Yise ground the message talisman to dust, then asked the outer affiliate, "So, what trouble do you think we'd face if we killed him and offered him as a sacrifice?"

"..."

The outpost manager remained silent for a long time. Yise did not press him. He knew it was a difficult question to answer.

An outer affiliate. In Daemudo's eyes, he was little more than expendable manpower, replaceable at any time. Naturally, he would want to avoid getting drawn into the main mountain's power struggles.

Still, Yise waited patiently, as though telling him that if he, too, had entered a sect of the Dao, he ought at least to fulfill his duty.

At last, the outpost manager spoke with a sigh.

"... When Kang Gyuyoung was expelled, the nobles' opposition was tremendous."

"Opposition?"

"They protested that a promising pureblood disciple should not have his roots and meridians severed over a single ordinary outer affiliate."

'... One little shit muddying the whole pond.'

Yise kept that brief assessment to himself.

"As a result, dissatisfaction with Daemudo's policies spread like wildfire, with Cultivator Kang Ihyeon at its center. Daemudo nearly split in two."

"... Over something that petty?"

"That was merely the arrow that set things in motion."

The manager paused to steady his breathing.

"Long before that, Daemudo had been divided over the reverence of spiritual beings and materials. The two sides had been at odds for years."

"..."

Do not hunt spirit beasts.

Do not damage spiritual materials.

Those beliefs lay at the heart of Daemudo's spirit, but where they had hardened into policy, they cast surprisingly deep shadows. They certainly hampered the disciples' growth. Yise himself had felt that keenly.

The expulsion of a Cultivator named Kang Gyuyoung must have caused that long-festering resentment toward the policies to spread far and wide.

"Since then, Daemudo's Inner Halls have been divided into two camps. One wishes to preserve our existing beliefs. The other argues that we need strength to uphold those beliefs at all. Given the turbulent state of the continent, they insist we should first conquer the Jeong Empire's cultivation world, then rebuild the system afterward."

Yise could understand both sides. In particular, the claim that beliefs required strength to uphold them was true in every respect.

"So, who's on which side?"

The outer affiliate answered that Hall Master Hae Il and those who had been with him for many years—Hall Masters Kang Itae, Hae Wol, Hong Mihui, and Asan—favored protecting spiritual beings and materials.

Hall Masters Seol Baek, So Hongji, and Gong Wol-ah favored lifting the restrictions.

Hall Master Banho, befitting a Cultivator who had begun as a spirit beast, advocated protecting spirit beasts while allowing the use of spiritual materials.

Chief Administrator Sugyeom was neutral.

Hall Master U Yuhee had no interest in the matter at all.

Five against three.

And with Hall Master Hae Il, the sect's strongest Cultivator, firmly anchoring the former camp, the current policies had presumably held.

"And now, in these troubled times, that little pest has caused yet another disaster. After bringing Daemudo to this state, he still hasn't learned his lesson..."

"What a shitshow."

The sect was an even bigger mess than Yise had thought. For the first time, he clearly understood that the balance between the main mountain's free atmosphere and its exemplary discipline was barely being maintained over these festering conflicts.

"Fine, I understand we can't just do whatever we like to him. But what are we supposed to do, then?"

The situation practically forced the words out of him.

Why had they given him this damned mission? What did they expect? How was he supposed to handle it?

This wasn't something he could solve by knocking some sense into someone, as he had with the main mountain's pureblood Cultivators. It called for a human sacrifice. Deputy Master Kang Ihyeon and his faction would certainly make an issue of it, and Yise had no ability to deal with their backlash.

It was far too difficult a problem for a mere Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

The outer affiliate had no answer, and Seol Ryeong and Yise pondered the matter for a long time. Ideally, she would be able to exorcise the evil spirit without harming Kang Gyuyoung, but she had already failed.

"How about we meet Kang Gyuyoung first and make him apologize to his victim's vengeful soul in person?"

Seol Ryeong shook her head at Yise's suggestion.

"If the grudge is weak, a sincere apology can sometimes dispel the lingering resentment... but I don't have much hope."

"Let's at least try. He needs to know how serious a mess he's made."

"All right. We don't have any other options."

Allowing him to die without once considering the gravity of what he had done would be far too lenient. Even if it did not resolve the Courtesan’s Grievance Demon's grudge, they had to make Kang Gyuyoung face his own actions head-on.

To them, that was both their duty and the natural course of things.

After receiving information about the victim from the outer affiliate, Yise headed for the Jinju Kang family estate.

* * *

The Jinju Kang family was a great noble house that occupied an entire district in the eastern part of Jinju Fortress. They had produced the fortress's lords for generations and held every ruling faction firmly in their grip. In this region, they must have reigned like royalty.

Yet their influence did not extend to throwing their weight around with a legacy disciple of the main mountain. The family head came out to the front gate himself to greet the pair.

"A legacy disciple from the main mountain, visiting our humble home... What brings you here?"

"Kang Gyuyoung."

That single name was enough to turn the family head pale. Apparently, he was causing considerable trouble within the family as well.

"Young Master Kang Gyuyoung is in the rear garden annex. Allow me to show you the way."

The family head gave a short sigh and gestured for them to follow.

They could smell liquor before they even reached the annex. Apparently, he was already thoroughly drunk in broad daylight.

