Free Web NovelThe sound of the river wind pierced her eardrums. In the sunset light tickling her eyelids, Sohwa slowly opened her eyes. The landscape painting drawn on the ceiling came into view. This was not a building of the Martial Alliance.
"Are you awake?"
Tang Min added with a teasing tone.
"Your complexion looks very good."
He was sitting near the door with an easy, relaxed posture.
"Just wait a little. He went to find clothes you can wear."
Sohwa’s gaze moved toward the window. A familiar landscape came into sight: the Yangtze shimmering with ripples, and the inn situated before it. Only, unlike yesterday, the surroundings of the inn were loud with the sound of people murmuring.
What had they done with the corpses that had been in the inn?
Just as she was about to fall into thought, a grumbling voice cut through it.
"There wasn’t any clothing here worth wearing. Seems the tears in them are even worse than the ones in your current outfit, ugh."
Sohwa rose and asked, "...Did you save Namgung Jin, Little Clan Head?"
"Yes. He’s the one who went to get clothes now."
Relieved, Sohwa finally checked her own attire. Since she was wrapped in Tang Min’s long robe, she looked presentable enough. She hadn’t looked in a mirror, but she had wiped the blood from her face and hands when leaving the room, so going outside like this probably wouldn’t arouse suspicion.
Still, she had to be careful.
If there were corpses on the street, someone would have to intervene. If the Martial Alliance did not handle the clean-up, then the local authorities would have to acknowledge it. Bodies lying out on the open roads of Wuhan without explanation.
Sohwa suddenly recalled the voice she had heard yesterday.
[Please... don’t make me lose you while knowing nothing.]
Quietly lifting her head, Sohwa looked at Tang Min. He appeared far too easygoing for his age. All his discomfort showed plainly on his face. He didn’t even attempt to hide it.
But the Heukcheon Amgui she saw yesterday was very different from the man sitting here now.
Sohwa was beginning to clearly understand what people meant when they vaguely said "the martial world."
It happened whenever the ease disappeared from Tang Min’s demeanor.
Tang Min seemed to be someone who had experienced loss. Likely someone close.
Sohwa did not find his reaction yesterday unfamiliar. The grief of losing someone dear without understanding anything—she knew that feeling better than anyone.
'...Who could it have been?'
Soon Sohwa realized it was a meaningless thought. Tang Sohwa had witnessed countless deaths over the past several months. And because the Heukcheon Amgui was older than she was, he must have witnessed even more deaths. The comrades he lost could not have been few.
Sohwa had never asked the Heukcheon Amgui about the affairs of the martial world, and the Supreme Elder had never unloaded his wounds onto a much younger descendant.
She lowered her gaze.
And today as well, she had no intention of asking about his past. Unless the other person spoke first, there was no need to dig up old wounds.
Tang Sohwa lowered her legs from the bedding and straightened her posture. With the sunset settled on the floor between them, she looked at the Heukcheon Amgui.
Soon her calm voice cut through the silence.
"I am connected to the Blood Cult."
Tang Min did not react dramatically to Sohwa’s words. As if he had been waiting for it, he listened with an unhurried expression.
"I swear, I am not on the Blood Cult’s side. It hasn’t been long since I learned I had any connection to them at all."
With an expression that did not waver, she said something shocking.
"It appears the Cult Leader of the Blood Cult is a blood relative of my birth mother, Geumso."
Tang Min’s face hardened.
"A relative?"
Sohwa did not know exactly what relationship Geumso and the Blood Demon had. She guessed vaguely that she must be something like the Blood Demon’s great-granddaughter.
"I do not know the details, but the Cult Leader himself said Geumso inherited his blood, so it is likely true."
"So you’re saying you are blood-related to the Cult Leader?"
Sohwa quietly nodded.
"Yes. The Blood Cult and I are related by blood."
Silence fell.
Since Sohwa had already resolved to confess, she gathered her courage and continued.
"Three years ago, when I learned that the Blood Cult planned to destroy the Tang Clan, I tried to locate their main base. However, there were too many spies around me, and I could trust very few people, so I investigated quietly. That was when I learned that there were many ranks within the Blood Cult, and I made contact with the leader of a faction preparing a rebellion."
Tang Min’s eyebrow twitched. It seemed he had something to say, but he pressed his mouth shut and did not interrupt.
"One of those factions was the Northern Sea Ice Palace and the Great Desert Sun Palace. And..."
Hesitating, Sohwa revealed another truth.
"It seems Geumso’s maternal bloodline is from the Northern Sea Ice Palace."
Crash.
A chair fell. Tang Min had risen abruptly, unable to contain himself.
His lips moved before he spoke.
"S-so... you’re saying Geumso’s paternal line is the Blood Cult, and the maternal line is the Northern Sea Ice Palace?"
"Yes."
Tang Sohwa added something she had wanted to say earlier.
"That is why the Northern Sea Ice Palace will never betray us. Not because of alliance or favor, but because of a bloodline that cannot be severed. The Northern Sea Ice Palace values my bloodline no less than the Tang Clan does."
"Hey, why are you suddenly comparing the Tang Clan to those people!"
The Heukcheon Amgui barked.
Sohwa closed her mouth.
Tang Min tried to calm himself. His trembling voice followed.
