Free Web NovelSohwa looked at the one standing before her.
Perhaps Min Hae-rak did not have other thoughts because he was strong. It was not that he acted relaxed because he believed he could accomplish it, nor because he believed it would not take long. Faintly, because he thought he might not accomplish it, because he recognized that it might take a very long time, he might have been trying to slowly wear himself down. Scars forged by countless frustrations. It was the stubbornness unique to someone who had realized that even while facing someone he could not defeat, giving up was not an option.
The Alliance Leader had observed reality and tried to minimize damage, while Sohwa had clung to each small plan and approached the Blood Demon. The Crimson Blood Hall Lord standing before her stood in the middle. He fixated on the Blood Demon, yet knew how to observe reality. Had someone not yet very old experienced failures no less than those of the Alliance Leader?
The Crimson Blood Hall Lord, who had been teaching her composure, straightened his posture.
“Let’s go.”
Sohwa followed behind him instead of answering. She could not tell what she should say. freewēbnoveℓ.com
Crunch.
As the sound of snow being stepped on continued, her heart grew complicated.
***
A disturbance arose in Hubei. The daughter of the Tang Clan who was supposed to undergo Martial Alliance interrogation had disappeared.
The Tang Clan claimed the Martial Alliance had deliberately spirited away the Clan Head’s eldest daughter, while the Martial Alliance suspected the Tang Clan had secretly helped their own eldest daughter escape.
The Blood Cult had infiltrated the Martial Alliance headquarters, and another Martial Alliance member who had been kidnapped had disappeared again—an unprecedented situation.
Yet compared to the scale of the events, the shockwaves were not great.
Because the incident had taken place on the day the headquarters was opened, the Alliance members had all returned to their own sects. They had been confined for a long time, so they could not delay the day of returning to their sects.
If the Blood Cult had infiltrated the Martial Alliance headquarters—especially at a time when fifteen leaders had gathered—there was no way their sects would be safe.
Even the Tang Clan Head, who was at the center of the situation, had returned to his sect in Sichuan, so nothing more needed to be said.
He had left the Tang Clan’s greatest master, Heukcheon Amgui, and the Young Clan Head behind at the headquarters, but it would have been better if he had not left them at all. The Martial Alliance elders at headquarters, who had wrestled with the two incomprehensible people for seven days and nights, collapsed clutching their necks. In the end, the headquarters sent a letter demanding the Tang Clan Head come speak in person and simply abandoned Tang Min and the Young Clan Head.
One could say it was a complete mess.
Having returned to Hubei, the Crimson Blood Hall Lord looked at the Martial Alliance disciples surrounding Baekgeumgak.
Since Baekgeumgak had been half-destroyed by the Blood Cult, the Martial Alliance was openly guarding the pavilion.
‘A fortunate situation for a hunting dog.’
Min Doyu approached one of the Martial Alliance disciples standing guard and slipped him something. The disciple made a show of being disgusted but accepted the silk pouch.
The Crimson Blood Hall Lord let out a breath in disbelief and turned away.
With those headquarters dogs guarding so thoroughly, Tang Sohwa would not be able to enter Baekgeumgak.
The Martial Alliance must be the group searching most desperately for Tang Sohwa after the Blood Cult.
The Crimson Blood Hall Lord entered a bar along the Yangtze and lifted his black hat. The server who recognized him quietly guided him to a room.
Sitting by the window, the Crimson Blood Hall Lord waited without a movement.
Before long, a man entered. He was dressed shabbily and did not look like someone who served customers. He lowered his head and offered a fist salute.
Thud.
As the brush stuck behind his ear fell, the man hurried to pick it up. The Crimson Blood Hall Lord found it pathetic but did not show it.
“The Blue Blood Hall Lord’s circumstances are poor, so I came in his place. What do you mean you think you know where Tang Sohwa disappeared to?”
The Crimson Blood Hall Lord skipped the usual formalities and went straight to the reason he had come.
