Chapter 49

Warm.

That was the only thought the weather allowed.

‘Nice.’

Sunlight poured and gathered every street into its arms.

A sky without a single cloud—so clear it lifted your mood just to look at it.

My favorite kind of day.

Because it’s beautiful? That too, but not only that.

‘On days like this, ghosts can’t keep their footing.’

The clearer the weather, the weaker the things that live in the dark. That’s why I love a clean sky.

On days like this, I can walk the streets with an easy mind.

No worries. No one’s eyes.

Days like this are rare comfort for me, but—

“Tch.”

Right now, it wasn’t entirely comfortable.

Probably because of the woman walking ahead.

One of the Seven.

Moon Dancer, Cheon Hyein.

At first light she came to fetch me and started hauling me somewhere.

She won’t take me anywhere strange.

I’d heard there was a schedule; she’ll take me to the destination.

She isn’t incompetent enough to stir up trouble just for the drama.

‘That aside...’

Set Cheon Hyein aside.

‘Where did that old man go.’

With the ever-chattering vile spirit gone from my side, I felt the absence.

‘What is this?’

He used a dream in the middle of the night to pester me, and when I wake, the culprit is nowhere to be found.

Where did he vanish?

Did he really just disappear?

‘As if. He’s obviously scheming something again.’

If he’d disappeared, I’d be grateful, but that old man would never.

He’s clearly working something from behind the scenes.

“Sss.”

Unease rolled in.

The spirit-dream too—what is any of it. I couldn’t make sense of it.

‘Always on his own terms.’

Should I just run now? While I was weighing that, I glanced at Cheon Hyein.

Not on purpose. She was just in front of me, so my eyes went there.

‘...Hmm...’

For some reason, I ended up watching the way she walked.

A delicate sway, precise steps.

Very different from the loose way I move.

‘Not an ordinary woman’s gait.’

There was a supple order inside it.

No—more than order...

‘Center and control. Or restraint.’

The sense of a body ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ completely under command. The particular carriage of someone who’s settled into a certain orbit.

Something laid up, layer by layer, by hard training.

‘Hm.’

Interesting.

The thought slid through me.

Maybe because of that, I kept watching her movement.

As I said—

‘It’s truly regular.’

A steady breath. Taken deep so it won’t break.

Does she breathe with the abdomen, not the chest—because that’s where the dantian is? (dantian: inner energy center)

Her steps were not just steady; they were precise.

Which made the motion of her arms precise as well.

So, legs act and the arms follow?

Or—

‘With breath as the base, power is caught at the waist, so the center looks set.’

I can’t see beyond that.

A third-rate hack—no, a fresh second-rate like me—how would I know the forms of true experts.

But—

‘If there’s a pattern I can see, memorizing it isn’t hard.’

I was intrigued.

I hadn’t watched one of the so-called masters this closely, this near.

‘Lately I’ve seen plenty...’

But never with this focus. I simply hadn’t felt the need.

And yet—

‘This is fun.’

Watching wasn’t bad at all.

Just then—

“Is my back your type?”

Cheon Hyein spoke without turning her head.

I swallowed a little dry.

She’d caught me watching.

“My apologies.”

I offered a plain apology. I had no particular excuse.

She slanted a glance my way, a flicker of surprise in her eyes.

“I didn’t think you’d apologize.”

“I zoned out for a moment. It wasn’t on purpose.”

“Got it.”

Apparently unbothered, she fell quiet again and kept walking.

That was a touch odd.

‘What is it?’

Earlier she’d been trying every face she had to tease me, to probe me.

Now she was silent, expressionless.

She’d been like that since we met again after I changed.

Was it the argument inside? If so—

‘Suits me.’

From my side, going quietly is ideal.

So we walked in silence again.

‘However she walks, she walks.’

What about someone far beyond her?

The thought drifted by.

‘Someone far beyond...’

There’s the Moonlit Sword, and the Small Moon Commander.

‘...Far beyond.’

Not them—someone higher, overwhelming.

From where I stand, only one face really comes to mind.

Annoying, foul-tempered, but respected as stronger than anyone.

‘Hm.’

I nodded slightly as the image formed.

‘Try it?’

At the time, it was a light thought, nothing more.

****

A residence sat on a high rise within the Blue Moon Sect.

It was a place not easily entered by outsiders—or even most of the sect’s own.

Those allowed through were the Sect Master and a few elders.

Beyond that, only the warriors of the Small Moon Unit came and went.

Small Moon Way.

As the name says, a path made solely for Small Moon members.

Among the elite of the Blue Moon Sect, only those who bore the moon were permitted to tread it.

It was handled with such extreme care that even elders needed the right to pass.

Right now on Small Moon Way, those with that right had gathered to wait for a person.

The man at the head seat murmured.

“He’s late.”

The people around him stiffened.

“Late on the first day—what do you call this.”

The way he ground the words like he was holding back his temper was scarier than a shout.

