Chapter 79. How to Get to the Headquarters
“If you came to Sichuan, you should’ve delivered a secret message. If I went outside, we could’ve met more safely. What was so urgent that you came all the way in here?”
Suddenly, Haerak stretched his lips into a wide smile.
“It’s fine. I moved after hearing everyone had fallen asleep. I followed in a hurry after hearing you’d returned to your quarters from the outer courtyard.”
So-hwa frowned at those words.
“There’s a Blood Sect bastard in the Tang estate watching me?”
Seeing So-hwa’s hardened expression, Haerak smiled.
“Though there’s no one in the Tang Clan with the skill to enter the inner courtyard, the same can’t be said for the other clans. So always be careful. I came today just to tell you that. Especially—”
Haerak spoke with a seriousness that didn’t suit him.
“Be careful of that Namgung Hyun.”
The moment he finished speaking, he narrowed his eyes.
“What, you already knew? Why’s your reaction so bland?”
“I’m usually not very expressive.”
“So it seems.”
“You came all the way here just to warn me about Namgung Hyun?”
“And partly to check how the Poison gu antidote is coming along.”
So-hwa observed Haerak’s expression before speaking again.
“I understand the warning well. And I’m working hard on the method to eliminate your Poison gu, so stop worrying and go back.”
“You sure I can trust you?”
At that, So-hwa let out a slight sneer.
“If you don’t, do you have any other option?”
Haerak leaned his head against the window frame with a sigh.
“...I’m not someone who gets talked into things wherever I go.”
His tone was full of deep self-reproach.
So-hwa opened the box on the table. When she pulled out a small knife, Haerak frowned.
“Stabbing me just because I said something you didn’t like?”
“Since you’re already here, I figured I’d try to get a bit more Poison gu.”
Haerak stealthily sealed the cuff of his sleeve with his hand.
“You said the ones from the people who died three years ago were well Sectivated, so why do you need more of mine?”
“To increase the number of Poison gu, they have to feed on blood regularly. There are more of them now, so it takes longer.”
Suddenly, Haerak raised one eyebrow.
He seemed to have remembered something and then asked:
“What if I refuse to give blood because I don’t want to?”
“What?”
“I’m asking what you’ll do if I go against your will.”
What nonsense was he talking about?
It was strange, but he seemed more timid than expected.
So-hwa calmly set down the knife and spoke.
“If you don’t want to, I can’t do anything about it. I have enough Poison gu for now, so it’s fine.”
“Don’t you ever feel like threatening me or taking it by force?”
“What are you trying to say?”
Haerak hesitated, then asked.
“Don’t you ever feel some sort of will? Like using me to achieve something, or making me devote myself to you?”
“…Are you insane?”
Haerak fell silent for a moment. Then he suddenly placed a hand over his chest.
“Anything is fine. Just try to have some kind of will toward me.”
“I don’t quite understand the jokes people tell in Hubei, so let me ask—are you joking right now?”
“No. I’m serious. I’m trying to resist your will.”
So-hwa stared at him as if he were spouting nonsense, and Haerak calmly met her gaze.
A brief silence fell.
Then So-hwa, as if something had come to mind, opened her mouth.
“Now that I think about it, I have a favor to ask you.”
“What is it?”
Haerak asked again, his voice tense.
“You have people inside the Murim Alliance headquarters, too, don’t you?”
“Feels like you already know and are just asking.”
“The Anguk Merchant Group holds a strong influence in Hubei, and you're close with the Zhuge Clan. Over half the headquarters is made up of Zhuge Clan members—it would be strange if you didn’t know.”
“Knowing all that and still asking makes me more nervous. You must be about to ask a favor related to the headquarters.”
“That’s right.”
So-hwa made a diffiSect request sound very easy.
“Just secure two positions in the headquarters for me. If possible, in the Summer Pavilion of the Four Seasons Hall.”
There was a moment of silence at her words.
Haerak rolled up his sleeve and held out his arm.
“Take more of the Poison gu. You can experiment with them however you like. Just don’t have such reckless ambitions.”
So-hwa pushed his arm away.
“I know it’s a diffiSect favor. But it’s something absolutely necessary.”
"No… it doesn’t seem like you actually think it’s that diffiSect."
Truthfully, So-hwa didn’t think it was very diffiSect.
The year she died, the man standing before her had been suspected of killing the Hall Lord of the Four Seasons, yet the Alliance Leader hadn’t interrogated him in the slightest. The relationship between Zhuge In-hwi and the Alliance Leader couldn’t simply be described as “close.” Yet the Alliance Leader let the death of someone he cherished pass without a word.
Even though Haerak wasn’t the Head of the Merchant Guild anymore—only the heir—and hadn’t yet married into the Zhuge Clan, he surely still had people inside the headquarters.
It might be diffiSect to recommend a nameless member straight into the headquarters, but recommending a direct descendant of one of the Five Noble Clans wouldn’t be a burden at all.
In fact, in her previous life, Namgung Hyun had worked in the Summer Pavilion of the Four Seasons at this exact time.
“I have to enter the Summer Pavilion with Namgung Hyun.”
At that moment, Haerak’s gaze dropped to the windowsill. He looked at the blood-soaked cloth and the basket and tilted his lips sideways.
“So, you already knew Namgung Hyun was a Blood Sect member.”
Haerak let out a hollow laugh.
“Just how much do you know?”
“You’re with the Blood Sect. Namgung Hyun is with the Blood Sect. And the Blood Sect is trying to bring down the Tang Clan.”
At those words, Haerak smiled faintly.
“Why are you smiling?”
“Bringing down the Tang Clan isn’t the Blood Sect’s goal.”
At that, So-hwa let out a dry laugh.
But Haerak’s voice, speaking the truth, was resolute.
“Having consumed the Outer Regions and infiltrated the Central Plains, it’s not like their goal is just the Tang Clan, right?”
He touched So-hwa’s forehead with his finger.
“If you want to play the big game, think bigger, orthodox young lady.”
Under So-hwa’s sharp gaze, Haerak withdrew his hand.
“Though I can’t get you directly into the headquarters, I can try to create an opportunity for you.”
“An opportunity?”
The Blood Sect bastard twisted his lips. Then he uttered words that shouldn’t come from a member of the Blood Sect.
“I’ll arrange a meeting with the Alliance Leader.”
“The Alliance Leader...?”
“Of course, he’s not a Blood Sect member.”
Haerak cut off So-hwa’s words and chuckled hollowly.
“But he is a bit strange. Acts like he knows everything about me, yet like he knows nothing.”
Haerak looked at So-hwa, tilting his lips.
“Just like you.”
Suddenly, Haerak’s gaze slid out the window. He sighed and stood up.
“I’m starting to sense some presence.”
A commotion arose from behind the wall, as if intruders had just been discovered.
“The Murim Alliance is holding a Martial Arts Tournament soon, isn’t it? You should take part as well. That’s the best time to secure a spot quickly without raising suspicion.”
So-hwa nodded.
“Yes, I was planning to accompany someone to the tournament anyway.”
“I was curious about your martial arts level, so that’s good.”
“You’ll never know. I won’t participate.”
“Huh? Then how will you come?”
“I’ll accompany as a member of the Tang Clan’s Medical Hall.”
The Murim Alliance headquarters also had a Medical Hall, but since the tournament involves all members, the Medical Hall couldn’t cover all personnel. Because many get injured, each sect individually brings its own physicians.
Haerak nodded as if he understood.
“Well, your reputation is quite widespread, so accompanying as a physician will make it easier to meet the Alliance Leader.”
“...Reputation?”
So-hwa asked again, and Haerak tilted his head.
“Didn’t you know? Everyone interested in medicine knows you. Muso and Tai Chi Sword Saint must have spread rumors here and there, and since they vouched for you, the rumors seem to have gotten exaggerated.”
When So-hwa’s eyes clouded, Haerak burst out laughing. Enjoying the echo of his laughter, he said.
“When you come to Hubei, let’s go out together. I’ll take you to a famous tavern where many gossipers gather so you can hear it firsthand.”
“No thanks.”
“No, I want to see it.”
The Blood Sect bastard added with a lingering smile.
“I’m curious if you can keep that calm face even after hearing the rumors.”
So-hwa wanted to retort that he would never satisfy that curiosity, but Haerak disappeared without a word of farewell.
“Young Lady!”
Han-won’s voice was heard. Three guards from the inner courtyard stood nearby. Han-won approached quickly, holding a pass.
“There’s an intruder. This pass is from the pavilion’s defensive mechanism.”
So-hwa looked at the sharp-edged pass and shook her head.
“Well, no one saw anyone.”
“Someone definitely came by. Please stay inside. We’ll check the surroundings.”
Han-won, on high alert, urged the guards.
“You stay here and keep guard.”
After Han-won disappeared behind the pavilion, So-hwa looked up at the roof. Taking in the huge defensive mechanism device, she sighed inwardly. Truly a madman.
‘But seeing him return safely again…’
She couldn’t tell if the Tang Clan’s defensive mechanism was terrible or if the intruder was a monster.
So-hwa planned to repair the pavilion as soon as the Alliance of Noble Clans concluded.