Chapter 209
Chapter 209. The Price of a Sorcerer
"What is it? Why are they gathering like that at this hour?"
Sensing that something was wrong, Tang Hak whispered to So-hwa in a low voice.
"We'll handle the talking. Elder Sister, please avoid being seen for now."
So-hwa nodded and went inside.
Tang Hak's voice could be heard through the door.
"What brings you here?"
"Someone has died at the Four Seasons Hall. There's a witness who says the culprit fled into this pavilion, so please open the gate."
It was a calm voice. Rather, it was Hwang Bo Rim who grew agitated upon hearing it and asked back.
"What? Someone died? No, what in the world are you talking about?"
"A hall guard who was standing watch at the Four Seasons Hall was murdered. A witness saw the killer vault this wall, so step aside."
The Inspection Unit martial artist kindly explained once more, but Tang Hak and Hwang Bo Rim could not open the gate.
Tang So-hwa and Namgung Jin were hiding inside, making it difficult to allow entry.
The Four Seasons Hall and the Four Directions Hall were internal audit bodies, and they usually cooperated quietly among themselves, so information rarely leaked.
However, the Inspection Unit managed affairs outside the Murim Alliance and interacted frequently with the outside world.
If Tang So-hwa and Namgung Jin were handed over to the Inspection Unit, their whereabouts would spread across all of Hubei overnight.
Hwang Bo Rim, intending to find the strange person himself, asked about the suspect's appearance.
"We'll look for him first. What does he look like?"
The headquarters martial artist coldly rejected Hwang Bo Rim's offer.
"You will find it difficult to apprehend him, so step aside."
"Hey, aren't you being a bit too dismissive?"
As Hwang Bo Rim showed his displeasure, an impassive voice returned.
"We are looking for Namgung Jin. Since you have ties to him, even if you fail to find him, people will say you hid him. Therefore, we will search for him ourselves."
At those shocking words, So-hwa's eyes widened.
At that moment, a presence was felt behind them.
Perhaps sensing the commotion, the Four Directions Hall Lord and the Black Sky Demon were approaching.
So-hwa quietly went up to them.
"What's going on?"
"The Inspection Unit is asking us to open the gate so they can search the pavilion."
"The Inspection Unit? I'll speak with them."
Peng Sihyeon passed by So-hwa with a calm expression, as if she thought it was nothing serious.
So-hwa stepped backward to block Peng Sihyeon's path.
"The Inspection Unit is looking for Young Lord Namgung Jin."
"Namgung Jin? Why?"
"It seems someone has framed the Young Lord. They say he killed a Four Seasons Hall guard and then entered the Tang Clan pavilion."
So-hwa added in a whisper.
"And shortly before this, a Blood Sect member impersonating Namgung Jin came to the Medical Hall."
The expression vanished from the Black Sky Demon's face.
He had seen Blood Sect members who could perfectly imitate others, so with just that one sentence from So-hwa, he understood the situation.
However, Peng Sihyeon, having never seen a Blue Blood Hall member, frowned.
"What kind of ridiculous misunderstanding is this....... I'll go out and clear it up."
The Black Sky Demon grabbed the Four Directions Hall Lord's arm.
Tang Min, who had silently stopped Peng Sihyeon, asked So-hwa in a dark voice.
"Where is Namgung Jin right now?"
"I don't know. I searched places where Young Lord Namgung Jin might be, but neither the Young Lord nor that Blood Sect member was there."
The commotion outside grew louder.
“Now, now, how can you push people like this?”
"Please, just trust us for a moment......."
As the headquarters martial artists tried to force their way in, it seemed Hwang Bo Rim and Tang Hak were blocking them.
The Black Sky Demon listened quietly, then let out a sigh.
"I don't know if this was intentional, but if we submit to an Inspection Unit investigation, we might all be torn apart."
So-hwa agreed with those words. At the very least, it would be difficult to remain under the protection of the Four Seasons Hall and the Four Directions Hall.
With a Four Seasons Hall guard murdered, and the suspect being someone who had entered the headquarters together with the Four Directions Hall Lord, the Inspection Unit had ample grounds to act.
If they did not hand over Namgung Jin, they would be suspected as accomplices, yet even if they found Namgung Jin, they had no intention of letting the Inspection Unit bind him.
Peng Sihyeon seemed to understand the situation as well, and no longer insisted on handling it herself. She muttered as if to herself.
"Why impersonate Young Lord Namgung Jin of all people?"
So-hwa had a guess, but could not say it aloud.
This year was the year Namgung Jin would die. She had vaguely assumed it was Namgung Hyun's doing, but it seemed he had borrowed the power of the Blue Blood Hall to eliminate Namgung Jin.
'Was it like this back then too, luring Namgung Jin away and separating the Young Lord from his retainers?'
If her past life and fate did not change, Namgung Jin might return as a corpse.
