Chapter 247
Chapter 247. A Way to Lure the Blood Demon
Whatever his desperate need was, the Deputy Hall Lord trembled while waiting for her permission.
So-hwa lifted her head and spoke to Namgung Hyun, who was still standing by the doorway.
"Young warrior, if you don't mind, could you bring a cup of water? It seems the Deputy Hall Lord ran a long way, and his throat is badly cracked."
"But......."
"It's all right. The Deputy Hall Lord is not someone who would harm me, so please don't worry."
Namgung Hyun was concerned, but what he saw before him was unmistakably clear.
The Deputy Hall Lord was begging her.
It seemed there was some unspoken history between the two.
Namgung Hyun truly did not want to leave, but since the gatekeeper might arrive, he thought it important for the Deputy Hall Lord to regain his composure.
With reluctant steps, he went downstairs to fetch water.
Once the lingering presence of Namgung Hyun faded into the distance, Tang So-hwa spoke again.
"Did the Blood Demon go to the Great Desert?"
The Deputy Hall Lord raised his head. His pale lips were split. His appearance was wretched, but he did not seem injured anywhere.
"The Hall Lord is facing the Blood Demon. We must hurry and stop him."
"So you saw the Hall Lord fighting and fled alone?"
Her voice carried no emotion, but perhaps it sounded like reproach, for the Deputy Hall Lord flinched and raised his voice.
"I had no choice. The Blood Demon promised to return the Solar Palace if I brought you to him, but the Hall Lord wouldn't even listen, so before the Blood Demon changed his mind, I had to come for you."
So-hwa's eyes narrowed slightly.
"He said he would return the Solar Palace if you brought me?"
"The Blood Demon says he no longer intends to hide his existence from the world. Thus, even if it becomes known how the bloodlines of the Outer Regions have been preserved, it would not matter."
So-hwa snorted.
"Two bloodlines of the Outer Regions have already slipped from his grasp and reclaimed their palaces, so they're beyond his control. That's not benevolence. At a time when he needs to swallow the Central Plains, if he leaves his seat, others will rush at Jin Yin Mountain from both sides, so he's merely trying to placate and deceive."
"You say that because you don't know the Blood Demon. He isn't rational enough to think that way. If he can't tame something, he's the type to erase it from the world, even if he suffers a bit of a loss”.
The Deputy Hall Lord's complexion was deathly pale. It was hard to tell whether it was from lack of food and drink or sheer terror.
"Then why not simply wipe out the Main Blood Hall? Why did he say he would forgive us only if you brought me?"
From the start, So-hwa did not trust the Blood Demon.
Nor did the man before her seem likely to trust him.
Still, she was curious what the Blood Demon had said that made him believe the offer was reasonable, leaving the Hall Lord behind and rushing here alone.
Had the Blood Demon proposed something even the Deputy Hall Lord thought tempting?
What could be more valuable to the Blood Demon than the Main Blood Hall Lord and the Solar Palace?
"I thought it wouldn't be such a difficult request, even for Young Lady Tang. H-however, if you find it difficult, then please tell me what you want. I will grant anything, even at the cost of my life."
Instead of answering, the Deputy Hall Lord spouted nonsense.
He claimed it was not a difficult request, yet said he would stake his life to pay the price.
It seemed he did not even realize how terrible a negotiation he was making as he spoke.
No, the very claim that it wasn't a difficult request was wrong from the start.
"If the Blood Demon takes me, he will lock me away at Jin Yin Mountain and try to use me for the rest of my life. Is offering my entire life to that mad old geezer not a difficult request?"
At her words, he lifted his head.
"No. You would not stay at Jin Yin Mountain, but at the Solar Palace. Once he obtains the one thing he desires, he will not be satisfied with just that one and will continue to want more, so......."
"Speak clearly."
The Deputy Hall Lord bit his lip once and hesitated. Blood seeped from his cracked lips.
Squeezing his eyes shut, he finally forced the words out.
"The Blood Demon wants a vessel born between the Hall Lord and the Young Lady. He promised to return the Solar Palace if we handed over a vessel that pleased him."
So-hwa fell silent for a moment.
Unsure whether she had understood correctly, she asked again.
"By 'vessel,' do you mean a child created by mixing the blood of bloodlines?"
"Yes."
"If it's a vessel made from the Hall Lord's blood and mine, that means handing over a child born between him and me. Is that really what you just said?"
The Deputy Hall Lord could not answer.
So-hwa was not someone who showed her emotions openly, yet revulsion was evident in her voice.
"The Blood Demon calls you vessels, belittles the place where your clan grows as a farm, and treats you like livestock. And now the Main Blood Hall dares to say that, to save itself, it will create an innocent life only to place it into the Blood Demon’s mouth?"
Her sharp words carved into the Deputy Hall Lord's eardrums.
"And you, of all people. The Main Blood Hall Deputy Lord, who risked his life to go to the Great Desert to escape the Blood Sect's rule, now seeks to secure his own safety by creating a new sacrifice? Do the bloodlines of the Solar Palace know no shame?"
At her words, the Deputy Hall Lord lowered his head, avoiding her gaze.
"It's not for my own safety."
He spoke as if making excuses.
"The Hall Lord can never defeat the Blood Demon. No, there is no one in this world who can defeat him. Even Young Lady Tang cannot deny that. But now, the Blood Demon has come to the Great Desert first. If the Hall Lord truly confronts him, he may die."
His voice began to tremble again.
"I know shame as well. I know better than anyone how disgusting and horrifying a request this is. But to me, the Hall Lord is someone for whom I can bear all of that shame. It's not loyalty to a superior. Min Haerak is......."
