The figure that had infiltrated Baek Yoonjun's room approached where he was without hesitation.

And so, as the figure got closer to Baek Yoonjun, the moonlight shone upon the figure.

"Master is sleeping well."

Tang Yuhwa, whose appearance was revealed under the moonlight, looked down at Baek Yoonjun with her usual face.

"Master."

Tang Yuhwa placed her hand on Baek Yoonjun's body and gently shook him.

"Umm."

Baek Yoonjun only let out a faint groan and showed no signs of waking up.

"He seems to be in a deep sleep."

Having confirmed that Baek Yoonjun was not waking up, Tang Yuhwa brought her hand to his chest.

"It's Master's fault for not waking up."

Then she carefully began to untie Baek Yoonjun's front.

A moment later, Baek Yoonjun's well-trained upper body was revealed.

Although he looked thin on the outside, his muscles were firmly in place.

Gulp.

In the quiet room, the sound of Tang Yuhwa swallowing her saliva echoed.

Tang Yuhwa quietly looked down at Baek Yoonjun and brought her hand to her bosom.

"Master's condition looked bad."

What was in Tang Yuhwa's hand was a needle used for medicine.

Holding the needle in her hand, Tang Yuhwa began to place needles on Baek Yoonjun's body with a delicate touch.

"Hehe."

Tang Yuhwa had a rare smile on her face.

From the side, it was a gloomy smile that would make one wonder if she was plotting something.

"Now, if Master wakes up... hehehe."

Tang Yuhwa's smile, which was close to evil, echoed quietly in the room.

"He'll feel refreshed as if washed."

Tang Yuhwa's face, who had finished the acupuncture, looked very relieved.

A moment later, Tang Yuhwa collected the needles and restored the untied clothes to their original state.

Having tidied up the surroundings and made the scene look as if nothing had happened, Tang Yuhwa quietly looked down at the sleeping Baek Yoonjun's face, and then.

"Since a person like Master runs away when approached, I'll be satisfied with this."

She took something out of her bosom.

A green comb made of jade.

Tang Yuhwa quietly brought the comb to Baek Yoonjun's hair.

Rustle.

Tang Yuhwa quietly and very quietly combed his hair and murmured.

And so, the first combing began.

One comb.

"Just as the tangled knots of the hair are untangled, may Master's shoulders become light..."

The second combing.

Two combs.

"May time flow slowly until my hair becomes as white as Master's hair..."

The third combing.

Three combs.

"My hand stops here... but may this comb alone stay closest to Master's heart and protect Master's side..."

Tang Yuhwa murmured quietly as if reciting a poem and combed Baek Yoonjun's hair.

And so, after combing his hair, Tang Yuhwa quietly put her comb in Baek Yoonjun's bosom and turned her back.

"Then, sleep well, Master."

Tang Yuhwa, with a very relieved look, left Baek Yoonjun's room as she was.

And so, morning came.

"Umm."

Baek Yoonjun, who had been sleeping, got up from his seat.

Having stretched once, Baek Yoonjun felt a strange sense of incongruity.

'Strange?'

Baek Yoonjun moved his body this way and that.

'Strangely, my body feels refreshed.'

Although it was the same that he still couldn't move the Heart Sword, his body was in a much better condition than yesterday.

'They say sleep is the best medicine, and it's true.'

Remembering the words he had heard somewhere in his past life, Baek Yoonjun decided to sleep often even if his body returned to normal and he didn't need sleep.

"Hmm?"

Having checked his body's condition and being satisfied, Baek Yoonjun felt a strange sense of incongruity in his bosom.

Putting his hand in his bosom, Baek Yoonjun took out the object that felt strangely incongruous.

"A comb?"

What was in Baek Yoonjun's hand was a green comb made of jade.

'Did I have a comb like this?'

Baek Yoonjun quietly looked at the comb with suspicious eyes.

'Is it because it's green? It's a comb that strangely reminds me of Yuhwa.'

Although he didn't know when or where the object had come from, since it didn't look very dangerous, Baek Yoonjun carefully put the comb in his bosom.

'Come to think of it, I think I heard that there was a custom of giving a comb in ancient China, what was that again?'

No matter how much he racked his brain, old memories don't come back easily.

Baek Yoonjun gave up thinking and moved his feet.

