Chapter 186. Firebone Acid

After leaving behind those brief, commanding words, the Main Blood Hall Lord moved.

He no longer carried himself with the domineering air of a man toying with the Red Blood Hall Lord within his own territory.

The moment Haerak steadied his stance, the world brightened. Like moths drawn to a flame, the Red Blood Hall members swarmed toward him.

Though he’d told her to stay put, Tang So-hwa turned her gaze.

Far away, she caught sight of a campfire. Its light was faint, like that of a tiny firefly, yet bright enough to make out the surroundings.

She could see the empty field, the black cliff, and the gate standing before it—a passage.

All the Red Blood Hall members had followed their Hall Lord, leaving the area around the passage completely deserted.

So-hwa gauged the distance with her eyes and drew a pouch from her sleeve. About half of the fine powder remained.

Boom!

At that moment, Min Haerak charged at the Red Blood Hall Lord.

Their movements were too fast to be tracked by the naked eye. They appeared and vanished again and again within a span of ten paces.

Even a spar between young martial artists usually spanned a training ground ten times that size, but to fight at that speed within such a confined space meant one of them was holding back—accepting immense constraints.

So-hwa understood. Haerak was deliberately staying within range, refusing to stray too far.

Meanwhile, the gathered Red Blood Hall men had begun to creep around them, tightening their circle.

If Haerak showed even the slightest opening, those men would strike in unison.

Tang So-hwa realized that to Haerak, she was a burden.

And even if she were lucky enough to escape this place with him, it wouldn’t be over.

It wasn’t a matter of trusting the Main Blood Hall Lord or not.

So-hwa’s eyes turned toward the entrance.

It had been half a gak (7.5 minutes)  since the last member entered, and the entrance had vanished.

Someone else could still come through from that side.

If the Blood Demon were to cross over, even Haerak wouldn’t be able to withstand it.

So-hwa imagined the worst and scanned her surroundings.

She needed a way to move fast—along a path with no Red Blood Hall men.

Boom!

Haerak, who had just deflected the Red Blood Hall Lord’s fist, suddenly twisted his body backward.

In his grasp was the neck of a Red Blood Hall member.

“Ghk!”

The member jerked, his claws slashing Haerak’s arm.

Crash!

Haerak threw the man before the claws could dig deeper—the strike only grazed him, but dark crimson spots splattered across his violet robes.

This battlefield did not favor Haerak.

He had too many things to keep his eyes on.

So-hwa untied the string of the pouch she had taken from her sleeve.

She leapt to a nearby tree, using the rebound to propel herself—stepping across branches as though sprinting on flat ground.

“[You really don’t listen to a damn thing I say.]”

An irritated voice brushed her eardrums—but only for a moment.

Thud!

The oppressive presence of the Red Blood Hall Lord suddenly faltered. He must’ve noticed So-hwa’s retreat and tried to follow, only to be caught by Haerak.

She couldn’t send a mental transmission back, but she believed he’d guessed she was heading for the passage.

While Haerak held the Red Blood Hall Lord in place, So-hwa intended to destroy the passage.

Whirr.

A fierce wind howled—countless footsteps closing in behind her.

So-hwa sprang upward, stepping onto higher branches as she ran.

Even though her speed wasn’t that great, the distance between her and her pursuers stayed the same.

Given that she couldn’t even use qinggong, she should’ve been caught by now—yet the gap widened instead.

Thud. Thud.

The sound of bodies collapsing and rolling across the snow followed.

Those who had gotten close to her were now dropping from the trees.

By the time her poison powder was nearly spent, she began to see formation marks carved into the cliffside.

Without slowing down, So-hwa drew a fire-starting tool from her sleeve. She lit the poison smoke thread but didn’t throw it down.

The fire burned through her palm—unbearable pain spreading—but So-hwa refused to release it.

Fwup.

A Red Blood Hall member grabbed her calf and tried to drive his claws in, but the instant he inhaled the smoke, his body went limp and slid down.

The spreading poison smoke forced the rest to back off.

Reaching the cliff, So-hwa landed on the ground.

“Ugh.”

Her leg muscles felt torn and refused to support her weight. Dragging one leg, she approached the formation inscribed on the cliff.

Passing a mountain of corpses, So-hwa flung the poison smoke into the campfire.

Whoosh.

Flames leapt up violently, sending thick smoke spilling outward.

“Heueok.”

A Blood Sect member who’d been closing in on her choked and toppled backward.

So-hwa hobbled closer to the blaze, favoring the wounded leg. Her limb hadn’t fully recovered, so movement was difficult.

Meanwhile, the Red Blood Hall members pressed in tightly around her.

“Amazing, you crawled all the way to the passage yourself. I’m impressed, if only a little.”

A familiar face stepped forward. The man smiled and rested a hand against his hip.

