Having said that, the Black Tiger Unit warrior could no longer tell him to leave. More than anything, what bothered him was that the pricking pressure that had been stabbing at his back had disappeared.
It meant that the Clan Head was listening to the conversation outside the door.
Reluctantly, the Black Tiger Unit warrior spoke toward the door.
“Clan Head. The Namgung clan’s Young Master, Namgung Hyun, requests an audience.”
Even though Namgung Hyun had never introduced himself, the Black Tiger Unit warrior spoke his name accurately.
“Let him in.”
The Clan Head’s permission came immediately.
Namgung Hyun went inside.
Once he actually entered, his mouth went completely dry. Facing the Tang Clan Head at a distance of not even ten paces made him uncomfortable.
Receiving that piercing gaze, he offered his greeting. Tang Ji-ha spoke.
“Speak.”
He made no attempt to hide that he had been listening.
Namgung Hyun asked carefully.
“This is not something for wandering ears to hear. I beg your indulgence—please block the sound.”
It was as if a sound-blocking barrier spread out; the surrounding noise vanished.
Tang Ji-ha said no more. But if Namgung Hyun did not answer quickly, it felt as though his head would be taken.
Namgung Hyun did not delay.
“The Tang Young Lady came looking for me to create a Passage.”
“A Passage?”
Deep wrinkles formed on Tang Ji-ha’s brow.
“Are you speaking of the formations the Blood Cult uses?”
“Yes. The Tang Young Lady asked me to create a formation connecting to the Tang manor.”
So many questions arose that Tang Ji-ha could not choose even one. In that interval, Namgung Hyun continued.
“I was a cultist of the Blood Cult, and I am able to create formations such as Passages. Because of that, I once created a Passage so the Tang Young Lady could leave for the Northern Sea. This time, I received a request to unfold a formation leading to the Tang manor.”
Trying to avoid the searing gaze, Namgung Hyun lowered his head and continued in a steady voice.
“It seems the Tang Young Lady was unable to answer the Clan Head’s questions because she wished to conceal my identity. My standing within my clan is not good to begin with, and the Namgung clan lost a promising heir to the Blood Cult and also suffered great material damage. If it were revealed that I am a Blood Cult cultist, I would become a criminal within Namgung, and my life could not be guaranteed. For that reason, it seems the Tang Young Lady protected me.”
“....”
“As the Clan Head suspects, the Tang Young Lady is not connected to the Blood Cult and plotting something dangerous, nor did she collude with me out of romantic feelings, as rumors say.”
Namgung Hyun continued slowly.
“The Tang Young Lady merely accepted the risk of meeting me in order to protect the Tang Clan from the Blood Cult.”
Namgung Hyun raised his head.
His delicate-looking face for a man received the Tang Clan Head’s gaze.
“That day, I refused the Tang Young Lady’s request because I feared my identity as a Blood Cult agent would be revealed.”
Tang Ji-ha’s expression hardened.
Staring at that face, Namgung Hyun spoke.
“However, now I intend to help the Tang Clan. I have found a way to move everyone to the Tang manor without revealing my identity.”
“What is it?”
Tang Ji-ha asked, unable to endure any longer.
Namgung Hyun let out a small breath, as though releasing tension, and answered.
“If you release the Tang Young Lady from the dungeon, I will tell you.”
At those words, silence fell.
After a long while, a dark voice struck his eardrums.
“Are you daring to negotiate with me using my clan and my daughter? I could immediately take you to the Namgung compound, reveal that you are a cultist, and torture you until you create that formation or whatever it is. And yet, instead of worrying about having your throat torn out after exposing your weakness, you dare try to stand on equal footing with me?”
Harsh words poured out, but unlike the words themselves, no threatening aura could be felt.
Soon, a hollow laugh tinged the Tang Clan Head’s voice.
“You’re not as much of a bookish prude as I thought.”
Whether it was praise or an insult, the words tickled Namgung Hyun’s ears.
At that moment, the chair in front of Tang Ji-ha moved.
Creeeak.
“You may sit.”
When Namgung Hyun did not sit at once, Tang Ji-ha stroked his beard.
“I know well what sort of man your father was. Even so, you’ve summoned the courage to take this risk.”
The chair moved toward Namgung Hyun once more.
“Explain in detail how you plan to go to the Tang manor. Ah, and Sohwa will be released from the dungeon today.”
Granting Namgung Hyun’s request, Tang Ji-ha added that last part.
Only then did Namgung Hyun sit politely on the chair.
“First, everything in the room must be moved outside to secure as much open space as possible.”
He explained to the Clan Head the same method he had explained to Sohwa. Since the Clan Head had crossed a Passage before, he did not take Namgung Hyun’s words for empty talk. Even so, the more he listened, the more astonished he became.
And frightened as well.
The Blood Cult’s forbidden arts were something humans should never wield as weapons.
This time, because Namgung Hyun was on their side, it was of great help. But if he were ever to become an enemy, it felt as though the entire clan could be wiped out.
Tang Ji-ha’s heart was unsettled, but this was no time to choose between hot rice and cold rice.
It would take two more days for the Four-Directions Hall Administrator to return, and even if a Passage to Sichuan was open, moving through it would take another three days. Using Namgung Hyun’s formation was the right choice.
