Tang Sohwa’s gaze slid toward the doorway. The attendant revealed a trace of discomfort under that gaze. Sohwa stared fixedly at him and asked in a doubtful voice, “Did he tell you the reason he’s come to see me?”“Yes, I asked, but…” The Tang Clan attendant answered in a troubled tone. “He said it was difficult to explain. If an external reason is needed, he’ll officially send someone from Chuhyeon Hall later…”“…”Chuhyeon Hall was the place that investigated alliance members of each branch. It was no different from saying they meant to detain her.Having no other choice, Sohwa rose from her seat and went out to meet him herself.At the main gate, Zhuge Inhwi stood alone. Even though he was still too far for his footsteps to be heard, he turned his body, sensing her presence. For someone who had come to speak of detention, the Sagye Hall Administrator’s face was excessively calm.“Did you come to take me away?”“I’m not sure what misunderstanding you have, but I have no intention of taking you anywhere, Young Lady Tang. On the contrary, wasn’t it I who came in person to meet you?”“For what reason have you come to see me?”At her question, the sound around them vanished for a moment. Into that muffled silence, as if they had sunk underwater, his calm voice penetrated.“The Alliance Leader will keep Young Clan Head Tang Hak confined for about three more days.”When Tang Hak was mentioned, her lips closed naturally, and her gaze fixed on the Administrator’s mouth.As if to tease her anxious heart, Zhuge Inhwi spoke slowly.“As you know, the representatives of fifteen sects are gathered and speaking now. It’s a meeting questioning why Young Lady Tang was captured at the Blood Cult’s hideout and what happened inside. I imagine it must be most unpleasant for your father, the Clan Head.”“…”“Most sects are hoping headquarters will verify Young Lady Tang. If not in the dungeons, they want you interrogated in Donghyeon Hall. Of course, there are quite a few who’d prefer to see you confined in the dungeon outright.”He moved his lips barely enough to be seen and continued speaking.“I’m thinking of using the Sagye Hall’s name to show favor to you and the Young Clan Head. For that, I need to know why you wanted the Han Cheol.”“This has nothing to do with you, Administrator.”“As I said, since I plan to use my own name, I also need certainty.”The man before her showed no sign of retreating. She couldn’t understand why someone from headquarters was behaving this way, but if, as he said, he needed her confession, he could have simply summoned her to Chuhyeon Hall.Though he had wrapped it as goodwill, it was clear he too wished to speak something unpleasant to her.Sohwa reluctantly accepted the supposed goodwill the Administrator claimed.The moment Tang Sohwa turned her back, the sound barrier lifted.Though she hadn’t yet answered, it annoyed her that he had already read her intent, but Sohwa nonetheless guided her guest.“This way, please.”The corridor leading to the reception room was empty. Only the shadows of thick pillars briefly divided and joined the space between them as they ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) walked.As they walked down the quiet hall, Sohwa spoke first.“How does it feel to face the truth?”Judging by the fact that he had come in person, he must have taken the antidote for Oseoksan that day.When she asked for his impressions, the Administrator gave an answer difficult to grasp at once.“Feels like I’ve become a rat trapped in a poison jar.”“Why do you think that?”“Because I seem to be the only tiny creature who knows this place is the poison jar.”Sohwa let out a faint laugh, agreeing with his words.“So then, are you afraid?”“No. Lonely, perhaps—but fine.”From someone who seemed incapable of loneliness, those words sounded almost like a joke.Before long, they reached the reception room. Sohwa offered the upper seat to the Administrator and sat facing him.Following Sohwa’s downward gaze, the Administrator slowly lowered his own eyes, as if to show he possessed a sense nearly equal to sight.The moment she sat down, a warm breeze pressed toward her.Sohwa briefly closed her eyes. In the sealed room where no wind could possibly stir, she could feel the flow of warmth endlessly brushing against her skin.Realizing that Zhuge Inhwi was using a secret art, she slowly opened her eyes. At once, his question came.“What is the reason you need Han Cheol?”Sohwa did not answer his question but instead asked one herself.“Do you remember the Passage that led to the Blood Demon’s Geumeunsan?”“I remember.”“I intend to create a Passage from Hubei to the Northern Sea. For that, Han Cheol is necessary.”“The Northern Sea?”“Yes.”The warmth that had spread like vines wrapped around her entire body—as if confirming something. Despite the tickling sensation, Sohwa remained indifferent.She had never intended to deceive the Administrator in the first place.The Administrator of Sagye Hall had doubted the Alliance Leader in order to learn the truth and had come to see her of his own will.Unlike that day, Zhuge Inhwi now deserved an answer.After a long moment, perhaps having gained conviction in his own way, the Administrator asked a new question.“Why do you intend to go to the Northern Sea?”“There are those who rebelled against the Blood Cult hiding there.”“What do those rebels of the Blood Cult have to do with you, Young Lady Tang?”