As if it were a very simple answer, the Sagye Hall Administrator replied immediately.
“You just need to trust Young Lady Tang.”
“What are you two talking about right now?”
Zhuge Hyang set aside his pride and intervened in the conversation. The Heukcheon Amgui also seemed to think something unusual was being discussed and quietly waited for an answer. However, the Mount Emei Sect Leader did not answer the two men. As if foolish martial artists did not even exist in her sight, she gazed only at the young lady standing on the platform.
“Does it appear that Mount Emei also has someone who carries the Blood Cult’s dokgo?”
Sohwa realized that the question was directed at her, so she answered without delay.
“It is difficult to confirm with the naked eye, but there is a method to verify.”
Tang Sohwa explained the method in a calm voice.
“If we inject the antidote and observe the reaction, we can know whether one carries dokgo.”
At her words, someone’s face turned pale. Sohwa continued without paying attention.
“If there is no dokgo, the antidote will flow out on its own, and if dokgo is inside the body, the antidote will draw the dokgo in and extract all of it outside.”
At Sohwa’s answer, the Mount Emei Sect Leader inwardly held her breath. From the beginning, the storage period of the antidote had not been very important. They had planned to inject the antidote into everyone’s body here today.
'...So this is what the Administrator meant when he asked me to trust him.'
He meant that she should serve as an example.
Although the Mount Emei Sect Leader slightly regretted stepping forward first, she did not refuse the request of the fox-like Sagye Hall Administrator.
“There are no Blood Cult spies in Mount Emei, nor anyone held by the Blood Cult. I can vouch for that, so we will be the first to receive the needle.”
“Now, Sect Leader.”
Zhuge Hyang tried to stop the Mount Emei Sect Leader with a flustered voice. But the Mount Emei Sect Leader was firm. She addressed her disciples.
“Rather than being vaguely suspected, let us prove it at once and free ourselves from this suspicion.”
“Yes, Sect Leader.”
The women with neat, composed expressions obeyed the Sect Leader’s words. Sohwa also did not delay. She immediately descended with twenty needles and jars.
Seeing this, Zhuge Hyang shouted.
“How dare you use a medicine that is not even certain! Can you not stay your hand!”
If it continued like this, everyone would end up having to receive that bizarre needle. When Zhuge Hyang tried to go up to the platform, the Wudang Sect Leader spoke.
“Elder Zhuge Hyang.”
The Wudang Sect Leader let out a sigh.
“Young Lady Tang Sohwa did not flee to avoid headquarters.”
He added in a voice filled with regret.
“She went outside under the Sagye Hall Administrator’s orders.”
“What do you mean?”
“You may not know because you were not present at the time. However, that does not mean I can tell you what I know now.”
The Wudang Sect Leader looked around as he spoke.
“Knowing or not knowing that will likely become the criterion Sagye Hall is judging by right now.”
No one understood what he meant. Zhuge Hyang turned his head toward the Family Head of the Zhuge family. The Family Head also seemed not to understand.
Meanwhile, Sohwa, who had descended from the platform, inserted the needle into the hand of the Mount Emei Sect Leader.
Puk.
Sohwa then inserted the antidote-soaked needle into the elder seated beside her, and then the next martial artist. Returning to the Sect Leader, she checked her hand and withdrew the needle. She repeated the process. All the martial artists of Mount Emei received the needle, but none showed the same reaction as Myungdan.
“It seems there is no one in Mount Emei who carries dokgo.”
“That is fortunate.”
Sohwa bowed to the Sect Leader and moved aside. The Wudang Sect Leader also permitted the needle to be inserted. Since inserting the needle did not take much time, the verification proceeded quickly.
Zhuge Hyang felt anxious, but the Family Head was waiting calmly for his turn. He hoped desperately for a way for the Family Head to avoid verification, but it seemed the Family Head also had not anticipated this situation. The Sect Leader’s ear twitched slightly several times. He was focusing on the birds outside.
Was there a way to delay?
Meanwhile, the other sect leaders were showing an oddly favorable attitude toward Tang Sohwa.
“We are ready as well. Go ahead.”
Since some even stepped forward to request verification themselves, the sects who felt uneasy could not bring themselves to refuse. If they avoided verification, they would attract needless suspicion.
“Guhk!”
A martial artist of the Cheongseong Sect showed a reaction. Everyone was shocked, but Sohwa, who inserted the needle, remained calm. With an indifferent expression, she withdrew the needle and observed carefully as the black liquid flowed out. After some time, when red blood began to emerge, she wiped it with a calm face.
“Break the prohibition.”
It was the same instruction she had given Myungdan. The Alliance member trembled violently and suddenly burst into tears. Since no one knew the reason, the Cheongseong Sect Leader could not rebuke the disciple, and the senior brothers nearby could not approach either.
What was absurd was that Tang Sohwa left the sobbing person as he was and moved to the next sect. She continued inserting needles as if pressed for time.
