.”

Yeon Hojeong patted Gangryang on the shoulder.

“Anyway, thank you. You were willing to risk your life for us. I’ll accept that friendship gratefully.”

“Brother.”

“Even if things go wrong later, I won’t regret not using this method. It was my choice.”

Gangryang sighed.

“But the situation is too complicated. If Clan Lord Mo Yong has joined hands with Ink Dragon Manor, then even if he fails to become Martial Alliance Leader, the entire Martial Alliance will be shaken.”

Yeon Hojeong burst into laughter despite himself.

“It’s actually hilarious hearing you say that. The young master of the Ghost-Iron Sword Gate is worrying about the Martial Alliance?”

“I’m serious.”

“I know, you punk. And you’re right. The situation is complicated, but nothing’s been properly resolved. It feels less like these tangled knots are loosening even a little, and more like everything is sinking deeper into a swamp.”

“Exactly.”

“However.”

Yeon Hojeong looked south. That was where Gi Uhui’s quarters were.

“An answer always appears. The trick is making sure that answer doesn’t split into many, but arrives at one complete result. That alone gives this filthy scheming its own kind of appeal.”

“...”

“We’ve gathered the firewood more or less. Now let’s toss in one spark. Who knows? That spark may do more than light a hearth—it may start a forest fire.”

*****

“Clan Lord.”

Mo Yonggun opened his eyes.

“An urgent Service Council meeting has been called. A summons has arrived ordering every Service Lord to attend immediately.”

“...”

“...Clan Lord?”

“How amusing.”

“What?”

A cold smile appeared at the corner of Mo Yonggun’s mouth.

An informant from Ink Dragon Manor? Ridiculous. If Yangcheon intended to send an informant, he would have contacted me first. Sending an informant without coordinating our stories in advance? There is no way a man called the Fighting King would make such a poor move.

In other words, Yeon Hojeong’s claim was highly likely to be a lie.

And yet, with a Service Council meeting called, it seemed he had sent someone who could be mistaken for an informant from Ink Dragon Manor.

Probably one of his own enemies I know nothing about.

The question was what posture Mo Yonggun should show at the meeting.

I’ll have to push hard. In fact, I should make sure Yeon Hojeong’s name comes up.

Just because the other side came at him strongly did not mean he had to bow his head.

And so Mo Yonggun attended the Service Council meeting.

But events were flowing in a direction he had never anticipated.

“Th-this is terrible!”

Je Gal Munho’s eyebrow twitched.

“This is a meeting hall where all the Service Lords are gathered. What matter has you raising your voice like that?”

The Brain Prison warden, who had suddenly burst into the meeting hall, swallowed hard.

“A prisoner has been assassinated!”

“What?!”

Every Service Lord shot up from their seat in shock.

“The inner district units are currently moving to pursue the assassin! According to the pursuit, the assassin is believed to be fleeing south!”

For an instant, Mo Yonggun felt his vision go dark.

It was as if Yeon Hojeong were whispering into his ear from some unseen place.

“You will never escape my hand.”