Chapter 181
Chapter 181. Division of Roles
Perhaps that had been his goal all along—because the uncomfortable banquet did not continue any further.
“Well then, I suppose it’s time for this uninvited guest to take his leave.”
When the Branch Leader rose from his seat, the Yan Clan Lord’s expression brightened with relief.
“You’re leaving already?”
“It’s quite late, so I should be heading back. No need to see me off.”
“No, I’ll escort you.”
The Yan Clan Lord ground his teeth slightly as if he had something more he wanted to say.
At that moment, the Four Directions Hall Lord also rose from her seat.
“We should adjourn as well. The fatigue from the journey has caught up with me, and I’d like to rest.”
“Ah, then… the rooms have already been prepared and shown to you earlier, so please, make yourselves comfortable.”
The Yan Clan Lord hesitated for a moment, then apparently decided to confront the Branch Leader after all. He hurriedly descended the stairs.
Tang So-hwa also stood up. Then, in a low voice, the Four Directions Hall Lord spoke.
“Let’s talk in your room.”
Peng Sihyeon, who had spread a barrier of internal energy to block sound, added quietly,
“It seems they didn’t expect you to be part of our group, so your room is probably the only one without any hidden devices.”
Tang So-hwa’s room had been assigned offhandedly—a servant had simply pointed at it and told her to stay there. The Four Directions Hall Lord’s room, however, seemed to have had some unpleasant mechanisms installed within.
“Yes, please come to my room.”
Peng Sihyeon turned to the Black Tortoise Pavilion Leader and Namgung Jin.
“You two come along as well.”
Both looked uneasy; it seemed they, too, had felt something off during the banquet.
The four of them went upstairs together to Tang So-hwa’s room, saying nothing as they walked.
* * *
As the Branch Leader was leaving the hot springs, the Yan Clan Lord shouted after him.
“Gangmyeong! Stop right there!”
Han Gangmyeong, who had been masquerading as the Branch Leader, halted mid-step.
When he turned back, the Yan Clan Lord immediately unleashed the anger he had been holding in.
“I was willing to overlook your insolence for the sake of the Han Clan Lord’s dignity—but how dare you act so arrogantly!”
The Branch Leader ignored him and asked a different question instead.
“Where is the Grand Clan Head?”
“What business do you have knowing where my father is?”
The Yan Clan Lord’s voice bristled with indignation, but the Branch Leader’s gaze fell coldly upon him.
“I already informed you yesterday that the Blood Demon has issued a search decree. Yet you failed to report that two more people from the Central Plains have entered. That is why I’m asking.”
At the mention of the Blood Demon, the Yan Clan Lord froze on the spot.
Han Gangmyeong continued in an icy tone, unaffected.
“I intend to report to the Blood Demon that the woman has been found. But before that, I’d like to know why you’ve been hiding her.”
“H-hiding her?! Don’t spout such dangerous nonsense! My father knows nothing of this! I alone led those people from the Central Plains here. Father’s been too preoccupied with the ice—he even borrowed a ship from the Dong Clan and went out to the North Sea himself!”
“Ice, you say?”
“Yes! I tried to talk him out of it, told him now’s no time for that, but he wouldn’t listen! Ugh, he’s probably somewhere in the west, near the Dong Clan’s harbor, breaking through the ice right about now.”
The Branch Leader raised an eyebrow.
After a moment of thought, he asked,
“How long do you think it’ll take him?”
“The ice has been left alone for nearly two days, so it’s probably thick. Still, he should be done in about five or six shichen.”
“I hope he works faster,” Han Gangmyeong murmured under his breath. “If not, it might give those people from the Central Plains a way to escape.”
Then, more audibly, he said,
“For now, gather the Yan Clan’s armed forces. The Four Directions Hall Lord is said to be capable of facing an entire mid-tier sect alone. We need to prepare for any contingency.”
“A-alright.”
The Yan Clan Lord fell silent, cowed by the Han Clan’s characteristically imperious glare.
He disliked moments like this—it reminded him of how power was divided—but years of ingrained habit made defiance impossible.
The Branch Leader withdrew his gaze from the subdued Clan Lord.
“I will report to the Blood Demon and bring back reinforcements. Until then, make sure those people from the Central Plains do not escape. If you make a mistake—”
“Mistake? I’ve never once made a—” He stopped mid-protest, swallowing his words. “...I’ll be careful.”
Han Gangmyeong glanced back once more as he stepped into his carriage. The Yan Clan Lord lowered his head immediately.
It would bring him no good to provoke someone acting on the Blood Demon’s orders.
‘…Damn it, I’d better inform Father of this at once.’
When the carriage departed and silence fell over the street, the Yan Clan Lord cautiously lifted his head.
After confirming that the road was empty, he waved frantically to the servant beside him.
“Hurry and bring the carriage! We’re going back to the main estate immediately!”
“Yes, Clan Lord!”
The Yan Clan Lord stomped his feet impatiently as he waited for the servant to return with the carriage.
* * *
The moment Peng Sihyeon entered the room, she asked sharply,
“It seemed the Branch Leader recognized you. Do you know what that was about?”
