Chapter 216
Chapter 216. Complicated Blood Ties
The sound of the river wind bored into her eardrums. Tickled by the glow of the sunset brushing her eyelids, So-hwa slowly opened her eyes.
A landscape painting drawn on the ceiling came into view.
This was not a pavilion of the Murim Alliance.
“Are you awake?”
Tang Min added with a crooked grin,
“You look quite well, actually.”
He was sitting by the doorway in a relaxed posture.
“Wait just a little longer. I went out to find clothes you can wear.”
So-hwa’s gaze shifted toward the window.
A familiar composition filled her eyes.
The Yangtze River glittering with reflected light, and the inn standing before it.
Only, unlike yesterday, the area around the inn was noisy with murmurs.
What had they done with the corpses left at the inn?
As she was about to sink into thought, a grumbling voice cut it off.
“There really aren’t any decent clothes here. They’re even more torn than what you’re wearing now, honestly.”
So-hwa pushed herself up and asked,
“……Did you rescue the Young Lord Namgung Jin?”
“Yes. That fellow went out to fetch clothes just now.”
Only then did So-hwa feel relieved enough to look herself over. Perhaps because she was wearing Tang Min’s long robe, she looked passably neat.
She hadn’t had time to check a mirror, but she had wiped the blood from her face and hands before leaving the room, so going out like this shouldn’t arouse suspicion.
Even so, caution was necessary.
If there were corpses on the street, someone would inevitably intervene. If the Murim Alliance didn’t handle it, the authorities would have to investigate.
So many people lay dead in the streets of Wuhan, with no explanation.
So-hwa suddenly recalled the words she had heard yesterday.
[Please…… don’t let me lose you without knowing anything.]
Quietly lifting her head, So-hwa looked at Tang Min.
He wore an airiness that didn’t match his age.
His discomfort was written all over his face. He didn’t even seem inclined to hide it.
Yet the Black Sky Demon she had seen yesterday was very different from how he was now.
Lately, So-hwa was coming to feel the concept of Murim more clearly.
It had been the same when Tang Min’s composure fell away.
Tang Min seemed to have experienced losing someone before—someone close, most likely.
The reaction she had seen from him yesterday was not unfamiliar to her.
The sorrow of losing someone dear without knowing anything, she could say with certainty that she understood it better than anyone.
‘……Who was it?’
She soon realized it was a meaningless thought.
Over the past few months, Tang So-hwa had witnessed countless deaths.
The Black Sky Demon was older than her; he must have seen even more.
The comrades he had lost would not have been just one or two.
So-hwa had never once asked the Black Sky Demon about matters of the Murim, nor had the Grand Elder ever spoken at length of the wounds he had suffered to a much younger descendant.
She lowered her gaze.
Today as well, she did not intend to ask about his past.
Unless the other party spoke first, it was a wound not worth digging into.
Tang So-hwa swung her legs down from the bed and straightened her posture.
With the sunset pooling on the floor between them, So-hwa looked straight at the Black Sky Demon.
Soon, her calm voice cut through the silence.
“I have a connection with the Blood Sect.”
Tang Min did not react strongly to her words.
As if he had been waiting, he listened attentively with an unhurried expression.
“I swear I am not on the Blood Sect’s side. I only learned recently that I have a connection to them myself.”
With an unperturbed face, she spoke words that were shocking.
“The Blood Sect’s Leader seems to be a blood relative of my birth mother, Jin Su.”
Tang Min’s expression hardened.
“A blood relative?”
So-hwa did not know exactly what kind of relationship existed between Jin Su and the Blood Demon. She only vaguely guessed that she might be something like the Blood Demon’s great-granddaughter.
“I don’t know the details, but the Sect Leader himself said that Jin Su carries his blood, so it’s probably true.”
“So that means you’re of the Sect Leader’s bloodline?”
So-hwa quietly nodded.
“Yes. The Blood Sect and I are bound by blood.”
At those words, silence settled.
Since she had already decided to confess everything, So-hwa gathered her courage and continued.
“Three years ago, I learned of the Blood Sect’s plan to eradicate the Tang Clan, so I tried to identify their base. But there were too many spies around me, and not many people I could trust, so I investigated quietly. That’s when I learned that there are multiple ranks within the Blood Sect, and I joined hands with the leader of a group preparing a rebellion.”
Tang Min’s eyebrow twitched. He looked as though he had something to say, but he pressed his lips together and did not interrupt her.
“The North Sea Ice Palace and the Great Desert Solar Palace are among the groups I mentioned. And…….”
After hesitating, So-hwa confessed this as well.
“Jin Su’s maternal bloodline seems to belong to the North Sea Ice Palace.”
Crash.
A chair toppled over. Tang Min could no longer contain himself and sprang to his feet.
His lips worked before he finally asked,
“Th-then…… are you saying Jin Su’s paternal line is the Blood Sect, and her maternal line is the North Sea Ice Palace?”
“Yes.”
Tang So-hwa added what she had long wanted to say.
“That’s why the North Sea Ice Palace will not betray us. It’s not a bond of alliance or favor, but blood that cannot be severed. The North Sea Ice Palace values blood relatives no less than the Tang Clan does.”
“No—why are you suddenly comparing the Tang Clan to those people?!”
The Black Sky Demon snapped.
So-hwa closed her mouth.
Tang Min tried to calm himself. In a trembling voice, he said,
“So you are blood-related to the Sect Leader.”
“Yes. It seems I inherited his blood.”