Since he was siding with them like this, there was no reason to refuse.
When Namgung Hyun finished speaking, Tang Ji-ha nodded.
“I’ll have everyone gather immediately in the Tang residence hall. I’ll ask the Sagye Hall Administrator to claim that a Passage to Sichuan has been secured, like the Passage to the Northern Sea. The Sagye Hall Administrator is a sharp mind; he’ll come up with a suitable explanation on his own.”
“Yes. Then, as I mentioned, my room—”
“Sohwa will be coming out soon, so I’ll have you placed in the same room as her. You won’t be doing anything strange in the meantime, will you.”
Namgung Hyun’s eyes lifted silently.
“Since things have turned out this way, wouldn’t it be better to use the rumors? People believed without question that nonsense about colluding at dawn, after all. If I say I couldn’t overcome Sohwa’s stubbornness and allowed you, they’ll think you went to that room because you were worried about her, and they won’t suspect anything.”
At Tang Ji-ha’s words, Namgung Hyun could not bring himself to say anything. He knew well how deeply Tang Ji-ha detested those rumors. Yet Tang Ji-ha looked at Namgung Hyun with an unreadable gaze and said,
“If your identity as a Blood Cult cultist is discovered, you’re welcome to come to the Tang Clan.”
Only then did Namgung Hyun understand the emotion contained in Tang Ji-ha’s eyes. It was a look born of knowing how he would be treated.
The Tang Clan Head was pitying him.
“If, thanks to you, we succeed in protecting the Tang Clan, that debt will never be light. I, too, can protect you, so don’t worry about what comes next.”
Namgung Hyun did not fail to grasp what the Clan Head meant.
For a member of the Namgung clan—no less, a direct line of the Namgung Clan Head—to become part of the Tang Clan was one possibility.
Though it was merely a way of saying that, should danger arise, he would take him in as a son-in-law and protect him, Namgung Hyun felt as though his life were changing.
His stomach churned. He wondered if his heart had ever pounded so fiercely before.
As if to hide those feelings, he lowered his head and curved his lips faintly.
“First, I will do my utmost in this matter.”
“Good. I’ll be counting on you.”
Tang Ji-ha’s final reply was brief—but it was filled with more desperation than at any other time.
After Namgung Hyun left, the Tang residence hall fell into an uproar.
And before dawn even broke, the Tang residence hall was packed with people.
***
The Hubei Branch forces that had come in support reached the Tang residence hall by a narrow margin.
A first-generation disciple of Wudang greeted the Sword Sovereign with a bright face.
“It’s a relief you arrived in time. This way, please.”
As the first-generation disciple led him to the room assigned to Wudang, the Sword Sovereign grumbled.
“I said I would arrive today—how could you not wait even a single hour and try to go on without me?”
“Because the Tang Clan Head said the situation was extremely urgent, the Sect Leader had no choice. He said that if you arrived late, you could come through the Passage the Four-Directions Hall Administrator confirmed, so I had nothing more I could say to the Sect Leader.”
The first-generation disciple opened the door.
Ten martial artists crammed into a single room, making it difficult even to sit on the floor.
The Sword Sovereign’s face grew increasingly displeased.
Watching his expression, the first-generation disciple tried to placate him.
“In truth, the Sect Leader doesn’t completely trust the Sagye Hall’s words either, so he seems to think there’s only a fifty-percent chance we’ll be able to go to the Tang manor. He said that if it fails, we’ll return to the residence hall and wait for the Four-Directions Hall Administrator. He was likely planning to use an outside Passage together with you.”
“Honestly.”
The Sword Sovereign hunched his shoulders as though hiding his thick arms.
“The Sagye Hall Administrator isn’t someone who spouts nonsense. It’s probably true that they’ve found a formation leading to the Tang manor.”
The first-generation disciple replied in a gentle tone.
“Yes. That’s why the Sect Leader also believed there was at least a fifty-percent chance we’d go to the Tang Clan.”
Boom. Boom.
At that moment, the sound of drums came from outside. It seemed to be a signal to prepare.
“Either way, don’t let your guard down. We don’t know what state the Tang Clan is in.”
“Yes.”
All the martial artists in the room drew their swords about an inch from their scabbards.
Boom.
Another beat of the drum echoed.
“How long do we have to wait?”
“They said it would take about two hours. Once the formation is complete, they’ll beat the drum five times in succession.”
“Then what do the drums now mean?”
“They said it’s to measure time. They’ll beat it once every half hour, so that we don’t relax our guard.”
“That signal was also set by the Sagye Hall Administrator?”
“Yes. Though he isn’t accompanying us, the Hall Administrator sent the drums.”
“...In any case, his mind is truly exceptional.”
Silence continued, and another drumbeat resounded.
As the time drew closer, the tension only intensified.
Though two hours was no short span, the single, heavy thump that struck the heart each time kept the martial artists focused, and none of them lost discipline.
At last, the drum announcing the end of the two hours thundered through the space.
Boom.
Along the faintly spreading waves, silence flowed in.
A suffocating stillness lingered for a moment.
Boom boom boom boom boom.
The one beating the drum in the corridor swung the mallet urgently.
Still unable to calm himself, a Sagye Hall member raised his voice.
“Fire! The forest is on fire! You must come out immediately!”
