Chapter 301

A crack wasn’t anything special.

Just a gap.

A gap that could open anywhere, at any time—that was a crack.

And it could be born from something tiny. Something microscopic.

No matter how strong or unbreakable steel is, sometimes a single leaf brushing past is enough to start it.

A massive boulder that’s supposedly stood for centuries can split from nothing more than a quiet, steady rain.

That’s what a crack is.

Something that can collapse and be born from the most pointless, weakest thing.

That was a crack.

And if things that hard and rough could end up like that—

Human relationships are nothing.

A crack forming there? It wouldn’t be strange if it happened from a passing gust of wind.

That was why.

The simplest, easiest move I could pick.

Slip into enemy territory, make it so they can’t kill me easily—

And at the same time, create a crack inside the gap between them.

That was the method I chose.

—...You said a double agent...?

A double agent.

I told him there was a double agent among the HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE spies. The Plum Blossom Commander looked like he’d never even imagined that possibility.

—That’s impossible...

—Why? Is it really that shocking?

I spoke like I genuinely didn’t understand.

If there was one thing that mattered most when factions fought, it wasn’t martial strength.

No—martial strength mattered, sure. But something mattered even more.

Information.

In the end, it was always information. Overwhelming information could flip the table even if you were lacking in force.

That was why spies mattered.

Having spies inside an organization wasn’t strange.

And double agents are the same.

So this was normal, if you wanted to call anything “normal” in this world.

You can’t react like that.

The Plum Blossom Commander’s reaction was practically begging to be suspected.

—...No. I’m just surprised. I didn’t expect you to have that kind of intelligence capability.

—It’s nothing. If HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE can do it, there’s no way we can’t.

Of course there was no such “double agent.”

For fuck’s sake. Even I couldn’t believe the lie coming out of my own mouth.

Yeah. That’s exactly what I’m saying.

If they do it, why the hell doesn’t this side?

What, is it some “Orthodox faith” bullshit? If that kind of frozen-to-death reason was real, then I needed to run away from the Orthodox factions immediately.

If it isn’t that, then what?

Maybe HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE really didn’t have gaps.

Yeah, right.

Every force has gaps. Even Mount Hua Sect, the one everyone swore had the deepest loyalty and brotherhood among the Nine Great Sects, had ended up like this.

Or maybe I just don’t know.

It was entirely possible there were already spies inside HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE and I simply didn’t know.

But that wasn’t the important part right now.

—Those are the pieces of information I got from them.

—...I see. A spy...

—Yes. Thanks to that, I was able to get information on their spies as well.

—......

—What’s wrong?

—Nothing. It’s fortunate. We’ll be able to learn more about those HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE bastards.

—Yes.

I heard the old man’s voice transmission trembling faintly and smiled.

I agreed with him.

—It really is fortunate.

Because it looked like you weren’t all that thorough.

That was really fortunate.

*****

We climbed down beneath the cliff. It was steep, but for高手 who’d reached a certain level, it was nothing.

Except me.

Honestly, I was scared shitless. Damn it. How the hell were you even supposed to get down something like this?

Everyone else moved like the cliff face was flat ground.

I couldn’t.

Where’s the old man who was supposed to teach me this stuff?

If you have something like this, you should teach it. Yoo Cheongil was nowhere to be seen either, which made it even more maddening.

“Moon Knight. Are you not coming down?”

Since I was just standing there, Yeo Hyeok asked.

“Ah, I am. I’m just checking the surroundings. Go on ahead.”

“...Ah! As expected... Even now, you’re trying to find something.”

The way he looked at me—like I was incredible—was suffocating.

“...Yes. That’s right.”

I had nothing else to say, so I agreed.

Yeo Hyeok went down. The moment he was gone, I turned to the Small Moon Unit Leader.

“Teacher.”

“...Yes?”

“Take me down.”

“...What?”

The Small Moon Unit Leader frowned. The expression said, Now you’re even making me do errands like this?

“It’s not like that.”

So I told the truth.

“I don’t know how to get down.”

“...?”

“So carry me.”

The Small Moon Unit Leader’s face twisted into something profoundly unnatural.

*****

THUD—!

The Small Moon Unit Leader’s foot hit the ground. We’d arrived at a cave carved into the cliff.

“Oof. Thanks.”

I got off—finally free of having been carried—and landed on the floor.

The Small Moon Unit Leader’s expression still looked murderous. Normally, I would’ve told him to open his eyes pretty, but I held it in.

Let’s see.

Inside, Mount Hua’s people had already started a slow investigation.

I followed them in carefully.

WHOOOAAAA—!

A flame flared. Someone lit a torch up ahead.

“We split left and right and conduct the investigation.”

At the Plum Blossom Commander’s order, the disciples moved in unison.

“Yeo Jin.”

“Yes, Commander.”

“You take the left. Yeo Son, you take the right.”

“I accept the order.”

The second disciples called Yeo Jin and Yeo Son. The Plum Blossom Swordsmen nodded and moved.

—Is it fine to proceed like this?

The Plum Blossom Commander sent a voice transmission asking permission.

Ridiculous.

You already gave the orders, and now you’re asking?

He’d already assigned tasks, and now he wanted approval? It was absurd.

—Yes. Please do.

After giving the meaningless permission, I watched them.

