Beneath the dense jungle canopy, our group took a brief rest, settling on moss-covered rocks under a massive tree.
As Seol gazed up at the sky, she turned to Sword Master and asked,
"Sword Master Seon-hwa , is it alright if I make some animal calls?"
"...Animal calls?"
Sword Master blinked in confusion, and the others turned to look at Seol, trying to decipher what she meant.
Then Sword Master glanced at me.
Since Yunnan was seen by the people here as not just a borderland but practically a foreign country (Saiwai), it seemed like he expected me to explain whether such a practice existed in the Beast Palace’s customs.
But I had nothing to say.
‘I haven’t been part of the Beast Palace for long myself.’
Seol, smiling, answered the unspoken question.
"I wanted to check if any of the Beast Palace’s animals are nearby. We have creatures spread all over Yunnan—hawks, owls, monkeys, wolves—those kinds of animals."
"But we’re not in Yunnan, are we?" Sword Master pointed out, wondering if her actions would even have any effect.
Seol shook her head. "National borders are drawn by humans, not animals. If any of our beasts have wandered over here, I want to send a message back to the Beast Palace."
That made sense. The borders mattered only to people, not to animals.
Hearing her reasoning, Sword Master gave his approval.
Since we were moving cautiously to avoid the Blood Cult, loud noises were dangerous, but animal calls wouldn’t draw much attention.
"Ah, I see. That shouldn’t be a problem. We already hear animal sounds in the jungle anyway."
—Piiiik!
The moment Sword Master gave permission, Seol let out a sharp whistle that rang through the jungle.
It was an almost perfect imitation of a hawk’s cry.
She watched the sky for a while, but eventually shook her head.
"Looks like there’s no one nearby."
Perhaps we were still too far from Yunnan.
Seeing the disappointment on Seol’s face, Azure Dragon Yang Seong-hu , who had nearly reached the point of worshiping—no, possibly falling in love with—her, spoke up eagerly.
"Since we’re still quite far from Yunnan, maybe we should check again later. Lady Seol, I must say, I’m amazed that you can call animals like that. As expected of the Beast Palace!"
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Seol chuckled at his enthusiasm. "We’ll try again later. But thank you for the compliment."
At her words, Azure Dragon grinned foolishly.
That was when Sword Master, looking thoroughly unimpressed, turned to Azure Dragon with an exasperated gaze and began bringing up his embarrassing past.
"Must be because you use a reed-like spear. Is your heart just as flimsy? Not long ago, weren’t you declaring you’d fight duels for Dok-hwa’s honor...?"
"Mmph!" Azure Dragon quickly clamped a hand over Seon-hwa’s mouth, laughing awkwardly as he turned to us.
"Ahaha... T-that was just... as a friend, you know..."
Before he could finish his excuse, Hwa-eun’s cold, emotionless voice cut through the air like a throwing dagger.
"You’re not friends, Yang Seong-hu ."
"H-huh?"
He faltered.
He had barely dodged Sword Master’s teasing, only to be struck down by Hwa-eun’s blunt statement.
Defeated, Azure Dragon fell silent, staring down at the mossy rock he was sitting on, absentmindedly tearing at the greenery.
‘Oh no, he’s going to cry.’
Sensing that Azure Dragon’s mental state was on the verge of collapse, I decided to change the subject and turned to Sword Master.
Better shift the conversation before Azure Dragon completely lost it.
"By the way, Sword Master, how much farther to the rendezvous point?"
Having been glaring at Azure Dragon Yang Seong-hu with sheer contempt after his earlier blunder, Sword Master immediately softened her expression and answered me with a polite smile.
"If nothing happens, we should arrive by nightfall, So-ryong."
"Then we should hurry. It’ll be troublesome if we’re still traveling after sunset."
"Ah, that’s true. Then let’s—"
The group began rising from their resting spots, ready to continue toward the rendezvous point.
Everyone except for Azure Dragon.
Still sulking, he had completely missed the signal to move, too busy staring at the moss he was shredding in defeat.
Sword Master didn’t let that slide.
"Are you coming or not?! You’re the guide here!"
"Huh? Ah! I-I’m coming!"
Startled, Azure Dragon scrambled to his feet and hurried after Sword Master.
And as I watched them, a strange thought crossed my mind.
‘Wait... does Sword Master actually like Azure Dragon?’
I wasn’t usually one to pay much attention to things like this, but something about their dynamic felt odd.
As I rubbed my chin, lost in thought, Seol approached me and whispered softly.
[What’s on your mind, So-ryong?]
[Oh, uh... I was just thinking. Could it be that Sword Master likes Azure Dragon Yang Seong-hu ?]
[You just figured that out?]
[...What?]
Seol’s response was so casual, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Before I could react, Hwa-eun chimed in.
[I’ve been keeping my distance from Azure Dragon on purpose because Sword Master likes him. It’s been years, but that idiot still hasn’t realized it.]
[Right? I’ve never seen a guy this clueless. Even when we eat, Sword Master keeps giving him the softest cuts of meat. When we sleep, she covers him with leaves. Yesterday, she barely ate half a rabbit and gave the rest to Azure Dragon, saying she was full.]
‘Friends’ was the last thing they were.
At this point, it was outright pitiful.
But, then again, if someone had been doting on you for years, taking care of you so obviously, yet you remained oblivious while chasing after another woman, you deserved the criticism.
‘So that’s why Hwa-eun is so cold to him... He brought this on himself.’
Even my own sympathy turned into exasperation.
