Free Web NovelNamgung An went straight into Spring Pavilion. But the Sagye Hall Administrator was nowhere to be seen. Only after quite some time did the Administrator enter the secret chamber of Spring Pavilion.
"I apologize. I did not expect you to come right away, so I was late."
Only after Zhuge Inhwi sat down did Namgung An ask,
"For what reason did you call me at this hour?"
"We received information that the Blood Cult’s armed force has attacked Sichuan."
Namgung An’s face twitched ever so slightly.
It was something that required further explanation, but Zhuge Inhwi held his tongue.
"I will explain the details once the others arrive."
Namgung An exercised his patience and told him to do so. Fortunately, they did not have to wait long.
Before much time had passed, the door opened and Wudang’s sect leader came in. Mount Hua’s sect leader arrived almost at the same time.
Hardly had Mount Hua’s sect leader taken his seat before he asked,
"For what matter did you call us?"
Zhuge Inhwi gave the same answer he had given Namgung An. At that, Mount Hua’s sect leader clicked his tongue.
"And yet, how is it that the one whose circumstances are most urgent is the last to arrive?"
"The Tang Clan was the one that informed me of this, so I imagine the Tang Clan Head has matters that must be handled first."
As he finished speaking, Zhuge Inhwi listened toward the outside. Footsteps were approaching. Perhaps everyone in the room heard them, for they fell silent.
Creak.
At last, Tang Ji-ha arrived as well. Once he took his seat, Zhuge Inhwi opened his mouth.
"It is said that the Blood Cult’s cult master has sent an armed force to Sichuan. Their number is around three to four hundred. Mount Emei Sect first tried to block them, but it is said they failed."
At the words "Mount Emei Sect," Mount Hua’s sect leader’s ashen eyebrows moved greatly.
"What do you mean by that? Has Mount Emei Sect been raided by the Blood Cult?"
"We still need to look into the situation in more detail, but it does not seem Mount Emei Sect is their target. Because they appeared on Mount Emei, Mount Emei Sect tried to stop them, but took many injuries and returned to their main sect, while the bastards descended the mountain, leaving behind only about a dozen or so."
The Sagye Hall Administrator added, as if sorting things out,
"It means the armed force’s objective is not Mount Emei Sect."
Wudang’s sect leader had been quietly listening before he asked,
"Administrator, do you know their objective?"
"According to what the cultist under interrogation said, the cult master flew into a great rage because Tang Young Lady made an antidote. He said he intends to annihilate the Tang Clan to punish her, so if that is true, the Tang Clan must be their objective."
Tang Ji-ha’s expression did not change, as if he had already been told.
Watching the mood, Namgung An spoke up.
"It depends on their level, of course, but with three to four hundred, shouldn’t the Tang manor be able to hold them off? Of course I am aware that the Tang Clan’s main fighting force is currently in Hubei. Still, even so, the Sichuan Tang Clan is not a sect that will collapse to a mere four hundred cultists, is it?" freeweɓnøvel.com
Perhaps in agreement with that, the sect leaders of Wudang and Mount Hua both gave the Tang Clan Head gentle looks, as if to console him. But the Sagye Hall Administrator cut off their optimistic thoughts.
"It is said that the number of cultists remaining on the mountain is only fifteen, and Mount Emei Sect could not even drive out those few and has entered a defensive stance. Since they are not ordinary martial artists, it will be difficult for the Tang Clan to respond as well, so four hundred is by no means a number that can be dismissed."
Mount Hua’s sect leader, who had been quietly listening, furrowed his brows.
"Not ordinary martial artists?"
"Yes."
As if this was something he had originally meant to reveal, Zhuge Inhwi immediately explained the Blood Cult’s armed force.
"It is said that when their swords touch you, your flesh immediately turns black and rots away, and those struck by their spears have their internal organs rot into pus and die."
A brief silence fell.
Everyone seated here had heard of such traces before.
Wudang’s sect leader asked in a voice full of suspicion,
"Is that not the scar of a demonic art?"
The Demonic Sect had been annihilated decades ago. He was pointing out that the information sounded wrong, but Zhuge Inhwi spoke shocking words.
"Yes, it is said to be an armed force that uses demonic arts. However, they say it is difficult to call them the Demonic Sect. They themselves did not join the cult of their own will, but were forced to cultivate demonic arts. It is a situation similar to the Northern Sea Ice Palace and the Great Desert Sun Palace."
At that, Mount Hua’s sect leader suggested in a slightly brighter voice,
"In that case, what about trying to talk with them? Was it not said that the bloodline of the Northern Sea Ice Palace also broke away from the Blood Cult? They too may wish to break away and rebuild the Demonic Sect."
Zhuge Inhwi shook his head.
"In the Northern Sea Ice Palace, most of the palace disciples were descendants of the Ice Palace Lord, but on the Demonic Sect’s side, it is said there are not that many descendants of the cult master or the nobles. Unlike ice arts, blood ties are not that important in mastering demonic arts."
He relayed the words he had heard from the cultist without omitting anything.
"They say they would take children who showed aptitude and teach them, so they have no attachment to the Demonic Sect, and among them, those who have brought the mental method of demonic arts to great completion have already been devoured by demonic qi and are in a state where they are overwhelmed by the impulse to kill."
The mood grew darker. After quietly listening to the silence, Zhuge Inhwi added his own thoughts.
"Of course, all of this is just what the cultist said, so we have to confirm it for ourselves."
Namgung An asked with a gloomy face,
"How long has it been since those bastards crossed into Sichuan?"
