Part 1

Chapter 21. Punishment

The Elder Council was held at the Clear Night Pavilion on the last day of every month. Of course, there were times when urgent meetings were held unexpectedly to address pressing matters, but in recent years, no emergency meetings had been convened.

As a result, the sudden announcement of an Elder Council meeting caused a commotion in Clear Night Pavilion.

The servants, who would normally start preparing for the monthly meeting by decorating Clear Night Pavilion ten days in advance, were shocked when they heard the news that a meeting would be held suddenly. And to make matters worse, it was to be held that very night! The servants scrambled about as if a war had broken out.

Only after the sun had set did peace finally return to Clear Night Pavilion.

As its name suggested, Clear Night Pavilion resembled a clear night sky.

The floor was covered in thin obsidian like a black sea, and the building, constructed from ebony imported from the Western regions, exuded an imposing atmosphere.

The precious materials used in its construction, carefully chosen by skilled artisans, proudly displayed the beauty of their dark color.

Tang So-hwa stepped into Clear Night Pavilion, as if entering the darkness. The white lanterns placed on the floor, scattered like stars in the night sky, softly illuminated her path.

Creak.

The gatekeeper, recognizing Tang So-hwa, opened the door to the meeting hall. Through the open gap, a bright light poured out.

In contrast to its dark exterior, the interior where the meeting took place was a completely white space, as if it had absorbed all the light.

Still, Tang So-hwa felt her vision grow darker compared to when she first entered the building.

No one was present on the path she walked. The Clan Head and the Elders sat on a platform that was half a floor higher, looking down at her as she entered the center.

There were two reasons why someone would attend the Elder Council, even if they were not the Clan Head or an Elder.

The first was when the Clan Head’s authority was delegated to a martial force leader going to the battlefield. The second was when the person being punished was summoned during a meeting discussing the punishment.

Tang So-hwa was the latter.

She stopped walking in the center of the meeting hall. Opposite her sat the Clan Head, and beside him were the 16 Elders.

The Clan Head’s gaze was indifferent, as if looking down at a servant of the Tang Clan rather than his own daughter. Impartial. This was the reason the Clan Head always told Hak to set aside emotions. The position of the Clan Head had to be fair to everyone.

Facing her father, who looked down on her from the high platform, she thought she understood his intention.

Tang So-hwa silently bowed her head to the Clan Head, waiting for his command.

“Is it true that the Blood Sect members appeared in Emei Mountain in Sichuan?”

The voice of the Clan Head, Tang Ji-ha, echoed through the wide meeting hall.

“Yes. That’s correct.”

Tang So-hwa answered affirmatively, but since the matter had already been reported, the Elders did not show any sign of agitation.

“However, is it also true that these Blood Sect members were transferred to another branch, not the headquarters?”

“Yes, I requested the assistance of the Murim Alliance’s Anhui branch to interrogate the Blood Sect members.”

“Do you represent the Murim Alliance’s Sichuan branch?”

It was not a question.

“Then, did I grant you the authority to represent the Tang Clan?”

“My apologies.”

“You acknowledge that you abused the authority of the Murim Alliance’s Sichuan branch and the Clan Head’s power without permission.”

Tang So-hwa paused for a moment and then spoke, as this was true.

“I admit my mistake in making such a major decision without consulting the Clan Head. However…”

“However?”

The previously calm voice of the Clan Head, Tang Ji-ha, now carried a hint of anger.

“Do you think the Clear Night Pavilion has been opened to hear your excuses?”

“Certainly not, I do not think that.”

Silence descended. While punishment had to be discussed, the Clan Head was momentarily shaken by the attitude of his daughter, who seemed to have some purpose.

Normally, Tang So-hwa would have ignored her father’s mistake, but now she accepted the human error of the Clan Head and seized it as an opportunity.

“There is a reason I transferred the Blood Sect members to Namgung.”

As a member of the Tang Clan who had come to request punishment, Tang So-hwa dared to raise her head and speak calmly while facing the Clan Head.

“The Blood Sect members possessed the Tang Clan’s poison.”

This, too, was information already reported to Tang Ji-ha. However, some of the Elders, who had been summoned from outside in haste, had just now learned of it.

For a brief moment, the air seemed to stir, as if a warm breeze had swept through.

The Tang Clan’s Elders.

They were the top martial artists of the Tang Clan, who had accumulated martial knowledge over many years. Even the slightest disturbance among them caused a surge of tension, and the atmosphere in the room grew hot as if flames were rising.

Tang So-hwa ignored the sharp, burning pain that felt like a blade scraping her skin and continued speaking.

“Namgung has been tracking the Blood Sect members from Anhui, and kept this fact secret not only from the Sichuan branch, but even to the Murim Alliance’s main headquarters. The reason is that they suspected a connection between the Blood Sect and a member of the Muriml Alliance.”

Tang So-hwa, being cautious, took a brief pause before adding slowly.

“And that Murim Alliance member is likely the Tang Clan.”

She explained what had happened at Emei Mountain.

She had discovered the Blazing Herb Poison, and the Blood Sect members might still have some of the Tang Clan’s poison. Furthermore, Namgung had hidden during the Blood Sect’s attack on the Tang Clan and had only intervened when a direct descendant was on the verge of dying, detailing the situation.

“Until that moment, it seems he did not believe the Blood Sect members would kill us.”

Tang So-hwa’s voice was calm, echoing alone in the vast space. The elders, pillars, and experts of the Tang Clan allowed the sinner’s words in silence.

However, Tang So-hwa knew from the increasing pain on her skin that they were growing angry.

