Part 1,

Chapter 39. The Son-in-law of a Murim noble Clan Head

The Hall Lord asked, still keeping his gaze fixed on the box.

“Have you heard the news about the leader of Profound Mystery Pavilion causing a big mess?”

“Yes. I am aware.”

Haerak spotted a gold turtle the size of a fist and curled his lips. He naturally slipped the golden turtle into his robe.

“The old geezer said to merely frighten the bastards from the Profound Emptiness Pavilion, but to wipe out all the ones from the Profound Mystery Pavilion.”

The Hall Lord’s gaze rose to meet his.

“You’re the only member of the Profound Mystery Pavilion left in Guangdong.”

The owner shut his eyes tightly.

The followers who had infiltrated the Central Plains were divided into two groups:

Profound Mystery Pavilion and Profound Emptiness Pavilion.

As their names suggest, one had a pavilion, while the other, fitting its name, had none.

They acted independently. In the Central Plains, most of the members were from the Profound Emptiness Pavilion.

Since the majority of Profound Mystery Pavilion members were stationed at the main sect, only a few were present in the Central Plains.

The Profound Emptiness Pavilion infiltrated sects and noble clans, pretending to be one of their own to gather information. The Profound Mystery Pavilion, on the other hand, would establish merchant groups or small sects and compile the information gathered by the Profound Emptiness Pavilion to send back to the main sect.

To the main sect, both the Profound Mystery Pavilion and Profound Emptiness Pavilion members were considered low-ranking followers, but the members of the Profound Mystery Pavilion thought differently.

Since they relayed the main sect’s orders and oversaw the Profound Emptiness Pavilion members, they considered themselves a higher organization.

Some even pretended to speak with the authority of the main sect and manipulated Profound Emptiness Pavilion members for their own ends.

Displeased with this, members of the Profound Emptiness Pavilion rebelled.

Fearing this might be exposed, the Profound Mystery Pavilion tried to independently eliminate the defectors from the Profound Emptiness Pavilion.

Had they succeeded, nothing would have come of it—but when in life do things ever go as planned?

Due to the Profound Mystery Pavilion’s reckless actions, the Murim Alliance caught wind of the Blood Sect’s resurgence.

The Blood Demon had patiently endured for a long time, hiding his existence from the world, while scheming to devour the Central Plains. That plan had nearly reached its end.

But because of this incident, the carefully widened cracks in the Murim Alliance closed at once. It’s said that a pursuit unit was formed to track down the Blood Cult in the Central Plains, and that all members of the Murim Alliance agreed to it. It was the first unanimous decision in nine years.

One could imagine the Blood Demon’s fury.

The Profound Mystery Pavilion member closed his eyes.

The desire to die peacefully now felt like greed.

As if reading his mind, the Hall Lord spoke.

“Don’t give up so soon, think carefully. Why do you think the old geezer specifically sent me?”

“…….”

Come to think of it, it was strange.

The Blood Demon’s direct martial forces consisted of three units.

The Red Blood Hall, The Blue Blood Hall, and The Main Blood Hall.

They were the most important personnel in the sect, personally recognized by the Blood Demon.

But even among the three, there was a hierarchy.

Red Blood Hall and Blue Blood Hall, trusted by the Blood Demon as if they were his own children, were scheduled to settle in the Central Plains first. Once everything was prepared and the Blood Demon arrived, the Main Blood Hall would follow.

Being the first to settle was immensely important. It meant planting their people in key places ahead of time.

So it didn’t make sense that the Blood Demon had given the Lord of Main Blood Hall the chance to take the lead.

Suddenly realizing the reason, the sect member opened his mouth with a pale face.

“T-To eliminate us all without leaving a trace…?”

Was it because he didn’t want to dirty his own hands?

As the terrified sect member spoke, trembling, the Hall Lord tilted his head.

“You think he’d send the Main Blood Hall just to wipe out the Profound Mystery Pavilion?”

“T-Then why have you come to the Central Plains, Hall Lord…?”

“They say the Murim Alliance is foaming at the mouth about rooting out the Blood Sect. Something about forming a pursuit unit.”

“Y-Yes, that’s right.”

Haerak smiled and opened the box on the other side. It was full of jewelry. The Hall Lord found a black bracelet among them and slipped it onto his wrist.

“As you know, the old geezer is a bit shy. Seems he’s embarrassed about his name becoming known across the world. But those orthodox sects don’t know how to respect the elderly and are chasing after the poor old geezer. Tsk tsk. Anyway, to protect our timid old geezer, we’ll be shutting down all routes leading to the main sect for the time being.”

