After finishing a light drink with Tang Gwan and entering Warbreaker Pavilion, Yeon Hojeong suddenly felt a covert Killing Intent.

SHIIIIIIK! THUD!

He instinctively turned his head and dodged, and before he knew it, a wooden arrow had buried itself in the ground.

It had been such a sharp and powerful shot that even the arrow’s shaft was embedded in the earth. Considering the ground was frozen from the cold, it was a frightening amount of force.

Yeon Hojeong looked up at the third-floor window with an expression of utter disbelief.

There stood Mookbi, lowering Red Lotus Bow with a sour look on her face.

“Are you insane? You just fired an arrow at me!”

“Hmph. You went and did something fun without me again, didn’t you?”

“Fun, my ass. My head hurts enough to kill me—hey! That isn’t the problem! Were you aiming for my forehead just now? Do you want to die?”

“You dodged it well enough.”

“Are you joking right now? I drank! I barely dodged that, damn it.”

“You told me a martial artist must always stay alert because a fight can break out anytime, anywhere.”

“Let me rest comfortably in my own home, will you?!”

“Tch.”

FLAP.

Mookbi launched herself from the window and landed in front of Yeon Hojeong in a single movement.

She said bluntly, “The Evil-Smiting Corps finished training.”

“Yeah, good work.”

“Are you going to keep wandering around outside like this? At this rate, you’ll forget the troops’ faces.”

Yeon Hojeong gave a faint laugh.

“I have done everything I can for now. The rest can be handled as the situation develops.”

“That lie is true, right?”

“It isn’t a lie.”

“As if.”

“Why are you so twisted? You were not like this before.”

“You are the one who made me this way, Young Master Yeon. And what is wrong with me, anyway?”

Yeon Hojeong shuddered.

“Fine. I am sorry. What do you want me to do?”

Only then did Mookbi giggle.

“There is nothing you need to do. Someone wants to see you.”

“Hmm?”

“Physician Gi.”

*****

Gi Uhui’s quarters were located south of the center of the inner district.

It was past the hour of the Dog when Yeon Hojeong and Mookbi visited Gi Uhui’s quarters.

“You came?”

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes gleamed.

Perhaps she had known they would come at this hour, because Gi Uhui was sitting there in elegant, old-fashioned clothing with two cups of steaming tea prepared.

Gi Uhui smiled.

Perhaps she had settled her mind in her own way, because her smiling face was very pleasant to see. In truth, her features were so exotic and beautiful that the mere sight of her smile seemed to ease the cold.

“Please sit.”

“I will.”

The two sat across from Gi Uhui.

Yeon Hojeong asked bluntly, “I heard you wanted to see me?”

“Yes. But...”

Gi Uhui asked in puzzlement, “Were you drinking?”

“Hmm?”

Yeon Hojeong tilted his head.

“Is it obvious? I drove out all the alcohol with Inner Qi.”

Gi Uhui smiled and pointed to her nose.

“I can smell the liquor.”

“You have the nose of a dog.”

“To examine patients properly, one must train the five senses as well.”

“That is the first time I have heard that.”

“There are diagnostic methods based on that, too. Though I merely worked to observe the details of a patient’s condition more closely.”

Setting aside her ideology and origins, she was first-rate as a physician. And to reach that level, she must have made efforts difficult to describe in words.

Yeon Hojeong nodded.

“Fine, let us say that is true. You wanted to see me?”

“Yes.”

“For what?”

Gi Uhui moistened her throat with tea.

It seemed it was not an easy thing to say. Even so, there was not the slightest disturbance in her expression.

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes deepened.

She has truly made up her mind.

Her gaze, expression, and presence had all been perfectly refined.

It was the bearing of someone who had clearly decided the path ahead. In a sense, she seemed even more certain than Mookbi or Gangryang, and Yeon Hojeong became convinced that this conversation today would be rather meaningful.

A moment later, Gi Uhui spoke.

“Commander Yeon.”

“Speak.”

“You once said that the Three Creeds would burn the Central Plains and cast countless innocent people into hell.”

“I did.”

“I agree as well. No, I acknowledge it. I already knew that, but I had been deliberately looking away.”

She did not say she seemed to have looked away. She said she had looked away. She was speaking with certainty.

Gi Uhui’s eyes shone.

“I told the strategist as well. I said I am not here to work for the Martial Alliance, but for the nameless people who will bleed under the Three Creeds’ invasion.”

The corners of Yeon Hojeong’s mouth rose.

“That sounds like you are saying you will leave at any time if the Martial Alliance strays from the path.”

“Yes. I will walk away from this position at any time. And I will condemn the Martial Alliance. If the Martial Alliance strays, that is.”

Yeon Hojeong nodded.

“That is a good mindset. That is righteousness and chivalry. Of course, I myself am still far from righteous chivalry.”

Gi Uhui smiled.

“You say the same thing as the strategist.”

“He said that too?”

“Yes. He said I may leave at any time if the Martial Alliance strays. I felt absolute confidence in that statement. Perhaps the strategist is certain the Martial Alliance will not stray.”

“It is not certainty.”

“Yes?”

“No one knows the future. That is why we are making all this noise, is it not?”

“Then how should I interpret the confidence the strategist showed?”

Yeon Hojeong made a gesture of cutting his own throat.

“It means that if the Martial Alliance truly reaches that point, he will be the first to die.”

“...!”

“Although in other people’s eyes he may look like a man who only uses his head, the strategist’s chivalrous spirit is among the finest in the Martial Alliance. And the place that chivalrous spirit is directed toward is the Martial Alliance. If, by some chance, the Martial Alliance strays, the strategist will already no longer be of this world.”

