The atmosphere turned cold. Silence stretched between them; only the clinking of cups being emptied and chopsticks scraping dishes could be heard.Tang Hae-han muttered under his breath.“She doesn’t look like it, but that girl’s a Zhuge.”Zhuge—among the Five Great Families, that name itself had become shorthand for “talks in circles” or “has a way of talking that irritates people.”A slow grin spread across Tang Hae-han’s face.“An interesting woman.”Enjoying the quiet, he picked up another piece of fish. But soon, hurried voices rose from another table.“Hey, isn’t that Young Hero Namgung Hyun?”Tang Hae-han turned his head while biting into the fish.Below the railing stood a man in a blue martial robe—no mistake, it was Namgung Hyun. That refined face wasn’t common in the Central Plains. Surrounded by rough martial artists, his elegance stood out all the more.“It really is him. Shouldn’t Young Hero Namgung Hyun be at his quarters? Everyone’s talking about how he lost to Yeon-a at the Dojang, yet he’s out walking? His mental strength is incredible.”“Right. But is he out alone?”“Maybe he’s meeting someone? His group could’ve gone ahead.”“Still, the Namgung clan is amazing. The Little Clan Head wins, the younger brother takes runner-up. This generation belongs to them. The rest of us feel like background extras.”Before long the topic shifted completely to the Namgung family.Watching Namgung Hyun disappear into the crowd, Tang Hae-han tilted his head—just then, a dry voice cut in beside him.“Brother, shall we go?”Tang Hak stood up, leaving a coin on the table.“I’m tired. I’d like to rest.”Tang Hae-han took a coin from his own pouch and pushed it toward him.“Didn’t I say I was paying? Didn’t I?”Too weary to argue, Tang Hak took his coin back without protest.The road from Wuhan back to Headquarters felt strange.Noise filled the streets, yet beside them it was silent.Because Tang Hak said nothing, Tang Hae-han felt like he was suffocating.In the end, he couldn’t keep quiet anymore.“I know you’re supposed to stay silent at times like this, but it’s eating at me.”Frowning, Tang Hae-han asked,“Why are you so down? I thought it was because of those jerks earlier, but you were acting off even before we went into that tavern.”Tang Hak smiled faintly.“Brother.”“Yeah? Tell me who it is. I’ll make sure his rear end spits fire for a whole day—”“I like it when you talk down to me.”“…Little Clan Head, are you mocking me, telling me to use honorifics?”“No. Really. I said it because I like when you treat me like your younger cousin. I wish I weren’t the Little Clan Head.”He sighed softly.“I wish I could never be the Little Clan Head again.”“Is this because of what they said? Forget them. They’re just jealous.”Tang Hak gave no reply—only a weak smile. Tang Hae-han bit his lip.“Hak, go on ahead. I’ll stop by that tavern again.”Adjusting his sleeve, Tang Hae-han narrowed his eyes.“I’ll make them spend all day hugging chamber pots.”“Don’t.”“I’ll make sure no one notices, so don’t worry. I’ll never get caught. What do you take Gujeong Pavilion for?”“No. I was asking you not to make me feel any more pathetic.”Tang Hae-han froze mid-turn.But Tang Hak didn’t look back—he simply walked forward.Something felt wrong.Even the usually indifferent Tang Hae-han could sense that this wasn’t something to push.'…What happened? What went wrong during the duel tournament?'Reluctantly, Tang Hae-han slipped the poison vial back into his sleeve and followed Tang Hak toward Headquarters.***Back in his quarters, Tang Hae-han let out a long sigh.“I’m never signing up for another duel tournament again…”He was exhausted—body and mind both.He’d followed because Tang Sohwa said she’d enter the tournament, suspecting she had an ulterior motive.This time he’d planned to sneak a look at whatever she was learning, but nothing at all had happened—not until the finals ended.'I shouldn’t have come…'He’d even considered using formal speech toward Hak in private, but now that idea seemed pointless too.No gain, only worries.A truly useless trip.“Tch. Should’ve stayed at Gujeong Pavilion and finished cleaning.”Muttering, Tang Hae-han walked down the corridor—and suddenly stepped back.Inside the room used as the Medical Division lay a massive martial artist, sprawled across the sacred worktable.“Is he insane?”How dare someone lie on the Medical Division’s instruments?Eyes narrowing in anger, Tang Hae-han stepped inside.He thought it was some drunk fool who’d passed out—but it was Han-won from the Heukho Unit, the guard who always followed Tang Sohwa.As Tang Hae-han blinked in confusion, Han-won stirred, sensing his presence.“Ah, you’re here.”“…What are you doing here?”“I was waiting to deliver something.”Stretching, Han-won rummaged through his pocket.“I thought you’d come in the morning, so I planned to sleep here. But you came at night. Young Lady Sohwa’s been working all night too—Gujeong Pavilion really isn’t a place just anyone can enter.”No, he’d just come in to throw out whoever was sleeping here.Tang Hae-han swallowed that thought and nodded.