NOVEL NEXT chapter 87 - Baekgeumgak
Sohwa was a little surprised by how much attention the Martial Alliance drew from martial artists.
It was her first time, in either lifetime, participating in a duel tournament, so this lively atmosphere felt unfamiliar.
The air was filled with laughter as voices casually ranked and compared fighters.
The bystanders, already tipsy on wine and conversation, did not recognize Sohwa. Of course they wouldn’t. Only when she moved with the Tang delegation would anyone realize she was from the Tang Clan; walking alone, she was hard to identify. Even as a direct descendant of a martial family, she was someone who couldn’t easily be called a martial artist.
Sohwa turned into a side alley. The road leading to Baekgeumgak, hung with rows of splendid lanterns, was paradoxically dark.
And quiet.
As if she had stepped into another world, the street noise faded far behind her.
She stood there, gazing up at the lofty building before her.
The top floor was barely visible. The highest story of the hall, radiant with light across its body, merged with the night sky, shrouding its upper darkness.
Then, a light voice came from ahead.
"Unexpected. I didn’t think you’d come looking for me the moment you arrived."
When she lowered her gaze, she saw the Vice Head of the Anguk Merchant Group standing at the door. To Sohwa, he was more familiar as a member of the Blood Cult.
"I’d rather talk inside."
At her words, Hae-rak quietly rested his arm against the doorframe, blocking the way.
"Sorry, but Baekgeumgak isn’t the kind of place just anyone can enter."
Sohwa looked straight at him and asked,
"Am I ‘just anyone’?"
"To Min Yeohong, you’re not particularly special."
Min Yeohong — the name of the Anguk Merchant Group’s vice head, the identity this Blood Cult bastard had assumed.
Sohwa drew out a small wooden box fastened in her sleeve. Recognizing it, the man who called himself Min Yeohong flinched.
A rush of peony scent swept through the air, and the atmosphere burned hot for an instant.
When he confirmed that his own internal energy was gathering properly, the tension in his aura subsided.
Sohwa smiled faintly and laid her hand atop the lid of the box.
"I didn’t refine it with Sangong Poison, and this isn’t its antidote either."
Click.
She opened the box right before his eyes. Four small pills were revealed.
With an even voice, Sohwa added,
"It’s an antiparasitic that’ll drive the dokgo out of your body."
Flames flickered in the Blood Cult man’s amber-green eyes. His gaze, bright as gold, rose to meet hers.
"If you came here to find Hae-rak," he said with a smirk, "then you’re certainly not just anyone."
Sohwa frowned. When she stayed silent, suspecting another round of mockery, Hae-rak suddenly laughed aloud.
"Ha-ha, ‘Hae-rak’ doesn’t mean an indecent invitation to ‘enjoy together’. It’s simply my name. Nothing meaningful behind it, so relax that face."
"Your name is Hae-rak?"
"That’s right."
For an instant, something unreadable flickered in her golden eyes.
"A good name. Not what I’d expect from a Blood Cult bastard."
"Probably because it wasn’t the Blood Cult that named me."
Hae-rak gave a brief reply, then turned his head.
At his gaze, the heavy door opened.
"Come in. Few people come here, but with so many crowds outside during the tournament, someone’s eyes might still catch us."
Even at his words, Sohwa remained unhurried.
Seeing her calm, Hae-rak gave a dry laugh.
She didn’t deny it.
"I’d rather people think I’m continuing my acquaintance with the Anguk vice head I met at the branch."
"That’s unexpected. I thought you’d want to keep your distance."
"Knowing your temperament, you’d probably barge into the Tang estate or the Martial Alliance headquarters whenever it pleased you, pretending we were close. I’d rather not invite suspicion over how that came to be."
Hae-rak shut his mouth — it was exactly the sort of impulsive revenge he might have taken himself.
As if she knew it, Sohwa added coolly,
"If I’m seen building friendly ties while I’m in Hubei, people won’t waste time spreading baseless doubts later."
She had already learned, during the Families’ Council, how quickly rumors spread — and how much people enjoyed it.
As she finished speaking, the great gate closed behind them.
Walking inside, Hae-rak tilted his head.
"Baseless doubts, you say?"
His voice was laced with ridicule.
"That’s not baseless. A young lady of the orthodox clans meeting a Blood Cult man in secret — that’s not exactly acceptable in your world, is it?"
Without answering, Sohwa slipped the wooden box back into her sleeve.
"Ah, so I tease you once and you put it away again? Come on, give it here. Looks heavy — I’ll carry it."
There was no way a palm-sized box could be heavy, but Hae-rak quickly snatched it from her and held it in his hand.
As they passed through a stone garden, a man standing at the entrance blocked their way.
Fatigue lined his face deeply.
He was the sort who could speak through expression alone — the scowl on his lips seemed to say, Are you insane?
