It fell short of the Clan Head’s Hall of the Tang House, but the air that hung in the Clan Head’s quarters was similar.The wretched silence went on without end.The shadow on the Clan Head’s face withdrew, revealing a chilly expression. The lamp flickered in the wind as someone stepped into the pavilion.Before the visitor could open his mouth, the Tang Clan Head lifted his gaze. The guard saw those eyes and opened the door at once.Creak.Heukcheon Amgui and Han-won were standing at the door. The one who ought to have been with them was nowhere to be seen.The Clan Head’s gaze asked plainly, so Heukcheon Amgui skipped greetings and spoke.“The tracking incense Your Lordship gave us was cut off midway up the northern mountain.”Tang Min’s voice was grave.“It’s not that she fell into a waterfall, nor are there traces of a beast having carried her off, but the scent was cut clean as if it evaporated into the sky.”The Clan Head [N O V E L I G H T] stared at Tang Min without a word. It meant he was listening to the Grand Elder.“Seeing as it vanished in a rock crevice, there must be a formation between. But even if there is a formation, it makes no sense for the tracking incense to be severed like that. If it’s an entrance, there must be a gap and the air must pass through, so the tracking incense would have to leak out somehow.”Perhaps the Clan Head’s silence displeased him, for Tang Min urged in a low voice.“Clan Head, you must inform the Alliance Leader. Even now the tracking incense is fading; every moment counts.”“……”“Clan Head.”It was then.Heukcheon Amgui’s gaze turned back.With his face set like stone, Tang Hak entered the quarters.He showed a clasped-fist salute to Heukcheon Amgui with a face gone chalk-white, then stood at his side and paid respects to the Clan Head.The Clan Head did not open his mouth this time either.As Tang Hak met his father’s eyes, something surged up in him and his eyelids reddened.The Little Clan Head reported in a trembling voice.“The Alliance Leader said his health is unwell at the moment and that an audience is difficult.”“……”“I begged that at least a message be passed along and waited, but it is said the Alliance Leader even refused an audience with the Administrator.”The faces of those standing before the Clan Head hardened.Unable to contain himself, Heukcheon Amgui raised his voice.“Even if support comes from the Tang Clan, it will take ten days. We ourselves must move at once. Quickly—”Tang Min closed his mouth.It was because the Clan Head raised his hand. He opened the coffer beside him.A wooden token no bigger than a finger was set upon the table.Only then did the Clan Head open his mouth.“Before Sohwa went to the Alliance Leader’s quarters, she left me Wu So’s boeun pae.”The Clan Head’s gaze turned to the Little Clan Head.“She said now didn’t seem the time, so once the Little Clan Head’s heart had hardened, to pass it on. I thought she was simply being overly wary from seeing the Alliance Leader for the first time.”With a face of unreadable meaning, the Clan Head spoke.“But looking back, it seems Sohwa knew I was in danger.”A chill tinged his voice.“And it seems the Alliance Leader also knew that child had become a target.”“So is that why the Alliance Leader asked that Sohwa be handed over? To lure the Blood Cult dogs?”When Tang Min cautiously asked that, the Clan Head answered in a low voice.“I do not know.”Yet contrary to the words, there was no tremor in the Tang Clan Head’s voice.“The Alliance Leader said the Tang Clan’s physicians had arrived well. What’s more, the Administrator sent a note to the Tang Clan asking that medicinal ingredients be provided. Is it not strange that the Alliance Leader—no other than that unpleasant man who stares a person down for more than a moment—failed to notice that Sohwa had been replaced?”The Tang Clan Head added in an icy voice.“Whether the Alliance Leader sought to protect Sohwa or to conveniently help those bastards take her, I will have to see for myself.”At last the Tang Clan Head rose from his seat.Though he had received the Divine Physician’s letter from Tang Hae-han, he had sat like a statue for several shichen; this was the first time he moved.It meant he had decided the Tang Clan’s course.As the Clan Head rose, all of them fell in step behind him as if by prior promise.Their steps were by no means fast.It was a decision to save a member of the Tang Clan, and at the same time an act that would turn the Martial Alliance into an enemy, so it could not be taken lightly.A man stood on the approach to the Alliance Leader’s quarters.