A sigh loud enough to pierce his eardrums reached him.
“Ah, I should have drunk in moderation. I can’t muster any strength.”
At the commotion, Tang Hak opened his eyes.
The pitch-black night sky was embroidered with a pure white streak. His eyelids kept wanting to close, but he could clearly feel the starlight even without widening his field of vision.
“Urgh!”
When Hwangbo Rim shifted Tang Hak higher on his back, the Black Heaven Dark Ghost glanced at him.
“How far have we even walked for you to whine like that?”
“The sky’s spinning, and I’m carrying a guy bigger than me on my back. I’m dying here.”
“Is the alcohol still in your system? Tsk, tsk. To think you’re the Young Clan Head of the Hwangbo family and can’t even disperse that level of intoxication.”
“Do you think I’m Namgung Jin or something? And if I’m just going to drive off the drunkenness, then why drink in the first place? Why waste such expensive water...... urk, seriously, you say the strangest things...... urk.”
Hwangbo Rim had wanted to argue a bit more, but he couldn’t hold back his nausea. He all but tossed Tang Hak down onto the ground and went off to a corner to empty his stomach.
The Black Heaven Dark Ghost, frowning as if it were disgusting, turned his gaze to Tang Hak.
Tang Hak was blinking, as if he had finally come to his senses.
“Are you clear-headed now?”
“......Yes.”
“Hold on a little longer. Once we get inside, I’ll take a look at you.”
Tang Hak gave a small, silent nod.
The duel could be called a complete defeat. Outwardly he looked fine, but his internal injuries were severe.
Zhuge Hyang had no choice but to be mindful of others’ eyes, since Tang Hak was much younger than him and the Young Clan Head of another clan. He had tried in his own way not to leave visible scars, but, perhaps because he had been quite enraged, he had inflicted internal injuries with a force that felt like he meant to hack apart Tang Hak’s innards.
“That goat of a bastard poked at your insides so meticulously that I’ll have to examine your meridians properly. Endure it until we reach your quarters. Once we’re in, I’ll treat you.”
The Young Clan Head only stared up at the sky without a word.
His face was gloomy.
“Are you in a lot of pain?”
“No.”
“Are you feeling bitter?”
Tang Min’s brows drew together slightly.
He wondered if he ought to offer comfort he wasn’t born for.
But it was only natural that Tang Hak had lost. No matter how outstanding he might be, the Young Clan Head still could not defeat an elder of another clan. Zhuge Hyang was a retainer of the Zhuge family who had been acknowledged enough to be dispatched to a branch, an elder who had seized the position of the Branch Lord’s right hand. For a martial artist of Tang Hak’s age to have exchanged that many moves with an elder of the Zhuge family was remarkable in itself.
And Tang Hak had not merely held out.
“Still, you carved cat whiskers onto an elder of another clan. You should take pride in that.”
Thinking back on the fight, Tang Min let out a short laugh.
“That fellow will be too embarrassed to show his face for a while. He’ll probably hide somewhere.”
The very fact that he had crossed hands with a much younger Young Clan Head was shameful for an elder of the Zhuge family. He ought to have steered the fight in a way that made it look as if he had gone easy on him. If he had beaten him into a pulp, he would have been called the Mad Green Frog.
Zhuge Hyang was famous even within the Five Great Families for enjoying political maneuvering, so he guarded his reputation with great care. He had cleverly targeted only places where the damage wouldn’t show. When the Young Clan Head, gravely injured internally, could no longer endure and collapsed, Zhuge Hyang had ended the fight as if bestowing mercy.
But Tang Hak’s situation was different.
Inflicting injuries on an elder of another clan helped his own reputation. It had been right for Tang Hak to focus more on external wounds than internal ones, and he had tried to leave scars in places that would be difficult to hide.
The Black Heaven Dark Ghost had always taught the timid Tang Hak these methods of “reputation management,” and, befitting a master, had also passed on his worldly savvy.
As a result, Tang Hak had left no fewer than six wounds on Zhuge Hyang’s face today.
