Around dawn, after some more time had passed, the fire that had been consuming the temple finally went out.

Sabaek and the other warriors had long since gathered the captured individuals in a single temple, and now was the time to interrogate them to understand the circumstances of this attack.

Both the current and former temple leaders were present in the temple where the prisoners were gathered.

However, Ha Hyun, Sajer, and I did not participate in the interrogation.

‘Young people can be perceived as easy targets, which might not be helpful.’

Even if we started off tough to not be underestimated, it was unlikely for commoner merchants and Daoist associations, who hadn’t trained in martial arts, to manage that.

Ha Hyun and Sajer had probably already gone to their quarters. I stayed for a bit because I needed to brief the Sabaeks about the shaman I had encountered.

“So, you met a shaman?”

After examining my face and rubbing his fingers against the corners of my eyes, Yoo Seong Sabaek softly asked, recognizing that I was alright for now. He had heard from me right after the collapse of the formation that something was off about the eldest son, so he would understand whatever I said rather quickly.

“Yes, so…”

I began to ponder where to start and end my explanation.

Since the Sabaeks had advised me to close my eyes, I could easily hide the fact that I had decided not to be entirely honest.

Still, considering the situation had escalated this much, it was crucial to reveal the identity of the shaman.

“I was trying to find the real eldest son when a servant lured me away, saying that an attack had happened. He was quite urgent, and it was hard to find the way around the outskirts of the estate, so I followed. Soon, I realized I had been deceived. After exchanging a few blows, I discovered that the servant was the shaman who had been impersonating the eldest son.”

“He changed his appearance again, did he?”

“Yes.”

After saying that, I pondered once more.

‘For commoners, involvement with the evil cults is essentially a one-way ticket to hell.’

It was something I learned after the curse incident that had affected my mind.

Evil cults were a form of pseudo-religion. In a feudal state where the emperor is called Son of Heaven, these groups worship their leader as a god and even have military strength. Although the royal family could potentially get rid of them, they chose not to, knowing the repercussions would be severe.

‘They made sure to tarnish their reputation instead.’

So, I had to say more. To press for details only in front of those who could be silenced.
In this place, it’s just the Four Hundred and me, and the Four Hundred wouldn’t go around blabbing about something that could harm Danju even if they heard it.

But just in case, if the prisoner were to blurt out that he was in collusion with the Demon Cult in a situation where silencing him was impossible…

‘Disgrace would be imminent.’

Of course, the shaman claimed that he had nothing to do with Heukcheonmun, but I couldn’t simply take his word for it.

“He revealed his affiliation to be…”

I hesitated to say it out loud. I lowered my voice.

“The Demon Cult.”

“The Demon Cult? Why would they…”

When I slightly opened my eyes, I saw the confused faces of the Four Hundred.

“He claimed as much. If you want to know the circumstances of the incident, he advised to investigate Heukcheonmun, stating that he wasn’t part of such a dark group.”

“Heukcheonmun?”

“Yes, he said it was a dark faction in Sangnak.”

A brief silence followed. Then, Meteor Four Hundred muttered as if mumbling to himself.

“So the shaman claimed his affiliation to be the Demon Cult and simultaneously said that Heukcheonmun was responsible for this incident. But why was he impersonating Jangnam then?”

This was the issue.

To answer that question, I had some underlying facts to explain, and explaining them would lead to more complex problems, so I decided it was better to not reveal the precise facts outside the volcano.

I would have to lie at least once.

I knew the reason he impersonated Jangnam was to meet me, but I had to say that I didn’t know.

“That is.”

But the fact that it wasn’t the right thing to do kept bothering me. Not only that, I felt I was also part of the root cause, so I hesitated to speak and bit my lip for a moment.

“Hold on, Heunah. I’m not blaming you.”

Meteor Four Hundred suddenly spoke in a flustered tone and grabbed my shoulder. I lifted my downcast eyes to look at him.

“Yes?”

“Don’t blame yourself. You even got worthwhile information to investigate, Heukcheonmun, so you actually did well. There’s no need to be dejected.”

“No…”

Is there a misunderstanding?

However, Four Hundred didn’t stop. Rather, his voice grew more impassioned as if he’d realized something.

“Come to think of it, your eyes became like that because of him, didn’t they? Wasn’t he the one who cast a spell on your eyes?”

“Yes, he was, but…”