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Sichuan region.

Among them, a place somewhat removed from the county.

It was only known to people as a quiet town, with not many people around, but not quite as deserted as the center.

Toward a certain residence in the area, Gyecheon Sect Leader Daehwan strides forward.

The sun was shining, yet for some reason, it appeared a bit dark. Moreover, the few people visible were becoming even rarer.

With a stern expression, the Gyecheon Sect Leader finally arrives at the residence. As he stands before the door, it opens as if waiting for him.

Creeeak.

Through the gap of the opened door, a man bows his head to Daehwan.

“Greetings, Sect Leader.”

As Gyecheon Sect Leader steps inside, he asks,

“What’s the status of the search?”

“Jin Hobap is mobilizing personnel for reconnaissance, but… so far, nothing has been found.”

“You mean there’s not even a trace?”

“Yes, I’m sorry…”

He gnashes his teeth and continues walking.

The inside of the residence looked no different than an ordinary inn, but as he passed by a bookshelf, it slightly moved.

Creeeek-!

Suddenly, a staircase opens up on the left wall.

He immediately descends the stairs.

“Sect Leader… since Jin Hobap is involved, we should be able to gather information swiftly.”

As the man speaks while descending, he discreetly glances at the leader. The recent sudden ambush was the issue at hand.

For that reason, the leader wore a rather anxious expression.

However.

“That’s enough.”

“Yes?”

The man looks bewildered by the leader’s words.

“What do you mean…?”

“I think I’ve found the culprit.”

“…!?”

What? The culprit has been identified? This sudden announcement stunned the man.

The leader, noticing his confusion, continues.

“The culprit seems to be the Star King.”

The expression of the man becomes wide-eyed as if he has just seen a ghost.

“Y-you mean the Star King?”

“Indeed. That guy.”

“…Did something happen when you met him?”

“…”

Thinking back to his encounter with the Star King, a wicked expression twists the leader’s face. It was a memory too unpleasant to even describe.

The more they talked, the more it seemed best to suppress his killing intent.

The look he had on his face, not to mention the tone and voice he used—it all instilled rage within him.

“Does it look like trash?”

Recalling the characteristic expression he had used, Gyecheon Sect Leader clenched his fist.

“The rascal asked me if I knew about Ilcheongyo.”

“Ilcheongyo…! How would he know about that….”

“He said he has plenty of eyes on him. Not sure about that, but considering the evidence, it seems likely to be him.”

With that mention and the image of that guy’s expression, the leader’s conviction grew.

…The problem was.

‘How?’

How did it come to this?

No matter how much Gyecheon thought about it, he could not understand.

‘Just how did he know?’

That guy was strange. The more he delved, the more unsettling things felt.

By this time, Gyecheon had already anticipated that the Martial Alliance would start moving.

In fact, he had leaked information to Mokriseon, hoping for it.

Thus, he was expecting a Great Lord to emerge.

However.

‘To think there would be two.’

Given that it was early, he thought there would primarily be reconnaissance, but contrary to expectations, two Great Lords had mobilized. This was unexpected.

The reason for the problem stemmed from Mokriseon leaking information and the lag time in its arrival to Hanam.

There must have been an incident in Hanam in between.

Because of this, he had to deal with the variable known as the Star Dragon. Yet, until that point, Gyecheon believed it was manageable.

‘This actually works in my favor.’

The Star King leading the Star Dragon? It turned out he was merely past his youth and a Late-Stage Talent. He certainly would not have any real experience.

Rumor had it that he reached the youngest royal class, so his physical strength was noteworthy, but if that was all, it was still manageable.

After all, he was just a young man with strength and without experience as a Great Lord. That was the image Gyecheon held of the Star King.

‘Things have changed.’

The real encounter with the Star King was somewhat different than Gyecheon had anticipated.

Finding a place that had suddenly turned into an inn and sensing the atmosphere, it was difficult to see him as merely a Late-Stage Talent.

‘What should I call that?’

It was hard to express. But at the very least, he did not give off the impression of a Great Lord of the Martial Alliance. That was how Gyecheon saw the Star King.

Even until a later age, he had overcome countless life-and-death situations. In that time, he had witnessed countless Righteous and Demonic factions, therefore Gyecheon could be certain about the Star King.

‘He wasn’t righteous.’

That guy was too twisted to be called Righteous. Even from the way he handled his subordinates.

‘He really intended to kill.’

There was no hesitation in his actions. He seemed like he wanted to kill at any moment, but was desperately holding it back.

It would be difficult to separate Righteous from Demonic merely by actions; after all, a mere young man could not harbor such eyes.

