"No." Ryeong shook her head firmly.
"From the moment I saw the Young Lady's sword, I swore to pledge my loyalty to you. How you lived before is not important to me."
Her gaze was upright and unwavering. In her intense eyes, one could feel the strong will to convey that her words were the wholehearted truth, without a single lie. Seolhwa was a little curious.
How could someone trust her this much? Was it possible for someone to act as if they would offer their life, just because she had shown her sword once?
‘She’ll turn her back at the important moment.’
When her life is truly in danger, she will turn her back. That's what humans do. Seolhwa had never been one to trust people easily.
That was the reason she had been able to survive in the Blood Sect in her past life.
"Thank you. For believing in me."
As Seolhwa said this, her eyes looked a little lonely. Ryeong's heart grew anxious. For some reason, she wanted to comfort her.
"Young Lady, I…"
"Shall we go now?"
But as if she didn't need comfort, Seolhwa turned her steps. Ryeong watched her retreating back for a moment as she walked away, then followed after her. The two returned to the family grounds.
The sun had set, and the night was filled only with a dark sky where not even a single ray of moonlight could enter.
At the same time. Atop Lotus Peak of Mount Hua, where darkness had fallen. In that darkness, a single shadow moved stealthily.
The person with their face covered by dark clothes and a black cloth was none other than the first disciple of Mount Hua, Yu Kang.
"Hoo… hooo…"
Yu Kang slowly caught his breath and moved his feet. Though it was night, this was Mount Hua. A great sword sect teeming with masters who made their name known throughout the Central Plains with a single sword.
A small mistake would get him caught by the keen senses of the Elders. Moving his Energy to reduce his presence as much as possible, Yu Kang headed toward the place the Namgung young lady had mentioned.
He passed the tree on the side path behind Golden Heaven Hall where he often used to hide, and walked in the direction the Elders had taken. But following that path, as he knew, only led to a secluded latrine. Yu Kang raised his senses to brighten his eyes.
Gathering as much light as he could in the darkness, he scanned the footprints around the latrine.
‘To the back.’
A few sets of footprints led to the rear of the latrine. After catching his breath for a moment, Yu Kang followed the footprints. Behind the latrine was a sheer cliff.
No, that's what he had always thought. Mount Hua was famous for its rough terrain. Moreover, since it was behind Golden Heaven Hall, built at the highest point, he naturally assumed it had to be a cliff.
But after seeing the back with his own eyes, Yu Kang couldn't help but be surprised. Below the cliff, in a not-so-wide space, a pavilion had been built.
‘...’
The child’s words are true. In that moment, the face of the Namgung young lady came to mind. The child who had so confidently discussed the Sect Leader's condition and the crisis of Mount Hua.
The child who, despite being an outsider with no connection to Mount Hua, saw through it better than anyone.
"..."
There were stairs on the cliff leading to the pavilion. They had been made by breaking the stone wall of the cliff to form steps, and it was extremely dangerous. One wrong step and he would fall into the bottomless abyss, but Yu Kang’s steps were unhesitating.
‘I have to check.’
The thought that he had to confirm if the child's words were true filled his mind. Finally, Yu Kang arrived at the door of the pavilion. Inside the pavilion, he could feel the presence of one person.
Yu Kang's breathing became rough. The fact that there was a pavilion in this remote place, and that there was a person inside it, was still hard to believe. It was the moment Yu Kang grabbed the handle to open the pavilion door.
"No Baek, is that you?"
"…!"
He heard it. The voice of the Sect Leader, whom he hadn't seen for two years since he went into secluded training.
"What is it at this time of night?"
It was unfamiliar because he hadn't heard it for a long time, and because it was unfamiliar, it became clearer. The Sect Leader is beyond this door. Yu Kang let go of the doorknob and respectfully performed a clasped fist salute.
"Sect Leader, it is your disciple, Yu Kang."
"…"
A long silence followed from beyond the door. The silence was both surprise and acknowledgment.
"Yes, it's you, Yu Kang."
The end of the Sect Leader's voice trembled. Now, it was truly undeniable. The Sect Leader was ‘hiding’ here.
"Will you come in?"
"Yes."
Yu Kang gave his surroundings a quick glance and then stepped into the room.
"…!"
The moment he stepped inside, Yu Kang's movement faltered slightly. The room was filled with the smell of burning incense. But the problem was the smell beyond the incense.
