About

Under the skies of the Ming Dynasty, there were five great powers. In the Imperial Court, there was the Golden Dragon. The one who held all the power in the world and ruled over all people. In the Zhuge Clan, there was the White Fox. Those who saw through the principles of the world and understood everything with unparalleled resourcefulness. In the Namgung Clan, there was the Falcon. Those with sharp swords and noble spirits. In the Hwangbo Clan, there was the Tiger. Warriors who crushed everything head-on with overwhelming strength and tough bodies. In the Moyong Clan, there was the Peacock. Those who were beautiful and elegant, but no one knew what they hid under their brilliant wings. The five forces were different, but they needed each other for a long time. When the Imperial Court was in crisis, the four clans took up their swords, and when chaos arose in the Murim, the Imperial Court protected them. Some called their relationship an alliance, and some called it loyalty. But those who lived with them knew. It wasn't just an alliance. They were family to each other. The five had known each other's existence since birth. They grew up together since childhood, knowing each other's personalities and habits, as well as the secrets they wanted to hide. They also believed that they would naturally be by each other's side. But only one of them knew. That this friendship could not last forever. The Zhuge Clan was different from the other clans. Just because one generation died didn't mean that what they knew disappeared. Their memories and knowledge were passed on to the next generation, and then to the next. The knowledge accumulated over hundreds of years became a huge flow and settled in the minds of their descendants. Zhuge Hwaseol was the same. Although he was a seventeen-year-old boy, there were many events in his head that existed before he was even born. From wars decades ago to history hundreds of years ago. The things his ancestors experienced firsthand and the knowledge they left behind were all Zhuge Hwaseol's. But there was a price for that power. It was because the Dark Tang Clan, who feared the Zhuge Clan, had cast a curse on them long ago. A curse where the internal energy in the body cannot circulate properly as the knowledge of the ancestors increases. The internal energy accumulated in the dantian cannot flow along the meridians and begins to gradually become blocked. And at the end of it was death. The only way to cure the curse was the Namgung Clan's elixir, the Hwanmaekcho (Vein-Restoring Herb). A herb that reverses the flow of blocked internal energy. However, Hwanmaekcho could not be taken at any time. Only when the successor of the Zhuge Clan became an adult could they break the flow of the curse and circulate their internal energy normally. If they missed that time, there would be no more chances. They would die. The five friends all knew this. That's why they were waiting for Zhuge Hwaseol's twentieth birthday more than anyone else. Three more years. They just had to endure that. Until he reached the age where he could take the Hwanmaekcho. However, Zhuge Hwaseol's body was already being consumed by the curse. And Moyong Yuran looked at Zhuge Hwaseol. A blood-stained handkerchief. A pale face. And that face smiling as if nothing was wrong. Moyong Yuran had been afraid of Zhuge Hwaseol for a long time. At first, it was simple awe. A child who knew things they didn't know. A child who found out things they couldn't know too easily. But as time passed, that feeling changed little by little. There was too much knowledge in Zhuge Hwaseol's head. Moyong Yuran started thinking at some point. What if that child turned them into enemies? What if Zhuge Hwaseol even got his hands on the power of the Imperial Court? What if she became that child's enemy someday? What would happen to her then? That thought became fear. And fear eventually became a resolution. To make Zhuge Hwaseol die before he turned twenty. Before he could take the Hwanmaekcho. Before he could overcome the curse. Moyong Yuran knew. How much Ju Yeonhwi trusted Zhuge Hwaseol. How much Namgung Sihyeon cherished him. How much Hwangbo Muhyeok trusted him. That's why she just had to separate them from Zhuge Hwaseol. Very little by little. Very slowly. Plant one doubt, Create one misunderstanding, And make them doubt Zhuge Hwaseol themselves.