Moreover, it bothered So-hwa that the Blood Sect member had taken Namgung Jin instead of her.
'Is there a reason they would need Namgung Jin before me, at a time like this?'
So-hwa quietly turned the thoughts over in her mind.
Standing between Namgung Jin and the Blood Sect was Namgung Hyun.
At that moment, as if something had occurred to her, her eyes darkened.
So-hwa slipped her hand inside her clothes. The Cold Iron touched her fingertips.
Namgung Hyun had prepared a mold in advance to create a passage.
'If he was planning to create a passage in Hubei, was the one to convey that passage to the Blood Demon the Blue Blood Hall?'
If, at this time, the Blue Blood Hall helped Namgung Hyun kill Namgung Jin—
'Was Namgung Jin the price of the passage?'
So-hwa guessed at the reason the Blue Blood Hall had taken Namgung Jin.
'It seems the Blue Blood Hall is trying to renegotiate with Namgung Hyun to obtain the passage.'
Since So-hwa had intercepted the passage meant for the Blue Blood Hall, perhaps they were belatedly trying to placate Namgung Hyun.
'...... Since I blocked all the North Sea passages, Namgung Hyun's value within the sect must have become even greater.'
Unintentionally, she had solidified Namgung Hyun's position within the Blood Sect.
So-hwa spoke in a subdued voice.
“It seems there is a group from the Blood Sect trying to kill Namgung Jin.”
Peng Sihyeon cut her off.
"Do you know who took the Young Lord?"
"I'm not certain, but there is a Blood Sect base along the Yangtze River. They are skilled at impersonation, so it was likely a Blood Sect bastard residing there who took Namgung Jin."
Without further thought, Peng Sihyeon looked at the Black Sky Demon.
"Black Sky Demon, please search for Young Lord Namgung Jin. I will accompany the Inspection Unit and stall for time."
The Black Sky Demon asked So-hwa in a cold voice.
"What is the exact location?"
They moved immediately without asking how Tang So-hwa knew. They trusted that she knew the Blood Sect well.
That trust felt slightly unsettling, but there was no time to waste, so So-hwa immediately said what she knew.
"It's the inn between the courtesan house and the ferry dock."
The Black Sky Demon turned his head toward the Four Directions Hall Lord.
"I'll take So-hwa with me. Once this is resolved, send people back to the pavilion."
"If there are Blood Sect members there, wouldn't it be dangerous? They'll be targeting Young Lady Tang."
"It's better for her to be by my side than tied up in the Mind Prison under the pretext of interrogation."
So-hwa quietly nodded.
If there was a Blue Blood Hall bastard in the Inspection Unit, it wouldn't be strange for them to naturally replace her while she was in the Mind Prison.
The Four Directions Hall Lord seemed to agree and spoke in a low voice.
"If you exit through the back gate, there is a training ground. If you go behind the old tree on the left, it leads to Wuhan......."
"Previously, the Four Seasons Hall Lord informed me of the route leading to Wuhan."
The Four Directions Hall Lord stopped explaining. After exchanging a glance, she walked toward the main gate.
"Please follow me."
So-hwa quietly guided the Black Sky Demon along the way.
* * *
The hem of a blue robe swept across the underground stairs.
Red lanterns intermittently lit the corridor, making it difficult to distinguish the embroidery on clothing or subtle changes in expression. Yet even in the dim underground, the man's features alone shone clearly, as if bathed in a different light.
When he opened the red door and entered, a middle-aged man inside rose to his feet.
"How could you do something like this without consulting me?"
The Blue Blood Hall member wearing Namgung Jin's face sat back down with a faint smile.
Looking at Namgung Jin, who was bound on the floor, he spoke.
"Must be quite potent. How is he still not awake?"
"I applied another needle, just in case he might regain consciousness."
At the middle-aged man's words, the member's gaze shifted from Namgung Jin. The man did not shrink back even under that sharp look. Rather, he spoke in an irritated voice.
"If you went that far, why didn't you bring Tang So-hwa with you? Why waste such an opportunity and bring back someone so useless?"
The Deputy Hall Lord of the Blue Blood Hall sneered.
"The Hall Lord favors you, so I refrained from saying unpleasant things, but do you know that you are, in fact, the root cause of all of this?"
Perhaps knowing he was at fault, the man closed his mouth.
The Deputy Hall Lord let out a small sigh.
"Knowing that the Sect Leader cherishes sorcerers, how could you fail to appease him even once and cause such an incident? You could have at least paid lip service, saying you'd obtain the Cold Iron later. Instead, because you kept scraping at his nerves, that rat-like bastard ended up clinging to the Tang Clan girl, didn't he?"
“He didn't betray us out of a grudge. When I looked into it, it turned out that at the Alliance of Noble Clans, he had already developed feelings......."
"Feelings?"
