After I finished my talk with the Poison King, the place I headed for was the same Sichuan county seat I’d gone to last time.

Back then, when I came down here with Murong Yeongsun, that whole incident happened, and I couldn’t properly take care of my business.

This time, I meant to actually finish it.

[By “business,” you mean that thing from last time?]

I nodded at Yoo Cheongil’s words.

I didn’t answer out loud. Yet again, Tang Clan martial artists were “guiding” us from behind while very obviously following to keep an eye on me.

‘This is fucking annoying.’

Given the situation, I understood it, but that didn’t make it any less awkward.

‘I’ll just get the thing and head back.’

Now that it had come to this, I’d just wrap up my schedule and go straight back.

With that in mind, I slowly headed for my destination.

The destination was the Martial Alliance’s Sichuan branch. It was located in the largest county seat around here.

It was the same place I’d tried to go last time.

Because of a letter.

I was planning to send one.

And on the other hand, I needed to receive one.

‘Who could it be.’

Who the hell had sent me a letter? It had bothered me last time too, but this time I figured I’d be able to find out.

When I arrived in front of the Martial Alliance, a large building came into view, and I could see the Martial Alliance flag raised high.

It was a familiar emblem. I couldn’t not recognize the symbol of the place where I’d spent a year grinding myself to death.

“Halt.”

As I approached the gate, a martial artist who looked like a gate guard stopped me.

“State your purpose and identity— sir.”

He cut himself off mid-sentence. Looked like he’d recognized the Tang people following behind me.

Or maybe he’d recognized the Blue Moon Sect clothes I was wearing.

Most likely it was the former. This was Sichuan, ruled by Tang Clan.

“My purpose is to check on a letter that arrived for me, and my identity is Bang Sungyeon of Blue Moon Sect.”

“......!”

The martial artist’s eyes went wide as lanterns at my words.

“......Little Sword Saint......?”

For fuck’s sake.

Hearing him spit those words out in shock, I had to curse on the inside.

‘Jesus, this rumor really doesn’t know when to die.’

Just how far had it spread? If even this guy knew, that meant my story had circulated inside the Sichuan branch.

Forcing my expression under control, I spoke to the martial artist.

“......Yes, I’m the one you’re thinking of.”

“......Huh.......”

When I confirmed it, the martial artist hurriedly formed a fist-and-palm salute, all formal.

“The Alliance’s men pay respects to the little moon of Blue Moon Sect.......”

I couldn’t help being startled at that.

‘Wow.’

I’d completely forgotten, but I was Small Moon Unit, wasn’t I?

‘Right.’

You could basically treat Blue Moon Sect as a direct-affiliated sect of the Martial Alliance.

And as for the position Small Moon Unit held within that...

‘A presence even the branch chief can’t lightly touch.’

It was the place held by those who would become, or had already become, the future representatives of Blue Moon Sect.

For a Martial Alliance martial artist, reacting to me like this was only normal.

‘Still feels weird, though.’

Being treated with that much formality made it feel strange.

It wasn’t like I’d had experiences like this before.

So I just stood there in silence, not really saying anything.

“......I’ll go report to the branch at once. May I ask you to wait a moment?” 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

The martial artist said that with hurried eyes.

“......Ah, sure. Take your time.”

“I’ll have things prepared right away.”

As soon as I gave permission, he bolted inside like an arrow.

This did seem like a good sign, but—

‘Are they really not going to properly verify my identity?’

He’d just heard me say it and decided to believe me?

‘Is this the influence of the people behind me too?’

The Tang Clan entourage following me—there was definitely some influence from them as well.

With Tang Clan right there, they probably hadn’t even considered the possibility I was lying.

‘Mm.’

Anyway, if things went smoothly, that was good. Thinking that, I waited.

It wasn’t long before the martial artist from earlier reappeared.

“I’ll show you in.”

I followed him into the Martial Alliance’s Sichuan branch.

*****

The moment I stepped inside the Martial Alliance, the person I got to meet was, surprisingly, the Sichuan branch chief himself.

“I am Baek Dongyeon, branch chief of the Sichuan branch.”

A kindly-looking middle-aged man. He introduced himself as the branch chief and ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) gave me a respectful salute.

“I’m Bang Sungyeon of Blue Moon Sect. It’s an honor to meet Senior ‘Thousand-Heads Sword’ in person.”

At my words, the Sichuan branch chief’s eyes widened. He clearly hadn’t expected me to recognize him.

‘Good thing I memorized them.’

Just in case, I’d memorized the names of the famous people in the branch. Naturally, the most famous among them was the branch chief.

‘Thousand-Heads Sword Baek Dongyeon.’

He was someone who’d worked in the Sichuan branch all along, and a well-known master who’d distinguished himself to some degree in the war, or so they said.

‘I didn’t expect him to come out to meet me himself, though.’

For a master like that to come out barefoot to see me, it was hard not to feel something.

I was really getting a sense of how much weight the name Blue Moon Sect—and especially Small Moon Unit—carried.

“I pay respects to the little moon of Small Moon Unit. From what my subordinate told me, you had business with the Alliance......?”

“Ah, yes. I heard there was a letter entrusted to the Alliance for me.”

As soon as he heard that, the branch chief turned around. The martial artist under his gaze moved quickly.

“I’ll order them to confirm it and bring it right away. It shouldn’t take long...... but I would at least like to serve you a cup of tea while you wait....... Would that be all right?”

I gave a slightly embarrassed smile at that.

“I’m sorry. I don’t have that much time. There are people waiting on me.”

Saying that, I looked over at the Tang people who had come with me. The branch chief’s eyes widened at that, then he nodded.