Gi Uhui gave a bitter smile.

“That faith you have in the strategist is truly remarkable.”

“At least for now, it is. As I said, no one knows the future. No one knows how I or the strategist may change.”

“I suppose that is true.”

Gi Uhui drew in a deep breath.

“You took Hidden Shadow One before, yes?”

“And killed him.”

“Yes, I know.”

Gi Uhui paused for a moment, then gazed steadily at Yeon Hojeong.

“Hidden Shadow One was not the only one who came to the Martial Alliance.”

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes shone.

“Yes, I heard that before.”

“There are contacts in the Martial Alliance’s outer district. I do not know exactly how many there are.”

“He did not tell you that much?”

“No. In Hidden Shadow One’s eyes, I must not have been a very trustworthy person.”

That was likely not the only reason.

Leaving Hidden Shadow One’s thoughts aside, her existence was little more than a troublesome burden to the Divine Flame Cult.

Even if she was an illegitimate child, she was still the Cult Leader’s bloodline, so they could not coldly cast her out. But if they accepted her, she could cause a serious upheaval in the line of succession.

Moreover, she herself was active in the Central Plains as a physician. From the Divine Flame Cult’s perspective, she could only be troublesome in many ways.

“Judging from how matters are moving, it seems that aside from a few people, no one knows about the Cult.”

“We are keeping words restrained. There is always the chance of something going wrong.”

“Because one of the Service Lords might have a line to the Three Creeds?”

“Yes.”

“And there is no chance that person is the strategist?”

“At least, that is how it looked to me. And if the strategist had joined hands with the Three Creeds, there would have been no story from the beginning.”

“That is true.”

“So, what do you want to say?”

Gi Uhui gave a wry smile.

“We need to catch them. Starting with the contacts.”

SHHHK.

In an instant, Yeon Hojeong’s presence changed.

His face was smiling, but his nature had turned cold and honed. Just the thought of catching them was making his True ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) Qi try to surge.

Mookbi grabbed Yeon Hojeong’s shoulder.

“Young Master Yeon.”

“...Hooo.”

Yeon Hojeong exhaled lightly and steadied his mind. But his eyes were beginning to burn redder and redder.

Gi Uhui continued.

“That is why I wanted to see you, Commander Yeon. In truth, I know very little about the Divine Flame Cult, and furthermore, I am completely ignorant of hidden struggles like this.”

“I see.”

“However, I do know that it will not end simply because we catch the contacts. As you said, if we want more than that, carelessly catching all the contacts may become a problem.”

“That is true as well.”

“What I want to say is, in other words...”

“Feed them false information.”

“Yes.”

Gi Uhui forced a smile.

“If matters proceed that way, the Divine Flame Cult will learn one day, will they not? That I betrayed them.”

“They will.”

“Can you protect my life?”

Yeon Hojeong tapped the teacup.

“Without you, we cannot lure out the Divine Flame Cult bastards anyway. The moment you decided to stand with us, we became one organization.”

“I see.”

“Do not worry. At the very least, I will not be alive before your life is taken.”

It meant he was promising absolute protection.

Gi Uhui smiled.

“I do not need such a savage promise, but good. I will protect you as well, Commander Yeon.”

Not only Yeon Hojeong but Mookbi tilted their heads.

“Protect me? Who is protecting whom?”

“You will have many fights ahead of you. You should not die because a wound festers.”

“Oh? Are you saying you will become my personal physician?”

“My principle is to treat all patients equally, but it is only natural that I should lend a hand one more time, at least to the person who holds my life in his hands.”

Mookbi smacked her lips for no particular reason. Somehow, everyone who formed a friendship or made a deal with Yeon Hojeong seemed to become abnormal.

“So I intend to move my quarters first.”

“Move your quarters?”

“You need to protect me, do you not? I should move to Warbreaker Pavilion. You have spare rooms there, yes?”

Mookbi’s mouth fell open.

Yeon Hojeong frowned.

“The Three Creeds are not the only thing I am worrying about. There is an internal power struggle at full tilt inside the Martial Alliance. If you come to our quarters now, there will be talk in many ways.”

“That is not my concern.”

“...”

“Moreover, I am already scheduled to be Tang Clan Lord’s sponsor. In other words, I will now be targeted not only by the Three Creeds, but also by Young Master Yeon’s political enemies.”

“Hmm, that is true.”

“The Medical Immortal Pavilion officially opens in four days. Before that, I would like to move my quarters and settle my mind first.”

Yeon Hojeong smacked his lips.

The Yeon Clan bloodline, of course, and now Mookbi, Gangryang, and Gi Uhui on top of that. Somehow, he was starting to feel as though Warbreaker Pavilion was becoming more and more fortress-like.

“Fine. Do that. I will speak to Father separately.”

Gi Uhui smiled brightly.

“Thank you.”

“No need to thank me.”

Yeon Hojeong stroked his chin.

“By the way, if you intend to feed false information to a contact, that contact will have to approach Warbreaker Pavilion.”

“I can be certain of one thing. The contact will absolutely not know what kind of place Warbreaker Pavilion is, or who resides there.”

“Yes, that will do.”

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes spat fire.

“An election, this and that—we have had all sorts of things going on. Since Brother said he would handle the Mo Yong Clan himself, perhaps it is about time I started running as well.”

*****

Three days later.

A middle-aged man who looked like a servant stealthily entered Warbreaker Pavilion.

“Young Master Yeon.”

“I felt him too.”

Standing with his arms folded and his back against the wall beside the window, Yeon Hojeong’s face twisted like a demon’s.

“...This is hard to endure. I want to grab him right now and twist his neck off.”