Chapter 201. If

The streets of Wuhan were deserted. It was only natural. With the atmosphere around the Murim Alliance growing ominous, both the Alliance headquarters and the Hubei Branch were located nearby.

The rumors that once filled the streets changed several times, and now had stopped altogether.

A rumor that the Blood Sect had infiltrated the headquarters and impersonated a direct descendant of an Alliance member.

A rumor that the Alliance Leader had personally gone to the Blood Sect’s stronghold and retrieved that direct descendant.

And then a rumor that when they tried to interrogate the descendant, she had escaped.

It was said that nearly a month had passed since they began searching for the Tang Clan’s direct descendant who had vanished from the headquarters, yet they still had not found her.

With the headquarters’ martial artists on edge and combing through Wuhan as if searching for lice, outsiders left the city rather than risk being suspected for no reason.

In a quiet inn, a martial artist of the Zhuge Clan who was drinking looked down at the street outside the open window. Foot traffic had dropped dramatically.

Zhuge Hyang spoke with a sigh in his voice.

“How long is this going to last?”

He looked at the nephew sitting across from him. The nephew did not answer and avoided his gaze.

Since returning from the Blood Sect’s stronghold with the Alliance Leader, the boy had grown taciturn. He had been a child whose confidence alone had been commendable, so Zhuge Hyang did not like this change in attitude.

He was a member of the Hubei Branch. By the Clan Head’s order, he had remained behind to guard the branch instead of going to the headquarters, which allowed him to observe outside developments from Hubei. At the same time, however, there were limits to how much he could grasp what was happening inside the headquarters.

When the Clan Head began keeping his distance and advised caution for the time being, Zhuge Hyang, feeling stifled, summoned his nephew, who had gone to the Blood Sect’s base with the Alliance Leader.

Pouring wine into his nephew’s cup, Zhuge Hyang asked,

“Daejeong, what exactly happened at the stronghold?”

Asked so bluntly, unlike his usual self, Zhuge Daejeong flinched. He glanced around the quiet inn and replied in a small voice.

“…… Nothing happened.”

“How strange. You say nothing happened, yet you look like a completely different person after just one month.”

Zhuge Daejeong silently emptied his cup.

Swallowing his displeasure, Zhuge Hyang turned his gaze aside. He had heard someone enter the inn. Lowering his eyes over the railing, he frowned. Familiar clothing caught his eye.

It resembled the attire of the Tang Clan woman who had come to the Hubei Branch and turned the Medical Hall upside down.

The youth did not come upstairs and instead took a seat on the first floor.

His face was so haggard that Zhuge Hyang did not recognize him at first, but he soon realized who it was.

‘I heard that the Tang Clan Head left the Young Lord behind at the headquarters, but I didn’t expect him to wander around taverns.’

Because the Tang Clan Head’s eldest daughter had been suspected and then fled, the Murim Alliance members did not look kindly on the Tang Clan.

With the headquarters personnel suffering the most, it was understandable that staying inside the headquarters would feel uncomfortable, but for the Young Lord of a clan to boldly show his face and roam taverns was not exactly a reminder.

Zhuge Hyang silently examined Tang Hak’s face.

Perhaps weighed down by recent events, Tang Hak’s eyes were unfocused. He could not even place a proper order with the server, hesitated, and simply waved him away. Then he stared down at the table with a gloomy gaze.

At the heavy look that did not suit his age, Zhuge Hyang let out a hollow laugh.

“Why are you laughing?”

The nephew sitting across from him followed his uncle’s gaze downward. Upon spotting Tang Hak, Zhuge Daejeong startled and snapped his head back up.

At that frivolous reaction, the uncle frowned.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Ah? N-no, it’s nothing.”

The nephew dodged the question, his voice noticeably smaller. The uncle looked back and forth between Tang Hak and his nephew.

He had heard the rumors as well. The unbelievable rumor that the Young Lord of the Tang Clan had single-handedly dealt with over a hundred Blood Sect members at the stronghold. However, he had no choice but to believe it. The source of the rumor was the Zhuge Clan itself.

It was testimony directly given by Zhuge Cheon-yu, who had accompanied the Alliance Leader, so it could not be dismissed.

The uncle’s gaze lifted to Zhuge Daejeong.

The sight of his pitiful nephew shrinking in on himself came into view.

In the Murim, ranks are inevitably decided by martial prowess. It is not wise to bristle with reckless bravado at someone stronger than oneself. Still, there was no need for a martial artist of the Zhuge Clan to behave this way toward a martial artist of the Tang Clan.

It was not merely pride between clans. It was because of their alliance.

Zhuge Hyang refilled his nephew’s cup.

“Come to think of it, I heard that when the Alliance Leader went to the Blood Sect’s stronghold, all the Tang Clan martial artists went along. They say the Tang Clan’s Young Lord was badly injured while holding off the Blood Sect members alone in a ravine, but seeing him in person, he looks just fine.”

“…….”

“They say he faced nearly a hundred Blood Sect members. Was that an exaggeration? Those kinds of rumors tend to turn into backlash the moment one’s true ability is revealed. Fame gained at a young age can become shackles.”

Thinking his nephew’s spirit had been crushed, he deliberately spoke ill of Tang Hak, but instead of feeling comforted, Zhuge Daejeong grew anxious and did not know what to do.

He looked not merely crushed, but as if he were already dead.

Zhuge Hyang found his nephew pathetic.

Wishing that there be no one stronger than oneself in this world is greed. One must learn to live in accordance with reality.

