Gong Son Wu stepped forward in front of the people and briefly opened with an introduction.

“Today, we have gathered here to finally untie the knot we couldn’t fully resolve in the past. This begins with the first disciple of Cheong Seong Ja, who holds a pillar of the righteous martial arts world, attacking the servant girls of Dongcheon Palace.”

At Gong Son Wu’s gesture, the Dongcheon Palace servant girls brought several large scrolls and hung them on the platform.

It was right then.

“I didn’t know Dongcheon Palace also performed plays. As the old saying goes, ‘One who stands on tiptoes cannot stand for long.’ Yet Lord Ji Guk Cheon seems to be performing acrobatics.”

“Hahaha! The Blood Demon’s words are indeed correct!”

It was a remark implying that it was petty to make such a grand spectacle when they could just say what needed to be said.

The sycophants who agreed and added their laughter were probably from the Ma Jon faction.

‘I expected them to hinder us, but…’

To think they would find fault from the very beginning.

It seemed the resentment harbored by the Blood Demon was no ordinary matter.

‘Should I say something?’

Just as Ju Na Rin was about to retort, Gong Son Wu spoke first.

“In Buddhism, there’s a saying: ‘Forget the finger when you see the moon.’ It means it’s troublesome to only look at the finger pointing at the moon.”

It was a rebuke implying that he was too stupid to see the essence.

The Blood Demon, suddenly made to look like a fool staring at a finger, bit his lip, unable to contain his anger.

‘Hehe. I’m glad I didn’t intervene.’

This was a war of words that required too much knowledge for Na Rin to participate.

Does one need to read a lot of books to increase their speech skill?

Gong Son Wu continued his original speech with a triumphant expression.

“A disciple of the Cheong Seong faction attacked a servant girl of Dongcheon Palace. How should we view this situation?”

Whoosh!

At Gong Son Wu’s gesture, the knot of the scroll was untied, revealing the words written inside.

「First Strike」

“The righteous martial arts world launched a first strike against the demonic cult.”

“……”

The atmosphere in the hall became subdued.

“If this is true, we cannot just sit back and take it. We should prepare a counterattack. But before that, the proper order would be to clearly reveal the truth of the incident to the world.”

Na Rin’s eyes widened at Gong Son Wu’s words.

‘Huh? Was this such an important story?’

Thinking about it now, it was strange that even the cult leader was attending to hear about an incident where just one disciple of the Cheong Seong faction died while acting cocky.

The reason Gong Son Wu had sought opinions even from children’s wisdom was because this incident was that important to the demonic cult.

“Therefore, there is only one point of contention here. Should we view this incident, where a Cheong Seong faction disciple attacked a servant girl, as a first strike by the righteous martial arts world or not? And there are two points to consider in judging this.”

The knot of the second scroll was untied.

「Qualification」

“Does the first disciple of the Cheong Seong faction have the qualification to represent the righteous martial arts world? This part is controversial. While they are sufficiently representative as one of the Nine Major Sects, the martial arts of the Cheong Seong faction are too shallow to be considered a martial sect. Therefore, we need to consider the second point together.”

Gong Son Wu approached the third scroll himself and untied the knot.

「Intention」

“Did he have the intention to start a war?”

“Whether there was intention or not, what difference does it make?”

It was Blood Demon Yang Ga Ho again.

She continued in a provocative tone.

“That person attacked an informant of the demonic cult. Given that the attack was actually carried out, I believe it’s meaningless to determine whether there was intention or not. The martial arts world must pay the price.”

“That’s right!”

“I also agree with Blood Demon’s words.”

As a member of the demonic cult, Blood Demon’s words were extremely natural.

It wasn’t easy to argue against the claim that they should face retribution for touching a member of the demonic cult, regardless of the reason. They might end up being branded as cowards who couldn’t even counterattack after being hit first.

‘That’s a bit excessive.’

Na Rin quietly clicked her tongue, looking at the Seven Great Ma Jon who unconditionally sided with Blood Demon and considered her words absolute.

To think they would obstruct at every turn like this, even though they harbored resentment.

Moreover, this wasn’t an incident that could be handled with personal emotions.

‘It could potentially escalate into a war.’

For Na Rin, who had directly experienced war in her previous life, this wasn’t something she could ignore.

If Gong Son Wu was suppressed here, the nonsense from the hardliners would pour out afterward.

Rather than that…

Just as Na Rin was about to open her mouth instead of Gong Son Wu.

“If investigating the truth seems troublesome, that’s regrettable.”

Gong Son Wu, who had already returned to his usual relaxed tone, continued in a manner that felt not just confident but even provocative.

“But for this incident, even the cult leader has ordered a thorough investigation.”

Gong Son Wu’s lips twisted into a mischievous smile.

“Wouldn’t it be better to cooperate fully? Blood Demon.”

“…!”

The moment she heard those words, the sentence written on the order flashed through Blood Demon’s mind.

“Blood Demon Yang Ga Ho shall fully cooperate so that Guardian Warrior Gong Son Wu can use the Blood Scripture.”

That’s right. This meeting was held because Dokgo Cheon wanted it.

It was outrageous for a mere Ma Jon to argue whether it was meaningful or not.

‘My thinking was short-sighted.’

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Blood Demon slightly bowed her head as if apologizing and said.

“Since the Guardian speaks so strongly, I will cooperate as much as possible.”

“That’s appreciated.”

It might be too late to cooperate now, but it was fortunate that she seemed to behave from now on.

‘Not bad.’

Just as Na Rin was smiling with relief, Gong Son Wu sent her a voice transmission.

Ah, is it my turn?

It is a good timing to keep the momentum going.

