Chapter 228
Chapter 228. The Clan Head's Command
Until now, the Black Sky Demon had intercepted all of the Tang Clan Head's questions at his own discretion. Once Tang Min began to argue obstinately, there was no one who could rein him in. Not even the Clan Head himself.
However, the atmosphere was different now.
So-hwa sensed that the emotion mixed into the Tang Clan Head's expression was of a different nature than anger. It did not seem to be simple rage over being lied to.
She was not foolish enough to lie at the moment when the Clan Head had given her a final chance. In any case, she had moved only within the headquarters; if the Clan Head truly set his mind to it, discovering where she had gone would only be a matter of time.
In the end, So-hwa opened her mouth.
"I actually went to the Namgung residence."
Whether it was the right choice or not, the Tang Clan Head's expression loosened slightly.
On the other hand, at the mention of the Namgung residence, Tang Min's eyes narrowed.
"So the bastard who wouldn't listen was a Namgung bastard?"
So-hwa shot a cold glance at Tang Min, who had butted in without reading the room. It meant let's talk later, but the Clan Head backed Tang Min instead.
"Did you go to meet Namgung Jin?"
"No."
At that, Tang Ji-ha pressed his lips together once, then asked reluctantly.
"Don't tell me that again...."
"You went to meet the Clan Head's second son? That pale little wretch?"
Tang Min interrupted once more.
So-hwa gauged the Clan Head's reaction. Tang Ji-ha was staring at her with sharp eyes.
"...... Yes, I met young warrior Namgung Hyun."
Tang Min let out a hollow laugh, as if dumbfounded.
"What in the world did you ask of him that such a weak-looking fellow would refuse your request? Say it. With someone like that, in one short while, I could make him scramble to accept what he rejected."
So-hwa ignored Tang Min's words.
However, this time as well, the Clan Head showed interest.
"Did you go to Namgung Hyun to ask him for something? What was it?"
So-hwa wanted to confess honestly. That Namgung Hyun could design that formation, the passage that had made even the Murim Alliance recoil in shock.
She wanted, by any means necessary, to make Namgung Hyun draw a formation that connected to the Tang Clan estate.
But So-hwa could not open her mouth.
Revealing Namgung Hyun's true identity was far too grave a matter.
She could not measure the repercussions it would bring.
If, while she was relying on Namgung Hyun's goodwill, he felt betrayed and sided with the Blood Sect again, the North Sea passage they had barely sealed would be reopened.
Just as he had easily opened his heart to her while still young, he could just as easily shut it again.
Matters of romantic affection between man and woman were not her field, so she could not gamble. All the more so when the Tang Clan was being held hostage by the Blood Sect.
A shadow fell over the Tang Clan Head's face.
"Answer me."
So-hwa knew he would not let this pass. Whatever it was, she had to give an answer.
"I cannot tell you. Even so, if you command me to answer, I would have to speak falsehoods to you, Clan Head, and I do not wish to do that."
"Do you think I am making a request right now?"
"No. I know you gave me an opportunity, and since I have thrown that opportunity away, I believe you will punish me."
Tang Ji-ha was unable to continue speaking for a moment.
Tang Min asked, as if incredulous,
"Are you saying that if the Clan Head doesn't like it, he should deal with you according to the Tang Clan law?"
Hearing it through another's mouth, her own attitude toward the Clan Head sounded insolent. Even so, So-hwa could not give the answer he wanted.
"I am not trying to insult you, Clan Head. I am trying to uphold faith."
"Faith?"
At the Clan Head's counterquestion, So-hwa replied,
"I owe young warrior Namgung Hyun my life, and more than that. If I open my mouth, the young warrior will be put in a difficult position for having helped me."
Debt and faith—at least these were expressions the two martial artists before her could understand.
They were also true.
Though she did not wish to admit it, she had received help from Namgung Hyun.
Thanks to the sorcerer's passage, she had been able to escape, and she had learned a way to bring about the downfall of the Blood Demon. If Namgung Hyun had ignored her, she would now be at Jin Yin Mountain.
In that case, she might have had to watch the Tang Clan be annihilated alive. It was a future more horrific than death.
Saying she owed him more than her life was no exaggeration.
Tang Ji-ha asked in a low voice,
"Do you not know the laws of the Tang Clan?"
So-hwa could not answer.
