Chapter 198
Chapter 198. Time Bought
So-hwa looked at Peng Sihyeon with the feeling of placing a bet.
At first, she had held back out of fear that she might take her for a spy, but now it seemed safe to ask for help.
After all, even the Four Directions Hall Lord had seen that the peace beyond the borders was an illusion fabricated by the Blood Sect.
After a long silence, Peng Sihyeon asked,
"If one bears the Blood Demon's Gu poison, does that mean they are forced to follow the Blood Demon's will, regardless of their own intentions?"
It was something she had already explained.
She did not know what answer Peng Sihyeon was hoping for, but she responded nonetheless.
"Yes. As you just saw, Gu poison kills its host."
"How long has it been since a Blood Sect member carrying Gu poison came to the Central Plains?"
"I don't know the exact timing myself."
"Did the Blood Demon's Gu poison exist even twenty years ago?"
So-hwa closed her mouth.
She understood why Peng Sihyeon was asking.
It was as though she were asking whether Bai Woon-ho had borne the Blood Demon's Gu poison.
So-hwa could not answer.
Bai Woon-Hyun had carried the Blood Demon's Gu poison, but she could not tell whether his deception of Peng Sihyeon had been the Blood Demon's will or his own.
Unable to interfere in matters of passion and resentment, So-hwa maintained her silence.
At that moment, a Han Clan noble who had been kneeling in the front row stood up.
"You ignorant fools! How can you join hands with these Central Plains half-wits?"
The North Sea noble looked fairly old. With clouded eyes, he stared at the Seven Seats and continued,
"Do you really think those Central Plains dogs are any better than us?"
When the Seven Seats did not so much as stir, the old man let out a hollow laugh.
"Do you even know whose hands killed Bai Woon-ho, the man you call your liberator?"
A sense of dread stiffened So-hwa's face. She thought she had to stop that mouth, but the old man was faster.
"It was the Four Directions Hall Lord standing right in front of you! The woman who laid her hands on a divine relic in the name of freeing you killed Bai Woon-ho, and even tried to kill Bai Woon-Hyun! If Bai Woon-Hyun hadn't escaped that day and died instead, you wouldn't even be standing here now! It was that woman who drove the Bai brothers into a dead end!"
So-hwa knew that the Four Directions Hall had annihilated Bai Woon-Hyun's faction.
But she had not known that Bai Woon-Hyun's brothers were among them.
She shifted her gaze to examine the face of the Four Directions Hall Lord.
Peng Sihyeon also seemed to be hearing this for the first time.
She stood there, frozen in place.
The Han Clan's old man continued his exposure.
"And do you know who that young man standing beside her is? He's Namgung's Young Lord, who killed Bai Yunhai! That Central Plains bastard who dragged away your kin and the dogs of the Profound Mystery Pavilion, tortured them, and killed them!"
Namgung Jin closed his eyes at the old man's shout.
"Those Central Plains bastards are the enemies who slaughtered your people! And yet you join hands with them? You say you'll return to the Central Plains and help free all sect members? Hahaha, you're being toyed with by Central Plains hypocrisy. You stupid lot—ugh!"
Kwang!
The old man's noisy voice was cut off.
The First Seat, having unleashed the Ice White Divine Palm, withdrew his hand as if nothing had happened.
He did not spare a glance for the frozen corpse. His cold gaze was fixed solely on the people of the Central Plains.
The First Seat's low voice split the silence.
"Are you Namgung's Young Lord?"
Namgung Jin slowly opened his eyes. Even in that moment, he clasped his hands together in proper courtesy and replied,
"Yes. I am Namgung Jin, the Young Lord of the Namgung Clan."
He gave only a brief introduction and offered no excuses whatsoever.
So-hwa knew it was not her place to interfere, but she spoke up in place of the foolish Namgung Jin.
"It is true that the Young Lord brought the Ice Palace kin to the Anhui branch, but he did not torture them. The moment they arrived in Anhui, all the sect members were already dead, and it appears the Ice Palace kin took their own lives after violating the Blood Demon's prohibition."
