Chapter 268. False Peace

It felt like my mind snapped fully awake.

『Now.』

The impatient voice of the Hall Lord rang out again.

『I can kill you right here, so do not test my patience.』

Namgung Hyun’s expression turned strange.

The Main Blood Hall Lord did not know how to turn back time.

Namgung Hyun wondered if Tang So-hwa had confessed to him that she had returned from the past, but it seemed to be nothing more than his own speculation.

How she had turned back time.

Why it had happened.

He did not even seem to know how far back she had gone.

Like the perceptive hound he was, he had likely inferred that she had crossed the passage of time while exchanging words with her.

Judging by the path Tang So-hwa had taken, it was a reasonable guess for him to make.

Letting out a sigh, Namgung Hyun realized that he felt relieved.

Because Tang So-hwa had shared the secret with him alone.

Hating himself for feeling such base jealousy even in this situation, Namgung Hyun stood up.

His gaze turned toward the front of the pavilion.

Half of the martial artists before the pavilion were steeped in grief, while the other half were busy dealing with what remained.

There did not seem to be enough attention to spare for the second son of the Namgung Clan.

Namgung Hyun quietly slipped away.

As he went deeper into the forest, he sensed the presence of the Main Blood Hall Lord.

When even the faint sound of the wind was heavily suppressed, someone lunged at him.

Namgung Hyun twisted his body the instant the Main Blood Hall Lord landed on the ground. However, instead of evading the attack, his neck was seized at once.

Bang!

Namgung Hyun’s body slammed back-first into a tree and was lifted high.

Yellow, beast-like eyes stared at him as a voice demanded,

“Tell me how you turn it back.”

By now, the Main Blood Hall Lord was convinced that Namgung Hyun could turn back time.

Namgung Hyun was suffocating, but he did not struggle and instead held his breath. His face reddened as if blood vessels had burst, yet the Main Blood Hall Lord did not loosen his grip.

Only when Namgung Hyun instinctively grabbed his wrist did the strength finally ease.

Thud.

Namgung Hyun fell to the ground and sucked in rough breaths.

“Haa.”

“Begin.”

Namgung Hyun’s bloodshot eyes rolled upward.

“…… Do not issue commands when you know nothing.”

The moment he registered the chilling expression, his field of view rose again.

Boom!

Namgung Hyun’s body was slammed into a tree trunk once more. Unlike before, his airway was not constricted. It seemed there was at least an intention to listen.

Spitting out blood, Namgung Hyun said mockingly,

“If turning back time could grant whatever one desires, why would the Blood Demon leave me in the Namgung Clan instead of keeping me by his side?”

As the strength in the Main Blood Hall Lord’s hand loosened, Namgung Hyun added,

“And I am someone who wants to bring Young Lady Tang back even more than you do, so do not command me.”

He expected an outburst of anger, but the Main Blood Hall Lord merely stared at him silently without replying.

Swallowing his longer words, he asked the core question.

“So what are you going to do?”

“I will handle it myself.”

Namgung Hyun answered coldly.

“Even if I explained it, you would not understand, and you could not do it anyway, so just wait.”

One corner of the Main Blood Hall Lord’s mouth lifted.

“They say a sorcerer only needs to draw formations well. Losing one leg should not be a problem, right?”

The Hall Lord, unable to rein in his temper, threatened him again, but Namgung Hyun replied calmly,

“If you wish, then do so.”

The sorcerer’s attitude grated on the Main Blood Hall Lord’s nerves.

Namgung Hyun felt the Hall Lord’s sharp emotions. However, this was not a situation where he could afford to care about another’s feelings.

“Do you think turning back time is easy? If one could obtain what they wanted so simply, why would the Blood Demon suffer so much and keep me at a distance? Touching time invites the wrath of the heavens as its price. One becomes trapped in that time for life, unable to obtain what one desires.”

Even to his own ears, his unrefined tone sounded insolent. Yet the words did not stop and spilled out regardless.

“Do you think it is easy to achieve what one wants, like Young Lady Tang did, and then end it without regret? If you truly think so, Hall Lord, then do not even consider touching time.”

