Free Web NovelSohwa, whose heart had grown heavy, was about to close her mouth. But the eyes of the people sitting in front of her were extremely unsettling.
“As expected......” freewebnσvel.cøm
“This time as well, I will be the first to trust you.”
“......”
They wore the expression of having come face-to-face with a great righteous devotee, and it felt as uncomfortable as if her whole body were being pricked with needles.
In the end, unable to endure it, Tang Sohwa spoke.
“I am not sure what you are thinking, but it seems the two of you are misunderstanding. It is only that this is something I must do alone, so I could not speak of it. Please put aside your misunderstanding.”
Yeon-a firmly shook her head.
“I can see that you intend to face a dangerous enemy alone so that others will not be swept up. What misunderstanding could there be here?”
“......I am not worrying about others. I simply have no intention of sharing my moves with others. It is not chivalry but strategy.”
Although Sohwa spoke firmly, Yeon-a’s expression only grew stranger.
“No.”
Wearing a gentle smile like a Buddha, she reached under the table and wrapped Sohwa’s hands with both of her own.
“What you just described is exactly what righteousness is.”
Then she said, in a voice that was truly chilling,
“Not flaunting your feelings, quietly worrying in your own way—every one of those actions is the sort of attitude an ultimate righteous devotee would show.”
“......”
It looked as if something had possessed Yeon-a very firmly.
Even Sohwa, who had not been frightened by the Blood Demon, felt fear at that madness-filled gaze.
Sohwa closed the mouth she had opened. It was because she had suddenly become afraid to explain further.
No matter what she said, it felt like the other woman would wildly misunderstand and spin out some logic nobody had ever heard or seen before.
When Sohwa gently tried to pull her hand away, Yeon-a once more seized it tightly, her eyes glittering.
“And do not worry about anything! I will make sure Wudang does not go beyond a two-li distance. Even if it means I am beaten to death, I will stop them from leaving that range! I will definitely hold Wudang by the ankle!”
She even went so far as to say something that a later-generation top master of Wudang should never say.
Perhaps because Yeon-a’s passionate attitude made him self-conscious, Namgung Jin joined in on that burdensome atmosphere.
“It is not all that difficult a task for me, so you need not worry.”
He confessed with a sigh.
“In truth, the Clan Head requested a medicine from the Divine Physician during the Great Families Union Gathering. Since we had come to the Tang Clan, he planned to receive it here. However, since we are set to depart, he thought to leave it for next time instead—but all I have to do is lie and say I received a carrier pigeon from the Divine Physician. I will say that he has finished the medicine and told us to come fetch it, and ask the Clan Head to wait at a nearby inn while I go to retrieve it.”
Sohwa felt some of her worry ease.
Whether by using their toughness or by using their acting skills, it seemed these later-generation top masters in front of her could probably hold back those two great sects by the ankle.
She had obtained one safety mechanism in case things went wrong.
‘Even if I fail to kill the Blood Demon......’
Although she did not expect the Martial Alliance sabers to kill the Blood Demon, it seemed at least possible to prevent the Blood Demon from venting his anger on the Tang Clan.
Sohwa set down the anxiety that had always occupied the largest space in her heart.
Before she knew it, red light had seeped in through the window.
Watching the sunset that had settled upon the table, Sohwa spoke.
“I must now go to pay my respects to the Clan Head.”
“Yes, we can no longer drag out our time either, so we will return.”
The three of them rose and left the pavilion.
Sohwa was about to return to her room when, as Yeon-a was going down the stairs, she looked up at her.
“Do not worry about anything.”
Yeon-a put strength into her gaze and spoke to her.
“Everything will be accomplished exactly as Young Lady Tang intends. I will make sure of......”
“Hall Master, let us go now. From here the sound is no longer blocked.”
Namgung Jin hastily covered her mouth. True to his quick wit, it seemed he had already grasped Yeon-a’s temperament.
Sohwa bowed her head to answer them and then returned to her room.
Now that the visitors had gone back, a wave of fatigue rushed in all at once.
However, she had no time to catch her breath.
She had to go find the Clan Head immediately.
If the Namgung Clan was leaving, then soon Namgung Hyun would also leave the Tang manor.
To lure the Blood Demon in close, Namgung Hyun was necessary. So before the Namgung Clan departed, she had to ask the Clan Head to arrange for him to remain at the Tang manor.
As Sohwa showed her tired face in the bronze mirror and checked her own condition, a familiar person appeared behind her.
Hae-rak, staring out the window, spoke in a voice as unsettling as his reluctant gaze.
“What are you, some sort of sect leader?”
“......”
“Why are those orthodox bastards following your words without rhyme or reason?”
“They are not following me without rhyme or reason.”
Hae-rak widened his eyes and looked at Sohwa.
“Oh, that is truly the bearing of a sect leader. The way they are following you so naturally that you yourself have not even noticed it.”