Some time ago, a message had arrived from the Central Plains saying there was something to deliver to the Blue Blood Hall Lord. Having lost his eye to the hunting dog, the Blue Blood Hall Lord could not go himself, so he asked the Crimson Blood Hall Lord to visit Hubei. The sorcerer had left a letter meant for the Blood Demon, and such a document could not be entrusted to an underling.
“Yes. The sorcerer left a phrase, but it seems strange.”
The man handed over a torn scrap of ledger paper. In the corner, scribbles were written.
As he read, the Crimson Blood Hall Lord frowned. It said that all things under heaven have an owner, and if it is not yours, you must not lay a finger on even a single hair of it.
“...Isn’t this from Su Dongpo’s poetry?”
It looked like nonsense scribbled by a drunkard, and the Crimson Blood Hall Lord’s expression cooled sharply, as if asking whether he had made a fuss over something this trivial.
But the Blue Blood Hall cultist did not shrink. He added the reason for his suspicion.
“He is not the type to visit while drunk and spout nonsense. He is cautious like a rat and constantly watches others’ moods. Rather than showing off like this, he would gladly crawl between the Hall Lord’s legs. For him to do something this reckless because Tang Sohwa disappeared, the relationship between them must not be ordinary.”
“It was the Blood Demon who ordered the sorcerer to be tied to Tang Sohwa in the first place, so what does that matter?”
“The Martial Alliance granted Han Cheol to the Mount Hua elder Yeon-a. And as you know, Yeon-a is the last disciple of the Divine Physician troupe and was with Tang Sohwa the day she reported the Blood Cult’s uprising.”
The Crimson Blood Hall Lord closed his mouth at the cultist’s words.
Receiving silent permission to continue, the cultist quickly spoke.
“If Tang Sohwa sought Han Cheol from Yeon-a, and Namgung Hyun created a Passage with that Han Cheol, then it explains why Tang Sohwa disappeared without leaving a trace.”
The cultists in Hubei had been tracking Tang Sohwa.
Anyone must leave traces, and it was impossible to cross the wide Central Plains unnoticed by the Blood Cult’s eyes.
Yet Tang Sohwa had not left even a strand of hair.
The cultist’s gaze met the Crimson Blood Hall Lord’s red eyes.
“She may have created a Passage from the headquarters and gone to the Great Desert or the Northern Sea.”
The Crimson Blood Hall Lord looked again at the scribbled note the sorcerer had written.
He tucked the paper inside his robe and stood.
“I will verify it myself. You, keep watch on that Namgung sorcerer.”
“At your command.”
The cultist bowed with proper form.
The Crimson Blood Hall Lord passed him and left the building. He immediately headed toward Geumeunsan.
Rushing nonstop to Geumeunsan, the Crimson Blood Hall Lord, upon being granted audience with the Blood Demon, delivered the note left by Namgung Hyun.
Hearing the report, the Blood Demon only gave a subtle laugh as he looked at the scribble, as if thinking of something.
“Pyowol.”
Letting out an inexplicable sigh, he turned his gaze to the Crimson Blood Hall Lord.
“Send Tang Sohwa’s portrait to the Great Desert and the Northern Sea and order them to report the moment she is found. And...”
The Blood Demon paused, calculating. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
“How many forces remain in the Crimson Blood Hall?”
“About one hundred to two hundred.”
Even though it was a shameful number, the Crimson Blood Hall Lord answered honestly.
One hundred cultists had been annihilated by a single martial artist who had entered Geumeunsan. After learning this, the Crimson Blood Hall Lord had furiously pushed his subordinates into harsh training.
No matter how many elites had left, the fact that a single mid-level warrior had annihilated an entire group of one hundred left no room for excuses.
The Blood Demon knew this as well.
Out of those remaining, about one hundred were reliable elites, while the rest were in a miserable state.
“Hmm.”
Letting out a low sound, the Blood Demon gestured.
The Crimson Blood Hall Lord stepped closer.
“It is only a conjecture, but Hae-rak may be where that child is. After all, he tore Cheong-il to pieces saying he would secure her retreat. There is no way he would send her alone. And did you not tell me the owner of Baekgeumgak has left for business, leaving Hubei empty?”
The Blood Demon’s red gaze rested on the large subordinate.