Looking at Sword Master, I sighed and murmured,
[And now he seems to have fallen for Seol instead. Poor Seon-hwa .]
So Azure Dragon had finally moved on from Hwa-eun... only to immediately fixate on Seol instead.
Seol, noticing my thoughts, turned her gaze toward Azure Dragon and scoffed.
[I can’t stand men like that.]
I had briefly entertained the idea that if she found him likable, it wouldn’t be such a bad match. But if the guy had a history and a tendency to be so fickle, there was no way Seol would be interested.
I decided to use this opportunity to ask about Seol’s ideal type.
If someone who met her standards ever appeared, I could introduce them to her.
She was a strong, wild beauty, after all.
[Then what kind of man do you like, Seol?]
As if waiting for that question, she suddenly wrapped her arm around mine and answered without hesitation.
[Someone like you, So-ryong.]
‘H-Huh?! Seol, you can’t say things like that!’
For a moment, panic gripped me. I had an absurd thought—was she implying something beyond sibling affection?!
But before I could spiral further, she smirked and glanced toward Azure Dragon and Paeng Gyu-seong, walking ahead of us.
[Hmm, if I had to choose... rather than a rat, I’d say a Hwa-ung (Flower Bear). They’re cute, don’t you think?]
[Flower Bear?]
[So-ryong, there’s a black-and-white bear that looks really adorable.]
‘A black-and-white bear? A panda?’
She was definitely talking about pandas.
Looking at Azure Dragon and Paeng Gyu-seong, I realized what she meant.
The rat was Azure Dragon, while the panda referred to Paeng Gyu-seong.
Given that Paeng Gyu-seong was built like a bear—whether it was a Paeng Clan trait or just him—it made sense that Seol’s type leaned toward someone beast-like.
‘So she likes men who are big and strong... Makes sense.’
For a moment, I felt like I had glimpsed the secret to how the seemingly dimwitted Paeng Clan managed to survive across generations.
By the time the sky was painted gold with the setting sun, Azure Dragon, who had been leading at the front, spoke up.
“We’re almost there. The abandoned wolf den beneath that hill is our rendezvous point.”
Following his gesture, I saw a gentle slope nestled at the base of a mountain. Large boulders and tall grass—about the height of a person—covered the area.
The remaining distance was about two or three kilometers.
“Understood. Let’s hurry before night falls.”
“Yes, Lady Seol.”
Seol nodded at Azure Dragon’s response, then stepped closer to me and whispered in my ear.
[So-ryong, since we’re nearing the rendezvous point, tell Cho to stay up in the sky and not come down until I call for her—no matter what happens.]
Her voice was unusually firm.
I tilted my head in confusion.
[Cho? Why?]
[Just in case. We’re assuming the rendezvous point is safe, but what if someone got captured and revealed its location to the Blood Cult?]
The moment she said that, my mind snapped to full alert, as if I had been struck on the back of the head.
She was right.
If someone had been caught, we’d be walking straight into a tiger’s maw.
[Then wouldn’t it be better for Cho to come with us? If anything happens, she could intimidate them and drive them away.]
Unlike Seol, I thought it would be safer to show our strength right away and deter any potential enemies.
But Seol shook her head.
[There’s no need to reveal all our cards just yet. If the rendezvous point is compromised and we end up needing to escape all the way back to Yunnan, we can’t afford to show everything we have right away. If they see our full strength now, they might prepare counters in advance.]
[Understood, Seol.]
She had a point.
If we had to make a prolonged retreat, the enemy adapting to our tactics could be disastrous.
In my mind, I reached out to Cho, sending a clear message.
<Cho, no matter what happens, do not come down until I call you. Stay in a safe spot and wait, okay?>
At first, Cho sent back confusion, but after repeated reassurances, she reluctantly agreed.
With Cho taken care of, I turned to Yohwa.
[Yohwa, if anything dangerous happens, protect Seol and Hwa-eun first. Don’t act unless I give the signal, got it?]
— Hiss?
[I have Cho with me, so I need you to watch over them.]
— Hisss!
Following Seol’s warning, I made all necessary preparations.
As we moved toward the rendezvous point, the last light of the sun faded, and darkness crept in.
We were about two or three hundred meters away from the abandoned wolf den when Azure Dragon suddenly raised a hand, signaling us to stop.
He surveyed the surroundings, scanning for something.
A few moments later, a man emerged from the tall grass, wielding a judge’s brush in both hands.
“It’s been a while, Azure Dragon. I was surprised when I heard you had four extra people with you.”
“It’s been a while, Swift Walker. Naturally, we were just as surprised.”
The man who appeared had already been informed about us by Azure Dragon. He was the leader of the covert intelligence operation under the Martial Alliance—the vice-lord of Flying Dragon Pavilion, Bang Sun, known as Swift Walker.
His nickname came from his exceptional light-footwork.
After quickly scanning our group, he nodded and spoke.
“To think we’d see members of the Beast Palace and the Tang Clan here. Let’s exchange greetings inside.”
“Yes, sir.”
We followed him toward the entrance of the large burrow known as the abandoned wolf den.
As Swift Walker lowered his head to enter the den, a piercing sound erupted from the sky.
— PIIIIIIIIIK!
“Hyo-shi?!”
The warning call.
Eyes widening in shock, Swift Walker snapped his head up.
And then—
The surroundings were suddenly engulfed in the glow of torchlight.
“S-Surprise attack! Gahhhk—!”
A scream of pain tore through the night as chaos erupted.