The Crimson Blood Hall Lord nodded in admiration.
“As expected, blood cannot be deceived.”
Sohwa, who had planned to ignore him, turned her head. When a sharp three-white gaze fixed on him, Hae-rak’s lips stretched long as he smiled.
“I was talking about the blood of the Great Sichuan Tang Clan. If your actions become the will of the Sichuan Tang Clan, then are you not literally the essence of the Sichuan Tang Clan? I was saying I am amazed at the majesty of the Sichuan Tang Clan’s sect leader, who surpasses even the Blood Cult’s cult leader, so be proud.”
“You must be in a good mood, coming to the Central Plains after so long. Seeing how you are rambling nonsense at length.”
“You seem like a different person now that you are in the Central Plains.”
Min Hae-rak brushed up her fallen hair with his index finger. He was someone with dexterous hands. The strands he neatly smoothed back hung exactly on her ornament and settled in orderly fashion.
“I wonder where the lady went who told me we would meet again next time—now it looks like you do not even have time to sleep.”
Hae-rak let out a deep sigh, as if teasing her.
“Well, orthodox women are all like that. They lure some innocent beauty with promises about the future, and then once they go back to their own sect, they throw him away like an old shoe, do they not?”
“......”
“Just look at these eyes. It feels like after the Blood Demon, you are going to kill me next.”
“Did you hear the entire conversation?”
Hae-rak nodded.
“It was hard to hear from upstairs, so I came all the way down here to listen.”
“Since you heard, you must have realized that the Blood Demon seems to have checked the situation at Geumeunsan.”
“He is quite the impressive old geezer. Even at that age, is he not really light on his feet?”
While the Crimson Blood Hall Lord was admiring him, Sohwa spoke in a calm voice.
“Right now I plan to go see the Clan Head and ask him to clear out the pavilion that was brought from headquarters.”
“Already?”
Sohwa nodded.
“From the way he is forcing Alliance members to leave even at the cost of overexerting them, he must be truly furious. It seems he intends to come straight into the Tang manor.”
Sohwa added in a composed voice,
“Still, seeing that he is trying to send out the Martial Alliance personnel first, it seems he is yet mindful of the eyes around him. So, the likelihood of him coming at night is high. I think he will probably come around tomorrow evening.”
“You are really calm. Why are you talking as if it were someone else’s business?”
Hae-rak clicked his tongue.
Sohwa stared at the Crimson Blood Hall Lord, who was taking the situation lightly, and then spoke.
“You should stop joking as well and take this seriously.”
“All right.”
Though he answered obediently, Hae-rak could not hide the expression that said there was no need to waste strength.
When Sohwa stared straight at him, he finally revealed his true thoughts.
“If things go as you said and the old geezer’s regenerative power is neutralized, then he will be a life that will die with just a little push, will he not? I am not trying to brag, but facing an old geezer with his fangs pulled is not all that difficult.”
“Do not be arrogant. The effect of the medicine only lasts one two-hour period, so you must finish it quickly before then. If you go past that two-hour period, it is useless.”
“Got it. I will try not to be arrogant.”
As he said that, Hae-rak scratched the space between his brows with the tip of his fan.
“Ah, but I have never in my life learned anything like humility....... Can I not just be arrogant and win anyway?”
Instead of answering, Tang Sohwa turned her body toward the door.
“Are you leaving right now?”
“Did I not tell you? We do not have time. And even if I go now, it is not certain I will be able to have an audience with the Clan Head.”
“It was better when we were at the Great Desert....... Even if it was boring, I could at least stay by your side the whole time.”
Sohwa had resolved to treat the Crimson Blood Hall Lord as well as she could, but it felt like she had decided on something impossible.
“Why are you glaring at me again? What did I do wrong?” freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
Hae-rak raised both hands as if stepping back.
“All right. I will stop joking. By the way, I have something to ask you seriously. I waited for your conversation to end because of that.”
“What is it?”
Sohwa focused on Hae-rak’s words.
Furrowing his brow as if something greatly worried him, he asked,
“If I end up entering as a son-in-law, will I be living here with you? Or will I be given a new pavilion? That silk embroidery is really not my taste......”
When Hae-rak turned his body and pointed at the red silk cloth, Sohwa did not answer and simply walked past him.
“Ah, I am joking. While you were talking with the believers, I was admiring the great handiwork of our sect leader.”
“Leave quickly before someone else sees you.”
Though her dismissal sounded like telling him to get lost as a curse, Hae-rak followed her out with a laugh.
“Fine, before I lose the favor to some other believer—ugh.”
The laughter that had been following behind her suddenly vanished. The Crimson Blood Hall Lord, who had been standing defenseless as he hid his presence, grabbed his solar plexus and doubled over.
Leaving him behind, Sohwa stepped out of the pavilion first and, passing through the flower garden with the large hole in its center, went to find the Clan Head.