The First Seat nodded slightly without turning his gaze toward So-hwa.
It was hard to tell whether it meant he understood or that she should remain silent.
As So-hwa waited for his response, he descended the steps.
Tap.
Passing by the frozen corpse, he stopped in front of Namgung Jin.
With an indifferent expression, the First Seat looked down at him.
"So you were the cousin Namgung Cheong-hae spoke of."
At the First Seat's tone, So-hwa's eyebrows lifted.
Anyone could hear the goodwill in his voice.
Because he had been so taciturn all along, the change in attitude felt all the more distinct.
So-hwa quietly scanned the surroundings.
Not only the Seven Seats, but even the Ice Palace martial artists encircling the prisoners looked more relaxed. For reasons unknown, the people of the Ice Palace were showing favor toward Namgung Jin.
"I'd heard him praise his own family's Young Lord so highly that I expected someone impressive, but you're smaller than I thought."
The First Seat let out a soft chuckle.
"Perhaps he was just another scion of a great family. Judging by how much he liked gilding his own house."
It seemed Namgung Cheong-hae had some connection with the Ice Palace.
'Just what on earth happened?'
Meanwhile, the corners of Namgung Jin's eyes began to redden. After shedding tears, he quickly wiped them away with the back of his hand and changed the subject.
"Are there still people from the North Sea remaining in the Central Plains?"
The First Seat nodded.
"We did our best, but it was impossible to find everyone within three years."
Namgung Jin tried to maintain a calm demeanor, but it clearly wasn't easy. In a trembling voice, he said,
"As soon as I return to the Central Plains, I'll search for the people of the North Sea. In my elder brother's stead, I'll do my utmost to help rebuild the North Sea."
"The reconstruction of the North Sea is our responsibility. We have no intention of relying on outsiders. What we sought to share in purpose with Namgung Cheong-hae was not the rebuilding of the North Sea."
"Then what did you discuss?"
The First Seat brushed Namgung Jin's shoulder, almost like a pat.
"Eliminating the Blood Sect members left in the Central Plains is a task necessary for you as well, but it is something we must do without fail. Those vermin must be wiped from this world."
The First Seat's eyes shifted sideways. The retainers of the Han Clan seemed to irritate him.
"We'll speak of the details inside."
As the First Seat turned toward the building, the Four Directions Hall Lord spoke up, as if to stop him.
"I may be mistaken, but......."
When the First Seat looked back at them, Peng Sihyeon asked in an icy voice,
"Didn't I meet you at Gongdong Mountain?"
"It might be better to discuss that inside as well."
"Your face is different. Were you wearing a human-skin mask?"
"I'll say this much, it wasn't human skin."
Peng Sihyeon grew wary, and the First Seat cut off her suspicion.
"As Young Lady Tang said earlier, the Han Clan retainers are quite useful, so we intend to avoid killing them if at all possible. If this is a question they may hear, you may ask it here. Otherwise, it would be better to continue inside."
"If we're to speak in private, then allow me to ask just one more thing before that."
Peng Sihyeon asked while taking in the faces of the North Sea Ice Palace martial artists standing in formation, as well as the Han Clan nobles.
"What does it mean that I killed Bai Woon-Hyun's brothers?"
It was a blunt question.
After a brief silence, the First Seat spoke again.
"It means exactly what it sounds like. On the day you annihilated Bai Woon-Hyun's faction, the younger brother of Great Hero Bai Woon-Hyun was present."
"...... You're saying Bai Woon-Hyun's younger brother was there?"
"Yes."
"Did you loathe Bai Woon-Hyun and his brother?"
The First Seat did not bother to hide his displeasure and frowned deeply.
"What are you getting at?"
"You clearly recognized me at Gongdong Mountain that I was the Four Directions Hall Lord. You could have killed me, so why did you spare me? Saying you spared me because of your ties with Cheong-hae doesn't make sense when I...... killed your kin. Why did you let me live?"
Peng Sihyeon was in turmoil.
Though defeat was a humiliation to a martial artist, she showed no hesitation in revealing that she had lost to the First Seat. It was as though her thoughts had collapsed.
