Chapter 127. Jin Mountain

The Alliance Leader let out a smile of unclear meaning.

"Who knows. Whether they came for the Young Lady Tang, or whether they came for you and ended up taking her instead. The Young Lady Tang told me nothing. I only muttered to myself."

Soon, the Alliance Leader halted his steps.

Tang Hak froze, but the Alliance Leader focused only on his task.

In the empty plain, he stroked the air. Before long, the air split open, and a rift appeared as before.

"This is no time for leisure, so put away other thoughts."

The Alliance Leader said that and immediately crossed the formation.

The time before the gate closed was about an hour. The group did not delay and followed him quickly.

They repeated the crossing of such passages several times.

And when the Alliance Leader opened the last one—

Under the blazing sun, upon a dune of sand, all were struck speechless.

The Alliance Leader turned to take in those who had followed him.

Unable to ignore the darkened faces of the Tang Clan, the Alliance Leader spoke.

"If the Young Lady Tang is truly as clever as the Black Sky Demon said, then she, too, knows she was not the Blood Sect's target. However, when you're scared, you can't see anything around you. The temptation in front of you would feel like the only opportunity."

The Alliance Leader stepped through the formation first.

"Let us stop Young Lady Tang before she crosses the line in her misguided judgment, lest she burn away even the patience of the Blood Demon and be torn limb from limb."

Even as his words fell, the Tang Clan had already entered the formation. So had the others. The last to enter, a young martial artist of the Zhuge Clan, hopped and shouted.

"Ugh, hot!"

The sun-baked sand burned like fire.

The Alliance Leader spoke in a stern voice.

"From here on, no commotion. Walk with care, noiseless as ants."

"... What?"

The Zhuge martial artists, who would rather run quickly to escape the sand, wore looks of despair.

The Alliance Leader was the first to move.

The calloused soles of his feet barely felt the heat.

Besides, he was too lost in other thoughts to spare room for pain.

The Tang So-hwa he had faced was unlike the Master of Ten Thousand Poisons of his memories.

In the past, she had been so devoid of feeling one might doubt she even had emotions—utterly lacking in compassion, unhesitant to use others.

Selfish and venomous, the Alliance Leader had not liked Master of Ten Thousand Poisons. Though she bore the Tang surname, he had regarded Tang So-hwa as the Blood Demon's kin.

The Master of Ten Thousand Poisons’ nature fit far more with the Blood Sect.

Both in thought and in action.

A hard line formed between the Alliance Leader's brows.

That such a Tang So-hwa would let herself be swept away by emotion and make so reckless a decision—this was his fault. The truth must have provoked her anxiety.

He regretted so readily revealing it.

If Tang So-hwa of this life were to die in the stronghold of the Blood Sect, then she would perish in the most agonizing way possible.

He had spoken to spare her the countless wasted lifetimes needed to reach the truth, yet never imagined goodwill would bring about such an end.

I should never have interfered.

But regret now was useless.

Suppressing his guilt, the Alliance Leader pressed on, step by painful step, across the burning sands.

Much later, when even groans had dried away—

Atop a dune, the Alliance Leader stopped.

In the sandy basin below loomed a vast shadow, like that of fortress walls.

The Black Sky Demon, holding back his tension, asked,

"Is that the Blood Demon's stronghold?"

The Alliance Leader nodded.

"Better that we come to the Jin Mountain. The soles burn a little, but even if you fall or tumble from a cliff, you won't be hurt. At the Yin Mountain, the ice can tear your flesh."

With that, the Alliance Leader made a joke no one could understand and drew something from his robe.

A pouch of cloth thin as dragonfly wings, and three rings.

He forced the cloth pouch—small enough for only a baby's finger—into one of the rings. The pouch, cinched tightly at the waist, took on a comical shape.

"What are you doing?"

"It's my nature to be a kind person. I'm preparing this so you can keep track of time."

The Alliance Leader answered the Black Sky Demon's question as he scooped sand into the pouch.

Because the middle was blocked, only half could be filled.

Ssshh—

No, the sand in the upper chamber began slowly falling into the lower one.

"It takes about a quarter of an hour for all the sand to fall to the bottom."

The Alliance Leader tied the pouch shut, sealing it completely.

He wore one pouch at his own waist, then handed the other two to Zhuge In-hwi and Zhuge Cheon-yu.

"The Zhuge Clan is famous for keeping time like a blade, so you two carry them."

"Is this really necessary?"

At Zhuge In-hwi's question, the Alliance Leader gave a faint smile.

"Inside there, time is life itself. I'm entrusting my life to you now."

With those words, Zhuge In-hwi had no choice but to fasten the comical sand pouch at his waist. Needless to say, Zhuge Cheon-yu did the same, checking again and again with a tense face to be sure it was secured tightly.