“I pay respects to the Tang Clan Head.”Zhuge Inhwi joined his hands neatly and, in a calm voice, requested:“I have heard from the Little Clan Head what concerns the Tang Clan. However, acting thus is against the regulations. Since the Alliance Leader has refused an audience, please respect his will.”The Administrator’s proposal was met with a chilly look.As if expecting it, the Administrator added in an even voice.“The Alliance Leader has promised to attend tomorrow’s banquet. Then, meet him in person. Also, at first light tomorrow I will request an audience with the Alliance Leader and ask that Lady Tang and the Divine Physician be sent back to the Tang Clan.”“Administrator. No, Zhuge Inhwi.”The Clan Head answered, looking at the Administrator.“There is a saying commonly accepted among the Five Great Families. When the Zhuge Clan says ‘tomorrow,’ it is a refusal, so one must prepare an alternative. For when tomorrow comes, there will be yet another reason and you will be unable to keep tomorrow’s promise.”“……”“The alliance of the Five Great Families takes precedence over the alliance of the Martial Alliance. So step aside, Inhwi. We have come to rescue a member of the Tang Clan, not to harm the Zhuge Clan’s Little Clan Head.”A faint smile touched Zhuge Inhwi’s lips.“The Zhuge Clan’s Little Clan Head is not me but my elder brother Jihwi.”“You will be Little Clan Head again next year anyway. Why Jihwi became Little Clan Head this year is none of my concern. I have neither the mind nor the time to hear the circumstances of another clan. Move. This is the last warning.”But the Administrator did not move aside.The broad approach seemed filled by a single young man.It was an action that prioritized the union of fifteen sects over the alliance of the five families.It felt clear why the Zhuge Clan Head, who cherished the third son so greatly, nonetheless chose the second son—who had made him blind—as the Little Clan Head.Zhuge Inhwi had become wholly the Alliance Leader’s man.Ordinarily, Tang Ji-ha would have mulled over at length this change in the Zhuge Clan, but now no thought came to him.To that extent, action came before thought.As on the day he first tried to abandon the Little Clan Head’s seat and sever his own sinews before the Grand Clan Head, all thought was erased and only a clear objective remained.It was the resolve to find his child, taken into a place of death, and bring her back to the Tang Clan.The blade that flew toward the Administrator sheared the Administrator’s hair and tore his hem as it returned. Its trajectory missed the vitals.The Administrator knew that the Tang Clan Head still had no intent to harm him.Yet that killing intent was by no means at a mere threatening level.It was only that the killing intent was not aimed at him.If he learned that Lady Tang was not inside the quarters, the Tang Clan Head would cross blades to the death with the Alliance Leader. Not only the Clan Head, but the Tang members standing behind him—Heukcheon Amgui and the others who were openly letting killing intent spill—were the same.Before it erupted into war, he had to break the Tang Clan’s momentum so that conversation would be possible.If Alliance members arose who defied the Alliance Leader’s orders, the Martial Alliance would collapse in an instant.With an unshaken face, Zhuge Inhwi drew a steel wire from his bosom.And at the instant the Tang Clan Head’s presence spread right before his nose, he swept horizontally with speed. A sharp wind flew in a parabola like sword-qi. But the Clan Head had already passed behind him.The Administrator twisted his body at once. As he traced four points in the four directions, the curved wind snared the Clan Head’s ankles like a whip. While the Clan Head faltered, Zhuge Inhwi sprang and landed before the door.No sooner had Zhuge Inhwi turned his body toward the Clan Head than a dozen-odd needles poured down.Thock.Clatter.Needle-thin poisoned darts, as fine as ox hair, struck Zhuge Inhwi’s steel wire and fell powerless.No words were exchanged.Blows flew so fast that even the wind felt slow.Instead of attacking, Zhuge Inhwi focused on neutralizing the Clan Head’s attacks with the steel wire.Wind and hidden weapons.Because the matchup was the worst, Zhuge Inhwi could somehow endure the Tang Clan Head’s attacks for