When silence had become familiar, Sohwa’s gaze lifted.
The stone wall reflected in the full moon came into view. Perhaps much snow had fallen; patches of ice covered it here and there. But something felt strange.
There was nothing in sight except nature, yet she sensed surging energy.
The moment Sohwa stopped, Hae-rak also stopped. He seemed to have sensed something as well.
They naturally fixed their eyes straight ahead. It was the direction where the Passage lay.
The faint presence they had been sensing was approaching at tremendous speed.
Boom.
A monster landed one zhang in front of them and slowly rose to its feet.
It was like seeing a red giant tree sprout from the snowy plain.
Sohwa recognized him.
It was the Crimson Blood Hall Lord she had encountered when escaping from Geumeunsan.
“Of all places, you came to the Northern Sea. Foolish thing.”
The Crimson Blood Hall Lord smiled with a face like a demon.
“You know whose land this is?”
A clicking tongue cut off the Crimson Blood Hall Lord’s words.
“You still haven’t fixed your habit of bullying the weak first, have you?”
A violet back blocked her vision.
“Pyowol, didn’t I tell you that someone who looks like a chewed-up root will never have children in this lifetime if he keeps living so disgracefully?”
“So you were here too. Since the Blood Demon is sharpening his knife for you, I can take both of you.”
“What, did you cut your head off at some point? Why did you lose your memory? How would you take me?”
Hae-rak furrowed his brows as if remembering something.
“And come to think of it, why is your speech so short? Didn’t you agree to speak politely to me?”
“Hound, it seems you still don’t understand your situation.”
The Crimson Blood Hall Lord kept smiling throughout. He did not fall for Hae-rak’s provocation.
An ordinary person would have flipped their eyes and grabbed him by the collar, yet the Crimson Blood Hall Lord instead looked pleased.
Hae-rak raised one eyebrow, as if he had guessed something.
“You must have eaten something strange too. Haven’t you heard about the Blue Blood Hall Lord? That old man gave him medicine, he went wild, and he lost an eye.”
“Shut up!”
The Crimson Blood Hall Lord suddenly shouted.
Hae-rak tilted his lips diagonally and slowly spoke.
“So the old man did give you something.”
He put deliberate emphasis on the term “old man.”
“You filthy bastard!”
Eyes rolling back, the Crimson Blood Hall Lord charged at Hae-rak.
The moment the provoked Crimson Blood Hall Lord stepped into Hae-rak’s domain, Sohwa felt a gust pushing her away.
“Stay behind me.”
Sohwa leapt onto a tree behind them. At the same time, flames surged around Hae-rak.
The snowfield melted, revealing blackened ground. Even watching it was painful because of the heat.
Ssshhhh.
The Crimson Blood Hall Lord’s flesh melted where the flames touched. Blackened skin shriveled, and blood and pus mixed as they oozed out.
Yet the Crimson Blood Hall Lord moved quickly, and his strikes were accurate.
Boom.
The Crimson Blood Hall Lord’s fist grazed Hae-rak’s face. He evaded by the narrowest margin; had the blow landed properly, it would have left a large hole in his face.
Hae-rak clicked his tongue in admiration.
“Seems the old man gave you something really good.”
“I told you to watch your mouth!”
But a simple provocation instantly broke his rhythm.
“Tsk. What you need is medicine to kill your temper. That old man won’t become a physician at this rate. You need a proper prescription—what good is rubbing oil on the surface?”
“I will rip your mouth open!”
Hae-rak hooked one corner of his lips with his fingertip.
“Make it pretty. Though judging by your face, I don’t expect the result to be pleasing.”
“You— you!”
Sohwa’s eyes blurred.
The two of them provoked each other with childish insults like street ruffians.
More precisely, Hae-rak used maddening words, the Crimson Blood Hall Lord’s eyes blazed, and he wasted his strength.
She had heard that in close combat, the aftermath of wasted attacks was great. There was no room to settle one’s stance. While one’s posture twisted, the opponent’s attack might slip in.
Close combat was a fight where the first clean hit could end everything, so creating the chance for one decisive strike was important. Or so she had heard. Given that Heukcheon Amgui, who had beaten the most martial artists in the Tang Clan, had said it, it was probably true.
But the Crimson Blood Hall Lord grew excited too easily, and he used excessive force on attacks that should have been saved as opportunities.
“Cheong-il pushed his inner energy even further. He turned trees into stone and threw them—I was surprised.”
Hae-rak avoided the inner-energy-fueled attacks with casual ease, draining the Crimson Blood Hall Lord’s strength.