The Deputy Hall Lord burst out laughing.
"Sure. You can think that you made a mistake with Cheong-yeon."
Straightening his posture, the Deputy Hall Lord extended his hand. With his fingers, he brushed aside the strands of hair stuck to Namgung Jin's cheek.
As the sweat-soaked hair fell back, it revealed a blue silk tie. It was silk embroidered with the emblem of the Namgung Clan.
"If a man who wanted to kill his own brother and bring the entire clan under his heel betrayed the Sect Leader over nothing more than romantic feelings for a woman—well, it can't be helped. With judgment that poor, no wonder Tang So-hwa managed to carve a path to the North Sea, and you lost every single passage there."
"......."
"The Blood Demon is extremely furious. Just as much as he wants to meet Tang So-hwa, he is eager to meet that Namgung sorcerer as well, so this is your chance to make up for your mistake."
The man swallowed his dry saliva.
The result of having Namgung Hyun's passage taken by someone else had been disastrous. All of the North Sea passages that the Blood Demon had painstakingly cultivated had been sealed, and it was hard to imagine just how enraged he must be.
Moreover, with Bai Gwi of the North Sea occupying the island, it had become difficult to even send the sorcerer to the North Sea Ice Palace.
Only after the Blood Demon personally dealt with the North Sea could the passages be restored, but it was said that the Main Blood Hall Lord had gone to subjugate the Solar Palace, and with Tang So-hwa having returned to the Central Plains, it was not a situation where the Blood Demon could move easily.
The new passage that the Blood Demon had temporarily set aside had suddenly become extremely valuable. Along with it, the price of a sorcerer capable of connecting such vast distances had skyrocketed.
To the point that the Deputy Hall Lord of the Blue Blood Hall had personally abducted the Namgung Clan's eldest son just to appease that bastard.
The man glanced back and forth between Namgung Jin and the Deputy Hall Lord, then took a deep breath.
"...... Can you handle this?"
"Handle what?"
"The Namgung Clan's Young Lord. There will surely be those who pursue him."
"So what?"
The Deputy Hall Lord crossed his legs and leaned back comfortably against the backrest.
"The Alliance Leader promised to take Tang So-hwa, so if I use this opportunity to lure the headquarters personnel outside, won't it make things easier for the Alliance Leader as well? I killed one dim-witted fool from the Four Seasons Hall, so this time that Zhuge fellow will have plenty to keep his eyes busy and won't be able to interfere recklessly."
"...... You're taking this too lightly."
The man's wrinkles deepened.
"Recently, matters in Hubei have been unfolding in unexpected directions. No matter what you have in mind, there's no guarantee things will go according to your will, Deputy Hall Lord. You should be careful."
“Nonsense.”
As the Deputy Hall Lord scoffed, the man added stubbornly,
"This isn't Jin Yin Mountain."
The frayed hem of the man's clothes fluttered. Unable to suppress his anger, he spoke in a low voice.
“It cannot be compared to Jin Yin Mountain, where everything is controlled. It would have been more….”
Thud.
The man's face flushed red. He clenched his lips tightly and raised a trembling hand. Grabbing his slashed forearm, he endured the pain and continued.
“……wise to move after finding out the reason why Tang So-hwa returned.”
The Deputy Hall Lord clicked his tongue with a smile.
"So stubborn."
He shook his head as if fed up and stood.
"Even if you don't make such a fuss, I do have my own thoughts. Since pursuit will follow, I'll have us wander about for a while and draw the headquarters dogs far away."
He was about to add that they should keep a close watch on the Young Lord in the meantime—
Bang, bang, bang.
Urgent footsteps came pounding down the stairs.
The Deputy Hall Lord's eyes narrowed. As he turned his head toward the door, a subordinate's voice rang out.
"D–Deputy Hall Lord! I think we need to close the inn!”
“Why?”
“We received word that the Inspection Unit has entered the Tang Clan pavilion. However, it seems that the Black Sky Demon and Tang So-hwa were not inside.”
“Is that so? They might have fled. They couldn’t have gone far, though.”
The Deputy Hall Lord thought it wouldn’t be a bad outcome if Tang So-hwa had come out of the headquarters.
Just as he was about to change his plans and focus on capturing Tang So-hwa first, a subordinate spoke in a tense voice.
“But just now, a report came in that the Black Sky Demon was seen in Wuhan.”
“Oh, so they came out to Wuhan?”
“Yes. They may have figured out our location, so it would be best to clear out the guests before things get noisy.”
The Deputy Hall Lord spoke as he brushed past the member.
“Indeed, if the Black Sky Demon is coming personally, we must show proper courtesy. Summon everyone from the courtesan house and the iron workshop... no, summon all of those outside as well.”
“Yes!”
The member immediately ran out of the inn. The Deputy Hall Lord patted his own face in satisfaction and headed up to the ground floor.