The Black Heaven Dark Ghost was very pleased that his disciple had carved cat whiskers into both of Zhuge Hyang’s cheeks.
The man had strutted off full of self-satisfaction, unable to see his own face, but the moment he checked a bronze mirror at home, he would likely smash a wall and rampage. As soon as he left, Hwangbo Rim and the Black Heaven Dark Ghost had rolled on the floor clutching their stomachs, and the patrons, who had been watching the mood, had burst into laughter as well.
For someone as hungry for honor as Zhuge Hyang, there could be no greater disgrace.
Even if Wuhan had fewer people than usual, a story this juicy would spread very quickly.
'Who knows what excuse he’ll use to shut himself in his room. When he thinks about walking around with that face, he’ll probably want to die instead.'
Swallowing his laughter, the Black Heaven Dark Ghost was about to praise Tang Hak when the Young Clan Head spoke first.
“You always said this, Grand Elder.”
“I say so many good things that I can’t guess which one you mean. What are you talking about?”
Tang Hak slowly blinked and confessed,
“You said that family has to be believed unconditionally, without even listening to the reason.”
Tang Min closed his mouth, thinking he knew what Tang Hak was trying to say.
He had heard Zhuge Hyang running his mouth before they entered the inn.
Because he understood what the faint-hearted Young Clan Head must be thinking, he couldn’t bring himself to cut in and could only listen to his complaints.
“But...... believing unconditionally doesn’t seem to be the right thing.”
The Black Heaven Dark Ghost’s brows drew together. He wanted to ask what he meant.
The Young Clan Head was not the sort of man to suspect his older sister or take the initiative to offer her up to headquarters.
But the Young Clan Head did not continue speaking. Whether it was because he lacked conviction, or because he could not bring himself to put it into words, there was no way to know.
At that moment, they sensed someone approaching from afar.
Someone was running toward them from the direction of headquarters. He was a martial artist of the Hwangbo family.
As soon as he recognized Tang Min, he brought his hands together and bowed in greeting, then hurried to look for Hwangbo Rim.
“Greetings to the Black Heaven Dark Ghost. By any chance, have you seen our Young Clan Head?”
“He’s over there.”
“Gasp, Young Clan Head!”
He found Hwangbo Rim vomiting in the corner and started to rush over, then flinched. He decided to wait until Hwangbo Rim had finished emptying his stomach, but Tang Min called out to him.
“Why did you come out? Didn’t I say we’d be late?”
“Ah, I came out precisely to deliver news!”
The Hwangbo retainer seemed to want to speak to the Young Clan Head first, but perhaps thinking there was no harm if the Black Heaven Dark Ghost heard as well, he spoke up at once when Hwangbo Rim started retching again.
“It seems Young Lady Tang Sohwa has returned to headquarters.”
At those words, Tang Min froze on the spot.
“What did you say?”
Tang Hak, who had been lying on the ground, also raised his upper body.
“I didn’t see her directly, but things were in an uproar at headquarters, so I asked around, and they said the Four-Directions Hall that went to the Northern Sea has come back. But something felt off, so I hid and listened, and I heard someone whisper that she came back on her own two feet? They said she went into the Sagye Hall together with the Four-Directions Hall Administrator......”
The Black Heaven Dark Ghost stripped off Tang Hak’s upper garment. He immediately checked the acupoints, then swept a sharp gaze over Hwangbo Rim and the retainer.
“You two stand guard.”
“Yes!”
The Hwangbo retainer quickly ran over, reading the situation.
Tang Min began circulating Naegayo-sangsul. After treating Tang Hak’s internal injuries, he stood up, sounding urgent, and spoke.
“Rim, open your mouth.”
“Sir? Gah!”
Before Hwangbo Rim could even ask, Tang Min flicked a pill straight into his uvula. Hwangbo Rim involuntarily swallowed the pill and grimaced.
“Ugh, what is this?”
“An antidote pill to dispel drunkenness. The effect will kick in within a quarter of an hour, so once you’ve cleared your head, get a carrier pigeon or carrier hawk and send a letter to the Tang Clan. Young Clan Head, go to your quarters, change clothes, and wait.”
