Chapter 207
Chapter 207. The Swallowed Question
The energy lingering at his fingertips was suddenly sucked into the engraved grooves.
Shaaah.
A fierce wind rose, and in the next instant, a bizarre hole opened in midair.
The Black Sky Demon forgot his anger in shock and froze with a blank expression.
"What is this?"
"It's a dark arts called a passage, used by the Blood Sect. It only lasts about half a quarter-hour, so it would be best to hurry."
The Black Sky Demon shouted in alarm.
"Have you lost your mind? Do you even know what this is, telling me to go in there!"
"In the Central Plains, if you flow energy into the top surface, you pass through to the North Sea; if you flow energy into the bottom surface, you pass through to the Great Desert. Conversely, in the North Sea, if you flow energy into the North Sea side, it connects back to the Central Plains, and from the Great Desert, flowing energy into the Great Desert side connects to the Central Plains..."
"No! That's not what I meant when I asked what this was!"
The Black Sky Demon snapped at So-hwa as she explained in earnest.
So-hwa's eyelids lowered slightly, her eyes narrowing.
"Are you perhaps... afraid?"
"I'm not afraid, it's just that how am I supposed to trust such a dark arts formation—"
"The Four Directions Hall Lord has crossed over as well."
When So-hwa cut him off, the Black Sky Demon flinched.
"...... Peng Sihyeon?"
"Yes. It's dark arts that both the Young Lord Namgung Jin and I have confirmed."
"......."
Watching the Black Sky Demon fall silent, So-hwa cautiously suggested,
"If you're still uneasy, I can bring the Young Lord Namgung Jin and the Four Directions Hall Lord to verify it for you. They're on the first floor right now......."
Before she could finish speaking, the Black Sky Demon stepped through the passage.
He did not return right away.
Only after enough time had passed for her to count well over a hundred in her head did he come back.
Tang Min shook the snow from his hair and clothes, cursing under his breath.
Perhaps because it proved to be nothing extraordinary once he saw it himself, he did not make a fuss. After cleaning himself off, he sat down and let out a sigh.
"Is the place I just saw truly the North Sea? No, never mind. Whether it's the North Sea or not, the fact that the Blood Sect can create such a thing is a major problem in itself."
As she retrieved the passage, she answered,
"I was told it's not something just anyone can make. I've heard that within the Blood Sect, there is only one person capable of wielding dark arts of this level."
"And how do you know that, too?"
The Black Sky Demon asked in an angry voice, but So-hwa instead sensed that his rage had subsided.
His question was a curiosity that could only arise from a premise of believing her words.
"After confirming the Blood Sect's resurgence at Emei Mountain, I've been tracking them, and recently I managed to win over a few of their members."
"Win them over? What kind of bastards would cooperate with you?"
So-hwa could not answer.
If it became known that the Blood Sect members on her side included the Namgung Clan Head's second son, the Young Lord of the Anguk Merchant Group, and the North Sea Ice Palace, the Murim of the Central Plains would surely fall into chaos.
Instead of explaining, So-hwa used the Black Sky Demon's distrust to evade the question.
"There is also a Blood Sect spy within the headquarters. If their name reaches the Blood Sect, it will become difficult to receive further help, so I'll tell you once we leave the headquarters."
Tang Min had already suspected there might be a Blood Sect spy within the headquarters, so he nodded in agreement.
"Fine. We need to get out of here as soon as possible."
Impatient by nature, Tang Min stood up the moment he finished speaking.
"No. Right now, we need the headquarters' help."
"What? Do you not know who put out a wanted order on you right now?"
Tang Min barked, but So-hwa ignored his anger and explained.
"The Blood Sect in the Central Plains operates in a cellular structure. Even if we're lucky enough to catch one of them, it's difficult to trace the higher-ups. They cut off their tails, making pursuit impossible. But if we use the headquarters, we can make them come looking for me on their own."
"Come looking for you? What are you talking about now?"
Tang Min was generally the type to listen to his subordinates. He believed it was better for them to confess to him first, whether it was a lie or the truth.
Knowing that he was gathering his patience and listening, So-hwa answered as concisely as possible.
"The Leader of the Blood Sect wields a peculiar Gu poison technique. By planting Gu poison in a follower's body, he can force them to obey his will. In the North Sea, I found a way to detoxify that Gu poison."
She took out a small bottle and placed it on the side table.
"It's an extremely tiny Gu poison, like ash, and the antidote is a similar kind of Gu poison."
Tang Min immediately opened it.
"If one or two drops of that ashen liquid enter a Blood Sect member's body, it drives out the Blood Sect's Gu poison and frees the host."
"You mean you drive out Gu poison with Gu poison?"
"Yes."
Tang Min let out a hollow laugh.
"This Gu poison multiplies very quickly, so there's no need to worry about cost. I can produce more than enough to free every Blood Sect member in the Central Plains."
So-hwa added the concrete plan.
"I've already asked the Four Seasons Hall Lord to summon as many Alliance members as possible. I'll show the antidote before everyone and make the infiltrators within the Murim Alliance come looking for me of their own accord."
"I see. I understand what you're thinking. But this is extremely dangerous. It would be better to hand the medicine over to the Four Seasons Hall Lord and have them go to him instead."
So-hwa shook her head.
"Isn't the Four Seasons Hall Lord too strong? He's not someone they can easily muster the courage to approach, so it's better that I hold the antidote. I'm not that strong, so anyone can come to me easily."
At a loss for words, Tang Min gaped before shouting,
"That's exactly the problem! It's because you're weak! Do you have any idea what those bastards might do!"
"It'll be fine as long as the Grand Elder is with me."
So-hwa's gaze flicked briefly toward the window.