Tang Min let out a small sigh.
“So that’s why you have such a body……. Now it makes sense.”
Instead of answering, So-hwa took a flying dagger from her sleeve.
It was the Black Sky Demon’s flying dagger, but as it was a throwing weapon used by the Tang Clan, its shape was no different from her own.
In an even voice, she said,
“The Sect Leader’s blood can become a Gu poison. It enters another’s body and dominates their will.”
“Didn’t you say that before?”
As Tang Min reproached her for repeating herself, So-hwa pricked her finger with the tip of the flying dagger. A single drop of red blood welled up.
She showed it to Tang Min.
“……What is that?”
As Tang Min frowned, not understanding, So-hwa answered,
“The antidote that removes the Blood Sect’s Gu poison I mentioned is my blood.”
“What?”
“I received the Sect Leader’s blood, but at the same time, because multiple bloodlines were mixed, a mutation seems to have occurred. No, honestly, I don’t know the exact principle. I only know that when my blood enters the host’s body, it can replace the Sect Leader’s will.”
So-hwa wiped her finger on the cloth placed on the side table. In the meantime, the wound closed cleanly.
A chill ran down the Black Sky Demon’s spine.
Because he understood what So-hwa meant.
She was the Blood Sect’s natural enemy.
An enemy the Blood Sect absolutely had to eliminate, and a weapon the rebels absolutely had to possess.
Inevitably, she would be swept into the Blood Sect’s internal war.
So-hwa spoke in a low voice.
“That’s why I can’t share the method for making the antidote with anyone. If someone were to learn about my blood…….”
“They’d take you away and try to draw your blood for the rest of your life.”
Tang Min muttered in a grave voice.
He rubbed his face dryly and fell into thought.
“So there really was a reason you insisted on staying here.”
“Yes. If I return to Sichuan, the main headquarters may pressure me later to hand over the method.”
Perhaps feeling stifled, Tang Min let out a long sigh.
On the other hand, So-hwa felt a little lighter.
Sharing the burden made it feel as though the stone weighing on her chest had disappeared.
Tang Min, seeming to have finished thinking, sat back down in his chair.
“For now, let’s have you stay at the headquarters for a while. I’ll need to send another message to the Clan Head as well. He’ll have to reinforce our forces to the maximum.”
Tang Min said they needed to bolster the Tang Clan’s strength to the utmost.
Thinking back, he had warned her that even after receiving the antidote, the Blood Sect bastards could still harm her. It seemed he hadn’t let go of that concern yet.
It was strange to see that even the Black Sky Demon, who looked as though he feared nothing in the world, had so many fears.
Tang Min seemed about to say more, then closed his mouth.
As if a blockage had cleared, the sound of the river wind suddenly reached them.
Shaaah.
Not long after, footsteps climbing the stairs could be heard.
A large shadow fell across the doorway. Soon, a plain voice announced itself.
“Grand Elder, it’s Namgung Jin. I brought something in haste, but I’m not sure if it’ll suit Miss Tang.”
It was Namgung Jin.
Tang Min opened the door roughly and nodded.
“Good work.”
Namgung Jin smiled at Tang Min. As he tried to turn his gaze toward the bed where Tang So-hwa was sitting, Tang Min shut the door.
“Wait there.”
Tang Min placed the clothes on the side table.
“Hurry and change, then come out. We’re heading straight back to the headquarters.”
“Yes.”
Tang Min opened the door only a crack—just wide enough for himself—and slipped out.
Only then did So-hwa rise from the bed. As she changed clothes, something dropped with a soft thud, and she reflexively caught it.
It was a hair ornament with a small comb attached.
Unable to understand the point of buying an accessory at a time like this, So-hwa tucked it into her sleeve and stepped out of the room. As soon as she did, Tang Min, who was standing by the door, frowned.
He immediately looked at Namgung Jin and scolded him.
“Didn’t I tell you to buy a hair ornament to secure her hair?”
“I did buy one. Did you perhaps not see it?”
Flustered, Namgung Jin asked So-hwa.
When So-hwa silently took the ornament out of her sleeve, Tang Min snatched it away in one swift motion. He grabbed the hair at her temple and fixed it in place with the ornament.
“At a time like this…….”
So-hwa reached up to stop him, then froze in surprise. A handful of her hair had been cut short.
Her hair must have been grazed by the Deputy Hall Lord’s shuriken and cut then. It seemed Tang Min had bought the ornament to hide the uneven length of her hair.
Understanding his intent, So-hwa reached for the ornament.
“I’ll do it.”
Tang Min slapped her hand away with the back of his own.
“Ah, stay still. You didn’t even know what kind of state you’re in.”
“…….”
When So-hwa quietly lowered her hand, Tang Min struggled to fix the ornament, like someone who had never touched a woman’s hair in his life.
Over Tang Min’s shoulder, So-hwa saw Namgung Jin wearing a look of sympathy.
Even without looking in a mirror, So-hwa could tell her hair was being ruined.
She had to bathe once they returned anyway. Even now, the blood that had soaked her whole body was drying and itching.
Since there was no need to wear the ornament for long, So-hwa didn’t interfere with Tang Min.
Tang Min lowered his hands with a satisfied expression and turned to lead the way.
“All right, let’s head back.”
So-hwa met Namgung Jin’s eyes and exchanged a silent understanding.
It meant they would hurry and prepare as soon as they returned.
There was much to be done for the fifteen sects that would soon gather at the headquarters.