Although he had neither internal energy nor the Heart Sword, his body was very light, and his steps were unhesitating.

And so, Baek Yoonjun, who had arrived at the inn below his residence, carefully scanned his surroundings.

'It's quiet today too, so it's nice.'

Inside the quiet inn.

It wasn't that there were no people at all.

'Brother Zhang? Alcohol from the morning?'

In a corner, Zhang Sanfeng had placed a glass in the empty seat opposite him and was bringing another glass to his lips.

Baek Yoonjun quietly approached Zhang Sanfeng.

Since he hadn't particularly hidden his presence, Zhang Sanfeng noticed Baek Yoonjun approaching.

"You're here, Brother Baek. I've shown you something unseemly."

Embarrassed, Zhang Sanfeng smiled bitterly and greeted Baek Yoonjun.

Although it was difficult for Baek Yoonjun to ask a question due to his unique homebody introvert nature.

"Umm, what were you doing?"

Since it was a bit much not to ask a question given the atmosphere, he asked carefully.

Having been asked the question, Zhang Sanfeng quietly clinked his glass against the glass in the empty seat, downed the alcohol, and then opened his mouth.

"It seems heavenly principles are not easily broken."

Mulling over the meaning of Zhang Sanfeng's words, Baek Yoonjun remembered what he had heard about his father and answered.

"I suppose so..."

"I heard that person, for whatever reason, went to the imperial palace alone with a sword."

"Hah..."

At the out-of-common-sense words that came out of Zhang Sanfeng's mouth, Baek Yoonjun couldn't answer anything and only let out a groan.

In the midst of the quiet silence, Baek Yoonjun couldn't overcome the atmosphere and opened his mouth.

"Where did you hear that story?"

"Junior Hong told me. It seems he has brought the beggars of this area into the Beggars' Sect."

"Yungae? He hasn't even been here for long."

"That must mean the fame of the Beggars' Sect has spread far and wide."

The conversation was cut off again, and silence flowed.

'It's uncomfortable, but it's a bit much to just go...'

Pondering, Baek Yoonjun quietly brought a glass from the kitchen of the inn and sat down next to the empty seat where the glass was placed.

Seeing that, Zhang Sanfeng smiled bitterly and filled Baek Yoonjun's glass with alcohol.

"May the foolish man be at peace after he has fallen asleep."

He murmured quietly and raised his glass.

Baek Yoonjun also quietly clinked his glass against Zhang Sanfeng's.

The time of mourning for a foolish martial artist, sent by the one who had been his son and the ones who had stood against him, flowed quietly.

---

In a secluded place.

A man in a monk's robe, unbefitting of a place littered with corpses, was dismembering a corpse with a familiar touch.

"Amitabha."

His touch, which was chanting a Buddhist prayer, was very cruel, unlike the content he was chanting.

"It is a pity that a being who had come close to attaining Buddhahood in the flesh was treated so roughly."

The monk muttered to himself and continued to dismember Namgung Jehyun's corpse.

"What lingering attachment did you have, benefactor, that you could have become an immortal Buddha and yet made a foolish choice?"

In proportion to his cruel hands, his face was as benevolent as a monk's.

"A difficult problem. A difficult problem."

The monk neatly arranged the dismembered parts of Namgung Jehyun's corpse by part.

In the place where the arranged corpses were classified, numerous other corpses were classified by type.

Having finished the classification, the monk put his hands together with a benevolent smile.

"Although you did not reach Buddhahood, since you are those who have reached that process, may you attain nirvana at the hands of this monk."

Having finished putting his hands together, the monk turned his feet.

Reeking of the smell of a rotting corpse.

---

Baek Sowol was walking quietly towards Mount Tian.

Although she could have hurried if she wanted to, her mind was too confused, so she was just walking slowly.

And so, in front of the walking Baek Sowol.

"Where are you going?"

"Senior Brother?"

Zhuge Hyun appeared.

Zhuge Hyun, who had appeared alone, having left his previous group somewhere.

"What is it?"

Perhaps because of the previous incident, Baek Sowol was not in a very good mood and reacted sharply.

Seeing that, Zhuge Hyun had his characteristic crooked smile on his lips.

"You've grown up a lot?"

"I'm not in the mood for small talk, so if you have no business, I'll be on my way."

Baek Sowol passed by Zhuge Hyun and moved her feet.