The First Seat answered her question with another.
"Didn't you spare Great Hero Bai Woon-Hyun as well?"
As if telling her to measure the answer herself.
"You couldn't bring yourself to kill him either, so wouldn't Great Hero Bai Woon-Hyun grieve as well if he learned that you had died?"
The First Seat did not continue the conversation. He turned his back and headed back toward the steps.
As he passed by So-hwa, he asked,
"What do you plan to do with the prisoners?"
"Since we don't know how the situation may change, I intend to alter the Blood Demon's will immediately."
"Once things are settled, come inside as well. It would be good to discuss our course together."
"I appreciate the offer, but after dealing with the Han Clan retainers, I plan to go straight to the northern district where the Dong Clan and Yan Clan are."
"Couldn't you go later?"
So-hwa shook her head.
"No. There's no time. I'm planning to return to the Central Plains today. Confirming the prisoners' Gu poison is the most urgent matter, so I must go to North Mountain first."
The First Seat's gaze briefly lifted toward the Fourth Seat. Whether the Fourth Seat signaled him or not, the First Seat flinched subtly.
Soon after, he lowered his head again.
"Do as you see fit."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the First Seat went inside, and five of the Seven Seats followed after him. Only the Fourth Seat remained at her side.
"Let's go."
"Yes."
So-hwa was about to move north with him.
At that moment, Namgung Jin grabbed her wrist.
"Where do you think you're going?"
He asked, swallowing his anger.
"You say you're leaving today. What are you plotting now?"
"I'll explain the details once we return. Even if you still have matters to attend to in the North Sea, there is a passage, so you may come again later. For now, I want you to return to headquarters as quickly as possible."
Though So-hwa's expression was blank, anyone could hear the urgency in her voice.
"There's no time, so let's divide the work. The Hall Lord and Young Lord, please discuss the directions with the Seven Seats. I'll check the prisoners' condition with the Black Tortoise Pavilion Leader and conduct a few experiments."
"Why are you in such a hurry? Did something happen at the headquarters?"
"Nothing has happened at the headquarters. I simply need to let the Blood Sect know as soon as possible that I've gone to the Central Plains."
So-hwa was troubled by the attitude of the Main Blood Hall Lord.
If Min Haerak had gone to the Central Plains, there would have been no reason to entrust the Platinum Pavilion members to her. If he were in the Central Plains, such a request could have been made at any time.
The Main Blood Hall Lord seemed to have gone very far away.
Someplace dangerous, where it was hard to calculate when he might return.
By conjecture, she thought he had gone to the Great Desert.
There was no dangerous place Min Haerak would go to other than the Great Desert.
If he had left the Platinum Pavilion in the Central Plains and gone alone, it wouldn't have been to settle down in the Great Desert.
So-hwa's eyes darkened.
'...Is he trying to buy me time?'
Soon, the Blood Demon would cross over to the North Sea Ice Palace. However, if the Solar Palace were to fall as well, the Blood Demon might choose to reclaim that first.
She knew that in the Great Desert, there was still a place where a vessel was being cultivated. The Blood Demon would not want to lose that vessel, so it was possible he would restore the Solar Palace before the North Sea Ice Palace.
Even at full speed, it would take a week to travel between the Great Desert and the North Sea.
That meant at least a week free from the Blood Demon's attention.
And the longer they endured, the longer that period would stretch.
'It seems the one stirring things up isn't me, but him.'
Before the Main Blood Hall Lord caused an incident in the Great Desert to draw the Blood Demon's attention, word that she had gone to the Central Plains had to reach the Blood Demon's ears. No matter where the Blood Demon might turn, it would be difficult to meddle with the Great Desert, the North Sea, and the Central Plains all at once.
Of course, no one knew how long the Blood Demon's confusion would last.
That was why there was no time.
Before the Blood Demon made its choice, matters in the Central Plains had to be settled.
"Young Lord, please return the passage now."
Namgung Jin still seemed angry with her, but he obediently took out the passage and handed it back. So-hwa slipped it into her sleeve and said,
"For the time being, I'll be the one carrying the passage."