A person had died in Sagye Hall. Once that rumor spread, the atmosphere at headquarters turned ominous. In the midst of that, as the sects who had answered the summons order arrived one by one, the people of headquarters spent weary days, both mentally and physically.
“What's going on with the quarters Mount Hua will be staying in?”
“I think that was all finished yesterday?”
“Ah, thank goodness. They said the Mount Hua Sect is arriving today.”
“Ugh, let's rest for now. Since we finished the preparations yesterday, we don’t need to check.”
The two maids walked out of Wudang’s quarters, chatting lightly. Seeing the dark shadows under their eyes, they looked exhausted.
It had been over ten days since headquarters issued the summons order, and by now almost all sects had arrived.
When the two maids returned to their dormitory, they let out an empty laugh. It was because the colleague in charge of the Tang Clan’s quarters was leisurely doing embroidery.
“Hey, you didn’t have anything to do today either, did you?”
Without even turning her head, the maid kept moving her needle.
“Yeah. I guess I used up all my luck for the year on this.”
“I’m jealous. I wish I’d been assigned to the Tang Clan too.”
The maid in charge of the Tang Clan’s quarters ended the conversation with a smile instead of teasing her colleague. It was understandable, since everyone else was so busy they barely knew where their heads were; she couldn't brag about being the only one with no work to do.
The Tang Clan still forbade maids from entering, and they handled all their chores themselves, including washing clothes and preparing meals.
It was not that there was no work to do for the Tang Clan. Medicinal ingredients and goods were carried into their quarters almost every day, and occasionally the Sagye Hall Administrator and the Four-Directions Hall Administrator visited as well. Even so, the Tang Clan refused all help.
The maid decided this was not a bad thing for her, and she had no desire to interfere in the work of martial artists, so she cut off all interest. Out of courtesy, she went every dawn to greet the Young Clan Head who guarded the quarters’ door, and once he told her to go back and rest, she returned to the dormitory to take a nap or work on her side job as she was now.
After briefly closing their eyes, the two maids pretended to sob.
“Ah, I’ve got to go prepare dinner again.”
“I want to get some real rest too.”
As if talking to themselves, the maids voiced how worn out they were.
Feeling self-conscious, the maid in charge of the Tang Clan’s quarters slipped outside and walked toward the stream. After confirming that no one was around, she climbed onto a high rock and quietly worked her embroidery.
But then she heard the sound of commotion in the distance. When she lifted her head, she saw around twenty martial artists entering through the gate. It seemed the Mount Hua Sect had arrived. The only sect scheduled to arrive today was Mount Hua.
Just as she was about to lower her head again, the maid paused and slowly lifted it. She had noticed a familiar back. When the man stopped walking, the bobbed hair that almost reached his shoulders swayed lightly in the wind.
The Sagye Hall Administrator clasped his hands together and greeted the Mount Hua Sect Leader. Because it was strange that such a high-ranking person had come out to receive Mount Hua, the maid couldn’t take her eyes off them.
Whenever something unusual happened, it often turned into misfortune for those lower in rank, so the maid grew tense.
Since all sects had been summoned, usually a lower-ranked martial artist of the General Office would be assigned to each sect to guide them.
'...What is this, is something going on with Mount Hua?'
The Mount Hua Sect Leader said something to the Sagye Hall Administrator and then turned to look back. She could not hear the conversation. When the Sect Leader followed the Sagye Hall Administrator, a martial artist of the General Office guided the remaining people.
The maid quietly held her breath and climbed down from the rock. She intended to warn the colleagues assigned to Mount Hua.
***
It was not only the maids who were exhausted by the summons order. The General Office and the core of headquarters were going through even harsher days. The Tang Clan, as if they had forgotten what the summons order meant, had brought nearly a hundred martial artists, unlike other sects that had come with only about twenty. Anyone seeing them might think they were here to wage war against headquarters.
The Heukcheon Amgui had insisted unreasonably that all of them would stay at headquarters, but thanks to the Sagye Hall Administrator and the Four-Directions Hall Administrator barely managing to calm him down, only twenty remained at headquarters while the rest stayed at the Hubei Branch and nearby inns.
Fortunately, Kunlun had arrived much earlier than expected, so the meeting could be convened quickly. That meant they could drive these people out sooner, so the General Office shed tears of joy inside as they hurriedly prepared the meeting.
There were many attendees, and for some reason the Sagye Hall Administrator had requested preparations for holding the meeting outdoors rather than inside, so the martial artists of headquarters hurried to clear the training ground.
Soon, a platform was set up in the training ground and numerous chairs were arranged. The recent Duel Tournament had been held there, and two temporary meetings had already taken place at that location. Therefore, the Martial Alliance members who had been summoned did not feel any discomfort about holding the meeting at the training ground.
They quietly went to their respective sects’ seats and sat down. The training ground filled with hundreds of people. Even so, perhaps due to the solemn atmosphere, it was very quiet.
Some of those seated cleared their throats and glanced toward the entrance. They had been summoned here despite their busy schedules, yet no one from headquarters had shown themselves. As a result, some of the participants grew irritated.
After a while, they heard the sound of a door opening.
Creak.
The heads of each sect did not turn their heads, but their expressions shifted. Relying on aura sensing, they could guess the identity of the one entering.
At the very least, it was not the Alliance Leader.
In fact, the ones who stepped onto the platform were the Sagye Hall Administrator and the Four-Directions Hall Administrator.
“I know you are all extremely busy, so thank you for attending like this.”
The Sagye Hall Administrator offered a greeting with proper courtesy.
“You are probably wondering why it is I, not the Alliance Leader, who stand here to receive you. But there is good reason for this.”