“But will you be all right?”
He wanted to say not to worry, but he could not.
The Blood Demon had already seen the severed arm the Crimson Blood Hall Lord had brought. Having confirmed that he was no match, saying he was “fine” would be deceit.
The Crimson Blood Hall Lord could not deceive the Blood Demon.
As silence continued, the Blood Demon spoke with a smile.
“I am not admonishing you. I intend to help you.”
Ssshhh.
He moved his arm over a black basin. The wound cut by a sword dripped blood.
“I intend to bestow a new Blood Art, so bring me loyal children. Because their bodies must maintain power beyond their capacity, they must drink my blood.”
The Crimson Blood Hall Lord stared at the Blood Demon’s blood falling into the black basin and momentarily lost his words.
The Blood Demon had once personally bestowed a Blood Art so that the men from the Storage Hall would not die. He had been astonished by their rapid growth. And he had been envious, because it meant the Blood Demon cherished them.
Overcome with emotion, the Crimson Blood Hall Lord opened his mouth.
“I am endlessly grateful for this grace, but... may I also receive the Blood Art bestowed through your blood?”
His red eyes glowed.
“If you grant me the opportunity, I will surely make that hunting dog obedient.”
“Haha, absolutely not.”
The Blood Demon laughed for a long time, as if he had heard something amusing.
“Hae-rak is not the type to listen just because someone is stronger. And if you drink my blood, you know well that you would be unable to resist my will.”
The first part was true. He had seen countless times how that reckless brat dared to challenge even the Blood Demon, so strength alone could not guarantee obedience.
But the second part did not make sense to him.
“I am the cultist who follows the Cult Leader’s will more than anyone. Why worry about that?”
“You follow me, not my will, and that is why it will become dangerous.”
The Blood Demon stroked his dark-red lips.
“Even if I ordered Tang Sohwa to be brought back alive, there is a high chance you would not obey.”
The Crimson Blood Hall Lord closed his mouth—it was indeed something he might do.
In truth, he did not want to bring Tang Sohwa back alive. No, he wanted to kill her and erase her from this world.
When a woman from Outland had created the Blood Jade the Blood Demon desperately desired, she had erased the method of creating it from the world for his sake. That miracle, which erased one of the Blood Demon’s only weaknesses, ironically became the only poison that could kill him.
The Blood Demon had been unable to restrain his anger. He had imprisoned the woman and ordered her to create Blood Jade again, but she committed suicide.
Yet now, the Blood Demon claimed Blood Jade had been completed again and commanded that Tang Sohwa be brought alive at all costs.
Hearing that a way to destroy the Blood Demon might exist left the Crimson Blood Hall Lord conflicted.
But he placed the Blood Demon’s command first.
Suppressing his murderous intent, he intended to find the woman and offer her to the Blood Demon.
“I will certainly bring Tang Sohwa to Geumeunsan.”
“Is that so?”
“But I cannot guarantee she will be unharmed. She may become a threat to the Blood Demon, so I will break her spirit and discipline her beforehand.”
The Blood Demon’s lips curled.
“That child was born with a body similar to mine. Even if you cut off her limbs several times, it is fine. I mean you may do as you please with her. Just bring her back alive.”
“I will definitely bring her back alive.”
Clang.
At the same time as his answer, a sword fell before the Crimson Blood Hall Lord. It was the sword that had cut the Blood Demon’s arm.
The blade, wet with dark-red blood, reflected the Crimson Blood Hall Lord’s face.
“Use that to cut your arm. That much will be enough.”
The Crimson Blood Hall Lord immediately picked up the Blood Demon’s sword and cut his own arm. The Blood Demon’s blood seeped into his wound. He felt a strange sensation, but it was not unpleasant.
Rather, his heart swelled. As the Crimson Blood Hall Lord pressed his trembling lips together, the Blood Demon rose from his seat.
“Receive the teaching first, then bring your subordinates.”
The Blood Demon grasped the Crimson Blood Hall Lord’s bloodstained arm and inspected his pulse. Confirming that his own blood had settled properly, the Blood Demon smiled faintly.