The law he referred to likely meant the punishment for a criminal who disobeyed the Clan Head's command.
The punishment was death, and the method was decided by the Clan Head. Among their ancestors, there had been those who ordered beheading, and horrifically, those who carried out disembowelment.
Whatever pain was inflicted upon the criminal was entirely at the Clan Head's discretion.
"Are you rebelling against the Clan Head because you were born with a strange body?"
However, the Tang Clan Head could not kill her. More precisely, he knew that he could not.
So-hwa calmly removed one of her earrings.
When she turned the red jade, a pill no larger than a grain of millet came out from within. So-hwa brought it up to the Clan Head's seat.
At the incomprehensible action, Tang Ji-ha furrowed his brow.
"What is this?"
"A way for me to die."
At her words, silence fell.
"All the killing intent the Clan Head had been letting leak so threateningly vanished.
Ironically, So-hwa—the one who had spoken such a shocking statement—looked relieved.
"I had intended to submit the method of manufacture to the Nine Turns Pavilion, but I delayed, thinking it dangerous if the fact that such a thing could be made by the Tang Clan were to leak outside."
As she looked at the small pill, So-hwa's gaze lifted to the Clan Head. The emotion in her dark eyes was strange. A voice darker than that gaze brushed against the Clan Head's eardrums.
"I know you have always worried because I possess a body that is difficult to kill."
"......."
"I wanted to tell you sooner, but I regret that I must inform you in this way. From now on, I hope you can set aside the unease in your heart."
Tang Ji-ha could not say a word. The usually talkative Tang Min was the same. It was as if glue had been smeared on their lips, leaving them unable to make a sound.
Ignoring the silence, So-hwa continued.
"Among the Tang Clan's rules, there is a saying: repay kindness twofold, and repay enmity tenfold. Within the clan, it is not a rule that is strictly emphasized, but outside, it is known as a distinctive rule that symbolizes the Tang Clan."
In front of an elder who had lived among the longest in the Tang Clan and the Clan Head who governed the clan's laws, a young clan member brought up the Tang Clan's regulations.
"It seems our ancestors wished the outside world to see the Tang Clan as such a group—burdensome to provoke, best left untouched, and believed to bring blessings if aided."
So-hwa's voice remained calm.
"If I, who received help from young warrior Namgung Hyun, betray him, the protective shell our ancestors strove to place upon the Tang Clan will be damaged. Therefore, I intend to uphold both of the Tang Clan's rules."
"......."
"I will gladly accept the sin of disobeying the Clan Head's command, and I will not betray the kindness I received from an outsider."
Tang Ji-ha and Tang Min opened their mouths, then closed them again.
The two realized that when something was utterly beyond reason, words simply failed to come out.
It was not normal. No, he already knew she was not right in the head, but this child's way of thinking was so irrational that even among eccentrics it warranted isolation.
"Are you asking me to kill you right now?"
She had handed over a weapon with which to kill herself and asked to be killed by his own hand. And she had said it before Tang Ji-ha, not only the Clan Head, but her father.
Calling it madness was far too gentle a description.
So-hwa lowered her head without a word. It meant she would wait for the Clan Head's decision.
Tang Ji-ha's insides burned black. He believed she was acting this way because she knew he would not kill her. However, he could not indulge in reckless bravado in response. If he went any further, it truly would be an execution.
The muscles in Tang Ji-ha's jaw twitched violently. The sound of teeth grinding could be heard. For the first time, he thought he wanted to strike So-hwa.
In the meantime, his eldest daughter received his killing intent without wavering. Even her breathing was controlled.
'...... In terms of sheer nerve, you truly are fit to be a Clan Head.'
Whatever turmoil lay inside that child, she looked calm on the surface.
Tang Ji-ha's head throbbed, but he suppressed the urge to press at his temples and maintained an impassive expression.
Suddenly, the oppressive aura lifted, and the sounds of nature filled the room.
The rustling of leaves brushing against each other in the night wind sounded bleak. That cold noise was crushed beneath the Clan Head's heavy voice.
"Is someone outside?"
A black shadow fell across the doorway at the Clan Head's call.
As a martial artist of the White Tiger Unit revealed himself, Tang Ji-ha's black eyes dropped to So-hwa.
"You said you would uphold faith, and asked for punishment?"