"And the Four Directions Hall Lord plans to stay in the Tang Clan's pavilion for a while as well. Young Lord Namgung Jin will likely be expelled soon due to headquarters' rules, but he'll hold out as much as possible—"
Tang Min cut in with a cold voice.
"Are you not understanding what I'm saying?"
So-hwa's gaze returned to him.
"You do not know the nature of the monsters at the bottom. Do you think those bastards will treat you like a benefactor just because you restored their freedom?"
Tang Min spat out venomously.
"On the contrary, to prevent others from becoming free, they might try to kill you the moment they escape the Gu poison. Not because they're madmen loyal to the Blood Sect. I'm saying they might kill you out of envy, afraid that others will gain freedom."
Perhaps growing heated as he spoke, the Black Sky Demon clenched his fist.
"There are plenty of bastards who kill their benefactors for reasons as trivial as that, or even less. Fine, maybe you wouldn't know. But the Four Directions Hall, the Four Seasons Hall! These so-called Hall Lords! How can men who know better use a mere child, not even worth a fistful, as a shield!"
"There are more than a few bastards who would kill a benefactor for such a reason—no, for reasons even lesser than that. Fine, maybe you wouldn't know. But the Four Directions Hall, the Four Seasons Hall! These so-called Hall Lords! Those bastards who know enough about the world! How could they use a child who isn't even a handful as a shield!"
Tang Min slammed his fist down on the table in agitation.
"No. This was my stubborn insistence."
So-hwa cut off Tang Min's suspicions as she spoke.
"The Four Seasons Hall Lord wanted me to hand over the antidote and the detoxification method, and the Four Directions Hall Lord intended to personally lure out the Blood Sect members."
The Black Sky Demon let out a long breath and gave an order.
"Then hand it over to those bastards at the headquarters. Throw them the antidote and the method, and let the Four Directions Hall Lord clash with the Blood Sect bastards himself. We'll return to the Tang Clan now."
"Didn't the Alliance Leader issue a wanted order for me? I can't go back to the Tang Clan."
"Do you think I'm saying this because I don't know that?!"
Tang Min roared again. So-hwa stubbornly replied in a calm voice.
"In a situation like this, the Tang Clan cannot afford to become enemies with the headquarters."
"That's not something you need to worry about. Don't get uppity, prepare to leave."
The corners of So-hwa's lips quietly curved upward. Moonlight filtering through the paper window softly illuminated her smile.
Tang Min scowled.
"You're smiling? Are you smiling in a situation like this?"
Tang Min's voice trembled, anger reaching the top of his head.
It was a situation one might reasonably fear, yet Tang So-hwa asked back with an expressionless face.
"If you say it is not for me to worry about, then what am I supposed to do?"
Her chilly voice pressed down on the silence.
"I did flee the Blood Sect, but the fundamental reason I went to the North Sea was to help rebuild the North Sea Ice Palace."
The Black Sky Demon frowned.
He thought it was utter nonsense, yet he could not bring himself to speak. Unbelievable events kept happening one after another, and at the center of them all was always So-hwa.
He had no idea how this child knew such things, but what she was saying now might not be a lie.
"When the Five Palaces of the Outer Regions lost the war against the Blood Sect, they were already absorbed under the Blood Sect's banner."
Back when rumors spread that a Mount Hua disciple had fallen victim to the Extreme Yang Art, the Black Sky Demon had already suspected a connection between the Five Palaces of the Outer Regions and the Blood Sect, so he was not taken aback.
"I don't know about other branches in the Outer Regions, but the North Sea branch didn't exist at all. The nobles of the North Sea were pretending to be branch members and toying with the Murim Alliance of the Central Plains."
In an indifferent voice, So-hwa asked,
"I am not trying to criticize you, but Grand Elder, haven't you been unaware of what has been happening until now?"
Staring at the silent Grand Elder, So-hwa continued.
"There's no guarantee that none of the headquarters' fifteen branches have fallen to the Blood Sect either. In this situation, if the Tang Clan becomes hostile with the headquarters, can you truly be confident you won't be toyed with by the Blood Sect?"
"......."
"If the Blood Sect uses the Murim Alliance's hands to cast a net and frame the Tang Clan, are you confident you can avoid it?"
As she waited for an answer that did not come, the expression gradually drained from So-hwa's face.
The Grand Elder, who had been trying to save the Tang Clan's retainers without any concrete plan, fell silent.
Tang Min, too, was not ignorant of the price of taking So-hwa away.
No—perhaps he understood the losses even more clearly than So-hwa did. Even so, he was willing to bear them.
Whether it was because of the Tang Clan's rule of valuing its members, or personal feelings.
So-hwa swallowed a heavy breath. It felt as though a stone had been placed on her chest, making it hard to breathe.
"Both you and I know what will happen because of me, so if you say it is not for me to worry about, then what am I supposed to do?"
It would have been natural to get angry since a much younger clan member was rebelling against the Grand Elder’s words, but Tang Min was quiet. He thought for a long time before speaking.
"But tell me this."
The Black Sky Demon's voice was unusually grave.
"You've never been dispatched to a branch, nor have you ever truly traveled the world, so how do you know so much about the Blood Sect?"
Tang Min's face was as calm as the abyss.
"You easily formed ties with the Four Seasons Hall and the Four Directions Hall, connections that take an entire youth to earn, and even drew the Alliance Leader's attention. These are levels of favor and hostility you could never have gained at your age and within such a narrow range of activity."
An unstable current of energy spread through the tense atmosphere.
"So-hwa."
Tang Min's voice trembled faintly.
"I'll ask only once, so answer me."
The question he had long swallowed, never daring to ask, finally slipped from his lips.
"Have you, too, ever belonged to the Blood Sect?"