Inside were the unit’s warriors. Every one of them watched the man’s eyes.

How could they not. Barring the Sect Master, Moonlit Sword, no one in the sect could trifle with this man.

The Small Moon Unit’s chief, and—save for the Moonlit Sword—the strongest warrior in the Blue Moon Sect.

The Small Moon Commander.

He was frowning, waiting on someone.

“Hoo...”

With a sigh, he pressed hard at his brow.

He had plenty to say, and only so much he could say.

‘Damn it.’

How had it come to this. He truly wanted to ask.

The Sword Saint’s successor had shown up out of nowhere and turned the Blue Moon Sect upside down.

That so-called successor had enlisted in the Small Moon Unit.

And on his very first day, he was the last to arrive.

How do you get a lineup like that.

Stifling another sigh, the Small Moon Commander glanced aside.

“...Du Seong.”

“...Yes, Commander.”

The one called Du Seong answered at once.

“What of Seom Seonggyeong?”

He asked after the one who hadn’t shown, and Du Seong replied:

“No physical damage, but... perhaps from the duel’s aftershock, there’s an issue with his meridians and blood. He’s resting.”

“...”

An issue with the meridians and blood? The Commander knew what that meant as soon as he heard it.

‘A heart-demon, then.’

Most likely a break in the mind.

Given how he’d been crushed by a youth young enough to be called a nephew, it made sense he’d be in bad shape.

“I see. Bring me a fuller report later.”

“At your order.”

The Commander drew back his gaze and looked at the empty seat.

A spot had been left blank by last night’s events.

‘This is bad.’

They were already short on people with all the recent incidents, and things were sliding worse.

‘...What is the Sect Master thinking.’

This isn’t the time to be looking elsewhere, yet the current master seemed more interested in Bang Sungyeon than in this side of things.

‘...Truly.’

Too bad by far.

That the Sect Master had become interested meant he’d seen value in the youth.

‘...Not that there isn’t any.’

He admitted it.

Think of the duel and you had to admit it.

The presence the boy showed did have that kind of value.

But—

‘Even so, I don’t like it.’

Even if Bang Sungyeon was a man of great worth, the Commander could not accept him.

‘He is arrogant beyond measure.’

He doesn’t look it, but the feeling is there.

‘The Sect Master says that so long as there is value, it’s not arrogance but rightful bearing—just a manner of expression.’

The Commander found that hard to agree with.

‘And late on the first day...?’

Not just late—tardy.

Unbelievable. How low do you hold the Blue Moon Sect to behave like this.

‘Does he truly think himself on par with the elder?’

Calls himself the Sword Saint’s successor, and now he thinks he is the Sword Saint?

The brat already rubbed him raw, and now this.

With all that dislike simmering—

‘And he dares enlist in the Small Moon Unit?’

To come into the very corps he commanded.

‘...’

His Moon Eyes gleamed cold. In truth, he thought this was better.

‘Whatever you are—’

Within the Small Moon Unit, his word was law.

‘If you dare show that face here as well—’

Whatever reaction the Sect Master had, he would not sit still.

Just then:

“Commander. Sister Cheon has brought Ba— the new recruit.”

The unit member faltered and corrected himself. He didn’t seem sure what to call him.

Hearing it, the Commander rose.

“Show them in.”

“Yes.”

So you’ve come.

‘I’ll make you regret it.’

If the slightest pretext appeared, he would not hold back.

Starting with being late, he would wring tears out of him.

He fixed his resolve and waited.

Step.

Footsteps came from beyond the hall.

Step.

They drew closer to the door—

Creak.

The door opened and people entered.

Cheon Hyein came in first.

The instant he saw her, the Commander drew breath to bark:

“You cur—!”

No—he didn’t bark.

Because the moment he saw the one who followed her, the sound died.

“...!”

His body locked at the sight of Bang Sungyeon coming in behind.

Step.

Following Cheon Hyein, Bang Sungyeon showed himself.

The moment they saw him, not only the Commander but everyone inside widened their eyes.

Wearing the Small Moon Unit uniform, Bang Sungyeon was somehow different.

Hands clasped behind him, back and chest set straight.

A slow-looking pace that was somehow measured, and a quiet that gave no sense of breath.

His gaze and air were calmly settled—and for an instant, the room was overborne.

He had merely entered.

All he’d done was step into the room—

And yet, it felt like a sharp blade stared between each of their shoulder blades.

They had not felt anything like this a short while ago. From the gait to the faint air he gave off, everything had changed.

‘How...’

How did he give this impression.

Had he been hiding his strength all along?

With every kind of thought slipping by, the Small Moon Commander could not take his eyes off him.

That he’d arrived late—

That the Commander had planned to use it as a pretext to break him—

Right now, the Commander remembered none of it.

‘How could it be...’

How could the Sword Saint’s presence be glimpsed in Bang Sungyeon.

At that, the Commander had to swallow.