Chapter 223
Chapter 223. Blood Sect members of Sichuan
The Black Tiger Unit was one of the Four Tiger Units, the Clan Head's direct martial forces, but it rarely handled external affairs. They mostly dealt with the Clan Head's dirty work behind the scenes.
With the Clan Head absent, it was strange for them to be openly exchanging urgent written messages like that.
Tang Hae-han had just returned after going through a series of bizarre incidents in Hubei, so he could not easily brush off a situation that differed from the norm.
He rose from his seat and said,
"Ye-hwa, I'll get you the red ochre later, so take Yu-hwa and go back to the inner courtyard."
After sending the twins back to the inner courtyard, Tang Hae-han headed straight for the Black Tiger Unit's hall.
As he turned the corner of the alley, the distinctive smell of a newly constructed hall stung his nose. Suddenly, the doors burst open and armed members of the Tang Clan poured out.
Spotting the deputy leader, Tang Hae-han stepped forward and blocked his path.
"Deputy Leader, what's going on?"
The deputy leader tried to brush past him without a word. However, Tang Hae-han blocked him again and asked,
"Please tell me."
Tang Hae-han questioned the deputy leader bluntly.
"If something urgent enough has happened for the Black Tiger Unit to mobilize, shouldn't the Nine Turns Pavilion be making preparations as well?"
At those words, the deputy leader stopped walking.
Tang Hae-han was someone who had been to the main headquarters. He must have seen even more than this, so knowing what information the Black Tiger Unit had just received was unlikely to unsettle him.
Moreover, just as Tang Hae-han said, they would need the Nine Turns Pavilion's help sooner or later.
Judging it acceptable to give him a hint, the deputy leader opened his mouth.
"An unidentified group is descending from Emei Mountain."
A crease formed between Tang Hae-han's brows.
"Emei Mountain? Isn't that where the Emei Sect is?"
Tang Hae-han was not worried about the Emei Sect itself.
Whether they were unorthodox factions or even a pack of lunatics, if a nearby sect could block them, he could not understand why the Clan Head's direct martial force needed to get involved.
Even if support were necessary, that should have been the job of the Sichuan branch's martial artists.
"The Emei Sect tried to block them, but the bastards split their forces and broke through the encirclement. That bizarre group numbers around three to four hundred, and they'll likely reach the Tang Clan estate within a day, so they sent an urgent written message warning us."
"If it's three to four hundred, how many of them are actually coming down?"
Tang Hae-han asked to gauge their strength.
Even so, at least half would probably come.
If around one to two hundred were approaching, it seemed sufficient to prepare toxin solutions to coat the Ox-Hair Needles, so he thought they should prepare poisons and antidotes on the seventh floor.
While Tang Hae-han was selecting usable poisons in his head, an absurd answer came back.
"They say only ten or so stayed behind, so it'd be better to assume all four hundred are coming."
"... What?"
Tang Hae-han frowned.
"At that level, didn't the Emei Sect practically let them pass? There's no way they could be held back by just ten or so intruders."
Tang Hae-han recalled a night he had experienced at the headquarters. The day he learned that Tang So-hwa had been kidnapped, the third son of the Zhuge Clan had refused the Tang Clan's demands and tried to stand by and let the kidnapping happen. It was an incident that made him clearly understand why the elders said that other clans' affairs were worse than matters of strangers.
The anger from that day surged up to his chest.
"They say even blocking those ten or so is difficult. The bastards use martial arts no one's ever seen, and it's hard to treat the wounded, so they can't engage in an all-out battle."
"Martial arts no one's ever seen?"
Hearing such words from the Black Tiger Unit, which gathered information as its specialty, Tang Hae-han asked blankly.
The deputy leader nodded and said,
"They say the flesh around the wound marks turns black and festers, and if you suffer internal injuries, the organs rot away in an instant. That's not the trace of ordinary martial arts."
Tang Hae-han's face hardened.
He was, at heart, someone who studied medicine. As such, he had read various records left by the ancestors to treat the Tang Clan's martial artists.
Whenever he heard of such peculiar traces of martial arts, he could often pinpoint the sect involved.
Blackened wound marks and rapidly decaying internal organs.
A sect that cultivated demonic energy that ran counter to humanity's natural vitality came to mind.
"Don't tell me... you suspect the Demonic Sect?"
The Demonic Sect was a sect that had vanished decades ago during the Blood Demon War.