Nearly five empty liquor bottles lay scattered across a wooden platform in the annex courtyard. In their midst sprawled a man with his robes hanging open. He had jet-black hair and fair skin, the looks of someone raised in comfort, but his unfocused, drunken eyes and disheveled clothing utterly spoiled his handsome appearance.

"What is it?"

Kang Gyuyoung cracked one eye open to look at them.

"I didn't send for a woman."

"..."

"... Oh? Quite pretty, aren't you?"

His initial indifference faded as he slowly looked Seol Ryeong up and down, as though appraising a calf, then curled his lips into a smile.

"Come here and pour me a drink."

Seol Ryeong stepped back in disgust, instinctively putting distance between them as though avoiding dog shit.

Yise glanced at her, then crooked a finger. Kang Gyuyoung's body lurched forward, landing on his hands and knees.

"Cultivators?! What do you think you're doing!"

Even after realizing they were Cultivators, Kang Gyuyoung remained as defiant as ever. Rather than call out his attitude, Yise asked a brief question.

"Did you kill a courtesan at the Flower Pavilion?"

"So what! It's just one dead whore! What's so important about that? You come to torment me again, again! That bitch wasn't even part of Daemudo! Release me at once!"

"An ordinary man ordering a Cultivator around. The world really has gone to hell."

Yise's curt remark silenced Kang Gyuyoung for a moment. Then his lips twisted upward again.

"If I still had my spiritual root, the likes of you wouldn't even dare look at me—"

"A mere Qi Refining Cultivator?"

"..."

Kang Gyuyoung flinched. That single sentence had told him Yise was at Foundation Establishment.

Foundation Establishment Cultivators were the most gifted of the gifted, accorded special treatment even at the main mountain. They were on an entirely different level from the Cultivators he and his ilk had always looked down upon.

But Kang Gyuyoung could not bow. Having lost everything, even his reason for living, his bloodline was the only pride he had left.

"... Do you know who my father is!"

"Cultivator Kang Ihyeon. Deputy master of Black Tortoise Hall. So what? If I kill you right here, what can he do from the main mountain?"

Yise spoke without a moment's hesitation.

"..."

"Whatever your bloodline, you're just an ordinary man now. At least you'll have a lavish funeral."

Kang Gyuyoung trembled with humiliation and rage at Yise's words. Beside him, Seol Ryeong chimed in with a sneer.

"He reached Foundation Establishment just seven years after entering the cultivation world. He's the greatest talent in Daemudo's history, you know? Do you think anyone could lay a finger on him?"

Her praise was rather embarrassing, but it certainly seemed effective. Kang Gyuyoung's face filled with dismay.

"... What do you want me to do?"

"Thanks to what you've done, the Flower Pavilion is filled with an evil spirit's lingering resentment. Go there right now, put your head to the ground, and beg forgiveness. If that doesn't resolve it, I'll cut your body into pieces, just like the Courtesan’s Grievance Demon."

Kang Gyuyoung gave a hollow laugh, then noticed Seol Ryeong's spirit-commanding staff and turned his gaze to her. He had realized she was the one tasked with exorcising the evil spirit.

"Hah! Apologize to a Demon? I've never heard anything so absurd in my life. Just exorcise the damned spirit and be done with it. Are you some half-wit of a shaman?"

"Who are you calling a half-wit!"

Seol Ryeong shouted indignantly.

"That insolent whore dared reject me, prattling on about her beloved. I merely gave her the punishment she deserved. If she became a Demon, that's simply her fate."

Both of them frowned at the word "beloved."

The courtesan who had become the Courtesan’s Grievance Demon had had a lover. That had not been in the outpost's information.

Then... the sorrow, affection, longing, and guilt Seol Ryeong had experienced must have been directed toward him. Given that she had suffered such a fate while she had a lover, it was no wonder her resentment reached the heavens.

Sighing inwardly, Yise questioned Kang Gyuyoung. He already suspected the answer, but he had to confirm it.

"... What did you do to her lover?"

"Hahaha! What do you think? That worm of an ordinary man dared insult a great bloodline. I let them stay together forever, just as they wished."

Unable to hold back any longer, Seol Ryeong brought her fist down on Kang Gyuyoung's head. He foamed at the mouth and passed out. Startled by her unexpected action, Yise looked at her.

"This bastard deserves to be torn limb from limb and fed to the dogs..."

"..."

His surprise at this unfamiliar, rougher side of Seol Ryeong lasted only a moment. Regaining his composure, Yise bound the unconscious Kang Gyuyoung and floated him into the air.

Meanwhile, replies arrived to the messages he had sent Chief Administrator Sugyeom and Hall Master U Yuhee. He had explained the situation and asked what he should do.

- Do your utmost to exorcise the evil spirit.

- Kill him.

Reading those two words along with him over the jade slip, Seol Ryeong gave a dry laugh.

Chief Administrator Sugyeom had given indirect permission, while Hall Master U Yuhee had issued an explicit order. The replies suited Yise's impressions of them perfectly.

"What now?"

At Seol Ryeong's question, Yise gathered his thoughts and put an end to his deliberations. In any case, he now had permission from both his superiors. All that remained was to do his duty.

"... First, we try to resolve it peacefully. If that doesn't work, well."

"... If it doesn't?"

"We make him pay for his sins. A Cultivator's way."

Yise's gaze slowly darkened.