The lodging situated on the outer edge of headquarters was quiet.
After the Duel Tournament ended, most Alliance members had returned to headquarters proper, and since outsiders disliked coming and going through Wuhan, there were no new guests.
The path leading to the pavilion was filled with sharp aura.
Perhaps because she faced greater worries ahead, Sohwa did not feel much fear toward the Heukcheon Amgui’s murderous energy.
To be precise, her mind was so chaotic that there was no room for his anger to wedge itself in.
But the Four-Directions Hall Administrator seemed bothered.
"Let me meet the Heukcheon Amgui first and try to explain the situation."
At the surging killing intent, Pang Shihyeon tried to protect Sohwa.
It was a degree of attention that anyone from one of the Five Great Noble Families would have desired—but Sohwa refused.
"No. It is fine."
The Four-Directions Hall Administrator was mistaken, thinking the Heukcheon Amgui would restrain his temper in front of an outsider. But Tang Min was someone who would vent his anger on the Administrator without caring in the slightest.
Since she could not allow the Tang Clan’s Supreme Elder to be seen making a mistake, Sohwa declined the consideration and stepped into the pavilion first.
Three familiar men stood in the corridor of the pavilion. Namgung Jin, Tang Hak, and Hwangbo Rim.
Sohwa was not especially surprised by this combination.
Hwangbo Rim had followed the Heukcheon Amgui well since childhood and liked teasing Tang Hak, often visiting the Tang Clan for no reason.
"Older Sister!"
Upon seeing Sohwa, Tang Hak rushed forward like an arrow.
In an instant, Tang Hak’s eyes filled with tears.
"Were you hurt anywhere? What exactly happened?"
He anxiously inspected his sister’s body, not knowing what to do.
Tap.
Sohwa did not reciprocate the welcome; instead, she grabbed Tang Hak’s arm.
"Ah!"
When she pressed the inside of his elbow, Tang Hak groaned.
Something had been strange about his movement as he ran—his arms were unbalanced as they swung, and his left knee would not bend.
Sohwa’s expression hardened.
"It has been almost a month since you received treatment. Why are you still not healed?"
"Th—that is not it. I got into trouble at a tavern today and was hurt again."
"Trouble?"
Tang Sohwa’s gaze darkened.
"You would not have picked a fight first, so who picked one with you?"
As Tang Hak flinched under his sister’s sharp aura, Hwangbo Rim stepped in.
"Tang Young Lady, no need to worry. The Supreme Elder thoroughly scanned his internal injuries, and as you know, external wounds of this level will heal quickly."
He subtly hid Tang Hak behind himself and grinned.
"By the way, how did you escape headquarters? Avoiding the Martial Alliance’s Heaven-and-Earth Net for a whole month—please teach me that method as well."
Sohwa answered nothing and simply looked at the Hwangbo family’s Young Clan Head.
He was the same as ever.
They were not close in her past life, but he had revealed his frivolous nature just as easily then as now, with only a few careless words.
Step.
Hearing footsteps behind Sohwa, Hwangbo Rim shifted his gaze. When he saw who was approaching, he clasped both hands together and smiled broadly.
"I greet the Four-Directions Hall Administrator. I heard you returned together with Tang Young Lady, but I suppose it was not a coincidence? Surely you two did not go to the Northern Sea together?"
Hwangbo Rim tried to lighten the mood with a joke, but Pang Shihyeon’s attitude was even stiffer than Sohwa’s.
"Where is the Heukcheon Amgui?"
Namgung Jin, standing quietly behind, answered.
"He is in the room on the second floor."
Sohwa’s eyes rose to the second floor.
A room reinforced with a formation that prevented sound leakage came into view.
It was the very place where she had once spoken privately with Yeon-a and Namgung Jin.
"Tang Young Lady."
Her gaze lowered when Namgung Jin called to her.
His expression did not change, but his voice carried concern.
"The Heukcheon Amgui is very angry."
No one here was unaware of that fact.
At Namgung Jin’s warning, Sohwa nodded and turned to Tang Hak.
"Do not leave the guests standing here. Escort them to the reception room Father used. I will speak with the Supreme Elder first and join you there afterward."
"Would it not be better if we waited here?"
Tang Hak left the rest unsaid.
Everyone gathered here was worried the Heukcheon Amgui might beat Tang Sohwa to death.
Sohwa did not answer and walked toward the stairs alone.
The Young Clan Heads of the three great families must have been strictly ordered not to follow—none dared move.
Creak.
The dark staircase groaned unpleasantly. It seemed it had not been oiled in a long time.
Creak.
Each step kicked up dust.
The pavilion was in poor condition.
Since the Tang Clan’s Young Clan Head and the Tang Clan’s top martial artist were residing here, headquarters should not have let the pavilion deteriorate.
