Clang!

Swords and hidden weapons collided.

"Jachim! Why would you do this!"

"Have you forgotten who I am? I'm the deputy leader of the Evil Sect."

Mukhyang's expression was filled with betrayal. Yet, she couldn't bring herself to use her deadliest poison against someone she still harbored feelings for.

The flying weapons were devoid of murderous intent, filled instead with hesitation.

Thus, defeat was inevitable. Jachim, having approached Mukhyang unnoticed, knocked her down.

"Still swayed by such emotions? That's why you cannot win."

A sword stuck in the ground beside her face, sadness filled Mukhyang's eyes. How could her childhood friend and long-time secret love have turned into such a person?

***

"Here, a bowl of noodles."

Mukhyang spoke to the approaching waitress as she sat down. She hadn't ordered it to eat, so noodles would suffice. Choosing a tavern as the meeting place was quite a mundane selection.

'It's about time they arrived.'

As Mukhyang leisurely sipped the tea served first, waiting for her counterpart, the tavern's door banged open.

"Hey! Landlord! Hurry up and pay back the money!"

"Yeah! Do you know how many times we've extended the deadline?"

"If you keep this up, you won't be able to run your business!"

A gang shouting typical villainous lines made a clear intention to cause trouble. Reading Mukhyang's thoughts, the biggest man in the gang, apparently their leader, declared.

"If you dislike it, produce five silver taels within a month!"

After dragging the tavern owner away, he flipped a table and exclaimed.

"Debt, that's a hundred times over, but where's such usury... cough!"

Despite trembling, the tavern owner's protest against the usury was cut short by a kick to the stomach from another gang member. The owner was mercilessly beaten on the ground.

"Ah, I'm sorry. Please, spare my life..."

Mukhyang chose not to intervene, calmly sipping her tea while waiting for the gang to leave.

"Ptui!"

Perhaps an hour had passed when the gang, having trashed the place, spat on the bruised and battered tavern owner before leaving.

"Ah, sorry for the disturbance. I'll bring your food right out."

The trembling owner, still managing to stand up, apologized to Mukhyang, evidently a lady of noble birth.

Mukhyang caught the limping owner returning to the kitchen.

"What were those men about?"

"Thinking of borrowing money? That's not advisable. You saw what happened to me. They are quite dangerous."

"Not that, but are they related to the Underworld?"

"..."

A tense silence flowed between them.

"Don't speak of such things. You must be careful with your words."

The owner hastily added, his face pale, before hastily retreating to the kitchen, suggesting he would not answer any more questions.

'The moment of silence suggests a definite connection to the Underworld...' Feeling uneasy, Mukhyang decided to wait for her contact.

"How about enjoying the blossoms at the tavern?"

Sometime later, a man approached and muttered a password.

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"Blossoms are best enjoyed in a cup of wine."

'Why such a password?' Despite her thoughts, Mukhyang calmly responded with the password.

"I've found the right place then. Here, these are your targets."

The man placed a letter on the table and pushed it towards Mukhyang.

Opening it revealed the faces of the gang leaders she had seen earlier. To think she was assigned to deal with such riffraff was insulting.

"Then, I'll take my leave..."

"Wait. Are you entrusting me with handling this scum?"

"Even if you're the daughter of the Sacheon Dang family, a rookie is still a rookie. Follow orders without complaint."

The man left so quickly he couldn't be caught.

"Ha...!"

Mukhyang collapsed, her hands trembling as she gripped her teacup, careful not to break it. It was a clear insult to have the eldest daughter of the Sacheon Dang family deal with street thugs.

"The customer's food is ready."

The owner placed a bowl of noodles on the table.

"Thank you for the meal."

Thunk!

Mukhyang left two coins on the table and exited the tavern.

She seemed to hear the owner calling after her, but it wasn't of much concern.

The letter left by the man contained not only the faces of the targets but also brief personal information. It read:

Jang Jeok-san.

On the edge of the Green Forest. Finances operations through oppressive moneylending.

"Just this information, what am I supposed to do with it?"

At least the base of operations should have been disclosed. From the moment she received the letter to now, her frustration had peaked.

