Chapter 259. Each Person’s Role

After leaving the Nine Turns Pavilion, So-hwa stopped not long after. At the entrance leading to the Medical Hall stood two martial artists who looked, to anyone’s eyes, as if they had come specifically to find her.

“Hard to catch a glimpse of you.”

At Namgung Jin’s words, Tang So-hwa replied calmly.

“As you know, we’ve been short-handed and busy.”

“Where have you been for the past three days?”

Namgung Jin asked bluntly.

Judging by their expressions, neither of them seemed to have the leisure for small talk.

If she tried to deflect, it looked like they would say whatever they wanted, whether anyone was listening or not.

The outer courtyard was currently filled to capacity with reception rooms that blocked sound.

Recalling the formation set up in her room, So-hwa hesitated briefly before speaking.

“I hear there are many visitors in the outer courtyard, and all places suitable for conversation are full. If you don’t mind, shall we go together to my quarters in the inner courtyard?”

“That would be fine.”

“Yes! I don’t mind anywhere.”

So-hwa personally led the two into the inner courtyard.

After guiding them into the small room attached to her sleeping quarters, she asked out of courtesy,

“Shall I bring some tea?”

“No. We don’t have time for a long conversation.”

Namgung Jin, the moment he sensed the formation, went straight to the point.

“Where have you been for the past three days?”

Instead, Tang So-hwa countered with a question.

“Where did you hear that I went?”

“I heard you went to deliver a letter on the Clan Head’s orders, but at least within Namgung Clan, no one believes that.”

“Then what do you think I’ve been doing all this time?”

When Namgung Jin fell silent, Yeon-ah answered in his stead.

“We were worried that Young Lady Tang might have been abducted by the Blood Sect again, and also…….”

When even Yeon-ah hesitated, Namgung Jin eventually continued.

“They say the Demonkin ran rampant, but to anyone’s eyes, isn’t that the Blood Sect’s doing? The main sect was half-destroyed as the price for provoking the Blood Sect, so we suspect that Young Lady Tang may have gone to negotiate with the Blood Sect.”

Though he said “negotiate,” she was not a master strong enough to threaten the Blood Sect, and her position was ambiguous to say she represented the Tang Clan. Thus, “negotiation” was likely a kindly packaged term.

“If you suspect that much, then you must think the Blood Sect was satisfied with my proposal. After all, I returned unharmed.”

“Not everyone thinks so. I, for one, do not.”

At that, So-hwa asked evenly,

“What do they think I gave to the Blood Sect?”

“There are a few who suspect that Young Lady Tang agreed to eliminate the antidote to the Blood Sect’s Gu poison.”

Without realizing it, Yeon-ah almost nodded. One of Wudang’s elders had said something similar.

“I see.”

Tang So-hwa still showed no sign of agitation.

She had been absent for three days, and within the Tang Clan, there was no one else who could make the Gu poison antidote.

If any of the three sects had asked for more antidote, the Tang Clan’s Medical Hall would have said they didn’t know what that was.

From their perspective, they could misunderstand that the Tang Clan no longer intended to share the Gu poison antidote.

It was strange to try to obtain more when they already had some in hand, but it wasn’t an unreasonable thing to say.

Tang So-hwa had stated in front of everyone that the antidote’s shelf life was one month, and since it would take the three sects quite some time to return home, the antidote’s effective period was cutting it close.

As if reading her thoughts, Namgung Jin said something similar.

“Yesterday, there was talk at the main headquarters about returning before the antidote we received spoils. Many people were persuaded by that. So, while waiting to speak with Young Lady Tang, I met Taoist Ye-hwa. We thought it was just us, but similar stories were coming from the Wudang as well.”

“Ah, we’re not leaving because we doubt Young Lady Tang! Absolutely not! It’s just that, well, from the start, there have been complicated matters at the Hubei branch, so much of Wudang’s manpower has been drawn there. As you know, even the Sword Saint has been staying there until the Martial Arts Tournament…… so in this situation, it’s difficult to leave the main mountain empty for long…….”

Yeon-ah went on at length, worried that the listener might be hurt.

But the one listening compressed all that long talk into a single sentence.

“So you’re saying that there’s talk of leaving the Tang Clan and returning to your main mountain.”

“Yes…….”

“Has a date been set?”

“It was an opinion raised in haste, but some feel it’s not entirely wrong…… um, and there’s also talk that with so many people coming to help the Tang Clan, there aren’t enough pavilions for visitors to stay in…….”

