The Eldest Daughter of the Sichuan Tang Clan Protects Her Family

Sohwa narrowed her brows slightly in displeasure.
She had no idea how long he had been watching.
She removed the ring from her finger and placed it back in the case. At that, the man beyond the cloth tapped his lips lightly with a fan.
“I heard the clerk say earlier that it was the most expensive piece here.”
Through the thin curtain, the outline of the man was clear. His face could not be seen, but his expression could be guessed. In a voice full of mockery, he jeered,
“If you give me an answer worth the price, I’ll gift it to you. What do you say?”
It was a proposal without choice.
The silence, and the murderous aura flowing past the black curtain, made that clear.
Taking her silence as assent, the man spoke.
“Have you ever practiced Yeolyanggong?”
Sohwa’s lips curved faintly.
“You said warriors were forbidden to enter, yet you ask a guest about martial arts. Strange, is it not?”
Her mocking tone drew his retort.
“Then you mean you have not?”
“I have heard many fantastical tales of the lost Taeyang Palace arts, but I have neither learned nor witnessed them. Ah, though recently, I did see traces of their Heat Art.”
At her reply, the man fell silent.
It was not a bad reaction. The suffocating pressure lessened. The thick killing intent was dissipating.
Resting his chin on his fan, the man tilted his head.
“Your words are strange. You say you have neither learned nor witnessed the art—then how did you recognize it as such?”
From between Sohwa’s red lips came a calm voice.
“A few days ago, I examined a patient with abnormally high body heat. Strangely, there was no internal injury to explain it. There was, however, one oddity. The closer the organ was to the qi-blood, the hotter it was. When I traced those meridians, a path was formed—as if it were a well-prepared meridian channel.”
Facing the vast shadow, Sohwa countered.
“If there is correlation between unexplained body heat and the meridians, is it not natural to suspect the nature of the internal energy? Not that body heat itself arose, but that heat had gathered in the meridians. If in a martial artist who lost reason, heat is circulating through the meridians, the conclusion must be that someone injected it.”
“And did you treat that patient?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Sohwa’s lips curved into a gentle smile. Lifting her finger from the butterfly’s waist, she asked,
“Is that the worth of this piece?”
The smile on her red lips slowly faded.
“It is not worth telling you how to counter your martial art.”
Silence followed, until the man broke it with a laugh.
“Oh? And here I thought you liked it.”
“Not to that extent.”
“No, to exactly that extent.”
The man’s voice dropped lower.
“Your countermeasure is not worth much.”
Sohwa thought of the treatment she had left written at the Shaanxi branch.
“So you already obtained the method?”
“Hm? I thought you were sharp, yet you ask what you already know. Such an inefficient habit.”
“It seems you are the inefficient one. If you already have the countermeasure, why summon me here?”
The shadow lowered, as if the man had leaned closer.
“I prefer to hear important things not from others, but from the person themselves. And besides…”

Close enough that his breath could almost be felt.
A languid voice cut through the silence.
“I wanted to see you directly.”
With a chuckle, the man straightened again.
“Do not go ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) to the Hubei branch.”
“And why should I heed your words?”
“Because I no longer wish to kill you.”
He sneered.
“At least, for now.”
Sohwa let out a short laugh without meaning to. The man’s voice turned displeased.
“What are you laughing at?”
Sohwa answered plainly.
“If killing me depends only on your whim, then even if I go to the Hubei branch, it is of little consequence.”
Her gaze fell to the edge of the cloth—to his feet, so close he might part the curtain at any moment. Then she lifted her head again.
“Isn’t it ridiculous? You came all the way here just to chatter.”
A sigh-like sound of wind was heard.
The man tapped his head lightly with his fan.
“I understand you think me laughable. But as you know, organizations are like that. Too many voices make it hard to move as one wishes.”
He seemed about to say more, then swallowed his words.
“If the order comes to kill you, I will have no choice. So do not draw more eyes.”
“Such insolence. The Martial Alliance is not to be likened to the Blood Cult.”
Sohwa’s words were a barbed test of his allegiance. The man fell into the trap without suspicion.
“Orthodox people always obsess over trivialities. The Blood Cult and the Martial Alliance are of similar scale. No—in fact, ours is larger.”
By not denying the Blood Cult, he confirmed it. Sohwa’s thoughts tangled.
The Anguk Merchant Group’s ties to the Blood Cult were now certain.
But what quarrel could Namgung Hyun have had with Anguk Merchant Group in the past? He, too, must have been tied to the Blood Cult.
Even having uncovered a truth, her mind was only more clouded. Sohwa kept her tone flat.
“I wonder what happens if I ignore your words.”