The Hall Lord’s complexion changed. His expression vanished and stiffened into something rigid.

“Did you know that Tang So-hwa turned back time?”

“Yes, I knew.”

Haerak spoke coldly, making no attempt to hide his displeasure.

“Tell me when and why Tang So-hwa touched time.”

“I cannot tell you.”

“……”

“If it were something the Hall Lord needed to know, Young Lady Tang would have told you herself. If she did not tell you even at the risk of death, then I cannot carelessly convey her words.”

After a brief silence, the Main Blood Hall Lord spoke.

“Once you have drawn the time formation, you must tell me. I intend to spend that time with you.”

Despite the threat laced with killing intent, Namgung Hyun did not react. He merely added a warning about dark arts.

“If you touch time without any preparation, you will only invite disaster. If you return with the goal of saving Young Lady Tang, Young Lady Tang will die again.”

Unable to either trust or dismiss Namgung Hyun’s words, the Main Blood Hall Lord soon realized that silence was the only thing he could do.

The sorcerer quietly stared at the Hall Lord before him.

The Main Blood Hall Lord was too great a risk as a variable.

For now, he did not know how to turn back time, but once he learned the method, he would certainly kill Namgung Hyun without hesitation.

If he succeeded, there would be no problem, but from the look of it, even if he sacrificed his entire life, he would fail to revive Tang So-hwa and would inevitably become a madman.

‘…… I need to keep him as far away from this as possible.’

Having turned the matter over in his head, Namgung Hyun spoke with a reluctant expression.

“There is something the Hall Lord must help with while I prepare.”

By his nature, the Hall Lord would have torn Namgung Hyun’s mouth apart long ago, yet he waited with uncharacteristic patience.

“We do not know how much of the secret the Blood Demon kept hidden. He controlled information about sorcerers, but there may already be others, like you, who know about time and have guessed my identity. Once they learn of the Blood Demon’s death, they will try to use me to turn back time, just as you have. I am particularly concerned about the Red Blood Hall Lord and the Blue Blood Hall Lord. There is no guarantee that they are dead yet, is there?”

“……”

“There is only one chance to touch time, so absolute preparation is required. I ask that you help prevent them from taking me away, so that I can complete my preparations perfectly.”

“When do you plan to turn it back?”

“I will finish at the latest within seven nights.”

Whether he judged that Namgung Hyun was not trying to deceive him or decided that there was no other choice but to trust this sorcerer, the Main Blood Hall Lord answered without resistance.

“If you want that neck to still be attached after seven days, you’d better succeed properly.”

If the dark arts were properly activated, he would remember nothing. The Main Blood Hall Lord could not be unaware of that fact, yet he spoke in a grave voice all the same.

Namgung Hyun realized that the Main Blood Hall Lord was not in his right mind. Unsure where to vent his emotions, he merely stood still, as if consumed by rage.

He thought it was a good thing that he had entrusted the Red Blood Hall and the Blue Blood Hall to him. If that place allowed him to vent even a little of his anger, his condition would recover somewhat.

Since he was the ally most likely to be of help in finding Tang So-hwa right now, Namgung Hyun made use of him.

Having fended off the surrounding threats, the sorcerer began preparing to turn back time while the world changed around him.

* * *

As late summer passed and autumn set in, a cool air settled over Hubei. With the disappearance of the Blood Demon, the Murim Alliance was finally able to set aside one major worry.

Now, however, they emphasized that it was crucial to root out spies within the sects and Blood Sect members scattered throughout the Central Plains, and demanded that manpower be reassigned from the headquarters.

As a result, the headquarters, reduced in personnel, was quiet.

If one were to paint a picture of peace, it would be this very moment.

Of course, it was a false peace.

Upon entering the headquarters, Namgung Hyun quietly offered his greetings to the Four Seasons Hall Lord. The Hall Lord silently returned the bow and then guided him to the Alliance Leader.

There was not a single word exchanged.

He could not tell whether the Hall Lord had been ordered not to ask anything, or whether he already knew why Namgung Hyun had come to see the Alliance Leader.

The Four Seasons Hall Lord’s attitude and the stillness of the headquarters might have made one uncomfortable, but Namgung Hyun walked on calmly.