The Black Heaven Dark Ghost vanished almost before he finished speaking. Judging from the direction his presence faded, he had headed for headquarters.
Overflowing with indignation, Hwangbo Rim glared at the empty air where the Black Heaven Dark Ghost had disappeared and vented.
“Come on! If I was going to sober up this fast, I wouldn’t have drunk such expensive liquor! Hey, Hak, where are you going?”
When Tang Hak started toward headquarters, Hwangbo Rim grabbed his arm.
“I’m going to headquarters.”
“Forget it. Why do you think the Grand Elder told you to stay at the lodging and ran ahead?”
Hwangbo Rim shook his head.
“He’s probably going to raise hell, so go in slowly. Don’t go getting dragged into the mess and picking up a reputation as the Tang Clan’s Young Clan Head who rampaged at headquarters.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Tang Hak spoke coldly and moved off along the path the Black Heaven Dark Ghost had taken. He ran fast, as if he had never been injured. The Hwangbo retainer couldn’t even catch him.
Clicking his tongue, Hwangbo Rim signaled with his eyes.
“You go find a carrier pigeon and send a letter to the Tang Clan. I’ll go after Hak.”
“Sir? But what if the Young Clan Head gets dragged into the disturbance, just like you said?”
“It’ll be fine.”
As if the medicine was already taking effect, Hwangbo Rim straightened his posture and spoke solemnly.
“I’m going to stop the Black Heaven Dark Ghost.”
“......You’re going to watch, sir.”
Without answering, Hwangbo Rim headed back to headquarters.
The Hwangbo retainer had the feeling that something was wrong, but since he had just been out with someone who was fundamentally very wrong, he brushed it off as usual.
He headed toward the huge inn where the outsiders had stayed. He remembered that the innkeeper lent out carrier pigeons to guests. Since he had no idea who owned the inn, the Hwangbo retainer, without a second’s hesitation, went to an inn in Wuhan and sent a letter to the Tang Clan by carrier pigeon.
***
Darkness had settled over headquarters, and it was quiet. Only a few torches cut through the stillness as they moved busily about.
Rumors spread along with the lights going back and forth between the various pavilions.
Tang Sohwa, who had fled to avoid interrogation, had returned.
The martial artists of headquarters should have locked her in the dungeon, but they could not. It was because the Four-Directions Hall Administrator who had gone to the Northern Sea had ordered them not to tell anyone that Tang Sohwa had come back. He had said the Alliance Leader would make an announcement later.
Since it was the Alliance Leader who had ordered them to lock Tang Sohwa up in the dungeon as soon as she was found, they weren’t sure if this was truly right, but the Sagye Hall Administrator had also said to follow the order, so they had no choice but to keep their mouths shut.
A martial artist who kept glancing toward the Sagye Hall voiced his doubts.
“......Still, how did the Four-Directions Hall return so soon? Did they turn back halfway on their way to the Northern Sea?”
“From what I hear, they did go all the way to the branch. They brought back Binggeukjicho and even secured Han Cheol.”
“Han Cheol?”
“Yeah, you know that big iron plate wrapped in cloth? That’s Han Cheol. The Black Tortoise Pavilion Lord sent it straight to the ironworks.”
The martial artist snorted.
“Come on, that makes no sense. Where would you even get that much Han Cheol? With that much, more than half of it would cool before you could even shape it, so how would you make such a long plate?”
“That’s true. Maybe those Northern Sea bastards tricked the Administrator.”
The fact that Tang Sohwa had come back of her own accord was shocking enough, but the return of the Four-Directions Hall Administrator from the Northern Sea had dulled that shock.
While they were busy puzzling over it, Tang Sohwa was able to secure time to meet with the Sagye Hall Administrator.
Creak.
After sending all his clerks out, the Sagye Hall Administrator carefully shut the doors of the Sagye Hall and returned to Donghyeon Pavilion.
The two women sitting in the pavilion waited quietly for him to take his seat.
As the Sagye Hall Administrator sat down, he smiled.
“It is fortunate that both of you have returned safely.”