This man seemed to have figured out what was going on just from reading the situation. Maybe because he’d risen all the way to branch chief, his sense was sharp.

“That’s a shame. To think I won’t have the chance to talk with the Central Plains’ greatest rising hope, even after meeting you in person. I’ll look forward to a better time together when you visit again in the future.”

“Thank you for saying so. I’m also truly sorry I can’t sit and talk with you, Branch Chief.”

[What a load of crap. At least wet your lips if you’re going to lie like that.]

Of course I wasn’t sorry. What was I supposed to do, get pinned down and lectured?

‘I already feel like I’m burning under all these stares.’

I could feel all the eyes on me from every direction. The Alliance’s martial artists were staring at me like I was something fascinating.

So this is what it must feel like to be a zoo monkey.

Meanwhile, the branch chief very obviously wanted to tack on something more to the conversation with me.

He wasn’t even trying to hide it; his feelings were written plain across his face.

This was getting suffocating.

I was just wondering what I should do—

“Branch Chief.”

The martial artist who’d gone to check earlier appeared again. He had a single letter in his hand.

The branch chief seemed a little displeased that his subordinate had come back so quickly, judging by the brief glare he gave him.

But it didn’t look like there was anything he could say in front of me.

He picked up the letter and carefully handed it to me.

“This appears to be the letter addressed to Young Hero Bang......”

The branch chief’s smile froze mid-sentence as he tried to pass it over.

He’d apparently realized something, staring at the letter.

‘What is it?’

Why that kind of reaction?

I looked at the branch chief with puzzled eyes.

[Huh?]

Yoo Cheongil, who’d been quiet, suddenly reacted. He was looking at the letter too.

[This is...... a letter from the Beggar Clan.]

‘The Beggar Clan?’

I narrowed my eyes at his words. The Beggar Clan—one of the Ten Great Sects, the place said to hold every rumor and piece of information in the Central Plains.

The problem was—

‘It’s not like that’s some huge deal, though?’

It wasn’t exactly something with special meaning in and of itself. The Beggar Clan was in the business of gathering and selling information.

They also handled sending and managing letters.

And they were fast and accurate.

The fact that beggars were the ones delivering them was an awkward point, sure, but in terms of accuracy, they had a good reputation.

‘Come to think of it.’

With that in mind, I checked the seal drawn on the letter.

‘It is the Beggar Clan’s emblem.’

It was the emblem I’d seen practically every day when I worked at the Martial Alliance.

The Ten Great Sects’ emblems all had such distinct character that they naturally stuck in your mind.

It was just—

‘It’s a little different, though?’

Looking closely, something was off.

The color was a bit deeper, and I could see tiny differences here and there.

On top of that, faint gold lines were mixed in here and there, making it look slightly different from the one I knew.

What the hell is that?

While I was staring at the emblem with puzzled eyes—

[It’s the Clan Master’s crest.]

Yoo Cheongil picked up on my question and explained.

Only then did my doubt clear up.

‘Right. The Clan Master’s cre—’

...Huh?

“......What did you say......? Clan Master!?”

“Excuse me?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. I have these fits sometimes. Please don’t mind it.”

“......Fits?”

I’d blurted out in surprise without meaning to.

When the branch chief reacted to my outburst, I hurried to explain. Calling it a fit just made his reaction stranger, but this wasn’t the time to worry about that.

‘Clan Master, he says......?’

Was the Clan Master Yoo Cheongil was talking about the one I knew?

‘......The Beggar Clan Master?’

The one at the very top of the Beggar Clan.

The leader of all beggars, the man said to be ignorant of nothing that went on in the Central Plains.

The Beggar Clan Master.

Staff-Beating Woo Aseok.

‘......You’re telling me this is his crest?’

He was someone no one in the Central Plains could possibly not know.

And that famous Beggar Clan Master had sent me a letter?

Why?

Judging by Yoo Cheongil’s reaction and the look on the branch chief’s face, it seemed like it had to be real.

I wondered for a second if maybe it was an impostor, but—

‘What lunatic would fake the Beggar Clan Master’s crest?’

Even Black Path bastards wouldn’t touch this, if nothing else.

The moment you forged the Beggar Clan Master’s crest, every beggar in the world would move.

So the odds of it being fake were low.

‘......Then why?’

Then why had the Beggar Clan Master sent a letter to me? I accepted the letter from the branch chief for now.

‘What is this.’

What the hell is this. I couldn’t make sense of it at all.

‘Am I really supposed to open this......?’

It reeked of danger. Was I really allowed to open this myself? If I opened it here, there’d be no going back.

What should I do? After agonizing over and over, in the end I opened the letter.

RUSTLE.

The unfolded letter came into view.

“......Huh?”

Seeing what was written inside, I froze on the spot.

There wasn’t much on it. At most, a few lines.

For the size of the paper, the content was ridiculously small and sparse, but once I checked what was written there and the name of the sender, my body couldn’t help but lock up.

[Little brother. You doing okay? Looks like you are.]

[I suddenly felt like seeing you, so I’m coming. And I hear the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering is coming up soon.]

[Come there.]

[Oh. I’ll say this in advance. If you tell Father, I’ll kill you.]

Barely four lines.

Four lines filled with completely out-of-the-blue content. If anyone else read it, they’d have no idea what the hell it was supposed to mean.

Just going by what was written, I wasn’t much different.

But at the end of the letter—seeing the sender’s name, scrawled roughly as if to prove it was really them, made my expression go sour.

The person who had sent this letter was, unbelievably—

[Bang Seojin.]

“.......”

My one and only older sister.

The same sister who’d noticed our family was a wreck long ago and run away on her own.