More than ten people who carried dokgo had been revealed. Those who had been frightened earlier no longer reacted with surprise.
“Huk!”
A young martial artist of the Kunlun Sect clutched his heart and pounded it, but Sohwa nodded to the flustered Sect Leader. It meant not to worry—he would not die.
“Um, Administrator...”
Meanwhile, an elder of the Wudang Sect climbed onto the platform and whispered into the Sagye Hall Administrator’s ear. He quietly asked how many doses of antidote he could take back with him. It seemed he intended to verify the people on Mount Wudang as soon as he returned.
Of course, not everyone wanted the antidote. Even though three members of the Cheongseong Sect had vomited out dokgo, their Sect Leader did not ask for the antidote.
Finally, it was the Zhuge family’s turn. Tang Sohwa stood before the Family Head of the Zhuge family and cupped her fists. The Family Head smiled and extended his hand.
“I entrust myself to you.”
Watching this, Zhuge Hyang felt his insides burning. If they refused verification or ran away now, they would be suspected. However, the Family Head could not be exposed as carrying the Blood Cult’s dokgo. This was not on the same level as an ordinary family retainer being controlled by the Blood Cult.
Unable to do anything, Zhuge Hyang watched as Tang Sohwa took the hand of the Family Head.
At that moment, the Family Head’s voice pierced Sohwa’s ear in sound transmission.
“[Not long ago, I heard an interesting rumor about you.]”
Sohwa’s gaze slowly rose. When their eyes met, the Family Head curved his eyes with a smile.
“[I heard rumors that you were coming and going from Baekgeumgak. How did you gain access to that place?]”
Sohwa waited quietly, as if listening to what he wished to say.
“[Baekgeumgak belongs to the second son of Anguk Trading Company. As you know, Anguk Trading Company has deep ties with the Zhuge family, and the second son of the Trading Company is the man in marriage negotiations with Cheong-a.]”
“......”
“[Rumors spread that during the time you disappeared, the second son of the Trading Company also disappeared, so my face was quite damaged. I even considered destroying Baekgeumgak entirely.]”
He added lightly, smiling as if making a joke.
“[But hearing that you carried out the Sagye Hall Administrator’s orders for a good cause... my past misunderstanding seems quite shameful. I hope you will generously forgive it.]”
With a gentle voice, he issued a threat.
If the Zhuge family’s honor fell, it meant he would drag Anguk Trading Company down with it as well. He implied he would reveal the truth of Baekgeumgak to the Martial Alliance. The Family Head apparently knew of her former relationship with the Crimson Blood Hall Lord. He had mistaken it for something deeper, yet the truth was that she had indeed formed an alliance with the Crimson Blood Hall Lord.
If the truth of Baekgeumgak was revealed now, the Crimson Blood Hall would be in danger. They had nowhere to go. Within the Blood Cult they were already branded as traitors, and the Central Plains was preparing to dismantle the Blood Cult fully. If the Zhuge Family Head admitted he had been under the Blood Cult’s control and confessed that Baekgeumgak was a central hub, the Crimson Blood Hall would have no way to avoid an all-out war with the Martial Alliance. Moreover, most of the Crimson Blood Hall cultists carried dokgo, so they could be subjected to the antidote verification using her antidote.
The antidote had become a weapon that could take her own allies hostage.
The Family Head’s gentle face felt cunning. Many thoughts crossed Sohwa’s mind, but her expression remained calm. She placed the needle on the back of the Family Head’s hand and slowly inserted it. She also placed needles into the hands of those seated beside him. Yet none of the Zhuge family retainers showed any reaction.
Zhuge Hyang furrowed his brow, unable to understand the situation.
'What is happening...?'
He watched Tang Sohwa closely as she withdrew the needles. Every time she inserted a needle, she rubbed her thumb and forefinger against her sleeve. The inside of her sleeve was stained black. By holding the needle with her thumb and forefinger, she had wiped the antidote from it onto her own fingers.
He did not know how, but Tang Sohwa had covered up the Family Head’s secret.
'Did he send her a sound transmission?'
Zhuge Hyang genuinely wondered what the two had said to each other.
In the end, not a single person in the Zhuge family reacted to the antidote.
***
Using the excuse of preparing more antidote, Tang Sohwa immediately followed the Sagye Hall Administrator to Sagye Hall.
“How could you!”
As soon as they entered Sagye Hall, the Administrator scolded her sharply. But Tang Sohwa replied with something entirely unexpected.
“It seems I must go to Baekgeumgak immediately.”
Sohwa had promised to set the Crimson Blood Hall free. Thinking it was a trivial request, she had reassured him and allowed him to leave. But now, she could no longer allow Baekgeumgak to be destroyed by her own hand.
In a low voice, Sohwa asked again.
“I will return before dawn, so please allow me to go to Baekgeumgak.”