“They have nothing to do with me personally, but I intend to use them.”The fingers of Zhuge Inhwi’s hand, resting on the table, tapped softly against it. The faint sound, like drops of water falling, brushed against her ears.Fortunately, the noise didn’t last long. When he stopped, Zhuge Inhwi asked,“You intend to use the Blood Cult’s rebellion to cause internal division?”With just one line of her reply, Zhuge Inhwi saw through her intention.Amused by how different his reaction was from Namgung Jin’s, she curved her lips slightly.“Yes. If the rebellion succeeds, other members of the Cult will also break away and form independent sects. So I plan to make the rebels of the Northern Sea an example of liberation and use it to dismantle the Blood Cult.”Zhuge Inhwi let out a dry laugh.“In any organization, there are always the dissatisfied. The larger the group, the greater their number and resistance. But leaving one’s own group and founding a new sect is a completely different story. The Blood Cult is a heretical order. If we compare it to a sect, then the Blood Demon, who taught their martial art, is the grand master. Even if those who break away pass on their martial arts and doctrines, in the end they become but a branch of the Blood Cult and raise new cultists. The result is the same.”He added coldly,“It’s not the Blood Cult being dismantled—it’s its power expanding.”“Administrator, what you say is also true. But those who rose against the Blood Cult never learned the Blood Art. Moreover, their defiance toward the Blood Cult’s doctrine is extreme. The expansion you imagine will not occur.”Tang Sohwa spoke in a low voice.“Rather, those people detest the Blood Cult so much they’d risk their lives to eradicate it. If they are scattered and resettled in Outland, it will greatly help in reducing the Blood Cult’s power.”“You mean to settle them not in the Northern Sea but in Outland?”Zhuge Inhwi distinguished between Outland and the Northern Sea. Because even a single word could carry a different meaning, he was cautious.Sohwa sensed she was being interrogated. So she matched his rhythm, only to lead him further astray.“Yes. They were originally the bloodline of the palace that once stood in Outland, so naturally they would wish to return there.”Before Zhuge Inhwi could ask, Sohwa continued.“You must know, Administrator, that several decades ago the Outland Five Palaces were annihilated in the war against the Blood Cult.”It was a story any martial artist knew.“Then have you heard what became of the surviving bloodlines of the Outland Five Palaces?”Though called “Outside the Central Plains,” Outland lay far beyond Hubei. One had to cross several nations to reach it—no news of the fallen bloodlines could have spread this far.As Zhuge Inhwi waited in silence, Sohwa spoke.“The Blood Demon is said to have long coveted the martial arts of the Outland Five Palaces. More precisely, he coveted the bloodlines that had perfected those arts. But since all the palace lords who mastered the Outland arts died, the Blood Demon supposedly abducted their descendants, forcing breeding and transformation through revolting experiments to perfectly recreate the palace lords’ martial arts.”Sohwa placed her hand on the table and leaned closer.“You must have heard the rumor that the Blood Demon absorbs inner energy through a warrior’s blood. After stealing others’ inner power for so long, his body came to contain many kinds of internal energy. Even the yin energy of the Northern Sea Ice Palace and the yang energy of the Great Desert Sun Palace were sealed within his blood paths.”“…”“The bloodlines of the Northern Sea Ice Palace and Great Desert Sun Palace are said to sometimes be born with special constitutions—yin-cold bodies and blazing-yang bodies capable of holding pure yin or pure yang energy. So the Blood Demon especially raised the descendants of those two palaces carefully, trying to create a vessel that could hold both energies perfectly. When those descendants had trained for long years and accumulated the ultimate yin and yang energies, he would steal their inner power.”Watching the lines deepen between Zhuge Inhwi’s brows, Tang Sohwa added,“To the Blood Demon, the Outland bloodlines are nothing more than perfect vessels to contain his blood.”Ignoring the frozen atmosphere, she continued.“The rebels in the Northern Sea are the descendants of the last Lord of the Northern Sea Ice Palace. If they reclaim the Ice Palace, they will become the symbol of liberation. And if the remaining Outland bloodlines realize they too can return to their roots, they will be shaken.”Whether Zhuge Inhwi understood her or not, he neither sneered nor objected. But he seemed curious about something else.“It’s said the lords of the Outland Palaces were so strong and arrogant they could make the world tremble. How did their bloodlines endure without resisting the Blood Cult’s experiments?”“The Blood Demon uses a peculiar parasitic poison.”Zhuge Inhwi narrowed his eyes.His reaction was unusual, but Sohwa continued.“The Blood Demon’s poison infiltrates another’s body and controls the entire being according to his will. Those who carry that poison cannot defy him. But it seems the Northern Sea bloodline has found a way to remove the Blood Demon’s poison.”“The Blood Demon’s poison… I think I know what it is.”Zhuge Inhwi opened his mouth.At his words, Sohwa flinched.“About three years ago, Young Clan Head Namgung Jin once erased the Blood Cult’s parasitic poison from a captive on Mount Emei.”

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