But I don’t know what comes after that. What am I supposed to do from here? I told him I came because it felt like the clan was in danger, but for him to suddenly give me such devastating information about my family…

Did he mean that he might not be able to save everyone, so I should decide on a few people I absolutely want to keep alive? Was he telling me to start detaching myself emotionally in advance?

Zhuge Seol-rin’s thoughts raced wildly. Then, deciding that this couldn’t possibly be right, she shook her head hard. Just then, the formation master sitting across from her spoke up out of nowhere.

“By the way, Consultant Seol. How much… is your salary?”

“Pardon?”

The affable woman exaggeratedly glanced around as if checking for eavesdroppers. Even though she knew very well they were in Seol-rin’s private office and no one else was present, her gestures were unabashedly theatrical. She lowered her voice and cupped a hand beside her mouth.

“I receive twenty taels of silver a year. It’s an incredible amount, but surely you receive much more, Consultant Seol. I feel like my motivation would burn even brighter if I knew that kind of annual salary followed hard work and study.”

“Ah, ahaha!”

Caught off guard, Zhuge Seol-rin clutched her stomach and burst into bright laughter. Soon, regaining her composure, she wiped a stray tear from the corner of her eye with her fingertip.

“I’m sorry. I was very rude just now, wasn’t I?”

“Oh, not at all. You look even more wonderful when you laugh.”

“It’s a pity I can’t give you a definitive answer. I’m essentially working to repay a debt to the Sect Leader. It’s almost embarrassing how they’ve taken in all the people under me and even provided us with the distinguished guest house.”

“Hey, the Sect Leader said it clearly when you first arrived. ‘She is someone I have brought in specially, so treat her with the utmost care.’ And our Sect Leader is very precise when it comes to calculating salaries. In my whole life, I’ve never seen someone who takes such good care of performance bonuses and overtime pay as the Sect Leader does.”

“But still…”

Zhuge Seol-rin shook her head with elegant restraint to display polite, well-mannered humility. However, a sudden thought made her brows knit slightly.

“Certainly, when they introduced me to this room, they said they would bring a formal contract soon. It seems they are a bit late.”

“Ah, that’s probably because the Sect Leader is busy right now. A rather large incident broke out while you were in the library. The Revolving Wheel Pavilion always has a lot to do, but the Stellar Radiance Pavilion and Sevenfold Denial Pavilion are in a state of absolute chaos. I heard the kids over there haven’t even been able to return to their quarters.”

“Chaos?”

For the past few days, her mind and body had been so exhausted by the clan’s affairs that she’d had no leeway to look around. She hadn’t even dared to go looking for the Immortal Healer who had accompanied her. Since she had only just started working, she hadn’t found the unsettled atmosphere strange, assuming it was simply the normal state of affairs.

But if the Stellar Radiance Pavilion, which supposedly had the most personnel, and the Sevenfold Denial Pavilion, the most secretive, were both drained of people, wasn’t it a serious matter? At the news that even the Hao Sect Leader was being kept busy, Zhuge Seol-rin’s expression clouded over.

Seeing her interest, the formation master leaned in closer. She dropped her voice even further, as if sharing a profound secret.

“Actually, my colleague was assigned to the Sevenfold Denial Pavilion. She came back after about four days looking completely exhausted, and my goodness, she said…”

[Zhuge Seol-rin.]

“Aack!”

“Oh, my!”

Startled by the voice that suddenly pierced her ears, Zhuge Seol-rin shot to her feet with a scream. The formation master, who had been leaning in to build suspense, was also shocked; she let out a wail and toppled over, chair and all. Flustered, Zhuge Seol-rin hurried around the desk, stammering as she helped the woman up.

“I-I’m so sorry. It was just so sudden.”

[There is no need to struggle for an answer. I do not know if you still remember my voice.]

“M-Immortal Healer?”

“Consultant Seol? Immortal Healer? Are you talking about Cho Yoon, the Immortal Healer?”

“Ah, it’s nothing!”

Hearing the name that had slipped out of Seol-rin’s mouth, the formation master stared at her in bewilderment. Zhuge Seol-rin quickly realized the woman’s lack of reaction to the unseen voice had to be due to Transmission, a widely used martial technique.

But understanding the situation did nothing to calm her fluster. With trembling hands, Seol-rin brushed dust from the formation master’s clothes and babbled, “It’s not that, I just suddenly remembered something. Y-you know, according to the widespread rumors, the Immortal Healer is also a formidable formation master.”