As Tang Hae-han's face drained pale white, the deputy leader replied calmly,
"In a situation like this, wouldn't it be stranger if the Demonic Sect hadn't kept its lineage alive?"
The deputy leader was already convinced.
"The Emei Sect said that their Sect Leader and main forces have vacated the main mountain, so it's hard for them to support the Tang Clan. They asked the Qingcheng Sect for help as well, but their situation seems similar, so they're not expecting much."
"Isn't that the same for the Tang Clan?"
Actually, it wasn't just "the same."
The Tang Clan would have sent the largest portion of its forces in response to the headquarters' summons.
Right now, the Tang Clan was the most vulnerable in Sichuan.
Even Tang Hae-han of the Medical Hall knew this reality, so there was no way the Black Tiger Unit, a martial force, would not.
As expected, the deputy leader's expression darkened further.
"The Emei Sect said it seems the bastards' objective isn't the Emei Sect, so they sent a few people to tail them. They said they'd keep us informed, but we need to prepare in haste before the next written message arrives."
It meant that the bastards' target was likely the Tang Clan.
Tang So-hwa had once been kidnapped by the Blood Sect, so it was not an unfounded suspicion.
While the Emei Sect was struggling to block a remnant force of ten or so, as many as four hundred monsters were surging toward the Tang Clan estate.
Tang Hae-han felt tense, but he swiftly mapped out what he needed to do in his mind.
Seeing Tang Hae-han shifting his feet as if he might dash off at any moment, the deputy leader also prepared to leave.
"The Leader ordered us to tell the surrounding merchants and commoners to bar their doors and then return, so we must hurry. The Tang Clan estate will soon enter a defensive posture. You should prepare as well."
The deputy leader cast a heavy glance toward the inner courtyard and swallowed his words.
However, Tang Hae-han understood what had gone unsaid.
Right now, the Tang Clan could not wage an all-out battle.
Defending the estate was the best they could do.
The Clan Head and all the main forces were in Hubei, so even if they hurried back, it would take more than ten days.
They could send word to the Tang Clan elders who might be outside the estate, but since it was unclear where they were, there was no guarantee when they would arrive. They had to be counted as effectively nonexistent forces.
The one saving grace was that the Tang Clan was one of the most skilled sects in the Central Plains when it came to estate defense.
Using formations and poisons to block access made it a nightmare to conquer.
That was also why the Black Tiger Unit's deputy leader had spoken at length with the much younger Tang Hae-han. He regarded him as a member of the Nine Turns Pavilion.
As Tang Hae-han stepped aside, he said,
"I'll inform the Medical Hall Lord and the Nine Turns Pavilion Leader myself. Please hurry on your way."
"The Leader is probably already on his way to inform them, but explain the situation once more and help with the preparations."
"Yes, understood."
As the Black Tiger Unit departed in haste, Tang Hae-han also hurried back to the Medical Hall.
* * *
Not long had passed since the sun went down. As darkness settled over the headquarters, So-hwa waited for the Blood Sect members who would come as they always did.
Upstairs was the Black Sky Demon, and at the door stood Han-won. Since one had to risk one's life to come here, perhaps because only the truly desperate Blood Sect members sought her out, the detoxification proceeded without much trouble.
Still, today, So-hwa was tense as well. The words Namgung Hyun had left behind when he visited last night weighed on her mind.
Ssshhh.
At the sound of the wind, So-hwa turned her gaze toward the window.
The chill air was thick with the scent of blood.
Keeping her eyes on the night sky, she moved her hand.
Click.
A large needle slid into the jar.
The needle, soaked through with black liquid, glittered in the moonlight.
At that moment, someone entered the inside.
"Hah."
Seeing the person panting for breath, So-hwa reached out her hand.
Thud.
She closed the window, shielding the intruder.
Worrying about what lay ahead would change nothing. All she could do was give her best to what she could do now.
If she siphoned off the Blood Demon's strength one by one like this, then eventually the Blood Sect would lose its influence in the Central Plains.
Holding the jar, So-hwa approached the intruder.
"If you've come seeking detoxification, please give me your hand."
An elderly woman stared at So-hwa with suspicious eyes.
"Is it really... possible?"
Instead of answering, So-hwa drove the needle into the back of the woman's hand.
She did not respond to pointless questions.
There was no way a Blood Sect member who had come this far, risking her life, lacked conviction.
"Hngh!"
The woman hunched over. Before long, black liquid streamed steadily from the back of her hand. Pulling out the large needle would let the Gu poison drain faster, but since the woman recoiled warily, So-hwa did not approach and simply left it be.