more than half a ke.But only up to half a ke.Thwack.As Zhuge Inhwi’s long robe tore, the silvery cloth turned red.Blood began to spread across his upper body like poppies blooming in full.Even so, Zhuge Inhwi did not give up and faced him.Thock.Swish.He knocked aside a few hidden weapons, but more than that embedded in his body.Without letting out even a single groan, Zhuge Inhwi’s wrist—wielding the steel wire—hesitated. Not a needle, but a thick throwing star flew straight at his wrist.A clean hit would all but sever the wrist holding the steel wire.It seemed the Tang Clan Head thought Zhuge Inhwi would retreat. But rather than retreat, Zhuge Inhwi swung his hand closer toward that very throwing star.It was the instant even the cold face of the Tang Clan Head twisted.Boom.The throwing star that had been flying plummeted to the floor.A steel wire similar to the one in Zhuge Inhwi’s grip struck down the Tang Clan Head’s hidden weapon.Though it used a lesser metal than Zhuge Inhwi’s, the Zhuge Clan’s seal engraved on the side and the matched hilt crafted for a hand that had trained in similar martial skill were the same.The Zhuge Clan’s Little Clan Head standing between the Administrator and the Tang Clan Head showed a clasped-fist salute.“I pay respects to the Tang Clan Head.”His tone was gentle and peaceful, but sweat beaded at Zhuge Jihwi’s temples. It seemed he had run here in great haste.“I understand that attacking Alliance members at Headquarters is a grave crime.”Zhuge Jihwi tossed aside his own steel wire.Thwack.With empty hands, the Tang Clan Head could have snapped his windpipe in an instant if he wished. But Zhuge Jihwi attempted mediation in a calm voice.“First, let us hold.”“Stand aside.”“Isn’t finding Lady Tang the priority?”At those words, the Tang Clan Head, who had withdrawn his killing intent, sharpened his edge again. He judged they meant to use Sohwa as a pretext to threaten.“If support from the Tang Clan is to arrive, it will take quite a while. To find Lady Tang at once, do you not need the Alliance’s support?”Zhuge Jihwi cast a sidelong glance around.“However, there are many eyes watching now.”The Tang Clan Head’s gaze moved with his. Perhaps drawn by the commotion, martial artists of other sects were already standing on the roofs, watching this scene.There were young martial artists looking confused, and elders watching them with stern eyes.Lowering his voice to a whisper, Zhuge Jihwi said,“First, keep the Alliance regulations.”Silence settled.Though many people had gathered, the surroundings were still.The Tang Clan Head’s gaze slid to the Administrator. The blind man looked at him with that peculiar opaque gaze.The Administrator’s robe, dyed with blood, came into view.Tang Ji-ha admitted he was in an agitated state.He had crossed the line.Time was of the essence, and for him, there were no lines left. But in the eyes of others, it was not so. Tang Sohwa was a member of the Tang Clan and the daughter of the Clan Head. It was urgent only for the Tang Clan; for other sects, it was someone else’s matter.Judging objectively, if everyone blocked the Tang Clan, he might not only fail to meet the Alliance Leader but even be prevented from leaving Headquarters to find Sohwa.Tang Ji-ha slowly retrieved the hidden weapons in his hand and straightened his posture.Zhuge Jihwi let out an openly long sigh.He too had flipped his eyes and leapt in, but it seemed he was indeed afraid.At the sound of Zhuge Jihwi’s breath, the Administrator’s pupils shifted for an instant behind his elder brother. But it was only a moment.“Tang Clan Head, what is the meaning of this.”An urgent voice dropped between them.The Taeguk Sword Sovereign approached him and asked.The Tang Clan Head answered briefly.“A member of the Tang Clan has gone missing.”With censure in his tone, the Taeguk Sword Sovereign asked again.“Then why are you butchering the Administrator? Or did the Administrator kidnap someone?”It was the instant the Tang Clan Head was about to answer.“Who has gone missing?”Wu So, already down from the wall, approached. His eyes were those of a man who already knew who had gone missing.It was merely a repeated question because he could not believe it.Receiving Wu So’s gaze, the Tang Clan Head pressed down the surging emotion and opened his mouth.“It seems the one who kidnapped my daughter is in the Alliance Leader’s quarters.”

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