"Now, let's go. On the way down there'll be no sound, so we can run fast."

The moment he finished speaking, the Alliance Leader dashed down the steep dune. His movements were smooth, flowing like water—except for the speed, which was astonishing.

The group had long since given up asking him for explanations. They simply followed, hurrying down the sand slope after him.

Fortunately, the sand muffled all footfalls.

Before long, the shadows of the Central Plains martial artists slipping into Jin Yin Mountain were swallowed entirely by the shadow of the fortress wall.

***

"Is this also a kind of formation?"

One of the martial artists of the Zhuge Clan reached out and plucked a leaf into his hand. A smooth sensation spread across his fingertips.

It was no illusion.

What came out was not fear but pure admiration.

"It doesn't seem to be an illusion, but it makes no sense for such trees to exist in a desert, does it?"

The Zhuge Clan martial artists turned their attention to the mysterious stronghold of the Blood Demon.

If such a space could be created, even the most skilled martial artists would be easily defeated. One only needed to trap them inside.

"Alliance Leader."

The Black Sky Demon called to the Alliance Leader, walking ahead.

"That thing you held out into the empty air earlier. What is it?"

Tang Min focused less on the surroundings and more on the Alliance Leader's object.

The Black Sky Demon's question soon drew everyone's attention.

Frankly, it was unsettling. The Alliance Leader knew far too much about the Blood Sect. He even carried the very key that opened the entry into the Blood Sect stronghold.

"I made it just in case it might be needed. Ah, you're asking something more fundamental? If you're asking how I knew about this place, I cannot answer."

"I'm beginning to wonder if you're truly the Alliance Leader—or a Blood Sect rat wearing a human-skin mask."

At the Black Sky Demon's sneer, the Alliance Leader laughed.

"Would you believe if I ripped the skin off my face and showed you?"

"......"

"I'm not blaming you for not believing. I would doubt as well, were I in your place."

The Alliance Leader turned his head and looked at the Black Sky Demon.

"But for now, what choice do you have? From your temperament, had you not decided to trust me for the time being, you would already be shouting for my hair to be torn out to reveal my true face. Hold on to that trust till the end."

The Black Sky Demon, now more unsettled than before, asked in a low voice.

"How is it you know my temperament so well? Does the headquarters spy on its virtuous Alliance members?"

The Tai Chi Sword Saint clicked his tongue.

"Virtuous Alliance member, you say. Where did you throw away your conscience?"

Just as Tang Min was about to retort, the Alliance Leader walking ahead stopped.

"I will now explain the plan to bring back Young Lady Tang, so come closer."

The Alliance Leader stood beside a massive tree and unfastened the scabbard from his waist.

He placed the scabbard on the earth and began to draw.

On the black soil, a fan-shaped, rounded triangle appeared. The Alliance Leader tapped the center of the smooth curve and began to speak.

"The center of this arc is the main gate. It connects directly to the Blood Demon's hall."

The Alliance Leader moved his sword left and right, tapping the two ends of the arc.

"And at the two ends are the east gate and the west gate."

The Alliance Leader lifted his gaze and looked at the Murim Alliance members.

"At the east and west gates are stationed the Blood Demon's most cherished martial forces. Since the two commanders of those forces have taken their elites to the Central Plains, behind those gates, there will only be two hundred—five hundred at most—of the scraps left behind. Truly fortunate, when you think about it again."

Muso revealed his discomfort.

"... The Blood Demon's elites are in the Central Plains, and you call that fortunate?"

The Alliance Leader smiled.

"It is a calamity for the Central Plains, yes. But for us here, our chances of surviving and returning alive have grown. That, I would call fortunate."

A brief silence followed. The air was far from optimistic. The Alliance Leader, unwilling to waste time, immediately spoke again.

"Still, it's only half a fortune. My guess is that the commander of the West Gate personally brought Young Lady Tang to the Blood Demon. Someone bold enough to intrude into the Murim Alliance headquarters and lay hands on a direct descendant of its members could only be a Hall Lord rank. Which means the West Gate's commander may already have returned."

"Then you're saying this place is dangerous after all?"

The Tai Chi Sword Saint revealed his concern, casting a glance at the younger martial artists. Muso's face was equally grave.

The Alliance Leader remained calm despite their worry.

Even if things went wrong, these men would stake their lives to ensure that those younger disciples escaped. He had seen them act that way before.

With a light voice, he cut through their unease.

"Even so, there's no need to worry. I have a way for all of us to return safely, without anyone dying."

"And what is that?"

"While you all act as bait to draw their eyes, I will enter the Blood Demon's hall."

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