Tang Hae-han went straight up to the seventh floor. As expected, the Oral Transmission Pavilion Lord was there.
“In a situation where even a single pair of hands is precious, where are you running around?”
Sensing his presence, the Pavilion Lord spoke in an angry voice.
“The Oral Transmission Pavilion can’t even bring in more people, so if you disappear, who is supposed to do that work in your place while you act so irresponsibly!”
The Pavilion Lord looked distracted, busy combining poisons. He could not spare even a glance to scold a pavilion member.
“Pavilion Lord, did you perhaps go out to refill the water skins with poison?”
“In a situation like this, how could the Pavilion Lord leave the Oral Transmission Pavilion? Hojung went to refill them.”
“I see.”
Tang Hae-han walked up to the Pavilion Lord and took a few medicine bottles out from his sleeve. They were bottles filled with the new poison solution he had prepared that morning.
“There is no need to add new poison. I already finished the mixing.”
“I think we need to double the concentration of the poison that flows into the moat.”
Tang Hae-han omitted the part about the poison-dosing hole of the moat having been blocked and explained his reason.
“Outside, I met the Black Tiger Unit. The martial artists standing guard seem to be suspicious of the poison smoke of the moat, so it would be good to raise the concentration.”
It was something that could be taken as impertinent, but the Pavilion Lord mulled over Tang Hae-han’s words.
After brooding, he let out a low murmur.
“They say the ones at the west gate also mentioned the moat seemed strange. The demonic cult bastards outside might have tampered with the waterway of the moat, or swept away the poison smoke with wind.”
It seemed the warriors’ complaints had been weighing on him as well.
For the first time, the Oral Transmission Pavilion Lord lifted his gaze. He held out his hand to Tang Hae-han.
“Give it here.”
Following Tang Hae-han’s suggestion, the Oral Transmission Pavilion Lord doubled the concentration of the poison.
The vat that came up to their knees was filled with poison solution. The two of them carefully sealed the vat and carried it down to the first floor.
“You go and refill the water skins.”
“Yes.”
“This time, it must not leak out through some other path. The Red Tiger Unit also asked us to make poison powder for them, so we are very short on hands.”
“Yes, it will absolutely not leak elsewhere.”
Cutting off the Pavilion Lord’s words, Tang Hae-han left the Oral Transmission Pavilion.
He walked toward the Medical Division and set the large vat down on the ground. This place, at the boundary between the outer compound and the inner compound, was somewhere outsiders could enter.
Tang Hae-han waited for a martial artist of the Black Tiger Unit. The Vice Unit Leader had ordered him not to go to the water skins and to wait, since he would send someone.
But even after a long time, no one from the Black Tiger Unit came. He did not hear footsteps, only the screams of those receiving treatment.
'...Did something happen?'
Tang Hae-han began to worry about the Vice Unit Leader.
There had been three of them at the outer wall. Since they had blocked the poison-dosing hole of the moat, it meant their bodies did not suffer the effects of the poison smoke, and that they were nimble enough to evade the formation along the outer wall.
Uneasy thoughts filled his head.
'Could it be that it was too much for the Vice Unit Leader to handle alone?'
Just then.
A long shadow fell across the floor of the Medical Division. Someone wearing the Black Tiger Unit uniform was walking this way.
“The Vice Unit Leader sent me. Is this the poison for the moat?”
“Yes, I’ve been waiting quite a while.”
Tang Hae-han handed over the vat, taking the {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} chance to vent his irritation once.
“Be careful. The concentration is twice as strong as the poison solution we usually put in.”
“I’ll be careful.”
The martial artist lifted the vat lightly, as if holding a ball of cotton. For a moment Tang Hae-han felt a sense of deprivation at the difference in strength, but he soon brushed the thought aside.
Feeling such an absurd emotion meant his heart had relaxed greatly.
'Worrying about the Four Tiger Units really was pointless after all.'
With a much lighter heart, Tang Hae-han returned to the Oral Transmission Pavilion.
He focused on his duties again.
First, he helped the Pavilion Lord knead detoxification pills.
The detoxification pills the Tang Clan martial artists had taken lost their efficacy over time. So they had to quickly make new pills and distribute them.
Because the Oral Transmission Pavilion was a closed place that only sixteen pavilion members were allowed to enter, they were desperately short of hands.
On top of that, with Tang Sohwa absent, fifteen people had to trim the ingredients for detoxification medicine for hundreds of people and knead each pill one by one. On top of that, every two hours they had to mix the poison solution to be poured into the moat and refill the water skins.
That was not all. Every combat unit had its own requests, so the Oral Transmission Pavilion was nothing short of a living hell.
Tang Hae-han concentrated on kneading pills.
Rattle.
The Pavilion Lord entered the second-floor preparation room. In a weary voice, he asked someone:
“Where is the poison powder the Red Tiger Unit requested?”
“Hojung is mixing it over there.”
“Do you know how much he has made?”
“His hands are terribly slow, but still, I think he must have made at least half.”
The Oral Transmission Pavilion Lord smacked his chest and walked toward where they were making the poison powder.
“Ugh. Back then, I should have thrown myself down and begged the Clan Head to increase the staff of the Oral Transmission Pavilion...”
Tang Hae-han calmly moved the finished detoxification pills into boxes, as if he had heard nothing.
The pavilion members sitting beside him did the same. None of them had room to spare their attention elsewhere.
“I should take these over to the Medical Division first.”
When about three boxes were filled, a colleague sitting across from him picked them up and went to the Medical Division.
