I put on a coat to avoid the chilly dawn air of the mountain. Hyuk Dojin, who had been staring at me, approached and helped me with my clothes. I smiled slightly at him, and Hyuk Dojin made a worried expression.
"How about I go with you?"
"It's fine, I'll just go have a quick conversation and come back. And surely they wouldn't harm me? Don't worry and rest, Dojin. You haven't been feeling well since this morning."
At my words, Hyuk Dojin bit his lip and let out a heavy sigh. He couldn't offer any particular objection. That was because this morning, he suddenly developed a fever and had to get in the carriage.
It was hard to imagine a Demonic Realm master getting a fever or catching a cold.
So naturally, one could only think that the internal injuries he had suffered earlier hadn't fully healed yet.
Hyuk Dojin knew that his condition not being perfect could be a problem later, so he needed to rest.
"I'll be back soon."
I kissed him as he worried, then smiled brightly. It seemed like it would take more time for his body to cool down.
After taking Hyuk Dojin to the carriage, I turned around. I left the group and moved in the direction Eun Do had pointed out.
Although the mountain was dark, it didn't pose much of a problem. Even with just the faint moonlight, the darkness of the mountain seemed to lift, appearing bright.
I spread out my heightened senses, which had become keen without doing anything, to prepare for any possible danger.
As I continued inward in that state, a large rock revealed itself. This was the location indicated in the letter.
I leaned my back against the rock and raised my head. There was no presence detected by my senses yet.
Was it because it wasn't midnight yet? I closed my eyes and spent time quietly.
How much time had passed like that? Thinking it seemed past midnight, I slightly opened my eyes, and right in front of me was the smiling face of a man.
"It's been a while. You look healthy."
"..."
It was Namgoong Seolbyeok. Although I didn't express it, I couldn't help but be quite surprised by his appearance. He didn't register on my senses, which were dozens of times keener than a normal person's. As if he had sprung up from the ground, he had naturally reached in front of me.
"How...?"
Namgoong Seolbyeok smiled lightly and took out a talisman from his bosom, waving it. I narrowed my brows, not knowing what it was.
He continued his explanation.
"I received help. The Zhuge clan has many curious things. This is a very mysterious talisman that allows one to move around while concealing their presence. However, it's inconvenient because using this means I can't use even a bit of inner power for two days, but still, I was able to avoid pursuit."
As he explained, I couldn't feel any presence or inner power from Namgoong Seolbyeok now. After staring at him blankly, I turned my head to examine the surroundings, then raised my chin.
"But what do you mean by pursuit?"
"It's nothing much. I just got caught stealing something a bit troublesome."
"Stealing?"
I looked at him with a dumbfounded expression, unable to believe those words coming from the mouth of someone who had always lived righteously.
"Actually, I didn't intend to steal, I just wanted to check, but somehow it ended up like that."
"How can you say that... What on earth did you steal?"
Instead of answering, Namgoong Seolbyeok put his hand in his bosom and took out a rolled-up scroll. He handed that scroll to me and spoke calmly.
"Would you like to see?"
"..."
It was absurd that he was asking if I wanted to see without even telling me what it was, but there was no particular reason not to look.
I received the scroll, untied the string, and unrolled it to examine the contents. Surprisingly, what was contained inside were various stories related to the Black Demon.
From testimonies related to the Black Demon's death to the process of soul succession practiced in utmost secrecy in the Black Dao Sect. It was shocking content without anything missing.
Unable to read even half of the contents in the scroll, I urgently raised my head to look at Namgoong Seolbyeok.
As if he knew what kind of reaction I would show, he continued speaking.
"It was a scroll given by Vice Commander Jegal Cheon. He told me to check the contents and return it to where it was originally, but suddenly people targeting me barged in, so I had no choice but to take it and flee."
"Don't tell me they were after this...?"
"It doesn't seem to be that. Even when I tried to return the scroll, they kept chasing me to the end."
Then why? As I looked at him with questioning eyes, Namgoong Seolbyeok let out a small sigh.
"It seems there's another reason. For example, trying to cut off my master's limbs."
If by master he meant Namgoong Baek, and his limbs would surely be...
"Come to think of it, I heard Geum Hyul died. Geum Hyul was the Alliance Leader's sword and vanguard commander. Is his death related to the pursuit of you as well?"
"It's probably similar. Looking at those chasing me, they don't seem to have any intention of letting me live. That's likely the same not just for me, but for Vice Commander Jegal Cheon as well."
I looked up at him after rolling up the scroll in my hand and tying it with the string again.
Namgoong Seolbyeok spoke very calmly despite the situation where his life was in danger. It felt strange how he spoke so nonchalantly, as if talking about someone else's story.
"According to the news I hear, the Black Demon is moving directly."