Na Rin nodded, hopped off her chair, and switched positions with Gong Son Wu.

“From now on, I will speak!”

The sudden appearance of an unfamiliar child immediately caused an uproar in the hall.

There was a debate about who this child was, whether she was related to the Guardian Warrior, and whether she had the qualifications to speak about this incident.

‘To make excuses, I didn’t know it would be this kind of meeting either.’

But if she introduced herself, she’d have to say, “I’m just a little lay child with no connection to the incident, but somehow I ended up speaking,” which seemed worse than not saying anything at all.

In the end, there was only one option.

‘Clean this up!’

Na Rin shot a sharp glance at Gong Son Wu.

Gong Son Wu smiled and opened his mouth as if responding to Na Rin’s pressure.

“This child is a Central Plains expert I invited.”

What?

Gong Son Wu’s strange words rushed forward without considering the listeners’ understanding.

“Although she’s a young child, she has been of great help in the investigation by interpreting the contents of the Blood Scripture. I’ve heard the child’s arguments in advance, and thinking they had merit, I arranged time for her to speak.”

“Interpreting the Blood Scripture…?”

“Is this true, Blood Demon?”

The people in the hall focused their attention on Blood Demon.

For them, they couldn’t ask Dokgo Cheon directly, and Gong Son Wu seemed determined to protect this child, so Blood Demon was the only one who could provide objective facts.

‘Ji Guk Cheon. That crafty bastard.’

Blood Demon Yang Ga Ho gritted her teeth, entangled in Gong Son Wu’s peculiar way of speaking.

But what could she do? She couldn’t lie in front of Dokgo Cheon.

“…It’s true.”

“How can this be!”

“How could you show the Blood Scripture to such a young child!”

Blood Demon wanted to say ‘That’s exactly what I’m saying,’ but it would be like spitting while lying down. For now, she had to reluctantly side with Gong Son Wu, even if she didn’t want to.

“Then what other choice do we have?”

“Blood Demon!”

“It’s been over a hundred years since the demonic cult has had any exchange with the Central Plains. The only source of information is young children like that who join as new cult members. Do you intend to waste even that tiny bit of information?”

“T-that’s… hmm.”

Blood Demon continued, glaring at him as if she was furious about supporting Gong Son Wu with her own words.

“The Blood Demon Palace will stop at nothing to uncover the truth that the cult leader desires.”

The Ma Jon, who thought Blood Demon was on their side, closed their mouths uncomfortably at her change of stance.

Meanwhile, Na Rin, who had been watching with wide eyes, slowly raised her hand.

“Then… may I begin?”

“……”

No one answered, but Na Rin decided to start anyway.

Na Rin stood in front of the next scroll that Gong Son Wu hadn’t unrolled and said:

“There are many strange points in this incident that haven’t been explained. They are-”

Hop!

“They are…!”

Hop! Hop!

“Eek! Eek! They are…! Ugh!”

‘I can’t reach the knot of the scroll because I’m not tall enough!’

Na Rin’s face turned into a frown as she struggled on her tiptoes.

Ugh, I can’t use qinggong in front of all these people!

“Na Rin.”

Seeing Na Rin face an unexpected obstacle, Gong Son Wu quickly came forward and lifted her from behind.

“There.”

No, if you came to help, just untie the knot for me!

Na Rin pulled the string of the knot with a somewhat embarrassed feeling, and the bound scroll rolled down and unraveled.

“You can put me down now…”

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

When Na Rin nodded, Gong Son Wu returned to his seat.

Ugh. My dignity is in tatters from the start.

“Ahem!”

Na Rin cleared her throat and pointed at the scroll.

“The strange points are as follows.”

「1. Cheong Seong faction is too weak to ask for help.

2. Thinking of ‘porridge’ right before death!

3. Was the Cheong Seong faction disciple really in a state of qi deviation?」

“These questions are related to the scenes reflected in the Blood Scripture. Blood Demon. Can you explain?”

People’s gazes naturally turned towards Blood Demon.

“You’re asking me to explain?”

“Yes. You saw it directly, didn’t you? Will you cooperate?”

Blood Demon’s expression was reluctant, but she had no choice since she had just said with her own mouth that she would cooperate.

“…The first scene was of commoners flocking to the Cheong Seong faction asking for help.”

“That’s strange!”

Na Rin slapped the scroll with a ‘Bang!’

The item that read ‘1. Cheong Seong faction is too weak to ask for help’ fluttered.

“The Cheong Seong faction isn’t strong enough for commoners to ask for help! If I were a commoner, I’d go to Zhongnan or Diancang instead of Cheong Seong… blah blah… Cheong Seong Mountain is the ancestral home of Taoism… blah blah…”

After explaining again point by point what she had said before, Na Rin turned back to Blood Demon.

“Now! Please explain the second scene too!”

“……”

What is this supposed to be?

Blood Demon felt a headache coming on, but she had no choice but to play along in this situation, so she forcibly opened her mouth.

“…It was a scene of someone being given porridge to eat.”

“That’s strange!”

Na Rin slapped the scroll again with a ‘Bang!’

This time, ‘2. Thinking of ‘porridge’ right before death!’ fluttered.

“The scenes shown in the Blood Scripture are the strongest memories recalled right before death. Right? Blood Demon?!”

“Huh? Y-yes, that’s right.”

Blood Demon answered with a bewildered face, like an audience member suddenly pulled onto a theater stage.

“What kind of person would recall a memory of eating porridge right before death? It’s not even porridge eaten with family or a lover, but porridge given by someone they don’t even know. Isn’t that really strange? Don’t you think? Blood Demon?! Please answer!”

Blood Demon nodded her head as if resigned.

She just wished it would end quickly.