Tang So-hwa pulled out a chair and gestured for her to sit as she replied,
“The Blood Demon is looking for me.”
“The Blood Demon?”
“Yes. It’s only a guess, but since I disappeared from the Central Plains, he must have issued a search order across the entire continent.”
“No, I’m asking why the Blood Demon is looking for you.”
Peng Sihyeon remained standing, her tone cold and her gaze unwavering.
“There’s something the Blood Demon wants,” Tang So-hwa said quietly, “and I can make it.”
“You have a habit of making people ask you the same question twice. What is it that he wants?”
Peng Sihyeon’s voice carried an icy edge.
Sensing the suspicion behind it, Tang So-hwa answered honestly.
“The Blood Demon’s body is… unlike that of others. When his meridians are opened, they close up again almost immediately. He can’t cultivate internal energy. Because of that, his body absorbs and stores the internal energy of others within his blood and qi—and uses it only when he needs to. It’s an inefficient system.”
Peng Sihyeon’s expression said it all—she clearly found it hard to believe. But Tang So-hwa continued, her tone steady.
“I can give him time, periods when his meridians won’t close. That’s why he’s searching for me. He wants me to make that medicine for him.”
Tang So-hwa explained carefully, ensuring the Hall Lord wouldn’t need to ask a second time.
Yet Peng Sihyeon’s expression only darkened further. It seemed she found the explanation even more difficult to accept.
“How could that be? Why would the Blood Demon need your help to cultivate? How could he possibly dominate the Outer Regions if his meridians were blocked? It makes no sense. What you’re saying is—”
She had told Tang So-hwa not to make her ask twice, but now that she’d gotten a full answer, she only asked more questions.
Tang So-hwa stayed silent.
She was learning that Peng Sihyeon was a difficult person to satisfy.
As Peng Sihyeon muttered to herself, her gaze shifted toward the Black Tortoise Pavilion Leader. Though the Pavilion Leader was usually expressionless, his brows were deeply furrowed now.
But it wasn’t disbelief or anger that showed on his face—nor did Tang So-hwa sense any ripple of internal energy from either of them.
Hot-tempered martial artists tended to let their energy leak when they lost composure, but Peng Sihyeon and the Pavilion Leader remained perfectly calm.
Their reactions looked less like confusion—and more like realization.
It was as if a long-standing question had just been answered for them. Their expressions gradually relaxed.
They seemed to share some secret understanding between them.
Could the fact that the Blood Demon was unable to cultivate internal energy have given them a clue?
Tang So-hwa couldn’t understand what it was.
All she could tell was that whatever had been bothering them was suddenly resolved.
She grew curious about the Four Directions Hall’s hidden circumstances—but she didn’t ask. The air in the room had suddenly turned cold.
Tuk, tuk.
Something tapped softly against the floorboards. A dark shadow slipped inside with the passing wind—it was one of the Ice Palace bloodline.
Instantly, everyone’s attention turned that way.
“Have you already destroyed the passages within the palace?”
The Four Directions Hall Lord asked. Bai Woon-Hyun shook his head.
“We’ve destroyed two, but we ran into trouble with the last one, so we postponed it. The three of us weren’t sure we could get past the guards.”
“There are guards posted?”
Namgung Jin asked, his concern for the Ice Palace evident—he’d been worrying about them all along.
“The Red Blood Hall members have taken position at the eastern passage,” Bai Woon-Hyun replied curtly, then turned to Tang So-hwa.
“The area was filled with drained corpses—wearing the colors of the Yan and Dong Clans. It seems what you said was true—that the Red Blood Hall Lord has left his post. Seeing his subordinates hiding in the east, gorging themselves like beasts, I’d say the rest have all gone inside the palace.”
At those words, Tang So-hwa recalled what Haerak had told her—
That the Red Blood Hall had vacated their station and were living idly in comfort.
“It would be wiser to destroy the passages outside the palace first, while the Red Blood Hall has vacated its post.”
“Are you saying there are no remnants of the Blood Sect outside the palace right now?”
Peng Sihyeon asked sharply, as though ready to rush out that instant.
“No, not quite. Strictly speaking, everyone on this island is part of the Blood Sect’s remnants. What I meant is that the Red Blood Hall’s men aren’t outside the palace.”
“And what difference does that make?”
“To put it in terms you’d understand—it’s like the difference between a dispute between the Four Directions Hall of the Murim Alliance and the Hebei Peng Clan. The Peng Clan may belong to the Murim Alliance, yes—but it isn’t exactly on the same level as the Four Directions Hall, wouldn’t you agree?”
Peng Sihyeon gave a small nod, seeming to understand.
Meanwhile, Tang So-hwa spread a map out over the table.
“Please mark the locations of the passages you’ve already destroyed. I want to confirm the positions of those outside the palace walls.”
Bai Woon-Hyun unfolded his own map.
Tang So-hwa took up a brush and dotted her own map where Bai Woon-Hyun indicated the destroyed passages.