As she suppressed her anger and walked on, Mukhyang's attention

 was caught by some injured children. Could they have been harmed by Jang Jeok-san? Such villains often wouldn't hesitate to harm children.

"Kids, did this man do this to you?"

Showing them Jang Jeok-san's portrait, the children nodded.

"Yes, that's him!"

"The scary man hit us!"

"Do you know where he lives?"

"He always goes towards Mihonsan."

"He's a bandit!"

"I see. Thanks for telling me. I'll buy you something to eat as a reward. What would you like?"

"Dumplings!"

"Me too!"

"Me as well!"

"Then let's head to the market together."

The market was close to the tavern Mukhyang had left.

After giving each child a freshly steamed, warm dumpling, Mukhyang turned to leave in search of Jang Jeok-san.

"Um, sister..."

The children followed Mukhyang, calling out to her with bright, hopeful eyes.

"What is it?"

"Could you play with us for a bit?"

"Just for a little while."

"We like you!"

No one could resist the pure gaze of children. Unable to ignore their large, sparkling eyes, Mukhyang agreed.

"Alright, but only for a short while."

"Yay! Let's play hide and seek. Hide and seek!"

"You're the seeker!"

The children scattered, screaming with excitement.

'Just don't get into any trouble while hiding.'

Choosing hide and seek made it awkward to slip away mid-game, as the children would wait until found. She couldn't leave, knowing they might get into trouble.

"One, two, three..."

After counting to thirty on the roadside, Mukhyang started searching for the children. However, she made a critical error in assuming she could easily find them, given her skills. The bustling market streets were crowded, and the children were smaller than expected. Having grown up here, they knew the area inside out.

"What if you were sleeping among this trash?"

"Oh? Sister! Hehe."

It took hours, but Mukhyang finally found a sleeping child among the trash behind a restaurant, allowing her to head towards Mihonsan. Had she left, the child might have frozen to death or been poisoned by the trash. This thought made her less upset with the children. After all, she had agreed to it.

"The sun's already setting..."

The sun was setting, and evening was approaching—a dangerous time to enter the mountains. But Mukhyang chose to go anyway, hoping to resolve the matter quickly.

"That's unfortunate..."

In the middle of the mountain, Mukhyang lost her way.

As darkness enveloped the forest, every direction seemed the same, and she might have been walking in circles. Spotting an object unlike any she had seen before, an overturned carriage, she used her light-footed skills to approach it quickly, revealing a tragic scene.

"This is..."

The people, appearing to be couriers or merchants, had long been cold. Identifying the culprit wasn't hard—it must have been Jang Jeok-san's doing, perhaps even the Green Forest bandits. If she had arrived earlier, could she have prevented their deaths? Mukhyang bit her lip.

"Oh, brother. These guys had some nice stuff, didn't they?"

That's when she heard a familiar voice.

Turning away from the bodies to the cargo, she saw familiar figures rifling through the carriage.

"What? There's a silly lady who climbed the mountain at night?"

"Isn't that the girl from the tavern?"

"Looks like a rich girl with no guards. What will you do now?"

Their disdainful taunts were repulsive.

"I am Dang Mukhyang, the eldest daughter of the Sacheon Dang family. Do you really think you can touch a single hair on me?"

"Sacheon Dang? Ha! If you knew who's behind us, you wouldn't dare to move!"

"Are you comparing your pathetic Green Forest to Sacheon Dang now?"

"What's behind us is not some lowly Green Forest but directly the ma..."

"Hey! Quiet!"

The Evil Sect? Was that what they were referring to? It seemed best to capture and interrogate them. Of course, there was no need to keep all three alive—eliminating two would instill fear.

"Then prepare to be reduced to a puddle of blood."

As the bandits remembered the poison of the Dang family and began to flee, Mukhyang prepared to throw her poisoned needles.

Swoosh!

A dart flew past Mukhyang's head, piercing through Jang Jeok-san's skull. Before she could react, two more darts took down the remaining gang members.

Sharpening her senses, Mukhyang heard rustling sounds. If the assailant was the same one who fired those darts, she was in danger. Ready to attack at any moment, she watched as a man emerged from the direction of the sound, his unusual golden hair glittering