‘Just how much blood has he shed?’

Having killed continuously, it would come to a point where life and death held no meaning. This was the position one had to take on when living on the edge.

Yet, he possessed that.

‘…I can’t understand.’

I can’t grasp it. Perhaps he’s been using the Rejuvenation Technique over and over.

If not, how?

‘This is becoming troublesome.’

It seemed he was aware of something. I couldn’t gauge the level of information he possessed, but it was apparent he held something.

Only,

‘Not everything.’

It seemed he did not know all. His main forces and Ilcheongyo—just that much seemed to be known, but beyond that, he appeared to know nothing.

‘Maybe not.’

This wasn’t a certainty. He could be playing dumb on purpose.

Moreover, what was crucial was.

‘His intentions don’t seem to lie with us or Ilcheongyo…’

It was about the point that the Star King wasn’t concerned with them at all. Hadn’t he mentioned something when he found his main forces?

‘Join hands with Il Cheonggeom.’

And let him kill me… or more specifically, help Il Cheonggeom kill me.

That was the Star King’s demand.

Why would the Cheongryong Great Lord have to kill the Star King? They were on the same side, after all? There was no need to dwell on this question for long.

Surely, he must have needed some justification.

The justification created when Il Cheonggeom stepped in. It seemed that was what the Star King was after.

This is when Gyecheon Sect Leader forged this deal with the Star King.

Because he saw this as not being a bad thing for his own intentions. This was something that would solidify a little more when he met Il Cheonggeom later.

Il Cheonggeom operated according to the Star King’s intentions.

So much so that it made one think they might have conspired to catch him.

‘If that was the case, it would be fortunate.’

If not.

‘Does that mean we’re playing into that young man’s hands?’

Even then.

At this moment, Gyecheon couldn’t shake the unease he felt.

At that time.

“…Sect Leader.”

The man called out to the leader.

As Gyecheon turns his gaze, the man’s expression reveals his anxiety.

“If it’s come to this, shouldn’t we inform Branch Leader Mokriseon?”

“Mokriseon?”

“Yes, to inform him about the situation of the Star King…”

“Don’t do that.”

“Excuse me?”

The man stared back, confused, but Gyecheon’s attitude remained unchanged.

Contact Mokriseon to observe his reactions? No way.

‘He already knows we’re in bed with Mokriseon.’

That alone was shocking, but what was important was:

‘Is Mokriseon still on our side?’

His belief in Mokriseon wasn’t that strong.

He was already someone who had betrayed the alliance once. If he could team up with Gyecheon for his rise, betraying them again wouldn’t be too difficult.

Thus, he decided to keep an eye on the situation before making any decisions.

‘After all, he’ll be the first to be dealt with.’

Getting rid of Mokriseon first would be a priority. Gyecheon Sect Leader steadied himself with cold eyes.

“For now, let’s act as the Star King says.”

“…Sect Leader. But.”

“However, if we only side with one party, it could be problematic.”

As the leader looks at the man, he gathers his energy.

“It’s probably best to act as Il Cheonggeom wishes too.”

“That means….”

“Perhaps we should give Il Cheonggeom a little more power than the Star King desired.”

The intentions of both were clear.

They appeared to be trying to slip a knife into each other’s necks for their own territories.

“Ha…”

Thinking of that made Gyecheon chuckle.

“…Indeed. The Righteous are rotten.”

They kill each other for their own interests.

What kind of righteousness and harmony exists in that? And these are the leaders of alliances calling themselves Righteous?

‘Could it be still called Righteous?’

It was futile. Moreover, it held no meaning.

‘There isn’t much time left, so watch carefully.’

The day of their taking action is nearing. This would put an end to being treated like an unwanted byproduct of the Demonic Faction.

‘You are not Righteous.’

They have rotten roots and lost their original aspirations.

In truth, they lost their true roots long ago, hence they hold no roots at all.

The true roots are Ilcheongyo.

They possess what the Righteous has lost, and soon enough, many will naturally come to know of it.

The true roots of the Righteous.

Who carries the will of the Great Hero Yeon Ilcheon?

Suddenly, the person who burst in through the door was none other than the leader of the Tang Clan.

The Poison King.

I had to watch him with a blank expression.

“…What? Clan Leader?”

Why did he suddenly pop up here?

It couldn’t be more unexpected than this.

Moreover, judging by his expression, he seemed very angry.

“Gu Prince…”

“Yes?”

With a grimace, the Poison King glanced to the side. There sat Yeonhong… no, the King of Demons.