Their movements aren’t strange.

They looked like they were genuinely investigating. Carefully checking the surroundings, cleaning and probing bit by bit.

What mattered was—

Whether there’s really nothing inside.

If there was something here, what was it supposed to be?

I widened my eyes.

UUUUUNG—!!

My heart gave a faint ring and strength filled my gaze.

This wasn’t Moon Eyes opening.

This was Ghost Eyes.

With a slight pressure in my pupils, information seeped in.

The soul traces are shallow.

The soul traces in here were shallow, meaning a lot of time had passed.

Human traces are even less.

Something had been done here.

But what, exactly?

I stayed on guard.

CLACK.

A sound from the Small Moon Unit Leader. He’d tightened his grip on his sword, preparing for anything.

“There’s nothing on this side.”

“Nothing here either.”

Voices came from both directions. The first space was done.

Nothing.

That bothered me, but—

There’s still more space ahead.

There was a deeper path in front. We had to go that way.

“Yeo Hyeok.”

The Plum Blossom Commander called him.

“Yes, Commander.”

“Take point. Check ahead.”

“Understood.”

Yeo Hyeok stepped forward without hesitation.

I frowned.

A cold feeling brushed past me.

UUUUUNG.

Ghost Eyes shifted into Moon Eyes. In that blue gaze, something snapped into focus.

The moment I saw it, I spoke.

“Yeo Hyeok. Stop.”

“...Yes?”

He flinched at my words.

Everyone’s attention swung toward me. I ignored it, grabbed a small stone from the ground—

What is that?

Something was there. Something connected along the wall and floor.

I flicked the stone forward.

The instant it landed—

CHRRRRRK—!!

GRAB—!

“...!!”

Blades shot up from the floor.

“Huh.”

“...A trap...?”

A mechanism.

As soon as Yeo Hyeok saw it, his eyes trembled as he studied the blades.

“I think there’s poison on the swords.”

“...Poison.”

The blades themselves weren’t the issue. It was a dangerous trap, but at Yeo Hyeok’s level, he probably wouldn’t have been badly hurt.

But poison changes everything.

Whatever poison it was, it would be trouble.

They might not have coated the entrance with something lethal—

But still.

What bothers me is...

I glanced at the Plum Blossom Commander.

He sent Yeo Hyeok to the front on purpose.

Was it intentional?

As I questioned it, his gaze turned toward me too.

Our eyes met.

We were thinking different things. His eyes asked whether noticing this was also “information network” intelligence.

That’s what you care about right now?

His disciple almost got hit. That was what mattered.

With Moon Eyes active, I scanned again.

“I don’t see anything else right now, but be careful anyway.”

CRUNCH—!! Yeo Hyeok shattered the blades with his sword.

The path cleared.

I stepped forward.

What is this?

What was in this cave that they’d set traps?

And yet there was no presence, and the soul traces were thin.

What are you trying to do?

I felt something wrong.

And it was irritating as hell.

*****

We pushed deeper past the cave passage. Just like I’d confirmed, there were no more mechanisms.

But after seeing one trap, my tension ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) was far higher than before.

The moment we entered, I felt it.

Drenched.

The cave wasn’t just damp. It was drenched.

And not in a normal way.

Unpleasant.

A drenched, unpleasant kind of wetness that crawled on your skin.

What was this feeling?

As I tried to turn it over in my head—

“Moon Knight...”

“Yes.”

Yeo Hyeok spoke to me again.

—Are you really going to be okay? Ah, you don’t have to answer.

I didn’t answer. I focused.

—The way out is blocked. If a fight breaks out in here...

Ah. I understood what he was worried about. With the Plum Blossom Commander and other spies mixed in, he’d judged it dangerous.

But—

Not sure.

I was on guard, but paradoxically, I didn’t feel like it was that dangerous.

Partly because the Small Moon Unit Leader was with me—

But also because—

From what I can see...

This place felt like it had accomplished its purpose and been abandoned a long time ago.

I bent my knees beside Yeo Hyeok.

SWISH.

I grabbed a handful of dirt from the floor.

A drenched sensation, and—

“......”

I examined the faint life force inside the soil.

This was—

Blood.

Human blood was soaked into the ground. I couldn’t smell the usual metallic stench, but the human life force embedded in the dirt told me the truth.

It was almost gone—but still enough for me to feel.

Something happened here.

And yet the wetness was thick enough to soak the entire floor.

But—

There’s no blood smell.

It felt like plain water.

Life force remained, but it felt like water. How?

“...Hmm.”

It wasn’t normal.

I pressed my hand to the floor again and concentrated harder.

SAAAAA—!!

I followed the life force deeper.

In my current condition, I couldn’t see very far.

But—

It connects.

The oddity surfaced quickly.

The life force was connected.

It ran somewhere underground.

This is...

I widened my eyes.

Found it.

The end of that life force—what it led to.

It was—

A stake.

The same kind of stake I’d found earlier.

Another one was driven into the earth.

And it was—

Absorbing life force.

Stuffed full with the human life force scattered through this ground.

Ha.

I swallowed the breath that almost escaped.

For one reason.

How do these bastards know this method...?

Because it was a method I knew all too well.

From my past life.

Back when I was Kim Mincheol.

A kind of curse-work used by the heretics.