Zhuge Inhwi lifted his head and spoke shocking words.
“The Alliance Leader does not know that I have summoned you.”
A disturbance spread through the previously quiet training ground. Murmurs arose here and there.
An elder of the Cheongseong Sect sprang to his feet.
“What do you mean? The Alliance Leader does not know? Then what, you stole the Alliance Leader’s seal to issue the summons order?”
“Yes, right now the Alliance Leader has been brainwashed by me and is confined to his room. In fact, it is about time for him to wake up, but if he still cannot regain consciousness, it will be a serious matter.”
“W-what are you talking about?”
Startled, the Cheongseong elder asked, but instead of answering, the Sagye Hall Administrator continued the meeting.
“The reason we have gathered you here is to share the weapons of the Blood Cult and their countermeasures, which headquarters has discovered.”
He had not raised his voice, yet strangely Zhuge Inhwi’s voice cut through the noise and reached the ears of every Alliance member clearly.
In a calm, even tone, he revealed the Blood Cult’s weapons.
“Only after confirming those two weapons could we understand how the Blood Cult expanded its forces so easily and infiltrated the Central Plains. The Blood Cult has silently taken down the Martial Alliance using a weapon that destroys not the human body but human will.”
“Will?”
“Elder, let us hear him out.”
A woman spoke in a calm voice to the Cheongseong elder. It was the Sect Leader of Mount Emei. With a gentle expression, she added:
“It won’t be too late to ask questions after hearing the Hall Administrator’s explanation. Not only I, but it seems many others are also curious about what he has to say.”
“Ahem.”
The Cheongseong elder looked like he had much to say, but since the other Alliance members appeared to agree with the Mount Emei Sect Leader, he had no choice but to sit.
Silence returned to the training ground.
The Alliance members were not doing this out of goodwill toward the Hall Administrator. As the Mount Emei Sect Leader said, they were simply very curious about the Blood Cult’s weapons.
The Sagye Hall Administrator immediately revealed the two weapons of the Blood Cult.
“Oseoksan, a mineral, and the Blood Cult’s dokgo. Oseoksan is a kind of poison-smoke that manipulates a person’s memories, and the Blood Cult’s dokgo is an insect that kills its host if they do not obey the will of its master.”
In a calm tone, the Sagye Hall Administrator explained the situation.
“All Oseoksan recovered from the Hubei Branch has been destroyed, but since someone might be able to produce it again, headquarters is tracking the shops where its raw materials are traded. In addition, we are devoting our full efforts to improving the effectiveness of the antidote.”
“There is already an antidote?”
At someone’s question, Zhuge Inhwi nodded.
“Yes, we have it in sufficient quantity, and the manufacturing method will be shared with all sects.”
At those words, the tense faces of the attendees eased slightly. However, they could not completely relax yet. Dokgo was still an issue.
Perhaps sensing their thoughts, Zhuge Inhwi spoke about the dokgo immediately.
“The Blood Cult’s dokgo, after entering a host’s body, monitors them to ensure they follow the will of its master. If the host defies the master’s orders, it rushes to the heart, blocks all blood vessels, and suffocates them.”
Once the surrounding area quieted, Zhuge Inhwi added:
“We will also distribute the antidote for this dokgo.”
Having finished his explanation, he closed his mouth.
Then the Taeguk Sword Sovereign, who had been quietly listening, frowned and asked:
“I, too, wish to fully trust the Hall Administrator’s words, but since I have never seen Oseoksan or dokgo with my own eyes, it is difficult to believe that they truly manipulate memories and restrain the body. Isn’t it all too far-fetched?”
“Oseoksan is something even you would know, Sword Sovereign.”
At Zhuge Inhwi’s reply, the Taeguk Sword Sovereign of the Wudang Sect looked puzzled.
“I would know it? I was indeed at the Hubei Branch when Oseoksan was recovered, but it seems the Hall Administrator is mistaken.”
The Sagye Hall Administrator’s lips curled slightly. At that enigmatic smile, the Sword Sovereign felt uneasy.
Yet Zhuge Inhwi did not explain further and instead spoke of something else.
“Among the Alliance members gathered here, there are already those who have been brainwashed by Oseoksan.”
A loud stir erupted.
Just as the murmuring was about to flare into shock and anger, the Sagye Hall Administrator added:
“There are even Alliance members who have been brainwashed by Oseoksan more than once and are also carrying the Blood Cult’s dokgo.”
The Hall Administrator shifted his dim gaze toward the Mount Hua side.
“Since the current antidote for Oseoksan only works prophylactically, we cannot restore your memories immediately, but the Blood Cult’s dokgo can be removed here and now.”
People naturally turned their heads to follow his gaze.
The martial artists of Mount Hua stiffened with displeased expressions. Anyone could see that the eyes on them were full of suspicion.
A stern voice pierced the eardrums of a Mount Hua martial artist.
“Myungdan.”
Myungdan flinched, but immediately answered his Sect Leader.
“Yes.”
The Sect Leader turned his body and, with an expressionless face, fixed his gaze on Myungdan before speaking.
“Go forward to the platform.”
At those words, the faces of the Mount Hua martial artists, who had been quiet until now, twisted.
“Sect Leader, what do you mean by this?”
“Why Myungdan? Why are you sending that child to the platform?”
It was incomprehensible, and resistance surged in their voices, but the Mount Hua martial artists questioned rather than stopping their Sect Leader.
The Sect Leader looked at Myungdan with an unreadable expression. Then he smiled gently at Mount Hua’s promising young disciple, as if to reassure him not to be afraid.
“It’s all right. It won’t be dangerous, so trust me and go.”
