Silence returned as the only answer. It would take time before he could hear theirs. The Sagye Hall Administrator’s declaration was over at last.
At that moment, the Deputy Alliance Leader’s voice was heard.
“Administrator...”
That voice trembled.
“What in the world is this?”
The Deputy Alliance Leader, his face pale, looked at the alliance members sitting before him like corpses. Even after seeing it with his own eyes, he couldn’t believe it. He had trusted and followed the Sagye Hall Administrator because he was not one to joke, but he hadn’t known Oseoksan’s power would be this great.
“I almost suspect that I’ve been brainwashed myself after taking the antidote you gave me.”
“I understand you thinking that way. I felt the same.”
The Deputy Alliance Leader’s gaze slid toward the Sagye Hall fighters who had assisted in the act. They quietly worked as ordered, yet fear filled their eyes.
His gaze shifted to the ashes. He asked in a bitter voice,
“...Still, if it’s such a remarkable substance, surely it would have been of great use to headquarters. Isn’t it a waste?”
“I burned it precisely because it felt wasteful. Otherwise, someone would surely have tried to use it.”
At the cold answer, the Deputy Alliance Leader cleared his throat awkwardly.
“So what do you plan to do now?”
“I’ve destroyed all records of its composition, but since there may still be people who know of it, I intend to trace the trade routes where the five minerals are distributed.”
“Will that be possible?”
“It will be difficult, but at least we can block the flow coming into Hubei.”
“And you plan to continue the antidote research?”
“Yes. The pill that Young Lady Tang created doesn’t last long, so I intend to improve it to extend its duration.”
“...That doesn’t sound easy either, but focusing on the antidote seems more practical than trying to eradicate Oseoksan completely.”
The Deputy Alliance Leader nodded automatically, then asked,
“But if the members were going to be brainwashed anyway, wouldn’t it have been better to tell them not to worry about Young Lady Tang’s departure?”
Zhuge Inhwi didn’t answer.
For now, Tang Sohwa had to be seen as having fled from headquarters. Headquarters had to appear to be pursuing her so that the Blood Demon would believe the Alliance Leader hadn’t betrayed him.
Tang Sohwa had said the Alliance Leader must have made a pact of peace with the Blood Demon. If the Alliance Leader truly made that deal to preserve peace, it should be followed.
Right or wrong aside, that peace was what the Central Plains needed now.
Zhuge Inhwi believed that even if the Alliance Leader had made a deal with the Blood Demon, it wasn’t for personal gain. Even Tang Sohwa said the Alliance Leader desired peace for the Central Plains.
The Sagye Hall Administrator accepted both the Alliance Leader’s and Tang Sohwa’s actions as reasonable. Because he supported them both, he intended to protect them in his own way.
He spoke in a calm voice.
“If these people try to defend the missing Young Lady Tang, then the members who weren’t present will begin to doubt them. If they notice the brainwashing, that doubt will turn toward Young Lady Tang. Rash help could instead become a fatal mistake, so forcing action is dangerous.”
“That’s difficult... But can’t we tell the Alliance Leader about this?”
Originally, the Alliance Leader was supposed to attend this meeting. Had Zhuge Inhwi not gone to him first to apply the brainwashing, the Alliance Leader would also have been here.
“Yes. The Alliance Leader must appear as though he was affected by us as well. If he’s involved, then when the brainwashed members awaken after a month, they may blame him. If a faction forms that turns the Alliance Leader into an enemy, the Martial Alliance could collapse.”
Changing the Alliance’s leader amid such chaos would be dangerous.
At Zhuge Inhwi’s cold words, the Deputy Alliance Leader let out a deep sigh.
“Haa... You really do see the alliance members too pessimistically.”
The Administrator smiled quietly. The Deputy Alliance Leader said nothing more, only clicking his tongue inwardly.
The minimum time—one quarter of an hour—was nearly over. The Sagye Hall Administrator turned his body slightly. Among those present were people who had been brainwashed by the Alliance Leader in the Hall of Mediation. They probably wouldn’t recover their memories even a month later.
But he wasn’t worried. Even if they didn’t remember, he believed that when the Martial Alliance overturned a month later, they wouldn’t turn their backs on headquarters—especially not the Tang Clan.
The Administrator repeated the most important words one last time.
“You’ll forget what I said today for a while. When Oseoksan’s effect fades, you’ll remember then.”
In a calm voice, he concluded his message.
“Until then, I’ll see you again.”
A silence chilling enough to raise goosebumps descended.
Only the Deputy Alliance Leader, the Administrator, and the five fighters inside the training hall knew the truth, and that truth vanished into the stillness.
As though nothing had happened, the long-awaited opening of headquarters was declared.
A strange mound of ashes remained in the center of the training hall, but not a single person asked about it even as they left.
***
Entering Baekgeumgak, Tang Sohwa turned her gaze toward the staircase.
“Do you need anything else?”
Min Doyu asked in a curt voice.
Instead of answering, Sohwa kept her eyes fixed on the stairs.
Min Doyu slowly shifted sideways to block her line of sight and asked again.
“I’ll send people to the pavilion once a week. If you need anything, tell them.”
Listening to his words, Sohwa asked something else.
“Where is your master?”
“Our master is busy, of course. He runs the continent’s greatest merchant group—the Anguk Merchant Group. Isn’t that obvious?”
“Is his body well?”
Still, she was asking something else. Min Doyu did his best to feign ignorance.