"Ahem, Senior Brother hasn't finished talking."

Zhuge Hyun stretched out his hand towards Baek Sowol.

Baek Sowol parried Zhuge Hyun's hand. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

But Zhuge Hyun's hand was persistent.

And so, the exchange began.

Zhuge Hyun's hand and Baek Sowol's hand clashed countless times.

And so, after a brief exchange, the two came to face each other.

"Hah, you've grown up a lot."

"I wasn't just playing around."

"And your killing intent is overflowing."

"It's my business. Don't mind it."

Zhuge Hyun quickly scanned Baek Sowol's condition.

Although there had been many changes when they had met before, she had changed to an extent that was incomparable to then.

It went without saying that her energy had grown, and her killing intent was on the verge of exploding, not just overflowing.

"Get rid of that killing intent. A passing commoner would be crushed to death by the killing intent alone."

"Go on your way."

"I am going on my way, am I not?"

Baek Sowol's irritation soared at Zhuge Hyun's sarcastic attitude.

Because of that, her already surging killing intent erupted even more fiercely.

"You might get hit if you're not careful?"

"If you allow it, I will not refuse."

"Hah, right. Hit me."

"I will not refuse."

As soon as Zhuge Hyun's permission was given, Baek Sowol stretched out her palm.

"Aren't you going to draw your sword?"

Zhuge Hyun also extended his palm.

Baek Sowol's and Zhuge Hyun's palms met, and a large energy wave erupted, devastating the surroundings.

"Cough."

In the midst of that, Baek Sowol was pushed back, and a stream of fresh blood flowed from the corner of her mouth.

"Weren't you going to let me hit you?"

"I said hit me, I didn't say I'd let you hit me."

"What a petty wordplay..."

Revealing a faint anger, Baek Sowol brought her hand to the hilt of the Baekcheol Cheongju.

Seeing that, Zhuge Hyun raised both his hands.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down."

"Do I look like I can calm down?"

"There's a separate time to swing that sword, so listen to my story."

Baek Sowol glared at Zhuge Hyun once and then quietly took her hand off the sword hilt.

"What is it?"

As Baek Sowol took her hand off the sword hilt, Zhuge Hyun lowered his hands and smiled crookedly.

"I know a thing or two about your relationship with the Namgung family."

"That story..."

"That's not what's important."

Displeased with Zhuge Hyun's attitude of cutting her off, Baek Sowol frowned, but she shut her mouth with the intention of listening to what he had to say for now.

As if satisfied with that appearance, Zhuge Hyun continued to speak with a crooked smile.

"That Namgung family. It seems they're going to be annihilated."

"I expected that."

"Of course you did. And the ones who are trying to annihilate them are the Alliance."

"That's..."

"You're not on good terms with either of them, are you? So, I wanted to give you some help."

At Zhuge Hyun's meaningful words, Baek Sowol looked at him suspiciously.

To anyone's eyes, it was the face of a villain plotting something.

Whether Baek Sowol sent such a gaze or not, Zhuge Hyun continued to speak.

"It's a chance to wipe out one of them, isn't it? Since you seem to have your own power, I'm trying to give you that chance."

Zhuge Hyun quietly looked at Baek Sowol.

Baek Sowol thought his eyes resembled the gaze of a demon that draws people into the underworld.

"Which side do you want to wipe out?"

Zhuge Hyun said very lightly, as if inviting her for a drink.

At such words from Zhuge Hyun, Baek Sowol fell into thought.

Both were her enemies.

'If I had my way...'

Seeing Baek Sowol's appearance, as if he had read her thoughts, one corner of Zhuge Hyun's mouth went up even more bizarrely.

"Well, depending on what you do, there's also a secret plan to have them both annihilated."

The reason Zhuge Hyun said this last was, of course, because he thought Baek Sowol would choose this.

The relationship between Baek Sowol, the Martial Alliance, and the Namgung family, as he had grasped it, was the worst.

If Zhuge Hyun had been the one involved, he would have long since devised a wicked plan and made them both walk the path of annihilation.

Unlike his usual self, Zhuge Hyun quietly waited for Baek Sowol's answer.

Although the answer was set, since she was his junior sister, it was the affection of a twisted master-disciple relationship, trying to respect her thoughts.

And so, after a long time, Baek Sowol quietly opened her mouth.

"I..."

(End of Chapter)