NOVEL NEXT chapter 102 - Lure (2)
After they passed the wall, the old monk moved ahead of Sohwa.
[From here on, follow the path I walk.]
The old monk walked north. It seemed he meant to leave by the north gate.
The gatekeeper who met the old monk’s eyes turned his gaze aside.
Whether he was intoxicated by Oseoksan or a Blood Cult spy, there was no way to tell; but it was certain the old monk had prepared to spirit Sohwa away. It truly looked as if Myungdan was aiding the Blue Blood Hall.
Sohwa recalled the Mount Hua sword masters who had struggled to save their disciples and junior brothers.
'They must not know Myungdan has become a Blood Cult spy.'
It seemed likely that civil strife would break out in Mount Hua in this life as well.
Even after they entered the mountain path, the old monk walked for a long time. When they reached mid-slope, he spoke in his own voice rather than via transmitted sound.
“Stop.”
Stepping an odd footwork, the old monk moved a small stone.
Tuk.
Sohwa flinched for an instant. The rock before her had split open. Soon a grassland showed through the crack.
“Ah-o.”
The old monk tore off his face. Inside the mask was the face of a middle-aged man.
“I thought I was going to die of stifling!”
Scratching at his short hair, he drew in a great breath.
“Haa, I’ve finally left the hound’s district!”
Laughing boisterously, the man looked back.
“Come, hurry and follow. I’ll take you to the honored one who is waiting for you.”
Humming through his nose, the Blood Cult man set off.
Sohwa followed him, stepping quietly into the brush.
There was nothing but weeds tickling at her ankles.
With nothing to catch the eye, the sight stretched far.
Watching the sunlight settle on the grassland, Sohwa realized this was not Hubei.
Walking the green sea, Sohwa kept her distance from the old monk.
“Your pace is slow. It’s frustrating. Come now, let’s run.”
Suddenly, the man demanded she run. It was a horse that ran; the man himself used lightness skill and, in an instant, was so far he could not be seen.
Sohwa also ran fast, but not at a speed to match him.
Yet before long, the gap steadily shrank.
Perhaps because he felt no presence, he had slowed.
Only after running for half a shichen did he stop.
When Sohwa came within a short distance, the Blood Cult man turned and began to click his tongue.
“Tsk, tsk, so the Sichuan Tang Clan is quick only with hidden weapons—they must not teach lightness skill. Why so slow? Anyone would take you for a martial artist who hasn’t even formed a dantian. And what sort of martial artist has legs like that?”
The moment he put the Tang Clan in his mouth, Sohwa’s face turned wintry; but for one seeing her for the first time, it was hard to detect the difference in that impassivity.
Then, whatever trick he used, an entrance opened in the empty air where there had been nothing.
“Move, move. Otherwise it gets hard for both of us.”
Smiling, the man crossed the boundary. Sohwa followed him into a new formation.
As before, the place changed.
She repeated that business twice more.
When the man who crossed first over the boundary cursed and rubbed his arms—
“Uugh, filthy cold. Because you were slow, we came at night and now it’s like this! I like the Gold Mountain better than the Silver Mountain, damn it.”
Crossing the boundary, Sohwa hunched her shoulders too.
A sharp chill had slashed her whole body.
Sohwa looked around at the world filled with cold.
Under the black night sky, moonlight lit the world bone-white.
“Uugh, I’m freezing to death.”
The Blood Cult man spewed curses without rest. Sohwa let it pass one ear and followed him.
Over the silver world, black footprints drew a dotted line.
As the line lengthened, the sense in her feet faded.
The Blood Cult man twisted his head back.
“Aren’t you cold?”
“……”
“Oseoksan is impressive indeed. Seems you can’t feel anything. Maybe I should take some too?”
Whether madness from the cold, he babbled nonsense.
Though he kept complaining of the cold, he neither ran ahead with lightness skill nor tried to bolster his body with inner energy.
'Is one not to use martial arts in this place?'
Watching the man shiver, Sohwa gauged where this was.
Where golden sand glittered by day and ice glowed faintly by night.
'Is this the Geumeunsan the Alliance Leader spoke of?'
Seeing how cautiously the cultist behaved, this place seemed to be the Blood Demon’s domain.
With tense eyes, Sohwa stared at the silver snowfield pressed down by the dark.
***
Perhaps because the finals were ahead, the streets of Wuhan were unusually noisy today. But Baekgeumgak, tucked in a side alley, was as quiet as ever.
Looking at the Yangtze where the afterglow was settling, Hae-rak lifted his pipe. Its eerie tranquility irked him, but not so much as to be suspicious.
As Hae-rak packed the end of the pipe with sleeping herb, his eyes narrowed.
Thud, thud, thud, thud.
It was the Vice Unit Leader clattering up in a rush.
It was no surprise. On days he bought precious sleeping herb, that fellow never failed to interrupt him and make him waste money.
“Unit Lord!”
Sighing as he looked down at the pipe, Hae-rak spoke.
“Is this what the Blood Demon feels like? Whether you’re reading my insides or what, every time I’m about to feel good, you get in the way.”
“This is no time to serenely insult me!”
“All right, all right. I haven’t even lit it yet, so it’s not something to insult you over.”
Setting the pipe down, Hae-rak curved his lips.