When an inverted triangle and a regular triangle were overlapped, six passages appeared.
With a practiced eye, Tang So-hwa sketched another triangle of equal size onto her map.
That revealed the approximate locations of the passages outside the palace.
“The eastern passage is close by. The central one is near the entrance. The western one, however, is much farther away. I think it would be best to start with that one.”
She pointed to the mark with her finger and looked to the North Sea bloodline martial artists.
“You three know the terrain best, so please handle the western passage. As for the eastern one—I’d like you to take charge, Four Directions Hall Lord.”
“Then the central passage will be handled by you, Lady Tang?”
Namgung Jin asked. Tang So-hwa shook her head.
“No. The central passage will be handled by you, Young Clan Lord, while I take care of the passage inside the palace.”
“You intend to go into the palace?”
Peng Sihyeon’s eyes swept Tang So-hwa up and down, unconsciously assessing her. Judging by her build, she didn’t seem suited for infiltration or combat, and the Hall Lord’s expression showed clear doubt.
“If you had said the Young Clan Lord would go, I’d understand—but I can’t allow you to enter alone.”
But Tang So-hwa didn’t respond to her objection.
Her gaze stayed fixed on the map’s center—at the cluster of buildings drawn near the river.
Of all the people she knew, the only one who had ever defeated the Red Blood Hall Lord was the Main Blood Hall Lord. Which meant the Red Blood Hall’s remnants would be no match for him.
Haerak could destroy the inner passage faster than anyone else. He knew the Ice Palace’s layout intimately and understood the Red Blood Hall’s tactics better than anyone.
However, Tang So-hwa was the only one who could ask him to enter the palace.
He was currently posing as the master of the Platinum Pavilion, so he couldn’t reveal his identity to those from the Central Plains—and to the Ice Palace bloodline, he was the Main Blood Hall Lord, their sworn enemy.
Tang So-hwa rubbed her forehead, unable to explain further.
“I know it’s difficult to trust me… but I ask that you do. If I fail, I’ll take full responsibility.”
Even as she said it, she knew her words didn’t inspire confidence.
She drew something from her sleeve and handed it to Namgung Jin.
“You’ll recognize what this is. Even if something goes wrong, it will guarantee everyone’s safe retreat. So please—trust me.”
Silence fell over the room.
She had just given up something beyond precious—something dearer than her own life.
“As I mentioned to the Hall Lord earlier, the Blood Demon is searching for me, and it seems the Branch Leader recognized me. We must seal the passages before he reports to the Blood Sect. The Red Blood Hall Lord could return at any moment—or worse, the Blood Demon himself could cross over.”
Tang So-hwa remembered how the Blood Demon, who had sworn never to leave the Central Plains, had once come all the way to Qinghai in pursuit of her.
“We must destroy every passage as quickly as possible to stop the Blood Demon from entering the North Sea.”
A heavy silence followed her words, but only briefly. Then Bai Woon-Hyun let out a sigh and nodded.
“We’ve trusted you this far; there’s no reason to stop now.”
He pulled his mask back up and turned to one of his subordinates.
“Return to the gorge immediately and report our situation. All passages on the mainland must be destroyed as well. If the passages are—”
He hesitated, then made up his mind.
“No. Even if you must break the Seven Seats’ training, go and seek their aid.”
The subordinate cupped his fists and received the order. Before the First Leader even looked away, he vanished from sight.
Bai Woon-Hyun then turned back to the group from the Central Plains.
“The western passage is far, so we’ll depart right away. Once we’re done, we’ll head to the central passage—meet us there.”
The Ice Palace bloodline had shown their trust first, but the Four Directions Hall Lord remained unyielding.
“I’ll go into the palace instead. You should take the Black Tortoise Pavilion Leader and handle the eastern passage.”
“I appreciate your concern, but I must go into the palace alone.”
“I may not have been close with your father, Tang Ji-ha,” Peng Sihyeon said firmly, “but I’m not so cold-hearted as to stand by and watch his daughter walk into danger. I understand your resolve—but I cannot allow it.”
“It’s alright if you don’t trust me,” Tang So-hwa said quietly, forcing down the bitter taste in her chest.
“I only ask… that you forgive me.”
She slipped a hand into her sleeve. It was something she had hoped never to use—but there was no other choice.
Peng Sihyeon frowned, about to ask what she meant—when suddenly, her body froze. Her mouth wouldn’t move.
In fact, none of them could move.
Everyone in the room had gone rigid, as if they’d turned to stone.
Tang So-hwa retrieved a black outer robe, the wind cloak, from the wall and draped it over her shoulders.
“The effect doesn’t last long compared to its potency. Your paralysis will fade in half a ke (7½ minutes). Don’t worry, it’s harmless. But even after you recover, please don’t follow me. I plan to steal a horse and leave quietly. If there’s any commotion, it could endanger us all.”
She moved toward the door, then turned and clasped her hands together in a respectful gesture.
“I’ll destroy the passage inside the palace as quickly as I can, then head to the central passage.”
And with that, the weakest among them walked alone into the most perilous place of all—
and none of them could stop her.