If one were facing an unorthodox bastard with no tomorrow, avoiding them might not be a bad approach. But there was no need for that in front of the Tang Clan of Sichuan. The Tang Clan of Sichuan and the Zhuge Clan were members of the Five Noble Clans and members of the Murim Alliance. They were sects tied together twice over by alliance, so even if a dispute arose, there were limits to the use of force. Various complicated circumstances would follow, making the cleanup exhausting.

Clicking his tongue inwardly as he looked at his nephew, who had already lost all fighting spirit and laid himself bare, Zhuge Hyang thought,

‘This is a good chance to teach him how to conduct himself.’

There was no need to go pale and assume a servile posture.

Seeing that the child who had once been the most confident and fierce had become so rigid, it was obvious how the others must be without even looking.

Worried that the attitude of the Zhuge Clan’s rising generation might harden this way, Zhuge Hyang quietly drained his cup and stood up.

“Uncle? W-where are you going?”

“Have you not finished eating? Let’s change seats.”

“Now?”

Zhuge Hyang looked at his nephew with cold eyes. Since he was not completely lacking in awareness, Zhuge Daejeong immediately stood up as well.

Hoping they would not run into Tang Hak, he cautiously went down the stairs, but Zhuge Hyang stopped.

And before he could be stopped, Zhuge Hyang turned and headed toward the seat where Tang Hak was sitting.

“Are you not the Tang Clan’s Young Lord?”

Tang Hak, who had been lost in thought, lifted his gaze.

With a puzzled expression, he asked,

“Who might you be?”

“I am Zhuge Hyang of the Hubei Branch. I once received Extreme Ice Grass from your sister.”

Zhuge Hyang spoke warmly, narrowing his thin eyes. At the mention of his sister, Tang Hak immediately lowered his guard.

“Ah, I see. Have you come to eat?”

As if to invite him to join, Tang Hak half rose from his seat and glanced behind Zhuge Hyang. At that, Zhuge Daejeong, standing behind his uncle, visibly flinched.

Tang Hak recognized him as well. But before he could even greet him, Zhuge Hyang cut in.

“No. I was just on my way out after having a meal with my nephew.”

“I see.”

Then there was nothing in particular to say.

Yet Zhuge Hyang, despite speaking as though he were leaving, continued to stand there.

“Is there something you wish to say?”

“You must be having a hard time.”

Tang Hak, being somewhat oblivious, did not immediately grasp Zhuge Hyang’s meaning. Zhuge Hyang continued in a voice tinged with sympathy.

“Seeing that the Tang Clan Head left the Young Lord behind at the headquarters, it seems he is quite worried about your sister. Unable to return home, how difficult that must be for you.”

“It is not. It is not difficult.”

“Not difficult, you say. At the headquarters, how much pressure must they be putting on the Tang Clan?”

“They have not put any particular pressure on us—”

“There is no need to say so. I understand. No matter how much she may be a suspected spy under the watch of the entire Alliance, interrogation is the authority of the headquarters. It is not something other sects should so brazenly demand. I, too, think the headquarters crossed a line.”

Tang Hak closed his mouth.

‘A spy?’

No matter how dense he might be, Tang Hak understood that Zhuge Hyang was insulting his sister.

Tang Hak replied coldly.

“My sister is not a spy.”

“It is true that she has ties to the Blood Sect, is it not? The reason she was abducted to the Blood Sect’s stronghold has yet to be uncovered.”

Tang Hak fell silent. As his usual vacant air disappeared, his face took on a sharp edge.

Zhuge Daejeong wanted to stop his uncle. But his uncle paid no heed and continued provoking the Young Lord.

“It has nearly been a month, and even the Murim Alliance has been unable to track her down. Seeing that, one cannot help but suspect that from the beginning, Young Lady Tang went to the Blood Sect’s stronghold of her own accord. And if she had nothing to feel wronged about, why would she flee on the very eve of interrogation?”

Zhuge Hyang patted Tang Hak’s shoulder lightly.

“The Clan Head must be weighed down with worries as well. Since everyone is linking the Tang Clan with the Blood Sect, he must be hoping that you handle things well so that no strange rumors spread.”

“Who is it that is linking the Tang Clan with the Blood Sect?”

“Wouldn’t everyone think so?”

“I have never heard such words.”

“Haha, who would say such things to your face?”

“Are you not saying right now that the Tang Clan is connected to the Blood Sect?”

“I only gathered the courage to say it out of concern.”

“Since you have spoken so frankly to my face, I will answer you as well. The Tang Clan has no connection whatsoever with the Blood Sect, and my sister is a person entirely unrelated to the Blood Sect.”

Zhuge Hyang formed a peculiar smile.

In a low voice, he asked,

“Are you certain?”

As the choked-up Tang Hak was about to speak, Zhuge Hyang preempted him with a cold voice.

“On the day your sister visited, a fire broke out at the Hubei Branch, and an item hidden in a hall was discovered.”

Tang Hak frowned. He could not grasp what Zhuge Hyang was getting at.

The guests in the inn also quietly focused on the exchange between the two members of the great noble clans.

Perhaps sensing it—or perhaps intending it from the start—Zhuge Hyang held the silence for a moment, drawing all eyes.

“Since everything was transferred to the headquarters, I could not learn the details of that item. However, I heard something strange from someone working at the headquarters. That item is related to the Blood Sect, and they are investigating the route by which it came from the Four Seasons Hall into Hubei.”

“…….”

“When coincidences repeat themselves to this extent, is it not difficult to dismiss them as mere coincidence?”

Zhuge Hyang’s voice pressed down upon the silence.

“Do you truly believe that Young Lady Tang has no connection to the Blood Sect?”

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