“F-For how long?”

“Who knows? Originally, the Lord of Red Blood Hall was supposed to settle first, so maybe the routes will open again once he arrives.”

The owner looked up at him with a look of disbelief.

So the reason the Blood Demon sent the Lord of Main Blood Hall… was to be the scapegoat?

It looked like they planned to shut the doors and leave the Main Blood Hall and the remaining members outside, just to save themselves.

And yet, the Lord of Main Blood Hall showed no sign of fear.

On the contrary, he looked rather pleased.

“You never know what’ll happen in life. I thought it’d take me a few more years to make it to the Central Plains.”

Though not even thirty, the Hall Lord exuded a calm far beyond his age.

Even if he’d received orders to eliminate the Profound Mystery Pavilion, it seemed there was another reason he had come to him.

‘There might be a way out of this.’

Feeling a glimmer of hope, the Profound Mystery Pavilion member swallowed dryly.

“A-are you alright?”

“Alright? Of course. No—I’m thrilled.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s the first time I’ve seen the old geezer so cornered. Every day’s been delightful.”

The playful voice bored into his eardrums.

“You know I’m notoriously disobedient. There’s no way he’d let someone like me loose in his precious Central Plains unless he had no choice. If he wanted to proceed cautiously, he’d have sent that boot-licking Lord of Red Blood Hall or Lord of Blue Blood Hall, who’d gladly take turns licking his left and right foot. It’d be quieter that way. But just how desperate must he be to entrust me with something as precious as the Central Plains?”

Haerak let out a short laugh.

“Just imagine how bitter he must feel inside.”

It was too much for a low-ranking sect member to hear.

His heart was already racing from hearing someone refer to the absolute ruler of the sect as “old geezer,” but now this person was even treating the Lords of Red Blood Hall and Blue Blood Hall—whom someone like him would never meet in his lifetime—as mere foot-wipers. It made him feel like he might lose his mind.

Regardless, Haerak leaned back against the box and smiled.

He turned his arm, examining the bracelet he’d pulled from the box.

It was shaped like a black snake with red eyes coiled around his wrist—crafted from ruby and obsidian, a rare and precious item.

The owner gained a new piece of information about Haerak as he watched him.

‘He has a keen eye.’

The box had been deliberately filled with mostly low-value trinkets, yet the Hall Lord had unerringly picked the most expensive one at a glance. Now that he looked again, even the hairpin securing his hair was made of jade.

The man’s crude words and actions began to look different.

Was there a reason someone with such refined taste would go out of his way to downplay his own value?

“But.”

Lowering his arm, Haerak asked the owner,

“I heard something while I was in Anhui yesterday. Apparently, one of the Profound Mystery Pavilion members defected to the Murim Alliance?”

Snapping to attention, the owner replied quickly.

“Y-Yes! He was the one dispatched to the Tang Clan of Sichuan—it seems he got close to the Clan Head’s eldest daughter. I heard he stayed at her residence for several days. Recently, he even personally delivered a letter from her to the Young Lord of the Namgung Clan! The one who interrogated the Profound Mystery Pavilion member on Mount Emei was none other than Namgung’s Young Lord!”

“Really? What was in the letter?”

The owner licked his dry lips, seemingly troubled.

“Th-the thing is, the Young Lord burned the letter right after reading it, so we couldn’t confirm the original. Yun-jin, who read it first, did send a copy he transcribed, but the contents were quite ordinary—quoting Shang Yang’s ‘The Trust Built by Moving a Tree’. We analyzed it thoroughly, but there were no ciphers or coded phrases. Ah! I have the transcription in my study! Instead of staying here, why don’t we go up together! I’ll show it to you directly.”

Haerak tapped his knee lightly, deep in thought.

The Trust Built by Moving a Tree—the trust earned by keeping a promise.

Had some kind of promise been exchanged between the two?

Haerak finally spoke.

“Namgung has a Profound Mystery Pavilion spy, too, right? What are they saying?”

“Ah, yes. They said it was suspicious that someone as meticulous as the Young Lord burned the letter as soon as he read it. So they questioned those in both Namgung and the Tang Clan about the relationship between the Young Lord and the eldest daughter of the Tang Clan, but all of them said there was no prior connection. They probably met for the first time during the Mount Emei incident… Oh, and Yun-jin had one more thing to report.”

The owner glanced at Haerak for a moment, then added cautiously.

“He said the eldest daughter of the Tang Clan seems to be growing suspicious of him. He asked for permission to eliminate her himself.”

“Hahaha.”