"Are you serious?" he asked.
Hae-rak, apparently used to such tone, ignored him and simply issued orders.
"I’m going to the bedchamber. Don’t let anyone in."
"…The bedchamber?"
"It’s not what you think, so drop that look."
"No, I wasn’t thinking that. I was merely admiring your courage — going alone into a sealed room with a woman who’s dangling poisons from her sleeves. Last time you tangled with Sangong Poison, didn’t you almost lose all your internal energy and patience together?"
Hae-rak’s gaze slid toward him in silence.
Only then did the ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ man stop mocking.
A subordinate, perhaps — but not a deferential one.
Sohwa thought inwardly that the Blood Cult’s internal structure was even more chaotic than she’d imagined.
Hae-rak didn’t bother scolding him, and the subordinate didn’t apologize either.
Abandoning any expectation of normal reasoning, Sohwa simply followed them up Baekgeumgak.
As rumored, valuable items were displayed everywhere.
Not only ornate jewelry but also worn weapons and old books, perhaps left in trust by someone.
The higher they climbed, the more bizarre it became.
Caged strange beasts and plants, and massive paintings covering the walls. Sohwa understood then why the building was so tall — it needed vast space to store such enormous artworks and monstrous living things.
When they reached the top, the light dimmed abruptly.
Unlike the exhibition floors, Hae-rak’s bedchamber was pitch dark, without a single candle lit.
"I’d prefer if we lit something," she said.
"No," he refused.
"Lighting a flame here is the signal to call for assembly."
He suddenly slanted his mouth.
"If you’re curious about the Blood Cult’s true form in Hubei, then I can light one for you."
Said like that, she had no choice but to drop it.
Fortunately, the windows on every side were open, so between the moonlight and the faint glow rising from below, she could make out the shapes in the room.
Sohwa nodded.
"Fine. Even if I make a mistake, you’d be the one to die, not me — so this much is fine."
"…All right, maybe one candle," Hae-rak muttered.
With a gesture, he lit the single candle on the stand beside his bed.
Strangely, there were no chairs in the room. The broad windowsill and the high bed seemed to serve that purpose — only the master could sit elevated.
It was clear enough what that meant: those who entered here were beneath him.
She had expected as much, yet it confirmed that this Blood Cult man held high rank within the cult.
Sohwa quietly looked around, gathered what she needed, and carried it to the bedside — a clean cloth and a flask of water. As she set them down, Hae-rak smoothly came closer and sat on the bed.
"Which one do I take?"
Sohwa sat beside him.
"The first and third pills are antiparasitics. The second and fourth are neutralizers."
"Neutralizers?"
"In case something goes wrong, they’ll immediately nullify the effect."
"Why two of them? The two in the odd slots look completely different, even in color."
"The first pill cleanses your meridians completely, purging every impurity. The second lures the dokgo scattered through your body into your stomach."
"That’s even possible?"
"I don’t know yet. It’s just theory — I haven’t tested it on anyone before."
"…"
"Don’t worry. It’s fine if it fails."
"…No, it’s not fine for me."
"I can’t test the expulsion since I don’t have a dokgo in my body, but I’ve taken both the pills and the neutralizer together. The neutralizer definitely cancels the effect. So if anything goes wrong, I can stop it at once — you won’t die."
Probably.
Sohwa swallowed the word.
Hae-rak looked at her uneasily, then sighed.
"If you hadn’t already proven yourself, I’d call you a quack outright."
"There isn’t a single quack in the world who’s actually proven their skill."
"I know, but the way you talk sounds like a swindler."
"A swindler is the one who claims certainty. I tell you plainly when something may not work."
Sohwa looked down at the pills, then raised her eyes to him.
"I can’t promise success on the first try, but I won’t give up on you."
"…"
"Even if I fail today, I’ll observe your body’s reactions and make another remedy. As long as you don’t give up, I’ll eventually make the antiparasitic, and you’ll reclaim your freedom."
She didn’t lean in or gesture.
There was no hint of coercion — she simply sat upright, meeting his gaze, waiting for him to decide.
For some reason, she inspired trust.
Hae-rak recalled a line from every report he’d seen about the Tang girl — that she looked like a young maiden, yet carried the presence of an old sage within. Anyone who faced her felt like a child again.
He didn’t dislike it.
There was, strangely, a sense of calm — like being sheltered within a protector’s steady walls. A fleeting echo of a childhood memory.
Hae-rak smirked and picked up the third pill.
"I’ve tried cleansing my meridians before. Nearly died and wasted a fortune on elixirs."
He sniffed the medicine, frowning.
"From the smell, I’d say you used your own blood. Since only you could make it, I’ll take this one."
Sohwa nodded.
Meaning — do as you please.
Hae-rak immediately placed the small pill in his mouth.