"The Black Demon directly...!?"
"Half of the Murim Alliance elders have been replaced with new people. Also, a new armed group has come in to fill the gap left by the collapse of the Yeonwi Left Army, which was the core strength of the Murim Alliance. However, it's difficult to identify which sect they belong to or where their base is. One thing is certain, the one commanding them is Elder Cheol Mugi."
"That means that armed group is ultimately the Black Dao Sect's force, right?"
Namgoong Seolbyeok nodded heavily. For a moment, fatigue clouded his eyes. He brushed back his fallen hair and glanced his eyes towards my gaze.
"Do I look tired?"
"Quite a lot."
"It's been three days since I've slept properly. I can hide my presence, but I can't hide my body, so there are many restrictions on movement."
He sighed and rolled his neck. Had there ever been a time when Namgoong Seolbyeok showed his condition so openly? As I was thinking about past events, his mouth opened slowly.
"Anyway, that's not important. There's another reason why I called you here."
"Another reason?"
He nodded and spoke bluntly.
"My master has begun to move."
"I know that. Probably in connection with the Black Dao Sect..."
"No. Independently, without being connected to the Black Dao Sect."
...Independently? I stared at him quietly, finding his words strange. Namgoong Seolbyeok looked at me blankly with his usual expressionless face and spoke lightly.
"My master wants to meet you."
Why me? I narrowed my brows, unable to understand what he was suddenly thinking.
Namgoong Seolbyeok looked at me with dry eyes and opened his mouth quietly.
"He says he will tell you about a way to kill the Black Dao Sect, to kill the Black Demon."
* * *
I walked down the mountain where the chill of dawn had settled, heading towards where the group was.
Somehow my legs felt heavy as I was going down with difficulty, when I sensed a presence from the opposite direction.
When I raised my head, I saw Hyuk Dojin leaning against a tree, looking in my direction. As soon as he saw me, he approached with a worried face.
"Did the conversation go well?"
I nodded calmly and took off the coat I was wearing to drape it over him. He quietly pulled the coat I was covering him with.
"Why are you out here? Rest."
"How many insensitive people would be able to sleep soundly when their wife is having a secret conversation with a man who's not her husband late at night?"
"Are you saying that's jealousy?"
"It's obsession."
Hyuk Dojin chuckled. I also smiled lightly in response to his laughter, then stood beside him.
He moved first. And I also moved my feet alongside Hyuk Dojin. As we walked along the dark night path where even the moon had disappeared, I put down my complicated thoughts and opened my mouth again.
"Aren't you going to ask? What we talked about."
"If it's necessary, you'll tell me, and if not, you won't, so there's no particular reason to ask."
"But you said it was obsession earlier."
"Did I?"
Hyuk Dojin shrugged with a nonchalant face. I watched his action quietly and pulled the corners of my mouth.
Looking at the path again, I slowly relaxed my expression.
"The Murim Alliance Leader, Namgoong Baek, wants to meet me. He sent the meeting place and time through his disciple. He said if I come to the meeting, he'll tell me how to kill the Black Demon."
"There's no need to go out of your way. Anyway, if we return to our cult and close the doors, there's no reason to get involved with that person. So don't worry about it."
"I know. I said that too. Namgoong Seolbyeok was also clearly aware of that part. But... he advised me to meet with the Murim Alliance Leader."
Hyuk Dojin stopped walking and looked down at me. I turned around from four steps ahead.
Hyuk Dojin stared at me intently and narrowed his brows.
"What's the reason?"
"Poison."
"Poison?"
I stretched out my finger to point at Hyuk Dojin. He made a dumbfounded expression at my gesture pointing at him and shook his head.
"Poison doesn't work on me. Becoming a Demonic Realm master means reaching a level close to immunity against all poisons, beyond immunity against hundreds of poisons. Even if an extreme poison enters my body, I can push it out with inner power."
"I know. But the poison he's talking about isn't a simple poison. Even the fact that Dojin's condition isn't good now is related to that."
I frowned, recalling Namgoong Seolbyeok's words. Hyuk Dojin took a step closer as if asking what I meant. As soon as his foot touched the ground, I opened my mouth.
"That day, when Geum Hyul pierced Dojin's chest, there was poison on his fingertips. It's a poison that has no meaning or use for ordinary people, but can inflict fatal wounds on masters who have reached the extreme."
"Such a poison..."
"Exists. There's a person intoxicated by that poison right in front of my eyes now, and also behind me."
Hyuk Dojin was a quick-witted man. He quickly realized exactly what I was trying to say.
He turned his gaze to sweep over the lights visible behind, then looked back at me. I nodded calmly.
"There's poison sleeping in Dojin's body. The same poison that's embedded in Cult Leader Hyuk Muhyeol's body."