A voice cold enough to be frightening drilled into So-hwa's eardrums. Without even waiting for her reply, he ordered the White Tiger Unit member,
"Come in and take Tang So-hwa to the dungeon."
Creek.
Without the slightest hesitation, the White Tiger Unit member opened the door and stood beside Tang So-hwa. There was no need to bind her. Tang So-hwa straightened her upper body, clearly showing her intention to follow quietly.
Staring at So-hwa with icy eyes, Tang Ji-ha said to the White Tiger Unit member,
"Do not give her even a sip of water, and keep watch. Unless she escapes the dungeon, there is no need to report any situation to me."
"Yes, sir."
Only then did the White Tiger Unit martial artist take hold of So-hwa's arm. So-hwa did not shake him off. She simply followed him out of the room without resistance.
Thud.
As the door closed, the Clan Head covered his eyes with both hands.
"How could something like that......."
Tang Ji-ha failed to finish his sentence and let out a breath thick with anger.
"Something like what? Why do you stop mid-sentence?"
When Tang Min asked, Tang Ji-ha finally exploded and poured out his words.
"To dare bring up the Tang Clan's rules and the ancestors before the Clan Head and disobey a command! And this pill, too.....! Such behavior! Is there anything she wouldn't say before her own father? How dare she threaten me, saying I can kill her if I want!"
"I'm not taking that insolent child's side, but she probably wasn't threatening the Clan Head. Considering So-hwa's bizarre disposition, she likely truly informed you of that poison so you could be at ease."
Tang Ji-ha pressed his forehead. Even he thought that was likely. That child was heartless enough to consider such a thing.
"I truly cannot understand that child's thoughts. There isn't a single thing about her that resembles me......."
Because he could not understand her thinking, he had no sense of how to handle her.
Then Tang Min spoke in an awkward voice.
"You say she doesn't resemble you?"
Tang Ji-ha lowered his hand and looked at him. The Black Sky Demon's gaze was muddled.
"I'm thinking, 'blood really doesn't lie.'"
"Grand Elder, my head is pounding terribly right now. Please save the jokes for later."
Tang Min let out a hollow laugh.
"They're exactly the same, though......."
"What is the same!"
Tang Ji-ha snapped, flaring up. Tang Min replied, sounding aggrieved,
"How many times did the Grand Clan Head warn you not to stir up scandals after becoming the Young Lord? Did you listen? You went ahead and even got a woman pregnant, making the Grand Clan Head clutch the back of his neck. And when he said the child would be removed and the woman driven out, didn't you go berserk and threaten to throw away the position of Young Lord?"
Tang Min clicked his tongue.
"Back then, the Grand Clan Head said the same thing. Didn't he ask whether you even knew the laws of the Tang Clan after becoming the Young Lord? No, now that I think about it, it gives me chills. How can you say exactly the same words as the Grand Clan Head, without a single syllable different?"
Tang Ji-ha, too, recalled that day. As the buried memory became vivid, the Clan Head's complexion changed.
Tang Min chuckled.
"You also said I could kill you, Clan Head. That day, as soon as you left, the Grand Clan Head said something similar. He lamented how the Tang Clan could be entrusted to someone like you. He said, ‘Is such a soft-hearted fellow really my child?’"
"......."
"Ah, blood is terrifying. Maybe that's why the same history repeats itself even within a single dynasty."
Shaking his head, Tang Min walked to the edge of the table. He carefully picked up the small pill.
"I'll return this to So-hwa once I see how things go."
"Are you insane? Why would you give that back!"
"It's not a good thing for the method of making something like this to be known, and it's something So-hwa will need. Tell her to keep it to herself instead of submitting it to the Nine Turns Pavilion. If the Clan Head has no intention of killing her today, then the moment So-hwa comes out of the dungeon, she'll just make another pill like this."
"......."
"What good does it do for her to keep making poison that cuts off her own breath with her own hands?"
Tang Ji-ha could not say a word.
"She has a natural gift for cutting off other people's breath, so don't let her waste her effort on pointless things. Just let her do that for the rest of her life."
Tang Min added,
"Of course, it is the Clan Head's decision."
Tang Ji-ha did not answer. However, as if he had read the Clan Head's thoughts, Tang Min quietly left the room. He held the poison in his hand, but Tang Ji-ha did not tell him to bring it back and let him go.