The musty smell of rotting flesh. Mixed with the scent of the incense burned to hide it, the room was filled with an unbearable stench. However, Yu Kang showed no sign of displeasure as he closed the door.
The Sect Leader was sitting behind a long reed screen by the window.
"It has been a while, Yu Kang."
"Have you been well, Sect Leader?"
"You seem to have grown taller since I last saw you. It's not strange for children to grow day by day."
The Sect Leader's voice was as gentle as Yu Kang remembered from two years ago. It was like the sound of a jade bead rolling on a glass table.
"How did you come to be here?"
"I cannot say it was by chance."
"Your attire tells me as much."
Anyone could see that Yu Kang's attire was meant for moving stealthily.
"Did you find out that I was here?"
"I heard, and because I heard, I wanted to confirm."
"Who told you?"
"The young lady of the Namgung family."
The Sect Leader fell silent once again. Since he had come this far, he thought one of the Mount Hua Elders had tipped off Yu Kang. He had guessed it might be his master, No Mun, but his guess was far off.
"The Namgung… child…?"
"And the Namgung young lady asked me to deliver this note to you, Sect Leader."
Yu Kang gently rose and approached the Sect Leader. With his gaze fixed on the floor, he placed only the note Seolhwa had given him on the table and returned to his spot. No Un opened the note with a quiet movement.
A sound of a short intake of breath was soon heard.
"Do you know the contents?"
"I have seen it. The Namgung young lady said to look if I couldn't believe it."
[Open your mind's eye to see the hidden path.]
‘Open your mind's eye, and you will see the hidden path.’
"Do you also know what this means?"
"I do not know. She only said that you would know when you saw it, Sect Leader."
"…!"
No Un's hand holding the note trembled.
"What else did she say?"
"She said not to trust anyone. She said that in Mount Hua, she trusts only you, Sect Leader, and me."
"…?"
The more he heard, the stranger it sounded. The Namgung girl he had never met trusted him? No, he could understand her trusting him, the Sect Leader, but why Yu Kang of all people?
However, the circumstances pointed too clearly to one fact to be dismissed as a coincidence.
‘The Namgung girl knows something.’
Perhaps, even the way to solve this problem that has remained unsolved for two years. No Un swallowed a nervous gulp. He opened his mouth with a trembling voice.
"Yu Kang, could you go to Namgung one more time for me?"
On the way out of the Training Ground after finishing the usual dawn training. An unexpected person was waiting for Seolhwa in front of the Training Ground. It was the Black Dragon Unit Leader, Namgung Hyuk.
"Greetings to Young Lady Seolhwa."
"Hello, Unit Leader."
"It's been a while."
He had been in charge of the escort when she had gone on an outing to the streets with Cheong-un. He was the one who had almost discovered them on their way back from meeting Ilryong, Imwoe, and Sambong.
"Are you pleased with your new escort?"
Namgung Hyuk asked with a pleasant smile.
"Yes. Very much."
"That's a relief. I was worried she might be disrespectful to you, Young Lady."
Namgung Hyuk's eyes briefly glanced at Ryeong.
"There was none of that. Lately, I'm not bored thanks to Ryeong."
"Oh my. Ryeong doesn't have an amusing personality. Had I known, I would have assigned a child with a better tongue."
"It's alright. I already have a friend like that in the pavilion. But, what is the matter?"
Namgung Hyuk lowered his head slightly with a benevolent smile, then raised it.
"The Family Head is looking for you."
The dawn training ended around half a shichen past the Hour of the Dragon (7-9 AM). It was a time when most people were starting their day, so it was unusual to be sought out or to seek someone out, but Namgung Mucheon was already aware of Seolhwa and the Red Dragon 11th Squad's training.
He knew, but had been deliberately pretending not to know, and now he was summoning her, even sending the Black Dragon Unit Leader.
‘He must have heard the rumors.’
Summoning me in such a hurry, could it be that he's angry? For not dealing with the rumors.
"Will you be able to go right away?"
At the Black Dragon Unit Leader's question, Seolhwa nodded her head. It was a rather leisurely question, even though he must have been instructed to bring her as soon as her training ended. He was probably being considerate of her.
Haste could make a child anxious.
"I'll go right away."
"I will escort you."