"It is said to have been about two days."
"From Mount Emei, two days... It is possible they have already reached the Tang manor."
Letting out a sigh, Namgung An furrowed his brow.
"Should we not send support from headquarters immediately?"
To that, Zhuge Inhwi replied in a low voice.
"At first, I thought the same. But then I began to suspect that this might be the Blood Cult’s scheme to empty headquarters."
No one could refute the Sagye Hall Administrator’s words.
In war, it was common to divert attention elsewhere and strike the main camp. There was no way the leaders who had built great sects and great martial families did not know that stratagem.
The lamplight was reflected in the sky-colored pupils of Zhuge Inhwi’s eyes. Lowering his head as if toward a prize hanging above, he spoke calmly.
"Though it is only my personal view, I expected that if the Blood Cult were to move, they would strike Hubei first. It is Four-Directions Hall that intervened in the Blood Cult’s internal war and made the Northern Sea Ice Palace independent, and the information we have gathered on the Blood Cult is in Sagye Hall. On top of that, the antidote that is the reason for the cult master’s anger, and the person who made that antidote, are both at headquarters. If the Blood Cult has resolved on an all-out war, striking headquarters best fits the cause."
"Is it not simply that headquarters is too troublesome an opponent?"
"Annihilating the Tang Clan may be easier by comparison, but there is that much less to be gained. Also, since the Tang Clan’s main fighting force is outside, they cannot annihilate us. Even if only those at headquarters return, they can rebuild the Tang Clan at any time. Thus, they cannot even frighten the Central Plains martial world by saying they annihilated the Tang Clan."
Zhuge Inhwi added with a sigh-like tone,
"Besides, it does not seem as if the Central Plains is something they wish to see frightened in the first place." freewebnσvel.cøm
"Administrator, do you mean you think the Blood Cult will gain nothing from this?"
"Yes. At best, they will gain the meager yield of venting the cult master’s anger. The Blood Cult has not lost even once until now, so perhaps, carried away by emotion, they are making an arrogant mistake."
Zhuge Inhwi considered that there was no reason for the Blood Demon’s actions.
Striking at the Tang Clan was a very great mistake that squandered an armed force they had painstakingly raised and even nullified the time they had spent hiding themselves.
It was a move he could not understand.
It was like a child who, having the chance to start over, smashed the rubble apart and vented their anger to their heart’s content before stacking the tower anew.
Yet even as he regarded the Blood Demon with such contempt, Zhuge Inhwi still tried to judge the situation rationally.
"That is why I suspect the Blood Demon striking at the Tang Clan is a mere trick. If, while headquarters is sending an armed force to support the Tang Clan, they plan to attack the emptied headquarters, that would make sense."
The four leaders agreed with the Administrator’s speculation. It made more sense to think so.
Reading that mood, Zhuge Inhwi finally stated the reason he had summoned them.
"Therefore, I would like the gentlemen here to go to Sichuan with the Tang Clan."
Mount Hua’s sect leader narrowed his eyes.
"If we leave, headquarters will be left empty. If things proceed as you say and the Blood Cult comes to strike headquarters, what then?"
The Administrator calmly cut off the sect leader’s concern.
"I have already sent letters to those who left headquarters ahead of us. I asked them to discuss together whether they will go and help, since it seems the Demonic Sect has risen in Sichuan, or return to headquarters and discuss sending a follow-up force."
Zhuge Inhwi continued in a dry tone, like a man with little expectation.
"Mount Emei Sect and Qingcheng Sect will hurry back to Sichuan, where their main sects are, but the other sects will likely return to headquarters. It is burdensome for them to join a war as a vanguard without discussing it with their main sect, but there is no burden, and they can save face, by discussing at headquarters whether to send a follow-up force. Once they return and fill up headquarters, our strength will not appear hollow."
Furthermore, even if those sects that returned did not wish to take part in the war, if the Blood Cult raided headquarters, they would have no choice but to fight together.
The leaders, having understood the Sagye Hall Administrator’s words, fell silent for a moment.
They too had only two options. To depart for Sichuan and drive out the Blood Cult’s armed force, or remain at headquarters and, together with the others, discuss sending a follow-up force.
After pondering, Wudang’s sect leader spoke.
"If we do depart for Sichuan, when will we set out? The situation does not sound so leisurely."
"If the Blood Cult’s surprise attack is true, we ought to depart at once, but I ask that you wait about two days."
Tang Ji-ha looked at the Sagye Hall Administrator with a hardened face. Sensing that pressure, the Administrator spoke.
"When Tang Young Lady disappeared before, I reported to you about the Passage, so you should all know about the Blood Cult’s formations."
The Sagye Hall Administrator explained why he had asked them to wait.
"The cultist said it took two days to come from Mount Emei to Hubei using the Passage, so if we use that Passage to move, it will likewise take us only two days to reach Mount Emei. But if we go there directly, it will take ten days, and even if we run using lightness skill to go as fast as possible, since there are many people, it will still take seven days and nights."
"Are you interrogating the cultist right now to learn the location of that Passage?"
"No. The cultist has already given us the Passage’s location. What we are confirming now is whether that Passage actually connects to Mount Emei, and the Four-Directions Hall Administrator has personally gone to do so."
At the words "Four-Directions Hall Administrator," the faces of the four men twitched. The one who had actually spoken Pang Shihyeon’s title went on indifferently,
"At the Administrator’s speed, she will be back in two days—three at the latest—so please wait. If that Passage does not lead to Mount Emei, she will return even sooner."