“Our group leader’s old, over sixty. You think his body’s fine? He’s just carrying on day by day as usual. But he eats a lot of good things, so I’m sure he’s all right.”
Tang Sohwa’s cold gaze slid toward Min Doyu. He, instead of shrinking back, quickly darted his eyes sideways, as if warning her to mind her words with Namgung Jin nearby.
Sohwa didn’t care whether Namgung Jin was there or not, but apparently the other side still insisted on keeping up a meaningless pretense of distance.
Namgung Jin wasn’t a fool. Could he really not know what the Anguk Merchant Group was?
Several days had passed since she’d sent the letter, yet there was still no word from Min Hae-rak. If he were alive, he would have made his survival known somehow; his silence was troubling. But seeing how Min Doyu behaved so leisurely, it seemed the Red Blood Hall Lord’s condition wasn’t bad.
Sohwa turned her attention away, entered the hidden room, and changed into the clothes Min Doyu had prepared. The Sagye Hall Administrator had helped her escape, but he had also advised her to hurry, as the Tang Clan Head could not be delayed for long.
Changing into the attire of the Northern Sea, Sohwa untied her hair and let it fall long down her back.
When she came out, Namgung Jin’s voice reached her.
“What do we do now?”
He too was dressed in Northern Sea garb, wrapped in a fur-lined cape.
Sohwa took out two small bottles, one containing Han Cheol and the other blood.
“There are said to be two methods to open the Passage. One is to pour inner energy into the core and draw in the surrounding power through the formation. The other is to spill the caster’s blood and borrow the strength of heaven. Those are the two ways.”
As Sohwa was about to unseal the vial of blood, Namgung Jin gently pushed her hand away.
“Keep that one. Let me see if I can manage it.”
Sohwa nodded. Namgung Jin placed the Han Cheol plate on his palm. As his hand touched the engraved plate, he slowly gathered his inner energy. A cool scent of pine resin spread briefly, then turned into a warm current.
The clear energy rising from his dantian flowed upward toward his Baihui point, circling like a Small Heavenly Circuit. When it returned downward, it didn’t flow back to his dantian but streamed out through his hand.
When his inner energy reached the Han Cheol, the air stirred. It felt as if the surrounding air was being sucked into the metal.
Fwahh—
In that instant, light flared above the Han Cheol, and space split open.
Apparently used to such glare, Namgung Jin didn’t even blink as he lifted his hand from the plate.
Min Doyu’s gaze, fixed on the Passage, dropped to the Han Cheol in Namgung Jin’s hand. Greed flickered in his eyes. Sohwa retrieved the Han Cheol and tucked it into her sleeve. The man looked regretful, but she ignored him and spoke to Namgung Jin.
“The Passage only holds for half a quarter-hour. We should hurry.”
“Yes.”
Sohwa slung the pack Baekgeumgak had prepared over her shoulder and stepped through the Passage.
Crunch.
Cold air whipped her hair. The motion felt gentle, as though someone brushed her hair with a soft hand.
Setting foot in the Northern Sea, she raised her gaze. Large white snowflakes were falling over the pure white field. The bitter cold enveloped her body, yet she did not shrink back. The snow falling from the silvery sky felt instead refreshing.
Slowly she lowered her eyes. To the left spread a sea that seemed to split the vast snowy plain in half. A lake so endless it was called the sea—the Northern Sea.
Sohwa looked toward the small island resting on the black water. Sheer cliffs surrounded it like walls.
The domain once said to belong to the ruler of the Northern Sea. Though the Northern Sea Ice Palace had fallen, it was said that within that island, the Central Plains invaders who had taken it and the surviving nobles of the Northern Sea now lived together.
Suddenly, Sohwa felt the weight on her shoulder lighten and turned her head. Namgung Jin, who had already crossed into the Northern Sea, had naturally taken her pack from her. He too was gazing at the great dark rock rising from the black sea.
“...I didn’t know Hyun possessed such skill.”
Namgung Jin’s voice was dark. It was understandable. With such a power, it would have been natural to flee instead of enduring humiliation.
Yet Namgung Hyun had remained in the Namgung Clan, enduring every insult and torment. That meant he had some goal.
Sohwa didn’t comment on another family’s affairs and quietly walked across the snowfield.
When they reached the end of the snowy expanse, they saw a harbor touching the sea. It was the southernmost harbor along the Northern Sea coast. Most trade ships entering the Northern Sea Ice Palace once passed through that harbor, carrying vast wealth.
But now there was nothing. The quietly piled snow had erased it all.
Crunch.
Finishing his thoughts, Namgung Jin approached from behind. His voice held puzzlement.
“It looks much simpler than the rumors said.”
“It does.”
“Shall we go down first?”
Sohwa nodded.
Crunch.
Tang Sohwa’s footprints pressed into the snow, and Namgung Jin’s footprints overlapped them. They walked without fear of leaving traces. Because snow fell fast, their footprints vanished quickly.
That was why the Blood Cult struggled to find the hidden rebels. On the snowfield, even the boundary between sky and mountain was blurred by snowflakes.
Searching the Northern Sea’s snowy mountains to find the person she sought was nearly impossible. The only visible landmark was that abyssal black sea.
With both the white shoreline and the dark sea in her sight, Sohwa renewed her resolve.
She would return bearing the sharpest blade capable of tearing the Blood Cult to pieces.