“Another woman?”

“…What?”

A woman?

What kind of nonsensical accusation is that? I stared at the Poison King, puzzled.

“You’re making our precious Soyeol suffer like this, and there are two more of them over there…!? Just how much more are you planning to do?”

“Ah…?”

Before long, I understood why he reacted like that.

It seemed he had misconstrued something upon seeing the King of Demons disguised as Yeonhong….

‘Wait a minute.’

As I pondered, my brow furrowed. But why are there two?

It was odd. If we’re talking about the King of Demons, there should only be one, right? Something seemed off, but rather than sorting this out, I needed to calm the Poison King first.

“Clan Leader, I think there’s been some misunderstanding…. It’s not like that.”

“It’s not like that!”

“It’s really not! Why would I be so great as to do something like that?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying!”

“Y-yes…?”

“What the hell is the reason for surrounding yourself with so many people when you aren’t all that special?”

“…”

I was left speechless.

I wanted to refute, but I couldn’t come up with anything to say.

“I was willing to overlook some of it since it’s said heroism attracts the beauty, but… isn’t this too much?”

“That’s… definitely a misunderstanding…”

It was hard to explain. Though I called it a misunderstanding, I still felt a bit guilty.

What should I say? I racked my brain for an answer, and just at that moment, I thought of something.

“But Clan Leader…”

An important question suddenly came to me.

“…Did you come here for that reason?”

Why did the Poison King come all the way out here?

It was a fundamental question; I had intended to go to the Tang Clan today or tomorrow anyway.

Yet, here was the Poison King appearing right in front of me, so of course, I was startled.

“…”

At my inquiry, the Poison King hesitated slightly.

It didn’t seem like that was the reason, after all.

“…Clan Leader?”

I asked again, noticing his silence.

Then, the Poison King abruptly cleared his throat.

“Ahem….”

“…”

As I silently observed him, the Poison King shifted his gaze here and there before finally letting out.

“…I had urgent business and thought I’d come by.”

This meant.

“You weren’t trying to be angry but rather had something else to discuss…? You first got angry after seeing the situation?”

“…”

He turned away, perhaps because I hit the nail on the head.

Seeing this, I scratched my cheek.

“…Well, I understand. Then… let’s put the anger aside for now, and what makes you visit?”

Although I felt wronged, I didn’t say it outright.

I wanted to clarify the misunderstanding, but I had already done enough wrong that I could hardly argue against it.

Why had he come all the way here, having alluded to the sealing gate?

As I asked, the Poison King cleared his throat again and glanced at Yeonhong before speaking.

“…It seems a bit inappropriate to say it here.”

Is that what this was about? It seemed like an important matter, given he came here directly.

“So, shall we head to my residence for the conversation?”

I guided the Poison King to my dwelling.

As soon as we got to my residence, I awkwardly smiled at the Poison King.

“This is… I’m sorry. I was going to visit you anyway…”

“…It’s fine.”

The Poison King still showed traces of anger, as his expression was not good at all.

Ugh… this is troublesome.

“Well… does the Deputy Lord… or Tang Soyeol know you’ve arrived?”

“…”

“So, she doesn’t know.”

Did he come here without telling Soyeol? In that case…

“Am I supposed to keep quiet about this?”

“…Cough.”

“Okay, I’ll be quiet.”

“Thank you…”

It seemed he knew very well he might get scolded.

The important point here is that despite knowing that, he still came like this.

Given what this might imply,

‘Is it about the Poison Heavenly Pill?’

Perhaps there had been some progress regarding the resurrection of the Poison Heavenly Pill, which I had provided him the recipe for, as they had been attempting for quite a while within the Tang Clan.

So perhaps, mad at me for something earlier, the Poison King showed up here?

As I was thinking this over, I poured tea.

I considered skipping the tea and just saying I wouldn’t serve it, but the Poison King’s lips looked slightly parched.

So I decided to pour him the tea that my aides had prepared in advance.

At that moment.

Swoosh-!

Suddenly, the clan leader blocked the opening of the tea bottle with his hand.

Seeing that, I froze. The hot tea was pouring out, but he was holding it without a care in the world.

Why was he suddenly doing this? Just when I was about to ask, he said,

“Tang Clan—”

Then he stopped talking mid-sentence.

He appeared to have sensed something late.

Thump.

The Poison King’s intuition kicked in. I felt the response of my immunity to all poisons. Just that alone was enough to assess the situation.

The Poison King whispered to me,

“There’s poison in the tea.”

Poison was mixed into the tea.

For me, this was something I was expecting.

 

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