Compared to the atmosphere of the Tang Clan, the silence of the headquarters felt like a festival day.

The Tang Clan had so little interaction with the outside world that “sealed behind closed doors” would have been an apt description. They had not closed their gates only because they needed to distribute antidotes for Gu poison to visitors, yet no member of the Tang Clan went outside.

They were preparing for something.

It was not disclosed even to an outsider like Namgung Hyun.

Namgung Hyun vaguely guessed what they were preparing for. It seemed they intended to eliminate the remnants of the Blood Sect, said to be spread across the Central Plains.

All alliance members were lending a hand to that effort, but the Tang Clan was different in nature. Their actions were steeped in deep-seated resentment.

Fighting was taking place not only in the Central Plains but also in the Outer Regions.

The Main Blood Hall Lord had left the Main Blood Hall martial artists around Namgung Hyun to prevent him from being killed. Thanks to that, Namgung Hyun was able to hear news from the Outer Regions.

It was said that the Main Blood Hall Lord had taken Jin Yin Mountain.

Within three days, he annihilated the Red Blood Hall and the Blue Blood Hall and began tracking the remnants scattered throughout the Outer Regions by following the records left in the Jin Yin Mountain archives. It seemed he intended to uproot the Blood Sect entirely.

The Ice Palace of the North Sea had also joined the fray upon hearing the news and was destroying the other Five Palaces, so it appeared that the Outer Regions would be brought under control faster than the Central Plains.

Tap.

The Four Seasons Hall Lord stopped before the door.

Creeeak.

He opened the main door but did not enter.

Seeing him silently step aside, it seemed to mean that Namgung Hyun was to go in alone.

Curious as to why he had not spoken, Namgung Hyun asked the Hall Lord his first question.

“Why do you not say anything?”

“I do not believe this is your fault, Young warrior.”

It was an incomprehensible statement.

He could not even guess what had been omitted.

When Namgung Hyun did not go in and waited for an explanation, Zhuge In-hwi added,

“However, believing that you bear no guilt feels like a wrong done to the dead, so I could not decide how to treat you.”

“…….”

“I can neither show hostility nor offer hospitality, so I intend to quietly let my connection with the Young warrior fade away.”

Namgung Hyun understood the Four Seasons Hall Lord’s answer.

It was as if he intended to treat him as someone unseen.

Neither a member of the Blood Sect, nor Tang So-hwa’s helper, just an ordinary alliance member of the Murim Alliance who would never see the Four Seasons Hall Lord’s face again.

Namgung Hyun had long heard the rumors that he was a man of few words.

They said he would remain silent to the point of discomfort, then utter a brief remark, possessing eyes that could see straight through a person’s heart.

Namgung Hyun accepted Zhuge In-hwi’s attitude.

They had exchanged only a few words, yet his thoughts about him had already grown numerous.

That must have been the very feeling the man had sought to guard against.

He seemed unwilling to judge Namgung Hyun based on personal sentiment.

Namgung Hyun stepped forward and entered the Alliance Leader’s residence alone.

Branches heavy with fruit grew thick, casting deep shadows. Peaches tinged with the glow of sunset shone with a tempting luster, yet he did not find them beautiful. Somehow, they felt gloomy and dark. Though fruit had borne, they appeared to be approaching the end of life.

Sshhh.

Each time the wind blew, the large fruits swayed as if they might fall at any moment. By the time he reached the pavilion, one unripe peach finally dropped.

Thwap.

Catching the fruit reflexively, Namgung Hyun paused, unable to set it down.

“There’s no point catching something that won’t reattach anyway.”

It was the Alliance Leader’s voice.

“You go through the trouble over something that would cause no harm even if it fell.”

It was beyond his line of sight, yet how he knew was impossible to tell.

Namgung Hyun looked up at the pavilion atop the steps and spoke.

“May I come up?”

“If I refuse, would you turn back?”

“No. I am fine speaking from here.”

A faint, inscrutable chuckle escaped. It was so soft it almost sounded like a sigh.

The Alliance Leader dropped the jest and said quietly,

“Come up.”

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