Was it her imagination?
From beyond the curtain, it seemed the Blood Cult dog was grinning.
“Then we will meet again.”
“To think I must see a Blood Cult dog again—my fortune is filthy indeed.”
“Haha.”
He spread his fan to cover his face and laughed.
As the laughter faded, he leaned his head playfully.
“May the fortune of the orthodox young lady change. The Blood Cult’s dog will pray hard for it.”
Before he finished speaking, his figure vanished like a snuffed candle. Only the fluttering curtain in the breeze proved the encounter had been real.
Sohwa opened her clenched fist.
Unaware, she had pressed so hard that her nails left marks between her fingers.
She shook off the foul tension and left the shop.
Outside, Sohwa stopped. At some point, all four Black Tiger Unit warriors had come out to stand beside Cheolho.
Upon seeing her, Hanwon hurried forward, studying her. His expression was displeased, but as if to hide it, he asked lightly,
“Did you buy nothing?”
Sohwa glanced at her hand.
“Too expensive.”
“Merchants are like that. Well, next time, go dressed in plainer clothes.”
“If I had dressed plainly, I would not have been allowed entry at all.”
At her rebuke, Ranhee spoke up. Hanwon nodded, conceding the point.
The calm atmosphere suggested Cheolho had said nothing. Sohwa looked at his darkened face, then turned away and walked on.
She had much to think about. Before the Hubei branch warriors arrived, she planned to return to the inn and collect her thoughts. But then someone called to her from behind.
“Young Lady!”
It was the clerk who had guided her earlier, running up. Before he could reach her, Hanwon blocked his way.
“Watch yourself! You’d run someone over with those eyes! Here, take this instead of glaring!”
The clerk quickly handed him a small box. Rather than take it, Hanwon asked,
“What is this?”
“A gift. My master ordered me to deliver it to the Young Lady.”
Calling someone “master,” the clerk fussed.
“It is a treasure bound for Baekgeumgak! There, you could not buy it even with money!”
Perhaps wounded by Sohwa’s indifferent reaction, he added that much.
Lowering her gaze, Sohwa asked,
“The ring you showed earlier?"
“Yes! That’s right!”
The clerk opened the box himself, showing the ring.
It was beautiful, yet Sohwa had no desire for it. Without Yehwa, it meant nothing.
Her eyes lifted. The windowless building was dyed red by the sunset. In a cold voice, she said,
“I appreciate the thought, but I will not accept it.”
“What? Why not?”
“Because I paid no price for it.”
“No, no, it is simply a gift. Please don’t be burdened.”
Her head lowered, Sohwa answered expressionlessly.
“Tell your master I do not deal with those who demand absurd prices.”
“Ah—if the Young Lady refuses, I’ll be in trouble!”
The clerk flailed theatrically, but Sohwa and the Black Tiger Unit gave no reply, leaving the shop behind.
***
Hae-rak leaned back in his chair. He stared at the paper between his fingers. It was a letter from a cultist at the Shaanxi branch.
[Using the cold qi of Binggeukjicho to lure and absorb the heat. Suspected principle of absorption…]
At first, he had thought it a divine medicine, even felt admiration. But it was written that the Tang Clan Head’s daughter had devised the treatment. That she had noticed the Heat Art of Taeyang Palace.
[…Wu So’s name-tag of Mount Hua. Promise to exchange a boeun pae at the Martial Alliance tournament…]
The report on Tang Sohwa continued. Most of it concerned Elder Wu So of Mount Hua. But Wu So’s favor did not interest Hae-rak. What caught his attention was the final phrase.
[Ilgo-gyeongguk Cheongeummaeso (One glance topples a nation, a thousand gold for a smile).]
Ilgo-gyeongguk—at a single glance, a nation falls. A phrase for beauty.
It was not said of Wu So, already in his forties. It must mean the Tang Clan Head’s daughter. The cultist had hesitated even writing it, judging from how it was appended at the end.
The Red Blood Unit Leader delighted in beauty. He coveted costly treasures and exquisite things, even useless ones. If they brought him pleasure, whether by sight or sound, he valued them highly.
Thus, those who knew his tastes never dared to judge beauty in his presence.
So this was not a phrase meant only for her looks.
The words that followed also grated. Cheongeummaeso—spending a thousand gold to buy a smile. To waste vast wealth for a trivial joy. Why attach that to a beauty?
In truth, Hae-rak understood the meaning instantly.
The two phrases pointed to one figure.
Bao Si.
The old man often called her the greatest beauty in the history of the Central Plains.
Everyone had their tastes, and standards of beauty varied widely.
But Bao Si was Blood Demon’s taste.