As Yeon-ah grew uncomfortable and began circling her words again, Namgung Jin summarized.

“The discussion came up yesterday, and today the Clan Head decided that we would leave.”

At that, So-hwa fell silent as if pondering something, then asked Yeon-ah,

“Is it the same for Wudang?”

“Yes……, it came up yesterday for us as well, and today the Sect Leader made the decision.”

Yeon-ah frowned.

“In truth, the reason is the same as Namgung’s. It’s extremely unsettling, so we waited doggedly to meet the Young Lord and Young Lady Tang.”

“Then perhaps Mount Hua’s situation is similar as well?”

“Probably so. They seemed to be packing too, looking to secure carriages.”

At Namgung Jin’s answer, So-hwa fell into thought.

Anyone could have misunderstood and assumed she went to negotiate with the Blood Sect out of fear.

However, the fact that this story was spreading simultaneously, as if prearranged, was strange.

‘Doesn’t it feel like someone is trying to separate them from the Tang Clan estate?’

So-hwa realized that she had exhausted all of the Blood Demon’s patience. It seemed he had arrived at Jin Yin Mountain and assessed the situation.

As expected, it looked as though the Blood Demon was about to come for her.

It was something she had intended, yet now that she could gauge his movements, tension began to rise.

So-hwa clasped her hands beneath the table. The red crescent engraved on her pale fingers revealed her unease.

Considering the nonsense she had spouted in the Great Desert, what he would demand from her would only increase from here on.

The Blood Demon had already laid hands on the Tang Clan estate, and he knew that the Tang Clan was her weakness.

With the Tang Clan effectively taken hostage and even attacked, she could no longer rely on schemes and wait for a convenient day.

The Blood Demon would cross into the Tang Clan at any time to threaten her. Judging by how readily he responded to her bait, it was not a mistaken suspicion.

‘But if the Blood Demon disappears, all of these worries become meaningless.’

Lifting her gaze, So-hwa looked at the two rising stars.

A man whose life had been cut short by a Blood Sect trap, and a woman who had once been leashed by a sorcerer, now stood on the opposing side of the Blood Sect.

If time continued to pass like this, the two of them would fully bloom into their abilities and become the true powers of the Murim Alliance.

And once they reached their prime, the Tang Clan would be safe for quite some time.

She didn’t know why, but they trusted her enough to come seeking her out to tattle about their sects’ internal affairs.

‘So if something happens to the Tang Clan, wouldn’t they help?’

Such a vague belief arose.

So-hwa breathed in the floral scent that had permeated the room.

As the peony fragrance—one she had never cultivated—filled her lungs, positive thoughts gradually pushed away her anxiety.

The dents left by her fingernails faded, and her heart grew calm.

Many things were different from the past.

The Demonkin who had turned Sichuan into chaos was gone as well.

If she could prove that the Blood Demon could die, even the Alliance Leader would move.

Once the shackle called the Blood Demon was removed, there would be no more turning away from reality.

The Alliance Leader was a prophet who had fought countless battles against the Blood Sect.

If he joined the fray, hunting down and eliminating the hidden Blood Sect would not be difficult.

So-hwa did not believe that the heavens determined fate, yet she vaguely sensed the meaning of heavenly mandate.

It felt as though each person had been given their own role.

And the task of eliminating the Blood Demon.

That felt like something only she could do.

Her body’s reaction to the Blood Demon’s blood felt like that of an intentional creation.

A means to return the Blood Demon—who denied the cycle of the world—back to nature. It was as if someone had forcibly created a mutant to remove a monster that obstructed the flow of all things.

Even as she regarded herself as an object, Tang So-hwa’s expression remained calm.

Contrary to expectations, Min Doyu had brought abundant materials capable of destabilizing the Blood Demon’s body, and thanks to that, she succeeded in making poison incense.

Compared to feeding him medicine directly, the likelihood of poisoning him had increased immeasurably.

‘Things are moving along well enough.’

Even so, to quell the unease that lingered in a corner of her heart, So-hwa grew a little greedier.

“I have a request to ask of you both.”

“Of course! Anything is possible. Ah, but what is it?”

Yeon-ah accepted before even hearing it. Namgung Jin gave Yeon-ah a murky look for a moment.

However, Yeon-ah seemed not to notice his gaze at all, her eyes sparkling as she waited for the answer.

Pretending not to see the burdensome gaze, So-hwa opened her mouth.

“If possible, I would like you to keep your main sects from leaving too far away and hold them nearby.

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