Chapter 309

The Heavenly Demon is still inside my body.

After realizing that, what I did wasn’t anything special.

“Welcome.”

“Ah, yes. Sorry to keep you waiting.”

We kept the investigation going. For now, that was the only thing to do.

I flicked my eyes upward. Yoo Cheongil’s face was locked hard.

[...What did you say...?]

That was the reaction after hearing that the Heavenly Demon was inside me.

[...The bastard was inside the Divine Sword?]

I remembered that exchange.

The conversation hadn’t lasted long. Not because the truth wasn’t shocking, but because I hadn’t stayed talking with Yoo Cheongil for long.

And also—

‘That old man’s reaction.’

Yoo Cheongil’s response was what stuck in my craw.

‘Why wasn’t he shocked that the Heavenly Demon is still around at all?’

All he’d shown was surprise that the Heavenly Demon had been inside the Divine Sword. Nothing beyond that.

Which meant—

‘Like it isn’t strange for the Heavenly Demon to still be around.’

It felt like he thought it was natural for the Heavenly Demon to exist as a soul.

—Don’t trust Yoo Cheongil.

“......”

I recalled what the Heavenly Demon had told me. I already knew the old man had plenty of secrets.

‘Don’t trust him?’

Sure, I’d tipped him off that the Heavenly Demon existed.

‘Easy enough.’

Fine. That didn’t mean I trusted Yoo Cheongil.

No matter how much he helped me, no matter how many lucky breaks he threw into my lap—

‘Ghosts aren’t something you trust.’

I didn’t trust ghosts.

Never had.

*****

The investigation team’s makeup was the same as yesterday. Three Plum Blossom Swordsmen including Yeo Hyeok. A few second disciples. And the Plum Blossom Commander, the Small Moon Unit Leader, and me.

Same headcount.

But today we weren’t searching the forest.

‘We’re sweeping the county.’

Searching inside the county to find HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE personnel. That was today’s job.

“Commander.”

I approached the Plum Blossom Commander and asked.

“What is it?”

“What happened with the place we found yesterday?”

“Ah—”

When I brought up the cave, the commander gave a small nod and answered.

“We’re continuing the investigation, but so far nothing solid has come out.”

“...Is that so?”

I shifted my thoughts at that.

‘Judging by that reaction...’

It didn’t seem like the commander knew what I’d done at the cave last night.

And it didn’t feel like an act, either. Which meant—

‘Strange Demon cleaned it up.’

Looks like Strange Demon had dealt with what I’d left behind. The spot where I’d dug.

“So you mean no particular traces have turned up?”

“Not yet.”

“Hmm.”

It could be a lie, sure. But from what I could tell, it didn’t feel like a pure fabrication.

“But, Moon Knight.”

“Yes.”

This time, the Plum Blossom Commander asked me something.

“Was there a reason you insisted on investigating the county?”

Not searching the forest, but inspecting the county itself. The reason, apparently, was what the commander wanted.

“Ah, that part’s simple.”

I answered with what I’d already prepared.

—Because I heard something.

—Heard something?

The moment I switched to voice transmission, the Plum Blossom Commander’s expression turned grave.

Or maybe worried.

—Information that there are active personnel inside the county.

—......!

—I’m going to find them and arrest them.

HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE spies in the county. The instant I said we’d pull them in, a deep crease formed between the Plum Blossom Commander’s brows.

—You’ve identified them?

—Yes. More accurately, I only heard that someone already has.

Double agent. I spit out the same term I’d used before, and once again the Plum Blossom Commander’s face tightened.

—Is it trustworthy information...?

—Who knows.

I answered vaguely.

—But don’t we have to trust it? It’s probably information somebody handed over with their life on the line.

—......

The commander didn’t respond. Looked like the commander didn’t know what to say.

Watching that, I took a step further.

‘...If I can help it, I should get things moving now.’

What I wanted out of this wasn’t complicated.

To crank up the impatience.

I was digging at the Plum Blossom Commander, pushing into a dead end—

so the cornered old monster would start making moves.

That was what I wanted.

*****

We came down into the county. I’d seen the crowd before, but it was still absurdly thick. And the clear, bright heat rolling through it was still there, too.

A space so well kept you could compare it to a county in Henan.

As if proving it was a peaceful age, even with evil factions appearing, the faces here were bright.

It was the result of Mount Hua Sect’s presence—called the sword of Shaanxi, its guardian.

“Waaah!! It’s the heroes!”

“You little punk! What disrespect is that in front of the Daoists!”

As if to prove it, the county’s people stared at Mount Hua Sect’s disciples with eyes full of respect.

“Oh my. Commander...!”

An old man stepped forward and approached the Plum Blossom Commander.

“It’s been a while.”

“It’s an honor to see you again....”

“Looks like business is good. That’s a relief.”

“It’s all because you Daoists work so hard for us.”

Not just the street vendors—everyone around us was busy throwing out praise.

‘Pretty damn impressive.’

I’d seen it last time too, but Mount Hua Sect’s presence in this county, and the trust these people showed them, was substantial.

Maybe even—

‘More than the way Henan looks at the Martial Alliance.’

The shield of Henan. The center of the righteous path. The Martial Alliance.

Even the way people looked at them probably wouldn’t match this.

‘Makes sense.’

