CFZ

He passed through the undergrowth.
The forest at night was dark, but as always, his eyes could see clearly.
His body still ached, the result of his overflowing blood vessels. Perhaps it was because he’d overexerted his senses earlier—the pain was worse now.

"Tsk."
Clicking his tongue, he continued walking. Pain, as always, was something to endure. That wasn’t the priority right now.
[I sense presences nearby. Four of them.]

Shadow King’s telepathic message made him nod. He already knew.
‘They’re far apart but encircling this area like a perimeter.’
By focusing his energy, he could sense it. This strange presence was centered here.

It was an odd sensation. To the naked eye, it was nothing but an empty field—not even particularly large. Trees spread around the edges, accompanied by scattered rocks and weeds. Yet, here, in this unassuming place, he felt something.
"Do you sense anything?"
As the question came, something dropped to the ground—a human head.

Four heads in total. Shadow King had killed them all, just as he had reported the number of presences moments earlier.
Did he traverse the distance in that brief moment? His speed was terrifying.
"I don’t sense anything," Shadow King replied.

"Hmm…"
The fact that even Shadow King couldn’t sense it made this all the more peculiar. How could Shadow King not detect it? Did that mean it wasn’t related to physical presence?
Or...

‘Could I be imagining this?’
It might have been a mistaken sensation, yet deep inside, he was certain.
There was something here.

‘But where?’
His eyes scanned the surroundings. He should be sensing it, but there was nothing concrete yet.
‘Where the hell is it?’
He tried to focus, but irritation gnawed at him. Was it impatience? Frustration? Or simply dissatisfaction with standing around in this place? It could have been any of those.

‘All I see are weeds and rocks. At best, there are some flowers… What could I possibly sense in—?’
He paused mid-thought, narrowing his eyes.
The two in front were ordinary, but the flowers behind them bothered him.

‘Flowers?’
He shifted his gaze to the ground, staring at the flowers. Now that he looked closer, something was off.
‘Why are there flowers here?’

He wasn’t unfamiliar with flowers, but seeing them in this particular area was strange.
Four flowers in total. They looked like ordinary wildflowers often found in the mountains. Their positioning didn’t appear connected either.
But the key detail was this:
‘Four flowers. Four people.’

The number matched. The same as the bodies Shadow King had just slain.
At first glance, it seemed like a coincidence, but he crouched to inspect the flowers immediately.
He reached out and gently touched one of the buds.

Woom—
"..."
A faint vibration pulsed at his fingertips.

This was it.
‘Formation or otherwise, these flowers hold something.’
As he felt the vibration, his lips parted slightly.

"I’ll bring more people," Shadow King said abruptly, as if reading his mind.
There was no need for explanation. It seemed he, too, had deduced the connection between the flowers and the slain individuals.
Bringing more people meant one thing:

As noted earlier, the flowers and their number might be linked to a mechanism requiring four individuals to activate or resolve.
But before Shadow King could act on his proposal, he stopped him.
"No. There’s no time for that."

They didn’t have the luxury of waiting or finding a solution.
"Since you’ve already killed them, others will come soon. It’ll be difficult to do anything while handling them as well."
Could they still manage? Probably. If Shadow # Nоvеlight # King desired, he could destroy the entire Sichuan branch on his own. But…

"Then what will you do?"
"If I can’t solve it, there’s only one option…"
He gripped the flower’s stem firmly.

He didn’t pull it out but simply held it and focused.
Woooom.
The vibration intensified.

The sensation traveled through his hand, coursing into his body, and finally settling deep within his heart.
An alien sensation filled him as he opened his eyes slowly.
With his inner vision activated, he examined the flower.

"Wow…"
He couldn’t help but marvel at the sight.
"This is absurdly complicated."

The tangled threads forming the structure were astonishing. He had never seen something so intricate before.
It was far more complex than the curses used by Pildo-ma to bind sword auras.
How should he dismantle it? The thought flickered, but his hands were already moving.

There was no need to call for others.
He would unravel it. If he could dismantle everything shrouding this place, it would suffice.
Wouldn’t unraveling it take longer than calling for help?

Maybe. But he believed in himself.
He could do it.
He remembered something the Divine Doctor had once said to him.

Late one night, during a lesson on curses:
"You’re absurdly talented at this."
"What do you mean?" he had asked while following the instructions step by step.

The Divine Doctor had stared at him and muttered,
"Where the hell did this monstrous brat come from?"
"Excuse me? Did I do something wrong?"
"No, you did well. Too well. That’s the problem, you damn brat."

"Then you should praise me, not insult me!"
"If you were going to appear, why not show up fifty years earlier? Why now, in this era?"
He had been baffled by the lament.

"That’s a hurtful thing to say. I wasn’t even born fifty years ago."
"Exactly. That’s why it’s even more unfortunate."
"What’s so unfortunate about it?"

At the time, he couldn’t understand the old man’s words.
"If the Zhuge Clan still held its honor in this era… No, even if it were the same as it is now, had your surname been Zhuge…"
The Divine Doctor had spoken with genuine regret.

"If the Zhuge Clan returned to the world, it wouldn’t have been as difficult as it is now. That’s what’s truly unfortunate."
It had been excessive praise—so much so that it left him bewildered.
He had never been told he was exceptional in anything, but when it came to curses, it was always like this.

At this point, it was undeniable.
‘I do have this one thing.’
He once thought he had nothing, but perhaps he did.

Unfortunately, it had to be curses.
He didn’t know how many people understood or used such techniques, but judging by their reactions, it was clearly impressive.
So, if that were true…

‘I can do this.’
There was no doubt in his mind.
He focused his gaze, pouring strength into unraveling the cursed threads before him.