It seemed the Heukcheon Amgui had forbidden maintenance personnel from entering.
'He distrusts headquarters...'
He must have believed that Tang Sohwa’s disappearance had been their doing.
Knowing Tang Min must have suffered greatly, she silently swallowed her guilt.
Creak.
Just as Sohwa reached the door and was about to announce herself—
Suddenly, the door burst open violently to both sides.
Bang!
Her gaze, fixed on the door handle, slowly rose.
Without lighting a lamp, the Heukcheon Amgui stared at her quietly in the darkness.
His black pupils shone fiercely under the moonlight streaming through the window.
For the first time, the Heukcheon Amgui looked like a monster.
The murderous intent and darkness filling the room made it resemble hell itself, but Sohwa stepped inside without a word.
The Heukcheon Amgui had never granted permission to enter, but if she raised her voice demanding whether Tang Min had not told him to let her in—it would become truly dangerous.
Click.
When she closed the door, all sound vanished.
Her eyes had already adjusted to the dark; the Heukcheon Amgui’s expression slowly came into focus.
His cold face seemed to ask a question:
Explain this situation in a way I can accept.
Sohwa omitted greetings and inquiries.
She abandoned apologies and emotional appeals as well.
In a calm voice, she simply stated the reason she had disappeared.
"Because the Alliance Leader promised to hand me over to the Blood Cult, I avoided them with the Sagye Hall Administrator’s help and went to the Northern Sea."
The Heukcheon Amgui spoke her name in a low voice.
"Sohwa."
With an expression she had never seen before—utterly emotionless—he looked at her.
"I still remember the day you died in my arms as a tiny child, coughing blood."
He placed the throwing dagger he had been rolling in his palm onto the table.
"That day, I promised the Clan Head that I would never lay hands on you again."
Gazing at the silver throwing dagger shining under the moonlight, the elderly man revealed his inner thoughts.
"The promise I made to Ji-ha is like a line carved into my heart. Since I never managed to fix my temperament even at this age, I kept my own rule—that I must never cross the lines the Clan Head and Supreme Family Head set for me, so I can avoid becoming a complete disgrace. I try, in my own way, to respect the Tang Clan's rules."
The Heukcheon Amgui spoke in a dry voice.
"Even without the promise to the Clan Head, I still would not have been able to strike you. Even in moments when you were near death, you never screamed that you were in pain, so it is impossible to gauge your suffering. If you were like the Young Clan Head or the twins—kicking up a fuss and screaming—I would ignore it and hit them. But you... I was afraid I would truly kill you, so even I, who have no patience, regained reason."
He withdrew his hand from the throwing dagger. But Sohwa could feel the warmth that had connected his fingertips to the blade.
He had been prepared at any moment to break his promise to the Clan Head.
The Heukcheon Amgui believed Sohwa was lying.
He had already lost his reason, but he had pulled together his last remaining patience to give her one final chance.
He had been exposed to Oseoksan at least twice.
Because he no longer remembered the Blood Demon’s existence, it was difficult for Sohwa to explain the truth—especially now, when distrust filled the air.
Unless she showed him the truth directly, there seemed to be no way to calm him.
Without a word, Sohwa took the Passage from her sleeve.
She walked to the table and placed the slab of Han Cheol next to the throwing dagger.
"It is a Passage crafted by someone who once served the Blood Cult. When you send internal energy through the center, it performs a sorcery that links space."
Raising her gaze, she added in a composed voice,
"If even after personally seeing the Northern Sea you still believe I am lying, then I will gladly accept it."
Sohwa pushed the Passage toward Tang Min and added,
"And do not worry about your promise to Father. My body does not retain marks, so you may strike me as you wish."
The Heukcheon Amgui narrowed his brow.
Because Tang Sohwa truly meant it. Her face showed she did not care even if she were beaten to death.
Facing the only Tang Clan member unafraid of him, the Heukcheon Amgui let out a hollow breath.
'...How did something like this come out of Ji-ha?'
He recalled the woman who used to frequent Tang Ji-ha’s training hall. A woman whose aura was unwholesome—someone he had fiercely opposed. But the Young Clan Head had insisted on having a child, even while terrified of the Heukcheon Amgui.
The child before him had inherited her mother’s face, but her innate energy was different.
Like a pond or a spring that could not flow on its own, she seemed limited. But unlike a pond that rotted away without rain, a spring always received fresh water, remaining clear.
Perhaps because her body purified malignant energy on its own, the child felt as clean as the first snow at dawn.
Even before he had grown to feel guilt toward Sohwa due to recent incidents, he had already felt affection for a child with such an unusual constitution.
His gaze fell onto the small iron plate.
Letting out a sigh, Tang Min placed his hand onto the slab exactly as she instructed.