“Ah, I guess the old man must have discriminated between you two. He gave Cheong-il something of higher quality, and only pretended yours was good. That must be why you’re overflowing with confidence.”
“Aaaargh!”
Unable to endure, the Crimson Blood Hall Lord roared.
Sohwa felt a faint sympathy toward him.
It was fortunate Hae-rak was on her side. He had a remarkable talent for getting under people’s skin.
It wasn’t the Crimson Blood Hall Lord’s fault that he wasted his attacks.
Watching the fight, Sohwa frowned.
A metallic scent of blood surged over them like a sea wind.
Sohwa climbed higher. When she cast her eyes farther, her body stiffened.
The area where the Passage was located had turned pitch black.
It was a hideous sight, like a swarm of ants clinging to a conifer forest.
Even worse, those things were pouring toward them.
Pale-faced, Sohwa shouted loudly.
“The Crimson Blood Hall is coming this way!”
“I know.”
At that, the Crimson Blood Hall Lord chuckled.
Hae-rak frowned.
“What? Why are you laughing? Are you proud that even your smiling face is ugly?”
The Crimson Blood Hall Lord grimaced.
“...I will carve out your filthy mouth and hang it on a plaque.”
“Do you like me that much? Enough to live with my mouth? Ugh, disgusting. Keep those thoughts to yourself.”
“You son of a—... huff.”
Almost dragged into the wordplay again, the Crimson Blood Hall Lord took a deep breath and stepped back from Hae-rak.
Hae-rak looked disappointed but corrected his stance and asked,
“Are those things your subordinates? Their aura feels different.”
The Crimson Blood Hall Lord lifted the corners of his mouth all the way to his cheekbones.
“The Blood Demon has bestowed his grace upon the Crimson Blood Hall.”
“The revolting stench of blood is everywhere. Did you all gnaw on the old man’s corpse together?”
At those words, the Crimson Blood Hall Lord did not flare up but laughed joyfully.
“Seems our hound has a good nose, how fitting. Haha. The Blood Demon increased the Crimson Blood Hall’s strength. He shed his own blood and bestowed a Blood Art.”
Hae-rak let out a hollow laugh.
“So you all chose to become hosts now?”
“We cannot be called hosts. Unlike faithless things like you, our hearts exist only for the Blood Demon. His blood is not bondage but power.”
Hae-rak said nothing.
But Sohwa felt Hae-rak’s heat waver. He seemed tense.
It appeared dangerous that the Blood Demon had fed them blood and taught them something.
The Crimson Blood Hall Lord laughed.
“You cannot stop anything, hound.”
His gaze turned to Sohwa up in the tree.
“The sin of stealing something belonging to the Blood Demon cannot be repaid even with death.”
“Even if I want to die, that perverted old man won’t let me. What difference would it make now?”
Hae-rak spoke casually, but the surroundings brightened. As light rose, it seemed this time Hae-rak had fallen for the Crimson Blood Hall Lord’s provocation.
Sohwa could not tell whether the Crimson Blood Hall Lord’s words were mere provocation or a real threat.
Then she heard Hae-rak’s voice.
“[Go to the Central Plains immediately.]”
Sohwa closed her mouth at the transmitted voice.
“[This isn’t the time to be stubborn. Just go. Once the Northern Sea is settled, you can return. I’ll close the eastern Passage, so you go to the Central Plains.]”
Sohwa wanted that as well.
The revolting stench of blood and unbearable heat clung to her skin, making her feel sick.
Her body reacted strongly to the threat. It felt ominous.
She saw Crimson Blood cultists approaching from close range.
This was not a fight she could join, and she could not even send a transmitted voice.
Sohwa answered loudly with her real voice.
“There is no way to return.”
“[What do you mean? You said you made a Passage. Doyu told me everything. You don’t need to hide it from me, so go.]”
She wasn’t trying to deceive him.
“I don’t have it.”
The air instantly darkened.
Hae-rak even forgot not to take his eyes off the enemy and turned to her.
Sohwa shook her head.
“I left it with the Four-Directions Hall.”
Hae-rak swept back his long hair and refocused on the Crimson Blood Hall Lord.
“You really do all sorts of things.”
“......”
“That wasn’t aimed at you. I meant the situation is screwed.”
Understanding what he meant, Sohwa said nothing.
Hae-rak pulled out a dagger Sohwa had seen somewhere before and stuck it into his tied-up hair, securing it.
“Don’t go anywhere. Stay right there.”