To break through this godforsaken mechanism.

   *******************
   
The massive iron door creaked open.
Just enough for a person to pass through.

Wi Seol-ah and Namgung Bi-ah stepped forward cautiously, entering the room beyond the door.
As soon as they entered, Namgung Bi-ah frowned.
"...This is..."

She glanced around, muttering to herself.
The room was vast, overwhelmingly so.
Its sheer size dwarfed the narrow passageway they had just come through. How could such a massive space exist underground?

Or rather—had they even descended far enough to warrant this depth?
The whole place felt... unnatural.
"..."

While Namgung Bi-ah carefully observed the surroundings, Wi Seol-ah had her gaze fixed, wide-eyed, on a single point.
Straight ahead.
Something completely out of place within this enormous room stood in the distance.

The moment they had entered the room, Wi Seol-ah’s attention had been drawn to it.
"...That’s..."
Her voice trembled slightly as she spoke. Namgung Bi-ah, noticing her reaction, turned her gaze to follow Wi Seol-ah’s line of sight.

And then she saw it.
A single tree, standing alone in the vastness of the room.
The floor wasn’t soil but stone, yet somehow, a small tree was growing there.

It was just slightly taller than Namgung Bi-ah herself—hardly more than a sapling.
Why would such a tree exist in this massive room? And, more strangely...
"It’s white..."

The tree’s leaves were a brilliant white, almost like polished jade, faintly glowing with their own light.
The room’s relative brightness, despite the absence of any lanterns, was thanks to the tree.
Namgung Bi-ah gazed at it with curiosity, while Wi Seol-ah’s reaction was markedly different.

She appeared stunned—shocked, even.
"Seol-ah?"
Namgung Bi-ah called out to her companion, but Wi Seol-ah didn’t respond. Instead, she began walking forward.

Step by careful step, she approached the tree.
When she reached it, she softly touched one of its leaves.
Crumble—

The leaf disintegrated at her touch, its fragments scattering like particles of light.
"..."
"Seol-ah..."

Namgung Bi-ah’s voice was uncertain as she watched Wi Seol-ah.
But before she could say more—
"...!"

Namgung Bi-ah spun around suddenly, her silver hair whipping as light burst from her waist.
Clang!
Her sword deflected something in an instant. Sparks flew briefly, accompanied by a faint metallic noise.

It was a blade.
Frowning, Namgung Bi-ah glared in the direction the attack had come from.
"Damn it."

An old man stood there, his hands clasped behind his back, observing them.
"I had aimed for the neck, but you’re sharper than I expected, girl."
"..."

Namgung Bi-ah raised her sword, her expression tense.
"Oh, my."
The old man chuckled, looking at her with amusement.

"You’re a beautiful one. That hair, that face... I see now. You must be Anhui’s flower."
Whoosh.
As the man spoke, swords began to float around him, spinning lazily in the air.

"How peculiar... Did the Star King send you? No, that doesn’t seem right..."
"Who are you?"
Namgung Bi-ah asked as she observed the muttering old man.

"Ah, my apologies. I should have introduced myself first."
With a smile, the old man finally gave his name.
"I am Dae Hwan, master of the Celestial Stream Sect."

Hearing his introduction, Namgung Bi-ah swallowed hard.
"..."
The swords floating in the air shifted slightly, their tips now pointed directly at Namgung Bi-ah and Wi Seol-ah.

"I heard we had uninvited guests, so I came to see for myself..."
Ssshhh—
The pressure in the room intensified, and Namgung Bi-ah instinctively tensed.

Her body reacted on its own, preparing for a fight.
She glanced briefly behind her.
Wi Seol-ah was still standing before the tree, seemingly entranced, oblivious to the situation.

Kiieeeeng—!
Clang!
"Ugh!"

Namgung Bi-ah blocked another attack, her hands tingling from the increased force.
"Talking while looking elsewhere is quite rude."
"...Hah..."

"Girl, I’d appreciate your focus. This is an important question."
Shing—
The floating swords around Dae Hwan began circling him again. Another blade had joined their ranks, unnoticed.

"How did you open that door?"
"..."
Namgung Bi-ah’s brow furrowed slightly at his question.

"Six years. That door hasn’t opened once in six years. No matter what we tried, it remained sealed... Yet you two managed to open it. How?"
The door that wouldn’t open—now wide open. Namgung Bi-ah recalled the events leading up to this moment.
The method had been simple: Wi Seol-ah had touched the door, and it had opened on its own.

As she replayed the scene in her mind, she assessed the current situation.
Wi Seol-ah, captivated by the tree.
The door, opened by her touch.

And Dae Hwan, visibly startled by it all.
"..."
Piecing it together, Namgung Bi-ah nodded slightly, as if arriving at a conclusion.

‘Complicated...’
No, she decided to stop thinking about it. Difficult things were never her strong suit.
All that mattered was that something significant was happening.

And that was enough to determine her next course of action.
Namgung Bi-ah steadied herself and addressed Dae Hwan.
"Are you curious?"

"Oh? Are you going to tell me?"
Step.
"Hm?"

Dae Hwan reacted to her sudden movement.
Namgung Bi-ah had silently raised her sword, pointing it directly at the old man.
"If you’re curious..."

The tip of her blade gleamed as Dae Hwan’s brow furrowed.
"...find out for yourself."
"Haha..."

When in doubt, she fought.
There was no simpler solution for Namgung Bi-ah.
"...How unfortunate."

Dae Hwan sighed as if genuinely lamenting her decision.
Shing!
The spinning swords halted mid-air, their tips all aimed at Namgung Bi-ah.

"You’ve made a poor choice."
With those words, four blades shot toward her at once.