The Deputy Hall Lord, who had fallen silent with a cracked voice, spoke again.
"My family."
Silence fell.
"The Hall Lord will never bow to the Blood Demon, so I must kneel in his place. But the Blood Demon has no interest in the life of someone like me, so I have no choice but to beg you. I'm sorry for making you hear such vile words."
His parched cheeks were soaked with tears.
He pressed his head to the floor again.
"If you do not wish it, you need not create a vessel. Just pretend to create one with our Hall Lord...... please help ensure the Blood Demon does not kill him."
"What are you talking about?"
A voice came from the doorway.
Namgung Hyun, holding a cup of water, was frowning deeply.
"Young Lady Tang creating a vessel?"
"There will be no such thing."
Tang So-hwa cut him off sharply.
Namgung Hyun looked at them with a bewildered expression.
"So then, what in the world does this mean?"
The man who had not dared to enter the Hall Lord's room crossed the threshold and came closer.
"It seems the Blood Demon went to the Great Desert and seized the life of the Main Blood Hall there, wielding it as leverage to threaten him. Such a proposal is not even worth hearing—it is utter nonsense."
At Tang So-hwa's dry voice, the Deputy Hall Lord's face darkened beyond despair, becoming utterly wretched.
Having lost all hope, he curled his body to hide his face. Whether he was sobbing or not, he pressed his forehead to his knees, and his shoulders shook.
"... You're a Deputy Hall Lord. Pull yourself together. I said I wouldn't accept the Blood Demon's proposal; I never said we'd let the Main Blood Hall Lord die."
At So-hwa's words, the Deputy Hall Lord lifted his head.
When their gazes met, she asked something else.
"All routes connecting the North Sea Ice Palace and Jin Yin Mountain are blocked right now. If you don't use the passages and go from the Ice Palace to the Black Pavilion, how long would it take?"
It was an abrupt question.
“If one moves by running, it would take about ten days, but there's a passage to Jin Yin Mountain on the southern side of the North Sea, so it would take two days to get there. Considering the time needed to pass the gatekeeper's trial, three days should be enough."
"And how long would it take to go from Jin Yin Mountain to the Solar Palace?"
"The passage between the Great Desert and Jin Yin Mountain isn't blocked, so it would take one day."
So-hwa fell silent for a moment.
She seemed to be calculating the dates he mentioned.
Her black eyes shifted subtly. After examining the Deputy Hall Lord's appearance, she asked in a skeptical voice,
"What condition is your body in right now? Is it strong enough to run hard for three days, raid Jin Yin Mountain, and then return to the North Sea?"
Though her face was expressionless, doubt showed in her eyes.
The Deputy Hall Lord protested,
"It's more than sufficient."
Then So-hwa replied,
"Then go to the Ice Palace now and inform them that Jin Yin Mountain is empty. Tell the Fourth Seat that I sent you, and receive the Ice Palace's support to go to the Black Pavilion and take the man who is in the archive. If you say he's someone who knows all the contents of the archive, the Fourth Seat will readily go with you to Jin Yin Mountain and help you loot the Black Pavilion's archive."
For a moment, the Deputy Hall Lord blinked, not understanding her intent. But So-hwa did not wait for him to grasp it and continued,
"Are you usually this poor at judging things? Last time, you couldn't even tell a watermelon from a pumpkin. If you were to find someone who can distinguish medicinal ingredients, how long would that take?"
The Deputy Hall Lord bristled and glared.
"That was because the Hall Lord took the note, so I got confused and sent both of them! I may look like this, but I've eaten my share in the merchant guild. Do you think I can't tell a watermelon from a pumpkin? I can distinguish medicinal ingredients as well as any decent physician!"
"Good. The Black Pavilion's garden is full of medicinal herbs. I'll write down the names and locations, so bring those along while you're there. If time is too tight to take them, don't be greedy, just dig up the soil around that area."
"If there's no need to take the herbs, why turn the ground over?"
"So the Blood Demon will know it was my doing, and instead of going to the North Sea, he'll come looking for me."
"Young Lady Tang."
Namgung Hyun, who had been listening, interjected as if to stop her.
So-hwa, perhaps worried the discussion would grow too long, explained her reasoning to cut him off.
"We need to know where the Blood Demon will head in order to respond. Rather than wasting our strength waiting anxiously because we don't know where he'll go, it's better to prepare, knowing he'll come to me. Where are the brush and ink?"
She cut off his concern and asked for a brush.
The Deputy Hall Lord hurriedly stood up, brought over a box by the window, and took out the Hall Lord's writing tools.
She wrote down the necessary medicinal ingredients and their locations on paper. Then, on a new sheet, she began writing something in smaller characters than before.
"There are many North Sea Ice Palace records in the archive, so once you reach it, the North Sea people may covet those and waste time. Since the man from the Black Pavilion knows all the records in the archive, persuade them well that only he is needed. Be careful that the people of the Ice Palace don’t linger in the Black Pavilion, lest they all be captured."
"Are you planning to lure the Blood Demon back to Jin Yin Mountain?"
So-hwa nodded.
"Therefore, make sure at least one person escapes and carries the news to the Blood Demon."
At that, the Deputy Hall Lord spoke in a doubtful voice.
"But if the Hall Lord remains at the Solar Palace, won't an even bigger problem arise when the Blood Demon returns? Given the Hall Lord's stubbornness, he won't leave the Solar Palace, so he may face an enraged Blood Demon instead and be in even greater danger."
So-hwa cut off his concern with a calm voice.
"I'll send someone to bring the Hall Lord to the Central Plains, so don't worry and go. The faster you lure the Blood Demon, the higher the Hall Lord's chances of survival."