Today, whatever news the Vice Unit Leader brought, he could more or less hear it in a good mood.
Even if those Blue Blood Hall bastards had caused trouble, he planned to cut his anger in half.
At least they would have caused trouble before the duel ended, which would fulfill what he wanted. If they drew the Martial Alliance’s gaze and served as the arrow-catcher, the Blood Demon would keep his head down again.
But the news the Vice Unit Leader brought was something else entirely.
“It seems Lady Tang has disappeared!”
Beyond the thin door, the sound faded.
Drrrk.
A moment later, the door opened at leisure.
Putting the sleeping herb back into its box, Hae-rak asked:
“Only half a shichen ago you said she’d gone into the Alliance Leader’s residence, didn’t you?”
“Yes, it’s true that the Alliance Leader asked that the Divine Physician and Lady Tang be sent to his residence. We also received a report that Tang Sohwa had entered the Alliance Leader’s residence.”
“And then?”
The Unit Lord’s voice was calm. The Vice Unit Leader promptly opened his mouth again.
“They say Tang Sohwa met Mount Hua’s Myungdan before going to the Alliance Leader’s residence. They say she drank tea in Mount Hua’s pavilion and then went into the Alliance Leader’s residence, but……”
Trailing off, the Vice Unit Leader cautiously added:
“By coincidence, word came that at that time the Blue Blood Hall Lord entered Headquarters.”
Closing the sleeping herb box, Hae-rak lifted his head. Only then did his gaze flow to the Vice Unit Leader. Ignoring the killing aura, the Vice Unit Leader reported evenly.
“So I immediately sent a reply to the Moohyeon Unit bastards. I asked where the Blue Blood Hall Lord went. But the answer just came—saying the Moohyeon Unit bastard has no memory of sending a carrier pigeon and has never reported seeing the Blue Blood Hall Lord.”
“Did he tamper with the memory that quickly? All this time he’s roamed about unfazed even with tails on him. His response this time is strangely fast.”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying!”
The Vice Unit Leader raised his voice without realizing it. But the one receiving the report remained composed.
“So, what you mean is that the Blue Blood Hall Lord spirited Tang Sohwa away?”
“Yes.”
Unable to hold back, the Vice Unit Leader added:
“If you don’t mind, may I speak my mind frankly?”
Hae-rak granted permission with silence.
“I think it’s not that the Blue Blood Hall Lord spirited Tang Sohwa away, but that Tang Sohwa lured the Blue Blood Hall Lord.”
The Vice Unit Leader’s voice rose.
“Wasn’t she the one who lured and enticed you from the start? If she knew the Blue Blood Hall was targeting her, she’s more than capable of turning it around and going to Geumeunsan. You said yourself she’s someone whose insides you can’t read.”
“Right. But your eyes look a bit off.”
The Vice Unit Leader’s gaze was insolent.
He did not deny it and replied in a curt voice.
“It’s because the only one I can think of who would tell her the Blue Blood Hall is chasing her is you, Unit Lord. If I’ve misunderstood, I apologize.”
Hae-rak said nothing, merely sliding his gaze to the window.
At that easy manner, the Vice Unit Leader’s face flushed.
“Why in the world……!”
Even his breath grew rough.
“Why did you tell her? Tang Sohwa is not someone to be trusted!”
“I didn’t tell her because she was trustworthy.”
Hae-rak let out a dry laugh.
“I told her because she’s necessary.”
Swallowing his anger, the Vice Unit Leader asked again:
“So if that person really went to meet the Blood Demon, what do you intend to do?”
The Vice Unit Leader’s face darkened. Lowering his voice, he whispered urgently:
“If she truly knows who that sorcerer is, then what? If the Blood Demon puts his mind to it, he’ll make Tang Sohwa open her mouth in less than a day. If it goes like this and the Blood Demon gets his hands on the sorcerer again……”
When Hae-rak raised his hand, the Vice Unit Leader closed his mouth.
It ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) was not because the words offended him.
It was because some bizarre sound had reached them.
The Vice Unit Leader’s gaze also moved to the window, following Hae-rak’s.
Flap, flap.
Suddenly, a hawk settled on the windowsill.
It was a strange bird, holding a peculiar pouch in its beak and clutching an obsidian hairpin tight between its toes.
“Mm?”
When Hae-rak, recognizing the hairpin, tried to take it, Maehwa, having dropped the pouch, retreated warily. Its heaving manner was fierce.
It seemed to mean: it’s mine—look, don’t touch.
Hae-rak let out a dry laugh, at a loss.
“From your temper, I can tell who your master is.”
Hae-rak picked up the pouch that had fallen. Inside were a small bottle and a note.
As he opened the paper, the smile slowly left the Unit Lord’s face.
Recognizing that expression, the Vice Unit Leader tensed, but the Unit Lord did not rage—he was lost in thought for a moment.
After a silence, the Unit Lord sighed.
“It’s all my fault.”
“Sir?”
“I forgot that she’s someone who stakes her life and uses petty tricks.”
“What do you mean?”
“I thought she had sense, but she’s doing something that shows she has no sense at all.”
Donning his long coat, Hae-rak suppressed his fury.
“I have to find her before she dies, so I’d better hurry.”