Maybe it would’ve been different before, but now this was how it was.

In Henan, an incident had already happened. The Martial Alliance had already taken a hit.

‘In Huayin County, Mount Hua Sect is stronger than the Martial Alliance.’

That’s why the faith looked like this.

But—

‘...Tch.’

They had no idea what kind of person that Plum Blossom Commander in front of them really was.

And the disciples behind the commander, too.

“Big brother!”

“Hm?”

At the voice, I lowered my head.

A kid—maybe ten—was looking up at me.

“Big brother, you’re the Moon Knight, right? Right? I saw you last time!”

“Ah.”

I remembered. This kid. The same one who’d been staring at me when I first arrived in the county.

“So what if I am?”

I said it with a faint grin.

“Whoa! Did you really beat the Sword Demon?”

“...You know a lot.”

At the name Sword Demon, I gave an awkward smile. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t me who’d won.

“That’s amazing. How do I become like you?”

“...No idea.”

That was a hard question. Even I ended up like this without realizing it.

“Maybe you just need to run into a bad-tempered old man.”

“Huh?”

The kid tilted his head. I’d told the truth, but the kid clearly didn’t understand.

Of course not. I hadn’t said it so the kid would understand.

Even if I wanted that, the kid couldn’t.

Who would’ve guessed—

‘that I’d end up like this because an evil spirit possessed the greatest under the heavens.’

I’d tried harder than anyone to live an easy life. Then I noticed something, and my life got twisted into a mess.

I kept thinking it couldn’t get any more tangled—

and it kept getting more tangled.

‘...A Sword Saint and a Heavenly Demon....’

One would’ve been too much.

But now two of them were tangled up with me.

I couldn’t even imagine what my life was going to turn into.

Then—

“You little brat!”

A man rushed over and yanked the kid back.

The moment I saw him, my eyes narrowed.

“To a precious guest—what do you think you’re doing?! Apologize right now!”

The man—probably the kid’s father—snapped as he spoke.

The kid’s eyes welled up.

“D... Dad.”

“It’s fine.”

I stopped him.

“A kid can be like that.”

“...I’m really sorry. He’s still young.”

“Yeah. That’s what kids are like.”

Right. Kids are like that.

And honestly, he was still better than the kids I’d seen in my previous life. That place had been a demon’s den. The kids here were at least pure.

“Hey.”

“Y-Yes.”

When I called the kid, he flinched.

Looked like the father’s reaction had scared him a little.

I looked at the small wooden sword the kid had strapped on and asked.

“You practice the sword?”

“Yeah!”

The moment I asked about the sword, the fear vanished and the kid beamed.

“I’m gonna work hard and get into Mount Hua Sect when I grow up. Then I’m gonna protect Shaanxi too. Ah! My dad’s a martial artist too!”

“Yeah?”

I glanced at the father. The man gave an embarrassed smile at my look.

“Hahaha... I just run a small martial arts hall in the neighborhood.”

“.......”

The cultivation didn’t look high, but he was a martial artist.

And the kid’s dream was pure, and solid.

So—

‘That makes it even more pathetic.’

The kid was nothing but heartbreaking.

Because it had to be.

SWISH

My eyes moved to the father. More precisely—behind him.

‘HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE.’

I felt it from the kid’s father. Not blatant, but clear enough that there was no mistaking it.

Goddamn it.

I swallowed my sigh.

Every time something like this happened, I felt it again.

‘This world is really fucking vicious.’

The Central Plains could be pure—

and at the same time, it could be a filthy, vicious place.

After seeing this, it hit harder.

“This brat... come on. Don’t get in the way while the heroes are doing good work!”

“...Mm.”

“Sorry for the trouble while you’re doing something important.”

“No, it’s fine.”

The kid moved closer to me as the father came in to take the kid away.

He wrapped the kid up and lifted him.

And in that moment—

TZZT—!

The father’s eyes changed.

SHIK—!!

His sleeve moved—like he was about to pull something out.

I moved.

TAP—!

“......!”

I stopped him before he could draw it out of his sleeve.

I sealed the movement completely.

The space went silent in an instant.

And in that silence, I spoke to him.

“Seriously.”

My eyes sank low. Just like his, my voice dropped cold as it came out.

I was pissed. No matter what kind of world this was—

“You can’t do this in front of your kid. You know that, right?”

“Kh....”

What he’d tried to pull was a dagger.

I’d stopped it before it ever saw daylight.

After that, it happened in a blink.

“Dad?”

Before the kid could even react—

THUD—!!

The Small Moon Unit Leader appeared and struck the man under the chin.

The man slumped out cold.

In the same instant, I covered the kid’s eyes.

“Mm?”

Before the kid could process anything—

“Teacher.”

I called the Small Moon Unit Leader. Like he already knew what I meant, he flicked his finger.

A thin thread of qi rode the motion.

“Ugh!”

The kid took it and went limp.

I caught the kid in my arms.

“What—!”

The Plum Blossom Commander reacted. Late, by a beat.

Watching that, I cursed internally.

“Moon Knight...!”

Yeo Hyeok grasped the situation.

I rolled my gaze, watching everything.

‘Good.’

Was it “good”?

I didn’t know.

If it were really good, my stomach wouldn’t feel this disgusting.

Either way—

‘So you’re going to move.’

They were finally moving.