“I did not have enough time to obtain proper information. But I suspect that the reason Namgung became certain about the relationship between the Tang Clan and the Blood Sect is due to the leakage of poison. It’s possible that someone in Namgung was poisoned while tracking the Blood Sect in Anhui. And…”

Tang So-hwa hesitated for a moment.

“Perhaps there is evidence of the poison, meaning he might be carrying the Tang Clan’s poison.”

When Tang So-hwa had asked Namgung Jin at Emei Mountain if he suspected the Tang Clan, he had remained silent, and the Namgung martial artists had been enraged by his silence.

Tang So-hwa recalled his sensitive reaction and came to a hypothesis.

Perhaps someone in Namgung’s group had already been poisoned.

If they had already been treated, or if treatment was possible, they would have threatened the Tang Clan to obtain the antidote, but the fact that they hadn’t meant it was likely too late.

Namgung’s great suspicion of the Tang Clan, hiding the Blood Sect’s actions, must have been based on strong conviction.

Evidence that could support the relationship between the Tang Clan and the Blood Sect.

“Namgung was unreasonably hostile toward the Tang Clan. I suspect someone may have been poisoned. And if I were the Young Lord of Namgung…”

“You would have preserved the corpse?”

Tang So-hwa nodded.

“Yes. If it were me… that’s what I would’ve done.”

Rather than giving up and honoring the dead, she would have waited for the right time for revenge.

Patience.

Naturally, the name of one man in Namgung surfaced in her mind.

Tang So-hwa’s dark eyes dimmed.

“Namgung hasn’t yet made their suspicions public, but we don’t know when they might report it to the Murim Alliance. So, we must first break Namgung’s credibility.”

“You’re saying you handed the Blood Sect members over to Namgung in order to undermine their credibility?”

Tang Ji-ha couldn’t understand.

If we interrogate the Blood Sect and secure proof that they’re from the Blood Sect and what their purpose for infiltrating was, wouldn’t that serve as evidence that Namgung tracked them down?

That should be praiseworthy, not something to damage their credibility.

“Yes.”

But Tang So-hwa nodded without a shred of hesitation.

“Namgung Jin told me he intended to share the information once the Blood Sect resurgence was certain. So even as he passed through Hubei on his way to Emei Mountain, he must have hidden the Blood Sect’s activity from the Hubei branch.”

Normally, the branches of the Murim Alliance were run by the sects overseeing that region.

Some, like the Anhui branch, were managed solely by the Namgung Clan, while others, like the Sichuan branch, were jointly overseen by multiple sects.

In Hubei, which Namgung passed through on his way to Sichuan, there were the Wudang Sect and the Zhuge Clan. These two sects, to put it nicely, were upright; to put it less nicely, they were inflexible.

They were unwilling to shoulder any burden that might cause them harm, and rather than letting matters slide, they preferred to handle everything strictly according to rules.

Namgung Jin captured the Blood Sect in Sichuan after tracking them, but it could have just as easily been in Hubei.

Since they could have been attacked by the Blood Sect without even realizing it, the Hubei branch, too, wouldn’t feel relieved upon discovering they had been left out of the information—instead, a chill would run down their spine.

Information sharing was a matter strictly regulated within the Murim Alliance.

If hundreds of unorthodox sect members were heading toward Hubei through Sichuan and someone kept quiet just because it wasn’t their problem, Hubei would suffer. Whether intentional or not, that indifference could lead to the massacre of Hubei’s civilians.

This kind of situation had repeated itself for a long time. As the emotional rifts among the alliance members deepened, the Murim Alliance instituted strict internal rules mandating information sharing. Deliberately withholding information could result in punishment or require massive compensation to the harmed alliance member.

And this wasn’t just any unorthodox group—it was the Blood Sect.

To hide the fact that the Blood Sect could be rampaging in another’s jurisdiction was an extremely arrogant decision.

And as Tang So-hwa remembered, the Namgung of her past life ultimately never shared the Blood Sect’s resurgence with the Murim Alliance. Either they had erased the Blood Sect on their own, or they didn’t trust the Murim Alliance—likely the latter.

It wasn’t that Namgung Jin’s attitude was incomprehensible.

The Blood Sect used strange poisons, and since they were moving toward Sichuan, it would have been nerve-wracking to rashly inform the alliance members. This wasn’t some small rural sect that Namgung could crush with force—it was the Tang Clan of Sichuan.

If the Tang Clan really was connected to the Blood Sect, there could be Tang spies hidden even in Hubei, and if news leaked to the Tang Clan, it might have been Namgung, the one pursuing them, who ended up isolated.

He must have judged that it was right to first uncover the ties between the Blood Sect and the Tang Clan and only then make the matter public, even if it meant taking a risk.

Tang So-hwa’s brow lifted slightly.

‘Yes, it must’ve been a decision made with the resolve to take that risk.’

If the Tang Clan had no ties to the Blood Sect, then he’d have to be prepared to bear the cost of having suspected and endangered them.

It was the kind of misstep befitting a young sword of Namgung, who believed only he stood for justice.

Tang So-hwa recalled the sight of the Young Lord of Namgung she had seen in the darkened forest.

She felt a twinge of conscience for having laid a trap for the Young Lord, who had traveled such a long way, believing he was doing the right thing. But when she remembered Namgung Jin’s cunning demeanor in their first encounter, her conscience seemed to settle back into place.

In this life, the Blood Sect’s rise in the Central Plains would be made public.

Before that, Namgung must be punished for suspecting the Tang Clan. Add the punishment he didn’t receive in his past life, multiply it by ten, and that should feel satisfying enough.

Tang So-hwa lowered her raised brow and smiled.

“When the Anhui branch’s concealment of the Blood Sect’s resurgence is brought to light, the Blood Sect members that Namgung captured in Sichuan will serve as evidence.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep