Zhuge Cheonyu spoke to Tang Hak, who was standing at a distance.“Little Clan Head, please come over here and stay with us.”Tang Hak shook his head with a stiff face.“I’m fine.”Looking at the Zhuge retainers clinging to the boundary, Tang Hak swallowed his anger. They looked as if they might cross the formation and run away at any moment. Since he himself didn’t even want to touch the formation by mistake, their attitude made him anxious.Tang Hak sighed and stared into the forest.'Will they be all right?'He wasn’t worried that the Clan Head or the other warriors might get hurt. That would have been an insult to them. What Tang Hak worried about was his sister. He wondered whether the Alliance Leader had found her, whether she was hurt, and whether the way back was blocked. Those thoughts kept filling his head.Tang Hak wanted to go to the West Gate even now and fight. But knowing that he was only a burden, he endured and waited. The anxious waiting filled him with self-reproach. Because the only thing he could do was to stay still.Zhuge Cheonyu looked at Tang Hak’s stiff face and turned her gaze away. Seeing him worry about his sister made her think of her brother Jihwi. To her, Zhuge Jihwi was the only person who had 'ever felt like a real brother.If something like this happened to me, only Brother Jihwi would come for me. Maybe Father would come too—if the cost of saving me were less than the money he could extort from the Anguk Merchant Group.'Even being brought here had probably come from Father and Brother Inhwi’s petty rivalry. Zhuge Cheonyu let out a short laugh. Envy ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ crept into her heart.'Lady Tang is lucky', she thought. Even though this was by no means a good situation, such a childish thought came to her.At that moment, one of the retainers leaning against a rock suddenly jumped to his feet.“Do you hear that sound?”He whispered in a tense voice, then asked Zhuge Cheonyu,“What sound?”Zhuge Cheonyu asked back, but the retainer turned his head toward the path they had come.“There’s a sound of wind from the forest. It sounds like a band of thieves running fast. Or maybe a storm. Ah, it’s so loud—can’t you really hear it?”His face turned pale. The panic spread, and the other retainers began to look frightened as well.“What sound are you talking about?”“Which direction? Point it out!”Zhuge Cheonyu also waited for the retainer’s answer. He might not be one of the best warriors of the Zhuge Clan, but he wasn’t someone to be ignored either.“That way! The path we came through! The boundary leading to the West Gate!”He shouted, pointing toward the forest in frustration.The commotion made Tang Hak approach.“What’s going on?”Tang Hak frowned as he looked at their faces. The atmosphere was strange.“Little Clan Head, can’t you hear the sound too?”It wasn’t really a question. One of the Zhuge warriors smirked. Fortunately, Tang Hak didn’t understand the scorn hidden in his tone and answered confidently,“Yes. What sound?”The man was momentarily at a loss for words at his frank response. Then one warrior, who had been sweating the entire time, suddenly shouted,“Something’s coming! The Alliance Leader was wrong! There’s a problem at the West Gate!”Shouting was bad enough, but worse— the man standing close to the boundary suddenly jumped across it to flee.“Hey! You crazy bastard!”“Where are you going!”The Zhuge warriors shouted in panic, but he had already crossed the formation and vanished from sight.“Stop!”Tang Hak crossed the formation to catch him. The other Zhuge warriors, equally panicked, followed after him.Tang Hak quickly caught the fleeing man, but fearing he might cross the next boundary, Tang Hak hastily threw a throwing knife.“Ugh!”The blade struck the back of the man’s knee, and he collapsed with a groan.“Little Clan Head!”One of the Zhuge warriors who saw it shouted.“How could you…!”But the man fell silent. Though the knife had hit, the fallen retainer wasn’t bleeding—he had been struck with the handle.Tang Hak didn’t care whether the man rolled on the ground or not; he retrieved the knife and lifted his head. His expression was full of dismay. Following his gaze, the Zhuge warriors also turned pale.They could see the luminous night pearl of the next formation.The Alliance Leader had repeatedly warned them never to touch the boundaries of the formations. One mistake, and their retreat would be cut off.“It’ll be fine. Let’s just wait here,” Zhuge Cheonyu said, trying to hide her unease.What was done could not be undone. There was nothing they could do. She anxiously looked at the sand pouch tied to her waist. More than half the sand was still left.'It’s fine. Nothing bad will happen.'Time passed quietly. About a quarter of an hour later—“Y-Young Lady.”The man named Daejeong, who had been bound by Tang Hak, froze like ice. His lips trembled as he spoke to Zhuge Cheonyu.“T-The sound’s getting louder.”Clutching his knees, he pointed east.“It’s coming from that way too. It’s much louder than before.”“What do you mean?” Tang Hak asked, but Zhuge Cheonyu answered for him.“He must be hearing the sound of the formation. When the spell formulas inscribed in a formation overlap and tangle, they make a strange noise.”She sighed and added,“The sound Daejeong heard earlier from the West Gate boundary was probably the alarm the Alliance Leader triggered on purpose when he left for the Central Gate.”“I see.”Tang Hak gave a short reply, but his face was pale.Zhuge Cheonyu’s tense voice cut through the silence.“But… it seems there’s also an entrance to the formation on the east side. If they can hear the same sound from there…”Zhuge Cheonyu looked toward the east with a bleak expression.“It’s not certain, but maybe someone there has touched the formation.”One of the Zhuge warriors beside her added,“The Alliance Leader went out through the West Gate, so there must be enemies coming from that way. But if the sound’s coming from the east too…”They soon understood why the alarm was ringing from the east. The Blood Fiends who had been heading for the West Gate must have turned toward them instead.Silence fell.“Y-Young Lady, shouldn’t we run?”The man who said that wasn’t the one who had fled earlier—he was already half-unconscious. Another terrified warrior grabbed Zhuge Cheonyu’s arm. His expression said he would pick her up and flee no matter what she answered.Tang Hak stepped in and warned them,“Do not move.”“Didn’t you hear Daejeong? If the Blood Fiends from the East Gate are coming this way, what do we do? There are only five of us—we won’t stand a chance!”“If we get separated from those at the West Gate, it’ll be even more dangerous. If we run now, we’ll just draw the fiends farther out.”The Little Clan Head’s words were logical, but the terrified men didn’t hear reason. One of the Zhuge warriors glared, ready to shove Tang Hak aside and bolt.Tang Hak could have stopped them easily. If he chose to fight seriously, he could have subdued these four men. But if they got hurt in the process, it would cause more problems later. They’d become a burden during retreat, and the Tang Clan couldn’t abandon the Zhuge Clan’s support after asking their help to save his sister.Sighing, Tang Hak gripped his sleeve. Something inside brushed his fingers. Realizing what it was, he lifted his head sharply.“We can hold out safely for one quarter-hour. This will buy us time until the others return.”Tang Hak took out a stick of incense.“It’s a paralyzing poison incense—breathing it in freezes the body. Since the Zhuge Clan is good with wind, you can spread the smoke wide, right? Take it. Use it if you’re afraid.”The Zhuge warriors frowned. Being treated like cowards stung their pride, yet they couldn’t refuse.The retainers fought down their desire to accept, hiding it behind their dignity. Zhuge Cheonyu sighed and took both the incense and the fire talisman.“The Little Clan Head has a point. If we get isolated from those ahead, it’ll be even more dangerous. But if something goes wrong and we face the Blood Fiends, we’ll have to run.”Her tone was calm.“Knowing your own limits is also a kind of courage. The Alliance Leader said there could be dozens, even hundreds of Blood Fiends from the East Gate. We can’t fight that.”Though she admitted their weakness, there was no shame in her voice. If anything, she was the most composed of all.While Tang Hak hesitated, Zhuge Cheonyu continued,“And if things truly go wrong, someone has to return to the Central Plains quickly and report this. Only then can they come to rescue Lady Tang again—and at least the location of the Blood Cult’s main base will be known.”With those words, Tang Hak couldn’t argue. He reluctantly nodded.“But before you run, I have one request.”Though he accepted Zhuge Cheonyu’s reasoning, he didn’t move.“Please wait until half a shichen has passed, just as the Alliance Leader said.”“Little Clan Head…”“The poison incense will let us last a quarter-hour without trouble.” Tang Hak cut her off.“Please, let the Alliance Leader have time to bring my sister out safely. Help us hold the fiends until the time is up.”He said it was a request, but it sounded like an order. Tang Hak’s sharp tone left the Zhuge warriors speechless.Taking advantage of the silence, Tang Hak pressed his point.“You said if things went wrong, we’d have to return to the Central Plains, right? But if the Alliance Leader doesn’t come, how can we go back? Who will open the passage?”He pleaded,“Please remember why we came to the West Gate in the first place. We have to lure the Blood Fiends for half a shichen to secure the Alliance Leader’s retreat.”Zhuge Cheonyu didn’t argue.“Yes. We’ll wait until the half-shichen is over.”The warriors behind her also held their tongues. The Little Clan Head’s presence was too sharp. Since poison smoke had already come from that sleeve, who knew what else he might have hidden? If they disobeyed, he might paralyze them all with some invisible toxin until the time ran out.'This is why you can’t trust people who use poison', they thought bitterly.Though unwilling, the Zhuge party agreed to stay and buy time until the Alliance Leader and Lady Tang could retreat safely.

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