Since outsiders could not enter the Oral Transmission Pavilion, if they left the boxes at the Medical Division, the martial artists would take the detoxification pills every hour on their own.
Tap.
Having filled the last box, Tang Hae-han wiped away the bead of sweat hanging at the tip of his chin.
“I’ll take them to the Medical Division. Get a bit of rest.”
“No, I’ll do it.”
At that, the middle-aged pavilion member clicked his tongue.
“You’re getting a nosebleed. How does a youngster end up with a body like that?”
Tang Hae-han checked the back of his hand. What he had thought was sweat was a smear of blood. It seemed increasing the concentration and handling the poison solution had affected his body.
'I should have been careful; the detoxification pill’s effect was about to weaken.'
Tang Hae-han grabbed a cloth that was nearby. Unfortunately there was no clean cloth. They had no time to rest, so how could they have time to clean? He roughly wiped his nose with the cleaner side of the stained cloth and tore off a piece of the remaining detoxification dough to eat.
“Tang Hae-han.”
At the Oral Transmission Pavilion Lord’s voice, Tang Hae-han turned around, chewing the dough.
There was a box in the Pavilion Lord’s hand as well.
“Please give it to me. I’ll go.”
He hurried over and took it from him.
“It’s the poison powder the Red Tiger Unit requested. This is the maximum the Oral Transmission Pavilion can send right now, so tell them to make up for what is lacking with the poison sand divided into this blue pouch here.”
“Yes, understood.”
As Tang Hae-han hurriedly tried to leave, the Pavilion Lord called out to him.
“Hae-han.”
“Yes?”
The Pavilion Lord looked at him for a moment with an unreadable expression.
“...Be careful.”
“Yes, I’ll take it there carefully.”
There was worry in the Pavilion Lord’s voice. Tang Hae-han thought he must have seen the nosebleed on his face. He quickly lowered his head and left the Oral Transmission Pavilion.
“Screaam!”
“Hurry and move him. Here, lay him here.”
Sounds from the Medical Division reached his ears.
It seemed even noisier than before. It grated on him, but Tang Hae-han turned his body.
Going by way of the inner compound was faster to reach the rear gate, so Tang Hae-han entered the inner compound rather than the Medical Division.
As he walked along the dark path, he felt something was off.
It was because it was excessively quiet. As if everyone had fled to avoid a natural enemy, he could not sense any presence at all.
When he reached the rear gate, the rim of Tang Hae-han’s ear twitched slightly.
Between the silence, he heard the neighing of horses.
He pushed open the central gate, and a frown creased his brow.
The open space of the rear gate was full of people and horses.
“Hae-han, older brother is here.”
At Yehwa’s small voice, Tang Hae-han narrowed his eyes.
Looking closely, there were two children seated on each horse, and behind them sat an adult.
The adults’ faces were familiar.
They were the madams and the martial artists of the Red Tiger Unit.
The Red Tiger Unit Leader walked up to him.
“You’re here without being too late.”
Guessing the situation, Tang Hae-han asked:
“Are you leaving now?”
“We are about to leave. We were waiting for you.”
The Unit Leader pointed at one of the horses. It was a horse with two large pouches hanging on either side.
“That one is yours. The box you brought will be used as extra, so hold it well in your arms and don’t spill it when you get on.”
Tang Hae-han furrowed his brow.
“What are you talking about? Are you saying I’m to go out with you?”
“The Medical Division Lord asked me to take you along.”
The Grand Madam approached. She was holding Yehwa and Yuhwa in her arms.
“You were right. Once the outer wall falls, it happens in an instant, so we should have hurried more.”
“What do you mean?”
“We don’t have time, so we’ll talk on the way.”
As the Unit Leader said that, he tried to forcibly lift Tang Hae-han up. But Tang Hae-han took a big step back.
“What do you mean the outer wall falls in an instant? What are you talking about?”
It had been at least one hour since he had restored the moat. Yet they were saying the outer wall had fallen?
“The west gate just collapsed. The demonic warriors have surged toward the west gate to come in, so we have to leave while the rear gate is still quiet.”
Tang Hae-han, his face gone pale, looked back. But there was no way he could see the situation at the west gate from the rear gate.
As if something had occurred to him, Tang Hae-han suddenly froze.
The screams of patients he had heard from the Medical Division had died down, and before he left, the Oral Transmission Pavilion Lord had shown strange behavior.
While he had been focused, it seemed everyone had grasped the situation and left the Oral Transmission Pavilion. Most likely, they had gone to see their families one last time or to lend a hand at the Medical Division.
Tang Hae-han’s gaze rose to the Grand Madam.
He was the child of the Medical Division Lord and the Clan Head’s nephew. So, by luck, he had obtained the chance to escape with the direct line.
In a stiff voice, Tang Hae-han asked:
“About an hour ago, I released fresh poison into the moat. How did the moat’s defensive system collapse?”
“How would I know that? There’s no time for explanations. Will you only be satisfied if everyone becomes endangered while we wait for you?”
Tang Hae-han met the dozens of pairs of eyes fixed on him.
A chill ran up his spine.
It was because reality was sinking in.
If the defensive system collapsed, if the gate opened and there was no way to stop the demonic warriors—
The combat units would fight the demonic warriors until the Tang Clan was annihilated, and the inner compound would try to smuggle out the direct line and the secret manuals to protect the Tang Clan’s future. But he, who had been in charge of the defense, had nothing he could do.
And this was something he must not do.
At the very least, this must not be his last move.
Step.
Tang Hae-han backed away.
“...I cannot go.”