“In the Medical Division there’s no such thing as day or night. I came to sort a few things. So, what did you come to deliver?”Han-won immediately handed him a sheet of paper.“The Divine Physician sent this. He said they’re the necessary ingredients. The Administrator of the Four Seasons Hall will likely come for them tomorrow.”“The Administrator?”Tang Hae-han flinched as he took the paper.That was far too high a rank for an errand boy; for a moment he thought the man must still be half-asleep.“Yes. It seems only the Administrator goes in and out of the Alliance Leader’s quarters. It’s not even far, so if the Divine Physician didn’t come himself, that must be why.”Apparently it wasn’t a misunderstanding—the man also found it strange ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) that the Administrator had come in person.Tang Hae-han placed the paper on the table and discreetly pushed Han-won off the worktable. Only then did Han-won step down.“Well then, I’ll take my leave.”Stretching in relief after finishing his errand, Han-won left the Medical Division.Tang Hae-han clicked his tongue as he watched him go, then turned his eyes back to the paper.After wiping the sacred table with a clean cloth, he finally read the Divine Physician’s list of medicinal ingredients.“…What the…”He tilted his head.The list requested six ingredients, but their properties didn’t match—some strengthened the body while others reduced heat and fever.Usually, by looking at the ingredients, you could guess what medicine was being made. This one gave no clue at all.Even the quantities were strange.“Why ask to split goji berries in half and send only five pieces?”When herbs were large, they were often divided for storage, but why bother splitting tiny berries and sending only five fragments?It might seem meticulous, but the way the herbs were named said otherwise.“I mean, how can you just write ‘rehmannia’? You have to specify—raw, dried, or cooked.”Frowning deeply, Tang Hae-han sighed.The quantities were meticulously listed, even divided into portions, yet the herbs were written by name alone. There was no way the Divine Physician didn’t know that preparation changed their effects.He wondered if someone else had copied it roughly, but the handwriting was definitely the Divine Physician’s. And since Tang Sohwa had gone with him, the list should’ve been even more precise, not careless.Grumbling, Tang Hae-han still began gathering the herbs.“Well, I’ll just send all three types—dried, raw, and cooked. They’ll know what to use. Honestly… someone careful enough to write nicknames next to herbs so no one confuses them, and now this sloppy—”He stopped halfway through opening the chest.Then he went back to the desk and checked the list again.Rehmannia or Earth Marrow.He’d written both names to avoid confusion, yet hadn’t specified the type. Strange.Tang Hae-han reread the list.All the other herbs were written clearly.Even the goji plant was precisely labeled; flowers, berries, and root bark were usually listed separately because they were used differently. Yet here it was labeled properly as goji berry.And every ingredient was common.He could’ve requested them from Headquarters’ Medical Division instead of the Tang Clan.'These are all basic herbs—anyone who’s read the Classic of Herbal Medicine would know them…'At that thought, Tang Hae-han’s whole body went rigid.“‘Rehmannia or Earth Marrow’…?”Earth Marrow—an ancient term for rehmannia used in the Classic of Herbal Medicine.Every Medical Division had a copy of that book.It was an old text attributed to Shennong, though the original had long been lost and rewritten. Annotated versions filled the Central Plains; every physician memorized it as fundamental study.Just like how few knew the original Analects of Confucius, but students still read copied manuscripts and learned the same lessons.Tang Hae-han swept his gaze across the Medical Division’s shelves.There were the usual medical tools and texts provided by Headquarters—and yes, a copy of the Classic of Herbal Medicine.He pulled it down and opened it.Then he laid beside it the strange list the Divine Physician had sent.Tracing the passages for each ingredient with his finger, he murmured the words written beside one:“Half a piece, five fragments…”The second line, fifth character.Running his finger along the lines, he hurriedly ground ink and copied the characters onto a clean sheet.One by one he found the matching characters and pieced them together.Six letters appeared on the page—revealing a hidden message.“What… what is this…”Reading the words, Tang Hae-han’s hand trembled.'A monster is impersonating Young Lady Sohwa.'The brush slipped from his fingers and clattered to the floor, ink splattering across the boards. He didn’t even look back—he grabbed the Divine Physician’s note and sprinted out the door.

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