“Since you’ve been so thoughtful, I’ll take you back intact. Depending on how you behave, you might lose an arm, but that’s a small price, isn’t it?”

So-hwa placed the man in her memory—he was one of those who had blocked their retreat at Jin Yin Mountain. If he’d survived facing one of the top forces in the Central Plains, his prowess could not be ignored.

The Blood Sect member’s gaze dropped to her leg. Through the torn hem, blood-soaked flesh was exposed, and split muscle writhed against itself.

“You haven’t even trained in the Blood Arts, yet you are blessed with a good body.”

His eyes slowly traveled upward.

“And even if your leg healed, would you be able to run from me?”

His voice dripped with contempt as he sauntered through the smoke toward the cliff.

Placing a hand on the formation, he looked down at So-hwa.

“What can you do with a body that can’t even take its own life? Besides, the entrance we intend to take you through is right there.”

She had her back to the flames, but heat rolled toward her from the front; the Blood Sect member’s hand traced the carving and filled the cliff’s grooves with a cold luminescence.

Saaaa.

A flash blinded her, and the air tore open. A gate appeared barely two steps away.

The Blood Sect member smirked and pointed at the passage between him and So-hwa.

“At that distance, you’d fall through with a single flick.”

He reached out, then withdrew, taunting her. The assembled Red Blood Hall men laughed and followed his lead.

So-hwa’s dark eyes slid to him. From her sleeve, she drew a vial of poison.

The Blood Sect member openly mocked her.

“What do you think that’ll do? How many could you possibly kill with that? Even if it’s a strong poison, unless you wipe us all out, you won’t escape.”

“You’re right. If I can’t kill you all, I might not be able to escape.”

“See? Admit it, you are a mouse trapped in poison.”

Regrettably, she had no toxin capable of annihilating everyone present. Had she access to the Nine Turns Pavilion’s storage, she might find a venom that could wipe out an entire city, but the Tang Clan’s heirloom poisons were not something to be taken out.

Besides, the men before her already looked resistant to poison.

The Blood Sect member who had shredded her calf stalked forward, waiting for the smoke to clear.

So-hwa tightened the vial in her palm as if to threaten, then spoke, holding the bottle like a throwing knife.

“Have you heard of Firebone Acid?”

“Who in the Murim hasn’t?”

The Blood Sect member scoffed, eyeing the vial.

“Isn’t that the poison used for disposing of corpses?”

“Does it have to be used only on corpses? It is a poison that can melt the bone and flesh of the living as well.”

The Blood Sect member showed no fear, but he made a show of displeasure—no need to risk getting burned by such a thing.

“So you think you’re a martial artist now, with your claws out?”

“Yes. Besides, I learned assassination techniques from a young age, so I’m quite good at throwing things.”

So-hwa curled the edge of her mouth as she stared up at the man standing on the cliff.

“Hitting a target this close is nothing.”

“Pretty thing, don’t get cocky. Even if it hits, I won’t die right away. Tsk, how can someone who drank the Blood Demon’s blood be so soft? Better to go quietly than to flap about in bed later. That’s the only way you keep a shred of dignity.”

The Blood Sect member looked at her with utter contempt.

So-hwa said nothing and threw the Firebone Acid vial.

Clink.

The Blood Sect member didn’t flinch. He narrowed his eyes and turned his head aside.

“…Can’t even hit a target that close?”

Laughter erupted around them.

Her boast had come to nothing, the Firebone Acid had missed and splashed uselessly against the cliff.

But a woman from the orthodox side spoke in a calm voice without a trace of embarrassment.

“Saying Firebone Acid melts flesh and bone is merely a human way of putting it. Firebone Acid  is a corrosive compound by design.”

Her cold words smothered the laughter.

“A well-mixed Firebone Acid  can eat through wood, stone, and sometimes even blades.”

A faint sound came from somewhere.

Ssshhh.

The Red Blood Hall members’ gazes swung toward the noise.

Along the trail where the Firebone Acid had flowed, the rock face was corroding. The damage wasn’t huge, but a thin wisp of smoke rose where the stream had run, etching away at the surface.

“Damn it!”

A member frantically tried to scrub the Firebone Acid with his palm, but the poison was already doing its work.

The grooves of the formation widened into rough gaps; some strokes of the characters had been eaten into elongated slashes.

Ssshhh.

Before even half a gak (7.5 minutes) had passed, the passage began to close.

So-hwa returned the sharp look aimed at her and met the member’s eyes.

“You’re the one who’s turned into a mouse in poison.”

Boom!

At the same instant, a tremendous presence settled at her side.

Wiping sweat from his jaw, Min Haerak scolded Tang So-hwa.

“I swear, trying to side with someone so damn stubborn is going to be the death of me.”

So-hwa only glanced at the stunned member rather than the Main Blood Hall Lord, and added,

“Looks like it’s you who’s trapped on this island now, not me.”

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