So-hwa returned to the table, closed the lid of the jar, and said,
"It's finished now. You may go."
"......."
"Do you have more to say?"
"Is that... all?"
So-hwa merely smiled at the question and did not look at the woman.
As if they had coordinated their words, the Blood Sect's members always asked the same thing once the Gu poison was removed.
From their uniform reactions, she could vaguely tell how viciously and for how long the Blood Demon's blood had tormented them.
Every single one felt emptiness before joy at the swift detoxification.
Even the Main Blood Hall Lord had reacted the same way.
Without a word, So-hwa put the jar into a drawer and turned around.
The elderly woman was reflected in her eyes. Was she fifty, or sixty? She must have been under the Blood Demon's dominion longer than the Main Blood Hall Lord. Perhaps because of that, she could not hide her overwhelming expression.
So-hwa's gaze dropped lower.
Come to think of it, this woman did not seem to be someone from the headquarters.
She wore a servant's clothes, but they did not fit her, and the sleeves were rolled up twice.
At a time when guests were staying at the headquarters, an elderly servant would not dress herself so sloppily. At her age, she would rather be the one criticizing the attire of maids or other servants.
'Where did she come from?'
Quite some time had passed since the antidote was demonstrated, so if she were a Blood Sect member staying in Hubei, there had been ample time to obtain a servant's clothes and enter properly. There was no need to do something this rushed and reckless.
When So-hwa stared at her without a word, the Blood Sect member lowered her gaze, as if checking whether the detoxification had truly worked.
Soon, the Blood Sect member snapped her head up. Since this too was a reaction So-hwa had seen countless times, she spoke calmly.
"If you need antidotes to give to others, I can provide them. However, the storage period isn't very long, so......."
"Hngh."
Suddenly, the Blood Sect member burst into tears.
"Hngh-Waaaaah!"
No, she began to wail.
This was a reaction So-hwa had never seen before, so she could not say anything.
Usually, the Blood Sect members were frightened of the Black Sky Demon upstairs and wanted to leave the hall as quickly as possible.
The Blood Sect member shed tears and said to So-hwa,
"Thank you. Truly, thank you."
So-hwa's expression remained indifferent as she received the thanks.
She was doing this because she needed to. There was no need for gratitude. And she did not want thanks from a Blood Sect member either. The Blood Sect was the enemy that had annihilated the Tang Clan.
When So-hwa did not respond, the woman, swept up in emotion, sobbed and muttered,
"I never imagined it would truly be possible. Hngh, it was good that I hurried. Hngh, if I'd been just a little later......."
As the pointless words dragged on, So-hwa quietly walked toward the window.
She thought that if she opened it, the woman might get scared and leave on her own.
However, perhaps sensing that intent, the woman sprang to her feet.
"W-wait, just a moment!"
So-hwa, her hand resting on the window, turned her head toward the woman. The Blood Sect member hurriedly said,
"I-it's not much of a repayment, but there's something I should tell you."
So-hwa slowly lowered her hand.
It meant she was willing to listen.
Yet when it came time to speak, perhaps fear took hold, as the woman's lips trembled.
After watching her for a moment, So-hwa asked,
"You don't seem to be a Blood Sect member from the headquarters. Where did you come from?"
She was not especially curious. She had asked lightly, just to ease the tension, but an astonishing answer came back.
"I-I came from Sichuan."
So-hwa's eyes took on a strange light.
The woman rambled, spilling her words.
"I heard it from someone who crossed over into Sichuan. They said the Blood Demon...... was furious. I thought it sounded strange, but then I heard that a medicine had been made that could remove the blood, and that he was going to mete out punishment because of it, so......."
Perhaps out of fear, the woman could not explain properly and often left out pieces of information. However, Tang So-hwa understood every fragment of the broken meaning.
In a cold tone, So-hwa asked the Blood Sect member,
"Did the Blood Demon send an armed force to Sichuan? To punish me?"
The Blood Sect member flinched hard.
Then, as if steeling herself, she nodded.
"Was it the Blue Blood Hall? Or the Red Blood Hall?"
So-hwa named the Blood Demon's armed forces that she knew. If it were them, there was little to worry about. Their main forces were almost annihilated, so it seemed unlikely they could not be stopped by the Tang Clan.
However, words that completely defied her expectations pierced her ears.
"Do you... know about the Demonic Sect?"