Suddenly, Haerak burst out laughing. He looked down at the Profound Mystery Pavilion member with narrowed eyes.

“Quite impressive that he hasn’t been exposed until now.”

“W-what should we do?”

“He needs to die.”

Which one is he talking about?

When no response came, Haerak tilted his head.

“Do I have to go myself? Is this Yun-jin fellow such a nuisance?”

“N-no! That’s not it—”

The owner flinched, then gathered his courage to speak again.

“J-just in case, I already instructed the members stationed in Namgung and the Tang Clan to keep an eye on Yun-jin. Something may come up… So perhaps it would be better to wait just a little longer—”

“Kill them too. And tell those who haven’t moved yet to do nothing for the time being. Unless they want to die.”

There was no expression on Haerak’s face. His playful tone was now calm and level.

“…Yes.”

Though he didn’t know the reason for the shift, the owner suppressed his curiosity. He’d just narrowly escaped death—he wasn’t about to risk it again by getting swept up in the mood of a madman.

While the owner scrambled to think, Haerak sank back into his own thoughts.

He’d already heard that the eldest daughter of the Tang Clan was the one who had sounded the alarm about the resurgence of the Blood Sect. He’d thought it was just a frightened orthodox noblewoman making a fuss—but that didn’t seem to be the case.

She hadn’t turned in the sect member she’d found in her own retainers. Instead, she kept him close. It looked like she was using him to try and track the Blood Sect herself.

‘But why investigate on her own, without informing the Murim Alliance?’

Does she suspect there are Blood Sect members in the Murim Alliance, too?

But if that’s the case, then why inform them of the sect’s resurgence in the first place?

Suddenly, Haerak’s eyes curved into a smile.

‘Ah… does she think the small fry are unnecessary? She wants to meet the master of the sect directly, is that it?’

As a Blood Sect member, it was a thought he should never have had—yet it filled his mind.

And yet, he felt no guilt.

Whenever he was bored, he often imagined cutting off the head of the Blood Demon, the father of the sect.

So what.

They say even the orthodox sects are full of degenerates—what’s the big deal about killing one old geezer I’m not even related to?

Indulging in this pleasant thought, Haerak opened his mouth to indulge in an even more delightful one.

“By the way, among the merchant groups you’re running now, which one’s making the most money?”

“The Anguk Merchant Group operating in Hubei is currently the largest.”

The owner quickly replied and added,

“However, there’s another group that’s been investing heavily to enter the imperial trade. If they succeed, the Myungcheon Merchant Group in Sichuan will likely become the largest.”

“Oh? When will the trade be finalized?”

“W-well, it’ll probably take about five years.”

“Five years? That’s too long.”

The Hall Lord frowned.

Sensing the shift, the owner hurried to change the topic.

“If not, how about the tavern establishments? We’ve been buying up all the pavilions along the Guangdong coast to run taverns, and with coastal trade booming, they’re raking in cash!”

He clasped his hands and spoke in a sly tone.

“We’ve gathered some of the top beauties in the Central Plains—people are lining up outside. If what the Hall Lord wants is highly liquid assets, there’s no better revenue stream than—”

“Shut down all the brothel establishments.”

“Pardon?”

Haerak spoke with a composed expression.

“That kind of business doesn’t suit the orthodox sects, does it?”

The owner’s eyes went blank for a moment.

… What kind of nonsense is this?

Haerak shook his head in lament.

“Do you still not get it? The reason you’re in this mess is all because your information is slow. No matter how diligently you scavenge intel dropped by those Central Plains bastards, it’s already discarded junk. For so called Intelligence Hall to be ambushed in the mountains? Tsk tsk.”

Haerak looked down at the obsidian ornament with pity.

“Right now, the business may be thriving, and fine goods may be pouring in, but once they catch wind of it, it’ll all vanish into thin air. And in a crisis, how are you going to flee with all this?”

“……This lowly one has failed to understand the Hall Lord’s will.”

In response, Haerak’s lips curled into a soft smile.

“Owner.”

The owner was surprised that the Hall Lord knew his name.

It caught him off guard, and he didn’t answer right away. But the Hall Lord smiled gently, as if to say it was fine.

“We’re going to become members of the Murim Alliance—not only to get the fastest intel, but to directly manipulate those bastards.”

The owner steadied his blurring vision and asked.

The words sounded insane, but there had to be a way to make them real.

“H-how?”

His voice trembled as he asked, and a graceful smile bloomed on Haerak’s elegant face.

Then, the kind of madness no one had ever uttered before pierced the owner’s ears.

“I’m going to become the son-in-law of a Murim noble Clan Head.”

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