“Gasp, have you already heard the news that Cho Yoon, the Immortal Healer, is wandering the streets of Guangdong?”

“Pardon? Oh, y-yes, that’s right!”

What?

Zhuge Seol-rin was utterly shocked inwardly, but she forced herself to nod along. Despite that awkward agreement, the other woman seemed to have seized on a different misunderstanding altogether, tapping her own lips with a chattering laugh.

“I really need to do something about this loose tongue of mine. Thank you for stopping me before I did something problematic again.”

“No… that’s not it.”

“Oh, stop. You were just being considerate, worried I’d get disciplined for blabbing again, right? I knew you were capable, but you’re so thoughtful and kind-hearted too.”

“That… it’s not quite like that, ahaha. Thank you.”

[I am sorry if I startled you. I came to see you on an urgent matter, but I did not wish to intrude upon your private space as I did before, so I spoke to you first. I will wait until your guest departs, so take your time and finish your business.]

No, no. It is almost finished now… Zhuge Seol-rin couldn’t bring herself to speak aloud, so she only formed the words silently for the Immortal Healer’s sake. When no further voice came, as if he meant to keep his promise to wait, Seol-rin hurried the woman along, steering the conversation back to the review of the formation.

As expected of someone from the Hao Sect, the formation master was socially adept and quick-witted, knowing exactly when to stay and when to leave. Zhuge Seol-rin politely saw off the bowing woman and turned around the moment the door closed. She wanted to call for the Immortal Healer immediately, but she forced herself to wait until the retreating footsteps were far enough away. Closing her eyes tight and clenching her fists, she counted to twenty in her head before rushing to the window. She flung open the latticed frame and leaned out, her face flushed with anticipation.

From her mid-level room in the towering Revolving Wheel Pavilion, people the size of fists bustled about on the ground below. Then, between the branches of a broadleaf tree that obscured the view, she caught a glimpse of a pale bamboo hat.

Medi—

Immortal Healer! She flung out a hand and was about to call his name, but reason caught her tongue in time. If he had not come to her door and had instead chosen to send a transmission from beneath her window, his visit was surely one that needed to remain secret. Seol-rin clamped her lips shut and called Cho Yoon’s name in a voice soft as a breath of wind.

And as if in answer to a miracle, at that small call, Cho Yoon, the Immortal Healer, raised his head and looked up at her. Through the swaying leaves, an amber gleam flashed brilliantly. It was natural that someone of the Immortal Healer’s cultivation would not miss a whisper from above, but the thought that he had truly noticed and reacted to a sound smaller than a sigh sent her heart racing out of control. Her heels lifted ever so slightly, and she felt a sudden urge to skip in place. Gripping the windowsill tightly, she broke into a radiant smile.

“Please come up! You are welcome to enter.”

Zhuge Seol-rin worried for a moment that her faint invitation might dissolve into the air. However, Cho Yoon soon lowered his head and, without a trace of presence, sprang up to the roof of the floor just below her window. In an instant, the flutter of his white robes and thin veil were etched into her mind. Though he had ascended through the broadleaf branches, not a single person’s gaze followed him. It was enough to make Seol-rin wonder if she alone could see the Immortal Healer’s form.

Before stepping inside, Cho Yoon spoke while gripping the windowsill just beside her hand.

“I say this repeatedly, but I am sorry. I should have followed formal procedures, yet it is better not to attract unnecessary attention, so I chose this rude method.”

“No! Not at all. It is merely an honor that you have sought me out again. No, simply being able to see the Great Hero Immortal Healer once more is an honor in itself.”

The scent of long-simmered herbal decoctions wafted from the white hem of his robe as he brushed past her. He looked exactly as he had when she first saw him years ago, and just as he had when they recently reunited.

He truly never changes. Zhuge Seol-rin watched the Immortal Healer move toward the desk in a daze, then hurried to close and latch the window. She quickly straightened her clothes and gestured toward the seat of honor. Cho Yoon, who seemed at first about to refuse, appeared to reconsider and sat down. Seol-rin pulled her chair closer and seated herself across from him.

Slowly, Cho Yoon lifted his hands and removed his bamboo hat. Strands of white hair spilled down in a graceful curtain, covering his back and cheeks. Because the sorrow on his revealed face seemed so deep, Seol-rin’s heart ached even before she knew why he had come. She didn’t know what had brought him to her, but if she could help him, she wanted to do so with everything she had.

But the words Cho Yoon finally spoke, after a moment spent gathering himself, struck Zhuge Seol-rin as a fresh and staggering shock.