"So you mean... you’re blood-related to the Cult Leader."
"Yes, it seems I inherited his blood."
Tang Min let out a small sigh.
"So that’s why you ended up with a body like that... now it makes sense." freewebnoveℓ.com
Instead of answering, Sohwa took out a throwing dagger from her sleeve. It was the Heukcheon Amgui’s dagger, though since the Tang Clan used similar hidden weapons, its shape was not very different from her own.
She spoke in a composed voice.
"The Cult Leader’s blood can become a Dokgo. It enters another’s body and seizes their will."
"Didn’t you say that before?"
When Tang Min scolded her for repeating herself, Sohwa pricked her own fingertip with the dagger’s edge. A drop of red blood rose.
Sohwa showed it to Tang Min.
"...What is that?"
Not understanding, Tang Min frowned, and Sohwa answered:
"The antidote that removes the Blood Cult’s Dokgo is my blood."
"What?"
"I received the Cult Leader’s blood, but because several bloodlines mixed together, some mutation seems to have occurred. No, truthfully, I do not understand the exact mechanism. I only know that when my blood enters a host, it can replace the Cult Leader’s will."
Sohwa wiped her fingertip with a cloth placed on the side table. In that time, the finger had already healed cleanly.
A chill ran down Tang Min’s spine.
He understood Sohwa’s words.
She was the natural enemy of the Blood Cult. She was an enemy the Blood Cult had to eliminate, but from the rebels’ perspective, she was a weapon they must obtain.
Inevitably, she would be dragged into the Blood Cult’s civil war.
Sohwa spoke in a low voice.
"That is why the method for making the antidote cannot be shared with anyone. If anyone were to learn about my blood..."
"They would take you away and draw your blood for the rest of your life."
Tang Min murmured in a grave voice.
He washed his face and fell into thought.
"So that was why you insisted on staying here."
"Yes. If I return to Sichuan, headquarters might later pressure me to hand over the method."
Tang Min let out a long, frustrating sigh.
Sohwa, on the other hand, felt a bit lighter. Sharing her burden made the stone pressing on her chest feel as though it had disappeared.
After finishing his thoughts, Tang Min sat back down.
"For now, stay at headquarters for a while. I also need to send another letter to the Clan Head. We need to reinforce our strength to the maximum."
Tang Min insisted that the Tang Clan must reinforce their forces as much as possible. Come to think of it, he had warned her earlier that even after receiving the antidote, someone from the Blood Cult could still try to harm her. It seemed he had not let go of that concern.
It was strange that the Heukcheon Amgui, who once seemed afraid of nothing, carried so many fears.
As if he were about to say something more, Tang Min closed his mouth.
As though a fog had lifted, suddenly the sound of river wind came through.
Swoooosh.
Soon after, footsteps were heard climbing the stairs.
A large shadow fell across the doorway. Then a calm voice announced itself.
"Supreme Elder, it’s Namgung Jin. I found something suitable in a hurry, but I’m not sure if it will fit the Young Lady well."
It was Namgung Jin.
Tang Min opened the door slightly and nodded.
"Good work."
Namgung Jin smiled at Tang Min. He turned his gaze toward the golden bedding where Tang Sohwa sat, but Tang Min shut the door.
"Wait outside."
Tang Min placed the clothes on the side table.
"Hurry and change. We will return to headquarters immediately."
"Yes." freēwebnovel.com
Tang Min opened the door just wide enough for his own body to slip out and left.
Sohwa finally rose from the bedding. After changing clothes, something small dropped, and she reflexively caught it.
It was a hair ornament with a small comb attached.
She could not understand the point of buying an accessory in the middle of all this, so she slipped it into her sleeve and left the room. Tang Min, waiting at the door, immediately frowned.
He turned and scolded Namgung Jin.
"Did I not tell you to buy an ornament to secure her hair?"
"I did... did you not see it?"
Namgung Jin hurriedly asked Sohwa. When Sohwa silently took the ornament from her sleeve, Tang Min snatched it. He grabbed Sohwa’s hair at the side of her head and fastened it with the ornament.
"At a time like this..."
Sohwa tried to touch her hair to stop him, but froze. A handful of her hair had been cut.
The Vice Unit Leader’s shuriken must have brushed her hair and sliced it off. Tang Min had likely noticed the change in hair length and bought the ornament to hide it.
Understanding this, Sohwa held the ornament.
"I will do it."
Tang Min slapped her hand aside with the back of his hand.
"Ah, stay still. You don’t even know what you look like right now."
"..."
When Sohwa quietly lowered her hand, Tang Min, who clearly had never arranged a woman’s hair before, clumsily fixed the ornament in place.
Over Tang Min’s shoulder, Namgung Jin wore an expression of pity.
Even without a mirror, Sohwa could tell her hair was ruined. She would have to bathe once they returned anyway. The dried blood all over her body itched.
There was no need to wear the ornament for long, so Sohwa did not stop Tang Min.
Looking satisfied, Tang Min lowered his hand and turned to lead the way.
"Now, let’s return."
Sohwa exchanged a silent glance with Namgung Jin.
It meant: once we return, we must prepare quickly.
There was much to be done for the fifteen sects that would soon gather at headquarters.
